Influence of light intensity on diatom physiology and nutrient dynamics in the Oyashio region

The spring diatom bloom characterizes the plankton and nutrient dynamics in the Oyashio region, the westernmost part of the subarctic Pacific. Previous studies have shown that NO₃ was not depleted during the spring bloom, and an increase in the consumption ratio of Si(OH)₄ to NO₃ (ΔSi(OH)₄:ΔNO₃) was observed as the spring bloom progressed. The increase in ΔSi(OH)₄:ΔNO₃ has been suggested to be caused by growth stresses of diatoms, e.g. light limitation by self-shading. In the present study, incubation experiments of sea-surface water from the Oyashio region under saturated irradiance showed that NO₃ was depleted first and ΔSi(OH)₄:ΔNO₃ was more or less constant until the NO₃ depletion occurred. The increase in ΔSi(OH)₄:ΔNO₃ was observed after the NO₃ depletion had occurred in contrast with the field observation. This result of the increase in ΔSi(OH)₄:ΔNO₃ under saturated irradiance after NO₃ depletion suggests that the in situ increase in ΔSi(OH)₄:ΔNO₃ before the NO₃ depletion might be caused by light limitation for diatoms. Responses to a reduction in irradiance were examined using diatom species isolated from the Oyashio region. Variable responses to a reduced irradiance were observed for cell specific C, N, Si and chlorophyll a (Chl) contents. However, the examined diatom species showed similar tendencies for increases in Si:C and Si:N and decreases in C:Chl ratios with the reduction in irradiance. We conclude that light limitation changes the uptake ratio of nutrients and the elemental composition of diatoms and that light limitation is one of the factors influencing the physiology of diatoms and nutrient dynamics in the Oyashio region during the spring bloom.     

Congruence between euphausiid community and water region in the northwestern Pacific: particularly in the Oyashio–Kuroshio Mixed Water Region

The relationship between euphausiid community structure and water region was studied during a 2-year seasonal survey in the northwestern (NW) Pacific Ocean. The euphausiid community structure and its associated species were analyzed from 38 micronekton samples collected during eight cruises. The euphausiid community structure and its distribution patterns clearly corresponded to physical oceanographic features in the Oyashio region, Oyashio–Kuroshio Mixed Water Region (OKMWR), and Kuroshio region. In contrast, community structure was unrelated to seasonality. The 19 species out of 40 identified in this area were grouped and named after their habitats. The six cold-water species were grouped into three regional types: two coastal Oyashio species, three Oyashio–OKMWR species, and one Oyashio–Kuroshio species. The four species dominating in the OKMWR were categorized into each specific types: Nematoscelis difficilis as OKMWR–Oyashio species, Euphausia gibboides as OKMWR species, Euphausia similis as OKMWR–Oyashio & OKMWR–Kuroshio species, and Euphausia recurva as OKMWR–Kuroshio species. The seven warm-water species were categorized as Kuroshio–OKMWR species or Kuroshio species. The other two species were categorized as cosmopolitan species. In particular, regarding the result in the OKMWR, our study suggest that (1) the OKMWR has high species diversity, and (2) the dominant species, such as Euphausia pacifica, N. difficilis, E. similis, and E. gibboides, are considered to be key species in the food webs in this region.     

Quantification of the effect of forest harvesting versus climate on streamflow cycles and trends in an evergreen broadleaf catchment

ABSTRACT

A new method known as Unobserved Components–Dynamic Harmonic Regression (UC-DHR) was applied to a 39-year record of rainfall and streamflow for three sub-catchments of the Sarukawa Experimental Watershed in southwestern Japan. Some 25% of the timber was harvested from one of the sub-catchments in May–July 1982 and the objective was to quantify the magnitude of this effect relative to the effects of climate cycles (e.g. Southern Oscillation Index). The observed effects of inter-annual climate cycles (i.e. 0.89–1.36 mm/d) were seen to be comparable (i.e. 0.70–1.17 mm/d) to the effects of harvesting 25% of the standing timber. This result underlines the importance of always quantifying the effect of climate on streamflow response when harvesting impacts are studied.

