Recent developments in seismically isolated buildings in Japan

The Building Standard Law of Japan and related Enforcement Order and Notifications have been substantially revised since the year 2000 to introduce a performance-based regulatory and deregulation system for building control systems. Up to then, time-history analyses were mandatory for isolated buildings and had to be specially approved by the Minster of the Ministry of Construction (MOC). Simplified design procedures based on the equivalent linear method for seismically isolated buildings have been issued as “Notification 2009 — Structural calculation procedure for buildings with seismic isolation” from MOC, and are now integrated into the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, and Transportation (MLIT). Along with Notification 2009, “Notification 1446 of year 2000 — Standard for specifications and test methods for seismic isolation devices” was also issued. Buildings with heights equal to or less than 60m and that are designed according to these Notifications, including base isolated buildings, only need approval from local building officials, and no longer require the special approval of the Minister of MLIT. This paper summarizes: 1) some statistics related to buildings with seismic isolation completed up to the end of 2001; 2) simplified design procedures required by Notification 2009 of year 2000; and 3) performance of seismic isolation devices required by Notification 1446 of year 2000.     

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.     

Physiological energetics of the fourth instar of Chinese horseshoe crabs (Tachypleus tridentatus) in response to hypoxic stress and re-oxygenation

Hypoxia associated with eutrophication is a potential threat to the Chinese horseshoe crab Tachypleus tridentatus which inhabits intertidal sand flats in Asia. This study investigated the effect of dissolved oxygen level (DO) (6, 4 and 2 mg O₂ l⁻¹) on the physiological energetics in the juvenile T. tridentatus. They were exposed to various oxygen levels for three days and then transferred to normoxia for three days to examine the recovery from low oxygen stress. Feeding rate, respiration rate and scope for growth were reduced at lower DO levels while absorption efficiency and excretion rate were independent of DO levels. Although full recovery of the physiological responses and scope for growth from hypoxis stress was observed when normoxia resumed, their long term survival in suboptimal habitats with frequent occurrence of hypoxia deserves a close monitoring as hypoxia may be even more common in future in a warming world.     

Acute hypoxic exposure affects gamete quality and subsequent fertilization success and embryonic development in a serpulid polychaete

Hypoxia likely compromises the reproductive success of those marine organisms carrying out external fertilization because their gametes and embryos are inevitably exposed to the external environment. Hydroides elegans, a dominant serpulid polychaete in Hong Kong waters, can spawn throughout the year but the number of recruits drops during summer when hypoxia commonly occurs. This study attempted to explain such observation by investigating the gamete quality, including sperm motility, egg size, complexity and viability, after 1-h hypoxic exposure (1 mg O₂ l⁻¹). In addition, how gamete quality affects fertilization success and embryonic development was examined. After 1-h hypoxic exposure, sperm motility was significantly reduced, compromising fertilization success. Although the eggs remained viable, more malformed embryos and retarded embryonic development were observed. We interpreted that the harmful effect of hypoxia on embryonic development was attributed to the teratogenicity and induced oxidative stress, ultimately causing the reduction in recruitment during summer.     

Distribution and bioaccumulation of polychlorinated biphenyls and organochlorine pesticides residues in sediments and Manila clams (Ruditapes philippinarum) from along the Mid-Western coast of Korea

The distribution and bioaccumulation features of PCBs, DDTs, and HCHs were investigated in the sediments and Manila clams collected from along the Mid-Western coast of Korea. The measured concentrations of ΣPCBs, ΣDDTs and ΣHCHs were 1.08–3.5, 0.12–0.35 and 0.090–0.30 ng g⁻¹ dw in sediment, and 33–390, 7.4–46 and 6.3–27 ng g⁻¹ lipid in Manila clam, respectively. Their levels were found to be relatively lower than those of other contaminated areas and the consumption of Manila clam from these areas seems to be safe for human health according to calculated lifetime cancer risk and hazard indices. The ΣPCBs and ΣDDTs concentrations in sediments showed a significant relationship to those in clams. The significant correlation was observed between BSAF in clams and K_ow for each PCB congeners and DDT metabolites. These findings support that the PCBs and DDTs levels, which are highly hydrophobic chemicals, in clam reflect the sediment pollution through bioaccumulation.     

