Excess CO2 and pHexcess in the Intermediate Water Layer of the Northwestern Pacific

Excess CO₂ and pH_excess showing an increase in dissolved inorganic carbon and a decrease in pH from the beginning of the industrial epoch (middle of the 19th century) until the present time have been calculated in the intermediate water layer of the northwestern Pacific and the Okhotsk Sea. It is concluded that: (1) The Kuril Basin (Okhotsk Sea) and the Bussol' Strait areas are characterized by the greatest concentrations of excess CO₂ at isopycnal surfaces due to the processes of formation and transformation of intermediate water mass. (2) The largest difference in excess CO₂ concentration between the Okhotsk Sea and the western subarctic Pacific (about 8 µmol/kg) is found at the = 27.0. (3) The difference in excess CO₂ between the western subarctic Pacific and subtropical regions is significant only in the upper part of the intermediate water layer ( = 26.7–27.0). (4) About 10% of the excess CO₂ accumulation in the subtropical north Pacific is determined by water exchange with the subarctic Pacific and the Okhotsk Sea.     

A Reconstruction of Observed Profiles in the Sea East of Japan Using Vertical Coupled Temperature-Salinity EOF Modes

It is important to estimate hard-to-observe parameters in the ocean interior from easy-to-observe parameters. This study therefore demostrates a reconstruction of observed temperature and salinity profiles of the sea east of Japan (30°≈40°N, 140°≈150°E). The reconstruction was done by estimating suboptimal state from several values of the observed profiles and/or sea surface dynamic height (SDH) calculated from the profiles. The estimation used a variational method with vertical coupled temperature-salinity empirical orthogonal function (EOF) modes. Profiles of temperature and salinity in the subtropical region are effectively reconstructed from in situ temperature profile data, or sea surface temperature (SST) and SDH. For example, the analyzed temperature field from SST and SDH has an accuracy to within 1°C in the subtropical region. Salinity in the sea north of Kuroshio, however, is difficult to estimate because of its complex variability which is less correlated with temperature than in the subtropical region. Sea surface salinity is useful to estimate the subsurface structure. We also show the possibility that the estimation is improved by considering nonlinearity in the equation calculating SDH from temperature and salinity analysis values in order to examine the misfit between analysis and observation. Analysis using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimetry data instead of SDH was also performed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Preconditioned Optimizing Utility for Large-dimensional analyses (POpULar)

I present the derivation of the Preconditioned Optimizing Utility for Large-dimensional analyses (POpULar), which is developed for adopting a non-diagonal background error covariance matrix in nonlinear variational analyses (i.e., analyses employing a non-quadratic cost function). POpULar is based on the idea of a linear preconditioned conjugate gradient method widely adopted in ocean data assimilation systems. POpULar uses the background error covariance matrix as a preconditioner without any decomposition of the matrix. This preconditioning accelerates the convergence. Moreover, the inverse of the matrix is not required. POpULar therefore allows us easily to handle the correlations among deviations of control variables (i.e., the variables which will be analyzed) from their background in nonlinear problems. In order to demonstrate the usefulness of POpULar, we illustrate two effects which are often neglected in studies of ocean data assimilation before. One is the effect of correlations among the deviations of control variables in an adjoint analysis. The other is the nonlinear effect of sea surface dynamic height calculation required when sea surface height observation is employed in a three-dimensional ocean analysis. As the results, these effects are not so small to neglect.     

Evaluation of predictors of non‐linear seismic demands using ‘fishbone’ models of SMRF buildings

Predictors (or estimates) of seismic structural demands that are less computationally time‐consuming than non‐linear dynamic analysis can be useful for structural performance assessment and for design. In this paper, we evaluate the bias and precision of predictors that make use of, at most, (i) elastic modal vibration properties of the given structure, (ii) the results of a non‐linear static pushover analysis of the structure, and (iii) elastic and inelastic single‐degree‐of‐freedom time‐history analyses for the specified ground motion record. The main predictor of interest is an extension of first‐mode elastic spectral acceleration that additionally takes into account both the second‐mode contribution to (elastic) structural response and the effects of inelasticity. This predictor is evaluated with respect to non‐linear dynamic analysis results for ‘fishbone’ models of steel moment‐resisting frame (SMRF) buildings. The relatively small number of degrees of freedom for each fishbone model allows us to consider several short‐to‐long period buildings and numerous near‐ and far‐field earthquake ground motions of interest in both Japan and the U.S. Before doing so, though, we verify that estimates of the bias and precision of the predictor obtained using fishbone models are effectively equivalent to those based on typical ‘full‐frame’ models of the same buildings. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The local structure of Ca-Na pyroxenes. I. XANES study at the Na K-edge

 X-ray absorption Na K-edge spectra have been recorded on synthetic endmember jadeite and on a series of natural Ca-Na pyroxenes compositionally straddling the Jd-Di join. The C2/c members of the series are systematically different from the P2/n members. Differences can be interpreted and explained by comparing the experimental spectra with theoretical spectra. These have been calculated by the multiple-scattering formalism from the atomic positional parameters determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction structure refinement on the same samples. In the full multiple scattering region of the spectra (1075 to 1090 eV) C-pyroxenes exhibit three features which reflect the 6-2 configuration of the O back-scattering atoms around the Na absorber located at the center of the cluster (site M2 of the jadeite structure). P-pyroxenes show more complicated spectra in which at least four (possibly five) features can be recognized; they reflect the two types of configuration (6-2 and 4-2-2) of O around Na in the two independent M2 and M21 eight-fold coordinated sites of the omphacite structure. A weak, sometimes poorly resolved peak at 1079 eV is diagnostic and discriminates C- from P-pyroxenes. The Garnet Ridge C2/c impure jadeite exhibits a spectrum which is intermediate between those of jadeite and omphacite. The Hedin-Lundqvist potential proves best for these insulating materials and allows multiple-scattering calculations agreeing well with experiments. Received: July 11, 1996/Revised, accepted: October 21, 1996     

