Ecologic and taxonomic diversification in the Mesozoic brackish-water bivalve faunas in Japan, with emphasis on infaunalization of heterodonts

Mesozoic brackish-water bivalve faunas in Japan diversified in three steps: at the beginning of the Early Jurassic, Early and Late Cretaceous. The Hettangian Niranohama Fauna in northeastern Honshu represents the establishment of a heterodont-dominated brackish-water fauna that persisted until the early Late Cretaceous. No similar composition is known from the Triassic. The infauna consists mostly of non-siphonate and some short-siphonate heterodonts, while the epifauna is represented by diverse pteriomorphian families. In the Early Cretaceous Tetori Group in central Honshu, the long-siphonate heterodonts Tetoria (Corbiculidae) and the semi-infaunal soft-bottom oyster Crassostrea appeared. The evolutionary diversification of the latter, known as the most important element of modern brackish-water faunas, may thus originate at that time. In the early Late Cretaceous (Cenomanian) of the Goshoura and Mifune Groups in west Kyushu, several euryhaline deep-burrowing heterodont families, such as Veneridae and Tellinidae, further diversified in the brackish and marine environments. The Late Cretaceous is characterized by massive shell biolithic beds in which large Crassostrea species are common, a feature common for Cenozoic brackish-water faunas. The long-term changes in the composition of the brackish-water faunas in Japan represents thus an evolutionary record, irrespective of the severe physiological and environmental conditions imposed on the highly conservative nature of the fauna.     

Projected impact of deep ocean carbon dioxide discharge on atmospheric CO2 concentrations

An evaluation of oceanic containment strategies for anthropogenic carbon dioxide is presented. Energy conservation is also addressed through an input hydrocarbon-fuel consumption function. The effectiveness of the proposed countermeasures is determined from atmospheric CO₂ concentration predictions. A previous box model with a diffusive deep ocean is adapted and applied to the concept of fractional CO₂ injection in 500 m deep waters. Next, the contributions of oceanic calcium carbonate sediment dissolution, and of deep seawater renewal, are included. Numerical results show that for CO₂ direct removal measures to be effective, large fractions of anthropogenic carbon dioxide have to be processed. This point favors fuel pre-processing concepts. The global model also indicates that energy conservation, i.e. a hydrocarbon-fuel consumption slowdown, remains the most effective way to mitigate the greenhouse effect, because it offers mankind a substantial time delay to implement new energy production alternatives.     

Decadal-scale variation in COD and DIN dynamics during the summer in the inner area of the Ariake Sea,Japan

More than 30 years of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) data for the inner area of the Ariake Sea were analyzed with a box model to show the changes in the average seasonal budget and the decadal-scale variation during the summer. The COD peaked in August and March on average. This summertime peak can be explained by an enhanced riverine load and increased primary production. The peak in March suggested additional organic matter production. There were also two peaks in DIN concentration on average: a summertime peak that could be explained by an enhanced riverine load, and a peak in December that was more complicated to explain. From the 1970s to the early 1990s, the bottom water in this area became increasingly hypoxic due to increased COD during the summer, even though there were minimal increases in terrestrial COD and nutrient loads and there were tidal flats covering a widespread area during this period. The increase in COD was caused by increased net ecosystem production, which was due to enhanced primary production induced by an increased freshwater residence time and decreased bivalve grazing. There was a negative feedback control in which hypoxia progressively increased, leading to declines in bivalve biomass, which in turn decreased the grazing pressure limiting primary production, meaning that primary production increased and the area became even more hypoxic. The net DIN production decreased during the 1980s and the 1990s. This was consistent with the change in net ecosystem production according to the COD.     

Possibility of recent changes in vertical distribution and size composition of chlorophyll-a in the western North Pacific region

Our analysis of the last three decades of retrospective data of vertical distributions and size composition of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) over the western North Pacific has revealed significant changes of three indices related to Chl-a during summer season, as follows: (1) decreasing linear trend of the proportion of Chl-a in surface layer to that of the whole water column by 0.4 and 2.3% year⁻¹ in the subtropical area along 137°E (STA₁₃₇) during 1972 to 1997 and in the Kuroshio Extension area along 175°E (KEA₁₇₅) during 1990 to 2001; (2) increasing linear trend of the depth of subsurface Chl-a maximum (DCM) by 0.4 and 2.6 m year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅; and (3) decreasing linear trend of larger-size Chl-a (>3 μm) by 0.1 and 2.5% year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅, respectively. Water density (σ _θ ) at 75 m depth had also decreased by 0.006 and 0.05 year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅, respectively. The ratio of biogenic opal to biogenic CaCO₃ in the sinking flux decreased by 0.015 year⁻¹ in the subtropical region from 1997 to 2005. These findings may indicate that the subsurface chlorophyll maximum is deepening and larger phytoplankton such as diatoms has been decreasing during the past decade, associated with the decreasing density of surface water caused by warming in the western North Pacific, especially in the summer.     

