The Failure of Cooperative Farming Development Policies in Tōhoku,Japan

In the context of agricultural globalization, many national governments have instituted policies, such as cooperative farming, to help farmers improve their profitability, competitiveness, and the sustainability of their agricultural practices. This study focused on the Multi-Product Management Stabilization Plan developed in Japan in 2006, which aimed to adapt the agricultural practices in the country to globalization by focusing on cooperative farming, and assessed its effectiveness for developing and incorporating cooperative farming in the Tōhoku region in the 2000s. The results suggest that regional and prefectural agents experienced significant difficulties when attempting to develop cooperative farming. Although New Institutional Economics’ theories suggest that these policies reflect the norms for developing agriculture more profitably and competitively, Japanese farmers did not regard the policies as relevant, practical, or sustainable, and they obstructed them.     

Seismic response of a cut‐and‐cover tunnel isolated by polymer material

An effective method for the seismic retrofitting of the sidewalls of cut‐and‐cover tunnels has not yet been established. Thus, a new method of seismic retrofitting for cut‐and‐cover tunnels, called the ‘polymer isolation method’, is developed here. In this method, thin walls made of polymer materials, called ‘isolation walls’, are inserted between the ground and the sidewalls of a tunnel. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method in reducing the seismic response of tunnels by using some numerical simulations. It is found that the proposed method depends on the thickness of the soil cover over the tunnel and the ratio of the stiffness between the soil and the structure. Furthermore, a simple chart is proposed for convenience to represent the applicability of the polymer isolation method to the design of seismic retrofits for cut‐and‐cover tunnels. Although this particular chart has been obtained through a limited case, some other typical cases in which the chart can also be implemented for special conditions are addressed, and the applicability and the limitations of this chart are suggested for possible conditions of the ground and of tunnel structures. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

From sink to volcanic source: Unravelling missing terrestrial eruption records by characterization and high‐resolution chronology of lacustrine volcanic density flow deposits,Lake Inawashiro‐ko,Fukushima, Japan

Eruption records in the terrestrial stratigraphy are often incomplete due to erosion after tephra deposition, limited exposure and lack of precise dating owing to discontinuity of strata. A lake system and sequence adjacent to active volcanoes can record various volcanic events such as explosive eruptions and subaqueous density flows being extensions of eruption triggered and secondary triggered lahars. A lacustrine environment can constrain precise ages of such events because of constant and continuous background sedimentation. A total of 71 subaqueous density flow deposits in a 28 m long core from Lake Inawashiro‐ko reveals missing terrestrial volcanic activity at Adatara and Bandai volcanoes during the past 50 kyr. Sedimentary facies, colour, grain size, petrography, clay mineralogy, micro X‐ray fluorescence analysis and chemistry of included glass shards characterize the flow event deposits and clarify their origin: (i) clay‐rich grey hyperpycnites, extended from subaerial cohesive lahars at Adatara volcano, with sulphide/sulphate minerals and high sulphur content which point to a source from hydrothermally altered material ejected by phreatic eruptions; and (ii) clay‐rich brown density flow deposits, induced by magmatic hydrothermal eruptions and associated edifice collapse at Bandai volcano, with the common presence of fresh juvenile glass shards and low‐grade hydrothermally altered minerals; whereas (iii) non‐volcanic turbidites are limited to the oldest large slope failure and the 2011 Tohoku‐oki earthquake events. The high‐resolution chronology of volcanic activity during the last 50 kyr expressed by lacustrine event deposits shows that phreatic eruption frequency at Adatara has roughly tripled and explosive eruptions at Bandai have increased by ca 50%. These results challenge hikers, ski‐fields and downstream communities to re‐evaluate the increased volcanic risks from more frequent eruptions and far‐reaching lahars, and demonstrate the utility of lahar and lacustrine volcanic density flow deposits to unravel missing terrestrial eruption records, otherwise the recurrence rate may be underestimated at many volcanoes.     

