The Impact of Orographically-Induced Gravity Wave on the Diurnal Cycle of Rainfall over Southeast Kalimantan Island

Precipitation measurements from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite indicate that the southeastern area of Kalimantan (Borneo) Island receives much less rainfall than elsewhere on the island during the period from July to October.Results from sur-face meteorological observations show that the diurnal cycle of rainfall differs greatly between the eastern and western coasts of the island.Rainfall on the western coast of the island is frequent in the afternoon and evening,whereas almost all rainfall on the eastern coast occurs in the morning.Meanwhile,the Global Positioning System (GPS)-derived precipitable water (PW) on the eastern coast shows a substantial decrease in moisture in the af-ternoon and evening.Numerical experiments with a mesoscale model reveal that gravity waves driven by di-urnal heating of the elevated land surface of the moun-tains on Sulawesi Island,which lies approximately 300 kilometers to the east of Kalimantan Island,significantly affect the diurnal cycle of rainfall over southeast Kali-mantan Island.     

Further characterization of carbonaceous materials in Hayabusa‐returned samples to understand their origin

Carbonaceous materials in the sample catcher of the Hayabusa spacecraft were assigned as category 3 particles. We investigated the category 3 particles with a suite of in situ microanalytical methods. Possible contaminants collected from the cleanrooms of the spacecraft assembly and extraterrestrial sample curation center (ESCuC) were also analyzed in the same manner as category 3 particles for comparison. Our data were integrated with those of the preliminary examination team for category 3 particles. Possible origins for the category 3 particles include contamination before and after the operation of the Hayabusa spacecraft.     

High-frequency polarity swings during the Gauss-Matuyama reversal from Baoji loess sediment

Paleomagnetic records of the Gauss-Matuyama reversal were obtained from two loess sections at Baoji on the Chinese Loess Plateau. Stepwise thermal demagnetization shows two obvious magnetization components. A low-temperature component isolated between 100 and 200–250°C is close to the present geomagnetic field direction, and a high-temperature component isolated above 200–250°C reveals clearly normal, reversed, and transitional polarities. Magnetostratigraphic results of both sections indicated that the Gauss-Matuyama reversal consists of a high-frequency polarity fluctuation zone, but the characteristic remanent magnetization directions during the reversal are clearly inconsistent. Rock magnetic experiments demonstrated that for all the specimens with normal, reversed, and transitional polarities magnetite and hematite are the main magnetic carriers. Anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility indicates that the studied loess sediments have a primary sedimentary fabric. Based on virtual geomagnetic pole latitudes, the Gauss-Matuyama reversal records in the two sections are accompanied by 14 short-lived geomagnetic episodes (15 rapid polarity swings) and 12 short-lived geomagnetic episodes (13 rapid polarity swings), respectively. Our new records, together with previous ones from lacustrine, marine, and aeolian deposits, suggest that high-frequency polarity swings coexist with the Gauss-Matuyama reversal, and that the Gauss-Matuyama reversal may have taken more than 11 kyr to complete. However, we need more detailed analyses of sections across polarity swings during reversals as well as more high-resolution reversal records to understand geomagnetic behavior and inconsistent characteristic remanent magnetization directions during polarity reversals.     

Decomposition of Phytoplankton in Seawater. Part I: Kinetic Analysis of the Effect of Organic Matter Concentration

Decomposition experiments were conducted on cultured phytoplankton (Skeletonema costatum) in seawater containing decomposer and consumer of size less than 500 μm. We determined the decomposition rates of bulk particulate organic matter (POM), the ratio of labile to semi-refractory fractions in the POM, and the POM carbon/ nitrogen (C/N) ratio during decomposition. To identify the kinetic mechanisms involved in the reactions of different order (e.g., first- and second-order), we studied the sensitivity of reaction rates to the initial concentration of POM, ranging from 2.4 to 71 mg-C L⁻¹. The results showed that decomposition consists of two first-order reactions: decomposition of labile and of semi-refractory particulate organic carbon (POC). The decomposition rate constants found for labile (0.13 day⁻¹ at 20°C), and semi-refractory POC (0.008 day⁻¹ at 20°C), and the carbon weight ratio of semi-refractory POC (13% at 20°C), were insensitive to the initial organic matter concentration. The time-dependence of the C/N ratio was also independent of this initial concentration. The decomposition rate constants and the content of semi-refractory POC did not change, regardless of the absence or presence of 25–500 μm organisms in natural seawater. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Episyenite formation in the Toki granite,central Japan

