Classification of magnetic reconnection during two current-loop coalescence

We present a classification of magnetic reconnection during two current loop coalescence, which may be quite important for the physical process of both solar flares and coronal loop heating in the solar active region. It is suggested that different kinds of the current loop coalescence processes could be identified from the soft X-ray telescope(SXT) of the Yohkoh satellite and the magnetic field data in the active region.     

A 100 m laser strainmeter system installed in a 1 km deep tunnel at Kamioka, Gifu, Japan

We have installed a laser strainmeter system in a deep tunnel about 1,000 m below the ground surface at Kamioka, Gifu, Japan. The system consists of three types of independent interferometers: (1) an EW linear strainmeter of the Michelson type with unequal arms, (2) an NS-EW differential strainmeter of the Michelson type with equal arms and (3) a NS absolute strainmeter of the Fabry–Perot type. These are configured in L-shaped vacuum pipes, each of which has a length of 100 m. (1) and (2) are highly sensitive (order of 10⁻¹³ strain) and have wide dynamical range (10⁻¹³–10⁻⁶). Observations with strainmeters (1) and (2) started on June 11, 2003. (3) is a new device for absolute-length measurements of the order of 10⁻⁹ of a long-baseline (100 m) Fabry–Perot cavity by the use of phase-modulated light. This third strainmeter will be ready for operation before the end of 2004. The laser source of strainmeters (1) and (2) is a frequency-doubled YAG laser with a wavelength of 532 nm. The laser frequency is locked onto an iodine absorption line and a stability of 2 × 10⁻¹³ is attained. The light paths of the laser strainmeter system are enclosed in SUS304 stainless steel pipes. The inside pressure is kept to be 10⁻⁴ Pa. Consequently, quantitative measurement of crustal strains of the order of 10⁻¹³ can be attained by employing the laser strainmeter system of (1) and (2) at Kamioka. This resolving power corresponds to that of a superconducting gravimeter. Using the laser strainmeter system, we expect to determine parameters related to fluid core resonance, core modes and core undertone as well as other geodynamic signals such as slow strain changes caused by silent earthquakes or slow earthquakes.     

The making and breaking of supercontinents: Some speculations based on superplumes, super downwelling and the role of tectosphere

The mechanisms of formation and disruption of supercontinents have been topics of debate. Based on the Y-shaped topology, we identify two major types of subduction zones on the globe: the Circum-Pacific subduction zone and the Tethyan subduction zone. We propose that the process of formation of supercontinents is controlled by super downwelling that develops through double-sided subduction zones as seen in the present day western Pacific, and also as endorsed by both geologic history and P-wave whole mantle tomography. The super-downwelling swallows all material like a black hole in the outer space, pulling together continents into a tight assembly. The fate of supercontinents is dictated by superplumes (super-upwelling) which break apart the continental assemblies. We evaluate the configuration of major supercontinents through Earth history and propose the tectonic framework leading to the future supercontinent Amasia 250 million years from present, with the present day Western Pacific region as its frontier. We propose that the tectosphere which functions as the buoyant keel of continental crust plays a crucial role in the supercontinental cycle, including continental fragmentation, dispersion and amalgamation. The continental crust is generally very thin, only about one tenth of the thickness of the tectosphere. If the rigidity and buoyancy is derived from the tectosphere, with the granitic upper crust playing only a negligible role, then supercontinent cycle may reflect the dispersion and amalgamation of the tectosphere. Therefore, supercontinent cycle may correspond to super-tectosphere cycle.     

Spatio-temporal stress states estimated from seismicity rate changes in the Tokai region, central Japan

Since unprecedented large-scale silent slip was detected by GPS in 2001 in the Tokai region, evaluating whether such movement is uniquely connected to the expected Tokai earthquake or repeatedly occurs in this area becomes vitally important. Because of short history of GPS observations and the limited areal coverage surrounding the Suruga trough, we take advantage of continuously recorded seismicity that is presumed to be sensitive to the deformation at seismogenic depth. Together with the well-maintained NIED earthquake data, we employ the seismicity-to-stress inversion approach of rate/state friction to infer the spatio-temporal stress changes in and around the presumed hypocentral zone of the future Tokai earthquake. Mapping stress changes inverted from microseismicity year by year, we find that the stress under Lake Hamana, the western expected future Tokai source, has been decreasing since 1999, during which the GPS data showed a normal trend of plate coupling. In contrast, stresses in the surrounding regions are calculated to have increased by transfer from Lake Hamana region. We interpret that this continuous process is associated with the 2000–2004 Tokai slow slip event. The characteristic patterns related to aseismic stress-release are also identified in the early 1980s and during 1987–1989, when slow events are inferred to have occurred on the basis of conventional geodetic measurements. Revisiting the seismotectonics and taking into account the mechanical implications of the inversion results, we argue that the transition zone situated between a deep stable creeping zone and a locked zone undergoes episodic creep and plays an important role in the transfer of stress to the locked zone. Consequently, even though we speculate that the current (2000 to present-day) silent slip event might be one of the repeating events, the inferred enlargement of the stress releasing area is significant and possibly raises the likelihood of the next Tokai earthquake.     

