Identification of typical synoptic patterns causing heavy rainfall in the rainy season in Japan by a Self-Organizing Map

In order to systematically and visually understand well-known but qualitative and complex relationships between synoptic fields and heavy rainfall events in Kyushu Islands, southwestern Japan, during the BAIU season, these synoptic fields were classified using the Self-Organizing Map (SOM), which can convert complex non-linear features into simple two-dimensional relationships. It was assumed that the synoptic field patterns could be simply expressed by the spatial distribution of (1) wind components at the 850 hPa level and (2) precipitable water (PW) defined by the water vapor amount contained in a vertical column of the atmosphere. By the SOM algorithm and the clustering techniques of the U-matrix and the K-means, the synoptic fields could be divided into eight kinds of patterns (clusters). One of the clusters has the notable spatial features represented by a large PW content accompanied by strong wind components known as low-level jet (LLJ). The features of this cluster indicate a typical synoptic field pattern that frequently causes heavy rainfall in Kyushu during the rainy season.In addition, an independent data set was used for validating the performance of the trained SOM. The results indicated that the SOM could successfully extract heavy rainfall events related to typical synoptic field patterns of the BAIU season. Interestingly, one specific SOM unit was closely related to the occurrence of disastrous heavy rainfall events observed during both training and validation periods. From these results, the trained SOM showed good performance for identifying synoptic fields causing heavy rainfall also in the validation period. We conclude that the SOM technique may be an effective tool for classifying complicated non-linear synoptic fields and identifying heavy rainfall events to some degree.     

Abrupt Late Holocene uplifts of the southern Izu Peninsula,central Japan: Evidence from emerged marine sessile assemblages

Evidence for abrupt coastal uplifts has been found in emerged sessile assemblages in a sea cave at the southern end of the Izu Peninsula, central Japan. We identified five sessile assemblage zones: Zones I to V, in ascending order. The uppermost zone (Zone I), located at an elevation of 2.7–3.5 m above the present‐day mean sea level (amsl), is a hard massive shellcrust consisting mainly of the barnacles Chthamalus challenger and the tube worm Pomatoleios kraussii. Zone II, at 2.35–2.7 m amsl, is dominated by well‐preserved individuals of C. challenger. Zone III, at 2.0–2.35 m amsl, is strongly eroded and consists mainly of C. challenger and P. kraussii. Zone IV, at 1.6–2.0 m amsl, is characterized by the co‐occurrence of very fresh shells of C. challenger and P. kraussii. Zone V (the lowest zone), at 1.0–1.60 m amsl, is characterized by the co‐occurrence of very fresh shells of Saccostrea kegaki and P. kraussii, and by the absence of C. challenger. Radiocarbon dating by accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) and the presence of modern taxa in the sessile assemblages suggest that three episodes of coastal uplift have occurred in the area, during AD 570–820, AD 1000–1270, and AD 1430–1660, with magnitudes of 0.9–2.0 m, 0.3–0.8 m, and 1.9–2.2 m, respectively.     

Reconstructions of annual discharge and equilibrium line altitude of glaciers at Qilian Shan,northwest China,from 1978 to 2002

Discharge was calculated from a mountainous area, including discharge from glaciers, in the Qilian Shan (Qilian Mountains) of northwest China. The studied Yingluoxia basin is 9983 km² in area, with glaciers making up 0·3% of the basin. The calculation method was based on the heat balance, requiring only daily temperature and precipitation. Calculated annual discharge from the basin corresponded well with the observed data. Calculated annual discharge from glaciers was 3·6% of the total discharge from the basin. The temporal trend of the calculated equilibrium line altitude (ELA) at the July 1st Glacier (western side of the Yingluoxia basin) was similar to that of the observed ELA. The calculated annual mass balance of glaciers within the Yingluoxia basin has a larger negative value than the other glaciers in China, as the ratio of accumulation area to the total glacier area in the Yingluoxia basin is much lower than in neighbouring basins to the west. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring Flume Surfaces for Hydraulics Research Using a Kodak DCS460

