Seasonal variation of freshwater budget in the Yellow and East China Seas simulated from an ocean general circulation model

This study investigates a freshwater budget in the Yellow and East China Seas (YECS) using a global f general circulation model with a regional focus on the YECS. A freshwater budget analysis finds that major freshwater contributors over the YECS change seasonally. In summer, freshwater inflow from Changjiang and positive precipitation minus evaporation (P-E) dominates freshwater outflow across the boundaries around the YECS, resulting in net freshwater gain in the YECS. In winter, evaporation, intensified by strong winds, dominates freshwater inflow from Changjiang and precipitation, while net freshwater transport across the boundaries around the YECS is negligible, causing freshwater loss in total over the YECS. Although P-E has often been assumed to be negligible by supposing that the annual mean of precipitation is nearly equal to that of evaporation, this study suggests that P-E needs to be included in the seasonal freshwater budget in the YECS.     

Chemical and physical weathering in a hot‐arid,tectonically active alluvial system of Anza Borrego Desert,California

Investigation of chemical and physical weathering of bedrock and alluvial sediment in the Anza Borrego Desert, California, sheds light on weathering processes in hot‐arid systems and clarifies interpretations of climate from alluvial sediment. All of the alluvial sediment in the study area emanates from Cretaceous tonalite of the Peninsular Range, enabling exploration of the effects of external variables – climate, transport distance and tectonics – on the physical and chemical properties of the sediment. Chemical weathering in this area is dominated by plagioclase alteration observed in both bedrock outcrops and sediment, evinced most clearly by changes in the Eu anomaly. Biotite chemical weathering, manifested by interlayer K⁺ loss, is not evident in bedrock, but clearly observed in the sediment. Despite the weak intensity of chemical weathering (Chemical Index of Alteration = 56 to 62), fine‐grained (<63 μm) sediment displays a clear weathering trend in A–CN–K space and contains up to 25% clay minerals. Physical abrasion and grain‐size reduction in biotite during transport predominates in the sediment, whereas physical (insolation) weathering affecting bedrock is inferred from estimates of differential thermal expansion of mineral phases in response to extreme temperature changes in the study area. Chemical alteration and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area both increase within the active Elsinore fault zone at the distal end of the depositional transect, reflecting tectonic‐induced fracturing and associated accelerated weathering. Extensive fracturing, together with a more humid Pleistocene climate, probably facilitated in situ bedrock weathering, preceding arid alluvial deposition in the Holocene. This study demonstrates that both climate and tectonic processes can affect chemical and physical weathering, resulting in alteration of plagioclase, leaching of K⁺ from biotite in the sediment and formation of clay minerals, even in hot, arid systems.     

A discontinuity in the late Pleistocene alluvial deposits,Hwacheon‐ri,Gyeongju, Korea: Occurrences and paleoenvironmental implication

A sedimentary discontinuity is present in the late Pleistocene alluvial deposits exposed along the cliff in stream side, Gyeongju, Korea. Sedimentological study, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) age dating, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) analyses were conducted in order to interpret the origin of the discontinuity surface. Based on the sedimentological study, these deposits can be divided into three distinct stages, in ascending order: (Stage 1) development of a braided stream flowing from south to north and deposition by debris flows from the mountain aside the stream during and/or after deposition of the braided stream; (Stage 2) deposition by intermittent events during a state of stagnation after the abandonment or migration of the previously existed braided stream; and (Stage 3) deposition of gravels from debris flows from the mountain aside the stream. Hornfelsic gravels are common in Stage 1, whereas andesitic gravels are predominant in Stage 3, suggesting the provenance change from Stage 1 to Stage 3. The discontinuity surface is laterally extensive and marked by a distinct carbonaceous dark grey horizon between Stage 2 and Stage 3. It is characteristic that rootlets mineralized by vivianite are present, and iron‐oxide crusts are cutting across irregularly below the discontinuity surface. It is thus interpreted that the shift of depositional environment from an alluvial plain (Stage 2) (125 ka) to an alluvial fan (Stage 3) (94–55 ka) was an alluvial response to sea level change from the interglacial to the glacial. The development of iron‐oxide crusts and diagenetic vivianite in the discontinuity surface suggests humid condition persisted during the paleoclimatic shift from the last interglacial to the last glacial stages.     

