Unified approach to amplitude attenuation and coda excitation in the randomly inhomogeneous lithosphere

A unified model is proposed for explaining the frequency dependent amplitude attenuation and the coda wave excitation on the basis of the single scattering process in the randomly inhomogeneous lithosphere. Adopting Birch's law and a direct proportion between density and wave velocity, we statistically describe the inhomogeneous medium by one random function characterized by the von Karman autocorrelation function. We calculate the amplitude attenuation from the solid angle integral of scattered wave energy on the basis of the Born approxiimation after subtracting the travel-time fluctuation effect caused by slowly varying velocity inhomogeneities. This subtraction is equivalent to neglect energy loss by scattering within a cone around the forward direction. The random inhomogeneity of the von Karman autocorrelation function of order 0.35 with the mean square fractional fluctuation of 7.2×10^–3 1.3×10^–2 and the correlation distance of 2.15.1 km well explains observed backward scattering coefficientg and the ratioQ _P ^–1 /Q _S ^–1 , and observed and partially conjecturedQ _S ^–1 for frequencies between 0.5 Hz and 30 Hz.     

Process of Housing Damage Assessment: The 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster Case

Rebuilding of victims' livelihoods was a crucial issue in the restoration process in the1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster. Housing damage assessment influencedmost of the rebuilding of the livelihood in the long term, because the Victim Certificatesissued by the local governments based on the results of the Housing damage assessmentwas required to receive most of the individual assistance measures. In the process ofHousing damage assessment, many complex problems arose, leading to extensivework on the part of the disaster responders. Consequently, a considerable number ofvictims were dissatisfied with the assessment and applied for a resurvey. Due to a floodof requests for resurvey, disaster responders had to work on damage assessment, leavingrelief activities aside.In order to facilitate Housing damage assessment, this paper discusses thefollowing five points: (1) the processes and the problems of assessments performedin the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster, (2) the changes in the nature of informationneeded by the victims, (3) the improvements over the present damage assessment, (4)the housing situation in Japan, and (5) the international situation on damage assessment.It is obvious from the results that a poor damage assessment system and the size ofthe disaster produced a very large work load. Differences in appreciation among theinvestigators also contributed to unfair assessments and led to the victims beingincreasingly dissatisfied by the survey results. Finally, a design concept for acomprehensive damage assessment system, which has been derived from theabove five points, is proposed for post-disaster management.     

A primitive odobenine walrus of Early Pliocene age from Japan

Abstract The well preserved cranium of Protodobenus japonicus, a new genus and species of odobenine walrus, is from the lower part of the Tamugigawa Formation at Ooshima-mura, Higashi Kubiki-gun, Niigata Prefecture, central Japan. The lower part of the formation that yielded P. japonicus is Early Pliocene, dating approximately from 5.0 to 4.9 Ma. The skull of P. japonicus is generally shaped like that of the modern walrus, Odobenus rosmarus (Linnaeus, 1758), but is much more primitive, especially in the dentition. Protodobenus japonicus is derived from the Imagotariinae. It is similar to such primitive fossil walruses as Prorosmarus alleni from the Western Atlantic and Aivukus cedrosensis from Baja California, and has some similarities as well as significant differences from them. Protodobenus japonicus could have evolved directly into Odobenus in the North Pacific Ocean, and could have dispersed directly to the Arctic Ocean. This is contrary to the scenario proposed by Repenning and Tedford, in which primitive odobenids, like Aivukus cedrosensis, migrated to the Atlantic Ocean through the Central American Seaway and returned to the North Pacific Ocean as O rosmarus via the Arctic about 0.6 Ma. Regarding the first lower premolar of the living walrus, Fay concluded after studying fetal O. rosmarus that the first premolar (P₁) of the mandible is absent, and that the lower tooth row consists of: C₁ P₂, P₃, P₄. Protodobenus japonicus has in its mandible I _1-2 C₁ P₂, P₃, P₄, and this is the primitive pinniped formula. Pinnipeds typically lose the molars, not the anterior premolars, and the present author believes that the correct tooth formula for O rosmarus is C₁ P₁, P₂, P₃. Its skull, palate, and mandible suggest that P. japonicus had morphology pre-adapted to an early stage of benthic suction feeding, but it probably was unable to rely on that method of feeding. The discovery of P. japonicus demonstrates that the odobenine lineage (true walruses) goes back in time at least 5 Ma. Other more aberrant odobenine walruses, such as Aivukus and Prorosmarus, and pseudo-walruses of the subfamily Dusignathinae, are more distantly removed from the lineage leading to living walruses than has previously been suspected.     

