Field Evaluation of the Vertical Bearing Capacity of a Screw Pretensioned Spun High-Strength Concrete Pile

This study has evaluated the vertical bearing capacity by conducting static load tests for noise-free and vibration-free screw pretensioned spun high-strength concrete (PHC) piles installed using two different methods (end-squirting shoe and pre-boring methods). Vertical bearing capacity differences seem to occur due to the displacement of soils near the external circumference of a pile, depending on the installation method. A method by which to evaluate the bearing capacity of screw concrete piles is suggested by considering the equations that already have been used to calculate the bearing capacity of piles. Based on static load tests and analysis, the pile installed using the end-squirting shoe method was assumed to be a bored pile and it was reasonable to use the equation proposed by the Japanese Geotechnical Society. At the same time, the pile installed using the pre-boring method was deemed a low soil displacement pile and so it was reasonable to apply the equations proposed for calculating the bearing capacity of the driven pile suggested by the Architectural Institute of Japan.     

Prokaryotic community composition revealed by denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis in the East Sea

To understand the temporal and spatial variation of the prokaryotic community in the East Sea, their composition was determined by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE)-sequencing techniques. The investigations were conducted twice annually in 2007 and 2009 in coastal and offshore stations. Prokaryotic abundance (PA), leucine incorporation rate, and other environmental parameters were also measured. By using the DGGE approach, we obtained 283 bacterial sequences and 160 archaeal sequences. The most frequently detected bacterial phylotypes during the investigations belonged to Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria, and Bacteroidetes. However, their relative compositions differed in time and space. Although Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidetes were the dominant groups in the surface water in May 2007 and in May and October 2007, Gammaproteobacteria was dominant in mesopelagic samples. However, Gammaproteobacteria was overwhelmingly dominant in most samples in August 2009. Although Deltaproteobacteria was rarely found as a dominant bacterial group, it occupied the highest fraction in a mesopelagic sample in October 2007. Epsilonproteobacteria also showed a similar trend, although its maximal dominance was found in a mesopelagic sample in August 2009. The archaeal community was dominated overwhelmingly by members of the Euryarchaeota in most of the investigations. However, Nitrosopumilales was dominant in aphotic samples in August 2009. Further, their spatiotemporal composition at the family level changed more dynamically in the East Sea. These temporal and spatial distributions of the prokaryotic community were influenced mainly by seawater temperature and depth in the East Sea.     

Accumulation features of arsenic species in various fishes collected from coastal cities in Korea

In this study, 36 fish species were collected from three coastal cities in Korea to investigate levels and patterns of six arsenicals (arsenite: As (III), arsenate: As (V), arsenocholine: AsC, arsenobetaine: AsB, monomethylarsonic acid: MMA, and dimethylarsinic acid: DMA). The levels of ∑₆ As in the different fish species varied substantially, ranging from 0.02 μg As/g ww (Islaeli carp) to 9.65 μg As/g ww (Skate ray) with a median of 0.40 μg As/g ww. All the arsenicals in marine fishes showed higher levels than those in freshwater fishes due to fish feed living in saline water. Overall, marine carnivorous fishes seem to be more contaminated with arsenic. For all the fish samples, AsB (mean fraction: 90.6%) was dominant among the six arsenicals, indicating biomethylation of inorganic arsenic and accumulation of AsB. Fish species with high water contents showed elevated levels of As (III), but there was no further significant correlations between arsenicals and water/lipid contents. Concentrations of As (V) were significantly lower than those of As (III), which implies that As (V) is reduced during biomethylation of inorganic arsenic. Consequently, we hypothesize that the toxicity of arsenic (mainly derived from As (III)) can be increased by the reduction of As (V), especially for the fish species with higher water contents.     

Geochemical processes controlling arsenic mobility in groundwater: A case study of arsenic mobilization and natural attenuation

The behavior of As in the subsurface environment was examined along a transect of groundwater monitoring wells at a Superfund site, where enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) is being used for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The transect was installed parallel to the groundwater flow direction through the treatment area. The ERD technology involves the injection of organic C (OC) to stimulate in situ microbial dechlorination processes. A secondary effect of the ERD treatment at this site, however, is the mobilization of As, as well as Fe and Mn. The concentrations of these elements are low in groundwater collected upgradient of the ERD treatment area, indicating that, in the absence of the injected OC, the As that occurs naturally in the sediment is relatively immobile. Batch experiments conducted using sediments from the site inoculated with an Fe(III)- and As(V)-reducing bacterium and amended with lactate resulted in mobilization of As, Fe and Mn, suggesting that As mobilization in the field is due to microbial processes.     

