New compact ocean bottom cabled seismometer system deployed in the Japan Sea

The Japanese islands are positioned near the subduction zones, and large earthquakes have repeatedly occurred in marine areas around Japan. However, the number of permanent earthquake observatories in the oceans is quite limited. It is important for understanding generation of large earthquakes to observe seismic activities on the seafloor just above these seismogenic zones. An ocean bottom cabled seismometer (OBCS) is the best solution because data can be collected in real-time. We have developed a new compact OBCS system. A developed system is controlled by a microprocessor, and signals from accelerometers are 24-bit digitized. Clock is delivered from the global positioning system receiver on a landing station using a simple dedicated line. Data collected at each cabled seismometer (CS) are transmitted using standard Internet Protocol to landing stations. The network configuration of the system adopts two dual methods. We installed the first practical OBCS system in the Japan Sea, where large earthquakes occurred in past. The first OBCS system has a total length of 25 km and 4 stations with 5 km interval. Installation was carried out in August 2010. The CSs and single armored optical submarine cable were buried 1 m below the seafloor to avoid a conflict with fishing activity. The data are stored on a landing station and sent to Earthquake Research Institute, University of Tokyo by using the Internet. After the installation, data are being collected continuously. According to burial of the CSs, seismic ambient noises are smaller than those observed on seafloor.     

Age and paleoclimatic implication of middle to upper Miocene plant-bearing strata in the southern Kanazawa area,Ishikawa Prefecture,Central Japan,based on refined Neogene palynostratigraphy in the Hokuriku district

13–8 Ma (middle to late Miocene) is a key period for understanding how the unique vegetation was established in Japan. Palynostratigraphy is useful for estimating the ages of plant-bearing strata deposited in shallow-marine and non-marine environments, but has low temporal resolution for this key period in Japan. We compiled Neogene and early Quaternary palynological records for the Hokuriku district of Central Japan to clarify palynostratigraphic events that may improve the temporal resolution. Our results showed that palynoassemblages changed considerably during 10–6.4 Ma in the Hokuriku district, following a relatively stable period during 13–10 Ma. We found that evergreen Quercus abundance increased at 11.5–10 Ma. We used these palynostratigraphic signatures, along with other biostratigraphic markers, to infer the ages of the Miocene plant-bearing Saikawa and Koderayama Formations in the southern Kanazawa area of Ishikawa Prefecture in the Hokuriku district. The ages of the Saikawa and Koderayama Formations were inferred as ~13 and 10–6.4 Ma, respectively. The palynoflora of the Koderayama Formation shows floristic similarity to that of present south China, implying that the unique flora of Japan established after the age of the Koderayama Formation.     

Estimation of methane emission from whole waste landfill site using correlation between flux and ground temperature

A methodology to estimate a methane emission in a waste landfill site was developed. The methane flux at a waste landfill site in summer, autumn, and winter was within the following ranges: from −1.3×10⁻² to 16, from −6.4×10⁻² to 7.5, and from −1.6×10⁻³ to 1.5×10⁻² g-CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹, respectively. In those seasons, the mean methane emission rate and coefficient of variation were 1.1 g-CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹ ±290%, 0.57 g-CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹ ±347%, and 5.4×10⁻² g-CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹ ±370%, respectively. These results simultaneously showed that fluctuations of methane emission from the landfill surface were both of spatial and temporal variability. In each season, an exponential relationship was observed between the methane flux density and the ground temperature. Total methane emissions were estimated to be 5.7×10⁻², 7.1×10⁻³, and 1.7×10⁻³ g-CH₄ m⁻² h⁻¹ in the summer, autumn, and winter surveys, respectively, using a temperature surrogated-kriging method. The results of this study would improve upon the labor-intensive closed-chamber method, and could be a more practical way to estimate methane emissions from waste landfills.     

Theory for the semi-analytical calculation of oil recovery and effective relative permeabilities using streamtubes

A semi-analytical method has been developed for calculating oil recovery in two and three dimensions, and for calculating effective relative permeabilities for coarse grids. The calculations are based on the assumption that the effects of a changing mobility field can be accounted for by using fixed streamtube geometries with flowrates updated to account for the changing mobility distribution. The single-phase pressure distribution from a numerical solution of Laplace's equation is used to calculate the pressure distribution for a two-phase flow based on a mapping of the solution of the Buckley-Leverett equation onto the streamtubes derived from the single-phase solution. The displacement calculations for oil recovery are based on theory previously developed by Dykstra and Parsons, extended to include the effects of spatially varying permeability and continuously changing mobilities, as occurs in solutions of the Buckley-Leverett equation for typical values of the mobility ratio. This idea has also been extended to the calculation of effective relative permeabilities for coarse-grid simulation and finally establishes the proper rules for averaging the results of fine-grid numerical simulations of two-phase flow for the definition of effective two-phase flow properties on coarse grids. These calculations have been generalized to three-dimensional flows by the simple device of conceptually inserting a gridded plane across the flow and defining each streamtube at that location as those streamlines which pass through any one of the grid cells. When combined with time-of-flight calculations from the gridded plane to both the producer and injector, the distribution of pore volume along each streamtube can be calculated. This information, combined with a tabulation of the single-phase, steady-state pressure distribution along each streamtube, provides all of the information needed for the semi-analytical calculation of oil recovery and effective flow properties in three-dimensional flows. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved     

Specific accumulation of persistent organochlorines in bluefin tuna collected from Japanese coastal waters

