Reconstruction of atmospheric CO2 from ice-core data and the deep-sea record of ontong Java plateau: the Milankovitch chron

We provide a reconstruction of atmospheric CO₂ from deep-sea sediments, for the past 625000 years (Milankovitch chron). Our database consists of a Milankovitch template of sea-level variation in combination with a unique data set for the deep-sea record for Ontong Java plateau in the western equatorial Pacific. We redate the Vostok ice-core data of Barnola et al. (1987). To make the reconstructions we employ multiple regression between deep-sea data, on one hand, and ice-core CO₂ data in Antarctica, on the other. The patterns of correlation suggest that the main factors controlling atmospheric CO₂ can be described as a combination of sea-level state and sea-level change. For best results squared values of state and change are used. The square-of-sea-level rule agrees with the concept that shelf processes are important modulators of atmospheric CO₂ (e.g., budgets of shelf organic carbon and shelf carbonate, nitrate reduction). The square-of-change rule implies that, on short timescales, any major disturbance of the system results in a temporary rise in atmospheric CO₂.     

地下RC结构物地震响应特征土工离心试验的模拟

地下结构物抗震稳定性的研究具有重要实际意义。基于动态土工离心试验,应用有效应力法分析了不同水平地震作用下土层和地下RC结构物的最大水平位移、不同埋深的土层加速度和超孔隙水压力变化规律,以及结构物的破坏发展特征,并进一步与试验结果进行了相互验证和对比,取得了较好效果,为重要地下结构物的抗震设计提供了依据和参考。     

Estimates of non-tidal exchange transport between the Sea of Okhotsk and the North Pacific

The outflow from the Sea of Okhotsk to the North Pacific is important in characterising the surface-to-intermediate-depth water masses in the Pacific Ocean. The two basins are separated by the Kuril Islands with numerous straits, among which the Bussol and the Kruzenshterna Straits are deeper than 1000 m. The physics governing the transport between the two basins is complicated, but when the semidiurnal and diurnal tides are subtracted, the observed density and velocity structures across the Bussol Strait suggest a significant contribution from geostrophic balance. Using a two-layer model with the interface at 27.5σ _θ , part of the upper layer transport that is not driven by tides is estimated using two previously unexplored data sets: outputs from the Ocean General Circulation Model for Earth Simulator (OFES), and historical hydrographic data. The Pacific water flows into the Sea of Okhotsk through the northeastern straits. The greatest inflow is through the Kruzenshtern Strait, but the OFES results show that the contributions from other shallower straits are almost half of the Kruzenshtern inflow. Similarly, the outflow from the Sea of Okhotsk is through the southwestern straits of the Kuril Islands with the largest Bussol Strait contributing 60% of the total outflow. The OFES and hydrographic estimates agree that the exchange is strongest in February to March, with an inflow of about −6 to −12 Sv (negative indicates the flow from the North Pacific, 1 Sv = 10⁶ m³s⁻¹), and an outflow from the Sea of Okhotsk of about +8 to +9 Sv (positive indicates the flow from the Sea of Okhotsk), which is weakest in summer (−3 to +1 Sv through the northeastern straits and +0 to +3 Sv through the southwestern straits). The estimated seasonal variation is consistent with a simple analytic model driven by the difference in sea surface height between the two basins.     

Mechanism of enrichment of trace metals on fine sludges collected from filtration plants

Fine sludges were collected from five filtration plants, and the partitioning of ten metals (Ag, Cd, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cu, Sn, Co, Ni, and Fe) in them was determined by selective leaching techniques. (1) The available amounts, which shows the total of each metal leached between 1 M CH₃COONH₄ and 30 percent H₂O₂, for Ag, Cd and Mn, ranged from 51 to 98 percent for five sludges. (2) The available amounts for Zn, Pb, Cu, and Sn were 47–92 percent for five sludges. (3) The most important fraction for Co, Ni, and Fe, except the Inagawa sludge, which is markedly polluted by organic matter, was the crystalline particle. Therefore, the above metals, except Co, Ni, and Fe, are thought to be enriched on ion-exchangeable sites, organic matter, hydrous Fe/Mn oxides, and sulfides in fine sludges.     

