Source models for the 1993 Hokkaido Nansei-Oki earthquake tsunami

A source model for the 1993 Hokkaido Nansei-Oki tsunami must satisfy certain conditions. Such conditions are presented in this paper, and two methods are used to determine the best source model for this event. A trial-and-error method selects DCRC-17a as the best among 24 different models. This model has three fault planes dipping westward. To reproduce well the tide gauge records at two locations, an inversion analysis is used to modify the dislocation of DCRC-17a.     

Japanese early-warning for debris flows and slope failures using rainfall indices with Radial Basis Function Network

Early-warning systems for natural disasters are important tools for disaster risk reduction and for achieving sustainable development and livelihoods. In 2005, the Japanese government initiated a new nationwide early-warning system for landslides disasters. The main methodology of the system is to set a criterion for occurrences of debris flows and slope failures based on several rainfall indices (60-min cumulative rainfall and soil–water index) in each 5-km grid mesh covering all of Japan. Because many of the records of mass movements are lacking in scientific precision on timing and location, the system applies Radial Basis Function Network methods to set the criterion based primarily on rainfall data recorded as not triggering disasters. Since the end of March 2007, under torrential rainfall conditions, early-warning information has been disseminated as part of weather news using TV, radio, and the Internet. Because of the increasing worldwide recognition of the importance of early-warning systems for natural disaster reduction, the aim of this article is to introduce the new Japanese early-warning system to the international landslide community. In this article, the method, the system, and the result of its application to landslide disasters in 2009 are presented.     

High-P metamorphism, pattern of induced flow in the mantle wedge, and the link with plutonism in paired metamorphic belts

The convex form of subduction-stage pressure–temperature ( P–T ) paths up to c. 2.0 GPa implies the Sambagawa high- P metamorphic belt, Japan, formed a few million years before ridge subduction. Additional compilation of P–T conditions for higher- P Sambagawa rocks ( c. 2.0–2.5 GPa) reveals that the thermal profile along the slab surface shows a remarkable high- T -ward warping at c. 2.0 GPa ( c. 65 km). Previous thermal models indicate that this warping corresponds to the onset of induced mantle flow towards the subducting slab. If a normal thickness continental crust of c. 30 km was present, this implies the hangingwall region between 30 and 65 km depth was occupied by serpentinized wedge mantle isolated from large-scale mantle flow. Subsequent arrival of the spreading ridge, reheating and dehydration of the serpentinized wedge probably supplied the water necessary for causing granitic magmatism in the Ryoke high- T metamorphic belt, which is paired with the Sambagawa belt.     

Influence of fine sediment on the fluidity of debris flows

Debris flows include a great diversity of grain sizes with inherent features such as inverse grading, particle size segregation, and liquefaction of fine sediment. The liquefaction of fine sediment affects the fluidity of debris flows, although the behavior and influence of fine sediment in debris flows have not been examined sufficiently. This study used flume tests to detect the effect of fine sediment on the fluidity of laboratory debris flows consisting of particles with various diameters. From the experiments, the greatest sediment concentration and flow depth were observed in the debris flows mixed with fine sediment indicating increased flow resistance. The experimental friction coefficient was then compared with the theoretical friction coefficient derived by substituting the experimental values into the constitutive equations for debris flow. The theoretical friction coefficient was obtained from two models with different fine-sediment treatments: assuming that all of the fine sediments were solid particles or that the particles consisted of a fluid phase involving pore water liquefaction. From the comparison of the friction coefficients, a fully liquefaction state was detected for the fine particle mixture. When the mixing ratio and particle size of the fine sediment were different, some other cases were considered to be in a partially liquefied transition state. These results imply that the liquefaction of fine sediment in debris flows was induced not only by the geometric conditions such as particle sizes, but also by the flow conditions.     

Improved Estimates of Wide-Ranging Sea Surface Temperature from GMS S-VISSR Data

We have developed an algorithm to estimate the wide-ranging Sea Surface Temperature (SST) data from the GMS-5 (Geostationary Meteorological Satellite) S-VISSR (Stretched-Visible Infrared Spin Scan Radiometer). Better SST estimates are realized by averaging the temporal variation of the VISSR calibration table and decreasing noise of the split-window terms using a spatial filter. The effects of the satellite zenith angle were examined in detail for better estimates, and VISSR-derived SSTs with root-mean-square (rms) error of 0.8 K were achieved using a new algorithm. The accuracy of SST estimates has been improved by using the temporal-spatial average of the split-window terms. Using the new techniques, we demonstrate that the hourly wide-ranging SST image data can be used to study the daily variations of SSTs in the Northern and Southern Pacific Oceans.     

