Northward transport of pacific summer water along the Northwind Ridge in the Western Arctic Ocean

The recent sea-ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean is not spatially uniform, but is disproportionally large around the Northwind Ridge and Chukchi Plateau compared to elsewhere in the Canada Basin. In the Northwind Ridge region, Pacific Summer Water (PSW) delivered from the Bering Sea occupies the subsurface layer. The spatial distribution of warm PSW shows a quite similar pattern to the recent ice retreat, suggesting the influence of PSW on the sea-ice reduction. To understand the regionality of the recent ice retreat, we examine the dynamics and timing of the delivery of the PSW into this region. Here, we adopt a two-layer linearized potential vorticity equation to investigate the behavior of Rossby waves in the presence of a topographic discontinuity in the high latitude ocean. The analytical results show a quite different structure from those of mid-latitude basins due to the small value of β. Incident barotropic waves excited by the sea-ice motion with large annual variation can be scattered into both barotropic and baroclinic modes at the discontinuity. Since the scattered baroclinic Rossby wave with annual frequency cannot propagate freely, a strong baroclinic current near the topographic discontinuity is established. The seasonal variation of current near the topographic discontinuity would cause a kind of selective switching system for shelf water transport into the basin. In our simple analytical model, the enhanced northward transport of summer water and reduced northward transport of winter water are well demonstrated. The present study indicates that these basic dynamics imply that a strengthening of the surface forcing during winter in the Canada Basin could cause sea-ice reduction in the Western Arctic through the changes of underlying Pacific Summer Water.     

Performance of Mortar and Chemical Grout Injection into Surrounding Soil When Slurry Pipe-jacking Method is Used

Small-diameter shallow tunnels are often being built by using the slurry pipe-jacking method. This system involves the pushing or thrusting of a drivage machine and concrete pipes into the ground. Chemical grout injection into the surrounding soil around the tunnel is carried out after the drivage and pushing processes are finished. The purpose of the chemical grout injection is to maintain permanent stability of the surrounding soil. However, the behavior of the chemical grouting material in the surrounding soil around the tunnel and the amount of optimum injection is not clearly understood. From these points of view, this paper discusses the performance of the chemical grouting material, when it is injected into the surrounding soil around the tunnel, by means of 2-D Eulerian–Lagrangian seepage analysis. Moreover, the effectiveness of the chemical grout injection was evaluated by using the non-linear finite element method. This investigation show when the range of the grouted zone is designed; it is necessary that the relationship between Young’s modulus of the soil/grouted zone and the confining stress be taken into consideration in order to establish effective, economical and safe chemical grout injection system. Understanding the performance of the seepage/dispersion behavior of the chemical grout and the characteristics of soil/ grouted zone is also important.     

Real Time Analysis and Forecasting of Strata Caving Behaviour during Longwall Operations

Summary. Discontinuous manual observations and irregular caving characteristics of roof rocks often lead to improper decisions resulting in accidents and production loss. Hence, systematic monitoring of the hanging roof behind the chock shields is necessary for safe and productive mining operations. A real-time application was successfully implemented in an Indian mine for forecasting of hanging roof behaviour to enhance safety and productivity. This paper reports the functioning of real-time TWAP (time weighted average pressure) analysis in the forecasting of hanging roof behaviour in real time.     

Monitoring of Over Cutting Area and Lubrication Distribution in a Large Slurry Pipe Jacking Operation

