Instrumentation and Numerical Analysis of Cylindrical Diaphragm Wall Movement During Deep Excavation at Coastal Area

The lateral deflection of a cylindrical diaphragm wall and the associated ground movement induced by deep excavation are analyzed by performing site instrumentations and numerical analyses in the coastal area of Korea. Wall lateral deflection, rebar stress, and pore water pressure were measured and analyzed in eight directions. Variations of soil properties with the decrease of confining pressure are compared by performing various in situ tests before ad after excavation. To calculate the wall lateral deflection accurately, the effects of small strain nonlinearity, confining pressure, and the hysteresis loading/unloading loop developed during excavation are considered in the proposed numerical analysis. By comparing numerical results with measured ones, the importances of considering small strain nonlinearity and confining pressure reduction in the nonlinear (FEM) are emphasized. Also, the effects of wall stiffness on the performance of cylindrical diaphragm walls are studied for future similar excavation in the coastal area.     

An Electronic Chart Display and Information System

This article introduces the most advanced form of electronic chart display and information systems (ECDIS) which complies with the performance standards for ECDIS established by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and International Hydrographic Organization (IHO). It also describes the key features and the important functions of ECDIS, which we developed. This system is different from the productions developed by C-map, Seven-cs, offshore, and others. It is more suitable for China Marine Safety Administration Bureau to manage the navigation marks real-time. Using this system charts were located and accessed rapidly, and displayed smoothly. This article also discusses in ECDIS application system how to dynamically access and desert charts data in a limited memory (limited computer memory and resource). We constructed a tridimensional structure to manage a large amount of charts data. Vertically, according to the scale range, all charts were divided into eight levels, and a data structure called as “Multiple Scale Quad-tree” was constructed. And horizontally, a grid (every unit has a fixed size) was given to a certain scale level. We call this data structure a “Regular Page.” We explore the implementation of such a structure on the worldwide charts management utilizing quad-trees. Then we discuss the future development of ECDIS and its application system in marine agencies in China.     

Tephrostratigraphy and paleo-environmental implications of Late Quaternary sediments and interstitial water in the western Ulleung Basin, East/Japan Sea

Two piston cores, collected from the western Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea, were used to investigate the Late Quaternary tephrostratigraphy, lithology, and mineralogy of the sediments, as well as the elemental composition of both sediments and interstitial water, and their paleo-environmental implications. The cores show two lapilli tephra layers and one rhyolitic ash layer at the boundaries between sedimentary lithofacies units I, II, and III. These layers can be correlated with the well-known Ulleung-Oki (ca. 9.3 ka; boundary of units I/II), Ulleung-Yamato (ca. 25–33 ka), and Aira-Tanzawa (ca. 25.1 ka; boundary of units II/III) layers, respectively. These data suggest that the cores cover the period from the middle stage of marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 to the Holocene. In each core, a so-called dark laminated mud (DLM) layer in unit II commonly has high contents of Si and Al, suggesting that the DLM layer generally contains significant amounts of fine-grained silicates and/or aluminosilicates. In addition, these DLM layers are enriched in Fe relative to Mn, iron being predominantly bound in framboidal pyrite. The size distribution of pyrite in the DLM layers suggests that these have formed under anoxic (euxinic) conditions at times of reduced water circulation in the basin during sea-level lowstand (euxinic environment). The C/N ratios [5–12] suggest that sedimentary organic matter in the cores is predominantly of marine origin. Total organic carbon (TOC) contents increased shortly before Termination I. This could have been caused by an increased flux of marine organic matter in association with sea-level rise. The C and S values of units II and III (Late Pleistocene sediments; C: <2.0%; S: 0.5–2.1%) suggest a more euxinic environment than that of unit I (Holocene sediments; C: 1.0–3.5%; S: <1.0%). Concentrations of SO₄^2– in the interstitial water decrease with increasing burial depth, whereas CH₄ concentrations show the reverse trend. Therefore, it seems that sulfate reduction, probably related to microbial activity, predominates in the upper core sections (<5 m), shifting to methanogenesis in the lower core sections.     

