Development of an automatic volcanic ash sampling apparatus for active volcanoes

We develop an automatic system for the sampling of ash fall particles, to be used for continuous monitoring of magma ascent and eruptive dynamics at active volcanoes. The system consists of a sampling apparatus and cameras to monitor surface phenomena during eruptions. The Sampling Apparatus for Time Series Unmanned Monitoring of Ash (SATSUMA-I and SATSUMA-II) is less than 10 kg in weight and works automatically for more than a month with a 10-kg lead battery to obtain a total of 30 to 36 samples in one cycle of operation. The time range covered in one cycle varies from less than an hour to several months, depending on the aims of observation, allowing researchers to target minute-scale fluctuations in a single eruptive event, as well as daily to weekly trends in persistent volcanic activity. The latest version, SATSUMA-II, also enables control of sampling parameters remotely by e-mail commands. Durability of the apparatus is high: our prototypes worked for several months, in rainy and typhoon seasons, at windy and humid locations, and under strong sunlight. We have been successful in collecting ash samples emitted from Showa crater almost everyday for more than 4 years (2008–2012) at Sakurajima volcano in southwest Japan.     

Rate-dependent strength of porous ice–silica mixtures and its implications for the shape of small to middle-sized icy satellites

Porosity is one of the most important physical properties in the rheology of small icy satellites composed of ice–silicate mixtures. Deformation experiments involving ice and 1 μm silica bead mixtures were conducted to clarify the effect of porosity on the flow law of ice–silica mixtures. Mixtures with silica mass contents of 0, 30, and 50 wt.% were used for the experiments, and the porosity was changed from 0% to 25% in each mixture. The temperature ranged from −10 to −20 °C, and the strain rate was changed from 1.2 × 10⁻⁶ to 4.2 × 10⁻⁴ s⁻¹. As a result, it was found that the ice–silica mixtures deformed plastically, and that the relationship between the maximum stress, σ_max, on the stress–strain curve and the applied strain rate, , could be described by the following flow law: . The mixture became softer as the porosity or silica mass content increased, and the stress exponent n and activation energy Q were independent of porosity, depending only on the silica mass content. Furthermore, the parameter A₀ could be written as A₀ = B(1 − ?)^−α, where ? is the porosity. The constants B and α also depended only on the silica mass content, and they increased with the increase in this content. The Maxwell relaxation time was calculated in order to estimate the conditions for topographic relaxation of icy satellites, and it was found that topographic relaxation occurred at temperatures higher than 160 K in the case of icy satellites with mean radii of 200 km.     

Effect of local nonlinearity in cohesionless soil on optimal radius minimizing fixed-head pile bending by inertial and kinematic interactions

This study presents the effects of a local nonlinearity in cohesionless soil upon the optimal radius minimizing the bending strains of a vertical, cylindrical fixed-head pile embedded in a layered soil stratum in a soil–pile–structure system where the kinematic interaction dominates. The seismic deformation method (SDM) with discretized numerical models is applied since the SDM is a static numerical method that can easily consider realistic conditions of layered soil strata and the nonlinearity of the soil. In the numerical models, the local nonlinearity of the soil in the vicinity of the pile is represented by subgrade springs having bi-linear skeleton curves with a simple hysteretic loop. Various amplitudes of the lateral displacements of the soil and the lateral forces at the head of the pile are considered as numerical parameters. The results of parametric analyses reveal the presence of an optimal pile radius that locally minimizes the bending strains of the piles under strong nonlinearity of the soil, and the optimal pile radius tends to increase as the degree of nonlinearity increases. Criteria are presented for predicting the increment in the optimal radius of soil–pile–structure systems under strong nonlinearity in the soil.     

Age estimation of the Solomon Sea based on heat flow data

Several heat flow measurements were made during the NAT83 cruise in the central part of the Solomon Sea Basin. The average value of 87 mW/m² (2.08 HFU) calculated from these and other data indicates that the age of the Solomon Sea Basin may range from 24 to 44 Ma. This is supported by the water depth, of approximately 4,500 m, versus age relationship. There is a possibility that the Solomon Sea Basin is not a back-arc basin associated with an arc but was formerly a relatively large oceanic plate. The agreement in age from both heat flow and water depth data favors the latter hypothesis.     

Current and Turbidity Variations in the Western Part of Suo-Nada, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan: A Hypothesis on the Oxygen-Deficient Water Mass Formation

A hydrographic survey and a 25-hour stationary observation were carried out in the western part of Suo-Nada in the summer of 1998 to elucidate the formation mechanism of the oxygen-deficient water mass. A steep thermocline and halocline separated the upper layer water from the bottom water over the observational area except for near the Kanmon Strait. The bottom water, in comparison with the upper layer water, indicated lower temperature, higher salinity, lower dissolved oxygen, higher turbidity, and higher chlorophyll a. Turbidity in the upper layer water changed with semi-diurnal period while the bottom water turbidity showed a quarter-diurnal variation, though the M₂ tidal current prevailed in both waters. From the turbidity distribution and the current variation, it is revealed that the turbidity in the upper layer water is controlled by the advection due to the M₂ tidal current. On the other hand, the quarter-diurnal variation in the bottom water turbidity is caused by the resuspension of bottom sediments due to the M₂ tidal current. The steep thermocline and halocline were maintained throughout the observation period in spite of the rather strong tidal currents. This implies an active intrusion of the low temperature and high salinity water from the east to the bottom of Suo-Nada. Based on the observational results, a hypothesis on the oxygen-deficient water mass formation was proposed; the periodical turbidity variation in the bottom water quickly modifies the oxygen-rich water in the east to the oxygen-deficient bottom water in Suo-Nada in a course of circulation.     

Spatial Heterogeneity in Distributions of Chlorophyll a Derivatives in the Subarctic North Pacific during Summer

The distribution of chlorophyll a derivatives was examined in samples collected from the subarctic North Pacific during July to September 1997. Pheophorbide a, pheophytin a and pyropheophorbide a as determined by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) were the major derivatives recorded. The distribution patterns of chlorophyll a and its derivatives showed a strong vertical and horizontal heterogeneity. Patches with high concentration of derivatives seemed to be associated with high concentration of chlorophyll a. A clear east-west gradient was observed in both chlorophyll a and pheophorbide a integrated from the surface to 100 m depth with significantly higher amounts of both the pigments in the Western Subarctic Gyre and in the Bering Sea than in the Alaskan Gyre. In contrast, no apparent gradient was observed in the integrated pyropheophorbide a and pheophytin a. Grazing experiments conducted with the copepod (Neocalanus cristatus) and salp (Cyclosalpa bakeri) fed on five species of phytoplankton cultures, showed a marked difference in the composition of the derivatives in their fecal pellets. Pyropheophorbide a was dominant in the copepod fecal pellet regardless of the phytoplankton species fed on. In the salp, however, pheophytin a and pheophorbide a were found in the fecal pellets, the relative concentrations varying with the algal food. Spatial heterogeneity in the distribution of the derivatives is considered to reflect local variations in dominant herbivorous processes.