A spatio-temporal three-dimensional conceptualization and simulation of Dera Ismail Khan alluvial aquifer in visual MODFLOW: a case study from Pakistan

Dera Ismail Khan (DIK) is situated in the Lower Indus Basin of Pakistan. The land use has been changed in the canal command area due to irrigation activities near the Indus River. To check the current status and predict the groundwater levels in the area, the unconfined aquifer has been simulated in Visual MODFLOW for a period of 35 years, i.e., from 1985 to 2020. The 2900-km² area has been modeled with a grid of 500 by 500 m and the depth set to 100 m. The aquifer in the study area has been divided vertically and laterally into three and ten zones, respectively, for the characterization. Water wells and streams were used as the sinks and hydrologic boundaries, respectively. The model was successfully calibrated in steady and the non-steady state. The simulation revealed that the whole simulation can be divided into two phases, i.e., before and after the construction of the Chashma Right Bank Canal (CRBC), whereas the results were summarized in the form of water table depth maps and groundwater budget calculations. To determine the groundwater sustainability, a conjunctive use scenario has been employed to simulate the aquifer dynamics till 2020. The simulation revealed incremental drawdowns till the end.     

Subduction-related mafic to felsic magmatism in the Malayer–Boroujerd plutonic complex,western Iran

The Malayer–Boroujerd plutonic complex (MBPC) in western Iran, consists of a portion of a magmatic arc built by the northeast verging subduction of the Neo-Tethys plate beneath the Central Iranian Microcontinent (CIMC). Middle Jurassic-aged felsic magmatic activity in MBPC is manifested by I-type and S-type granites. The mafic rocks include gabbroic intrusions and dykes and intermediate rocks are dioritic dykes and minor intrusions, as well as mafic microgranular enclaves (MMEs). MBPC Jurassic-aged rocks exhibit arc-like geochemical signatures, as they are LILE- and LREE-enriched and HFSE- and HREE-depleted and display negative Nb–Ta anomalies. The gabbro dykes and intrusions originated from metasomatically enriched garnet-spinel lherzolite [Degree of melting (f_mel) ~ 15%] and exhibit negative Nd and positive to slightly negative ε_Hf(T) (+ 3.0 to ? 1.6). The data reveal that evolution of Middle Jurassic magmatism occurred in two stages: (1) deep mantle-crust interplay zone and (2) the shallow level upper crustal magma chamber. The geochemical and isotopic data, as well as trace element modeling, indicate the parent magma for the MBPC S-type granites are products of upper crustal greywacke (f_mel: 0.2), while I-type granites formed by partial melting of amphibolitic lower crust (f_mel: 0.25) and mixing with upper crustal greywacke melt in a shallow level magma chamber [Degree of mixing (f_mix): 0.3]. Mixing between andesitic melt leaving behind a refractory dense cumulates during partial crystallization of mantle-derived magma and lower crustal partial melt most likely produced MMEs (f_mix: 0.2). However, enriched and moderately variable ε_Nd(T) (? 3.21 to ? 4.33) and high (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr)_i (0.7085–0.7092) in dioritic intrusions indicate that these magmas are likely experienced assimilation of upper crustal materials. The interpretations of magmatic activity in the MBPC is consistent with the role considered for mantle-derived magma as heat and mass supplier for initiation and evolution of magmatism in continental arc setting, elsewhere.     

Liquid bridge contribution to shear behavior of unsaturated soil: modeling and application to a micromechanics model

Acta Geotechnica - Liquid bridges in unsaturated soils attach to grain contacts and contribute to strengthening microscopic bonding forces, which leads to macroscopic high strength and stiffness...     

Relation between chemical composition and particle-size distribution of ores in the profile of nickeliferous laterite deposits of the Rio Tuba Mine, Philippines

Lateritic Ni ore mined in the Rio Tuba Mine, Philippines, derived from ultramafic rock by tropical intense weathering, is generally composed of two accumulated zones, an upper laterite zone and a lower saprolite zone. These two zones are very different in appearance, mineral assemblage, chemical composition, and in other ways. A transitional zone may be seen between the upper and lower zones, but it does not develop to any appreciable thickness. Although serpentine and goethite are still predominant in the constituent minerals, other clay minerals are increasing.

The transitional zone may be subdivided into three groups based on chemical composition. The behaviour of the chemical composition in this horizon indicates a complicated process of component transportation under the weathering process.

In the ore, chemical components are closely related in particle size of constituent minerals. In the laterite - transitional - saprolite sequence, a common variation range and tendency in chemical composition for each particle size can be seen. However, taking samples with the same particle size the chemical composition obviously differed, representing the characteristics of the components for each zone.

Concerning the correlation coefficient of the chemical components of each zone, a somewhat different inter-component relationship can be seen in these zones. These differences of correlation suggest the different complicated lateritized conditions under which they are formed.