Spectrophotometric determination of pH in seawater off Taiaroa Head,Otago, New Zealand: Full-spectrum modelling and prediction of pCO2 levels

Accurate measurement of seawater pH has long been sought by marine chemists (for example: [Dickson, A.G. 1993a. The measurement of sea water pH. Marine Chemistry, 44, 131–142, Dickson, A.G. 1993b. pH buffers for sea water media based on the total hydrogen ion concentration scale. Deep-Sea Research, 40, 107–118; Zhang, 1996; Tapp, M., Hunter, K.A., Currie, K. and Macaskill, B. 2000. Apparatus of continuous-flow underway spectrophotometric measurement of surface water pH. Marine Chemistry 72(2–4), 193–202; Friis, K., Koetzinger, A., Wallace, D.W.R. 2004. Spectrophotometric pH measurement in the ocean: Requirements, design and testing of an autonomous charge-coupled device detector system. Limnology and Oceanography: Methods 2, 126–136]. Recently, such attempts have taken on greater significance as anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions may create rapidly changing oceanic pH. Spectrophotometric techniques have been accepted generally as the best for determination of seawater pH. Here we report a new technique using thymol blue as the indicator dye and fitting the entire spectrum from 400 to 900 nm rather than measuring the absorbance values at only two or three points in the spectrum. This full-spectrum modelling enables a reduction in signal to noise over other techniques. In the laboratory, we find with seawater samples a pH precision increase of five-fold “within” a sample and seven-fold “between” samples when comparing the full spectrum to the three-point method of analysis [Zhang, H., Byrne, R.H. 1996. Spectrophotometric pH measurements of surface seawater at in-situ conditions: absorbance and protonation behaviour of thymol blue. Marine Chemistry 52, 17–25].     

Characteristics of Clay Minerals in the Northern South China Sea and Its Implications for Evolution of East Asian Monsoon since Miocene

Clay mineral assemblages, crystallinity, chemistry, and micromorphology of clay particles in sediments from ODP Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea (SCS) were analyzed, and used to trace sediment sources and obtain proxy records of the past changes in the East Asian monsoon climate since the Miocene, based on a multi-approach, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Clay minerals consist mainly of illite and smectite, with associated chlorite and kaolinite. The illite at ODP Site 1146 has very well-to-well crystallinity, and smectite has moderate-to-poor crystallinity. In SEM the smectite particles at ODP Site 1146 often appear cauliflower-like, a typical micromorphology of volcanic smecites. The smectite at ODP Site 1146 is relatively rich in Si element, but poor in Fe, very similar to the smectite from the West Philippine Sea. In contrast, the chemical composition of illite at ODP Site 1146 has no obvious differences from those of the Loess plateau, Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Pearl River. A further study on sediment source indicates that smectite originates mainly from Luzon, kaolinite from the Pearl River, and illite and chlorite from the Pearl River, Taiwan and/or the Yangtze River. The clay mineral assemblages at ODP Site 1146 were not only controlled by continental eathering regimes surrounding the SCS, but also by the changing strength of the transport processes. The ratios of (illite+chlorite)/smectite at ODP Site 1146 were adopted as proxies for the East Asian monsoon evolution. Relatively higher ratios reflect strongly intensified winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, in contrast, lower ratios indicate a strengthened summer monsoon relative to winter monsoon. The consistent variation of this clay proxy from those of Loess plateau, eolian deposition in the North Pacific, planktonic, benthic foraminifera, and black carbon in the SCS since 20 Ma shows that three profound shifts of the East Asian winter monsoon intensity, and aridity in the Asian inland and the intensity of winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, occurred at about 15 Ma, 8 Ma, and the younger at about 3 Ma. The phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau may have played a significant role in strengthening the Asian monsoon at 15 Ma, 8 Ma, and 3 Ma.     

