Did annual run‐off and low flow decrease with reduced forestry practices in Japan?

Japan developed large areas of coniferous plantations for timber production between the 1950s and 1970s; however, forestry practices such as thinning, pruning, and harvesting in most of the plantations have declined since the 1980s. Researchers speculated that reduced forestry practices could reduce run‐off and therefore available water resources. As a countermeasure to this potential risk, many local governments have introduced local taxes to stimulate forestry practices in the plantations. However, no studies have presented evidence for decreased annual run‐off and/or low flow in watersheds where forestry practices have declined. As a starting point for assessing this risk, this study examined potential changes in the annual run‐off and low flow in the Terauchi watershed. A large area of this watershed was covered with coniferous plantations. We first surveyed the annual investment in forestry operations and the number of forest owners in the city of Amagi. (Note that Amagi includes the Terauchi watershed.) Both decreased during the period 1979–2007, indicating reduced forestry practices. The frequency distribution of plantation tree ages in the watershed also suggested reduced forestry practices. After excluding the effect of precipitation, we examined potential changes in the annual run‐off and low flow during the period 1979–2007. We did not observe significant decreases in the annual run‐off and low flow during the period. Thus, the risk of decreased water resources might be less than expected, and countermeasures to the risk should be reconsidered. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age constraints on the Palaeoproterozoic Lomagundi–Jatuli Event in Zimbabwe: Zircon geochronology of the Magondi Supergroup

The ca. 2.2–2.1 Ga Magondi Supergroup on the Zimbabwe Craton in Southern Africa is mainly composed of sedimentary rocks deposited in a rift basin/passive continental margin, which record a unique episode in carbon isotope perturbation called the Lomagundi–Jatuli Event (LJE). This study reports new U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Deweras and Lomagundi groups of the Magondi Supergroup, and of igneous zircons from underlying granitoids, to constrain the timing of the LJE and to identify the provenance of the Magondi Supergroup. Most analysed detrital zircon grains range in ages between ca. 2.9 and 2.6 Ga. Three ca. 2.3–2.2 Ga detrital zircons from sandstone of the Deweras Group, with the youngest ²⁰⁷Pb‐²⁰⁶Pb age of 2,216 ± 22 Ma, indicate the onset of LJE in the Zimbabwe Craton was almost simultaneous to that in Fennoscandia and the Superior Craton, supporting the global synchronicity of the LJE.     

Secular change in lifetime of granitic crust and the continental growth: A new view from detrital zircon ages of sandstones

U-Pb ages of detrital zircons were newly dated for 4 Archean sandstones from the Pilbara craton in Australia, Wyoming craton in North America, and Kaapvaal craton in Africa. By using the present results with previously published data, we compiled the age spectra of detrital zircons for 2.9, 2.6, 2.3,1.0, and0.6 Ga sandstones and modern river sands in order to document the secular change in age structure of continental crusts through time. The results demonstrated the following episodes in the history of continental crust:(1) low growth rate of the continents due to the short cycle in production/destruction of granitic crust during the Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic(2.9-23 Ga),(2) net increase in volume of the continents during Paleo-to Mesoproterozoic(2.3-1.0 Ga), and(3) net decrease in volume of the continents during the Neoproterozoic and Phanerozoic(after 1.0 Ga). In the Archean and Paleoproterozoic, the embryonic continents were smaller than the modern continents, probably owing to the relatively rapid production and destruction of continental crust. This is indeed reflected in the heterogeneous crustal age structure of modern continents that usually have relatively small amount of Archean crusts with respect to the post-Archean ones. During the Mesoproterozoic, plural continents amalgamated into larger ones comparable to modern continental blocks in size. Relatively older crusts were preserved in continental interiors, whereas younger crusts were accreted along continental peripheries.In addition to continental arc magmatism, the direct accretion of intra-oceanic island arc around continental peripheries also became important for net continental growth. Since 1.0 Ga, total volume of continents has decreased, and this appears consistent with on-going phenomena along modern active arc-trench system with dominant tectonic erosion and/or arc subduction. Subduction of a huge amount of granitic crusts into the mantle through time is suggested, and this requires re-consideration of the mantle composition and heterogeneity.     

