A Holistic Approach to Upwelling and Downwelling along the South-West Coast of India

An attempt has been made to develop a holistic understanding of upwelling and downwelling along the south-west coast of India. The main objective was to elucidate the roles of different forcings involved in the vertical motion along this coast. The south-west coast of India was characterized by upwelling during the south-west monsoon (May to September) and by downwelling during the north-east monsoon and winter (November to February). The average vertical velocity calculated along the south-west coast from the vertical shift of the 26?°C isotherm is 0.57?m/day during upwelling and 0.698?m/day during downwelling. It was concluded that upwelling along the south-west coast of India is driven by offshore Ekman transport due to the alongshore wind, Ekman pumping, horizontal divergence of currents and by the propagation of coastally trapped waves. Whereas downwelling along the coast is driven only by convergence of currents and the propagation of coastally trapped Kelvin waves. Along the west coast of India, the downwelling-favorable Kelvin waves come from the equator and upwelling-favorable waves come from the Gulf of Mannar region.     

Recent and fossil resins from New Zealand and Australia

The carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance spectra of fossil resins from New Zealand and Australia have been compared with those of modern and semifossilized materials. The great majority of the fossilized samples have strong spectral similarities to modern Agathis resins and to North American fossil resins, which have been attributed to Agathis. The Agathis-related spectra are different from those of modern Hymenaea and Araucaria. A small subgroup of Late Cretaceous resins from Australia and Papua New Guinea appears to derive from a different botanical source and shows strong resemblances to Claiborne amber from Arkansas. The spectral resonances of the exomethylene carbons degrade over time and on average provide an approximate measure of the geological age of Agathis-related fossil resins. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A comparative study between China and U.S. on seismic design philosophy and practice of a long span arch bridge

This paper presents the first of a series of case studies on the seismic design of long span bridges （cable-stayed bridges, suspension bridges and arch bridges） under a cooperative research project on seismic behavior and design of highway bridges between the State Key Laboratory for Disaster Reduction in Civil Engineering, Tongji University and the Multidisciplinary Center for Earthquake Engineering Research, University at Buffalo. The objective of this series of case studies is to examine the differences and similarities on the seismic design practice of long span bridges in China and the U.S., to identify research needs and to develop design guidelines beneficial to bridge engineers in both countries. Unlike short to medium span bridges, long span bridges are not included in most seismic design specifications, mainly because they are location dependent and structurally unique. In this paper, an available model of a steel tied half through arch bridge with a main span of 550m in China is discussed. Analysis is focused on comparisons of the seismic responses due to different ground motions. Seismic design criteria and seismic performance requirements for long span bridges in both countries were first introduced and compared, and then three near field earthquake records with large vertical components were selected as the excitations to examine the seismic behavior and seismic vulnerability of the bridge. Results show that （1） the selected near field ground motions cause larger responses to key components （critical sections） of the bridge （such as arch rib ends） with a maximum increase of more than twice those caused by the site specific ground motions; （2） piers, longitudinal girders and arch crowns are more vulnerable to vertical motions, especially their axial forces; and （3） large vertical components of near field ground motions may not significantly affect the bridge＇s internal forces provided that their peak acceleration spectra ordinates only appear at periods of less than 0.2s. However, they may have more influence on the longitudinal displacements of sliding bearings due to their large displacement spectra ordinates at the fundamental period of the bridge.     

Holocene landscape evolution and its impact on the neolithic and bronze age sites in the Shangqiu area,Northern China

The Shangqiu area, situated on the alluvial plain of the lower Yellow River, is traditionally considered the center of the predynastic and early Shang culture. Archaeologic remains dating to predynastic and dynastic Shang periods, however, have remained elusive. The current pattern of Neolithic and Bronze Age sites is characterized by their upland settings; and it has been often assumed that the area had the same landscape from the Neolithic through recent historic time. The potential impact of geomorphic processes on these early sites has been hardly considered in developing archaeologic models of temporal and spatial distribution of these sites. This article first presents a reconstruction of the Holocene floodplain history in the archaeologically significant area. On the basis of stratigraphy and sedimentology, a Holocene landscape evolution model is constructed to explore the interrelationship between evolving landscape and archaeologic record of the Neolithic and Bronze Age. The prolonged landscape stability from very late Pleistocene or early Holocene to 2000 yr B. P. provided potential Neolithic and Bronze Age human occupation with a favorable physical environment. After 2000 yr B. P., the hydrologic regime changed and the floodplain experienced 2-3 m of gradual vertical accretion during the following millennium. In response to the dramatic change of hydro-logic regime after the early 12th century A. D., a new floodplain formed by dominantly overbank deposition, and the old floodplain surfaces are covered by as much as ten meters of the younger alluvium. As a result, a pronounced effect has been imposed on the preservation, visibility, and discovery of the Neolithic and Bronze Age sites, including those sites of predynastic and early Shang phases. Thus, much difficulty has been imparted to our understanding of the configuration of these early archaeologic sites. This study demonstrates the usefulness of landscape reconstruction in developing settlement models of Neolithic and Bronze age sites in the area.     

Appraisal of Hydraulic Flow Units and Factors of the Dynamics and Contamination of Hydrogeological Units in the Littoral Zones: A Case Study of Akwa Ibom State University and Its Environs,Mkpat Enin L.G.A,Nigeria

Natural Resources Research - Borehole-controlled one-dimensional geo-electric data were integrated with water samples obtained from boreholes drilled near the vertical electrical sounding at 12...     

