Seafloor acoustic remote sensing with multibeam echo-sounders and bathymetric sidescan sonar systems

This paper examines the potential for remote classification of seafloor terrains using a combination of quantitative acoustic backscatter measurements and high resolution bathymetry derived from two classes of sonar systems currently used by the marine research community: multibeam echo-sounders and bathymetric sidescans sonar systems. The high-resolution bathymetry is important, not only to determine the topography of the area surveyed, but to provide accurate bottom slope corrections needed to convert the arrival angles of the seafloor echoes received by the sonars into true angles of incidence. An angular dependence of seafloor acoustic backscatter can then be derived for each region surveyed, making it possible to construct maps of acoustic backscattering strength in geographic coordinates over the areas of interest. Such maps, when combined with the high-resolution bathymetric maps normally compiled from the data output by the above sonar systems, could be very effective tools to quantify bottom types on a regional basis, and to develop automatic seafloor classification routines.     

Dating of Dissolved Iodine in Pore Waters from the Gas Hydrate Occurrence Offshore Shimokita Peninsula,Japan: 129I Results from the D/V Chikyu Shakedown Cruise

Iodine concentration and radioisotopic composition (¹²⁹I/I) were measured in the pore waters from the gas hydrate occurrence in the forearc basin offshore Shimokita Peninsula, north-eastern Japan, to determine the source formation of I and accompanying hydrocarbons. Iodine concentrations correlate well with the alkalinity and SO₄ patterns, reflecting degradation stages of I-rich buried organic matter, rapidly increasing in the sulfate reduction interval, and becoming constant below 250 meters below the seafloor with an upwelling flux of 1.5 × 10⁻¹¹ µmol cm⁻² year⁻¹. The ¹²⁹I/I ratios of 300 × 10⁻¹⁵–400 × 10⁻¹⁵ in deep pore waters suggest ages for iodine and hydrocarbon sources as old as 40 Ma. These ages correlate well with the coaly source formations of the Eocene age thought to be responsible for the conventional natural gas deposits underlying the gas hydrate stability zone. Similar profiles are observed in ¹²⁹I/I ratios of pore waters in the gas hydrate stability zone from the forearc basin in the eastern Nankai Trough, offshore central Japan, where pore waters are enriched in I and reach ages as old as ∼50 Ma through the sediment column. At the outer ridge site along the trough, on the other hand, relatively younger I are more frequently delivered probably through thrusts/faults associated with subduction. The nature of source formations of I and hydrocarbons in the offshore Shimokita Peninsula has a more terrestrial contribution compared with those in the Nankai Trough, but these formations are also considerably older than the host sediments, suggesting long-term transport of I and hydrocarbons for the accumulation of gas hydrates in both locations.     

Ocean Tide Models Developed by Assimilating TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimeter Data into Hydrodynamical Model: A Global Model and a Regional Model around Japan

A global ocean tide model (NAO.99b model) representing major 16 constituents with a spatial resolution of 0.5° has been estimated by assimilating about 5 years of TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data into barotropic hydrodynamical model. The new solution is characterized by reduced errors in shallow waters compared to the other two models recently developed; CSR4.0 model (improved version of Eanes and Bettadpur, 1994) and GOT99.2b model (Ray, 1999), which are demonstrated in comparison with tide gauge data and collinear residual reduction test. This property mainly benefits from fine-scale along-track tidal analysis of TOPEX/POSEIDON data. A high-resolution (1/12°) regional ocean tide model around Japan (NAO.99Jb model) by assimilating both TOPEX/POSEIDON data and 219 coastal tide gauge data is also developed. A comparison with 80 independent coastal tide gauge data shows the better performance of NAO.99Jb model in the coastal region compared with the other global models. Tidal dissipation around Japan has been investigated for M₂ and K₁ constituents by using NAO.99Jb model. The result suggests that the tidal energy is mainly dissipated by bottom friction in localized area in shallow seas; the M₂ ocean tidal energy is mainly dissipated in the Yellow Sea and the East China Sea at the mean rate of 155 GW, while the K₁ energy is mainly dissipated in the Sea of Okhotsk at the mean rate of 89 GW. TOPEX/POSEIDON data, however, detects broadly distributed surface manifestation of M₂ internal tide, which observationally suggests that the tidal energy is also dissipated by the energy conversion into baroclinic tide.     

