Cloning of cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) genes from the hermaphrodite fish Rivulus marmoratus and the Japanese medaka Oryzias latipes

To use two small fish Rivulus marmoratus (Cyprinodontiformes, Rivulidae) and the Japanese medaka Oryzias latipes (Belloniformes) as testing models in molecular ecotoxicology, we have cloned the cytochrome P450 1A (CYP1A) gene after screening of both genomic DNA libraries, and sequenced 11,863 and 7,243 bp including all the exons and introns with promoter regions, respectively. The Rivulus and the medaka CYP1A gene consisted of seven exons (including non-coding exons) with high homology to mammals. In the promoter region, Rivulus CYP1A gene has seven xenobiotic response elements (XREs) and two metal response elements (MREs), while the Japanese medaka CYP1A gene has six XREs and four MREs. Interestingly, medaka CYP1A gene has a number of MREs at the promoter, which may affect its response on metal exposure. We describe here the gene structure of both fish CYP1A genes.     

Turbulent structure in water under laboratory wind waves

The structure of the turbulent boundary layer underneath laboratory wind waves was studied by using a combination of a high-sensitivity thermometer array with a two-component sonic flowmeter. The temperature fluctuations are used to detect movements of water parcels, with temperature as a passive quantity. The turbulence energy was dominant in the frequency range (0.01 0.1 Hz), which was much smaller than the wind-wave frequency (2 5 Hz), and in which the turbulence was anisotropic. There was a frequency range (0.2 2 Hz for velocity, 0.2 5 Hz for temperature fluctuation) where the turbulence was isotropic and had a –5/3 slope in the energy spectrum. These points are the same as those in previous works. However, by analyses of the time series by using a variable-interval time-averaging technique (VITA), it has been found that conspicuous events in this main turbulence energy band are the downward bursting from the vicinity of the water surface. Thus the structure of the water layer underneath the wind waves has characters which are similar to the familiar turbulent boundary layer over a rough solid wall, as already conceived. It has been found that, at the same time, the turbulence energy can be related to quantities of the wind waves (the root mean squared water level fluctuation and the wave peak frequency), for different wind and wave conditions. That is, the turbulence underneath the wind waves develops under a close coupling with the wind waves.     

The Formation and Circulation of the Intermediate Water in the Japan Sea

In order to clarify the formation and circulation of the Japan/East Sea Intermediate Water (JESIW) and the Upper portion of the Japan Sea Proper Water (UJSPW), numerical experiments have been carried out using a 3-D ocean circulation model. The UJSPW is formed in the region southeast off Vladivostok between 41°N and 42°N west of 136°E. Taking the coastal orography near Vladivostok into account, the formation of the UJSPW results from the deep water convection in winter which is generated by the orchestration of fresh water supplied from the Amur River and saline water from the Tsushima Warm Current under very cold conditions. The UJSPW formed is advected by the current at depth near the bottom of the convection and penetrates into the layer below the JESIW. The origin of the JESIW is the low salinity coastal water along the Russian coast originated by the fresh water from the Amur River. The coastal low salinity water is advected by the current system in the northwestern Japan Sea and penetrates into the subsurface below the Tsushima Warm Current region forming a subsurface salinity minimum layer. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Validation and Improvement of Satellite-Derived Surface Solar Radiation over the Northwestern Pacific Ocean

