Numerical Modeling of the Long-Term Transport, Dispersion, and Accumulation of Black Sea Pollutants into the North Aegean Coastal Waters

This study investigates the long-term capacity of the North Aegean coastal systems to transport and store conservative pollutants that originate from the Black Sea. Emphasis is placed on modeling the dispersion and accumulation of a passive tracer that represents a Black Sea pollutant (BSP) substance that continuously discharges from the Dardanelles exit into the North Aegean, for a long period of time (16?years). The effects of the Black Sea water (BSW) inflows, meteorological forcing, and seasonal stratification are assessed with a 3D hydrodynamic model (Estuary, Lake and Coastal Ocean Model), after validation with available field data. The salinity, water temperature, and discharge from the Dardanelles Strait are taken to be seasonally varied. According to the authors' best knowledge, the present paper constitutes the first numerical modeling attempt in the literature that apart from the long-term hydrodynamic characteristics that have also been studied in previous works, a suitable tracer is introduced in order to predict the long-term fate, distribution, and accumulation of pollutants that originate from the Black Sea into the North Aegean coastal regions. The overall results of the present investigation indicate that the BSP concentration is very high at the coastal waters of Thassos, Samothraki, and Limnos islands, as well as along the mainland coastal waters between Alexandroupolis and Strymonikos Gulf, during summer and autumn when strong water column stratification occurs. In general, the BSP concentration in the North Aegean surface waters reaches considerable high values (47?C58?% of the initial pollutant concentration at Dardanelles inflow) within 16?years. Even for depths more than 500?m the BSP concentration is still remarkable, slightly increasing with time. The increase of the BSP concentration with respect to time at various depths (from free surface up to 750?m) is also investigated.     

An answer to an important controversy and the need for caution when using simple models to predict inelastic earthquake response of buildings with torsion

This paper presents evidence that the extension of conclusions based on the widely used simplified, one story, eccentric systems of the shear‐beam type, to actual, nonsymmetric buildings and consequent assessments of the pertinent code provisions, can be quite erroneous, unless special care is taken to match the basic properties of the simplified models to those of the real buildings. The evidence comes from comparisons of results obtained using three variants of simplified models, with results from the inelastic dynamic response of three‐ and five‐story eccentric buildings computed with detailed MDOF systems, where the members are idealized with the well‐known plastic hinge model. In addition, a convincing answer is provided on a pertinent hanging controversy: For frame‐type buildings, designed in accordance with the dynamic provisions of modern codes (such as EC8 or IBC2000), which allow reduced shears at the stiff edge due to torsion, the frames at the flexible sides are the critical elements in terms of ductility demands. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of single‐run pushover analysis techniques for seismic assessment of bridges

Traditional pushover analysis is performed subjecting the structure to monotonically increasing lateral forces with invariant distribution until a target displacement is reached; both the force distribution and target displacement are hence based on the assumption that the response is controlled by a fundamental mode, that remains unchanged throughout. However, such invariant force distributions cannot account for the redistribution of inertia forces caused by structural yielding and the associated changes in the vibration properties, including the increase of higher‐mode participation. In order to overcome such drawbacks, but still keep the simplicity of using single‐run pushover analysis, as opposed to multiple‐analyses schemes, adaptive pushover techniques have recently been proposed. In order to investigate the effectiveness of such new pushover schemes in assessing bridges subjected to seismic action, so far object of only limited scrutiny, an analytical parametric study, conducted on a suite of continuous multi‐span bridges, is carried out. The study seems to show that, with respect to conventional pushover methods, these novel single‐run approaches can lead to the attainment of improved predictions. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ground zoning against seismic hazard in Athens, Greece

The 1999, Ms=5.9, Athens earthquake caused serious structural damage to buildings in the western part of Athens, Greece. This paper presents the ground zoning against seismic hazard proposed shortly after the earthquake in order to aid reconstruction of the area. Existing engineering geological and geotechnical data were combined with local observations to provide a unified set of classification criteria, consistent with provisions of the Greek Seismic Code EAK. The accuracy and the possible limitations of this zoning procedure are addressed through comparison with observed damage distribution as well as results from seismic ground response analyses performed at sites with well established soil profiles. There is clear evidence that the proposed zones correspond to geological formations exhibiting grossly different seismic response with regard to the design of common engineering structures. However, the mostly qualitative nature of the guidelines for ground categorisation provided by EAK and the general lack of systematic, site-specific geotechnical data for the whole area induce uncertainties in the definition of the seismic design actions for the different zones. These objective uncertainties certainly demand increased conservatism but do not limit application of the proposed methodology for first aid, preliminary planning in the event of destructive earthquakes.     

