Summer monsoon rainfall patterns over South Korea and associated circulation features

Summary Seasonal summer monsoon (June through August) rainfall patterns over South Korea are classified by an objective method using data for a 40-year period (1961–2000). The rainfall patterns are represented by the percentage departures from the normal rainfall of 12 stations spread uniformly over South Korea. The statistical technique employed is the k-means (KM) clustering method. The Euclidean distance has been used as a measure of similarity between the patterns. Four dominant types are obtained by this method. Intercorrelations among the types suggest that the dominant patterns are distinct. The summer monsoon rainfall shows an increasing trend. Investigation of the physical processes associated with these patterns using NCEP/NCAR Reanalysis data clearly reveals contrasting circulation features associated with the dominant types during the summer monsoon period. In particular, contrasting circulation features are related to the position, shape and strength of the North Pacific Subtropical High. Received October 30, 2000 Revised November 12, 2001     

Determination of ductility factor considering different hysteretic models

In current seismic design procedures, base shear is calculated by the elastic strength demand divided by the strength reduction factor. This factor is well known as the response modification factor, R, which accounts for ductility, overstrength, redundancy, and damping of a structural system. In this study, the R factor accounting for ductility is called the ‘ductility factor’, R_μ. The R_μ factor is defined as the ratio of elastic strength demand imposed on the SDOF system to inelastic strength demand for a given ductility ratio. The R_μ factor allows a system to behave inelastically within the target ductility ratio during the design level earthquake ground motion. The objective of this study is to determine the ductility factor considering different hysteretic models. It usually requires large computational efforts to determine the R_μ factor. In order to reduce the computational efforts, the R_μ factor is prepared as a functional form in this study. For this purpose, statistical studies are carried out using forty different earthquake ground motions recorded at a stiff soil site. The R_μ factor is assumed to be a function of the characteristic parameters of each hysteretic model, target ductility ratio and structural period. The effects of each hysteretic model to the R_μ factor are also discussed. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigating the Effects of Different LED Wavelengths on Aggregation and Swimming Behavior of Chub Mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

Ocean Science Journal - Efficient fish aggregation systems are essential for catching chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), which is a major target of purse seine fisheries in South Korea. To aid the...     

M2 Tidal Current Estimation from One-day Observation Data off the Western and Southern Coasts of Korea

Ocean Science Journal - A practical method to estimate the M2 tidal current is proposed based on one-day current observations. In this method, the semi-diurnal constituent, composed of several...     

A frequency‐dependent and intensity‐dependent macroelement for reduced order seismic analysis of soil‐structure interacting systems

The computational demand of the soil‐structure interaction analysis for the design and assessment of structures, as well as for the evaluation of their life‐cycle cost and risk exposure, has led the civil engineering community to the development of a variety of methods toward the model order reduction of the coupled soil‐structure dynamic system in earthquake regions. Different approaches have been proposed in the past as computationally efficient alternatives to the conventional finite element model simulation of the complete soil‐structure domain, such as the nonlinear lumped spring, the macroelement method, and the substructure partition method. Yet no approach was capable of capturing simultaneously the frequency‐dependent dynamic properties along with the nonlinear behavior of the condensed segment of the overall soil‐structure system under strong earthquake ground motion, thus generating an imbalance between the modeling refinement achieved for the soil and the structure. To this end, a dual frequency‐dependent and intensity‐dependent expansion of the lumped parameter modeling method is proposed in the current paper, materialized through a multiobjective algorithm, capable of closely approximating the behavior of the nonlinear dynamic system of the condensed segment. This is essentially the extension of an established methodology, also developed by the authors, in the inelastic domain. The efficiency of the proposed methodology is validated for the case of a bridge foundation system, wherein the seismic response is comparatively assessed for both the proposed method and the detailed finite element model. The above expansion is deemed a computationally efficient and reliable method for simultaneously considering the frequency and amplitude dependence of soil‐foundation systems in the framework of nonlinear seismic analysis of soil‐structure interaction systems.     

Development of the AUV ‘ISiMI’ and a free running test in an Ocean Engineering Basin

The Korea Ocean Research and Development Institute (KORDI) has developed a small AUV named ISiMI. The mission of ISiMI is to work as a test-bed AUV for the development and validation of various algorithms and instruments required to enhance the AUV's functions. The design concept of ISiMI is that of a vehicle small enough to cruise the Ocean Engineering Basin (OEB) of KORDI and to be handled by one or two people. The downsized design and the cruising ability in its tank enable fast experimental feedback on AUV technologies and a shorter development period for new technologies. This paper presents a review of our research work on the development of ISiMI, with a performance evaluation by simulation and an experimental test. After the design and implementation of ISiMI, including its positioning system in the OEB, are presented, a series of test results in the OEB and discussions of the results are presented, with comparisons of the simulation and experimental outputs.     

Effects of Resonances in Corrugated Horn Antennas for a 22-GHz Balancing Radiometer

The Stratospheric WAter vapor RAdiometer (SWARA) is a microwave radiometer designed for ground-based measurements of water vapor (H₂O) in the middle atmosphere (20 to 80 km), including the stratosphere and mesosphere. The instrument is operating in a noncryogenic balancing calibration mode. Since its deployment, features have been observed in the spectrum which can be attributed to resonant variations of the antenna pattern of the corrugated horn. This paper presents copolar and crosspolar antenna pattern measurements of two sister antennas of the SWARA horn, as well as water vapor measurements from both antennas on the ground-based microwave radiometer MI ddle Atmospheric WAter vapor RA diometer. We show that small irregularities in the frequency spectrum at the -20-dB level are visible in the copolar pattern, which, due to the balancing operation scheme used for the radiometer, lead to features in the spectrum that have the same or even higher brightness temperature as the line of interest.     

Valuing visitors' economic benefits of public beach access points

An increase in the population of coastal counties and popularity of coastal beaches as tourism destinations create difficulties for management agencies responsible for providing public beach access. The objective of this paper is to determine non-resident visitors to South Carolina beaches economic value for public beach access. Visitors are willing to pay an extra $6.60 per day for additional beach access points and parking or an aggregate of $93 million. Visitors' economic value of public beach access allows decision-makers the ability to better compare management policies in their efforts to provide sufficient public beach access through a target effective strategy.     

Vertical structure of the M<Subscript>2</Subscript> tidal current in the Yellow Sea

The vertical structure of the M₂ tidal current in the Yellow Sea is analyzed from data acquired using an acoustic Doppler current profiler. The observed vertical profiles of the M₂ tidal current are decomposed into two rotating components of counter-clockwise and clockwise, and restructured using a simple one-point model with a constant vertical eddy viscosity. The analyzed results show that the internal fictional effect dominates the vertical structure of the tidal current in the bottom boundary layer. In the Yellow Sea, the effect of the bottom friction reduces the current speed by about 20–40% and induces the bottom phase advance by about 15–50 minutes. In the shallower coastal regions, the effects of bottom topography are more prominent on the vertical structure of tidal currents. The vertical profile of the tidal current in summer, when the water column is strongly stratified, is disturbed near the pycnocline layer. The stratification significantly influences the vertical shear and distinct seasonal variation of the tidal current.