Hierarchical traveltime tomography

A new traveltime tomographic method was developed with hierarchical shape functions of the finite element method as slowness or velocity interpolation functions. The degree of the approximation of velocity modelling is adjusted by selecting a set of hierarchical shape functions in each element. The ray density parameter of each element controls the selection to make the approximation fine or coarse in the high- or low-ray-density area. The proposed method is applied to both synthetic traveltime data and actual data. The AIC is used to determine the number of model parameters. The result of the synthetic data shows that low-resolution model parameters can be eliminated by the ray density parameter. The result of the actual data shows that the velocity pattern is approximately the same in the fine approximation area and that the velocity fluctuation is suppressed in the coarse approximation area, compared with that obtained from a full set of hierarchical shape functions. The number of model parameters is drastically reduced. The resolution can be estimated by the checkerboard restoration test. The result of the real data set was compared with that of the linear velocity grid model.     

Observed and simulated sensitivities of summertime urban surface air temperatures to anthropogenic heat in downtown areas of two Japanese Major Cities,Tokyo and Osaka

In this study, the sensitivities of surface air temperatures to anthropogenic heat (AH) were investigated in downtowns of the two Japanese major cities, Tokyo and Osaka. First, meteorological measurements were made with the simultaneous monitoring of electricity demand in a contrastive couple of a downtown commercial area (C-area) and a residential area (R-area) within each city in summer 2007. From the measurements, the areal-mean surface air temperatures were obtained as \( {\overline{T}}_{\mathrm{C}} \) and \( {\overline{T}}_{\mathrm{R}} \) for each of the C-area and R-area, respectively. Using the actual electricity demand and the estimated motor fuels consumption, their areal total was evaluated as the energy-consumption-basis AH. The estimated C-areas' AH indicated greater values up to 220 W/m² on weekdays and remarkable decrease about by half on weekends, whereas that in the R-areas showed less values of 10–20 W/m² stably. Then, \( {\overline{T}}_{\mathrm{C}}-{\overline{T}}_{\mathrm{R}} \) on calm and fine days were found to be systematically decreased from weekdays to weekends in both cities roughly indicating a proportional relationship with the reductions in the C-areas' AH on weekends. The result suggested a common afternoon sensitivity for both C-areas of around 1.0°C/100 W/m², which indicated an intensity of the AH impact on surface air temperature there. Next, to simulate the observed AH impact, the authors' CM-BEM (a multilayer urban canopy model coupled with a building energy model) was newly implemented in the mesoscale Weather Research and Forecasting (WMF) model. This new system, WRF-CM-BEM, was applied to Tokyo and almost reasonably validated from the aspects of the reproducibility of urban surface air temperature and electricity demand in the observation areas. The simulations also suggested that WRF-CM-BEM underestimated the observed air temperature sensitivity to AH in the Tokyo C-area roughly by half but still in the same order of magnitude.     

Variability in the Relative Penetration of Ultraviolet Radiation to Photosynthetically Available Radiation in Temperate Coastal Waters, Japan

UVR and PAR wavelengths are attenuated to different extents within the water column, causing variations in spectral composition with depth. The present investigation (a) describes the variability of UVR and PAR penetration at a station in the temperate coastal waters of Sagami Bay and determines (b) the characteristics of relative UVR penetration to the euphotic zone. Examination of the seasonal irradiance profile measurements indicated eight measurements displaying two distinct attenuation coefficients (K _d) for specific UVR wavelengths and PAR. The two attenuation coefficients observed from specific wavelengths in the water column may be caused not only by chlorophyll pigments, but also by dissolved organic material in the upper layer. The 1% depth of surface UVR at 305, 320, 340, and 380 nm averaged 10.8 ± 5.7, 14.9 ± 9.5, 19.8 ± 12.1, and 30.4 ± 17.6 m, respectively. The depth of euphotic layer displayed less variability averaging 62 ± 15 m throughout the entire study. Relative UVR penetration within the euphotic zone averaged 17.8 ± 8.1, 22.9 ± 10, 30.5 ± 13.8, and 46 ± 46.9% for 305, 320, 340, and 380 nm, respectively. A large variation of the relative transmission of UVR within the euphotic zone was found although the spectral composition was relatively stable in the air throughout the study.     

Provenance diversification within an arc‐trench system induced by batholith development: the Cretaceous Japan case

By comparing detrital zircon U–Pb age spectra of coeval fore‐arc and back‐/intra‐arc basin sandstones, we identified the overall distributary pattern of terrigenous clastic material within the Cretaceous arc system of SW Japan. Abundant Proterozoic (c. 1500–2500 Ma) detrital grains from the interior of East Asia are present in the Cretaceous intra‐arc basin. However, after a barrier mountain range formed during batholith emplacement, Proterozoic clastics were rarely transported into the fore‐arc domain. Episodic batholith formation in Pacific‐type orogens likely played a major role in controlling terrigenous supply routes between coeval back‐arc and fore‐arc domains. The Cretaceous orogen in Japan thus provides a good template for analysing the tectono‐sedimentary development of other arc‐related basins.     

