226Ra, 210Pb and 210Po disequilibria in the Western North Pacific

²²⁶Ra,²¹⁰Pb and²¹⁰Po were measured in oceanic profiles at two stations near the Bonin and Kurile trenches.²¹⁰Po is depleted by 50% on average relative to²¹⁰Pb in the surface water. In the deep water,²¹⁰Pb is about 25% deficient relative to²²⁶Ra. Based on the deficiency,²¹⁰Pb residence time with respect to removal by particulate matter was estimated to be less than 96 years in the deep water.²¹⁰Pb deficiency in the bottom water was significantly greater than that of the adjacent deep water, indicating more effective removal near or at the bottom interface.²¹⁰Pb,²¹⁰Po and Th appear to have similar overall rate constants of particulate removal throughout the water column.     

Reconstruction of a climate record for the past 140 kyr based on diatom valve flux data from Lake Biwa, Japan

To reconstruct the pattern of past climate change in central Japan during the last 140 kyr, total planktonic diatom valve concentrations (valves g^–1) and fluxes (valves cm^–2 year^–1) of total planktonic diatoms flux (PVF) and individual species were examined using a 140-m core taken from Lake Biwa, Shiga Prefecture. Most records had a sample resolution between approximately 150 and 300 yr. Based on characteristics of past and modern diatom responses to possible climate variables, we interpreted changes in Stephanodiscus suzukii flux (SVF) to reflect changes in phosphorus levels, which reflect, in turn, summer precipitation levels; changes in Aulacoseiva nipponica flux (AVF) reflect winter vertical lake-water mixing induced by winter temperatures and snowfall levels. Thus, changes in total planktonic diatom flux reflect a combination of summer precipitation, winter temperature, and snowfall values. During the 140–101 ka interval, changes in S. suzukii productivity at a millennial timescale may correspond to changes in summer rainfall in central Japan. The disappearance of A. nipponica during the same period could indicate weaker vertical mixing, possibly caused by increased temperatures and decreased snowfall levels in winter. During the 101–70 ka interval, the AVF record shows levels near or above those observed in present times, indicating that winter water temperatures fell within the optimal range for A. nipponica to prosper. Generally low AVF values during the 70–7 ka interval indicate weak winter vertical mixing and cold winters. The many intervals with low PVF values during the same period suggest decreased summer precipitation levels. Between 7 and 0 ka, PVF, SVF, and AVF records show levels near or above those of the present, suggesting winter temperatures favorable for A. nipponica growth, and snowfall and summer precipitation levels probably similar to or above those currently recorded.     

Seasonal variation of atmospheric 210Pb and Al in the western North Pacific region

The atmospheric concentration of ²¹⁰Pb was determined for two years at six stations in the western North Pacific region. The following results were obtained and discussed by comparing them with those of Al. The atmospheric concentration of ²¹⁰Pb varied widely from week to week, but the degree of variation was about a half that of Al. Contrary to Al, the year-to-year variation of ²¹⁰Pb was not pronounced and its seasonal variation was well expressed by a sine curve. The ²¹⁰Pb concentration did not show a marked latitudinal variation and its base-line concentration was high in the surface air over the North Pacific. These suggest that atmospheric ²¹⁰Pb has a longer residence time, due to its transportation through higher altitudes and deposits much more evenly onto the Earth's surface and the ocean, as compared with Al in mineral dust which is larger in size in the source region.     

The characterization and distribution of aerosol and gaseous species in the winter monsoon over the western pacific ocean

During the winters of 1981 and 1982, measurements were taken on two Japanese islands of the aerosol and gaseous species which had been carried by northwesterly monsoons over the Pacific Ocean. The aerosols were characterized as sea-salt particles; soil particles, and as particles of sulfate, nitrate, organics and elemental carbon. At Chichi-jima island, which is about 800 km away from the main islands of Japan, it was found that the level of the anthropogenic components of the aerosols was considerably higher than their background level. The mean concentrations of the species on the islands are given in tabular forms. According to a survey made on board a ferry boat, the aerosol and gaseous species were fairly uniformly distributed along the southern coast of the main Japanese islands.     

Ra in the Japan Sea and the residence time of the Japan Sea water

The surface water of the Japan Sea contained²²⁶Ra of70 ± 4dpm m⁻³ which was nearly equal to that of the surface water in the North Pacific. The concentration of²²⁶Ra in the Japan Sea deep water below 500 m was151 ± 8dpm m⁻³, showing a vertically and regionally small variation. This concentration of²²⁶Ra in the deep water is unexpectedly high, because the Japan Sea deep water has a higher Δ¹⁴ C value by about 50‰ than the Atlantic deep water containing the same²²⁶Ra. One of the causes to be considered is larger contribution of²²⁶Ra from biogenic particles dissolving in the Japan Sea deep water, but the Japan Sea is not so fertile in comparison to the Bering Sea. The other more plausible cause is the internal ventilation of the Japan Sea water, which means that the residence time of the Japan Sea Proper water is considerably long although the water is vertically mixed fairly well especially in winter. The ventilation may supply some amounts of radiocarbon and oxygen but does not change the inventory of²²⁶Ra. The residence times of the Japan Sea deep water and of water within the Japan Sea are calculated by solving simultaneous equations for²²⁶Ra and¹⁴C with a three-box model to be 300–400 years and 700–1000 years, respectively.     

