New buoy observation system for tsunami and crustal deformation

We have developed a new system for real-time observation of tsunamis and crustal deformation using a seafloor pressure sensor, an array of seafloor transponders and a Precise Point Positioning (PPP ) system on a buoy. The seafloor pressure sensor and the PPP system detect tsunamis, and the pressure sensor and the transponder array measure crustal deformation. The system is designed to be capable of detecting tsunami and vertical crustal deformation of ±8 m with a resolution of less than 5 mm. A noteworthy innovation in our system is its resistance to disturbance by strong ocean currents. Seismogenic zones near Japan lie in areas of strong currents like the Kuroshio, which reaches speeds of approximately 5.5 kt (2.8 m/s) around the Nankai Trough. Our techniques include slack mooring and new acoustic transmission methods using double pulses for sending tsunami data. The slack ratio can be specified for the environment of the deployment location. We can adjust slack ratios, rope lengths, anchor weights and buoy sizes to control the ability of the buoy system to maintain freeboard. The measured pressure data is converted to time difference of a double pulse and this simple method is effective to save battery to transmit data. The time difference of the double pulse has error due to move of the buoy and fluctuation of the seawater environment. We set a wire-end station 1,000 m beneath the buoy to minimize the error. The crustal deformation data is measured by acoustic ranging between the buoy and six transponders on the seafloor. All pressure and crustal deformation data are sent to land station in real-time using iridium communication.     

Seasonal variation in the energy and water exchanges above and below a larch forest in eastern Siberia

The water and energy exchanges in forests form one of the most important hydro‐meteorological systems. There have been far fewer investigations of the water and heat exchange in high latitude forests than of those in warm, humid regions. There have been few observations of this system in Siberia for an entire growing season, including the snowmelt and leaf‐fall seasons. In this study, the characteristics of the energy and water budgets in an eastern Siberian larch forest were investigated from the snowmelt season to the leaf‐fall season. The latent heat flux was strongly affected by the transpiration activity of the larch trees and increased quickly as the larch stand began to foliate. The sensible heat dropped at that time, although the net all‐wave radiation increased. Consequently, the seasonal variation in the Bowen ratio was clearly ‘U’‐shaped, and the minimum value (1·0) occurred in June and July. The Bowen ratio was very high (10–25) in early spring, just before leaf opening. The canopy resistance for a big leaf model far exceeded the aerodynamic resistance and fluctuated over a much wider range. The canopy resistance was strongly restricted by the saturation deficit, and its minimum value was 100 s m^?1 (10 mm s^?1 in conductance). This minimum canopy resistance is higher than values obtained for forests in warm, humid regions, but is similar to those measured in other boreal conifer forests. It has been suggested that the senescence of leaves also affects the canopy resistance, which was higher in the leaf‐fall season than in the foliated season. The mean evapotranspiration rate from 21 April 1998 to 7 September 1998 was 1·16 mm day^?1, and the maximum rate, 2·9 mm day^?1, occurred at the beginning of July. For the growing season from 1 June to 31 August, this rate was 1·5 mm day^?1. The total evapotranspiration from the forest (151 mm) exceeded the amount of precipitation (106 mm) and was equal to 73% of the total water input (211 mm), including the snow water equivalent. The understory evapotranspiration reached 35% of the total evapotranspiration, and the interception evaporation was 15% of the gross precipitation. The understory evapotranspiration was high and the interception evaporation was low because the canopy was sparse and the leaf area index was low. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Biomass and production of bacterioplankton at the hydrothermal vent areas in the rift system of the North Fiji Basin

Mesoscale distribution of the density and productivity of bacterioplankton at representative geological locations in the rift ecosystem of the North Fiji Basin were clarified by sampling using a mannedShinkai 6500 submersible. The bacterioplankton density inside the hot and warm fluids of hydrothermal vents was one order magnitude greater than that in the deep water outside the vent plume. The bacterial production was highest inside the hot and warm vent fluids, and was higher just outside the hot and warm vent fluids than further outside in the deep water surrounding the vent plume, respectively. Productivity from outside to inside the vent fluid varied from 0.01 to 0.71 gC m^–3 day^–1.     

Strong tidal currents observed near the bottom in the Suruga Trough,central Japan

Current measurements carried out at the depth of 4 m above the sea bottom near the northern edge of the Suruga Trough in the early fall of 1985 indicated the existence of strong semidiurnal tidal currents, which were considered to be associated with internal tides. In order to examine the spatial structure of the bottom intensified tidal flow, more detailed current observations were carried out at three or four depths at two stations along the main axis of the Suruga Trough during about 70 days from August to October 1988. We obtained the following results: (1) the variations of the current velocity caused by the semidiurnal and diurnal internal tides are evident in all of the records, and the orientation of the major axis of each tidal ellipse nearly coincides with that of the main axis of the trough; (2) the semidiurnal internal tide is dominant over the diurnal internal tide at 4 m above the sea bottom at both stations; (3) at the northern station the semidiurnal internal tide is dominant over the diurnal internal tide, whereas they are nearly equal at the southern station except at 4 m above the sea bottom; (4) the biharmonic internal tides with 1/3 day and 1/4 day periods, are found near the sea bottom and the major axis of the tidal ellipse is perpendicular to the orientation of the main axis of the Suruga Trough.     

