Late Quaternary stable isotope record and meltwater discharge anomaly events to the south of the Antarctic Polar Front,Drake Passage

Marine isotope stages (MISs) 1 to 5 were identified in the planktonic ¹⁸O record in sediment core DP00-02 just south of the Antarctic Polar Front in the Drake Passage, Antarctica. The oxygen isotope record, based on Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral, is correlated with the contemporaneous global ¹⁸O stratigraphy. Marked deviations from the global climate curve suggest a local/regional overprint, particularly during MIS 3 which is considered a colder time period in the ocean record than MIS 1 and MIS 5 during the last interglacial. The comparison shows that negative ¹⁸O shifts in core DP00-02 during MIS 3 are larger than mean global changes which show a shift equal to or smaller than 0.5. The isotope shift, exceeding the glacial-interglacial ice volume effect, probably resulted from changes in the isotope composition of seawater, which is linearly related to decreases in salinity rather than to increases in sea-surface temperature. Increased ice-rafted debris (IRD) content during this interval indicates a strong influx of IRD from melting ice shelves and icebergs, which may be related to upwelling of warmer circumpolar deep water.     

Calculation of a capsizing rate of a ship in stochastic beam seas

This study introduces a method of calculating a capsizing rate of a ship. The phenomenon ‘capsizing’ is described as a jump of local equilibrium point from that near the upright position of a ship to what describes the upside-down attitude of the capsized ship; the rate of occurrence of such jumps was calculated. The potential function corresponding to the roll restoring moment have two potential wells located at the roll displacement angle 0 and 180°, respectively. A nonlinear Fokker–Planck equation for the joint probability density function of roll angle and velocity was solved. The excitation to the ship was assumed to be a combination of a regular harmonic wave and a white noise process.     

Late Mesozoic Huangbeiling S-type granite in the East Qinling Orogen,China: Geochronology,petrogenesis and implications for tectonic evolution

S-type granites are typical features of collisional orogenic belts and could provide insights into the tectonic process associated with the final phase of orogeny. The East Qinling Orogen, one of significant segments in the Central China Orogen, witnessed complex tectonic evolution during the Late Mesozoic. The rare S-type granites in this orogen can be used as important proxies to understand the Late Mesozoic tectonic processes. Although a few previous studies suggested that the Huangbeiling pluton in the East Qinling Orogen might be S-type granite, detailed studies are lacking. Thus, we report the results from a systematic petrological, whole-rock geochemical and zircon U-Pb-Lu-Hf isotopic studies on the Huangbeiling pluton, with a view to constrain the timing of magmatism, petrogenetic evolution and genetic type, and to evaluate the implications for Late Mesozoic tectonic evolution of the East Qinling Orogen. Zircon U-Pb analysis yield ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U spot ages in the range of 156.7–132.2 Ma, with weighted ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U mean ages varying from 146.8 to 141.9 Ma, suggesting the Huangbeiling pluton formed during the Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous. Zircon Lu-Hf isotopic data show negative εHf(t) values of ?21.5 to ?14.9 and two-stage Hf model ages of 2546–2131 Ma, which are correlated with the Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic (3.0–2.1 Ga) meta-sedimentary rocks from nearby Taihua Group, indicating that the magma was sourced from reworked ancient crustal components involving meta-sedimentary rocks. Whole-rock geochemical data display enrichment of LREEs, Pb, Hf and Y as well as depletion in HREEs, Ba and HFSEs (e.g., Ta, P, Ti), with weakly negative Eu anomalies. The Huangbeiling granitoids are identified as S-type granites, which generated through partial melting of lower-middle crust and upper crustal fractional crystallization in syn-collisional settings. In conjunction with published information related to the tectonic evolution of the East Qinling Orogen, we propose that the Late Mesozoic Huangbeiling S-type granites might response to the complex tectonic evolution related to extensional tectonics induced by multi-directional (intra-continental) subductions from the Yangtze and North China Cratons as well as the Paleo-Pacific Plate during the Late Mesozoic.     

