Simulation of soil liquefaction distribution in downtown Mashiki during 2016 Kumamoto earthquake using nonlinear site response

Bulletin of Earthquake Engineering - Several sites located between Road No.28 and Akitsu River in downtown Mashiki were liquefied during the mainshock of the 2016 Kumamoto earthquake. According to...     

Revisiting 26Al‐26Mg systematics of plagioclase in H4 chondrites

Zinner and Göpel ( 1992 , 2002 ) found clear evidence for the former presence of ²⁶Al in the H4 chondrites Ste. Marguerite and Forest Vale. They assumed that the ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg systematics of these chondrites date “metamorphic cooling of the H4 parent body.” Plagioclase in these chondrites can have very high Al/Mg ratios and low Mg concentrations, making these ion probe analyses susceptible to ratio bias, which is inversely proportional to the number of counts of the denominator isotope (Ogliore et al. 2011 ). Zinner and Göpel ( 2002 ) used the mean of the ratios to calculate the isotope ratios, which exacerbates this problem. We analyzed the Al/Mg ratios and Mg isotopic compositions of plagioclase grains in thin sections of Ste. Marguerite, Forest Vale, Beaver Creek, and Sena to evaluate the possible influence of ratio bias on the published initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios for these meteorites. We calculated the isotope ratios using total counts, a less biased method of calculating isotope ratios. The results from our analyses are consistent with those from Zinner and Göpel ( 2002 ), indicating that ratio bias does not significantly affect ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg results for plagioclase in these chondrites. Ste. Marguerite has a clear isochron with an initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratio indicating that it cooled to below 450 °C 5.2 ± 0.2 Myr after CAIs. The isochrons for Forest Vale and Beaver Creek also show clear evidence that ²⁶Al was alive when they cooled, but the initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios are not well constrained. Sena does not show evidence that ²⁶Al was alive when it cooled to below the Al‐Mg closure temperature. Given that metallographic cooling rates for Ste. Marguerite, Forest Vale, and Beaver Creek are atypical (>5000 °C/Myr at 500 °C) compared with most H4s, including Sena, which have cooling rates of 10–50 °C/Myr at 500 °C (Scott et al. 2014 ), we conclude that the Al‐Mg systematics for Ste. Marguerite, Forest Vale, and Beaver Creek are the result of impact excavation of these chondrites and cooling at the surface of the parent body, instead of undisturbed cooling at depth in the H chondrite parent body, like many have assumed.     

Comparison of hydroelastic computer codes based on the ISSC VLFS benchmark

There has been substantial development in computer codes for linear hydroelasticity in recent years, driven in part by the motivation to investigate the wave-induced response of very large floating structures (VLFSs). A recent International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress (ISSC) state-of-the-art report on VLFS design and analysis [ISSC, 2006. Report of Specialist Task Committee VI.2, very large floating structures. In: Frieze, P.A., Shenoi, R.A. (eds.), Proceedings of the 16th International Ship and Offshore Structures Congress, Elsevier, Southampton, UK, pp. 397-451] included a brief comparative study of the simulation results from different computer codes for a pontoon (mat-like) VLFS. The codes covered a mix of both fluid models (potential and linear Green-Naghdi) and structural models (3-D grillage, 2-D plate, 3-D shell). A more detailed comparison of the results from a select group of models from that study is provided and discussed herein. The similarities in the results increase the confidence level of the state-of-the-art in predicting the hydroelastic response of such structures, and the differences, including in computational efficiency, lead to an understanding of the significance of specific modeling assumptions and their impact on the predicted response.     

Oxygen isotopic composition of an enstatite ribbon of probable cometary origin

Filamentary enstatite crystals are found in interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) of likely cometary origin but are very rare or absent in meteorites. Crystallographic characteristics of filamentary enstatites indicate that they condensed directly from vapor. We measured the O isotopic composition of an enstatite ribbon from a giant cluster IDP to be δ¹⁸O = 25 ± 55, δ¹⁷O = ?19 ± 129, ?¹⁷O = ?32 ± 134 (2σ errors), which is inconsistent at the 2σ level with the composition of the Sun inferred from the Genesis solar wind measurements. The particle's O isotopic composition, consistent with the terrestrial composition, implies that it condensed from a gas of nonsolar O isotopic composition, possibly as a result of vaporization of disk region enriched in ¹⁶O‐depleted solids. The relative scarcity of filamentary enstatite in asteroids compared to comets implies either that this crystal condensed from dust vaporized in situ in the outer solar system where comets formed or it condensed in the inner solar system and was subsequently transported outward to the comet‐forming region.     

