Simultaneous ionospheric and magnetospheric observations of azimuthally propagating transient features during substorms

During the 6^th August 1995, the CUTLASS Finland HF radar ran in a high time resolution mode, allowing measurements of line-of-sight convection velocities along a single beam with a temporal resolution of 14 s. Data from such scans, during the substorm expansion phase, revealed pulses of equatorward flow exceeding 600 m s^–1 with a duration of 5 min and a repetition period of 8 min. Each pulse of enhanced equatorward flow was preceded by an interval of suppressed flow and enhanced ionospheric Hall conductance. These transient features, which propagate eastwards away from local midnight, have been interpreted as ionospheric current vortices associated with fieldaligned current pairs. The present study reveals that these ionospheric convection features appear to have an accompanying signature in the magnetosphere, comprising a dawnward perturbation and dipolarisation of the magnetic field and dawnward plasma flow, measured in the geomagnetic tail by the Geotail spacecraft, located at L = 10 and some four hours to the east, in the postmidnight sector. These signatures are suggested to be the consequence of the observation of the same field aligned currents in the magnetosphere. Their possible relationship with bursty Earthward plasma flow and magnetotail reconnection is discussed.     

Depositional features and transportation mechanism of valley-filling Iwasegawa and Kaida debris avalanches, Japan

 The depositional features of two valley-filling debris avalanche deposits were studied to reveal their transportation and depositional mechanisms. The valley-filling Iwasegawa debris avalanche deposit (ca. 0.1 km³) is distributed along the valleys at the southeastern foot of Tashirodake Volcano, northern Honshu, Japan. Debris-avalanche blocks range in size from <35 m proximally to <10 m in the distal zone and consist dominantly of fragile materials. Debris-avalanche matrix percentages increase from 35–60% in the proximal zone to 95% in the distal zone. The debris-avalanche matrix is greater in volume (80–90%) at the bottom and margins of the deposit. Normal grading of large clasts and reverse grading of wood logs and branches occur within the debris-avalanche matrix. Preferred orientation of 311 wood logs and branches within the deposit coincide with the interpreted local flow direction. The basal part of the deposit is characterized by (1) erosional features and incorporated clasts of underlying material; (2) a higher proportion (30–50%) of incorporated clasts than the upper part; and (3) reverse grading of clasts. The valley-filling Kaida debris avalanche deposit (50 000 y B.P., >0.3 km³) is distributed along the valleys at the eastern-southeastern foot of Ontake Volcano, central Japan. Debris-avalanche blocks range in size from <25 m proximally to <7 m in the medial zone. Debris-avalanche matrix percentages increase from 50–70% in the proximal zone to 80% in the distal zone. The debris-avalanche matrix is more abundant (80–90%) at the bottom part of the deposit. Deformation structures observed in the debris-avalanche blocks include elongation, folding, conjugate reverse faults, and numerous minor faults in unconsolidated materials. Lithic components within the debris-avalanche matrix tend to have a higher percentage of plucked clasts from the adjacent underlying formations. A Bingham "plug flow" model is consistent with the transportation and depositional mechanisms of the valley-filling debris avalanches. In the plug of the debris avalanche, fragile blocks were transported without major rupturing due to relatively small shear stresses in regions of small strain rate. The debris-avalanche matrix was mainly produced by shearing at the bottom and margins of the avalanche. Valley-filling debris avalanches tend to have smaller debris-avalanche blocks and larger amounts of debris-avalanche matrix than do unconfined debris avalanches. These differences may be due to disaggregation of debris-avalanche blocks by shearing against valley walls and interaction between debris-avalanche blocks and valley walls. Oriented wood logs and branches, reverse grading of clasts at the base, and a higher proportion of incorporated clasts at the base are interpreted to result from shearing along the bottom and valley walls. Received: 25 March 1998 / Accepted: 10 October 1998     

Natural abundance of 15N in particulate organic matter in the North Pacific Ocean

The abundance of ¹⁵N in particulate organic matter in the euphotic layer of the North Pacific Ocean was investigated. δ¹⁵N values ranged from ?1.7 to +9.7% relative to atmospheric nitrogen. ¹⁵N contents in plankton samples collected in the central and northwestern North Pacific were inversely correlated with concentrations of NO^?₃. The ¹⁵N contents of Trichodesmium sp. (?1.7 to +0.5%) and associated Zooplankton (ca. + 2%) were low, suggesting the significance of nitrogen supply via molecular nitrogen fixation which is assumed to involve little isotope fractionation. The variation of ¹⁵N in particulate organic nitrogen in the euphotic layer of the ocean can be explained by biochemical isotope fractionation in the assimilation of nitrate and fixation of molecular nitrogen.     