Free spanning analysis of offshore pipelines

A rigorous procedure was established on the free span analysis of offshore pipelines. The closed form solutions of the beam–column equation, considering tension and compressive force, were derived for the various possible boundary conditions. The solutions can be used to find the natural frequencies of the free spans using the energy balance concept. The results can be applied to improve the current design codes. The improved procedure will yield more realistic calculations of the allowable free span lengths of offshore pipelines. Some calculations are included to present the sensitivity of the axial forces on the allowable free spanning lengths.     

Description of a small goby, Trimma grammistes (Perciformes: Gobiidae), from Jeju Island, Korea

A small goby, Trimma grammistes, was described in detail as the first reliable record from Korea based on 10 specimens (27.8～34.0 mm SL) collected from the coastal waters of Jeju Island. The species is easily differentiated from congeners by having no scales on the predorsal region, VI-I, 10 dorsal fin rays modally, I, 10 anal fin rays, 18 pectoral fin rays, 27～30 longitudinal scales as well as two dark longitudinal bands on the body.     

A new record of pasiphaeid shrimp of the genus <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pasiphaea</Emphasis> (Crustacea: Decapoda: Caridea) in Korean waters

A single specimen of the pelagic shrimps, Pasiphaea japonica Omori, 1976 (Pasiphaeidae) collected in the southeastern waters of Korea is described and illustrated. Although this species occurs widely in the Indo-West Pacific including the Japanese coast of the East/Japan Sea and the middle and southern parts of the East China Sea, this is the first record of the species and the genus in Korean waters. The species is distinguished from other congeners by the following combination of characteristics: non-carinate dorsal sixth abdominal somite with a terminal tooth, rudimentary pleurobranch on the eighth thoracic somite, merus of the first pereopod with more than eight spines, and almost entirely transparent white color.     

Population Genetic Structure of Rock Bream (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oplegnathus fasciatus</Emphasis> Temminck &amp; Schlegel, 1884) Revealed by mtDNA COI Sequence in Korea and China

The rock bream, Oplegnathus fasciatus, is a common rocky reef game fish in East Asia and recently has become an aquaculture species. Despite its commercial importance, the population genetic structure of this fish species remains poorly understood. In this study, 163 specimens were collected from 6 localities along the coastal waters of Korea and China and their genetic variation was analyzed with mtDNA COI sequences. A total of 34 polymorphic sites were detected which determined 30 haplotypes. The genetic pattern reveals a low level of nucleotide diversity (0.04 ± 0.003) but a high level of haplotype diversity (0.83 ± 0.02). The 30 haplotypes are divided into two major genealogical clades: one that consists of only Zhoushan (ZS, East China Sea) specific haplotypes from the southern East China Sea and the other that consists of the remaining haplotypes from the northern East China Sea, Yellow Sea, Korea Strait, and East Sea/Sea of Japan. The two clades are separated by approximately 330~435 kyBP. Analyses of AMOVA and F_st show a significant population differentiation between the ZS sample and the other ones, corroborating separation of the two genealogical clades. Larval dispersal and the fresh Yangtze River plume are invoked as the main determining factors for this population genetic structure of O. fasciatus. Neutrality tests and mismatch distribution analyses indicate late Pleistocene population expansion along the coastal waters of Korea and China approximately 133–183 kyBP during which there were periodic cycles of glaciations and deglaciations. Such population information needs to be taken into account when stock enhancement and conservation measures are implemented for this fisheries species.     

Characterization of Frequency and Aggregation of the Antarctic Krill (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Euphausia superba</Emphasis>) Using Acoustics

In this study, the dB difference and characteristics of krill swarms inhabiting Subarea 48.1, which includes the west and south of the South Shetland Island and the Elephant Island peripheries, were estimated to distinguish Antarctic krill, using acoustics. From April 13 to 24, 2016, acoustic data were collected along 24 survey lines using the frequencies 38 and 120 kHz, and middle trawling was performed at 7 stations. Using the difference between the dB values of two volume backscattering strength (Sv) frequencies (38 and 120 kHz), a clear acoustic distinction could be made between Antarctic krill (4.9 to 12.0 dB) and fish (?4.0 to ?0.2 dB). The distributions and mean Sv of krill swarms in the Elephant Island peripheries and south of South Shetland Island were higher than those in the west of South Shetland Island. The mean length/ height ratio of krill swarms in the west of the South Shetland Island (64.5) was higher than that in the south (35.9) and the Elephant Island peripheries (33.8), with the length of the aggregations exceeding their height. Most krill swarms were distributed between the surface layer (less than 10 m below sea level) and within 200 m of water depth. These results are expected to serve as baseline data for evaluating krill density and biomass by distinguishing them from fish, using acoustics.