Age gap between the intrusion of gneissose granitoids and regional high‐temperature metamorphism in the Ryoke belt (Mikawa area), central Japan

The relationships between the intrusion of gneissose granitoids and the attainment of regional high‐T conditions recorded in metamorphic rocks from the Ryoke belt of the Mikawa area, central Japan, are explored. Seven gneissose granitoid samples (tonalite, granodiorite, granite) were collected from three distinct plutonic bodies that are mapped as the so‐called “Older Ryoke granitoids.” Based on bulk‐rock compositions and U–Pb zircon ages obtained by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry, the analyzed granitoids can be separated into two groups. Gneissose granitoids from the northern part of the area give weighted mean ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U ages of 99 ±1 Ma (two samples) and 95 ±1 Ma (one sample), whereas those from the southern part yield 81 ±1 Ma (two samples) and 78–77 ±1 Ma (two samples). Regional comparisons allow correlation of the northern granitoids (99–95 Ma) with the Kiyosaki granodiorite, and mostly with the Kamihara tonalite found to the east. The southern granitoids are tentatively renamed as “78–75 Ma (Hbl)?Bt granite” and “81–75 Ma Hbl?Bt tonalite” (Hbl, hornblende; Bt, biotite). and seem to be broadly coeval members of the same magmatic suite. With respect to available age data, no gneissose granitoid from the Mikawa area shows a U–Pb zircon age which matches that of high‐T metamorphism (ca 87 Ma). The southern gneissose granitoids (81–75 Ma), although they occur in the highest‐grade metamorphic zone, do not seem to represent the heat source which produced the metamorphic field gradient with a low dP/dT slope.     

Variable gain feedback control technique of active mass damper and its application to hybrid structural control

A systematic design procedure and an algorithm are devised for variable gain feedback (VGF) control of buildings with active mass damper (AMD) systems. The limit of the stroke length of the auxiliary mass, which is considered to be one of the most important physical constraints for application of AMD systems to actual structures, is studied. A set of variable feedback gains is designed as a function of a single variable that indicates a trade-off between the reduction of the building response and the amplitude of the auxiliary mass stroke, and this variable is on-line controlled to keep the amplitude of the auxiliary mass stroke constant, and within its limits. A design method of static output feedback controller for modal control of buildings with non-classical damping is also presented. Next, an efficient control method for hybrid structural control is developed, with combined use of the VGF control and the static output feedback control. It is shown through numerical examples that the proposed control method effectively adapts the control performance according to the variation in the intensity level of the external excitations in such a manner that the amplitude of the auxiliary mass stroke is kept within its limits and the control power is restrained as well. The application range of the AMD systems is thereby improved significantly. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fifty years of the 137°E repeat hydrographic section in the western North Pacific Ocean

The 137°E repeat hydrographic section of the Japan Meteorological Agency across the western North Pacific was initiated in 1967 as part of the Cooperative Study of the Kuroshio and Adjacent Regions and has been continued biannually in winter and summer. The publicly available data from the section have been widely used to reveal seasonal to decadal variations and long-term changes of currents and water masses, biogeochemical and biological properties, and marine pollutants in relation to climate variability such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary in 2016, this review summarizes the history and scientific achievements of the 137°E section during 1967–2016. Through the publication of more than 100 papers over this 50-year span, with the frequency and significance of the publication increasing in time, the 137°E section has demonstrated its importance for future investigations of physical–biogeochemical–biological interactions on various spatiotemporal scales, and thereby its utility in enhancing process understanding to aid projections of the impact of future climate change on ocean resources and ecosystems over the twenty-first century.     

Identification of the fronts from the Kuroshio Extension to the Subarctic Current using absolute dynamic topographies in satellite altimetry products

The climatologies and variabilities of the fronts associated with the Kuroshio Extension (KE), the Kuroshio Extension Northern Branch (KENB), the flow along the Subarctic Boundary (SAB), and the Subarctic Current (SAC) are identified by a new method based on the absolute dynamic height product from the archiving, validation, and interpretation of satellite oceanographic data (the AVISO product). The fronts are detected by examining the specific contour values of the absolute dynamic topography (ADT) in the AVISO product. The (time-varying) specific contour values are decided from the local maxima of the averaged surface geostrophic velocity along the ADT. Assuming the specific contours as the front locations, we obtain an occurrence frequency map of the four front locations, and determine the monthly variability of the fronts over the 1993–2015 period. The results are validated by hydrographic observations. The KE and KENB east of the Shatsky Rise migrate southward several times at a speed of ~ 0.2 cm s^?1, while the SAB and SAC are mostly stationary.     

Development of a new operational system for monitoring and forecasting coastal and open-ocean states around Japan

We developed a new system to monitor and forecast coastal and open-ocean states around Japan for operational use by the Japan Meteorological Agency. The system consists of an eddy-resolving analysis model based on four-dimensional variational assimilation and a high (2-km) resolution forecast model covering Japanese coastal areas that incorporates an initialization scheme with temporal and spatial filtering. Assimilation and forecast experiments were performed for 2008 to 2017, and the results were validated against various observation datasets. The assimilation results captured well the observed variability in sea surface temperature, coastal sea level, volume transport, and sea ice. Furthermore, the volume budget for the Japan Sea was significantly improved by the use of the 2-km resolution forecast model compared with the 10-km resolution analysis model. The forecast results indicate that this system has a predictive limit longer than 1 month in many areas, including in the Kuroshio current area south of Japan and the southern Japan Sea. In the forecast results of case studies, the 2017 Kuroshio large meander was well predicted, and warm water intrusions accompanying Kuroshio path variations south of Japan were also successfully reproduced. Sea ice forecasts for the Sea of Okhotsk largely captured the evolution of sea ice in late winter, but sea ice in early winter included relatively large errors. This system has high potential to meet operational requirements for monitoring and forecasting ocean phenomena at both meso- and coastal scales.