A numerical model for far-field tsunamis and its application to predict damages done to aquaculture

The 1960 Chilean tsunami which traveled the Pacific Ocean and caused much damages to Japan is simulated from its generation to the terminal effects on coastal areas. In the computation of ocean propagation by the linear longwave theory, a new technique is introduced to keep the same accuracy as the linear Boussinesq equation and reduce the CPU time as well as the computer memory. In the coastal transformation computation, the energy dissipation due to sea-bottom scouring is suggested to be included, particularly in the case of long bays. To obtain accurate results, the current velocity requires finer spatial grids than the water surface elevation. Damage done to pearl culture rafts are explained in terms of the computed current velocity.     

Numerical simulation of tsunamis — Its present and near future

Hindcasting of a tsunami by numerical simulations is a process of lengthy and complicated deductions, knowing only the final results such as run-up heights and tide records, both of which are possibly biased due to an insufficient number of records and due to hydraulic and mechanical limitation of tide gauges. There are many sources of error. The initial profile, determined with seismic data, can even be different from the actual tsunami profile. The numerical scheme introduces errors. Nonlinearity near and on land requires an appropriate selection of equations. Taking these facts into account, it should be noted that numerical simulations produce satisfactory information for practical use, because the final error is usually within 15% as far as the maximum run-up height is concerned.The state-of-the-art of tsunami numerical simulations is critically summarized from generation to run-up. Problems in the near future are also stated. Fruitful application of computer graphics is suggested.     

Mixing of asthenospheric and lithospheric mantle-derived basalt magmas as shown by along-arc variation in Sr and Nd isotopic compositions of Early Miocene basalts from back-arc margin of the NE Japan arc

We report trace element and Sr–Nd isotopic compositions of Early Miocene (22–18 Ma) basaltic rocks distributed along the back-arc margin of the NE Japan arc over 500 km. These rocks are divided into higher TiO₂ (> 1.5 wt.%; referred to as HT) and lower TiO₂ (< 1.5 wt.%; LT) basalts. HT basalt has higher Na₂O + K₂O, HFSE and LREE, Zr/Y, and La/Yb compared to LT basalt. Both suite rocks show a wide range in Sr and Nd isotopic compositions (initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (SrI) = 0.70389 to 0.70631, initial ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd(NdI) = 0.51248 to 0.51285). There is no any systematic variation amongst the studied Early Miocene basaltic rocks in terms of Sr–Nd isotope or Na₂O + K₂O and K₂O abundances, across three volcanic zones from the eastern through transitional to western volcanic zone, but we can identify gradual increases in SrI and decreases in NdI from north to south along the back-arc margin of the NE Japan arc. Based on high field strength element, REE, and Sr–Nd isotope data, Early Miocene basaltic rocks of the NE Japan back-arc margin represent mixing of the asthenospheric mantle-derived basalt magma with two types of basaltic magmas, HT and LT basaltic magmas, derived by different degrees of partial melting of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle composed of garnet-absent lherzolite, with a gradual decrease in the proportion of asthenospheric mantle-derived magma from north to south. These mantle events might have occurred in association with rifting of the Eurasian continental arc during the pre-opening stage of the Japan Sea.     

Magma mixing recorded in intermediate rocks associated with high-Mg andesites from the Setouchi volcanic belt, Japan: implications for Archean TTG formation

Calc-alkaline intermediate rocks are spatially and temporally associated with high-Mg andesites (HMAs, Mg#>60) in Middle Miocene Setouchi volcanic belt. The calc-alkaline rocks are characterized by higher Mg# (strongly calc-alkaline trend) than ordinary calc-alkaline rocks at equivalent silica contents. Phenocrysts in the intermediate rocks have petrographical features such as: (1) coexisting reversely and normally zoned orthopyroxene phenocrysts in single rock; (2) sieve type plagioclase in which cores are mantled by higher An%, melt inclusion-rich zone; and (3) reversely zoned amphibole phenocrysts with opacite cores. In addition, mingling textures and magmatic inclusions were observed in some rocks. These petrographic features and the mineral chemistry indicate that magma mixing was the most important process in producing the strongly calc-alkaline rocks. The core composition of normally zoned orthopyroxene phenocrysts and the mantle composition of reversely zoned orthopyroxene phenocrysts have relatively high Mg# (85–90) in maximum. Although basaltic and high-Mg andesitic magmas are candidate as possible mafic end-member magmas, basaltic magma is excluded in terms of phenocryst assemblage and bulk composition. HMA magmas are suitable mafic end-member magmas that precipitated high Mg# (90) orthopyroxene, whereas andesitic to dacitic magma are suitable felsic end-members. In contrast, it is difficult to produce the strongly calc-alkaline trend through fractional crystallization from a HMA magma, because it would require removal of plagioclase together with mafic minerals from the early stage of crystallization, whereas the precipitation of plagiolase is suppressed due to the high water content of HMA magmas. These results imply that Archean Mg#-rich TTGs (>45–55), which are an analog of the strongly calc-alkaline rocks in terms of chemistry and magma genesis, can be derived from magma mixing in which a HMA magma is the mafic end-member magma, rather than by fractional crystallization from a HMA magma.     

