Spatial variability of metals in the inter-tidal sediments of the Medway Estuary,Kent, UK

Concentrations of major and trace metals were determined in eight sediment cores collected from the inter-tidal zone of the Medway Estuary, Kent, UK. Metal associations and potential sources have been investigated using principal component analysis. These data provide the first detailed geochemical survey of recent sediments in the Medway Estuary. Metal concentrations in surface sediments lie in the mid to lower range for UK estuarine sediments indicating that the Medway receives low but appreciable contaminant inputs. Vertical metal distributions reveal variable redox zonation across the estuary and historically elevated anthropogenic inputs. Peak concentrations of Cu, Pb and Zn can be traced laterally across the estuary and their positions indicate periods of past erosion and/or non-deposition. However, low rates of sediment accumulation do not allow these sub surface maxima to be used as accurate geochemical marker horizons. The salt marshes and inter-tidal mud flats in the Medway Estuary are experiencing erosion, however the erosion of historically contaminated sediments is unlikely to re-release significant amounts of heavy metals to the estuarine system.     

Seismic energy partitioning and scattering in laterally heterogeneous ocean crust

We present finite difference forward models of elastic wave propagation through laterally heterogeneous upper oceanic crust. The finite difference formulation is a 2-D solution to the elastic wave equation for heterogeneous media and implicitly calculatesP andSV propagation, compressional to shear conversion, interference effects and interface phenomena. Random velocity perturbations with Gaussian and self-similar autocorrelation functions and different correlation lengths (a) are presented which show different characteristics of secondary scattering. Heterogeneities scatter primary energy into secondary body waves and secondary Stoneley waves along the water-solid interface. The presence of a water-solid interface in the model allows for the existence of secondary Stoneley waves which account for much of the seafloor noise seen in the synthetic seismograms for the laterally heterogeneous models.Random incoherent secondary scattering generally increases aska (wavenumber,k, and correlation length,a) approaches one. Deterministic secondary scattering from larger heterogeneities is the dominant effect in the models aska increases above one. Secondary scattering also shows up as incoherence in the primary traces of the seisograms when compared to the laterally homogeneous case. Cross-correlation analysis of the initialP-diving wave arrival shows that, in general, the correlation between traces decreases aska approaches one. Also, because many different wave types exist for these marine models, the correlation between traces is range dependent, even for the laterally homogeneous case.     

A model of Phobos

A model of the Martian satellite Phobos was constructed at a scale of 1:60 000 using 25 Mariner 9 photorecords and a solar-simulation technique. Measurements of the crater diameters D, depths d, ratios $\text{d}\text{D}$, longitude and latitude locations of the centers, IAU designations, crater shapes, and rim class are given in a catalog of 260 depressions. An open-ended indexing of the craters is based on their locations by octant and diameter magnitude. Six craters were found with sharply defined rims. At least 28 craters have raised rims. The range of the $\text{d}\text{D}$ ratios is from 0.002 to 0.26, with a mean $\text{d}\text{D}$ of 0.10. The mean diameter of Stickney is interpreted to be 11.1 km, its minimum 9.6 km, and the diameter of Hall 5.9 km. A 100-m contour-interval topographic map has been drawn from measurements of the model. This is rendered on an elliptical form of a Lambert equal-area polar projection. The topographic map made it possible to estimate vector lengths from the center of Phobos to vertices on a 6-frequency octahedron that fits the sattelite. A mean radius of 11.0 km results from averaging the vector lengths to the 146 well-distributed vertices of the polyhedron. A volume of 5620 km³ is deduced.     

Towards a more ecologically relevant assessment of the impact of heavy metals on the photosynthesis of the seagrass, Zostera capricorni

This in situ study used photosynthetic activity (measured as chlorophyll a fluorescence) and photosynthetic pigment concentrations to assess the effect of copper, cadmium, lead and zinc on the seagrass Zostera capricorni. Custom-made portable in situ exposure (PIE) chambers were developed so seagrasses could be dosed within the meadow. Z. capricorni was exposed to 0.1 and 1 mg l⁻¹ of metal solutions for 10 h. During this time and for the subsequent four-day recovery period, the effective quantum yield of photosystem II (PS II) (ΔF/Fm^′) was measured. While the results were variable, copper and zinc exposed samples had a depressed ΔF/Fm^′ during the exposure period. Samples exposed to zinc recovered to pre-exposure levels but those exposed to copper did not. Cadmium and lead did not impact on the chlorophyll a fluorescence and the chlorophyll pigment data supported these findings. This study presents an innovative new application of chlorophyll a fluorescence stress assessment.     

