Operational Data Assimilation System for the Kuroshio South of Japan: Reanalysis and Validation

We describe an operational ocean data assimilation system for the Kuroshio and its validation using a nine-year reanalysis (historical run from 1993 to 2001) dataset of upper-ocean state estimation in the North Pacific. The horizontal structure of volume transport of the Ryukyu Current System (RCS) is shown from the reanalysis: The RCS is connected to the flow of the subtropical gyre, and its volume transport gradually increases from south-east of Okinawa (5–10 Sv) to the east of Amami-Ohshima Island (20 Sv). Comparing the reanalysis with independent observations on the southeast slope of the Amami-Ohshima Island indicates that the root mean square differences (RMSDs) are 0.076 (0.037) m/s in the period of December 1998 to November 1999 (November 1999 to November 2000) respectively. The reanalysis field has a bias (3.1 Sv) of the volume transport of the RCS and the RMSD (3.5 Sv) which is larger than the observed variability (2.81 Sv). Surface velocity and the Kuroshio axis south of Japan are also examined. Comparison of the reanalysis and ADCP data gave maximum RMSD of 0.749 (0.271) m/s in the strong (weak) current regions, respectively. The annual mean value of the axis error is 19 km in 1998. The RMSD of the error is at most 50 km, in 294 cases in the observation period, which is smaller than the observed root mean square variability of the axis (64 km). This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Blended-acquisition design of irregular geometries towards faster,cheaper, safer and better seismic surveying

The application of blended acquisition has drawn considerable attention owing to its ability to improve the operational efficiency as well as the data quality and health, safety and environment performance. Furthermore, the acquisition of less data contributes to the business aspect, while the desired data density is still realizable via subsequent data reconstruction. The use of fewer detectors and sources also minimizes operational risks in the field. Therefore, a combined implementation of these technologies potentially enhances the value of a seismic survey further. One way to encourage this is to minimize any imperfection in deblending and data reconstruction during processing. In addition, one may derive survey parameters that enable a further improvement in these processes as introduced in this study. The proposed survey design workflow iteratively performs the following steps to derive the survey parameters responsible for source blending as well as the spatial sampling of detectors and sources. The first step is the application of blending and sampling operators to unblended and well-sampled data. We then apply closed-loop deblending and data reconstruction. The residue for a given design from this step is evaluated and subsequently used by genetic algorithms to simultaneously update the survey parameters related to both blending and spatial sampling. The updated parameters are fed into the next iteration until they satisfy the given termination criteria. We also propose a repeated encoding sequence to form a parameter sequence in genetic algorithms, making the size of problem space manageable. The results of the proposed workflow are outlined using blended dispersed source array data incorporating different scenarios that represent acquisition in marine, transition zone and land environments. Clear differences attributed solely to the parameter design are easily recognizable. Additionally, a comparison among different optimization schemes illustrates the ability of genetic algorithms along with a repeated encoding sequence to find better solutions within a computationally affordable time. The optimized parameters yield a notable enhancement in the deblending and data reconstruction quality and consequently provide optimal acquisition scenarios.     

Temporal dynamics of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) produced in a microcosm with red tide forming algae <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chattonella marina</Emphasis> and its associated bacteria

Acute and severe hypoxia associated with harmful algal bloom has become one of the major causes for the environmental deterioration of coastal areas. Although it is generally thought that a large part of the dissolved oxygen consumption at a bloom site is initiated by heterotrophic bacteria that attack organic matter derived from dead or dying algal cells, precise microbial processes leading to the hypoxia are yet to be examined. Here we show temporal dynamics of extracellular dissolved organic carbon (DOC) of the red tide forming raphidophyte Chattonella marina and bacterial populations associating with the algae under laboratory conditions. During the growth of non-axenic strains of C. marina, we monitored abundance of algae, associated bacteria, and DOC in the culture media. Bacterial cell abundance increased in response to the increase in DOC both at the beginning and the late log phase of the algal growth. Flow cytometric analysis revealed that transient increase in the percentage of respiratory-active bacterial cells also coincided with the timing of the increase in bacterial abundance and DOC. These results strongly suggest that DOC released from growing C. marina fuels respiration and growth of planktonic bacteria surrounding the algae. This has implications for the role of DOC released from C. marina bloom before the collapse in mediating interactions between neighboring algae and bacterial assemblage which may eventually lead to algal bloom-associated hypoxia.     