A study of the chemistry of iodine and bromine in marine sediments

Several recent marine sediments were treated with eleven chemical reagents in order to ascertain the iodine and bromine species present. The sediments were analyzed before and after each treatment to determine which reagents released the bound halogens. By a process of elimination it is concluded that the iodine is present primarily in its electro-positive state as N-iodoamides while bromine exists in many different chemical forms.     

Effects of pulsed nutrient inputs on phytoplankton assemblage structure and blooms in an enclosed coastal area

The response of phytoplankton assemblage structure to terrestrial nutrient inputs was examined for the Gulf of Kalloni in the Northern Aegean Sea, a productive semi-enclosed coastal marine ecosystem. The study was focused on a typical annual cycle, and emphasis was placed on the comparative analysis between blooms developing after significant nutrient inputs from the watershed, and naturally occurring blooms. Baseline information was collected on a monthly basis from a network of stations located in the oligotrophic open sea and the interior and more productive part of the embayment. Intensive sampling was also carried out along a gradient in the vicinity of a river which was the most important source of freshwater and nutrient input for the Gulf. Phytoplankton assemblage structure was analyzed from 188 samples using diversity indices (Shannon and Average Taxonomic Distinctness), multivariate plotting methods (NMDS), multivariate statistics (PERMANOVA), and canonical correspondence analysis (CCA). Three characteristic assemblages were recognized: (1) an autumn assemblage developed under nutrient depleted conditions, having low diversity due to the dominance of two small diatoms, (2) a winter bloom of the potentially toxic species Pseudo-nitzschia calliantha occurring immediately after a nutrient peak and characterized by very low diversity, and (3) a naturally occurring early summer bloom of centric diatoms with relatively high diversity. The results of the study support the view that moderate nutrient inputs may have a beneficial effect on the functioning of coastal ecosystems, stimulating the taxonomic diversity through the growth of different taxonomic groups and taxa. On the other hand, a sudden pulse of high nutrient concentrations may greatly affect the natural succession of organisms, have a negative effect on the diversity through the dominance of a single species, and can increase the possibility of a harmful algal bloom development.     

A model of the late universe with viscous Zel’ldovich fluid and decaying vacuum

Many have speculated about the presence of a stiff fluid in very early stage of the universe. Such a stiff fluid was first introduced by Zel’dovich. Recently the late acceleration of the universe was studied by taking bulk viscous stiff fluid as the dominant cosmic component, but the age predicted by such a model is less than the observed value. We consider a flat universe with viscous stiff fluid and decaying vacuum energy as the cosmic components and found that the model predicts a reasonable background evolution of the universe with de Sitter epoch as end phase of expansion. More over, the model also predicts a reasonable value for the age of the present universe. We also performed a dynamical system analysis of the model and found that the end de Sitter phase predicted by the model is stable.     

Predicting saturation of gas hydrates using pre-stack seismic data, Gulf of Mexico

A promising method for gas hydrates exploration incorporates pre-stack seismic inversion data, elastic properties modeling, and seismic interpretation to predict saturation of gas hydrates (Sgh). The technology can be modified slightly and used for predicting hydrate concentrations in shallow arctic locations as well. Examples from Gulf of Mexico Walker Ridge (WR) and Green Canyon (GC) protraction areas illustrate how Sgh was derived and used to support the selection of well locations to be drilled for gas hydrates in sand reservoirs by the Chevron-led Joint Industry Project (JIP) Leg II cruise in 2009. Concentrations of hydrates were estimated through the integration of seismic inversion of carefully conditioned pre-stack data, seismic stratigraphic interpretation, and shallow rock property modeling. Rock property trends were established by applying principles of rock physics and shallow sediment compaction, constrained by regional geological knowledge. No nearby sonic or density logs were available to define the elastic property trends in the zone of interest. Sgh volumes were generated by inverting pre-stack data to acoustic and shear impedance (PI and SI) volumes, and then analyzing deviations from modeled impedance trends. In order to enhance the quality of the inversion, we stress the importance of maximizing the signal to noise ratio of the offset data by conditioning seismic angle gathers prior to inversion. Seismic interpretation further plays an important role by identifying false anomalies such as hard, compact strata, which can produce apparent high Sgh values, and by identifying the more promising strata and structures for containing the hydrates. This integrated workflow presents a highly promising methodology, appropriate for the exploration of gas hydrates.     

Private rights,public benefits: Industry-driven seabed protection

New Zealand has a large exclusive economic zone (EEZ) that contains a variety of marine habitats and commercially-important species. The commercial fishing industry operating within New Zealand's EEZ is of significant value to the economy and fisheries resources are managed through the extensive use of Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs). One of the benefits of ITQs has been to better align some of the private incentives of quota owners with the public interest. These incentives contributed to an initiative proposed by the fishing industry to close large areas of New Zealand's EEZ to protect the seabed from trawling. These closed areas are termed benthic protection areas (BPAs) and protect the benthic biodiversity of about 1.1 million square kilometres of seabed—approximately 30% of New Zealand's EEZ. A significant proportion of New Zealand's known seamounts and active hydrothermal vents are protected by these closed areas. We describe and discuss the criteria used to select BPAs and some of the criticism of this marine protection initiative. We argue that the assignment of strong property rights in fishing resources was an important precondition to an industry initiative that has a significant public benefit. Where private and public interests are well aligned, government can adopt an enabling and facilitation role, ceding direct control of processes in order to get the results the align with the public interest.