Episyenite is a quartz-depleted vuggy rock resulting from hydrothermal alteration of granitic rocks. This is the first report of its existence in an island arc, which is identified in a deep drill core of the Toki Cretaceous granite distributed in central Japan. In order to understand the petrographical features of the episyenite, neutron porosity measurement, geochemical analysis, microscopic observation, and X-ray computed tomography scanning were carried out. The results show remarkably high porosity (35.4 %) due to interconnecting vugs and the removal of quartz, plagioclase, and biotite. The Rb–Sr isotopic results and the paragenetic sequence of secondary minerals in the vugs suggest that the hydrothermal alteration process can be divided into an episyenitization stage and a later hydrothermal stage. At the episyenitization stage (70.6 ± 3.1 Ma) ca. 6 million years after the emplacement of the unaltered granite (76.3 ± 1.5 Ma), dissolution of quartz, biotite, and plagioclase occurred and was followed by the precipitation of albite, vermicular chlorite, and platy calcite. The episyenitization is considered as a local alteration of the Toki granite in an isotopically closed system. At the later hydrothermal stage, illite and secondary quartz precipitated from circulating meteoric-derived water in the dissolution vugs. Superimposing alteration at the later hydrothermal stage is limited, which results in the preservation of the episyenite in an almost primitive condition.     

Netplankton Chlorophyll Biomass along 175°E in the Pacific Ocean

An analysis is presented of data on chlorophyll a concentrations of the total and the netplankton (>10 μm), determined either in April to June or in August to September from 48°N to 15°S along 175°E in the Pacific Ocean during 6 years by the NOPACCS (Northwest Pacific Carbon Cycle Study). Particular attention was given to the variability of absolute concentrations of the netplankton chlorophyll a and their percentage shares of the total chlorophyll a concentration. Below 0.2 μg l⁻¹ of surface total chlorophyll a, the netplankton chlorophyll a showed low percentage shares (such as 12.7% on average) with a large variation, but above 0.2 μg l⁻¹ it was 35.9% on average with less variation, showing an accelerated increase at high total chlorophyll a concentrations. High netplankton chlorophyll a concentrations in surface waters were observed at high latitudes, in waters having high chlorophyll a concentrations at sub-surface depth, and in equatorial upwelling. The percentage shares of netplankton in the total chlorophyll a in the euphotic zone were 8.5% and 25.9% above and below 0.2 μg l⁻¹, respectively, although the data points scattered over a wide range (from 7.2% to 53.8%) depending on differences in water masses, depths and seasons. High chlorophyll a concentrations and high percentage shares of netplankton corresponded to high ambient nitrate plus nitrite concentrations. Integrated netplankton chlorophyll a concentrations in the euphotic zone varied from 0.7 to 19.5 mg m⁻² in waters below 0.2 μg l⁻¹ of surface total chlorophyll a, and from 2.0 to 29.5 mg m⁻² above 0.2 μg l⁻¹, and the percentage shares of netplankton for the former were 7.4% on average and 23.7% for the latter. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

A deep section of accretionary complex: Susunai Complex in Sakhalin Island, Northwest Pacific Margin

Abstract A deep section of accretionary complex, the metamorphosed Susunai Complex, is observed on Sakhalin Is., Russia. High pressure part of pumpellyite-actinolite facies metavolcanics, metacherts and metapelites are well exposed and constitute a tectonic pile preserving primary structures related to underplating of the oceanic crust. Three stages of deformation, D₁ through D₃, suggest successive deformation during subduction, underplating and exhumation of the complex. Oceanic material in the complex is more abundant than other well documented ancient accretionary complexes (e.g. the Shimanto Belt in southwest Japan and the Ghost Rocks Formation in Alaska), which were shallowly underplated. At Susunai, deep down-stepping of a décollément has scraped off the upper part of the oceanic crust, primarily the pillowed basalt horizon. This down-stepping results from crustal weakening as overpressured water is released from the fractured oceanic crust during metamorphism.     

