Small-scale high wind cores enhancing low-level wind shear: Doppler radar observation of opposing wind adjacent to the sea-breeze frontal zone on 20 September 1989

Summary Opposing wind region adjacent to the sea-breeze frontal zone on 20 September 1989 was investigated observationally using the data from a single Doppler radar measurement.Found are small-scale high wind cores located close to the zone. Their location is at the altitude of several hundred meters and their sizes are around several hundred meters. It is demonstrated that these cores have an effect of enhancing low-level wind shear associated with the sea-breeze frontal zone.With 9 Figures     

Noble gas signatures around the Rodriguez Triple Junction in the Indian Ocean: Constraints on magma genesis in a ridge system

We report systematic noble gas variation within a regional scale in an area that is well separated from all hotspots surrounding a remarkable ridge-ridge-ridge type triple junction—the Rodriguez Triple Junction of the Indian Ocean. We applied a newly established technique to select basaltic glass samples from the Mid-Oceanic Ridge Basalt (MORB) suite from the studied area. Samples were selected to create regular spacing along the ridge axis for investigating the magma system beneath the ridge axis. All samples show a typical isotope signature as MORB regardless of moderate contributions of an atmospheric component. Remarkably, uniform isotope ratios were found even for Ne and Ar in each segment. Such ratios had not been recognized in any magmatic system in Mid-Oceanic Ridges. Elemental abundances of samples are controlled both by mixing with the atmospheric component and by degassing. Contribution of atmospheric components is controlled strongly by a high temperature reaction caused by equilibration of dissolved noble gases between magma and seawater. Of the three models of the magma system around the Rodriguez Triple Junction, controlled contamination without mechanical mixing in a magma chamber presents the most likely scenario.     

Semi-empirical estimation of ground motion using observed records at a site in Shikoku, Japan

A semi-empirical approach using fore- or after-shockrecords as Green's functions is applicable to thesimulation of strong ground motion, however suchrecords are obviously not available for predictionpurposes. Thus we have predicted ground motion fora hypothetical large earthquake from other minorevents by adopting a distance correction based ongeometrical spreading. Another difficulty inprediction is fault modeling. Surface traces weresimplified as fault models 27, 46, 55, and 77 km inlength. Further, the actual fault rupture may beinhomogeneous, so an asperity distribution isassumed. This asperity model assumes thatdislocation and stress drop are double than theaverage values. Although, the near field term isneglected in our simulation, no significantdifference was seen in the motions estimated byindividual models for periods up to 2.0 seconds. This indicates that the dependence of source size issmall for strong motion, perhaps as a result of therandom summation of high-frequency phases.     

40Ar–39Ar analysis of phlogopite in the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Hokkaido, Japan and implications for its origin

Abstract ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar analysis of phlogopite separated from a plagioclase lherzolite of the Horoman Peridotite Complex, Hokkaido, Japan, has yielded a plateau age of 20.6 ± 0.5 Ma in an environment where the metamorphic fluid was characterized by an almost atmospheric Ar isotopic ratio. The age spectrum is slightly saddle-shaped, implying some incorporation of excess ⁴⁰Ar during the formation of the phlogopite at a depth. As the phlogopite has been inferred to have formed in veins and/or interstitials during exhumation of the peridotite body, metasomatic fluids, to which ground- and sea water might have contributed, were probably involved in the formation of phlogopite in the crustal environment. A total ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age of 129 Ma of a whole rock sample of the plagioclase lherzolite, from which the phlogopite was separated and is representative of the main lithology of the Horoman Peridotite Complex, indicates the occurrence of excess ⁴⁰Ar. Hence, the age has no geological meaning.     

