Basin-Scale Geographic Patterns of Bacterioplankton Biomass and Production in the Subarctic Pacific, July–September 1997

Bacterial biomass and production rate were measured in the surface (0–100 m) and mesopelagic layers (100–1,000 m) in the subarctic Pacific and the Bering Sea between July–September, 1997. Depth profiles were determined at stations occupied in oceanic domains including the subarctic gyres (western, Bering Sea, and Gulf of Alaska) and a boundary region south of the gyres. In the surface layer (0–100 m), both bacterial biomass and production were generally high in the western and Bering Sea gyres, with the tendency of decrease toward east. This geographic pattern was consistent with the dominant regime of phytoplankton biomass at the time of our survey. A significant portion of variation in bacterial production was explained by the concentration of chlorophyll a (r ² = 0.340, n = 60, P < 0.001) and, to the greater extent, by the concentration of semilabile total organic carbon (SL-TOC = TOC at a given depth—TOC at 1,000 m, r ² = 0.488, n = 59, P < 0.0001). Temperature significantly improved the regression model: temperature and chlorophyll jointly explained 60% of variation in bacterial production. These results support the hypothesis that bacteiral growth is largely regulated by the combination of temperature and the supply of dissolved organic carbon in subarctic surface waters. In the mesopelagic layer (100–1,000 m), the geographic pattern of bacterial production was strikingly different from the surface phytoplankton distribution: the production was high in the boundary region where the phytoplankton biomass was lowest. Bacterial growth appeared to be largely controlled by the supply of organic carbon, as indicated by the strong dependency of bacterial production on SL-TOC (r ² = 0.753, n = 75, P < 0.0001). The spatial uncoupling between surface phytoplankton and mesopelagic bacterial production suggests that the supply rate of labile dissolved organic carbon in the mesopelagic zone does not simply reflect the magnitude of the particulate organic carbon flux in the subarctic Pacific.     

A study on the distribution of total bacteria,bacterial aggregates and heterotrophic bacteria in the sea

The concentrations of total bacteria, bacterial aggregates and so-called heterotrophic bacteria were compared and discussed with special reference to the watermasses that vertically layered at the western North Pacific central region and the subarctic Pacific region.The concentrations of bacterial aggregates, having cells more than 25, were considerably uniform throughout the ocean depths. This was also shown indirectly by the measurements of size spectrum and organic constituents of particles, especially in the subsurface and deep watermasses. The so-called heterotrophic bacteria decreased in their concentration in deeper watermass, and the decrease was not obvious within each watermass but obvious among watermasses.     

A real-time observation network of ocean-bottom-seismometers deployed at the Sagami trough subduction zone,central Japan

We installed a real-time operating regional observation network of Ocean-Bottom-Seismometers, connected to an electro-optical fiber communication cable, at the Sagami trough subduction zone, just south of the Tokyo metropolitan area, central Japan. The network, called ETMC, has six seismic observation sites at approximately 20 km spacing. In addition, there are three tsunami observation sites along the ETMC network to monitor the propagation process of tsunamis around the Sagami trough region.The on-line data from the ETMC has been improving the detection capability of smaller-magnitude earthquakes even at areas close to the margin of the trough. The ETMC data analyzing system, which has a function of real-time digital filtering for each seismic channel, can read the arrival times of P- and S-waves precisely, constraining well the automatic on-line hypocenter locations. The network has been providing useful information regarding the bending and downgoing process of the Philippine sea plate at the Sagami trough subduction zone.The pressure sensors of the installed network have a detection capability of tsunami wave trains with an amplitude of less than 1 cm. For example, the sensors recorded the full time history of tsunami wave trains, with mm order resolution, originating from a tsunami earthquake with 5.7 M_W and the tsunami magnitude of 7.5 occurred near Tori Shima (Tori Is.) of the Izu-Bonin Is. arc on September 4, 1996. The maximum amplitude of the tsunami signals on the trough-floor was approximately 1 cm (P-P), in contrast with approximately 20 cm (0-P) at a coastal site on Izu-Oshima, near the trough. Also, the pressure sensors observed tsunamis due to a large tsunami earthquake (7.1 M_W) at the northern New Guinea, on July 17, 1998.     

Extinction coefficients of amorphous carbon grains from 2100 Å to 340 μm

Extinction measurements were made for three kinds of amorphous carbon grains in the range 2100 -340 m. Absolute values of extinction coefficients from different sources vary by almost constant factors. Wavelength dependences of extinction curves show a ^–1 or less steep fall off, against a ^–2 or steeper fall off of graphite grains. Small humps are found around 6.3, 8, 13.3 and 90 m, although their origins are not yet clear. The infrared properties of amorphous carbon grains suggest that they could supply a significant amount of far-infrared emission noted in recent astronomical observations.     

