Use of flood chronology for detailed environmental analysis: a case study of Lake Kizaki in the northern Japanese Alps,central Japan

This paper presents a study of the usefulness of flood layers as a time marker in sediments and a report of a case study of Lake Kizaki in central Japan. A flood layer can be identified as a layer having a higher density, coarser grain size, lower TN content, and higher C/N ratio than those of the upper and lower horizons. It can also be characterized by a hyperpycnal sequence composed of a basal coarsening-upward unit and a top fining-upward unit. When flood layers can be correlated with heavy rains in meteorological records, detailed age markers are well established in the sediment. Five flood layers were identified in the surface sediment of Lake Kizaki, and they could be attributed to the historical heavy rainfalls that took place on July 12, 1995; September 28, 1983; August 25, 1974; September 26, 1959; and September 1, 1949 under the constraint of an age model. A precise age model is essential to clarify the environmental changes such as the pollutant history in detail.     

Comparative analysis of measurements of stratospheric aerosol by lidar and aerosol sonde above Ny-Ålesund in the winter of 1995 [Comparative analysis of lidar and OPC observations]

Solid polar stratospheric cloud (PSC) layers observed by lidar and a balloon-borne optical particle counter (OPC) on 17 December 1995 are reexamined in a comparative analysis framework. The typical radius of solid particles in the observed PSC is determined through the comparative analysis to have been approximately 2.3 μm. A backward trajectory analysis for the air mass in which the solid particles were observed shows that the air mass had experienced temperatures 2–3 K below the frost point of nitric acid tri-hydrate (NAT) during the 4 days preceding the observations. The back-trajectory analysis traces the air mass back to northern Greenland and Ellesmere Island on 16 December, one day before the observations. A microphysical box model is used to investigate possible mechanisms of formation for the observed solid particles. The results of this model suggest that the solid particles formed under mesoscale temperature fluctuations associated with mountain lee wave activity induced by the relatively high terrestrial elevations of northern Greenland and Ellesmere Island.     

Stochastic control of a micro-dam irrigation scheme for dry season farming

Micro-dams are expected to be feasible options for water resources development in semi-arid regions such as the Guinea savanna agro-ecological zone of West Africa. An optimal water management strategy in a micro-dam irrigation scheme supplying water from an existing reservoir to a potential command area is discussed in this paper based on the framework of stochastic control. Water intake facilities are assumed to consist of photovoltaic pumping system units and hoses. The knowledge of current states of the storage volume of the reservoir and the soil moisture in the command area is fed-back to the intake flow rate. A system of two stochastic differential equations is proposed as a model for the dynamics of the micro-dam irrigation scheme, so that temporally backward solution of the Hamilton–Jacobi–Bellman equation determines an optimal control, which represents the optimal water management strategy. A computational procedure using the finite element method is successfully implemented to provide comprehensive information on the optimal control. The results indicate that the water initially stored in the reservoir can support full irrigation for about 80 days under the optimal water management strategy, which is predominantly based on the demand-side principle. However, the volatility of the soil moisture in the command area must be reasonably small.     

Underground storage of carbon dioxide in depleted natural gas reservoirs and in useless aquifers

Depleted reservoirs of natural gas and petroleum can provide excellent traps for carbon dioxide. Deep aquifers, which are not used due to high salinity, can host larger amount of the carbon dioxide under their high formation pressure than natural gas and oir reservoirs. Small fraction of aquifers in sedimentary basins in the world are enough to host about 87 gigaton-C of carbon dioxide.

A preliminary technical and economical survey on the carbon dioxide injection system suggests that the energy requirement for carbon dioxide injection into subterranean aquifers is about 269 kWh/ton-C and that the investment and operation costs for system are 79 $/ton-C. By our preliminary cost estimation in Japan, the CO₂-emission-free electricity generation may become possible with a cost increase of 35% for natural-gas-fired power station, and of 60% for coal-fired-power station.     

Isotopic compositions of potassium and calcium in magnetic spherules from marine sediments

Isotopic compositions of potassium and calcium in individual magnetic spherules were determined. No significant anomaly was observed for potassium within twice the statistical error (2σ), although for calcium isotopes enrichments of⁴⁶Ca,⁴⁴Ca and⁴²Ca were observed in one spherule. The relative excess of⁴⁶Ca,⁴⁴Ca and⁴²Ca in the spherule agrees with the relative yield of spallogenic calcium isotopes observed in iron meteorites. This fact indicates that the enrichment in the calcium isotopes was caused by cosmic ray irradiation of the spherule in outer space.     