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.gsf.2016.10.001

The Francevillian Group in Gabonese Republic was recently established as a typical sedimentary sequence for the Paleoproterozoic.However,its age is rather poorly constrained,mainly based on Rb-Sr and Nd-Sm datings.This study reports new zircon data obtained from Chaillu massif and N'goutou complex,which constrain the protolith age of the basement orthogneisses and the igneous age of an intrusive granite,respectively.Most zircons from the orthogneisses are blue and exhibit oscillatory zoning in cathode-luminescence images.Zircons with lower common lead abundances tend to be distributed close to the concordia curve.Two age clusters around 2860 Ma and 2910 Ma are found in zircons plotted on the concordia curve.Based on the Th/U ratios of zircons,these ages correspond to the protolith ages of the orthogneisses,and the zircons are not metamorphic in origin.Syenites and granites were collected from the N'goutou complex that intrudes into the FA and FB units of the Francevillian Group.The granitoids exhibit chemical composition of A-type granite affinity.Half of zircons separated from the granite are non-luminous,and the remaining half exhibit obscure internal textures under cathode-luminescence observation.All zircon grains contain significant amounts of common lead;the lead isotopic variability is probably attributed to the mixing of two components in the zircons.The zircon radiogenic ~(207)Pb/~(206)Pb ratio is 0.13707 ± 0.0010.corresponding to a ~(207)Pb/~(206)Pb age of 2191 ± 13 Ma.This constrains the minimum depositional age of the FA and FB units.Furthermore,the FB unit consists of manganese-rich carbonate rocks and organic carbon-rich black shales with macroscopic fossils.Based on our age constraints,these organisms appeared in the study area just after the last Paleoproterozoic Snowball Earth event,in concert with global scale oxidation event encompassing the Snowball Earth.     

Radio imaging of the Subaru/XMM–Newton Deep Field – I. The 100-μJy catalogue, optical identifications, and the nature of the faint radio source population

We describe deep radio imaging at 1.4 GHz of the 1.3-deg² Subaru/ XMM–Newton Deep Field (SXDF), made with the Very Large Array in B and C configurations. We present a radio map of the entire field, and a catalogue of 505 sources covering 0.8 deg² to a peak flux density limit of 100 μJy. Robust optical identifications are provided for 90 per cent of the sources, and suggested identifications are presented for all but 14 (of which seven are optically blank, and seven are close to bright contaminating objects). We show that the optical properties of the radio sources do not change with flux density, suggesting that active galactic nuclei (AGN) continue to contribute significantly at faint flux densities. We test this assertion by cross-correlating our radio catalogue with the X-ray source catalogue and conclude that radio-quiet AGN become a significant population at flux densities below 300 μJy, and may dominate the population responsible for the flattening of the radio source counts if a significant fraction of them are Compton-thick.     

Recurrent novae

A brief review of recurrent novae studies which have been undertaken in South Africa during the last ten years is given. These works have substantially altered our view of these objects as distinct sub-classes of cataclysmic variable stars. Observational results which led to new developments in our understanding of the recurrent novae are reviewed in some detail. Observations of V1017 Sgr, which had been suggested as a recurrent nova, are also mentioned.     

Imaging an asperity of the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake using a dense strong-motion seismograph network

The 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake ruptured a large area of approximately 100 km². The location of the largest asperity was estimated to be several dozen kilometres offshore of Hokkaido, Japan. The magnitude measured 8.0 on the Japan Meteorological Agency scale, and several studies used waveform inversion analysis to estimate the moment-magnitude as M _w 8.0–8.2. Several studies reported that there was a minor asperity at the northeastern edge of the fault plane, and that the rupture velocity towards the minor asperity was less than that towards the main asperity. One of them illustrated that the location and timing of the minor asperity were poorly constrained. In this paper, we introduce a procedure based on semblance analysis to image the location of the minor northeastern asperity with improved resolution. We group 15 strong-motion seismographs into three arrays, and we perform semblance analysis on impulsive waves that were possibly generated from the minor asperity and were conspicuously observed at stations in eastern Hokkaido. By projecting the semblance values onto the fault plane, we estimate the location of the minor asperity. We find it to be shallower and farther from the coast than the previous results indicated. The average rupture velocity towards the asperity is estimated to be 2.5 km s⁻¹, which is slower than the 3.6 km s⁻¹ obtained by waveform inversion analysis.     

Landslide risk evaluation and hazard zoning for rapid and long-travel landslides in urban development areas

Risk evaluation for earthquake-induced rapid and long-travel landslides in densely populated urban areas is currently the most important disaster mitigation task in landslide-threatened areas throughout the world. The research achievements of the IPL M-101 APERITIF project were applied to two urban areas in megacities of Japan. One site is in the upper slope of the Nikawa landslide site where previous movements were triggered by the 1995 Hyogoken-Nambu earthquake. During detailed investigation, the slope was found to be at risk from a rapid and long-travel landslide induced by sliding surface liquefaction by earthquakes similar in scale to the 1995 event. A new plan to prevent the occurrence of this phenomenon was proposed and the plan was implemented. Another area is the Tama residential area near Tokyo. A set of field and laboratory investigations including laser scanner, geological drilling and ring-shear tests showed that there was a risk of sliding surface liquefaction for both sites. A geotechnical computer simulation (Rapid/LS) using the quantitative data obtained in the study allowed urban landslide hazard zoning to be made at individual street level.