Frequency Domain Response at Pacific Coast Harbors to Major Tsunamis of 2005–2011

Tsunamis waves caused by submarine earthquake or landslide might contain large wave energy, which could cause significant human loss and property damage locally as well as in distant region. The response of three harbors located at the Pacific coast (i.e. Crescent City Harbor, Los Angeles/Long Beach Port, and San Diego Harbor) to six well-known tsunamis events generated (both near-field and far-field) between 2005 and 2011 are examined and simulated using a hybrid finite element numerical model in frequency domain. The model incorporated the effects of wave refraction, wave diffraction, partial wave reflection from boundaries, entrance and bottom energy dissipation. It can be applied to harbor regions with arbitrary shapes and variable water depth. The computed resonant periods or modes of oscillation for three harbors are in good agreement with the energy spectral analysis of the time series of water surface elevations recorded at tide gauge stations inside three harbors during the six tsunamis events. The computed wave induced currents based on the present model are also in qualitative agreement with some of the reported eye-witness accounts absence of reliable current data. The simulated results show that each harbor responded differently and significantly amplified certain wave period(s) of incident wave trains according to the shape, topography, characteristic dimensions and water depth of the harbor basins.     

A drought outlook study in Korea

Abstract

Techniques are proposed for developing a monthly and weekly drought outlook and the drought outlook components are evaluated. A drought index, the surface water supply index (SWSI) was modified and used for the drought outlook. A water balance model (abcd) was successfully calibrated using a regional regression, including monthly and weekly factors, and was used to convert meteorology to hydrology. For the monthly drought outlook, an ensemble technique was applied, both with and without monthly industrial meteorology information (MIMI). For the weekly drought outlook, a deterministic forecasting technique was applied employing the Global Data Assimilation and Prediction System (GDAPS). The methodologies were applied to the Geum River basin in Korea. While only the weekly outlook using the GDAPS has sufficient forecasting capability to suggest it might be useful, the accuracy of the monthly drought outlook is expected to improve as the climate forecast accuracy increases.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Associate editor D. Hughes

Citation Kim, Y.-O., Lee, J.-K., and Palmer, R.N., 2012. A drought outlook study in Korea. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 57 (6), 1141–1153.     

Health impact assessment of marine emissions in Pearl River Delta region

Global marine vessels emissions are adversely affecting human health particularly in southeast Asia. But health burdens from both ocean- and river-going vessels in Pearl River Delta (PRD) regions are not quantified. We estimated the potential health impacts using pooled relative risks of mortality and hospital admissions in China, and the model derived concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), particulate matter (PM₁₀), nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and ozone (O₃) due to vessels emissions. SO₂ concentrations due to marine emissions in Hong Kong were 13.6 μgm^?3 compared with 0.7 μgm^?3 in PRD regions that were far from the marine vessels. In PRD regions, the estimated annual numbers (per million people) of excess deaths from all natural causes and hospital admissions from cardiorespiratory causes attributable to SO₂, NO₂, O₃ and PM₁₀ combined from marine emissions were 45 and 265 respectively. Marine emission control measures could contribute a large reduction in mortality and hospital admissions in PRD regions especially in Hong Kong.     

Modeling the sediment yield from landslides in the Shihmen Reservoir watershed,Taiwan

Landslides generate enormous volumes of sediment in mountainous watersheds; however, quantifying the downstream transport of landslide‐derived sediment remains a challenge. Landslide erosion and sediment delivery to the Shihmen Reservoir watershed in Taiwan was estimated using empirical landslide frequency–area and volume–area relationships, empirical landslide runout models, and the Hydrological Simulation Program‐ FORTRAN (HSPF). Landslide erosion rates ranged from 0.4 mm yr^‐1 to 2.2 mm yr^‐1 during the period 1986–2003, but increased to 7.9 mm yr^‐1 following Typhoon Aere in 2004. The percentage of landslide sediment delivered to streams decreased from 78% during the period 1986–1997 to 55% in 2004. Although the delivery ratio was lower, the volume of landslide sediment delivered to streams was 2.81 × 10⁶ Mg yr^‐1 in 1986–1997 and 8.60 × 10⁶ Mg yr^‐1 in 2004. Model simulations indicate that only a small proportion of the landslide material was delivered downstream. An average of 13% of the landslide material delivered to rivers was moved downstream during the period 1986–1997. In 2004, the period including Typhoon Aere, the annual fluvial sediment yield accounted for approximately 23% of the landslide material delivered to streams. In general, the transfer of sediment in the fluvial system in the Shihmen Reservoir watershed is dominantly transport limited. The imbalance between sediment supply and transport capacity has resulted in a considerable quantity of landslide material remaining in the upper‐stream regions of the watershed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adsorption of Complex Pollutants from Aqueous Solutions by Nanocomposite Materials

