Infiltration pattern in a regolith–fractured bedrock profile: field observation of a dye stain pattern

We examined the infiltration pattern of water in a regolith–bedrock profile consisting of two overburdens (OB1 and OB2), a buried rice paddy soil (PS), two texturally distinctive weathered materials (WM1 and WM2) and a fractured sedimentary rock (BR), using a Brilliant Blue FCF dye tracer. A black‐coloured coating in conducting fractures in WM1, WM2 and BR was analysed by X‐ray diffraction and scanning electron microscopy. The dye tracer penetrated to greater than 2 m depth in the profile. The macropore flow and saturated interflow were the major infiltration patterns in the profile. Macropore flow and saturated interflow were observed along fractures in WM1, WM2 and BR and at the dipping interfaces of PS–WM1, PS–WM2 and PS–BR respectively. Heterogeneous matrix flow occurred in upper overburden (OB1) and PS. Compared with OB1, the coarser textured OB2 acted as a physical barrier for vertical flow of water. The PS with low bulk density and many fine roots was another major conducting route of water in the profile. Manganese oxide and iron oxide were positively identified in the black coating material and had low crystallinity and high surface area, indicating their high reactivity with conducting contaminants. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Toxicological impact assessment of heavy metal contamination on macrobenthic communities in southern coastal sediments of Korea

In the heavily industrialized Masan Bay of southern coast, Korea, the potential harmful effects of heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, Pb, Sn, Zn, and Hg) were evaluated in terms of the pollution load index (PLI) and ecological risk assessment index (ERI) methods, and the results obtained were considered alongside the health of the macrobenthic fauna communities. The results revealed that the bay sediments, especially in the inner bay and the outfall area of a sewage treatment plant, are exposed to moderate to serious levels of metal pollution. Hg and Cd contributed the most to the potential toxicity response indices in sediments recently deposited in the bay. The potential ecological risk assessment of heavy metals in the bay was highlighted by the use of the benthic biological pollution index (BPI), suggesting that the ERI is a useful toxicity response index, which can quantify the overall ecological risk level to a target environment.     

Theoretical plasma distributions consistent with Ulysses magnetic field observations in a solar wind tangential discontinuity

The overall multi-layer structure of the magnetic field profile observed by Ulysses across a broad solar wind tangential discontinuity can be reproduced fairly well by means of a kinetic model. Such a simulation provides complementary information about the velocity distribution functions, which are not always available from the plasma experiment due to the low time resolution inherent in plasma measurements. The success of such a simulation proves that the kinetic model can be used as a realistic basis for further studies of the structure and stability of solar wind tangential discontinuities.     

Population dynamics of the solitary ascidian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Herdmania momus</Emphasis> (Savignyi, 1816) in Jeju Island,Korea

In 2007–2008, a population outbreak of the solitary ascidian Herdmania momus was observed along the coasts of Jeju Island and the ascidians became the top dominant species in macrobenthic communities. We conducted field experiments on population dynamics and demographic parameters including seasonal density fluctuation, vertical distribution, recruitment patterns, mortality, and growth rate. Recruitment continued year-round except in April following the lowest water temperature season in February. Population density was highest in August-October, concomitantly with the peak in recruitment, related to the highest water temperature. The lowest density was observed in February-April when the water temperature was lowest. In April all individuals disappeared from all permanent plots, resulting in a maximum life span of 10–12 months. Individuals of newly recruited H. momus grew to have an adult size of 4–6 cm in only 3–4 months. Higher densities were observed in the shallower areas (5 m) compared to the deeper zones. More recruitment occurred on vertical slopes than horizontal substrates, but substrate pre-occupancy caused no difference in recruitment. This is the first report on H. momus population-level investigation in Korea, which provides valuable baseline information on the current status of population demography and their potential community-level influence on Jeju coasts.     

Petrology of lavas from episodes 2–47 of the Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea Volcano,Hawaii: Evaluation of magmatic processes

The Puu Oo eruption of Kilauea Volcano in Hawaii is one of its largest and most compositionally varied historical eruptions. The mineral and whole-rock compositions of the Puu Oo lavas indicate that there were three compositionally distinct magmas involved in the eruption. Two of these magmas were differentiated (<6.8 wt% MgO) and were apparently stored in the rift zone prior to the eruption. A third, more mafic magma (9–10 wt% MgO) was probably intruded as a dike from Kilauea's summit reservoir just before the start of the eruption. Its intrusion forced the other two magmas to mix, forming a hybrid that erupted during the first three eruptive episodes from a fissure system of vents. A new hybrid was erupted during episode 3 from the vent where Puu Oo later formed. The composition of the lava erupted from this vent became progressively more mafic over the next 21 months, although significant compositional variation occurred within some eruptive episodes. The intra-episode compositional variation was probably due to crystal fractionation in the shallow (0.0–2.9 km), dike-shaped (i.e. high surface area/volume ratio) and open-topped Puu Oo magma reservoir. The long-term compositional variation was controlled largely by mixing the early hybrid with the later, more mafic magma. The percentage of mafic magma in the erupted lava increased progressively to 100% by episode 30 (about two years after the eruption started). Three separate magma reservoirs were involved in the Puu Oo eruption. The two deeper reservoirs (3–4 km) recharged the shallow (0.4–2.9 km) Puu Oo reservoir. Recharge of the shallow reservoir occurred rapidly during an eruption indicating that these reservoirs were well connected. The connection with the early hybrid magma body was cut off before episode 30. Subsequently, only mafic magma from the summit reservoir has recharged the Puu Oo reservoir.     