The purpose of this study is to validate and improve satellite-derived downward surface shortwave radiation (DSSR) over the northwestern Pacific Ocean using abundant in situ data. The DSSR derivation model used here assumes that the reduction of solar radiation by clouds is proportional to the product of satellite-measured albedo and a cloud attenuation coefficient. DSSR is calculated from Geostationary Meteorological Satellite-5/Visible Infrared Spin-Scan Radiometer data in 0.05° × 0.05° grids. The authors first compare the satellite DSSR derived with a cloud attenuation coefficient table determined in past research with in situ values. Although the hourly satellite DSSR agrees well with land in situ values in Japan, it has a bias of +13∼+34 W/m² over the ocean and the bias is especially large in the low latitudes. The authors then improve the coefficient table using the ocean in situ data. Usage of the new table successfully reduces the bias of the satellite DSSR over the ocean. The cloud attenuation coefficient for low-albedo cases over the ocean needs to be larger in the low latitudes than past research has indicated. Daily and hourly DSSR can be evaluated from the satellite data with RMS errors of 11–14% and 30–33%, respectively, over a wide region of the ocean by this model. It is also shown that the cloud attenuation coefficient over land needs to be smaller than over the ocean because the effect of the radiation reflected by the land surface cannot be ignored.     

Effects of scattering and resonance on energy dissipation of an internal tide in a narrow shelf

The effects of scattering and resonance on the energy dissipation of an internal tide were investigated using a two-dimensional model which is a reassembled version of the theoretical generation model devised by Rattray et al. (1969) for internal tide. The basic character of the scattering process at the step bottom was first investigated with a wide shelf model. When the internal wave incited from a deep region (Region II) into the shallow shelf region (Region I), a passing wave into the shallow region, a reflected wave into the deep region, and a beam-like wave, i.e. a scattered wave (SW), emanated at the step bottom. The SW, which consists of the superposition of numerous internal modes, propagated upward/downward into both regions. The general properties of the SW were well expressed around the shelf edge, even in the present model with viscosity effect. The amplitude of the SW decreased dramatically when the depth of the velocity maximum of the incident internal wave in Region II corresponded with the depth of the shelf edge. In the narrow shelf model, where the decay distance of the internal wave in Region I is longer than the shelf width, the incident internal wave reflected at the coast to form a standing wave. When the internal wave in Region I is enhanced by the resonance, the energy of the SW in Region II is also intensified. Furthermore, the energy of the modes in Region II predominated when the velocity maximum is identical to that of the dominant mode in Region I. These results suggest that the spatial scale of shelf region is a very important factor governing the energy dissipation of the internal tide through reflection and scattering in a narrow shelf.     

Outbreak of warm water from the Kuroshio South of Japan

During the concentrated observation (April–May 1988) conducted as a part of the Ocean Mixed Layer Experiment (OMLET) in the sea area south of Japan, a conspicuous outbreak of warm water occurred from the large-meander region of the Kuroshio toward the southwest in the direction of the former Ocean Weather Station “T”. A series of NOAA-AVHRR infrared images clearly showed the process of this event. A surface buoy-mooring system deployed in this experiment recorded the arrival of this outbreak of water, in terms of the rise of sea-surface temperature (SST) of 1.5°C and the flow of warm water of 1.5kt toward the northwest at “T”. We studied this phenomenon by combining time series of infrared SST images with the oceanographic data obtained by two research vessels. The warm water was about 100 m deep in the section at 137°E along the edge of the Off-Shikoku Warm Water. It was estimated that about twenty outbreaks of this kind in a year can compensate a large heat loss to the atmosphere above this ocean region.     

Difference characteristics of sea surface temperature observed by GLI and AMSR aboard ADEOS-II

This study compares infrared and microwave measurements of sea surface temperature (SST) obtained by a single satellite. The simultaneous observation from the Global Imager (GLI: infrared) and the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR: microwave) aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) provided an opportunity for the intercomparison. The GLI-and AMSR-derived SSTs from April to October 2003 are analyzed with other ancillary data including surface wind speed and water vapor retrieved by AMSR and SeaWinds on ADEOS-II. We found no measurable bias (defined as GLI minus AMSR), while the standard deviation of difference is less than 1°C. In low water vapor conditions, the GLI SST has a positive bias less than 0.2°C, and in high water vapor conditions, it has a negative (positive) bias during the daytime (nighttime). The low spatial resolution of AMSR is another factor underlying the geographical distribution of the differences. The cloud detection problem in the GLI algorithm also affects the difference. The large differences in high-latitude region during the nighttime might be due to the GLI cloud-detection algorithm. AMSR SST has a negative bias during the daytime with low wind speed (less than 7 ms⁻¹), which might be related to the correction for surface wind effects in the AMSR SST algorithm.     

