Characteristics of soil moisture in permafrost observed in East Siberian taiga with stable isotopes of water

Soil moisture and its isotopic composition were observed at Spasskaya Pad experimental forest near Yakutsk, Russia, during summer in 1998, 1999, and 2000. The amount of soil water (plus ice) was estimated from volumetric soil water content obtained with time domain reflectometry. Soil moisture and its δ¹⁸O showed large interannual variation depending on the amount of summer rainfall. The soil water δ¹⁸O decreased with soil moisture during a dry summer (1998), indicating that ice meltwater from a deeper soil layer was transported upward. On the other hand, during a wet summer (1999), the δ¹⁸O of soil water increased due to percolation of summer rain with high δ¹⁸O values. Infiltration after spring snowmelt can be traced down to 15 cm by the increase in the amount of soil water and decrease in the δ¹⁸O because of the low δ¹⁸O of deposited snow. About half of the snow water equivalent (about 50 mm) recharged the surface soil. The pulse of the snow meltwater was, however, less important than the amount of summer rainfall for intra‐annual variation of soil moisture. Excess water at the time just before soil freezing, which is controlled by the amount of summer rainfall, was stored as ice during winter. This water storage stabilizes the rate of evapotranspiration. Soil water stored in the upper part of the active layer (surface to about 120 cm) can be a water source for transpiration in the following summer. On the other hand, once water was stored in the lower part of the active layer (deeper than about 120 cm), it would not be used by plants in the following summer, because the lower part of the active layer thaws in late summer after the plant growing season is over. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Crustal structure in the Matsushiro Earthquake Swarm area

The crustal structure of the Matsushiro area, Central Japan, was studied in two profiles, A and B, with the explosion seismic method to obtain a better understanding of the physical processes of the Matsushiro Swarm Earthquakes. The layer with a velocity of 6.0 km/sec is extremely shallow and becomes deeper west of Chikuma River and around the southeastern end of profile B; there exists a faultlike structure in the most active area. The comparison of hypocenter distributions with the crustal structure shows that almost all swarm earthquakes have their hypocenters below the 6.0 km/sec layer and are confined to the region where this 6.0 km/sec layer is shallow. The velocity gradient in the 6.0 km/ sec layer is determined with certainty by the time-term analysis.

In the seismically most active region the anomalous structure is derived not only from the traveltime analysis but also from the amplitude studies; that is, the velocity and the Q-value are smaller than in other regions.     

Detailed comparison between sunspot activity in ‘hot spots’ and galactic cosmic-ray intensity

The influence of sunspot activity on the condition of the solar-terrestrial environment during cycle 21 was examined using the data of sunspots and the modulation of the galactic cosmic-ray intensity. The hot spots discussed by Ichimoto et al. (1985) and Bai (1987a, 1988) were also found by analyzing the longitudinal distribution of sunspot groups.A detailed comparison between the time change of the sunspot activity in hot spots and that of the galactic cosmic rays observed by the neutron monitor reveals that several transient diminutions of the GCR intensity (with much longer duration than a Forbush decrease) occur at nearly the same time as the sporadic enhancement of sunspot area in the hot spots.Contributions from Kwasan and Hida Observatories, Kyoto University No. 303.     

Long-period topographic trapped waves in a two-layer ocean with basic flow

The characteristics of free topographic trapped waves are investigated numerically for a two-layer model with basic flow, which is uniform, geostrophically balanced motion flowing parallel to the coast. Six modes are identified for this model with depth variations. They are external and internal Kelvin modes, a topographic Rossby mode, and additional three modes. The two of the additional modes are interesting. The first one is a quasi-geostrophic surface-trapped mode, while the second one is a quasi-geostrophic bottom-trapped mode. It is suggested that baroclinic instability takes place when these two modes take a resonance coupling each other.     

Landslides induced by the 2017 Mw7.3 Sarpol Zahab earthquake (Iran)

Landslides are the main secondary effects of earthquakes in mountainous areas. The spatial distribution of these landslides is controlled by the local seismic ground motion and the local slope stability. While gravitational instabilities in arid and semi-arid environments are understudied, we document the landslides triggered by the Sarpol Zahab earthquake (November 12, 2017, Mw7.3, Iran/Iraq border), the largest event ever recorded in the semi-arid Zagros Mountains. An original earthquake-induced landslide inventory was derived, encompassing landslides of various sizes and velocities (from rapid disrupted rockfalls to slow-moving coherent landslides). This inventory confirms the low level of triggered landslides in semi-arid environments. It also displays clear differences in the spatial and volumetric distributions of earthquake-induced landslides, having 386 rockfalls of limited size triggered around the epicenter, and 9 giant (areas of ca. 10⁶ m²) active and ancient deep-seated landslides coseismically accelerated at locations up to 180 km from the epicenter. This unusual distant triggering is discussed and interpreted as an interaction between the earthquake source properties and the local geological conditions, emphasizing the key role of seismic ground motion variability at short spatial scales in triggering landslides. Finally, the study documents the kinematics of slow-moving ancient landslides accelerated by earthquakes, and opens up new perspectives for studying landslide triggering over short (~?1–10 years) and long-time (~?1000–10,000 years) periods.

