Degradation of crude oils byPseudomonas sp. in enriched seawater medium

Microbial degradation of five crude oils such as Arabian light, Berri, Murban, Khafji and Minas crude oil by a pure bacterial strain,Pseudomonas sp. isolated from the sea water sampled at Kawasaki Harbor in Tokyo Bay, was studied experimentally in the enriched seawater medium.The degradation of crude oils was determined in total residual oil and in four fractions of saturated, aromatics, asphaltene and column residue by use of the column chromatography with activated alumina.The saturated fraction was shown to be most biodegradable. The aromatics followed for all five crude oils examined and the asphaltene was biodegradable to some extent. The column residue was not apparently degraded byPseudomonas sp. within 30 days. Each of Arabian light, Berri or Murban crude oil was degraded from 59 to 63.5 %, Khafji crude oil 49 % and Minas crude oil, solid at room temperature, only 33 %. Degradation rate of the five crude oils was determined to be in a range from 2.88 to 17.3 mg-oil 1^–1 hr^–1 or from 6.0×10^–12 to 1.56×10^–10 mg-oil cell^–1 hr^–1. Relative degradation ofn-paraffins of different carbon numbers in the saturated fraction was found to be similar regardless of carbon number for the five crude oils.     

Prediction of monthly mean chlorophylla concentration in Mikawa Bay using GMDH

Data on organic and inorganic nitrogen and phosphorus, and meteorological conditions observed a few times a month at a buoy station in Mikawa Bay (Japan) are averaged on a monthly basis, and monthly transitions of chlorophylla at the station are predicted by GMDH (Group Method of Data Handling, one of the methods of nonlinear system identification) using these monthly mean data. The prediction is successful. GMDH is useful in describing the ecosystem and in predicting transitions within the bay.     

Soil pore characteristics of evergreen and deciduous forests of the tropical monsoon region in Cambodia

Both evergreen and deciduous forests (Efs and Dfs) are widely distributed under similar climatic conditions in tropical monsoon regions. To clarify the hydraulic properties of the soil matrix in different forest types and their effects on soil water storage capacity, the soil pore characteristics (SPC) were investigated in Ef and Df stands in three provinces in Cambodia. Soils in the Ef group were characterized in common by large amounts of coarse pores with moderate pore size distribution and the absence of an extremely low K_s at shallow depths, compared to Df group soils. The mean available water capacity of the soil matrix (AWC_sm) for all horizons of the Ef and Df group soils was 0·107 and 0·146 m³ m^?3, respectively. The mean coarse pore volume of the soil matrix (CPV_sm) in the Ef and Df groups was 0·231 and 0·115 m³ m^?3, respectively. A water flow simulation using a lognormal distribution model for rain events in the early dry season indicated that variation in SPC resulted in a larger increase in available soil water in Ef soils than in Df soils. Further study on deeper soil layers in Ef and each soil type in Df is necessary for the deeper understanding of the environmental conditions and the hydrological modelling of each forest ecosystem. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of radiation-damage halos in quartz by cathodoluminescence as a geochronological tool

Detailed quantitative cathodoluminescence (CL) imaging analysis was carried out for radiation-damage halos observed by CL (CL halo) created in natural quartz by implantation of 4 MeV He⁺ ions. The band of CL halo was approximately 14 μm in width and was constant for any He⁺ ion dose. The width of the halo is consistent with the theoretical range of ⁴He ions in quartz. A quantitative response of CL intensity to He⁺ ion dose was obtained, leading to the application of CL halos to geodosimetrical use. The CL intensity increases exponentially in the luminescent band from the implantation surface to the inside, until it reaches a maximum at 14 μm depth, with a rapid decrease beyond this point. This result is as predicted by Bragg's law, although we find some differences between the CL intensity and the theoretical stopping power.     

Water and heat fluxes above a lowland dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia

We measured the fluxes of sensible and latent heat between a low‐land dipterocarp forest in Peninsular Malaysia and the atmosphere. No clear seasonal or interannual changes in latent heat flux were found from 2003 to 2005, while sensible heat flux sometimes fluctuated depending on the fluctuation of incoming radiation between wet and dry seasons. The evapotranspiration rates averaged for the period between 2003 and 2005 were 2·77 and 3·61 mm day^?1 using eddy covariance data without and with an energy balance correction, respectively. Average precipitation was 4·74 mm day^?1. Midday surface conductance decreased with an increasing atmospheric water vapour pressure deficit and thus restricted the excess water loss on sunny days in the dry season. However, the relationship between the surface conductance and vapour pressure deficit did not significantly decline with an increase in volumetric soil water content even during a period of extremely low rainfall. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of ADEOS-II GLI ocean color atmospheric correction using SIMBADA handheld radiometer data

