Field survey of the East Java earthquake and tsunami of June 3, 1994

A field survey of the June 3, 1994 East Java earthquake tsunami was conducted within three weeks, and the distributions of the seismic intensities, tsunami heights, and human and house damages were surveyed. The seismic intensities on the south coasts of Java and Bali Islands were small for an earthquake with magnitudeM 7.6. The earthquake caused no land damage. About 40 minutes after the main shock, a huge tsunami attacked the coasts, several villages in East Java Province were damaged severely, and 223 persons perished. At Pancer Village about 70 percent of the houses were swept away and 121 persons were killed by the tsunami. The relationship between tsunami heights and distances from the source shows that the Hatori's tsunami magnitude wasm=3, which seems to be larger for the earthquake magnitude. But we should not consider this an extraordinary event because it was pointed out byHatori (1994) that the magnitudes of tsunamis in the Indonesia-Philippine region generally exceed 1–2 grade larger than those of other regions.     

Distribution of dinoflagellate cysts in Yellow Sea sediments

To investigate the distribution,abundance,and species composition of dinoflagellate cysts in the Yellow Sea,surface sediment samples were collected at 37 sites,including the Korean dump site.Twenty-one dinoflagellate cyst taxa were identified,with the assemblages dominated mainly by Spiniferites bulloideus,Operculodinium centrocarpum,and cyst of Alexandrium catenella/tamarense type.A high frequency of O.centrocarpum in the Yellow Sea was observed for the first time,and it is likely that this can be attributed to the dynamics of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass and the Changjiang(Yangtze) River runoff.Total cyst concentrations ranged from 23 to 48 442 cysts/g dry weight,and high cyst concentrations were recorded adjacent to the dumping site.This result suggests that anthropogenic activities such as ocean dumping stimulate the growth of dinoflagellates in the Yellow Sea,which in turn leads to high levels of dinoflagellate cyst production.     

Volume estimation of small scale debris flows based on observations of topographic changes using airborne LiDAR DEMs

This paper describes a geographic information system(GIS)-based method for observing changes in topography caused by the initiation, transport, and deposition of debris flows using highresolution light detection and ranging(LiDAR) digital elevation models(DEMs) obtained before and after the debris flow events. The paper also describes a method for estimating the volume of debris flows using the differences between the LiDAR DEMs. The relative and absolute positioning accuracies of the LiDAR DEMs were evaluated using a real-time precise global navigation satellite system(GNSS) positioning method. In addition, longitudinal and cross-sectional profiles of the study area were constructed to determine the topographic changes caused by the debris flows. The volume of the debris flows was estimated based on the difference between the LiDAR DEMs. The accuracies of the relative and absolute positioning of the two LiDAR DEMs were determined to be ±10 cm and ±11 cm RMSE, respectively, which demonstrates the efficiency of the method for determining topographic changes at an scale equivalent to that of field investigations. Based on the topographic changes, the volume of the debris flows in the study area was estimated to be 3747 m3, which is comparable with the volume estimated based on the data from field investigations.     

Geospatial spreadsheets with microscale air quality visualization and synchronization for supporting multiple-scenario visual collaboration

A major obstacle of the interdisciplinary communications for decision-making is that each participant prefers the solution from their own area because current collaboration systems cannot effectively mediate among many alternatives. If a visual collaboration system could display multiple alternatives in a single visual presentation, users would be able to compare alternatives with only a few variables, where all other parameters are fixed, at least from a visual perspective. In this study, we developed a visualization tool to support a microscale air quality (MSAQ) management group, the members of which often need to compare the effects of many alternative control methods. The main achievements of this study are: (1) three-dimensional (3D) visualization of the MSAQ using a 3D city model and (2) development of a geospatial spreadsheet (GS) to facilitate visual comparisons, thereby improving decision-making by making it easy to compare differences based on realistic visual display items. A questionnaire-based survey showed that use of the GS could generate a shared perspective and provide a spatiotemporal context for the participants, thereby making it easy to compare, mediate and reach decisions when confronted with many alternatives.     

