Enrichment of alkanes within a phytoplankton bloom during an in situ iron enrichment experiment in the western subarctic Pacific

During the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study ΙΙ (SEEDS-II), we monitored variations in the concentrations of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), CH₃Cl, N₂O, and CH₄ within a phytoplankton bloom. Stable isotopic compositions were also determined to evaluate the sources of the variations. Although there was little variation in either the concentrations or the stable isotopic compositions of alkenes, CH₃Cl, N₂O, and CH₄ during the 23-day observation period, alkane concentrations increased substantially as the phytoplankton bloomed. The column-integrated quantities of alkanes increased to 3 times pre-bloom levels for C₂H₆, 5 times for C₃H₈, and 20 times for n-C₄H₁₀. The δ¹³C values of both C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ remained almost constant while concentrations increased, whereas that of n-C₄H₁₀ increased by about 12‰. To evaluate the sources of the alkanes produced during the bloom, we compared their δ¹³C values with those of alkanes produced in axenic phytoplankton cultures in our laboratory. We concluded that during the SEEDS-ΙΙ experiment the major portions of C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ were produced during the autolysis of diatoms cells, whereas n-C₄H₁₀ was produced during autolysis of other phytoplankton cells such as cryptophytes and dinoflagellates.     

Hourly sea surface temperature retrieval using the Japanese Geostationary Satellite,Multi-Functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)

An algorithm has been developed for retrieving sea surface temperature (SST) from hourly data transmitted from the Japanese Advanced Meteorological Imager (JAMI) aboard a Japanese geostationary satellite, Multi-functional Transport Satellite (MTSAT)-1R. Threshold tests screening cloudy pixels are empirically adjusted to cases of daytime with/without sun glitter, and nighttime. The Non-Linear SST (NLSST) equation, including several new additional terms, is used to calculate MTSAT SST. The estimated SST is compared with drifting and moored buoy measurements, with the result that the bias of the MTSAT SST is nearly 0.0°K. The root mean square (rms) error is about 0.8°K, and it is 0.7°K under the condition that the satellite zenith angle is less than 50°. It is demonstrated that the hourly MTSAT SST produced by the algorithm developed here captures diurnal SST variations in the equatorial sea in mid-November 2006.     

Retrieval of surface wave parameters from sar images and their validation in the coastal seas around Japan

We have developed a scheme to retrieve surface wave parameters (wave height and wave propagation direction) from European Remote-Sensing Satellite (ERS) Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) image mode data in coastal seas around Japanese coastlines. SAR spectra are converted to surface wave spectra of swell-dominated or wind-wave dominated cases. The SAR spectrum and SAR-derived wind speed are used to derive the surface wave spectrum. The wind-wave dominated case and swell-dominated case are differentiated by a wind speed of 6 m/s, and processed in different ways because of their different degree of nonlinearity. It is indicated that the cutoff wavelength for retrieval of the wind-wave dominated spectrum is proportional to the root of significant wave height, which is consistent with the results of previous studies. We generated 66 match-ups using the SAR sub-images and the in-situ surface wave parameters, which were measured by wave gauges installed in near-shore seas. Among them, there are 57 swell-dominated cases, and 9 wind-wave dominated cases. The significant wave heights derived from SAR and from in-situ observation agree with the bias of 0.09 m, the standard deviation of 0.61 m and the correlation coefficient of 0.78. The averaged absolute deviation of wave propagation directions is 18.4°, and the trend of the agreement does not depend on the wave height. These results demonstrate that the SAR surface wave spectrum retrieved by the present system can be used to observe the surface wave field in the coastal seas around Japan.     

