Advances in the fatigue assessment of wire ropes

This paper presents the findings from an in-depth analysis of the (axial) stiffness data recorded during tension–tension fatigue tests on wire ropes, particularly in relation to how changes in stiffness during testing relate to changes in rope strength. A linear relationship between stiffness and strength is shown to exist and a methodology presented for quantifying residual strength with applied cycles. New lower bound fatigue lines for six-strand rope and spiral strand are presented which are based on a 10% loss of strength. These new lines have the advantage of having been established using a common discard criterion for wire ropes.     

Abundance of the introduced seastar, Asterias amurensis, and spatial variability in soft sediment assemblages in SE Tasmania: Clear correlations but complex interpretation

The northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, was first collected in southeast Tasmania in 1986. Mistaken for the endemic asteroid Uniophora granifera, its true identity was not realised until 1992. It is now a conspicuous predator in soft sediment habitats in this region, and is considered a major threat to native assemblages and commercial species. We examined the structure of soft sediment assemblages at different spatial scales in southeast Tasmania, and correlated spatial variation in community composition with seastar abundances. We found that the structure of soft sediment assemblages is highly variable at a range of spatial scales from metres to tens of kilometres. Clear differences in the composition of assemblages and abundances of major taxa were detected between areas with and without seastars and between areas with low and high seastar densities. However, the nature of these patterns suggests that they are more likely due to differences in sediment characteristics than due to impacts of the seastar. Thus, spatial differences in soft sediment assemblages might have been erroneously attributed to seastars without detailed information on important physical factors such as sediment characteristics. A second survey, using larger sampling units (1 m²) but across a more limited spatial extent, targeted bivalves and heart urchins that were identified as important prey of the seastar in observations of feeding and in experimental studies. Large-scale patterns of abundance and size structure were consistent with seastar effects anticipated from small-scale experimental and feeding studies for some, but not all, species. While the field survey ultimately provided evidence about the presence or absence of seastar impacts at large-scales, the identification of key ecological variables in experimental and feeding studies proved crucial to both the design and interpretation of patterns observed in the large-scale surveys. Overall, this work highlighted the necessity to consider multiple lines of evidence rather than relying on a single ‘inferential’ test, in the absence of pre-impact data.     

Effects of heavy metals on the survival ofDiacypris compacta (Herbst) (Ostracoda) from the Coorong,South Australia

The hypermarine southern Coorong is threatened by proposals to drain relatively fresh surface water and groundwater from adjacent agricultural areas into the Coorong. These influent waters carry moderate loads of heavy metals. Acute toxicity of heavy metals toDiacypris compacta, an abundant ostracod in the Coorong, was measured in the laboratory at 18°C in a static system using Coorong water (pH 7.8 salinity 50 ppt). At 4 days (96 h) the mean values of LC₅₀ for copper, zinc, lead and, cadmium respectively were 0.8, 2.1, 3.1 and 4.3 mg L^–1, and at 8 days the respective mean LC₅₀ s were 0.4, 0.7, 2.2 and 1.1 mgL^–1. The effect of two or three metals on mortality was additive in some cases and synergistic in other cases, but generally less than additive. However, in all cases mortality was greater in the presence of two or three metals than in the presence of a single metal. According to ANZECC (1992) guidelines, maximum acceptable concentrations of heavy metals should be no higher than 0.01 x the lowest LC₅₀ value. Using the lowest LC₅₀ values forDiacypris compacta obtained at 8 days, maximum acceptable concentrations in the Coorong would be 4, 5, 9 and 22 gL^–1 for copper, zinc, cadmium and lead respectively, the values for zinc and copper failling below those recommended by ANZECC (1992) for marine waters. Reported concentrations of copper and zinc in surface water and groundwater in areas adjacent to the Coorong sometimes exceed these values, hence drainage of these waters into the Coorong represents a significant hazard to the Coorong biota.     

