Seismic performance of a 3D full‐scale high‐ductile steel–concrete composite moment‐resisting frame—Part II: Test results and analytical validation

This paper presents the results of a multi‐level pseudo‐dynamic seismic test program that was performed to assess the performance of a full‐scale three‐bay, two‐storey steel–concrete composite moment‐resisting frame built with partially encased composite columns and partial‐strength beam‐to‐column joints. The system was designed to develop a ductile response in the joint components of beam‐to‐column joints including flexural yielding of beam end plates and shear yielding of the column web panel zone. The ground motion producing the damageability limit state interstorey drift caused minor damage while the ultimate limit state ground motion level entailed column web panel yielding, connection yielding and plastic hinging at the column base connections. The earthquake level chosen to approach the collapse limit state induced more damage and was accompanied by further column web panel yielding, connection yielding and inelastic phenomena at column base connections without local buckling. During the final quasi‐static cyclic test with stepwise increasing displacement–amplitudes up to an interstorey drift angle of 4.6%, the behaviour was ductile although cracking of beam‐to‐end‐plate welds was observed. Correlations with numerical simulations taking into account the inelastic cyclic response of beam‐to‐column and column base joints are also presented in the paper together. Inelastic static pushover and time history analysis procedures are used to estimate the structural behaviour and overstrength factors of the structural system under study. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A portable extruder for accurate and precise high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores

Journal of Paleolimnology - We developed a portable extruder for precise and accurate high-resolution subsampling of unconsolidated sediment cores. This extruder is capable of producing subsamples...     

Reconstruction of Horizontal Plasma Motions at the Photosphere from Intensitygrams: A Comparison Between DeepVel,LCT, FLCT,and CST

Direct measurements of plasma motions in the photosphere are limited to the line-of-sight component of the velocity. Several algorithms have therefore been developed to reconstruct the transverse components from observed continuum images or magnetograms. We compare the space and time averages of horizontal velocity fields in the photosphere inferred from pairs of consecutive intensitygrams by the LCT, FLCT, and CST methods and the DeepVel neural network in order to identify the method that is best suited for generating synthetic observations to be used for data assimilation. The Stein and Nordlund (Astrophys. J. Lett.753, L13, 2012) magnetoconvection simulation is used to generate synthetic SDO/HMI intensitygrams and reference flows to train DeepVel. Inferred velocity fields show that DeepVel performs best at subgranular and granular scales and is second only to FLCT at mesogranular and supergranular scales.     

On the origin and evolution of sea-ice anomalies in the Beaufort-Chukchi Sea

 The origin and space-time evolution of Beaufort-Chukchi Sea ice anomalies are studied using data and a recently developed dynamic-thermodynamic sea-ice model. First, the relative importance of anomalies of river runoff, atmospheric temperature and wind in creating anomalous sea-ice conditions in the Beaufort-Chukchi Sea is investigated. The results indicate that wind anomalies are the dominant factor responsible for creating interannual variability in the Beaufort-Chukchi Sea ice cover. Temperature anomalies appear to play a major role for longer time scale fluctuations, whereas the effects of runoff anomalies are small. The sea-ice model is then used to track the position of a positive sea-ice anomaly as it is transported by the Beaufort Gyre toward the Transpolar Drift Stream and then exported out of the Arctic Basin into the Greenland Sea via Fram Strait. The model integration shows that sea-ice anomalies originating in the western Beaufort Sea can survive a few seasonal cycles as they propogate through the Arctic Basin and can account for a notable amount of anomalous ice export into the Greenland Sea. These anomalies, however, represent a small contribution to the fresh water budget in this area when compared with sea-ice fluctuations generated by interannually varying local winds. Received: 1 May 1997/Accepted: 22 October 1997     

Shake table testing and numerical simulation of a self‐centering energy dissipative braced frame

