Winter distribution of diatom assemblages along the coastline of R. O. Korea in 2010

Diatoms are a globally successful and eukaryotic photosynthetic organism with an ornamented silica external wall. The relationship between their valve morphology and habitat means that diatoms can be used as bioindicators to characterize the aquatic environment. To estimate the differential distribution and diversity of diatom assemblages along the coastal line, we collected phytoplankton samples from 114 coastal sites of waters of R. O. Korea. We applied the unweighted pair-group technique usin...     

Vaca Muerta mesosiderite strewnfield

Abstract A field investigation is presented of the strewnfield of the mesosiderite Vaca Muerta, originally found in 1861. The area, 11.5 km long, 2.1 km wide, is located about 60 km southeast of Taltal, Chile, in the Atacama Desert. It has yielded 80 meteorites with a total mass exceeding 3782 kg. Most fragments were found in an undisturbed state, but some had been broken by prospectors. The present studies, in connection with historical records, indicate that the original mass of Vaca Muerta exceeded 6 metric tons. One impact feature, somewhat modified by man, consists of a 10.5-m diameter, 1.7-m deep hole, without an uplifted rim. Small masses were scattered up to 85 m from the hole.     

Line Shapes Emitted from Spiral Structures around Symmetric Orbits of Supermassive Binary Black Holes

Variability of active galactic nuclei is not well understood. One possible explanation is existence of supermassive binary black holes (SMBBH) in their centres. It is expected that major mergers are common in the Universe. It is expected that each supermassive black hole of every galaxy eventually finish as a SMBBH system in the core of newly formed galaxy. Here we model the emission line profiles of active galactic nuclei (AGN) assuming that the flux and emission line shape variations are induced by supermassive binary black hole systems (SMBBH). We assume that the accreting gas inside the circumbinary (CB) disk is photo ionized by mini accretion disk emission around each SMBBH. We calculate variations of emission line flux, shifts and shapes for different parameters of SMBBH orbits. We consider cases with different masses and inclinations for circular orbits and measure the effect to the shape of emission line profiles and flux variability.     

Restoration of an inner-city stream and its impact on air temperature and humidity based on long-term monitoring data

Spatiotemporal changes in air temperature and humidity associated with the restoration of an inner-city stream in Seoul, Korea, are investigated based on long-term monitoring data. The Cheonggye stream, covered under a concrete structure for 46 years, was restored in 2005 and runs 5.8 km eastward through a central region of Seoul. Long-term monitoring of the air temperature and relative humidity was made along the stream throughout the restoration and across the stream after the restoration. The area along the stream had a higher air temperature than the entire metropolitan area. The temperature anomaly between the monitoring area and the surrounding metropolitan area was 0.13^oC lower on average at the center of the stream after the restoration. The stream's effect on the air temperature was also evident in the temperature distribution along a street traversing the stream. The relative and specific humidities were increased due to the restoration. The restored stream modified the nearby urban climate in the opposite direction compared to urbanization. The results could be used as a model case in mitigating urban climate by a stream in future urban planning practices.     

Maritime trade, biological invasions, and the properties of alternate inspection regimes

We analyze the problem of preventing biological invasions caused by ships transporting internationally traded goods between countries and continents. Specifically, we ask the following question: should a port manager have a small number of inspectors inspect arriving ships less stringently or should this manager have a large number of inspectors inspect the same ships more stringently? We use a simple queuing-theoretic framework and show that if decreasing the economic cost of regulation is very important then it makes more sense for the port manager to choose the less stringent inspection regime. In contrast, if reducing the damage from biological invasions is more salient then the port manager ought to pick the more stringent inspection regime.     

Sediment mounds and other sedimentary features related to hydrate occurrences in a columnar seismic blanking zone of the Ulleung Basin, East Sea, Korea

