Investigating the Effects of Different LED Wavelengths on Aggregation and Swimming Behavior of Chub Mackerel (Scomber japonicus)

Ocean Science Journal - Efficient fish aggregation systems are essential for catching chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus), which is a major target of purse seine fisheries in South Korea. To aid the...     

Physiological Characteristics and Related Biochemical Parameters of Snow Algae from King George Island,Antarctica

Red and green snow caused by snow algal blooms is common on glaciers and snowfields worldwide. Reddish and greenish snow samples containing algae were collected at the vicinity of penguin rockeries on King George Island (62°13′S, 58°47′W, near the King Sejong Station), Antarctica in February 2017 to investigate their physiology. Eight pigments and six fatty acids were detected from the samples. No difference in pigment and fatty acid (FA) composition was found between reddish and greenish snow samples. In contrast, spectral profiling and mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) were different between reddish and greenish snow. Particularly in greenish snow, a high absorbance between 450–600 nm was observed. The average MAA concentration was 316.0 μg g^-1 in greenish snow, which was higher than that of reddish snow (278.2 μg g^-1). The MAA to Particulate organic carbon (POC) ratio (mg (g C)^-1) for reddish snow (6.2 mg (g C)^-1) was higher than that of greenish snow (2.6 mg (g C)^-1). These results suggest that reddish and greenish snow are considered to be the same species based on pigment and FA composition. Compared with photoprotective pigments, MAAs offer snow algae a more effective photoprotection strategy to promote tolerance of natural levels of ultraviolet radiation (UVR).     

Spatio-Temporal Evolution and North–South Asymmetry of Quasi-Biennial Oscillations in the Coronal Fe <Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">xiv</Emphasis> Emission

In this work, we apply multichannel singular spectrum analysis (MSSA), a data-adaptive, multivariate, non-parametric technique that simultaneously exploits the spatial and temporal correlations of the input data to extract common modes of variability, to investigate the intermediate quasi-periodicities of the Fe xiv green coronal emission line at 530.3 nm for the period between 1944 and 2008. Our analysis reveals several significant mid-term periodicities in a range from about one to four years that are consistent with the so-called quasi-biennial oscillations (QBOs), which have been detected by several authors using different data sets and analysis methods. These QBOs display amplitudes varying significantly with time and latitude over the six solar cycles (18 to 23) covered by this study. A clear North–South asymmetry is detected both in their intensity and period distribution, with a net predominance of spectral power in the active-region belt of the northern hemisphere. On the other hand, while the QBOs with periods \(\gtrsim1.7\) years are particularly intense around the polar regions and therefore related to the global magnetic field, the ones with shorter periods are mainly generated at mid-latitudes, in correspondence with the emergence of active regions. Our findings indicate that the North–South asymmetry manifested in the uneven latitudinal distribution of QBOs is a fundamental, albeit puzzling, characteristic of solar activity.     

Effect of local atomic disorder on the half-metallicity of full-Heusler Co2FeSi alloy: a first-principles study

This paper investigates the effect of atomic disorder on the electronic structure, magnetism, and half-metallicity of full-Heusler Co₂FeSi alloy by using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method within the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) and GGA+U schemes. It considers three types of atomic disorders in Co₂FeSi alloy: the Co--Fe, Co--Si, and Fe--Si disorders. Total energy calculations show that of the three types of disorders, the Fe--Si disorder is more likely to occur. It finds that for the Co--Si disorder, additional states appear in the minority band-gap at the E_F and the half-metallcity is substantially destroyed, regardless of the disorder level. On the other hand, the Co--Fe and Fe--Si disorders have little effect on the half-metallicity at a low disorder level. When increasing the disorder levels, the half-metallcity is destroyed at about 9 % of the Co--Fe disorder level, while that stays at 25 % of the Fe--Si disorder level.     

