A web-based real-time and full-resolution data visualization for Himawari-8 satellite sensed images

It has been almost four decades since the first launch of geostationary meteorological satellite by Japan Meteorological Agency (JMA). The specifications of the geostationary meteorological satellites have shown tremendous progresses along with the generations, which are now entering their third generation. The third-generation geostationary meteorological satellites not only yield basic data for weather monitoring, but also globally observe the Earth’s environment. The development of multi-band imagers with improved spatial resolution onboard the third-generation geostationary meteorological satellites brings us meteorological data in larger size than those of the second-generation ones. Thus, new techniques for domestic and world-wide dissemination of the observational big data are needed. In this paper, we develop a web-based data visualization for Himawari-8 satellite sensed images in real time and with full resolution. This data visualization is supported by the ecosystems, which uses a tiled pyramid representation and parallel processing technique for terrain on an academic cloud system. We evaluate the performance of our techniques for domestic and international users on laboratory experiments. The results show that our data visualization is suitable for practical use on a temporal preview of observation image data for the domestic users.     

Dust influx reconstruction during the last 26,000 years inferred from a sedimentary leaf wax record from the Japan Sea

We obtained the high-resolution record of terrestrial biomarkers (C₂₉ and C₃₁ n-alkanes) for the last 26,000 years from Oki Ridge in the south Japan Sea that enabled us to discuss millennial scale climate changes. Our sampling resolution for the biomarker during the major deglaciation period (10–19.5 cal ka BP) is 300 years and for the elemental analyses (total organic carbon and total nitrogen) is as good as ca 200 years. The estimated mass accumulation rate of these molecules during the last glacial period is substantially higher than during the Holocene. They also exhibited two distinct peaks at 17.6 cal ka BP and 11.4 cal ka BP, which are coincident with Heinrich Event 1 and the latest stage of the Younger Dryas, respectively. The unique oceanographic setting of the Japan Sea tends to preferentially preserve organic material of aeolian origin. The nature of our biomarker record in fact suggests a strong aeolian signal, and hence their flux to the Japan Sea potentially reflects the climate conditions of the dust source regions and transport intensity. Our results are consistent with previously reported monsoon variations based on other proxies that is indicative of a strong linkage between North Atlantic climate and Asian monsoon intensity.     

Size and compositional constraints of Ganymede's metallic core for driving an active dynamo

Ganymede has an intrinsic magnetic field which is generally considered to originate from a self-excited dynamo in the metallic core. Driving of the dynamo depends critically on the satellite's thermal state and internal structure. However, the inferred structure based on gravity data alone has a large uncertainty, and this makes the possibility of dynamo activity unclear; variations in core size and composition significantly change the heat capacity and alter the cooling history of the core. The main objectives of this study is to explore the structural conditions for a currently active dynamo in Ganymede using numerical simulations of the thermal history, and to evaluate under which conditions Ganymede can maintain the dynamo activity at present. We have investigated the satellite's thermal history using various core sizes and compositions satisfying the mean density and moment of inertia of Ganymede, and evaluate the temperature and heat flux at the core-mantle boundary (CMB). Based on the following two conditions, we evaluate the possibility of dynamo activity, thereby reducing the uncertainty of the previously inferred interior structure. The first condition is that the temperature at the CMB must exceed the melting point of a metallic core, and the second is that the heat flux through the CMB must exceed the adiabatic temperature gradient. The mantle temperature starts to increase because of the decay of long-lived radiogenic elements in the rocky mantle. After a few Gyr, radiogenic elements are exhausted and temperature starts to decrease. As the rocky mantle cools, the heat flux at the CMB steadily increases. If the temperature and heat flux at the CMB satisfy these conditions simultaneously, we consider the case as capable of driving a dynamo. Finally, we identify the Dynamo Regime, which is the specific range of internal structures capable of driving the dynamo, based on the results of simulations with various structures. If Ganymede's self-sustained magnetic field were maintained by thermal convection, the satellite's metallic core would be relatively large and, in comparison to other terrestrial-type planetary cores, strongly enriched in sulfur. The dynamo activity and the generation of the magnetic field of Ganymede should start from a much later stage, possibly close to the present.     

