Comparing the distribution of ciliate plankton in inner and outer areas of a harbor divided by an artificial breakwater

The distribution of ciliate plankton was compared between inner and outer areas of a harbor divided by an artificial breakwater in Kuryongpo, on the eastern coast of Korea, from February 2001 to October 2003. Less dissolved oxygen and higher concentrations of nitrogenous nutrients and phosphate were observed in the inner area. The abundance of oligotrich ciliates peaked in February 2001, when nanoflagellates bloomed in the inner area. The photosynthetic ciliate Mesodinium rubrum showed differing population dynamics annually, with blooming peaks in October 2001 in the inner area and in February 2003 in the outer area. The tintinnid species Tintinnopsis beroidea and Helicostomella subulata were generally more abundant in the outer area. Total ciliates were significantly related to oligotrich abundance in the inner area, and to tintinnid abundances in the outer area. Ciliate distribution showed quantitative and qualitative differences between the inner and outer areas in connection with the distribution of other plankton communities: oligotrich ciliate abundance increased with nanoflagellate blooms; dominance of M. rubrum was consistent with blooming of micro-sized phytoplankton (diatoms and dinoflagellates); large-sized tintinnids concurred with small dinoflagellates; and ciliate abundances decreased with mesozooplankton increases. The results indicate that the breakwater induces eutrophication in the inner area and provides suitable conditions for nanoflagellate blooms, which serially trigger opportunistic increases in oligotrich ciliates.     

Imaging Spectroscopy of a Solar Filament Using a Tunable Hα Filter

Observations using a narrow band Hα filter still remain one of the best ways to investigate the fine structures and internal dynamics of solar filaments. Hα observations, however, have been usually carried out with the peak response of the filter fixed at a single wavelength, usually at the centerline, in which the investigation is limited to the Hα morphology and its time evolution. In this paper, we demonstrate that the Hα spectroscopy that takes Hα images successively at several wavelengths is a useful tool in the study of solar filaments on the solar disk. Our observation of a filament was carried out on August 3, 2004 at Big Bear Solar Observatory using the 10-inch refractor. The Lyot Hα filter was successively tuned to five wavelengths: ?0.6, ?0.3, 0.0, +0.3, and +0.6 Å from the Hα line center. Each set of wavelength scan took 15 s. After several steps of data reduction, we have constructed a five-wavelength spectral profile of intensity contrast at every spatial point. The contrast profile at each spatial point inside the filament was reasonably well fit by the cloud model as far as the contrast is high enough, and allowed us to construct the maps of τ₀, v, Δ λ_D and S in the filament. We also found that the line center method that is often used, always yields line-of-sight velocities that are systematically lower than the cloud model fit. Our result suggests that taking Hα images at several wavelengths using a tunable filter provides an effective way of deriving physically meaningful parameters of solar filaments. Particularly constructing the time sequence of v maps appears to be a useful tool for the study of internal dynamics, like counterstreaming, in filaments.     

Determination of magnetic helicity content of solar active regions from SOHO/MDI magnetograms

Chae (2001) first proposed a method of self-consistently determining the rate of change of magnetic helicity using a time series of longitudinal magnetograms only, such as taken by SOHO/MDI. Assuming that magnetic fields in the photosphere are predominantly vertical, he determined the horizontal component of velocity by tracking the displacements of magnetic flux fragments using the technique of local correlation tracking (LCT). In the present paper, after briefly reviewing the recent advance in helicity rate measurement, we argue that the LCT method can be more generally applied even to regions of inclined magnetic fields. We also present some results obtained by applying the LCT method to the active region NOAA 10365 under emergence during the observable period, which are summarized as follows. (1) Strong shearing flows were found near the polarity inversion line that were very effective in helicity injection. (2) Both the magnetic flux and helicity of the active region steadily increased during the observing period, and reached 1.2 × 10²² Mx and 8 ×10⁴² Mx², respectively, 4.5 days after the birth of the active region. (3) The corresponding ratio of the helicity to the square of the magnetic flux, 0.05, is roughly compatible with the values determined by other studies using linear-force-free modeling. (4) A series of flares took place while the rate of helicity injection was high. (5) The choice of a smaller window size or a shorter time interval in the LCT method resulted in a bigger value of the LCT velocity and a bigger value of the temporal fluctuation of the helicity rate. (6) Nevertheless when averaged over a time period of about one hour or longer, the average rate of helicity became about the same within about 10%, almost irrespective of the chosen window size and time interval, indicating that short-lived, fluctuating flows may be insignificant in transferring magnetic helicity. Our results suggest that the LCT method may be applied to 96-minute cadence full-disk MDI magnetograms or other data of similar kind, to provide a practically useful, if not perfect, way of monitoring the magnetic helicity content of active regions as a function of time.     

Bioremediation of contaminated coastal sediment: Optimization of slow release biostimulant ball using response surface methodology (RSM) and stabilization of metals from contaminated sediment

The aim of the present study is to optimize the slow release biostimulant ball (BSB) for bioremediation of contaminated coastal sediment using response surface methodology (RSM). Metals contamination and stabilization of metals in coastal sediments using BSB were investigated. The effects of BSB size (1–5 cm), distance (1–10 cm), and time (1–4 months) on the stabilization of metals including Fe, Cd, Cu, and Pb were determined. The maximum stabilization percentages of Fe, Cd, Cu, and Pb, of 64.5%, 54.9%, 63.8%, and 47.6%, respectively, were observed at a 3 cm ball size, 5.5 cm distance, and a period of 4 months; these values are the optimum conditions for effective treatment of contaminated coastal sediment. The determination coefficient of the R² value suggests that > 91.55%, 89.97%, 96.10%, and 86.40% of the variance is attributable to the variables of Fe, Cd, Cu, and Pb, respectively.     