Nanoscale Chemical Imaging by Photo‐Induced Force Microscopy: Technical Aspects and Application to the Geosciences

Photo‐induced force microscopy (PiFM) is a new‐frontier technique that combines the advantages of atomic force microscopy with infrared spectroscopy and allows for the simultaneous acquisition of 3D topographic data with molecular chemical information at high spatial (~ 5 nm) and spectral (~ 1 cm^?1) resolution at the nanoscale. This non‐destructive technique is time efficient as it requires only conventional mirror‐polishing and has fast mapping rates on the order of a few minutes that allow the study of dynamic processes via time series. Here, we review the method’s historical development, working principle, data acquisition, and evaluation, and provide a comparison with traditional geochemical methods. We review PiFM studies in the areas of materials science, chemistry and biology. In addition, we provide the first applications for geochemical samples including the visualization of faint growth zonation in zircons, the identification of fluid speciation in high‐pressure experimental samples, and of nanoscale organic phases in biominerals. We demonstrate that PiFM analysis is a time‐ and cost‐efficient technique combining high‐resolution surface imaging with molecular chemical information at the nanoscale and, thus, complements and expands traditional geochemical methods.     

Distribution of persistent organic pollutants in bivalves from the northeast coast of China

To assess the levels of organochlorine compounds (OCs) in the Chinese coastal environment, monitoring study using bivalves was conducted in 2005. A total of 21 bivalve samples covering the northeastern coast of China were collected and analyzed. Organochlorine compounds were widely distributed in the Chinese coastal environment, with dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane (DDT) contamination being particularly prevalent. The overall concentrations of PCBs, DDTs, HCHs, chlordane compounds (CHLs), dieldrin, and endosulfans in bivalves were in the ranges of 3.27-25.4, 54.8-2680, 1.42-25.5, n.d. (not detected)-2.28, n.d.-4.02, and n.d.-9.55 ng g(-1) on a dry weight basis, respectively. The concentrations of DDT and HCH compounds are relatively higher than those from the coastal areas of other Asian countries. DDT metabolites were predominant, suggesting that the degradation of DDT is in progress in the Chinese coastal environment. Still, however, DDTs of high concentration exceeding 1000 ng g(-1) were observed at 19% of the stations surveyed. Among HCH compounds, beta-HCH, which is an isomer with strong persistency, was observed predominantly. Compositions of DDT and HCH compounds imply that fresh input of the two compounds into the Chinese coasts is possibly low.     

Accuracy of nonlinear static procedures for the seismic assessment of shear critical structures

The nonlinear behavior of reinforced concrete (RC) members represents a key issue in the seismic performance assessment of structures. Many structures constructed in the 1980s or earlier were designed based on force limits; thus they often exhibit brittle failure modes, strength and stiffness degradation, and severe pinching effects. Field surveys and experimental evidence have demonstrated that such inelastic responses affect the global behavior of RC structural systems. Efforts have been made to consider the degrading stiffness and strength in the simplified nonlinear static procedures commonly adopted by practitioners. This paper investigates the accuracy of such procedures for the seismic performance assessment of RC structural systems. Refined finite element models of a shear critical bridge bent and a flexure‐critical bridge pier are used as reference models. The numerical models are validated against experimental results and used to evaluate the inelastic dynamic response of the structures subjected to earthquake ground motions with increasing amplitude. The maximum response from the refined numerical models is compared against the results from the simplified static procedures, namely modified capacity spectrum method and coefficient method in FEMA‐440. The accuracy of the static procedures in estimating the displacement demand of a flexure‐critical system and shear‐critical system is discussed in detail. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical simulations using momentum source wave-maker applied to RANS equation model