Landfill Base Liners: Assessment of Material Equivalency and Impact to Groundwater

This paper gathered available flow and transport solutions and used them for two composite liners, consisting of geomembrane (GM) overlying either a compacted clay liner (CCL) or a geosynthetic clay liner (GCL). Its aim is to provide a guiding framework for the possible choices of (a) approaches to bottom liner design, (b) respective analytical solutions to flow and transport equations, as well as (c) parameters required for each type of solution. On the basis of the obtained results, the following recommendations are made. When the goal of analysis is to determine material equivalency, leachate flow rate is an adequate key parameter for GM-CCL composite liners. For GM-GCL composite liners, it is necessary to compute contaminant concentration or mass flux, considering (a) transport through defects for inorganic contaminants and (b) diffusion and the contribution of any available attenuation layer for organic contaminants. When the goal of analysis is to assess impact to groundwater, it is advised to calculate both discharge rate and contaminant mass flux regardless of liner type. The critical parameter for the transport calculations is the retardation factor of the contaminant, for the case of CCLs, while the results for GCLs are much less sensitive to this parameter.     

Downwelling Events in a Coastal Mussel Farming Area,NW Thessaloniki’s Gulf (NW Aegean Sea)

Ocean Science Journal - The coastal area of Chalastra (NW Thessaloniki’s Gulf, Northern Greece) features prominent mussel farming activity as well as fishing activity. These activities are...     

A geographical information system managing geotechnical data for Athens (Greece) and its use for automated seismic microzonation

This article presents a geographical information system (GIS) which manages geotechnical data obtained from detailed geotechnical surveys as well as from in situ observations in Athens, Greece. Thoroughly examined data from more than 2,000 exploratory boreholes and trial pits located in the wider area of Athens have been incorporated using a relational database system. From the analysis of these results, thematic maps are compiled to illustrate the distribution of engineering geological information (e.g. the depth of the “Athens schist” head). In addition, a methodology for an automated GIS-aided seismic microzonation study is outlined and is being employed taking into account the aforementioned geotechnical and engineering geological information, as well as existing seismological data to estimate the variability of seismic ground motion for the southern part of Athens.     

Accidental design eccentricity: Is it important for the inelastic response of buildings to strong earthquakes?

To deal with earthquake-induced torsion in buildings due to some uncertain factors, difficult to account for directly in design, modern codes have introduced the so-called accidental design eccentricity (ADE). This provision has been based primarily on elastic investigations with special classes of multi-story buildings or with simplified, one-story inelastic models. In the present paper, the effectiveness of this provision is investigated using inelastic models, both of the typical one-story, 3-DOF type, and the more sophisticated MDOF, frame idealizations of the plastic hinge type. One, three and five story, realistic, frame buildings with different natural eccentricities were designed for different ADEs, including those specified by the EC8 and IBC codes. The evaluation is made using mean peak ductility factors of the edge frames as measures of their inelastic response, obtained from dynamic analyses for ten pairs of semi-artificial earthquake motions. The simplified models indicate that the accidental design eccentricity is very effective in reducing ductility demands, especially for very stiff systems. However, this is not confirmed by the more accurate and detailed plastic hinge building models, which show that designs accounting for accidental eccentricity do not exhibit any substantial reduction or better distribution of ductility demands, compared to designs in which accidental eccentricity has been entirely ignored. These findings suggest that the ADE provisions in codes, especially the more complicated ones as in the IBC, should be re-examined, by weighting their importance against the additional computational work they impose on designers. In the cases examined herein this importance can be characterized as marginal. Obviously additional studies are required, to include more building types and earthquake motions, in order to arrive at firm conclusions and recommendations for code modifications.