Detecting red tides in the eastern Seto inland sea with satellite ocean color imagery

A multi-spectral classification scheme is proposed to identify water with red tide(s) using satellite ocean color imagery obtained by the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS). The study area was the eastern Seto Inland Sea in Japan, where serious red tides frequently occur. “Background Ocean Colors” (BOCs hereafter), or colors of water around a red tide or those of the water before/after a red tide, are calculated as the monthly climatological average of normalized water-leaving radiances (nLw) with 0.01 degree spatial resolution with SeaWiFS imagery. Criteria for detecting red-tide pixels are established from analyses of characteristics of the nLws (in the 443, 490, 510, and 555 nm bands) anomalies from BOCs and the nLw spectra together with the red-tide records in Osaka Bay. The proposed scheme can efficiently indicate the presence or absence of red tides for independent match-ups with 83% accuracy. Additional validations of specific events indicate that the algorithm performed well in the study area. These results suggest that the scheme is appropriate to detect red tides in the optically complex coastal water of the eastern Seto Inland Sea.     

Dynamic evolution of nutrient discharge under stormflow and baseflow conditions in a coastal agricultural watershed in Ishigaki Island,Okinawa, Japan

Excessive terrestrial nutrient loadings adversely impact coral reefs by primarily enhancing growth of macroalgae, potentially leading to a phase‐shift phenomenon. Hydrological processes and other spatial and temporal factors affecting nutrient discharge must be examined to be able to formulate effective measures for reducing nutrient export to adjacent reefs. During storm events and baseflow periods, water samples were obtained from the tropical Todoroki River, which drains an intensively agricultural watershed into Shiraho coral reef. In situ nutrient analyzers were deployed for 6 months to hourly measure dissolved nutrient (NO₃⁻‐N and PO₄³⁻‐P) concentrations. Total phosphorus (TP) and suspended solid concentration (TSS) were increased by higher rainfall intensity (r = 0·94, p < 0·01) and river discharge Q (r = 0·88, p < 0·01). In contrast, NO₃⁻‐N concentration tends to decrease drastically (e.g. from 3 to 1 mg l⁻¹) during flood events. When base flow starts to dominate afterwards, NO₃⁻‐N manifested an increasing trend, but decreases when baseflow discharge becomes low. This counter‐clockwise hysteresis for NO₃⁻‐N highlights the significant influence of groundwater discharge. N delivery can therefore be considered a persistent process compared to sediment and P discharge, which are highly episodic in nature. Based on GIS analysis, nutrient concentration along the Todoroki River was largely affected by the percentage of sugarcane/bare areas and bedrock type. The spatial distribution of N concentration in the river reflects the considerable influence of subsurface geology—higher N levels in limestone‐dominated areas. P concentrations were directly related to the total length of artificial drainage, which enhances sediment transport. The use of high‐resolution monitoring data coupled with GIS‐based spatial analysis therefore enabled the clarification of control factors and the difference in the spatio‐temporal discharge characteristics between N and P. Thus, although erosion‐reduction schemes would reduce P discharge, other approaches (e.g. minimize fertilizer) are needed to reduce N discharge. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strontium isotopic and chemical variations of the granitic rocks in the Tsukuba district,Japan

Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, major and trace element compositions have been determined for the Paleogene granitic rocks in the Tsukuba district, Japan. Isotopic ages strongly suggest that the granitic rocks (seven units) were continuously emplaced and solidified during a short time interval. Initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios for seven granitic units vary from 0.7082 to 0.7132, while sedimentary and metasedimentary country rocks have ratios at the time of granitic magma emplacement ranging from 0.7149 to 0.7298. Continuous linear arrays for the granitic rocks in the diagrams of initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios versus some chemical parameters can be explained by either of following two processes. One is the assimilation — fractional crystallization (AFC) process between the parental magma (SiO₂ of 68% and initial ratio of 0.7078) and sedimentary country rocks, and the other is magma mixing process between above parental magma and sediment derived acidic magma (melt) (SiO₂ of 75%). The high initial ratios (0.7078–0.7098) for basic rocks such as gabbro or diorite in the Tsukuba district and the similar characteristics observed in the rocks of Ryoke belt (SW Japan) suggest that the parental magma had the same source region as the basic rocks, probably the lower crustal source.     

High time resolution monitoring of tropospheric temperature with a Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS)

We have observed the time-height variation of the temperature field in the upper troposphere using a Radio Acoustic Sounding System (RASS) which consists of the MU radar and a high-power acoustic transmitter. The fast beam steerability of the MU radar has made it possible to measure temperature profiles in a fairly wide height range in the upper troposphere (5–11 km), even under intense wind conditions. Observations were continued for about 32 hr on 24–26 December, 1986 with a time-height resolution of 30 min and 150 m. During the observation period, the tropospheric jet was so intense that the acoustic wavefronts were severely distorted. Using wind velocity profiles observed by the MU radar we have numerically estimated the propagation of acoustic wavefronts, and further determined favorable pointing directions for the MU radar to receive significant backscattering from refractive index fluctuations produced by the acoustic waves. Conventional radiosonde soundings were carried out every 6 hr, which showed a temperature decrease of 4 K/day in the upper troposphere during the observation period. Temperature profiles taken by RASS agree well with the radiosonde results.     

