Phylogeography of the seaweed Ishige okamurae (Phaeophyceae): evidence for glacial refugia in the northwest Pacific region

Although benthic marine algae are essential components of marine coastal systems that have been influenced profoundly by past and present climate change, our knowledge of seaweed phylogeography is limited. The brown alga Ishige okamurae Yendo occurs in the northwest Pacific, where it occupies a characteristic belt in the exposed intertidal zone. To understand the patterns of genetic diversity and the evolutionary history of this species, we analyzed mitochondrial cox3 from 14 populations (221 individuals) throughout its range. The 17 haplotypes found in this study formed five distinct clades, indicating significant genetic structure. The high differentiation and number of unique (private) haplotypes may result from the recolonization of the species from glacial refugia. Three putative refugia, each with high genetic diversity, were identified: southern Korea (including Jeju Island), northern Taiwan, and central Pacific Japan. Recolonization of I. okamurae was probably determined by ocean currents and changes in sea level during the last glacial period.     

Charge reduction on polypropylene granules and suppression of incendiary electrostatic discharges by using a novel AC electrostatic ionizer

As a method to prevent or mitigate electrostatic charge and/or discharges, we have developed a novel AC electrostatic ionizer. In this study, we evaluated experimentally the practical version of the novel AC electrostatic ionizer with a modeling test system and a pneumatic powder transport facility. In addition, electrostatic discharges generated inside a silo while loading polypropylene (PP, 3 mm) granules were observed visually with/without the novel AC ionizer. The specific charge was clearly decreased with the novel AC electrostatic ionizer. The specific charge obtained with the four arranged AC electrostatic ionizers used was approximately one eighth of that without the AC ionizer. The incendiary bulk surface discharges completely died out inside the silo by using the four arranged ionizers.     

A New Flood Index for Use in Evaluation of Local Flood Severity: A Case Study of Small Ungauged Catchments in Korea1

Ahn, Jae Hyun and Hyun Il Choi, 2013. A New Flood Index for Use in Evaluation of Local Flood Severity: A Case Study of Small Ungauged Catchments in Korea. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 49(1): 1‐14. DOI: 10.1111/jawr.12025 Abstract: The aim of this article is to develop a new index measuring the severity of floods in small ungauged catchments for initial local flood information by the regression analysis between the new flooding index and rainfall patterns. Although a rapid local flood caused by heavy storm in a short period of time is now one of common natural disasters worldwide, such a sudden and violent hydrologic event is difficult to forecast. As local flooding rises rapidly with little or no advance warning, the key to local flood forecasting is to quickly identify when and where local flooding above a threshold is likely to occur. The new flooding index to characterize local floods is measured by the three normalized relative severity factors for the flood magnitude ratio, the rising curve gradient, and the flooding duration time, quantifying characteristics of flood runoff hydrographs. The new flooding index implemented for the two selected small ungauged catchments in the Korean Peninsula shows a very high correlation with logarithm of the 2‐h maximum rainfall depth. This study proposes 30 mm of rainfall in a 2‐h period as a basin‐specific guidance of precaution for the incipient local flooding in the two study catchments. It is expected that the best‐fit regression equation between the new flooding index and a certain rainfall rate can provide preliminary observations, the flood threshold, and severity information, for use in a local flood alert system in small ungauged catchments. Editor's note: This paper is part of a featured series on Korean Hydrology. The series addresses the need for a new paradigm of river and watershed management for Korea due to climate and land use changes.     

Treatment of Dichloromethane Using Gliding Arc Plasma

Decomposition of dichloromethane (CH₂Cl₂) using a gliding plasma was examined and reported in this paper. The effects of initial concentrations of CH₂Cl₂, total gas flow rates, and input frequency have been studied to evaluate the performance of gliding arc on CH₂Cl₂ decomposition. Using atmospheric pressure air as the carrier gas, experimental results indicate that the maximum conversion of CH₂Cl₂ was 95.1% at a total gas flow rate of 180 L/hr containing 1% by volume of CH₂Cl₂. The reaction occurred at an exothermic condition and gaseous products are dominated by CO, CHCl₃, and Cl₂. CO₂ and CCl₄ are also detected in the product stream in small amounts. The conversion of CH₂Cl₂ increases with the increasing applied voltage and decreasing total gas flow rate.     