In view of water pollutants becoming more complex, both anionic and cationic pollutants need to be removed. The multi‐pollutants simultaneous removal is paid more and more attention. Hence, development composite materials for treatment complex wastewater are the aim of this study. In this research, iron–nickel nanoparticles deposited onto aluminum oxide (α‐Al₂O₃) and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) to form nanocomposite materials Fe–Ni/Al₂O₃ and Fe–Ni/CNTs, respectively, were used as adsorbents. The adsorption capacities of Fe–Ni/Al₂O₃ and Fe–Ni/CNTs for AO7, HSeO, and Pb²⁺ were observed to be 5.46, 8.28, 27.02, and 25.6 mg/g, 15.29 and 17.12 mg/g, separately. The composite materials with negative charges were superior in adsorption of anionic pollutants. Using orthogonal experimental design and analysis of variance to co‐treat dye AO7, HSeO and Pb²⁺ in aqueous solutions, seven testing factors were included: (1) adsorbent types, (2) amount of iron, (3) solution pHs, (4) AO7 concentrations, (5) Pb²⁺ concentrations, (6) HSeO concentrations and (7) reaction time. The experimental results showed that the removal of complex pollutants AO7, HSeO, and Pb²⁺ on Fe–Ni/CNTs could reach up to 90% in the optimal treatment conditions. When using Fe–Ni/CNTs as the adsorbent, the sorption isothermals were well fitted in the Freundlich isotherm, and R² could reach up to 0.98.     

Differential signal of change among multiple components of West African rainfall

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - Rainfall components likely differ in the magnitude and direction of their long-term changes for any given location, and some rainfall components may carry a...     

Single-grain OSL dating of glaciofluvial quartz constrains Reid glaciation in NW Canada to MIS 6

Improved chronological control on the penultimate advance of the Cordilleran Ice Sheet in northwest Canada (the Reid glaciation) is required for a better understanding of late Quaternary palaeoclimatic and palaeoenvironmental change in eastern Beringia. However, reliable dating of glaciation events beyond the last glacial maximum is commonly hindered by a lack of directly dateable material. In this study we (i) provide the first combined minimum and maximum age constraint on the Reid glaciation at Ash Bend, its reference locale in the Stewart River valley, northwestern Canadian Cordillera, using single-grain optically stimulated luminescence dating of quartz; and (ii) compare the timing of the Reid glaciation with other penultimate ice sheet advances in the region with the aim of establishing improved glacial reconstructions in eastern Beringia. We obtain ages of 158 ± 18 ka and 132 ± 18 ka for glaciofluvial sands overlying and underlying the Reid till, respectively. These ages indicate that the Reid advance, at its reference locale, occurred during MIS 6. This precludes an earlier MIS 8 age, and suggests that the Reid advance may have been synchronous with the Delta glaciation of central Alaska, and is likely correlative with the Mirror Creek glaciation in southern Yukon.     

