Cross-Validation of Open-Path and Closed-Path Eddy-Covariance Techniques for Observing Methane Fluxes

Methane ( ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ ) fluxes observed with the eddy-covariance technique using an open-path ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ analyzer and a closed-path ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ analyzer in a rice paddy field were evaluated with an emphasis on the flux correction methodology. A comparison of the fluxes obtained by the analyzers revealed that both the open-path and closed-path techniques were reliable, provided that appropriate corrections were applied. For the open-path approach, the influence of fluctuations in air density and the line shape variation in laser absorption spectroscopy (hereafter, spectroscopic effect) was significant, and the relative importance of these corrections would increase when observing small ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ fluxes. A new procedure proposed by Li-Cor Inc. enabled us to accurately adjust for these effects. The high-frequency loss of the open-path ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ analyzer was relatively large (11 % of the uncorrected covariance) at an observation height of 2.5 m above the canopy owing to its longer physical path length, and this correction should be carefully applied before correcting for the influence of fluctuations in air density and the spectroscopic effect. Uncorrected ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ fluxes observed with the closed-path analyzer were substantially underestimated (37 %) due to high-frequency loss because an undersized pump was used in the observation. Both the bandpass and transfer function approaches successfully corrected this flux loss. Careful determination of the bandpass frequency range or the transfer function and the cospectral model is required for the accurate calculation of ${\mathrm {CH}}_{4}$ fluxes with the closed-path technique.     

Statistical downscaling of sea-surface wind over the Peru�CChile upwelling region: diagnosing the impact of climate change from the IPSL-CM4 model

The key aspect of the ocean circulation off Peru?CChile is the wind-driven upwelling of deep, cold, nutrient-rich waters that promote a rich marine ecosystem. It has been suggested that global warming may be associated with an intensification of upwelling-favorable winds. However, the lack of high-resolution long-term observations has been a limitation for a quantitative analysis of this process. In this study, we use a statistical downscaling method to assess the regional impact of climate change on the sea-surface wind over the Peru?CChile upwelling region as simulated by the global coupled general circulation model IPSL-CM4. Taking advantage of the high-resolution QuikSCAT wind product and of the NCEP reanalysis data, a statistical model based on multiple linear regressions is built for the daily mean meridional and zonal wind at 10?m for the period 2000?C2008. The large-scale 10?m wind components and sea level pressure are used as regional circulation predictors. The skill of the downscaling method is assessed by comparing with the surface wind derived from the ERS satellite measurements, with in situ wind observations collected by ICOADS and through cross-validation. It is then applied to the outputs of the IPSL-CM4 model over stabilized periods of the pre-industrial, 2?×?CO₂ and 4?×?CO₂ IPCC climate scenarios. The results indicate that surface along-shore winds off central Chile (off central Peru) experience a significant intensification (weakening) during Austral winter (summer) in warmer climates. This is associated with a general decrease in intra-seasonal variability.     

Characterization of polychlorinated biphenyls and brominated flame retardants in sediments from riverine and coastal waters of Surabaya, Indonesia

A total of 33 surficial sediments from riverine and coastal waters from Surabaya, Indonesia were analyzed for PCBs and BFRs. Concentrations of PCBs (62 congeners), PBDEs (14 congeners) and HBCDs (3 isomers) varied from <DL-420, <DL-35 and <DL-5.4 ng g⁻¹ dw, respectively. Higher concentrations of these compounds were found in riverine than coastal sediments. Their levels and distribution were influenced by proximity to the point sources and TOC. The predominant congeners were CB-153, -28, -138, -149, -180, -33 and BDE-209, -207, -206, -197, -196, -183, -99, -47 for PCBs and PBDEs, respectively, and γ-isomer for HBCDs. Debromination of BDE-209 might be taking place producing lower toxic congeners in sediment. Levels of PCBs in riverine sediments were comparable with some polluted areas worldwide, but PBDEs and HBCDs were lower. Hazard assessment of PCBs indicated possible toxic potential, particularly in areas close to point sources.     