How do “numbers” construct social reality in disaster-stricken areas?: a case of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan,China

This article focuses on the dynamics of using numbers to construct an image of social reality in disaster areas. Numbers are neither objective nor value-neutral but are rather generated, transmitted and shared with social signification. In other words, numbers can be thought of as simply socially constructed information. Statistics and other numbers usually work in positive ways. However, it is also possible that using numbers in the media can lead to unintended messages that could produce negative consequences. We conducted field studies in disaster-stricken areas of the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China and compared findings to the case of the 1995 Kobe earthquake in Japan in order to examine how numbers—in terms of the amount of donations, the timeline of reconstruction projects and casualty figures—construct social reality and cause a variety of social dysfunctions.     

A redetermination of the isotopic abundances of atmospheric Ar

Atmospheric argon measured on a dynamically operated mass spectrometer with an ion source magnet, indicated systematically larger ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar ratios compared to the generally accepted value of Nier [Nier A.O., 1950. A redetermination of the relative abundances of the isotopes of carbon, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and potassium. Phys. Rev. 77, 789-793], 295.5 ± 0.5, which has served as the standard for all isotopic measurements in geochemistry and cosmochemistry. Gravimetrically prepared mixtures of highly enriched ³⁶Ar and ⁴⁰Ar were utilized to redetermine the isotopic abundances of atmospheric Ar, using a dynamically operated isotope ratio mass spectrometer with minor modifications and special gas handling techniques to avoid fractionation. A new ratio ⁴⁰Ar/³⁶Ar = 298.56 ± 0.31 was obtained with a precision of 0.1%, approximately 1% higher than the previously accepted value. Combined with the ³⁸Ar/³⁶Ar (0.1885 ± 0.0003) measured with a VG5400 noble gas mass spectrometer in static operation, the percent abundances of ³⁶Ar, ³⁸Ar, and ⁴⁰Ar were determined to be 0.3336 ± 0.0004, 0.0629 ± 0.0001, and 99.6035 ± 0.0004, respectively. We calculate an atomic mass of Ar of 39.9478 ± 0.0002. Accurate Ar isotopic abundances are relevant in numerous applications, as the calibration of the mass spectrometer discrimination.     

Transport phenomena in kaolinite clay: Molecular simulation,homogenization analysis and similitude law

Kaolinite is a common clay mineral. It is a nanomaterial with a platelet crystalline structure. In order to analyze the behavior of kaolinite, its microscopic structure and material properties must be specified correctly. A molecular dynamics (MD) simulation is used for determining the microscale properties of hydrated kaolinite, and these properties are introduced into a multiscale homogenization analysis (HA). We previously developed such an MD/HA technique to investigate seepage, diffusion, sorption and consolidation in bentonite clay (Proceedings of the Science Basis for Nuclear Waste Management, Davos, Switzerland, vol. XXI. Material Research Society: Warrendale, PA, 1997; 359–366; Eng. Geol. 1999; 54 :21–31; Eng. Geol. 2001; 60 :127–138; Coupled Thermo‐Hydro‐Mechanical‐Chemical Processes in Geo‐systems. Elsevier: Amsterdam, 2005; 457–464). We here apply the method to kaolinite clay to investigate the permeability, diffusion and related similitude law. The obtained results are supported by existing experimental data. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coronal Magnetic Field Context of Simple CMEs Inferred from Global Potential Field Models

Most work on coronal mass ejection (CME) interpretation focuses on the involved active region rather than on the large-scale coronal context. In this paper a global potential-field source-surface model of the coronal magnetic field is used to evaluate the sensitivity of the coronal field configuration to the location, orientation, and strength of a bipolar active region relative to a background polar field distribution. The results suggest that the introduction of antiparallel components between the field of the active region and the background field can cause significant topological changes in the large-scale coronal magnetic field resembling observations during some simple CMEs. Antiparallel components can be introduced in the real corona by the diffusion and convection of photospheric fields, flux emergence, or erupted or shear-induced twist of active-region fields. Global MHD models with time-dependent boundary conditions could easily test the stability of such configurations and the nature of any related transients.     