Density Estimates of Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia coerulea) in the Yeongsan Estuary using Nets and Hydroacoustics

Ocean Science Journal - Using nets and acoustic frequencies of 38 and 120 kHz, we estimated the density distribution of the moon jellyfish, Aurelia coerulea, in the Yeongsan Estuary, where a large...     

Monthly Geographical Distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Nemopilema nomurai</Emphasis> (Scyphozoa: Rhizosotomeae) in the Bohai and North Yellow Seas: a Preliminary Study using Ships of Opportunity

Nemopilema nomurai, an endemic and blooming jellyfish species in the waters of Korea, China and Japan, were monitored from June to October, 2017, in the Bohai and northwestern Yellow Seas, using the ship sighting method, as a preliminary study to investigate the spatiotemporal distribution of medusae. Monitoring revealed that the mass appearance of young medusae was observed in Liaodong Bay in summer. In late summer they disappeared and a high density zone shifted to the mid- and northern Bohai Strait. In early fall, healthy adults with relatively high density were observed in the area around the border of the South and North Yellow Seas. These results suggest that medusae of N. nomurai originated from the Bohai Sea and were advected into the Yellow Sea through the Bohai Strait.     

Studies of Microflares and C5.2 flare of 27 September 1998

On 27 September 1998, Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO) and Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) coordinated observations from 16:00 to 19:00 UT to study properties of microflares in AR NOAA No. 8340. Fortuitously, a C5.2 flare occurred at 16:30 UT in this active region. H and magnetograph movies were obtained at BBSO; Civ 1550 Å, Feix 171 Å, and Fexii 195 Å movies were obtained by TRACE; both with a cadence about 1 min. In this paper, we concentrate on the study of magnetic properties of 70 Civ microflares, as well as their relationship to the C5.2 flare. We obtained the following results: (1) We found two kinds of microflares: microflares of transient brightenings with a time scale of 1 to 5 min (impulsive events) and microflares lasting half an hour or longer (persistent events). Ninety percent of the microflares are impulsive events. Most of the event in this category are associated with well defined magnetic neutral lines, but some are found in non-neutral line areas. All of seven persistent events are found at parasitic magnetic configurations with inclusions of small magnetic flux within dominant magnetic flux of opposite polarity. (2) More than a third of the impulsive microflares occurred near the C5.2 flare site indicating that a local instability is responsible for both the C5.2 flare and microflares. This indirectly supports the avalanche theory of flare energy release, which implies that a big flare may be spatially associated with many small flares.     

Propagation characteristics of historical tsunamis that attacked the east coast of Korea

In this study, a numerical modeling system based on the dispersion–correction finite difference scheme equipped with a grid-nesting scheme is constructed. The model is applied to simulate the propagation of three historical tsunami events that attacked the east coast of Korea. The calculated free-surface displacements for the cases of the 1983 Akita and the 1993 Okushiri tsunamis are compared with the observations at four tidal stations along the east coast of Korea. The comparison shows that the results agree well with the observations. The analyses of the simulated results show that underwater topography, such as submerged rises and ridges, plays an important role in the propagation of tsunamis in this region.     

Large‐scale real‐time hybrid simulation of a three‐story steel frame building with magneto‐rheological dampers

A series of large‐scale real‐time hybrid simulations (RTHSs) are conducted on a 0.6‐scale 3‐story steel frame building with magneto‐rheological (MR) dampers. The lateral force resisting system of the prototype building for the study consists of moment resisting frames and damped brace frames (DBFs). The experimental substructure for the RTHS is the DBF with the MR dampers, whereas the remaining structural components of the building including the moment resisting frame and gravity frames are modeled via a nonlinear analytical substructure. Performing RTHS with an experimental substructure that consists of the complete DBF enables the effects of member and connection component deformations on system and damper performance to be accurately accounted for. Data from these tests enable numerical simulation models to be calibrated, provide an understanding and validation of the in‐situ performance of MR dampers, and a means of experimentally validating performance‐based seismic design procedures for real structures. The details of the RTHS procedure are given, including the test setup, the integration algorithm, and actuator control. The results from a series of RTHS are presented that includes actuator control, damper behavior, and the structural response for different MR control laws. The use of the MR dampers is experimentally demonstrated to reduce the response of the structure to strong ground motions. Comparisons of the RTHS results are made with numerical simulations. Based on the results of the study, it is concluded that RTHS can be conducted on realistic structural systems with dampers to enable advancements in resilient earthquake resistant design to be achieved. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Extreme-Ultraviolet Flare Loop Emissions in an Eruptive Event

The TRACE/BBSO joint campaign on 27 September 1998 observed an eruptive flare event which lasted for half an hour. The observation covered several ultraviolet (UV) and extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) lines and H center and off-band emissions with very high spatial resolution. We find the EUV emissions in different stages of the flare display different characteristics. (1) During the `pre-flare' phase, when the SXR output was weak, we observed simultaneous impulsive HXR peak at 25–100 keV and strong EUV emission. (2) In the impulsive phase, when H, UV and SXR emissions were rising to the maxima, the EUV emission was very weak. (3) During the main phase, when SXR emission was decaying, a peak in the EUV emission was observed which was substantially delayed by 7 min compared to emissions from other wavelengths. Based on our observations, we propose that the `pre-flare' phase in this event was a separate energy release process rather than a mere pre-cursor of the flare, and it is likely that the `pre-flare' EUV emission was due to weak in situ heating of low-lying coronal loops. The mechanism of the EUV emission in the main phase is investigated. It is suggested that the delayed EUV emission may come from cooling of SXR loops.