The performance of the “version 2” Global Imager (GLI) standard atmospheric correction algorithm, which includes empirical absorptive aerosol correction and sun glint correction, was evaluated using data collected with handheld above-water SIMBADA radiometers during 23 cruises of opportunity (research vessels, merchant ships), mostly in the North Atlantic and European seas. A number of 100 match-up data sets of GLI-derived and SIMBADA-measured normalized water-leaving radiance (nL _W ) and aerosol optical thickness (AOT) were sorted out, using objective selection criteria, and analyzed. The Root-Mean-Square (RMS) difference between GLI and SIMBADA nL _W was about 0.32 μW/cm²/nm/sr for the 412 nm band, showing improvement by 30% in RMS difference with respect to the conventional “version 1” GLI atmospheric correction algorithm, and the mean difference (or bias) was reduced significantly. For AOT, the RMS difference was 0.1 between GLI estimates and SIMBADA measurements and the bias was small (a few 0.01), but the ?ngstr?m exponent was systematically underestimated, by 0.4 on average, suggesting a potential GLI calibration offset in the near infrared. The nL _W differences were not correlated to AOT, although performance was best in very clear conditions (AOT less than 0.05 in the 865 nm band). Despite the relatively large scatter between estimated and measured nL _W , the derived chlorophyll-a concentration estimates, applying the same ratio algorithm (GLI OC4V4) to GLI and SIMBADA, were consistent and highly correlated in the range of 0.05–2 μg/l. The large variability in chlorophyll-a concentration estimate for clear clean water areas (e.g. with the concentration range lower than about 0.05 μg/l) turns out to be due to the nature of the “band ratio” based in-water algorithm.     

Numerical analysis of soil pipe effects on hillslope water dynamics

Soil pipes are considered to drain off water from a hillslope and play an important role in the subsurface runoff generation process, thus reducing the slope failure susceptibility. However, soil pipes are also often detected on the collapsed slope suggesting that they might act to induce slope instability. To examine how the soil pipes act on pore-water pressure generation and on a slope failure processes, a numerical model was developed. The model was used to test the response of pore-water pressure in a hillslope with soil pipes of different cross-sectional areas, lengths, distances from the impermeable bed, roughness, and hillslope angles. The model was also tested to find the response of open soil pipe if blocked. The study reveals that pipes reduce pore-water pressure (measured closed to bed) around its upstream end and increase around its downstream end if compared with no pipe case. Pore-water pressure at downstream end is increased with increase in hillslope angle, pipe cross-sectional area, pipe length, or depth of soil pipe. Soil pipe, even if it is ended within the hillslope, increases the total discharge from hillslope. Location of rough soil also affects the discharge and pressure within the hillslope. If the less rough pipe is close to the source of water, discharge from hillslope matrix is greater regardless of its downstream pipe roughness. Blockage of small portion of open soil pipe increases the soil pressure around the region but not beyond the case if there is no soil pipe. However, complete collapse of soil pipe from a point to all along the downstream end of hillslope increases the pore-water pressure beyond the pressure if there were no soil pipes. Therefore, the position and type of soil pipe collapse might play an important role in shallow landslide initiation.     

Temporal changes in electrical resistivity at Sakurajima volcano from continuous magnetotelluric observations

Continuous magnetotelluric (MT) measurements were conducted from May 2008 to July 2009 at Sakurajima, one of the most active volcanoes in Japan. Two observation sites were established at locations 3.3 km east and 3 km west–northwest of the summit crater. At both observation sites, the high-quality component of the impedance tensor (Zyx) showed variations in apparent resistivity of approximately ± 20% and phase change of ± 2°, which continued for 20–180 days in the frequency range between 320 and 4 Hz. The start of the period of changes in apparent resistivity approximately coincided with the start of uplift in the direction of the summit crater, as observed by a tiltmeter, which is one of the most reliable pieces of equipment with which to detect magma intrusion beneath a volcano. A 2D inversion of MT impedance suggests that the resistivity change occurred at a depth around sea level. One of the possible implications of the present finding is that the degassed volatiles migrated not only vertically through the conduit but also laterally through a fracture network, mixing with shallow groundwater beneath sea level and thereby causing the observed resistivity change.     

YOHKOH/WBS Recalibration and a Comprehensive Catalogue of Solar Flares Observed by YOHKOH SXT, HXT and WBS Instruments

The flare catalogue of the Yohkoh mission is compiled and linked to this article as an electronic supplement. For showing flare characteristics over wide energy range concisely, we provide the images of Hard X-ray Telescope (HXT) and the Soft X-ray Telescope (SXT), and the spectra of Hard X-ray Spectrometer (HXS) and Gamma-Ray Spectrometer (GRS) with the Wide Band Spectrometer (WBS) time profiles. The energy versus pulse height (PH) data channels in HXS and GRS are re-calibrated by using the data of the whole mission period. Secular gain changes are recognized in HXS, and the characteristics of power-law flare spectra simultaneously observed by HXT and HXS confirms the trend. The GRS gains are different for the flare observations during the previous maximum and for the current maximum. The total of 33 γ -ray events are observed, and for 12 of them γ-ray flare spectra are obtained. Electronic supplementary material to this article is available at and is accessible for authorized users.     

The Hinode (Solar-B) Mission: An Overview

The Hinode satellite (formerly Solar-B) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS/JAXA) was successfully launched in September 2006. As the successor to the Yohkoh mission, it aims to understand how magnetic energy gets transferred from the photosphere to the upper atmosphere and results in explosive energy releases. Hinode is an observatory style mission, with all the instruments being designed and built to work together to address the science aims. There are three instruments onboard: the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), and the X-Ray Telescope (XRT). This paper provides an overview of the mission, detailing the satellite, the scientific payload, and operations. It will conclude with discussions on how the international science community can participate in the analysis of the mission data. T. Kosugi deceased 26 November 2006.