Numerical computations of the storm surges in tosa bay

The storm surges which occurred in Tosa Bay in August 21, 1970 were numerically simulated. First of all NOAA's model SPLASH (Special Program to List Amplitudes of Surges from Hurricanes) was used and the effects of the typhoon's parameters, the bottom topography, the coastal configuration and the coordinate systems of storm surges were examined. SPLASH was then modified to suit computations of storm surges in the open sea and open boundary conditions were studied. Finally a two layer model was developed and the effects of the two layer system on surges were investigated.     

Regionality and seasonality of submesoscale and mesoscale turbulence in the North Pacific Ocean

The kinetic energy (KE) seasonality has been revealed by satellite altimeters in many oceanic regions. Question about the mechanisms that trigger this seasonality is still challenging. We address this question through the comparison of two numerical simulations. The first one, with a 1/10° horizontal grid spacing, 54 vertical levels, represents dynamics of physical scales larger than 50 km. The second one, with a 1/30° grid spacing, 100 vertical levels, takes into account the dynamics of physical scales down to 16 km. Comparison clearly emphasizes in the whole North Pacific Ocean, not only a significant KE increase by a factor up to three, but also the emergence of seasonal variability when the scale range 16–50 km (called submesoscales in this study) is taken into account. But the mechanisms explaining these KE changes display strong regional contrasts. In high KE regions, such the Kuroshio Extension and the western and eastern subtropics, frontal mixed-layer instabilities appear to be the main mechanism for the emergence of submesoscales in winter. Subsequent inverse kinetic energy cascade leads to the KE seasonality of larger scales. In other regions, in particular in subarctic regions, results suggest that the KE seasonality is principally produced by larger-scale instabilities with typical scales of 100 km and not so much by smaller-scale mixed-layer instabilities. Using arguments from geostrophic turbulence, the submesoscale impact in these regions is assumed to strengthen mesoscale eddies that become more coherent and not quickly dissipated, leading to a KE increase.     

Organochlorine and butyltin residues in deep-sea organisms collected from the western North Pacific,off-Tohoku,Japan

Organochlorine (OCs) and butyltin (BTs) residues were determined in deep-sea organisms collected from the western North Pacific, off-Tohoku, Japan. Among OCs, concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDTs (DDTs and its metabolites) were the highest in deep-sea organisms (maximum concentrations of 6700 and 13,000 ng/g lipid wt, respectively). Chlordane compounds (CHLs) were the next most abundant OCs, and hexachlorocyclohexanes (HCHs) and hexachlorobenzene (HCB) were the lowest. BTs were also detected at maximum concentrations of 570 ng/g wet wt. Concentrations of PCBs, CHLs and BTs in deep-sea organisms collected from the western North Pacific, off-Tohoku, were generally lower than those in deep-sea and shallow water organisms from Japanese coastal waters. On the other hand, considerable variations in the concentrations of OCs were found among deep-sea organisms analyzed. Several carnivorous fishes such as snubnosed eel, lanternshark and grenadiers accumulated some OCs such as PCBs, DDTs and CHLs at high concentrations of up to a few μg/g levels. In addition, the residue pattern of OCs and BTs in fishes showed a specific trend according to the sampling depth; higher concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and CHLs and lower concentrations of HCHs, HCB and BTs were found in fishes collected from greater depth (1000 m) compared to those from shallower waters. This trend is consistent with the results of our earlier study on mesopelagic myctophid fishes. Results of this study suggest vertical transport of hydrophobic OCs such as PCBs, DDTs and CHLs and its accumulation in benthic deep-sea organisms.     

Fusulinoidean faunal succession of a Paleo–Tethyan oceanic seamount in the Changning–Menglian Belt, West Yunnan, Southwest China: An overview

Abstract   Fusulinoidean faunal succession from Paleo–Tethyan seamount-type carbonates of the Yutangzhai section in the Central zone of the Changning–Menglian Belt of West Yunnan, Southwest China, is presented for the first time. The Changning–Menglian Belt is one of the orogenic belts that represent the closed main Paleo–Tethys in East Asia. The Yutangzhai section is represented by basalts and overlying carbonates, about 1100 m thick. It exhibits a continuous faunal succession composed of 17 fusulinoidean assemblages ranging from the Serpukhovian (late Mississippian/late Early Carboniferous) to Midian/Capitanian (late Middle Permian/late Guadalupian). No significant faunal break can be recognized in this section. The generic and some specific composition of the Yutangzhai assemblages indicates that the faunal succession is similar to those observed in Tethyan and Panthalassan areas and is of tropical Tethyan type although their generic diversity is definitely lower than those of Paleo–Tethyan shelves, such as South China, Indochina, and Central Asia. Throughout the Yutangzhai section, the carbonate rocks are essentially massive, very pure in composition, and devoid of terrigenous siliciclastic inputs. These lithologic characters are identical to those observed in accreted shallow-marine carbonate successions of seamount origin in Permian and Jurassic accretionary complexes of Japan, for example the Akiyoshi Limestone. This evidence further demonstrates the seamount origin of the basalt–limestone succession in the Central zone of the Changning–Menglian Belt from the viewpoint of lithofacies. In middle Mississippian (middle Early Carboniferous) time, oceanic submarine volcanism that was probably related to hot spot activities formed a number of seamounts and oceanic plateaus. It was active not only in the Panthalassa, but also in the Paleo–Tethys.     

