Raman microspectrometry, FT-IR and inclusion characteristics of gem garnets from Tanzania and Madagascar

Chemical composition, Raman microspectrometry, and Fourier transform infrared (FT-1R) and SEM-CL (Cathodluminescence) analyses are carried out for Tanzania and Madagascar garnets for locality identification. Inclusion study was sustained after electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). Needle-like illmenites, apatites and zircons were the most common solid inclusions in Tanzania garnets. Madagascar garnets revealed rutile needles and apatites were also observed, but differences in size, shape and distribution patterns were noticed compared to Tanzania garnets. Tanzania garnets exhibited all types of observable fluid inclusions such as ““ fingerprint““ pattern, called Type Ⅰ-A, liquid-only (L) single phase fluid inclusion, called Type Ⅰ-B and Type Ⅱ-A ( L S), Type Ⅱ-B ( L V) and Type Ⅲ-A (L Sylvite even if all examined garnets from three localities retained ““fingerprint““ features, so called, partially healed fractures, in common. Chemical composition, Raman microspectrometry and Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) analysis taken turned out to be useful methods for the purpose of this study. Using consequences of SEM-CL and inclusion study, accordingly, the locality identification of gem-quality garnets is capable of being available in further application for other kinds of gemstones.     

East Asian monsoon variation and climate changes in Jeju Island, Korea, during the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene

A 4.96-m-long sediment core from the Hanon paleo-maar in Jeju Island, Korea was studied to investigate the paleoclimatic change and East Asian monsoon variations during the latest Pleistocene to early Holocene (23,000-9000 cal yr BP). High-resolution TOC content, magnetic susceptibility, and major element composition data indicate that Jeju Island experienced the coldest climate around 18,000 cal yr BP, which corresponds to the last glacial maximum (LGM). Further, these multi-proxy data show an abrupt shift in climatic regime from cold and arid to warm and humid conditions at around 14,000 cal yr BP, which represents the commencement of the last major deglaciation. After the last major deglaciation, the TOC content decreased from 13,300 to 12,000 cal yr BP and from 11,500 to 9800 cal yr BP, thereby reflecting the weakening of the summer monsoon. The LGM in Jeju Island occurred later in comparison with the Chinese Loess Plateau. Such a disparity in climatic change events between central China and Jeju Island appears to be caused by the asynchrony between the coldest temperature event and the minimum precipitation event in central China and by the buffering effect of the Pacific Ocean.     

Glaciomarine sedimentation and palaeo-glacial setting of Maxwell Bay and its tributary embayment, Marian Cove, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica

High-resolution (3.5 kHz and multi-channel) seismic profiles and piston cores were collected from Maxwell Bay and its tributary embayment, Marian Cove, in the South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, during the Korea Antarctic Research Program (1992/93 and 1995/96) to elucidate the glaciomarine sedimentation processes and recent glacial history of the area. Seismic data from Maxwell Bay reveal a rugged bay margin and flattened basin floor covered with well-stratified hemipelagic muds. On the base-of-slope, acoustically transparent debris flows occur, indicating downslope resedimentation of glaciomarine sediments. Despite the subpolar and ice-proximal settings of Marian Cove, the seafloor is highly rugged with a thin sediment drape, suggesting that much of the area has been recently eroded by glaciers. Sediment cores from the cove penetrated three distinct fining-upward lithofacies: (1) basal till in the lower part of the core, accumulated just seaward of the grounding line of the tidewater glacier; (2) interlaminated sand and mud in the middle part, deposited in ice-proximal zone by a combination of episodic subglacial meltwater inflow and iceberg dumping; and (3) pebbly mud in the upper part, deposited in ice-distal zone by both surface meltwater plume and ice-rafting from the glacier front. A reconstruction of the glacial history of these areas since the late glacial maximum shows an ice sheet filling Maxwell Bay in late Wisconsin time and grounding of the tidewater glacier in Marian Cove until about 1300 yr BP.     