The self‐centering energy dissipative (SCED) brace is a new steel bracing member that provides both damping to the structure and a re‐centering capability. The goal of this study was to confirm the behavior of SCED braces within complete structural systems and to confirm the ability to model these systems with both a state‐of‐the‐art computer model as well as a simplified model that would be useful to practicing engineers. To these ends, a three‐story SCED‐braced frame was designed and constructed for testing on a shake table. Two concurrent computer models of the entire frame were constructed: one using the opensees nonlinear dynamic modeling software, and a simplified model using the commercial structural analysis software sap2000 . The frame specimen was subjected to 12 significant earthquakes without any adjustment or modification between the tests. The SCED braces prevented residual drifts in the frame, as designed, and did not show any significant degradation due to wear. Both numerical models were able to predict the drifts, story shears, and column forces well. Peak story accelerations were overestimated in the models; this effect was found to be caused by the absence of transitions at stiffness changes in the hysteretic model of the braces. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Partitioning of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons between water and particles compared to bioaccumulation in mussels: a harbour case

Water and particles from three sites located in Halifax Harbour, near and further away from combined municipal sewage effluents (CMSE) were analysed for parental and alkylated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (par and alkPAH). Bioavailability of PAH was compared for inter-tidal mussels collected at the same sites in April and November. The PAH fingerprint determined over 9 sampling times covering a period of 19 months differed more between phases (water and particles) and seasons, than between sites. In the spring, more alkPAH associated with diesel and gasoline were detected in the soluble phase, along with more bioaccumulation of alkPAH in inter-tidal mussels. A broader number of parPAH were detected in mussels collected in the fall. The mean sum of dissolved alkPAH concentrations was higher in water at the site closer to raw CMSE than at the other two sites and particles of that site. However, lowest bioconcentration factors (BCF) were determined in mussels of this more contaminated site. Similar biota-particle accumulation factors (BPAF) were determined for parPAH in mussels from the three sites, all lower than the BCF of alkPAH. The study indicates that sewage treatment plants will reduce the amount of parPAH especially larger than fluoranthene and pyrene from being deposited in the harbour; that alk naphthalenes and fluorenes present in water will continue to be discharged; that the disturbance of sediments can make particle-bound PAH available to mussels.     

Biogenic carbon flows through the planktonic food web of the Amundsen Gulf (Arctic Ocean): A synthesis of field measurements and inverse modeling analyses

Major pathways of biogenic carbon (C) flow are resolved for the planktonic food web of the flaw lead polynya system of the Amundsen Gulf (southeast Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean) in spring-summer 2008. This period was relevant to study the effect of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems as it was characterized by unusually low ice cover and warm sea surface temperature. Our synthesis relied on a mass balance estimate of gross primary production (GPP) of 52.5 ± 12.5 g C m⁻² calculated using the drawdown of nitrate and dissolved inorganic C, and a seasonal f-ratio of 0.64. Based on chlorophyll a biomass, we estimated that GPP was dominated by phytoplankton (93.6%) over ice algae (6.4%) and by large cells (>5 μm, 67.6%) over small cells (<5 μm, 32.4%). Ancillary in situ data on bacterial production, zooplankton biomass and respiration, herbivory, bacterivory, vertical particle fluxes, pools of particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC), net community production (NCP), as well as selected variables from the literature were used to evaluate the fate of size-fractionated GPP in the ecosystem. The structure and functioning of the planktonic food web was elucidated through inverse analysis using the mean GPP and the 95% confidence limits of every other field measurement as lower and upper constraints. The model computed a net primary production of 49.2 g C m⁻², which was directly channeled toward dominant calanoid copepods (i.e. Calanus hyperboreus 20%, Calanus glacialis 10%, and Metridia longa 10%), other mesozooplankton (12%), microzooplankton (14%), detrital POC (18%), and DOC (16%). Bacteria required 29.9 g C m⁻², a demand met entirely by the DOC derived from local biological activities. The ultimate C outflow comprised respiration fluxes (82% of the initial GPP), a small sedimentation (3%), and a modest residual C flow (15%) resulting from NCP, dilution and accumulation. The sinking C flux at the model limit depth (395 m) supplied 60% of the estimated benthic C demand (2.8 g C m⁻²), suggesting that the benthos relied partly on other C sources within the bottom boundary layer to fuel its activity. In summary, our results illustrate that the ongoing decline in Arctic sea ice promotes the growth of pelagic communities in the Amundsen Gulf, which benefited from a ∼80% increase in GPP in spring-summer 2008 when compared to 2004 – a year of average ice conditions and relatively low GPP. However, 53% of the secondary production was generated within the microbial food web, the net ecological efficiency of zooplankton populations was not particularly high (13.4%), and the quantity of biogenic C available for trophic export remained low (6.6 g C m⁻²). Hence it is unlikely that the increase in lower food web productivity, such as the one observed in our study, could support new harvestable fishery resources in the offshore Beaufort Sea domain.     

