Experimental study of extreme shear stress for shallow flow under simulated rainfall

The raindrop impact and overland flow are two major factors causing soil detachment and particle transportation. In this study, the turbulent characteristics of the shallow rain‐impacted water flow were investigated using a 2‐D fibre‐optic laser Doppler velocimetry (FLDV) and an artificial rainfall simulator. The fluctuating turbulent shear stress was computed using digital data processing techniques. The experimental data showed that the Reynolds shear stress follows a probability distribution with heavy tails. The tail probability increases with an increase of rainfall intensity or raindrop diameter, and it decreases with an increase of Reynolds number. A modified empirical equation was derived using both the raindrop diameter and rainfall intensity as independent variables to provide a better prediction of the Darcy‐Weisbach friction coefficient f under rainfall conditions. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Body composition and compensatory growth in Nile tilapia Oreochromis niloticus under different feeding intervals

We investigated the growth and body composition of Nile tilapia under five different feeding regimes. A control group was fed to satiation twice daily for 185 days; four treatment groups were fed at intervals of 2, 3, 4 or 7 days(dietary ‘restricted' period, days 0–80) and then fed to satiation(‘refeeding' period, days 80–185). Compensatory growth in weight and length of the feed-restricted groups was observed during the refeeding period. However, the growth of none of the restricted groups caught up with that of the control group over the experimental period. Feed intake upon refeeding increased with the duration of deprivation. There were no significant differences in feed efficiency between the restricted and control groups during the refeeding stage, suggesting that hyperphagia was the mechanism responsible for the increased growth rates during this period. Tilapia preferentially used n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and nonessential amino acids during the restricted-feeding period. Higher production was achieved by higher feed consumption. We suggest that if attainment of market size in minimum time is required, fish should be consistently fed to satiation, while taking care to avoid the possible negative consequences of overfeeding.     

Demersally drifting invertebrates from Kongsfjorden,Svalbård (Arctic Ocean)–a comparison of catches from drift-pump and drift-nets

Demersally drifting organisms were collected at Ny Ålesund (Svalbård–Arctic Ocean) to study the taxon composition and relative abundances in the Arctic summer. Catch potentials of two collection devices for demersal drift were compared. A lowvolume submersible drift-pump and a drift-net unit were employed for the collection of demersally drifting biota, particularly for shallow aquatic habitats. With the exception of Appendicularia, Chaetognatha, Coelenterata, and Ctenophora, which were damaged at times, the pump catches were in good condition and sufficient for identification and quantification of less mobile fauna. A comparison of the two devices revealed that the drift-pump collected more specimens than the drift-net. However, the drift-net may have caused an underestimation of the abundances of invertebrates. No differences in identified taxon number and indices of richness, evenness and diversity were found. However, the proportion of invertebrate animals in the two devices was different for the three groups: zooplankton, macrofauna and meiofauna. At Svalbård, zooplankton, larvae of macrofauna, and meiofauna were successfully collected by the two collecting devices. However, the catchibility of the two devices in collecting various invertebrate taxa was different and, therefore, a sound ‘Device Effect’ was revealed.     

A review on the Holocene evolution of an inner-shelf mud deposit in the southeastern Yellow Sea: the Huksan Mud Belt

The Huksan Mud Belt (HMB) has been extensively investigated with respect to its source and evolution since the 1980s. Studies on sediment budget or accumulation rates suggested two different origins, Korean and combined Korean and Chinese. However, neither of the suggested origins appears reliable because they were based on insufficient or inaccurate datasets on the basic sedimentological characteristics of the HMB. Although a major mud transport was inferred to be closely associated with either the Korean Coastal Current or the Yellow Sea Warm Current, their physical characters during the Holocene transgression have been rarely hind-casted thus far. The majority of studies on high-resolution seismic stratigraphy along with core log have suggested that the HMB stratigraphy consists of two units divided by an erosional boundary. The lower unit is further divided into two subunits by a subtle discontinuity that is laterally correlated with the erosional boundary. In line with the stratigraphy, the studies theorized that the erosion of the HMB had produced a re-deposited distal lobe, the younger lower subunit. In addition, this lobe was inferred to have prograded rapidly during the relatively short period of 6,500-5,500 yr B.P. Although the time interval of the erosion coincides with the decelerating rise in sea level, the hydrodynamic cause and effect of the erosion remain inexplicable. Therefore, the source and evolution of the HMB continue to be controversial, due largely to poor understanding of the paleo-physical oceanography of the Yellow Sea during the Holocene.     

