The dependence of surface tidal stress on the internal structure of Europa: The possibility of cracking of the icy shell

This study shows dependence of the surface diurnal tidal stress on the internal structure of Europa. Its purpose is to investigate possibility of cracking of the icy shell. The stress is evaluated under the plausible model of the internal structure constrained by the gravity field data. The possible effective stress at the sub-Jovian point decreases with thickening of the shell, while it does not depend on the core radius and the thickness of the H₂O layer. The range of this value is from 0.095 to 0.161 MPa, which does not exceed the tensile strength of ice. The stress required for the surface cracking would be mainly due to longer period deformations, especially non-synchronous rotation. And/or the actual strength of the ice at the surface would be smaller because of the preexisting cracks than that at a laboratory of the same temperature.     

GEMS: Geothermal Expert Modeling System

In carrying out geothermal-energy development projects, an exhaustive study has to be conducted on the local subsurface geothermal system based on extensive geothermal surveys and well data. The New Energy and Industrial Development Organization has had an extensive geothermal research program under way since 1987, known as the Nationwide Geothermal Resources Exploration Project. In this program, the total analysis system, which is called the Geothermal Expert Modelling System (GEMS), has been developed to systematize all processes of building models of geothermal systems based on the various regional exploration data. The aim of the system is to select narrow promising areas (about 50–60 square kilometers) for more elaborate exploration from within a region extending over hundreds of square kilometers, by analyzing the various explorations, and by building a geothermal system model of the area. This scheme includes studies to consolidate individual geothermal survey data into an integrated data base and to work out a computer-aided support system for building geothermal models. It calls for the integration of these processes into a system on a user-friendly, engineering work-station that has sufficient graphic functions. An attempt was made to actually identify promising areas in regions covered by wide-area surveys on hydrothermal systems, using the proposed total analysis system.     

Dynamical structure and wind-driven upwelling in a summertime anticyclonic eddy within Funka Bay,Hokkaido, Japan

We conducted hydrographic observations in 2002 to investigate the anticyclonic eddy that emerges every summer in Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan, and elucidate dynamical structure and wind-driven upwelling within the eddy. The anticyclonic eddy has a vertical scale of 32 m and is characterized by a strong baroclinic flow and a sharp pycnocline with a concave isopycnal structure. The sharp pycnocline occurs below a warm and relatively low-salinity water termed summer Funka Bay water (FS), which is formed by heating from solar radiation and dilution from river discharge in summertime Funka Bay. Flow of the anticyclonic eddy rotates as a rigid body at each layer, and the horizontal scale and rotation period of the eddy in the surface layer are about 15 km and 2.2 days, respectively. The dynamical balance of the anticyclonic eddy is well explained by the gradient flow balance. The contribution of centrifugal force to the gradient flow balance is about 27%. Therefore, the effect of the nonlinear term associated with centrifugal force cannot be neglected in considering the dynamics of the anticyclonic eddy in summertime Funka Bay. In addition, upwelling of subsurface water was observed in the surface layer of the central part of the eddy. The formation mechanism of this upwelling is consistent with interaction between horizontal uniform wind and the eddy. This upwelling is driven by upward Ekman pumping velocity related to the horizontal divergence of Ekman transport. In summertime Funka Bay, there are two wind effects that affect the anticyclonic eddy: a decay effect of the upwelling of subsurface water resulting from horizontal uniform wind (mainly northwesterly wind), and a maintenance or spin-up effect of horizontal non-uniform wind (mainly southerly–southeasterly seasonal wind) with negative wind stress curl.     

Anomalous Large Scavenging of 230Th and 231Pa Controlled by Particle Composition in the Northwestern North Pacific

We report the role of particle composition and lateral particle movement that influences the oceanic distribution of ²³¹Pa and ²³⁰Th. Settling particles were collected during sediment trap experiments. These and surface sediments were obtained from five stations along 38 to 44°N in the northwestern North Pacific. The high total mass flux and seasonal variations in the marginal area of the western North Pacific are controlled by the supply of lithogenic materials and primary productivity. The high content of the lithogenic material in the settling particles in this area contributes to ²³⁰Th_ex fluxes that exceed the local rate of supply. The lithogenic materials are important as a carrier of ²³⁰Th and contribute to the fractionation between ²³⁰Th and ²³¹Pa in the ocean, as the ²³¹Pa_ex/²³⁰Th_ex ratio in the settling particles decreases with increasing ²³²Th concentration. The ²³¹Pa_ex/²³⁰Th_ex ratio in the settling particles collected in the abyssal basin decreases with water depth, which indicates that lateral transport of the lithogenic particles from the marginal area and/or shallower depth plays an important role in determining the ²³¹Pa_ex/²³⁰Th_ex ratio in a population of settling particles and remineralization. This indicates that lateral redistribution of particles and sediment focusing influence the ²³¹Pa_ex/²³⁰Th_ex ratios in surface sediments. Thus, the observations reported here mean that the use of the sediment ²³¹Pa_ex/²³⁰Th_ex ratio as a paleoproductivity proxy will be problematic in the northwestern North Pacific. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Fluxes of234Th,210Po and210Pb determined by sediment trap experiments in pelagic oceans