Description of the post larva of star pipefish,halicampus punctatus (syngnathidae, gasterosteiformes) first found in the southwestern east sea, Korea

Larval specimens ofHalicampus punctatus were collected off Ulsan and Uljin in December 2002 (three specimens) and off Ulsan in December 2003 (one specimen). These specimens are characterized by the following morphological characteristics: rings, 14 + 35 = 49; subdorsal rings, 1 + 3 = 4; dorsal fin rays, 19 – 20; pectoral fin rays, 14 – 15; anal fin rays, 9; head length (HL), 5.8 – 6.7 in the standard length; snout length, 1.9 in HL; snout depth, 3.7 – 5.2 in snout length. The number of caudal fin rays 9 is less than those of the other species in the same genus 10. Wide stripe bands composed of small pigments are shown in the trunk and the tail. Melanophores are not found in the dorsal fin, the pectoral fin, and the anal fin except the caudal fin. The supraoccipital crest is on the head. The frontal ridge is on the dorsal side of front trunk. The blanched ridges on the opercular are fused with a main ridge like a tree branch. A few branched ridges that are small and narrow on the trunk and the tail are fused with the main ridges. We report these specimens as the first record in Korea and name them ‘Byeol-silgo-ki’ in Korean.     

A comparison of several wave spectra for the random wave diffraction by a semi-infinite breakwater

A comparison of the diffraction of multidirectional random waves using several selected wave spectrum models is presented in this paper. Six wave spectrum models, Bretschneider, Pierson–Moskowitz, ISSC, ITTC, Mitsuyasu, and JONSWAP spectrum, are considered. A discrete form for each of the given spectrum models is used to specify the incident wave conditions. Analytical solutions based on both the Fresnel integrals and polynomial approximations of the Fresnel integrals and numerical solutions of a boundary integral approach have been used to obtain the two-dimensional wave diffraction by a semi-infinite breakwater at uniform water depth. The diffraction of random waves is based on the cumulative superposition of linear diffraction solution. The results of predicted random wave diffraction for each of the given spectrum models are compared with those of the published physical model presented by Briggs et al. [1995. Wave diffraction around breakwater. Journal of Waterway, Port, Coastal and Ocean Engineering—ASCE 121(1), 23–35]. Reasonable agreement is obtained in all cases. The effect of the directional spreading function is also examined from the results of the random wave diffraction. Based on these comparisons, the present model for the analysis of various wave spectra is found to be an accurate and efficient tool for predicting the random wave field around a semi-infinite breakwater or inside a harbor of arbitrary geometry in practical applications.     

Ultimate strength of ship hulls under torsion

For a ship hull with large deck openings such as container vessels and some large bulk carriers, the analysis of warping stresses and hatch opening deformations is an essential part of ship structural analyses. It is thus of importance to better understand the ultimate torsional strength characteristics of ships with large hatch openings. The primary aim of the present study is to investigate the ultimate strength characteristics of ship hulls with large hatch openings under torsion. Axial (warping) as well as shear stresses are normally developed for thin-walled beams with open cross sections subjected to torsion. A procedure for calculating these stresses is briefly described. As an illustrative example, the distribution and magnitude of warping and shear stresses for a typical container vessel hull cross section under unit torsion is calculated by the procedure. By theoretical and numerical analyses, it is shown that the influence of torsion induced warping stresses on the ultimate hull girder bending strength is small for ductile hull materials while torsion induced shear stresses will of course reduce the ship hull ultimate bending moment.     

Species composition and spatial distribution of euphausiids of the yellow sea and relationships with environmental factors

