Identification of the Hualien soil-structure interaction system

This article demonstrates how system identification techniques can be successfully applied to a soil-structure interaction system in conjunction with the results of the forced vibration tests on the Hualien large-scale seismic test structure which was recently built in Taiwan for an international joint research. The parameters identified are the shear moduli of several near-field soil regions as well as Young's moduli of the shell sections of the structure. The soil-structure interaction system is represented by the finite element method combined with infinite element formulation for the unbounded layered soil medium. Preliminary investigations are carried out on the results of the static stress analysis for the soil medium and the results of the in-situ tests to divide the soil-structure system into several regions with homogeneous properties and to determine the lower and upper bounds of the parameters for the purpose of identification. Then two sets of parameters are identified for two principal directions based on the forced vibration test data by minimizing the estimation error using the constrained steepest descent method. The simulated responses for the forced vibration tests using the identified parameters show excellent agreement with the test data. The present estimated parameters are also found to be well compared with the average value of those by other researchers in the joint project.     

Geochemical assessement of actinide isolation in a German salt repository environment

A significant criterion in evaluating disposal strategies for high-level nuclear waste is the assessment of the isolation capacity for the most radiotoxic radionuclides, the actinides. Important processes pertinent to potential mobilization from the waste forms, retention in secondary phases and migration of actinides in the geochemical environment of the near field of disposal locations are summarized. Criteria are formulated for assessing engineered barrier performance as a geochemical barrier for actinide long-term retention.     

Electron microscopic observations of shale diagenesis, offshore Louisiana, USA, Gulf of Mexico

 Scanning and transmission electron microscopic analyses of shale samples from offshore Louisiana, USA, Gulf of Mexico, reveal the relationship between mineralogical and microfabric changes during burial diagenesis. The local geopressured zone begins at 2200-m depth. Above that depth the shales are smectite-rich, generally lack particle orientation, and contain appreciable pores. Below the 2200-m depth, the shales become more illite-rich with increasing burial, more crystalline, and less porous. Microfabric changes are mainly caused by compaction during burial diagenesis; mineralogical changes (smectite-to-illite) and crystal growth also play an important role in fabric alteration during deep burial diagenesis. Received: 12 May 1998 / Revision received: 14 July 1998     

Formation and Movement of the ESIW as Modeled by MICOM

The presence of the minimum salinity and oxygen-rich East Sea Intermediate Water (ESIW) off Korean coast has raised many questions about its origin and movement. This study attempts to answer these questions in the context of numerical model. For this, the Miami Isopycnic Coordinate Ocean Model is used with surface and inflow boundary conditions based on available data. Model results show that the ESIW forms most distinctly off Vladivostok, where the center of doming structure is observed, and moves southward along Korean coast forming a large cyclonic gyre around the doming. The renewed ESIW has the character of minimum potential vorticity common to usual mode waters. These results are compatible with various indications made in previous observational and theoretical studies. However, it is not known whether the doming structure is a result of convection or the latter is favored by the former. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Direct Measurements of Deep Currents in the Northern Japan Sea

Long-term current measurements by means of subsurface moorings were made for the first time at seven sites in the Japan Basin, the northern part of the Japan Sea. The objective was to directly explore the velocity field in the highly homogeneous deep water mass (the Japan Sea Proper Water) that occupies depths below 500 m. On each mooring three current meters were equipped at an approximately equal distance below about 1000 m depth. Duration of the measurements was 1 to 3 years depending on specific site. This paper describes the basic data set from the moored measurements. It is found that the deep water of the Japan Basin is very energetic with eddies and vertically coherent currents of the order of 0.1 m/s. Surprisingly, the currents and eddies exhibit strong seasonal dependence even in the deepest layers of the Basin. The observed new current features are discussed in comparison with conventional deep circulation pictures derived from hydrographic data. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Velocity structure in the South Yellow Sea basin based on first-arrival tomography of wide-angle seismic data and its geological implications

The South Yellow Sea basin is filled with Mesozoic–Cenozoic continental sediments overlying pre-Palaeozoic and Mesozoic–Palaeozoic marine sediments. Conventional multi-channel seismic data cannot describe the velocity structure of the marine residual basin in detail, leading to the lack of a deeper understanding of the distribution and lithology owing to strong energy shielding on the top interface of marine sediments. In this study, we present seismic tomography data from ocean bottom seismogra...     