Symmetrical fft technique and its applications to earthquake engineering

The objective of this paper is to propose an FFT technique symmetrical for time and frequency, in which the symmetrization is done by introducing generating functions. By the symmetrical treatment, it becomes possible to derive several complementary relations in the time and frequency domains. Based on the idea of the symmetrical FFT technique, the phase problem of seismic waves is discussed not only in the frequency domain but also in the time domain. Furthermore, the deconvolution technique to evaluate the minimum-phase-shift and all-pass functions of seismic waves, which is not discussed sufficiently in earthquake engineering, is developed in the two domains. Numerical examples to present these basic ideas are also illustrated in the symmetrical framework.     

Characteristics of the Lyman-alpha humidiometer and measurements of turbulent humidity fluctuations over the ocean

The characteristics of a Lyman-alpha humidiometer have been carefully examined in an air-conditioned test chamber. The results confirm that when carefully used, this humidiometer is suitable for measurements of turbulent humidity fluctuations. Measurements with a Lyman-alpha humidiometer were carried out in the surface boundary layer over the ocean. The relation between turbulent intensity ( _a = a ^ov2) and the friction humidity (a _*) can be expressed as _a = l.6a _*. The spectrum of turbulent humidity for wind speeds larger than 3 m s ^–1 conforms to the similarity law in the surface boundary layer. The spectrum has two characteristic normalized frequencies, namely, a higher peak and a secondary peak (or a shoulder).     

Non‐linear system identification of the versatile‐typed structures by a novel signal processing technique

Non‐linear structural identification problems have raised considerable research efforts since decades, in which the Bouc–Wen model is generally utilized to simulate non‐linear structural constitutive characteristic. Support vector regression (SVR), a promising data processing method, is studied for versatile‐typed structural identification. First, a model selection strategy is utilized to determine the unknown power parameter of the Bouc–Wen model. Meanwhile, optimum SVR parameters are selected automatically, instead of tuning manually. Consequently, the non‐linear structural equation is rewritten in linear form, and is solved by the SVR technique. A five‐floor versatile‐type structure is studied to show the effectiveness of the proposed method, in which both power parameter known and unknown cases are investigated. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

RbSr dating of the Yatsushiro granite and gneiss,Kyushu, Japan

RbSr measurements on the Yatsushiro granite and gneiss, which had been considered stratigraphically to be of possible Precambrian age, are reported. The whole rock isochron for the granite gives an age of 352 ± 8 my with a low initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio of 0.7037 ± 0.0006. Data for constituent minerals of the granites are dispersed irregularly around the whole rock isochron (possibly by later tectonic events). For the gneiss, a metamorphic event around 410 my is indicated by the muscovite RbSr ages. The present results do not support the possibility that the Yatsushiro granite and gneiss are Precambrian in age.     

Age model, physical properties and paleoceanographic implications of the middle Pleistocene core sediments in the Choshi area, central Japan

Abstract   A continuous, well-preserved core was obtained from the Choshi area, on the Pacific side of Japan, to investigate paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes around the northwestern Pacific region during the middle Pleistocene. Siliciclastic sequences in the core are divided into five formations – the Obama, Yokone, Kurahashi and Toyosato Formations in the Inubo Group and the Katori Formation, in ascending order. Examination of calcareous nannofossils and magnetic polarities detected four datums in the core sediments of the Inubo Group: the top of Reticulofenestra asanoi , the base of Helicosphaera inversa , the top of Pseudoemiliania lacunosa and the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary. Fourteen marine isotope stages (MIS24–MIS11) were identified in the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C records based on detected datums and the graphic correlation with the standard stack oxygen isotope curve. Magnetic susceptibility and gamma-ray attenuation porosity evaluator density were also measured and low values characterize the glacial intervals. Biogenic sedimentation by primary production may be larger during the glacial periods because of invasions of nutrient-rich northern surface-waters related to the southward shift of the Kuroshio front in the Choshi area.