Editor D. Koutsoyiannis; Associate editor T. Okruszko     

Understandings of Relationships between Agriculture and Biodiversity in Kunisaki GIAHS

<正>1 Characteristics of Kunisaki GIAS and aims of this research Kunisaki GIAHS in the Kunisaki peninsula and Usa area,Oita,Japan,is a system where forestry,agricultural production,and fisheries are sustained by the strong connection between Sawtooth Oak forest,multiple interlinked irriga tion ponds,and Seto Inland Sea(Vafadari 2013a;2013b;Hayashi 2013).This area receive around 1,500 mm of annual precipitation with a     

Paleoenvironmental reconstruction of quaternary sedimentation in eastern Sri Lanka: An ichnological study

Quaternary sediment deposits are well exposed along the eastern coastal margin of Sri Lanka. Systematic trace fossil studies along with sediment characteristics have been carried out for the first time to interpret the paleoenvironment that prevailed during Quaternary sedimentation in eastern Sri Lanka. The trace fossils Thalassinoides, Skolithos and Polykladichnus have been recognized about 5m above the present mean sea level. Features of the major trace fossil, Thalassinoides, indicate that it was formed by Thalassinidean shrimp Calianassa. Isolated, vertical to steeply inclined, cylindrical to sub cylindrical tubes with thin internal wall lining and inner wall striations of Skolithos and Polykladichnus show that they were formed by polychaetes. The typical characteristic of Polykladichnus isY-shaped branching with slight enlargement at junctions. Morphology and association of burrows as well as mineralogy, grain size and roundness of sediments indicate that the environment prevailed was marine soft grounds of the intertidal zone. Presence of preserved fine-scale features of burrows indicate that the bioturbated sandy tidal flat was suddenly exposed to the tropical environment due to sea level regression in Quaternary periods. Due to the microbial activities of wall linings, burrows were preserved and it was supported by other microbial activities that produced secondary iron bearing minerals that suffered subsequent oxidation. The bio-origination of red sediments of eastern coastal area of the present study can be used to interpret the debatable origin of the red beds found in northwestern and southeastern coastal areas of the island.     

I–P<Subscript>2</Subscript>O<Subscript>5</Subscript> diagrams as an indicator of depositional environment in marine sediments: preliminary findings (Sri Lanka)

The concentrations of Br and I in marine sediments have been used to categorize the sedimentary environments of different coastal regions of the world with respect to organic matter contents. The present study uses the concentrations of Br, I and P₂O₅ of different marine settings as a new proxy to interpret the depositional environments. A total of 150 coastal lagoon sediment samples (suspended sediments, surface sediments and sediment cores) were analyzed for Br, I and P₂O₅ concentrations by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. They were compared with the Br, I and P₂O₅ concentrations of the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami sediments. Sediments from various sources are separately clustered in I–Br plot and a trivial negative correlation is found for the whole plot. A similar correlation pattern exists in the I–P₂O₅ diagram. This correlation is explained by the distribution of marine plants (higher and lower) in different sedimentary environments of the coastal profile. Therefore, the concentration of I and its relation to P₂O₅ can be used as a tool to identify sediment depositional environments in marine settings.     

Felsic dykes in the Neoproterozoic Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex,SE Sindh,Pakistan: geochemistry and tectonic settings