Millennium‐scale recurrent uplift inferred from beach deposits bordering the eastern Nankai Trough,Omaezaki area,central Japan

A flight of Holocene marine terraces on the southwestern coast of Cape Omaezaki of central Japan provides evidence of recurrent millennium‐scale uplift events. We reconstructed the uplift history of these terraces by using facies analysis of drill core and geoslicer samples, environmental analysis of trace fossils, and ¹⁴C age determinations. Coastal uplift can be identified by the displacement of beach deposits such as foreshore deposits, which represent the intertidal swash zone of a wave‐dominated sandy coast. Three levels of former beach deposits facing the Nankai Trough were identified near the coast in the Omaezaki area. The highest of these, dated at about 3020–2880 BC, records a maximum of 2.2–2.7 m of emergence. The middle beach surface, of minimum age 370–190 BC, shows 1.6–2.8 m of emergence. The lowest beach surface, which is older than 1300–1370 AD, records 0.4–1.6 m of emergence. Our analysis of vertical crustal deformation data during the Holocene in this region suggests that rapid and strong uplift was restricted to the southwestern coast of the Omaezaki area and was probably caused by high‐angle thrusting on subsidiary faults branching from the underlying plate boundary megathrust.     

Seismic Properties of Anita Bay Dunite: an Exploratory Study of the Influence of Water

As a pilot study of the role of water in the attenuation ofseismic waves in the Earth's upper mantle, we have performeda series of seismic-frequency torsional forced-oscillation experimentson a natural (Anita Bay) dunite containing accessory hydrousphases, at high temperatures to 1300°C and confining pressure(P_c) of 200 MPa, within a gas-medium high-pressure apparatus.Both oven-dried and pre-fired specimens wrapped in Ni–Fefoil within the (poorly) vented assembly were recovered essentiallydry after 50–100 h of annealing at 1300°C followedby slow staged cooling. The results for those specimens indicatebroadly similar absorption-band viscoelastic behaviour, butwith systematic differences in the frequency dependence of strain-energydissipation Q^–1, attributed to differences in the smallvolume fraction of silicate melt and its spatial distribution.In contrast, it has been demonstrated that a new assembly involvinga welded Pt capsule retains aqueous fluid during prolonged exposureto high temperatures—allowing the first high-temperaturetorsional forced-oscillation measurements under high aqueousfluid pore pressure P_f. At temperatures >1000°C, a markedreduction in shear modulus, without concomitant increase inQ^–1, is attributed to the widespread wetting of grainboundaries resulting from grain-scale hydrofracturing and themaintenance of conditions of low differential pressure P_d =P_c – P_f . Staged cooling from 1000°C is accompaniedby decreasing P_f and progressive restoration of significantlypositive differential pressure resulting in a microstructuralregime in which the fluid on grain boundaries is increasinglyrestricted to arrays of pores. The more pronounced viscoelasticbehaviour observed within this regime for the Pt-encapsulatedspecimen compared with the essentially dry specimens may reflectboth water-enhanced solid-state relaxation and the direct influenceof the fluid phase. The scenario of overpressurized fluids andhydrofracturing in the Pt-encapsulated dunite specimen may havesome relevance to the high Q^–1 and low-velocity zonesobserved in subduction-zone environments. The outcomes of thisexploratory study indicate that the presence of water can havea significant effect on the seismic wave attenuation in theupper mantle and provide the foundation for more detailed studieson the role of water. KEY WORDS: seismic wave attenuation; water; dunite; hydrous mineral; shear modulus; viscoelasticity; olivine; grain-scale hydrofracturing     

Temporal changes in the geographic distribution of two clam species <Emphasis Type="Italic">Meretrix lusoria</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">M. petechialis</Emphasis> along the coast of Japan and South Korea

The objectives of this study were to distinguish fossil specimens of Meretrix (Bivalvia, Veneridae) using discriminant score and multivariate analysis, and to examine temporal changes in the geographical distributions of M. lusoria and M. petechialis in Japan and South Korea. Fossil shells of Meretrix were collected from Miyagi, Fukui, Aichi and Kumamoto in Japan, and Gimhae, Seosan, Siheung and Ganghwa-do in South Korea. The outside of the right valve was photographed with a digital camera, and ten characteristics of the shell morphology, such as shell height and shell length, were measured using image analysis software and a digital slide caliper. The discriminant score and multivariate analysis of the shell morphology identified all of the examined fossils as M. lusoria, while living individuals collected from the western coast of South Korea were identified as M. petechialis. These results suggest that the fossil shells excavated from the western coast of South Korea are a different species from the living individuals collected from the same areas. Radioactive carbon isotopic results revealed that the ages of the four fossil shells collected from tidal flats in Ganghwa-do ranged between 3,270 ± 30 and 1,830 ± 30 Cal BP. These results suggest that M. lusoria inhabited the western coast of South Korea until at least 2,000 years ago, but was replaced by M. petechialis during the last 2,000 years. Therefore, we propose that either M. petechialis spats were introduced artificially, or planktonic larvae migrated naturally from China to the western coast of South Korea during the last 2,000 years.     

