Recent geological and hydrological activity on Mars: The Tharsis/Elysium corridor

The paradigm of an ancient warm, wet, and dynamically active Mars, which transitioned into a cold, dry, and internally dead planet, has persisted up until recently despite published Viking-based geologic maps that indicate geologic and hydrologic activity extending into the Late Amazonian epoch. This paradigm is shifting to a water-enriched planet, which may still exhibit internal activity, based on a collection of geologic, hydrologic, topographic, chemical, and elemental evidences obtained by the Viking, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), Mars Odyssey (MO), Mars Exploration Rovers (MER), and Mars Express (MEx) missions. The evidence includes: (1) stratigraphically young rock materials such as pristine lava flows with few, if any, superposed impact craters; (2) tectonic features that cut stratigraphically young materials; (3) features with possible aqueous origin such as structurally controlled channels that dissect stratigraphically young materials and anastomosing-patterned slope streaks on hillslopes; (4) spatially varying elemental abundances for such elements as hydrogen (H) and chlorine (Cl) recorded in rock materials up to 0.33 m depth; and (5) regions of elevated atmospheric methane. This evidence is pronounced in parts of Tharsis, Elysium, and the region that straddles the two volcanic provinces, collectively referred to here as the Tharsis/Elysium corridor. Based in part on field investigations of Solfatara Crater, Italy, recommended as a suitable terrestrial analog, the Tharsis/Elysium corridor should be considered a prime target for Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) investigations and future science-driven exploration to investigate whether Mars is internally and hydrologically active at the present time, and whether the persistence of this activity has resulted in biologic activity.     

Influence of Kuroshio Flow on the Horizontal Distribution of North Pacific Intermediate Water in the Shikoku Basin

The influence of the Kuroshio flow on the horizontal distribution of North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) in the Shikoku Basin is examined based upon observational data collected by the training vessel “Seisui-maru” of Mie University together with oceanographic data compiled by the Japan Oceanographic Data Center (JODC). Although it has been stated that the NPIW with salinity less than 34.2 psu had been confined to the south of the Kuroshio main axis along the PT (KJ) Line on the eastern side of the Izu Ridge, a similar tendency can be detected on the western side of the Izu Ridge. Namely, the NPIW on the southern side of the Kuroshio main axis in the Shihoku Basin does not indicate a tendency to go northward across the Kuroshio main axis without an increase in salinity of more than 34.2 psu. However, the JODC data show that less saline water (<34.2 psu) was present on the northern side of the Kuroshio main axis south of the Kii Peninsula in May 1992. Satellite observed sea surface temperature (SST) data suggested that the Kuroshio approaches the Kii Peninsula after forming a small meander off Kyushu and some intrusions of the NPIW into the northern coastal side of the Kuroshio main axis occurred in this period. It is concluded that intrusion of the NPIW with salinity less than 34.2 psu to the northern coastal side through the Kuroshio main axis occurred during the decay period of the small meander path in May 1992. Based on these observational results, the source of the salinity minimum water on the northern coastal side of the Kuroshio main axis is discussed. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The Current Structure of the Tsushima Warm Current along the Japanese Coast

The branching of the Tsushima Warm Current (TWC) along the Japanese coast is studied based upon intensive ADCP and CTD measurements conducted off the Wakasa Bay in every early summer of 1995–1998, the analysis of the temperature distribution at 100 m depth and the tracks of the surface drifters (Ishii and Michida, 1996; Lee et al., 1997). The first branch of TWC (FBTWC) exists throughout the year. It starts from the eastern channel of the Tsushima Straits, flows along the isobath shallower than 200 m along the Japanese coast and flows out through the Tsugaru Strait. The current flowing through the western channel of the Tsushima Straits feeds the second branch of TWC (SBTWC) which develops from spring to fall. The development of SBTWC propagates from the Tsushima Straits to Noto Peninsula at a speed of about 7 cm sec⁻¹ following the continental shelf break with a strong baroclinicity. However, SBTWC cannot be always found around the shelf break because its path is influenced by the development of eddies. It is concluded that SBTWC is a topographically steered current; a current steered by the continental shelf break. Salient features at intermediate depth are the southwestward subsurface counter current (SWSCC) between 150 m and 300 m depths over the shelf region in 1995–1998 with the velocity exceeding about 5 cm sec⁻¹, although discrepancies of the velocity and its location are observed between the ADCP data and the geostrophic currents. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Measurements of the Turbulent Energy Dissipation Rate around the Shelf Break in the East China Sea

