Helium isotopes of seawater in the Japan Sea

We have collected fifty-five seawater samples at seven stations at various depths in the Yamato and Japan Basins of the Japan Sea and measured their helium isotopic ratios. The ³He/⁴He ratios vary from 0.997 R_atm to 1.085 R_atm where R_atm is the atmospheric ratio. The maximum ³He excesses about 8%, are observed at mid-depth (1000 m), and these values are significantly lower than those observed in deep Pacific waters. This implies that mantle-derived helium in deep Pacific water cannot enter the Japan Sea since it is an almost landlocked marginal sea. The observed 8% excess ³He may be attributable to the decay product of tritium. Slightly higher ³He/⁴He ratios in the Bottom Water were observed in the Yamato Basin than in the Japan Basin. The ventilation ages of seawater shallower than 1000 m are calculated as about 5 to 20 years, which is consistent with the CFC ages reported in the literature. There is a positive correlation between the apparent oxygen utilization and ³H-³He ages. The estimated oxygen utilization rate from the correlation in a layer between 500 m and 1000 m is about 3 μmol/kg/yr, which is similar to that in the eastern subtropical North Atlantic.     

A global survey of perfluorinated acids in oceans

Perfluorinated acids and their salts have emerged as an important class of global environmental contaminants. Biological monitoring surveys conducted using tissues of marine organisms reported the occurrence of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and related perfluorinated compounds in biota from various seas and oceans, including the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans. Occurrence of perfluorinated compounds in remote marine locations is of concern and indicates the need for studies to trace sources and pathways of these compounds to the oceans. Determination of sub-parts-per-trillion (ng/L) or parts-per-quadrillion (pg/L) concentrations of aqueous media has been impeded by relatively high background levels arising from procedural or instrumental blanks. Our research group has developed a reliable and highly sensitive analytical method by which to monitor perfluorinated compounds in oceanic waters. The method developed is capable of detecting PFOS, perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHS), perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA) at a few pg/L in oceanic waters. The method was applied to seawater samples collected during several international research cruises undertaken during 2002–2004 in the central to eastern Pacific Ocean (19 locations), South China Sea and Sulu Seas (five), north and mid Atlantic Ocean (12), and the Labrador Sea (20). An additional 50 samples of coastal seawater from several Asian countries (Japan, China, Korea) were analyzed. PFOA was found at levels ranging from several thousands of pg/L in water samples collected from coastal areas in Japan to a few tens of pg/L in the central Pacific Ocean. PFOA was the major contaminant detected in oceanic waters, followed by PFOS. Further studies are being conducted to elucidate the distribution and fate of perfluorinated acids in oceans.     

Geological causes and geomorphological precursors of the Tsaoling landslide triggered by the 1999 Chi-Chi earthquake, Taiwan

The Tsaoling landslide, one of the largest landslide areas in Taiwan, has been affected by catastrophic events triggered by rain or earthquakes six times since 1862. These landslides, including that caused by the 1999 earthquake, have essentially not been reactivated old slides, but were sequential new ones that developed upslope, retrogressively. The landslide area is underlain by Pliocene sandstone and shale to form a dip slope with a bedding plane, dipping uniformly at 14°. The slip surface of the 1999 landslide was smooth and planar, parallel to the bedding plane with a slightly stepped profile; it formed within thinly alternated beds of fine sandstone and shale with ripple lamination or in a shale bed. The shale is weathered by slaking and probably by sulfuric acid, which is inferred to be one of the major causes of the intermittent retrogressive development of the landslides. The weathering was likely accelerated by the removal of overlying beds during earlier landslides in 1941 and 1942. The top margin of the 1999 landslide, in plan view, coincided with a V-shaped scarplet, which can be clearly recognized on aerial photographs taken before the landslide. This geomorphological feature indicates that this landslide had already moved slightly before its 1999 occurrence, providing precursory evidences.     

Distribution of heterotrophic nanoflagellates and their importance as the bacterial consumer in a eutrophic coastal seawater

Seasonal and vertical changes in abundances of bacteria and heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF), and HNF grazing on bacteria were investigated in a small eutrophic inlet of Uranouchi-Wan throughout the years. Bacterial densities in the surface water ranged from 1.2 to 11 (average 4.3)×10⁶ cells ml^–1 with a couple of maxima following the algal blooming. Densities of HNF ranged from 0.54 to 73 (average 16.4)×10³ cells ml^–1 in the surface, and showed almost similar fluctuation pattern to that of bacteria with a time lag of about 1 to 2 weeks. Grazing rates of HNF on bacteria obtained by FLB method were 4.78 to 16.9 (average 10.3±SD 4.8) cells HNF^–1h^–1 in the surface layer in summer, and consequent total bacterial consumption rates by HNF fluctuated from 4 to 99×10⁴ cells ml^–1h^–1. In deeper layers, however, as HNF densities and grazing rates on bacteria were low, the grazing pressure of HNF on bacteria was small. Turnover times of bacteria by HNF grazing in the surface layer were calculated as relatively constant values of 40 to 60 h, however, it decreased to as low as 6 to 7 h when the HNF activity was highest. These results indicate that bacteria grew so actively by consuming organic matter in seawater as to compensate high HNF grazing pressure, and that bacteria and HNF in the microbial loop play important roles on the turnover of substrates in coastal ecosystems.     

Diversity of bacteria isolated from crustacea larvae and their rearing water

1　Introduction　Blacktigershrimp (Penaeusmonodon)isthemajorshrimpspeciesculturedinIndonesia .Itsculturehasbecomemoreintensivebecauseofitshighdemandandeconomicvalue .Infact,shrimpexporthasyieldedthehighestIndonesianincomeinfisherysector .Itwasestimatedthattheproductionofculturedshrimpwas 80 0 0 0metrictonnesin 1995 .Consequently ,theneedforthefryforstockingpondculturesteadilyin creased .Thetotalnumberoffryrequiredwasabout 6millionperyear (FAO ,1995 )and 90 %oftherequiredanimalswereobtained…