Broadband ground-motion simulation of the 24 May 2014 Gokceada (North Aegean Sea) earthquake (Mw 6.9) in NW Turkey considering local soil effects

On 24 May 2014, a Mw 6.9 earthquake occurred in the west of Gokceada Island, northern Aegean Sea. The earthquake was close to Canakkale, Enez, Tekirdag cities, and damaged 300 buildings in the Marmara Region, NW Turkey. We simulated its broadband (0.1–10 Hz) ground motions including 1D deep and shallow structures soil amplification effects at the 12 strong ground motion stations in the western Marmara Region. The 1D deep velocity structures from the focal layer to the engineering bedrock with an S-wave velocity of 0.78 km/s in different azimuthal directions were tuned by comparing the observed group-velocity dispersion curves of Rayleigh and Love waves from the mainshock with theoretical ones. We also added the shallow parts from previous surveys into the 1D models. Synthetic seismograms on the engineering bedrock were generated using the discrete wave number method with a source model and the 1D deep velocity structures. Then the surface motion was generated considering shallow soil amplification. The synthetic seismograms are generally in good agreement with the observed low and high-frequency parts at most of the stations indicating an appropriateness of the source model and the 1D structural model.     

Production of the Blood Pressure Lowing Peptides from Brown Alga ( Undaria pinnatifida )

1 IntroductionIncreased blood pressure appears to be one of theprimary risk factors of circulatory organ diseases suchas encepharo-apoplexy, encepharo-infarction and cardi-ac infraction. Angiotensin-I-converting enzyme (ACE)plays an important role in the rennin-angiotensin sys-tem by regulating blood pressure. Antihypertensivedrugs such as captopril and enalapril are potent ACEinhibitors (Ondetti et al., 1977). Recently, severalinhibitory peptides derived from food proteins havebeen isolat…     

DO-increasing effects of a microscopic bubble generating system in a fish farm

We have developed a "microscopic bubble generating system for the fish farm" and evaluated its ability to improve the quality of seawater and costs of it in marine cages of red sea bream (Pagrus major) in Kusuura Bay, Japan. Our results revealed that DO concentration of bubbling net pens increased and became significantly higher than the level outside the net pen (between 0.52 and 0.87 mg/L), and the whole water column was nearly saturated. Temperatures of the bubbling net pens decreased slightly between 0.08 and 0.12 degrees C in all the layers. Furthermore, micro-bubbles seemed to reach the deeper water due to the downward flow and diffusion. This study demonstrated that the microscopic bubble generating system developed in our research project could increase efficiently the dissolved oxygen concentration throughout all water layers of the fish farm. A capital and operation costs of the system is recoverable within a year.     

Stable isotope-guided analysis of congener-specific PCB concentrations in a Japanese coastal food web

Organisms collected from a coastal ecosystem in Japan were analyzed for concentrations of 205 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) congeners; analyses were guided by δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N measurements. The regression slopes of log PCB concentration on δ¹⁵N value are regarded as indices of biomagnification in food webs. The slope (wet weight basis) of ΣPCBs was +0.104; the slope (lipid weight basis) was close to zero. Lipid content increased from 0.06% in a primary producer to 8.32% in the highest trophic level consumer. Hence, biomagnification of ΣPCBs (wet weight basis) can be attributed to increase of lipid content through the food web. For most of the congeners, the slopes (wet weight basis) exceeded those (lipid weight basis) by ca. 0.10. Slopes increased with increasing PCB chlorination levels between chlorine numbers 1–6; slopes decreased at higher chlorination levels. This decrease is likely caused by a decrease in membrane permeability with increasing molecular weight.     

Validation and Joint Inversion of Teleseismic Waveforms for Earthquake Source Models Using Deep Ocean Bottom Pressure Records: A Case Study of the 2006 Kuril Megathrust Earthquake

The importance of accurate tsunami simulation has increased since the 2004 Sumatra-Andaman earthquake and the Indian Ocean tsunami that followed it, because it is an important tool for inundation mapping and, potentially, tsunami warning. An important source of uncertainty in tsunami simulations is the source model, which is often estimated from some combination of seismic, geodetic or geological data. A magnitude 8.3 earthquake that occurred in the Kuril subduction zone on 15 November, 2006 resulted in the first teletsunami to be widely recorded by bottom pressure recorders deployed in the northern Pacific Ocean. Because these recordings were unaffected by shallow complicated bathymetry near the coast, this provides a unique opportunity to investigate whether seismic rupture models can be inferred from teleseismic waves with sufficient accuracy to be used to forecast teletsunami. In this study, we estimated the rupture model of the 2006 Kuril earthquake by inverting the teleseimic waves and used that to model the tsunami source. The tsunami propagation was then calculated by solving the linear long-wave equations. We found that the simulated 2006 Kuril tsunami compared very well to the ocean bottom recordings when simultaneously using P and long-period surface waves in the earthquake source process inversion.     

