Estimating vertical plant area density profile and growth parameters of a wheat canopy at different growth stages using three-dimensional portable lidar imaging

Vertical plant area density profiles of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) canopy at different growth stages (tillering, stem elongation, flowering, and ripening stages) were estimated using high-resolution portable scanning lidar based on the voxel-based canopy profiling method. The canopy was scanned three-dimensionally by laser beams emitted from several measuring points surrounding the canopy. At the ripening stage, the central azimuth angle was inclined about 23^° to the row direction to avoid obstruction of the beam into the lower canopy by the upper part. Plant area density profiles were estimated, with root mean square errors of 0.28–0.79 m² m^?3 at each growth stage and of 0.45 m² m^?3 across all growth stages. Plant area index was also estimated, with absolute errors of 4.7%–7.7% at each growth stage and of 6.1% across all growth stages. Based on lidar-derived plant area density, the area of each type of organ (stem, leaves, ears) per unit ground area was related to the actual dry weight of each organ type, and regression equations were obtained. The standard errors of the equations were 4.1 g m^?2 for ears and 26.6 g m^?2 for stems and leaves. Based on these equations, the estimated total dry weight was from 63.3 to 279.4 g m^?2 for ears and from 35.8 to 375.3 g m^?2 for stems and leaves across the growth stages. Based on the estimated dry weight at ripening and the ratio of carbon to dry weight in wheat plants, the carbon stocks were 76.3 g C m^?2 for grain, 225.0 g C m^?2 for aboveground residue, and 301.3 g C m^?2 for all aboveground organs.     

Steric sea level changes estimated from historical ocean subsurface temperature and salinity analyses

An historical objective analysis of subsurface temperature and salinity was carried out on a monthly basis from 1945 to 2003 using the latest observational databases and a sea surface temperature analysis. In addition, steric sea level changes were mainly examined using outputs of the objective analyses. The objective analysis is a revised version of Ishii et al. and is available at 16 levels in the upper 700 m depth. Artificial errors in the previous analysis during the 1990s have been worked out in the present analysis. The steric sea level computed from the temperature analysis has been verified with tide gauge observations and TOPEX/Poseidon sea surface height data. A correction for crustal movement is applied for tide gauge data along the Japanese coast. The new analysis is suitable for the discussion of global warming. Validation against the tide gauge reveals that the amplitude of thermosteric sea level becomes larger and the agreement improves in comparison with the previous analysis. A substantial part of local sea level rise along the Japanese coast appears to be explained by the thermosteric effect. The thermal expansion averaged in all longitudes from 60°S to 60°N explains at most half of recent sea level rise detected by satellite observation during the last decade. Considerable uncertainties remain in steric sea level, particularly over the southern oceans. Temperature changes within MLD make no effective contribution to steric sea level changes along the Antarctic Circumpolar Current. According to statistics using only reliable profiles of the temperature and salinity analyses, salinity variations are intrinsically important to steric sea level changes in high latitudes and in the Atlantic Ocean. Although data sparseness is severe even in the latest decade, linear trends of global mean thermosteric and halosteric sea level for 1955 to 2003 are estimated to be 0.31 ± 0.07 mm/yr and 0.04 ± 0.01 mm/yr, respectively. These estimates are comparable to those of the former studies.     

Food sources of the pearl oyster in coastal ecosystems of Japan: Evidence from diet and stable isotope analysis

We estimated the composition of two food sources for the cultured pearl oyster Pinctada fucata martensii using stable isotopes and stomach content analysis in the coastal areas of the Uwa Sea, Japan. The δ¹³C values of oysters (−17.5 to −16.8‰) were intermediate between that of particulate organic matter (POM, −20.2 to −19.1‰) and attached microalgae on pearl cages (−13.0‰). An isotope mixing model suggested that oysters were consuming 78% POM (mainly phytoplankton) and 22% attached microalgae. The attached microalgal composition of the stomach content showed a strong resemblance to the composition of that estimated through the isotope mixing model, suggesting preferential utilization of specific components is unlikely in this species. These results indicate that P. fucata martensii feed on a mixture of phytoplankton and attached microalgae, and that the attached microalgae on pearl cages can serve as an important additional food source.     