For Navier-Stokes equation model using the VOF scheme, Lin and Liu (Lin, P. and Liu, P.L.-F. (1999). Internal wave-maker for Navier-Stokes equations models. J. Waterw. Port Coast. Ocean Eng., 125 (4), 207–215.) developed an internal wave-maker method for which a mass source function of the continuity equation was used to generate target wave trains. Using this internal wave-maker method, various numerical experiments have been conducted without any problems due to waves reflected by a wave-maker. In this study, an internal wave-maker method using a momentum source function was proposed. Various numerical simulations in two and three dimensions were performed using the momentum source wave-maker applied to the RANS equation model in a CFD code, FLUENT. To verify their applicability in 2 dimensions, the computational results obtained using the momentum source wave-maker in a channel of constant depth were compared with the results obtained by using the mass source wave-maker and with the analytical solutions. And the results of the present numerical simulations of hydraulic experiments, which represent nonlinear waves on a submerged shoal and breaking waves on a plane beach, were compared with measurements. The comparisons showed good agreements between them. To see their applicability into 3-dimensional cases, the present results in a basin of constant depth were compared with the analytical solutions, and they agreed well with each other. In addition, vertical variation of longshore current was presented by using the 3-dimensional simulation results.     

Evolution of waves and currents over a submerged laboratory shoal

The vertically-integrated effect of interaction between waves and wave-induced currents on wave transformation over a submerged elliptic shoal was investigated based on numerical simulations of the Vincent and Briggs experiment [Vincent, C.L., Briggs, M.J., 1989. Refraction- diffraction of irregular waves over a mound. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, 115(2), pp. 269–284.]. The numerical simulations were performed using two numerical wave-current model systems: one, a combination of the wave model SWAN and the current model SHORECIRC, and the other, a combination of the wave model REF/DIF and the same current model. A time-dependent, phase-resolving wave and current model, FUNWAVE, was also utilized to simulate the experiment. In the simulations, the developed wave-induced currents defocused waves behind the shoal and brought on a wave shadow zone that showed relatively low wave height distributions. For the breaking case of monochromatic waves, the wave heights computed using FUNWAVE showed good agreement with the measurements and the resulting wave-induced currents showed a jet-like velocity distribution in transverse direction. And the computed results of the two model combinations agreed better with the measurements than the computed results obtained by neglecting wave-current interaction. However, it was found that for the case in which transverse interference pattern caused by refracted waves was strong, REF/DIF-SHORECIRC did not correctly evaluate radiation stresses, the gradients of which generate wave-induced currents. SWAN-SHORECIRC, which cannot deal with the interference patterns, predicted a jet-like wave-induced current. For breaking random wave cases, the computed results of the two model combinations and FUNWAVE agreed well with the measurements. The agreements indicate that it is necessary to take into account the effect of wave-induced current on wave refraction when wave breaking occurs over a submerged shoal.     

First record of the percophidid fish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Osopsaron formosensis</Emphasis> (Percophidae: Hemerocoetinae) off Jeju Island,Korea

A specimen of Osopsaron formosensis was collected at the southeastern part of Jeju Island in June 2008. This specimen is to be distinguished from congeneric species using the key characters such as the eye with dorsal iris flap, cheek with scales, elongated dorsal spine, the length and the numbers of the first dorsal spines, and black pigmentation of the dorsal fin membrane. This report was the first record of O. formosensis from Korea. We named it ‘No-ran-tti-nun-tung-ii’ in Korean.     

Effects of sodium cyanide (nacn) on the endogenous rhythm of the oxygen consumption rate in the black rockfishsebastes schlegeli

Laboratory bioassays were conducted to test the acute toxicity effects of sudden exposure to sodium cyanide (NaCN) on the endogenous rhythm of the oxygen consumption rate (OCR) in the black rockfishSebastes schlegeli. The OCR of the black rockfish (n = 14, total length = 20.4 ± 1.16 cm, wet weight = 158 ± 25 g) was measured with an automatic intermittentflow-respirometer. OCR decreased significantly when experimental fish were exposed to NaCN. When exposed to 10 ppb NaCN, fish were able to recover their OCR rhythmic activities. When fish were exposed to 20 ppb, however, the metabolic activity rhythms were not recovered. These results suggest that exposure to NaCN concentrations over 20 ppb cause severe physiological damage to the endogenous rhythms of black rockfish.