Potential blue carbon from coastal ecosystems in the Republic of Korea

Ocean Science Journal - The sequestration of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and ocean into coastal ecosystems such as seaweed beds, seagrasses, saltmarshes, and tidal flats is an...     

Earthquake response analysis of the Hualien soil–structure interaction system based on updated soil properties using forced vibration test data

This paper presents results of the earthquake response analysis on a large‐scale seismic test (LSST) structure which was built at Hualien in Taiwan for an international cooperative research project. The analysis is carried out using a computer program which has been developed based on axisymmetric finite element method incorporating dynamic infinite elements for far‐field soil region and a substructured wave input technique. The non‐linear behaviour of the soil medium is taken into account using an iterative equivalent linearization procedure. Two sets of the soil and structural properties, namely the unified and the FVT‐correlated models, are utilized as the initial linear values. The unified model was provided by a group of experts in charge of the geotechnical experiments, and the correlated model was obtained through a system identification procedure using the forced vibration test (FVT) results by the present authors. Three components of ground accelerations are artificially generated through an averaging process of the Fourier amplitude spectra of the ground accelerations measured near the test structure, and they are used as the control input motions for the earthquake analysis. It has been found that the earthquake responses predicted using the generated control motions and with the FVT‐correlated model as the initial linear properties in the equivalent linearization procedure compare very well with the observed responses. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age of Detrital Zircons and Sources of Terrigenous Deposits of the Olokit Zone (Northern Baikal Region)

Doklady Earth Sciences - This work presents the results of U–Th–Pb (LA–ICP–MS) geochronological study of detrital zircons from terrigenous deposits of the Olokit zone of the...     

Growth zoning of garnet porphyroblasts: Grain boundary and microtopographic controls

Chemical zoning in the outer few 10s of microns of garnet porphyroblasts has been investigated to assess the scale of chemical equilibrium with matrix minerals in a pelitic schist. Garnet porphyroblasts from the Late Proterozoic amphibolite facies regional metamorphic mica schists from Glen Roy in the Scottish Highlands contain typical prograde growth zoning patterns. Edge compositions have been measured via a combination of analysis of traverses across the planar edges of porphyroblast surfaces coupled to X-ray mapping of small areas within polished thin sections at the immediate edge of the porphyroblasts. These approaches reveal local variation in garnet composition, especially of grossular (Ca) and almandine (Fe) components, with a range at the edge from <7 mol.% grs to >16 mol.% grs, across distances of less than 50 µm. This small-scale patchy compositional zoning is as much variation as the core–rim compositional zoning across the whole of a 3 mm porphyroblast. Ca and Fe heterogeneity occurs on a scale suggesting a combination of inefficient diffusive exchange across grain boundaries during prograde growth and the evolving microtopography of the porphyroblast surface control garnet composition. The latter creates haloes of compositional zoning adjacent to some inclusions, which typically extend from the inclusion towards the porphyroblast edge during further growth. The lack of a consistent equilibrium composition at the garnet edge is also apparent in the internal zoning of the porphyroblast and so processes occurring during entrapment of some mineral inclusions have a profound influence on the overall chemical zoning. Garnet compositions and associated zoning patterns are widely used by petrologists to reconstruct P–T–t paths for crustal rocks. The evidence of extremely localized (10–50 µm scale) equilibrium during growth further undermines these approaches.     

Full operator algorithm for hybrid simulation

One of the weaknesses of the operator splitting method (OSM) is that its corrector step employs the approximation that incremental forces are linearly related to the tested structure's initial stiffness matrix. This paper presents a new predictor–corrector technique in which the assumptions about the tested structure's response are shifted to the predictor step, which results in an enhancement in overall simulation accuracy, especially for nonlinear structures. Unlike OSM, which splits the displacement and velocity operators into explicit and implicit terms, the new method uses predicted accelerations to compute fully explicit displacement and velocity values in the predictor step. Another advantage of the proposed technique, termed the full operator method (FOM) is that its formulation makes it suitable for both quasi‐static and real‐time hybrid simulation. The effectiveness of FOM is first evaluated by investigating error propagation in an undamped single degree‐of‐freedom model. It is shown that the corrector step in FOM is able to significantly suppress aberrant simulation results caused by incorrect estimation of the structure's stiffness matrix. The performance of FOM is demonstrated by exercising two additional models, which exhibit significant inelastic behavior under the prescribed excitation. The simulation results show that the proposed FOM algorithm is capable of producing accurate solutions and that the corrector step is influential in effectively reducing simulation errors. It is also shown that FOM suppresses actuator displacement control errors because of its reliance on measured quantities in the corrector step. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Quantification of submarine groundwater discharge(SGD) using radon,radium tracers and nutrient inputs in Punnakayal,south coast of India