Magnetotelluric resistivity modeling for 3D characterization of geothermal reservoirs in the Western side of Mt. Aso, SW Japan

Geothermal reservoirs are usually located at a depth range of 2 to 5 km, so to efficiently utilize such resources an advanced prospecting method is needed to detect these deep geologic structures. This study aimed to three-dimensionally characterize geothermal reservoirs by a combination of Magnetotelluric (MT) survey, inversion analysis of apparent resistivity, and interpolation of the resistivity data obtained. The western side of Mt. Aso crater, southwest Japan, was chosen as the case study area. Three hot springs exist there and a fault is assumed to go in the direction connecting them. A MT survey was carried out at 26 sites and the data processed by a remote reference method to reduce artificial noises. Based on skewness and Mohr circle analyses of the impedance tensor, the local geologic structure at each site could be approximated as horizontally layered and therefore, a one-dimensional inversion analysis was applied to the MT raw data. The resultant resistivity column data were then interpolated by the three-dimensional optimization principle method. The resistivity distributions obtained clarified continuous conductors with especially low resistivity (less than 10 Ω·m) at the hot springs along the fault. Because the resistivity decreases largely with an abundance of clay minerals, the conductors could be considered to correspond with the cap rocks. Thus, two geothermal reservoirs, whose shapes were estimated to be pillar, were detected under the cap rocks in an elevation range of − 1000 to − 3000 m. By comparing the resistivity distributions with the temperature distributions based on fluid-flow calculations at a steady state using FEM, the validity of the location and dimension of the estimated reservoirs were confirmed.     

Geochemical Changes in Spring Water Associated with the 2000 Eruption of the Miyakejima Volcano, Japan

Water was sampled from eight springs and a lake in volcanic Miyakejima Island of Japan after the 2000 eruption. Major chemical and isotopic compositions of the water were analyzed. Significant increases of sulfate ion are observed in several springs where the thickness of ejecta exceeds 32 mm. A good relationship of Cl/S mole ratios between spring water and leachate of the ejecta is observed. Sulfur isotopic compositions of the spring water become close to that of leachate of the ejecta as time elapses after the eruption. Consequently the sources of the added sulfate ion in the spring water after the eruption are interpreted to be anhydrite and adhered sulfur of the ejecta.     

Three-dimensional distribution analysis of phosphorus content of limestone through a combination of geostatistics and artificial neural network

One of the factors that determines the suitability of limestone for industrial use and its commercial value is phosphorus (P) content, i.e., the weight percentage of phosphorus contained in small quantities of limestone. Because P content changes locally, geostatistical techniques including semivariogram, ordinary kriging, and conditional indicator sequential simulation were used in this study to identify the spatial correlation of P content and to estimate its three-dimensional distribution in an open-pit mine. The P content data at 43,000 points of five different bench levels were analyzed. It was found that the horizontal semivariograms produced by using the data at the same bench level show anisotropic behavior and are represented by the sum of two spherical models with different ranges and sills. The twelve vertical semivariograms were also constructed from P content in boring cores. After these semivariograms were classified into four types, a multilayered neural network was applied to clarify the horizontal distribution of each one. One of the twelve semivariograms was assigned to an arbitrary grid point in the study area by the criterion that its type is the same as the one estimated at the point and the borehole site producing the semivariogram is the nearest to the point. With this technique, ordinary kriging combined with the semivariogram of borehole data provided a proper estimation of P content in the depth direction.     

Middle Miocene to Pleistocene magneto-biostratigraphy of ODP Sites 1150 and 1151, northwest Pacific: Sedimentation rate and updated regional geological timescale

Abstract Shipboard and shore‐based investigation on siliceous and calcareous microfossil biostratigraphy, magneto‐stratigraphy and tephrostratigraphy identified numerous datum events from the sedimentary sequences of Sites 1150 and 1151 drilled on the forearc basin of northern Japan by the Ocean Drilling Program Leg 186. Some 83 datum events were selected to construct new age–depth models for the sites. Based on the reliable magneto‐stratigraphy from the Pleistocene to the Upper Miocene, which were correlated to the standard geomagnetic polarity timescale, and on excellent records of diatom and radiolarian biostratigraphy throughout the sequences, the shipboard age model was revised. Major revisions referred to stratigraphic position of the Miocene–Pliocene boundary that has been shifted more than 200 m downward in each sequence. The age–depth relations of the forearc sites represent drastic changes in the sedimentation rate—extremely high (40 cm/k.y. on average) in the Early Pliocene and low (less than 2 cm/k.y. on average) in the Middle Miocene—and several hiatuses exist throughout the sequence. The drastic changes can be related mostly to changes in diatom sedimentation and the tectonics of the Japanese Island Arc. Local ages for some foraminiferal, calcareous nannofossil and radiolarian bioevents are estimated from the age–depth models at each site. These newly calibrated bioevents and biozones as well as established diatom biostratigraphy are incorporated into the updated magneto‐biochronologic timescale, which will contribute to an improvement in biochronologic accuracy of Neogene sediments in northern Japan and adjacent areas.     

Thermal expansion of single-crystal tephroite

The thermal expansion of tephroite (Mn₂SiO₄) at temperatures between 25 and 850°C has been determined by a dilatometric technique. The analysis of data in terms of Grüneisen's theory yields the Grüneisen's parameter γ=1.04, and the pressure derivative of rigidity (?G/?P)=0.7.