Geochemical characteristics of sediment as indicators of post-glacial environmental changes off the Shandong Peninsula in the Yellow Sea

Core NYS-101, which was recovered at a water depth of 49 m northeast of the Shandong Peninsula in the North Yellow Sea, penetrates the Holocene subaqueous clinoform that wraps around the Shandong Peninsula. The uppermost 18 m of this well-dated core was deposited after about 13 cal kyr BP during the post-glacial transgression. We focused on trace and rare earth element (REE) chemistries of the core sediments in the uppermost 18 m to investigate the sediment provenance and factors controlling the sediment composition. On the basis of down-core distributions of REE fractionation parameters and of ratios among REEs and other immobile elements, we divided the uppermost 18 m into three distinct compositional intervals: Interval 1 (above 6.08 m, from the time tens of years earlier than 6500 cal yr BP up to the present), Interval 2 (13.90–6.08 m, from about 8200 cal yr BP to the boundary between Intervals 1 and 2), and Interval 3 (below 13.90 m, from about 13,000 to 10,400 cal yr BP). The chondrite- and upper continental crust (UCC)-normalized REE fractionation patterns of Intervals 3 and 2 are similar to those of Yellow River sediments, but the patterns in Interval 1 are obviously different.     

Comparison of landslide susceptibility based on a decision-tree model and actual landslide occurrence: The Akaishi Mountains, Japan

This paper proposes a statistical decision-tree model to analyze landslide susceptibility in a wide area of the Akaishi Mountains, Japan. The objectives of this study were to validate the decision-tree model by comparing landslide susceptibility and actual landslide occurrence, and to reveal the relationships among landslide occurrence, topography, and geology. Landslide susceptibility was examined through ensemble learning with a decision tree. Decision trees are advantageous in that estimation processes and order of important explanatory variables are explicitly represented by the tree structures. Topographic characteristics (elevation, slope angle, profile curvature, plan curvature, and dissection and undissection height) and geological data were used as the explanatory variables. These topographic characteristics were calculated from digital elevation models (DEMs). The objective variables were landslide occurrence and reactivation data between 1992 and 2002 that were depicted by satellite image analysis. Landslide susceptibility was validated by comparing actual data on landslides that occurred and reactivated after the model was constructed (between 2002 and 2004).This study revealed that, from 2002 to 2004, landslides tended to occur and reactivate in catchments with high landslide susceptibility. The landslide susceptibility map thus depicts the actual landslide occurrence and reactivation in the Akaishi Mountains. This result indicates that the decision-tree model has appropriate accuracy for estimating the probabilities of future landslides. The tree structure indicates that landslides occurred and reactivated frequently in the catchments that had an average slope angle exceeding ca. 29° and a mode of slope angle exceeding 33°, which agree well with previous studies. A decision tree also quantitatively expresses important explanatory variables at the higher order of the tree structure.     

Open-system degassing of sulfur from Krakatau 1883 magma

We present the first sulfur and oxygen isotopic data for tephra from the catastrophic 1883 eruption of Krakatau. Sulfur isotopic ratios in unaltered Krakatau tephra erupted August 26–27, 1883 are markedly enriched in ³⁴S relative to mantle sulfur. High δ³⁴S values of +6.3 to +16.4‰ can best be explained by open-system or multi-stage degassing of SO₂ from the oxidized rhyodacitic and gray dacitic magmas with ³⁴S enrichment of SO²⁻₄ remaining in the melt. Lower whole-rock δ³⁴S values of +2.6‰ and +4.0‰ in two oxidized gray dacitic samples indicate more primitive subarc mantle sulfur in the 1883 magma chamber. Initial δ³⁴S of the rhyodacitic magma was probably in the +1.5‰ to +4.0‰ range and similar to δ³⁴S values measured in arc volcanic rocks from the Mariana Arc.     

Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria and Paraffin from Polluted Seashores 9 Years after the Nakhodka Oil Spill in the Sea of Japan

Pollution of petroleum hydrocarbons, in particular oil spills, has attracted much attention in the past and recent decades. Oil spills influence natural microbial community, and physical and chemical properties of the affected sites. The biodegradation of hydrocarbons by microorganisms is one of the primary ways by which oil spill is eliminated from contaminated sites. One such spill was that of the Russian tanker the Nakhodka that spilled heavy oil into the Sea of Japan on January 2, 1997. The impact of the Nakhodka oil spill resulted in a viscous sticky fluid fouling the shores and affected natural ecosystems. This paper describes the weathering of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria （genus Pseudomonas） and crystallized organic compounds from the Nakhodka oil spill-polluted seashores after nine years. The Nakhodka oil has hardened and formed crust of crystalline paraffin wax as shown by XRD analysis （0.422, 0.377, and 0.250 nm d-spacing） in association with graphite and calcite after 9 years of bioremediation. Anaerobic reverse side of the oil crust contained numerous coccus typed bacteria associated with halite. The finding of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and paraffin wax in the oil crust may have a significant effect on the weathering processes of the Nakhodka oil spill during the 9- year bioremediation.