Diurnal variations of the planetary boundary layer observed with anL-band clear-air doppler radar

Based on continuous observations of the planetary boundary layer (PBL) with anL-band (1357.5 MHz) boundary-layer radar (BLR) at a hilly location in Japan, we have discovered that on clear days, a thin enhanced echo layer corresponding to the top of the PBL (or mixed layer) appeared at about 500 m height in the morning and ascended to about 1500 m in the afternoon. Strong upward velocities were observed below the echo layer (or inside the PBL), reaching 1500 m in the afternoon.     

Ambient air measurements of six bifunctional carbonyls in a suburban area

Low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds, generated by photochemical reactions in the atmosphere and found in the exhaust of motor vehicles, have recently come to the attention of researchers because some of them are suspected carcinogens or mutagens. Six bifunctional carbonyl compounds were detected and measured in a suburban site 30 km northwest of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Samples were taken on five sunny days between 2 August and 11 August 2003 with a low-volume denuder and three-filter tandem system using O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) as a sorbent. Bifunctional carbonyls were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry after two derivatization processes with PFBHA and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA). The average total (gas plus particle) concentrations were 162.8 ng m^− 3 for pyruvic acid, 113.7 ng m^− 3 for methylglyoxal, 36.0 ng m^− 3 for glycolaldehyde and 58.6 ng m^− 3 for glyoxal.     

Monitoring Quiescent Volcanoes by Diffuse CO2 Degassing: Case Study of Mt. Fuji, Japan

Since the 8th century, more than seventeen eruptions have been recorded for the Mt. Fuji volcano, with the most recent eruption occurring in 1707 (Hoei eruption). For the past 300 years the volcano has been in a quiescent stage and, since the early 1960s, has exhibited neither fumarolic nor thermal activity. However, the number of low-frequency earthquakes with a hypocentral depth of 10–20 km increased significantly beneath the northeastern flank of Mt. Fuji in 2000–2001, suggesting a possible resumption of magmatic activity. In this study, diffuse CO₂ efflux and thermal surveys were carried out in four areas of the volcano in 2001–2002 in order to detect possible signs of the upward movement of deep magma. At all survey points, the CO₂ efflux was below the detection limit with the exception of a few points with biological CO₂ emission, and ground temperatures at a depth of 20–30 cm were below ambient, indicating no surface manifestations of gas or heat emission. Should magma rise into the subsurface, the diffuse CO₂ efflux would be expected to increase, particularly along the tectonically weakened lineation on the Mt. Fuji volcano, allowing for the early detection of pre-eruptive degassing.     

Estimation of episodic exfoliation rates of rock sheets on a granite dome in Korea from cosmogenic nuclide analysis

We have measured concentrations of cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al produced in situ at bare bedrock surfaces of successive sheets developing on a granite dome in Korea and calculated the exfoliation rate of sheeting joints. The exfoliation rate was obtained using a simple model in which the sheeting joints experience intermittent denudation, i.e. peeling off along the bedrock face. We find that the average exfoliation (erosion) rate of the episodic peeling‐off process is 5·6 cm/ka^?1. The analysis is useful for understanding the evolution of granite sheeting structures on this dome in Korea. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intergranular trace elements in mantle xenoliths from Russian Far East: Example for mantle metasomatism by hydrous melt

Based on both major and trace element chemistry, the occurrence of the intergranular component in mantle-derived xenoliths from far eastern Russia has been constrained. Whole-rock trace element measurements of one xenolith show apparent negative anomalies in Ce, Th, and high field strength elements on normalized trace element patterns. The trace element pattern of the whole rock differs from those of constituent minerals, indicating that the anomalies in the whole rock are attributable to the presence of an intergranular component. That assumption was confirmed using in situ analysis of trace elements in the intergranular substance and melt inclusion using laser ablation inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. Both the intergranular component and the melt inclusions have identical trace element patterns, which mean that these materials are a cognate metasomatizing agent. The anomalies are regarded as mantle metasomatism related to an aqueous fluid. Hydrous minerals were observed on the wall of the melt inclusions using micro-Raman spectroscopy, indicating that the melt inclusions contained a large amount of water. Thus, this study reveals a trace element composition of a hydrous metasomatizing agent in the mantle.     