Sedimentary pigments as indicators of cyanobacterial dynamics in a hypereutrophic lake

Lac Saint-Augustin is an urban lake located on the outskirts of Quebec City, one of North America’s oldest cities. Anthropogenic inputs from land clearing, agriculture, highway development and urbanization in the surrounding catchment have resulted in strong impacts on the limnology of the lake throughout the past three centuries. In recent years, this lake has experienced severe eutrophication, including persistent cyanobacterial blooms. In winter 2011, a sediment core was extracted from the deepest area of the lake. A detailed paleopigment analysis was used to assess eutrophication processes in the lake and to determine the timing and appearance of cyanobacterial blooms and their subsequent variability. Extracted chlorophyll a, its degradation products and 11 carotenoid pigments were identified and quantified via reverse-phase high performance liquid chromatography to examine relative changes in the phytoplankton. The results revealed large variations in the phytoplankton community structure of Lac Saint-Augustin over the past 356 years. Chlorophyll a concentrations per unit organic matter (OM) increased significantly from the base of the core to present day, rising more than 15-fold from 18.4 µg (g OM)^?1 at the base of the core to 287 µg (g OM)^?1 in the most recent strata. Biostratigraphical analysis revealed three major periods of enrichment, with episodes of cyanobacterial abundance from the 1890s onwards. The greatest changes occurred in the most recent period (from the 1960s to the present) relative to earlier periods, with pigment increases for all phytoplankton groups. The cyanobacterial pigments canthaxanthin, echinenone and zeaxanthin (also a marker for green algae) showed concentrations in the surface sediments that were significantly above values at the bottom of the core, and these differences were large, even giving consideration to the lesser pigment degradation near the surface. Overall, the results indicate that cyanobacterial blooms are not a recent feature of Lac Saint-Augustin but began to occur soon after catchment modification 150 years ago. The pigment records also imply that cyanobacterial and associated algal populations have risen to unprecedented levels over the last few decades of ongoing development of the Lac Saint-Augustin catchment. This study highlights the utility of multiple pigment analysis of lake sediments for identifying the timing and magnitude of anthropogenic impacts.     

Changes in stream water quality due to logging of the boreal forest in the Montmorency Forest,Québec

Summer stream water quality was monitored before and following the logging of 50% of the boreal forest within three small watersheds (<50 ha) nested in the ‘Ruisseau des Eaux‐Volées’ Experimental Watershed, Montmorency Forest (Québec, Canada). Logging was conducted in winter, on snow cover according to recommended best management practices (BMPs) to minimize soil disturbance and protect advance growth. A 20‐m forest buffer was maintained along perennial streams. In watershed 7·2, cut‐blocks were located near the stream network and logging was partially allowed within the riparian buffer zone. In watersheds 7·5 and 7·7, logging occurred farther away from the stream network. Observations were also made for watershed 7·3 that collected the runoff from watersheds 7·2 and 7·5, and watershed 7·6, the uproad portion of watershed 7·7. The control watershed 0·2 was contiguous to the impacted watersheds and remained undisturbed. Following clearcutting, changes in summer daily maximum and minimum stream temperatures remained within ± 1 °C while changes in diurnal variation did not decrease by more than 0·5 °C. Concentrations of NO₃^? greatly increased by up to 6000% and concentrations of K⁺ increased by up to 300% during the second summer after logging. Smaller increases were observed for Fe_total (up to 71%), specific conductance (up to 26%), and Mg²⁺ (up to 19%). Post‐logging pH decreased slightly by no more than 7% while PO₄^3? concentration remained relatively constant. Suspended sediment concentrations appeared to increase during post‐logging, but there was not enough pre‐logging data to statistically confirm this result. Logging of moderate intensity and respecting established BMPs may account for the limited changes of water quality parameters and the low exceedances of the criteria for the protection of aquatic life. The proximity of the cutover to the stream network and logging within the riparian zone did not appear to affect water quality. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.