Sudden high concentration of TSP affected by atmospheric boundary layer in Seoul metropolitan area during duststorm period

Hourly concentrations of TSP, PM(10), PM(2.5) near the surface at Seoul city were examined from March 20 to March 25, 2001 (duststorm event) in order to investigate the effect of a duststorm generated in China on the local aerosol concentration in Korea, The ratios of fine to coarse particles such as TSP to PM(10), TSP to PM(2.5) and PM(10)-PM(2.5) to PM(2.5) showed that a great amount of dust transported from the origin of the duststorm was remarkable with a maximum ratio of 9.77 between TSP and PM(2.5). Back trajectories every 6 h showed the movement of dust particles in the lower atmosphere near 500 m to 1500 m (atmospheric boundary layer), which implied transport from Baotou in inner Mongolia of northern China to the direction of Seoul city in Korea and then the back trajectories passed near the southern border of Mongolia and Baotou through Zengzhou in the midlevels (3000 m) and low levels (500 m) of China, finally reaching Seoul city. So, the TSP concentration at Seoul city was partially influenced by the duststorm, under the prevailing westerly wind and the transported aerosols could influence high concentrations of pollutants of TSP, PM(10) and PM(2.5) in Seoul. The sudden high concentrations of TSP and PM(10) were found for a few hours, especially at 1500 to 1800 LST, March 22. At 1200 LST, before the passage of a cold front through the Korean peninsula, the convective boundary layer (CBL) near Seoul was not shallow, but at 1500 LST, under the frontal passage, the CBL was remarkably thinner (less than 300 m), due to the compression of the boundary layer by the intrusion of cold air. This resulted in the increase of the TSP concentration, even though the mixed layer above maintained almost the same depth. At 1800 LST shortly after the frontal passage, that is, near sunset, the nocturnal cooling of the ground caused air parcels to cool, thereby enhancing the shallower nocturnal surface inversion layer and producing the maximum concentration of TSP of 1388 microg/m(3) near Seoul city.     

Effects of the simultaneous application of potassium and calcium on the soil-to-Chinese cabbage transfer of radiocesium and radiostrontium

Pot experiments were carried out in a greenhouse to investigate how effectively the transfer of radiocesium and radiostrontium from soil to Chinese cabbage could be reduced by applying K and Ca simultaneously to the soil. The sources of these elements were KCl and Ca(OH)(2) at agrochemical grades. Varying dosages of K and Ca were tested for an acid loamy soil treated with a mixed solution of (137)Cs and (85)Sr at two different times - 3 d before sowing and 32 d after sowing. For the pre-sowing deposition, the soil-to-plant transfer of (137)Cs decreased sharply with increasing dosages of K and Ca (K/Ca, g m(-2)) from 4.8/46 up to 22.4/215 but the (85)Sr transfer had the greatest reduction at a dosage of 12.8/123. At this dosage, an about 60% reduction occurred for each radionuclide. Plant growth was inhibited from the dosage of 22.4/215, above which all the plants died young. Both dosages of 4.8/46 and 12.8/123 tested following the growing-time deposition produced around 95% reductions for (137)Cs and 50% reductions for (85)Sr. In the second year after the 12.8/123 applications, the effects for (85)Sr were almost the same as in the first year, whereas those for (137)Cs were diminished slightly for the pre-sowing deposition and markedly for the growing-time deposition. Considerably (K) or slightly (Ca) higher doses than 12.8/123 would be allowable for the maximum TF reductions achievable without a growth inhibition.     

