Miocene fossil pinnipeds of the genera Prototaria and Neotherium (Carnivora; Otariidae; Imagotariinae) in the North Pacific Ocean: Evolution, relationships and distribution

Abstract Fossil otariid pinnipeds of the extinct genera Prototaria Takeyama and Ozawa, 1984, and Neotherium Kellogg, 1931, known from Middle Miocene deposits bordering the North Pacific Ocean, are small, primitive pinnipeds in the subfamily Imagotariinae. They have a small supraorbital process of the frontal or have lost it entirely, a three-rooted first molar, small paroccipital process, and ear morphology indicating that they belong in the subfamily Imagotariinae. Their unique derived characters include extreme intertemporal constriction and highly modified cheek teeth, the premolars having become molarized by the addition of protocones and lingual cingula. Prototaria Takeyama and Ozawa, 1984, the most primitive known imagotariine genus, contains two species, P. primigena Takeyama and Ozawa, 1984, and P. planicephala Kohno, 1994, both of early Middle Miocene age from Japan. Prototaria has a few derived characters, including a large antorbital process, narrow intertemporal region, and large orbit, but its primitive characters apparently were inherited from enaliarctine ancestors. The long enigmatic Neotherium mirum Kellogg, 1931, of Middle Miocene age from California, USA, is related to Prototaria, but differs by having an elongate skull, very slender zygomatic arch, ventrally exposed median lacerate foramen, and smaller but more molarized premolars. A more primitive new genus and species, Proneotherium repenningi Barnes, related to N. mirum, is from the early Middle Miocene Astoria Formation, coastal Oregon, USA. It shares some derived characters with Prototaria, and shares many other important derived characters with N. mirum. Imagotariines probably arose from some species of Early Miocene enaliarctines, became diverse in Middle and Late Miocene time, and are only known from the North Pacific realm. Although they might include the ancestors of true walruses of the subfamily Odobeninae, no known imagotariines appear to have been adapted for mollusk feeding as are the highly evolved modern walruses. Instead, imagotariines appear to have retained a primitive piscivorous diet, as did the fur seals and sea lions of the subfamily Otariinae.     

Seasonal variations in coastal debris on Awaji Island, Japan

The subject of our study was Awaji Island, an island located in the west of Japan that is surrounded by sea and that has serious problems relating to coastal debris. We conducted a long-term investigation focusing on three beaches and evaluated the results. The study was designed to develop an understanding of the actual situation, to inform local citizens, and raise their concerns about the problem of debris with a view to taking action against it. We obtained the following results: the amount, type, and ratio of debris changed according to weather and ocean conditions; debris also differs according to geographical conditions; social and economic activities of the surrounding area influence the type of debris encountered. Following this study, we have continued our investigation, and are continuing to gather data. At the same time, it is important to spread our ideas and enlighten people so as to encourage them not to dump debris. We hope that these actions manage to raise the level of consciousness among local citizens and to expand their anti-debris activities.     

A New Solar Imaging System for Observing High-Speed Eruptions: <Emphasis Type="Italic">Solar Dynamics Doppler Imager</Emphasis> (SDDI)

A new solar imaging system was installed at Hida Observatory to observe the dynamics of flares and filament eruptions. The system (Solar Dynamics Doppler Imager; SDDI) takes full-disk solar images with a field of view of \(2520~\mbox{arcsec} \times 2520~\mbox{arcsec}\) at multiple wavelengths around the \(\mathrm{H}\alpha\) line at 6562 Å. Regular operation was started in May 2016, in which images at 73 wavelength positions spanning from \(\mathrm{H}\alpha -9~\mathring{\mathrm{A}}\) to \(\mathrm{H}\alpha +9~\mathring{\mathrm{A}}\) are obtained every 15 seconds. The large dynamic range of the line-of-sight velocity measurements (\({\pm}\,400~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\)) allows us to determine the real motions of erupting filaments in 3D space. It is expected that SDDI provides unprecedented datasets to study the relation between the kinematics of filament eruptions and coronal mass ejections (CME), and to contribute to the real-time prediction of the occurrence of CMEs that cause a significant impact on the space environment of the Earth.     

Assimilation of TOPEX/POSEIDON Altimeter Data with a Reduced Gravity Model of the Japan Sea

Sea level data measured by TOPEX/POSEIDON over the Japan Sea from 1993 to 1994 is analyzed by assimilation using an approximate Kalman filter with a 1.5 layer (reduced-gravity) shallow water model. The study aims to extract signals associated with the first baroclinic mode and to determine the extent of its significance. The assimilation dramatically improves the model south of the Polar Front where as much as 20 cm² of the observed sea level variance can be accounted for. In comparison, little variability in the northern cold water region is found consistent with the model dynamics, possibly due to significant differences in stratification.     

