Assessment of nitrogen loading from the Kiso-Sansen Rivers into Ise Bay using stable isotopes

Concentrations of particulate organic nitrogen (PN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), and their nitrogen isotope ratios (δ ¹⁵N) in the Kiso-Sansen Rivers were determined from monthly observations over the course of a year to assess variations in the form and sources of riverine nitrogen discharged into Ise Bay. The δ ¹⁵N values of NO₃ ⁻ observed in the Kiso-Sansen Rivers showed a logarithmic decreasing trend from 8 to 0‰, which varied with the river discharge, indicating mixing between point sources with high δ ¹⁵N and non-point sources with low δ ¹⁵N. The influence of isotope fractionation of in situ biogeochemical processes (mainly DIN assimilation by phytoplankton) on δ ¹⁵N of NO₃ ⁻ was negligible, because sufficient concentrations of NH₄ ⁺ for phytoplankton demand would inhibit the assimilation of NO₃ ⁻. A simple relationship between river discharge and δ ¹⁵N of NO₃ ⁻ showed that the fraction of total NO₃ ⁻ flux arising from point sources increased from 4.0–6.3% (1.1–1.8 tN day⁻¹) during higher discharge (>600 m³ s⁻¹) to 30.2–48.3% (2.6–4.1 tN day⁻¹) during lower discharge (<300 m³ s⁻¹). Riverine NO₃ ⁻ discharge from the Kiso-Sansen Rivers can explain 75% of the variations in surface NO₃ ⁻ at the head of Ise Bay over the year.     

Damping systems that are effective over a wide range of displacement amplitudes using metallic yielding component and viscoelastic damper in series

A damper system that absorbs energy over a wide range of displacement amplitudes during building vibration was proposed. This system uses a serial connection of a metallic yielding component and viscoelastic damper with a displacement limit mechanism. Three types of the system were developed and tested: a diagonal bracing type, inverted V bracing type, and wall type. The test results showed that all these systems have damping ratios higher than 8% at small vibration amplitudes on the order of 0.1 mm. For a large vibration, a displacement limit mechanism with two pins limited the displacement of the viscoelastic damper as designed. Analytical simulations established that the system reduced the acceleration and the story drift to 60–70% and 80%, respectively, during a small earthquake compared with a conventional metallic yielding damper system. Furthermore, it showed an equivalent control performance during a severe earthquake. The damper system requires that a clearance be maintained for the displacement limit mechanism. However, this may be lost through construction error, residual displacement after an earthquake, and temperature effects. The changes in the clearance due to these effects were discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Morphology,structure and flow phases in soil pipes developing in forested hillslopes underlain by a Quaternary sand–gravel formation,Hokkaido, northern main island in Japan

Preferential flow pathways, such as soil pipes, are usually present in the soil of slopes. Subsurface flow through the soil pipes affects the subsurface drainage system and is responsible for sediment removal from slopes. However, a record of the inner structure of soil pipes has rarely been reported for slopes. A fibrescope examination of the morphology and flow phases in soil pipes in hillslopes underlain by a Quaternary sand–gravel formation provided the following information: the main pores of the soil pipes ran mostly parallel with the slope gradient; the cross‐sections of the soil pipes were approximately circular; and occurred on a few occasions; with some triple junctions being present. In addition, both full flow and partly full‐depth conditions occurred simultaneously in the soil pipe. The full flow condition has long been used in hydrological studies to model the pipe flow mechanism. Both the full flow condition and the partly full‐depth condition, however, must be examined closely in order to evaluate the subsurface hydrology in heterogeneous soil and the hydrogeomorphological processes of subsurface hydraulic erosion. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evidence from the Rb‐Sr system for 4.4 Ga alteration of chondrules in the Allende (CV3) parent body

