Shine the dark ages

Recent WMAP results indicate quite early reionization of the universe. Here we discuss possible implications on CMB anisotropies and CMB polarization of the early reionization.     

Near inertial motion excited by wind change in a margin of the Typhoon 9019

An excitation of inertial oscillation in the upper layer east of course of Typhoon 9019 was fortuitously observed at three surface buoys deployed during the Ocean Mixed Layer Experiment (OMLET). The observed inertial oscillation was compared with wind fluctuation measured at Ocean Weather Station T (29°N, 135°E) which was placed at the center of a triangle with three vertexes occupied by the respective surface buoys. Inertial oscillation is effectively excited in the mixed layer at the eastern margin of the typhoon by a rapid decrease of wind rather than by prevailing strong wind. It is shown by means of a least square deviation that the inertial oscillation observed in the mixed layer has a period of 23.9 hours shorter than the local inertial period of 24.7 hours. This shorter period suggests that the inertial oscillation has the finite velocities of phase and group as an inertial internal wave. A theoretically obtained ratio of vertical component of group velocity to that of phase velocity, approximately agrees with observed value. The inertial internal wave is excited by fluctuation of divergence with near inertial period in the mixed layer.     

Direct determination of barium in Sea water by inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry

A method for the determination of barium in sea water was investigated using inductively coupled plasma emission spectrometry, and sea water samples from the Japan Sea and the Pacific Ocean were directly analyzed by this method. Artificial sea water was used to prepare matrix matched standard solutions to overcome the problem of physical interference. The detection limit (signal/noise ratio=2) for barium in deionized and distilled water was 0.08µg l^?1 and in sea water, 0.12µg l^?1. The reproducibilities in the purified water and in the sea water at the 10µg l^?1 level were 0.7% a#FFFFFFnd 0.5%, respectively. The barium concentration in both the Japan Sea and the Pacific Ocean increased with depth and ranged between 5.5–10.0µg l^?1 and 4.1–18.4µg l^?1, respectively.     

Effective stress analyses of liquefaction-induced deformation in river dikes

A series of effective stress analyses is carried out on the seismic performance of river dikes based on the case histories during the 1993 Hokkaido-Nansei-oki and 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquakes in Japan. Seven case histories selected for the analyses involve a crest settlement ranging from none to 2.7 m in the dikes 3–6 m high with evidence of liquefaction at foundation soil. The effective stress model used is based on a multiple shear mechanism and was developed by one of the authors. The soil parameters are evaluated based on the site investigation and laboratory test results. The results of the analyses are basically consistent with the observed performance of the river dikes. In particular, the effective stress model shows a reasonable capability to reproduce the varying degree of settlements depending on the geotechnical conditions of foundation soils beneath the dikes. The analyses also indicate that the effect of a cohesive soil layer mixed with the liquefiable sand layers beneath the dikes can be a primary factor for reducing the liquefaction-induced deformation of dikes.     

Traveling wave effects on a tall and narrow building: Observation and analysis

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the seismic response of a tall and narrow building, for example, a turbine building of thermal power plant, due to a traveling shear wave. It is considered that the dynamic response of the building can be affected by the spatial variance of seismic ground motion, because the building has a long-shaped foundation (43 meters wide by 343 meters long by 4 meters thick). First, analytical study was conducted using obliquely incident harmonic motion. And comparing the earthquake response observed at different points of foundation slab, it was found that the response at the end point where input wave reaches later is larger than that at the other end. From these studies, it was assured that the antisymmetric mode, which can be neglected in ordinary analysis, is excited by phase difference of input motion.     

Structure and crystal chemistry of a dense polymorph of tricalcium phosphate Ca3 (PO4)2: A host to accommodate large lithophile elements in the earth's mantle

A phase of Ca₃ (PO₄)₂, synthesized at 12GPa and 2300° C, is structurally analyzed by the single crystal X-ray diffraction method. This Ca₃(PO₄)₂ is found to be a dense polymorph of tricalcium phosphate isostructural with Ba₃ (PO₄)₂ and named γ-Ca₃ (PO₄)₂. In the structure of Ca₃ (PO₄)₂, a phosphorus atom is tetrahedrally coordinated by oxygen atoms and calcium atoms occupy two types of large metal sites. The Ca(1) site has twelve oxygen neighbours with the mean bond length of 2.739 Å while the other Ca(2) site is coordinated by ten oxygen atoms with the mean Ca-O distance of 2.588Å. The structure is characterized by the translationally interconnected polyhedral sequence PO₄-Ca(2)O₁₀-Ca (1)O₁₂-Ca (2)O₁₀-PO₄ in the direction of the c axis. This dense phase of Ca₃(PO₄)₂ with two large metal sites may be an important host for very large lithophile elements in the deep upper mantle of the earth.     

Comparison of observed and theoretically calculated seiches of Heda Bay,Japan

We carried out observations of sea-level fluctuations simultaneously at three stations on the coast of Heda Bay, Honshu, Japan, using supersonic-type water level gauges controlled by a personal computer. Analyses of the obtained data showed predominant spectral peaks at periods of 7.6, 2.0 and 1.3 minutes for all three stations. Comparison of the observed data with numerically calculated normal oscillation modes of the bay indicates that these three spectral peaks correspond to the theoretical first, third and seventh normal modes of the basin respectively, judging from the results of cross-spectral analyses. The reason for the absence of the remaining normal modes, especially of the second or the lateral first mode of the basin, is briefly considered.     

Measurement of methane flux over an evergreen coniferous forest canopy using a relaxed eddy accumulation system with tuneable diode laser spectroscopy detection

Very few studies have conducted long-term observations of methane (CH₄) flux over forest canopies. In this study, we continuously measured CH₄ fluxes over an evergreen coniferous (Japanese cypress) forest canopy throughout 1?year, using a micrometeorological relaxed eddy accumulation (REA) system with tuneable diode laser spectroscopy (TDLS) detection. The Japanese cypress forest, which is a common forest type in warm-temperate Asian monsoon regions with a wet summer, switched seasonally between a sink and source of CH₄ probably because of competition by methanogens and methanotrophs, which are both influenced by soil conditions (e.g., soil temperature and soil moisture). At hourly to daily timescales, the CH₄ fluxes were sensitive to rainfall, probably because CH₄ emission increased and/or absorption decreased during and after rainfall. The observed canopy-scale fluxes showed complex behaviours beyond those expected from previous plot-scale measurements and the CH₄ fluxes changed from sink to source and vice versa.