Degradation ofn-paraffin mixture by marine microorganisms in enriched seawater medium

The ability to degraden-paraffin mixture of two bacterial strains,Caulobacter sp. andFlavobacterium sp., isolated from sea water of Tokyo Bay was studied experimentally in the enriched seawater (ESW) medium. These bacteria degraded actively the mixture ofn-tridecane,n-tetradecane,n-pentadecane andn-hexadecane. The maximum rate of degradation was observed after a lag period of 2 to 8 day and these bacteria were found to degrade then-paraffin mixture at rates calculated to be in a range from 3.3×10^?12 to 3.4×10^?11 mg-oil cell^?1 h^?1 at 20°C. The maximum degradation rate,r _m mg-oil l^?1 h^?1, was correlated with the amount of the initial totaln-paraffin,S mg-oil l^?1, as expressed by the following equation: $$rm = (rm)\max \left( {\frac{S}{{S + Km}}} \right)$$ where (r _m )_max denotes the largest value ofr _m whenn-paraffin exists in large excess andK _m is a constant and represents the amount ofn-paraffin at which the degradation rate,r _m , reaches 1/2 of its largest value, (r _m )_max. The values of (r _m )_max andK _m were calculated to be as follows: In the case ofCaulobacter sp. (strain KM-1), (r _m )_max=6.0 mg-oil l^?1 h^?1 andK _m =191 mg-oillesw ^?1; in the case ofFlavobacterium sp., (r _m )_max=5.47 mg-oil l^?1 h^?1 andK _m =152 mg-oillesw ^?1.     

Inter-manufacturer Difference and Temperature Dependency of the Fall-Rate of T-5 Expendable Bathythermograph

The fall-rate of the T-5 expendable bathythermograph (XBT) produced by Tsurumi Seiki (TSK) Co., Ltd and that by Sippican Inc., are intercompared by a series of contemporaneous and colocated measurements with conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers. It is confirmed that the fall-rates of the two manufacturers' T-5 differ by about 5 percent, despite the fact that they had been believed to be identical for many years. The cause of the difference is discussed on the basis of a detailed cross-examination of the two T-5 models. It is found for the first time that the two models are different in several respects. The manufacturer's fall-rate equation is only applicable to the Sippican T-5, for which Boyd and Linzell's (1993) equation seems to be slightly more accurate. Kizu et al.'s (2005) equation gives a clearly less biased depth than the manufacturers' equation for the TSK T-5. It is also found that the fall-rates of both T-5 models are dependent on water temperature, perhaps because of viscosity. The temperature-dependency of the fall-rate of the TSK T-5 is larger than that of the Sippican T-5.     

Modeling of EIS Spectrum Drift from Instrumental Temperatures

An empirical model has been developed to reproduce the drift of the spectrum recorded by the EIS on Hinode using instrumental temperatures and relative motion of the spacecraft. The EIS spectrum shows an artificial drift in wavelength dimension in sync with the revolution of the spacecraft, which is caused by temperature variations inside the spectrometer. The drift amounts to 70 km s⁻¹ in Doppler velocity and introduces difficulties in velocity measurements. An artificial neural network is incorporated to establish a relationship between the instrumental temperatures and the spectral drift. This empirical model reproduces observed spectrum shift with an rms error of 4.4 km s⁻¹. This procedure is robust and applicable to any spectrum obtained with EIS, regardless of the observing field. In addition, spectral curvatures and spatial offset in the north – south direction are determined to compensate for instrumental effects.     

East-west distribution of POC fluxes estimated from <Superscript>234</Superscript>Th in the northern North Pacific in autumn

Observations of primary productivity, ²³⁴Th, and particulate organic carbon (POC) were made from west to east across the northern North Pacific Ocean (from station K2 to Ocean Station Papa) during September–October 2005. Primary productivities in this region varied longitudinally from approximately 236 to 444 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹ and clearly indicate the West High East Low (WHEL) trend. We estimated east-west variations in the POC flux from the surface layer (0–100 m) by using ²³⁴Th as a tracer. POC fluxes in the western region (44–53 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹) were higher than those in the eastern region (21–34 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹). However, the export ratios (e-ratios) ranged from approximately 8% to 16% and did not show the WHEL trend. Contrary to our expectation, no relation between POC flux (or e-ratio) and diatom biomass (or dominance) was apparent in autumn in the northern North Pacific.     

Temporal Trends in Apparent Oxygen Utilization in the Upper Pycnocline of the North Pacific: 1980–2000

We present a compilation of apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) changes observed in the upper pycnocline of the North Pacific Ocean over the last several decades. The goal here is to place previously-published data in a common format, and assess the causes of the observed changes. The general trend along repeat cross sections of the eastern and western subtropical ocean and the subarctic ocean is an increase in AOU from the mid 1980s to the mid 1990s. AOU has also been increasing in a time-series study in the northwest subarctic Ocean off of Japan since the late 1960s. Observed AOU changes south of 35°N in the subtropical ocean are 10–20 μmol kg⁻¹, with much greater changes, reaching 60–80 μmol kg⁻¹ in isolated areas, in the subtropical/subarctic boundary and the subarctic ocean. Analysis of changes in both AOU and salinity on isopycnals suggests that there are significant salinity-normalized increases that must be due to alteration in the rate of ventilation or organic matter degradation. A common feature in the data is that the maximum increase in AOU is centered near the density horizon σ_θ= 26.6. Time series results from the Oyashio Current region near the winter outcrop area of this density horizon indicate that surface waters there have become fresher with time, which may mean this density surface has ceased to outcrop in the latter decades of the 20th century. Whether this is due to natural decadal-scale changes or anthropogenic influences can be decided by determining future trends in AOU on these density surfaces. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stock Structure Analysis of the Japanese Spanish Mackerel Scomberomorus niphonius (Cuvier, 1832) Along the China Coast Based on Truss Network