Effects of hydrostatic pressure on microbial alteration of sinking fecal pellets

We used a new experimental device called PASS (PArticle Sinking Simulator) during MedFlux to simulate changes in in situ hydrostatic pressure that particles experience sinking from mesopelagic to bathypelagic depths. Particles, largely fecal pellets, were collected at 200 m using a settling velocity NetTrap (SV NetTrap) in Ligurian Sea in April 2006 and incubated in high-pressure bottles (HPBs) of the PASS system under both atmospheric and continuously increasing pressure conditions, simulating the pressure change experienced at a sinking rate of 200 m d⁻¹. Chemical changes over time were evaluated by measuring particulate organic carbon (POC), carbohydrates, transparent exopolymer particles (TEP), amino acids, lipids, and chloropigments, as well as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and dissolved carbohydrates. Microbial changes were evaluated microscopically, using diamidinophenylindole (DAPI) stain for total cell counts and catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization (CARD-FISH) for phylogenetic distinctions. Concentrations (normalized to POC) of particulate chloropigments, carbohydrates and TEP decreased under both sets of incubation conditions, although less under the increasing pressure regime than under atmospheric conditions. By contrast, dissolved carbohydrates (normalized to DOC) were higher after incubation and significantly higher under atmospheric conditions, suggesting they were produced at the expense of the particulate fraction. POC-normalized particulate wax/steryl esters increased only under pressure, suggesting biochemical responses of prokaryotes to the increasing pressure regime. The prokaryotic community initially consisted of 43% Bacteria, 12% Crenarchaea and 11% Euryarchaea. After incubation, Bacteria dominated (90%) the prokaryote community in all cases, with γ-Proteobacteria comprising the greatest fraction, followed by the Cytophaga–Flavobacter cluster and α-Proteobacteria group. Using the PASS system, we obtained chemical and microbial evidence that degradation by prokaryotes associated with fecal pellets sinking through mesopelagic waters is limited by the increasing pressure they experience.     

Measurement of temporal and horizontal variations in <Superscript>222</Superscript>Rn activity in estuarine waters for tracing groundwater inputs

We measured the time-series variations in ²²²Rn activity at a fixed station in the Yeongsan River Estuary (YRE), Korea, where the upstream water is obstructed by an artificial dam, during November 18–24, 2008, and conducted a horizontal ²²²Rn survey in the Seomjin River Estuary (SRE), Korea, during December 16–18, 2008. In the YRE, we observed constantly low levels of ²²²Rn activity over the sampling period, relative to the summer in 2008. The ²²²Rn variations and ²²²Rn mass-balance modeling results indicate that the submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) in the YRE was relatively low and constant over the sampling period and that the temporal SGD variations were not related to tides or to the water elevation in the dam upstream. This low and constant SGD appears to be due to the lower water level in the dam relative to the local sea level during the study period, resulting in the SGD mostly from the surrounding land areas rather than from the dam. In the SRE, higher ²²²Rn activities were observed at upstream stations of the river (salinity: <5) and decreased as the salinity increased, but there were marked increases of ²²²Rn, together with dissolved inorganic silicate (DSi), at stations close to the river mouth (salinity: ～33). This suggests that the river has major groundwater inputs from the two extreme upstream and downstream areas. Because most chemical flux estimations via river discharge do not account for groundwater inputs from the downstream high-salinity zone, our results suggest that there is an important unaccounted source of river-driven chemical fluxes. Overall, our study shows that the continuous ²²²Rn monitoring system provides high-resolution information on SGD over different locations and times.     

Operational and technological developments for UKIRT

There are a number of parallels between the UKIRT and the JNLT both of which are major astronomical facilities of nations which do not have premier observing sites in their own country. Some elements of experience with UKIRT relevant to the JNLT are described. These include matters related to personnel and to instruments.Paper presented at the Symposium on the JNLT and Related Engineering Developments, Tokyo, November 29–December 2, 1988.     

Analysis of groundwater flow and travel times for a landfill site in an arid region with a thick vadose zone

Groundwater flows and travel times were analyzed under a landfill site characterized by a thick unsaturated zone, in an arid environment, using two-dimensional models. Transport in the unsaturated zone is important in arid environments with thick vadose zones and usually determines the travel time of groundwater from the landfill site to the regulatory compliance surface. The combined use of a parallel flow (Dupuit-Forchheimer) areal model and vertical cross-sectional model is explored at a site typical in the utility industry. Flow paths and travel times to the compliance zone are obtained for use in landfill site design or environmental impact assessments. Sensitivity analysis shows that boundary conditions are important factors influencing the entire analysis and thus need to be confirmed with field measurements.     

Mechanics of tidally driven fractures in Europa's ice shell

A fracture mechanics model is developed for the initiation and propagation of a crack through a porous ice layer of finite thickness under gravitational overburden. It is found that surface cracks generated in response to a tidally induced stress field may penetrate through the entire outer brittle layer if a subsurface ocean is present on Europa. Such penetration is found to be very unlikely in the absence of an ocean. A cycloidal crack would then form as a sequence of near instantaneous discrete failures, each extending roughly the brittle layer thickness in range, linked with a much lower apparent propagation speed set by the moving tidal stress field. The implications of this porous ice fracture model for ice-penetrating radar scattering loss and seismic activity are quantified.