Monitoring of position of the Kuroshio axis in the Tokara Strait using sea level data

Properties of the index of position of the Kuroshio axis in the Tokara Strait, named the Kuroshio position index (KPI), were examined using sea-level data during 1984–92. The index is KPI=(X+M _x )/(Y+M _y whereX(Y) is the anomaly of sea-level difference of Nakanoshima (Naze) minus Nishinoomote from the 1984–92 meanM _x (M _y ). The correlation with the latitude of the Kuroshio axis in the Tokara Strait concluded that the KPI withM _x /M _y =0.83 and realisticM _y (100±40 cm) best indicates the position of the Kuroshio axis in the strait. The KPI withM _x =83 cm andM _y =100 cm was newly called the KPI as the best index. Using daily values of this KPI, the relation between the position of the Kuroshio in the strait and the large meander of the Kuroshio shown by Kawabe (1995) was confirmed and studied in detail. A large meander forms (ends) 3.3 (5.1) months after a northward (southward) shift of the Kuroshio in the Tokara Strait. Yet, a temporary southward shift with a duration of ten to twenty days does not finish the large-meander (LM) path. At the LM formation, a small meander southeast of Kyushu begins to move eastward associated with the northward shift. The processes of LM formation and decay are started by the meridional move of the Kuroshio axis in the Tokara Strait. The Kuroshio axis at the FES line during the LM path is located farther north by 7 latitude than that during the non-large-meander (NLM) path. The latitude during the LM formation (decay) stage is a little higher (lower) than that during the LM (NLM) period, though the Kuroshio still takes an NLM (LM) path.     

Observation of the Soya Warm Current using HF ocean radar

Three High Frequency (HF) ocean radar stations were installed around the Soya/La Perouse Strait in the Sea of Okhotsk in order to monitor the Soya Warm Current (SWC). The frequency of the HF radar is 13.9 MHz, and the range and azimuth resolutions are 3 km and 5 deg., respectively. The radar covers a range of approximately 70 km from the coast. The surface current velocity observed by the HF radars was compared with data from drifting buoys and shipboard Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs). The current velocity derived from the HF radars shows good agreement with that observed using the drifting buoys. The root-mean-square (rms) differences were found to be less than 20 cm s⁻¹ for the zonal and meridional components in the buoy comparison. The observed current velocity was also found to exhibit reasonable agreement with the shipboard ADCP data. It was shown that the HF radars clearly capture seasonal and short-term variations of the SWC. The velocity of the Soya Warm Current reaches its maximum, approximately 1 m s⁻¹, in summer and weakens in winter. The velocity core is located 20 to 30 km from the coast, and its width is approximately 40 km. The surface transport by the SWC shows a significant correlation with the sea level difference along the strait, as derived from coastal tide gauge records at Wakkanai and Abashiri. Deceased.     

40Ar/39Ar age of material returned from asteroid 25143 Itokawa

The Hayabusa mission to asteroid 25143, Itokawa, brought back 2000 small particles, which most closely resemble material found in LL4‐6 chondrites. We report an ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age of 1.3 ± 0.3 Ga for a sample of Itokawa consisting of three grains with a total mass of ~2 μg. This age is lower than the >4.0 Ga ages measured for 75% of LL chondrites but close to one for Y‐790964 and its pairs. The flat ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar release spectrum of the sample suggests complete degassing 1.3 Ga ago. Recent solar heating in Itokawa's current orbit does not appear likely to have reset that age. Solar or impact heating 1.3 Ga ago could have done so. If impact heating was responsible, then the 1.3 Ga age sets an upper bound on the time at which the Itokawa rubble pile was assembled and suggests that rubble pile creation was an ongoing process in the inner solar system for at least the first 3 billion years of solar system history.     