We investigated species composition and spatial distribution of the euphausiid community in the Yellow Sea and identified the relationship with environmental factors (temperature, salinity, chlorophyll a, nitrate, phosphate, and silicate) using bimonthly data from June, 1997 to April, 1998. The environment varied during the sampling period. In warm seasons, thermocline was well developed rendering lower temperature and higher salinity and nutrient concentrations in the bottom layer. During cold seasons the water column was well mixed and no such vertical stratification was noted. Horizontal distribution of temperature, however, differed slightly between near-coast and offshore areas because of the shallow depth of the Yellow Sea, and between southern and northern areas because of the intrusion of water masses such as Yellow Sea Warm Current and Changjiang River Diluted Water. Four euphausiid species were identified:Euphausia pacifica, E. sanzoi, Pseudeuphausia sp. andStylocheron affine. E. sanzoi andS. affine were collected, just one juvenile each, from the southern area in June and December, respectively.Pseudeuphausia sp. were collected in the eastern area all the year round except June.E. pacifica occurred at the whole study area and were the predominant species, representing at least 97.6% of the euphausiid abundance. Further, the distribution pattern of the species was varied in regards to developmental stages (adult, furcilia, calyptopis, egg). From spring to fall,E. pacifica adults were abundant in the central area where the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water prevailed. Furcilia and calyptopis extended their distribution into nearly all the study area during the same period. From late fall to winter, adults were found at the near-coastal area with similar pattern for furcilia and calyptopis. The distribution pattern ofE. pacifica was consistent regarding temperature, salinity, and three nutrients during the sampling period, whereas chlorophyll a showed a different pattern according to the developmental stages. The nutrients should indirectly affect via chlorophyll a and phytoplankton concentration. With respect to these results, we presented a scenario about how the environmental factors along with the water current affect the distribution ofE. pacifica in the Yellow Sea.     

Yeosu dinosaur track sites of Korea: The youngest dinosaur track records in Asia

Eighty two dinosaur trackways were newly discovered in Upper Cretaceous lacustrine deposits on islands in the vicinity of Yeosu, Korea. Most dinosaur tracks occur in marginal lake deposits with polygonal desiccation cracks. The dinosaur tracks at the Yeosu site include 65 ornithopod trackways, 16 theropod trackways and one sauropod trackway. The prevalence of ornithopod tracks and the limited occurrence of sauropod tracks at the Yeosu site evidently reflect decreased sauropod diversity in the Upper Cretaceous. All ornithopod trackways represent bipeds, and most of the ornithopod tracks are similar to Caririchnium from other sites of the Korean peninsula. All fossil wood specimens collected in the study area represent conifers (three species of cupressaceous and two species of taxodiaceous conifers, and a new species) except for one, which is a discotyledon. It is thus inferred that the southwestern part of the Korean Peninsula was primarily covered with mesic forests with taxodiaceous trees during the Late Cretaceous. The K–Ar age of the Yeosu tracksite is determined as 81–65 Ma (Camapnian to Maastrichtian). It indicates that the Yeosu track site contains the last records of dinosaurs living in Asia. Consequently, semi-arid palaeoclimatic conditions, together with a large lake as a persistent water source and rich vegetation of gymnosperm trees as food, resulted in the preservation of abundant dinosaur tracks in the Upper Cretaceous on the Korean Peninsula.     

Unstable Climate Oscillations during the Late Holocene in the Eastern Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula

Core A9-EB2 from the eastern Bransfield Basin, Antarctic Peninsula, consists of pelagic (diatom ooze-clay couplets and bioturbated diatom ooze) and hemipelagic (bioturbated mud) sediments interbedded with turbidites (homogeneous mud and silt–clay couplets). The cyclic and laminated nature of these pelagic sediments represents alternation between the deposition of diatom-rich biogenic sediments and of terrigenous sediments. Sediment properties and geochemical data explain the contrasting lamination, with light layers being finer-grained and relatively rich in total organic carbon and biogenic silica content. Also, the high-resolution magnetic susceptibility (MS) variations highlight distinct features: high MS values coincide with clastic-rich sections and low MS values correspond to biogenic sections. The chronology developed for core A9-EB2 accounts for anomalous ages associated with turbidites and shows a linear sedimentation rate of approximately 87 cm/10³ yr, which is supported by an accumulation rate of 80 cm/10³ yr calculated from ²¹⁰Pb activity. The late Holocene records clearly identify Neoglacial events of the Little Ice Age (LIA) and Medieval Warm Period (MWP). Other unexplained climatic events comparable in duration and amplitude to the LIA and MWP events also appear in the MS record, suggesting intrinsically unstable climatic conditions during the late Holocene in the Bransfield Basin of Antarctic Peninsula.