New harbour seal images on Photobucket

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555 - OMVtestandassessmentofMBJS-witnessJanury2555-1.jpg

We did a project for Fatigue and Performance assessment of Modular Bridge Expansion Joint (MBJS) according to requirements of American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) and NCHRP 402467 (National Cooperative Highway Research Program) guidelines The test was witnessed by customer and related parties Kuwait Municipality MPW Louise Berger Group Inc (consultant) and China Harbour Engineering Company nThe MBJS is placed in bridge decks to accommodate relative movement between superstructure segments of the bridges and movement between superstructures as a result of daily thermal expansion and contraction and earthquake The MBJS is required to satisfy two groups of physical test Fatigue and Performance While fatigue test is aimed to assess the fatigue category of each detail in the MBJS the performance test is aimed to assess the function of the MBJS throughout the required service lifetime The OMV test is a test to evaluate the ability of the MBJS to withstand the repeated movement of the bridge superstructure while being subjected to a simulated traffic load due to daily thermal expansion and contraction of the superstructure The test is performed by opening and closing the expansion joint with an actuator while traffic loads are simultaneously simulated by attaching a powerful pneumatic vibrator to one of the center beams This test was specific to the evaluation of the performance and function of the specimen to be equivalent to approximately 75 years of service The SPO test is a test to evaluate the seal resistance to detachment and rate effectiveness of the seal to resist vertical load This test is to be performed after OMV test In addition water tightness is another necessary function of the MBJS which is required to be performed during OMV after 25 years equivalent

Fatigue assessment of MBJS

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS - OMVtestandassessmentofMBJS-witnessJanury2555-3.jpg

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555 - OMVtestandassessmentofMBJS-witnessJanury2555-2.jpg

Fatigue assessment of MBJS

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS - OMVtest-wittnessOct2551-2.jpg

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555 - FatigueassessmentofMBJS-witnessJanury2555-3.jpg

Fatigue assessment of MBJS

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS - OMVtest-wittnessOct2551-1.jpg

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555 - FatigueassessmentofMBJS-witnessJanury2555-1.jpg

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555

anathasap — Wed, 28 Mar 2012 23:43:00 MDT

Fatigue assessment of MBJS-witness Janury 2555 - FatigueassessmentofMBJS-witnessJanury2555-Discussionontestmethod.jpg

