Wave-induced pore pressures and effective stresses in inhomogeneous seabed foundations

Stability analyses of homogeneous and inhomogeneous seabed foundations under attack by storm waves are made by calculating the wave-induced effective stresses. Wave-induced effective stress analysis of homogeneous seabed is made using the theory previously developed by the author which is based on the poro-elastic theory of Biot. Effective stresses in inhomogeneous seabeds induced by waves are calculated by approximating aa inhomogeneous bed by many layers of homogeneous soils each of which has different geotechnical soil properties. A good agreement is obtained between the theory and the pore pressure data from in situ field measurements. For a given wavelength, it is found that there exists a most unstable thickness of homogeneous seabed when the thickness is one-fifth of the wave length. As a realistic example of an inhomogeneous bed, the effective stresses in a typical seabed formation at the Mississippi Delta area of the Gulf of Mexico under the attack of design storm waves are calculated. The numerical results indicate that the storm waves induce a continuous submarine landslide which extends as deep as 9 m from the mud line. Numerical calculations also indicate that such landslides and liquefaction of seabeds can be prevented by placing a layer of concrete blocks or rubble on top of the seabeds.     

Seasonal variation of <Superscript>228</Superscript>Ra/<Superscript>226</Superscript>Ra ratio in surface water from the East China Sea and the Tsushima Strait

A total of 21 surface water samples were collected on the east side of the East China Sea (ECS) (3 sites) and at the Tsushima Strait (1 site), and ²²⁶Ra and ²²⁸Ra activities were measured using low-background γ-spectrometry. The ²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra ratios among the samples exhibited notable seasonal variation (²²⁸Ra/²²⁶Ra = 0.2–2.6) accompanying changes of salinity (31.7–34.7). Seasonal water circulation within the ECS is hypothesized to cause the change by altering the mixing ratio of ²²⁸Ra-rich continental shelf water and ²²⁸Ra-poor Kuroshio water.     

Potential of submarine-cave sediments and oxygen isotope composition of cavernicolous micro-bivalve as a late Holocene paleoenvironmental record

A sediment layer (43 cm thick) and surface sediments (5 cm thick) in a submarine limestone cave (31 m water depth) on the fore-reef slope of Ie Island, off Okinawa mainland, Japan, were examined by visual, mineralogical and geochemical means. Oxygen isotope analysis was performed on the cavernicolous micro-bivalve Carditella iejimensis from both cored sediments and surface sediments, and the water temperature within the cave was recorded for nearly one year. These data show that: (1) water temperature within the cave is equal to that at 30 m deep in the open sea; (2) the biotic and non-biotic environments within the cave have persisted for the past 2000 years; (3) mud-size carbonate detritus is a major constituent of the submarine-cave deposit, and may have come mainly from the suspended carbonate mud produced on the emergent Holocene reef flat over the past two millennia; (4) the δ¹⁸O-derived temperature (T_δ18_O) of C. iejimensis suggests that the species grows between April and July; (5) the T_δ18_O of C. iejimensis from cored sediments implies that there were two warmer intervals, at AD 340 ± 40 and AD 1000 ± 40, which correspond to the Roman Warm Period and Medieval Warm Period, respectively. These suggest that submarine-cave sediments provide unique information for Holocene reef development. In addition, oxygen isotope records of cavernicolous C. iejimensis are a useful tool to reconstruct century-scale climatic variability for the Okinawa Islands during the Holocene.     

North Arch volcanic fields near Hawaii are evidence favouring the restite‐root hypothesis for the origin of hotspot swells

A pronounced regional bathymetric swell is a common feature of oceanic hotspot volcanism. Recently, the hypothesis of a buoyant sublithospheric swell‐root has been favoured, the root being either a ‘refracted plume’ of hot, buoyant and hence low‐viscosity plume material embedded within surrounding higher viscosity asthenosphere, or a ‘restite‐root’ composed of hot and more viscous residues to hotspot melt‐extraction from the hottest central portion of the upwelling plume. In this article, we present numerical experiments that show that these two scenarios predict different flow and melting patterns whenever the plume passes beneath an obliquely oriented fracture zone where the base of the overriding lithosphere changes in thickness. We find that the restite‐root hypothesis predicts an asymmetric spatial pattern of persistent ‘arch volcanism’ strikingly similar to that found in the Hawaiian chain surrounding the Molokai Fracture Zone. In contrast, the ‘refracted plume’ hypothesis predicts more chaotic patterns quite different from the off‐chain pattern of Hawaiian volcanism.     

The ultraviolet extinction by hollow spherical particles of graphite

Using the discrete dipole approximation, we have calculated the extinction efficiency of hollow spherical particles of graphite as a possible constituent of interstellar grains. The particles had a shell structure with the basal plane perpendicular to the radius. The calculations were made on the particles having the outer radiusR ₀=10 and 5nm in the wave number region from 0.8 to 8.0 m^–1 using the anisotropic optical constants. It was found that the hollow particles with the inner radiusR ₁0.65R ₀ yield an extinction feature at 4.6 m^–1, which fits fairly well to one observed in the interstellar extinction.     