Concentrations of persistent organochlorines (OCs) such as PCBs, DDTs, chlordanes (CHLs), HCHs and HCB were determined in the liver of bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) collected from Japanese coastal waters in order to elucidate accumulation profiles and to evaluate the suitability of this species as a biomonitor for pollution in the open sea ecosystem. Concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and CHLs in bluefin tuna increased significantly with body length (30–190 cm). HCHs and HCB residues were comparable among all the sampling regions, and the levels of these chemicals did not show correlation with body length. These results suggest significance of dietary uptake of PCBs, DDTs and CHLs compared to the intake via the gill. On the other hand, equilibrium partitioning with ambient water is a major determinant of the levels of HCHs and HCB in tuna. Body-length normalized values (BLNV) of PCBs, DDTs and CHLs concentrations in bluefin tuna were calculated using the linear regression equation obtained from the plot of concentrations and body length. BLNV of these chemicals on a lipid wt basis, which was adjusted for 100 cm body length, were indicative of the present state water pollution by PCBs, DDTs and CHLs. These results suggest that bluefin tuna is a suitable bioindicator for monitoring OCs contamination in the open sea ecosystem.     

Evaluation of an active variable-damping structure

We present a numerical evaluation of the potential improvements in seismic disturbance rejection to be obtained by using active variable damping control in a structure. Using the responses to seismic excitation of an optimally controlled variable structure and of a minimax-optimal designed fixed structure, we obtain an upper bound on the achievable performance and a lower bound on the acceptable performance of a control system for a variable-damping structure. Both of these bounds are relative to an energy-function criterion. Our numerical experiments lead to the following conclusions:

• (i) The gap between the upper and lower bounds is rather small, which makes designing a feedback law, that results in performance superior to that of a minimax-optimal designed structure, very difficult. The best choice for a feedback law appears to be continuous moving horizon control, whose implementation requires ground motion prediction up to 0.2 sec ahead, possibly using sensors located a small distance away from the site.
• (ii) A minimax-optimal designed structure gives very good seismic disturbance suppression, not only for the earthquakes used in its design, but also for other earthquakes of similar intensity. Controlled variable structures are likely to offer advantages when earthquakes are moderate to severe, particularly at sites, such as landfills and dry lake beds, where resonances can be expected, but the resonance frequency cannot be estimated in advance.

     

Structure of the Tsushima warm current in the northeastern Japan Sea

By using Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) measurements with the four round-trips method to remove diurnal/semidiurnal tidal currents, the detailed current structure and volume transport of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the northwestern Japanese coast in the northeastern Japan Sea were examined in the period September–October 2000. The volume transport of the First Branch of the TWC (FBTWC) east of the Noto Peninsula was estimated as approximately 1.0 Sv (10⁶ m³/s), and the FBTWC continued to flow along the Honshu Island to the south of the Oga Peninsula. To the north of the Oga Peninsula, the Second Branch of Tsushima Warm Current and the eastward current established by the subarctic front were recombined with the FBTWC and the total volume transport increased to 1.9 Sv. The water properties at each ADCP line strongly suggested that most of the upper portion of the TWC with high temperature and low salinity flowed out to the North Pacific as the Tsugaru Warm Current. In the north of the Tsugaru Strait, the volume transport of the northward current was observed to be as almost 1 Sv. However, the component of the TWC water was small (approximately 0.3 Sv).     

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Satellite Primary Production in the Japan Sea from 1998 to 2002

The spatial and seasonal variability of primary production in the Japan Sea from 1998 to 2002 was estimated using a satellite primary production model. A size-fractionated primary production model was validated by in situ primary production data measured in the Japan Sea. Estimated primary production and in situ primary production showed a good positive correlation. Estimated primary production showed spatial variability. Annual primary production levels were 170, 161, 191 and 222 gC m⁻²year⁻¹ at the Russian coast, in the middle of the Japan Basin, the southeastern area and the southwestern area, respectively. It was higher to the south around 40°N than to the north, and higher in the western area than in the eastern one. Peaks of primary production appeared twice, in spring and fall, in the southern area, while a single peak appeared in the northern area. Primary production along the Russian coast was higher than in other areas during summer. The spring bloom contributed 42% to the annual primary production in these four areas. Furthermore, estimated primary production showed an interannual variability that was largest in spring. Primary production in fall also showed interannual variability, especially in the middle of the Japan Basin and the southwestern area. This corresponded mainly to the size of the phytoplankton bloom in each year. Winter convection by wind and the depth of nutrient-rich, cold subsurface water underlying the Tsushima Current may contribute to the nutrient supply to upper layer and interannual variations of primary production in spring.     

Strong tidal currents observed near the bottom in the Suruga Trough,central Japan

Current measurements carried out at the depth of 4 m above the sea bottom near the northern edge of the Suruga Trough in the early fall of 1985 indicated the existence of strong semidiurnal tidal currents, which were considered to be associated with internal tides. In order to examine the spatial structure of the bottom intensified tidal flow, more detailed current observations were carried out at three or four depths at two stations along the main axis of the Suruga Trough during about 70 days from August to October 1988. We obtained the following results: (1) the variations of the current velocity caused by the semidiurnal and diurnal internal tides are evident in all of the records, and the orientation of the major axis of each tidal ellipse nearly coincides with that of the main axis of the trough; (2) the semidiurnal internal tide is dominant over the diurnal internal tide at 4 m above the sea bottom at both stations; (3) at the northern station the semidiurnal internal tide is dominant over the diurnal internal tide, whereas they are nearly equal at the southern station except at 4 m above the sea bottom; (4) the biharmonic internal tides with 1/3 day and 1/4 day periods, are found near the sea bottom and the major axis of the tidal ellipse is perpendicular to the orientation of the main axis of the Suruga Trough.