Automated cloud tracking system for the Akatsuki Venus Climate Orbiter data

Japanese Venus Climate Orbiter, Akatsuki, is cruising to approach to Venus again although its first Venus orbital insertion (VOI) has been failed. At present, we focus on the next opportunity of VOI and the following scientific observations.We have constructed an automated cloud tracking system for processing data obtained by Akatsuki in the present study. In this system, correction of the pointing of the satellite is essentially important for improving accuracy of the cloud motion vectors derived using the cloud tracking. Attitude errors of the satellite are reduced by fitting an ellipse to limb of an imaged Venus disk. Next, longitude–latitude distributions of brightness (cloud patterns) are calculated to make it easy to derive the cloud motion vectors. The grid points are distributed at regular intervals in the longitude–latitude coordinate. After applying the solar zenith correction and a highpass filter to the derived longitude–latitude distributions of brightness, the cloud features are tracked using pairs of images. As a result, we obtain cloud motion vectors on longitude–latitude grid points equally spaced. These entire processes are pipelined and automated, and are applied to all data obtained by combinations of cameras and filters onboard Akatsuki. It is shown by several tests that the cloud motion vectors are determined with a sufficient accuracy. We expect that longitude–latitude data sets created by the automated cloud tracking system will contribute to the Venus meteorology.     

Long-term precipitation and stream discharge records at seven forested experimental watersheds along a latitudinal transect in Japan: Jozankei,Kamabuchi, Takaragawa,Tsukuba, Tatsunokuchi-yama,Kahoku and Sarukawa

This data note introduces a database of long-term daily total precipitation and stream discharge data for seven forested watersheds in Japan that have been continuously monitored by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. Three of the watersheds started data collection in the 1930s. Forest cover across the sites ranges from cool to warm temperate regions with the latitude spanning from 31 to 44° N and annual precipitation ranging from 1200 to 3000 mm yr⁻¹. The effects of vegetation change via clearcutting, thinning and forest fire (among other stressors) on stream discharge can be analysed from the long-term observation sites. Moreover, this multi-site dataset allows for inter- and intra-site comparisons of annual water loss (difference of annual precipitation and stream discharge). These long-term datasets can provide comprehensive insights into the effects of climate change and other stressors on forested ecosystems, not only in Japan but across a spectrum of forest types, if combined with other long-term records from other forested watersheds across the world.     

The anisotropy of cosmic ray arrival directions around 10 eV

Anisotropy in the arrival directions of cosmic rays with energies above 10¹⁷ eV is studied using data from the Akeno 20 km² array and the Akeno Giant Air Shower Array (AGASA), using a total of about 114 000 showers observed over 11 years. In the first harmonic analysis, we have found a strong anisotropy of 4% around 10¹⁸ eV, corresponding to a chance probability of 0.2% after taking the number of independent trials into account. with two-dimensional analysis in right ascension and declination, this anisotropy is interpreted as an excess of showers near the directions of the Galactic Center and the Cygnus region.     

Magma ascent beneath Unzen Volcano, SW Japan, deduced from the electrical resistivity structure

The resistivity structure of Unzen Volcano has been revealed by extensive magnetotelluric surveys since the first eruption on November 17, 1990. This structure comprises a highly resistive surface layer, a low-resistive second layer at several hundred meters depth, interpreted as a water-saturated layer, a resistive third layer, and a low-resistive fourth layer at 10 km depth, possibly related to the deep magmatic activity. The structure has influenced the volcanic activity of Unzen. This activity was characterized by a series of dramatic changes in eruption type: a minor phreatic eruption on November 17, 1990; phreatic eruptions after February 12, 1991, preceded by several weeks of volcanic tremor; phreatomagmatic eruptions after April 9, and dome effusion beginning May 19, 1991. This paper presents a hypothesis in which the top of the magma column rose about 20 m/day, reached the base of the water-saturated layer at the end of January, 1991, and approached the upper boundary of this layer on April 9. Thus, the temporal change of eruption type and associated phenomena are systematically explained by an interaction between magma and groundwater contained in the saturated layer.     

Removal of water‐surface reflection effects with a temporal minimum filter for UAV‐based shallow‐water photogrammetry

The recent development of structure‐from‐motion (SfM) and multi‐view stereo (MVS) photogrammetry techniques has enabled semi‐automatic high‐resolution bathymetry using aerial images taken by consumer‐grade digital cameras mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). However, the applicability of these techniques is sometimes limited by sun and sky reflections at the water surface, which render the point‐cloud density and accuracy insufficient. In this research, we present a new imaging technique to suppress the effect of these water‐surface reflections. In this technique, we order a drone to take a short video instead of a still picture at each waypoint. We then apply a temporal minimum filter to the video. This filter extracts the smallest RGB values in all the video frames for each pixel, and composes an image with greatly reduced reflection effects. To assess the performance of this technique, we applied it at three small shallow‐water sites. Specifically, we evaluated the effect of the technique on the point cloud density and the accuracy and precision of the photogrammetry. The results showed that the proposed technique achieved a far denser point cloud than the case in which a randomly chosen frame was used for each waypoint, and also showed better overall accuracy and precision in estimating water‐bottom elevation. The effectiveness of this new technique should depend on the surface wave state and sky radiance distribution, and this dependence, as well as the applicability to large areas, should be investigated in future research. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite‐element analysis of laminated rubber bearing of building frame under seismic excitation