     

Physical properties of the shallow sediments in late Pleistocene formations,Ursa Basin,Gulf of Mexico,and their implications for generation and preservation of shallow overpressures

Understanding the evolution of abnormally high fluid pressures within sedimentary formations is critical for analysing hydrogeological processes and assessing drilling risks. We have constructed a two-dimensional basin model and have performed numerical simulations to increase the understanding of the history of fluid flow and shallow overpressures in the Pleistocene and Holocene formations in the Ursa basin, deepwater Gulf of Mexico. We measured physical properties of sediments, such as porosity and permeability, in the laboratory and estimated in situ pore pressures from preconsolidation pressures. We obtained porosity–effective stress relationships from measurements of bulk density, grain density and preconsolidation pressures in the laboratory. Porosity–effective stress relationships were also obtained from downhole density logs and measured pore pressures. The porosity–effective stress and porosity–permeability relationships obtained were applied in two-dimensional basin simulations. Results showed that high pore pressures developed shortly after sediment deposition. Peaks in pore pressure ratios were related to high sedimentation rates of mass transport deposits and the incision of the Ursa channel. Lateral flows from the area where the overburden is thick towards the area where it is thin have occurred at least since 30 ka. Present pore pressure and temperature distributions suggest that lateral flows play a role in re-distributing heat in the basin.     

Catalytic function of avian cytochrome P450 1A4 and 1A5 (CYP1A4 and CYP1A5) enzymes heterologously expressed using in vitro yeast system

The present study clarifies the enzymatic properties of two avian cytochrome P4501A (CYP1A) paralogs, CYP1A4 and 1A5, using a yeast-based vector system. Recombinant CYP1A4 and 1A5 proteins from common cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo) were expressed in yeast cells, and showed typical reduced CO-difference spectra with a peak at 446 nm. Kinetic analysis of O-dealkylase of methoxy-, ethoxy-, pentoxy- and benzyloxyresorufin catalyzed by the CYP1A enzymes revealed that Vmax value for ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase (EROD) activity was much higher than that for the other three O-dealkylase activities for both isozymes. Interestingly, remarkable substrate specificity of the CYP1As was observed for O-dealkylation of benzyloxyresorufin and methoxyresorufin; CYP1A4 was highly specific for catalyzing benzyloxyresorufin-O-debenzylase activity, whereas CYP1A5 was more efficient in catalyzing methoxyresorufin-O-demethylase activity. The present study also measured CYP1A-dependent EROD activity in the presence of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzofuran (TCDF) to evaluate the ability of this dioxin-like congener to inhibit the EROD activity. One hundred nanomolar TCDF noncompetitively inhibited CYP1A5-dependent EROD activity, although no inhibitory effect was detected for CYP1A4-dependent EROD activity. These results indicate that the avian CYP1A paralogs have different affinities for substrate and inhibitor, thus suggesting their distinct physiological and toxicological roles.     

高精度人工地震波层析成像技术勘探地下构造

应用人工爆破地震波层析成像方法勘探地下速度结构。在海域、山地多种地质条件下进行了地震波层析成像方法定量勘探研究。依勘探目标体而异,通过设计震源频率、震源和观测仪器布局,提高观测分辨率,实现定量高精度速度结构勘探研究。勘探最大深度可达Moho界面;山地最高分辨率可达3 m。结果显示了该方法在近海区域和山区不同地质条件的适用性及不同勘探深度与勘探精度的实用性。在日本九州近海地域勘测中,同时使用了反射与折射2种走时资料,可以同时改善水平及垂向的分辨率。成像图显示了地下结构详细特征,如任意斜向的凹凸形状,或高角度逆冲错断构造,分辨率达到10 m。同时显示出这些复杂几何体的埋藏深度。结果表明,诸如地下断层形状,资源矿藏储舱结构异常体的复杂几何形状,都可期望在层析成像技术的勘探分辨能力之内。它对于地下结构研究,矿产资源勘探,工程环境地质研究都有重要意义。结果也显示了成像方法的运算收敛速度和计算稳定性在结构勘探中是适用的。     

The Hayabusa Spacecraft Asteroid Multi-band Imaging Camera (AMICA)

The Hayabusa Spacecraft Asteroid Multi-band Imaging Camera (AMICA) has acquired more than 1400 multispectral and high-resolution images of its target asteroid, 25143 Itokawa, since late August 2005. In this paper, we summarize the design and performance of AMICA. In addition, we describe the calibration methods, assumptions, and models, based on measurements. Major calibration steps include corrections for linearity and modeling and subtraction of bias, dark current, read-out smear, and pixel-to-pixel responsivity variations. AMICA v-band data were calibrated to radiance using in-flight stellar observations. The other band data were calibrated to reflectance by comparing them to ground-based observations to avoid the uncertainty of the solar irradiation in those bands. We found that the AMICA signal was linear with respect to the input signal to an accuracy of ?1% when the signal level was <3800 DN. We verified that the absolute radiance calibration of the AMICA v-band (0.55 μm) was accurate to 4% or less, the accuracy of the disk-integrated spectra with respect to the AMICA v-band was about 1%, and the pixel-to-pixel responsivity (flat-field) variation was 3% or less. The uncertainty in background zero level was 5 DN. From wide-band observations of star clusters, we found that the AMICA optics have an effective focal length of 120.80 ± 0.03 mm, yielding a field-of-view (FOV) of 5.83° × 5.69°. The resulting geometric distortion model was accurate to within a third of a pixel. We demonstrated an image-restoration technique using the point-spread functions of stars, and confirmed that the technique functions well in all loss-less images. An artifact not corrected by this calibration is scattered light associated with bright disks in the FOV.