Distributions and upward fluxes of particulate matter near bottom in the southeastern Bering Sea Shelf

Time-series measurements of temperature, salinity, suspended matter and beam attenuation coefficient () were measured at four hour intervals for about two days in June/ July 1982 in the middle shelf region and the coastal region of the southeastern Bering Sea. Current meters were also moored at the same locations.Depth-time distributions of indicated that profiles of suspended matter resulted from a combined process of resuspension of underlying sediments and sinking of suspended particles. Average-values for all measurements for particles revealed that the upward transport of particles due to resuspension formed a boundary layer, with a thickness apparently related to scalar speed. The average-profiles of the particle volume concentration were assumed to result from a balance between the sinking and diffusive flux of particles under a steady state, and the upward fluxes were calculated. Within the boundary layer, values of the upward fluxes of particulate organic matter linearly decreased with the logarithm of distance from the bottom. Fluxes of organic carbon at the upper edge of the boundary layer were 0.375 gC·m^–2·day^–1 in the middle shelf region (18 m above the bottom, bottom depth=78m) and 0.484gC·m^–2·day^–1 in the coastal region (25 m above the bottom, bottom depth=33m), and fluxes of nitrogen in both regions were 0.067 gN·m^–2·day^–1. The flux of organic carbon obtained in the middle shelf region (18 m above the bottom) agreed approximately with the flux (0.416 gC·m^–2·day^–1) calculated by substituting primary production data into the empirical equation of Suess (1980).     

Relation between mean and variance in catch numbers of fish egg and larva

In each of six areas with various horizontal scale from 0.4 to 15.6 nautical miles, many surveys with vertical net hauls are made for sampling fish eggs and larvae. Though values ofC _A are widely spread in each area, the variances ² and the meanm of catch numbers calculated from each survey follow approximately the relation from a Poisson mixture model (PMM).

X-ray observation of the Jovian impacts of comet Shoemaker - Levy 9

An ASCA observation of the Jovian impact of the comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 is reported. Four impacts of H, L, Q1 and R were observed and four impacts of B, C, G, and Q2 were observed within 60 minutes after their impacts. No significant flaring of X-ray emission was observed. Upper limit X-ray fluxes of 90 % confidence level, averaged 5 minutes just after the impacts, were 2.4 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2, 3.5 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2, 1.6 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2 and 2.9 × 10^–13 erg sec^–1 cm^–2 for the impacts of H, L, Q1 and R, respectively, in the 0.5(0.7 for H and Q1)–10 keV energy range. However, a hint of X-ray enhancement around Jupiter from July 17 to July 19 was detected with about 2 6 × 10^–14 erg sec^–1 cm^–2 in the 0.5–10 keV energy range.     

Polar and neutral isopranyl glycerol ether lipids as biomarkers of archaea in near-surface sediments from the Nankai Trough

The molecular and carbon isotopic compositions of polar isopranyl glycerol ether lipids, which are direct indicators of viable archaea, and neutral isopranyl glycerol ether lipids, which are derived from polar lipids via hydrolysis, in near-surface sediments from a methane seep in the Nankai Trough (off central Japan) were investigated. Procedures for extracting, separating and derivatizing polar and neutral ether lipids for detection using gas chromatography were first examined with one sediment sample and a cultivated methanogen. For all sediment samples, archaeol and hydroxyarchaeol were detected in both the polar and neutral ether lipid fractions. Acyclic and cyclic biphytanes were also detected in both types of lipid fractions after treatment with HI/LiAlH₄ for ether cleavage and alkylation. The δ¹³C values of archaeol, sn-2-hydroxyarchaeol, and sn-3-hydroxyarchaeol in the sample from 0.82 m below the seafloor were lower than −100‰ relative to PDB, indicating that diverse living methanotrophic archaea are present in the seep sediments. Biphytanes released from polar ether lipids in the same sample were less depleted in δ¹³C (−71‰ to −36‰). The wide range of δ¹³C values suggests that the biphytanes were derived not only from methanotrophic but also from non-methanotrophic archaea, and that the relative contributions of the methanotrophic and non-methanotrophic archaea differed, depending on the biphytane compound. The vertical profiles and δ¹³C values of the neutral ether lipids were similar to those of the intact polar ether lipids, suggesting that neutral ether lipids derived from fossil archaea in the samples had mainly been lost by the time of sampling.     

Geological and geomorphological characteristics of landslides triggered by the 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake in Japan

The 2004 Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake (M_JMA 6.8) triggered more than one thousand landslides in the Miocene to Quaternary sedimentary rocks in Japan. The most common landslides were shallow disrupted landslides on steep slopes, which has been common in many previous disastrous earthquakes in the world. The Mid Niigta prefecture earthquake also triggered more than one hundred deep landslides, providing valuable information on the conditions for their occurrence. A field investigation and the interpretation of aerial photographs taken before and after the earthquake suggest that reactivation of existing landslides and undercutting of slopes are the most important factors for deep landslides to be triggered by earthquakes. In addition, planar sliding surfaces seem to be essential for the generation of catastrophic landslides triggered by this earthquake. Planar bedding–parallel sliding surfaces were formed at the boundary between the overlying permeable sandstone and underlying siltstone or along the bedding planes of alternating beds of sandstone and siltstone. Sliding surfaces along the slope-parallel oxidation front were formed in the area of black mudstone. New landslides (rockslide-avalanches) occurred with the sliding surfaces in a several-cm thick tuff interbedded in siltstone. One rockslide-avalanche occurred on a slope where buckling deformation preceded the earthquake. Gentle valley bottom sediments were mobilized in many locations, probably because they were saturated and partial liquefaction had occurred due to the earthquake shaking.     