Mixing relations of the howardite‐eucrite‐diogenite suite: A new statistical approach of independent component analysis for the Dawn mission

Dawn has recently revealed that the surface of Vesta is heterogeneously covered by polymictic regoliths represented by mixtures of howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. Mixing relations of the HED suite are examined here using a new computational statistical approach of independent component analysis (ICA). We performed eight‐component ICA (Si, Ti, Al, Cr, Fe, Mn, Mg, and Ca) for 209 HED bulk‐rock compositions. The ICA results indicate that the HED bulk‐rock compositions can be reduced into three independent components (IC) and these IC vectors can reasonably explain compositional variation, petrographic observations, and the mixing relations of the HED suite. The IC‐1 vector represents a eucrite variation that extends from cumulate eucrite toward main‐group (MG) and incompatible‐element enriched eucrites. The IC‐2 vector represents a compositional variation of howardites that extends from diogenites to MG‐eucrites, indicating the well‐known two‐component mixing trend of diogenite and eucrite. The IC‐3 vector represents a compositional variation defined by diogenites and olivine‐bearing diogenites, suggesting mixing of olivine and orthopyroxene. Among the three ICs, the diogenite‐eucrite mixing trend IC‐2 is most statistically robust and dominates the compositional variations of the HED suite. Our ICA study further indicates that the combination of only three elements (Mg, Si, and Fe) approximates the eight‐component ICA model, and that the limited number of resolvable γ‐ray spectra obtained by the Dawn mission possibly discriminates olivine lithologies from the olivine‐free regolith breccias on the surface of Vesta.     

Spatial and temporal variations in rainfall characteristics in mountainous and lowland areas in Taiwan

Although changes in rainfall characteristics have been noted across the world, few studies have reported those in mountainous areas. This study was undertaken to clarify spatial and temporal variations in rainfall characteristics such as annual rainfall amount (Pr), mean daily rainfall intensity (η), and ratio of rain days (λ) in mountainous and lowland areas in Taiwan. To this aim, we examined spatial and year‐to‐year variations and marginal long‐term trends in Pr, η, and λ, based on rainfall data from 120 stations during the period 1978–2008. The period mean rainfall () at the lowland stations had strong relationships with the period mean daily rainfall intensity () and the period mean ratio of rain days () during those 31 years. Meanwhile, was only strongly related to at mountainous stations, indicating that influences on spatial variations in were different between lowland and mountainous stations. Year‐to‐year variations in Pr at each station were primarily determined from the variation in η at most stations for both lowland and mountainous stations. Long‐term trend analysis showed that Pr and η increased significantly at 10% and 31% of the total 120 stations, respectively, and λ decreased significantly at 6% of the total. The increases in Pr were mostly accompanied by increases in η. Although stations with significant η increases were slightly biased toward the western lowland area, increases or decreases in Pr and λ were not common. These results contribute to understanding the impacts of possible climate changes on terrestrial hydrological cycles. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Short-term flow fluctuations in Onagawa Bay,Japan, as revealed by long-term mooring observation

Short-term flow fluctuations in the southern central part of Onagawa Bay were examined using long-term mooring and hydrographic data observed during the period from May 2013 to April 2014. The short-term flow fluctuations were dominant in the periodic bands of 15–27 days and shorter than 10 days. The principal and minor components of these flow fluctuations were respectively along and across the local isobaths, which are almost parallel in the north direction. The northward flow fluctuations along the local isobaths were correlated with the northeastward wind fluctuations in both periodic bands, and these correlations were more evident from fall to winter. On the basis of these results, the northward flows are regarded as wind-induced barotropic coastal jets. On other hand, the eastward flow fluctuations across the local isobaths were related to inflow and outflow via the bay mouth or the Izushima Channel. Inflow and outflow with reverse flow at lower depths formed in summer, but those with vertically uniform flow tended to form in winter. The main summertime inflow and outflow were driven by horizontal gradients in density. These permit us to regard the main summertime inflow and outflow as gravitational circulation. Also, the summertime inflow can be intermittently caused by internal waves.     

