Large-Eddy Simulation of Turbulent Organized Structures within and above Explicitly Resolved Cube Arrays

Large-eddy simulations have been performed for fully developed turbulent flow within and above explicitly resolved simple cube arrays. The results from our model, hereafter LES-CITY, are shown to agree with laboratory experiments. We investigated the systematic influence of cube density on turbulent flow characteristics by performing numerical experiments for cube areal densities from 0 to 44%. The following results were obtained: (1) The dispersive momentum flux was quite large within the canopy layer due to a mean stream re-circulation, whereas it was smaller above the canopy. The spatial variation of temporally averaged momentum in the roughness sub-layer was 20% or less of the total kinematic surface drag. (2) The temporally and spatially-averaged flow structure confirmed the existence of conventionally described canyon flow regimes; isolated, interfacial, and wake. However, the intermittency of the canyon flow for all cube densities was quite large and the stream patterns were never persistent. (3) Turbulent organized structures (TOS) similar to those observed in turbulent surface-layer flows were simulated, which are characterized by longitudinally-elongated low speed streaks and the corresponding shorter streamwise vortices. The streaks in sparse and dense canopy flows were likely to be aligned to the street line and to the roof lines, respectively. Such heterogeneity of TOS partially accounts for the large spatial variation of momentum flux. (4) In contrast to the mixing layer analogy of vegetation flows, the TOS and the resulting turbulent statistics of urban flow above the canopy resembled those in surface layers. The recirculation within the canopy significantly influenced the turbulent statistical properties.     

Transformation dynamics and reactivity of dissolved and colloidal iron in coastal waters

We have investigated the chemical forms, reactivities and transformation kinetics of Fe(III) species present in coastal water with ion exchange and filtration methods. To simulate coastal water system, a mixture of ferric iron and fulvic acid was added to filtered seawater and incubated for a minute to a week. At each incubation time, the seawater sample was acidified with hydrochloric acid and then applied to anion exchange resin (AER) to separate negatively charged species (such as fulvic acid, its complexes with iron and iron oxyhydroxide coated with fulvic acid) from positively charged inorganic ferric iron (Fe(III)′). By monitoring the acid-induced Fe(III)′ over an hour, it was found that iron complexed by fulvic acid dissociated rapidly to a large extent (86–92% at pH 2), whereas amorphous ferric oxyhydroxide particles associated with fulvic acid (AFO-L) dissociated very slowly with the first-order dissociation rate constants ranging from 6.1 × 10^− 5 for pH 3 to 2.7 × 10^− 4 s^− 1 for pH 2. Therefore, a brief acidification followed by the AER treatment (acidification/AER method) was likely to be able to determine fulvic acid complexes and thus differentiate the complexes from the AFO-L particles (the dissolution of AFO-L was insignificant during the brief acidification). The acidification/AER method coupled with a simple filtration technique suggested that the iron–fulvic acid complexes exist in both the < 0.02 μm and 0.02–0.45 μm size fractions in our coastal water system. The truly dissolved iron (< 0.02 μm) was relatively long-lived with a life-time of 14 days, probably due to the complexation by strong ligands. Such an acid-labile iron may be an important source of bioavailable iron in coastal environments, as a significant relationship between the chemical lability and bioavailability of iron has been well recognised.     

A preparation zone for volcanic explosions beneath Naka-dake crater,Aso volcano,as inferred from magnetotelluric surveys

The 1st crater of Naka-dake, Aso volcano, is one of the most active craters in Japan, and known to have a characteristic cycle of activity that consists of the formation of a crater lake, drying-up of the lake water, and finally a Strombolian-type eruption. Recent observations indicate an increase in eruptive activity including a decrease in the level of the lake water, mud eruptions, and red hot glows on the crater wall. Temporal variations in the geomagnetic field observed around the craters of Naka-dake also indicate that thermal demagnetization of the subsurface rocks has been occurring in shallow subsurface areas around the 1st crater. Volcanic explosions act to release the energy transferred from magma or volcanic fluids. Measurement of the subsurface electrical resistivity is a promising method in investigating the shallow structure of the volcanic edifices, where energy from various sources accumulates, and in investigating the behaviors of magma and volcanic fluids. We carried out audio-frequency magnetotelluric surveys around the craters of Naka-dake in 2004 and 2005 to determine the detailed electrical structure down to a depth of around 1 km. The main objective of this study is to identify the specific subsurface structure that acts to store energy as a preparation zone for volcanic eruption. Two-dimensional inversions were applied to four profiles across the craters, revealing a strongly conductive zone at several hundred meters depth beneath the 1st crater and surrounding area. In contrast, we found no such remarkable conductor at shallow depths beneath the 4th crater, which has been inactive for 70 years, finding instead a relatively resistive body. The distribution of the rotational invariant of the magnetotelluric impedance tensor is consistent with the inversion results. This unusual shallow structure probably reflects the existence of a supply path of high-temperature volcanic gases to the crater bottom. We propose that the upper part of the conductor identified beneath the 1st crater is mainly composed of hydrothermally altered zone that acts both as a cap to upwelling fluids supplied from deep-level magma and as a floor to infiltrating fluid from the crater lake. The relatively resistive body found beneath the 4th crater represents consolidated magma. These results suggest that the shallow conductor beneath the active crater is closely related to a component of the mechanism that controls volcanic activity within Naka-dake.     