Slurry pipe jacking was firmly established as a special method for the non-disruptive construction of the underground pipelines of sewage systems. Pipe jacking, in its traditional form, has occasionally been used for short railways, roads, rivers, and other projects. Basically the system involves the pushing or thrusting of concrete pipes into the ground by a number of jacks. In slurry pipe jacking, during the pushing process, mud slurry and lubricant are injected into the face and the over cutting area that is between the concrete pipes and the surrounding soil. Next, the slurry fills voids and the soil stabilizes due to the created slurry cake around the pipes. Fillings also reduce the jacking force or thrust during operation. When the drivage and pushing processes are finished, a mortar injection into the over cutting area is carried out in order to maintain permanent stability of the surrounding soil and the over cutting area. Successful lubrication around the pipes is extremely important in a large diameter slurry pipe jacking operation. Control of lubrication and gaps between pipes and soil can prevent hazards such as surface settlement and increases in thrust. Also, to find voids around the pipes after the jacking process, in order to inject mortar for permanent stabilizing, an investigation around the pipes is necessary. To meet these aims, this paper is concerned with the utilization of known methods such as the GPR (Ground Penetrating Radar) system and borehole camera to maintain control of the over cutting area and lubricant distribution around the pipes during a site investigation. From this point of view, experiments were carried out during a tunnel construction using one of the largest cases of slurry pipe jacking in Fujisawa city, Japan. The advantages and disadvantages of each system were clarified during the tests.     

Inferring the relative measure of principal stress components

The phase velocity and the attenuation coefficient of compressional seismic waves, propagating in poroelastic, fluid-saturated, laminated sediments, are computed analytically from first principles. The wavefield is found to be strongly affected by the medium heterogeneity. Impedance fluctuations lead to poroelastic scattering; variations of the layer compressibilities cause inter-layer flow (a 1-D macroscopic local flow). These effects result in significant attenuation and dispersion of the seismic wavefield, even in the surface seismic frequency range, 10–100 Hz. The various attenuation mechanisms are found to be approximately additive, dominated by inter-layer flow at very low frequencies. Elastic scattering is important over a broad frequency range from seismic to sonic frequencies. Biot's global flow (the relative displacement of solid frame and fluid) contributes mainly in the range of ultrasonic frequencies. From the seismic frequency range up to ultrasonic frequencies, attenuation due to heterogeneity is strongly enhanced compared to homogeneous Biot models. Simple analytical expressions for the P -wave phase velocity and attenuation coefficient are presented as functions of frequency and of statistical medium parameters (correlation lengths, variances). These results automatically include different asymptotic approximations, such as poroelastic Backus averaging in the quasi-static and the no-flow limits, geometrical optics, and intermediate frequency ranges.     

A study of microearthquake seismicity and focal mechanisms within the Sea of Marmara (NW Turkey) using ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs)

We have carried out seismological observations within the Sea of Marmara (NW Turkey) in order to investigate the seismicity induced after Gölcük–İzmit (Kocaeli) earthquake (M_w 7.4) of August 17, 1999, using ocean bottom seismometers (OBSs). High-resolution hypocenters and focal mechanisms of microearthquakes have been investigated during this Marmara Sea OBS project involving deployment of 10 OBSs within the Çınarcık (eastern Marmara Sea) and Central-Tekirdağ (western Marmara Sea) basins during April–July 2000. Little was known about microearthquake activity and their source mechanisms in the Marmara Sea. We have detected numerous microearthquakes within the main basins of the Sea of Marmara along the imaged strands of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF). We obtained more than 350 well-constrained hypocenters and nine composite focal mechanisms during 70 days of observation. Microseismicity mainly occurred along the Main Marmara Fault (MMF) in the Marmara Sea. There are a few events along the Southern Shelf. Seismic activity along the Main Marmara Fault is quite high, and focal depth distribution was shallower than 20 km along the western part of this fault, and shallower than 15 km along its eastern part. From high-resolution relative relocation studies of some of the microearthquake clusters, we suggest that the western Main Marmara Fault is subvertical and the eastern Main Marmara Fault dips to south at 45°. Composite focal mechanisms show a strike-slip regime on the western Main Marmara Fault and complex faulting (strike-slip and normal faulting) on the eastern Main Marmara Fault.     

