Geostatistical integration of seismic velocity and resistivity data for probabilistic evaluation of rock quality

This study applied a geostatistical approach to integrate various geophysical results for the probabilistic evaluation of rock quality designation (RQD) in regions between boreholes. Two of the geophysical survey results, electrical resistivity and seismic velocity, were transformed into a probabilistic distribution with the directly observed RQD values at the boreholes using an indicator value method. The initial spatial distribution of RQD, inferred from indicator kriging of observations from the boreholes, was improved by support of the geophysical results based on the integration by a permanence ratio. The integration was good enough to produce results that compensated for the defection of each exploration method. Also, the probabilistic feature of the final product of the RQD distribution made it possible to assess a more quantitative rock quality evaluation and better decision making for safety design.     

Diagnostic analysis of offensive odorants in a large municipal waste treatment plant in an urban area

A diagnostic study was conducted to examine the effectiveness of malodor removal from a large-scale municipal waste treatment plant in an urban area. To this end, the odor pollution status was investigated from a total of 16 spots in the treatment facility to cover the dual treatment lines consisting of regenerative thermal oxidation (first stage) and a wet chemical scrubber (second stage). As a simple means to learn more about the odorant removal efficiency of different treatment units, samples collected from ambient spots as well as before and after each treatment unit were analyzed for 22 key offensive odorants (i.e., reduced sulfur compounds, carbonyl compounds, nitrogenous compounds, volatile organic compounds, and fatty acids) along with dilution-to-threshold ratios based on the air dilution sensory test. The removal patterns differed greatly between different odorant groups across different processing units. The effectiveness of this dual treatment system was optimized for such odorants as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, while it was not the case for others (e.g., some aldehydes and organic acids). The results thus suggest the need for the validation of the efficiency in many types of odor processing units and for establishing new control techniques to cover a list of odorants un-subordinate to preexisting methods.     

A Study of Optimal Rock-Cutting Conditions for Hard Rock TBM Using the Discrete Element Method

The efficiency of TBM performance affected by the specific s/p (s: spacing and p: penetration) ratio of the disc cutter is a research issue in demand. This article presents a multi-indentation simulation using discrete element method (DEM) analysis to study the optimal rock-cutting phenomena in terms of the interaction of the s/p ratio with intact rock properties. The multi-indentation simulation attempts to represent a linear cutting machine (LCM) test, which is a full-scale test for evaluating the optimal rock-cutting condition and measuring required reaction forces based on the intact rock condition in general practice. A governing equation relating mechanical rock properties with geometric characteristics for the optimal rock-cutting condition is derived by the numerical simulation, and its performance is evaluated with the result of the laboratory LCM tests. The results of simulations and real LCM tests show that the effective rock-cutting condition corresponding to the minimum specific energy can be estimated by an optimized s/p ratio, which, in turn, is linearly proportional to the square of the material brittleness, B ², and cutter tip width, t (i.e., s/p?=?cB ² t, where c is coefficient). The limitation of the numerical simulation associated with the sample preparation is also discussed.     

BVR observations and period variation of the near-contact binary ZZ Aurigae

BVR light curves of ZZ Aurigae were obtained with the 60-cm Cassegrain reflector at the Sobaek Observatory, Korea, between 2000 February and 2001 February. All collected times of minimum light, including our observations, were used for the period study. The period variation could be of quasi-sinusoidal form superposed on an upward parabola. A continuous period increase of  d P /d t =+2.3 × 10⁻⁸ d yr⁻¹  was determined for ZZ Aur. The period of quasi-sinusoidal variation is about ∼26–31 yr. Photometric solutions were found using the Wilson–Devinney method. The Roche configuration of ZZ Aur is that of an Algol-type semidetached system where the primary star nearly fills its Roche lobe and the secondary star fills its lobe. The spot model was used to explain the asymmetry in the light curve known as the O'Connell effect.     

Practical modified scheme of linear shallow-water equations for distant propagation of tsunamis

A simple but practical numerical model describing a distant propagation of tsunamis is newly proposed by introducing an additional term to the existing modified scheme. The numerical dispersion of the proposed model is manipulated to replace the physical dispersion of the linear Boussinesq equations without any limitation. The new model developed in this study is applied to propagation of a Gaussian hump over a constant water depth and the predicted free surface displacements are compared with available analytical solutions. A very reasonable agreement is observed.     

Foregrounds for 21-cm observations of neutral gas at high redshift

We investigate a number of potential foregrounds for an ambitious goal of future radio telescopes such as the Square Kilometer Array (SKA) and the Low Frequency Array (LOFAR): spatial tomography of neutral gas at high redshift in 21-cm emission. While the expected temperature fluctuations due to unresolved radio point sources is highly uncertain, we point out that free–free emission from the ionizing haloes that reionized the Universe should define a minimal bound. This emission is likely to swamp the expected brightness temperature fluctuations, making proposed detections of the angular patchwork of 21-cm emission across the sky unlikely to be viable. Hα observations with JWST could place an upper bound on the contribution of high-redshift sources to the free–free background. An alternative approach is to discern the topology of reionization from spectral features due to 21-cm emission along a pencil-beam slice. This requires tight control of the frequency-dependence of the beam in order to prevent foreground sources from contributing excessive variance. We also investigate potential contamination by galactic and extragalactic radio recombination lines (RRLs). These are unlikely to be show-stoppers, although little is known about the distribution of RRLs away from the Galactic plane. The mini-halo emission signal is always less than that of the intergalactic medium (IGM), making mini-haloes unlikely to be detectable. If they are seen, it will be only in the very earliest stages of structure formation at high redshift, when the spin temperature of the IGM has not yet decoupled from the cosmic microwave background.     

Pattern and origin of spherulites in a rhyolite dike swarm,northeastern Cheongsong, Korea

IntroductionThe northeastern Cheongsong area is underlainby a sequence of sedi mentary rocks together within-trusive and extrusive volcanic rocks all of late Creta-ceous age(Lee&Hong,1973;Ki m&Park,1970;Hwang,1998).Theintrusions,comprising astock,a plug and numerous dikes,are well exposedat the current surface due tothe enormous erosion ofany sedi mentary or volcanic covered rocks.Thedikes forma dike swarmand some are intruded intothe plug.The dikes swarm may represent the subsurfaceexpress…     

Passive-range estimation using dual focused beamformers

The passive-range estimation technique using a single focused beamformer has been studied under the sea. However, there are not many more methods in the case of closed multisource environments. In this paper, we propose the technique using dual focused beamformers to estimate the ranges of a closed multisource, and compare the proposed technique with the previous method. The proposed method is verified via computer simulation under the simplified multipath underwater channel model.