The Japanese Spanish mackerel Scomberomorus niphonius(Cuvier,1832)is widely distributed in the subtropical and temperate waters of the northwestern Pacific Ocean,supporting one of the most important commercial fisheries in China.However,ignoring the potential population structure changes induced by fishing pressure and climate change may undermine the population stability under the current management strategy.In this study,the population structure of the Japanese Spanish mackerel was investigated based on a morphometric truss network system.A total of 534 individuals were randomly collected from commercial gill nets spanning eight major spawning grounds in the Bohai,Yellow,and East China Seas during the peak spawning seasons respectively.A total of 17 measurements(including eye diameter)were conducted in each specimen and subjected to principal component analysis(PCA)and discriminant function analysis(DFA).The results of PCA indicated that the first two factors cumulatively caused 78.38%of the total morphometric variation and observable differences,primarily fin the caudal and trunk areas.The results of DFA revealed that the eight spawning groups can be divided into three stocks,i.e.,southern,middle,and northern stocks,with 68.7%of total accuracy.In contrast to previous studies,the spawning groups of the Japanese Spanish mackerel demonstrated a tendency to disperse to northern regions.In conclusion,this study found that to maintain the stability of the population structure and the total production of Japanese Spanish mackerel S.niphonius(Cuvier,1832),a newly revised management method should be developed and implemented.     

North Pacific Intermediate Water studied chiefly with radiocarbon

The importance of the North Pacific Intermediate Water as a sink for the anthropogenic carbon dioxide has been examined by mapping chemical and radiochemical properties at two isopycnal surfaces of of 26.6 ad 27.2 obtained in 1970's. Its radiocarbon contents in 1980's were determined for comparison. The isopleths of depth and salinity at the two isopycnal surfaces obviously show that the intermediate layer of the entire mid-latitudes of the North Pacific is occupied by a similar water mass. The distributions of dissolved oxygen contents and Si/N ratios in the intermediate water indicate its source in the northwestern North Pacific and its sink in the eastern Pacific. The ¹⁴C values clearly designate the intrusion of the artificial radiocarbon of mostly 1960's origin into the upper intermediate water of the western North Pacific having its maximum in the subarctic zone of 40–45°N and 160–180°E in 1973. The maximum region for tritium is much broader extending to the north. These suggest that the subboreal region is active in the gas exchange and/or the warm water residing for a long time at the surface and flowing into the region across the subarctic front sinks quickly in winter. At the lower isopycnal surface, the increase ¹⁴C value for 14±4 years was around 27, which is smaller than that expected from the total carbonate increase, indicating an active isopycnal mixing.     

Solar activity dependence of trans-equatorial ion whistler

This paper describes occurrence probabilities and patterns of trans-equatorial proton (TEP), deuteron (TED) and helium (TEH) whistler from the ISIS-2 satellite in time compressed dynamic spectra. It is shown that the TEP whistlers have high occurrence probability in an active solar period, while the TED whistler has low occurrence probability. In a quiet solar period, the TEP whistler has a relatively lower occurrence probability than the TED whistler. The TEP whistler in a quiet solar period shows a strong seasonal variation. That is a higher occurrence probability in the winter than in the summer in the Northern Hemisphere. The curve of occurrence probability of the TED whistler has a valley (no occurrence) at the noon in a solar active period. The minimum occurrence probabilities, which depend on geomagnetic activity appear at about K_P = 4-5. These phenomena seem to be explained by using the bouncing surface diagram of multicomponent and inhomogeneous plasmas with various proton density. The spectral pattern of trans-equatorial ion whistlers and calculation of an approximate equation with regard to deuteron effect show that relative proton densities to electrons N_P/N_e decrease with increasing solar activity.     

Numerical investigation on the orbital evolution of 1:2 resonant asteroids between Jupiter and Saturn

According to some investigations (Lecar and Franklin, 1973; Franklin et al., 1989; Soper et al., 1990) asteroids cannot remain for along time between Jupiter and Saturn. But as it is well known there is a near 5:2 commensurability between Jupiter and Saturn. So there might be a possibility that asteroids between Jupiter and Saturn could be trapped in a resonant relation.In order to investigate this possibility, the changes of orbital elements of an asteroid whose initial value of semi-major axis corresponds to that of a 1:2 resonant orbit were investigated by means of a double precision Cowell method. The integration routine was kindly supplied by Dr Yoshikawa.We considered first a planar restricted problem of three bodies, Sun-Jupiter-Asteroid, then a four body problem, Sun-Jupiter-Asteroid-Saturn. When integrating the equations of motion, short periodic terms were not eliminated and in the second test the interactions between Jupiter and Saturn were retained. Whether a close approach occured or not was not investigated. In every case a _j = 5.20, a _s = 9.54 and a = 8.26 were adopted as initial values of the semi-major axis of Jupiter, Saturn and Asteroid respectively.