Statistical discrimination of foreshocks from other earthquake clusters

When earthquake activity begins, it may be a foreshock sequence to a larger earthquake, a swarm, or a simple main-shock-aftershock sequence. This paper is concerned with the conditional probability that it will be foreshock activity of a later larger earthquake, depending on the occurrence pattern of some early events in the sequence. The earthquake catalogue of the Japan Meteorological Agency (1926-1993, M_J≥4) is decomposed into a large number of clusters in time and space in order to compare statistical features of foreshocks with those of swarms and aftershocks. Using such a data set, Ogata, Utsu & Katsura (1995) revealed some discriminating features of foreshocks relative to the other types of clusters, for example the events' closer proximity in time and space, and a tendency towards chronologically increasing magnitudes, which encouraged us to construct models which forecast the probability of the earthquakes being foreshocks. Specifically, the probability is a function of the history of magnitude differences, spans between origin times and distances between epicentres within a cluster. For purposes of illustration, the models were fitted to the early part of the data (1926-1975) and the validity of the forecasting procedure was checked on data from the later period (1976-1993). Two procedures for evaluating the performance of the probability forecast are suggested. Furthermore, for the case where only a single event is available (i.e. either it is the first event in a cluster or an isolated event), we also forecast the probability of the event being a foreshock as a function of its geographic location. Then, the validity of the forecast is demonstrated in a similar manner. Finally, making use of the multi-element prediction formula, we show that the forecasting performance is enhanced by the joint use of the information in the location of the first event, and that in the subsequent interevent history in the cluster.     

Measurements of atmospheric hydroperoxides at a rural site in central Japan

Measurements of hydroperoxides (H₂O₂ and MHP) at ground level were made from 2012 to 2015 in Imizu City, Toyama Prefecture in central Japan. H₂O₂ and MHP concentrations ranged from 0.01 to 3.5 ppb and from below the level of detection (< 0.01 ppb) to 1.4 ppb, respectively. The concentrations of H₂O₂ and MHP were high in the summer and low in the winter. The H₂O₂ concentration was at its maximum in July and August, whereas the concentration of O₃ in the daytime was highest in May and June. The ratio of [H₂O₂]/[SO₂] presented clear seasonal variations. Many cases showed the condition of [H₂O₂] < [SO₂], called oxidant limitation especially in the cold months. Hydroperoxide concentrations in the rainwater were also high in the summer. The concentrations of MHP were much lower than those of H₂O₂ in the rain water. High concentrations of H₂O₂ (> 2.5 ppb) were detected in the summer during the inflow of air pollution. The concentrations of H₂O₂ were significantly high in July and August of 2013. The H₂O₂ was well correlated with the O₃ in July and August whereas there was no correlation between O₃ and H₂O₂ in May and June. There was a negative correlation between NO_X and H₂O₂.     

Time-sequence of polar magnetic substorms

The time-sequence of polar magnetic substorms is discussed to clarify some controversies on the magnetospheric substorm model including the growth phase. The main purpose of the analyses is to examine magnetic variations in the polar cap and in low latitudes. The onset of the expansion phase is confirmed to be reasonably defined by a vector change of polar-cap magnetic disturbance, a sharp intensification of the auroral electrojet disturbance and the beginning of positive ΔH disturbance in midlatitudes near midnight. It is shown that the growth phase signatures so far proposed are consistent when the onset of the expansion phase is identified from the above mentioned features.     

Rapid mass accretion in the symbiotic star AG Dra

The mass accretion process onto the hot component of AG Dra and its explosive phenomena are discussed. The hot component seems to be a massive white dwarf (M>1 M). The mass accretion rate is estimated to be about 10^–7M/year. Many properties of the explosive phenomena agree with those of mild hydrogen flashes expected from this rapid mass accretion.Paper presented at the IAU Colloquium No. 93 on Cataclysmic Variables. Recent Multi-Frequency Observations and Theoretical Developments, held at Dr. Remeis-Sternwarte Bamberg, F.R.G., 16–19 June, 1986.