Surge impact behavior of granular flows: effects of water content

Understanding the fundamental dynamics of interaction between multi-phase geophysical flows and engineering structures is crucial for mitigating geophysical hazards. Specifically, liquid phase between particles induces matric suction which could play a significant part in regulating flow dynamics and warrants further consideration. In this study, flume model tests were conducted to investigate the effects of water content (0–30%) on the impact behavior of granular flows. The particle image velocimetry technique was adopted to visualize the impact kinematics and the impact force was measured through a model barrier system. Results revealed that, besides geometric effects (kinetic sieving), mechanical effects (shearing and collision) are also vital for the mechanism of reverse segregation. At higher water contents, 20 and 30% in this study, discrete-surge impact, rather than a progressive impact process, was observed. The discrete surges induce impulses on the barrier. The discrete surges result from self-organization of unsaturated granular flows to overcome the enhanced shear strength induced by matric suction. Finally, a dimensionless index, namely the suction number, is used to quantify the effect of suction on the dynamic behavior of granular flows. Even for large-scale geophysical flows, if the content of fine particles is high, effect of suction should not be neglected.     

Performance of ethylene-vinyl acetate foam as cushioning material for rigid debris-resisting barriers

This paper reports an investigation on the performance of ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) foam when used as a cushion layer for rigid barriers used to resist debris flow. Large-scale pendulum impact tests were conducted to study the effects of layer thickness on cushion performance under six successive impacts. Results show that for the first impact at 70 kJ, the peak contact force with the EVA foam thickness of 500 mm is about twice larger compared to that of 1000 mm. Results also reveal that the cushion mechanism of elastic collapse of cell walls in the EVA foam results in peak contact forces and maximum transmitted loads that are up to 30 and 50% lower compared to gabions for the first impact at 70 kJ, respectively. The elastic behavior of EVA foam provides consistent cushioning efficiency. Furthermore, EVA foam is found to be susceptible to degradation by ultraviolet light so that a suitable coating layer is required for outdoor use. Polyurea was identified as a suitable coating material and a small-scale coating trial was performed to confirm this. Findings presented in this paper will have direct implications on the future design of cushion layers for rigid barriers used to intercept debris flows.     

Review of smartphone applications for geoscience: current status,limitations, and future perspectives

Smartphones can be utilized in the field of geosciences for various purposes due to their multifaceted abilities that combine both hard- and software features. The unique abilities of smartphones allow new methodologies for the collection and visualization of data that rarely become available in traditional computing platforms. In this study, commercially available smartphone applications (apps) that have been released in geoscience (e.g., geology/soil, minerals and rocks, petroleum and gas) so far were investigated. The apps were categorized based on the extent of smartphone feature usage into (a) basic, standard-feature apps; (b) calculator and referencing apps; and (c) sensing and communication apps. Furthermore, each of these categories was divided into several app groups based on specific features. Representative apps of each specific app group were selected and their characteristics and applicability were examined. Lastly, major limitations regarding smartphone app development and implementation in geoscience and implications for future improvements were discussed.     

Dissolved Pb Concentrations and Stable Pb Isotope Ratios in the Ulleung Basin,East/Japan Sea

Ocean Science Journal - The spatial distributions of dissolved lead (Pb) concentrations and stable Pb isotope ratios in the Ulleung Basin, East/Japan Sea, were investigated to identify the Pb...     

A Three-Dimensional Analytical Model of the Interstellar Extinction within the Nearest Kiloparsec

Astronomy Letters - We present a new version of our analytical model of the spatial interstellar extinction variations within the nearest kiloparsec from the Sun. This model treats the...     

Molecular diversity of phytoplankton in the East China Sea around Jeju Island (Korea), unraveled by pyrosequencing

The East China Sea (ECS) around Jeju Island lies in a transitional region between the temperate and subtropical zones and is influenced by the Kuroshio Current. Hence, this area has been considered an important monitoring site for oceanic ecosystem changes. Herein, we assessed the community structure and diversity of the phytoplankton in the ECS around Jeju Island using small subunit ribosomal RNA pyrosequencing. We analyzed eight samples collected from the surface and at 30 m- and/or 50-m depths from two neritic and oceanic stations each from 24–30 April 2011. Comparisons of 15,498 pyrosequences identified 172 phylotypes of phytoplankton, excluding cyanobacteria, from the four surface stations. These pyrosequences were represented by dinoflagellates (29 %), stramenopiles (31 %), and chlorophytes (>39 %), with minor contributions from cryptophytes, haptophytes, and Telonemia. Phylotypes retrieved at 30- and 50-m depths were very similar to the surface samples. However, phylotype diversity and community structure varied considerably with the stations. Dominant phylotypes included Karlodinium veneficum, Ostreococcus tauri, Skeletonema marinoi, and Thalassiosira curviseriata, and many of the detected phylotypes include new records for the present study area. This study provides a valuable phylotype reference for future phytoplankton community structure and diversity studies with regard to marine environmental changes.     

