Performance evaluation of a ground-source heat pump system utilizing a flowing well and estimation of suitable areas for its installation in Aizu Basin,Japan

Development of a ground-source heat pump (GSHP) system with higher efficiency, and evaluation of its operating performance, is essential to expand the growth of GSHP systems in Japan. A closed-loop GSHP system was constructed utilizing a flowing (artesian) well as a ground heat exchanger (GHE). The system was demonstrated for space-heating and space-cooling of a room (area 126.7 m²) in an office building. The average coefficient of performance was found to be 4.5 for space-heating and 8.1 for space-cooling. The maximum heat exchange rate was 70.8 W/m for space-heating and 57.6 W/m for space-cooling. From these results, it was determined that a GSHP system with a flowing well as a GHE can result in higher performance. With this kind of highly efficient system, energy saving and cost reduction can be expected. In order to assess appropriate locations for the installation of similar kinds of GSHP systems in Aizu Basin, a suitability map showing the distribution of groundwater up-flowing areas was prepared based on the results of a regional-scale three-dimensional analytical model. Groundwater up-flowing areas are considered to be suitable because the flowing well can be constructed at these areas. Performance evaluation of the GSHP system utilizing the flowing well, in conjunction with the prepared suitability map for its installation, can assist in the promotion of GSHP systems in Japan.     

High temperature infrared spectra of hydrous microcrystalline quartz

A series of in-situ high temperature infrared (IR) measurements of water in an agate sample and in a milky quartz has been conducted in order to understand the nature of water in silica at high temperatures (50–700?°C) and the dehydration behavior. IR absorption bands of water molecules trapped in the milky quartz showed a systematic decrease in intensities and a shift from 3425?cm^?1 at 50?°C toward 3590?cm^?1 at 700?°C without any loss of water. This indicates a change in IR absorption coefficients corresponding to different polymeric states of water at different temperatures. The broad 3430?cm^?1 band in the agate sample also showed a systematic decrease in IR intensity and a band shift toward higher frequency with increasing temperature (～700?°C). This indicates that the agate sample also contains fluid inclusion-like water. For this agate sample, a dehydration of loosely hydrogen-bonded molecular water occurred at lower temperatures (<200?°C). At higher temperatures (>400?°C), sharp bands around 3660 and 3725?cm^?1 (3740?cm^?1 at 50?°C) due to surface silanols, appeared. This indicates dehydration of H₂O molecules that are hydrogen bonded to surface silanols. SiOH species in the agate are divided into three groups, namely SiOH group located at structural defects, surface silanols hydrogen bonded to each other and free surface silanols. Former two dehydrate below 700?°C and the dehydration rate of the SiOH at structural defects is faster than the other. IR spectra show that SiOH species decrease continuously even after the dehydration of most of H₂O molecules. All these results provide realistic bases for the change in physicochemical states of different OH species in silica at high temperatures.     

Resistivity mapping using the VLF-MT method around surface fault ruptures of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, Japan

Abstract Distinctive fault ruptures, the Nojima Fault and Ogura Fault, appeared along the northwestern coast of Awaji Island at the time of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (Kobe earthquake). In order to delineate the shallow resistivity structures around the faults just after they formed, Very Low Frequency Magnetotelluric (VLF-MT) surveys were made at five sites along the Nojima Fault and at one site along the Ogura Fault. Fourteen transects were made at the one site on the Ogura Fault, and another transect covers the area between the two faults. Changes in apparent resistivity or phase, or both, commonly occur when crossing the surface location of one of the faults, except for the northern transects at OGR-0 on the Ogura Fault. Apparent resistivity values of less than 100 Ωm were observed for Tertiary and Quaternary sediments and values larger than 200 Ωm for granitic rocks. The resistivity structures are related to the morphological characteristics of the fault ruptures. Remarkably conductive zones (less than 10 Ωm in apparent resistivity and 30–40 m in width) were found where the surface displacement is distinct and prominent along a single fault plane. If remarkably conductive zones were formed at the time of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, the results provide a good constraint on the dimensions of a conductive zone near the surface that was made by one earthquake. Alternatively, if characteristic resistivity structures existed prior to the earthquake, the conductive zone was probably formed by some tens of earthquakes in relatively modern times. In this case, this phenomenon is inferred to be a concentration of fracturing in a narrow zone and is associated with the formation of clay minerals, which enhance rock conductivity.     