Regional hazard prediction of rock bursts using microseismic energy attenuation tomography in deep mining

Rock burst prediction is a worldwide challenge that we have long tried to overcome. This study tentatively proposed a method to regionally predict rock burst hazards using microseismic energy attenuation. To verify the feasibility of the proposal, first, the mechanism of microseismic energy propagation and attenuation in rock medium was explored, and dominant attenuation characteristics of microseismic waves were analyzed. Second, a spatial attenuation model of microseismic energy was established, and the average energy attenuation coefficient for each wave path was defined. A 3D seismic energy attenuation inversion algorithm was put forward, and the corresponding computation matrix was developed. Third, a continuous microseismic field investigation was carried out in a deep coal mine. Seismic energy attenuation coefficient was confirmed using the calibrated focus position and energy determination. Based on data discretization processing, energy attenuation inversion and tomography, potential rock burst hazard regions were strictly zoned in mining areas. Finally, regional prediction results obtained from the microseismic energy attenuation were compared with the direct measurement results obtained from the classical drilling dust method to verify the reliability of proposed approach. It turns out that rock burst hazard regions predicted by the microseismic energy attenuation agreed well with the objective hazardous situations. Seismic energy attenuation coefficient is a significant evaluation factor that directly mirrors the inelastic performance of rock medium. Energy attenuation coefficient threshold used for determining the rock burst hazard regions was 3.0 km^?1. Reliability of the seismic energy attenuation inversion and tomography was closely related to the spatial distribution of microseisms in a localized region. The optimum spatial density of microseisms was 0.2 m^?3. Regional rock burst prediction using microseismic energy attenuation is an effective approach for revealing potential hazardous regions in deep mining conditions. This approach improves the pertinence of geological hazard prevention and provides a beforehand reference for targeted hazard management.     

Multiple-tracers-aided surface-subsurface hydrological modeling for detailed characterization of regional catchment water dynamics in Kumamoto area,southern Japan

Hydrogeology Journal - Integrated watershed modeling techniques have been applied in recent years to examine surface and subsurface interactions. Model performance is often evaluated by best fit of...     

Vertical double silicate maxima in the sea-ice reduction region of the western Arctic Ocean: Implications for an enhanced biological pump due to sea-ice reduction

The R/V Mirai conducted hydrographic surveys in the western Arctic Ocean during summer 2004 (Mirai04) over wide east-west ranges from Alaska to eastern Siberia, where sea-ice cover has been greatly reduced in recent summers. The obtained data reveal differences in silicate profiles between shelf slope areas east and west of the Chukchi Plateau, the ridge that divides the Canada Basin into the Alaskan and east Siberian sides. East of the plateau, a single silicate maximum was found in a layer of Pacific-origin winter water, as examined in many previous studies. In contrast, west of the plateau, we found vertical double silicate maxima, which are reported for the first time in this study. The shallower silicate maximum corresponded to an N** minimum, signaling denitrification at the shelf bottom. This suggests that the shallower silicate maximum was caused by the spreading of shelf water. In contrast, the deeper silicate maximum corresponded to an oxygen minimum and a maximum silicate/phosphate ratio (Si/P), suggesting that this deeper maximum resulted from the decomposition of opal-shelled organisms. We also compared a silicate profile from Mirai04 to aprofile from the Arctic Ocean Section 94 (AOS94) expedition of 1994, a heavy ice year. The results suggest that sea-ice loss has enhanced biological activities, likely resulting in the appearance of the deeper silicate maximum.     

El Niño flood deposits at Batán Grande,northern Peru

Recent construction of a 10 × 3 irrigation canal across the Batán Grande–Poma archaeological complex of northern Peru provided an opportunity for inspection of soil profiles and detailed sampling along a five km transect bisecting an important concentration of ceremonial structures built during the past 3000+ years. From laboratory analysis of 80 soil samples we conclude no long-term irrigation agriculture was practiced in this area and it was unimportant as a resource base. Stratigraphic studies indicate few sediments survive from the 1925 El Niño event, but a massive bed attributable to prehistoric slack-water flood sediments has been identified and can be bracketed between ca. A. D. 650–1000 by associated diagnostic funerary ceramics. Other flood deposits representing the same or different events are described, but we conclude intervalley correlations will be difficult until more precise dating methods are available.