Non-intrusive measurements of crater growth

An experimental technique to measure crater growth is presented whereby a high speed video captures profiles of a crater forming after impact obtained using a vertical laser sheet centered on the impact point. Unlike previous so called “quarter-space experiments,” where projectiles were launched along a transparent Plexiglas sheet so that growth of half a crater could be viewed, the use of the laser sheet permits viewing changes in crater shape without any physical interference to the cratering process. This technique indicates that for low velocity impacts (<300 m/s) into 220 μm glass beads that are without cohesion and where the projectile is not disrupted, craters initially grow somewhat proportionally, but that later their depths remain essentially constant while their diameters continue to expand. In addition, these experiments indicate that as the impact velocity increases, the rate of growth and the transient depth to diameter ratio at the end of ejecta excavation decreases. These last two observations are probably due to the large time of penetration of the projectile, which becomes a significant fraction of the time of crater formation. This is contrary to the expectations for the scaling rules, which assumes a point source. Very high curtain angles (>45°) are also seen, and could be due to the low friction angle of the target. Significant crater modification, which is rarely seen in “quarter-space experiments,” is also observed and appears to be controlled by the dynamic angle of repose of the target. These latter observations indicate that differences in target friction angles may need to be considered when determining near rim ejecta-mass distributions and large-scale crater modification processes on the planets.     

Evidence for a thick and localized ultra low shear velocity zone at the base of the mantle beneath the central Pacific

Prominent postcursors to S/Sdiff waves with delays as large as 26 s are observed in Northern America for Papua New Guinea events. These waves sample the northern side of the Pacific large low shear velocity province revealed by global shear velocity (Vs) tomographic models. The emergence of the postcursors strongly depends on the epicenter-to-station azimuth, indicating that the waveforms are, in general, strongly affected by 3-dimensional (3D) heterogeneities. We limit our focus to an azimuthal range around 60°, measured clockwise from north at the epicenter, where the records show a relatively small azimuthal variation, suggesting a relatively small 3D effect there. In this azimuthal range we attempt 2D structural modelling along the great circle plane towards stations in southern US. First, we use a 2D ray theory to search for a range of models, which generate a postcursor to the main Sdiff phase with a delay time consistent with the observations. Then, for some typical models, we calculated waveforms at periods down to 5 s using the spectral element method. We obtained several models that provide synthetic waveforms in a fair agreement with the observations. The result shows that two types of low Vs regions are required to explain the data. One is a broad and weak anomaly region with a Vs reduction of 5% or so, constituting a part of the Pacific large low shear velocity province at the base of the mantle. The other is a laterally localized strong anomaly region with a more than 25% reduction of Vs within a thickness of at least 80 km and a width on the order of 500 km.     

Major and trace element abundances in volcanic glass shards in visible tephras in SG93 and SG06 drillcore samples from Lake Suigetsu,central Japan,obtained using femtosecond LA–ICP–MS

The major and trace element concentrations of volcanic glass shards from visible tephra layers in the SG93 and SG06 cores from Lake Suigetsu, central Japan, were determined by femtosecond laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The glass-shard analyses, together with the petrographic properties of the tephra samples, allow the Suigetsu tephra layers to be broadly classified into tephras derived from calderas on Kyushu Island, and from Daisen and Sambe volcanoes in the Chugoku district of southwest Japan. The layers correlated with tephras from Kuju caldera and Daisen volcano, and with the younger Sambe tephras, have adakitic elemental features. A Suigetsu tephra sample correlated with the Sambe−Kisuki tephra based on petrographic properties has an elemental pattern similar to that of the Toya tephra from Hokkaido Island, northeast Japan. This match implies that tephras from northeast Japan, as well as Kyushu–Chugoku tephras, are possible correlatives of the Suigetsu tephra layers. Both petrographic properties and major–trace element data of volcanic glass shards are essential for robust tephra correlations, and hierarchical cluster analysis proved additionally useful in statistically evaluating relationships among the tephras.