Determination of plastic regions around underground openings by a coupled boundary-element-characteristics method

A two-dimensional hybrid method for solving elastoplastic problems in engineering is presented by coupling two existing methods, namely, the boundary element method and the characteristics method. The formulation of this method is presented, as well as an excellent procedure for the determination of the boundary between elastic and plastic regions. It is shown not only that this method is a powerful and accurate method for evaluating the shape and extent of the plastic region around rock caverns, which is of prime importance for the construction of rock caverns, but also applicable to a given range of the initial stress field ratio where only compressive failure occurs. Then, some typical examples are solved in order to check the accuracy of the solution by this method. Furthermore, its successful applications are presented and discussed to determine the shape and the extent of the plastic regions around parallel, circular and rectangular openings.     

Chemical and Biological Studies of Particulate Organic Matter in the Ocean

This paper presents a review of the past decade's highlights of research on the isolation and characterisation of particulate organic matter (POM) in the world's oceans. The emphasis is on chemical studies but, in keeping with the growing interdisciplinary nature of marine science, advances in other disciplines are also discussed, particularly those in biological sciences. Increasing evidence for the importance of picoplankton, bacteria and viruses as POM constituents is highlighted, including the recent recognition of large populations of autotrophic bacteria able to harvest light for energy. The transport of POM to bottom waters was thought to be largely confined to large, rapidly sinking faecal pellets. However, recent studies have highlighted the importance of organic aggregates and flocs formed by diatoms such as Rhizosolenia and other microalgae. Ascending particles have also been discovered, many of which are lipid-rich. Several studies have shown that resuspension of bottom sediments and lateral advection of material from continental shelves can lead to anomalously high particle fluxes measured in sediment traps moored in deep water. Many new approaches for characterizing POM have emerged, such as pyrolysis gas chromatography-mass spectrometry and direct temperature-resolved mass spectrometry for analysis of higher molecular weight materials and biopolymers. Lipid biomarker techniques have also advanced, exciting new possibilities being raised by the ability to measure stable and radioactive carbon isotopes for individual compounds. The techniques of molecular biology, such as the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), are being increasingly applied to provide complementary information to more conventional microscopy and flow cytometry on the identity of organisms in the sea. The combination of these techniques with advanced chemical analysis methods promises to greatly increase our knowledge of the origins, transport and fate of organic matter in the oceans. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Subduction of the Woodlark Basin at New Britain Trench, Solomon Islands region

The Woodlark Basin, located south of the Solomon Islands arc region, is a young (5 Ma) oceanic basin that subducts beneath the New Britain Trench. This region is one of only a few subduction zones in the world where it is possible to study a young plate subduction of several Ma. To obtain the image of the subducting slab at the western side of the Woodlark Basin, a 40-day Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS) survey was conducted in 1998 to detect the micro-seismic activity. It was the first time such a survey had been performed in this location and over 600 hypocenters were located. The seismic activity is concentrated at the 10–60 km depth range along the plate boundary. The upper limit just about coincides with the leading edge of the accretionary wedge. The upper limit boundary was identified as the up-dip limit of the seismogenic zone, whereas the down-dip limit of the seismogenic zone was difficult to define. The dip angle of the plate at the high seismicity zone was found to average about 30°. Using the Cascadia subduction zone for comparison, which is a typical example of a young plate subduction, suggests that the subduction of the Woodlark Basin was differentiated by a high dip angle and rather landward location of the seismic front from the trench axis (30 km landward from the trench axis). Furthermore, as pointed out by previous researchers, the convergent margin of the Solomon Islands region is imposed with a high stress state, probably due to the collision of the Ontong Java Plateau and a rather rapid convergence rate (10 cm/year). The results of the high angle plate subduction and inner crust earthquakes beneath the Shortland Basin strongly support the high stress state. The collision of the Ontong Java Plateau, the relatively rapid convergence rate, and moderately cold slab as evidenced by low heat flow, rather than the plate age, may be dominantly responsible for the geometry of the seismogenic zone in the western part of the Woodlark Basin subduction zone.     

Eutrophication-induced changes in Lake Nakaumi,southwest Japan

Lake Nakaumi, southwest Japan, is an enclosed lagoon characterized by polyhaline and halocline conditions. Since the last century, its ecological state has been altered by eutrophication. We used a paleolimnological approach and studied multiple proxies, including chemical compounds, diatoms, foraminifera and molluscs, to infer the eutrophication history of the ecosystem. Eutrophication in Lake Nakaumi was associated with several factors, including increased nutrient loading, input of herbicides, and dike building since the 1920s. The ecological condition of this lake was divided into several stages that reflect the eutrophication process after the 1940s. A catastrophic “regime shift” from a clear state with aquatic vegetation to a turbid one with phytoplankton occurred in the early 1950s. Environmental degradation in the Honjo area, a part of Lake Nakaumi, was attributed primarily to physical changes caused by the construction of an enclosing dike. Eutrophication occurred almost simultaneously with the physical changes to the Honjo area in the 1970s. Until recently, no regime shift was observed in this area, though the core-top sediments show possible symptoms of incipient change.     

