Comparison of Ocean Surface Wind Stress Computed with Different Parameterization Functions of the Drag Coefficient

Depending on the choice of reference wind speed, the quantitative and qualitative properties of the drag coefficient may vary. On the ocean surface, surface waves are the physical roughness at the air-sea interface, and they play an important role in controlling the air-sea exchange processes. The degree of dynamic influence of surface waves scales with wavelength. Drag coefficient computed with the reference wind speed at an elevation proportional to the wavelength (for example, U _λ/2) is fundamentally different from the drag coefficient computed with the wind speed at fixed 10 m elevation (U ₁₀). A comparison has been carried out to quantify the difference in wind stress computation using several different parameterization functions of the drag coefficient. The result indicates that the wind stress computed from U ₁₀ input using a drag coefficient referenced to U _λ/2 is more accurate than that computed with drag coefficient functions referenced to U ₁₀.     

Wave transmission by overtopping due to random waves

Experimental studies of wave transmission by overtopping for a smooth impermeable breakwater with 1:1.5 slope under both regular and random waves were conducted. A resulting relationship between the transmission coefficient (determined by wave height and wave period) and a breakwater height above mean water level normalized with the height of wave run-up measured directly by capacity wave meter is reported. Meanwhile, their discrepancies in both regular and random waves are also discussed in this study. The authors find also that the transmitted significant wave period by overtopping of random waves may be much longer than those of the incoming wave. This characteristic is especially prominent and probably creates the oscillation phenomenon in the wave basin at the back of breakwater when the breakwater height (above mean water level) to water depth ratio is greater than 0.23 and the incoming wave period is longer than 8 sec.     

Influence of wavelength on the parameterization of drag coefficient and surface roughness

Surface waves are the roughness element of the ocean surface, the air-sea interaction processes are influenced by the wave conditions. The dynamic influence of surface waves decays exponentially with distance from the air-water interface. The relevant length scale characterizing the decay rate is the wavelength. The parameterization of drag coefficient and surface roughness can be significantly improved by using wavelength as the reference length scale of atmospheric measurements. The wavelength scaling of drag coefficient and dynamic roughness also receives support from theoretical studies of wind and wave coupling.     

Incorporation of aged dissolved organic carbon (DOC) by oceanic particulate organic carbon (POC): An experimental approach using natural carbon isotopes

Incorporation of ¹⁴C-depleted (old) dissolved organic carbon (DOC) on/into particulate organic carbon (POC) has been suggested as a possible mechanism to explain the low Δ¹⁴C-POC values observed in the deep ocean [Druffel, E.R.M., Williams, P.M., 1990. Identification of a deep marine source of particulate organic carbon using bomb ¹⁴C. Nature, 347, 172–174.]. A shipboard incubation experiment was performed in the Sargasso Sea to test this hypothesis. Finely ground dried plankton was incubated in seawater samples from the deep Sargasso Sea, both with and without a biological poison (HgCl₂). Changes in parameters such as biochemical composition and carbon isotopic signatures of bulk POC and its organic compound classes were examined to study the roles of sorptive processes and biotic activity on POC character. Following a 13-day incubation, the relative abundance of the acid-insoluble organic fraction increased. Abundances of extractable lipids and total hydrolyzable amino acids decreased for both treatments, but by a greater extent in the non-poisoned treatment. The Δ¹⁴C values of POC recovered from the non-poisoned treatment were significantly lower than the value of the unaltered plankton material used for the incubation, indicating incorporation of ¹⁴C-depleted carbon, most likely DOC. The old carbon was present only in the lipid and acid-insoluble fractions. These results are consistent with previous findings of old carbon dominating the same organic fractions of sinking POC from the deep Northeast Pacific [Hwang, J., Druffel, E.R.M., 2003. Lipid-like material as the source of the uncharacterized organic carbon in the ocean? Science, 299, 881–884.]. However, the Δ¹⁴C values of POC recovered from the poisoned treatment did not change as much as those from the non-poisoned treatment suggesting that biological processes were involved in the incorporation of DOC on/into POC.     