Rifting to Spreading Process along the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea

Understanding the development from syn-rift to spreading in the South China Sea (SCS) is important in elucidating the western Pacific's tectonic evolution because the SCS is a major tectonic constituent of the many marginal seas in the region. This paper describes research examining the transition from rifting to spreading along the northern margin of the SCS, made possible by the amalgamation of newly acquired and existing geophysical data. The northernmost SCS was surveyed as part of a joint Japan-China cooperative project (JCCP) in two phases in 1993 and 1994. The purpose of the investigation was to reveal seismic and magnetic characteristics of the transitional zone between continental crust and the abyssal basin. Compilation of marine gravity and geomagnetic data of the South China Sea clarify structural characteristics of its rifted continental and convergent margins, both past and present. Total and three component magnetic data clearly indicate the magnetic lineations of the oceanic basin and the magnetic characteristics of its varied margins. The analyses of magnetic, gravity and seismic data and other geophysical and geological information from the SCS led up to the following results: (1) N-S direction seafloor spreading started from early Eocene. There were at least four separate evolutional stages. Directions and rates of the spreading are fluctuating and unstable and spreading continued from 32 to 17 Ma. (2) The apparent difference in the present tectonism of the eastern and western parts of Continent Ocean Boundary (COB) implies that in the east of the continental breakup is governed by a strike slip faulting. (3) The seismic high velocity layer in the lower crust seems to be underplated beneath the stretched continental crust. (4) Magnetic anomaly of the continental margin area seems to be rooted in the uppermost sediment and upper part of lower crust based on the tertiary volcanism. (5) Magnetic quiet zone (MQZ) anomaly in the continental margin area coincides with COB. (6) The non-magnetic or very weakly magnetized layer is probably responsible for MQZ. One of the causes of demagnetization of the layer is due to hydrothermal alteration while high temperature mantle materials being underplated. Another explanation is that horizontal sequences of basalt each with flip-flop magnetization polarity cancel out to the resultant magnetic field on the surface. We are currently developing a synthetic database system containing datasets of seismicity, potential field data, crustal and thermal structures, and other geophysical data to facilitate the study of past, contemporary and future changes in the deep sea environment around Japan; i.e. trench, trough, subduction zones, marginal basins and island arcs. Several special characteristics are an object-oriented approach to the collection and multi-faceted studies of global data from a variety of sources.     

Long-term precipitation and stream discharge records at seven forested experimental watersheds along a latitudinal transect in Japan: Jozankei,Kamabuchi, Takaragawa,Tsukuba, Tatsunokuchi-yama,Kahoku and Sarukawa

This data note introduces a database of long-term daily total precipitation and stream discharge data for seven forested watersheds in Japan that have been continuously monitored by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. Three of the watersheds started data collection in the 1930s. Forest cover across the sites ranges from cool to warm temperate regions with the latitude spanning from 31 to 44° N and annual precipitation ranging from 1200 to 3000 mm yr⁻¹. The effects of vegetation change via clearcutting, thinning and forest fire (among other stressors) on stream discharge can be analysed from the long-term observation sites. Moreover, this multi-site dataset allows for inter- and intra-site comparisons of annual water loss (difference of annual precipitation and stream discharge). These long-term datasets can provide comprehensive insights into the effects of climate change and other stressors on forested ecosystems, not only in Japan but across a spectrum of forest types, if combined with other long-term records from other forested watersheds across the world.     

Foraminiferal evidence of submarine sediment transport and deposition by backwash during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

Micropaleontological analysis of nearshore to offshore sediments recovered from the southwestern coast of Thailand was performed to clarify the submarine processes of sediment transport and deposition during the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. The distribution pattern of benthic foraminifers showed seaward migration after the tsunami event. Agglutinated foraminifers, which are characteristic of an intertidal brackish environment, were identified in the post-tsunami samples from foreshore to offshore zones. These suggest that sediments originally distributed in foreshore to nearshore zones were transported offshore due to the tsunami backwash. On the other hand, the distribution pattern of planktonic and benthic species living in offshore zones showed slight evidence of landward migration by the tsunami. This suggests that landward redistribution of sediments by the tsunami run-up did not occur in the offshore seafloor of the study area. Our results and a review of previous studies provide an interpretation of submarine sedimentation by tsunamis. It is possible that tsunami backwashes induce sediment flows that transport a large amount of coastal materials seaward. Thus, traces of paleotsunami backwashes can be identified in offshore sedimentary environments as the accumulation of allochthonous materials. This can be recognized as changes in benthic foraminiferal assemblages.     

Mode of eruption of Miyake-jima volcano in historic times

Miyake-jima, an island volcano, resting on the Izu-Mariana arc is a basaltic stratovolcano dotted with many parasitic cones and craters. Literatures tell us thirteen eruptions which took place in A.D. 1085, 1154, 1469, 1535, 1595, 1643, 1712–1714, 1763–1769, 1811, 1835, 1874, 1940 and 1962. The last two eruptions were studied in detail by using modern scientific techniques after the surface activities had almost died down. Of the thirteen eruptions, the earlier five are only described as «eruption» and no detailed accounts are written in a document. The eruptions in and after 1643 all occurred from parasitic craters or fissure vents and are classified into the following two types:

1. 1)
   Eruption from a center or centers on or around a parasitic knob on the southwestern flank of the main stratovolcano. Examples are eruptions of 1643, 1712–1714, 1763–1769 and 1835.     

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.