Observation of shear zone development in ring-shear apparatus with a transparent shear box

Using a new ring-shear apparatus with a transparent shear box and video image analysis system, drained and undrained speed-controlled tests were conducted on coarse-grained silica sands to study the shear-zone formation process in granular materials. Velocity distribution profiles of grains under shear at various stages in the ring shear tests were observed through processing the video image by the Particle Image Velocimetry (PIV) program. Shear-zone thickness and type of shear mode (slide-like or flow-like) during shear were observed. Before reaching peak strength in low-speed and drained condition test, a comparatively major part of the sample in the upper shear box showed a velocity distribution profile of structural deformation and dilatancy behavior. After peak strength, the velocity profile changed into a slide-like mode and thereafter showed almost no change. In higher speed tests with drained and undrained conditions, an almost slide-like mode was observed, compared to low-speed test. Apparent shear-zone thicknesses of high-speed tests are thinner than low-speed tests. Unexpectedly, almost no difference was observed in the shear-zone thickness and mode of shear (slide or flow-like) between drained and undrained tests. This study was conducted as part of the International Programme on Landslides (IPL) M101 “Areal prediction of earthquake and rain induced rapid and long-traveling flow phenomena (APERITIF)” of the International Consortium on Landslides (ICL). These results will contribute to understanding the mechanism of shear-zone development in granular materials as a basic knowledge for disaster risk mitigation of rapid long run-out landslides.     

Failure mechanism in an extremely slow rock slide at Bitchu-Matsuyama castle site (Japan)

One of the specific problems related to historical structures is the fact that they are prone to damage caused by even very small deformations acting over a long period of time, such as creep or extremely small rock displacements. If any damage has already occurred, the determination of the rock slope failure mechanism is one of the prerequisites for successful mitigation technique selection. In this study a medieval castle in central Japan, suffering damage caused by deformation of the rock mass in the subgrade of the castle, was investigated using a combination of field investigation, high-precision monitoring and physical modeling experiments. Using these techniques an attempt to determine the failure mechanism of the rock slope was made. Based on the field investigation a toe-slope failure seemed to be the main triggering factor activating the deformations in the upper slope area, right below the defense walls of the castle. The displacement monitoring of the surface rock blocks revealed a slumping failure with the backward rotational component prevailing over the sliding in the immediate vicinity of the castle wall. This was in accordance with the expectations obtained from the structural analysis of the rock mass carried out during the field investigation. The displacements obtained during the rock block monitoring, especially from the crack gauges, were not sufficient for drawing a satisfactory conclusions about the failure mechanism of the blocks located in the central part of the slope. Therefore, the failure mechanisms of rock blocks inferred from their displacements obtained from the monitoring were correlated with the results of modeling experiments carried out on the scaled slope model. The physical modeling revealed a possibility of toppling failure of rock blocks in the central area of the slope caused mainly by block interlocking, which was supported by the data from surface tilt meters installed additionally in the field. Furthermore, the possibility of the occurrence of forward and backward rock block rotations in the same sliding body at given conditions was supported by the physical modeling experiments.     

Carbon and hydrogen isotope variation of plant biomarkers in a plant-soil system

Stable carbon (δ¹³C) and hydrogen (δD) isotopic compositions of n-alkanes, anteiso-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids, n-alkanols, phytol and sterols in raw leaves of Acer argutum and Acer carpinifolium, their fallen leaves, mold and soils from a natural Acer forest were measured in order to: (1) understand isotopic variation of the plant biomarkers in a plant-soil system and (2) evaluate which biomarker is the most effective recorder of soil vegetation. Long-chain (> C₂₄) n-alkanes, n-alkanoic acids and n-alkanols are gradually enriched in ¹³C up to 12.9‰ (average of 4.3‰) and depleted in D up to 94‰ (average of 55‰) from raw leaves to soils. However, anteiso-alkanes, phytol and sterols show little variation in both δ¹³C (< ± 1‰) and δD (< ± 2‰) from raw leaves to soils. These isotope signatures in a plant-soil system indicate that isoprenoid plant biomarkers such as sterols in soils faithfully preserve the isotopic compositions of dominant higher plants growing on the soils without a diagenetic effect upon the isotopic compositions. In contrast, long-chain n-alkyl molecules in soils undergo specific isotopic modification during biodegradation associated with early diagenesis and/or a significant contribution from heterotrophic reworking.     

Analyzing CO2 concentration changes and their influencing factors in Indonesia by OCO-2 and other multi-sensor remote-sensing data

We used OCO-2 products and considered three factors that potentially affect CO₂ concentration in Indonesia: sea surface temperature (SST), forest fires and vegetation. From 2014 to 2016, CO₂ concentration in Indonesia showed a trend of increase, which is consistent with the global increase reported by the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite (GOSAT) Project. As an archipelago country, the results indicate that SST has a direct effect on the CO₂ concentration in Indonesia. Their changing exhibits similar fluctuations; meanwhile, CO₂ concentration and SST also presented positive correlation. In 2015, the number of fire hotspots suddenly increased to 140,699, because of occurrence of the worst forest fire. Due to special geographic conditions, forest fires did not induce CO₂ concentration changes in Indonesia, but CO₂ concentration in the corresponding islands showed a trend of increase. CO₂ concentration increased in Kalimantan during the occurrence of forest fire in September–October 2014, and CO₂ concentration increased in Kalimantan and Sumatra during the occurrence of forest fire in September–October 2015. Vegetation indices were stable and presented no correlation with CO₂ concentration. This study demonstrated that OCO-2 is capable of monitoring CO₂ concentration at a regional scale; additionally, an effective method for using OCO-2 Level 2 products is proposed.     

