Responses of meiofauna and nematode communities to crude oil contamination in a laboratory microcosm experiment

We examined the effects of crude oil contamination on community assemblages of meiofauna and nematodes after exposure to total petroleum hydrocarbons in the laboratory. We administered a seawater solution that had been contaminated with total petroleum hydrocarbons to seven treatment groups at different concentrations, while the control group received uncontaminated filtered seawater. The average density of total meiofauna in the experimental microcosms diluted with 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4% contaminated seawater was higher than the density in the control. The average density of total meiofauna in the 8%, 15%, and 20% microcosms was lower than the density in the control. The density of nematodes was similar to that of the total meiofauna. Cluster analysis divided the microcosms into group 1 (control, 0.5%, 1%, 2%, and 4% microcosms) and group 2 (8%, 15%, and 20% microcosms). However, SIMPROF analysis showed no significant difference between the two groups (p > 0.05). Bolbolaimus spp. (37.1%) were dominant among the nematodes. Cluster analysis showed similar results for nematode and meiofaunal communities. The total meiofaunal density, nematode density, and number of Bolbolaimus spp. individuals were significantly negatively associated with the concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons (Spearman correlation coefficients, p < 0.05). Within the nematodes, epistrate feeders (group 2A: 46%) were the most abundant trophic group. Among the treatment groups, the abundance of group 2A increased in low-concentration microcosms and decreased in high-concentration microcosms. Thus, our findings provide information on the effects of oil pollution on meiofauna in the intertidal zones of sandy beaches.     

Contrast in life histories of exploited fishes and ecosystem structures in coastal waters off west Canada and east Korea

By reviewing the history of fishery exploitation in the coastal waters of west Canada and east Korea, related with contrasting life history strategies of the dominant species, the fishery management challenges that each country would face in the upcoming decades were outlined. In the ecosystem of the Canadian western coastal waters, the dominant oceanographic feature is the coastal upwelling domain off the west coast of Vancouver Island, the northernmost extent of the California Current System in the eastern North Pacific. In the marine ecosystem of the eastern coasts of Korea (the Japan/East Sea), a major oceanographic feature is the Tsushima Warm Current, a branch of the Kuroshio Current in the western North Pacific. Fishes in the Canadian ecosystem are dominated by demersal, long-lived species such as flatfish, rockfish, sablefish, and halibut. During summer, migratory pelagic species such as Pacific hake, Pacific salmon, and recently Pacific sardine, move into this area to feed. In the late 1970s, Canada declared jurisdiction for 200 miles from their coastline, and major fisheries species in Canadian waters have been managed with a quota system. The overall fishing intensity off the west coast of Vancouver Island has been relatively moderate compared to Korean waters. Fishes in the ecosystem of the eastern Korean waters are dominated by short-lived pelagic and demersal fish. Historically, Korea has shared marine resources in this area with neighbouring countries, but stock assessments and quotas have only recently (since the late-1990s) been implemented for some major species. In the Korean ecosystem, fisheries can be described as intensive, and many stocks have been rated as overfished. The two ecosystems responded differently to climate impacts such as regime shifts under different exploitation histories. In the future, both countries will face the challenge of global warming and subsequent impacts on ecosystems, necessitating developing adaptive fisheries management plans. The challenges will be contrasting for the two countries: Canada will need to conserve fish populations, while Korea will need to focus on rebuilding depleted fish populations.     

东亚夏季风降水和环流数值模拟对不同对流参数化方案的敏感性

A 5-level spectral AGCM (ImPKU-5LAGCM) is used to examine the sensitivity of the simulated results of the summer monsoon rainfall and circulation in East Asia to different cumulus parameterization schemes in the climatological-mean case and in the cases of weak and strong Asian summer monsoons,respectively. The results simulated with the Arakawa-Schubert＇s(hereafter A-S＇s), Kuo＇s and Manabe＇s cumulus parameterization schemes show that these simulated distributions of the summer monsoon rainfall and circulation in East Asia depend strongly on the cumulus parameterization schemes either in the climatological-mean case or in the cases of weak and strong Asian summer monsoons. From the simulated results, it might be shown that the Kuo scheme appears to be more suitable for the simulation of the summer monsoon rainfall and circulation in East Asia than the A-S scheme or the Manabe scheme, although the A-S scheme is somewhat better in the simulations of the tropical rainfall. This might be due to that the Kuo＇s cumulus parameterization scheme is able to reflect well the characteristics of rainfall cloud system in the East Asian summer monsoon region, where the rainfall system used to be a mixing of cumulus and stratus.     