Quaternary bedrock erosion and landscape evolution in the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica: Reevaluating rates and processes

Rates and processes of rock weathering, soil formation, and mountain erosion during the Quaternary were evaluated in an inland Antarctic cold desert. The fieldwork involved investigations of weathering features and soil profiles for different stages after deglaciation. Laboratory analyses addressed chemistry of rock coatings and soils, as well as ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages of the bedrock. Less resistant gneiss bedrock exposed over 1 Ma shows stone pavements underlain by in situ produced silty soils thinner than 40 cm and rich in sulfates, which reflect the active layer thickness, the absence of cryoturbation, and the predominance of salt weathering. During the same exposure period, more resistant granite bedrock has undergone long-lasting cavernous weathering that produces rootless mushroom-like boulders with a strongly Fe-oxidized coating. The red coating protects the upper surface from weathering while very slow microcracking progresses by the growth of sulfates. Geomorphological evidence and cosmogenic exposure ages combine to provide contrasting average erosion rates. No erosion during the Quaternary is suggested by a striated roche moutonnée exposed more than 2 Ma ago. Differential erosion between granite and gneiss suggests a significant lowering rate of desert pavements in excess of 10 m Ma^− 1. The landscape has been (on the whole) stable, but the erosion rate varies spatially according to microclimate, geology, and surface composition.     

Synchrotron IR study of hydrous ringwoodite (γ-Mg2SiO4) up to 30 GPa

High-pressure synchrotron infrared (IR) absorption spectra were collected between 650 and 4,000 cm⁻¹ at ambient temperature for hydrous Mg-ringwoodite (γ-Mg₂SiO₄) up to 30 GPa. The main feature in the OH⁻ stretching region is an extremely broad band centred at 3,150 cm⁻¹. The hydrogen bond is strong for most protons and the most probable site for protonation is the tetrahedral edge. With increasing pressure, this band shifts downward while decreasing its integrated intensity until disappearance at a pressure of 25 GPa. Only one band at 2,450 cm⁻¹ and an absorption plateau persist with a maximum wavenumber of 3,800 cm⁻¹. This behaviour is reversible upon pressure release. We interpret this as a second-order phase transition occurring in hydrated Mg-ringwoodite at high pressure (beyond ∼ 25 GPa). This result is compatible with the observation by Kleppe et al. (Phys Chem Miner 29:473–476, 2002a) who suggested the presence of Si–O–Si linkages and/or partial increase in the coordination of Si. Beyond the phase transition, the protons are delocalized and their environment on the ringwoodite structure is probably quite different from that at low pressure. Data obtained in situ at high pressures and temperatures are needed to better understand the effect of protonation on the structure and to better constrain this phase transition.     

Damaging properties of ground motions and prediction of maximum response of structures based on momentary energy response

Dynamic damaging potential of ground motions must be evaluated by the response behaviour of structures, and it is necessary to indicate what properties of ground motions are most appropriate for evaluation. For that purpose, the behaviour of energy input process and hysteretic energy dissipation are investigated in this study. It is found that the momentary input energy that is an index for the intensity of input energy is related to the characteristics of earthquakes such as cyclic or impulsive, and to the response displacement of structures immediately. On the basis of these results, a procedure is proposed to predict inelastic response displacement of structures by corresponding earthquake input energy to structural dissipated damping and hysteretic energy. In this procedure the earthquake response of structures is recognized as an input and dissipation process of energy, and therefore structural properties and damaging properties of ground motions can be taken into account more generally. Lastly, the studies of the pseudodynamic loading test of reinforced concrete structure specimens subjected to ground motions with different time duration are shown. The purpose of this test is to estimate the damaging properties of ground motions and the accuracy of the proposed prediction procedure. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Kosa (yellow sand) components in precipitation collected at central Japan

In east Asia, acidic gases derived from fossil fuel combustion have increased in the past decades. On the other hand, the Asian dust, also called Kosa (yellow sand) is transported following windstorms from arid lands in the Asian continent. Many researchers have been interested in the reaction between acidic aerosols and Kosa aerosols as well as the long-range transport of these emissions. To investigate the characteristics of chemical components in precipitation on a long-term basis over Japan, precipitation was sequentially collected from April 1984 to March 1997 at Kanazawa located near the coast of the Sea of Japan. Precipitation samples were collected at 1 mm intervals for the first 5 mm rainfall and all volume of rainwater after 6 mm for all precipitation events with an automatic wet only precipitation collector. According to the analyses of precipitation including Kosa aerosols during Kosa periods, the reaction in the air between Kosa and acidic components during the long-range transport was discussed.