Peak response of 2-DOF uncoupled oscillator under two-directional base motion

This paper investigates the peak response of a 2-DOF uncoupled linear oscillator under arbitrarily oriented two-component horizontal earthquake motion. Input data consist of 22 two-component acceleration records from the magnitude 6.6, October 15, 1979 Imperial Valley earthquake. One-directional response spectra for each principal direction of the oscillator, and two-directional response spectra (amplitude of the peak resultant response and its direction with respect to principal directions) are calculated by considering all angles of incidence of the excitation. The results indicate that, for oscillators that are not too flexible (i.e. with natural frequencies greater than 0.8 Hz), the two-directional peak response is controlled by the weaker direction of the oscillator. For flexible oscillators the two-directional peak response is controlled by the direction whose natural frequency is closer to dominant ground motion frequencies. The results also show that when the two-directional peak response is expressed as a weighted sum of one-directional peak responses, the weighting factors are not constants, but functions of oscillator and dominant ground motion frequencies.     

Changes in the hydrography of Central California waters associated with the 1997–98 El Niño

Oceanographic conditions off Central California were monitored by means of a series of 13 hydrographic cruises between February 1997 and January 1999, which measured water properties along an oceanographic section perpendicular to the California Coast. The 1997–98 El Niño event was defined by higher than normal sea levels at Monterey, which began in June 1997, peaked in November 1997, and returned to normal in March 1998. The warming took place in two distinct periods. During June and July 1997, the sea level increased as a result of stronger than normal coastal warming below 200 dbars and within 100 km of the coast, which was associated with poleward flow of saltier waters. During this period, deeper (400–1000 dbar) waters between 150–200 km from shore were also warmed and became more saline. Subsequently, sea level continued to rise through January 1998, mostly as a result of the warming above 200 dbars although, after a brief period of cooling in September 1997, waters below 200 dbar were also warmer than normal during this period. This winter warm anomaly was also coastally trapped, extending 200 km from shore and was accompanied by cooler and fresher water in the offshore California current. In March and April 1998, sea level dropped quickly to normal levels and inshore waters were fresher and warmer than the previous spring and flowed southward.The warming was consistent with equatorial forcing of Central California waters via propagation of Kelvin or coastally-trapped waves. The observed change in heat content associated with the 1997–98 El Niño was the same as that observed during the previous seasonal cycle. The warming and freshening events were similar to events observed during the 1957–58 and 1982–83 El Niños.     

Residential segregation and housing in Berlin: changes since unification

This paper examines the spatial patterns and extent of residential segregation in Berlin at the time of unification, and also considers changes since that date. Residential segregation is differentiated into three components - demographic, socio-economic and ethnic. For all these dimensions, segregation depends on housing provision and the rules of admission to various segments of the housing market. The former differences in housing regulations in East and West Berlin are therefore of importance, as well as changes since unification. The paper shows that before unification demographic segregation was more prominent in East Berlin, whilst socio-economic segregation was more pronounced in West Berlin. Ethnic minority communities in West Berlin had developed from the immigration of guestworkers and their families, with moderate levels of segregation: however in East Berlin there were very few foreign contract workers present throughout the 1980s. In spite of the short time-period since unification, there are clear signs of convergence between the segregation patterns in the two parts of the city. Nevertheless, it is argued that population movements between East and West are still remarkably low, so that differences in the population patterns will continue to exist for some time to come. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The hydrological response of soil surfaces to rainfall as affected by cover and position of rock fragments in the top layer

Rainfall experiments have been conducted in the laboratory in order to assess the hydrological response of top soils very susceptible to surface sealing and containing rock fragments in different positions with respect to the soil surface. For a given cover level, rock fragment position in the top soil has an ambivalent effect on water intake and runoff generation. Compared to a bare soil surface rock fragments increase water intake rates as well as time of runoff concentration and decrease runoff volume if they rest on the soil surface. For the same cover level, rock fragments reduce infiltration rate and enhance runoff generation if they are well embedded in the top layer. The effects of rock fragment position on infiltration rate and runoff generation are proportional to cover percentage. Micromorphological analysis and measurements of the saturated hydraulic conductivity of bare top soils and of the top layer underneath rock fragments resting on the soil surface reveal significant differences supporting the mechanism proposed by Poesen (1986): i.e. runoff generated as rock flow or as Horton overland flow can (partly) infiltrate into the unsealed soil surface under the rock fragments, provided that they are not completely embedded in the top layer. Hence, rock fragment position, beside other rock fragment properties, should be taken into account when assessing the hydrological response of soils susceptible to surface sealing and containing rock fragments in their surface layers. A simple model, based on the proportions of bare soil surface, soil surface occupied by embedded rock fragments, and soil surface covered with rock fragments resting on the soil surface, describes the runoff coefficient data relatively well.     