The present study focused on the estimation of submarine groundwater discharge(SGD)and the effects of nutrient fluxes due to the SGD process.The parameters of SGD such as magnitude,character,and nutrient flux in Punnakayal region of South East coast of India were evaluated using multiple tracers of groundwater inputs in 2019.It was found that the elevated values for the tracers in the study area,displayed a gradational change in the values as move from estuarine part to the offshore.Simultaneous occurrence of fresh and saline SGD is observed on the study sites.Also,indicated that the SGD fluxes ranged from 0.04 to 0.12 m^3 m^-2d^-1 at the estuary and0.03-0.15 m^3 m^-2d^-1at the groundwater site.A substantially increased value for 222 Rn activities is distinguished in the estuary to values over 312 dpm L^-1.Nutrient embellishments were generally greatest at locations with substantial meteoric elements in groundwater;however,the recirculation of saltwater through the geological formation could provide a way of transferring terrestrially-derived nutrients to the coastal zone at many places.     

Identifying groundwater pumping source information using simulated annealing

This study develops an approach referred to as SA‐MF using simulated annealing (SA) and a three‐dimensional groundwater flow model (MODFLOW‐2000) to determine the pumping source information, namely the pumping source location, the pumping rate and the pumping period. Eight scenarios, each with various cases for aquifers with homogeneous or heterogeneous conductivities, are used to test the applicability and accuracy of SA‐MF in determining the pumping source information. The results show that at least five measured heads should be used to analyse the pumping source identification problem and at least three observation wells are required to effectively determine the pumping source information. The SA‐MF gives good estimated results in both synthetic and real problems even if the measured heads contain measurement errors. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seasonal changes in imposex and tissue burden of butyltin compounds in Thais clavigera populations along the coastal area of Mirs Bay, China

We assessed the current status of tributyltin (TBT) contamination of Thais clavigera (Gastropoda) along the coastal area of Mirs Bay, China for the first time. The snail samples were collected from 10 different sites in the summer (June) and winter (December) of 2006, respectively. They were analyzed for imposex status, i.e. relative penis size index (RPSI) and vas deferens sequence index (VDSI), followed by quantification of butyltins in their tissues. Most of the collected females suffered from imposex, but the level of butyltin contamination varied with the distance from Yantian Port, which is currently the fourth busiest container port in the world. The tissue concentration of TBT varied with season. For a particular site, the winter samples in general contained much higher concentration of TBT than the summer samples. RPSI, VDSI and organotin concentrations were higher in T. clavigera collected from sites closer to the Port, such as the Seafood Street and Kat O. Both RPSI and VDSI were positively correlated with the tissue burden of tributyltin. VDSI exhibited little seasonal variability, whereas RPSI showed marked seasonal variability, with lower values in the summer samples. The current results will serve as an important reference for long-term monitoring of butyltin contamination in this area.     

Hysteretic model development and seismic response of unbonded post‐tensioned precast CFT segmental bridge columns

The study investigated the cyclic behavior of unbonded, post‐tensioned, precast concrete‐filled tube segmental bridge columns by loading each specimen twice. Moreover, a stiffness‐degrading flag‐shaped (SDFS) hysteretic model was developed based on self‐centering and stiffness‐degrading behaviors. The proposed model overcomes the deficiency of cyclic behavior prediction using a FS model, which self‐centers with fixed elastic and inelastic stiffnesses. Experimental and analytical results showed that (1) deformation capabilities of the column under the first and second cyclic tests were similar; however, energy dissipation capacities significantly differed from each other, and (2) the SDFS model predicted the cyclic response of the column better than the FS model. Inelastic time‐history analyses were performed to demonstrate the dynamic response variability of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom (SDOF) system using both models. A parametric study, performed on SDOF systems subjected to eight historical earthquakes, showed that increased displacement ductility demand was significant for structures with a low period and low‐to‐medium yield strength ratio and reduced displacement ductility demand in these systems was effectively attained by increasing energy dissipation capacity. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mineral Occurrence Target Mapping: A General Iterative Strategy in Prediction Modeling for Mineral Exploration

Natural Resources Research - Procedures are discussed to construct target maps ranking the likelihood of future discoveries: for instance, of gold occurrences, knowing location and spatial context,...