Aeolian dust experiment on climate impact: An overview of Japan–China joint project ADEC

The Aeolian Dust Experiment on Climate Impact (ADEC) was initiated in April 2000 as a joint five-year Japan–China project. The goal was to understand the impact of aeolian dust on climate via radiative forcing (RF). Field experiments and numerical simulations were conducted from the source regions in northwestern China to the downwind region in Japan in order to understand wind erosion processes temporal and spatial distribution of dust during their long-range transportation chemical, physical, and optical properties of dust and the direct effect of radiative forcing due to dust. For this, three intensive observation periods (IOP) were conducted from April 2002 to April 2004.The in situ and network observation results are summarized as follows: (1) In situ observations of the wind erosion process revealed that the vertical profile of moving sand has a clear size dependency with height and saltation flux and that threshold wind velocity is dependent on soil moisture. Results also demonstrated that saltation flux is strongly dependent on the parent soil size distribution of the desert surface. (2) Both lidar observations and model simulations revealed a multiple dust layer in East Asia. A numerical simulation of a chemical transport model, CFORS, illustrated the elevated dust layer from the Taklimakan Desert and the lower dust layer from the Gobi Desert. The global-scale dust model, MASINGAR, also simulated the dust layer in the middle to upper free troposphere in East Asia, which originated from North Africa and the Middle East during a dust storm in March 2003. Raman lidar observations at Tsukuba, Japan, found the ice cloud associated with the dust layer at an altitude of 6 to 9 km. Analysis from lidar and the radio-sonde observation suggested that the Asian dust acted as ice nuclei at the ice-saturated region. These results suggest the importance of dust's climate impact via the indirect effect of radiative forcing due to the activation of dust into ice nuclei. (3) Studies on the aerosol concentration indicated that size distributions of aerosols in downwind regions have bimodal peaks. One peak was in the submicron range and the other in the supermicron range. The main soluble components of the supermicron peak were Na⁺, Ca²⁺, NO₃⁻, and Cl⁻. In the downwind region in Japan, the dust, sea salt, and a mixture of the two were found to be dominant in coarse particles in the mixed boundary layer. (4) Observation of the optical properties of dust by sky-radiometer, particle shoot absorption photometer (PSAP), and Nephelometer indicated that unpolluted dust at source region has a weaker absorption than originally believed.A sensitivity experiment of direct RF by dust indicated that single scattering albedo is the most important of the optical properties of dust and that the sensitivity of instantaneous RF in the shortwave region at the top of the atmosphere to the refractive index strongly depends on surface albedo. A global scale dust model, MASINGAR, was used for evaluation of direct RF due to dust. The results indicated the global mean RF at the top and the bottom of the atmosphere were − 0.46 and − 2.13 W m^− 2 with cloud and were almost half of the RF with cloud-free condition.     

A quadratic element method for evaluating groundwater flow by the inversion of surface tilt with application to the Tono Area, Japan

By modifying a previous method with constant elements, we developed a quadratic element method for more accurately estimating groundwater flow by the inversion of tilt data. In this method: (1) a region of groundwater flow is divided into quadratic elements in which the change in groundwater volume per unit volume of rock (Δv) and the Skempton coefficient (B) vary in a quadratic manner with the coordinates, (2) the values of Δv are set to zero at the boundaries of the region of groundwater flow and (3) the sum of the squared second derivatives of Δv is adopted as a constraining condition that is weighted and added to the sum of the squared errors in tilt. First, analyses were performed for a flow model to determine the accuracy of this method for estimating groundwater flow and also to clarify the effect of the assumed size of a region of groundwater flow. These analyses showed that the quadratic element method proposed in this study gives a much better estimation of Δv than the constant element method and that a large region of groundwater flow should be assumed, rather than a small region, since the values of Δv at points outside of the actual region of groundwater flow are estimated to be nearly zero when a large region is assumed while these values are greatly overestimated when an excessively small region is assumed. Finally, the quadratic element method was applied to the site of the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory in the Tono area, Japan. Inverse analyses were performed for tilt data measured by four tiltmeters with a resolution of 10⁻⁹ radians during the excavation of two shafts under the assumption that the rock mass is an isotropic and homogeneous half- space. The results showed that the method proposed in this study reproduced the tilt data very accurately. Thus, the distribution of Δv was estimated without sacrificing the reproducibility of the tilt data. The contour maps of B(1 + ν)Δv (ν: Poisson’s ratio) showed that the heterogeneous flow of groundwater occurred at the site and that groundwater volume decreased mainly in the area surrounded by two faults. The latter result is consistent with the finding obtained by previous investigations that these faults have low permeability in the direction perpendicular to the strike and may act as a flow barrier.     