Increased As load to the Uchen stream due to mine drainage and soils in the abandoned Kangwon mining district of Korea

To determine the appropriate allocation of resources for the future restoration of the abandoned mining district of Kangwon in Korea, identification of the main pollutants and the main sources discharging these pollutants is crucial. Therefore, a 2-year study was undertaken to quantify the amount of pollutants in the Uchen stream (a potential sink for contamination), which runs through the district, and to determine the potential sources of these pollutants, including mine drainage and soil. Arsenic (As) was the main pollutant in mine drainage and soils showing concentrations above the Korean regulated standard levels of 50 μg L⁻¹ and 50 mg kg⁻¹ for water and soil, respectively. In addition, the pollution index (PI) showed that mine drainages were polluted by As to a moderate (2 ≤ PI < 3) or strong (4 ≤ PI < 5) degree. Consequently, As load in mine drainage and soil contributed to increased amounts of As in the stream. The As loads in mine drainages (11 and 587 g month⁻¹ for mine adit 1 and 2, respectively) accounted for only 9% of the total As load to the stream (6,378 g month⁻¹); and the influence of mine drainages on As contents in the stream was more reliant on the total volume of mine drainage generated rather than the As concentration in the mine drainage. Approximately 91% of the As in the stream was derived from the soils within the study area.     

The 2010 Yushu earthquake triggered landslide hazard mapping using GIS and weight of evidence modeling

The Yushu County, Qinghai Province, China, April 14, 2010, earthquake triggered thousands of landslides in a zone between 96°20′32.9″E and 97°10′8.9″E, and 32°52′6.7″N and 33°19′47.9″N. This study examines the use of geographic information system (GIS) technology and Bayesian statistics in creating a suitable landslide hazard-zone map of good predictive power. A total of 2,036 landslides were interpreted from high-resolution aerial photographs and multi-source satellite images pre- and post-earthquake, and verified by selected field checking before a final landslide-inventory map of the study area could be established using GIS software. The 2,036 landslides were randomly partitioned into two subsets: a training dataset, which contains 80 % (1,628 landslides), for training the model; and a testing dataset 20 % (408 landslides). Twelve earthquake triggered landslide associated controlling parameters, such as elevation, slope gradient, slope aspect, slope curvature, topographic position, distance from main surface ruptures, peak ground acceleration, distance from roads, normalized difference vegetation index, distance from drainages, lithology, and distance from all faults were obtained from variety of data sources. Landslide hazard indices were calculated using the weight of evidence model. The landslide hazard map was compared with training data and testing data to obtain the success rate and predictive rate of the model, respectively. The validation results showed satisfactory agreement between the hazard map and the existing landslide distribution data. The success rate is 80.607 %, and the predictive rate is 78.855 %. The resulting landslide hazard map showed five classes of landslide hazard, i.e., very high, high, moderate, low and very low. The landslide hazard evaluation map should be useful for environmental recovery planning and reconstruction work.     

Ensemble-based landslide susceptibility maps in Jinbu area, Korea

Ensemble techniques were developed, applied and validated for the analysis of landslide susceptibility in Jinbu area, Korea using the geographic information system (GIS). Landslide-occurrence areas were detected in the study by interpreting aerial photographs and field survey data. Landslide locations were randomly selected in a 70/30 ratio for training and validation of the models, respectively. Topography, geology, soil and forest databases were also constructed. Maps relevant to landslide occurrence were assembled in a spatial database. Using the constructed spatial database, 17 landslide-related factors were extracted. The relationships between the detected landslide locations and the factors were identified and quantified by frequency ratio, weight of evidence, logistic regression and artificial neural network models and their ensemble models. The relationships were used as factor ratings in the overlay analysis to create landslide susceptibility indexes and maps. Then, the four landslide susceptibility maps were used as new input factors and integrated using the frequency ratio, weight of evidence, logistic regression and artificial neural network models as ensemble methods to make better susceptibility maps. All of the susceptibility maps were validated by comparison with known landslide locations that were not used directly in the analysis. As the result, the ensemble-based landslide susceptibility map that used the new landslide-related input factor maps showed better accuracy (87.11% in frequency ratio, 83.14% in weight of evidence, 87.79% in logistic regression and 84.54% in artificial neural network) than the individual landslide susceptibility maps (84.94% in frequency ratio, 82.82% in weight of evidence, 87.72% in logistic regression and 81.44% in artificial neural network). All accuracy assessments showed overall satisfactory agreement of more than 80%. The ensemble model was found to be more effective in terms of prediction accuracy than the individual model.