Underplating of mélange evidenced by the depositional ages: U–Pb dating of zircons from the Shimanto accretionary complex, southwest Japan

Abstract   Growth of an accretionary prism is effected by frontal accretion and deep subsurface underplating at the base of the prism. A systematic oceanward and structurally downward younging of underplated sequences is expected as the prism thickens and grows. To test this hypothesis and explore the processes of underplating, the U–Pb ages of zircon grains contained in underplated mélange sequences or packages of the Late Cretaceous and early Paleogene accretionary complex of the Shimanto Belt, southwest Japan, were determined using LA–ICP–MS laser technology. The results document systematic but intermittent younging ages within a single underplated mélange package. This finding suggests that underplating took place episodically during a period of several million years and that between episodes of underplating, a large amount of sediment was subducted to depths much greater than where underplating was occurring.     

Diatom-inferred limnological changes in Lake Inawashiro-ko,Japan, over the past 1700 years

Journal of Paleolimnology - We inferred paleoenvironmental conditions in Lake Inawashiro-ko, Japan, over the past 1700&nbsp;years, using diatom assemblages in the uppermost 2&nbsp;m of...     

Evolution of carbon dioxide-bearing saline fluids in the mantle wedge beneath the Northeast Japan arc

Lherzolite xenoliths containing fluid inclusions from the Ichinomegata volcano, located on the rear-arc side of the Northeast Japan arc, may be considered as samples of the uppermost mantle above the melting region in the mantle wedge. Thus, these fluid inclusions provide valuable information on the nature of fluids present in the sub-arc mantle. The inclusions in the Ichinomegata amphibole-bearing spinel–plagioclase lherzolite xenoliths were found to be composed mainly of CO₂–H₂O–Cl–S fluids. At equilibrium temperature of 920 °C, the fluid inclusions preserve pressures of 0.66–0.78 GPa, which correspond to depths of 23–28 km. The molar fraction of H₂O and the salinity of fluid inclusions are 0.18–0.35 and 3.71 ± 0.78 wt% NaCl equivalent, respectively. These fluid inclusions are not believed to be fluids derived directly from the subducting slab, but rather fluids exsolved from sub-arc basaltic magmas that are formed through partial melting of mantle wedge triggered by slab-derived fluids.     

Verifying adequacy of the seismic deformation method by using real examples of earthquake damage

In a seismic design, the dynamic loads are generally dependent on the inertial interaction caused by earthquake. But for the foundations embedded in soil, the dynamic loads are influenced by both the inertial and kinematic interactions among superstructure, foundation and soil. Especially, when a foundation is embedded in soft surface ground, the effects due to the kinematic interaction increase and should be considered in seismic design. For this reason, a method called seismic deformation method (SDM), which is suitable for an intensive earthquake motion (level 2 earthquake motion), has been stipulated recently in a new design code called Seismic Design Code for railway structures (the Railway Code, drawn up by Railway Technical Research Institute, Japan, 1999) [Railway Technical Research Institute. Seismic Design Code for railway structures. Tokyo: Maruzen; 1999]. In order to grasp the suitability of the SDM to actual structures, pile foundations, which experienced the Hyogoken-Nanbu earthquake, were taken as the objects for investigations. Comparison studies between the SDM analysis and reconnaissance were conducted. As a result, the adequacy of the SDM to actual foundations was confirmed to prove good agreement between the two results from the viewpoint of engineering practice.In addition, determination of indices for seismic-performance evaluation and speculation of damage mechanism of the foundations are also discussed in this paper.