Calcium and Magnesium‐bearing Sabugalite from the Tono Uranium Deposit,Central Japan

Calcium and magnesium‐bearing sabugalite occurs as aggregations of yellowish platy crystals in veinlets or druses in conglomerate from the oxidized parts of the Tono uranium deposit, Central Japan. X‐ray powder diffractometry of this mineral has reflections consistent with previous powder diffraction data of sabugalite. It is included in the monoclinic system with space group C2/m and calculated cell parameters of a = 19.68Å, b = 9.89Å, c = 9.82Å α = γ = 90°, β‐96.93° and V = 1897.83ų. Chemical analysis yields a formula of (Ca_0.10 Mg_0.09)_Σ0.19Al_0.53(UO₂)_2.04((PO₄)_1.99(AsO₄)_0.01)_Σ2.00·11.22H₂O. EMPA mapping shows that the mineral is compositionally uniform with no micron‐scale layering. Charge of cations including Ca and Mg in the cation‐H₂O layer is 1.98 being identical to that of autunite group minerals. This suggests that the charge balance in the cation‐H₂O layer of the mineral could be made by the alkaline earth or alkaline elements rather than by hydrogen ions.     

Reproducibility of spatial and temporal distribution of aseismic slips in Hyuga-nada of southwest Japan

The Hyuga-nada region of southwest Japan, which is located off the east coast of Kyushu Island, may have the potential to generate great interplate earthquakes along the Nankai trough in the future. In this area, thrust earthquakes of M = 6.7–7.2 have occurred with recurrence intervals of approximately 30 years. In association with these earthquakes, possible local heterogeneities of plate coupling may be expected within 100 km from the coast in the Hyuga-nada region. We investigate numerical experiments to determine the spatial and temporal resolution of slip on the plate interface beneath the Hyuga-nada offshore region. For this purpose, we calculated synthetic displacement data from the result of numerical simulation conducted for the afterslip following an M_w 6.8 earthquake, for existing global positioning system stations on land and planned ocean floor seismic network stations. The spatial and temporal distribution of fault slip is then estimated using a Kalman filter-based inversion. The slip distribution estimated by using ocean floor stations demonstrates that the heterogeneity of plate coupling is resolved approximately within 50 km from the coastal area. This heterogeneity corresponds to the coseismic area of an M_w 6.8 earthquake with a radius of 10 km. Our study quantitatively evaluates the spatial resolution of aseismic slip in the Hyuga-nada region. Analysis based on continuous ocean floor data is useful for resolving the spatial variations of heterogeneities in plate couplings.     

Microbial community respiration and structure of dead zone sediments of Omura Bay, Japan

Monitoring sediment microbial community metabolism and structure is instrumental to understanding biogeochemical processes in and ecological impacts on bottom environments. The aim of this study was to determine potential community respiration and to reveal community dynamics of the microorganisms in the dead zone sediments of Omura Bay, Japan. The bay is highly enclosed and develops severe hypoxia in the central regions every summer. We collected sediment core samples from the center of the bay during hypoxia, estimated sediment oxygen consumption by using an adapted in vivo electron transport system activity (in vivo ETSA) assay, enumerated abundance of bacteria, and analyzed bacterial community structure by automated ribosomal intergenic spacer analysis. Higher ETSA and bacterial diversity were found in upper sediments (within 3?cm depth) from the center than the fringe of the bay. Sediment bacterial community structure of the bay center was distinct from that of the fringe. From these results, upper sediment in the dead zone of Omura Bay was characterized by (1) greater community respiration and (2) greater diversity of bacterial components compared with the non-hypoxic sediment of the bay fringe. These characteristics have important implications for understanding the interaction between microbial communities and the development of hypoxia in Omura Bay.     

A Numerical Simulation of the Seasonal Cycle of Temperature, Salinity and Velocity Fields in Tokyo Bay

To understand when oxygen-depleted waters occur, how they develop and when they dissipate in inner Tokyo Bay, realistic simulations were attempted with fine spatial and temporal resolution by applying realistic time dependent external forcing. A 3D hydrodynamic model was driven by time-dependent external forcing factors/parameters such as solar radiation, air temperature, relative humidity, wind velocity, and fluvial discharge, under the open boundary conditions of 1995. A simulated time series of salinity and temperature agreed fairly well with observed data, except in summer. The model failed to reproduce the development of the surface mixed layer in summer. Several sensitivity analyses on the external forcing parameters such as wind velocity and vertical diffusivity were conducted to reproduce the mixed layer. However, changing these parameter values did not improve the model results.     

