Notes on an initial satellite system of Neptune

The comparison of masses and sizes of the Neptunian satellites and of Pluto and Charon to the secondaries of the planetary, Jovian, Saturnian and Uranian systems support the hypotheses, first, that an initial Neptune's satellite system may have been disrupted, second, that Triton may have been the system perturber and, third, that Pluto (or a parent body of Pluto and Charon) was initially a giant satellite of Neptune. Based on recent theoretical works on perturbed proto-planetary nebula and noting the similarity of some characteristics of Neptune and Uranus, a theoretical mean distance ratio of primeval gaseous rings around Neptune is tentatively deduced to be about 1.475, close to the value of the Uranian system. An exponential distance relation gives possible ranges of distances at which small satellites and/or ring structures could be found by Voyager 2, close to Neptune.     

Joint ventures as an export market: US groundfish

This article examines the growth of joint venture operations in the US Fishery Conservation Zone in the North Pacific since 1977. Joint ventures currently in operation are outlined and the foreign and domestic partners described. The most common joint ventures in the area are contractual joint ventures, which include over-the-side sales of fish, joint lease of processing ships and marketing, seafood trade agreements and joint ventures through US subsidiaries of foreign companies. Supply and demand factors in the joint venture market are analysed and it is pointed out that the joint ventures market does not satisfy the main principles of perfect competition. The author concludes that, because it is an imperfect market, US fishermen receive less for their fish than they would under pure competition conditions.     

Simulation of two-phase fluid flow through compactible reservoirs

Fluid-flow simulators used in the oil industry model the movement of fluids through a porous reservoir rock. These simulators either ignore coupling between the flow and concurring deformation of the solid rock frame or take it into account approximately, in the so-called loose or staggered-in-time mode. In contrast to existing simulators, the one we describe here fully couples two-phase (oil and water) flow to subsurface deformation and simultaneously accounts for all relevant physical phenomena. As such, our flow simulator inherently links time-dependent fluid pressures, saturations, permeabilities and flow velocities to stresses in the whole subsurface. These stresses relate to strains through the non-linear theory of elasticity, allowing us to model time-lapse changes in seismic velocities and anisotropy. The velocity variations manifest themselves in time shifts and reflection amplitudes that are conventionally measured from 4D seismic data. Changes in anisotropy produce time-dependent shear-wave splitting that can be used for monitoring the horizontal stresses.     

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.     

Intradaily variability of water quality in a shallow tidal lagoon: Mechanisms and implications

Although surface water quality and its underlying processes vary over time scales ranging from seconds to decades, they have historically been studied at the lower (weekly to interannual) frequencies. The aim of this study was to investigate intradaily variability of three water quality parameters in a small freshwater tidal lagoon (Mildred Island, California). High frequency time series of specific conductivity, water temperature, and chlorophylla at two locations within the habitat were analyzed in conjunction with supporting hydrodynamic, meteorological, biological, and spatial mapping data. All three constituents exhibited large amplitude intradaily (e.g., semidiurnal tidal and diurnal) oscillations, and periodicity varied across constituents, space, and time. Like other tidal embayments, this habitat is influenced by several processes with distinct periodicities including physical controls, such as tides, solar radiation, and wind, and biological controls, such as photosynthesis, growth, and grazing. A scaling approach was developed to estimate individual process contributions to the observed variability. Scaling results were generally consistent with observations and together with detailed examination of time series and time derivatives, revealed specific mechanisms underlying the observed periodicities, including interactions between the tidal variability, heating, wind, and biology. The implications for monitoring were illustrated through subsampling of the data set. This exercise demonstrated how quantities needed by scientists and managers (e.g., mean or extreme concentrations) may be misrepresented by low frequency data and how short-duration high frequency measurements can aid in the design and interpretation of temporally coarser sampling programs. The dispersive export of chlorophylla from the habitat exhibited a fortnightly variability corresponding to the modulation of semidiurnal tidal currents with the diurnal cycle of phytoplankton variability, demonstrating how high frequency interactions can govern long-term trends. Process identification, as through the scaling analysis here, can help us anticipate changes in system behavior and adapt our own interactions with the system.     