U–Th dating of carbonate nodules from methane seeps off Joetsu, Eastern Margin of Japan Sea

We performed U–Th radioactive disequilibrium analyses of carbonate nodules and sediment samples recovered from methane seep sites off Joetsu, of the eastern margin of Japan Sea, to decipher the active period of the methane seep. The carbonates contain ²³⁰Th, part of which is located in detritus such as silicate and organics, at the time of precipitation. The initial ²³⁰Th renders accurate dating with U–Th radioactive disequilibrium method difficult. We assessed the feasibility of correction using radioactive disequilibrium data of ambient sediment to overcome this difficulty. A (²³⁰Th/²³²Th)–(²³⁴U/²³²Th) isochron drawn by three chips divided from a carbonate nodule (PC05-04-50) passed through data points of local sediments. We conclude that the problem of initial ²³⁰Th can be resolved by measurements of local sediments. Results show that carbonate nodules include local sediment as impurities. Furthermore, the results of trace element analyses such as Rb, Zr, Nb, REE, Pb, and Th also support the idea.In all, 18 carbonate samples were dated with correction of initial ²³⁰Th using the mean value of local sediment in this study. The U–Th correction ages show 12–35ka with an isochron age of 26 ± 3ka. Results indicate that during the time interval of U–Th ages, from 12ka to 35ka, environmental conditions must have been favorable for enhanced methane flux through sediment. The extensive methane flow period at 20ka accords with the lowest-stand sea level during the last glacial age. Results of this study also suggest that U–Th ages of carbonate are useful as a reliable chronometer with regard to methane seep activation. In order to acquire U–Th ages of carbonate at methane seep sites, however, it is important to evaluate the amount of initial ²³⁰Th accurately using the value of sediment.     

Deformation patterns associated with the M5.9 Athens (Greece) earthquake of 7 September 1999

The static displacement field of the Athens 1999 earthquake has been numerically modeled by a BEM method and analysed from SAR interferometry images with compatible results: (a) for a fault that reaches the surface the subsidence field coincides with the hangingwall domain of the Fili neotectonic normal fault with maximum amplitude, d _max, 5.5–7 cm, which is consistent with the possibly co-seismic displacement of 6–10 cm observed in the field, the average fault dislocation of 5–8 cm found by the application of circular source models, and the displacement up to 6 cm predicted by empirical relations between magnitude and displacement; the field of uplift covers the footwall domain of the fault with d _max1.5 cm;d gradually decreases with distance from the fault at a gradient of 0.4 cm/km, (b) for a blind fault d _max is only 1.8 and 0.3 cm in the hangingwall and footwall, respectively, and the decay gradient becomes 0.15 cm/km, (c) the total deformation area is 15 km × 15 km and the Fili fault, with a preferred mean dip of 60°, constitutes the natural boundary between the subsidence and uplift areas. The macroseismic field pattern is similar with that of the static ground deformation. The majority of intensity values VI (MM and EMS-98 scales), are distributed within the hangingwall of the Fili fault, while the highest intensities (VIII and IX) concentrate very close to the Fili fault within its hangingwall domain. A gradual decrease of the intensities with the distance from the Fili fault is evident. Because of the similarity between the intensity distribution pattern and the static ground deformation pattern, we make the hypothesis that the latter predicts well enough the main characteristics of the former although the ground displacement is dominated by relatively low frequency as compared to the ground acceleration.     

Observational Evidence of Dissipative Small Scale Processes: Geotail Spacecraft Observation and Simulation of Electrostatic Solitary Waves

In recent spacecraft observations, coherent microscale structures such as electrostatic solitary waves are observed in various regions of the magnetosphere. The Geotail spacecraft observation has shown that these solitary waves are associated with high energy non-thermal electrons flowing along the magnetic field. The solitary structures are generated as a result of a long time evolution of coherent nonlinear trapping of electrons as found in bump-on-tail, bi-stream and Buneman instabilities. It is noted that these solitary waves can be generated at distant regions far away from the spacecraft locations, because these trapped electrons, or electron holes, are drifting much faster than the local thermal plasmas. Some of the solitary waves are accompanied by perpendicular electric fields indicating that two-or three-dimensional potential structures are passing by the spacecraft. Depending on the local plasma parameters, these multi-dimensional solitary structures couple with perpendicular modes such as electrostatic whistler modes and lower-hybrid modes. In a long time evolution, these perpendicular modes are dissipated via self-organization of small solitary potentials, leading to formation of one-dimensional potential troughs as observed in the deep magnetotail. The above dissipative small-scale processes are reproduced in particle simulations, and they can be used for diagnostics of electron dynamics from spacecraft observation of multi-dimensional solitary waves in various regions of the magnetosphere. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Eolian quartz flux variations in Cheju Island, Korea, during the last 6500 yr and a possible Sun-monsoon linkage

