Seasonal Variability of Near-Surface Heat Budget of Selected Oceanic Areas in the North Tropical Indian Ocean

The results obtained from an Ocean General Circulation Model (OGCM), the Modular Ocean Model 2.2, forced with the National Center for Environmental Prediction/National Center for Atmospheric Research reanalysis data, and observational data have been utilized to document the climatological seasonal cycle of the upper ocean response in the Tropical Indian Ocean. We address the various roles played by the net surface heat flux and the local and remote ocean dynamics for the seasonal variation of near-surface heat budget in the Tropical Indian Ocean. The investigation is based in seven selected boxes in the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Equatorial Indian Ocean. The changes of basin-wide heat budget of ocean process in the Arabian Sea and the Western Equatorial Indian Ocean show an annual cycle, whereas those in the Bay of Bengal and the Eastern Equatorial Indian Ocean show a semi-annual cycle. The time tendency of heat budget in the Arabian Sea depends on both the net surface heat flux and ocean dynamics while on the other hand, that in the Bay of Bengal depends mainly on the net surface flux. However, it has been found that the changes of heat budget are very different between western and eastern regional sea areas in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal, respectively. This difference depends on seasonal variations of the different local wind forcing and the different ocean dynamics associated with ocean eddies and Kelvin and Rossby waves in each regional sea areas. We also discuss the comparison and the connection for the seasonal variation of near-surface heat budget among their regional sea areas. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The evolution of isolated vortices interacted with steep slope

Numerical solutions are examined for isolated, intense vortices as influenced by western bounding bottom topography through the use of a rigid-lid, two-layer primitive -plane numerical model. Systematic studies are made of the sense of rotation (cyclonic/anticyclonic), the consequence of varying the gradient of bottom slope, and the different vertical shear in a two layer ocean. In the basin with a bottom slope, the nearly barotropic anticyclonic vortex forms a modon-like vortex for S with fixedRo ₂<O(1) (where is the ratio between the variation of the Coriolis parameter across the eddy to the Coriolis parameter in the center, S the topographic effect and,Ro ₂ the Rossby number in the lower layer) and its generation is due to a compound effect of the planetary beta, topographic beta, avvection, and mirror image. The formation of the modon-like vortex and the propagation of the original vortex onto the bottom slope depends on the strength of slope gradient and the baroclinicity of the vortex. The nearly barotropic anticyclonic vortex evolves into the stronger upper ocean one with increasing S: the gradient of the bottom slope becomes steeper. Then the original vortex lives longer because the barotropic component of the energy is converted to the baroclinic one and it moves toward southeast in forming a modon-like vortex in the lower layer. The evolution of a vortex in the model results are compared to observational results of a Kuroshio warm core ring (KWCR) obtained from hydrographic data (June, 1985) and from NOAA satellite infrared images (April, 1985 to July, 1985). It is shown that a KWCR (June, 1985) is influenced by the western continental slope/shelf of the East Japan.     

A simple model to estimate monthly forest evapotranspiration in Japan from monthly temperature

The estimation of evapotranspiration (E) in forested areas is required for various practical purposes (e.g. evaluation of drought risks) in Japan. This study developed a model that estimates monthly forest E in Japan with the input of monthly temperature (T). The model is based on the assumptions that E equals the equilibrium evaporation rate (E_eq) and that E_eq is approximated by a function of T. The model formulates E as E (mm month⁻¹) = 3·48 T ( °C) + 32·3. The accuracy of the model was examined using monthly E data derived using short‐term water balance (WB) and micrometeorological (M) methods for 15 forest sites in Japan. The model estimated monthly E more accurately than did the Thornthwaite and Hamon equations according to regression analysis of the estimated E and E derived using the WB and M methods. Although the model tended to overestimate monthly E, the overestimation could be reduced by considering the effect of precipitation on E. As T data are commonly available all over Japan, the model would be a useful tool to estimate forest E in Japan. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Natural and anthropogenic aquatic environmental changes reconstructed by paleolimnological analyses in Lake Kitaura,central Japan