Fault Characteristics in Longmen Mountain Thrust Belt,Western Sichuan Foreland Basin,China

Through field geological survey,the authors found that abundant thrust faults developed in the Longmen (龙门) Mountain thrust belt.These faults can be divided into thrust faults and strike-slip faults according to their formation mechanisms and characteristics.Furthermore,these faults can be graded into primary fault,secondary fault,third-level fault,and fourth-level fault according to their scale and role in the tectonic evolution of Longmen Mountain thrust belt.Each thrust fault is composed of several secondary faults,such as Qingchuan (青川)-Maowen (茂汶) fault zone is composed of Qiaozhuang (乔庄) fault,Qingxi (青溪) fault,Maowen fault,Ganyanggou (赶羊沟) fault,etc..The Longmen Mountain thrust belt experienced early Indosinian movement,Anxian (安县) movement,Yanshan (燕山)movement,and Himalayan movement,and the faults formed gradually from north to south.     

柴达木盆地东部36～18kaB.P.期间的孢粉记录及其气候环境

对柴达木盆地察尔汗古贝壳堤剖面的沉积物进行孢粉分析,结果显示这个地区植被与气候在晚更新世中晚期经历以下几个阶段的变化:36.2～31.2kaB.P.(未校正14C年代,下同)期间,以禾本科、藜科、蒿属、莎草科为主,发育草原-草甸植被,气候温和湿润,盘星藻出现较多,反映淡水湖泊,水深在10m左右;31.2～27.6kaB.P.期间,松属、云杉属、桦属等为主的木本植物的含量增加,周围山地森林发育,表明气候温暖,降水量增多。但由于蒸发量大,有效湿度下降,荒漠成分柽柳属等增加,盘星藻在30kaB.P.以后消失,反映湖泊盐度增大;27.6～23.3kaB.P.期间,植被中荒漠成分显著增加,周围山地森林萎缩,气候趋向相对寒冷干旱,湖面积缩小;23.3～18.0kaB.P.,孢粉浓度很低,蒺藜科、藜科等荒漠成分明显增加,植被稀疏,已趋向荒漠化草原,反映气候寒冷干旱。从整个剖面来看,主要的陆生植物孢粉类型为禾本科、柽柳属、蒺藜科、麻黄属、松属、云杉属、柏科、胡桃属和桦属等,藜科和蒿属含量很少,这与柴达木盆地东部地区的表土分析结果完全不同,也与其他草原以及荒漠草原的表土花粉结果相异。这说明晚更新世中晚期柴达木盆地东部地区的植被和现在无法进行比较,气候环境与现在显著不同。     

Applications of AnnAGNPS model for soil loss estimation and nutrient loading for Malaysian conditions

The study evaluated the performance and suitability of AnnAGNPS model in assessing runoff, sediment loading and nutrient loading under Malaysian conditions. The watershed of River Kuala Tasik in Malaysia, a combination of two sub-watersheds, was selected as the area of study. The data for the year 2004 was used to calibrate the model and the data for the year 2005 was used for validation purposes. Several input parameters were computed using methods suggested by other researchers and studies carried out in Malaysia. The study shows that runoff was predicted well with an overall R² value of 0.90 and E value of 0.70. Sediment loading was able to produce a moderate result of R² = 0.66 and E = 0.49, nitrogen loading predictions were slightly better with R² = 0.68 and E = 0.53, and phosphorus loading performance was slightly poor with an R² = 0.63 and E = 0.33. The erosion map developed was in agreement with the erosion risk map produced by the Department of Agriculture, Malaysia. Rubber estates and urban areas were found to be the main contributors to soil erosion. The simulation results showed that AnnAGNPS has the potential to be used as a valuable tool for planning and management of watersheds under Malaysian conditions.     

地震瞬时属性分析技术在岩溶勘查中的应用

介绍地震瞬时属性分析技术的原理及处理方法,分别对岩溶在地震剖面、瞬时振幅剖面、瞬时频率剖面、瞬时相位剖面上的表现特征作了说明.并结合实际资料进行多参数解释,进而确定地下岩溶的发育情况、分布范围和规模,同时对异常进行钻井验证,结果表明,地震瞬时属性分析技术比常规地震处理方法能更好地排除干扰,确定岩溶异常.