Iron, manganese and aluminum in upper waters of the western South Pacific Ocean and its adjacent seas

Total dissolvable iron, manganese and aluminum distributions in upper waters were determined in the western South Pacific, Solomon Sea, Coral Sea, and Tasman Sea. In these oceanic regions, the surface aluminum distributions well reflect the atmospheric deposition pattern of mineral dust in the western South Pacific reported previously. Surface manganese distributions derive mainly from lateral transportation from the coastal sediments of western tropical islands. Compared to Mn and Al, the Fe distributions reflect the nutrient cycle in upper waters. Iron limitation over the vast South Pacific, as revealed by physiological features of phytoplankton, seems to be caused by low atmospheric dust deposition and low Fe:N ratios in deep waters. In the western South Pacific, with its unique geographic and oceanographic settings, the local sources of trace metals might considerably affect their biogeochemical cycles.     

Wind- and density-driven circulation in a bay on the Sanriku ria coast,Japan: study of Shizugawa Bay facing the Pacific Ocean

Flow fields in Shizugawa Bay on the Sanriku ria coast, which faces the Pacific Ocean, were investigated using hydrographic observations for the purpose of understanding oceanographic conditions and the process of water exchanges in the bay after the 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku. In spring to summer, density-driven surface outflow is part of estuarine circulation and is induced by a pressure gradient force under larger longitudinal gradients in density along with lower salinity water in the innermost part of the bay, regardless of wind forcing. In winter to summer, another density-driven current with a thermal structure is induced by a pressure gradient force under the smaller longitudinal density gradients in calm wind conditions. Particularly in winter, Tsugaru Warm Current water can be transported in the surface layer inside the bay. Wind-driven bay-scale circulation with downwind and upwind currents in the surface and deeper layers, respectively, is induced by strong longitudinal wind forcing under the smaller longitudinal density gradients, irrespective of season. Particularly in fall to spring, this circulation can cause the intrusions of oceanic water associated with Oyashio water and Tsugaru Warm Current water in the deeper layer. These results suggest that wind- and density-driven currents can produce the active exchange of water from inside and outside the bay throughout the year.     

Development of a thin diatom layer observed in a stratified embayment in Japan

The temporal evolution of a thin phytoplankton layer was observed by field measurements using a research vessel and mooring instruments in the Yatsushiro Sea, a semi-enclosed narrow embayment in Japan, in early August 2013. The subsurface chlorophyll maximum developed into a thin layer within 2 days just below the pycnocline at around 10-m depth, where turbulent mixing (the dissipation rate of turbulent kinetic energy) was weak (low). The layer persisted for 1.5 to 2 days and declined after irradiance drastically decreased at the sea surface. At the peak period, the layer thickness, which is defined as the full-width at half-maximum of the peak in chlorophyll a concentration, ranged from 0.6 to 1.4 m, and the maximum concentration reached 42.3 mg m^?3. The horizontal extent of the layer was approximately 10 km along the longitudinal axis of the bay. The phytoplankton population characterized by the layer was dominated by a chain-forming centric diatom, Chaetoceros spp. The formation mechanisms of the thin diatom layer were investigated using the observed data and a vertical one-dimensional model that includes physical and biological processes. The results suggest that the development of the thin layer was caused by in situ growth and aggregation due to nutrient-dependent sinking of the species under weak turbulence. The study highlights that continuous multidisciplinary observations and understanding species-specific physiological responses to environmental variations are necessary to elucidate drastically fluctuating phytoplankton dynamics in a coastal water.     

Linear and nonlinear computations of the 1992 Nicaragua earthquake tsunami

Numerical computations of tsunamis are made for the 1992 Nicaragua earthquake using different governing equations, bottom frictional values and bathymetry data. The results are compared with each other as well as with the observations, both tide gauge records and runup heights. Comparison of the observed and computed tsunami waveforms indicates that the use of detailed bathymetry data with a small grid size is more effective than to include nonlinear terms in tsunami computation. Linear computation overestimates the amplitude for the later phase than the first arrival, particularly when the amplitude becomes large. The computed amplitudes along the coast from nonlinear computation are much smaller than the observed tsunami runup heights; the average ratio, or the amplification factor, is estimated to be 3 in the present case when the grid size of 1 minute is used. The factor however may depend on the grid size for the computation.