A field study of diffusion around a model cube in a suburban area

To investigate diffusion around a building in a suburban area, a field observation was conducted on a model cube with a centrally located rooftop level source in September 1992 in Sapporo, Japan. The results show that high concentrations were observed both upwind and downwind of the source on the roof, although the mean velocity U was positive. The values of normalized concentration at locations upwind and downwind of the source were lower than those obtained from wind tunnel data conducted at moderated turbulence levels. At ground level, the mean concentrations along the model centre line show the highest value near the cube and decay rapidly in the downstream direction. The relationship between the instantaneous concentrations and instantaneous velocity was investigated using two fast-response concentration detectors and an ultrasonic anemometer. It was found that when reverse flow occurred on the roof, the tracer gas was detected upwind of the source.     

New age constraints on the cooling and unroofing history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith (Kargil area), N. W. India

Thermotectonic history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith in the Kargil area, N. W. India, is inferred from new age data obtained here in conjunction with previously published ages. Fission-track (FT) ages on apatite fall around 20±2 Ma recording cooling through temperatures of ∼100°C and indicating an unroofing of 4 km of the Ladakh Range since the Early Miocene. Coexisting apatite and zircon FT ages from two samples in Kargil show the rocks to have cooled at an average rate of 5–6°C/Ma in the past 40 Ma. Zircon FT ages together with mica K−Ar cooling ages from the Ladakh Batholith cluster around 40–50 Ma, probably indicating an Eocene phase of uplift and erosion that affected the bulk of the batholith after the continental collision of India with the Ladakh arc at 55 Ma. Components of the granitoids in Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene sediments of the Indus Molasse in Ladakh supports this idea. Three hornblende K−Ar ages of 90 Ma, 55 Ma, and 35 Ma are also reported; these distinctly different ages probably reflect cooling through 500–550°C of three phases of I-type plutonism in Ladakh also evidenced by other available radiometric data: 102 Ma (mid-Cretaceous), 60 Ma (Palaeocene), and 40 Ma (Late Eocene); the last phase being localised sheet injections. The geodynamic implications of the age data for the India-Asia collision are discussed.     

Seasonal change in CO2 and H2O exchange between grassland and atmosphere

The seasonal change in CO₂ flux over an artificial grassland was analyzed from the ecological and meteorological point of view. This grassland contains C₃ and C₄ plants; the three dominant species belonging to the Gramineae; Festuca elatior (C₃) dominated in early spring, and Imperata cylindrica (C₄) and Andropogon virginicus (C₄) grew during early summer and became dominant in mid-summer. CO₂ flux was measured by the gradient method, and the routinely observed data for the surface-heat budget were used to analyze the CO₂ and H₂O exchange between the grassland and atmosphere. From August to October in 1993, CO₂ flux was reduced to around half under the same solar-radiation conditions, while H₂O flux decreased 20% during the same period. The monthly values of water use efficiency, i.e., ratio of CO₂ flux to H₂O flux decreased from 5.8 to 3.3 mg CO₂/g H₂O from August to October, the Bowen ratio increased from 0.20 to 0.30, and the ratio of the bulk latent heat transfer coefficient C_E to the sensible heat transfer coefficient C_H was maintained around 0.40-0.50. The increase in the Bowen ratio was explained by the decrease in air temperature from 22.3 °C in August to 16.6 °C in October without considering biological effects such as stomatal closure on the individual leaves. The nearly constant C_E/C_H ratios suggested that the contribution ratio of canopy resistance to aerodynamic resistance did not change markedly, although the meteorological conditions changed seasonally. The decrease in the water use efficiency, however, suggested that the photosynthetic rate decreased for individual leaves from August to October under the same radiation conditions. Diurnal variations of CO₂ exchange were simulated by the multi-layer canopy model taking into account the differences in the stomatal conductance and photosynthetic pathway between C₃ and C₄ plants. The results suggested that C₄ plants played a major role in the CO₂ exchange in August, the contribution of C₄ plants decreased in September, and daily variations of CO₂ exchange were mainly due to C₃ plants in October. The results also suggested that the decrease in the net canopy CO₂ exchange from August to October was induced partly by the decrease of net photosynthesis on the individual leaves in both C₄ and C₃ plants, which could be due to aging of the leaves.     

