Electron beam emission from the EXOS-B (JIKIKEN) satellite as a powerful diagnostic tool in the magnetosphere

In an electron beam emission experiment on board the EXOS-B (JIKIKEN) satellite (200 V, 1 mA-maximum), several types of waves are strongly excited by the beam such as plasma frequency, upper hybrid frequency, electron cyclotron frequency, their harmonics and nonlinear coupling of these waves. Measurements of these waves give information on local plasma density and magnetic field strength and it is revealed that the electron beam emission from the spacecraft is a powerful diagnostic tool in the magnetosphere. A long term observation in this electron beam experiment has provided us with the average plasma density profile in the magnetosphere. It is also useful for the detection of the plasmapause. Plasma density measurements down to the order of 10 cm^–3 are possible. The instrument itself is very simple and compact, so that it will be a powerful plasma diagnostic tool in future magnetospheric and planetary explorations.     

Occurrence of phosphatic microfossils in an Ediacaran–Cambrian mid-oceanic paleo-atoll limestone of southern Siberia

New phosphatic microfossils were recently discovered in an Ediacaran–Cambrian mid-oceanic paleo-atoll limestone in the southern Gorny Altai Mountains in southern Siberia. Microfossils with calcium phosphate shells are abundant in the limestone that occurs as an exotic block within a Cambrian accretionary complex in the Kurai area. SEM observations confirm that the calcium phosphatic shells are ellipsoidal and equal-sized, about 200–300 μm in diameter. Shell walls are about 1 μm thick. As the absence of external and internal structures hinders a detailed comparison/identification, these microfossils are tentatively treated here as paleontological problematica. EPMA-analysis confirmed the concentration of elements P and Ca in microfossil shells and the absence in the matrix, suggesting the primary phosphatic composition of the shells. Because phosphatic microfossils are generally scarce in the Ediacaran but abundant from the Lower Cambrian, in particular within pre-trilobitic SSF assemblages, the phosphatic fossil-bearing limestone in the Kurai area possibly belongs to the Lower Cambrian. The present find proves that mid-oceanic paleo-seamounts as well as continental shelf domains had already been inhabited by diverse metazoans in the Ediacaran–Cambrian transitional interval.     

Formation of water masses and fronts due to density-induced current system

Several numerical experiments were carried out on the formation of water masses and their fronts such as observed in the Kii Channel in winter. Such water masses and fronts may caused by density-induced current system. The phenomenon is assumed to take place in the vertical two-dimensional plane not involving the effect of the earth's rotation. The linear momentum equation and the diffusion-advection equations of salinity and temperature are integrated with respect to time under a vertically hydrostatic condition. The result is that two rolls which correspond to the onshore water mass and the offshore water mass are formed with an accompanying front between them. The apparent diffusion coefficient reaches a relatively great amount inside the water masses and drops down to the eddy diffusivity level at the front. The dependence of the synoptic distributions of the temperature and salinity on several parameters is also examined. Finally another experiment is carried out involving the effect of the earth's rotation, which results in a rather different distribution pattern from that of the non-rotating model.     

Development of the current induced by the topographic heat accumulation (I)

Some numerical experiments were made to examine the possibility of large anticlockwise circulation at Lake Biwa in summer caused by horizontally uniform heat flux across the lake surface. Flow is induced by the “topographic heat accumulation effect” due to the non-uniform water depth. To evaluate this flow, an axisymmetric model basin is used. Dependence of the magnitude of velocity on the horizontal and vertical Ekman numbers is also investigated. If the heating continues as long as the vertical diffusion time, fairly large velocity is created indicating a possibility that this is the origin of the lake current.     

Testing of a towed CTD

The results of laboratory and field experiments on a CTD measuring unit attached to a controllable towed body is described. It was verified that the three-dimensional distribution of salinity and temperature could be observed with sufficient accuracy (to 0.03 in salinity and to 0.01°C in temperature if proper correction is adopted) while cruising at up to 4 knots. A double integrated A/D converter is used to compensate for effects of extraneous environmental changes.     

