Temporal variations in lower trophic level biological environments in the northwestern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre from 1950 to 1997

An examination of large archives (1950–1997) of the oceanographic and atmospheric data from the northwestern North Pacific Subtropical Gyre has revealed clear linkages between atmospheric forcing factors, physical processes and biological events. Large changes in the winter and spring biomass of phytoplankton and macroplankton observed over annual, decadal and inter-decadal time scales could clearly be attributed to climate-related changes in oceanographic processes. Interannual changes in the intensity of the winter-time East Asian Monsoon had a significant impact on the extent of convective overturning, on nitrate inputs into the euphotic zone and the concentrations of chlorophyll a in winter and during the following spring. A prolonged period of deeper winter mixed layers observed from the mid-1970s to the mid-1980s led to a sizeable increase in winter mixed-layer nitrate concentrations. This change resulted in a decrease in winter-time phytoplankton biomass. Spring-time chlorophyll a, in contrast, showed a steady increase during this period. The decline in winter phytoplankton biomass could be attributed to the depths of mixed layer. A deeper mixed layer prevents phytoplankton from remaining in the euphotic zone for long enough to photosynthesize and grow, leaving substantial amounts of nutrients unutilised. However, as a result of stratification of the water column in spring following each of these winters, phytoplankton could take advantage of the enhanced ambient concentrations of nutrients and increase its biomass. Another noteworthy observation for the period from the mid-1970s to the early 1980s is that the western subtropical gyre progressively became phosphate limited. The period of diminishing mixed-layer phosphate concentrations was observed in our study area from the early 1990s onwards was consistent with recent observations at Station ALOHA in the eastern subtropical gyre.     

Seasonal Changes in Oceanic pCO2 in the Oyashio Region from Winter to Spring

We observed the partial pressure of oceanic CO₂, pCO₂ ^sea, and related surface properties in the westernmost region of the subarctic North Pacific, seasonally from 1998 to 2001. The pCO₂ ^sea in the Oyashio region showed a large decrease from winter to spring. In winter, pCO₂ ^sea was higher than 400 μatm in the Oyashio region and this region was a source of atmospheric CO₂. In spring, pCO₂ ^sea decreased to extremely low values, less than 200 μatm (minimum, 139 μatm in 2001), around the Oyashio region with low surface salinity and this region turned out to be a strong sink. The spatial variations of pCO₂ ^sea were especially large in spring in this region. The typical Oyashio water with minimal mixing with subtropical warm water was extracted based on the criterion of potential alkalinity. The contribution of main oceanic processes to the changes in pCO₂ ^sea from winter to spring was estimated from the changes in the concentrations of dissolved inorganic carbon and nutrients, total alkalinity, temperature and salinity observed in surface waters in respective years. These quantifications indicated that photosynthesis made the largest contribution to the observed pCO₂ ^sea decreases in all years and its magnitude was variable year by year. These year-to-year differences in spring biological contribution could be linked to those in the development of the density stratification due to the decrease in surface salinity. Thus, the changes in the surface physical structure could induce those in pCO₂ ^sea in the Oyashio region in spring. Furthermore, it is suggested that the direction and magnitude of the air-sea CO₂ flux during this season could be controlled significantly by the onset time of the spring bloom. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Increased Stratification and Decreased Lower Trophic Level Productivity in the Oyashio Region of the North Pacific: A 30-Year Retrospective Study

An analysis of the time series data sets collected from the 1960s to 1990s in the Oyashio Water revealed signs of alteration in the physical, chemical and biological properties of the water column in the western subarctic North Pacific. Wintertime salinity, phosphate concentration and apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) in the subsurface increased linearly over the 30 years. At the same time, salinity and phosphate in the surface mixed layer decreased. An increase in the density gradient in the surface and subsurface suggested that the water column stratification intensified, reducing the vertical exchange of water properties during the period. The Net Community Production (NCP), estimated from the phosphate consumption from February through August, also declined. Water column Chl a was approximately halved and diatoms decreased by one order of magnitude in spring, consistent with the multi-decadal decreasing trend of NCP. Zooplankton biomass was also nearly halved during the same period. In contrast, wintertime Chl a increased by 63% and diatom abundance doubled. Developmental timing became earlier in Neocalanus flemingeri, and spring occurrence of N. plumchrus increased after the 1980s. Reduced vertical water exchange might have limited nutrient supply to the level, decreasing winter-summer NCP for these three decades. It is speculated that, in the meantime, the earlier stabilization of the surface layer might have enhanced wintertime diatom production in the Oyashio's light-limited environment. This condition could allow zooplankton to effectively utilize diatoms from earlier timing, resulting in the apparent early developmental timing and abundance increase. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Forced vibration test of a building with semi‐active damper system

The authors developed a semi‐active hydraulic damper (SHD) and installed it in an actual building in 1998. This was the first application of a semi‐active structural control system that can control a building's response in a large earthquake by continuously changing the device's damping coefficient. A forced vibration test was carried out by an exciter with a maximum force of 100 kN to investigate the building's vibration characteristics and to determine the system's performance. As a result, the primary resonance frequency and the damping ratio of a building that the SHDs were not jointed to, decreased as the exciting force increased due to the influence of non‐linear members such as PC curtain walls. The equivalent damping ratio was estimated by approximating the resonance curves using the steady‐state response of the SDOF bilinear hysteretic system. After the eight SHDs were jointed to the building, the system's performance was identified by a response control test for steady‐state vibration. The elements that composed the semi‐active damper system demonstrated the specified performance and the whole system operated well. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Actual seismic response controlled building with semi-active damper system