Does heavy oil pollution induce bacterial diseases in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus?

As basic research for the effect of heavy oil on the fish immune system, in this study, the number of leukocyte was counted in Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus, after exposure to heavy oil at a concentration of 30 g/8L for 3 days. To compare the numbers of bacteria in the skin mucus between oil-exposed and control fish, viable bacteria were enumerated by counting colony forming unit (CFU). Compared with 5.79+/-1.88 x 10(7)leukocytes/mL in the controls, the exposed fish demonstrated higher counts, averaging 1.45+/-0.45 x 10(8)cells/mL. The bacterial numbers of control fish were 4.27+/-3.68 x 10(4)CFU/g, whereas they were 4.58+/-1.63 x 10(5)CFU/g in the exposed fish. The results suggest that immune suppression of the fish occurred due to heavy oil stressor, and bacteria could invade in the mucus, resulting in the increasing leukocyte number to prevent infectious disease.     

钢板桩挡墙主动土压力分布的形状效应

采用有限元数值试验,研究帽型钢板桩的截面形状对墙后主动土压力分布规律的影响。首先,对室内缩尺模型试验进行数值模拟,对比实测数据验证数值模型的有效性;然后,建立钢板桩挡墙数值模型,模拟该挡墙在不同位移模式下土压力变化和分布的规律,与平板挡墙计算结果进行对比,分析钢板桩截面形状对土压力分布的影响,进一步探讨形状效应的可能影响因素及机制。分析结果表明,钢板桩的截面形状影响墙后主动土压力的分布形式,影响程度与位移模式有关;墙体平动和绕墙底转动情况下,钢板桩挡墙凸出部分的主动土压力值大于凹处,但墙体绕墙顶转动情况下差异不明显;主动土压力的形状效应由土拱效应引起,截面高宽比对其影响显著,墙土摩擦角影响有限。     

Tasks and problems involved in the handling of disaster waste upon April 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake,Japan

The potential impacts of tsunamis along the Catalan Coast (NW Mediterranean) are analysed using numerical modelling. The region is characterized by moderate to low seismic activity and by moderate- to low-magnitude earthquakes. However, the occurrence of historical strong earthquakes and the location of several active offshore faults in front of the coast suggest that the possibility of an earthquake-triggered tsunami is not negligible although of low probability. Up to five faults have been identified to generate tsunamis, being the highest associated possible seismic magnitudes of up to 7.6. Coastal flooding and port agitation are characterized using the Worst-case Credible Tsunami Scenario Analysis approach. The results show a multiple fault source contribution to tsunami hazard. The shelf dimensions and the existence of submerged canyons control the tsunami propagation. In wide shelves, waves travelling offshore may become trapped by refraction causing the wave energy to reach the coastline at some distance from the origin. The free surface water elevation increases at the head of the canyons due to the sharp depth gradients. The effects of potential tsunamis would be very harmful in low-lying coastal stretches, such as deltas, with a high population concentration, assets and infrastructures. The Ebro delta appears to be the most exposed coast, and about the 20% of the delta surface is prone to flooding due to its extremely low-lying nature. The activity at Barcelona port will be severely affected by inflow backflow current at the entrance of up to 2 m/s.     

Heavy oil exposure induces high moralities in virus carrier Japanese flounder Paralichthys olivaceus

The relationship between chemical exposure and disease outbreak in fish has not been fully defined due to the limitations of experimental systems (model fish and pathogens). Therefore, we constructed a system using the Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, and viral haemorrhagic septicemia virus (VHSV), and evaluated it by heavy oil (HO) exposure. The fish were exposed to HO at 0.3, 0.03, 0.003, and 0 g/L following VHSV infection at doses of 10(2.5) or 10(3.5) tissue culture infectious dose (TCID)50/fish. As a result, groups given the dual stressors showed more than 90% mortality. Although VHSV infection at 10(2.5) and 10(3.5) TCID50/fish without HO exposure also induced high mortality, at 68.8% and 81.3%, respectively, HO exposure induced faster and higher mortality in the virus carrier fish, indicating that chemical stressors raise the risk of disease outbreak in fish. The experimental system established in this study could be useful for chemical risk assessment.