Revisiting Solar and Heliospheric 1.3-Year Signals during 1970 – 2007

We revisit the 1.3-year (yr) signals observed on the Sun, in the interplanetary space, and in the Earth’s magnetosphere to study the coupling among signals from the three regions for about 40 years (1970?–?2007) covering the three solar cycles 21, 22, and 23. For this, we make dynamic spectra of datasets including three different regions. From this, we estimate the peak frequency around 1.3 yr for each region and the corresponding band power. We found that coherent power only appears during 1987?–?1995 and the coherent behavior is found only in the interplanetary space and Earth, not in the Sun. Although the solar surface magnetic field shows significant power around 1.3 yr, their peak frequencies are statistically different from those of the outer regions, which make us dismiss the existence of coherence among the three regions. But it is notable that the peaks in band power corresponding to the 1.3-yr period are clearly simultaneous in the interplanetary space and Earth.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of quartz-bearing eclogite from the Sanbagawa Belt, south-west Japan: implications for metamorphic evolution of subducted protolith

In order to decipher the origin of eclogite in the high‐P/T Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, SHRIMP U–Pb ages of zircons from quartz‐bearing eclogite and associated quartz‐rich rock (metasandstone) were determined. One zircon core of the quartz‐rich rock yields an extremely old provenance age of 1899 ± 79 Ma, suggesting that the core is of detrital origin. Eight other core ages are in the 148–134 Ma range, and are older than the estimated age for trench sedimentation as indicated by the youngest radiolarian fossil age of 139–135 Ma from the Sanbagawa schists. Ages of metamorphic zircon rims (132–112 Ma) from the quartz‐rich rock are consistent with metamorphic zircon ages from the quartz‐bearing eclogite, indicating that eclogite facies metamorphism peaked at 120–110 Ma. These new data are consistent with both the Iratsu eclogite body and surrounding highest‐grade Sanbagawa schists undergoing coeval subduction‐zone metamorphism, and subsequent re‐equilibration under epidote amphibolite facies conditions during exhumation.     

APEX-SZ a Sunyaev–Zel’dovich galaxy cluster survey

The APEX-SZ experiment is a sky survey designed to discover galaxy clusters via the Sunyaev–Zel’dovich effect at millimeter wavelengths. We describe the components of the instrument, including the 12 m Atacama Pathfinder Experiment telescope, optics, Transition-edge sensor bolometer array and SQUID readout. APEX-SZ will begin observations in 2004.     

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Ternary forecast of heavy snowfall in the Honam area,Korea

The objective of this study is to improve the statistical modeling for the ternary forecast of heavy snowfall in the Honam area in Korea. The ternary forecast of heavy snowfall consists of one of three values, 0 for less than 50 mm, 1 for an advisory (50–150 mm), and 2 for a warning (more than 150 mm). For our study, the observed daily snow amounts and the numerical model outputs for 45 synoptic factors at 17 stations in the Honam area during 5 years (2001 to 2005) are used as observations and potential pre...     

Super earth explorer: a coronagraphic off-axis space telescope

The Super-Earth Explorer is an Off-Axis Space Telescope (SEE-COAST) designed for high contrast imaging. Its scientific objective is to make the physico-chemical characterization of exoplanets possibly down to 2 Earth radii. For that purpose it will analyze the spectral and polarimetric properties of the parent starlight reflected by the planets, in the wavelength range 400–1,250 nm.     

The thermal conductivity for granite with various water contents

The thermal conductivities of granite were measured under different conditions of porosity and water content to investigate the effects of the porosity and water content on the thermal conductivity. For the dry samples, the thermal conductivities range from 2.12 W/mK for the rocks with a high porosity to 3.12 W/mK for the ones with a low porosity. Water-sorbed samples have greater thermal conductivities than dry samples of the same granite. The thermal conductivities range from 2.99 W/mK for granites with a high porosity to 3.62 W/mK for ones with a low porosity under saturated condition.     

Let-It-Rain: a web application for stochastic point rainfall generation at ungaged basins and its applicability in runoff and flood modeling

We present a web application named Let-It-Rain that is able to generate a 1-h temporal resolution synthetic rainfall time series using the modified Bartlett–Lewis rectangular pulse (MBLRP) model, a type of Poisson stochastic rainfall generator. Let-It-Rain, which can be accessed through the web address http://www.LetItRain.info, adopts a web-based framework combining ArcGIS Server from server side for parameter value dissemination and JavaScript from client side to implement the MBLRP model. This enables any desktop and mobile end users with internet access and web browser to obtain the synthetic rainfall time series at any given location at which the parameter regionalization work has been completed (currently the contiguous United States and Republic of Korea) with only a few mouse clicks. Let-It-Rain shows satisfactory performance in its ability to reproduce observed rainfall mean, variance, auto-correlation, and probability of zero rainfall at hourly through daily accumulation levels. It also shows a reasonably good performance in reproducing watershed runoff depth and peak flow. We expect that Let-It-Rain can stimulate the uncertainty analysis of hydrologic variables across the world.     

Simulation analyses of buildings damaged in the 1995 Kobe,Japan, earthquake considering soil–structure interaction

A series of studies was conducted on three buildings of steel reinforced concrete structures with RC shear walls damaged in the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. These buildings are located in an area where structural damage centred around. Two of these buildings suffered severe damage, while the third was not structurally damaged. Our studies deal with site inspections, including micro-tremor measurement of buildings, the evaluation of input motions, and the response analyses considering soil–structure interaction. The results of simulation analyses of the two severely damaged buildings correspond to their actual damage state. From the response analyses of the one slender building with no structural damage, it was concluded that uplifting is the main reason it did not suffer any structural damage. Through these studies, the importance of soil–structure interaction and effective input motion is fully understood. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.