A scaling model for quantification of earthquakes in and near Japan

A simple method is developed to determine seismic moments of earthquakes. The method is qualified through criteria such as simplicity of calculations, coverage of wide magnitude range, and insensitivity to detailed instrumental response. The method is applied to 163 major earthquakes which occurred underneath Japan and the Japan Sea in the time from 1926 to 1977. Magnitudes of these earthquakes, which have been determined by the Japan Meteorological Agency, (M_JMA) cover the range from 4.3 to 7.5. At first, source spectra are analyzed through a very simple way introducing two new parameters: characteristic period T_c and seismic-moment factor M_c. The former is defined as an average value of apparent periods of seismic waves with the maximum trace amplitude at many stations. The latter is an average of products of maximum trace amplitude and its apparent period multiplied by epicentral distance. It is shown that T_c corresponds to the period of the corner frequency of an earthquake and M_c to the seismic-moment density at the period of T_c. A scaling model of earthquake source spectra is presented which satisfies the empirical relations between the surface-wave magnitude M_s and M_JMA, and M_JMA and the body-wave magnitude m_b. Those relations are independent of the Gutenberg and Richter relation between M_s and m_b, because M_JMA is determined from maximum amplitudes of seismic waves with a period of about 4 sec. The static seismic moment of each earthquake can be estimated from calculated M_c using the source spectra of the scaling model. Seismic moments of 18 earthquakes determined by conventional analyses from near- and/or far-field observations are consistent with static seismic moments thus estimated over the range from 2 × 10²³ to 3 × 10²⁷ dyne cm. This shows the potential in practice of the present method, especially in the routine processing of seismic data.     

A method for shipboard measurement of CO2 partial pressure in seawater

A dynamic method suitable for shipboard measurement of the partial pressure of CO₂ exerted by a seawater sample has been developed. The system consists of a paddle-wheel-type gas-water equilibrator and an infrared gas analyzer. Since the system is open to the atmosphere at the in-take and the exhaust ends, it can be operated stably on shipboard conditions. A precision of ±2% has been obtained for shipboard measurement of pCO₂.     

Deep borehole observation of the Earth's crust activities around Tokyo-introduction of the Iwatsuki observatory

Summary As a part of the Japanese earthquake prediction programme, deep borehole observation of the earth's crustal activities has been planned in and around Tokyo by the National Research Center for Disaster Prevention. The first place selected was in the city of Iwatsuki, about 30 km from the centre of Tokyo. Starting in 1970, the main construction was completed at the end of 1973. The tentative observation of micro-earthquakes and crustal movement by tiltmeters has been carried out since May, 1973. As expected, noise at the bottom of the hole (3500 m depth) is extremely small, about 1/1000–1/300 of that at the surface. We could, possibly, detect earthquakes with magnitudes greater than 2.0 within 50 km radius from the Iwatsuki observatory.     

Expansion of the Nishinomiya Built Environment Database

The Nishinomiya Built Environment Database, which can be used to analyze the disaster process of the 1995 Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake Disaster in Nishinomiya City, has been expanded with new data entries. The database contains the following very detailed datasets: (1) the urbanization area base map, (2) casualty data, (3) three sets of building damage data surveyed by the Nishinomiya City, the Architectural Institute of Japan and the City Planning Institute of Japan, and the Kobe University, (4) building property data based on the real estate tax roll, (5) photographs of the damaged buildings with the information on the place and orientation of the picture, and (6) the estimated distribution of the seismic ground motion. The seismic ground motion was simulated for the southern part of Nishinomiya City and two verification sites in Kobe City and Amagasaki City. In the simulation, the borehole data of public facilities were used to model the surface soils as one-dimensional layers, taking into consideration the fact that the spatial distribution of the sediment/basement interface forms a slope. The model of the fault rupture process simulated the characteristics of the seismic motion at basement level, and amplification effects of the surface layers were evaluated based on multiple reflection theory. The distribution of peak ground acceleration and peak ground velocity was estimated from acceleration response spectra at each borehole point. In addition, the relationship between simulated seismic ground motion and building damage was studied based on newly proposed band-passed spectrum intensity using the expanded database. This confirmed that detailed categorization is necessary in order to evaluate the fragility functions, especially for reinforced concrete structures. The database should provide fundamental information for identifying the relationship between the ground motions and the extent and pattern of building damage, or the pattern of the occurrence of casualties.Presently     

Estimation of water requirement per unit carbon fixed by Eucalyptus camaldulensis in semi-arid land of Western Australia

Afforestation in arid land is a promising method for carbon fixation, but the effective utili-zation of water is highly important and required. Thus, the evaluation of the amount of water perunit carbon fixed with the tree growth is required to minimize the amount of water supplied to theplants. In this research, a tree is regarded as a carbon fixation reactor with inflows of water andnutrients from roots, and CO2 as the carbon source from leaves with outflow of water vapor fromleaves and accumulation in the tree itself. In the process of photosynthesis and respiration nutri-tional elements are dissolved in water flow in trees. They do not flow out by these reactions, butare accumulated in trees. Thus, we have treated the behaviour of nutrients as a marker to evaluatethe water/carbon ratio. Assuming that nutrient concentration is constant in sap, and the differences in the ratios ofnutrient to carbon in living trees and dead (i.e. litter fall, etc.) are negiected, the ratio of the usedwater to fixed carbon is given as the ratio of nutrient to carbon in the tree body divided by the ratioof nutrient to water in sap. However, some nutrients are translocated and concentrated within thetree and some may be discarded through litter fall. Thus it is important to examine which nutrientelement is the most suitable as the tracer. In this paper, the results of the above method applied to Eucalyptus camaldulensis in semi-arid land of Western Australia are shown. The value of water requirement per unit carbon fixationdetermined from potassium balance is between 421 kg-H2O/kg-C for mature trees and 285kg-H2O/k9-C for young trees, while the values from calcium balance are much larger than these.The cause of the discrepancy between these values is discussed based on the measured elementconcentrations in sap and trees and the plant physiology. Finally, the actual average value throughthe life of a tree is suggested to fall between the two values.     

