Interstitial water chemistry in deep-sea sediments from the Japan Sea

Vertical profiles of pH, Eh, and major and minor chemical constituents in interstitial waters have been studied in four piston cores from deep-sea basins of the Japan Sea. Sulfate concentration decreases remarkably with increasing depth in three cores, and hydrogen sulfide is observed in two cores although the overlying bottom water is highly aerated. Three types of interstitial waters are observed in the four cores: (1) alkalinity and manganese concentration increase gradually with increasing depth, and sulfate reduction is not appreciable, (2) alkalinity increases and sulfate concentration decreases remarkably, and hydrogen sulfide is not detected, and (3) alkalinity increases and sulfate concentration decreases remarkably, and hydrogen sulfide is observed. Factors controlling the chemical composition of interstitial waters are discussed.     

Some regular patterns in the distribution of sediment contamination in the coastal waters along Japan

Observations of sediment contamination along the coast of Japan were analyzed. When the pollutant concentration is divided by the fine particle fraction in the sediment, a regular pattern is observed in the quantitative relationship among the degree and the area of contamination and the discharge rate of pollutant released continuously into the water along the coast. This regularity was observed with respect to COD,n-hexane soluble substances and heavy metals, and could be expressed by a formula.Polluted particles were supposed to disperse through suspension in the bottom water layer, and thus their distribution in the surface sediment is expected to become similar to effluent dispersion in the surface water.     

Unusual Behavior of the Kuroshio Current System from Winter 1996 to Summer 1997 Revealed by ADEOS-OCTS and Other Data (Continued): A Study from Broad External Conditions with Bottom Topography

In the previous paper (Toba and Murakami, 1998) we reported on an unusual path of the Kuroshio Current System, which occurred in April 1997 (April 1997 event), using the Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) data of the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS). The April 1997 event was characterized by the flow of the Kuroshio along the western slope (northward) and the eastern slope (southward) of the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge, a very southerly turning point at about 32°N, followed by a straight northward path up to 37°N of the Kuroshio Extension along the eastern flank of the Izu-Ogasawara and the Japan Trenches. Overlaying of depth contours on ADEOS-OCTS chlorophyll-a images at the April 1997 event demonstrates the bottom topography effects on the current paths. A new finding based on TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter data is that the sea-surface gradient across the Kuroshio/Kuroshio Extension diminished greatly in the sea area southeast of the central Japan, as a very temporary phenomenon prior to this event. This temporary diminishing of the upper-ocean current velocity might have caused a stronger bottom effect along the Izu-Ogasawara Ridge, and over the Izu-Ogasawara Trench disclosed a weak background, barotropic trench-flank current pattern, which existed otherwise independently of the Kuroshio Extension. The very southerly path of the Kuroshio Extension from winter 1996 to autumn 1998 corresponded, with a time lag of about 1.5 years, to the previous La Niña tendency with weaker North Equatorial Current. The April 1997 event occurred in accordance with its extreme condition.     

Circulation of Intermediate and Deep Waters in the Philippine Sea

The circulation of intermediate and deep waters in the Philippine Sea west of the Izu-Ogasawara-Mariana-Yap Ridge is estimated with use of an inverse model applied to the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) Hydrographic Program data set. Above 1500 m depth, the subtropical gyre is dominant, but the circulation is split in small cells below the thermocline, causing multiple zonal inflows of intermediate waters toward the western boundary. The inflows along 20°N and 26°N carry the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) of 11 × 10⁹ kg s⁻¹ in total, at the density range of 26.5σ_θ–36.7σ₂ (approximately 500–1500 m depths), 8 × 10⁹ kg s⁻¹ of the NPIW circulate within the subtropical gyre, whereas the rest is conveyed to the tropics and the South China Sea. The inflow south of 15°N carries the Tropical Salinity Minimum water of 35 × 10⁹ kg s⁻¹, nearly half of which return to the east through a narrow undercurrent at 15–17°N, and the rest is transported into the lower part of the North Equatorial Countercurrent. Below 1500 m depth, the deep circulation regime is anti-cyclonic. At the density range of 36.7σ₂, – 45.845σ₄ (approximately 1500–3500 m depths), deep waters of 17 × 10⁹ kg s⁻¹ flow northward, and three quarters of them return to the east at 16–24°N. The remainder flows further north of 24°N, then turns eastward out of the Philippine Sea, together with a small amount of subarctic-origin North Pacific Deep Water (NPDW) which enters the Philippine Sea through the gap between the Izu Ridge and Ogasawara Ridge. The full-depth structure and transportation of the Kuroshio in total and net are also examined. It is suggested that low potential vorticity of the Subtropical Mode Water is useful for distinguishing the net Kuroshio flow from recirculation flows. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Benzo(a)pyrene in the sediment of Osaka Bay and Keihin Canal and its estimated sources