Oxygen penetration through invertebrate burrow walls in Korean tidal flat

Macrofaunal burrows increase the surface area of the sediment-water interface, which has a great impact on the metabolism of aerobic microbes and the oscillation of reduced metabolites within the sediment. Given the importance of macrofauna in surficial sediments, the aim of this study is to examine the effects of burrow architectures on dissolved oxygen diffusion rates in comparison with unburrowed sediment, and thereby to evaluate the theoretical assumption used for modeling solute distribution in the burrow system using field samples. Employing microsensors, horizontal oxygen profiles were measured on a micrometer scale around burrows of seven invertebrates in tidal flats of the west coast of Korea. Oxygen diffusion distance through the burrow walls of seven invertebrates showed spatio-temporal variation with a range of 0.6 to 2.9 mm. Two groups of burrows were identified based on their oxygen diffusive properties relative to unburrowed sediments: 1) oxygen penetration similar to that of ambient sediments and 2) clearly enhanced oxygen penetration. Differences in the diffusive properties of the burrow wall were related to the burrow depth and diameter, existence of mucus lining on the wall, sediment grain size, and tidal phases. Also inhabitant activity was an important factor affecting oxygen penetration, which is discussed in the paper. These results further demonstrate that simplified assumptions (i.e. burrow structures are viewed as direct biogeochemical extensions of the sediment-water interface) may not be exact representation of the nature.     

Factors Affecting the Wintering Habitat of Major Fishery Resources in Southwestern Korean Waters

We investigated the temperature and salinity effects on the major fish species in the wintering grounds based on trawl surveys and oceanographic observations in the southwestern waters of Korea during March-early April in 2002-2003. The influence area of warm Kuroshio water was limited to the southwestern area of Korea in 2003 with a range of 7.7-16.3°C, 32.54-34.70 of salinity, wider than that of 2002. The number of fish species and density of major fish species in 2003 were higher than in 2002. Geographical estimation showed high proportions of species number and catches in the areas around Jeju Islands, southwestern waters and the southeastern coast of Korea. Five species; silver pomfret (Pampus echinogaster), hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) and yellow goosefish (Lophius litulon) were most abundant, composing above 60% of the total catch in 2002 and 2003. More than 50% of catch in the major fish species were mostly distributed in the range of 9.5-11.0°C of temperature and 33.1-33.9 of salinity. Non-parametric estimation for the major species showed the 1st mode around 10°C and the 2nd mode at 8-9°C in 2002 and 11-14°C in 2003. A m o n g major fish species, hairtail was principally composed of juveniles, and larger individuals were caught in southeastern waters. These results are considered to be helpful for the areabased fishery management strategy for the wintering grounds of the Yellow Sea and coastal waters of Korea.     

Palustrine calcretes of the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Supergroup, Korea: Variation and paleoenvironmental implications

Abstract Mostly siliciclastic lacustrine deposits from five stratigraphically different formations (Jinju Formation, Jindong Formation, Geoncheonri and correlative Hwasan Formations and Dadaepo Formation, in ascending order) in the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin, Korea, were examined for aspects of lithofacies and pedogenesis to evaluate the relative influence of geological controls on the development of palustrine calcretes (calcretes formed from palustrine deposits). The pedogenic carbonate development of palustrine deposits in the Gyeongsang Supergroup varies from formation to formation. The highest development is in the Dadaepo Formation and the second is in the Jindong Formation. The lowest development of palustrine calcretes is in the Geoncheonri and Hwasan Formations and the Jinju Formation shows intermediate development. The more negative d¹³C values and the less negative d¹⁸O values of the Dadaepo palustrine calcretes confirm greater pedogenic development in the Dadaepo Formation. That the highest development was in the Dadaepo Formation was attributed to it having the smallest lake size, indicating that lake size is critical to palustrine calcrete development in non‐carbonate lakes under semi‐arid climate. In spite of having the largest lake size, the higher development in the Jindong Formation could have resulted from its lowest lake gradient and most arid paleoclimate. The higher development of palustrine calcretes in the Late Cretaceous deposits (Jindong Formation) than the Early Cretaceous deposits (Jinju Formation) reflect overall increase in aridity throughout the period during the deposition of the Gyeongsang Supergroup. Consequently, the diverse development of the palustrine calcretes in the Gyeongsang Supergroup indicates that the lacustrine settings varied in time and space throughout the evolution of the Cretaceous Gyeongsang Basin. Such variation in palustrine calcrete development according to the change in paleoenvironments may provide a basis to interpret the relative paleoenvironmental condition of lacustrine deposits including paleoclimate, lake size and gradient.     

