Interannual variability of Pacific Winter Water inflow through Barrow Canyon from 2000 to 2006

We examined the interannual variability of Pacific Winter Water (PWW), both upstream in the northeastern Chukchi Sea and Barrow Canyon using mooring observations from 2000 to 2006, and downstream in the Canada Basin using hydrographic data acquired in 2002–2006. The interannual variation of PWW salinity is governed by two factors: (1) variability in the salinity of Pacific Water that flows northward through Bering Strait in winter; and (2) the input of salt associated with sea ice formation during winter in an intermittent coastal polynya located along the Alaskan coast between Cape Lisburne and Point Barrow. During the winters of 2000/2001 and 2001/2002 an increased transport of cold and saline PWW (S?>?33.5) to the basin via Barrow Canyon was observed. In 2000/2001 enhanced ice formation in the polynya contributed to the increased salinity of PWW, whereas in 2001/2002 the salinity of water entering through the Bering Strait was higher, and this resulted in more saline PWW being delivered to the basin. In the following four winters (2002/2003, 2003/2004, 2004/2005 and 2005/2006) the transport of cold and saline PWW in winter to the basin was less than that in the two preceding winters. In three of these four winters (2003/2004 being the exception) the coastal polynya was less active, thus reducing the input of salt due to brine enrichment. In the winter of 2003/2004, however, warmer water within the polynya region constrained ice formation and thus less cold and saline PWW was produced, despite the fact that the coastal polynya was active and frequently open.     

Star formation triggered by supernova explosions in young galaxies

We study the evolution of supernova remnants in a low-metallicity medium   Z /Z_⊙= 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻²  in the early universe, using one-dimensional hydrodynamics with non-equilibrium chemistry. Once a post-shock layer is able to cool radiatively, a dense shell forms behind the shock. If this shell becomes gravitationally unstable and fragments into pieces, next-generation stars are expected to form from these fragments. To explore the possibility of this triggered star formation, we apply a linear perturbation analysis of an expanding shell to our results and constrain the parameter range of ambient density, explosion energy and metallicity where fragmentation of the shell occurs. For the explosion energy of  10⁵¹ erg (10⁵² erg)  , the shell fragmentation occurs for ambient densities higher than  ≳10² cm⁻³ (10 cm⁻³  ), respectively. This condition depends little on the metallicity in the ranges we examined. We find that the mode of star formation triggered occurs only in massive  (≳10⁸ M_⊙)  haloes.     

AKARI: space infrared cooled telescope

AKARI, formerly known as ASTRO-F, is the second Japanese space mission to perform infrared astronomical observations. AKARI was launched on 21 February 2006 (UT) and brought into a sun-synchronous polar orbit at an altitude of 700 km by a JAXA M-V rocket. AKARI has a telescope with a primary-mirror aperture size of 685 mm together with two focal-plane instruments on board: the Infrared Camera (IRC), which covers the spectral range 2–26 μm and the Far-Infrared Surveyor (FIS), which operates in the range 50–180 μm. The telescope mirrors are made of sandwich-type silicon carbide, specially developed for AKARI. The focal-plane instruments and the telescope are cooled by a unique cryogenic system that kept the telescope at 6K for 550 days with 180 l super-fluid liquid Helium (LHe) with the help of mechanical coolers on board. Despite the small telescope size, the cold environment and the state-of-the-art detectors enable very sensitive observations at infrared wavelengths. To take advantage of the characteristics of the sun-synchronous polar orbit, AKARI performed an all-sky survey during the LHe holding period in four far-infrared bands with FIS and two mid-infrared bands with IRC, which surpasses the IRAS survey made in 1983 in sensitivity, spatial resolution, and spectral coverage. AKARI also made over 5,000 pointing observations at given targets in the sky for approximately 10 min each, for deep imaging and spectroscopy from 2 to 180 μm during the LHe holding period. The LHe ran out on 26 August 2007, since which date the telescope and instrument are still kept around 40K by the mechanical cooler on board, and near-infrared imaging and spectroscopic observations with IRC are now being continued in pointing mode.     

