North Pacific Subtropical Mode Waters Observed in Long XBT Cross Sections along 32.5°N Line

The S/V Shoyo, of the Hydrographic Department, Japan Coast Guard, has conducted high-density expendable bathythermograph (XBT) measurements along the 32.5°N line in the North Pacific every year from 1990 to 1993 as a part of the Japanese-World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). These XBT data are analyzed here, focusing on year-to-year variations of the inventory and core layer temperature (CLT) of the North Pacific subtropical mode water (NPSTMW). Large year-to-year changes are found in the NPSTMW CLTs estimated in longitudes between 140°E and 160°E. CLT values were found of 17.4°C in 1990, 17.1°C in 1991, 17.3°C in 1992 and 17.6°C in 1993. Inspection of the wintertime westerlies over the formation area and sea surface temperature distribution revealed that this change in CLT can be qualitatively attributed to the strength of atmospheric cooling in the formation area in the previous winter. Although a large year-to-year variation of NPSTMW inventory was also found, it is hard to state any relationship between CLT and atmospheric forcing. There is a possibility that different observational seasons may affect the inventory. It has also been found that the thermocline depth in 1991 was shallower in the sea area east of 180° than in 1992 and 1993. Associated with this change, the North Pacific central mode water (NPCMW), characterized by thermostad with temperatures ranging from 14°C to 11°C, appears in the sea area east of 180° in the 1992 and 1993 cross sections. The 1993 cross section, which ranged from the Japanese coast to the west coast of North America, possessed another thermostad in the surface layer, with a temperature of about 17°C in the eastern part of the cross section, off California. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Detection of systematic errors in XBT data and their correction

Comparison experiment between XBT of T-7 probe and CTD was conducted at 15 stations in the sea area centered on 29°N, 135°E in December 1985. There were systematic errors in XBT temperature profiles in comparison with CTD temperature profiles. The main cause of errors was attributed to an error in the free-fall speed of the XBT probes which was provided by the XBT maker. A previous equation for depth correction proposed by Heinmilleret al. (1983) could not give effective correction for our data. A new equation between the probe depth and the elapsed time from landing of the probe on the water was obtained by the method of adjusting temperature gradients of XBT profiles to those of CTD profiles. This equation agreed with the theoretical result given by Seaver and Kuleshov (1982) much better than that of Heinmilleret al. (1983). Systematic errors due to a scatter of values of the reference resistance and variation of B-constant of thermistors used in XBT also seemed to exist. After an adjustment using the temperature difference between XBT and CTD in the mixed layer with depths of about 100 m, the standard deviation of temperature difference between XBT and CTD from the surface to the depth of 750 m was 0.14°C.     

Interpretation of charging on fracture or frictional slip surface of rocks

Fracturing and frictional sliding of quartz and granite under dry condition generates fractoluminescence, charged particle emission and electromagnetic radiation. Various kinds of experiments indicate that surface charge density on fracture or frictional slip surface of quartz and granite is 10⁻⁴ to 10⁻² C/m² which is larger than bound charges induced by the disappearance of piezoelectricity due to the release of stress. Hole and electron trapping centers, which is found in semiconductor devices with the Si–SiO₂ system, are causes of surface charging on fracture or frictional slip surface of quartz crystal. The quantity of the surface charge is enough to cause corona discharge that can generate earthquake lights. The mechanism considering the hole and electron trapping centers has a probability to explain why non-piezoelectric minerals or rocks generate electromagnetic phenomena. It can be one of origins of seismo-electromagnetic phenomena (SEP).     

A dataset of continental river discharge based on JRA-55 for use in a global ocean circulation model

A dataset of historical river discharge into oceans was created using the CaMa-Flood global river routing model and adjusted runoff from the land component of JRA-55. The major rivers were well resolved with a 0.25° horizontal resolution. The total runoff on each drainage basin exhibits a distinctive bias on decadal time scales. The input runoff data were modified using 5-year low-pass-filtered multiplicative factors to fit the annual mean climatology and decadal variations in the reference dataset. The model incorporated data from 1958 to 2016. The yearly and seasonal variations of the major rivers are well represented by the model.     

Spatial and temporal distributions of water temperature in aSargassum forest

The present study examined the influence of aSargassum forest on the spatial and temporal distributions of water temperature in a small cove on a time scale of the order of hours. Water temperature and algal density were measured along a fixed transect at the cove for almost 2 days. The measurements were carried out in May 1977 during the season of luxuriant seaweed growth, and in August during the season of little growth. The average standing crop per unit volume, named the spatial algal density, was employed as a means of expressing the growth condition of the seaweed forest along the transect. Using the spatial algal density and by analyzing water temperature distribution the following facts were revealed. The diurnal fluctuation of water temperature was influenced by theSargassum forest during the season of luxuriant growth, and the seaweed forest delayed the ascent and descent of water temperature, especially under its canopy, on a time scale of the order of hours, i.e., the temperature distribution patterns were influenced by the heights and densities of theSargassum forest during its season of luxuriant growth. It is thought that these phenomena are brought about by two effects: one is the absorption by the seaweed forest of short-wave radiation passing through the sea surface, and the other is the suppression of convection by the seaweed.     