A critical problem in hydraulics research is accurate measurement of fluvially worked sediments, both in the field and in scaled representations of field situations in laboratory flumes. Such measurement must provide information on individual grain characteristics, and their organisation into structures referred to as bedforms. Existing measurement approaches are based upon mechanical or laser profiling devices, which are both expensive and take considerable time to acquire data, particularly where information is required at very high densities. This paper demonstrates how conventional automated terrain model extraction software, combined with image acquisition using a Kodak DCS460 digital camera, has been effective in generating digital elevation models of complex bed morphology. This has reduced time spent collecting data in the flume and has allowed data collection at much higher spatial and temporal densities. Application of the method is illustrated by research carried out at Hydraulics Research Wallingford. Issues discussed include configuration of photographs and control coordinates; appropriate camera calibration methods; stability of inner orientation of the Kodak DCS460; and accuracies obtained. Comparisons with independent check data reveal that accuracies of ±2.5mm have been achieved using a camera-to-object distance of 4.2 m.     

How faithfully will the geostrophic currents represent the existing ocean currents?

It is widely recognized that the geostrophic flows computed by the dynamic method of Bjerknes and collaborators represent the actual currents pretty faithfully. However, what would be the reason that a geostrophic current derived by only retaining the terms of Coriolis and the pressure gradient forces in the hydrodynamical equations agrees so closely with the actual ocean current of the same area? In this attempt was assumed an imaginative ocean of homogeneous water and uniform depth on a rotating earth but with neither continent nor islands. The average wind distribution observed along several meridians over the Pacific Ocean was assumed to prevail in this sea throughout with no variation in east-west direction. Taking the curvature of the earth surface, rotation of the earth, Coriolis forces, pressure gradients and the horizontal and vertical eddy viscosity into account, the equations of motion were solved and velocity components were derived for all latitudes. A comparison of the east-west components thus obtained with the corresponding components of the geostrophic flows, reveals that they agree well in higher latitudes but there appears a remarkable disagreement in lower latitudes. This means that a special care must be taken in replacing the existing currents with the geostrophic flows at lower latitudes.     

Isotopic evidence on the diagenetic evolution of coastal sabkha reservoirs from the Solimões Basin, northern Brazil

The isotopic composition of diagenetic carbonates, sulfates, illites and associated diagenetic constituents of the Carboniferous Juruá sandstones, Solimões Basin, largest hydrocarbon reservoirs of northern Brazil, was analyzed in conjunction with petrographic characterization and chemical composition. Eolian Juruá sandstones, deposited in a coastal sabkha of a wide cratonic sag, are the best reservoirs, but diagenetic processes introduced strong and complex heterogeneities, which affect hydrocarbon production. Dolomite and anhydrite cementation, together with compaction, exerts the main control on the quality of the reservoirs. Early dolomite cements precipitated under strong evaporation, while late dolomites are related to thermal decarboxylation. Late anhydrite cements are related to the interbedded evaporites and possibly to the oxidation of dissolved sulfide. Authigenic illite K–Ar ages are related to the voluminous Triassic basic magmatism (around 200 Ma), and to the Jurassic–Cretaceous tectonism (around 150 Ma), which may have also affected the late anhydrite and dolomite–ankerite cementation. This isotopic study revealed the major conditions of the diagenetic processes that strongly affected the Juruá reservoirs, which are essential for the development of models that will optimize the production, as well as decrease the risks in the exploration for new Juruá reservoirs.     

Tourist preferences for agricultural landscapes: a case study of terraced paddy fields in Noto Peninsula,Japan

Many agricultural landscapes have been formed through the interaction and co-evolution of nature and people, and represent the living landscapes shaped over time through intensive and continuous human cultivation. Terraced paddy fields are being re-evaluated to take into account the multiple functions they fill beyond only rice cultivation, particularly their contribution to the national biodiversity strategy of Japan. Since the 1990s, terraced paddy fields have been considered a representative cultural landscape of Japan and, at the same time, multi-stakeholder conservation activities have been conducted throughout Japan to reverse the increasing abandonment of terraces. Shiroyone Senmaida is an outstanding cultural landscape and a major tourist attraction in Noto Peninsula, Ishikawa Prefecture, which was designated through an initiative by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) as a Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS) pilot site in 2011. It is important to clarify tourist preference for terraced paddy field landscapes to contribute to future policy making toward improved agricultural landscape conservation. A key finding of this study is that tourists visiting to enjoy the agricultural landscape are also concerned on the sustainability of the farming methods and preferred to maintain the naturalness of the landscape. Respondents with higher educational levels and greater concern for the biological and traditional farming knowledge aspects of the rice terraces were also more inclined to favor sustainable farming practices. Tourists preferred to maintain the naturalness and rurality of the agricultural landscape, and indicated that construction of excessive tourist facilities would cause the landscape to deteriorate. It was suggested that the local community and surroundings, including rural settlements, hills, and forests, should also be conserved together with the scenic terrace.     

