Design of stable drainage networks in upland forestry plantations

Erosion of man-made, forestry drainage channels occurs when the plough cuts through the surface peat layer into the underlying erodible mineral soil. A procedure is developed, based on hydraulic considerations, which will allow the drainage engineer to design stable drainage networks in upland forestry plantations. An example design chart is given for an erodible sandy loam type soil.     

Developing a Marine Information System by Integrating Existing Ocean Models Using Object-Oriented Technology

Information systems developed for different applications within the environmental domain have common characteristics, which can potentially be abstracted for sharing and reuse of design and software modules. This article presents an approach to designing for reuse by abstracting commonalities in the design of a Marine Information System (MIS), facilitating data management in a prototype operational monitoring, forecasting, and management system for the North Atlantic and the Nordic Seas. A detailed study of the requirements and data analysis was carried out, and Object-Oriented Technology (OOT) is employed to encapsulate abstractions and to promote reuse of code and design. This article identifies the Object-Oriented Frameworks (OOFW) required to build the MIS. It also provides guidelines to environmental scientists for restructuring legacy software and employing modern programming techniques.     

渤海南部海域年极值波浪和设计波浪的特征研究

本文用统计计算和后报方法，获得了本海域不同海区多年年极值波高（Ｈ１／１０）资料。用Ｐ－Ⅲ型和短期测波资料频率分析方法，估算了各海区的设计波高，并依据文献［３］计算出对应的平均周期。用Ｋｏｌｍｏｇｏｒｏｆｆ适合度方法检验所得的结果表明，依Ｐ－Ⅲ型方法拟配的理论频率曲线与经验点十分吻合，从而确定了本海域不同海区最佳的设计波浪。分析本海域年极值波浪的基本特征表明，本海域除了渤海湾北部海区以外，主浪向一般为ＮＮＥ向，渤海海峡区的年极值波高和设计波高均为最大，而向莱州湾及渤海湾沿岸海区逐渐减小；在沿岸海区，由龙口至黄河口一带的极值波高较大。     

The status of geological dredging techniques

Scientific sea-floor dredging is currently used in marine geology primarily by the hard-rock community interested in the recovery of basement rock samples from the unsedimented deep ocean floor. The technique has generally been eclipsed by ocean drilling for recovery of sedimentary rocks, because of perceived uncertainties in the location of sampling and in the representativeness of recovered material. This contribution reviews dredging equipment currently in use by marine geological institutions and refers to pinger attachments that allow precise information on the behaviour of the dredge to be telemetered back to the ship. We argue that improvements in ship navigation and transponder navigation at the seafloor, when used in conjunction with surface and/or deeply towed sidescan and swathemapping surveys, now allow for considerably less uncertainty on the location of dredge sampling. Refined sorting criteria for dredge hauls are now also available. Recent comparisons of regional sample recovery by ocean drilling and by dredge sampling indicate that the dredge hauls can usefully supplement the drilling data in the construction of sedimentary and tectonic histories of seafloor areas.     

Immediate profile and planform evolution of a beach nourishment project with hurricane influences

In this study, planform adjustment began during a period of calm weather immediately after nourishment and then the passage of one strong storm caused a substantial portion of the total profile equilibration. Weekly beach profiles, shoreline surveys, and nearshore wave measurements were conducted before, during, and immediately after construction of the 1100-m long Upham Beach nourishment project on the low-energy, west coast of Florida. This project was constructed in three segments: the wide north segment, the central segment, and the narrow south segment. With the exception of the relatively distant passage of Hurricane Charley, calm weather prevailed for 45 days following completion of the south and central segments. Construction of the wide north segment was completed on August 27, 2004. Substantial planform diffusion occurred prior to construction completion via formation of a 300-m long spit extending from the wide north segment. The shoreline orientation was changed abruptly due to this diffusion spit formation, as opposed to the gradual adjustment predicted by most long-term models. Planform adjustment was initiated prior to profile equilibration, and it did not require high-energy conditions. A simple vector sum model for determining the orientation of a potential diffusion spit was developed. This study recommends designing end transitions at the predicted diffusion spit orientation to avoid post-nourishment spit formation during future projects.     