Spatial and temporal variations in summer precipitation in Japanese mountain areas

We examined spatial and temporal variations in precipitation measured during summer season between 1976 and 2007 for 28 stations located in mountain areas across Japan using the amount of precipitation (Pr), the mean depth of precipitation events (η), and the inverse of the mean interval times (λ). We obtained positive correlations between the period mean Pr (Pr ) and the period mean η ( ) and between Pr and the period mean λ ( ) for the 28 stations. Pr was more strongly related to than to , indicating the spatial variations in Pr that are primarily related to the variations in . In addition, Pr was more strongly related to η than to λ for most stations on the basis of data for 1976–2007, indicating that the year‐to‐year variations in Pr are primarily related to η. We also examined temporal trends in Pr, η and λ for 1976–2007 and found no systematic trends for 23 of the 28 stations, suggesting long‐term trends that are not common in mountain areas of Japan. The relationships between Pr and and between Pr and η presented in this study enable us to generate a temporal precipitation distribution pattern based on only Pr and Pr data, respectively. Furthermore, probabilistic stochastic hydrological models require precipitation characteristics as input; thus, this study contributes to the determination of hydrological cycles and their possible future changes in Japanese mountain areas and therefore to water resource management. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measurement of iodine-129 in seawater samples collected from the Japan Sea area using accelerator mass spectrometry: Contribution of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants

The concentrations of ¹²⁹I in seawater samples from two sites (off Sekine and the Toyama Bay) in the Japan Sea were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry. The observed concentrations exceed amounts expected from natural origin and globally distributed fallout due to nuclear weapons testing. Because the fraction of natural origin and global fallout is 2% and 8.9–13.8%, respectively, the residual more than 80% of the concentration must come primarily from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. This result indicates a rapid distribution of ¹²⁹I through atmospheric transport on a global scale. The depth distribution of ¹²⁹I at the Toyama Bay in the Japan Sea shows that the ¹²⁹I maximum is in the mixed layer and that concentrations decrease with depth. The inventory of ¹²⁹I in water column is four times higher than that measured in the Gulf of Mexico which has almost the same depth at the Toyama Bay. This higher inventory probably reflects: (1) the rapid water sinking in the Japan Sea, (2) the difference of distance in sampling locations with respect to major ¹²⁹I releasing plants and (3) the strong increase in emissions from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants after the profile of the Gulf of Mexico was taken.     

Effects of coastal erosion on landslide activity revealed by multi-sensor observations

Coastal erosion is becoming an increasingly serious consequence of climate change. This study demonstrates the effects of coastal erosion on landslide activity while considering the amount of erosion and changes in pore water pressure. To determine the factors related to landslide slip generation, we specifically measured the displacement, deformation, pore water pressure, and amount of erosion with high temporal resolution (1 s–1 h) for a coastal landslide in Hokkaido, north-eastern Japan, for 7 months. It has been determined that landslides occur simultaneously with high pore water pressure. Toe erosion events also occurred several times, while the landslide exhibited major displacement. Because toe erosion and the increase in pore water pressure occurred simultaneously, we tried to determine which of the two contributed majorly to the landslide displacement by conducting a stability analysis that incorporates the effects of the two factors. From the actual observed data, toe erosion and the increase in pore water pressure had comparable effects on the destabilization of the studied landslide. Specifically, the time series for the safety factor shows that the landslide in the case with toe erosion was destabilized more than that in the case with no erosion, with a difference of more than 5% in the safety factor. The model with toe erosion provided a better explanation for the landslide displacement. Furthermore, the inclination data suggested that erosion took place at least 1 month before the landslide displacement. This implied that coastal erosion played a role in the preparation and ongoing displacement of the coastal landslide. Inland landslides with toes that are subject to undercutting due to river incision or artificial construction have geomorphological settings that are similar to those of the studied landslide. The knowledge obtained here can contribute to the understanding of destabilization mechanisms and terrain changes related to such landslides. © 2020 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.