Postglacial stratigraphic evolution of a current-influenced sandy shelf: offshore Kujukuri strandplain,central Japan

Sandy shelf sediments are important elements of clastic sedimentary systems because of their wide distribution in the geological record and their significance as hydrocarbon reservoirs. Although many studies have investigated shelf sediments influenced by waves or tidal currents, little is known about shelf sediments influenced by oceanic currents, particularly their lithofacies characteristics and stratigraphic evolution. This study investigated the stratigraphic evolution of shelf sediments off the Kujukuri strandplain facing the Pacific Ocean, which is influenced by the strong Kuroshio Current. Sediment cores were obtained from six locations on the Kujukuri shelf (34 to 124 m water depth) using a vibrocorer. The dominant lithofacies is mud-free sand with low-angle cross-lamination associated with alternating beds of finer and coarser sand with cross-lamination. These display depositional processes influenced by storm waves and the Kuroshio Current, respectively. This finding is consistent with the previously presented modern and historical observations of the Kuroshio Current and estimates of the storm-wave base. Radiocarbon dates show that the sediment succession formed during the last transgressive and highstand stages after 13·1 ka. The depositional processes during the stages represent a transition from storm waves with abundant sediment supply to both storm waves and the Kuroshio Current with sediment starvation mainly due to its trapping in the strandplain. Comparison to other Holocene–Modern shelf systems suggests that the sandy shelf successions are strongly influenced by oceanic currents under conditions of limited riverine input and open coastal geometry. The resultant sand-dominated succession is characterized by reversal of the proximal to distal grain-size trend compared to the fining for most other recognized wave/storm-dominated shelf successions. This is because of seaward increase in the influence of the Kuroshio Current. Thus, shelf deposits are naturally complex, and these may be further complicated by the additional influence of oceanic currents above the usual wave-dominated and tide-dominated end members.     

Collapse and fragmentation of rotating magnetized clouds – I. Magnetic flux–spin relation

We discuss the evolution of the magnetic flux density and angular velocity in a molecular cloud core, on the basis of three-dimensional numerical simulations, in which a rotating magnetized cloud fragments and collapses to form a very dense optically thick core of  >5 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻³  . As the density increases towards the formation of the optically thick core, the magnetic flux density and angular velocity converge towards a single relationship between the two quantities. If the core is magnetically dominated its magnetic flux density approaches  1.5( n /5 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻³)^1/2 mG  , while if the core is rotationally dominated the angular velocity approaches  2.57 × 10⁻³ ( n /5 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻³)^1/2 yr⁻¹  , where n is the density of the gas. We also find that the ratio of the angular velocity to the magnetic flux density remains nearly constant until the density exceeds  5 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻³  . Fragmentation of the very dense core and emergence of outflows from fragments will be shown in the subsequent paper.     

Planform evolution of deltas with graded alluvial topsets: Insights from three‐dimensional tank experiments,geometric considerations and field applications

The profile of a river that conveys sediment without net deposition and net erosion is referred to as ‘graded’ with respect to vertical aggradation of the river segment. Three experimental series, designed in terms of the autostratigraphic view of alluvial grade, were conducted to clarify the diagnostic spatial behaviour of graded alluvial–deltaic rivers: an ‘R series’, which utilized a moving boundary setting with a stationary base level; an ‘F series’ in a fixed boundary setting with a stationary base level to produce ‘forced grade’; and an ‘M series’ in a moving boundary setting with constant base‐level fall to produce ‘autogenic grade.’ The results of the three experimental series, combined with geometrical modelling of the effects of basin water depth and other experimental data, suggest the following: (i) in a graded alluvial–deltaic system, lateral shifting and avulsing of active distributary channels are suppressed regardless of whether the downstream boundary of the deltaic system is fixed; (ii) in a delta with a downstream‐fixed boundary, the graded streams are stabilized within a valley that is incised in the axial part of the delta plain, whereby the alluvial plain outside the valley is abandoned and terraced; (iii) in moving boundary settings, the graded river simply extends basinward as a linearly elongated channel and lobe system without cutting a valley; and (iv) a modern forced‐graded alluvial river is most likely to be found in a valley incised into a fan delta in front of very deep water, and the stratigraphic signal of fossil autogenic‐graded rivers will be found in deltaic successions that accumulated in the outer to marginal areas of deltaic continental shelves during sea‐level falls. This renewed autostratigraphic view of alluvial grade suggests a thorough reconsideration of the conventional understanding that an alluvial river feeding a progradational delta is graded with a stationary base level.     

Phylogeographical patterns of the gastropod Siphonaria pectinata (Linnaeus, 1758)

Siphonaria pectinata is a marine gastropod distributed across the shores of the Western and Eastern Atlantic. Although previous studies have indicated that the species could be a recent introduction to Central and North America from Western Africa and Europe, other authors have questioned this statement. In fact, a recent study has shown that individuals from both sides of the Atlantic are genetically disconnected, rejecting the idea of a recent invasion. However, genetic information on this species is very scarce and based only on a single study using a limited number of specimens and sites. The data reported in the present study represent one step forward, collecting information from 119 specimens from 22 sites that cover the entire distributional range of the species. Populations from the Western Atlantic separated from eastern ones around 1.4?1.9 Mya, whereas the centre of dispersion is located on the eastern side of the Atlantic. Siphonaria pectinata should be considered native to the Western Atlantic and cannot be considered as a species with an amphi‐atlantic distribution owing to the lack of genetic connection between both sides of the Atlantic, as previous authors have pointed out. The presence of a star‐shaped phylogeny is discussed in the context of Plio‐Pleistocene glaciations.