List of Forthcoming Papers

Other Index

List of Forthcoming Papers     

Horizontal and vertical distribution of PCBs and chlorinated pesticides in sediments from Masan Bay,Korea

Horizontal and vertical distributions of organochlorine compounds (OCs) were determined in sediments from Masan Bay. The concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), HCB, hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and chlordane related compounds (CHLs) in sediments were in the range of 1.24-41.4, 0.28-89.2, 0.02-0.59, nd-1.03, and nd-2.56 ng/g, respectively. The spatial distribution of OCs showed a negative gradient from the inner of the bay to outer part of the bay, indicating that the source of OCs was probably located inside the bay. Compositional pattern of PCB congeners showed a relatively high concentration of high-chlorinated congeners in the inner part of the bay and a relatively low concentration of low-chlorinated congeners in the outer part. In sediment core from Masan Bay maximum concentrations of PCBs and DDTs are observed in the subsurface samples and correspond to an age of early 1980s and late 1960s. The concentration profiles of PCBs and DDTs in sediments of Masan Bay appear to correspond to use of PCBs and DDTs in Korea.     

Static load tests of driven concrete piles under CFRP confinement

ABSTRACT

This paper describes compressive static load tests of concrete driven piles confined by Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP). The tested piles include one concrete pipe pile and one concrete rectangular pile which are all partially confined by CFRP, and other two piles with the same dimensions without CFRP application. Tests program was performed to obtain the behaviours of these composite piles. Four Static Loading Tests (SLTs) were conducted and the results shown that those two types of composite pile demonstrate less vertical displacement with the same loading of traditional concrete piles. Furthermore, the traditional methods of Load-settlement (Q-s) curves, Settlement-lg (Load) (s-lgQ) curves and Settlement-lg (Time) curves are analysed. Due to un-plunging condition, the interpretation methods of Davisson’s, DeBeers, Double-Tangent as well as Chin’s methods are demonstrated for the ultimate bearing capacity of these four piles. It is concluded that the CFRP confinement increased the ultimate bearing capacity and this composite material can be perfectly applied in geotechnical condition.     

Light curves of V711 Tauri (HR 1099)

V andB observations of V711 Tauri (HR 1099) for the year 1982–1983 are presented. The light curves made with the data of this season are compared with those of the previous observations of the 1981–1982 season. The single-peaked maximum light had shifted slightly and the peak amplitude had decreased to 0.04 mag. inV. No clear sign of colour,B–V, variation in comparison with the low temperature dark-spot is detected.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Natural disasters as the end of the insurance industry? Scalar competitive strategies, Alternative Risk Transfers, and the economic crisis

The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina has piqued interest in the insurance industry, and this scrutiny has led to assumptions that the industry has become unstable and unprofitable with the increased incidence of disasters in highly-insured regions of the world. This paper challenges that assumption by arguing that the insurance industry has responded by spreading risk through scaled and networked recovery schemes. We found that because of competitive strategies of risk-spreading and displacement arrangements, the industry has actually profited as a whole. Regional insurance companies have always relied on the higher financial scales of the reinsurance industry in Munich, Zurich, and London. But with claims reaching into the billions of dollars, the reinsurance industry itself has raised premiums, spread risk farther afield, and jumped scale by spreading risk to futures markets called Alternative Risk Transfers (ARTs). However, the recession beginning in 2008 has called into question the viability of using futures markets as insurance. It is shown through a media analysis of four major business publications (The Economist, The New York Times, The Financial Times and The Wall Street Journal) how the industry responded to the costs of the 2004, 2005, and 2006 hurricane seasons. Because geography is rather new to this literature, this paper also offers a broad review of the insurance industry.     

Estimation of soil weathering degree using electrical resistivity

In this study, the electrical resistivity of soil having different chemical weathering index (CWI) was measured, and the correlation between CWI and the electrical resistivity was estimated. The electrical resistivity of soil varies with CWI of soil. The difference in the electrical resistivities of soils having different weathering degrees is clear at lower water contents. At the volumetric water contents estimated in this study, CWI could be described by a linear equation of electrical resistivity with the constants related to the volumetric water content. The findings in this study suggest that the electrical resistivity could be used as an effective alternative for estimating the weathering degree of soil.