Algal Growth Potential and the limiting nutrient in Mikawa Bay

The Algal Growth Potential (AGP) of water samples collected off Gamagori in Mikawa Bay was measured from May 1978 through February 1979, and the limiting nutrient was determined using regression analysis and enrichment bioassays. The surface and bottom water samples had AGP that produced increments of chemical oxygen demand (COD) of 2.1 mg l^–1 and 3.1 mg l^–1, respectively, on average. These values ofCOD correspond to 46% and 97% of the average COD values of the raw water samples at the surface and bottom, respectively. Seasonal changes of AGP showed a close correlation with those of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) concentration. Enrichment bioassays showed that DIN was the most deficient nutrient. The DIN:phosphate-phosphorus (PO₄ ^3–-P) ratios and DIN: dissolved phosphorus (DP) ratios in the water samples were below the cellular N:P ratios of the natural algal populations. These results suggest that AGP was mainly limited by DIN concentration.     

A numerical study on the tidal residual flow

Characteristics of the tidal residual flow, the steady current induced in the tidal current system, are studied by a numerical method. The model basin has the same topography as that studied byYanagi (1976) and byOonishi (1977) where only the horizontal motion of the residual flow is concerned. In this study, the effect of the vertical motion is investigated as it is associated with the tidal residual flow. To this end, the bottom friction omitted in the previous study (Oonishi, 1977) is included and a two-leveled model is adopted.The first two experiments exclude the earth's rotation and the buoyancy effect on the flow. The results are as follows. The horizontal flow pattern is essentially the same as that obtained in the previous Oonishi study. The bottom friction results in the reduction of the velocity of the residual flow especially in the bottom level. An important result is that vertical velocity is as strong as the horizontal velocity multiplied by the scale ratio and that it remains even in the time-average. Upwelling appears at the center of the residual circulation. This upwelling explains Yanagi's observation in the hydraulic model that the sediment is swept by the flow and accumulates horizontally in the area at the bottom below the center of the residual circulation. The distribution of a tracer, which is simultaneously calculated in these cases, indicates the important role of vertical motion in the material dispersion in the model.The last experiment includes the earth's rotation and the buoyancy effect presuming a more actual sea. It shows another effect of the vertical motion. The Coriolis term, which operates only under the condition that a horizontal divergence of the flow is present, skews the horizontal residual flow pattern.     

A numerical study on the tidal residual flow

A fundamental mechanism of generation of the tidal residual flow, the steady or quasi-steady flow induced in the tidal current system, is studied by numerical methods. The model basin is a very simple one, a rectangular basin of 5m×10m of constant depth and with a cape of 4 m length jutting out at a right angle from the center of the longer side wall. This basin has the same topography as that studied byYanagi (1976) by means of the hydraulic model experiments.The steady, circular, horizontal current is found to be induced through the following processes. Horizontal friction at the coast makes the vorticity of vertical component in the oscillating flow. Self-interaction of this flow causes the vorticity transfer to the steady flow in frequency domain. This vorticity transfer is confined in the narrow coastal boundary layer. The steady flow advects the transferred vorticity and makes itself develop fully wide over the bay. In other words, there are two kinds of cascade-up, one with regard to time scale and the other with regard to horizontal space scale.When the tidal range, the tidal period and the horizontal eddy viscosity change under the condition that the model geometry is fixed, the nondimensional parameter which controlls the steady flow is found to be the Reynolds number of the oscillating flow.     

The uranium content and the activity ratio234U/238U in marine organisms and sea water in the western North Pacific

The uranium content and activity ratio A²³⁴U/A²³⁸U were determined in open ocean water, marine plankton, marine algae and sea water in the environment in which plankton and algae live. The average uranium content of 3.34±0.28×10⁻⁶ g/l and the average activity ratio of 1.13±0.04 were obtained in open ocean water. The uranium contents in plankton and algae were respectively from 1.7 to 7.8×10⁻⁷ g/g and 0.4 to 23.5×10⁻⁷ g/g on dry basis with the respective concentration factors of 48 to 260 and 10 to 733. The activity ratio in plankton and algae ranged from 1.07 to 1.18 which coincided well with those in the environmental sea water.