Temporal and spatial variations of canopy temperature over a C3?C4 mixture grassland

This study discusses the photosynthetic pathway types involved in canopy temperature measurements on a mixed grassland consisting of C₃ and C₄ plants (dominant species in biomass were Solidago altissima (C₃), Miscanthus sinensis (C₄), and Imperata cylindrica (C₄)). In the wet conditions immediately after the rainy season, the mean canopy temperature for S. altissima was the lowest among the dominant species, mainly due to its leaf conductance being twice as large as the other two species. Despite using the same C₄ photosynthetic pathway, M. sinensis had a lower apparent canopy temperature than I. cylindrica due to a smaller proportion of sunlit elements in the field of view. In the dry conditions during late July, the mean canopy temperatures of the three dominant species were within 0·3 °C of one another. These results can be explained by poor water conditions for C₃ species (S. altissima). The simultaneous survey of vegetation and thermal imaging can help clarify characteristics of C₃ and C₄ canopy temperature over complicated grassland. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Phreatomagmatic eruptions associated with the caldera collapse during the Miyakejima 2000 eruption,Japan

The 2000 AD eruption of Miyakejima was characterized by a series of phreatomagmatic eruptions from the subsiding caldera. Six major eruptive events occurred, and they can be divided into the first and second periods separated by a 25-day hiatus. The phreatomagmatic eruptions produced a total of ~ 2 × 10¹⁰ kg of tephra, which mainly comprised fine-grained volcanic ash. The tephra layers could be divided into six fall units corresponding to the six major eruptive events.     

In situ measurement of incoming solar radiation by voluntary ships in the western Pacific

We have been performingin situ measurement of downward short wave radiation (solar radiation) in the western Pacific Ocean in cooperation with voluntary ships since autumn 1990 in order to obtain much more precise knowledge of downward short wave radiation at the sea's surface than before. Preliminary result of the observation from autumn 1990 through spring 1992 is shown in this paper. The comparison of observed daily mean downward short wave radiation with that estimated from observed cloudiness by using Reed (1977) formula is also presented to show the necessity ofin situ measurement in the study of the downward short wave radiation at the sea's surface.     

Electron beam emission from the EXOS-B (JIKIKEN) satellite as a powerful diagnostic tool in the magnetosphere

In an electron beam emission experiment on board the EXOS-B (JIKIKEN) satellite (200 V, 1 mA-maximum), several types of waves are strongly excited by the beam such as plasma frequency, upper hybrid frequency, electron cyclotron frequency, their harmonics and nonlinear coupling of these waves. Measurements of these waves give information on local plasma density and magnetic field strength and it is revealed that the electron beam emission from the spacecraft is a powerful diagnostic tool in the magnetosphere. A long term observation in this electron beam experiment has provided us with the average plasma density profile in the magnetosphere. It is also useful for the detection of the plasmapause. Plasma density measurements down to the order of 10 cm^–3 are possible. The instrument itself is very simple and compact, so that it will be a powerful plasma diagnostic tool in future magnetospheric and planetary explorations.     

Seismic behaviour of pile groups by hybrid experiments

Non-linear seismic soil-pile interaction was studied with a hybrid procedure that used a pseudo-dynamic testing (PDT) method modified to account for frequency dependence and developed for foundation-soil systems. The numerical scheme used in the conventional PDT was improved by the introduction of a time-dependent pseudo-forcing function derived from the frequency-dependent dynamic characteristics of the system by Hilbert transformation in the frequency domain. Single, 2-, 3- and 9-pile group foundation models were used, their mechanical characteristics later being determined from static and forced vibration dynamic tests. Amplitude scaling was used for three recorded accelerograms. Data recorded during an earthquake at the site of the experiments revealed that the proposed methodology predicts well seismic nonlinear interaction and accounts for frequency dependence and non-linearity in the time domain.     

Migration of a volcanic front inferred from K–Ar ages of late Miocene to Pliocene volcanic rocks in central Japan

K–Ar ages have been determined for 14 late Miocene to Pliocene volcanic rocks in the north of the Kanto Mountains, Japan, for tracking the location of the volcanic front through the time. These samples were collected from volcanoes located behind the trench–trench–trench (TTT) triple junction of the Pacific, Philippine Sea, and North American plates. This junction is the site of subduction of slabs of the Pacific and the Philippine Sea plates, both of which are thought to have influenced magmatism in this region. The stratigraphy and K–Ar ages of volcanic rocks in the study area indicate that volcanism occurred between the late Miocene and the Pliocene, and ceased before the Pleistocene. Volcanism in adjacent areas of the southern NE Japan and northern Izu–Bonin arcs also occurred during the Pliocene and ceased at around 3 Ma with the westward migration of the volcanic front, as reported previously. Combining our new age data with the existing data shows that before 3 Ma the volcanic front around the TTT junction was located about 50 km east of the preset‐day volcanic front. We suggest that northward subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate slab ended at ～3 Ma as a result of collision between the northern margin of the plate with the surface of the Pacific Plate slab. This collision may have caused a change in the subduction vector of the Philippine Sea Plate from the original north‐directed subduction to the present‐day northwest‐directed subduction. This indicates that the post ～3 Ma westward migration of the volcanic front was a result of this change in plate motion.