VSOP Space VLBI observations of Pearson-Readhead survey sources

The VSOP Space VLBI mission uses the HALCA spacecraft, launched from Japan in February 1997, in conjunction with ground radio observatories around the world to create a high resolution radio-wavelength imaging facility. We are using this unique facility to observe a sub-sample of Pearson-Readhead Survey sources at 4.8 GHz to determine core brightness temperatures and pc-scale jet properties. We will highlight one of the sources that has been observed using a combination of the HALCA spacecraft and the EVN, 1642+690, and describe the preliminary brightness temperature distribution for the sub-sample, based on all data analyzed to date.     

Polymetallic Mineralization at the Nakakoshi Copper Deposits, Central Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract: Polymetallic mineralization at the Nakakoshi deposits, Kamikawa town, central Hokkaido, occur as fracture-filling veins in Cretaceous slate of the Hidaka Supergroup. Ten veins have been recognized in NE-SW and E-W directions. Sericite in altered slate which is the host of the deposits, was dated at 31. 1 Ma, Oligocene in age.
No. 9 vein consists of massive chalcopyrite ore with various kinds of minerals such as pyrite, pyrrhotite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite, Ag-minerals and Cu–Zn–Fe–In–Sn–S minerals, quartz and sericite. Chalcopyrite and pyrite contain sphalerite star and sphalerite with chalcopyrite emulsions. Maximum indium contents of sphalerite and the Cu–Zn–Fe–In–Sn–S minerals are 1. 8 and 16. 3 wt%, respectively. The sulfur isotopic ratios, δ³⁴S of ore minerals, range from –12. 9 to –9. 6%. Formation temperatures of the sulfide minerals are estimated as 300–500°C, based on the paragenesis and chemical compositions of the minerals.     

A near-infrared fabry-perot imager at CRL 1.5m telescope and the structure and velocity field of shocked H2 emission in orion KL region

We have developed a near-infrared Fabry-Perot imager at the Nasmyth focus of the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) 1.5 m telescope at Tokyo. Using this wide field Fabry-Perot imager, we obtained continuum-subtracted images of the H₂ v=1–0 S(1) line for the Orion KL region.     

Selection criteria for linear regression models to estimate individual tree biomasses in the Atlantic Rain Forest,Brazil

Background

Biomass models are useful for several purposes, especially for quantifying carbon stocks and dynamics in forests. Selecting appropriate equations from a fitted model is a process which can involves several criteria, some widely used and others used to a lesser extent. This study analyzes six selection criteria for models fitted to six sets of individual biomass collected from woody indigenous species of the Tropical Atlantic Rain Forest in Brazil. Six models were examined and the respective fitted equations evaluated by the residual sum of squares, adjusted coefficient of determination, absolute and relative estimates of the standard error of estimate, and Akaike and Schwartz (Bayesian) information criteria. The aim of this study was to analyze the numeric behavior of these model selection criteria and discuss the ease of interpretation of them. The importance of residual analysis in model selection is stressed.

Results

The adjusted coefficient of determination (\( R^{2}_{adj.} \)) and the standard error of estimate in percentage (Syx%) are relative model selection criteria and are not affected by sample size and scale of the response variable. The sum of squared residuals (SSR), the absolute standard error of estimate (Syx), the Akaike information criterion and the Schwartz information criterion, in turn, depend on these quantities. The best fit model was always the same within a given data set regardless the model selection criteria considered (except for SSR in two cases), indicating they tend to converge to a common result. However, such criteria are not always closely related across different data sets. General model selection criteria are indicative of the average goodness of fit, but do not capture bias and outlier effects. Graphical residual analysis is a useful tool to this detection and must always be used in model selection.

Conclusions

It is concluded that the criteria for model selection tend to lead to a common result, regardless their mathematical formulation and statistical significance. Relative measures of goodness of fitting are easier to interpret than the absolute ones. Careful graphical residual analysis must always be used to confirm the performance of the models.

     

Assessing the role of forests in mitigating eutrophication downstream of pasture during spring snowmelt

Little research has examined whether forests reduce stream water eutrophication in agricultural areas during spring snowmelt periods. This study evaluated the role of forests in ameliorating deteriorated stream water quality in agricultural areas, including pasture, during snowmelt periods. Temporal variation in stream water quality at a mixed land‐use basin (565 ha: pasture 13%, forestry 87%), northern Japan, was monitored for 7 years. Synoptic stream water sampling was also conducted at 16 sites across a wide range of forest and agricultural areas in a basin (18.3 km²) in spring, summer and fall. Atmospheric nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition were measured for 4 years. The results showed that concentration pulses of nitrate, organic N and total P in stream water were observed when discharge increased during spring snowmelt. Their concentrations were high when silicate concentrations were low, suggesting surface water exported from pasture largely contributed to stream water pollution during snowmelt. Atmospheric N and P deposition (4.1 kg N ha^?1 y^?1; 0.09 kg P ha^?1 y^?1, respectively) was too low to affect the background concentrations of N and P in streams from forested areas. Reduction of eutrophication caused by nutrients from pasture was mainly due to dilution by water containing low concentrations of N and P exported from forested areas, whereas in‐stream reduction was not a dominant process. Results indicate that forests have a limited capacity to reduce the concentration pulses of N and P in stream water during snowmelt in this study basin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of scattering and dust grain size on the temperature structure of protoplanetary discs: a three-layer approach