Intelligent technology-based control of motion and vibration using MR dampers

Due to their intrinsically nonlinear characteristics, development of control strategies that are implementable and can fully utilize the capabilities of semiactive control devices is an important and challenging task. In this study, two control strategies are proposed for protecting buildings against dynamic hazards, such as severe earthquakes and strong winds, using one of the most promising semiactive control devices, the magnetorheological (MR) damper. The first control strategy is implemented by introducing an inverse neural network (NN) model of the MR damper. These NN models provide direct estimation of the voltage that is required to produce a target control force calculated from some optimal control algorithms. The major objective of this research is to provide an effective means for implementation of the MR damper with existing control algorithms. The second control strategy involves the design of a fuzzy controller and an adaptation law. The control objective is to minimize the difference between some desirable responses and the response of the combined system by adaptively adjusting the MR damper. The use of the adaptation law eliminates the need to acquire characteristics of the combined system in advance. Because the control strategy based on the combination of the fuzzy controller and the adaptation law doesn’t require a prior knowledge of the combined building-damper system, this approach provides a robust control strategy that can be used to protect nonlinear or uncertain structures subjected to random loads. Supported by: Hong Kong Research Grant Council Competitive Earmarked Research Grant HKUST 6218 / 99E and by the National Science Foundation under grant CMS 99-00234.     

Damage localization under ambient vibration using changes in flexibility

In recent years, Structural Health Monitoring (SHM) has emerged as a new research area in civil engineering. Most existing health monitoring methodologies require direct measurement of input excitation for implementation. However, in many cases, there is no easy way to measure these inputs - or alternatively to externally excite the structure. Therefore, SHM methods based on ambient vibration have become important in civil engineering. In this paper, an approach is proposed based on the Damage Location Vector (DLV) method to handle the ambient vibration case. Here, this flexibility-matrix-based damage localization method is combined with a modal expansion technique to eliminate the need to measure the input excitation. As a by-product of this approach, in addition to determining the location of the damage, an estimate of the damage extent also can be determined. Finally, a numerical example analyzing a truss structure with limited sensors and noisy measurement is provided to verify the efficacy of the proposed approach. Sponsored by: Notional Science Foundation Grant CMS 99-00234     

Sedimentary response of Pagham Harbour, southern England to barrier breaching in AD 1910

This paper examines the evolution of Pagham Harbour, southern England following storm-induced breaching of a protective barrier in AD 1910. Stratigraphic studies of sediments collected from intertidal areas show the presence of a distinct stratigraphic horizon in the northeast of Pagham Harbour at ca. 0 to +1.0 m ordnance datum (OD). Radiometric data indicate that this horizon is a ‘reclamation surface’ formed after land claim in AD 1846. Following marine flooding in AD 1910, sediment has accreted relatively rapidly (at a broadly constant rate of between 4 and 8 mm a⁻¹), wave and/or tidal energy have decreased and extensive marshes have developed. An asymptotic reduction in sediment accretion rate through time, as predicted in various theoretical models of salt marsh accretion, is not observed. Over the entire Pagham Harbour area, the period between AD 1948 and AD 1986 has seen an average marsh loss of 0.0087 km² a⁻¹, which is relatively small in comparison with other more exposed sites in the local area. Historically breached sites such as Pagham Harbour are common around European coasts, and these provide important natural laboratories within which the medium-term (decadal to centennial) coastal response to barrier breaching, and to managed-realignment coastal protection schemes, can be assessed.     

大震下被动与智能隔震结构动力可靠度的对比

对被动及智能隔震结构在“大震”条件下的动力可靠度进行探讨。将被动及智能隔震体系均取作弹塑性模型,并用退化Bouc-W en滞变模型描述上部结构的恢复力,用非退化Bouc-W en模型描述隔震层的恢复力。采用虚拟激励法计算结构的随机响应,根据我国抗震规范中“大震不倒”的设防目标,采用各层最大层间位移峰值响应和累积滞变耗能构造双参数的随机疲劳累积损伤指数,作为功能状态指标。假定各层失效相关,用串联系统计算体系动力可靠度。通过数值算例,对比了被动隔震、智能隔震与非隔震体系的条件失效概率,从动力可靠度角度显示了智能隔震体系的减震优势。