Temporal changes in benthic communities of seagrass beds impacted by a tsunami in the Andaman Sea,Thailand

Seagrass beds are susceptible to various natural and human-induced disturbances. Disturbances affect not only seagrasses, but also the abundance and diversity of associated macrofaunal communities. The Andaman Sea coast of Thailand was heavily affected by the tsunami of December 26, 2004. To examine its impact on seagrass macrofaunal communities, we compared the abundance, diversity and taxa composition by quantitative samplings in 2001 (before the tsunami) and in 2005 and 2006 (after the tsunami). Macrobenthic animals and sediments were collected from vegetated and nonvegetated areas of two sites that had received different levels of tsunami disturbances. A large decline in abundance and diversity was observed in the nonvegetated areas after the tsunami, whereas an increase was observed in the vegetated areas. The magnitude of decline and subsequent recovery of abundance and diversity of macrobenthic animals in nonvegetated areas were similar between the two sites, suggesting that their temporal changes were not solely related to the magnitude of the tsunami disturbance. Similarity of the benthic animals differed greatly between 2001 and 2005–2006 at the nonvegetated areas, whereas it varied less among the 3 years at the seagrass-vegetated areas. This study demonstrated that the presence of seagrass vegetation alters the patterns of temporal variation in macrofaunal assemblages and subsequent recovery processes following a tsunami.     

Rapid subsidence of the Kikai Seamount inferred from drowned Pleistocene coral limestone: Implication for subduction of the Amami Plateau,northern Philippine Sea

Carbonate rock cores drilled on the Kikai Seamount, northern Philippine Sea are examined for better understanding of tectonic history of the northern Philippine Sea. The Kikai Seamount, the summit of which is at 1960 m water depth, is an isolated high on the northwestern part of the Amami Plateau formed by subduction-related arc volcanism, and is situated close to the axis of the Ryukyu Trench in front of the Ryukyu Arc, SW Japan. The seamount is capped with shallow-water carbonates such as coral rudstone. Detailed examinations of lithology, larger foraminiferal assemblages, and Sr isotope composition reveal that the core material comprises Miocene carbonates unconformably overlain by Early Pleistocene carbonates. It indicates rapid subsidence of the Kikai Seamount since the Early Pleistocene. The most probable cause of rapid subsidence is collision and subduction of the Amami Plateau laden with the Kikai Seamount. The rapid subsidence may have started when the western corner of the plateau reached the Ryukyu Trench and began subduction beneath the Ryukyu Arc. The onset of the subsidence is likely to be controlled by a motion change in the Philippine Sea Plate. The latest change in subduction direction from north to northwestward into northwestward to west has been believed to have occurred at 1-2 Ma during latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene time. The change of direction resulted in the shift from oblique into right-angle subduction of the plate beneath the Ryukyu Arc and also the onset of the collision and subduction of the Amami Plateau.     

Characteristics of earthquake-induced landslides in a heavy snowfall region—landslides triggered by the northern Nagano prefecture earthquake, March 12, 2011, Japan

The northern Nagano Prefecture earthquake, M_JMA?6.7 (Mw?6.2), which is inferred to have been triggered by the huge (Mw?9.0) March 11, 2011 Tohoku earthquake, occurred on March 12, 2011, in northern Nagano Prefecture, an area in Japan famous for heavy snowfall. A large number of landslides were triggered by the 12 March earthquake, and it caused building damage in the area of the epicenter. To clarify characteristics of the distribution and dynamic behavior of these landslides, we analyzed aerial photographs and conducted field surveys in and around the epicentral area. Large-scale landslides with long distance run-outs are a remarkable characteristic of the landslides induced by this earthquake. The long travel distance is considered to be related to the thick snowpack at the time the earthquake occurred. Moderate scale deep-seated landslides and shallow landslides were also observed in the study area. Based on an analysis of landslides with the active fault on which the earthquake is believed to have occurred, most of these landslides were distributed on the hanging wall of the active fault, within a distance of 12?km from the fault.     