The temperature in the optically thick interior of protoplanetary discs is essential for the interpretation of millimetre observations of the discs, for the vertical structure of the discs, for models of the disc evolution and the planet formation, and for the chemistry in the discs. Since large icy grains have a large albedo even in the infrared, the effect of scattering of the diffuse radiation in the discs on the interior temperature should be examined. We have performed a series of numerical radiation transfer simulations, including isotropic scattering by grains with various typical sizes for the diffuse radiation as well as for the incident stellar radiation. We also have developed an analytic model including isotropic scattering to understand the physics concealed in the numerical results. With the analytic model, we have shown that the standard two-layer approach is valid only for grey opacity (i.e. grain size ≳10 μm) even without scattering. A three-layer interpretation is required for grain size ≲10 μm. When the grain size is 0.1–10 μm, the numerical simulations show that the isotropic scattering reduces the temperature of the disc interior. This reduction is nicely explained by the analytic three-layer model as a result of the energy loss by scatterings of the incident stellar radiation and of the warm diffuse radiation in the disc atmosphere. For grain size ≳10 μm (i.e. grey scattering), the numerical simulations show that the isotropic scattering does not affect the interior temperature. This is nicely explained by the analytic two-layer model; the energy loss by scattering in the disc atmosphere is exactly offset by the 'green-house effect' due to the scattering of the cold diffuse radiation in the interior.     

Distribution of Scyllarid Phyllosoma Larvae (Crustacea: Decapoda: Scyllaridae) in the Kuroshio Subgyre

Using ichthyoplankton samples collected in the Kuroshio Subgyre during early summer cruises, we examined spatial distributions of scyllarid phyllosoma larvae in the Subgyre, particularly of the genus Scyllarus. The present study has two objectives: (1) to reveal species composition of Scyllarus phyllosoma larvae in the Kuroshio Subgyre, and (2) to examine larval recruitment of Scyllarus species as contrasted with that of Panulirus, particularly P. japonicus, the larval recruitment of which has been examined in detail. A total of 218 phyllosoma larvae collected in the present study belonged to two families (Palinuridae and Scyllaridae) representing 5 genera and 11 species. Phyllosoma larvae of two Scyllarus species (S. cultrifer and Scyllarus sp. c) were abundant among the collected larvae, and were found mainly in the following three regions located within the Kuroshio-Counter Current region south of Kuroshio Current: the water east of Okinawa Is., the water far east of Okinawa Is. (or far south of Shikoku Is.), and the water around Hachijojima Is. Larvae of each of the above two Scyllarus species collected in the three regions may belong to different populations: larvae collected in the water around Hachijojima Is. may come from their benthic populations along the Pacific coast of Honshu and Shikoku Is., central Japan, while larvae collected in the other two regions may come from their benthic populations of the Ryukyu Archipelago and Taiwan. Judging from their shorter larval period and current systems within the Kuroshio Subgyre, these Scyllarus larvae may be destined for death. An erratum to this article is available at .     

Determination of the phase boundary between ilmenite and perovskite in MgSiO3 by in situ X-ray diffraction and quench experiments

Determination of the phase boundary between ilmenite and perovskite structures in MgSiO₃ has been made at pressures between 18 and 24 GPa and temperatures up to 2000 °C by in situ X-ray diffraction measurements using synchrotron radiation and quench experiments. It was difficult to precisely define the phase boundary by the present in situ X-ray observations, because the grain growth of ilmenite hindered the estimation of relative abundances of these phases. Moreover, the slow reaction kinetics between these two phases made it difficult to determine the phase boundary by changing pressure and temperature conditions during in situ X-ray diffraction measurements. Nevertheless, the phase boundary was well constrained by quench method with a pressure calibration based on the spinel-postspinel boundary of Mg₂SiO₄ determined by in situ X-ray experiments. This yielded the ilmenite-perovskite phase boundary of P (GPa) = 25.0 (±0.2) – 0.003 T (°C) for a temperature range of 1200–1800 °C, which is generally consistent with the results of the present in situ X-ray diffraction measurements within the uncertainty of ∼±0.5 GPa. The phase boundary thus determined between ilmenite and perovskite phases in MgSiO₃ is slightly (∼0.5 GPa) lower than that of the spinel-postspinel transformation in Mg₂SiO₄. Received: 19 May 1999 / Accepted: 21 March 2000