A developed soil column test device for measuring the electrical conductivity breakthrough curves

To obtain the breakthrough curves without efforts required in the sampling and chemical analysis, a new soil column test device was developed. The device can conduct time-continuous electrical conductivity (EC) measurements without disturbing the soil matrix at all stages of the test. This device is composed of soil column, channel selector, LCR meter, and data logger. The soil column employs three 4-electrode sensors installed at different positions. To verify its applicability, the electrical conductivity breakthrough curves at different distances have been obtained with the use of five different species influent solutions (KCl, NaCl, CaCl₂, MgCl₂, and seawater). Results showed that the EC breakthrough curves and the transport parameters (the pore-water velocity, the dispersion coefficient, and the dispersivity) are very reasonable, and understand the one-dimensional steady flow exactly. The developed soil column test device proposed in this study provides a nondestructive, convenient, and inexpensive means of obtaining EC breakthrough curves.     

Comparison of Helicity Signs in Interplanetary CMEs and Their Solar Source Regions

If all coronal mass ejections (CMEs) have flux ropes, then the CMEs should keep their helicity signs from the Sun to the Earth according to the helicity conservation principle. This study presents an attempt to answer the question from the Coordinated Data Analysis Workshop (CDAW), “Do all CMEs have flux ropes?”, by using a qualitative helicity sign comparison between interplanetary CMEs (ICMEs) and their CME source regions. For this, we select 34 CME–ICME pairs whose source active regions (ARs) have continuous SOHO/MDI magnetogram data covering more than 24 hr without data gap during the passage of the ARs near the solar disk center. The helicity signs in the ARs are determined by estimation of cumulative magnetic helicity injected through the photosphere in the entire source ARs. The helicity signs in the ICMEs are estimated by applying the cylinder model developed by Marubashi (Adv. Space. Res., 26, 55, 2000) to 16 second resolution magnetic field data from the MAG instrument onboard the ACE spacecraft. It is found that 30 out of 34 events (88 %) are helicity sign-consistent events, while four events (12 %) are sign-inconsistent. Through a detailed investigation of the source ARs of the four sign-inconsistent events, we find that those events can be explained by the local helicity sign opposite to that of the entire AR helicity (28 July 2000 ICME), incorrectly reported solar source region in the CDAW list (20 May 2005 ICME), or the helicity sign of the pre-existing coronal magnetic field (13 October 2000 and 20 November 2003 ICMEs). We conclude that the helicity signs of the ICMEs are quite consistent with those of the injected helicities in the AR regions from where the CMEs erupted.     

Determination of Trace Elements in Geological Reference Materials G‐3, GSP‐2 and SGD‐1a by Low‐Dilution Glass Bead Digestion and ICP‐MS

We present a revised alkali fusion method for the determination of trace elements in geological samples. Our procedure is based on simple acid digestion of powdered low‐dilution (flux : sample ≈ 2 : 1) glass beads where large sample dilution demanded by high total dissolved solids, a main drawback of conventional alkali fusion, could be circumvented. Three geological reference materials (G‐3 granite, GSP‐2 granodiorite and SGD‐1a gabbro) decomposed by this technique and routine tabletop acid digestion were analysed for thirty trace elements using a quadrupole ICP‐MS. Results by conventional acid digestion distinctly showed poor recoveries of Zr, Hf and rare earth elements due to incomplete dissolution of resistant minerals. On the other hand, results obtained by our method were in reasonable agreement with reference data for most analytes, indicating that refractory minerals were efficiently dissolved and volatile loss was insignificant.     

Direct flows from the Ulleung Basin into the Yamato Basin in the East/Japan Sea

Using the trajectories of ARGO floats, we report direct flows from the Ulleung Basin into the Yamato Basin through a gap between the Oki Spur and the Yamato Rise over the southern part of the East/Japan Sea. The gap is subdivided into two narrow (northern and southern) passages by a seamount located in the middle. The flows, therefore, are narrow and this explains why this flow was not reported earlier. More than half of the 25 ARGO floats, which operated around the gap, drifted through the gap or area near it. The strength of the throughflow estimated using the trajectories of the floats at parking depth is comparable to the mean deep flow found over the southwestern part of the East/Japan Sea. A high resolution regional ocean model whose overall circulation pattern over the Ulleung Basin is consistent with those from previous studies shows that the flow through the gap is supplied mainly by eastward flows crossing the mouth of the basin, and secondarily by the cyclonic circulation following the outer perimeter of the basin. Thus the throughflow is an important component of the deep circulation over the southern East/Japan Sea, and the narrow gap, where the flow is well confined, would be a good place to study the deep circulation.     

