• Title/Summary/Keyword: earth surface processes

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Cryptic variation, molecular data, and the challenge of conserving plant diversity in oceanic archipelagos: the critical role of plant systematics

  • Crawford, Daniel J.;Stuessy, Tod F.
    • Korean Journal of Plant Taxonomy
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    • v.46 no.2
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    • pp.129-148
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    • 2016
  • Plant species on oceanic islands comprise nearly 25% of described vascular plants on only 5% of the Earth's land surface yet are among the most rare and endangered plants. Conservation of plant biodiversity on islands poses particular challenges because many species occur in a few and/or small populations, and their habitats on islands are often disturbed by the activity of humans or by natural processes such as landslides and volcanoes. In addition to described species, evidence is accumulating that there are likely significant numbers of "cryptic" species in oceanic archipelagos. Plant systematists, in collaboration with others in the botanical disciplines, are critical to the discovery of the subtle diversity in oceanic island floras. Molecular data will play an ever increasing role in revealing variation in island lineages. However, the input from plant systematists and other organismal biologists will continue to be important in calling attention to morphological and ecological variation in natural populations and in the discovery of "new" populations that can inform sampling for molecular analyses. Conversely, organismal biologists can provide basic information necessary for understanding the biology of the molecular variants, including diagnostic morphological characters, reproductive biology, habitat, etc. Such basic information is important when describing new species and arguing for their protection. Hybridization presents one of the most challenging problems in the conservation of insular plant diversity, with the process having the potential to decrease diversity in several ways including the merging of species into hybrid swarms or conversely hybridization may generate stable novel recombinants that merit recognition as new species. These processes are often operative in recent radiations in which intrinsic barriers to gene flow have not evolved. The knowledge and continued monitoring of plant populations in the dynamic landscapes on oceanic islands are critical to the preservation of their plant diversity.

Geochemical Study on the Mobility of Dissolved Elements by Rocks-$CO_2$-rich waters Interaction in the Kangwon Province (강원도 지역 탄산수와 암석간의 반응에 의한 용존 원소들의 유동성에 관한 지구화학적 연구)

  • 최현수;고용권;윤성택;김천수
    • Economic and Environmental Geology
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    • v.35 no.6
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    • pp.533-544
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    • 2002
  • In order to investigate the relative mobility (RM) of dissolved elements during processes controlling major and trace element content, the concentrations of major, minor and trace elements were reviewed from the previous data of $CO_2$-rich waters and granites from Kangwon Province. The relative mobility of elements dissolved in $CO_2$-rich waters is calculated from $CO_2$-rich water/granite ratio with normalizing by sodium. The results show that gaseous input of magmatic volatile metals into the aquifer is negligible in this study area, being limited by cooling of the rising fluids. Granite leaching by weakly acidic, $CO_2$-charged water is the overwhelming source of metals. Poorly mobile element (Al) is preferentially retained in the solid residue of weathering, while alkalis, alkaline earth and oxo-hydroxo anion forming elements (especially As and U) are mobile and released to the aqueous system. Transition metals display an intermediate behavior and are strongly dependent on either the redox conditions (Fe and Mn) or solid surface-related processes (adsorption or precipitation) (V, Zn and Cu).

Vegetation Cover Characteristics for Five Soils at Chungbuk Prefecture and Tideland Soil Using Remote Sensing Technology (원격탐사(RS) 기법을 이용한 충북지역 5개 토양과 갯벌토양의 식생피복특성)

  • Park, Jong-Hwa
    • Journal of the Korean Society of Environmental Restoration Technology
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    • v.6 no.3
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    • pp.9-16
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    • 2003
  • In support of remote sensing applications for monitoring processes of the Earth system, research was conducted to analyze the basic spectral response related to background soil and vegetation cover characteristics in the visible and reflective infrared wavelengths. Surface samples of seven stations were examined. Five soils were from land-field and two soils from tideland areas. The vegetation cover experiment was conducted on seven soil samples with known natural moisture content (%) by weight. To study the effect of vegetation cover, spectral measurements were taken on five or six vegetation cover treatments of the seven soils with 3 replications in air dry conditions. For collecting RS base data, used spectro-radiometer that measures reflection characteristics between 300~1,100nm was used and measured the reflection of vegetation from bean leaves. The relationships were evaluated for both a general soil line and for the individual lines of five soils, under air-dried condition as well as different vegetation cover ratio, through the determination of the line parameters. As vegetation cover ratio in bean leaves increases, features of soil reflectance decrease and those of plant reflectance become more and more apparent. In proportion to vegetation cover rate, near-infrared reflectance increased and visible reflectance decreased. Analysis results are compared to commonly used vegetation indices(RVI and NDVI ).