In order to assess the recent anthropogenic environmental changes in Lake Kitaura, central Japan, changes during the past few centuries were reconstructed from results of radiometric and tephrochlonological age determination, magnetic susceptibility measurements, total organic carbon analyses, total nitrogen analyses and fossil diatom analyses on a sediment core from the lake. A total of six major and sub-zones are recognized according to the diatom fossil assemblages, and we discuss aquatic environmental change in Lake Kitaura mainly based on these diatom assemblage change. Zone Ia and Zone Ib (older than AD 1707) are marine to brackish. In Zone IIa (AD␣1707–AD 1836), most of the brackish diatoms disappeared, and were replaced by freshwater species indicating a decrease in salinity. We interpret the salinity decrease in Zone I–IIa as a sea-level fall during the Little Ice Age. The salinity of the lake decreased to near freshwater conditions in Zone IIb (AD 1836–AD 1970), which could arise from alteration in River Tone or development of a sandspit in the mouth of River Tone in addition to sea-level change. In Zone IIIa (AD 1970–AD 1987), the diatom assemblage indicates a freshwater environment, and sedimentation rates increase rapidly. These changes reflect sedimentary environment change and an ecosystem transition due to the construction of the tide gate. In Zone IIIb (AD 1987–AD 2002), the diatom flux (valves cm⁻² y⁻¹) increased and species composition changed. The changes in Zone IIIb show a good agreement with limnological monitoring data gathered from the lake. These paleolimnological data suggest that the recent human-induced changes of the aquatic environment of the lake after the 1970s exceed rates during the period concerned in this study.     

Synthesis of highly dense and fine-grained aggregates of mantle composites by vacuum sintering of nano-sized mineral powders

Synthesized mineral powders with particle size of <100 nm are vacuum sintered to obtain highly dense and fine-grained polycrystalline mantle composites: single phase aggregates of forsterite (iron-free), olivine (iron containing), enstatite and diopside; two-phase composites of forsterite + spinel and forsterite + periclase; and, three-phase composites of forsterite + enstatite + diopside. Nano-sized powders of colloidal SiO₂ and highly dispersed Mg(OH)₂ with particle size of ≤50 nm are used as chemical sources for MgO and SiO₂, which are common components for all of the aggregates. These powders are mixed with powders of CaCO₃, MgAl₂O_4, and Fe(CO₂CH₃)₂ to introduce mineral phases of diopside, spinel, and olivine to the aggregates, respectively. To synthesize highly dense composites through pressureless sintering, we find that calcined powders should be composed of particles that have: (1) fully or partially reacted to the desired minerals, (2) a size of <100 nm and (3) less propensity to coalesce. Such calcined powders are cold isostatically pressed and then vacuum sintered. The temperature and duration of the sintering process are tuned to achieve a balance between high density and fine grain size. Highly dense (i.e., porosity ≤1 vol%) polycrystalline mantle mineral composites with grain size of 0.3–1.1 μm are successfully synthesized with this method.     

Discovering a pull-apart basin using InSAR in Bursa,Turkey

The city of Bursa in Turkey is surrounded by major and secondary fault branches which splay from the North Anatolian Fault. Nonetheless, as their traces were not exactly known in the alluvial land of the Bursa basin, until this study, they were not plotted in the official active fault map of Turkey. In this study, the Bursa basin was observed by InSAR technology, and the subsidence which is consistent with the pull-apart basin geometry was detected in the basin. This finding was discussed in the local platforms in Turkey. Then, the city of Bursa was included into the priority provinces for the urban reconstruction under the risk of an earthquake, and the official active fault map of the region was revised by General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration of Turkey.     

Isotopic tracers for water masses in the coastal region of eastern Hokkaido

In this study we used two stable isotopes, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O, for water mass classification in the coastal region off eastern Hokkaido. δ¹³C* values, which were corrected for the biological effect, and δ ¹⁸O values up to 300 m depth suggested that the isotopic character of the onshore and offshore water in the southern Okhotsk Sea, the Nemuro Strait and the western North Pacific could be explained by the mixing of three source waters: the Oyashio water (OYW), Soya Warm Current water (SWCW) and East Sakhalin Current water (ESCW). In summer, δ ¹³C*-δ ¹⁸O plots indicated mixing between SWCW from the southern Okhotsk Sea and OYW in the Pacific coast of southeastern Hokkaido, while temperature-salinity plots of the onshore water showed minimal difference from the offshore OYW. In winter, on the other hand, the mixed water of ESCW and OYW (or SWCW) appeared in the Pacific coastal region, distributed as cold, low salinity onshore water. Finally, we estimated mixing ratios of OYW, SWCW and ESCW in the coastal region of western North Pacific using their mean values of δ ¹³C* and δ ¹⁸O as endmembers. These results suggest seasonal and yearly changes of water mass combination en route from the southern Okhotsk Sea to the western North Pacific.     

Three years statistics of simple 3 solar bursts

A plasmoid may be ejected during a flare and condensed by a radiative instability. The spectral shape of the mean fluxes of Simple 3 (or long-enduring) solar events is interpreted in terms of a thermal emission from this transient condensation in the higher levels of the solar atmosphere. This condensation is thick enough to block the radiation from the underlying S-component. This explanation fits the observed polarization changes, as well as the thermal character of the bursts time profiles. A clue for solar activity forecasting as well as for detailed studies of active sources is indicated.