A catalytic oxidation method for the determination of total nitrogen dissolved in seawater

A detailed examination of a high-temperature catalytic oxidation method for liquid samples in the analysis of total nitrogen dissolved in seawater is reported. The nitrogenous compounds in liquid samples are oxidized on a platinum catalyzer at 680°C under oxygen atmosphere and the generated NO₂ is absorbed into a chromogenic reagent, followed by a spectrophotometric determination. The results of this method are much higher than those of wet oxidation methods. Molecular size dependency of the results clearly indicates that the above discrepancy is caused by the low oxidation capacity of the wet oxidation method against high-polymer organic matter dissolved in seawater. The results revealed that the concentration of total nitrogen in seawater is nearly constant from surface to bottom, ranging from 30 to 40 μM 1^?1, which organic nitrogen concentration higher in the surface layer, and a rapid decrease with depth. An examination of molecular size distribution indicates that the concentration of high-polymer organic nitrogen decreases rapidly from surface to deeper layers, with molecular sizes ranging from 5 × 10³ to 3 × 10⁴. Because of the well-defined principle of the oxidation process, its reliability, ease of sample handling and of analytical procedure on board or in the land laboratory, the present method is much more suitable for the marine analytical chemistry of total and organic nitrogen than the other previous methods.     

Hydrodynamical models of the Orion-KL Nebula

The interaction between an isotropic protostellar wind and an ambient molecular cloud is investigated by two-dimensional hydrodynamic computations. The wind-cloud interaction model is promising for explanation of the observed properties of the Orion-KL Nebula.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Summer Water Balance Characteristics of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia

The daily water balance for the drainage basin of Koryto Glacier, Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia, was calculated during the period from August to September 2000. The result shows that 14×10⁶ m³ of meltwater and 2×10⁶ m³ of rainwater entered the basin, while 26×10⁶ m³ of water drained from the basin through proglacial streams. Thus, about ?9×10⁶ m³ of water storage reduction occurred in the basin. Vertical displacements of the glacier surface showed that the volume change due to contraction of subglacial cavities was nearly 20% of the total storage change. The remaining fraction of water storage during the period is thought to be stored in englacial and supraglacial locations. The estimate of water balance components in the early ablation season in 2000 indicates that meltwater was already stored within the glacier before the spring, even during the previous year, and that the stored water drained through the ablation season.     

Evolution history of the Hidaka-oki (offshore Hidaka) basin in the southern central Hokkaido, as revealed by seismic interpretation, and related tectonic events in an adjacent collision zone

Off the southern coast of Hokkaido the Hidaka-oki (offshore Hidaka) basin has developed on the western flank of a collision suture under the influence of long-standing compressional plate motion and provoked tectonic stresses around the northwestern Pacific rim throughout the late Cenozoic. The basin forming history of the Japan arc and Kuril arc collision zone is described on the basis of seismic reflection data interpretation. We identify two stages of basin formation: the older (late Oligocene-Miocene) faulted en echelon graben (pull-apart basin) and younger (Plio-Pleistocene) regional downwarping. Paleoenvironmental changes recorded within the fore-arc sediments indicate that the older basin filled up by the late Miocene. We inferred the volumes of the distinctive basins from the depth-conversion of seismic data, which suggest episodic uplifts and massive erosion of the Hidaka Mountains in the middle-late Miocene and the Plio-Pleistocene. Estimated sediment supply rates into the basins have a similar level for the both stages. Cause of an episodic uplift in the older stage is attributed to the delayed opening of the Japan Sea. The eastern Eurasian margin underwent N-S right-lateral faulting at 25 Ma as a result of rifting of the Kuril back-arc basin. Formation of the Japan Sea back-arc basin since the early Miocene (ca. 20 Ma) caused eastward motion of the western Hokkaido block and transpressive regime along the pre-existing N-S shear deformation zone.     

Two-dimensional effective stress analysis of liquefaction of irregular ground including soil–structure interaction

An effective stress method is presented for analysis of seismic response and liquefaction of irregular ground including soil–structure interaction, based on an implicit–explicit finite element method. A pore water pressure is computed with iteration from the total stress considering an undrained condition. The simulated pore water pressure is in reasonably good agreement with the experimental data. The proposed method of analysis is compared with other well-known methods for a one-dimensional model, which is in good agreement. The present effective stress method is also applied to liquefaction problems involving a two-dimensional soil–structure model. The structure is modelled by not only a rigid model but also as a multi-degree-of-freedom system with bi-linear springs. The numerical results are considered to be significant from the viewpoint of earthquake engineering.     

The characterization and distribution of aerosol and gaseous species in the winter monsoon over the western pacific ocean

During the winters of 1981 and 1982, measurements were taken on two Japanese islands of the aerosol and gaseous species which had been carried by northwesterly monsoons over the Pacific Ocean. The aerosols were characterized as sea-salt particles; soil particles, and as particles of sulfate, nitrate, organics and elemental carbon. At Chichi-jima island, which is about 800 km away from the main islands of Japan, it was found that the level of the anthropogenic components of the aerosols was considerably higher than their background level. The mean concentrations of the species on the islands are given in tabular forms. According to a survey made on board a ferry boat, the aerosol and gaseous species were fairly uniformly distributed along the southern coast of the main Japanese islands.