中国东南沿海与西南日本白垩纪-古近纪火山-侵入岩带的地球动力学特征

本文讨论了中国东南沿海和西南日本两条白垩纪-古近纪火山-侵入岩带的地球动力学特征。两条火山-侵入岩带的下火山岩系岩石经受了左旋走滑的韧性剪切变形而形成片理或片麻理构造。中国东南沿海火山-侵入活动的起始时间、动力变形和结束时间都早于日本约30Ma。西南日本高镁安山岩和埃达克岩(120~105Ma)是在大面积白垩纪岩浆作用的起始阶段由大洋俯冲板片在高温条件下部分熔融形成的。火山-侵入活动的结束标志中国东南沿海岩浆岩带是板内环境的晶洞A型花岗岩和以流纹岩为主的双峰式火山岩;在西南日本岩浆岩带是年轻地壳挤压重熔的S型过铝质石榴石/白云母细粒花岗岩和流纹岩,不存在类似华南的壳源S型花岗岩,中国东南沿海没有代表洋壳俯冲的弧岩浆岩。两条火山-侵入岩带的源区都以幔源为主并有前寒武纪再旋回地壳物质加入,它们的Sr-Nd同位素组成表明:随时间推移,中国东南沿海火山-侵入岩中幔源组分增加,而西南日本则相反。华南中生代大规模岩浆活动的开始(170±5Ma)是在古太平洋板块斜向俯冲背景下,大陆岩石圈减薄,陆内深断裂再活化的结果。东亚大陆边缘在晚中生代(120Ma)进入古太平洋板块正向俯冲构造体系,但不同地段的表现不同。     

Long-term diatom fluxes in response to oceanographic conditions at Stations AB and SA in the central subarctic Pacific and the Bering Sea, 1990–1998

Long-term monitoring of diatom fluxes during 1990–1998 was conducted at Station AB in the Bering Sea and Station SA in the central subarctic Pacific in order to decipher the relationships between sinking diatom and the upper water mass environments. The total diatom flux at Station AB was generally twice as high as that at Station SA. The dominant species in the sinking flora was primarily Neodenticula seminae at both stations, which was a significant contributor to organic carbon flux. The flora at Station AB was represented by relatively abundant coastal taxa including Chaetoceros resting spores. These results suggest more favorable conditions for diatom production at Station AB compared with those at Station SA. The possible influences of oligotrophic and temperate water masses were discerned from the positive SST anomaly and the occurrence of a few specimens of temperate species. The cumulative annual fluxes of total diatoms at Stations AB and SA are apparently related to the variation in the mean annual depth of mixed layer. At Station SA, annual mean of total diatom flux showed a negative correlation with the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) Index, which suggests a significant relationship between surface water turbidity and diatom production. At Station AB, the annual change of coastal diatom flux was correlated with the PDO and the winter value of the Arctic Oscillation, which may suggest a significant influence of Alaskan Stream waters via the Aleutian Islands and intensity of surface water mixing.     

Countermeasures for enhancing the stability of composite breakwater under earthquake and subsequent tsunami

Many breakwaters have collapsed in the past due to earthquakes and subsequent tsunamis, resulting in considerable devastation as the breakwaters failed to prevent the tsunami from entering the coastal plain areas. Breakwater failures are mainly caused by damage to its foundation ground. However, the damage mechanism of breakwater foundation during earthquakes and tsunamis remains unclear. This study focuses on the breakwater failure mechanism due to collapse of its foundation under the action of an earthquake and subsequent tsunami. In addition, reinforcing countermeasures for breakwater foundation to mitigate damage due to compound geodisasters triggered by earthquakes and tsunamis are proposed. Sheet piles and gabions were used in the breakwater foundation as reinforcing countermeasures. To evaluate the effectiveness of the reinforced foundation, a series of shaking table tests and hydraulic model tests were performed. The tsunami overflow tests were conducted on the same model after the earthquake loadings, and comparisons were made between the conventional and reinforced foundations. It was observed during the tests that the reinforced foundation could effectively reduce the damage to the breakwater caused by earthquake and tsunami-induced forces. Numerical analyses were performed to clarify the mechanism of the soil–breakwater–reinforcement–fluid system. Overall, this study is useful in practical engineering, and the reinforcing foundation model could be adopted for offshore structures to reduce damage from earthquakes and tsunamis in the future.     