Abundances of 23 field RR Lyrae stars

We present stellar parameters and abundances of 15 elements （Na, Mg, A1, Si, Ca, Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Y and Ba） for 23 field RR Lyrae variables based on high-resolution （R ~ 60 000） and high signal-to-noise （S/N~ 200） spectra obtained using the High Dispersion Spectrograph on the Subaru Telescope. Six stars in the sample have more than one spectrum observed at different pulsation phases. The derived abundance ratios of [X/Fe] for 14 elements （except for Ba） do not vary during the pulsation cycle. An interesting curve of [Ba/Fe] versus phase is detected for the first time and it shows decreasing [Ba/Fe] with increasing temperature at a given metallicity. Combining with data in the literature, abundances of most RR Lyrae stars as a function of [Fe/H] follow the same trends as those of dwarf stars, but [Sc/Fe] and [Y/Fe] ratios of RR Lyrae stars at solar metallicity are lower than those of dwarf stars. The kinematics of RR Lyrae stars indicate that three comparatively metal-rich RR Lyrae stars might originate from the thick disk and they show higher [a/Fe] ratios than RR Lyrae stars with thin disk kinematics. Among 23 RR Lyrae stars, two special objects are found with abnormal abundances; TV Lib has high [a/Fe], [Sc/Fe], [Y/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] ratios while TW Her has solar [a/Fe] but significantly lower [Sc/Fe], [Y/Fe] and [Ba/Fe] ratios as compared with other RR Lyrae stars.     

Occurrence and chemical composition of the Eoarchean carbonate rocks of the Nulliak supracrustal rocks in the Saglek Block of northeastern Labrador,Canada

The Eoarchean Nulliak supracrustal rocks in the Saglek Block of northeastern Labrador, Canada, contain some of the world's oldest carbonate rocks. This work attempted to reveal the origin of the carbonate rocks and estimate the surface environmental conditions of the early Earth based on their occurrence and geochemistry. They occur together with mafic and ultramafic rocks in Pangertok Inlet and St. John's Harbour South, whereas they are interlayered with pelitic rock layers with quartzofeldspathic mineral assemblages in St. John's Harbour East and Big Island. The geological occurrence suggests that the formers were formed around hydrothermal fields, whereas the latters were deposited near a continental margin. Some carbonate rocks have high SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Zr contents, indicating that the silicification and involvement of detrital materials influenced their composition; thus, pure carbonate rocks were selected using a combined filter of the SiO₂, TiO_2, Al₂O₃, Zr, and Ba contents. The selected carbonate rocks have positive La, Eu, Gd, Y, U, Pb, and Sr anomalies, negative Nb, Zr, and Hf anomalies, and relatively small enrichment in heavy rare earth elements (HREEs). The La and Y anomalies suggest that they originated from chemical sediments precipitated from seawater. On the other hand, the small HREE-enrichment suggests that REEs were mainly dissolved as REE-carbonate complexes in seawater or that the riverine influxes were dominated by the detritus of Eoarchean continental crusts, presumably composed of HREE-depleted TTG. The U anomaly suggests that uranium was more dissolved than Th as U-bearing carbonate complexes in seawater. The Nulliak carbonate rocks also show a positive correlation between Y and Eu anomaly values, suggesting that the precipitation of iron-oxyhydroxide causing the Y anomaly was more significant near the hydrothermal fields than the continental margin, consistent with an alkaline hydrothermal model.     

Barotropic unstable modes in zonal and meridional channel on the beta-plane

Abstract

The linear stability of a non-divergent barotropic parallel shear flow in a zonal and a non-zonal channel on the β plane was examined numerically. When the channel is non-zonal, the governing equation is slightly modified from the Orr-Sommerfeld equation. Numerical solutions were obtained by solving the discretized linear perturbation equation as an eigenvalue problem of a matrix. When the channel is zonal and lateral viscosity is neglected the problem is reduced to the ordinary barotropic instability problem described by Kuo's (1949) equation. The discrepancy between the stability properties of westward and eastward flows, which have been indicated by earlier studies, was reconfirmed. It has also been suggested that the unstable modes are closely related to the continuous modes discretized by a finite differential approximation. When the channel is non-zonal, the properties of unstable modes were quite different from those of the zonal problem in that: (1) The phase speed of the unstable modes can exceed the maximum value of the basic flow speed; (2) The unstable modes are not accompanied by their conjugate mode; and (3) The basic flow without an inflection point can be unstable. The dispersion relation and the spatial structure of the unstable modes suggested that, irrespective of the orientation of the channel, they have close relation to the neutral modes (Rossby channel modes) which are the solutions in the absence of a basic shear flow. The features mentioned above are not dependent on whether or not the flow velocity at the boundary is zero.