Okinawa Trough genesis: structure and evolution of a backarc basin developed in a continent

The Okinawa marginal basin was opened by crustal extension into the Asian continent, north of the Taiwan collision zone. It is located behind the Ryukyu Trench subduction zone and the Ryukyu active volcanic arc. If we except the Andaman Sea, the Okinawa Trough is the only example of marginal backarc basin type, opened into a continent at an early stage of evolution. Active rifting and spreading can be observed. Synthesis of siesmic reflection, seismic refraction, drilling, dredging and geological field data has resulted in interpretative geological cross sections and a structural map of the Ryukyu-Okinawa area. The main conclusions of the reconstruction of this backarc basin/volcanic arc evolution are. (1) Backarc rifting was initiated in the volcanic arc and propagated along it during the Neogene. It is still active at both ends of the basin. Remnants of volcanic arc are found on the continental side of the basin. (2) There was synchronism between opening and subsidence of the Okinawa Trough and tilting and subsidence of the forearc terrace. The late Miocene erosional surface is now 4000 m below sea-level in the forearc terrace, above the trench slope. Retreat and subsidence of the Ryukyu trench line relative to the Asian continental plate, could be one of the causes of tilting of the forearc and extension in the backarc area. (3) A major phase of crustal spreading occurred in Pliocene times 1.9 My ago in the south and central Okinawa Trough. (4) En échelon rifting and spreading structures of the central axes of the Okinawa Trough are oblique to the general trend of the arc and trench. The Ryukyu arc sub-plate cannot be considered as a rigid plate. Rotation of 45° to 50° of the southern Ryukyu arc, since the late Miocene, is inferred. The timing and kinematic evolution of the Taiwan collision and the south Okinawa Trough opening suggest a connection between these two events. The indentation process due to the collision of the north Luzon Arc with the China margin could have provoked: lateral extrusion; clockwise rotation (45° to 50° according to palaeomagnetic data) and buckling of the south Ryukyu non-volcanic arc; tension in the weak crustal zone constituted by the south Ryukyu volcanic arc and opening of the south Okinawa Trough. Similar lateral extrusions, rotations, buckling and tensional gaps have been observed in indentation experiments. Additional phenomena such as: thermal convection, retreating trench model or anchored slab model could maintain extension in the backarc basin. Such a hypothetical collision-lateral backarc opening model could explain the initiation of opening of backarc basins such as the Mariana Trough, Bonin Trough, Parece Vela — Shikoku Basin and Sea of Japan. A new late Cenozoic palaeogeographic evolution model of the Philippine Sea plate and surrounding areas is proposed.     

Rapid Identification of Water-Conducting Fractures Using a Trace Methane Gas Measurement

Identification of water-conducting fractures is important for the safety assessment of underground projects in crystalline rocks at geological disposal sites. We applied a portable methane gas analyzer by wavelength-scanned cavity ring-down spectroscopy to detect the water-conducting fractures in the underground tunnel of the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory, central Japan. The tunnel is excavated in granite with CH₄-rich groundwater. Two approaches were taken to obtain the profile of CH₄ concentration along the gallery walls: (1) “Scan by walking” at the speed of 0.5 m/s and (2) monitoring for 30 s at 0.5 or 1 m intervals. In the Scan by walking approach, the peaks of the CH₄ concentration corresponded well with the occurrence of high water flow rate fractures. Thus, this method is useful for rapid identification of major water-conducting fractures. Monitoring at constant intervals takes more time than the Scan by walking approach; however, this method can largely detect occurrences of fractures with low fluid fluxes.     