Aircraft Observations of Air-mass Modification Over the Sea of Okhotsk during Sea-ice Growth

In order to quantitatively investigate the role of leads and sea-ice in air-mass modification, aircraft observations were conducted over the partially ice-covered Sea of Okhotsk. We investigated two cold-air outbreak events with different sea-ice concentrations. In both cases, the difference between the temperatures of surface air and the sea surface (ΔT) dropped rapidly with the accumulated fetch-width of leads up to about 35-40 km, and then decreased very slowly. The surface sensible heat flux originating from open water was about 300 W m⁻² within a few kilometres from the coast and decreased with increasing accumulated fetch-width. The sensible heat flux was about 100 W m⁻² on average. These results indicate that the downwind air-mass modification depends mainly on the total (accumulated) extent of open water. The total buoyancy flux calculated by the joint frequency distribution method correlated very well with ice concentration. Such a relationship was not clear in the case of the moisture flux . The ratio between rising thermals and cold downdrafts differed significantly between upwind and downwind regions; that is, the buoyancy flux was dominated by in the developing stage of the boundary layer, while also became important after the development of the boundary layer.     

Characterization of the amorphous state in metamict silicates and niobates by EXAFS and XANES analyses

X-ray absorption spectroscopy using synchrotron radiation has been applied to the investigation of the coordination geometries around Y, Zr and Nb atoms in metamict zircon, gadolinite, fergusonite, euxenite and samarskite. EXAFS and XANES spectra of their crystalline counterparts and synthetic compounds including ZrO₂, Y₂O₃, YNbTiO₆, YNbO₄, LiNbO₃, and NiNb₂O₆ were also measured for comparison. Metamict zircon shows a significant decrease in its Zr-O bond distances accompanying an increase in distortion of the Zr-O coordination polyhedra as compared with crystalline zircon. On the contrary, the average Nb-O bond distances and the symmetry of the coordination polyhedra around the Nb atoms in metamict euxenite and samarskite resemble those in the crystalline euxenite. Compared with crystalline fergusonite, a decrease in the distortion of the Nb-O octahedra is observed in metamict fergusonite. The structures of the second nearest neighbors (the metal-metal interactions) are largely disrupted in the metamict specimens except for metamict zircon and samarskite with high trivalent iron concentration. Nb in metamict samarskite is in octahedral coordination by oxygen and is similar to that in euxenite.     

A scaling model for quantification of earthquakes in and near Japan

A simple method is developed to determine seismic moments of earthquakes. The method is qualified through criteria such as simplicity of calculations, coverage of wide magnitude range, and insensitivity to detailed instrumental response. The method is applied to 163 major earthquakes which occurred underneath Japan and the Japan Sea in the time from 1926 to 1977. Magnitudes of these earthquakes, which have been determined by the Japan Meteorological Agency, (M_JMA) cover the range from 4.3 to 7.5. At first, source spectra are analyzed through a very simple way introducing two new parameters: characteristic period T_c and seismic-moment factor M_c. The former is defined as an average value of apparent periods of seismic waves with the maximum trace amplitude at many stations. The latter is an average of products of maximum trace amplitude and its apparent period multiplied by epicentral distance. It is shown that T_c corresponds to the period of the corner frequency of an earthquake and M_c to the seismic-moment density at the period of T_c. A scaling model of earthquake source spectra is presented which satisfies the empirical relations between the surface-wave magnitude M_s and M_JMA, and M_JMA and the body-wave magnitude m_b. Those relations are independent of the Gutenberg and Richter relation between M_s and m_b, because M_JMA is determined from maximum amplitudes of seismic waves with a period of about 4 sec. The static seismic moment of each earthquake can be estimated from calculated M_c using the source spectra of the scaling model. Seismic moments of 18 earthquakes determined by conventional analyses from near- and/or far-field observations are consistent with static seismic moments thus estimated over the range from 2 × 10²³ to 3 × 10²⁷ dyne cm. This shows the potential in practice of the present method, especially in the routine processing of seismic data.