Upwelling of oxygen-depleted water (Sumishio) in Omura Bay,Japan

Wind-induced circulation and the distribution of hypoxia corresponding to the upwelling of oxygen-depleted water (called “Aoshio” in Japan and “Sumishio” locally in Omura Bay) in Omura Bay, Japan, was examined field observations and by three-dimensional modeling. During the calm weather in summer, well-mixed strait water, in rich oxygen at the mouth of the bay intruded into the middle layer of the bay, southward and northward along the west and east coast, respectively, forming basin-scale cyclonic circulation. A stagnant water mass was formed below the center of this cyclonic circulation, and it became hypoxic water. As a result of the prevailing strong southeast (northeast) wind, the bottom hypoxia moved in a southeasterly (northeasterly) direction. This induces the upwelling of hypoxic water, accompanied by mass mortality of marine organisms.     

Polarized infrared absorbance spectra of an optically anisotropic crystal: Application to the orientation of the OH- dipole in quartz

The polarized infrared (IR) absorbance spectrum was formulated for an optically anisotropic crystal under the conditions of Fourier transform microspectroscopy. The adequacy of this formulation was confirmed by comparison of calculated interference fringes with those observed in polarized absorbance spectra of optically anisotropic crystal. In accordance with the formulated absorbance, an experimental constraint for the correct measurement of polarized IR absorbance spectrum of optically anisotropic crystal is proposed. Under this experimental constraint, polarized IR absorbance spectra of quartz from Arkansas were measured. They show that the orientation of OH^- dipole which compensates the charge balance coupled with Al³⁺ in quartz is highly polarized perpendicular to the c-axis.     

Morphology of intergranular pores and wetting angles in pelitic schists studied by transmission electron microscopy

In pelitic schists composed mainly of quartz and albite grains, the morphology of intergranular pores, which were filled with water, was studied by transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Although some pores are defined by crystallographic planes (F-face), most of their form has an ideal shape determined by interface tensions between grains and fluid. High-resolution TEM observations demonstrate that pore-free regions at grain boundaries are tight even at the nanometer scale, showing that the wetting angle is larger than 0° in this rock. The pore distribution in two-grain junctions can be compared to a "necklace microstructure" developed by instability of a fluid film along the boundary induced by microcracking. Wetting angles for pores located at grain edges of quartz and albite decrease in the order albite/albite, quartz/quartz, and quartz/albite. The quartz/quartz wetting angle in a calcite-free sample is smaller than that in a calcite-containing sample. This angle also changes due to grain misorientation. Our results confirm that solid-solid and solid-fluid interfacial energies control the geometry of intergranular fluid in natural rocks.     

A multilayer model for thermal infrared emission of Saturn’s rings II: Albedo, spins, and vertical mixing of ring particles inferred from Cassini CIRS

Since the Saturn orbit insertion of the Cassini spacecraft in mid-2004, the Cassini composite infrared spectrometer (CIRS) measured temperatures of Saturn’s main rings at various observational geometries. In the present study, we apply our new thermal model (Morishima, R., Salo, H., Ohtsuki, K. [2009]. Icarus 201, 634-654) for fitting to the early phase Cassini data (Spilker, L.J., and 11 colleagues [2006]. Planet. Space Sci. 54, 1167-1176). Our model is based on classical radiative transfer and takes into account the heat transport due to particle motion in the azimuthal and vertical directions. The model assumes a bimodal size distribution consisting of small fast rotators and large slow rotators. We estimated the bolometric Bond albedo, A_V, the fraction of fast rotators in cross section, f_fast, and the thermal inertia, Γ, by the data fitting at every radius from the inner C ring to the outer A ring. The albedo A_V is 0.1-0.4, 0.5-0.7, 0.4, 0.5 for the C ring, the B ring, the Cassini division, and the A ring, respectively. The fraction f_fast depends on the ratio of scale height of fast rotators to that of slow rotators, h_r. When h_r = 1, f_fast is roughly half for the entire rings, except for the A ring, where f_fast increases from 0.5 to 0.9 with increasing saturnocentric radius. When h_r increases from 1 to 3, f_fast decreases by 0.2-0.4 for the B and A rings while no change in f_fast is seen for the optically thin C ring and Cassini division. The large f_fast seen in the outer A ring probably indicates that a large number of small particles detach from large particles in high velocity collisions due to satellite perturbations or self-gravity wakes. The thermal inertia, Γ, is constrained from the efficiency of the vertical heat transport due to particle motion between the lit and unlit faces, and is coupled with the type of vertical motion. We found that in most regions, except for the mid B ring, sinusoidal vertical motion without bouncing is more reasonable than cycloidal motion assuming bouncing at the midplane, because the latter motion gives too large Γ as compared with previous estimations. For the mid B ring, where the optical depth is highest in Saturn’s rings, cycloidal vertical motion is more reasonable than sinusoidal vertical motion which gives too small Γ.     