Throughfall partitioning by trees

Although we know that rainfall interception (the rain caught, stored, and evaporated from aboveground vegetative surfaces and ground litter) is affected by rain and throughfall drop size, what was unknown until now is the relative proportion of each throughfall type (free throughfall, splash throughfall, canopy drip) beneath coniferous and broadleaved trees. Based on a multinational data set of >120 million throughfall drops, we found that the type, number, and volume of throughfall drops are different between coniferous and broadleaved tree species, leaf states, and timing within rain events. Compared with leafed broadleaved trees, conifers had a lower percentage of canopy drip (51% vs. 69% with respect to total throughfall volume) and slightly smaller diameter splash throughfall and canopy drip. Canopy drip from leafless broadleaved trees consisted of fewer and smaller diameter drops (D_{50_DR}, 50th cumulative drop volume percentile for canopy drip, of 2.24 mm) than leafed broadleaved trees (D_{50_DR} of 4.32 mm). Canopy drip was much larger in diameter under woody drip points (D_{50_DR} of 5.92 mm) than leafed broadleaved trees. Based on throughfall volume, the percentage of canopy drip was significantly different between conifers, leafed broadleaved trees, leafless broadleaved trees, and woody surface drip points (p ranged from <0.001 to 0.005). These findings are partly attributable to differences in canopy structure and plant surface characteristics between plant functional types and canopy state (leaf, leafless), among other factors. Hence, our results demonstrating the importance of drop‐size‐dependent partitioning between coniferous and broadleaved tree species could be useful to those requiring more detailed information on throughfall fluxes to the forest floor.     

Particulate PAHs levels at Mt. Halla site in Jeju Island, Korea: Regional background levels in northeast Asia

The levels of PM.25 PAHs at Mt. Halla site, Jeju Island, a background site in Korea were observed between March 1999 and March 2002. A seasonal variation was observed for the particulate PAHs concentrations with high levels during cold season similar to Gosan, a nearby coastal background site, due to the seasonal variations of fossil fuel usage in Asia. The total average concentration of ambient particulate PAHs was 404 ± 579 pg m^− 3, about one order lower than the ambient level at Gosan. However, the ratios of the anthropogenic inorganic ion concentrations between Mt. Halla and Gosan were smaller, 1.5 for non sea-salt (nss) sulfate and 2.7 for nitrate. Two possible explanations for these characteristics are (1) two sites measured different air parcels and/or (2) the effect of local emissions were different at two sites. Based on the Bep/BaP ratio result, upper air wind direction data, backward trajectory analysis, and LIDAR measurement data at Gosan, it was found that the degree of the effects of local emissions to the sampling sites be the major reason for the different PAHs levels at two sites though, in some cases, the air parcels arriving at Mt. Halla were different from those arriving at Gosan. For secondary aerosol such as nss sulfate, the lower concentration difference indicates both site are affected by regional transport. It points that the measurement result for directly emitted species such as PAHs at Gosan might be significantly influenced by local emissions.     

Geometric Dependence of the Scalar Transfer Efficiency over Rough Surfaces

We performed a series of wind-tunnel experiments under neutral conditions in order to create a comprehensive database of scalar transfer coefficients for street surfaces using regular block arrays representing an urban environment. The objective is to clarify the geometric dependence of scalar transfer phenomena on rough surfaces. In addition, the datasets we have obtained are necessary to improve the modelling of scalar transfer used for computational simulations of urban environments; further, we can validate the results obtained by numerical simulations. We estimated the scalar transfer coefficients using the salinity method. The various configurations of the block arrays were designed to be similar to those used in a previous experiment to determine the total drag force acting on arrays. Our results are summarized as follows: first, the results for cubical arrays showed that the transfer coefficients for staggered and square layouts varied with the roughness packing density. The results for the staggered layout showed the possibility that the mixing effect of air can be enhanced for the mid-range values of the packing density. Secondly, the transfer coefficients for arrays with blocks of non-uniform heights were smaller than those for arrays with blocks of uniform height under conditions of low packing density; however, as the packing density increased, the opposite tendency was observed. Thirdly, the randomness of rotation angles of the blocks in the array led to increasing values of the transfer coefficients under sparse packing density conditions when compared with those for cubical arrays.     

The use of RFID in soil‐erosion research

In this paper, we examine the use of radio frequency identification (RFID) tags for studying soil erosion. Surrogate soil particles were created by coating RFID tags with silicone clay and bronze powder to give them an overall density similar to that of quartz particles. The particles were between 2.5 mm and 4.0 mm in diameter and had specific weights of 2.5 to 3.0. These tagged particles were deployed on two plots: first, in a proof‐of‐concept laboratory study and secondly in a field study, the latter involving repeated surveys after rainfall events. Seven surveys under natural rainfall over four months yielded recovery rates averaged 56%. RFIDs are shown to provide useful insights into the movement of individual soil particles during erosion processes. As RFID technology advances, further miniaturization is likely to occur enabling the movement of a greater range of soil particles to be studied, and we may anticipate improvements to the signal detection so that recovery does not rely wholly on visual identification. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.