We have obtained a high-resolution sedimentary record covering the last 6500 yr from a maar in Cheju Island, Korea, in order to reconstruct the history of variations in the eolian quartz flux (EQF) and hence Asian dust. The long-term variation of EQF reveals three intervals: a period of high EQF (4000-2000 cal yr B.P.) and two periods of low EQF (6500-4000 cal yr B.P. and 2000 cal yr B.P. to present), which have been affected by the East Asian monsoon due to insolation change and the cold air activity in high latitudes correlated with polar high-pressure systems. This long-term variation is superimposed by millennial- and centennial-scale fluctuations with periodicities of 1137, 739, 214, 162, 137, 127, and 111 yr, implying drier conditions in the source areas in China. The detrended EQF record correlates visually and statistically (cross-spectral analysis) with the atmospheric Δ¹⁴C record (solar proxy). The centennial-scale variability in EQF may be affected by the solar activity through the Sun-East Asian monsoon linkage.     

Sedimentary and biotic evidence of a warm-water enclave in the cooler oceans of the latest Ordovician glacial phase, Yangtze Platform, South China block

Abstract   During the Hirnantian period, the Yangtze Platform was situated in the western part of the South China block (SCB) before its later rotation, in the middle–low paleolatitudes of the southern hemisphere in the northeast side of peri-Gondwana. It is part of the Kosov faunal province as indicated by the Hirnantia fauna. Sedimentary evidence shows the domination of cool ventilated marine water from its offshore ramp and shelf. Hirnantian shallow-water carbonate facies (Kuanyinchiao Bed) overlie earlier Ashgill graptolitic black shales (Wufeng Formation) as a result of marine regression. In the Yangtze Platform, however, we have found local areas of intertidal to nearshore facies that lack the typical highly diverse Hirnantia fauna. Some warm-water features (radial oolites, peloids, diverse solitary rugose corals and other benthic shelly fauna) occur commonly in some limited shallow areas, forming grainstones and packstones. Although interglacial episodes within the Hirnantian glaciation could be responsible for these features, their limited occurrence within the interior of the platform leads us to interpret the deposits as indicating that cold-water currents from the southeastern high latitudes were partly excluded from the nearshore area of the Yangtze Platform. The landmass of the eastern SCB in the Hirnantian epoch prevented access to some areas of the cold marine water masses that flowed from higher latitudes of Gondwana; the result was a persistence of warm-water shallow marine facies in some areas.     

Quartz and polymineral luminescence dating of Japanese loess over the last 0.6 Ma: Comparison with an independent chronology

There are only a few luminescence dating studies of loess sediments in Japan, but interleaved with these deposits are many well-described tephras of known age based on ¹⁴C and fission track analysis; these independent age controls provide an opportunity to test the reliability of loess luminescence ages. This study provides such a comparison at two sites in central Honshu, the largest island in the Japanese archipelago. Samples were collected from sequences of interleaved volcanic tephra and loess deposited on a Middle Pleistocene river terrace in the Niigata Prefecture and on an Early to Middle Pleistocene dissected fluvial surface at in the Tochigi Prefecture, Honshu. Equivalent doses (D_e) were estimated from fine grains (4–11 μm) using both polymineral IR-OSL and (post-IR) blue-OSL, and quartz blue-OSL. The blue-stimulated luminescence signals could be represented by up to three exponentially decaying components; only the most light sensitive of these components was used in the final D_e estimation. Almost all the estimates of D_e from polymineral IR-OSL are smaller than those from polymineral (post-IR) blue-OSL and quartz blue-OSL, whereas the latter two are in good agreement. The blue-light stimulated luminescence ages using the most light sensitive component are shown to be in good agreement with the independent control, up to 500 ka. Although the IR-OSL signals underestimate the known age, a simple laboratory fading test is found empirically to correct for this underestimation. We conclude that the most rapidly blue-stimulated luminescence signals from quartz extracted from our loess samples give reliable ages, and that future loess dating studies should concentrate on these signals.