Chemostratigraphic documentation of a complete Miocene intermediate-depth section in the Southern Ocean: Ocean Drilling Program Site 1120, Campbell Plateau off New Zealand

An integrated chemostratigraphic (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O) study of benthic foraminifera is presented for a 210 m-thick, intermediate depth (upper/middle bathyal transition), Miocene nannofossil ooze section of Ocean Drilling Program Site 1120, Campbell Plateau off New Zealand. Our results indicate that new ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O profiles are wholly consistent with their respective Miocene reference curves. These observations facilitate identification of a total of five reliable chemostratigraphic datums, which are based on the fundamental structural changes in the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr curve and paired simultaneous δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O events. The resultant age–depth relationship clearly shows that the Miocene (20–5 Ma) biopelagic sedimentation on the Campbell Plateau was essentially continuous at a moderate to high, linear sedimentation rate (17.5 m/m.y. with an exception of the uppermost 13 m). Our findings do not support the shipboard biostratigraphic age model, which assumes that the critical early–middle Miocene transition was interrupted by a major hiatus (<~3 m.y.). Because of its unique bathymetric setting at a paleowater-depth of ~ 600 m, which is among the shallowest of the coeval isotopically studied deep-sea sections in the South Pacific/Southern Ocean, Site 1120 will serve as a reference section for surveying the evolution of intermediate-water paleoceanography in the Southern Hemisphere across the middle Miocene climatic transition.     

Sulfate reduction using methane in sediments beneath a bathyal “cold seep” giant clam community off Hatsushima Island, Sagami Bay, Japan

Two sandy sediment cores (Cores D227-120 and D380) were collected from inside a deep-sea giant clam (Calyptogena soyoae) community off Hatsushima Island, western Sagami Bay, central Japan (35°59.9′N, 139°13.6′E; 1160 m deep) and a muddy sediment core (Core D227-202) was obtained from outside the community by the submersibleShinkai 2000. The chloride concentration of the pore waters is constant vertically and sulfate reduction using sedimentary organic matter occurs in Core D227-202 (21 cm long). The chloride concentrations are lower by 7% at the 7.5–9 cm depth in Core D227-120 (9 cm long) and by 3% at the 11–12 cm depth in Core D380 (16 cm long) than those of the overlying bottom waters in the cores from inside of the community. Sulfate concentration decreases remarkably and dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, ammonium-N, and hydrogen sulfide concentrations increase significantly with increasing depth in Core D380.δ³⁴S values of sulfate ions increase from +20.5 to +35.3‰ andδ¹³C values of dissolved inorganic carbon decrease drastically from −7.0 to −45‰ with increasing depth from the top to the bottom of the core, although theδ¹³C values of the organic carbon of the sediments are−23.7 ± 0.9‰ in Core D380. These results indicate that sulfate reduction using methane is active within the sediments just beneath the living clams and that the hydrogen sulfide produced can be used by endosymbiotic sulfur oxidizing bacteria living in the gills ofC. soyoae in the community.     

Magnetostratigraphic dating of Early Miocene deep-sea fossils from the Morozaki Group in central Japan

Early Miocene sediments of the Morozaki Group in central Japan contain deep-sea fossils that have been dated using biostratigraphic and radiometric data. In this study, we utilize magnetostratigraphy to provide a more precise age for mudstones from just below the layer containing the fossils. Rock magnetic experiments suggest that both magnetic iron sulfide and Ti-poor titanomagnetite carry the remanent magnetization of the mudstones. Two different stratigraphic sites have normal polarity directions with a northeastern declination, which can be correlated with Chronozone C5Dn. Given their magnetostratigraphic position near the C5Dn/C5Dr chronozone boundary (17.466 Ma) and a high sedimentation rate, the estimated age for both the sites and the deep-sea fossils is ~17.4 Ma. The northeasterly-directed site-mean directions suggest clockwise tectonic rotation, most likely due to the Early Miocene clockwise rotation of Southwest Japan associated with the back-arc opening of the Japan Sea. The deep-sea fossils, dated at ~17.4 Ma, represent organisms deposited within a submarine structural depression formed by crustal extension during the back-arc opening stage.     