Using the micro-structure profiler, TurboMAP, large values for the turbulent energy dissipation rate ε were found just above the bottom of the shelf and around the thermocline near the continental shelf break in the East China Sea. The values found above the bottom are produced by the bottom stress due to tidal currents, resulting in a distinct bottom mixed layer where the vertical eddy diffusivity Kz is also large. Distinct maxima in the values of ε detected around the thermocline are located at the depth of the fine-scale shear maxima detected with the moored ADCP. The vertical profiles of ε were compared with those of the current velocity, and it was found that the maxima in ε appear to correspond to those of the shear with fine scale. The magnitude of the observed ε coincided approximately with the ε calculated from the fine-scale shear and the buoyancy frequency according to the parameterization proposed by Gregg (1989), if the large-scale mean shear caused by the Kuroshio is subtracted. However, it is not clear whether the parameterization for the internal wave fields in the open ocean is applicable to the estimation of ε in the shelf break. Whereas the most predominant value of ε was found just above the bottom and around the thermocline, the maxima of ε could be found in the internal area. They could have been caused by the propagation of the vertically high wave number internal tides along the characteristic ray.     

Heat and salt balances in the Seto Inland Sea

Seasonal variations of heat and salt balances are estimated in the Seto Inland Sea with the use of a numerical experiment.The surface effect is dominant with respect to the heat balance. In spring, however, the effect of the horizontal heat transport is the same as or greater than that of the surface heating (or cooling). Annual mean heat transport is 85 cal cm^–2 day^–1 (356 J cm^–2 day^–1) which is supplied from the open ocean and lost through the sea surface in the Inland Sea as a whole. Because of the shallow water depth, heat is supplied through the surface and carried out by the horizontal heat transport in Hiuchi- and Bingo-nada in the annual mean. The heat transport has the opposite sense to that in the whole Seto Inland Sea and annual mean transport is negative (–10 cal cm^–2 day^–1,i.e., –42 J cm^–2 day^–1).The salt balance is primarily controlled by the river discharge and the surface effect (precipitation) in June and July. In the other months, the effects of horizontal salt transport, of river inflow and of sea surface exchange (especially of the evaporation in autumn) are comparable to each other. In the Bungo Channel the river effect is relatively small. Osaka Bay and the Kii Channel are characterized by a smaller surface effect.Contribution No. 446 from Tohoku Regional Fisheries Research Laboratory.     

Comparative studies in method for stratigraphical structure measurement of ice cores: Identification of cloudy bands

1　IntroductionCloudybandsaretypicalstratigraphicstructureindeepicecoresandtheylookwhitecolorwhenaflorescentlightwasirradiated.InWisconsinice ageiceattheGreenland ,manycloudybandsarelocatedincoldperiodsiceandcloudybandsareusedfordatingofdeepicecoresincepairofseriescloudybandandclearlayercorrespondstoannuallayer(Alleyetal.1 997;Meeseetal.1 997) .AndcloudybandcorrespondstovolcaniclayerfortheAntarcticicecore (GowandWilliamson 1 976) .Therefore,identificationofcloudybandsisimportantworkfordatin…     

Landslides in Sado Island of Japan: Part II. GIS-based susceptibility mapping with comparisons of results from two methods and verifications

Slope instability research and susceptibility mapping is a fundamental component of hazard management and an important basis for provision of measures aimed at decreasing the risk of living with landslides. On this basis, this paper presents the result of a comprehensive study on slope stability analyses and landslide susceptibility mapping carried out in part of Sado Island of Japan. Various types of landslides occurred in the island throughout history. Little is known about the triggering factors and severity of old landslides, but for many of the recent slope failures, the slope characteristics and stratigraphy are such that ground surfaces retain water perennially and landslides occur when additional moisture is induced during rainfall and snowmelt. A range of methods are available in literature for preparation of landslide susceptibility maps. In this study we used two methods namely, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) and logistic regression, to produce and later compare two susceptibility maps. AHP is a semi-qualitative method, which involves a matrix-based pair-wise comparison of the contribution of different factors for landsliding. Logistic regression on the other hand promotes a multivariate statistical analysis with an objective to find the best-fitting model that describes the relationship between the presence or absence of landslides (dependent variable) and a set of causal factors (independent parameters). Elevation, lithology and slope gradient were casual factors in this study. The determinations of factor weights by AHP and logistic regression were preceded by the calculation of class weights (landslide densities) based on bivariate statistical analyses (BSA). The differences between the AHP derived susceptibility map and the logistic regression counterpart are relatively minor when broad-based classifications are considered. However, with an increase in the number of susceptibility classes, the logistic regression map gave more details but the one derived by AHP failed to do so. The reason is that the majority of pixels in the AHP map have high values, and an increase in the number of classes gives little change in the spatial distribution of susceptibility zones in the middle. To verify the practicality of the two susceptibility maps, both of them were compared with a landslide activity map containing 18 active landslide zones. The outcome was that the active landslide zones do not completely fit into the very high susceptibility class of both maps for various reasons. But 70% of these landslide zones fall into the high and very high susceptibility zones of the AHP map while this is 63% in the case of logistic regression. This indicates that despite the skewed distribution of susceptibility indices, the AHP map was better to capture the reality on the ground than the logistic regression equivalent.     