Predictive model for the (14)C radioactivity in a plant following an exposure to airborne (14)CO(2) gas

This paper provides details of a dynamic compartment model for estimating the (14)C radioactivity in an agricultural plant exposed to an amount of airborne (14)CO(2) gas. The plant, in the model, is divided into two compartments, the plant body (shoot and root) and ears, to predict the radioactivity of different parts of a plant. The carbon transports from, to and between the compartments are described by the processes of a photosynthesis, respiration, and translocation. The carbon transport fluxes of these processes are determined from the growth rates of a plant, which are usually easily attained. The model predictions showed that the present model could converge to a region where the specific activity model is applicable when the elapsed exposure time was extended up to the harvest time of a plant. The (14)C activity of a plant was greatly affected by the elapsed exposure time, the developmental stages of a plant at an exposure time, and the airborne (14)C activity during an exposure. It was expected that the peak of the ears' (14)C activity appeared when the exposure time was close to the ears-maturity date. The model predictions agreed reasonably well with the measured (14)C radioactivity of the rice plants that were artificially exposed to (14)CO(2) of a high (14)C source for a short period of time in an exposure box.     

Effect of arsenic species on the growth and arsenic accumulation in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cucumis sativus</Emphasis>

The effects of arsenic (As) species, such as As(III), As(V) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), on the accumulation of As in cucumber (Cucumis sativus), as well as on its growth in a soil mesocosm were evaluated. When Cucumis sativus was cultivated in soils contaminated with 20 and 50 mg/kg of As(III), As(V) or DMA for 40 days, the growth was markedly inhibited by the inorganic As (As(III) and As(V)) rather than the organic As (DMA). Irrespective of the As species, the As concentrations accumulated in Cucumis sativus increased with increasing As concentration in the soil. The As bioaccumulation factors from soil into the tissue of Cucumis sativus were 17.5–35.4, 29.3–42.7 and 17.6–25.7 for As(III), As(V) and DMA, respectively. In addition, the As translocation factors from the roots to shoots were 0.025–0.031, 0.018–0.032 and 0.014–0.026 for As(III), As(V) and DMA, respectively. In conclusion, Cucumis sativus mainly accumulated As in its roots rather than its shoots and easily accumulated inorganic rather than organic As from the soil into its tissue.     

Distributions of heavy metals in the sediments of South Korean harbors

Mechanisms of natural attenuation of arsenic (As) by wetland plants may be classified by plant uptake and adsorption and/or co-precipitation by iron (oxy)hydroxide formed on the root surface of plants or in rhizosediment. A natural Cattail (Typha spp.) wetland impacted by tailings containing high levels of As from the Myungbong abandoned Au Mine, South Korea was selected, and the practical capability of this wetland to attenuate As was evaluated. The As concentrations in the plant tissues from the study wetland were several-fold higher than those from control wetland. SEM-EDX analyses demonstrated that iron plaques exist on the rhizome surface. Moreover, relatively high As contents bonded with hydrous iron oxides were found in the rhizosediments rather than in the bulk sediments. It was revealed through the leaching and sequential extraction analyses that As existed as more stable forms in the wetland sediment compared with adjacent paddy soil, which is also contaminated with As due to input of mine tailings. The As concentration ratios of extracted solution to sediment/soil represented that the wetland sediment showed significant lower values (10-fold) rather than the paddy soil with indicating high As stability. Also, As in the wetland sediment was predominantly bonded with residual phases on the basis of results from sequential extraction analysis. From these results, it is concluded that transformation of As contaminated agricultural field to wetland environment may be helpful for natural attenuation until active remediation action.     

Effect of arsenic species on the growth and arsenic accumulation in Cucumis sativus

The effects of arsenic (As) species, such as As(III), As(V) and dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), on the accumulation of As in cucumber (Cucumis sativus), as well as on its growth in a soil mesocosm were evaluated. When Cucumis sativus was cultivated in soils contaminated with 20 and 50 mg/kg of As(III), As(V) or DMA for 40 days, the growth was markedly inhibited by the inorganic As (As(III) and As(V)) rather than the organic As (DMA). Irrespective of the As species, the As concentrations accumulated in Cucumis sativus increased with increasing As concentration in the soil. The As bioaccumulation factors from soil into the tissue of Cucumis sativus were 17.5-35.4, 29.3-42.7 and 17.6-25.7 for As(III), As(V) and DMA, respectively. In addition, the As translocation factors from the roots to shoots were 0.025-0.031, 0.018-0.032 and 0.014-0.026 for As(III), As(V) and DMA, respectively. In conclusion, Cucumis sativus mainly accumulated As in its roots rather than its shoots and easily accumulated inorganic rather than organic As from the soil into its tissue.