Estimation of clay content in soil based on resistivity modelling and laboratory measurements

The determination of clay content in near‐surface formations is crucial for geotechnical, hydrogeological and oil‐contamination studies. We have developed a technique for estimating clay content that consists of the minimization of the difference between the theoretically calculated and measured soil resistivities as a function of water salinity. To calculate the resistivity, we used a model that takes into account the electrochemical processes in the clay micropores. The experimental measurements of soil resistivity were performed on soil samples, completely saturated by brines at different concentrations of NaCl salt in the range 0.6–100 g/l, to obtain the resistivity versus salinity curve. The parameters obtained with this curve inversion are the clay content, the total porosity and the cation exchange capacity. To verify the new technique, we determined clay concentrations of artificial mixtures of calibrated sand and clay. The relative mean error in the clay content does not exceed 20% for a 5% fitting error of the resistivity versus salinity curves. Such evaluations allow the correct separation of the main lithological groups (sand, sandy loam, loam, and light, medium and heavy clay). We applied this technique to estimate the petrophysical parameters of soils (clay content, porosity and cation exchange capacity) at various sites in Mexico. The results improved the interpretation of the vertical electrical soundings, the lithological soil characterization and the delineation of oil‐contaminated areas.     

Spatial moments for colloid-enhanced radionuclide transport in heterogeneous aquifers

We consider colloid facilitated radionuclide transport by steady groundwater flow in a heterogeneous porous formation. Radionuclide binding on colloids and soil-matrix is assumed to be kinetically/equilibrium controlled. All reactive parameters are regarded as uniform, whereas the hydraulic log-conductivity is modelled as a stationary random space function (RSF). Colloid-enhanced radionuclide transport is studied by means of spatial moments pertaining to both the dissolved and colloid-bounded concentration. The general expressions of spatial moments for a colloid-bounded plume are presented for the first time, and are discussed in order to show the combined impact of sorption processes as well as aquifer heterogeneity upon the plume migration. For the general case, spatial moments are defined by the aid of two characteristic reaction functions which cannot be expressed analytically. By adopting the approximation for the longitudinal fluid trajectory covariance valid for a flow parallel to the formation bedding suggested by Dagan and Cvetkovic [Dagan G, Cvetkovic V. Spatial Moments of Kinetically Sorbing Plume in a Heterogeneous Aquifers. Water Resour Res 1993;29:4053], we obtain closed form solutions.     

Geomorphometry from unmanned aerial surveys

Unmanned aerial systems (UASs) are widely used for remote sensing, including the production of high‐resolution digital elevation models (DEMs). We study the possibilities of UAS‐based aerial surveys to produce photogrammetrically sound, high‐resolution DEMs intended for geomorphometric modeling. The study was conducted at the Zaoksky testing ground (Russia). To carry out an aerial survey, we used a UAS Geoscan‐101 equipped with a Sony DSC‐RX1 camera and a Topcon GNSS receiver. Aerial photographs were processed using Agisoft PhotoScan Professional software. Applying dense point cloud generation and classification, we produced DEMs with resolutions of 6 cm, 20 cm, and 1 m. Using a universal spectral analytical method, we derived models of several morphometric variables (i.e., slope gradient, horizontal, vertical, minimal, and maximal curvatures) from DEMs with resolutions of 20 cm and 1 m. We found that it is possible to produce noiseless models and well‐readable maps of morphometric variables for grassy areas with separately standing groups of trees and shrubs. However, UAS‐based DEMs cannot be applied for modeling of forested areas: there occur pronounced unrecoverable artifacts due to errors of automated classification of the dense point cloud. Finally, we present recommendations for the production of UAS‐derived, photogrammetrically sound, high‐resolution DEMs intended for geomorphometry.