A multi‐geochronological study of the Hakusan volcano,central Japan

The Hakusan volcano, central Japan, is located in a region where two subducting plates (the Pacific Plate and the Philippine Sea Plate) overlap near the junction of four plates adjacent to the Japanese Islands (the Pacific Plate, the Philippine Sea Plate, the Eurasia Plate, and the North American Plate). The Hakusan volcano consists of products from four major volcanic episodes: Kagamuro, Ko‐hakusan, and Shin‐Hakusan I and II. To date the eruption events of the Hakusan volcano we applied thermoluminescence and fission track methods. ²³⁸U(²³⁴U)–²³⁰Th disequilibrium and ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U methods were applied to date the zircon crystallization ages for estimating the magma residence time before the eruptions. The eruption ages we obtained are ca 250 ka for Kagamuro, ca 100 ka and ca 60 ka for Ko‐Hakusan, ca 50 ka for Shin‐Hakusan I, and <10 ka for Shin‐Hakusan II. They are concordant with previous reports based on K–Ar dating. Some of the pyroclastic rocks, possibly originating from Shin‐Hakusan II activities, are dated to be ca 36 ka or 50 ka, and belong to the Shin‐Hakusan I activity. The zircon crystallization ages show several clusters prior to eruption. The magma residence time was estimated for each volcanic activity by comparing the major crystallization events and eruption ages, and we found a gradual decrease from ca. 500 ky for the Kagamuro activity to ca. 5 ky for the Shin‐Hakusan II activity. This decrease in residence time may be responsible for the decrease in volume of erupted material estimated from the current topography of the region. The scale of volcanic activity, which was deduced from the number of crystallized zircons, is more or less constant throughout the Hakusan volcanic activity. Therefore, the decrease in magma residence time is most likely the result of stress field change.     

Global mapping of the degree of space weathering on asteroid 25143 Itokawa by Hayabusa/AMICA observations

Abstract— We obtained color images of near‐Earth asteroid 25143 Itokawa by the Hayabusa multiband imaging camera to characterize the regional color properties. Images were obtained for the whole disk from the gate position (GP) and home position (HP) at a spatial resolution of 0.8–3.7 m/pixel. Whole‐disk spectra are adjusted to the telescopic data obtained by the University of Hawai'i's 88‐inch telescope using the Eight Color Asteroid Survey (ECAS) system. The disk‐resolved measurements show large variations in the three visible channels. We present a map of an index related to the degree of space weathering, which has been newly developed based on laboratory measurements. We find large variations in the degree of space weathering on Itokawa. Fresh materials are observed in regions of steep slopes and craters, whereas mature materials are ubiquitously distributed. This result suggests that pristine ordinary chondrite‐like materials have been exposed through weathered layers by excavation. By also examining close‐up images obtained during touchdown rehearsal, we find that most rocks in Itokawa's rough terrains are weathered. Instead of a regolith blanket, the surface of this small asteroid is covered with weathered rocks and gravels.     

Tidal exchange through Naruto,Akashi and Kitan Straits

In order to re-evaluate the water volume exchange through Naruto Strait, we have performed a numerical experiment (nonlinear barotropic model including the actual depth of water and the details of shoreline) where trajectories of a number of labeled particles are calculated during a full cycle of the M₂ tidal current. The ratio of water volume exchanged through Naruto Strait to that through Akashi Strait is found to be twice as large as the previously estimated value. The calculated water exchange rate is 104 % for Naruto Strait, 52 % for Akashi Strait and 28 % for Kitan Strait. In the case where the tide-induced residual current is excluded from the calculated velocity field (i.e. considering only the M₂ current), the calculated exchange rate maintains the level of 68 % for Naruto Strait, 18 % for Akashi Strait and 11 % for Kitan Strait, respectively. The mechanism of tidal exchange through these three straits is discussed, and it is shown that a suitable exchange rate is obtained by starting the calculation of trajectories of labeled particles at the time of either a maximum ebb- or flood-current.