Water Resource Development in the Quaternary Ryukyu Limestone Regions of Japan:Application of the GIS to the Site Selection of Underground Dams

Based on the natural and social conditions as well as hydrogeological characteristics of the Ryukyu limestone, a major aquifer in the Ryukyu Islands, a conception of underground dam, was proposed in the early 1970s in order to develop ground water resources in the Quaternary Ryukyu limestone regions of Japan. The practice of nearly thirty years has shown that the underground dam is an environment-friendly and effective way for developing ground water in these regions.To further improve the technology associated with underground dam, the authors introduced related analytic methods. The application of the geographical information system technology to site selection of the underground dam is reported in this paper.     

Effects of alumina refinery wastewater and signature metal constituents at the upper thermal tolerance of: 2. The early life stages of the coral Acropora tenuis

The success of early life history transitions of the coral Acropora tenuis were used as endpoints to evaluate thermal stress and the effects of wastewater discharged to a tropical marine environment. The studies assessed the effects of: (i) temperature; (ii) three signature metals of the wastewater, aluminium (Al), vanadium (V) and gallium (Ga); and (iii) the wastewater (at 27 °C and 32 °C) on fertilisation and larval metamorphosis. The median inhibition temperatures for fertilisation and metamorphosis were 32.8 °C and 33.0 °C, respectively. Fertilisation IC₅₀s for Al, V and Ga were 2997, 2884 and 3430 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Metamorphosis IC₅₀s for Al, V and Ga were 1945, 675 and 3566 μg L⁻¹, respectively. The wastewater only affected fertilisation and metamorphosis at moderate concentrations (IC₅₀s = 63% and 67%, v/v, respectively, at 27 °C), posing a low risk to this species in the field. The effects of wastewater and temperature on fertilisation and metamorphosis were additive.     

Vertical crustal motion observed in the BIFROST project

This paper reports from investigations on the robustness of estimated rates of intraplate motion from the continuous GPS project BIFROST (Baseline Inferences from Fennoscandian Rebound Observations, Sealevel and Tectonics). We study loading effects due to ocean, atmosphere and hydrology and their impact on estimated rate parameters. We regularly find the admittance of a modelled perturbation at less than fifty percent of the full effect. We think that the finding relates to a difficult noise situation at all periods, and that a satisfying model for the dominating noise source has not been found yet. An additional reason for low admittance is found in the mapping process of the no-fiducial network solution into a conventional reference frame.     

Anomalous particle-production thresholds through systematic and non-systematic quantum-gravity effects

A growing number of studies is being devoted to the identification of plausible quantum properties of spacetime which might give rise to observably large effects. The literature on this subject is now relatively large, including studies in string theory, loop quantum gravity and non-commutative geometry. It is useful to divide the various proposals into proposals involving a systematic quantum-gravity effect (an effect that would shift the main/average prediction for a given observable quantity) and proposals involving a non-systematic quantum-gravity effect (an effect that would introduce new fundamental uncertanties in some observable quantity). The case of quantum-gravity-induced particle-production-threshold anomalies, a much studied example of potentially observable quantum-gravity effect, is here used as an example to illustrate the differences to be expected between systematic and non-systematic effects.     

Heavy metals in mass species of bivalves in Ha Long Bay (South China Sea,Vietnam)

To characterize the terrigenous, anthropogenic, and technogenous impacts upon the ecosystems of coral reefs in the shallow-water Ha Long Bay, which was declared by UNESCO to be a world natural heritage site, the levels of Fe, Mn, Zn, Cd, Pb, and Ni in the soft tissues of six mass species of bivalve mollusks from island coastal waters were studied. Taking into account the abundance and distribution, as well as the capability to represent the geochemical conditions of the environment, for further biomonitoring of heavy metal contents in the coastal waters of the bay, the following species were recommended: Septifer binocularis, Barbatia amygdalumtostum, and Isognomon isognomon.     

Downward export of carbon by diel migrant mesozooplankton in the central equatorial Pacific

Using data collected during cruises of the JGOFS equatorial Pacific Study in March/April and October of 1992 at the equator (140°W), we examine the downward transport of carbon by three size classes of die] migrant mesozooplankton (200–500 gm, 500–1000 μm and 1000–2000 gm). In addition to respiratory carbon flux, we consider the flux due to mortality of migrators below the euphotic zone. Diel migrant mesozooplankton biomass was estimated from the difference between nighttime and daytime biomass within the euphotic zone. Except for a four-day period early in the March/April cruise, mesozooplankton nighttime biomass was significantly larger than daytime biomass within the euphotic zone during both cruises. We estimate that the downward flux of carbon from the euphotic zone due to mesozooplankton die] vertical migrators was an average of 0.6 mmol Cm⁻² d⁻¹ and 1.1 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹ during the March/April and October cruises, respectively. Addition of this flux to the gravitational particle sinking flux estimated from²³⁴Th measurements during the same period results in a 31 % increase in the carbon export flux from the euphotic zone in the equatorial Pacific during the March/April cruise and a 44% increase in the October cruise. The migratory flux is strongly dependent on whether feeding takes place below the euphoric zone, the length of time migrators spend in the deep waters, and the mortality rate of migrators.     

Organic geochemistry and source potential of the lacustrine shales of the Upper Triassic - Lower Jurassic Kap Stewart Formation, East Greenland

The Upper Triassic — Lower Jurassic Kap Stewart Formation (Jameson Land, East Greenland) has been studied by a combination of sedimentological and organic geochemical methods (LECO/Rock Eval, sulphur, gas chromatography) in order to assess the hydrocarbon source potential of the abundant and extensive lacustrine shale intervals present in the formation.The organic matter in the shales is a mixture of algal and higher plant remains (type I and III kerogen). An organic assemblage dominated by algal material, having a rich oil potential, occurs in an interval approximately 10–15 m thick in the uppermost part of the formation. This interval has an organic carbon content up to 10% and Hydrogen Index values up to 700. The interval is consistently traceable along the exposed margins and the central part of the basin. The deposition of the uppermost shale interval coincided with the largest expansion of the lake, during a period with a stratified water column and anoxic bottom-water conditions.Locally the rocks exposed are thermally postmature due to the thermal influence of dolerite sills which intruded the Kap Stewart Formation in Tertiary time. However, the organic-rich shale interval is beyond the influence of the sills and indicates a maturity prior to or in the early stages of oil generation.Calculations of the generative potential of the lacustrine source rocks suggest that significant amounts of petroleum may have been generated in those sediments which have undergone sufficient burial in the southern and central part of the basin. Here, the contemporaneously deposited delta front and barrier island sandstones can thus be considered as potential targets for future hydrocarbon exploration. This type of play may also be of importance in other North Atlantic basins with a similar basin history.