Flow models of fluidized granular masses with different basal resistance terms

  • Wu, Hengbin;Jiang, Yuanjun;Zhang, Xuefu
    • Geomechanics and Engineering
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    • v.8 no.6
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    • pp.811-828
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    • 2015
  • Proper modelling of the basal resistance terms is key in simulating the motion of fluidized granular flow. In this paper, standard depth-averaged governing equations of granular flow are used together with the classical Coulomb, Voellmy, and velocity dependent friction models (VDFM). A high-resolution modified TVDLF method is implemented to solve the partial differential equations without numerical oscillations. The effects of basal resistance terms on the motion of granular flows such as geometric shape evolution, travel times and final deposits are analyzed. Based on the numerical results, the predictions of the front and rear end positions and developing length of granular flow with Coulomb friction model show excellent agreements with experiment results reported by Hutter et al. (1995), and illustrate the validity of the numerical approach. For the Voellmy model, the higher value of turbulent coefficient than reality may obtain more reasonable predicted runout for the small-scale avalanche or granular flow. The energy exchange laws indicate that VDFM is different from the Coulomb and Voellmy models, although the flow characteristics of both three models fit the measurements and observations very well.

ANALYSIS OF THE OCEAN' AND ATMOSPHERE ROLES IN THEIR HEAT INTERACTION WITH USE OF SATELLITE AND VESSEL

  • Grankov, Alexander Georgievich;Mil'shin, Alexander Alexeevich;Krapivin, Vladimir Fedorovich;Golovachev, Sergey Petrovich
    • Proceedings of the KSRS Conference
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    • v.2
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    • pp.1001-1002
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    • 2006
  • Special problem emphasized by specialists in the field of analyzing the heat interchanges in the system ocean-atmosphere (SOA) is a necessity of determination of the near-surface atmospheric temperature, which can be only indirectly connected with characteristics of the SOA natural microwave radiation measured from satellites. That is why, the following dilemma is not obvious, but interesting and promised: what is better - to use the satellite methods for retrieving the partial parameters of the SOA or for analysis its state as a whole. To our opinion, this task is similar to the idea recognized by specialists engaged in the heat infrared region (8-12 mcm) of electromagnetic spectrum and its applications, where an intensity of natural infrared radiation (effective radiation) is used as the inherent property (the attribute) of the SOA heat balance. Here we studied important aspects of this problem: a) what medium initiates a heat transfer in the SOA and disturbs its heat balance - the ocean or the atmosphere b) what SOA parameters directly influence on its natural microwave radiation intensity (brightness temperature) measured from satellites? We relate these processes mainly to the synoptic range of time scales enriched by various events in the SOA interface such as the mid-latitude and tropical cyclones.

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Local Climate Mediates Spatial and Temporal Variation in Carabid Beetle Communities on Hyangnobong, Korea

  • Park, Yong Hwan;Jang, Tae Woong;Jeong, Jong Cheol;Chae, Hee Mun;Kim, Jong Kuk
    • Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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    • v.33 no.3
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    • pp.161-171
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    • 2017
  • Global environmental changes have the capacity to make dramatic alterations to floral and faunal composition, and elucidation of the mechanism is important for predicting its outcomes. Studies on global climate change have traditionally focused on statistical summaries within relatively wide scales of spatial and temporal changes, and less attention has been paid to variability in microclimates across spatial and temporal scales. Microclimate is a suite of climatic conditions measured in local areas near the earth's surface. Environmental variables in microclimatic scale can be critical for the ecology of organisms inhabiting there. Here we examine the effect of spatial and temporal changes in microclimates on those of carabid beetle communities in Hyangnobong, Korea. We found that climatic variables and the patterns of annual changes in carabid beetle communities differed among sites even within the single mountain system. Our results indicate the importance of temporal survey of communities at local scales, which is expected to reveal an additional fraction of variation in communities and underlying processes that has been overlooked in studies of global community patterns and changes.