Topography of the Moho and Conrad discontinuities in the Kyushu district,Southwest Japan

The first P-arrival time data from local earthquakes are inverted for two-dimensional variation of the depths to the Conrad and Moho discontinuities in the Kyushu district, southwest Japan. At the same time, earthquake hypocenters and station corrections are determined from the data. The depths to the discontinuities are estimated by minimizing the travel time residuals of first P-arrival phases for 608 earthquakes observed at 57 seismic stations. In the land area of Kyushu, the Conrad and Moho discontinuities are located within the depth ranges of 16–18 and 34–40 km, respectively. The Conrad discontinuity is not as largely undulated as the Moho discontinuity. The depth to the Moho is deep along the east coast of Kyushu, and the deepest Moho is closely related to markedly low velocity of P wave. We regard the deepest Moho as reflecting the Kyushu–Palau ridge subducting beneath the Kyushu district, together with the Philippine Sea slab. In western Kyushu, the shallow Moho is spreading in the north–northeast–south–southwest direction in the Okinawa trough region. Based on the presence of low-velocity anomaly in three-dimensional velocity structure and seismogenic stress field of shallow crustal earthquakes, the shallow Moho is interpreted as being due to lower crustal erosion associated with a small-scale mantle upwelling in the Okinawa trough region. The velocity discontinuity undulation basically has insignificant effect on hypocenter determination of the local earthquakes, but the Moho topography makes changes in focal depths of some upper mantle earthquakes. The depth variation of the Moho discontinuity has a good correlation with the Bouguer gravity anomaly map; i.e., the shallow Moho of western Kyushu and the deep Moho of eastern Kyushu closely correlate with the positive and negative Bouguer gravity anomalies, respectively.     

Baroclinic circulation and its high frequency variability in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast,Japan

Hydrographic observations were made in Otsuchi Bay on the Sanriku ria coast, Japan, to provide clear images of the baroclinic circulation extending over the bay together with the associated intrusion of lower-layer water (bottom water) from outside the bay. In summer, a prominent baroclinic circulation with flow speeds \({>} 0.1\ \text{ m }\ \text{ s }^{-1} \) extends over the greater part of the bay. A main pycnocline (thermocline), which separates the upper and lower layers, is located at a depth of 15–40 m in and around the bay. The direction of the lower-layer flow (inflow into and outflow from the bay) is opposite to that of the upper-layer flow, which are baroclinically coupled to each other. Moreover, with regard to the lower-layer flow, the inflow tends to occur mainly through the northwestern part of the bay mouth, whereas the outflow tends to occur mainly through the southeastern part. The inflow and outflow alternate on time scales of several to a few tens of hours, and the flow directions are sometimes related to the tidal ones, although the relationship is not applied persistently. In winter, the baroclinic circulation is considerably weaker than in summer, because the stratification breaks down.     

Stable isotopes in deep-sea living (stained) foraminifera from the Mozambique Channel (eastern Africa): multispecies signatures and paleoenvironmental application

Oxygen and carbon isotopes (δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C) have been investigated in carbonate tests of deep-sea foraminifera living in the Mozambique Channel (eastern Africa) to understand how environmental constraints (e.g., organic matter, oxygenation) control the intra- and interspecific variability of isotopic signatures. 197 living individuals, including eight different species, from various microhabitats within the sediment were sorted from sediment samples gathered at two stations on the Malagasy upper slope. Results show that the δ¹⁸O values of foraminiferal taxa were not controlled by microhabitat pattern. They presented tremendous and intriguing intraspecific variability that is not explained by the classical ontogenetic effect. The δ¹³C values of infaunal foraminiferal taxa do not show a 1:1 relationship with the bottom water δ¹³C DIC and do not present a constant offset from it; instead, they appear to be mainly controlled by a microhabitat effect. The lower δ¹³C values of shallow, intermediate, and deep infaunal taxa at the deeper station compared to those seen at the shallower station reflect the enhanced exportation of sedimentary organic matter at the sediment–water interface, and its related mineralization within the upper sediments. The ?δ¹³C between shallow/very shallow infaunal species (i.e., Hoeglundina elegans, Uvigerina hispida) and intermediate/deep infaunal species (i.e., Melonis barleeanus, Globobulimina barbata) permits insight into (1) the exportation of organic matter to the seafloor and (2) the various degradation pathways for organic detritus in the benthic environments off NW Madagascar.     

Effects of acidified seawater on calcification,photosynthetic efficiencies and the recovery processes from strong light exposure in the coral Stylophora pistillata

The aim of this study was to investigate whether coral photosynthetic efficiencies and recovery processes are affected by CO₂‐driven ocean acidification in symbiont photosynthesis and coral calcification. We investigated the effects of five CO₂ partial pressure (pCO₂) levels in adjusted seawater ranging from 300 μatm (pre‐industrial) to 800 μatm (near‐future) and strong and weak light intensity on maximum photosynthetic efficiency and calcification of a branching coral, Stylophora pistillata, as this species has often been used in rearing experiments to investigate the effects of acidified seawater on calcification and photosynthetic algae of corals. We found that, the photosynthetic efficiencies and recovery patterns under different light conditions did not differ among pCO₂ treatments. Furthermore, calcification of S. pistillata was not affected by acidified seawater under weak or strong light conditions. Our results indicate that the photosynthetic efficiency and calcification of S. pistillata are insensitive to changes in ocean acidity.