Abstract— The timing and processes of alteration in the CV parent body are investigated by the analysis of Sr isotopes, major and trace elements, and petrographic type and distribution of the secondary minerals (nepheline and sodalite) in 22 chondrules from the Allende (CV3) chondrite. The Sr isotopic compositions of the chondrules are scattered around the 4.0 Ga reference line on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr evolution diagram, indicating that the chondrules have been affected by late thermal alteration event(s) in the parent body. The degree of alteration, determined for individual chondrules based on the distribution of nepheline and sodalite, is unrelated to the disturbance of the Rb‐Sr system, suggesting that the alteration process that produced nepheline and sodalite is different from the thermal process that disturbed the Rb‐Sr system of the chondrules. Considering the geochemical behavior of Rb and Sr, the main host phase of Sr in chondrules is likely to be mesostasis, which could be most susceptible to late thermal alteration. As there is a poor connection between the alteration degree determined from abundances of nepheline and sodalite and the disturbance of Rb‐Sr isotopic system, we consider the mesostasis to provide a constraint on the late parent body alteration process. From this point of view, 23 mesostasis‐rich chondrules, including those from literature data, were selected. The selected chondrules are closely correlated on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr evolution diagram, with an inferred age of 4.36 ± 0.08 Ga. This correlation would represent an age of the final major Sr isotopic redistribution of the chondrules in the parent body.     

The Hinode (Solar-B) Mission: An Overview

The Hinode satellite (formerly Solar-B) of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s Institute of Space and Astronautical Science (ISAS/JAXA) was successfully launched in September 2006. As the successor to the Yohkoh mission, it aims to understand how magnetic energy gets transferred from the photosphere to the upper atmosphere and results in explosive energy releases. Hinode is an observatory style mission, with all the instruments being designed and built to work together to address the science aims. There are three instruments onboard: the Solar Optical Telescope (SOT), the EUV Imaging Spectrometer (EIS), and the X-Ray Telescope (XRT). This paper provides an overview of the mission, detailing the satellite, the scientific payload, and operations. It will conclude with discussions on how the international science community can participate in the analysis of the mission data. T. Kosugi deceased 26 November 2006.     

Tomographic imaging of hydrated crust and mantle in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan: Evidence for dehydration embrittlement as a cause of intraslab earthquakes

We estimate detailed three-dimensional seismic velocity structures in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan, using a large number of arrival-time data from 6902 local earthquakes. A remarkable low-velocity layer with a thickness of ~ 10 km is imaged at the uppermost part of the slab and is interpreted as hydrated oceanic crust. The layer gradually disappears at depths of 70–80 km, suggesting the breakdown of hydrous minerals there. We find prominent low-velocity anomalies along the lower plane of the double seismic zone and above the aftershock area of the 1993 Kushiro-oki earthquake (M7.8). Since seismic velocities of unmetamorphosed peridotite are much higher than the observations, hydrous minerals are expected to exist in the lower plane as well as the hypocentral area of the 1993 earthquake. On the other hand, regions between the upper and lower planes, where seismic activity is not so high compared to the both planes, show relatively high velocities comparable to those of unmetamorphosed peridotite. Our observations suggest that intermediate-depth earthquakes occur mainly in regions with hydrous minerals, which support dehydration embrittlement hypothesis as a cause of earthquake in the subducting slab.     

Patterns of sediment slug translation and dispersion following typhoon‐induced disturbance,Oyabu Creek,Kyushu, Japan

A six‐year monitoring programme characterized the migration/dispersion patterns of sediment slugs generated following typhoon‐induced disturbances in 1993 and 1997 along a single‐thread gravel‐bed stream, Oyabu Creek, on Kyushu Island, Japan. This laterally con?ned creek comprises rif?e–pool sequences with intervening bedrock outcrops. The passage of sediment pulses associated with sediment slug processes re?ected, and was controlled by, the rif?e–pool structures which provided channel bed roughness, the volume of sediment stored along valley ?oors, and the distribution of bedrock outcrops. Changes to bed material size following major sediment inputs during the disturbance events also exerted an in?uence on subsequent sediment slug processes. The sequence of rainfall events, together with changes to channel bed structure, induced different phases in the sediment slug processes. The capacity of a reach to store or trap sediment, as recorded by the longitudinal structure of the channel, varied during these differing phases. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Summer Water Balance Characteristics of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

The daily water balance for the drainage basin of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, was calculated during the period from August to September 2000. The result shows that 14×10⁶ m³ of meltwater and 2×10⁶ m³ of rainwater entered the basin, while 26×10⁶ m³ of water drained from the basin through proglacial streams. Thus, about ?9×10⁶ m³ of water storage reduction occurred in the basin. Vertical displacements of the glacier surface showed that the volume change due to contraction of subglacial cavities was nearly 20% of the total storage change. The remaining fraction of water storage during the period is thought to be stored in englacial and supraglacial locations. The estimate of water balance components in the early ablation season in 2000 indicates that meltwater was already stored within the glacier before the spring, even during the previous year, and that the stored water drained through the ablation season.     