The relationships between drastic changes in Sr isotope ratios of magma sources beneath the NE Japan arc and the spreading of the Japan sea back-arc basin

Summary Based on Sr isotopic data for Tertiary and Quaternary basaltic rocks from the NE Japan arc, relationships are discussed between the temporal variation of magma source characteristics and the opening of the Japan Sea. The basaltic rocks from the trench side and from the transitional zone show initial⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (Sr_i ratios) in the range of 0.70411–0.70546 but no temporal variation in Sr_i ratios. The back-arc side basaltic rocks with ages of 29.8 to 15 Ma have Sr_i ratios similar to those of the trench side and the transitional zone, and these values also show no temporal change. In contrast, the basaltic rocks from the back-arc side, with ages younger than 15 Ma, show significantly lower Sri ratios (0.70396 to 0.70290), which are slightly higher than those of N-type MORB. These Sr isotopic features may imply that at least before 15 Ma the magma source regions (the sub-continental mantle) beneath the NE Japan arc had an enriched chemical character and that after 15 Ma, the magma sources for volcanic rocks from the back-arc side show a drastic change in Sr isotopic character, from an enriched nature to a depleted one. The depleted magmas may have been formed as a result of injection of depleted asthenosphere (or of a depleted mantle diapir) into the subcontinental mantle under the back-arc side of the NE Japan arc, during the spreading of the Japan Sea back-arc basin. The middle Miocene basaltic rocks from the back-arc side are characterized by lower contents of LIL elements such as K₂O and Rb compared with those from the trench side, suggesting that during the middle Miocene (syn-opening stage of the Japan Sea) the degree of partial melting may have been higher in the back-arc side mantle than in the trench side mantle. High degree of partial melting in the back-arc side mantle can be attributed to an increasing geothermal gradient in the mantle due to the injection of hot asthenosphere. This injection might also have caused the melting of the lower crust from which the voluminous middle Miocene acidic volcanics in the back-arc side and transitional zone may have been produced.

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Drastische Veränderungen der Sr-Isotopenverhältnisse von Magmenquellen unterhalb des NE japanischen Vulkanbogens und ihre Beziehung zum Spreading des japanischen Back-Arc-Beckens

Zusammenfassung Die Beziehungen zwischen der zeitlichen Veränderung der Charakteristika von Magmenquellen und der Öffnung des Japanischen Meeres werden anhand von Sr-Isotopendaten tertiärer und quartärer basaltischer Gesteine diskutiert. Basaltische Gesteine von der Grabenseite und aus der Übergangszone ergaben initiale⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr Verhältnisse (Sr_i-Verhältnisse) von 0.70411–0.70546 und lassen keine zeitabhängige Änderung erkennen. Basaltische Besteine aus dem Back-Arc-Bereich mit Altern zwischen 29.8 und ca. 15 Ma zeigen ähnliche Sr_i-Verhältnisse und ebenfalls keine zeitliche Veränderung. Im Gegensatz dazu sind basaltische Gesteine aus dem Back-Arc-Bereich, die jünger als ca. 15 Ma sind, signifikant in ihren Sr_i-Verhältnissen (0.70396–0.70290) erniedrigt. Diese Verhältnisse liegen etwas höher als die von N-MORB. Die Sr-Isotopenergebnisse lassen vermuten, daß zumindest vor ca. 15 Ma der Herkunftsbereich der Magmen (subkontinentaler Mantel) unter dem NE japanischen Vulkanbogen chemisch angereichert war, während die Magmenquellen der jüngeren vulkanischen Gesteine des Back-Arc-Bereiches durch eine drastische Abreicherung charakterisiert sind. Die abgereicherten Magmen könnten, während der Öffnung des japanischen Back-Arc-Beckens, als Folge der Injektion abgereicherter Asthenosphäre (oder eines abgereicherten Manteldiapirs) in subkontinentalen Mantel unterhalb des Back-Arcs des NE japanischen Vulkanbogens, gebildet worden sein. Die miozänen basaltischen Gesteine des Back-Arc-Bereiches sind außerdem durch niedrigere Gehalte an LIL-Elementen, wie z.B. K₂O und Rb charakterisiert. Dies wird als Hinweis auf eine erhöhte Aufschmelzungsrate in diesem Bereich im mittleren Miozän (im Zuge der gleichzeitigen Öffnung des japanischen Meeres) verstanden. Die erhöhte Aufschmelzrate im Mantel des Back-Arc-Breiches wird auf einer Erhöhung des geothermischen Gradienten infolge der Injektion von heißer Asthenosphäre zurückgeführt. Diese Injektion von Asthenosphäre könnte auch der Grund für die Aufschmelzung von Unterkruste und für die Produktion weitverbreiteter saurer miozäner Vulkanite im Back-Arc-Bereich und der Übergangszone sein.