Iterative deconvolution of complex body waves from great earthquakes—the Tokachi-Oki earthquake of 1968

A method of body-wave inversion is developed in an attempt to extract the information about asperities or barriers in a fault zone. A sequence of point sources, each being characterized with the seismic moment, the onset time and the location, are iteratively derived from observed records at multi-stations, where the two-dimensional extent of the source location is taken into account. A modification is made of the iterative method of Kikuchi and Kanamori on the formulation of inversion procedure to facilitate the computation.Using this method, we analyse long period P waves of the Tokachi-Oki earthquake of 1968 (M_w = 8.2) and obtain several significant subevents with time durations of ～ 10 s. Their spatio-temporal distribution shows that the rupture process consists of three characteristic stages: (A) a stage of introductory rupture, (B) a stage of main rupture and (C) a stage of aftershocks. The main rupture takes place in the form of clustering around a few sites of the fault plane. The largest subevent occurs in the northwestern corner. The stress drop associated with this event is estimated to be ～ 200 bars, one order of magnitude higher than the stress drop averaged over the entire fault plane. The sum of the seismic moments of the individual subevents amounts to 2.3 × 10²⁸ dyn. cm which approximately coincides with the one estimated from the analysis of long-period surface waves. This implies that the source of the Tokachi-Oki earthquake consists of several major subevents with time durations of ～ 10 s in addition to other minor subevents.     

Elastic properties of a single-crystal forsterite Mg2SiO4, up to 1,200 K

Elastic moduli of forsterite were measured between 300 and 1,200 K (? 1.6 times the Debye temperature) by the Rectangular Parallelepiped Resonance method. All the moduli decrease regularly with temperature. A summary of the results is as follows:

Reconstruction of millennial-scale variations in the East Asian summer monsoon over the past 300 ka based on the total carbon content of sediment from Lake Biwa,Japan

The total carbon content analysis for Takashima-oki core extracted from Lake Biwa with time resolutions of approximately 150 years was used to reconstruct millennial-scale climate change in the East Asian monsoon region over the past 300 ka. The total carbon content of the Takashima-oki core is an indirect proxy for the East Asian summer monsoon, because the total carbon content reflects primary productivity within the lake, which is controlled by precipitation in the catchment area. Using these data, we clarify temporal variations in the East Asian summer monsoon prior to MIS 5, which were previously unresolved. The observed variations show a ∼1,500-year cycle that is also recorded by paleoclimate indices in the North Atlantic region. We propose that the East Asian summer monsoon underwent abrupt millennium-scale changes during interglacial stages such as MIS 5 and 7.     

A 3D magnetic structure of Izu-Oshima Volcano and their changes after the eruption in 1986 as estimated from repeated airborne magnetic surveys

A 3D magnetic inversion method using a conjugate gradient method (CG method) was developed for constructing 3D magnetization models of a volcanic edifice and applied to aeromagnetic anomalies of Izu-Oshima Volcano surveyed in 1986 and in 1997. The calculated results of the 1986 data show that the volcanic edifice of Izu-Oshima Volcano has a mean magnetization intensity ranging from 10.4 to 12.1 A/m. The derived 3D magnetic structure shows low magnetization zones beneath the west-northwest of the western caldera rim, beneath the west-southwest of Mt. Mihara and beneath Mt. Shiroishi. These features may be related with demagnetizations, reflecting a high thermal state due to magma activities in the 1986 eruption. The comparison between 3D magnetization models in 1986 and in 1997, indicates meaningful changes beneath the C-craters erupted in 1986, suggesting a recovery process of demagnetizations and a considerable decrease of magnetization intensities in the foot of Mt. Futago, indicative of demagnetizations. A derived magnetization model including Izu-Oshima Volcano and its surrounding sea areas clarifies the submerged volcanic edifices around Izu-Oshima Island, and suggests that the old volcanic edifices of Fudeshima, Gyojyanoiwaya, and Okata Volcanoes have been affected by eastward migrations due to massive intrusions of a dike-like structure inferred at the base of Izu-Oshima Volcano.     

Heating experiments of the Tagish Lake meteorite: Investigation of the effects of short‐term heating on chondritic organics

We present in this study the effects of short‐term heating on organics in the Tagish Lake meteorite and how the difference in the heating conditions can modify the organic matter (OM) in a way that complicates the interpretation of a parent body's heating extent with common cosmothermometers. The kinetics of short‐term heating and its influence on the organic structure are not well understood, and any study of OM is further complicated by the complex alteration processes of the thermally metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites—potential analogues of the target asteroid Ryugu of the Hayabusa2 mission—which had experienced posthydration, short‐duration local heating. In an attempt to understand the effects of short‐term heating on chondritic OM, we investigated the change in the OM contents of the experimentally heated Tagish Lake meteorite samples using Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy utilizing X‐ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, and ultraperformance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection and quadrupole time of flight hybrid mass spectrometry. Our experiment suggests that graphitization of OM did not take place despite the samples being heated to 900 °C for 96 h, as the OM maturity trend was influenced by the heating conditions, kinetics, and the nature of the OM precursor, such as the presence of abundant oxygenated moieties. Although both the intensity of the 1s?σ* exciton cannot be used to accurately interpret the peak metamorphic temperature of the experimentally heated Tagish Lake sample, the Raman graphite band widths of the heated products significantly differ from that of chondritic OM modified by long‐term internal heating.