Classification of precipitation types using fall velocity-diameter relationships from 2D-video distrometer measurements

Fall velocity-diameter relationships for four different snowflake types (dendrite, plate, needle, and graupel) were investigated in northeastern South Korea, and a new algorithm for classifying hydrometeors is proposed for distrometric measurements based on the new relationships. Falling ice crystals (approximately 40 000 particles) were measured with a two-dimensional video disdrometer (2DVD) during a winter experiment from 15 January to 9 April 2010. The fall velocity-diameter relationships were derived for the four types of snowflakes based on manual classification by experts using snow photos and 2DVD measurements: the coefficients (exponents) for different snowflake types were 0.82 (0.24) for dendrite, 0.74 (0.35) for plate, 1.03 (0.71) for needle, and 1.30 (0.94) for graupel, respectively. These new relationships established in the present study (PS) were compared with those from two previous studies. Hydrometeor types were classified with the derived fall velocity-diameter relationships, and the classification algorithm was evaluated using 3× 3 contingency tables for one rain-snow transition event and three snowfall events. The algorithm showed good performance for the transition event: the critical success indices (CSIs) were 0.89, 0.61 and 0.71 for snow, wet-snow and rain, respectively. For snow events, the algorithm performance for dendrite and plate (CSIs = 1.0 and 1.0, respectively) was better than for needle and graupel (CSIs = 0.67 and 0.50, respectively).     

A bulk cloud parameterization in a Venus General Circulation Model

A condensing cloud parameterization is included in a super-rotating Venus General Circulation Model. A parameterization including condensation, evaporation and sedimentation of mono-modal sulfuric acid cloud particles is described. Saturation vapor pressure of sulfuric acid vapor is used to determine cloud formation through instantaneous condensation and destruction through evaporation, while pressure dependent viscosity of a carbon dioxide atmosphere is used to determine sedimentation rates assuming particles fall at their terminal Stokes velocity. Modifications are described to account for the large range of the Reynolds number seen in the Venus atmosphere.Two GCM experiments initialized with 10 ppm-equivalent of sulfuric acid are integrated for 30 Earth years and the results are discussed with reference to “Y” shaped cloud structures observed on Venus. The GCM is able to produce an analog of the “Y” shaped cloud structure through dynamical processes alone, with contributions from the mean westward wind, the equatorial Kelvin wave, and the mid-latitude/polar Mixed Rossby/Gravity waves. The cloud top height in the GCM decreases from equator to pole and latitudinal gradients of cloud top height are comparable to those observed by Pioneer Venus and Venus Express, and those produced in more complex microphysical models of the sulfur cycle on Venus. Differences between the modeled cloud structures and observations are described and dynamical explanations are suggested for the most prominent differences.     

The roughness of the dark side of Iapetus from the 2004 to 2005 flyby

The roughness of a planetary surface offers clues to its past geologic history. We apply a surface roughness model developed by Buratti and Veverka (Buratti, B.J., Veverka, J. [1985]. Icarus 64, 320-328) to Cassini ISS data from the January 1st, 2005 flyby of Iapetus. This model uses the observed scattering behavior to provide a depth to radius factor q quantifying the size of idealized craters on the surface. Our findings indicate that the surface on the dark side is significantly smoother than the surfaces of other icy low-albedo saturnian satellites. We have found that the average depth to radius on the leading (dark) side is 0.084, corresponding to a Hapke mean slope angle of 6°. As compared to the 13-33° Hapke mean slope angle of other icy satellites (Buratti, B.J., and 10 colleagues [2008]. Icarus 193, 309-322), our results present a clearly different picture for the leading surface of Iapetus, suggesting that the dark deposit contributes to the decrease in macroscopic surface roughness of the leading side. Attempts were made to obtain an average depth to radius value for the trailing (bright) side; however the scans of the bright side from this flyby exhibited large variations in albedo, resulting in results that were physically unrealistic.