Variation of precipitation δ18O in Langtang Valley Himalayas

The variation of the δ¹⁸O in precipitation and the relationship with precipitation amount at Kyangjin Base House and Yala Glacier Camp in Langtang Valley, Nepal Himalayas were analyzed. The variations of the δ¹⁸O with precipitation had great scatter, and the correlations between the δ¹⁸O and precipitation changed with time on the synoptic scale. On the seasonal scale, there was marked amount effect at Kyangjin Base House. However, the δ¹⁸O-precipitation gradient was smaller than that on the synoptic scale. Because of the maintenance of the basic equilibrium between stable isotopic compositions in atmospheric vapor and precipitation, the evaporation enrichment was light during the rainy season. Therefore, the variation of stable isotopic compositions in precipitation was independent on the sampling intervals. Simulations show that the rainfall in Langtang Valley was not the outcome of the initial condensation of ocean vapor that originated from low latitudes. The stable isotopic compositions in precipitation were greatly depleted due to the strong rainout of the vapor from oceans as the vapor was raised over the Himalayas.     

Basin-scale distribution of prokaryotic phylotypes in the epipelagic layer of the Central South Pacific Ocean during austral summer

In the present study, we used catalyzed reporter deposition-fluorescence in situ hybridization to quantify the abundance of five bacterial (Alphaproteobacteria, SAR11, Gammaproteobacteria, SAR86, and Bacteroidetes) and two archaeal (Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota) phylotypes in the epipelagic layer (0–200 m) of the Central South Pacific Ocean along 170°W from 0° to 40°S. We found that the distribution patterns of these phylotypes differed from each other. All phylotypes except Gammaproteobacteria were particularly abundant at the surface water of the equatorial region, whereas Gammaproteobacteria was relatively abundant in the area from the southern part of the South Pacific Ocean. SAR11, affiliated with Alphaproteobacteria was the dominant phylotype at all depths, throughout the study area. The abundance of SAR11 significantly increased with chlorophyll a concentration, suggesting that phytoplankton could affect their distribution pattern. There was a positive correlation between Bacteroidetes abundance and water temperature, suggesting that the temperature gradient could be a critical factor determining their distribution in the South Pacific Ocean. Crenarchaeota and Euryarchaeota were more abundant at the equatorial region than in other study areas. Euryarchaeota abundance significantly decreased with depth, and increased with chlorophyll a concentration. This suggests that there was ecological interaction between Euryarchaeota and phytoplankton in the equatorial surface. Our data indicate that distinct hydrographic properties such as seawater temperature, salinity, and the concentrations of chlorophyll a and nutrients can principally control the basin-scale distribution of different prokaryotic phylotypes in the epipelagic layer of the Central South Pacific Ocean.     

Light utilization efficiency of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre of the North Pacific during summer

We investigated the water-column light utilization efficiency (Ψ) of phytoplankton photosynthesis in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG) of the North Pacific during summer 2008. The Ψ values (0.64–1.86 g C [g Chl a]^?1 [mol photon]^?1 m²) obtained were observed to increase significantly with decreasing daily photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) and were generally higher than those of previous studies, not only from the subarctic Pacific but also from the world’s oceans. To examine the effect of iron availability on Ψ in the WSG, Ψ values were estimated from the data of two in situ iron fertilization experiments: the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study I (SEEDS-I) and II (SEEDS-II). We found that iron availability did not affect Ψ values. Overall, this study revealed that Ψ values changed remarkably in the WSG during the summer, and that higher values were found at the stations where moderate PAR levels (ca. 10–30 mol photons m^?2 day^?1) were observed and where autotrophic flagellates predominated in the phytoplankton assemblages.