Application of electromagnetic methods to the investigation of seawater intrusion into coastal aquifer - A case study in the Hasunuma area, Chiba Prefecture, Japan

  • Mitsuhata Yuji;Uchida Toshihiro
    • 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2003.11a
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    • pp.335-339
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    • 2003
  • The estimation of seawater intrusion into deep aquifers has been becoming an important subject in terms of site characterization for geological disposal of radioactive waste. Conventional direct-current resistivity methods have been used for ground water explorations and recently have been applied to environmental problems. However, electromagnetic methods are more practical and useful for such a deep investigation. We consider audio-frequency magnetotelluric (AMT) and surface-to-borehole electromagnetic (EM) tomography methods as promising tools for the investigation of deep aquifer. These methods were tested in the Hasunuma area, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. Although the study area is in an urban area, high-quality AMT data were acquired, which was mainly accomplished by night-time data recording and remote-reference data processing. One-dimensional inversion results of the AMT data revealed two extremely conductive zones, which is consistent with the electrical conductivity profile of pore water in core samples. It can be interpreted as the seawater intrusions into both zones. However, the chemical analysis of the groundwater sampled in the deep zone suggests that this groundwater must be fossil seawater that had been confined during sedimentation processes. In addition, the permeability coefficient of the deep layer is very low. Thus the deep conductive zone corresponds to the fossil seawater regarded as being difficult to flow.

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탄성정수 및 입사파형의 변화에 따른 암반 내 균열전파양상에 관한 수치해석적 연구

  • Park, Seung-Hwan;Jo, Sang-Ho
    • 한국지구물리탐사학회:학술대회논문집
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    • 2009.10a
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    • pp.155-159
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    • 2009
  • Crack-controlled method which utilizes the dynamic energy such as explosives and propellent gases have been applied to the development of mineral resource and oil and civil engineering. It is necessary to consider the fracture processes associated with the material properties and external forces to control crack propagation using borehole pressure. To investigate the influence of the applied borehole pressure waveform on the crack propagation in rock masses having different material properties, a no-free surface model was used, consisting of a borehole in rock with a continuous boundary. Loading rates ranging from 1 to 100MPa/${\mu}s$ with different rock mass properties was employed to investigate the loading rate dependency of fracture patterns in the rock mass.

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Conceptual Design for the Dispersal and Deposition Modelling of Fallout Ash from Mt. Baekdu Volcano (백두산 천지 화산의 화산재 확산과 침적 모델링을 위한 개념적 설계)

  • Yun, Sung-Hyo
    • The Journal of the Petrological Society of Korea
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    • v.22 no.4
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    • pp.273-289
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    • 2013
  • Fallout ash is a notorious hazard that can have a variety of damages on agriculture and infrastructure and, most notably to aviation and human health. This study discusses the design of a conceptual model to aid in modeling the dispersal and deposition of ash from Mt. Baekdu volcano. It includes a discussion of assumptions and boundary conditions of the model as well as a detailed diagram of the conceptual model, complete with input parameters, units and equations. The two main processes contained within the model are the dispersal and deposition of ash, the outputs obtained from running the model, if designed, would be the total amount of fine ash contained in the eruption column, distance travelled by ash and ash thickness at surface.

Development of a Mathematical Model for Simulating Removal Mechanisms of Heavy Metals using Biocarrier Beads (미생물 담체를 이용한 납 제거기작 모의를 위한 수학적 모델의 개발)

  • Seo, Hanna;Lee, Minhee;Wang, Sookyun
    • Journal of Soil and Groundwater Environment
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    • v.18 no.4
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    • pp.8-18
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    • 2013
  • Biocarrier beads with dead biomass, Bacillus drentensis, immobilized in polymer polysulfone were synthesized to remove heavy metals from wastewater. To identify the sorption mechanisms and theoretical nature of underlying processes, a series of batch experiments were carried out and a mathematical model was developed to quantify the biosorption of Pb(II) by the biocarrier beads. A series of mass balance equations for representing mass transfer of metal sorbents in biocarrier beads and surrounding solution were established. Major model parameters such as external mass transfer coefficient and maximum sorption capacity, etc. were determined from pseudo-first-order kinetic models and Langmuir isotherm model based on kinetic and equilibrium experimental measurements. The model simulation displays reasonable representations of experimental data and implied that the proposed model can be applied to quantitative analysis on biosorption mechanisms by porous granular beads. The simulation results also confirms that the biosorption of heavy metal by the biocarrier beads largely depended on surface adsorption.