Landslides in Sado Island of Japan: Part I. Case studies, monitoring techniques and environmental considerations

A sufficient knowledge on the kinematics and development of landslides helps to adopt proper measures that can be used to protect slopes and the environment in general. This can be achieved by adequate monitoring programs. This paper presents the findings of intensive monitoring activities carried out on Shiidomari and Katanoo landslides found in Sado Island of Japan. More than one year of observation of the two landslides allowed defining some peculiar futures of their kinematics and style of development. The problem of slope instability in the two areas is generally accredited to various factors. But, both landslides were triggered by heavy rainfalls and snowmelt. Because of the outline of the area and the presence of relict topographic features, the Shiidomari landslide is considered to be a large-scale reactivation of old slope failures. The Katanoo landslide is, however, a first-time case. Geophysical investigations and drilling activities in Shiidomari indicated the presence of two slip planes. The deepest (80–100 m) of these is controlled by existing lineaments. Monitoring data suggests that the body of the landslide has subsided as much as 1.16 m just below the main scarp, but a centimeter in the central region. The toe sector also experienced a significant amount of subsidence, but this was counter-balanced by an uplift on the opposite side of the landslide. Hence, the landslide seems not any more active along the deepest slip surface, although it may extend upward and define a series of shallow shear planes around the crown. In the case of Katanoo, the landform characteristics, differential weathering, the road cut and groundwater fluctuations appeared to contribute much to determine the exact location of the landslide. Extensional cracks that preceded the landslide can be related to heavy rainfalls and the cold and warm cycles thereafter. Subsurface investigations and monitoring works indicated that the landslide has two slide blocks with different slip planes. During the observation period, the upper part of the landslide responded more effectively to rainfall and snowmelt than the middle and lower sections. The corresponding movements, however, appeared to settle about three months after failure. There were also little strain transmissions in boreholes and no significant change in the characteristics of the landslide. The kinematics of deformation of many of the slopes in Sado Island resembles that of Shiidomari landslide. But mass movements along highways and mountain roads are usually similar to Katanoo. Landslides of the type like Shiidomari may not show sudden and drastic failures, but are usually long lasting and can reactivate repeatedly along new, shallow shear planes. Monitoring works and long-term supervisions in these types of landslides are useful to identify impending failures and take the right measures before they brought about large-scale destruction to the environment.     

The P–V–T equation of state of CaPtO3 post-perovskite

Orthorhombic post-perovskite CaPtO₃ is isostructural with post-perovskite MgSiO₃, a deep-Earth phase stable only above 100 GPa. Energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction data (to 9.4 GPa and 1,024 K) for CaPtO₃ have been combined with published isothermal and isobaric measurements to determine its P–V–T equation of state (EoS). A third-order Birch–Murnaghan EoS was used, with the volumetric thermal expansion coefficient (at atmospheric pressure) represented by α(T) = α₀ + α₁(T). The fitted parameters had values: isothermal incompressibility, $ K_{{T_{0} }} $  = 168.4(3) GPa; $ K_{{T_{0} }}^{\prime } $  = 4.48(3) (both at 298 K); $ \partial K_{{T_{0} }} /\partial T $  = ?0.032(3) GPa K^?1; α₀ = 2.32(2) × 10^?5 K^?1; α₁ = 5.7(4) × 10^?9 K^?2. The volumetric isothermal Anderson–Grüneisen parameter, δ _T , is 7.6(7) at 298 K. $ \partial K_{{T_{0} }} /\partial T $ for CaPtO₃ is similar to that recently reported for CaIrO₃, differing significantly from values found at high pressure for MgSiO₃ post-perovskite (?0.0085(11) to ?0.024 GPa K^?1). We also report axial P–V–T EoS of similar form, the first for any post-perovskite. Fitted to the cubes of the axes, these gave $ \partial K_{{aT_{0} }} /\partial T $  = ?0.038(4) GPa K^?1; $ \partial K_{{bT_{0} }} /\partial T $  = ?0.021(2) GPa K^?1; $ \partial K_{{cT_{0} }} /\partial T $  = ?0.026(5) GPa K^?1, with δ _T  = 8.9(9), 7.4(7) and 4.6(9) for a, b and c, respectively. Although $ K_{{T_{0} }} $ is lowest for the b-axis, its incompressibility is the least temperature dependent.     

Distribution of microzooplankton in the Philippine Sea and the Celebes Sea in summer, 1972

Regional and vertical distribution of the microzooplankton in the Philippine and the Celebes Seas is reported in relation to the phytoplankton distribution. The maximum concentration of chlorophylla occurred at the surface in the Celebes Sea and in subsurface layer (50–150 m depth) in the Philippine Sea. On the other hand, the maximum occurrence of the microzooplankton was observed in the subsurface layer (50–150 m) throughout these sea areas; discrepancy in the vertical positions of the chlorophylla and microzooplankton maxima was observed in the former sea area. The higher dominancy of large-sized phytoplankton such as diatoms andTrichodesmium at the surface maximum, probably because most large-sized phytoplankton were uningestible for the microzooplankton, was the main reason why the discrepancy existed in the Celebes Sea. In the Philippine Sea, where the subsurface chlorophylla maximum layer was formed mainly by small-sized phytoplankton such as coccolithophorids and small dinoflagellates, such a discrepancy was not observed. These may indicate the establishment of a close food relationship between the microzooplankton and the small-sized phytoplankton rather than to the large-sized phytoplankton.     