Effects of salinity downshock on dimethylsulfide production

During time-series observations in Sagami Bay, Japan, the concentration of dissolved dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP_d), a precursor of dimethylsulfide (DMS), was negatively correlated with salinity. In the laboratory, low-salinity shock reduced DMS production rates of the natural bacterial community and induced rapid DMSP release from a dinophyte, Heterocapsa triquetra, suggesting that low-salinity shock reduced DMSP_d consumption but enhanced DMSP_d production, which agrees with the negative correlation between DMSP_d and salinity observed in Sagami bay. In addition, low-salinity shock did not affect DMSP lyase activity of H. triquetra. Low-salinity shock would increase the contribution from algae in DMS production, leading to an increase in potential DMS productivity in the environment.     

An Evaluation Method of the Effect of Observation Environment on Air Temperature Measurement

Near-surface air temperature is the most important variable in the climatic analysis of global warming. The air temperature near the surface is affected by the artificial surface (asphalt, concrete and buildings for example) surrounding the thermometer. However, there is no quantitative method for evaluating the observational environment. Therefore, a practical evaluation method with a scientific basis is required to aid observational network managers and data users. The magnitude of the artificial surface influence on the air temperature and its characteristics are investigated using numerical experiments with various road widths and wind speeds. The results show that the temperature increase in the lee of the road depends on the distance from the road, the road width, the wind speed and the thermal stratification and that the temperature increase can be estimated using an analytical footprint model. In order to estimate the largest value of the temperature increase, a function is developed from the footprint model; it depends on the normalized distance based on the road width, and thus can be calculated easily. A practical method using this function is proposed for the evaluation of the effect of the observational environment.     

Latitudinal change in benthic foraminiferal fauna by ITCZ movement along the ~131°W transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

Modern and fossil benthic foraminifera were examined from nine surface sediments and two piston cores along the ~131°W transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This study was conducted to clarify the biotic response of abyssal benthic foraminifera during the last 220 ka to changes in the seasonal extent of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The abundance of modern benthic foraminifera was high at stations between the equator and 6°N, whereas it was low at stations north of 6°N, which is generally consistent with the latitudinal CaCO₃ distribution of surface sediments. The northward increase of Epistominella exigua from the equator to ~6°N is similar to the seasonal variations in chlorophyll-a concentrations in the surface water and ITCZ position along ~131°W. This species was more common at core PC5103 (~6°N) than at core PC5101 (~2°N) after ~130 ka, when the Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) between the two cores started to diverge. Hence, the presentday latitudinal difference in benthic foraminifera (E. exigua and species diversity) between ~2°N and ~6°N along ~131°W has been generally established since ~130 ka. According to the modern relationship between the seasonality of primary production and seasonal ITCZ variations in the northern margin of the ITCZ, the latitudinal divergence of benthic foraminiferal fauna between ~2°N and ~6°N since ~130 ka appear to have been induced by more distinct variations in the seasonal movement of ITCZ.     

Series expansion of complex ground amplifications with a sequence of simple transfer functions

Amplification of earthquake ground motions at actual deposit sites is an important factor to consider when assessing the risk of an earthquake disaster. In order to identify the amplification properties, several preprocessings such as the Fourier transform are required. I propose a series expansion of the amplification with simple ground transfer functions as a new preprocessing. I define a sequence of transfer functions based on a two‐layered structure excluding an internal damping and a function space spanned by the set of the functions. I mathematically prove that the function space is equal to L² space. This indicates that all the functions belonging to L² space, that is, an arbitrary ground amplification, have a unique series expansion. This expansion is applied to the physics‐based decomposition of the amplification. Some numerical examples indicate that the similarity between a target complex structure and a simple model is measured by the absolute value of each coefficient in the series expansion. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Finite-element Simulation of Seismic Ground Motion with a Voxel Mesh

— Accurate simulation of seismic ground motion for three-dimensionally complex topography and structures is one of the most important goals of strong motion seismology. The finite-element method (FEM) is well suited for this kind of simulation, since traction-free conditions are already included in the formulation, and the Courant condition is less strict than for the finite-difference method (FDM). However, the FEM usually requires both large memory and computation time. These limitations can be overcome by using a mesh consisting of voxels (rectangular prisms) with isotropy built into the explicit formulation of the dynamic matrix equation. Since operators in the voxel FEM are the combinations of ordinary FDM operators and additional terms, the method keeps accuracy of the same order as FDM and the terms relax the Courant condition. The voxel FEM requires a similar amount of memory and only takes 1.2～1.4 times longer computation time. The voxel mesh can be generated considerably faster than the popular tetrahedral mesh. Both ground motions and static displacements due to a point or line source can be calculated using the voxel FEM approach. Comparisons with the reflectivity method and theoretical solutions demonstrate the successful implementation of the method, which is then applied to more complex problems.