Mechanism and future risk of slope instability induced by extreme rainfall event in Izu Oshima Island,Japan

Natural Hazards - A volcanic slope in Izu Oshima Island in Japan experienced a profound rain-induced disaster in October 2013. Since this slope had been stable for centuries except for minor...     

Light utilization efficiency of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre of the North Pacific during summer

We investigated the water-column light utilization efficiency (Ψ) of phytoplankton photosynthesis in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG) of the North Pacific during summer 2008. The Ψ values (0.64–1.86 g C [g Chl a]^?1 [mol photon]^?1 m²) obtained were observed to increase significantly with decreasing daily photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) and were generally higher than those of previous studies, not only from the subarctic Pacific but also from the world’s oceans. To examine the effect of iron availability on Ψ in the WSG, Ψ values were estimated from the data of two in situ iron fertilization experiments: the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study I (SEEDS-I) and II (SEEDS-II). We found that iron availability did not affect Ψ values. Overall, this study revealed that Ψ values changed remarkably in the WSG during the summer, and that higher values were found at the stations where moderate PAR levels (ca. 10–30 mol photons m^?2 day^?1) were observed and where autotrophic flagellates predominated in the phytoplankton assemblages.     

Anomalously large seismic amplifications in the seafloor area off the Kii peninsula

Seismic wave amplifications were investigated using strong-motion data obtained from the ground’s surface (K-net) on the Kii peninsula (southwestern Japan) and from the network of twenty seismic stations on the seafloor (DONET) located off the peninsula near the Nankai trough. Observed seismograms show that seismic signals at DONET stations are significantly larger than those at K-net stations, independent of epicentral distances. In order to investigate the cause of such amplifications, seismic wavefields for local events were simulated using the finite-difference method, in which a realistic 3D velocity structure in and around the peninsula was incorporated. Our simulation results demonstrate that seismic waves are significantly amplified at DONET stations in relation to the presence of underlying low-velocity sediment layers with a total thickness of up to 10 km. Our simulations also show considerable variations in the degree of amplification among DONET stations, which is attributed to differences in the thickness of the sediment layers. The degree of amplification is relatively low at stations above thin sediment layers near the trough axis, but seismic signals are much more amplified at stations closer to the Kii peninsula, where sediment layers are thicker than those at the trough axis. Simulation results are consistent with observations. This study, based on seafloor observations and simulations, indicates that because seismic signals are amplified due to the ocean-specific structures, the magnitude of earthquakes would be overestimated if procedures applied to data observed at land stations are used without corrections.     

High-pressure phase relations in the system TiO2–ZrO2 to 12?GPa: stability of αPbO2-type srilankite solid solutions of (Ti1?x , Zr x )O2 (0?≤?x?≤?0.6)

Phase relations in the system TiO₂–ZrO₂ were examined in the pressure range of 3.5–12?GPa at 1,800?°C, using multianvil apparatus. At 1,800?°C, TiO₂ rutile transforms to αPbO₂ structure at 10?GPa, and the αPbO₂-type solid solution is stable in compositional range between TiO₂ and about (Ti_0.6, Zr_0.4)O₂ at 3.5–12?GPa. Combination of the present results with the published data at 0–3?GPa demonstrates that continuous solid solution with the αPbO₂-type structure is stable between TiO₂ and (Ti_1?x , Zr _x )O₂ (x?≈?0.6) at 0–12?GPa. This indicates that both the αPbO₂-type TiO₂ and srilankite Ti₂ZrO₆ with the same structure belong to the continuous solid solution system though the two phases have been regarded as different minerals. With increasing ZrO₂ content, lattice parameters of a- and c-axes of the αPbO₂-type solid solution increase, but b-axis is almost constant or slightly decreases. At higher pressure, the αPbO₂-type solid solution dissociates into two phases, αPbO₂-type phase and tetragonal zirconia. Srilankite with more TiO₂-rich composition than Ti₂ZrO₆ might be found in natural rocks derived from the deep upper mantle.     

Effects on the nutation of C4,m and S4,m Harmonics

In this paper, we make a study about the influence of the coefficients of the geopotential C_4,m and S_4,m, (m=1,2,3,4) on the nutation, starting from the Hamiltonian theory as developed by Kinoshita (1977).We obtain ten coefficients larger than 0.05 μ as for the nutation in longitude and six for the nutation in obliquity. The present results are included in the reconstruction of the theory of nutation (REN‐2000) at the level of truncation of 0.1 μ as (Souchay et al., 1997). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Applicability to Korean Marine Clay of the Mobilized Undrained Vane Shear Strength Using Correction Factors

The undrained shear strength normalized by the yield consolidation pressure, su/pc', is presented for four coastal sites: Busan/Gwangyang and Incheon/Gunsan, having the characteristics of high and low plasticity, respectively. The field vane shear strengths, su(FVT), were compared with unconfined compressive strength, qu/2 which has been used as a representative testing method in Korea. Many researchers have suggested that the undrained shear strength normalized by the yield consolidation pressure, su/pc', depends on Ip. However, the undrained shear strength normalized by the yield consolidation pressure, su/pc' is in the range of 0.25–0.35, independently of the plasticity index, Ip except for su/pc' using qu/2 values in the case of soils having a low plasticity, such as Incheon and Gunsan intermediate soils.

Bjerrum's correction factor has been commonly applied to evaluate mobilized undrained shear strength using the field vane test in Korea. However, the corrected undrained shear strengths using Bjerrum's correction factor, including Morris and Williams' method, were considerably underestimated for Korean marine clay when compared with the qu/2 values that have been used as the mobilized undrained shear strength for practical design in Korea.