First report on the occurrence of the comb pen shell,Atrina pectinata (Linnaeus, 1767) (Bivalvia: Pinnidae) in Ulleungdo Island in the East Sea: Ecology and molecular identification of the species using COI gene sequence

Pen shell is one of the largest marine bivalves inhabiting shallow subtidal soft bottoms in the west Pacific and Indian Oceans. In Korea, the comb pen shell Atrina pectinata fisheries has been established on the south and west coasts. Recently, a pen shell population has been discovered from a subtidal sand flat (25–30 m depth) in Ulleungdo Island located in the East Sea of Korea, suggesting a potential shellfish resource in this area. In the present study, we first surveyed the population density and size of the unique pen shell using SCUBA, and identified the pen shell to species level using mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I gene (COI) sequence. An underwater survey carried out from July to September 2013 revealed that populations of pen shell patched on subtidal sand flat at a depth of 20–25 m. Grain size analysis indicated that sand particles accounted for 99% of the 600 × 700 m sand flat. The underwater survey also indicated that density of the pen shell ranged between 6–19 ind/m², with a mean of 11 ind/m². Shell height (i.e. longest axis of the shell) of the pen shell on the sand flat varied between 17.2 cm to 28.8 cm, with a mean of 25.1 cm, and the age was estimated to range between 1.5–7.5 yrs, with a mean of 5 yr. COI DNA sequence obtained from the pen shell in this study showed 98.9–99.2% similarity to Atrina pectinata (Linnaeus 1767) reported from Japan. In the cluster analysis, the COI DNA sequence of the pen shells from Ulleungdo Island was grouped with A. pectinata reported from Japan and China, indicating that the pen shell discovered in this study was A. pectinata, commonly distributed on the west and south coasts of Korea.     

Measurement of evaporation from the forest floor in a deciduous forest throughout the year using microlysimeter and closed‐chamber systems

Evaporation from the forest floor (E_FF) in a deciduous broadleaf forest was measured using microlysimeter and closed‐chamber systems. The microlysimeter was used at six points in the experimental basin, and measurements gave different E_FF values at different points. This could be attributed to the local photoenvironment of each sampling point, rather than to litter conditions, if the spatial variation in air temperature (Ta) or vapour pressure deficit (VPD) at the forest floor was small within this basin. A detachable microlysimeter measured condensation in the litter layer during the night, indicating that the litter layer, as well as the mulch layer, played a role in preventing evaporation from the soil layer. The closed‐chamber system made it possible to continuously measure long‐term E_FF. E_FF was closely related to VPD; even during the night, when solar radiation was zero, E_FF amounted to 14·0% of the daily E_FF. The daily E_FF was 0·20 ± 0·13 mm day^?1 during the study period, with two seasonal peaks: in late spring (0·31 mm day^?1 in April) and early fall (0·22 mm day^?1 in September). The former peak has been reported from two deciduous forests in Japan and is strongly related to the solar radiation reaching the forest floor when the trees are dormant. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-speed real-time data acquisition for vector measuring currentmeters

The authors describe an integrated hardware and software approach used to provide real-time acquisition and display of vector measuring current meter (VMCM) data at high sample rates (0.5 Hz) with supporting data from other instruments of somewhat slower rates. The hardware component consisted of a new circuit board for the VMCM that captured the VMCM data output, stored it, and transmitted it at high speed in response to a request from the data acquisition computer. The data acquisition software ran on a Masscomp 5600 computer under the UNIX operating system. A central control program provided timing information to several software processes that handled serial data acquisition, display, and storage for one or more instruments. Deployed as a part of the Surface Waves Processes Program (SWAPP) experiment, the integrated data acquisition system successfully collected, processed, stored, and displayed data from 19 VMCMs and four other instruments over a 22-day period in February and March of 1990