Distribution and possible sources of organochlorine residues in sediments of a large urban estuary,Port Jackson,Sydney

Sydney Harbour is surrounded by a large capital city of about four million people and its highly urbanised (86%) catchment supports a substantial industrial base and an extensive transport infrastructure. Large commercial and naval ports occupy the waterway and the harbour is an important recreational area. Surficial sediment in Sydney Harbour contains high concentrations of PCBs, HCB, total chlordane, total DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, heptachlor and heptachlor‐epoxide, but low concentrations of lindane. PCBs, total chlordane, and to a lesser extent dieldrin, are most elevated in sediment in creeks on the southern shores of the harbour suggesting sources within older, highly urbanised/industrialised catchments of western‐central Sydney. There are high concentrations of total DDT and HCB in sediments of the upper harbour and Homebush Bay suggesting that chemical industries on the shores of the estuary in this area are sources of these contaminants. Although no sediment quality guidelines apply in Australia, empirically derived biological effects criteria suggest that sediment over extensive areas of Sydney Harbour may have an adverse impact on biota. Especially of concern are sediments containing high concentrations of chlordane and DDT.     

Changes in current regime and turbidity in response to a freshwater pulse in the eastmain estuary

In September 1984, the freshwater input to the Eastmain River (James Bay, Canada) was increased by a factor of 50 over a 6-d period during a controlled reservoir discharge. Changes to the current, salinity and turbidity regimes were monitored during the peak runoff. Estuarine salinity values fell rapidly with increasing mean flow, as did the amplitude of the semi-diurnal tidal currents. A large increase in bottom shear stress dispersed the settled suspension layer into the water column, raising concentrations of suspended matter in the estuary by a factor of 4 in 3 d. The peak values exceeded 150 mg I^?1. This led to erosion of the river silt deposits, with the export of an estimated 6 × 10⁴ metric tons of sediments. After the reduction of discharge, current values returned to their normal range within a day, whereas upstream salinity intrusion occurred at a slower rate. Horizontal diffusivities of about 100 m² s^?1 were required to match the observed lag.     

Large‐scale connectivity of fluvio‐deltaic stratigraphy: Inferences from simulated accommodation‐to‐supply cycles and automated extraction of chronosomes

Multiscale simulation of fluvio‐deltaic stratigraphy was used to quantify the elements of the geometry and architectural arrangement of sub‐seismic‐scale fluvial‐to‐shelf sedimentary segments. We conducted numerical experiments of fluvio‐deltaic system evolution by simulating the accommodation‐to‐sediment‐supply (A/S) cycles of varying wavelength and amplitude with the objective to produce synthetic 3‐D stratigraphic records. Post‐processing routines were developed in order to investigate delta lobe architecture in relation to channel‐network evolution throughout A/S cycles, estimate net sediment accumulation rates in 3‐D space, and extract chronostratigraphically constrained lithosomes (or chronosomes) to quantify large‐scale connectivity, that is, the spatial distribution of high net‐to‐gross lithologies. Chronosomes formed under the conditions of channel‐belt aggradation are separated by laterally continuous abandonment surfaces associated with major avulsions and delta‐lobe switches. Chronosomes corresponding to periods in which sea level drops below the inherited shelf break, that is, the youngest portions of the late falling stage systems tract (FSST), form in the virtual absence of major avulsions, owing to the incision in their upstream parts, and thus display purely degradational architecture. Detailed investigation of chronosomes within the late FSST showed that their spatial continuity may be disrupted by higher‐frequency A/S cycles to produce “stranded” sand‐rich bodies encased in shales. Chronosomes formed during early and late falling stage (FSST) demonstrate the highest large‐scale connectivity in their proximal and distal areas, respectively. Lower‐amplitude base level changes, representative of greenhouse periods during which the shelf break is not exposed, increase the magnitude of delta‐lobe switching and favour the development of system‐wide abandonment surfaces, whose expression in real‐world stratigraphy is likely to reflect the intertwined effects of high‐frequency allogenic forcing and differential subsidence.