Seasonal differences in catches of leptocephali in the East China Sea and Suruga Bay, Japan

The species composition, distribution, and size of eel larvae, or leptocephali, caught near the continental shelf in subtropical and temperate regions of East Asia were compared between two seasons (May–Jun and Oct–Dec) to learn about the seasonality of reproduction of marine eels. There was greater species richness and evidence of spawning by more species of marine eels during the late autumn surveys in both the East China Sea (ECS) and in Suruga Bay along the east coast of Japan. Small leptocephali <10 mm TL and a wide range of sizes of various taxa were collected during both seasons along the outer edge of the continental shelf in the ECS, indicating that some marine eels may spawn there all year. The lack of small leptocephali during the spring survey in Suruga Bay suggested that most eels have a clear seasonal cycle of summer or autumn spawning at the higher latitudes of coastal Japan where there is much greater fluctuation of water temperature throughout the year than in the ECS. At lower latitudes such as in the ECS, and in tropical areas where water temperatures are higher and more constant, some marine eels may spawn all year round.     

Sedimentation rate and heavy metal pollution in sediments in Harima Nada (Harima Sound), Seto Inland Sea

Sedimentation rates were determined with the²¹⁰Pb technique in six sediment cores from Harima Nada (Harima Sound), Seto Inland Sea. The rate of deposition varies from 0.11 g cm^–2y^–1 in the northern part to 0.33 g cm^–2 y^–1 in the southern part of the basin. A marked increase in copper and zinc content was observed above a depth in the core corresponding to about 1900 A.D. as a result of increasing human activities. Anthropogenic input of copper and zinc decreased slightly after 1970. Natural background levels of copper and zinc in the sediment in this sound are 11–16 ppm and 100–120 ppm, respectively. The total amounts of anthropogenic copper and zinc in the sediments were estimated to be 110–180g cm^–2 and 610–1,280g cm^–2, respectively. These values constitute 40–50% of the total sedimentary input of copper and zinc in the sediments since about 1900 A.D.     

Vertical distribution of particulate manganese and iron in the Beppu Bay

Around the thermocline, difference in the depth of the maximum concentration between particulate manganese and iron was observed above the basin located at the south-western corner of the Beppu Bay, along with the remarkable difference in pH and Eh.     

A proof and applications of the expansion theorem for the Rossby normal modes in a closed rectangular basin

An expansion theorem is derived for Rossby normal modes in a closed rectangular basin and the set of Rossby normal modes is proved to be complete. This theorem provides a general linear solution to the initial value problem as well as to the response problem. In particular, the Green's function is obtained for the instantaneous localized torque anywhere in the basin. Weakly nonlinear versions are solved also by the combination of the general linear solution with the asymptotic expansion in terms of small amplitude. Further, an application is suggested to the spectral method of numerical simulation based on Rossby normal modes relevant to the more nonlinear evolution equation on a-plane, instead ofsin functions or Chebyshev polynomials, which have been employed conventionally for this purpose.     

Uptake of selenium and other oxyanionic elements in marine ferromanganese concretions of different origins

The concentration of selenium in marine ferromanganese concretions varies between 0.02 and 1.2 mg kg⁻¹, with an average of 0.6 mg kg⁻¹. This is about two orders of magnitude lower than previously reported. In contrast to minor cationic elements, the concentrations of selenium are relatively uniform between ferromanganese concretions of different origins, except for hydrothermal crusts. It shows the same trends of element enrichment as other oxyanionic elements. The incorporation of selenium into ferromanganese concretions is attributed to adsorption of selenate on iron and manganese oxides.     

Correction of the effect of relative wind direction on wind speed derived by advanced microwave scanning radiometer

The sea surface wind speed (SSWS) derived by a microwave radiometer can be contaminated by changes of the brightness temperature owing to the angle between the sensor azimuth and the wind direction (Relative Wind Direction effect: RWD effect). We attempt to apply the method proposed by Konda and Shibata (2004) to the SSWS derived by Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) on Advanced Earth Observing Satellite II (ADEOS-II), in order to correct for the RWD effect. The improvement of accuracy of the SSWS estimation amounts to roughly 60% of the error caused by the RWD effect. Comparison with in situ observation at the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean (TAO) array shows that the root mean square error of the corrected SSWS is 1.1 ms⁻¹. It is found that the impact of the RWD effect on the estimation of the latent heat flux can amount to about 30 Wm⁻² on average. We applied the method to the SSWS derived by AMSR for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) and obtained a similar result.     

Effect of air-sea temperature difference on ocean microwave brightness temperature estimated from AMSR,SeaWinds, and buoys

The effect of air-sea temperature differences on the ocean microwave brightness temperature (Tb) was investigated using the Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer (AMSR) aboard the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-II (ADEOS-II) during a period of seven months. AMSR Tb in the global ocean was combined with wind data supplied by the scatterometer SeaWinds aboard ADEOS-II and air temperature given by a weather forecast model. Tb was negatively correlated with air-sea temperature difference, its ratio lying around −0.4K/°C at the SeaWinds wind speed of 14 m/s for the 6 GHz vertical polarization. Tb of AMSR-E aboard AQUA during 3.5 years was combined with ocean buoy data, and similar results were obtained.     

Mass balance of heavy metals in the seto inland sea, Japan

To discuss the geochemical and environmental behavior of heavy metals in the Seto Inland Sea, the largest semi-enclosed coastal sea in Japan, mass balances of Cu and Zn were studied by application of a simple box model using sedimentation rates and heavy metal contents of core sediments. In 1980, total sedimentary loads of Cu and Zn over the whole area of the Sea were estimated to be 630 and 3500 tons year⁻¹, respectively. Further, the sedimentary loads without (natural) and with human activities were estimated separately to be, respectively, 320 and 310 tons year⁻¹ for Cu and 1800 and 1700 tons year⁻¹ for Zn. Total inputs of Cu and Zn into the Sea, in 1980 were estimated to be 870 and 4250 tons year⁻¹ about one half of this being the result of human activities. 70% of the Cu input and 80% of the Zn input are taken into the sediments. Mean residence times of Cu and Zn in the Sea are calculated to be ≈0.3 and 0.2 years, respectively. Since these values are relatively small compared to the mean residence time of the seawater (0.9 years), Cu and Zn supplied to the Sea are considered to be accumulated rapidly in the sediments.     

Cobalt content in the shallow sea sediments

Cobalt contained in the sediments from Maizuru Bay and Wakasa Bay was determined by the atomic absorption method. Cobalt content in the surface layer of the bottom sediments averaged 15.2 and 6.7g/g dry matter in Maizuru Bay and in Wakasa Bay, respectively. The vertical distribution of cobalt was almost uniform in the column of bottom sediments. Geographically, the cobalt content in sediments tended to be inverse proportion to the distance from the coast in Wakasa Bay. Considering the distribution of cobalt, it is reasonably concluded that cobalt is not a limiting factor to the production of vitamin B₁₂ by microorganisms in these regions.