Finite element analysis is carried out for a building frame supported by laminated rubber bearings to simultaneously investigate global displacement and local stress responses under seismic excitation. The frame members and the rubber bearings are discretized into hexahedral solid elements with more than 3 million degrees of freedom. The material property of rubber is represented by the Ogden model, and the frame is assumed to remain in elastic range. It is shown that the time histories of non‐uniform stress distribution and rocking behavior of the rubber bearings under a frame subjected to seismic excitation can be successfully evaluated, and detailed responses of base and frame can be evaluated through large‐scale finite element analysis. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

亚洲通量观测网建立的回顾与展望

1IntroductionTheelucidationofthebudgetsofcarbon,waterandothermassesatvariouslandecosystemshasbecomeanimportantsubjectintheglobalwarmingissue.Forthisstudy,thedatafrompreciseandlong-termobservationsofcarbondioxide,watervapor,andheatfluxtakeninvariouslandsur…     

Lunar photometric properties at wavelengths 0.5-1.6 μm acquired by SELENE Spectral Profiler and their dependency on local albedo and latitudinal zones

The lunar photometric function, which describes the dependency of the observed radiance on the observation geometry, is used for photometric correction of lunar visible/near-infrared data. A precise photometric correction parameter set is crucial for many applications including mineral identification and reflectance map mosaics. We present, for the first time, spectrally continuous photometric correction parameters for both sides of the Moon for wavelengths in the range 0.5-1.6 μm and solar phase angles between 5° and 85°, derived from Kaguya (SELENE) Spectral Profiler (SP) data. Since the measured radiance also depends on the surface albedo, we developed a statistical method for selecting areas with relatively uniform albedos from a nearly 7000-orbit SP data set. Using the selected data set, we obtained empirical photometric correction parameter sets for three albedo groups (high, medium, and low). We did this because the photometric function depends on the albedo, especially at phase angles below about 20° for which the shadow hiding opposition effect is appreciable. We determined the parameters in 160 bands and discovered a small variation in the opposition effect due to the albedo variation of mafic mineral absorption. The consistency of the photometric correction was checked by comparing observations made at different times of the same area on the lunar surface. Variations in the spectra obtained were lower than 2%, except for the large phase angle data in mare. Lastly, we developed a correction method for low solar elevation data, which is required for high latitude regions. By investigating low solar elevation data, we introduced an additional correction method. We used the new photometric correction to generate a 1° mesh global lunar reflectance map cube in a wavelength range of 0.5-1.6 μm. Surprisingly, these maps reveal that high latitude (?75°) regions in both the north and south have much lower spectral continuum slopes (color ratio r_1547.7nm/r_752.8nm ? 1.8) than the low and medium latitude regions, which implies lower degrees of space weathering.     

Nonlinear behavior of high-damping rubber bearings under horizontal bidirectional loading: full-scale tests and analytical modeling

Horizontal bidirectional loading tests are conducted for real-sized high-damping rubber (HDR) bearings with diameters of 700 mm (HDR700) and 1300 mm (HDR1300). The hysteresis loops of these bearings under bidirectional horizontal loadings are compared with those under unidirectional loadings. The results show that the bearing force measurement in the primary direction of loading increases when there is displacement in the orthogonal direction. Unusually, the maximum restoring force in the orthogonal direction to the primary loading direction occurs near zero displacement. On the basis of the observations of the restoring forces, a rate-independent model is proposed. This model simulates well the test results under both bidirectional loading and unidirectional loading. It can reproduce the irregular restoring forces characteristics around zero displacement as described above. Bidirectional loading induced twist deformation in the HDR bearings that increased local shear strains. This phenomenon results in an early failure as observed in HDR700. The additional shear strain is estimated based on the twist deformation measured by video image analysis. The comparison of the nominal total shear stress demonstrates that the increase of shear stress because of bidirectional loading occurs when the average shear strain is larger than about 200%. The larger the shear strain, the greater the bidirectional effect. It is shown that the nominal total shear stress of average strain of 350% under bidirectional circular loading pattern is approximately the same as the average shear strain of 400% under unidirectional loading. This means that the average shear strain of 350% under a bidirectional circular loading corresponds to a local shear strain of 400%. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of phosphate adsorption onto granulated coal ash in seawater

The deterioration of sediments is a serious environmental problem. Controlling nutrient release fluxes from sediments is important to alleviating eutrophication and to reducing terrigenous nutrient loads. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the phosphate removal performance of granulated coal ash (GCA) from seawater, which is produced from coal thermal electric power generation. Batch experiments were carried out to investigate the removal kinetics of phosphate from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. Phosphate was removed well from seawater under both oxic and anoxic conditions. The adsorption isotherm for phosphate revealed that GCA could remove phosphate effectively from seawater above a concentration of 1.7 μmol L⁻¹. GCA can reduce the concentration of phosphate in seawater effectively under anoxic conditions where iron type adsorbents cannot be applied. Therefore, GCA could potentially be used to adsorb phosphate in the organically-enriched sediment, which generally occurs under highly reductive conditions.