Laboratory Studies Of Wind Stress Over Surface Waves

Simultaneous laboratory observations of wind speed, wind stress, and surfacewind-wave spectra are made under a variety of wind forcing patterns using cleanwater as well as water containing an artificial surfactant. Under typical experimentalconditions, more than half of the total stress is supported by the wave-induced stressrather than by the surface viscous stress. When the surfactant reduces the shortwind-wave spectra, the wind stress also decreases by as much as 20–30% at agiven wind speed. When the wind forcing is modulated in time, the wind stresstends to be higher under decreasing wind than under increasing wind at a givenwind speed, mainly because the response of short wind-wave spectra to varyingwind forcing is delayed in time. These examples clearly demonstrate that therelationship between the wind speed and the wind stress can be significantlymodified if the surface wave field is not in equilibrium with the wind forcing.Next, we examine whether the wind stress is estimated accurately if the wave-inducedstress by all surface wave components is explicitly evaluated by linear superpositionand is added to the surface viscous stress. It is assumed that the surface viscous stressis uniquely related to the wind speed, and that the wind input rate is determined by thelocal, reduced turbulent stress rather than the total stress. Our wind stress estimatesincluding the wave contributions agree well with observed wind stress values, evenif the surface wave field is away from its equilibrium with the wind in the presenceof surface films and/or under time-transient wind forcing. These observations stronglysuggest that the wind stress is accurately evaluated as a sum of the wave-induced stressand the surface viscous stress. At very high winds, our stress estimates tend to be lowerthan the observations. We suspect that this is because of the enhancement of wind stressover very steep (or breaking) short wind-waves.     

Mean slope-angle frequency distribution and size frequency distribution of landslide masses in Higashikubiki area, Japan

Landslide mass size frequency distributions and mean slope-angle frequency distributions were calculated for slump, slide, and creep type landslides in the Higashikubiki area. Mean slope-angle frequency distributions closely approximated Weibull distributions. Size frequency distributions show power-law dependencies. Both can be explained by modeling landslides as linked uniform blocks in tensile force. Power coefficients for size frequency distributions were 2.01–2.32 (approximation to power functions) or 2.10–2.24 (approximation to Pareto distributions).     

Centroid moment tensor inversion of low-frequency seismic spectra using Green's functions for aspherical earth models

We present a new method for centroid moment tensor (CMT) inversion, in which we employ the Green's function computed for aspherical earth models using the Direct Solution Method. We apply this method to CMT inversion of low-frequency seismic spectra for the 1994 Bolivia and 1996 Flores Sea deep earthquakes. The estimated centroid locations agree well with those obtained by multiple-shock analyses using body-wave data. This shows that it is possible to obtain reliable CMT solutions by analyses of low-frequency seismic spectra using accurate Green's functions computed for present 3-D earth models.     

Crew members in South Africa's squid industry; whether they have benefitted from transformation and governance reforms

Although crew members form bedrock of the squid industry, they have not benefitted from the transformation and governance reforms because: the harvesting technique necessitates incentivisation of individual effort; they are highly mobile; and the industry is exempted from revised labour legislation. As a result, they have been unable to organise for laying claim on benefits. As they unionise to strengthen their bargaining position, the conundrum is how to maintain incentive practices on which the catching sector is based while asserting their rights. The challenge is re-structuring the sector to improve quality of employment while maintaining individual crew member productivity incentives.     

Secondary‐volatiles linked metallic iron in eucrites: The dual‐origin metals of Camel Donga

The unique occurrence of abundant (~1 vol%) near‐pure‐Fe metal in the Camel Donga eucrite is more complicated than previously believed. In addition to that component of groundmass metal, scattered within the meteorite are discrete nodules of much higher kamacite abundance. We have studied the petrology and composition of two of these nodules in the form of samples we call CD2 and CD3. The nodules are ovoids 11 (CD2) to 15 (CD3) mm across, with metal, or inferred preweathering metal, abundances of 12–17 vol% (CD2 is unfortunately quite weathered). The CD3 nodule also includes at its center a 5 mm ovoid clumping (6 vol%) of F‐apatite. Both nodules are fine‐grained, so the high Fe metal and apatite contents are clearly not flukes of inadequate sampling. The metals within the nodules are distinctly Ni‐rich (0.3–0.6 wt%) compared to the pure‐Fe (Ni generally 0.01 wt%) groundmass metals. Bulk analyses of three pieces of the CD2 nodule show that trace siderophile elements Ir, Os, and Co are commensurately enriched; Au is enriched to a lesser degree. The siderophile evidence shows the nodules did not form by in situ reduction of pyroxene FeO. Moreover, the nodules do not show features such as silica‐phase enrichment or pyroxene with reduced FeO (as constrained by FeO/MgO and especially FeO/MnO) predicted by the in situ reduction model. The oxide minerals, even in groundmass samples well away from the nodules, also show little evidence of reduction. Although the nodule boundaries are generally sharp, groundmass‐metal Ni content is anti‐correlated with distance from the CD3 nodule. We infer that the nodules represent materials that originated within impactors into the Camel Donga portion of the eucrite crust, but probably were profoundly altered during later metamorphism/metasomatism. Origin of the pure‐Fe groundmass metal remains enigmatic. In situ reduction probably played an important role, and association in the same meteorite of the Fe‐nodules is probably significant. But the fluid during alteration was probably not (as previously modeled) purely S and O, of simple heat‐driven internal derivation. We conjecture a two‐stage metasomatism, as fluids passed through Camel Donga after impact heating of volatile‐rich chondritic masses (survivors of gentle accretionary impacts) within the nearby crust. First, reduction to form troilite may have been triggered by fluids rich in S₂ and CO (derived from the protonodules?), and then in a distinct later stage, fluids were (comparatively) H₂O‐rich, and thus reacted with troilite to form pure‐Fe metal along with H₂S and SO₂. The early eucrite crust was in places a dynamic fluid‐bearing environment that hosted complex chemical processes, including some that engendered significant diversity among metal+sulfide alterations.     

Partition of radiotracers between suspended particles and seawater

Distinctive uptake mechanisms of different radiotracers by red clays in seawater are elucidated from the magnitude and change of distribution coefficients (K_d) for up to 17 γ-emitting radiotracers as functions of equilibration time, suspended particle concentration and compositions of solids and seawaters. The adsorption of ionic metals onto colloids and subsequent coagulation of colloids onto larger particles are the dominant removal processes of metals in the aquatic environments of low suspended particle concentration.