Bed morphological changes around a finite patch of vegetation

For the appropriate management and restoration of rivers, isolated vegetation is often a practical means for improving stream habitat and ecology. The effect of a finite vegetation patch on flow and bed morphology in an open channel was investigated using laboratory experiments. The patch containing emergent and submerged vegetation was modeled using circular cylinders and located mid‐channel along a side wall. Several configurations of the patch and submergence ratio (i.e. water depth to the height of vegetation), and two flow conditions (i.e. below and above the sediment motion threshold) were considered. For flows below the sediment motion threshold, erosion occurred primarily on the opposite side of the patch and near the leading edge of the patch. The degree of scouring depth observed in both these regions was affected by the submergence ratio and it increased with the non‐dimensional flow blockage (i.e. the product of the patch density and width). In contrast, for flows above the sediment motion threshold, sediment accumulated within and around the patch due to a reduction in bed shear stress, which was strongly influenced by the flow blockage and the obstruction ratio (i.e. the ratio of patch width to channel width). The eroded area observed within the patch was consistent with the interior adjustment region where the deceleration and diversion of flow occurred through the patch. As the flow blockage increased or as the obstruction ratio decreased, the deposition rate within and behind the patch decreased. Furthermore, the deposition rate increased with an increase in the ratio of flow rate through the patch to total flow rate regardless of the submergence ratio. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Non‐mass‐dependent oxygen isotopic fractionation in smokes produced in an electrical discharge

Abstract— We report the first production of non‐mass‐dependently fractionated silicate smokes from the gas phase at room temperature from a stream of silane and/or pentacarbonyl iron in a molecular hydrogen (or helium) flow mixed with molecular oxygen (or nitrous oxide). The smokes were formed at the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) at total pressures of just under 100 Torr in an electrical discharge powered by a Tesla coil, were collected from the surfaces of the copper electrodes after each experiment and sent to the University of California at San Diego (UCSD) for oxygen isotopic analysis. Transmission electron microscopy studies of the smokes show that they grew in the gas phase rather than on the surfaces of the electrodes. We hypothesize at least two types of fractionation processes occurred during formation of the solids: a mass‐dependent process that made isotopically lighter oxides compared to our initial oxygen gas composition followed by a mass‐independent process that produced oxides enriched in ¹⁷O and ¹⁸O. The maximum Δ¹⁷O observed is + 4.7‰ for an iron oxide produced in flowing hydrogen, using O2 as the oxidant. More typical displacements are 1–2‰ above the equilibrium fractionation line. The chemical reaction mechanisms that yield these smokes are still under investigation.     

Effect of the contraction of Zn-O bonds on X-ray emission spectra

Physics and Chemistry of Minerals - The X-ray emission spectra were measured for tetrahedrally coordinated Zn ion in several synthetic compounds. Intensity ratios of L β and L α spectral...     

Effect of hydrogen on the melting temperature of FeS at high pressure: Implications for the core of Ganymede

We have carried out in situ X-ray diffraction experiments on the FeS–H system up to 16.5 GPa and 1723 K using a Kawai-type multianvil high-pressure apparatus employing synchrotron X-ray radiation. Hydrogen was supplied to FeS from the thermal decomposition of LiAlH₄, and FeSH_x was formed at high pressures and temperatures. The melting temperature and phase relationships of FeSH_x were determined based on in situ powder X-ray diffraction data. The melting temperature of FeSH_x was reduced by 150–250 K comparing with that of pure FeS. The hydrogen concentration in FeSH_x was determined to be x = 0.2–0.4 just before melting occurred between 3.0 and 16.5 GPa. It is considered that sulfur is the major light element in the core of Ganymede, one of the Galilean satellites of Jupiter. Although the interior of Ganymede is differentiated today, the silicate rock and the iron alloy mixed with H₂O, and the iron alloy could react with H₂O (as ice or water) or the hydrous silicate before the differentiation occurred in an early period, resulting in a formation of iron hydride. Therefore, Ganymede's core may be composed of an Fe–S–H system. According to our results, hydrogen dissolved in Ganymede's core lowers the melting temperature of the core composition, and so today, the core could have solid FeSH_x inner core and liquid FeH_x–FeSH_x outer core and the present core temperature is considered to be relatively low.