An Application of Hydraulic Tomography to a Large‐Scale Fractured Granite Site,Mizunami, Japan

While hydraulic tomography (HT) is a mature aquifer characterization technology, its applications to characterize hydrogeology of kilometer‐scale fault and fracture zones are rare. This paper sequentially analyzes datasets from two new pumping tests as well as those from two previous pumping tests analyzed by Illman et al. (2009) at a fractured granite site in Mizunami, Japan. Results of this analysis show that datasets from two previous pumping tests at one side of a fault zone as used in the previous study led to inaccurate mapping of fracture and fault zones. Inclusion of the datasets from the two new pumping tests (one of which was conducted on the other side of the fault) yields locations of the fault zone consistent with those based on geological mapping. The new datasets also produce a detailed image of the irregular fault zone, which is not available from geological investigation alone and the previous study. As a result, we conclude that if prior knowledge about geological structures at a field site is considered during the design of HT surveys, valuable non‐redundant datasets about the fracture and fault zones can be collected. Only with these non‐redundant data sets, can HT then be a viable and robust tool for delineating fracture and fault distributions over kilometer scales, even when only a limited number of boreholes are available. In essence, this paper proves that HT is a new tool for geologists, geophysicists, and engineers for mapping large‐scale fracture and fault zone distributions.     

Differences in the structure of the lower trophic levels of pelagic ecosystems in the eastern and western subarctic Pacific

To illustrate areal differences in the structure of lower trophic levels of the pelagic ecosystems in the subarctic Pacific, data collected in the quasi-steady state summer/fall conditions were analysed for five areas, i.e. the Bering Basin, Western Subarctic Gyre, the area south of the Aleutians, the Gulf of Alaska, and the Oyashio Region. Average values of stock size of four components of the lower trophic levels showed a clear difference between areas with ranges of 7.5-fold for nitrate, 3.0 for chlorophyll a, 9.9 for microzooplankton, and 2.4 for mesozooplankton. Such differences were more striking when the structure of the lower trophic levels was expressed as a biomass pyramid. In the Gulf of Alaska, Western Subarctic Gyre, and south of the Aleutians, the relative biomass of microzooplankton to phytoplankton is large and large amounts of nitrate remained unused. In addition to possible iron limitation, grazing control by the microzooplankton on small phytoplankton must be substantial in these areas. Conversely, in the Oyashio Region, the nitrate stock is very small indicating higher efficiency of nitrate consumption by phytoplankton. However, since phytoplankton and zooplankton stocks are not particularly large, their products are likely to be transferred, also efficiently, to the higher trophic levels such as planktivorous pelagic fish. The situation in the Bering Basin is intermediate between the Oyashio Region and the other three areas. Inter-annual fluctuations in stock size of the planktivorous fish which migrate into the Oyashio Region in summer/fall were quite large. However, the inter-annual variation of mesozooplankton biomass was small, suggesting the existence of certain mechanisms to stabilize plankton abundance under increasing predation pressure. As a result, the increasing fish stocks likely keep the transfer efficiency from nitrate through to fish higher, at least in the Oyashio Region.     

Standing Crops of Planktonic Ciliates and Copepod Nauplii in the Subarctic North Pacific and the Bering Sea in Summer

Abundances and biomasses of planktonic ciliates and copepod nauplii, major components of the microzooplankton community, were investigated in the subarctic North Pacific and the Bering Sea in summer of 1997. Their regional variation was illustrated by demarcating the entire area into five regions. Ciliates always predominated both in abundance (>94%) and biomass (>78%) over nauplii. Regional means of ciliates in the water column were higher in the Alaskan Gyre (120 × 10⁶ cells/m²) and the Western Subarctic Gyre (110 × 10⁶ cells/m²) in terms of abundance, and rich in the Bering Sea Gyre (360 mgC/m²) and the Western Subarctic Gyre (340 mgC/m²) in terms of biomass. By contrast, standing crops of ciliates were poor in the Oyashio Region (67 × 10⁶ cells/m²; 170 mgC/m²) and the Transition Region (64 × 10⁶ cells/m²; 160 mgC/m²). The values of biomass reported here are generally in agreement with the values reported previously from the Bering Sea Gyre and the Alaskan Gyre but are considerably higher than the previous value found in the Western Subarctic Gyre. No significant correlations could be found between chlorophyll a crop and standing crops of ciliates and copepod nauplii over the entire subarctic North Pacific and the Bering Sea during this summer.     

Microzooplankton standing crop in the western subtropical pacific off the Bonin Islands in winter, 1980

Quantitative data on the vertical distribution and biomass of microzooplankton are presented for the western subtropical Pacific west of the Bonin Islands in winter. Microzooplankton other than foraminifera and radiolarians showed similar vertical distribution to chlorophylla. Among microzooplankters, naked ciliates, tintinnids and copepod nauplii were dominant components both in number and volume. Naked ciliates were the most dominant, comprising 82.2 % and 47.7 % of the total microzooplankton by number and volume, respectively. Copepod nauplii, occupying less than 10 % by number, accounted for 35.7 % of the volume of all microzooplankton. Tintinnids contributed less to the microzooplankton standing crop, 12.6 % of the total by number and 17.3 % by volume. Calculated microzooplankton wet weight varied from 0.84 to 1.80 g m^?2 and corresponded to 9.9–18.1 % of net zooplankton weight. The relative abundance of microzooplankton to net zooplankton in this study is comparable to that previously reported in the tropical and subtropical Pacific Ocean, but a little higher than in oceanic subarctic areas.