A mound related to a cold vent in a columnar seismic blanking zone (CSBZ) was formed around site UBGH1-10 in the central Ulleung Basin (2077 m water depth), East Sea, Korea. The mound is 300–400 m wide and 2–3 m high according to multi-beam bathymetry, 2–7 kHz sub-bottom profiler data, and multi-channel reflection seismic data. Seafloor topography and characteristics were investigated using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) around site UBGH1-10, which is located near the northern part of the mound. The origin of the mound was investigated through lithology, mineralogy, hydrate occurrence, and sedimentary features using dive cores, piston cores, and a deep-drilling core. The CSBZ extends to ∼265 ms two-way traveltime (TWT) below the seafloor within a mass-transport deposit (MTD) unit. Gas hydrate was entirely contained 6–141 m below the seafloor (mbsf) within hemipelagic deposits intercalated with a fine-grained turbidite (HTD) unit, characteristically associated with high resistivity values at site UBGH1-10. The hydrate is commonly characterized by veins, nodules, and massive types, and is found within muddy sediments as a fracture-filling type. Methane has been produced by microbial reduction of CO₂, as indicated by C₁/C₂₊, δ¹³CCH4, and δD₄CH analyses. The bowl-shaped hydrate cap revealed at 20–45 ms TWT below the seafloor has very high resistivity and high salinity, suggesting rapid and recent gas hydrate formation. The origin of the sediment mound is interpreted as a topographic high formed by the expansion associated with the formation of the gas hydrate cap above the CSBZ. The lower sedimentation rate of the mound sediments may be due to local enhancement of bottom currents by topographic effects. In addition, no evidence of gas bubbles, chemosynthetic communities, or bacterial mats was observed in the mound, suggesting an inactive cold vent.     

Experimental restoration of a salt marsh with some comments on ecological restoration of coastal vegetated ecosystems in Korea

Since the 1980s, the coastal wetlands in Korea have been rapidly degraded and destroyed mainly due to reclamation and landfills for coastal development. In order to recover damaged coastal environments and to develop wetland restoration technologies, a 4-year study on ecological the restoration of coastal vegetated ecosystems was started in 1998. As one of a series of studies, a small-scale experiment on salt marsh restoration was carried out from April 2000 to August 2001. The experiment was designed to find effective means of ecological restoration through a comparison of the changes in environmental components and species structure between two different experimental plots created using sediment fences, one with and one without small canals. Temporal variation in surface elevation, sedimentary facies, and benthic species were measured seasonally in each plot and in the adjacent natural reference sites. Monthly exposure occurred from 330 cm to mean sea level, which represents the critical tidal level (CTL) at which salt marsh plants colonize. Vegetation, especially Suaeda japonica, colonized the site the following spring and recovered to a similar extent in the natural marshes 16 months later. The sedimentary results indicated that the sediment fences had effects on particle size and sediment accumulation, especially in the plot with small canals. This experiment also showed that tidal height, especially that exceeding the CTL, is an important factor in the recovery of the benthic fauna of salt marshes. From these results, we suggested that designs for the restoration of salt marsh ecosystems must consider the inclusion of a tidal height exceeding CTL, as this may allow reconstruction of the previous natural ecosystem without artificial transplanting.     

Application of food waste based diets in polyculture of low trophic level fish: Effects on fish growth,water quality and plankton density

Food waste was collected from local hotels and fish feed pellets were produced for a 6 months long field feeding trial. Three types of fish feed pellets (control diet: Jinfeng® 613 formulated feed, contains mainly fish meal, plant product and fish oil; Diet A: food waste based diet without meat and 53% cereal; Diet B: food waste based diet with 25% meat and 28% cereal) were used in polyculture fish ponds to investigate the growth of fish (grass carp, bighead and mud carp), changes in water quality and plankton density. No significant differences in the levels of nitrogen and phosphorous compounds of water body were observed between 3 fish ponds after the half-year feeding trial, while pond receiving Diet A had the highest density of plankton. The food waste combination of Diet B seems to be a better formulation in terms of the overall performance on fish growth.     

Mercury in Human Hair and Fish: is there a Hong Kong Male Subfertility Connection?

Hair is a useful indicator of a person’s exposure to mercury. For this reason, hair samples from 94 fertile and 117 subfertile Hong Kong residents were compared over four separate age groups. A typical 30 year old Hong Kong male had a hair mercury concentration of approximately 3.3 mg/kg mercury while a 60 year old Hong Kong subfertile male had a hair mercury concentration of about 7.5 mg/kg. Most of this mercury comes from seafood consumption. Individuals consuming four or more meals of fish per week had a hair mercury of 4.07 mg/kg dry weight of hair while those consuming fish less frequently had significantly lower levels (2.56 mg/kg). Hong Kong residents that consumed no fish had only 1.21 mg/kg hair mercury. The relative risks of males with moderate and high levels of mercury in their hair were significant (p=0.062). Age corrected estimates of risk indicated that compared with men with low levels of mercury in their hair, men with higher levels were twice as likely to be subfertile (relative risk, 1.95) and there was a dose–response trend that was highly significant (p < 0.0005). In light of these risks we concluded that the maximum permitted mercury level in food sold in Hong Kong should be lowered from 0.5 mg/kg wet weight to a level to be determined by risk analysis. In Japan, where fish mercury levels and fish consumption rates are lower than those in Hong Kong, the maximum amount of mercury permitted in food for human consumption is 0.3 mg/kg wet weight.