Surface velocity time series derived from satellite altimetry data in a section across the Kuroshio southwest of Kyushu

A time series of surface geostrophic velocity is developed using satellite altimetry data during 1992–2010 for a track across the Kuroshio southeast of Kyushu, Japan. The temporal mean geostrophic velocity is estimated by combining the along-track sea level anomaly and shipboard ADCP data. This approximately 6-km resolution dataset is successful in representing the Kuroshio cross-current structure and temporal variation of the Kuroshio current-axis position during 2000–2010. The authors use this dataset to examine the winter Kuroshio path destabilization phenomenon. Its seasonal features are characterized as follows: the velocity shear on the inshore side of the Kuroshio becomes stronger and the Kuroshio path state becomes unstable from the summer to winter. This evidence is consistent with the hypothetical mechanism governing the destabilization phenomenon discussed in a previous study. Furthermore, the interannual amplitude modulation of the seasonality is examined in relation to interannual variations in the winter northerly wind over the northern Okinawa Trough and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) index. The destabilization phenomenon appears 15 times in the period 2000–2010. Ten cases are related to local wind effects, and 7 of these are also connected with the PDO index. This is probably because the winter northerly wind over the northern Okinawa Trough is regulated by the PDO signal in interannual time-scales. Only 4 cases are related to the PDO index, but their driving mechanism remains uncertain.     

Field observations of meteotsunami locally called “abiki” in Urauchi Bay, Kami-Koshiki Island, Japan

A seasonal scale field observation extending over a period of 82?days was conducted in Urauchi Bay on Kami-Koshiki Island, to record meteotsunami events, disastrous secondary oscillations locally known as ??abiki.?? The bay has an elongated T-shape topography with a narrow mouth opening westward to the East China Sea. The area has suffered the effects of meteotsunami causing flooding in residential area and damage to fishing fleets and facilities. A comprehensive observation system for sea level, ocean currents and barometric pressure was deployed to cover the regions within and offshore from Urauchi Bay and the open sea near the island of Mejima in the East China Sea. Vigorous meteotsunami events, where the total height exceeded 150?cm, were observed over five-day periods during the observation period. One or two hours prior to the arrival of meteotsunami events at Kami-Koshiki Island, abrupt 1?C2?hPa pressure changes were observed at the Mejima observation site. Pressure disturbances were found to travel eastward or northeastward. The propagation speed was found to nearly coincide with that of ocean long waves over the East China Sea, and as a result, resonant coupling should be anticipated. The incoming long waves were also amplified by geometric resonance with eigen oscillations inherent in the T-shape topography of Urauchi Bay.     

Relationship between atmospheric conditions at Dhaka, Bangladesh, and rainfall at Cherrapunjee, India

To improve flood forecasting, the understanding of the atmospheric conditions associated with severe rainfall is crucial. We analysed the atmospheric conditions at Dhaka, Bangladesh, using upper-air soundings. We then compared these conditions with daily rainfall variations at Cherrapunjee, India, which is a main source of floodwater to Bangladesh, and a representative sample of exceptionally heavy rainfall events. The analysis focussed on June and July 2004. June and July are the heaviest rainfall months of the year at Cherrapunjee. July 2004 had the fourth-heaviest monthly rainfall of the past 31 years, and severe floods occurred in Bangladesh. Active rainfall periods at Cherrapunjee corresponded to “breaks” in the Indian monsoon. The monsoon trough was located over the Himalayan foothills, and strong westerly winds dominated up to 7 km at Dhaka. Near-surface wind below 1 km had southerly components, and the wind profile had an Ekman spiral structure. The results suggest that rainfall at Cherrapunjee strongly depends on the near-surface wind speed and wind direction at Dhaka. Lifting of the near-surface southerly airflow by the Meghalaya Plateau is considered to be the main contributor to severe rainfall at Cherrapunjee. High convective available potential energy (CAPE) also contributes to intense rainfall.     