Benzo(a)pyrene (BP) in the sediment of Osaka Bay were determined. High concentration was found at two stations near the mouth of Shin-Yodo and off Kobe respectively (0.98g g^–1 dry mud basis, 1.1g g^–1). The concentration decreases regularly from the mouth of the river further into the bay. The other supplemental determination was carried on the sediment and the seawater of Keihin Canal. Notable BP concentration of 89g g^–1 was observed in the sediment beneath the effluent outlet of a gasworks. The BP in the sediment near the ironworks was also considerable, while the BP was relatively less in the sediment beneath the effluent outlet of refineries. These data suggest that coke plants working in gasworks or ironworks may be the larger sources of BP than refineries. The results of Osaka Bay coincide with this hypothesis.Cadmium, lead, copper, zinc, nickel, ignition loss and fine sand content were measured from the same sediment samples of Osaka Bay. Cd, Pb, Cu and ignition loss showed the regular distributions which resemble to BP and accordingly, good correlations with BP. No significant correlations were found between BP and Ni, Zn and fine sand content which showed no regular distributions.     

The determination of Mn,Fe, Ni,Cu and Zn in seawater by atomic absorption spectrometry after coprecipitation with lanthanum hydroxide

A simple and rapid coprecipitation method for the determination of several trace metals in seawater is presented. These metals are coprecipitated with lanthanum hydroxide, the precipitate is dissolved, and then the metals are determined by atomic absorption spectrometry. Lanthanum hydroxide was chosen as a coprecipitant for the following reasons, (a) lanthanum hydroxide has a sufficiently low solubility and forms an easily filterable flocculate at about 80C, and (b) lanthanum has an absorption wavelength that is sufficiently separated from those of the other elements to be analysed, i.e., Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu and Zn. Experimental results show that these metals are coprecipitated by the present method with excellent recoveries.     

地面电探CT技术的研究及其在三峡地区地下考古中的应用试验

１９９４年３月在三峡淹没区进行综合考古物探研究（该项目主要由日本田中保士先生资助）时，根据电流扩散及穿透原理，提出了地面电探ＣＴ新技术并将其用于考古实践．为获得资料的充分重叠，可使用数十至５０００个探头，现场实时或线下处理得到数百幅纵、横断面及一定深度平剖面的彩色影像图、可直观显示数十米深的地下微观结构．至少对１—３个推断墓，经洛阳铲钻探结果发现了‘活土”，有可能发现公元前４７５—２２１年的“巴王陵”．本研究所发展的地面电探ＣＴ有益于考古技术现代化及三峡地下文物的抢救．     

A wind-tunnel study of sea breeze effects

A wind-tunnel simulation of the diffusion patterns in a sea breeze has been attempted. No attempt was made to reproduce the recirculation that characterizes a sea breeze, but the results indicate that the low-level onshore flow was well simulated for neutral, stable, unstable, and elevated inversion conditions. Velocity, turbulence, shear stress, and temperature data were taken, and the spread of emissions from ground-level sources was investigated.Comparison is made with theoretical predictions by Inoue and with the open, countryside results of Pasquill. Agreement with the predictions by Inoue is good. The comparison with Pasquill's results shows that the wind-tunnel flows are shifted two categories towards more stable. The discrepancy may be explained as a lack of mesoscale turbulence in the wind-tunnel.     

Stability dependence of the drag and bulk transfer coefficients over a coastal sea surface

Bulk transfer coefficients were evaluated from eddy correlation flux measurements on a fixed pier during onshore winds. The mean values are C _D = 1.69 × 10^-3, C _H = 2.58 × 10^-3 and C _E = 1.51 × 10^-3. The drag coefficient, C _D, gradually increases with wind speed but C _H and C _E are independent of wind speed. According to theory and empirical formulas based on experimental results over flat grassland, the transfer coefficients should gradually increase with increasing instability. This is confirmed experimentally in the stable region in our case. However, the drag coefficient appears to decrease with increasing instability, which is against the theoretical result. A stability dependence is not clearly observed for C _H or C _E.     

Prediction model for occurrence of impact wave force

This study investigates the applicability of neural networks to predict whether impact wave force will act on the upright section of a composite breakwater. We employ a three-layered neural network whose units of input layer are h/L, H/h, d/h and B_M/h (h: the total water depth; L: the wavelength; H: the wave height; d: the water depth above the mound; B_M: the horizontal distance from the shoulder of mound to the caisson). Teach signals are 0.99 and 0.01 according to the cases of occurrence and absence of impact wave force, respectively. The neural network whose parameters are determined through self-learning can accurately predict whether impact wave force occurs.