Evolution of waves and currents over a submerged laboratory shoal

The vertically-integrated effect of interaction between waves and wave-induced currents on wave transformation over a submerged elliptic shoal was investigated based on numerical simulations of the Vincent and Briggs experiment [Vincent, C.L., Briggs, M.J., 1989. Refraction- diffraction of irregular waves over a mound. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering, 115(2), pp. 269–284.]. The numerical simulations were performed using two numerical wave-current model systems: one, a combination of the wave model SWAN and the current model SHORECIRC, and the other, a combination of the wave model REF/DIF and the same current model. A time-dependent, phase-resolving wave and current model, FUNWAVE, was also utilized to simulate the experiment. In the simulations, the developed wave-induced currents defocused waves behind the shoal and brought on a wave shadow zone that showed relatively low wave height distributions. For the breaking case of monochromatic waves, the wave heights computed using FUNWAVE showed good agreement with the measurements and the resulting wave-induced currents showed a jet-like velocity distribution in transverse direction. And the computed results of the two model combinations agreed better with the measurements than the computed results obtained by neglecting wave-current interaction. However, it was found that for the case in which transverse interference pattern caused by refracted waves was strong, REF/DIF-SHORECIRC did not correctly evaluate radiation stresses, the gradients of which generate wave-induced currents. SWAN-SHORECIRC, which cannot deal with the interference patterns, predicted a jet-like wave-induced current. For breaking random wave cases, the computed results of the two model combinations and FUNWAVE agreed well with the measurements. The agreements indicate that it is necessary to take into account the effect of wave-induced current on wave refraction when wave breaking occurs over a submerged shoal.     

Recovering after a maritime terrorist attack: The APEC Trade Recovery Programme

Since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon in the United States, many measures have been taken to prevent similar attacks from happening against iconic targets from the land, air, or sea. However, most of the efforts have so far focussed only on the prevention of terrorist attacks. The APEC Trade Recovery Programme (TRP) was developed to increase the speed of post-incident recovery amongst the APEC economies and the US to facilitate a resumption of trade after a terrorist incident.     

Influences of spatial distribution of soil thickness on shallow landslide prediction

Shallow landslides usually occur during hevy rainfall and result in casualties and property losses. Thus, the possible locations where landslides are likely to occur must be identified in advance in order to avoid or reduce the harm they cause. When performing a slope-instability analysis, soil thickness is an important factor; however, soil thickness information from landslide-prone areas is rarely obtained. The objective of this study is to realize the influences of spatial distribution of soil thickness on shallow landslide prediction. Three different spatial soil-thickness distributions were applied to perform a slope-instability analysis, and uniform-distributed soil thicknesses from 0.4 m to 2.0 m were also applied for comparison. Geomorphologic information and hydrological records from a landslide-prone area in southern Taiwan were collected. Results show that the spatial distribution of soil thickness related to wetness index provides a reasonable estimation in order to avoid an over-prediction for landslide-prone areas or an under-prediction for stable areas. The analytical procedure used in this study is a simple way for assessing hillslope instability for shallow landslide prediction.     

Removal of ammonia toxicity in marine sediment TIEs: a comparison of Ulva lactuca,zeolite and aeration methods

Toxicity Identification Evaluations (TIEs) can be used to determine the specific toxicant(s), including ammonia, causing toxicity observed in marine sediments. Two primary TIE manipulations are available for characterizing and identifying ammonia in marine sediments: Ulva lactuca addition and zeolite addition. In this study, we compared the efficacy of these methods to (1) remove NH(x) and NH(3) from overlying and interstitial waters and (2) reduce toxicity to the amphipod Ampelisca abdita and mysid Americamysis bahia using both spiked and environmentally contaminated sediments. The utility of aeration for removing NH(x) and NH(3) during a marine sediment TIE was also evaluated preliminarily. In general, the U. lactuca and zeolite addition methods performed similarly well at removing spiked NH(x) and NH(3) from overlying and interstitial waters compared to an unmanipulated sediment. Toxicity to the amphipod was reduced approximately the same by both methods. However, toxicity to the mysid was most effectively reduced by the U. lactuca addition indicating this method functions best with epibenthic species exposed to ammonia in the water column. Aeration removed NH(x) and NH(3) from seawater when the pH was adjusted to 10; however, very little ammonia was removed at ambient pHs ( approximately 8.0). This comparison demonstrates both U. lactuca and zeolite addition methods are effective TIE tools for reducing the concentrations and toxicity of ammonia in whole sediment toxicity tests.