Diagenetic control on arsenic partitioning in sediments of the Meghna River delta,Bangladesh

A stratigraphic profile of solid phase As was measured to investigate the diagenetic cycling of arsenic and related elements in fluvial sediments of the Meghna River delta plain. The distributions of Fe, Mn, and Al are typically characterized by surficial solid phase enrichment, and As is distributed down to 36.6 m showing similar alternate layers of maxima and minima with Fe, Mn and TOC, which reflects the diagenetic remobilization and periodical differences in source materials of As. Lithological characteristics and geochemical data suggest that elevated levels of As are found in organic-matter-rich clay and silty sand rather than sand samples, with occasionally enriched As content in iron-oxyhydroxide-coated sand grains. Arsenic demonstrates a positive and significant co-variation with total organic carbon in sediments, which suggests the important role of particulate and colloidal organic matter and biological activity in controlling the distribution of arsenic in the Bengal delta. However, the concentrations of Fe and Mn weakly correlate with As contents, whereas Al contents show no relationship with As. The results of this study suggest that reactive oxides or hydroxides of Fe and Mn, rather than Fe and Mn with other minerals, might control arsenic distribution.     

Structural characteristics off Miyagi forearc region, the Japan Trench seismogenic zone, deduced from a wide-angle reflection and refraction study

The Japan Trench subduction zone, located east of NE Japan, has regional variation in seismicity. Many large earthquakes occurred in the northern part of Japan Trench, but few in the southern part. Off Miyagi region is in the middle of the Japan Trench, where the large earthquakes (M > 7) with thrust mechanisms have occurred at an interval of about 40 years in two parts: inner trench slope and near land. A seismic experiment using 36 ocean bottom seismographs (OBS) and a 12,000 cu. in. airgun array was conducted to determine a detailed, 2D velocity structure in the forearc region off Miyagi. The depth to the Moho is 21 km, at 115 km from the trench axis, and becomes progressively deeper landward. The P-wave velocity of the mantle wedge is 7.9–8.1 km/s, which is typical velocity for uppermost mantle without large serpentinization. The dip angle of oceanic crust is increased from 5–6° near the trench axis to 23° 150 km landward from the trench axis. The P-wave velocity of the oceanic uppermost mantle is as small as 7.7 km/s. This low-velocity oceanic mantle seems to be caused by not a lateral anisotropy but some subduction process. By comparison with the seismicity off Miyagi, the subduction zone can be divided into four parts: 1) Seaward of the trench axis, the seismicity is low and normal fault-type earthquakes occur associated with the destruction of oceanic lithosphere. 2) Beneath the deformed zone landward of the trench axis, the plate boundary is characterized as a stable sliding fault plain. In case of earthquakes, this zone may be tsunamigenic. 3) Below forearc crust where P-wave velocity is almost 6 km/s and larger: this zone is the seismogenic zone below inner trench slope, which is a plate boundary between the forearc and oceanic crusts. 4) Below mantle wedge: the rupture zones of thrust large earthquakes near land (e.g. 1978 off Miyagi earthquake) are located beneath the mantle wedge. The depth of the rupture zones is 30–50 km below sea level. From the comparison, the rupture zones of large earthquakes off Miyagi are limited in two parts: plate boundary between the forearc and oceanic crusts and below mantle wedge. This limitation is a rare case for subduction zone. Although the seismogenic process beneath the mantle wedge is not fully clarified, our observation suggests the two possibilities: earthquake generation at the plate boundary overridden by the mantle wedge without serpentinization or that in the subducting slab.     

Life‐cycle cost analysis based on a renewal model of earthquake occurrences

A decision methodology for the management of seismic risk of a single building is presented. The decision criterion aims at minimizing the expected life‐cycle cost, including the initial cost of the design and the expected cost of damage due to future earthquakes. The expected life‐cycle cost of each design alternative is formulated using a renewal model for the occurrence of earthquakes in a seismic source, which accounts for the temporal dependence between the occurrence of ‘characteristic’ earthquakes. The formulation involves the expected damage cost from an earthquake of specified magnitude in a given source. This term is estimated by simulating the processes of fault rupture, elastic wave propagation, surface soil amplification, dynamic structural response and generation of damage costs. As an example, the methodology is applied to an actual office building in Tokyo. A simple decision problem between two design alternatives is set: a bare steel moment frame, and the same frame equipped with oil dampers. Through this case study, the installation of the oil dampers is demonstrated to be effective in reducing the life‐cycle cost of the building under consideration. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Atmospheric gravity wave propagation direction observed by airglow imaging in the South American sector

Airglow all sky imaging observation has been carried out in three different locations in south America, at Cachoeira Paulista (22.7°S, 45.0°W) in 1999, São João do Cariri (7.5°S, 36.5°W) in 2001 and Boa Vista (2.8°N, 60.7°W) in 2002. Comparing the atmospheric gravity wave characteristics retrieved from the image data for the three different sites and including a previous work at Alcântara (2.3°S, 44.5°W) carried out by Taylor et al. [1997. Journal of Geophysical Research 102 (D22) 26,283–26,299], we found that there is a preferential propagation direction, from the Continent to the Atlantic Ocean. The observed wave propagation directions reveal that a major part of the waves have their direction from Continent toward Ocean. The possible source of the wave generation is discussed.