Growth of twinned magnetic crystals in talc and talc-magnesite rock at Torika,Nagasaki Prefecture,Japan

Spinel-type twins of magnetite in a talc rock and a talk-magnesite rock at Torika, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan have been studied by means of optical microscopy, differential interference microscopy, microprobe analysis and size distribution analysis. The growth processes are discussed in detail. The number of magnetite twins in the talc-magnesite rock is larger than in the talc rock, and the percentage of the frequency number increases rapidly with increase in grain size. It is suggested that magnetite crystals in the talc-magnesite rock have grown by rapid crystallization in the earlier stage and by a layer-growth mechanism in the later stage in the carbonation-dehydration reaction that occurred within the rock. As large number of twin nuclei formed by rapid crystallization in the earlier stage of magnetite formation. As the dehydration reaction proceeded, the number of twin nuclei gradually decreased with the lowering of supersaturation by addition of some water. Magnetite crystals in the talc rock formed after talc crystallization by silicification and dehydration reactions in the process of steatitization. The twin nuclei here must have formed with difficulty, governed by the distribution of talc which crystallized before the magnetite and at relatively low supersaturation.     

On the nature of the X-ray absorption in the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507

We present results of the ASCA observation of the Seyfert 2 galaxy NGC 4507. The 0.5–10 keV spectrum is rather complex and consists of several components: (i) a hard X-ray power law heavily absorbed by a column density of about 3-10²³ cm⁻², (ii) a narrow Fe Kα line at 6.4 keV, (iii) soft continuum emission well above the extrapolation of the absorbed hard power law and (iv) a narrow emission line at ∼0.9 keV. The line energy, consistent with highly ionized neon (Ne IX ), may indicate that the soft X-ray emission is derived from a combination of resonant scattering and fluorescence in a photoionized gas. Some contribution to the soft X-ray spectrum from thermal emission, as a blend of Fe L lines, by a starburst component in the host galaxy cannot be ruled out with the present data.     

Diffuse reflection and transmission of radiation by finite atmospheres with specular reflectors

It is supposed that solar rays are incident uniformly on the top of a plane-parallel, anisotropically scattering, and homogeneous atmosphere, whose bottom is bounded by a specular reflector. An initial-value solution for the scattering and transmission functions is obtained, starting with an auxiliary equation. Some results of numerical experiments for given optical parameters are presented in Figures.     

U–Pb zircon age from the radiolarian‐bearing Hitoegane Formation in the Hida Gaien Belt,Japan

The dating of radiolarian biostratigraphic zones from the Silurian to Devonian is only partially understood. Dating the zircons in radiolarian‐bearing tuffaceous rocks has enabled us to ascribe practical ages to the radiolarian zones. To extend knowledge in this area, radiometric dating of magmatic zircons within the radiolarian‐bearing Hitoegane Formation, Japan, was undertaken. The Hitoegane Formation is mainly composed of alternating beds of tuffaceous sandstones, tuffaceous mudstones and felsic tuff. The felsic tuff and tuffaceous mudstone yield well‐preserved radiolarian fossils. Zircon grains showing a U–Pb laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry age of 426.6 ± 3.7 Ma were collected from four horizons of the Hitoegane Formation, which is the boundary between the Pseudospongoprunum tauversi to Futobari solidus–Zadrappolus tenuis radiolarian assemblage zones. This fact strongly suggests that the boundary of these assemblage zones is around the Ludlowian to Pridolian. The last occurrence of F. solidus is considered to be Pragian based on the reinterpretation of a U–Pb sensitive high mass‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon age of 408.9 ± 7.6 Ma for a felsic tuff of the Kurosegawa belt, Southwest Japan. Thus the F. solidus–Z. tenuis assemblage can be assigned to the Ludlowian or Pridolian to Pragian. The present data also contribute to establishing overall stratigraphy of the Paleozoic rocks of the Fukuji–Hitoegane area. According to the Ordovician to Carboniferous stratigraphy in this area, Ordovician to Silurian volcanism was gradually reduced to change the sedimentary environment into a tropical lagoon in the early Devonian. And the quiet Carboniferous environment was subsequently interrupted, throwing it once more into the volcanic conditions in the Middle Permian.     

A numerical investigation of eddy-induced chlorophyll bloom in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean during Indian Ocean Dipole—2006

An eddy-resolving coupled physical–biological model is used to study the effect of cyclonic eddy in enhancing offshore chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) bloom in the southeastern tropical Indian Ocean during boreal summer–fall 2006. The results demonstrate that the offshore Chl-a blooms are markedly coincident with the high eddy kinetic energy. Moreover, the vertical variations in Chl-a, nitrate, temperature, and mixed-layer depth (MLD) strongly imply that the cyclonic eddies induce surface Chl-a bloom through the injection of nutrient-rich water into the upper layer. Interestingly, we found that the surface bloom only occurs when the deep Chl-a maximum is located within the MLD. On the other hand, the response of subsurface Chl-a to the eddy pumping is remarkable, although it is hardly observable at the surface.