Chemical forms of chromium in natural water

The interaction of chromium (III) with humic substances obtained from pond sediment was experimentally studied using electrophoresis combined with ultrafiltration. The results show that within the neutral pH range chromium (III) in the presence of humic substances and some organic acids forms uncharged and/or negatively charged organic complexes of various molecular weights. A part of the chromium(III)-humic or -fulvic acid complexes having a negative charge was of lower molecular weight. Chromium (III) spiked in fresh water exists as various soluble anionic and/or uncharged species, and the molecular weights of these anionic complexes correspond to those of chromium(III)-humic and -fulvic complexes. These complexes may remain as stable dissolved forms for 10 days. The significance of the occurrence of chromium(III)-organic complexes in natural water in the geochemical cycle of chromium in the hydrosphere is discussed.     

Missing role of groundwater in water and nutrient cycles in the shallow eutrophic lake Kasumigaura,Japan

A process‐based model was developed, NICE‐LAKE (NIES (National Institute for Environmental Studies) Integrated Catchment‐based Ecohydrology), which includes interactions between surface water, canopy, unsaturated water, aquifer, lake and rivers, and used it to model the shallow eutrophic Lake Kasumigaura in Japan. By estimating the spatial distribution of the hydrological cycle, the model shows that groundwater withdrawal greatly affects groundwater distribution and seepage and indirectly influences lake water level. The simulated seepage agrees excellently with the budget‐derived value calculated from the observed groundwater level, lake level and isotope analyses. The model showed that groundwater seepage and groundwater concentrations are important contributors to the eutrophication of Lake Kasumigaura, an important contribution not recognized in previous studies of the lake. Groundwater entering the lake from the north side is contaminated with high concentrations of nitrate and ammonia from intensive pig and cattle raising and cultivated fields. The simulation showed that this high nitrogen load plays an important role in the eutrophication of the lake (the nitrogen load in inflowing groundwater is 30% of river inflow and 4 times that from wastewater treatment plants) in spite of government policies to prevent overland flow of nutrients into the lake. Our results show that NICE‐LAKE is a powerful tool for forecasting how the water quality of the lake will be affected by the (illegal) disposal of animal excreta in the surrounding open fields. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MODIS水汽通量估算方法在华北平原农田的适应性验证

利用遥感手段估算区域水汽通量对研究区域气候变化及生态系统功能评价颇具意义。但是由于估算模式涉及时空差异很大的地表特征参数很难完全通过遥感数据获得,因此MODIS水汽通量数据产品 (MOD16) 至今尚未问世。本研究以中科院禹城综合实验站2002年4~5月份冬小麦田的涡度相关实测水汽通量为标准,验证MOD16算法所估算的农田水汽通量,结果表明直接使用MOD16算法计算的麦田水汽通量比实测水汽通量平均偏大近20%。对其中的作物三基点温度、空气动力学阻抗计算方法和植被覆盖度进行修正,修正后的MOD16计算结果和实测值非常吻合,1:1曲线斜率为0.9706,相关系数R₂为0.8845。这为利用MODIS数据大面积估算农田水汽通量提供了科学依据。     

Simulations of measures to control lava flows

We evaluated the quantitative effects of artificial barriers, water-cooling and guiding channels on lava flow using the lava simulation program LavaSIM. Lava flow is basically subject to the topography around the path, effusive rate and viscosity. To prevent damage due to lava flow, we conducted experiments in controlling the flow direction, velocity and temperature. The simulation demonstrated that artificial barriers can successfully change the direction of a lava flow and is more effective when placed nearly parallel to the flow direction at a point where the topography is not very steep, while a barrier placed perpendicular to the flow direction can only stop the flux temporarily, ultimately allowing the solidified crust to accumulate and causing the following mass to go over the barrier. The water-cooling trial was also effective in controlling the direction and temperature, although the amount of water was as much order as 10⁵ m³. The guiding channels successfully control the direction and inundated area but only in local areas.     

Variations in the thermal conductivities of surface sediments in the Nankai subduction zone off Tokai, central Japan

We investigated the relationship between variations in the thermal conductivity of surface sediments and the topography in the Nankai subduction zone off Tokai, central Japan, the easternmost part of the Nankai subduction zone, which has an accretionary prism with varied topography. We analyzed sediment thermal conductivity data obtained from the trough floor and accretionary prism. Variations in the thermal conductivity of sediments were related to the topographic features formed by accretionary prism development. Thermal conductivities of 1.1?W/m?K were measured on the trough floor where thick terrigenous turbidites have been deposited. The thermal conductivity of Nankai Trough floor sediments decreases from northeast to southwest along the trough, probably because of the decreased grain size and/or changes in sediment mineral composition. High thermal conductivities (??1.0?W/m?K) were measured in fault scarps on the accretionary prism. A landward increase in these values on the prism may be explained by decreased porosity of the sediments attributable to tectonic deformation during accretionary prism development. At the base of the fault scarp of the frontal thrust, low thermal conductivities (<0.9?W/m?K) were measured, likely reflecting the high porosity of the talus deposits. Low thermal conductivity (0.9?W/m?K) was also measured in slope basins on the accretionary prism, likely also related to the high porosity of the sediments. Our results demonstrate that, for accurate heat flow measurement in an area of varied topography, the geothermal gradient and the thermal conductivity of the sediments must be measured within regions with similar topographic features.     