A web-based real-time and full-resolution data visualization for Himawari-8 satellite sensed images

It has been almost four decades since the first launch of geostationary meteorological satellite by Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The specifications of the geostationary meteorological satellites have shown tremendous progresses along with the generations, which are now entering their third generation. The third-generation geostationary meteorological satellites not only yield basic data for weather monitoring, but also globally observe the Earth’s environment. The development of multi-band imagers with improved spatial resolution onboard the third-generation geostationary meteorological satellites brings us meteorological data in larger size than those of the second-generation ones. Thus, new techniques for domestic and world-wide dissemination of the observational big data are needed. In this paper, we develop a web-based data visualization for Himawari-8 satellite sensed images in real time and with full resolution. This data visualization is supported by the ecosystems, which uses a tiled pyramid representation and parallel processing technique for terrain on an academic cloud system. We evaluate the performance of our techniques for domestic and international users on laboratory experiments. The results show that our data visualization is suitable for practical use on a temporal preview of observation image data for the domestic users.     

Phytoplankton and ice-algal communities in the seasonal ice zone during January (Southern Ocean,Indian sector)

Journal of Oceanography - In the seasonal ice zone (SIZ), sea-ice algae have been hypothesized to influence phytoplankton species composition in seawater after melting from sea ice. However,...     

Ore‐forming Ages and Sulfur Isotope Study of Hydrothermal Deposits in Kamchatka,Russia

In Kamchatka, Central Koryak, Central Kamchatka and East Kamchatka metallogenic belts are distributed from northwest to southeast. K–Ar age, sulfur isotopic composition of sulfide minerals, and bulk chemical compositions of ores were analyzed for 13 ore deposits including hydrothermal gold‐silver and base metal, in order to elucidate the geological time periods of ore formation, relationship to regional volcanic belts, type of mineralization, and origin of sulfur in sulfides. The dating yielded ore‐forming ages of 41 Ma for the Ametistovoe deposit in the Central Koryak, 17.1 Ma for the Zolotoe deposit and 6.9 Ma for the Aginskoe deposit in the Central Kamchatka, and 7.4 Ma for the Porozhistoe deposit and 5.1 Ma for the Vilyuchinskoe deposit in the East Kamchatka metallogenic belt. The data combined with previous data of ore‐forming ages indicate that the time periods of ore formation in these metallogenic belts become young towards the southeast. The averaged δ³⁴S_CDT of sulfides are ?2.8‰ for the Ametistovoe deposit in Central Koryak, ?1.8‰ to +2.0‰ (av. ?0.1‰) for the Zolotoe, Aginskoe, Baranievskoe and Ozernovskoe deposits in Central Kamchatka, and ?0.7 to +3.8‰ (av. +1.7‰) for Bolshe‐Bannoe, Kumroch, Vilyuchinskoe, Bystrinskoe, Asachinskoe, Rodnikovoe, and Mutnovskoe deposits in East Kamchatka. The negative δ³⁴S_CDT value from the Ametistovoe deposit in Central Koryak is ascribed to the contamination of ³²S‐enriched sedimentary sulfur in the Ukelayat‐Lesnaya River trough of basement rock. Comparison of the sulfur isotope compositions of the mineral deposits shows similarity between the Central Koryak and Magadan metallogenic belts, and East Kamchatka and Kuril Islands belts. The Central Kamchatka belt is intermediate between these two groups in term of sulfur isotopic composition.