Internal architecture and mobility of tidal sand ridges in the East China Sea

On the basis of bathymetric and seismic data and data from piston cores collected by the Chinese–French marine geology and geophysics investigation of 1996, we discuss the internal architecture and mobility of tidal sand ridges in the East China Sea (ECS). We characterized the sand ridges on the middle to outer shelf of the ECS as tide-dominated sand ridges with southwest dipping beds, indicating that the regional net sediment transport is toward the southwest. As the sand ridges gradually migrate toward the southwest, new sand ridges are continually replacing old ones, and several generations of sand ridges have developed in the study area.     

Viscosity measurements of subliquidus magmas: Alkali olivine basalt from the Higashi-Matsuura district, Southwest Japan

We carried out viscosity measurements and sampling of a crystal suspension derived from alkali olivine basalt from the Matsuura district, SW Japan, at subliquidus temperatures from 1230 °C to 1140 °C under 1 atm with NNO oxygen buffered conditions. Viscosity increased from 31 to 1235 Pa s with a decrease in temperature from 1230 to 1140 °C. On cooling, olivine first appeared at 1210 °C, followed by plagioclase at 1170 °C. The crystal content of the sample attained 31 vol.% at 1140 °C (plagioclase 22%, olivine 9%). Non-Newtonian behaviors, including thixotropy and shear thinning, were pronounced in the presence of tabular plagioclase crystals. The cause of such behavior is discussed in relation to shear-induced changes in melt–crystal textures. Relative viscosities, η_r (= η_s / η_m, where η_s and η_m are the viscosities of the suspension and the melt, respectively), were obtained by calculating melt viscosities from the melt composition and temperature at 1 atm using the equation proposed by Giordano and Dingwell [Giordano, D., Dingwell, D.B., 2003. Non-Arrhenian multicomponent melt viscosity: a model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 208, 337–349.]. The obtained relative viscosities are generally consistent with the Einstein–Roscoe relation, which represents η_r for suspensions that contain equant and equigranular crystals, even though the crystal suspension analyzed in the present experiments contained tabular plagioclase and granular olivine of various grain sizes. This consistency is attributed to the fact that the effect of crystal shape was counterbalanced by the effect of the dispersion of crystal size. The applicability of the Einstein–Roscoe equation with respect to crystal shape is discussed on the basis of the present experimental results. Our experiments and those of Sato [Sato, H., 2005. Viscosity measurement of subliquidus magmas: 1707 basalt of Fuji volcano. Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences, 100, 133–142.] show that the relationship between relative viscosity and crystal fraction is consistent with the Einstein–Roscoe relationship for axial ratios that are smaller than the critical value of 4–6.5, but discrepancies occur for higher ratios.     

Experiments on cauldron formation: A polygonal cauldron and ring fractures

The sequence of formation of the Motojuku-type cauldron (Fujita et al., 1970) is summarized as follows: (1) doming due to ascent of a magma body; (2) development of normal faults which produce a polygonal cauldron; and (3) eruption of acidic to intermediate pyroclastic material. Model experiments on a scale of 1/200,000 reveal that ascent of the magma body, which was imitated by a ball of hardened putty, produced a polygonal cauldron composed of radial and concentrically arranged short fractures on the roof of a dome. No ring fractures were formed. This type of cauldron develops near the surface. On the other hand, emission of magma which was imitated by evaporation of a ball of dry ice in brittle powdered material, caused ring faults dipping outward and a circular cauldron without up- or downwarping. This type of cauldron develops upward from the magma body. The former model is equated to the Motojuku-type cauldron, and the latter model to the other types of cauldrons with ring fractures.     

Long-term high-frequency measurements of dibromomethane in the atmosphere at algae-rich and algae-poor coastal sites

Dibromomethane (CH₂Br₂), a natural stratospheric ozone depleting substance, is mostly emitted from the ocean, but the relative importance of coastal (or macroalgae) and open ocean emissions is unknown. We made long-term high-frequency measurements of CH₂Br₂ concentrations at two remote coastal sites in Japan, on the subtropical Hateruma Island (poor in macroalgae) and at Cape Ochiishi (rich in macroalgae). CH₂Br₂ concentrations at Hateruma showed prominent seasonal variation, being lower in summer (around 0.94 ppt) than in winter (around 1.23 ppt). In contrast, CH₂Br₂ concentrations at Ochiishi were highly variable, often exceeding 2 ppt in the summer but with minimum baseline concentrations close to those from Hateruma; in the winter the concentrations were almost constant at about 1.3 ppt. Analysis of the data suggested that (1) emissions from macroalgae were not likely to extend offshore, but instead were localized near the shore, (2) strong macroalgal emissions of CH₂Br₂ were almost limited to the summer, but it was not reflected in the seasonality of the baseline concentrations of CH₂Br₂ in the atmosphere, and therefore (3) macroalgal or coastal emissions of CH₂Br₂ in the temperate zone might have a rather limited contribution to the global CH₂Br₂ sources. These findings are especially important for the understanding of the tropospheric and stratospheric bromine budget.     