The distribution of Fe3+ and Ga3+ between two tetrahedral sites in melilites,Ca2(Mg,Fe3+, Ga,Si)3O7

The distribution of Fe³⁺ and Ga³⁺ between the two tetrahedral sites in three synthetic melilites has been studied by using ⁵⁷Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy. In the melilite, (Ca₂Ga₂SiO₇)₅₀ (Ca₂Fe³⁺GaSiO₇)₅₀ (mol %), the distribution of Fe³⁺ and Ga³⁺ in T1 and T2 sites is apparently random, which can be explained in terms of the electrostatic valence rule. However in the melilites, (Ca₂MgSi₂O₇)₅₂ (Ca₂Fe³⁺GaSiO₇)₄₂ (Ca₂Ga₂SiO₇)₆ and (Ca₂MgSi₂O₇)₆₂ (Ca₂Fe³⁺GaSiO₇)₃₆ (Ca₂Ga₂SiO₇)₂ (mol %), Fe³⁺ shows preference for the more ionic T1 site and Ga³⁺ for the more covalent T2 site. If the electronegativity of Ga³⁺ is assumed to be larger than that of Fe³⁺, the mode of distribution of Fe³⁺ and Ga³⁺ can be explained in terms of our previous hypothesis that a large electronegativity induces a stronger preference for the more covalent T2 site.     

Geological age of the Yokawa Formation of the Kobe Group (Japan) on the basis of terrestrial mammalian fossils

Abstract   The age of the Yokawa Formation of the Cenozoic Kobe Group distributed in Hyogo Prefecture of western Japan based on mammalian fossils is discussed. Two fossil dental specimens of terrestrial mammals discovered from the lowest part of the Yokawa Formation in the Sanda area are described. These two fossils described here are: (i) a right mandibular fragment with p2–m3 of Bothriodon sandaensis sp. nov. (selenodont anthracotheriid artiodactyl), which appears to be the most primitive among the species of the genus; and (ii) right m1–m3 of cf. Hyrachyus sp. (primitive rhinocerotoid perissodactyl). In the lower part of the Yokawa Formation, Zaisanamynodon (amynodontid perissodactyl) was previously reported. The morphology ('evolutionary stage') of B. sandaensis is indicative of the latest Middle to Late Eocene, that of cf. Hyrachyus sp. is indicative of the Early to Middle Eocene, and Zaisanamynodon is indicative of the Late Middle to Late Eocene. Therefore, the fossil mammals of the Yokawa Formation indicate an latest Middle Eocene ( ca . 38 Ma) correlation for the lower part of the formation, as a working hypothesis. Although the resolution of the geological age based on these mammalian fossils is relatively low compared to that based on marine index fossils, this result is concordant with the recent radiometric correlation of the lower part of the Yokawa Formation in the Sanda area.     

Development of radiation-damage halos in low-quartz: cathodoluminescence measurement after He+ ion implantation

Summary ?In cathodoluminescence (CL) images of synthetic low-quartz samples after He⁺ implantation at 4 MeV with a dose density over 1.14 × 10⁻⁴ C cm⁻², bright CL halos of about 14 μm in width from the implantation surface are recognized. These widths are consistent with the theoretical range. This confirms experimentally that the CL halos in low-quartz found in geological samples are formed by alpha radiation. It also shows that CL colour continuously changes with dose density, demonstrating that it is possible to use the CL halo as a new dosimeter that is useful for dating and analysis of radionuclide migration in natural geological media. Received December 3, 2001; revised version accepted February 27, 2002     

The microwave structure of coronal condensations and its relation to proton flares

Active regions on the Sun in the 20th solar cycle are studied with special reference to their association with proton flares based on microwave interferometric observations at Toyokawa Observatory. It has been reconfirmed that the active regions associated with intense S-component emission with a high 3-cm to 8-cm flux ratio are likely to produce proton flares. About one fourth of 259 active regions during the period investigated are found to have definite features in the spatial distribution of polarization at a wavelength of 3 cm. Active regions with one particular type of polarization pattern have a good correlation with the occurrence of proton flares.