The development of Fe-nodules surrounding biological material mediated by microorganisms

Takashikozo is a phenomenon of Quaternary sediments in Japan. They are cylindrical Fe-oxyhydroxide nodules that form as plaques round plant roots, where Fe is preferentially concentrated to develop a solid wall. Structural features suggest that after the roots have decayed, the central space where the roots were situated acts as a flow path for oxidized water. Analysis of microbial 16S rDNA extracted from the nodules identified iron-oxidizing bacteria encrusted round the roots where they are the likely initiators of nodule formation. Direct microscopic observation revealed an accumulation of Fe-oxyhydroxides that fill the pore spaces and is also likely to be linked with the encrusting microbial colonies. Geological history and nanofossil evidence suggest that these Fe-nodules may have been buried at a depth of up to several tens of meters for at least 10⁵ years in reducing Quaternary sediments. Thus Fe-oxyhydroxide nodules that have formed in a geological environment at the interfaces between water and rock by microbial mediation can persist under reducing conditions. If this is the case, the phenomenon is significant as an analogue of post-closure conditions in radioactive waste repositories, since it could influence nuclide migration.     

Brittle normal faulting in the highest-grade Sambagawa metamorphic rocks of central Shikoku, southwest Japan: Indication of the exhumation into the upper crustal level

Analysis of fault system in the high-P/T type Sambagawa metamorphic rocks of central Shikoku, southwest Japan, shows that conjugate normal faults pervasively developed in the highest-grade biotite zone (upper structural level) in three study areas (Asemi river, Oriu and Niihama areas). These conjugate normal faults consist of NE–SW to E–W striking and moderately north-dipping (set A), and NNW–SSE striking and moderately east dipping (set B) faults. The fault set A is dominant compared to the fault set B, and hence most of deformation is accommodated by the fault set A, leading to non-coaxial deformation. The sense of shear is inferred to be a top-to-the-WNW to NNW, based on the orientations of striation or quartz slickenfibre and dominant north-side down normal displacement. These transport direction by normal faulting is significantly different from that at D₁ penetrative ductile flow (i.e. top-to-the-W to WNW). It has also been found that these conjugate normal faults are openly folded during the D₃ phase about the axes trending NW–SE to E–W and plunging west at low-angles or horizontally, indicating that normal faulting occurred at the D₂ phase. D₂ normal faults, along which actinolite breccia derived from serpentinite by metasomatism sometimes occurs, perhaps formed under subgreenschist conditions (ca. 250 °C) in relation to the final exhumation of Sambagawa metamorphic rocks into the upper crustal level. The pervasive development of D₂ normal faults in the upper structural level suggests that the final exhumation of Sambagawa metamorphic rocks could be caused by “distributed extension and normal faulting (removal of overburden)” in the upper crust.     

Occurrence characteristics of chaetognath species along the PM transect in the Japan sea during 1972–2002

A long-term variation in dominant species of chaetognaths in the Tsushima Warm Current was analyzed using samples collected four times a year from 1972 to 2002 by the Maizuru Marine Observatory along the PM transect in the Japan Sea. Of 19 occurring species, 13 subtropical species formed a major portion of the standing stock. Species richness in the study area was similar to that in the East China Sea and the South China Sea. Four species, Sagitta minima, S. nagae, S. enflata, S. elegans dominated in the upper 150 m water column. The most dominant species per season were S. minima in both winter and autumn, S. elegans in spring and S. nagae in summer. Water temperature and salinity ranges of the most frequent occurrence for three dominant species revealed a common tendency in the order of S. nagae > S. minima > S. enflata towards colder temperature and higher salinity. Inter-annual abundance of chaetognath species fluctuated proportionally in response to the warm or cool phases in water temperature. Water temperature was a fundamental factor in regulating distributional occurrence, being more decisive than salinity. Changes of both dominant species and species numbers in relation to the reduced abundance during winter to spring and the subsequent increase during summer to autumn might be caused by specific differences in optimum temperature. Chaetognath species are important as an indicator of water masses and significant for our understanding of changes and evaluations of the Japan Sea ecosystem.