Resistivity inversion of cross-hole and borehole-to-surface EM data using axially symmetric models1

We describe a least-squares inversion approach to estimating the subsurface resistivity structure from cross-hole or borehole-to-surface electromagnetic data. It is assumed that the resistivity distribution is symmetric about the axis of a borehole and that vertical magnetic dipoles are located on the borehole axis. The receivers are placed either in another borehole or on the earth's surface. The inversion scheme uses the finite-element and smoothness-constrained least-squares methods. The computational effort required to obtain partial derivatives is reduced considerably by using the reciprocity principle. Numerical simulations show that the reconstructions are generally in good agreement with the true structures when the assumption of an axisymmetric earth structure holds. An example involving the breakdown of this assumption, which can be obtained by interchanging the source and receiver boreholes, suggests that the inversion result may also be useful for locating a general 3D anomaly although artifacts are present.     

H-chondrites: Trace element clues to their origin

We have analyzed 10 H-chondrites for 20 trace elements, using RNAA. The meteorites included 4 of petrologic type 4 and 2 each of types 3, 5 and 6.The data show that H-chondrites are not isochemical. H3's are depleted by some 10% not only in Fe (Dodd, 1976), but also in the siderophiles Os, Re, Ir, Ni, Pd, Au, and Ge. Moreover, the abundance pattern of siderophiles varies systematically with petrologic type. As similar fractionations of REE have been observed by Nakamura (1974), it appears that both the proportions and compositions of the main nebular condensates varied slightly during accretion of the H-chondrites. Thus the higher petrologic types are independent nebular products, not metamorphosed descendants of lower petrologic types.Abundances of highly volatile elements (Cs, Br, Bi, Tl, In, Cd, Ar³⁶) correlate with petrologic type, declining by ≤ 10^?3 from Type 3 to Type 6. The trends differ from those for artificially heated Type 3's (Ikramuddinet al., 1977b; Herzoget al., 1979), but agree passably with theoretical curves for nebular condensation. Apparently the low volatile contents of higher petrologic types are a primary feature, not the result of metamorphic loss.The mineralogy of chondrites suggests that they accreted between 405 K (absence of Fe₃O₄) and 560 K (presence of FeS), and the abundances of Tl, Bi, and In further restrict this interval to 420–500 K. Accretion at 1070 ± 100 K, as proposed by Hutchisonet al. (1979, 1980), leads to some extraordinary problems. Volatiles must be injected into the parent body after cooling, which requires permeation of the body by 10¹¹ times its volume of nebular gas. This process must also achieve a uniform distribution of the less volatile elements (Rb, Cu, Ag, Zn, Ga, Ge, Sn, Sb, Se, F), without freezeout in the colder outer layers.Factor analysis of our data shows 3 groupings: siderophiles (Os, Re, Ir, Ni, Pd, Au, and Ge), volatiles (Ag, Br, In, Cd, Bi, and Tl) and alkalis (Rb and Cs). The remaining 5 elements (U, Zn, Te, Se, and Sb) remain unassociated.     

Passive seismic response controlled high-rise building with high damping device

This paper describes a feasibility study on a high-damping device (HiDAM) installed in a building structure by way of a bracing mechanism. A seismic response analysis with respect to a high-rise building approximately 100 m high is reported. Proper adjustment of the damping coefficient of the HiDAM (oil damper) provided an over all damping factor of about 10–20 per cent to the building structure, and reductions in the response, deformation and shear forces were verified analytically. This paper reports also the performance confirmation tests conducted on a model device of the HiDAM which satisfied the specifications determined from the analytical results. The test results demonstrate the feasibility of the HiDAM and the possibility of utilizing it in high-rise buildings.     

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.     

A laboratory experiment on the role of grass for infiltration and runoff processes

Two lysimeters with the same dimensions were provided, and filled with the same loam clay. On the soil surface of one lysimeter, grass was planted to compare the hydrologic response of the grassed lysimeter with that of the other bare soil lysimeter.

About half of the runoff from the bare soil lysimeter occurred as overland flow, the rest being groundwater flow. Overland flow scarcely occurred from the grassed lysimeter. Grass roots that developed deep into the soil layer play an important role in increasing the infiltration rate as well as in drying the soil uniformly throughout the soil layer by evapotranspiration, preparing for high infiltration and large rainwater storage for the subsequent rainfall event. Accordingly, the total loss by evapotranspiration from the grassed soil amounts to almost twice that from the bare soil.

For an evaporation- and evapotranspiration-prohibited experiment, the recession characteristics from a saturation state showed similar features for the bare and grassed soils, indicating the same microstructure of high moisture reservability for both soils.

The well-developed grass root system reformed the soil structure considerably to produce the seemingly contradicting characteristics of high moisture conductivity and high moisture reservability; i.e. a high infiltration rate and prolonged groundwater discharge.

Finally, the importance of the initial soil moisture in the rainfall-runoff process, rainfall loss and runoff ratio is stressed.