Interannual Changes of the Winter to Early Spring Biomass and Composition of Mesozooplankton in the Kuroshio Region in Relation to Climatic Factors

Interannual variations of biomass of major mesozooplankton groups (Cnidaria, Chaetognatha, Copepoda, Crustacea other than copepods, Tunicata) in the January to March period were examined in the slope, Kuroshio and offshore waters off the Pacific coast of western Japan (western region) from 1971 to 1988 and off central Japan (central region) from 1971 to 1989. The mean biomass for each year of most of the mesozooplankton groups was high in the early 1970s and tended to decrease (in the western region) or to have dropped to a lower level (in the central region) after the mid-1970s. Stepwise multiple linear regression analyses of the mean biomass for each year of each mesozooplankton group in the Kuroshio in both regions against climatic factors revealed that the biomass was related positively to wind speed. It is therefore considered that the nutrient supply to the upper layers limits the production of many of the mesozooplankton groups examined in the Kuroshio, even in winter. Similar relationships were also found for the biomass of Copepoda, non-copepod Crustacea and Tunicata in the offshore water in the western region. The percentage of copepods in the biomass in the central region seemed to decrease under high water temperature conditions, while that of Chaetgnatha tended to increase. Climatic factors thus largely influenced the interannual variations of biomass and composition of mesozooplankton in and near the Kuroshio during the winter to early spring period. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Continental shelf waves off the fukushima coast Part I: Observations

Current records obtained in the inshore region along the Fukushima coast are analyzed. The existence of periodical current fluctuations whose period is about 100 hours and whose amplitude is as large as 15–25cm s^–1 is recognized. Auto-spectral analyses are made also for sea level, atmospheric pressure and wind records. Each spectrum has significant peaks at the similar period to the current spectrum. The wind spectrum has a broad peak compared with the current. The periodical current fluctuations propagate southward with speed of 3–5 km h^–1. These propagation speeds seem to correspond to those of the second-and third-mode shelf waves.     

Contamination by Persistent Organochlorines in Small Cetaceans from Hong Kong Coastal Waters

Blubber samples of 2 cetacean species, the Indo-Pacific hump-backed dolphin (Sousa chinensis) (n=11) and finless porpoise (Neophocaena phocaenoides) (n=9), collected from Hong Kong coastal waters were analysed for persistent organochlorines. Mean concentration in the blubber of DDTs was ranked first (46 μg/g wet wt.), followed by PCBs (24 μg/g wet wt.), HCHs (0.76 μg/g wet wt.), chlordane compounds (0.38 μg/g wet wt.) and HCB (0.07 μg/g wet wt.). The present cetacean species may potentially be faced with high risk due to the elevated level of DDTs and PCBs. Relatively high concentrations of PCBs and DDTs can be attributed to the continuous environmental input of these compounds in the Far East region including Hong Kong. Highly chlorinated PCBs such as IUPAC Nos. 138, 153, 180 were the prominent congeners, accounting for 39% of the total PCBs. Mean concentrations of 6 non- and mono-ortho coplanar congeners were 2.1 and 2.8 μg/g wet wt. in the hump-backed dolphin and finless porpoise, respectively. Among highly toxic coplanar PCBs, mono-ortho congener IUPAC No. 118 and non-ortho congener IUPAC No. 126 were estimated to have the greatest toxicity contribution. Tris(4-chlorophenyl) methane (TCPMe) and tris(4-chlorophenyl) methanol (TCPMeOH), which have been the most recently identified microcontaminants, were also detected with the highest concentration of 290 and 300 ng/g (wet wt. basis), respectively. The concentrations of TCPMe relative to TCPMeOH in cetaceans from Hong Kong coastal waters were significantly higher than those found in various seals collected from other parts of the world, suggesting the different metabolic system of these two compounds between seals and cetaceans. Correlations between the concentrations of tris-chlorophenyl compounds with other persistent organochlorines such as HCHs, CHLs, DDTs and PCBs were significant, suggesting their accumulation nature similar to these organochlorines.     

Probing the evolution of early-type galaxies using multicolour number counts and redshift distributions

We investigate pure luminosity evolution models for early-type (elliptical and S0) galaxies (i.e. no number density change or morphological transition), and examine whether these models are consistent with observed number counts in the B , I and K bands, and redshift distributions of two samples of faint galaxies selected in the I and K bands. The models are characterized by the star formation time-scale τ _SF and the time t _gw when the galactic wind starts to blow, in addition to several other conventional parameters. We find that the single-burst model ( τ _SF=0.1 Gyr and t _gw=0.353 Gyr), which is known to reproduce the photometric properties of early-type galaxies in clusters, is inconsistent with the redshift distributions of early-type galaxies in the field environment, owing to overpredictions of the number of galaxies at z ≳1.4 even with strong extinction which is at work until t _gw. In order for dust extinction to be more effective, we treat τ _SF and t _gw as free parameters, and find that models with τ _SF≳0.5 Gyr and t _gw>1.0 Gyr can be made consistent with both the observed redshift distributions and the number counts, if we introduce strong extinction [ E ( B − V )≥1 as a peak value]. These results suggest that early-type galaxies in the field environment do not have the same evolutionary history as described by the single-burst model.     

Upwelling of oxygen-depleted water (Sumishio) in Omura Bay,Japan

Wind-induced circulation and the distribution of hypoxia corresponding to the upwelling of oxygen-depleted water (called “Aoshio” in Japan and “Sumishio” locally in Omura Bay) in Omura Bay, Japan, was examined field observations and by three-dimensional modeling. During the calm weather in summer, well-mixed strait water, in rich oxygen at the mouth of the bay intruded into the middle layer of the bay, southward and northward along the west and east coast, respectively, forming basin-scale cyclonic circulation. A stagnant water mass was formed below the center of this cyclonic circulation, and it became hypoxic water. As a result of the prevailing strong southeast (northeast) wind, the bottom hypoxia moved in a southeasterly (northeasterly) direction. This induces the upwelling of hypoxic water, accompanied by mass mortality of marine organisms.