TBT toxicity on the marine microalga Nannochloropsis oculata

Commercial antifouling formulations containing TBT are the major source of organotin contamination in coastal waters. In view of the persisting TBT residues (13 ng Sn l⁻¹) in the coastal waters of South Korea, an attempt has been made to evaluate the growth response and biochemical composition of laboratory-cultured Nannochloropsis oculata to TBT toxicity. It is evident that the persisting concentration level of TBT is high enough to cause adverse effect on the microalgal species. The EC₅₀ (24 h) was found to be at 0.89 nM level of TBT for this marine eustigmatophyte N. oculata. Photosynthetic pigment content was significantly affected. At elevated TBT concentrations of 1.0 nM, especially pronounced changes in biochemical composition was found. TBT tolerance of N. oculata and its growth as well as biochemical responses are discussed.     

The influence of tectonic subsidence on volcaniclastic sedimentation: The Cretaceous upper Daeri Member,Wido Island,Korea

The Daeri Member, a Cretaceous volcanic–sedimentary succession, can be divided into lower, middle, and upper parts based on vertical changes in its lithologic characters. The lower Daeri Member is composed of siliciclastic deposits formed in a semi‐arid floodplain environment, which is overlain by the middle Daeri Member consisting mainly of andesite lava flow. After the emplacement of the andesite, activities of intrabasinal normal faults created accommodation on hanging wall blocks together with the development of intrabasinal topographic relief. The upper Daeri Member occurs only in hanging wall blocks and is composed of rhyolitic volcaniclastic sediments formed during an explosive volcanic eruption. Following the eruption, owing to semi‐arid climatic conditions and the destruction of vegetation, the eruptive materials were easily remobilized and deposited by episodic sediment gravity flows, resulting in deposition of the resedimented volcaniclastic deposits with sheet‐like geometry. Away from the intrabasinal normal faults, the resedimented volcaniclastic deposits show a decrease in grain size together with changes in inferred depositional processes from debris flows to hyperconcentrated flows and supercritical sheetfloods. This suggests that the resedimented volcaniclastic deposits were stacked on alluvial fan environments induced by intrabasinal topographic relief associated with normal fault activities. In addition, episodic movement of the faults gave rise to periodic fluctuation of the accommodation and an increase in gradient of the alluvial fan surface, resulting in the development of coarsening‐upward trends in the resedimented volcaniclastic deposits. The development of the alluvial fan and the coarsening‐upward trends indicate that dynamic tectonic subsidence and concomitant changes in the intrabasinal physiographic relief influenced the depositional processes and sizes of the transported volcaniclastic sediments of the upper Daeri Member. Thus, it is necessary to carefully observe tectonic signatures in volcaniclastic successions, particularly the syneruptive lithofacies, in order to reconstruct the tectonic and volcanic histories of receiving basins.     

Data Analysis and Modeling to Optimize Thermal Treatment Cost and Performance

The objective of in situ thermal treatment is typically to reduce the contaminant mass or average soil concentration below a specified value. Evaluation of whether the objective has been met is usually made by averaging soil concentrations from a limited number of soil samples. Results from several field sites indicate large performance uncertainty using this approach, even when the number of samples is large. We propose a method to estimate average soil concentration by fitting a log normal probability model to thermal mass recovery data. A statistical approach is presented for making termination decisions from mass recovery data, soil sample data, or both for an entire treatment volume or for subregions that explicitly considers estimation uncertainty which is coupled to a stochastic optimization algorithm to identify monitoring strategies to meet objectives with minimum expected cost. Early termination of heating in regions that reach cleanup targets sooner enables operating costs to be reduced while ensuring a high likelihood of meeting remediation objectives. Results for an example problem demonstrate that significant performance improvement and cost reductions can be achieved using this approach.