Ground truth seismic events and location capability at Degelen mountain, Kazakhstan

We utilized nuclear explosions from the Degelen Mountain sub-region of the Semipalatinsk Test Site (STS), Kazakhstan, to assess seismic location capability directly. Excellent ground truth information for these events was either known or was estimated from maps of the Degelen Mountain adit complex. Origin times were refined for events for which absolute origin time information was unknown using catalog arrival times, our ground truth location estimates, and a time baseline provided by fixing known origin times during a joint hypocenter determination (JHD). Precise arrival time picks were determined using a waveform cross-correlation process applied to the available digital data. These data were used in a JHD analysis. We found that very accurate locations were possible when high precision, waveform cross-correlation arrival times were combined with JHD. Relocation with our full digital data set resulted in a mean mislocation of 2 km and a mean 95% confidence ellipse (CE) area of 6.6 km² (90% CE: 5.1 km²), however, only 5 of the 18 computed error ellipses actually covered the associated ground truth location estimate. To test a more realistic nuclear test monitoring scenario, we applied our JHD analysis to a set of seven events (one fixed) using data only from seismic stations within 40° epicentral distance. Relocation with these data resulted in a mean mislocation of 7.4 km, with four of the 95% error ellipses covering less than 570 km² (90% CE: 438 km²), and the other two covering 1730 and 8869 km² (90% CE: 1331 and 6822 km²). Location uncertainties calculated using JHD often underestimated the true error, but a circular region with a radius equal to the mislocation covered less than 1000 km² for all events having more than three observations.     

Spatial and Temporal Variations in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pyrodinium bahamense</Emphasis> Cyst Concentrations in the Sediments of Bioluminescent Mangrove Lagoon,St. Croix,USVI

Mangrove Lagoon, located on the island of St. Croix, US Virgin Islands (USVI), is one of few actively bioluminescent lagoons in a location experiencing significant anthropogenic impacts. The bioluminescence is due to an abundance of the dinoflagellate Pyrodinium bahamense in the water column. We recovered surface sediments and sediment cores from Mangrove Lagoon to analyze the spatial distribution and temporal variability of P. bahamense cysts in this system. Surface sediment P. bahamense cyst concentrations ranged from 0 to 466 cysts g^?1 dry sediment, with higher abundances associated with elevated surface water nutrient concentrations and a mixed terrestrial–marine organic matter source regime. In combination with available bioassay data, we hypothesize that phytoplankton utilize nutrients rapidly and subsequent decay of organic matter makes nutrients available for dinoflagellates at the sediment–water interface in the eastern and northern quadrants of the lagoon. However, the nutrients are rapidly exhausted during counterclockwise lagoon circulation resulting in the decline of primary productivity and dinoflagellate abundance in the western quadrants. Downcore profiles suggest that P. bahamense blooms have been occurring for decades, declining in recent years. No cysts were present in sediments predating dredging activities of the 1960s that created Mangrove Lagoon. Recent reductions in cyst abundance may be the result of limited primary productivity caused by restricted water exchange with Salt River Bay due to shallowing of a sill at the mouth of the lagoon. This research highlights the need for more comprehensive geochemical and fossil analyses to better understand long-term ecological variability and inform conservation efforts of these unique habitats.     

Community‐Derived Standards for LA‐ICP‐MS U‐(Th‐)Pb Geochronology – Uncertainty Propagation,Age Interpretation and Data Reporting

The LA‐ICP‐MS U‐(Th‐)Pb geochronology international community has defined new standards for the determination of U‐(Th‐)Pb ages. A new workflow defines the appropriate propagation of uncertainties for these data, identifying random and systematic components. Only data with uncertainties relating to random error should be used in weighted mean calculations of population ages; uncertainty components for systematic errors are propagated after this stage, preventing their erroneous reduction. Following this improved uncertainty propagation protocol, data can be compared at different uncertainty levels to better resolve age differences. New reference values for commonly used zircon, monazite and titanite reference materials are defined (based on ID‐TIMS) after removing corrections for common lead and the effects of excess ²³⁰Th. These values more accurately reflect the material sampled during the determination of calibration factors by LA‐ICP‐MS analysis. Recommendations are made to graphically represent data only with uncertainty ellipses at 2s and to submit or cite validation data with sample data when submitting data for publication. New data‐reporting standards are defined to help improve the peer‐review process. With these improvements, LA‐ICP‐MS U‐(Th‐)Pb data can be considered more robust, accurate, better documented and quantified, directly contributing to their improved scientific interpretation.     