MECHANISM OF ARMORING PHENOMENA

I. INTRODUCTIONArmor coats, which are comPOSed of particles coarser than those of the under layers, are usually foundon the bed surfaces of mountain streams or gravel bed rivers. A large number of P8pers have been publishedon armor coats. Most of them emphasize that the selective entrainment or transportation plays an imPOrtantrole on the armoring processes.Some recent studies indicate that the difficulty arises in describing the propagation of armor coats interms of selective entrainm…     

Using and Improving Neural Network Models for Ground Settlement Prediction

Earth-fill structures such as embankments, which are constructed for the preservation of land and infrastructure, show significant amount of settlement during and after construction in lowland areas with soft grounds. Settlements are often still predicted with large uncertainty and frequently observational methods are applied using settlement monitoring results in the early stage after construction to predict the long term settlement. Most of these methods require a significant amount of measurements to enable accurate predictions. In this paper, an artificial neural network model for settlement prediction is evaluated and improved using measurement records from a test embankment in The Netherlands. Based on a learning pattern that focuses on convergence of the settlement rate, the basic model predicted settlements which were in good agreement with the measurements, when the amount of measured data used as teach data for the model exceeded a degree of consolidation of 69 %. For lower amounts of teach data the accuracy of settlement prediction was limited. To improve the accuracy of settlement prediction, it is proposed to add short-term predicted values that satisfy predefined statistical criteria of low coefficient of variance or low standard deviation to the teach data, after which the model is allowed to relearn and repredict the settlement. This procedure is repeated until all predicted values satisfy the criterion. Using the improved network model resulted in significantly better predictions. Predicted settlements were in good agreement with the measurements, even when only the measurements up to a consolidation stage of 35 % were used as initial teach data.     

Effects of raised CO2 concentration on the egg production rate and early development of two marine copepods (Acartia steueri and Acartia erythraea)

Direct injection of CO(2) into the deep ocean is receiving increasing attention as a way to mitigate increasing atmospheric CO(2) concentration. To assess the potential impact of the environmental change associated with CO(2) sequestration in the ocean, we studied the lethal and sub-lethal effects of raised CO(2) concentration in seawater on adult and early stage embryos of marine planktonic copepods. We found that the reproduction rate and larval development of copepods are very sensitive to increased CO(2) concentration. The hatching rate tended to decrease, and nauplius mortality rate to increase, with increased CO(2) concentration. These results suggest that the marine copepod community will be negatively affected by the disposal of CO(2). This could decrease on the carbon export flux to the deep ocean and change the biological pump. Clearly, further studies are needed to determine whether ocean CO(2) injection is an acceptable strategy to reduce anthropogenic CO(2).     

Brownish discoloration of the summit crater lake of Mt. Shinmoe-dake,Kirishima Volcano,Japan: volcanic–microbial coupled origin

A drastic change in lake water color from blue-green to brown was observed in the summit crater lake of Mt. Shinmoe-dake, Kirishima Volcano about 8 months after its 2008 eruption. The color change lasted for about 2 months (April–June 2009). The discoloration was attributed to a brownish color suspension that had formed in the lake water. X-ray fluorescence and Fourier transform infrared analyses of a sample of the suspension identified schwertmannite (Fe₈O₈(OH)₆(SO₄)). A cultivation test of iron-oxidizing bacteria for the sampled lake water with lakebed sediment revealed that the crater lake hosts iron-oxidizing bacteria, which likely participated in schwertmannite formation. We suggest that pyrite (FeS₂) provided an energy source for the iron-oxidizing bacteria since the mineral was identified in hydrothermally altered tephra ejected by the August 2008 eruption. From consideration of these and other factors, the brownish discoloration of the summit crater lake of Mt. Shinmoe-dake was inferred to have resulted from a combined volcanic–microbial process.