Structural design of buried pipelines for severe earthquakes

In order to realistically assess the seismic risk of a pipeline system, the accurate estimate of the pipe strains which depend upon structural details, pipe material, properties of the surrounding soil, the nature of the propagating wave, etc. is critical. Emphasis in this study, therefore has been placed on the analysis of a structural strain for several types of piping elements unique to the buried pipeline and also the provision of a simplified design formula which can be used practically. The purpose of this study is (a) to define the slippage factor in order to estimate the decrease in pipe strain resulting from the slippage effect, (b) to propose a simplified method to evaluate the plastic deformation of the pipeline for severe earthquakes, and (c) to derive a practical design formula for the structural strains of bent pipes.     

Observations of the total lunar eclipse on March 24, 1978, at 3.4-mm wavelength

Observations of the total lunar eclipse were made at 3.4-mm wavelength (87.4 GHz) on March 24, 1978. Eclipsr cooling curves with the best S/N ratio among those published thus far were obtained for the three points (the mountain area near the crater of Hipparuchus, Sinus Medii, and Copernicus). Each of the curves can be decomposed into the three parts which apparently correspond to ingress, totality, and egress. The derived cooling rate and heating rate differ significantly at the three points.     

Growth characteristics ofChattonella antiqua

Nutrient requirements of a red tide flagellate,Chattonella antiqua, were investigated in a laboratory culture experiment. Growth ofC. antiqua was supported by nitrate and ammonium, and by urea to a limited extent, but not by glycine, alanine and glutamate. Orthophosphate served as a good phosphorus source but glycerophosphate did not. Fe³⁺ (1µM) fully promoted the flagellate's growth in the presence of 80µM of EDTA. The addition of Mn²⁺ (0–20µM), Zn²⁺ (0–10µM) and Co²⁺ (0–0.4µM) did not show any effect. Among three vitamins tested, only B₁₂ (6 ng 1^?1) served as a growth factor. Glucose, acetate and glycolate did not improve growth in the light nor did they support growth in darkness. The minimum cell quotas for nitrogen, phosphorus, iron and B₁₂ were estimated to be 11 pmoles ce^?1, 1.0, ～0.09 and 1.1 fg cell^?1, respectively.     

Chemical environment for red tides due toChattonella antiqua

In order to assess the roles of Fe and Cu in outbreaks ofChattonella antiqua red tide, concentrations of these metals in the surface seawater were monitored around the Ie-shima Islands in the Seto Inland Sea during the summers of 1986–1988. Bioassay of the surface seawater with respect to Fe and Cu was also conducted using a cultured strain ofC. antiqua.Concentrations of Fe and Cu in the filtered seawater (Fe^F and Cu^F) were in the range of 3.9–10.0 and 9.3–11.2 nM, respectively. The bioassay with respect to Fe revealed that Fe at the surface layer was usually insufficient to support the maximum growth rate ofC. antiqua, except whenC. antiqua was dominant in the field. However, correlations between Fe^F and the growth rate of the control cultures (Fe, EDTA=not enriched; N, P, B₁₂=enriched at optimum levels) were not apparent, probably because Fe^F did not reflect the concentration of available Fe.The bioassay with respect to Cu was coupled with the Cu^F values obtained. The results indicated that Cu at the surface layer was detoxified by complexation with natural organic ligand(s), and that pCu (=minus log of cupric ion activity) was 11.5–11.7, optimum for the growth ofC. antiqua, throughout the survey period. It is suggested that Fe, but not Cu, is a potentially important factor in regulating the natural populations ofC. antiqua in the Seto Inland Sea.     

Prediction of Changes in Soil Moisture Associated with Climatic Changes and Their Implications for Vegetation Changes: Waves Model Simulation on Taihang Mountain, China

The WAVES model was used to simulate the effect of global warming on soil moisture on the semi-arid Taihang Mountain in China. Parameters of the WAVES model were first adjusted according to soil moisture data from a field global warming experiment. Then, the reliability of WAVES in predicting soil moisture changes induced by climatic change was confirmed by comparing the simulated and observed soil moisture values under different climatic conditions and plant growth rates of another field treatment. Next, 10 climate change scenarios incorporating increases in temperature and changes in precipitation were designed. When a simulation was conducted using the leaf area index (LAI) growth pattern from a field experiment under the present climatic conditions, the results suggested that the combination of temperature increase and precipitation decrease would greatly decrease soil water content throughout the entire simulation period. On the other hand, only when precipitation increased by 20% and temperatureincreased by 2 °C, the effect of precipitation increase on soil moisture was obviously positive. Although soil moisture conditions in the T2P1 (temperature increase by 2 °C and precipitation increase by 10%) and T4P2 (temperature increase by 4 °C and precipitation increase by 20%) scenarios were slightly better during the rainy season and notmuch changed before the rainy season, the positive effect of 10%precipitation increase on soil moisture was totally offset by moisture decrease caused bya 4 °C temperature increase in the T4P1 scenario. At the same time, the trends of soil-moisture change were highly coincident with predicted changes in productivity. Finally, the predicted LAI values from other studies were combined with the climatic change scenarios and used in the simulation. The results showed that changes in LAI alleviated, at least to some extent, the effects of temperature and precipitation changes on soil moisture.     

