The economic impacts of banning commercial bottomfish fishing in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands

This study examines the economic impacts of closing the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands bottomfish fishery, as part of a larger effort to create an effective marine protected area. An overview of the market for NWHI bottomfish in Hawaii is given using input–output data and a fishery closure analysis is conducted using public data on commercial fishing and primary information collected through interviews with wholesalers, restaurants, and retailers. Assuming the worst-case scenario, the wholesale price per pound of Onaga and Opakapaka is estimated to increase by $0.80 and $0.42, respectively. But this is unlikely, as the own-price elasticity of demand for Hawaii-caught bottomfish is found to be highly elastic and there is widespread substitution with imports. The overall economic loss is thus quite small, while the environmental gains of creating the largest marine protected area in the world could be substantial.     

Preliminary results of the multisite time-series campaign on the sdB pulsator PG 1325+101

I present a model for the formation and evolution of a massive disk galaxy, within a growing dark halo whose mass evolves according to cosmological simulations of structure formation. The galactic evolution is simulated with a new 3D chemo-dynamical code, including dark matter, stars and a multi-phase ISM. We follow the evolution from redshift z = 4.85 until the present epoch. The energy release by massive stars and supernovae prevents a rapid collapse of the baryonic matter and delays the maximum star formation until redshift z ≈ 1. The galaxy forms radially from inside-out and vertically from top-to-bottom. The feedback of stars leads to turbulent motions and large-scale flows in the ISM. As one result the galactic disk is significantly enriched by chemical elements synthesized in bulge stars.     

Storm‐coverage effect on dynamic flood‐frequency analysis: empirical data analysis

In this study, a dynamic flood‐frequency analysis model considering the storm coverage effect is proposed and applied to six sub‐basins in the Pyungchang River basin, Korea. The model proposed is composed of the rectangular pulse Poisson process model for rainfall, the Soil Conservation Service curve number method for infiltration and the geomorphoclimatic instantaneous unit hydrograph for runoff estimation. Also, the model developed by Marco and Valdes is adopted for quantifying the storm‐coverage characteristics. By comparing the results from the same model with and without the storm‐coverage effect consideration, we could quantify the storm‐coverage effect on the flood‐frequency analysis. As a result of that, we found the storm‐coverage effect was so significant that overestimation of the design flood was unavoidable without its consideration. This also becomes more serious for larger basins where the probability of complete storm coverage is quite low. However, for smaller basins, the limited number of rain gauges is found to hamper the proper quantification of the storm‐coverage characteristics. Provided with a relationship curve between the basin size and the storm coverage (as in this study), this problem could be overcome with an acceptable accuracy level. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The rotational structure of the B-X system of sulfur dimers in the spectra of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2)

We have constructed line-by-line fluorescence models for the ro-vibrational bands of the B-X system of sulfur dimers (S₂). For the first time the detailed rotational lines of the bands are clearly resolved in the high-resolution echelle spectra of Comet Hyakutake (C/1996 B2), which were obtained at the Kitt Peak 4-m telescope on 26.4 March 1996 (UT). In order to construct satisfactory band models of the B-X system, we first compared the models to laboratory spectra available in literature, and then compared the models including Swings effects to the high-resolution spectra of Hyakutake. From the model fits, we derived a rotational temperature of 70±10 K, which should represent a temperature of a coma region close to the nucleus, where most of the S₂ emissions originate. We present previously proposed scenarios for the origin of S₂ in cometary comae, and compare them with our spectral analysis.     

Acoustic tomography for monitoring the Sea of Japan: a pilot experiment

A pilot experiment was conducted in the Sea of Japan (also called the East Sea) in September-October 1999, to assess the possibility of using acoustic tomographic techniques for monitoring water mass structure and dynamics. Acoustic m-sequence signals at various frequencies between 250 and 634 Hz were transmitted from bottom-mounted acoustic sources in shallow water off the coast of Vladivostok to vertical-array receiving systems deployed off the north coast of Ulleung-Do island (S. Korea), 558 km to the south. The data are analyzed for temporal correlation, time spread, and transmission loss and are interpreted in terms of a tomographic system for monitoring the East Sea.     

Application of generalized contaminant retardation factor to a multi‐phase system

In this study, a generalized contaminant retardation factor applicable to a multiphase system where various types of colloids exist simultaneously with contaminants is derived and incorporated into an equilibrium model which is successfully applied to experimental data for which phenanthrene was used as hydrophobic organic contaminants and dissolved organic matter (DOM) or bacteria as mobile carriers. Based on the parameter values for the experimental data regarding the association of phenanthrene with solid matrix, DOM and various bacterial isolates, numerical experiments are performed to examine the transport behaviour of hydrophobic organic contaminants in various types of the multiphase system. Numerical experiments demonstrate that the extent of contaminant transport enhancement depends on the adsorption affinity of the colloid, its concentration and its mobility, and that the importance of a third phase to contaminant transport needs to be evaluated carefully with respect to the relevance of experimental conditions applied to realistic environmental conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Is the Parker Instability a Viable Mechanism for the Formation of Giant Molecular Clouds?

The stratified interstellar medium has been known to be subject to the Parker instability, and the instability has been considered as a plausible mechanism for the formation of giant molecular clouds (GMCs). By presenting our recent efforts to understand the instability through linear analyses and numerical simulations, we raise a negative point of view that the Parker instability alone could not form GMCs.     

Numerical analysis of bacterial transport in saturated porous media

A mathematical model to describe bacterial transport in saturated porous media is presented. Reversible/irreversible attachment and growth/decay terms were incorporated into the transport model. Additionally, the changes of porosity and permeability due to bacterial deposition and/or growth were accounted for in the model. The predictive model was used to fit the column experimental data from the literature, and the fitting result showed a good match with the data. Based on the parameter values determined from the literature experimental data, numerical experiments were performed to examine bacterial sorption and/or growth during bacterial transport through saturated porous media. In addition, sensitivity analysis was performed to investigate the impact of key model parameters for bacterial transport on the permeability and porosity of porous media. The model results show that the permeability and porosity of porous media could be altered due to bacterial deposition and growth on the solid matrix. However, variation of permeability due to bacterial growth was trivial compared with natural permeability variation. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.