Optimal displacement feedback control law for active tuned mass damper

Optimal displacement feedback control law is derived for a vibration control of a single‐degree‐of‐freedom structure with an active tuned mass damper (ATMD). Analytical expressions of the linear quadratic regulator (LQR) feedback gains for the ATMD are derived by solving the Ricatti equation straightforwardly. Based on these solutions, it is found that if the stiffness of the tuned mass damper (TMD) is calibrated to satisfy a certain condition, the control law is simplified to be composed of the feedback gains only for the displacement of the structure and the velocity of the auxiliary mass stroke, which is referred to as ‘optimal displacement feedback control’. The mean‐square responses of the structure as well as the auxiliary mass against Gaussian white noise excitations are evaluated by solving the Lyapunov equation analytically based on the stochastic optimal control theory. Using these analytical solutions, the optimal damping parameter for the auxiliary mass is also derived. Finally, the optimal displacement feedback control law is presented. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Differences in the acute toxicities of tributyltin between the Caprellidea and the Gammaridea (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

Tests for the acute toxicity of tributyltin (TBT) were conducted on amphipod crustaceans collected from Otsuchi Bay, Japan. Five species of caprellids and three species of gammarids, which belong to a closely related ecological niche, were used for the exposure experiments at seven test concentrations (0, 0.001, 0.01, 0.1, 1, 10 and 100 microg TBTCl/l) for 48 h at 20 degrees C. The 48-h LC50 values of the caprellids were 1.2-6.6 microg TBTCl/l, and these were significantly lower than those of the gammarids (17.8-23.1 microg TBTCl/l). This suggests that caprellids are more sensitive to TBT than gammarids. Furthermore, the proportions of TBT and its derivatives, dibutyltin (DBT) and monobutyltin (MBT), were measured in the amphipods collected from Otsuchi Bay. In the caprellids, TBT was the predominant compound, accounting for 72% of the total butyltin which reflected the butyltin ratio in seawater, while in the gammarids, TBT's breakdown products (DBT and MBT) predominated, accounting for 75% of the total butyltin. This difference suggests that caprellids may have lower metabolic capacity to degrade TBT than gammarids. Therefore, the difference in sensitivity to TBT among the amphipods is thought to be related to the species-specific capacity to metabolize TBT.     

Interannual-decadal variability of wintertime mixed layer depths in the North Pacific detected by an ensemble of ocean syntheses

Climate Dynamics - The interannual-decadal variability of the wintertime mixed layer depths (MLDs) over the North Pacific is investigated from an empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of an...     

Sr isotope excursion across the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary in the Three Gorges area, South China

The Precambrian/Cambrian (PC/C) boundary is one of the most important intervals for the evolution of life. However, the scarcity of well-preserved outcrops across the boundary leaves an obstacle in decoding surface environmental changes and patterns of biological evolution.In south China, strata through the PC/C boundary are almost continuously exposed and contain many fossils, suitable for study of environmental and biological change across the PC/C boundary. We undertook deep drilling at four sites in the Three Gorges area to obtain continuous and fresh samples without surface alteration and oxidation. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the fresh carbonate rocks, selected based on microscopic observation and geochemical signatures of Mn/Sr and Rb/Sr ratios, aluminum and silica contents, and δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values, were measured with multiple collector-inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometric techniques.The chemostratigraphy of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of the drilled samples displays a smooth curve and a large positive anomaly just below the PC/C boundary between the upper part of Baimatuo Member of the Dengying Formation and the lower part of the Yanjiahe Formation. The combination of chemostratigraphies of δ¹³C and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr indicates that the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr excursions preceded the δ¹³C negative excursion, and suggests that global regression or formation of the Gondwana supercontinent, possibly together with a high atmospheric pCO₂, caused biological depression.     

Note on the isolated vortices over the topographic-β

The behavior of the isolated vortices over the topographic-is considered with the quasi-geostrophic two-layer model, in the limit of very shallow upper layer, in the absence of planetary-. The results are compared with the observed Kurshio warm-core rings. When a ring drifts southward (northward) relative to the meridional mean current, it radiates (does not radiate) Rossby waves in the lower layer. Even when the lower layer is radiating, the decaying is very slow as long as the ring drifts closely to a background current.Current affiliation (from Feb. 1, 1992): NCAR, P.O. Box 3000, Boulder, Colorado 80307-3000, U.S.A.