Changes in benthic communities along a presumed pollution gradient in Vancouver Harbour

Samples of macrobenthic organisms were obtained at seven stations on a presumed pollution gradient from the head of Vancouver Harbour through to outer Howe Sound. Polychaetes (83 apparent species) and molluscs (43 apparent species) were the most abundant faunal groups numerically (44.8 and 47.9%, respectively). Molluscs accounted for most of the biomass (87.9%). The following univariate and multivariate methods were used to investigate structural changes in the benthic communities: ANOVA, Abundance-Biomass Comparisons and related statistics, cluster analysis, multidimensional scaling, and the BIOENV procedure. Most of the analyses divided the seven stations into three groups: Port Moody Arm (Inner Harbour): two stations; Inner and Outer Harbour: four stations, and Gibsons (Howe Sound): one station. Further cause-effect investigations are needed to determine the sensitivity to organic pollution of indicator species identified in the survey. However our data correlating benthic community changes to sediment chemistry suggest the inner harbour was dominated by pollution-tolerant species. Depth and sediment grain size were confounding factors for the interpretations.     

Spatio‐Temporal Variations in Stream–Aquifer Interactions Following Construction of Weirs in Korea

The “Four Major Rivers Restoration Project” was conducted to secure sufficient water resources, introduce comprehensive flood control measures, improve water quality, and restore river ecosystems in Korea. As a part of the project, 16 sites were dredged and weirs were installed in the Han, Geum, Yeongsan, and Nakdong Rivers from late 2010 to early 2012. Groundwater data were obtained from 213 groundwater monitoring wells near the four major rivers to analyze the impacts of weir construction on the nearby groundwater flow system. The groundwater level and chemical characteristics were analyzed to investigate how the groundwater flow system and water quality changed following weir construction. Our results show that the groundwater level immediately increased with increased river levels following weir construction. In addition, the hydrologic condition of some rivers upstream of the weirs was changed from gaining to losing streams. Consequently, the direction of groundwater flow changed from perpendicular to parallel to the river, and groundwater downstream of the weir became recharged from the area upstream of the weir. This should affect groundwater quality, which should become similar to the river water; however, this change has not yet been observed. Therefore, both further monitoring of the groundwater quality and further hydrogeochemical analysis are required for quantitative evaluation of the effects of weir construction in the study area.     

The effect of nonlinear multi-contact coupling with gap between risers and guide frames on global spar motion analysis

Nonlinear multi-contact coupling between vertical risers and guide frames inside the spar moon-pool is studied. The existing numerical model for hull/mooring/riser coupled dynamics analysis treats riser as an elastic rod truncated at the keel (truncated riser model), and the risers are free to slide in vertical direction with constant tension, while restricted in horizontal direction. The truncated riser model neglects the portion of the riser inside the moon-pool and tends to overestimate the spar pitch motion. In the newly developed model, the risers are extended through the moon-pool with realistic boundary conditions at multiple guide frames, and thus additional contact forces and moments on the spar hull are considered. The gap effects between the riser buoyancy-cans and riser guide frames are also modeled using three different types of gap springs. Their different dynamic characteristics are extensively studied. The new riser model also considers the Coulomb damping between buoyancy-cans and riser guide frames and also allows the impact-like contact force calculation on risers for ensuring fatigue analysis.