Relation between the concentrations of DMS in surface seawater and air in the temperate North Pacific region

The concentrations of DMS were simultaneously measured in both water and air at the sea surface on board a vessel during a trans-Pacific cruise around 40° N in August 1988. Those in the surface seawater varied widely with a mean of 162 ng S/1 and a standard deviation of 134 ng S/1 (n=37), but the variation was not a mere fluctuation and the high concentration (376 ng S/1) was found in the area between 145° W and 170° W. The atmospheric DMS concentration varied more widely with a mean value of 177 ng S/m³ and a standard deviation of 203 ng S/m³ (n=23). The diurnal variation of DMS was not significant in the air near the sea surface. However, the concentrations in the surface water was fairly well correlated with those in the surface air. The correlation coefficient (r ²=0.86) was larger than that between the atmospheric concentration and outflux of DMS (r ²=0.64). These findings mean that the turnover time of DMS in the atmosphere is not extremely short. Based on the linear relation between the atmospheric and seawater DMS, the turnover time of the atmospheric DMS has been calculated to be 0.9 days with an uncertainty of around 50%. The oxidation rate agrees fairly well with that expected from the OH radical concentration in the marine atmosphere.     

日本结构控制的工程应用

提出了包括基础隔震系统、质量阻尼系统和其他阻尼器的结构振动控制系统,阐述了结构控制系统在日本的实际工程应用,同时还介绍了于2000年11月召开的第二届日本结构控制学术会议的情况.     

Fractionation of azaarenes during oil migration

A comparative study of alkylbenzoquinolines in crude oils and rock extracts (bitumens) from Japan and Sumatra shows that the ratios of nitrogen-masked isomers (NMIs) to nitrogen-exposed isomers (NEIs), and the ratio of higher homologs to lower homologs is higher in crude oils than in corresponding bitumens. Also, a regular increase in the ratios of NMIs to NEIs with increasing migration distance is observed for a series of crude oils from the Sarukawa Oil Field, northeastern Japan. These results are attributed to the preferential migration of NMIs caused by their weak adsorption on clay minerals and/or their low solubility in interstitial water, and the selective removal of lower honologs caused by their irreversible adsorption onto clays during oil migration, which are regarded as geochromatographic phenomena. It is suggested that those ratios can be used to estimate the degree of fractionation of oils during primary and secondary migration.     

A simple fractionation method for determination of phosphorus components in phytoplankton: Application to natural populations of phytoplankton in summer surface waters of Tokyo Bay

A simple procedure for fractionation of phosphorus components in natural populations of phytoplankton has been developed. By a combination of a trichloroacetic acid (TCA) extraction, a hot dilute acid treatment, a charcoal treatment and an organic solvent extraction, cellular phosphorus was divided into orthophosphate, nucleotide phosphorus, sugar phosphates, acid-soluble polyphosphates, lipid phosphorus, nucleic acid phosphorus, acid-insoluble polyphosphates, and residual phosphorus. The recovery of phosphorus was 94±5%. This technique was applied to natural populations of phytoplankton in summer surface waters of Tokyo Bay. Nucleic acid phosphorus and orthophosphate were most abundant, and accounted for 30 to 50% of total phytoplankton phosphorus. The nucleic acid phosphorus was proportional to the biomass of phytoplankton, irrespective of ambient nutrient concentrations. The orthophosphate showed the largest change in association with the change in cellular phosphorus content as well as in ambient phosphate. The orthophosphate serves as a phosphorus reserve in the natural populations of phytoplankton in summer surface waters of Tokyo Bay whereSkeletonema costatum was dominant. Acid-insoluble polyphosphates tended to increase when ambient concentration of phosphate was high, but their amounts were almost one order of magnitude lower than that of orthophosphate.     

Photographic monitoring system for observing heavy free-falling objects: Multi-stage design packages of radioactive waste

In the consideration of safety it is required that packages containing radioactive wastes when dumped at sea should keep their integrity and retain their contents until they reach the seabed. Packages containing simulated radioactive wastes (non-radioactive) were tested by a free-fall method at depthsca. 4,300 m in an area for dumping industrial waste off Shikoku Island. Since the weight of the largest package was 4,300 kg, special attention was paid to the connection of a buoyancy system with mooring rope. Descent and ascent velocities of the free-fall system were calculated prior to the experiment. A free-fall experiment with an extremely heavy object, heavier than ever previously reported, was accomplished without trouble by using the free-fall system. Recovery of a camera, flash-light, and other components was successful in each of the three experiments. Successive photographing of the package during descent was made and its integrity was observed using the photographs taken by the recovered camera. The packages remained intact during descent and at least for a short time after arrival on the seabed.     

Influence of submarine fumaroles on the distribution of mercury in the sediment of Kagoshima Bay,Japan

To estimate the influence of mercury emitted from submarine fumaroles, the horizontal and vertical distribution of mercury in sediment of Kagoshima Bay was studied. The fumaroles are located in the northern bay head area, and the sediment samples had been taken from 52 points throughout the bay with a gravity core sampler. The core samples obtained were cut at a thickness of 1–2 cm and used for measurements. The total concentration of mercury in surface sediment in the northern and central areas of the bay was 51–679 μg kg^− 1 (average 199 μg kg^− 1, n = 22) and 23–100 μg kg^− 1 (average 55 μg kg^− 1, n = 30), respectively. The highest value was obtained in the vicinity of the fumaroles. The mercury concentration in sediment near the fumaroles varied with depth, which may reflect the variation in fumarolic activity. A successive extraction method was applied to the speciation of mercury in the sediment. The results showed that sediment taken in the vicinity of submarine fumaroles contained a higher percentage of mercury bound with organic matter.