Planktonic and benthic microalgal community composition as indicators of terrestrial influence on a fringing reef in Ishigaki Island, Southwest Japan

Microalgal-based indicators were used to assess terrestrial influence on Shiraho coral reef of Ishigaki Island (Okinawa, Japan). A typhoon occurred on 4-5 August 2005 and sampling were made on three occasions thereafter (6, 8, and 11 August). Pre-typhoon sampling was conducted on 26 July. The typhoon-enhanced terrestrial discharges increased reef nutrient levels (e.g. average NO(3)(-)-N: 0.088mg/L pre-typhoon to 0.817mg/L post-typhoon). This elevated chlorophyll-a concentrations by four times and shifted phytoplankton composition (spectral class-based) from an initial dominance of diatoms and green microalgae to the dominance of bluegreen microalgae (cyanobacteria) and cryptophytes. Cyanobacteria later increased by more than 200% and accounted for as much as 80% of total chl-a ( approximately 0.29microg/L), possibly assisted by favorable nutrient availability. In outer reef waters, diatoms and green microalgae predominated whereas cyanobacteria and cryptophytes were nearly undetectable. Due to detrital decomposition and river discharge, the CDOM was much higher in the inner reef than in the outer reef. Benthic bluegreen microalgae were relatively more abundant in areas close to the river mouth and coastal agricultural fields. At these locations, nutrient concentrations were much higher due to river discharge and potentially significant groundwater discharge. Thus, phytoplankton and benthic microalgae can serve as indicators of terrestrial influence on coral reefs.     

Stability considerations of an anchor dragged in noncohesive sea bed

The maximum holding power and the stability of stockless anchors dragged in non-cohesive media are considered. Forces and moments acting on each structural element of the anchor, such as flukes, shank and stabilizing fins, were investigated experimentally, and the results are given in formulae.The maximum holding power of an anchor depends upon its configuration in the sea bed. Considering force resultants and moments acting on all the structural elements, equilibrium equations are formulated and the configuration of a dragged anchor and its maximum holding power can be determined by solving these equations. If its equilibrium configuration cannot be determined under the surface of the sea bed, the dragged anchor will turn over as soon as the flukes come out of the bed. This instability will be called lifting-up.Instability phenomena caused by turning around the shank are analysed by considering the resulting moments acting on the anchor in a disturbed condition from the equilibrium configuration. From the results, stability conditions for lifting-up and turning are proposed for the anchor dragged in noncohesive media, and an anchor of absolute-roll-stability is realized by attaching a pair of proper stabilizing fins.     

Gallium content in seaweeds

Analyses of gallium content were made by the fluorometric method on 57 samples of seaweeds which were composed of 30 species. As the result of it, the gallium content was found ranging from 0.02 to 0.64g g^–1 and the average was 0.14g g^–1 in the dried seaweeds.Generally, the gallium content in seaweeds had a close relationship to the aluminium and iron contents. The average weight ratio of Ga/Al was 3.8×10^–4 and one of Ga/Fe was 4.0×10^–4. The average Ga/Al weight ratio (3.8×10^–4) was very similar to that reported for shallow-water deposits (2.1×10^–4), but was definitely lower than that in sea water (1.5×10^–2).     

Contents of strontinm-90 and ruthenium-106 in beach and shallow water deposits of noto peninsula

⁹⁰Sr,¹⁰⁶Ru, natural strontium and major elements were studied in 12 samples of beach deposits from Togi, Fukuura and Shiga, and in 26 samples of shallow water sediments from sea off Fukuura, Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Pref., Japan.The average contents of natural strontium and⁹⁰Sr in the beach deposits were 488 ppm ranging from 247 to 1,550 ppm and 45±9 pCi kg^–1-dry mud ranging from 18 to 72 pCi kg^–1-dry mud, respectively. While the average contents of natural strontium,⁹⁰Sr and¹⁰⁶Ru in the sediments were 234 ppm ranging from 136 to 415 ppm, 22±6 pCi kg^–1-dry sand ranging from 7 to 48 pCi kg^–1-dry sand and 0.6 ±0.2 nCi kg^–1-dry ranging from 0.3 to 1.2 nCi kg^–1-dry, respectively.The average contents of each natural strontium and⁹⁰Sr in the beach deposits were about two times higher than those in the shallow water sediments. But no obvious relation of natural strontium to⁹⁰Sr was found in all the samples. The enrichment of⁹⁰Sr and¹⁰⁸Ru in the beach deposits or tthe sediments were as high as 150320 and of 2,0003,000 compared with average contents of⁹⁰Sr and¹⁰⁶Ru in a liter of surface water from the Japan Sea. It is to be noticed that the average¹⁰⁶Ru to⁹⁰Sr ratio of 27 for the shallow water sediments is much higher than the average of 1.0 for surface sea water of the Japan Sea.As to major elements of the samples, the beach deposits are rich in silicon (Av. 70.89 ±0.92% SiO₂), but poor in iron (Av. 2.99±0.32% Fe₂O₃). Whereas the shallow water sediments are poor in silicon (Av. 52.96±10.33% SiO₂) and rich in iron (Av. 5.50±1.90% Fe₂O₃), calcium (Av. 9.64±9.22% CaO) and magnesium (Av. 2.83±1.58% MgO).