用贝叶斯方法推算设计波高

采用长期概率预报提供波浪要素设计值是海洋工程中不可缺少的内容之一，文中介绍了一种基於贝叶斯原理的新计算方法，它较传统统计方法有明显的优越性，不仅可以通过补充新信息不断修正原有的估算结果，而且可以避免传统方法带来诸多不确定性，文中以北海中部百年一遇设计波高为例进行了计算。     

Structural modeling and testing of a concrete canoe

A finite element model is set up and experimental tests are performed to help understand the behavior of a concrete canoe and subsequently optimize its design. First, the performance criteria that must be satisfied to participate at the annual ASCE/Master Builders competition are described. Then, the finite element model and the different loading cases that were studied are presented. Results from these loading cases are discussed and used to optimize the material properties as well as the thickness of the hull and the dimensions of the gunwale and reinforcing ribs. Static and dynamic experimental tests were also conducted to validate the results of the finite element analyses. The results indicate that the main stresses and strains are caused by the static load cases. The additional stresses caused during races are small.     

An evaluation of systems for the integrated assessment of capture fisheries

Integrated fishery assessments are intended to take an integrated and wholistic view of fisheries management, to provide comprehensive systems-based evaluations of the sustainability of individual fisheries and their products. Using guidance derived from decision theory and management science, we develop 18 criteria to evaluate the likely effectiveness of nine integrated fishery assessment systems. The assessment systems do not consistently consider four key criteria: the socio-economic impacts of fisheries, the provision of food security, the local relevance of the assessment to the fishery under assessment, and the independent peer review of assessment outcomes. Other important areas of weakness include the lack of appropriate consultation processes relating to both the design of the assessment system and the outcomes of fishery assessments, and limitations in the quality of data and information used in assessments. Improvements will be needed in these areas across all the systems we evaluated if fishers, consumers, managers and other stakeholders are to be provided with consistently reliable assessment outcomes, and an assurance of the sustainability of capture fisheries.     

Stability of waterfront retaining wall subjected to pseudo-static earthquake forces

Waterfront retaining walls supporting dry backfill are subjected to hydrostatic pressure on upstream face and earth pressure on the downstream face. Under seismic conditions, if such a wall retains a submerged backfill, additional hydrodynamic pressures are generated. This paper pertains to a study in which the effect of earthquakes along with the hydrodynamic pressure including inertial forces on such a retaining wall is observed. The hydrodynamic pressure is calculated using Westergaard's approach, while the earth pressure is calculated using Mononobe-Okabe's pseudo-static analysis. It is observed that when the horizontal seismic acceleration coefficient is increased from 0 to 0.2, there is a 57% decrease in the factor of safety of the retaining wall in sliding mode. For investigating the effect of different parameters, a parametric study is also done. It is observed that if φ is increased from 30° to 35°, there is an increase in the factor of safety in the sliding mode by 20.4%. Similar observations were made for other parameters as well. Comparison of results obtained from the present approach with [Ebeling, R.M., Morrison Jr, E.E., 1992. The seismic design of waterfront retaining structures. US Army Technical Report ITL-92-11. Washington DC] reveal that the factor of safety for static condition (k_h=0), calculated by both the approaches, is 1.60 while for an earthquake with k_h=0.2, they differ by 22.5% due to the consideration of wall inertia in the present study.     

Examination of empirical formulas for wave shoaling and breaking on steep slopes

Estimation of the wave height transformation of shoaling and breaking is essential for the nearshore hydrodynamics and the design of coastal structures. Many empirical formulas have been well recognized to the wave height transformation, but most of them were only applicable for gentle slopes. This paper reports the experimental results of wave shoaling and breaking over the steep slopes to examine the applicability of the previous empirical formulas. Two steep bottom slopes of 1/3 and 1/5, and one gentle slope of 1/10 were conducted in the present experiments. Experimental results show that the shoaling distance of steep slopes become short and the surface waves may be partially reflected from the steep bottom, thus the estimation of wave shoaling using the well-known previous formula did not conform completely to the experimental results. The previous empirical formulas for the wave breaking criteria were also examined, and the modified equations to the steep beaches were proposed in this work. A numerical model was finally adopted to calculate the wave height transformation in the surf zone by introducing the modified breaking index.