GRMHD/RMHD simulations & stability of magnetized spine-sheath relativistic jets

A new general relativistic magnetohydrodynamics (GRMHD) code “RAISHIN” used to simulate jet generation by rotating and non-rotating black holes with a geometrically thin Keplarian accretion disk finds that the jet develops a spine-sheath structure in the rotating black hole case. Spine-sheath structure and strong magnetic fields significantly modify the Kelvin-Helmholtz (KH) velocity shear driven instability. The RAISHIN code has been used in its relativistic magnetohydrodynamic (RMHD) configuration to study the effects of strong magnetic fields and weakly relativistic sheath motion, c/2, on the KH instability associated with a relativistic, γ=2.5, jet spine-sheath interaction. In the simulations sound speeds up to and Alfvén wave speeds up to ∼0.56c are considered. Numerical simulation results are compared to theoretical predictions from a new normal mode analysis of the RMHD equations. Increased stability of a weakly magnetized system resulting from c/2 sheath speeds and stabilization of a strongly magnetized system resulting from c/2 sheath speeds is found.     

Effects of large-scale wind on the Kuroshio path south of Japan in a 60-year historical OGCM simulation

The effects of large-scale wind forcing on the bimodality of the Kuroshio path south of Japan, the large meander (LM) and non-large meander (NLM), were studied by using a historical simulation (1948–2007) with a high-resolution Ocean general circulation models (OGCM). The Kuroshio in this simulation spent much time in the NLM state, and reproduced several aspects of its long-term path variability for the first time in historical OGCM simulation, presumably because the eddy kinetic energy was kept at a moderate level. By using the simulated fields, the relationships between wind forcing (or Kuroshio transport) and path variation proposed by past studies were tested, and specific roles of eddies in those variations were investigated. The long-term variation of the simulated net Kuroshio transport south of Japan was largely explained by the linear baroclinic Rossby wave adjustment to wind forcing. In the simulated LM events, a triggering meander originated from the interaction of a wind-induced positive sea surface height (SSH) anomaly with the upstream Kuroshio and was enlarged by cyclonic eddies from the recirculation gyre. The cyclonic eddy of the trigger meander was followed by a sizable anticyclonic eddy on the upstream side. Subsequently, a weak (strong) Kuroshio favored the LM (NLM). The LM tended to be maintained when the Kuroshio transport off southern Japan was small, and increasing Kuroshio transport promoted decay of an existing LM. The supply of disturbances from upstream, which is related to the wind-induced SSH variability at low latitudes, contributed to the maintenance of an existing LM.     

Long-term (36-year) observations on the dynamics of the fish-killing raphidophyte Chattonella in Harima-Nada,eastern Seto Inland Sea,Japan