Production of bioplastics and hydrogen gas by photosynthetic microorganisms

Experiments on salimity tolerance of embryos and larvae of the southern bay scallopArgopecten irradians concentricus Say under controlled temperature of 28°C showed that although the eggs were fertilized and cleaved at salinity 18.1–37.4, they could further develop into normal D-shaped larvae only at salinity 23.4–36.1, while the trochophore larvae could develop into normal D—shaped larvae at salinity 22.1–39.9. For 72 hours, the larvae could tolerate salinity of 18.4–43.9, the salinity favoring growth was 19.8–42.4; the suitable range was 21–36, and the optimum at about 28. They metamorphosed at salinity 18.9–43.5, optimally at 24–32. Contribution No. 3301 from the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. The research was supported by the National Climbing Project B(PDB6-3-2).     

Volcanism in nascent back-arc basins behind the Shichito Ridge and adjacent areas in the Izu-Ogasawara arc,northwest Pacific: evidence for mixing between E-type MORB and island arc magmas at the initiation of back-arc rifting

Mineral chemistry, major and trace elements, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios are presented for 29 igneous rocks dredged from the northern portion of the Izu-Ogasawara arc. These rocks are compositionally bimodal. Basement gabbro and trondhjemite from the arc are extremely poor in K₂O (0.05–0.19%) and Rb (0.48–0.62 ppm), and their REE patterns and Sr isotope ratios indicate that there are island arc tholeiites. Quaternary volcanic rocks from the present volcanic front (Shichito Ridge; active arc), back-arc seamounts (east side; inactive arc) and Torishima knoll between the two back-arc depressions (incipient back-arc basins) behind the active arc have the same geochemical characteristics as the above plutonic rocks though they are not as depleted in K and Rb. Rhyolite pumice from the backarc depression is also the depleted island arc tholeiite, whereas basalts from the depression have compositions that are transitional between MORB and island arc tholeiites in trace element (Ti, Ni, Cr, V, Y and Zr) and mineral chemistries. The back-arc depression basalts have relatively high Ba_N/Ce_N(0.66–1.24), Ce_n/Yb_N(1.1–1.9) and K/Ba(45–105) and low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70302–0.70332) and Ba/Sr (0.1–0.2), which are similar to other back-arc basin basalts and E-type MORB, but are quite unlike the depleted island arc tholeiites. The diverse trace element and Sr isotope compositions of basalt-andesite from the back-arc depressions imply the interplay between E-type MORB and island arc tholeiite. These chemical characteristics and the relationships of (Ce/Yb)_N vs (Ba/Ce)_N and (Ce/Yb)_N vs ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr suggest that the back-arc depression magmas are generated by mixing of E-type MORB and depleted island arc tholeiite magmas. Geochemical characters of the associated rhyolite from the depression are compatible with partial melting of lower crust.     

Characteristics of the stream network composition of drainage basins in the Japanese Islands

This research is to analyze the composition of stream networks of drainage basins in Japan and to discuss the characteristics of drainage basins in the Japanese Islands. Study areas were selected for 180 drainage basins in the entire country. In this study, a topographic map with a scale of 1:50,000 was used and inserted into the valley line by V-shaped-contour methods in each drainage basin. The streams are ordered according to Strahler's system and measured by the stream number, stream length, stream slope, drainage area, and stream fall in each drainage basin. Horton's law of drainage network composition holds good in most drainage basins in Japan. The average values of the bifurcation ratio, stream length ratio, stream slope ratio, drainage area ratio, and stream fall ratio are 4.24, 1.91, 1.98, 4.52, and 1.04, respectively. The mean bifurcation ratio of drainage basins in Japan is 4.24, and this ratio is slightly greater than in other countries. It is also greater than the theoretical value of 4.0. This implies that the slope of drainage basins in Japan is so steep and the relief energy so large that excess streams have developed to a rather marked degree. The average stream fall ratio is 1.04 for drainage basins in Japan. It suggests that drainage basins are generally considered to be in a stage of maturity in stream channel development for the Japanese Islands. The stream fall ratio, however, is slightly greater than 1.0. Although, the stream beds are nearly in dynamic equilibrium in most cases, it tends to be in a slightly aggrading state.     

Peculiar dispersion of salt by wind-driven fluctuations in the stratified water near the coast

A peculiar dispersion of salt, which was found in a partially mixed estuary by long-term continuous measurements of current and salinity and directed outward in the upper layer and inward in the lower layer in summer, is reported and discussed. The cause is estimated to be salinity stratification and wind-driven fluctuations in water near the coast. The general formulation is presented and a great possibility of negative dispersion against the horizontal gradient is pointed out. Dispersion coefficients are also estimated.     

Phase relations of iron–silicon alloys at high pressure and high temperature

The phase relations of Fe-6.4 wt% Si and Fe-9.9 wt% Si have been investigated up to 130 GPa and 2,600 K based on in situ synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements in a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell along with chemical analysis of the quenched samples using a field-emission electron probe microanalyzer. We found that the maximum solubility of silicon in solid hcp-iron increases with increasing pressure. Linear extrapolation of the phase boundary between hcp + B2 and hcp phases for Fe-9.9 wt% Si suggests that the solid hcp-iron can include more than 9.9 wt% Si at the Earth’s inner-core conditions. If silicon is a major light element in the outer core, a substantial amount of silicon may be incorporated into the inner core during inner-core solidification.