Cesarea Iserial

blubman_photos — Mon, 11 May 2009 01:14:00 MDT

Cesarea Iserial - CesareaGatewaytothecolosuem6773.jpg

That is The Mediterranean Sea behind the wallnnThe Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea situated between Europe to the north Africa to the south and Asia to the eastnnIt covers an area including the Sea of Marmara but excluding the Black Sea of about 970000 square miles (2512000 square km) It has an east to west extent of some 3860 km and a maximum width of about 1600 km Generally shallow with an average depth of 1500 m it reaches a maximum depth of 5150 m off the southern coast of GreecennThe Mediterranean Sea is an almost completely closed basin where the continuous inflow of surface water from the Atlantic Ocean is the sea's major source of replenishment and water renewal It is estimated waters take over a century to be completely renewed through the Strait of Gibraltar wich is only 300 m (1000 ft) deep The scarce inflow coupled with high evaporation makes the Mediterranean much saltier than the Atlantic OceannTo the southeast part the Suez Channel which is an artificial channel connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea Through it many xenobiotic species are now colonizing the Eastern Mediterranean basinsThe low concentration of phosphates and nitrates necessary for marine pastures limits the food availability and thus quantity of marine life in the Mediterranean which should be considered an oligotrophic sea In this context overexploitation of the sea's marine resources is a serious problemnOn the contrary some areas like the Corso-Ligurian Basin and the Gulf of Lion are characterized by high levels of primary productivity related with up-welling of nutrientsnnTopographic and bathymetric map of the Mediterranean basin (map produced with OceanMap by combining a number of different datasets)nMarine MammalsnIn the Mediterranean Sea 19 species of cetaceans can be encountered 8 of them are considered common (Fin whale Balaenoptera physalus Sperm whale Physeter macrocephalus Striped dolphin Stenella coeruleoalba Risso's dolphin Grampus griseus long finned Pilot whale Globicephala melas Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus Common dolphin Delphinus delphis Cuvier's beaked whale Ziphius cavirostris) while 4 are occasional (Minke whale Balaenoptera acutorostrata Killer whale Orcinus orca False killer whale Pseudorca crassidens Rough toothed dolphin Steno bredanesis) and 6 accidental alien to the Mediterranean but occasionally sighted in the last 120 years (among them the Humpback whale Megaptera novaeangliae) moreover we have to consider the presence of a small population of Harbour porpoise Phocoena phocoena in the Black Sea A table shows the scientific names along with the common names in different languages The Mediterranean Monk Seal (Monachus monachus) is the only pinniped to be found within the Mediterranean Sea It is now very rare and listed as an endangered species The only known colonies are in the Alboran Basin and in the Aegean Sea It is very unlikely that any animals will be encountered around Sicily or MaltanEcological concernsnIn the Mediterranan Sea marine life is heavily threatened by habitat degradation mostly due to human activities such as fisheries ship traffic water pollution coastal anthropizationnThe cetacean population are currently affected by heavy pollution which contaminates the marine food web by overexploitation of marine resources due to unsustainable and not selective fishery and also by direct and indirect take of cetaceans Also we have to consider that the Mediterranean and the Black Sea form an integrated oceanographic system The waters of the Black Sea which are at a higher level than those of the Mediterranean flow into the Mediterranean basin through the Bosphorus the Sea of Marmara and the Dardanelles The Black Sea collects waters coming from an enormous drainage basin wich includes a large part of central and east Europe and Turkey Due to the pollution brought mainly by rivers the Black Sea is dying as its polluted waters continuosly flow into the Mediterranean all marine life ecological balance and biological resources are seriously threatened in the whole systemnTo the west the Mediterranean Sea is connected to the Atlantic Ocean by the Strait of Gibraltar which at its narrowest point is only 8 miles (13 km) wide and has a relatively shallow channel The effect of anthropogenic noise on the marine environment is a new serious concern for scientists The effects of intense sounds on marine mammals can vary from physical damage including temporary or permanent hearing loss to a variety of potentially still unknown disruptive behavioral effects which may have an impact on the status of the stocks Marine mammals extensively rely on sound to communicate navigate orientate to find food and avoid obstacles The scarce availability of baseline scientific information about cause-effect relationships prevents the adoption of appropriate conservation policies Very little is known about the critical habitat requirements of marine mammals The lack of adequate knowledge about the cetacean population in terms of distribution size trends dynamics reproductive cycles migratory habits sensitivity to human activities ecological roles communication abilities dramatically limits the ability to develop strategies and policies for their conservation This makes all cetacean species particularly vulnerable to increased disturbance and habitat degradation Other than general principles of environmental protection strong regulation measures are urgently needed in order to increase our awareness about critical habitat requirements and to reduce direct and indirect impacts caused by human activitiesnThe SanctuarynnIn 1993 the Ministers of the Environment of France and Italy and the Minister of State of the Monaco Principality signed in Brussels a joint declaration for the institution of a Mediterranean Sanctuary for the protection and conservation of marine mammalsnOn 25 November 1999 the Ministers met in Rome to sign the final agreement The Sanctuary area of approximately 100000 Km2 comprises the waters between Toulon (French Riviera) Capo Falcone (western Sardinia) Capo Ferro (eastern Sardinia) and Fosso Chiarone (Tuscany)The region comprising the Corso-Ligurian Basin and the Gulf of Lion is characterised by very high levels of primary productivity in contrast to the well-known generalised oligotrophy of the Mediterranean Sea All cetaceans regularly observed in the Mediterranean can be found in the region including pelagic species such as fin whales and sperm whales However considerable threats exist for cetacean living in the sanctuary including among others: by-catch in driftnet fishing activities high coastal anthropization chemical pollution with toxic compounds that accumulate in the cetaceans' fatty tissues through the trophic chain and last but not least high levels of maritime traffic including fast ferries ships transporting hazardous chemicals military manouvres and offshore speedboat competitions

harbour seal family la jolla

pedoral — Fri, 14 May 2010 16:11:00 MDT

harbour seal family la jolla - IMG_4839.jpg

Weddell Seal sunning at Neko Harbour

celsius_matti — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 17:17:00 MDT

Weddell Seal sunning at Neko Harbour - IMG_8190.jpg

Harbour seal

Girvan_Online — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:20:00 MDT

Harbour seal - SealinGirvanharbour.jpg