Threshold value of Benthic Pollution Index (BPI) for a muddy healthy benthic faunal community and its application to Jinhae Bay in the southern coast of Korea

For the determination of benthic community health criteria of a biotic index, Benthic Pollution Index (BPI), the faunal data on macrobenthic community of Deukryang Bay collected in 2012 were used. Each macrobenthic fauna was classified into 4 functional groups according to their feeding and life history strategies and BPI was calculated using the abundance of fauna for these functional groups. Amphipods were the dominant faunal group belonging to Functional Group (FG) II in Deukryang Bay during all seasons. The BPI value fluctuated seasonally from 55 to 61, and the overall mean value of BPI in the reference area was 60, which was estimated as the threshold value for healthy communities. We tried to use BPI as an assessment tool for macrofaunal community health status by categorizing the BPI values into 5 grades. If the BPI value of the community is more than 60, the health status of a macrobenthic community will be assessed as ‘Excellent’ (Grade 1) and as ‘Good’ (Grade 2), if between 40 and 60, as ‘Fair’ (Grade 3), if between 30 and 40, as ‘Poor’ (Grade 4), if between 20 and 30, and finally the health status of a community will be assessed as ‘Very Poor’ (Grade 5), if the BPI value is less than 20. This assessment tool using BPI was applied to macrobenthic communities in Jinhae Bay including the Special Management Area of South Korea. In Jinhae Bay, the FG IV containing a spionid species, Paraprionospio patiens was the most dominant group. The values of BPI in Jinhae Bay were very low and ranged from 11 to 23. The ecological health status of macrobenthic communities in Jinhae Bay was ‘Very Poor’ at more than 50% of sites, especially in summer.     

Cimetidine,acetaminophen, and 1,7-dimethylxanthine,as indicators of wastewater pollution in marine sediments from Masan Bay,Korea

Concerns have emerged regarding the presence of human-use pharmaceuticals in aquatic environments. We investigated the status of contamination by 29 human-use pharmaceuticals as well as wastewater indicator compounds, fecal sterols and the synthetic endocrine disruptor nonylphenol, in marine sediments from Masan Bay, one of the most contaminated bays in Korea as a result of untreated and/or treated sewage. Among the 29 pharmaceuticals determined, 10 including antacid, analgesic, antibiotic, and antipruritic compounds, and metabolites of caffeine and nicotine were detected in all sediment samples. Cimetidine, acetaminophen, and 1,7-dimethylxanthine were the most frequently detected pharmaceuticals (frequency > 50%), and at high concentrations. The highest concentrations and detection frequencies were at stations located close to wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) outfalls and at the river mouth. The spatial distributions of pharmaceutical were significantly correlated with those of wastewater compounds. These results indicate that occurrence of the pharmaceuticals in marine environments is likely associated with direct sewage inputs, such as WWTP effluents and with other sewage-influenced sources, such as river discharge.     

Distribution patterns of macrobenthic fauna communities in Deukryang Bay,one of the environment conservation areas of Korea

Macrobenthic fauna were collected seasonally at 44 sites in Deukryang Bay from February to November, 2012. The species number of macrobenthic fauna was in the range of 140 to 181, and polychaetes comprised 41.4% of them. The average density of the whole study area changed seasonally from 755 to 1,507 ind. m^?2, and the most abundant fauna group was crustaceans which accounted for 55.1% of total abundance. An amphipod species Nippopisella nagatai was the most dominant species and a decapod species Xenophthalmus pinnotheroides, an amphipod species Photis longicaudata, and a polychaete species Paralacydonia paradoxa were also dominant in all seasons. The mean seasonal values of Shannon’s diversity index (H′) were in the range of 2.2–2.4, and those values for the evenness index and richness index were 0.7–0.7 and 4.6–5.7, respectively. From the cluster analysis, Deukryang Bay could be divided into 3 or 4 station groups with its specific fauna composition. The cluster analysis and an nMDS ordination revealed that local environmental factors such as water depth were related to the spatial delineation of macrobenthic fauna communities in Deukryang Bay.     

Generation mechanisms of convectively induced internal gravity waves in a three-dimensional framework

The generation mechanisms of convective gravity waves in the stratosphere are investigated in a three-dimensional framework by conducting numerical simulations of four ideal storms under different environmental conditions: one un-sheared and three constant low-level sheared basic-state winds with the depth of the shear layer of 6 km and the surface wind speeds (U_s) of 8, 18, and 28 m s^?1, using the Advanced Regional Prediction System (ARPS) model. The storms simulated under the un-sheared (U_s = 0 m s^?1), weakly sheared (U_s = 8 and 18ms^?1), and strongly sheared (U_s = 28ms^?1) basicstate winds are classified into single-cell, multicell, and supercell storms, respectively. For each storm, the wave perturbations in a control simulation, including nonlinearity and microphysical processes, are compared with those in quasi-linear dry simulations forced by diabatic forcing and nonlinear forcing that are obtained from the control simulation. The gravity waves generated by the two forcing terms in the quasi-linear dry simulations are out of phase with each other for all of the storms. The gravity waves in the control simulation are represented by a linear sum of the wave perturbations generated by the nonlinear forcing and diabatic forcing. This result is consistent with the results of previous studies in a two-dimensional framework. This implies that both forcing mechanisms are important for generating the convective gravity waves in the three-dimensional framework as well. The characteristics of the three-dimensional gravity waves in the stratosphere were determined by the spectral combination of the forcing terms and the wave-filtering and resonance factor that is determined from the basic-state wind and stability as well as the vertical structure of the forcing.