Simultaneous Measurement of Hydrogen Peroxide and Fe Species (Fe(II) and Fe<Subscript>(tot)</Subscript>) in Okinawa Island Seawater: Impacts of Red Soil Pollution

The northern part of Okinawa Island suffers from red soil pollution—runoff of red soil into coastal seawater—which damages coastal ecosystems and scenery. To elucidate the impacts of red soil pollution on the oxidizing power of seawater, hydrogen peroxide (HOOH) and iron species including Fe(II) and total iron (Fe_(tot), defined as the sum of Fe(II) and Fe(III)) were measured simultaneously in seawater from Taira Bay (red-soil-polluted sea) and Sesoko Island (unpolluted sea), off the northern part of Okinawa Island, Japan. We performed simultaneous measurements of HOOH and Fe(II) because the reaction between HOOH and Fe(II) forms hydroxyl radical (•OH), the most potent environmental oxidant. Gas-phase HOOH concentrations were also measured to better understand the sources of HOOH in seawater. Both HOOH and Fe(II) in seawater showed a clear diurnal variation, i.e. higher in the daytime and lower at night, while Fe_(tot) concentrations were relatively constant throughout the sampling period. Fe(II) and Fe_(tot) concentrations were approximately 58% and 19% higher in red-soil-polluted seawater than in unpolluted seawater. Gas-phase HOOH and seawater HOOH concentrations were comparable at both sampling sites, ranging from 1.4 to 5.4 ppbv in air and 30 to 160 nM in seawater. Since Fe(II) concentrations were higher in red-soil-polluted seawater while concentrations of HOOH were similar, •OH would form faster in red-soil-polluted seawater than in unpolluted seawater. Since the major scavenger of •OH, Br⁻, is expected to have similar concentrations at both sites, red-soil-polluted seawater is expected to have higher steady-state •OH concentrations.     

Overview of NOPACCS (Northwest Pacific Carbon Cycle Study)

The Northwest Pacific Carbon Cycle Study (NOPACCS) was a program aimed at investigating the carbon cycle of the North Pacific Ocean, which can be thought of as a large reservoir of carbon dioxide. NOPACCS was also aimed at estimating the North Pacific's capacity as a carbon sink. Project design, scientific results, and data availability, and subsequent projects resulting from this project are also described in this review. Studies of the upper ocean processes focused on the latitudinal differences in the fugacity of carbon dioxide; and on the detail of plankton community structures. Intermediate water was studied in relation to the formation of North Pacific Intermediate Water and the amount of accumulated anthropogenic carbon. The sedimentation process, past carbon cycle and coral reefs were also studied during the project. A preliminary, overall view of the carbon cycle of the North Pacific was drawn from the results of the project and compared to global values.     

Characteristics of an atypical large-meander path of the Kuroshio current south of Japan formed in September 2017

Since September 2017, the Kuroshio has taken a large-meander (LM) path in the region south of Japan. We examined characteristics of the 2017–present LM path in comparison with previous LM paths, using tide gauge, altimetric sea surface height, and bottom pressure data. The 2017–present LM path was formed from a path passing through a channel south of Hachijo-jima Island, while a typical LM path originated from a path through a channel north of Miyake-jima Island. The meander trough of this atypical path was found to be shifted far to the east and to vary on a timescale of months. These characteristics are different from those of a typical LM path but they are similar to those of the 1981–1984 LM path. Therefore, we identified two types of LM path; a stable and unstable LM paths. The 2017–present unstable type large meander has a zonal scale greater than that of the 2004–2005 stable type large meander and protrudes from the eastern boundary of the Shikoku Basin, i.e., Izu-Ogasawara Ridge. No significant bottom pressure depression was observed, associated with the formation of the 2017–present LM path, indicating that baroclinic instability was not important in the formation of this LM path. Due to no significant bottom steering, even during the 2017–present LM period, a mesoscale current path disturbance occurred southeast of Kyushu, propagated eastward, and amplified the offshore displacement of the Kuroshio.

     

Distribution pattern and morphochemical relationships of manganese nodules from the Central Indian Basin

In the Central Indian Basin manganese nodule abundance was variable in all sediment types. Mean abundance varied from 1.5 in calcareous ooze to 10.2 kg/m² in terrigenous-siliceous ooze sediments. Nodule grade and growth rates are positively correlated only up to 10 mm/My (million years), and grade shows no distinct relationship with abundance. Relationships between the morphochemical characteristics of the nodules and host sediment types are subtle. Both hydrogenetic and diagenetic nodules (with smooth and rough surfaces respectively) occur on almost all sediments, but in variable proportions. Thus, the overall distribution pattern shows that small nodules (<4-cm diameters) of lower grade (average value Ni+Cu+Co=1.21%) with smooth surfaces are more common on red clay, terrigenous, and terrigenous-siliceous ooze transition-zone sediments. By contrast, large nodules (>4-cm diameters) of higher grade (average value Ni+Cu+Co=1.80%) with rough surfaces are more prevalent on siliceous ooze, siliceous ooze-red clay, and calcareous ooze-red clay transition-zone sediments. This implies an enhanced supply of trace metals from pore waters to rough-surface nodules during early diagenesis.