Influence of Velocity and Types of Beam Trawl Towing on Deep-Sea Demersal Fish and Decapod Crustacean Samples

The sampling efficiency of two types of beam trawl towed at different velocities was compared when sampling deep-sea demersal fish and decapod crustaceans. The trawls were a Sigsbee-Agassiz type of 2 m span, and an Oregon type of 3 m span. The different hauls caught by the Oregon type beam trawl of 3 m span towed at 1.5 knot (3m 1.5 kt), the Oregon type towed at 0.8 knot (3m 0.8 kt) and the Sigsbee-Agassiz type towed at 1.5 knot (2m 1.5 kt) were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA), the Tukey test, cluster analysis based on Morisita-Horn index, and correspondence analysis. The minimum viable sample size was determined by a randomization test. For demersal fish, the type of gear used had more influenced on the samples obtained than the towing velocity. For decapod crustaceans, no significant difference was detected between different trawls towed at different velocities. The common idea that if these types of trawl are towed at 1 knot or more, they cannot efficiently sample epifauna, but demersal fish can be well sampled, should be abandoned. The samples of demersal fish caught by 3m 1.5 kt revealed the greatest consistency and lowest variation than the others. We recommend using an Oregon type beam trawl of 3 m span towed at 1.5 knot as an ordinary deep-sea sampling device. Only a single successful haul or a sample size of 52 individuals was sufficient for estimating demersal fish diversity, but at least two successful hauls or a sample size of 54 individuals were needed for decapod crustaceans. If possible, seven successful hauls or a sample size of 189 individuals of decapod crustaceans are recommended for community study. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Tectonothermal chronology within a blueschist-eclogite complex, west-central Spitsbergen, Svalbard: Evidence from and Rb---Sr mineral ages

A high-pressure, relatively low-temperature metamorphic complex is exposed at Motalafjella, Spitsbergen. White mica concentrates from the complex record variably discordant age spectra in which apparent ages systematically increase throughout low-temperature portions of the analyses and define intermediate- and high-temperature plateaux. Phengitic concentrates record plateau ages of c. 470 Ma whereas paragonitic concentrates yield c. 460 Ma plateaux. These ages are interpreted to date diachronous cooling through different argon closure temperatures following the high-pressure metamorphism. The slight discordance displayed in low-temperature portions of the experiments is interpreted to reflect a partial rejuvenation of intracrystalline argon systems during an c. 400–425 Ma thermal overprint associated with late Caledonian tectonothermal activity. White mica concentrates and associated whole-rocks yield Rb---Sr mineral + whole-rock ages from 457 ± 11 Ma to 474 ± 11 Ma. These are interpreted to date post-metamorphic cooling through Sr blocking temperatures. Because similar ages are recorded by both K---Ar and Rb---Sr isotopic systems, relatively rapid post-metamorphic cooling is implied. This and relatively rapid depressurization during uplift indicate that the and Rb---Sr mineral ages likely closely date the peak metamorphism.The high pressure complex is unconformably overlain by variably cleaved, Upper Ordovician-Lower Silurian flysch which was deformed into regional recumbent folds prior to deposition of unconformably overlying Early Devonian molasse. Two penetratively cleaved slate samples display internally discordant whole-rock age spectra with ages increasing from c. 100 Ma to c. 470 Ma. The spectral discordance is interpreted to reflect the combined effects of: (1) a polymineralic character: (2) a detrital source similar in age to the Motalafjella complex; and (3) a partial, post-Paleozoic thermal rejuvenation of the detrital mica argon systems. No thermal overprint associated with Late Silurian cleavage formation appears to be recorded. This agrees with textural characteristics which suggest that the cleavage largely developed through pressure-solution assisted, grain-boundary sliding.     

On the structure of ducts for mid-latitude whistlers and their ionospheric transmission as deduced from the ground-based direction finding

The ground-based direction finding carried out at Ceduna, Australia (L=1.93) has yielded the structure for mid-latitude whistlers and their duct ionospheric transmission mechanism. It is found that the ducts tend to take place (or be formed) at the same latitudes and that such sheet-shaped duct includes some inhomogeneities within it which act as field-aligned ducts.     

Electrical resistivity of fcc phase iron hydrides at high pressures and temperatures

We measured the electrical resistivity of face-centered-cubic (fcc) structured iron hydrides at high pressures up to 65 GPa and high temperatures in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. The results indicate that the resistivity of stoichiometric fcc FeH_x (x ～ 1.0) is smaller than that of fcc Fe at the same pressure and temperature conditions. The same behavior was also observed in fcc FeNiH_x (x ～ 1.0). On the other hand, hydrogen-poor fcc FeH_x (x < 0.77) showed a resistivity comparable to that of the fcc phase of pure iron. Therefore, we conclude that the stoichiometric fcc Fe (–Ni) hydride is more conductive than Fe (–Ni) with the same crystal symmetry, and the impurity resistivity of hydrogen in Fe is vanishingly small. Even if hydrogen is the major light element in the Earth's core, it would have little influence on the electrical and thermal conductivity of Fe–Ni alloys, and hence the thermal evolution of the core.