Sediment trap experiments were carried out in two oceans, the eastern Pacific Ocean and the Antarctic Ocean, which have very different biological productivities. The natural radionuclides,²³⁴Th,²¹⁰Po and²¹⁰Pb were used as tracers of reactive metals. Larger particulate fluxes of these radionuclides were found in the seas where total mass fluxes were larger, although the concentrations of these radionuclides in the settling particles were somewhat smaller. The concentrations of²³⁴Th in the settling particles varied widely and irregularly with depth, whereas the concentrations of²¹⁰Po and²¹⁰Pb in the settling particles steadily increased with increasing water depth. The ratios of²¹⁰Po/²¹⁰Pb in the settling particulates were larger than unity which the ratio of²³⁴Th/excess²¹⁰Po as larger than²³⁴Th/²¹⁰Po in the deep water. These results suggest that, when the particles sink through the water column, these radionuclides are being absorbed by settling particles in the order²³⁴Th>²¹⁰Po>²¹⁰Pb. The observed particulate fluxes of²¹⁰Pb are about one eighth of those calculated from the disequilibria between²²⁶Ra and²¹⁰Pb at the stations in the subtropical eastern Pacific, although the observed fluxes are the same as the calculated ones in the northern North Pacific and the Antarctic Ocean. Thus, there must be a horizontal flow carrying these reactive metals from the oligotorophic ocean to the biologically productive ocean where the metals are removed by settling particles even in deep water.     

Long-term (36-year) observations on the dynamics of the fish-killing raphidophyte Chattonella in Harima-Nada,eastern Seto Inland Sea,Japan

Long-term changes of the fish-killing raphidophyte Chattonella spp. (Chattonella antiqua, Chattonella marina and Chattonella ovata) were examined in relation to environmental factors at 19 sampling stations in Harima-Nada, eastern Seto Inland Sea, Japan, for 36 years from 1973 to 2008. Long-term trends in the dynamics of Chattonella populations were considered to relate to environmental factors such as nutrient concentrations and water temperature. High nutrient levels during the period from the 1970s to the early 1980s have contributed to the high cell density and large-scale red tides of Chattonella spp. in Harima-Nada. However, nutrient levels exhibited a decreasing trend thereafter, and it is thought that Chattonella spp. cannot form large-scale blooms under the present conditions. After the mid-1990s, the occurrence period of vegetative cells of Chattonella spp. has been several weeks or 1 month earlier than that of the 1970s and early 1980s, and the appearance frequency of Chattonella spp. has increased in the northern coastal area, although the cell density and the spatial scale of the distribution have become lower and smaller than those in the previous decades. It is suggested that the timing of germination of Chattonella cysts has become earlier as a result of the increase in water temperature, and the chances of vegetative growth have also increased, especially at the northern coast where most of large rivers discharge into the Harima-Nada. In addition, the present results revealed that fewer diatoms were also one of the significant factors for the high abundance of Chattonella spp. in Harima-Nada.     

Constraints on Vesta's elemental composition: Fast neutron measurements by Dawn's gamma ray and neutron detector

Surface composition information from Vesta is reported using fast neutron data collected by the gamma ray and neutron detector on the Dawn spacecraft. After correcting for variations due to hydrogen, fast neutrons show a compositional dynamic range and spatial variability that is consistent with variations in average atomic mass from howardite, eucrite, and diogenite (HED) meteorites. These data provide additional compositional evidence that Vesta is the parent body to HED meteorites. A subset of fast neutron data having lower statistical precision show spatial variations that are consistent with a 400 ppm variability in hydrogen concentrations across Vesta and supports the idea that Vesta's hydrogen is due to long‐term delivery of carbonaceous chondrite material.