A Note on Extension Variances in IR2

Matheron (1971) proposed an approximation of the extension variance in IR. We propose in this note an extension of this formula in IR ² , based on a MacLaurin formula. Its application is shown in an example, the estimation of the maximum depressional storage of a soil surface.     

Ground-based FTIR Measurements with High Temporal Resolution

We outline how ground-based Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) measurements of stratospheric trace species, obtained with high temporal resolution, could be used to detect filaments of polar vortex air at mid-latitudes and therefore test high spatial resolution chemical transport models (CTMs). Vertical column abundances of HCl, ClONO2, HNO3, N2O and HF have been obtained from FTIR solar absorption measurements made throughout the day from Aberdeen, UK (57°N, 2°W) on several days during winter/spring 1993/94 and 1994/95. The short-timescale ( 2 hours) variability observed in the columns is attributed to real atmospheric variations and is often associated with the passage of high latitude air over Aberdeen. This is confirmed by 3D modelling studies which qualitatively reproduce and rationalise the observed changes in the column data on January 19 1994, January 20 1995 and February 26 1995. We describe the viewing geometry of ground-based FTIR measurements and we suggest a measurement strategy which should maximise the information retrieved on horizontal gradients in stratospheric trace species columns from FTIR measurements.     

Late-Holocene paleoenvironmental change at mid-elevation on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera Central,Dominican Republic: a multi-site,multi-proxy analysis

High-resolution proxy records from the circum-Caribbean region indicate significant variation in Late Holocene climate, especially precipitation, attributed primarily to shifts in the mean annual position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The paleoenvironmental and cultural impacts of this Late-Holocene climate variability have been analyzed intensively in the western Caribbean, and to a lesser extent in the southern Caribbean. However, the occurrence and impacts of Late Holocene climate shifts in the eastern Caribbean, especially in island interiors, has not been well documented. Here we present sediment records of Late-Holocene paleoenvironmental change from two lakes located on the Caribbean slope of the Cordillera Central in the Dominican Republic that span the last ～3000 years. Sediment characteristics, pollen, charcoal, biogenic carbonate assemblages and isotopic composition, and bulk sedimentary carbon isotope values in Laguna Castilla and Laguna de Salvador indicate extreme shifts in hydrology, vegetation, and disturbance regimes in response to climate change and human activity in the lake watersheds. Close correspondence between the hydrological histories of the lakes and trace metal concentrations in sediments of the Cariaco Basin indicate that precipitation variability here responds to the same controls, and may similarly reflect shifts in the mean annual position of the ITCZ. Human occupation of the watersheds appears to be closely linked to severe dry periods and may indicate larger scale cultural responses to precipitation variability on the island of Hispaniola. Prehistoric human populations strongly affected vegetation and disturbance regimes in the lake watersheds. Impacts may have lasted several centuries and may have been more severe than impacts of modern populations.     

Mechanisms for the prevention of marine bioinvasions for better biosecurity

Biosecurity management allows countries to meet a number of international obligations and provides some protection from potential degradation of environmental, economic, social and cultural values. Ocean governance relies on the precepts of ecologically sustainable development to manage the multiple uses in the coastal zone. The increasing reliance on aquaculture to provide food security and economic development has led to an increase in the use of non-native target species grown as food sources. Increased economic activity has led to shifting trade patterns and increased efficiencies in vessels with the resulting increase in the number of introduced marine species via ballast water and hull fouling. Herein we review the different marine biosecurity strategies and legislation that have been implemented internationally and locally that aid in preventing and managing introduced marine species, with some attention to Australia and New Zealand as examples. Typical tools being used include quarantine, Import Health Standards, voluntary cleaning guidelines, and risk assessment, all of which aim to prevent introductions.