LiDAR-derived DEM evaluation of deep-seated landslides in a steep and rocky region of Japan

In steep and rocky terrains, their rough surfaces make it difficult to create landslide inventories even with detailed maps/images produced from airborne LiDAR data. To provide objective clues in locating deep-seated landslides, the surface textures of a 5 km² steepland area in Japan was investigated using the eigenvalue ratio and slope filters calculated from a very high resolution LiDAR-derived DEM. The range of filter values was determined for each of a number of surface features mapped in the field and these included: cracked bedrock outcrops, coarse colluvial deposits, gently undulating surfaces, and smooth surfaces. Recently active slides commonly contained patches of ground in which deposition and erosion occurred together near the erosion front, or where cracked bedrock outcrops and coarse colluvial deposits coexisted under a gently undulating surface. The characteristic eigenvalue and slope filter values representing this sliding process were applied to maps of the DEM derived filter values to extract potential sites of recent landslide activity. In addition, the relationships between the filter values of deep-seated landslides at various stages of evolution within the field mapped area were extended to the entire study area, to assess the contribution that landslide evolution makes to change in the landscape as a whole. While landslide components made up the steepest as well as the gentlest parts of the landscape depending on their evolutionary stage, landslides were constantly coarsened and steepened by progressive erosion, probably initiated by river bank erosion at the foot of slopes.     

Liquid waveguide spectrophotometric measurements of arsenate and particulate arsenic,as well as phosphate and particulate phosphorus,in seawater

Sensitive methods for the determination of arsenate and particulate arsenic (PAs), as well as phosphate and particulate phosphorus (PP), in seawater are described. The method for arsenate and phosphate was established by applying automated liquid waveguide spectrophotometry. Because the reaction time for the formation of the arsenate-molybdate complex is longer than that for the phosphate-molybdate complex, a long Teflon tube submerged in a heating bath was installed in the conventional phosphate flow system. The arsenate was quantified as the difference between absorbances of molybdenum blue dyes with (only phosphate) and without (phosphate + arsenate) arsenate reduction treatment. Contamination was observed in the reagent for arsenate reduction and must be corrected. Linear dynamic ranges up to 1000 nM were confirmed for arsenate and phosphate. The detection limits for arsenate and phosphate were 5 and 4 nM, respectively. Freezing was a reliable sample preservation technique for both arsenate and phosphate. The method for PAs and PP was established by combining conventional persulfate oxidation of PP and the automated liquid waveguide spectrophotometry of arsenate and phosphate. The digestion efficiencies of organic As analogs were >93%. Contamination in the glass fiber filter was negligible. Field tests confirmed that the coefficients of variation (CVs) of 10–19 nM arsenate and 4–151 nM phosphate were 7–20 and 1–25%, respectively, while the CVs of 0.9 nM PAs and 10.2 nM PP were 11 and 4%, respectively.     

SELENE project status

SELENE (Selenological and Engineering Explorer) project started as a joint mission of the former ISAS (Institute of Space and Astronautical Science) and the former NASDA (National Space Development Agency: the two organizations were merged into JAXA in 2002) of Japan in 1998. The launch target is rescheduled for 2006 due to delay of completion of launch vehicle, H-IIA. The SELENE project is now under a sustained design phase. The flight model components were manufactured, and the interface tests between the bus-system and the mission instruments were completed by the end of March 2004. The functional checks and calibration for the flight model components are being carried out at present. From the beginning of 2005, the final assembly tests will start.     

An overview of the geology and major ore deposits of Central Africa: Explanatory note for the 1:4,000,000 map “Geology and major ore deposits of Central Africa”

This paper is prepared within the frameworks of IGCP Project 470 and the associated BRGM scientific project “Africa 1999–2004” to accompany the 1:4,000,000 scale map “Geology and major ore deposits of Central Africa, presented at the 20th Colloquium of African Geology in Orleans in June 2004. It incorporates geological and metallogenic data from eight countries in Central Africa (Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Central African Republic, Congo Brazzaville, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Equatorial Guinea and Zambia). The map is a harmonised and geo-referenced preliminary map, based on a GIS at 1:2,000,000 scale, and focusses on the spatial and temporal distribution of selected major deposits.     

深部俯冲板片三维构造重建及其几何学、运动学研究——以汤加—克马德克地区俯冲板片为例

西南太平洋板块与澳大利亚板块之间的汤加—克马德克俯冲带,是研究地球动力学最重要的区域之一.本文研究根据MIT-P08地震数据,结合板块构造边界、地震活动分布、海岸地形数据等,基于GOCAD软件平台建立三维地震层析成像,对西南太平洋板块的汤加—克马德克俯冲板片进行三维解释.地震层析成像显示汤加—斐济地区地幔至少存在三个"高速"异常体.早期汤加—克马德克俯冲板片穿过地幔转换带,并进入下地幔,最大深度达1600 km.三维构造模型揭示了汤加—克马德克板片在深度600~800 km处存在断折形变,该俯冲板片去褶皱恢复后,测量其俯冲的最大位移达2600 km.汤加—克马德克板片开始快速俯冲的时间至少在30 Ma之前,平均移动速率约为68~104 mm /a.俯冲板片三维构造重建和恢复,可以有效揭示俯冲板片几何学、运动学,为研究深源地震成因、地球深部变化过程和动力学机制提供约束.