This paper presents the first application of a semi-active damper system to an actual building. The Semi-active Hydraulic Damper (SHD) can produce a maximum damping force of 1000 kN with an electric power of 70 W. It is compact, so a large number of them can be installed in a single building. It is thus possible to control the building's response during a severe earthquake, because a large control force is obtained in comparison with a conventional active control system. This paper outlines the building, the control system configuration, the SHD, the control method using a Linear Quadratic Regulator, the response analysis results of the controlled building, and the dynamic loading test results of the actual SHD. The simulation analysis shows that damage to buildings can be prevented in a severe earthquake by SHD control. The dynamic loading test results of the SHD are reported, which show that the specified design values were obtained in the basic characteristic test. The control performance test using simulated response time histories, also shows that the damping force agrees well with the command. Finally, it is confirmed that the semi-active damper system applied to an actual building effectively controls its response in severe earthquakes. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Applicability of the H/V spectral ratio of microtremors in assessing site effects on seismic motion

The authors examine the reliability of site response estimations obtained by the horizontal to vertical (H/V) spectral ratios of microtremors by means of cross‐validation with the ratio of the horizontal spectra of earthquake motion with respect to reference sites. The data comprise microtremor and ground motion records recorded at 150 sites of Yokohama strong motion array. The use of non‐supervised pattern recognition techniques aims to group the sites with more objectivity. Attributes defining the overall shape of the amplification spectra serve as input in the computation of Euclidean distance similarity coefficients amongst sites. The implementation of the Ward clustering scheme leads to the attainment of a meaningful tree diagram. Its analysis shows the possibility of summarizing the results into six general patterns. A good coincidence of site effects estimates at 80 per cent of the sites becomes apparent. However, this coincidence appears poor for sites characterized by H/V amplification ratios around 2 or smaller and predominant periods longer than 0.5 s. In such cases, the presence of stiff, sandy sediments in the soil profile proves common. To proscribe H/V estimations, relying solely on the small spectral ratios criterion seems inadequate. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Benthic ecosystem development in an artificial tidal flat constructed from dredged spoil

Dredged spoil (DS) was used as a silt and clay additive in the construction of artificial tidal flats from mountain sand (MS). As the ratio of DS in the sediment media increased, the number of emerging macrobenthos increased. The composition of the macrobenthic community was also affected by the addition of DS, and the changes might be dependent on the ratio of DS to MS. In addition, the macrobenthos in the artificial tidal flats was more abundant than that in the control tidal flat, which was constructed with natural tidal flat sediment. With a silt and clay content of 25%, polychaetes Ceratonereis erythraeensis and Capitella sp. and the gastropod Batillaria cumingii were dominant, whereas no bivalves were present. With less silt and clay (5% and 10%), the bivalves Ruditapes philippinarum and Musculista senhousia were observed in the artificial flats, while their numbers in the control tidal flat were lower.     

Effects of spilled oil on microbial communities in a tidal flat

Effects of spilled oil on microbial communities in tidal flats were examined by use of a simulator for a tidal flat ecosystem. The simulator is composed of a wave generator, a tide control device, and a tidal flat. Sediment for the tidal flat was obtained at a natural tidal flat in Hiroshima Bay, Japan. After stabilizing the benthic organisms, fuel oil C was added to the surface of the flat at 1 lm(-2). Although the total number of micro-organisms remained at 1.5-3.5 x 10(9) cells g(-1) dry sediment irrespective of the addition of oil, bacterial communities which were analyzed based on the 16S rDNA showed clear changes after the addition of fuel oil C and after a subsequent recovery period. Bacterial colonies were randomly isolated from the oil-supplemented sediment during the experiments, and the isolates were examined for susceptibility to hydrocarbons in order to screen the oil-susceptible bacteria. The proportion of oil-susceptible bacteria in the isolates decreased with the addition of the oil. Oil-susceptible bacteria showed an inability to assimilate petroleum compounds as well as an inhibition of growth. The possibility of using oil-susceptible bacteria as an indicator of bioremediation in tidal flats was discussed.     

Attenuation characteristics of ground motion intensity from earthquakes with intermediate depth

Data of the intermediate depth (the Geioyo and the Shizuoka) earthquakes in Japan recorded in a dense network is analysed and compared with various available attenuation relations. The approach of Midorikawa (Midorikawa S., 1993, Technophysics 218, 287–295) based on the empirical Greens function technique of Irikura (Irikura, K., 1986, Proceedings of the 7th Japan Earthquake Engineering Symposium, pp. 151–156.) has been used to model the rupture responsible for these earthquakes and peak ground acceleration are simulated at selected observation points. The method presented in this work includes the transmission effect in a multiple layer crustal model for a finite fault earthquake source model. Sharp attenuation rate is seen for such intermediate depth earthquakes which is difficult to explain through conventional attenuation relations. Detail study of the methodology and comparison of results shows that the transmission factor plays an important role for the sharp attenuation rate for intermediate-to deep-focus earthquakes.