Validity of sea surface temperature observed with the TRITON buoy under diurnal heating conditions

In order to investigate the validity of buoy-observed sea surface temperature (SST), we installed special instruments to measure near-surface ocean temperature on the TRITON buoy moored at 2.07°N, 138.06°E from 2 to 13 March 2004, in addition to a standard buoy sensor for the regular SST measurement at 1.5-m depth. Large diurnal SST variations were observed during this period, and the variations of the temperatures at about 0.3-m depth could be approximately simulated by a one-dimensional numerical model. However, there was a notable discrepancy between the buoy-observed 1.5-m-depth SST (SST_1.5m) and the corresponding model-simulated temperature only during the daytime when the diurnal rise was large. The evaluation of the heat balance in the sea surface layer showed that the diurnal rise of the SST_1.5m in these cases could not be accounted for by solar heating alone. We examined the depth of the SST_1.5m sensor and the near-surface temperature observed from a ship near the buoy, and came to the conclusion that the solar heating of the buoy hull and/or a disturbance in the temperature field around the buoy hull would contribute to the excessive diurnal rise of the SST_1.5m observed with the TRITON buoy. However, the temperature around the hull was not sufficiently homogenized, as suggested in a previous paper. For the diurnal rise of the SST_1.5m exceeding 0.5 K, the daytime buoy data became doubtful, through dynamics that remain to be clarified. A simple formula is proposed to correct the unexpected diurnal amplitude of the buoy SST_1.5m.     

Damage Evaluation of Agro-meteorological Hazards in the Maize-Growing Region of Songliao Plain,China: Case Study of Lishu County of Jilin Province

Agro-meteorological hazards such as drought, waterlogging and cool summer occur with very high frequency and affect maize production and social-economic development in the maize-growing region of Songliao Plain, China. Moreover, both the frequency of these hazards and loss from them are considered to be increasing with global warming. The purpose of this paper is to quantitatively analyze the relationships between the fluctuation of maize yield and drought, waterlogging and cool summer, and to evaluate the consequences of these hazards in the maize-growing area of Songliao Plain, taking Lishu county as a case study area based on GIS (Geographic Information System). Crop yield-climate analysis and regression analysis were employed to analyze and quantify relationships between the fluctuation of maize yield and drought, waterlogging and cool summer, and to evaluate the consequences of these hazards. The parameters and model of damage evaluation were presented using weighted comprehensive analysis, and the degree of damage of drought, waterlogging and cool summer to maize production was comprehensively evaluated and regionalized. It is shown that from 1949 to 1990, the negative value years of the fluctuation of maize yield due to meteorological hazards accounted for 55% of seasons, of which 14% was caused by drought, 30% by waterlogging, 4% by cool summer and drought, 9% by cool summer and waterlogging, 13% by drought and waterlogging, 30% by drought, waterlogging and cool summer. Studies on the instability and spatial variation of the fluctuations in maize yield in Lishu county showed that the middle plains are stable areas to climatic influence, while southeastern hills and low mountains, the low lands of the plains along the East Liao River and the western plain are unstable areas in terms of areas in maize yield. The synthetic index of the degree of damage to maize of drought, waterlogging and cool summer showed a strong positive correlation with the ratio of the amount damaged to the normal yield of maize. This suggests that this index can be used to evaluate such damage. The degree of damage of drought, waterlogging and cool summer to maize in Lishu county shows the regional characteristics, which increase gradually from the center to the west and east, this being almost identical with the spatial distribution of the fluctuation of maize yield due to these hazards. This study can be expected to provide the basis for developing strategies to mitigate agro-meteorological hazards and reducing the losses from them, and adjust the medium and long-term distribution of agricultural activities so as to adapt to environmental changes.