Effects of subsurface soil characteristics on wetland–groundwater interaction in the coastal plain of the Chesapeake Bay watershed

Ecosystem services provided by depressional wetlands on the coastal plain of the Chesapeake Bay watershed (CBW) have been widely recognized and studied. However, wetland–groundwater interactions remain largely unknown in the CBW. The objective of this study was to examine the vertical interactions of depressional wetlands and groundwater with respect to different subsurface soil characteristics. This study examined two depressional wetlands with a low‐permeability and high‐permeability soil layer on the coastal plain of the CBW. The surface water level (SWL) and groundwater level (GWL) were monitored over 1 year from a well and piezometer at each site, respectively, and those data were used to examine the impacts of subsurface soil characteristics on wetland–groundwater interactions. A large difference between the SWL and GWL was observed at the wetland with a low‐permeability soil layer, although there was strong similarity between the SWL and GWL at the wetland with a high‐permeability soil layer. Our observations also identified a strong vertical hydraulic gradient between the SWL and GWL at the wetland with a high‐permeability soil layer relative to one with a low‐permeability soil layer. The hydroperiod (i.e., the total time of surface water inundation or saturation) of the wetland with a low‐permeability soil layer appeared to rely on groundwater less than the wetland with a high‐permeability soil layer. The findings showed that vertical wetland–groundwater interactions varied with subsurface soil characteristics on the coastal plain of the CBW. Therefore, subsurface soil characteristics should be carefully considered to anticipate the hydrologic behavior of wetlands in this region.     

A Bayesian BWM and VIKOR-based model for assessing hospital preparedness in the face of disasters

Natural Hazards - Hospitals are the first point of contact for people in the face of disasters that interfere with the daily functioning of life and endanger health and social life. All...     

Effect of phenol on embryo development and expression of metallothionein in the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus

In this study, we identified and cloned the sea urchin Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus MT (Hp-MT) mRNA. We examined the gameto- and embryo-toxic effects and the expression of Hp-MT mRNA at various concentrations of phenol in H. pulcherrimus. We found that the normal embryogenesis rate was significantly inhibited when H. pulcherrimus was exposed to phenol (EC₅₀ = 1565.86 ppb, 95% Cl = 1183.47-2037.84 ppb). The no observed effective concentration (NOEC) and the lowest observed effective concentration (LOEC) of the normal embryogenesis rate were < 10 ppb and 100 ppb, respectively. Hp-MT cDNA is 651 bp in length and encodes a protein of 64 amino acids. We found that the expression of Hp-MT mRNA was significantly increased with phenol treatment in a concentrationdependent manner. These results suggest that phenol at greater than 100 ppb has a toxic effect during the early embryonic stages of H. pulcherrimus, and MT mRNA may be used as a biomarker for risk assessment of phenol contamination.     

Under-ice measurements of suspended particulate matters using ADCP and LISST-Holo

Ocean Science Journal - Using a mooring package comprising an acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) and holographic imaging system, a 1-day ice camp study was performed under the Arctic sea ice...     

Observational and numerical analysis of the characteristics of MCS development associated with trigger effect of isolated islands

In order to clarify the characteristics of Mesoscale Convective System (MCS) development and understand the impact of the trigger effect of isolated islands, observational and numerical analysis of the heavy rainfall were carried out over the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula on July 14, 2004. Satellite based remote sensing data and numerical model MM5 with observational data adjustment were used in this study. The MCS development, in this case, was accompanied not by directional wind shear, but by speed shear which was strongly associated with development of the updraft cloud. An inversion layer at a 750 hPa level is one of the fundamental factors in increasing instability. Effective separation of the upper and lower level atmospheric structure due to an inversion layer at a 750 hPa level creates a suitable condition to develop a MCS. According to numerical analysis it has been found that isolated islands located off the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula are not a principal factor in causing the heavy rainfall due to the evolution of MCS in this case. Transferable topographic forcing of the downwind side can often induce the variation of MCS intensity, while associated with the precipitation amount over the lee side of the isolated islands at a mature stage of MCS development.     

Elasto‐plastic seepage‐induced stresses due to tunneling

When tunneling is carried out beneath the groundwater table, hydraulic boundary is altered, resulting in seepage entering into the tunnel. The development of flow into the tunnel induces seepage stresses in the ground and the lining is subjected to additional loads. This can often cause fine particles to move, which clog the filter resulting in the long‐term hydraulic deterioration of the drainage system. However, the effect of seepage force is generally not considered in the analysis of tunnel. While several elastic solutions have been proposed by assuming seepage in an elastic medium, stress solutions have not been considered for the seepage force in a porous elasto‐plastic medium. This paper documents a study that investigates the stress behavior, caused by seepage, of a tunnel in an elasto‐plastic ground and its effects on the tunnel and ground. New elasto‐plastic solutions that adopt the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion are proposed for a circular tunnel under radial flow conditions. A simple solution based on the hydraulic gradient obtained from a numerical parametric study is also proposed for practical use. It should be noted that the simple equation is useful for acquiring additional insight into a problem on a tunnel under drainage, because only a minimal computational effort is needed and considerable economic benefits can be gained by using it in the preliminary stage of tunnel design. The proposed equations were partly validated by numerical analysis, and their applicability is illustrated and discussed using an example problem. Comments on the tunnel analysis are also provided. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.