Delineation of spatial redox zones using discriminant analysis and geochemical modelling in arsenic‐affected alluvial aquifers

This study characterized the redox conditions in arsenic‐affected groundwater aquifers of the Lanyang plain, Taiwan. Discriminant analysis was adopted to delineate three redox zones (oxidative, transitional and reductive zones) in different aquifers and yielded 92·3% correctness on groundwater quality data. Arsenic is mainly distributed in the reductive zone, and arsenic distribution in the shallow aquifer is mainly affected by surface activities. According to PHREEQC modelling results, possible mechanisms for arsenic release to groundwater in Lanyang plain are explored. Arsenic released to groundwater in the oxidative zone (zone 1) is primarily caused by the oxidations of arsenic‐bearing pyrite minerals, and arsenate is the predominant species. While the reductive dissolution of Fe‐oxides are responsible for the high arsenic concentration found in the transitional and reductive zones (zones 2 and 3), arsenite is the predominant species. The reduction potential of groundwater rises as the depths and zones increase. Some sulphates may be reduced to form sulphide ions, which then react with arsenic to form arseno‐sulphide deposits (such as realgar, orpiment) and then slightly lower groundwater arsenic concentrations. A conceptual diagram which summarized the possible release processes of arsenic in different redox zones along groundwater flow in Lanyang plain is postulated. Arsenic‐bearing pyrite and arsenopyrite (FeAsS) are oxidized as they are exposed to the infiltrated oxygenated rainwater, releasing soluble arsenate Fe(II) and SO₄^2? into zone 1. The dissolution of arsenic‐rich Fe‐oxides due to the onset of reducing conditions in zones 2 and 3 is responsible for the mobility of arsenic and likely to be the primary mechanism of arsenic release to groundwater in the Lanyang plain Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of growing watershed imperviousness on hydrograph parameters and peak discharge

An increasing impervious area is quickly extending over the Wu‐Tu watershed due to the endless demands of the people. Generally, impervious paving is a major result of urbanization and more recently has had the potential to produce more enormous flood disasters than those of the past. In this study, 40 available rainfall–runoff events were chosen to calibrate the applicable parameters of the models and to determine the relationships between the impervious surfaces and the calibrated parameters. Model inputs came from the outcomes of the block kriging method and the non‐linear programming method. In the optimal process, the shuffled complex evolution method and three criteria were applied to compare the observed and simulated hydrographs. The tendencies of the variations of the parameters with their corresponding imperviousness were established through regression analysis. Ten cases were used to examine the established equations of the parameters and impervious covers. Finally, the design flood routines of various return periods were furnished through use of approaches containing a design storm, block kriging, the SCS model, and a rainfall‐runoff model with established functional relationships. These simulated flood hydrographs were used to compare and understand the past, present, and future hydrological conditions of the watershed studied. In the research results, the time to peak of flood hydrographs for various storms was diminished approximately from 11 h to 6 h in different decrements, whereas peak flow increased respectively from 127 m³ s^?1 to 629 m³ s^?1 for different storm intensities. In addition, this study provides a design diagram for the peak flow ratio to help engineers and designers to construct hydraulic structures efficiently and prevent possible damage to human life and property. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Modelling water infiltration in cracked paddy field soil

Periodic paddy field flooding is a major source of groundwater recharge. Many paddy fields thus are used as groundwater recharge ponds after harvesting the first crop of the summer. Following rice harvesting, paddy field surfaces may crack into fissures as a result of drainage and exposure to sunlight. Field observation indicates that applying precipitation to the paddy field can increase the rate of infiltration. To quantitatively evaluate the amount of infiltration in a cracked paddy field, this study sets up a simple soil crack model to simulate the field infiltration process. A three‐dimensional groundwater model FEMWATER is adopted to simulate water movement in the paddy field subjected to various crack conditions. Using the field and laboratory data of irrigation water requirements, soil physical properties, hydraulic conductivities and soil profiles obtained from Ten‐Chung, FEMWATER simulates the water movement in the dry cracked paddy. Simulation results show that if the cracks develop extensively and penetrate the ploughed soil, the infiltration rate may increase significantly. The infiltration fluxes of crack with depths of 80, 60 and 27·5 cm are 18·77, 14·50 and 8·06 times higher than that of 20 cm, respectively. The simulation results of cracks with 80 cm depth correlated closely with field observations. The results of the study elucidate the processes of unsaturated water movement in a dry cracked paddy field. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.