Long-term changes of the fish-killing raphidophyte Chattonella spp. (Chattonella antiqua, Chattonella marina and Chattonella ovata) were examined in relation to environmental factors at 19 sampling stations in Harima-Nada, eastern Seto Inland Sea, Japan, for 36 years from 1973 to 2008. Long-term trends in the dynamics of Chattonella populations were considered to relate to environmental factors such as nutrient concentrations and water temperature. High nutrient levels during the period from the 1970s to the early 1980s have contributed to the high cell density and large-scale red tides of Chattonella spp. in Harima-Nada. However, nutrient levels exhibited a decreasing trend thereafter, and it is thought that Chattonella spp. cannot form large-scale blooms under the present conditions. After the mid-1990s, the occurrence period of vegetative cells of Chattonella spp. has been several weeks or 1 month earlier than that of the 1970s and early 1980s, and the appearance frequency of Chattonella spp. has increased in the northern coastal area, although the cell density and the spatial scale of the distribution have become lower and smaller than those in the previous decades. It is suggested that the timing of germination of Chattonella cysts has become earlier as a result of the increase in water temperature, and the chances of vegetative growth have also increased, especially at the northern coast where most of large rivers discharge into the Harima-Nada. In addition, the present results revealed that fewer diatoms were also one of the significant factors for the high abundance of Chattonella spp. in Harima-Nada.     

Visible and near-infrared spectral survey of Martian meteorites stored at the National Institute of Polar Research

Martian meteorite chip samples stored at the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) have been studied by a visible and near-infrared (VNIR) spectrometer. Measured spots are about 3 × 2 mm in size, which are clearly marked on photographs of the meteorite chips. Rock types and approximate mineral compositions of studied meteorites have been identified or obtained through this spectral survey with no sample preparation required. This study demonstrates that this kind of spectral survey is effective in classifying and describing Marian meteorites, and that such a VNIR spectrometer on a Mars rover would be useful for identifying these kinds of unaltered Mars rocks. Further studies which utilize a smaller spot size are desired for improving the accuracy of identifying the clasts and mineral phases in the rocks.     

Rotation rate and velocity dispersion of planetary ring particles with size distribution: I. Formulation and analytic calculation

We derive an equation for the evolution of rotational energy of Keplerian particles in a dilute disk due to mutual collisions. Three-dimensional Keplerian motion of particles is taken into account precisely, on the basis of Hill's approximation. The Rayleigh distribution of particles' orbital eccentricities and inclinations, and the Gaussian distribution of their rotation rates are also taken into account. Performing appropriate variable transformation, we show that the equation can be expressed with two terms. The first term, which we call collisional stirring term, represents energy exchange between rotation and random motion via collisions. The second term, which we call rotational friction term, tends to equalize the mean rotational energy of particles with different sizes. The equation can describe the evolution of rotational energy of Keplerian particles with an arbitrary size distribution. We analytically evaluate the rates of stirring and friction for the random kinetic energy and rotational energy due to inelastic collisions, for non-gravitating particles in a dilute disk. Using these results, we discuss equilibrium states in a disk of spinning, non-gravitating Keplerian particles.     

Petrology and geochemistry of a silicate clast from the Mount Padbury mesosiderite: Implications for metal‐silicate mixing events of mesosiderite

Abstract— Petrological and bulk geochemical studies were performed on a large silicate clast from the Mount Padbury mesosiderite. The silicate clast is composed mainly of pyroxene and plagioclase with minor amounts of ilmenite, spinel, and other accessory minerals, and it shows subophitic texture. Pyroxenes in the clast are similar to those in type 5 eucrites and could have experienced prolonged thermal metamorphism after rapid crystallization from a near‐surface melt. Ilmenite and spinel vary chemically, indicating growth under disequilibrium conditions. The clast seems to have experienced an episode of rapid reheating and cooling, possibly as a result of metal‐silicate mixing. Abundances of siderophile elements are obviously higher than in eucrites, although the clast is also extremely depleted in highly siderophile elements. The fractionated pattern can be explained by injection of Fe‐FeS melts generated by partial melting of metallic portions during metal‐silicate mixing. The silicate clast had a complex petrogenesis that could have included: 1) rapid crystallization from magma in a lava flow or a shallow intrusion; 2) prolonged thermal metamorphism to equilibrate the mineral compositions of pyroxene and plagioclase after primary crystallization; 3) metal‐silicate mixing probably caused by the impact of solid metal bodies on the surface of the mesosiderite parent body; and 4) partial melting of metal and sulfide portions (and silicate in some cases) caused by the collisional heating, which produced Fe‐FeS melts with highly fractionated siderophile elements that were injected into silicate portions along cracks and fractures.