(Au,Ag)Te2 Minerals from Epithermal Gold Deposits in Japan

Chemical composition and mode of occurrences of (Au, Ag)Te₂ minerals such as calaverite (AuTe₂), sylvanite (AuAgTe₄) and krennerite ((Au, Ag)Te₂) in epithermal gold telluride ores from Suzaki, Kawazu and Teine are examined. In the ores from Suzaki, (Au, Ag)Te₂ minerals occur in microbands of tellurides and fine quartz. The minerals in telluride bands change from krennerite, via calaverite‐native tellurium, to sylvanite, in the order of crystallization. A sample from Kawazu contains sylvanite and native tellurium with stutzite, hessite and tetradymite in the coarser gray quartz part. The Teine sample also contains sylvanite and native tellurium with barite and quartz. The peak patterns of XRD of calaverite, krennerite and sylvanite from Suzaki are almost identical to that of JCPDS 43–1472, JCPDS 8–20 and JCPDS 9–477, respectively. The Te, Au, Cu, and Ag contents of calaverite from Suzaki range from 56.4 to 57.9 wt.%, from 41.6 to 42.6 wt.%, from 0.28 to 0.45 wt.% and from 0.14 to 0.31 wt.%, respectively, corresponding to the formula Au_0.97Ag_0.01Cu_0.02Te₂. The Te, Au, Ag, and Cu contents of krennerite from Suzaki range from 59.6 to 61.4 wt.%, from 31.3 to 33.6 wt.%, from 4.91 to 6.13 wt.% and from 0.66 to 0.80 wt.%, respectively, corresponding to the formula Au_0.71Ag_0.22Cu_0.05Te₂ with Au and Ag ranging from 0.68 to 0.74 and from 0.20 to 0.25, respectively. The Te, Au, Ag, and Cu contents of sylvanite from Suzaki range from 61.5 to 63.4 wt.%, from 24.1 to 27.4 wt.%, from 10.0 to 12.5 wt.% and from 0.00 to 0.12 wt.%, respectively. The Te, Au, Ag, and Cu contents of sylvanite from Kawazu range from 62.7 to 63.3 wt.%, from 23.5 to 24.1 wt.%, from 12.0 to 12.5 wt.% and from 0.09 to 0.16 wt.%, respectively. The Te, Au, Ag, Cu and Fe contents of sylvanite from Teine range from 61.8 to 63.5 wt.%, from 23.6 to 24.7 wt.%, from 11.9 to 13.3 wt.%, from 0.01 to 1.65 wt.% and from 0.00 to 0.02 wt.%, respectively. The average formulae of sylvanite from Suzaki, Kawazu, and Teine are expressed as Au_1.06Ag_0.94Cu_0.02Te₄, Au_1.00Ag_0.95Cu_0.02Te₄ and Au_1.01Ag_0.95Cu_0.06Te₄, respectively. Judging from the mineral assemblages of these ores and other localities, Au–Te mineralization in the Japanese Islands can be divided into four types: native gold–calaverite at Date and Agawa, krennerite(?native tellurium) at Osore‐zan and Mutsu, sylvanite–native tellurium–hessite at Teine, Kawazu, Kobetsuzawa, and Kato, and polyminerallic assemblages at Suzaki and Kushikino. The pH–Eh diagram of aqueous tellurium species and tellurium minerals at 250°C indicates that (Au, Ag)Te₂ minerals in epithermal gold telluride mineralization would have been formed under middle to low Eh and acidic (to intermediate) pH conditions. It is possible that dilute tellurium‐containing fluid would scavenge dilute gold.     

Effects of the copepod community structure on fecal pellet flux in Kagoshima bay,a deep,semi-enclosed embayment

Seasonal changes in the shape and size composition of fecal pellets were investigated with sediment trap samples from 50 and 150 m in Kagoshima Bay to evaluate how the mesozooplankton community affects fecal pellet flux. Deep vertical mixing was evident in March, and thermal stratification was developed above 50 m in June, August and November. Chlorophyll a, suspended particulate organic carbon (POC) and copepod abundance were uniform throughout the water column during the seasonal mixing and concentrated above 50 m in the stratified seasons. Calanoids were the most predominant copepods in March and poecilostomatoids composed more than 45% of the copepod community in June, August and November. Fecal pellet fluxes at 50 and 150 m were the highest in March, nearly half of POC flux. The relative contribution declined considerably in the other months, especially for less than 4% of POC flux in August. The decline was corresponded to the predominance of cyclopoids and poecilostomatoids. Cylindrical pellets dominated the fecal matters at both depths throughout the study period, while larger cylindrical pellets nearly disappeared at 150 m in June, August and November. Copepod incubation revealed that cylindrical and oval pellets were egested by calanoids and the other copepods, respectively. We suggest that cylindrical fecal pellets produced by calanoid copepods contribute to feces flux but the predominance of poecilostomatoids and/or cyclopoids decreases feces flux via the increase of oval pellets and fragmentation of larger cylindrical pellets.     

Solar differential rotation derived from sunspot observations

Sunspot drawings obtained at National Astronomical Observatory of Japan during the years 1954–1986 were used to determine the differential rotation of the Sun. From the limited data set of three solar cycles it was found that three factors (the level of cycle activity, the cycle phase, and sunspot type) affect the solar rotation rate. The differential rotation varies from cycle to cycle in such a way that the rotation velocity in the low activity cycle (cycle 20) is higher than in the high-activity cycle (cycle 19). The equatorial rotation rate shows a systematic variation within each cycle. The rate is higher at the beginning of the cycle and decreases subsequently. Although quite small, the variation of solar differential rotation with respect to Zürich sunspot type was found. The H and J types show the slowest rotation among all the sunspot types.     

N-body simulation of giant molecular clouds in a galaxy

We madeN-body simulation of Giant Molecular Clouds in a model galaxy and confirmed that their random motion is generated and accelerated by purely gravitational interaction among them in some 10^7–8 yr. The results of the present simulation agree well with those of the previous theoretical calculation by Fukunaga (1984a, b).Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.