Light utilization efficiency of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre of the North Pacific during summer

We investigated the water-column light utilization efficiency (Ψ) of phytoplankton photosynthesis in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG) of the North Pacific during summer 2008. The Ψ values (0.64–1.86 g C [g Chl a]^?1 [mol photon]^?1 m²) obtained were observed to increase significantly with decreasing daily photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) and were generally higher than those of previous studies, not only from the subarctic Pacific but also from the world’s oceans. To examine the effect of iron availability on Ψ in the WSG, Ψ values were estimated from the data of two in situ iron fertilization experiments: the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study I (SEEDS-I) and II (SEEDS-II). We found that iron availability did not affect Ψ values. Overall, this study revealed that Ψ values changed remarkably in the WSG during the summer, and that higher values were found at the stations where moderate PAR levels (ca. 10–30 mol photons m^?2 day^?1) were observed and where autotrophic flagellates predominated in the phytoplankton assemblages.     

An overview of decadal climate predictability in a multi-model ensemble by climate model MIROC

Decadal climate predictability is examined in hindcast experiments by a multi-model ensemble using three versions of the coupled atmosphere-ocean model MIROC. In these hindcast experiments, initial conditions are obtained from an anomaly assimilation procedure using the observed oceanic temperature and salinity with prescribed natural and anthropogenic forcings on the basis of the historical data and future emission scenarios in the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. Results of the multi-model ensemble in our hindcast experiments show that predictability of surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies on decadal timescales mostly originates from externally forced variability. Although the predictable component of internally generated variability has considerably smaller SAT variance than that of externally forced variability, ocean subsurface temperature variability has predictive skills over almost a decade, particularly in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic where dominant signals associated with Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) are observed. Initialization enhances the predictive skills of AMO and PDO indices and slightly improves those of global mean temperature anomalies. Improvement of these predictive skills in the multi-model ensemble is higher than that in a single-model ensemble.     

Mobility of arsenic and trace element inventories in sediment cores from Masuda City,southwestern Japan

The vertical distribution of arsenic and other trace and major elements has been studied in four sediment cores from Masuda City, Nagashima and Okite in the Shimane Prefecture of southwestern Japan. The sediment cores were also subjected to leaching techniques and ¹⁴C dating. The stratigraphic sequences in the cores consist of silt and sandy silt at top, passing downward into gray to black clays. Elevated values of As, Pb, Zn, Cu, Ni, Cr, and V are present in several horizons while abundances of these elements tend to be higher in the black and gray clays, probably due to adsorption onto clay sediments. Higher concentrations of Fe and total sulfur (TS) occur in black clays. The correlations of the trace metals with iron suggest their adsorption onto Fe (oxy)hydroxides, whereas correlations with sulfur in some cores indicate that they were precipitated as Fe-sulfides. Age determinations suggest that clay horizons at ∼5 m depth were deposited at around 5,000 and 6,000 years BP (¹⁴C ages) during the transgressive phase of sea level change. The results of the leaching techniques in the core samples show that higher amounts of As were extracted with deionized water. Even at neutral pH, As can be released from sediments to groundwater, and therefore groundwater pollution is a concern in Masuda City and the surrounding area.     

Palynological evidence for late Holocene environmental change on the Gimhae fluvial plain,Southern Korean peninsula: Reconstructing the rise and fall of Golden Crown Gaya State

This paper presents the results of detailed studies of palynomorphs recovered from two cores collected near the Yeanri burial mound on the Gimhae fluvial plain. Two local pollen zones were recognized on the basis of variations in the palynofloral assemblage: a lower Pollen Zone I, dominated by a Pinus‐Quercus assemblage, and an upper Pollen Zone II, dominated by a Pinus‐Quercus‐Gramineae assemblage. The palynological and molluscan analyses indicate that the depositional environments changed from a lower intertidal flat of a shallow bay environment to an upper intertidal flat in a shallow bay (before 1280 ± 110 ¹⁴C yr B.P.), and finally to a fluvial plain similar to that of today. This environmental change may have resulted from uplift along the Yangsan Fault. Afterward, the exposed area was modified by human activities, as indicated by a sudden increase in grassland herbaceous pollen grains. The loss of this bay likely had a dramatic effect on the Golden Crown Gaya State (3rd–7th centuries A.D.), which used it as a major port for regional trade, and may explain why it eventually merged with the Shilla State. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.