The Nagar Parkar Igneous Complex consists of Neoproterozoic igneous and metamorphic rocks dissected by mafic, felsic, and rhyolitic dykes. The latter can be classified broadly into porphyritic felsic dykes intruding gray and pink granites at Nagar Parkar and the surrounding areas, and the orthophyric felsic dykes intruding amphibolites, deformed pink granites, and the alkaline mafic dykes in the Dhedvero area, north of Nagar Parkar. The porphyritic felsic dykes are composed of perthites, quartz, and albitic plagioclase whereas the orthopheric felsic dykes contain K-feldspar (dominant), plagioclase, and minor quartz. Geochemically, the porphyritic and orthophyric felsic dykes are subalkaline and alkaline demonstrating post-orogenic A2- and OIB-A1-type characteristic on Nb–Y–Ce and Nb–Y–3Ga ternary plots, respectively. One orthophyric felsic dyke contains normative acmite and sodium metasilicate. This study suggests two distinct tectonic regimes for the origin of the felsic dykes of the area. The porphyritic felsic dykes show similarities with the ~800–700 Ma granites of the area, the rhyolite dykes of the Mount Abu, western Rajasthan in India, and the granites of the Seychelles microcontinent. The orthophyric felsic dykes show chemical resemblance with the Tavidar volcanic suite of western Rajasthan and the Silhouette and North islands of the Seychelles microcontinent. This study confirms spatial and temporal links among the Rodinian fragments exposed in the Nagar Parkar area of Pakistan, western Rajasthan of India, and the Seychelles microcontinent.     

Detailed Distribution of Accelerating Foreshocks before a M 5.1 Earthquake in Japan

—The M 5.1 event (May 23, 1993) which occurred in one of the most active swarm areas of Japan was preceded by foreshock activity. We obtained precise hypocenters of the foreshock-mainshock-aftershock sequences with a temporary seismic network installed just above the source region twenty days before the mainshock. The foreshocks are very unique in their accelerating activity; the acceleration in the number of foreshocks enabled us to estimate the time of the mainshock with time-to-failure analysis proposed by . Although substantial snow remained in the swarm area, we quickly installed the network because the time-to-failure analysis disclosed that the mainshock was impending. The temporary network provided detailed information on both the temporal and spatial distribution of the foreshock-mainshock-aftershock sequences. Foreshocks started fifty days before the mainshock and were distributed linearly at the base of the seismogenic layer with a length of 5 km and horizontal and vertical widths of about 1 km. The temporal change of the number of foreshocks is approximated by a power law, and the time of the mainshock can be estimated by extrapolating plots of the inverse of the daily number of events. An area of seismic quiescence appeared 40 hours before the mainshock and propagated with a rate of 20 m/hour. The mainshock occurred 2 km westward from the primary foreshock area. It was located at the base of the aftershock region. This process can be interpreted as source nucleation; preslip on the fault prior to the mainshock.     

Field-based description of near-surface crustal deformation in a high-strain shear zone: A case study in southern Kyushu,Japan

This study investigated geological evidence for near-surface crustal deformation in a high-strain shear zone that has been geodetically identified but which is not associated with obvious tectonic landforms. Fieldwork was conducted in the east–west-trending southern Kyushu high-strain shear zone (SKHZ), Japan, focusing mainly on occurrences of fracture zones, which are defined by a visible fracture density of >1 per 10 cm² and are commonly associated with cataclasite, fault breccia, and gouge. The area in which east–west-trending fracture zones are dominant is restricted to the east–west-trending, ~2-km-wide aftershock area of the 1997 Northwestern Kagoshima Earthquakes. Analysis of slip data from minor faults using the multiple inverse method, irrespective of whether the faults are in fracture zones, reveals that the area where the calculated main stress field is consistent with the current stress field estimated from focal-mechanism solutions of microearthquakes is restricted to the east–west-trending aftershock area. This finding for the SKHZ contrasts with the case of the Niigata–Kobe Tectonic Zone, which is a major strain-concentration zone with many exposed active faults in central Japan and for which the stress field estimated using fault-slip data is considered to be uniform and coincides with the current stress field. The cumulative amount of displacement estimated from the areal density of fracture zones in the SKHZ study area is smaller than that estimated from geodetically measured strain rates. Investigations based on slip data from minor faults and fracture-zone occurrence could help to identify concealed faults that are too small to generate tectonic landforms but which are sufficiently large to trigger major earthquakes.     

A search for collision orbits in the free-fall three-body problem I. Numerical procedure

A numerical procedure is devised to find binary collision orbits in the free-fall three-body problem. Applying this procedure, families of binary collision orbits are found and a sequence of triple collision orbits are positioned. A property of sets of binary collision orbits which is convenient to search triple collision orbits is found. Important numerical results are formulated and summarized in the final section.