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With 6 Figures     

Internnual variations of water temperature and salinity along the 137°E meridian

Analyses were performed on hydrographic data gathered along the 137°E meridian by the R/V Ryofu Maru of the Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). Distributions were obtained of the mean and standard deviation of water temperature and salinity along the section. Relationships between interannual variations of these variables and wind forcing were examined. A correlation analysis revealed that temperature change, which occurred in the equatorial region of the western North Pacific accompanied by El Nino and La Nina events, reached about 20°N with the inclination of isotherms across the north equatorial current fluctuating around 20°N. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the winter water temperatures in the section was performed to extract variations following El Nino and La Nina events as the first mode and those corresponding to decadal changes of sea surface temperature (SST) in the North Pacific as the second mode. Interannual variations in the area of the North Pacific tropical saline water (NPTSW) and the North Pacific intermediate water (NPIW) along the section correspond well to interannual variations of the wind-stress curl minimum (negative value) in the area southeast of Japan. A remaining problem is to quantitatively evaluate the lag times of the variations to the wind-stress curl variation. In the equatorial region of the section, the northward extension of saline water is weak, and negative water temperature anomalies have often occurred in connection with El Nino events since the latter half of the 1970s. These changes may be part of the decadal variation of the North Pacific.     

Field survey of the 1993 Hokkaido Nansei-Oki earthquake tsunami

Runup data in Hokkaido and in three prefectures in the Tohoku District are described with a few witnessed arrival times and with comments of tide records. The highest runup of 31.7 m was found at the bottom of a narrow valley on the west coast of Okushiri Island. In order to explain high runups of 20 m at Hamatsumae in the sheltered area, roles of edge waves, refraction of the Okushiri Spur and tsunami generation by causes other than the major fault motion should be understood. An early arrival of the tsunami on the west coast of Hokkaido suggests another tsunami generation mechanism in addition to the major fault motion.     

Genetic differentiation of the soft shore barnacle Fistulobalanus albicostatus (Cirripedia: Thoracica: Balanomorpha) in the West Pacific

This study examined the phylogeography of the barnacle Fistulobalanus albicostatus, which inhabits mangroves and estuarine shores in the West Pacific. Differentiation in the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) and 12S ribosomal RNA (12S) genes of 401 specimens of F. albicostatus was examined in samples from 16 locations in the West Pacific, ranging from Honshu to Southern China. Our results revealed that F. albicostatus comprises two major clades exhibiting a COI divergence ranging from 1.25% to 2.8%. Clade A demonstrated the widest distribution, ranging from Japan to China, and was divided into three subclades occurring in the South China Sea (A1), Okinawa (A2), and Honshu, Korea and Qingdao (A3). Clade B was determined to be endemic to Okinawa; i.e. two endemic lineages occur in this island. Thus, F. albicostatus resembles several inter‐tidal species in having clades that are endemic to Okinawan waters. Nevertheless, in contrast to the rocky inter‐tidal barnacles Tetraclita spp. and Chthamalus malayensis, F. albicostatus was not found to be separated into continental and oceanic populations, but instead is divided into northern and southern clades, probably because of the Yangtze River discharge, which limits gene flow between the northern and southern populations.     

Characteristics of Tsunamis Propagating over Oceanic Ridges: Numerical Simulation of the 1996 Irian Jaya Earthquake Tsunami

The 1996 Irian Jaya earthquake tsunami was simulated by using the numerical model based on the linear long wave theory including Coriolis force in the spherical coordinate system. The numerical modeling result at Chichijima is in good agreement with the observed tide gauge data. The distinctive oscillation at Chichijima can be interpreted as the formation of boundary waves, so called ridge waves that are excited on the South-Honshu ridge. The mechanism of tsunami propagation trapped on an oceanic ridge is analyzed with the simple ridge model. The result explains the characteristics of ridge waves excited on theSouth-Honshu ridge.