Relationship between macrobenthos and physical habitat characters in tidal flat in eastern Seto Inland Sea, Japan

The investigations were carried out at 6 tidal flats located on the eastern part of the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. This study was focused on physical characteristics of sediments, namely as particle size of sediment and difference in elevation, and generalizes the relationship between sediments and macrobenthos. A total of 192 species were collected at 187 stations at 6 tidal flats. Physical characteristics of sediment were classified into 9 groups by cluster analysis in relation to sediment particle size and difference in elevation. Those groups had also significant difference in physical characteristics of sediments, and were characterized by some specific macrobenthos species. Distribution of macrobenthos can be explained by the classification of physical characteristics of sediment. These findings show the possibility to predict the variety of macrobenthos community using the physical characteristics of sediment.     

Multi-directional wave spectra from marine X-band radar

The signal measured by heave–pitch–roll directional wave buoys yields the first four coefficients of a Fourier series. Data adaptive methods must be employed to estimate a directional wave spectrum. Marine X-band radars (MRs) have the advantage over buoys that they can measure “model-free” two-dimensional (2D) wave spectra. This study presents the first comprehensive validation of MR-derived multi-directional wave characteristics. It is based on wave data from the 2010 Impact of Typhoons on the Ocean in the Pacific (ITOP) experiment in the Philippine Sea, namely MR measurements from R/V Roger Revelle, Extreme Air–Sea Interaction (EASI) buoy measurements, as well as WAVEWATCH-III (WW3) modeling results. Buoy measurements of mean direction and spreading as function of frequency, which do not require data adaptive methods, are used to validate the WW3 wave spectra. An advanced MR wave retrieval technique is introduced that addresses various shortcomings of existing methods. Spectral partitioning techniques, applied to MR and WW3 results, reveal that multimodal seas are frequently present. Both data sets are in excellent agreement, tracking the evolution of up to 4 simultaneous wave systems over extended time periods. This study demonstrates MR’s and WW3’s strength at measuring and predicting 2D wave spectra in swell-dominated seas.     

Aspherical correction for free vibration of elastically anisotropic solid by means of theXYZ algorithm

By applying the perturbation theory to theXYZ algorithm (a kind of variational method), the difference f in free vibration frequencies between sphere and ellipsoid was approximated as , where i and _i (i = x,y andz) (i=x, y andz) are aspherical coefficients and asphericities of the ellipsoid, respectively. We developed an analytic method to compute the aspherical coefficients719-4 by using theXYZ algorithm. A numerical example was given for an ellipsoidal olivine, and an attempt was made to estimate the asphericities of the specimen by a least-squares method, based on the relationship between frequency shift and asphericity.     

Oxygen isotope exchange rate between dissolved sulfate and water at hydrothermal temperatures

Oxygen isotope exchange rate between dissolved sulfate and water was experimentally determined at 100, 200 and 300°C. The isotope exchange rate is strongly dependent on temperature and pH of the solution. Combining the temperature and pH dependence of the reaction rate, the exchange reaction was estimated to be first-order with respect to sulfate. The logarithm of apparent rate constant of exchange reaction at a given temperature is a function of the pH calculated at the experimental temperatures. From the pH dependence of the apparent rate constant, it was deduced that the isotope exchange reaction between dissolved sulfate and water proceeds through collision between H₂SO⁰₄ and H₂O at low pH, and between HSO^?₄ and H₂O at intermediate pH. The isotope exchange rate obtained indicates that oxygen isotope geothermometry utilizing the studied isotope exchange is suitable for temperature estimation of geothermal reservoirs. The extrapolated half-life of this reaction to oceanic temperature is about 10⁹ years, implying that exchange between oceanic sulfate and water cannot control the oxygen isotope ratio of oceanic sulfates.     

Research on the seismotectonics of the Jan－uary 17，1995 Hanshin M7．2 earthquake

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Out‐of‐plane stability of buckling‐restrained braces including moment transfer capacity

Buckling‐restrained braces (BRBs) are widely used as ductile seismic‐resistant and energy‐dissipating structural members in seismic regions. Although BRBs are expected to exhibit stable hysteresis under cyclic axial loading, one of the key limit states is global flexural buckling, which can produce an undesirable response. Many prior studies have indicated the possibility of global buckling of a BRB before its core yields owing to connection failure. In this paper, BRB stability concepts are presented, including their bending‐moment transfer capacity at restrainer ends for various connection stiffness values with initial out‐of‐plane drifts, and a unified simple equation set for ensuring BRB stability is proposed. Moreover, a series of cyclic loading tests with initial out‐of‐plane drifts are conducted, and the results are compared with those of the proposed equations. © 2013 The Authors. Earthquake Engineering & Structural Dynamics published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Phase transformations in ABO 4 type compounds under high pressure

For ABO ₄ type ternary oxides, high pressure phase transformations known up to the present are reviewed, and an attempt is made to explain and predict crystal structures of their high pressure phases. When ABO ₄ type compounds are plotted based on the two variables, k=r _A /r _B and t=(r _A +r _B )/2r _O, where r _A , r _B , and r _O are the ionic radii of A and B cations and divalent oxygen, they can be classified into the major structure types. It is found empirically that a compound basically transforms to the structure type isostructural with a compound lying in a classified area with the same k and larger t values in the diagram.     

X-ray observation of the Jovian impacts of comet Shoemaker - Levy 9

An ASCA observation of the Jovian impact of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is reported. Four impacts of H, L, Q1 and R were observed and four impacts of B, C, G, and Q2 were observed within 60 minutes after their impacts. No significant flaring of X-ray emission was observed. Upper limit X-ray fluxes of 90 % confidence level, averaged 5 minutes just after the impacts, were 2.4 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2, 3.5 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2, 1.6 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2 and 2.9 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2 for the impacts of H, L, Q1 and R, respectively, in the 0.5(0.7 for H and Q1)–10 keV energy range. However, a hint of X-ray enhancement around Jupiter from July 17 to July 19 was detected with about 2 6 × 10^–14 erg sec^–1 cm^–2 in the 0.5–10 keV energy range.     

Bedrock structure in Adapazari, Turkey—a possible cause of severe damage by the 1999 Kociaeli earthquake

The 1999 Kocaeli earthquake brought serious damage to downtown of Adapazari. To study why strong motions were generated at the town, a bedrock structure was investigated on the basis of Bouguer gravity anomaly, and SPAC and H/V analyses of microseisms. It was revealed that, the basin consists of three narrow depressions of bedrock with very steep edges, extending in E–W or NE–SW directions along the North Anatolia faults, and the depth to bedrock reaches 1000 m or more. Downtown of Adapazari is located 1–2 km apart from the basin-edge. It is considered that, the specific configuration of bedrock amplifies ground motions at the downtown area by focusing of seismic waves and/or interference between incident S-waves and surface-waves secondarily generated at the basin-edge. Studying 3D bedrock structure is an urgent issue for microzoning an urban area in a sedimentary basin.