日本琵琶湖中微囊藻水华形成机理的再认识

Blooms of cyanobacteria are responsible for many problems in freshwater ecosystems. The massive growth of these microorganisms may limit the utilization of freshwater for human requirements since, apart from other problems, the production of toxic substances has been found to occur frequently during blooming periods. Ecologically, cyanobacterial blooms can modify dramatically the ecosystem through their low edibility within the food web and the huge primary production. Thus, saprobic processes are stimulated and the characteristics related to anaerobic conditions are also more extreme.Cyanobacterial blooms are many times explained as the consequence of the eutrophication of waterbodies. However, factors promoting bloom formation and ecological succession of cyanobacteria are not well understood yet.     

An ecological-physical coupled model applied to Station Papa

A vertical one-dimensional ecosystem model was constructed and applied to Station Papa. The model has seven compartments (phytoplankton, nitrate, ammonium, zooplankton, particulate organic matters, dissolved organic matters, dissolved oxygen) and was coupled with a mixed layer model for calculating diffusion coefficient which appears in the governing equations. The mixed layer model was driven by SST, SSS data observed at Station Papa in 1980 and ECMWF wind data for 1980, and the ecosystem model was driven by fixing nitrate concentration in deep layer to an observational value. The phytoplankton maximum in March was reproduced by the model although the maximum in fall-winter could not be reproduced. The model also suggests the importance of studying nitrification. As a whole, the model could reproduce characteristic features at Station Papa such as the summer ammonium maximum at 50 m depth, the summer dissolved oxygen maximum at 70 m depth and the absence of remarkable phytoplankton bloom.     

One Dimensional Ecosystem Model Simulation of the Effects of Vertical Dilution by the Winter Mixing on the Spring Diatom Bloom

A one-dimensional ecosystem model has been used to investigate the processes relevant to the spring diatom bloom which play important roles in the biogeochemical cycle in the western subarctic Pacific. The model represents the plankton dynamics and the nutrient cycles in the spring diatom bloom; its results show the importance of dilution by deep mixing in winter. It is supposed that the vertically integrated biomass of phytoplankton decreases in the winter due to the decrease of photosynthesis, because the deep mixing transports phytoplankton to a layer with a low light level. However, the observed integrated diatom biomass increases as the mixed layer deepens. This is because the decrease of concentration due to dilution by mixing causes the diatom grazed pressure to be less significant than diatom photosynthesis. In other words, the effect of dilution on the grazed rate is more significant than the effect on the photosynthesis rate because the grazed rate depends on the concentrations of both diatom and grazer, whereas the photosynthesis rate depends only diatom concentration. The average specific diatom grazed rate, defined as grazed rate divided by diatom biomass, decreases by 35% associated with the deepening, while the average specific photosynthesis rate of diatom decreases by 11%. As a result, the average specific net diatom growth rate during the deep mixing is about 70% of its maximum during the spring diatom bloom. The deep mixing significantly affects the amplitude of the spring diatom bloom not only by the supply of nutrients but also by the dilution which drastically decreases the grazed pressure. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Attempting Consistent Simulations of Stn. ALOHA with a Multi-Element Ecosystem Model

We used a one dimensional, multi-element model to simulate the primary production (PP), recycling and export of organic matter at Stn. ALOHA, near Hawaii. We compared versions of the model with and without the cycling of dissolved organic matter (DOM) via the Microbial Food Web (MFW). We incorporated recently published measurements of high C:N ratios for uptake by diazotrophs. For other phytoplankton we included a formulation for overflow production of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), which occurs under nutrient-limited, light-replete conditions. We were able to match the observed mean DOC profile near the surface with both models, by tuning only the fraction of overflow DOC that is labile. The simulated bulk C:N remineralization ratio from the MFW model agreed well with a data-based estimate for the North Pacific subtropical gyre, but that from the Base model was too low. This is because the MFW model includes bacteria, with their low-C:N biomass. Simulated mean PP was lower than observed by 10% (Base) and 27% (MFW). This is consistent with the expectation that the ¹⁴C-method measures something greater than net production. DOC accounted for approximately half of simulated PP, most of this being overflow DOC. We find that overflow production and the MFW are key processes for reconciling the various data and PP measurements at this oligotrophic site. The impact of bacteria on the C:N remineralization ratio is an important link between ecosystem structure and the cycling of carbon.     

Estimates of Energy Dissipation Rates in the Three-Dimensional Deep Ocean Internal Wave Field

Using the “Eikonal Approach” (Henyey et al., 1986), we estimate energy dissipation rates in the three-dimensional Garrett-Munk internal wave field. The total energy dissipation rate within the undisturbed GM internal wave field is found to be 4.34 × 10⁻⁹ W kg⁻¹. This corresponds to a diapycnal diffusivity of about 0.3 × 10⁻⁴ m²s⁻¹, which is less than the value 10⁻⁴ m²s⁻¹ required to sustain the global ocean overturning circulation. Only when the high vertical wavenumber, near-inertial current shear is enhanced can diapycnal diffusivity reach ∼10⁻⁴ m²s⁻¹. It follows that the energy supplied at low vertical wavenumbers and low frequencies is efficiently transferred to high vertical wavenumbers and near-inertial frequencies in the mixing hotspots in the real ocean.     

An Ecological-Physical Coupled Model with Ontogenetic Vertical Migration of Zooplankton in the Northwestern Pacific

A vertical one-dimensional ecosystem model with vertical migration of zooplankton was constructed and applied to Station A-7 off Sanriku district of Japan in the northwest Pacific Ocean. The model consists of an eight-compartment ecosystem model coupled with a physical model of the oceanic mixed layer. The transition of phytoplankton species responsible for the spring bloom is well reproduced by this model with vertical migration of zooplankton but is not simulated by the model without vertical migration. This new model also simulates an observed inter-annual variability of the spring bloom, with the timing and intensity of the simulated bloom in a given year depending upon the strength of mixing during the preceding winter. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Vertical distribution of various elements in sediment cores from the Japan Sea

Deep-sea sediment cores ranging up to 30,000–80,000 yrs in age were taken from a southern region of the Japan Sea and subjected to analyses for 5 major and 11 trace elements by means of instrumental photon activation analysis with 30 MeV bremsstrahlung. These elements were Ca, Fe, Mg, Na, Ti, Ba, Ce, Co, Cr, Mn, Nb, Ni, Rb, Sr, Y and Zr. Additionally, Al was determined spectrophotometrically. Distribution patterns of these elements with depth in the sediment columns were derived. Enrichments of Ca and Sr by biogenous process were observed; these Ca maxima are well correlated with Mn maxima. Below the Holocene—Pleistocene boundary, continuous transportation of poorly degraded continental debris, which was low in metallic constituents, was noted. A distinct enrichment of the top layer of the sediments in Mn was observed. This is the result of post-depositional upward migration of Mn. Fe, Co and Ni were also enriched in the top layers. In the central part of the basin, the oxidized post-glacial zone appears to be a typical pelagic sediment.     

Q of the crust beneath southwestern Honshu,Japan, derived from explosion seismic waves

The specific quality factor Q of the crust was derived from explosion seismic waves by measuring the change of spectrum ratio with distance from the source. The spectrum for two wave groups, which are supposed to be transmitted entirely in the upper crust and transmitted primarily in the lower crust, respectively, were used. The source function could be represented by a simple function with one parameter. The value of Q and the parameter were determined simultaneously by the least-squares method. The same Q value was obtained for the upper and the lower crust and was estimated to be in the range Q = 1000–2000.