Imaging the heterogeneous source area of the 2003 M6.4 northern Miyagi earthquake, NE Japan, by double-difference tomography

A shallow M6.4 inland earthquake occurred on 26 July 2003 in the northern part of Miyagi Prefecture, northeastern Japan. This earthquake was a typical inland thrust earthquake, a type that is common in NE Japan. We obtained a detailed seismic velocity structure in the focal area of this earthquake by the double-difference tomography method. Arrival-time data came from temporary seismic stations deployed above the mainshock fault plane. Both the P-wave and S-wave velocities in the hanging wall were lower than those in the footwall. Aftershocks were aligned along a zone where the seismic velocity changes rapidly. This is consistent with the interpretation that the 2003 northern Miyagi earthquake occurred along a fault that acted as a normal fault in the Miocene and has been reactivated as a reverse fault under the present compressional stress regime. The large slip area by the main shock rupture (asperity) corresponds to an area with relatively high P- and S-wave velocities. A zone with low V_p/V_s was detected along the aftershock area. One of the possible causes of this low-V_p/V_s zone is the existence of high-aspect-ratio pores that contain water. Hypocenters of the main shock, largest foreshock, and largest aftershock are also located within the low-V_p/V_s zone.     

Development and controlling factors of gullies and gully complexes,East Coast,New Zealand

Sequential aerial photographs of a small headwater catchment in the Waiapu basin, East Coast Region, North Island, New Zealand, were interpreted to measure and analyse temporal changes in active area of gullies and gully complexes for a longer time span (1939–2003) and with higher temporal resolution compared to previous studies. We focus on the conditions leading to the development of gullies and gully complexes under pasture and forest by using topographic thresholds (slope–area relationships) of catchments for the initiation of gullies and gully complexes. In addition, the influence of two different lithologies as well as the occurrence of major rainfall events was related to gully activity. Twenty gullies and four gully complexes (occupying 62·5 ha or 12·5 per cent of the catchment area) occurred in the study catchment between 1939 and 2003. However, the majority of these were not active at all of the dates studied. Gullies developed in the sandstone‐dominated Tapuwaeroa Formation tended to attain their maximum size by 1957 with a mean catchment area of 2·1 ha. Gullies developed in mudstone of the Whangai Formation attained their maximum size in 1939 with a mean catchment area of 4·31 ha. Exceptions are gullies which developed into mass movement deposits or into an earth flow deposit as well as gullies developed under indigenous forest. Topographic threshold values for gullies under pasture and indigenous forest show that values for gullies under forest plot far above the threshold line of gullies under pasture, indicating that the topographical threshold for gully development under forest is higher compared to under pasture. A threshold value of 9·4 ha in catchment area is needed for the development of gully complexes under pasture, all located in the Whangai Formation and with the same orientation as the strike of the mudstones. Gully‐complex area and dominance of mass‐movement erosion increased with larger catchment area. A decreasing distance to the threshold line for gullies under pasture indicates a later development for gully complexes. No gully complexes developed under indigenous forest, indicating that the threshold value for gully‐complex development is higher than for gully complexes under pasture and was not reached in the study area. A model of shifting topographical threshold for gully development for a given catchment is developed which depends on land use. When a catchment has an indigenous forest cover the topographical threshold is very high. After conversion to pasture, threshold values decrease drastically. With the invasion of scrub, the threshold slowly increases and returns to a similar level to that under indigenous forest after reforestation. Development of gullies and gully complexes is a highly dynamic phenomenon, and phases of expansion and inactivity indicate that models describing only unidirectional advancing stages without periods of inactivity are not suitable. Therefore, this study adds more phases to models of gully and gully‐complex development in the East Coast Region. The threshold line for gully initiation under pasture and a value of 9·4 ha in catchment area for gully‐complex initiation permits one to predict which catchments, under similar environmental settings, develop gullies and gully complexes on a physical basis. This enables land managers to implement sustainable land‐use strategies to reduce erosion rates of gullies and gully complexes. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.