Formation and Movement of the ESIW as Modeled by MICOM

The presence of the minimum salinity and oxygen-rich East Sea Intermediate Water (ESIW) off Korean coast has raised many questions about its origin and movement. This study attempts to answer these questions in the context of numerical model. For this, the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model is used with surface and inflow boundary conditions based on available data. Model results show that the ESIW forms most distinctly off Vladivostok, where the center of doming structure is observed, and moves southward along Korean coast forming a large cyclonic gyre around the doming. The renewed ESIW has the character of minimum potential vorticity common to usual mode waters. These results are compatible with various indications made in previous observational and theoretical studies. However, it is not known whether the doming structure is a result of convection or the latter is favored by the former. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Impacts of land use change and groundwater management on long-term nitrate-nitrogen and chloride trends in groundwater of Jeju Island,Korea

Impacts of land use changes and groundwater management actions on groundwater quality were evaluated at the island scale with spatiotemporal trends of NO₃-N and Cl concentrations in groundwater of Jeju Island, Korea. The temporal trends from 1993 to 2012 in the concentrations of NO₃-N and Cl from more than 3900 wells were estimated using the Mann–Kendall trend test and Sen’s slope analysis and compared with the land use change trend for the period 1995–2009. The results indicate that the upward trends in NO₃-N were associated with the expansion of agricultural lands, whereas Cl trends were considered to be affected by other factors in addition to the land use changes. In the mid-mountainous region, the deterioration in the groundwater quality by the both NO₃-N and Cl was expected due to the continuous expansion of agricultural lands. In the lowland area, the NO₃-N and Cl components showed different trends depending on the regions. In the eastern area, increasing trends in NO₃-N were observed due to the development of new agricultural areas, while the Cl concentration was observed to decrease as a result of the regulation on groundwater extraction to reduce seawater intrusion. Our study highlights that a comprehensive interpretation of trends in NO₃-N and Cl and land use changes for long-term periods can provide useful insights to prepare for suitable groundwater management plans in the whole island perspective.     

Nitrogen budget of the eelgrass, Zostera marina in a bay system on the south coast of Korea

Above- and below-ground productivities and tissue N content were measured monthly to quantify N incorporation to sustain eelgrass growth in Koje Bay on the south coast of Korea from January to December 2002. N acquisition was also estimated through measurements of N uptake kinetics, tissue biomass, and in situ inorganic N concentrations in water column and sediments. Above- and below-ground productivities were highest in summer and lowest in late fall and winter. Leaf tissue N content was highest in December and lowest in July, while rhizome tissue N content was highest in October and lowest in April. Estimated monthly N incorporation by leaf tissues based on the leaf productivity and N content ranged from 0.4 g N m^?2 month^?1 in November to 2.0 g N m^?2 month^?1 in May. N incorporation by below-ground tissues ranged from 0.1 g N m^?2 month^?1 in February to 0.2 g N m^?2 month^?1 in October. Annual whole plant N incorporation was 14.5 g N m^?2 y^?1, and N incorporation by leaf tissues accounted for about 87 % of total N incorporation. Maximum uptake rate (V _max ) and half saturation constant (K _m ) of leaf NH₄ ⁺ uptake were significantly lower than those of root NH₄ ⁺ uptake. Above- and below-ground biomass ranged from 20.8 g DW m^?2 and 8.6 g DW m^?2 in winter to 350.0 g DW m^?2 and 81.3 g DW m^?2 in spring, respectively. NH₄ ⁺ concentrations varied from 0.2 to 4.3 mM in water column and from 93.0 to 551.7 mM in sediment pore water. Based on these measurements, annual N acquisition by root tissues contributed slightly higher than that by leaf tissues to total plant N acquisition. During winter, monthly leaf N acquisition was lower than monthly leaf N incorporation. This implies that Z. marina has internal nitrogen retention system to offset the shortage and excess of nitrogen.     

Behavior of soil plugs in open‐ended model piles driven into sands

Calibration chamber tests were conducted on open‐ended model piles driven into dried siliceous sands with different soil conditions in order to clarify the effect of soil conditions on load transfer mechanism in the soil plug. The model pile used in the test series was devised so that the bearing capacity of an open‐ended pile could be measured as three components: outside shaft resistance, plug resistance, and tip resistance. Under the assumption that the unit shaft resistance due to pile‐soil plug interaction varies linearly near the pile tip, the plug resistance was estimated. The plug capacity, which was defined as the plug resistance at ultimate condition, is mainly dependent on the ambient lateral pressure and relative density. The length of wedged plug that transfers the load decreases with the decrease of relative density, but it is independent of the ambient pressure and penetration depth. Under several assumptions, the value of earth pressure coefficient in the soil plug can be calculated. It gradually reduces with increase in the longitudinal distance from the pile tip. At the bottom of the soil plug, it tends to decrease with increase in the penetration depth and relative density, and to increase with the increase of ambient pressure. This may be attributed to (1) the decrease of friction angle as a result of increase in the effective vertical stress, (2) the difference in the dilation degree of the soil plug during driving with ambient pressures, and (3) the difference in compaction degree of soil plug during driving with relative densities. Based on the test results, an empirical equation was suggested to compute the earth pressure coefficient to be used in the calculation of plug capacity using one‐dimensional analysis, and it produces proper plug capacities for all soil conditions.