An observational study of the structure of the nocturnal urban boundary layer

The formation mechanism of the nocturnal urban boundary layer (UBL), especially in the winter nighttime, was investigated based on the extensive field observations conducted during November 1984 in Sapporo, Japan. A strong, elevated inversion formed over the Sapporo urban area and the inversion base height was approximately twice the average building height. Velocity fluctuations _u, _w and Reynolds stress % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaa0aaaeaaca% WG1bWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaaaaGGaaOGae8hiaaIaam4DamaaCaaa% leqabaGaaGymaaaaaaaaaa!3A9C!\[\overline {u^1 w^1 } \] had nearly uniform profiles within the nocturnal UBL and decreased with height above the UBL. On the other hand, temperature fluctuations _t , and heat fluxes % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaa0aaaeaaca% WG1bWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaaaaGGaaOGae8hiaaIaeqiUde3aaWba% aSqabeaacaaIXaaaaaaaaaa!3B56!\[\overline {u^1 \theta ^1 } \] and % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaa0aaaeaaca% WG3bWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaaaaGGaaOGae8hiaaIaeqiUde3aaWba% aSqabeaacaaIXaaaaaaaaaa!3B58!\[\overline {w^1 \theta ^1 } \] had peaks at the inversion base and small values within the nocturnal UBL. The turbulent kinetic energy budget showed that the turbulent transport term and shear generation from urban canopy elements are important in the nocturnal UBL development; the role of the buoyancy term is small. The turbulence data analysis and application of a simple advective model showed that the mechanism of UBL formation may be controlled by the downward transport of sensible heat from the elevated inversion caused by mechanically-generated turbulence.Nomenclature g accelaration due to gravity, m s^-2 - k turbulent kinetic energy, m² s^-1 - K _m eddy viscosity, m² s^-1 - L Monin-Obukhov lenght, m - p pressure, Kg m^-2 - U, V, W mean wind speed in the downwind, crosswind, and vertical directions, respectively, m s^-1 - u ¹, w ¹ wind speed fluctuation in the downwind and vertical direction, respectively, m s^-1 - u ₁ friction velocity, m s^-1 - % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaa0aaaeaaca% WG1bWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaaaaGGaaOGae8hiaaIaam4DamaaCaaa% leqabaGaaGymaaaaaaaaaa!3A9C!\[\overline {u^1 w^1 } \] momentum flux, m²s^-2 - % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaa0aaaeaaca% WG1bWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaaaaGGaaOGae8hiaaIaam4DamaaCaaa% leqabaGaaGymaaaaaaaaaa!3A9C!\[\overline {u^1 \theta^1 } \] sensible heat flux, m²s^-1°C - WD wind direction, deg - WS wind speed, m s^-1 - z altitude, m - Z _h inversion base height, m - Z _j wind maximum height, m - Z _t inversion top height, m - T _u-r heat island intensity, °C - temperature lapse rate at rural site, °C m^-1 - energy dissipation rate, m²s^-3 - ¹ Potential temperature fluctuation, °C - _* scaling temperature, (=-% MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafeart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaWaa0aaaeaaca% WG1bWaaWbaaSqabeaacaaIXaaaaGGaaOGae8hiaaIaeqiUde3aaWba% aSqabeaacaaIXaaaaaaaaaa!3B56!\[\overline {u^1 \theta ^1 } \]/u_*) °C - mean potential temperature fluctuation, K - density of air, Kgm^-3 - K von Kármán constant (=0.4) - _u, _v, _w standard deviation of wind speed in the downwind, crosswind, and vertical directions, respectively, m s^-1 - standard diviation of temperature, °C     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contamination and recovery characteristics in some organisms after the Nakhodka oil spill

Following the oil spill from the Russian tanker Nakhodka in 1997 in the Sea of Japan, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) were monitored for three years in some molluscs from the Mikuni-cho shore in Japan. Total PAH concentrations in marine organisms except for spiny top shell, ranged from 5.3 to 32.7 ng/g wet weight, but no trends were evident. Total PAH concentration in spiny top shell (Turbo cornutus) was 44 ng/g w.w. in the first month after the oil spill. However, it rapidly decreased to less than 5.4 ng/g w.w. from the second month. Spiny top shell, which was exposed to dietary Nakhodka heavy fuel oil, concentrated benzo(a)pyrene to 17.1 ng/g w.w. after two weeks of exposure and then rapidly eliminated it during an elimination phase. These results suggest that spiny top shell accumulates PAHs because of their low ability to metabolize PAH, but it can excrete parent PAHs rapidly when removed from the source of contamination. Thus it is suitable as an indicator organism in monitoring oil contamination. It can also be inferred from these field and laboratory investigations that, in three years, organisms from the Mikuni-cho shore seem to have adequately recovered from the Nakhodka oil spill contamination.     

Seismic evidence of divergent rifting and subsequent deformation in the southern Japan Sea, and a Cenozoic tectonic synthesis of the eastern Eurasian margin

Neogene rift system configuration for the back-arc of southwest Japan, southern rim of the Japan Sea, is argued on the basis of reflection seismic interpretation. Divergent rifting and subsequent contraction provoked by an arc–arc collisional event are manifested by the formation of faulted grabens and their inverted deformation, respectively. We identified the following four Cenozoic tectonic epochs as a decomposition process of the eastern Eurasian margin based on reliable paleomagnetic data: (1) Plate margin rearrangement on a regional left-lateral fault through southwest Japan and Sikhote Alin, which constituted a continuous geologic province before the early Tertiary differential motion; (2) Early Tertiary clockwise rotation (>20°) of the east Tan-Lu block relative to the North China block; (3) Oligocene to early Miocene divergent rifting and spreading of the Japan Sea, which divided southwest Japan from the east Tan-Lu block; (4) Middle Miocene bending and back-arc inversion of southwest Japan caused by collision with the Izu-Bonin arc. According to the estimation of relative motions during these events, a paleogeographic reconstruction is presented through Cenozoic time.