Natural and experimental structural evolution of dispersed organic matter in mudstones: The Shimanto accretionary complex,southwest Japan

Structural changes induced by thermal maturation of dispersed organic matter (OM) in the Shimanto accretionary complex, southwest Japan, were investigated using micro‐Fourier‐transform infrared spectroscopy and micro‐Raman spectroscopy. Natural dispersed OM exhibits systematic structural changes inferred from D1‐ and G‐band FWHM values, Raman band separation (RBS), and intensity ratios of the D1‐ and G‐bands (I_D1/I_G ratio) from diagenetic zone to anchizone (IC values: 0.75–0.30). Infrared spectra indicate a loss of aliphatic CH _x, aromatic CH _x, and oxygen‐containing structures as temperature increases. These changes are consistent with discontinuities in thermal structures bounded by out‐of‐sequence thrusts. Kinetic pyrolysis experiments indicate that the I_D1/I_G ratio of synthesized OM has a power law relationship with heat treatment time. Kinetic models of temperature dependence were fitted using the I_D1/I_G ratio, and an effective activation energy of 106 ±17 kJ/mol was estimated using an Arrhenius equation. The activation energies estimated by power law rate and Avrami models have a least‐square correlation coefficient of 0.93, indicating the temperature dependence of carbonization. The estimated effective activation energy is consistent with that of coal, lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose during thermal degradation. On the other hand, RBS, and D1‐ and G‐band FWHM values of OM display more complex changes with increasing heating temperature and time, and it is difficult to constrain rate parameters during pyrolysis experiments. Our data indicate that the I_D1/I_G ratio is controlled by a simple thermally activated process, whereas RBS and D1‐ and G‐band FWHM values can be affected by lithostatic pressure, fluid activity, hydrogen index, and host lithology, as well as temperature. Structural evolution of dispersed OM in mudstones differs between natural and anhydrous closed experimental systems. Natural carbonization based on micro‐Raman spectroscopy should be applied for a limited indicator of thermal maturation, especially for dispersed OM in diagenetic zone.     

Chemical Features of White Micas from the Piemonte Calc-schists, Western Alps and Implications for K–Ar Ages of Metamorphism

Anomalously large chemical ranges in muscovite-paragonite and muscovite-celadonite systems are observed in white micas from the Piemonte calcschists in the Chisone valley area, internal western Alps. The petrographical and chemical observations on white mica strongly suggest that most mica crystals with high Na/K ratios in the chlorite zone are of detrital origin, and were derived from the pre-Alpine high-temperature metamorphic sequence such the Caledonian and/or Variscan. Submicroscopic muscovite (Ms) - paragonite (Pg) composite aggregates occur in the chlorite zone and their EPMA analyses give an apparent chemical composition range from Ms_0.6Pg_0.4 to Ms_0.2Pg_0.8. In the rutile zone, the paragonite content of the white micas is less than 20%, suggesting that the white micas have been homogenized during the Alpine metamorphism even if detrital white micas existed.Metamorphic mica is also very heterogeneous. The total range in Si content becomes wider with increasing of metamorphic grade: 3.22–3.39 pfu for the chlorite zone, 3.07–3.45 pfu for the chloritoid zone and 3.06–3.59 pfu for the rutile zone. This clearly indicates that the micas have experienced significant retrogressive chemical reactions during cooling and exhumations of the host schists.The detrital white mica in the chlorite zone has not reset well in its K-Ar system during the Alpine subduction-related metamorphism. The wide range of the white mica K-Ar ages from 115 to 41 Ma must be due to a mixture of various amounts of detrital white mica in the separates. This feature is also observed in the chloritoid zone though the age variation is not so large as that in the chlorite zone. In contrast, the mica in the rutile zone, which was higher than 450°C, has been reset completely during Alpine HP metamorphism.     

实时 Ｇ Ｐ Ｓ可降水量资料的变分同化个例研究

用实时GPS可降水量(Precipitable Water, PW)资料GPSPW,针对2007年7月2-3日发生在日本九州南部地区的一次梅雨锋降水过程,设计控制试验和4个同化试验,利用WRF和WRF-Var模式进行三维变分同化研究,并用ETS评分客观评价各方案的预报效果.结果表明:实时GPSPW同化能有效地改进模式初始时刻水汽场以及预报时间内(0～6 h)的PW.背景误差水平尺度调节系数的大小对水汽场的调整范围和PW的改进程度有一定影响.GPSPW的实时性能提高降水预报业务的实时性.     

Reaction of forsterite with hydrogen molecules at high pressure and temperature

High pressure and temperature reactions of a mixture of forsterite and hydrogen molecules have been carried out using a laser heated diamond anvil cell at 9.8–13.2 GPa and ~1,000 K. In situ X-ray diffraction measurements showed no sign of decomposition or phase transitions of the forsterite under these experimental conditions, indicating that the olivine structure was maintained throughout all runs. However, a substantial expansion of the unit cell volume of the forsterite was observed for samples down to ~3 GPa upon quenching to ambient pressure at room temperature. The Raman spectroscopy measurements under pressure showed significant shifts of the Raman peaks of the Si–O vibration modes for forsterite and of the intramolecular vibration mode for H₂ molecules toward a lower frequency after heating. Additionally, no OH vibration modes were observed by Raman and FT-IR spectroscopic measurements. These lines of evidence show that the observed volume expansion in forsterite is not explained by the incorporation of hydrogen atoms as hydroxyl, but suggest the presence of hydrogen as molecules in the forsterite structure under these high pressure and temperature conditions.