Downward flux of zooplankton fecal pellets in the upper 2,000 m water column of the Izu Trench,western North Pacific

Sinking particulate matter were obtained from twelve depths using free-drifting sediment trap arrays which were deployed in the upper 2,000 m water column of the Izu Trench, northwest Pacific Ocean. The largest flux of 146 mgC m^–2 day^–1 was observed at 150 m depth. The flux generally decreased with depth below the maximum, however, minor flux peaks occurred at 1,000 and 1,250 m depth (>30 mgC m^–2 day^–1). Sinking large particles (>100 µm) were composed of fecal pellets typical of crustaceans, macroscopic aggregates, and planktonic organisms and their fragments. Three major components constituted 19%, 20% and 29%, respectively, of the total carbon flux (averaged from the fluxes at five depths; 50, 100, 150, 1,000 and 2,000 m). Among them, fecal pellet flux and large organism flux were well correlated with the total flux. The close correspondence between the fecal flux and the total carbon flux suggests that the latter is derived from a group of variables including other biogenic matter, among which fecal pellet is one of the leading factors controlling total flux, though the latter is only a minor covariable in quantity. Vertical flux profiles of fecal pellets and their internal constituents revealed some new inputs of feces occurring through the water column. This phenomenon implies that downward transportation of organic material is characterized by feeding and egestion activities of zooplankton, including overlapping processes of sinking and dispersion of large fecal particles and repackaging of dispersed small particles.     

Importance of feeding on regenerable parts of prey for juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus in estuarine habitats

Prey availability is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of nursery grounds. Estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for juvenile stone flounder, but the mechanism behind the consistently high availability of prey has never been examined. This study investigates which prey is mainly selected by juvenile stone flounder (15–55 mm standard length) in the estuary of the Natori River, northern Japan. In a cage experiment, juveniles showed positive selection for the palps of the spionid polychaete Pseudopolydora kempi in March, and for the siphons of the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea in April, May and June in both sandy and muddy-sand habitats. This selective predation showed that sublethal predation on regenerable parts of invertebrates is important for stone flounder. Nuttallia olivacea, the dominant bivalve in the estuary, was more abundant and in better somatic condition in the sandy area in spite of the stronger siphon-cropping pressure by juvenile stone flounder. These results confirm that sublethal predation on highly abundant benthos plays an important role in forming estuarine habitats into areas of high prey availability for juvenile stone flounder, which leads to their high growth rate.     

Preferential dissolution of SiO<Subscript>2</Subscript> from enstatite to H<Subscript>2</Subscript> fluid under high pressure and temperature

Stability and phase relations of coexisting enstatite and H₂ fluid were investigated in the pressure and temperature regions of 3.1–13.9 GPa and 1500–2000 K using laser-heated diamond-anvil cells. XRD measurements showed decomposition of enstatite upon heating to form forsterite, periclase, and coesite/stishovite. In the recovered samples, SiO₂ grains were found at the margin of the heating hot spot, suggesting that the SiO₂ component dissolved in the H₂ fluid during heating, then precipitated when its solubility decreased with decreasing temperature. Raman and infrared spectra of the coexisting fluid phase revealed that SiH₄ and H₂O molecules formed through the reaction between dissolved SiO₂ and H₂. In contrast, forsterite and periclase crystals were found within the hot spot, which were assumed to have replaced the initial orthoenstatite crystals without dissolution. Preferential dissolution of SiO₂ components of enstatite in H₂ fluid, as well as that observed in the forsterite H₂ system and the quartz H₂ system, implies that H₂-rich fluid enhances Mg/Si fractionation between the fluid and solid phases of mantle minerals.     

Hydration of rhyolitic glass during weathering as characterized by IR microspectroscopy

The mechanism and rate of hydration of rhyolitic glass during weathering were studied. Doubly polished thin sections of two rhyolites with different duration of weathering (Ohsawa lava: 26,000 yr, Awanomikoto lava: 52,000 yr) were prepared. Optical microscope observation showed that altered layers had developed along the glass surfaces. IR spectral line profile analysis was conducted on the glass sections from the surface to the interior for a length of 250 μm and the contents of molecular H₂O (H₂O_m), OH species (OH) and total water (H₂O_t) were determined. The diffusion profile of H₂O_m in Ohsawa lava extends beyond the layer observed by optical microscope. The content of H₂O_m in the hydrated region is much higher than that of OH species. Thus, the reaction from H₂O_m to OH appears to be little and H₂O_m is the dominant water species moving into the glass during weathering. Based on the concentration profiles, the diffusion coefficients of H₂O_m(D_H2Om) and H₂O_t(D_H2Ot) were determined to be 2.8 × 10⁻¹⁰ and 3.4 × 10⁻¹⁰ μm² s⁻¹ for Ohsawa lava, and 5.2 × 10⁻¹¹ and 4.1 × 10⁻¹¹ μm² s⁻¹ for Awanomikoto lava, respectively. The obtained D_H2Om during weathering are more than 2-3 orders of magnitude larger than the diffusion coefficient at ∼20 °C that is extrapolated from the diffusivity data for >400 °C. This might suggest that the mechanism of water transport is different at weathering conditions and >400 °C.     

Ubiquitous interactive visualization of 3D mantle convection using a web-portal with Java and Ajax framework

We have developed a new strategy and espouse a novel paradigm for large-scale computing and real-time interactive visualization. This philosophy calls for intense interactive sessions for a couple of hours at a time at the expense of storing data on many disk drives during regular or heroic runs on massively parallel systems. We have already carried out successfully real-time volume-rendering visualization by employing hundreds of processors for a grid with over 25 million unknowns. Both Cartesian and spherical 3D mantle convection are visualized. The volume-rendered images are viewed on a large display device, with many panels holding around 13 million pixels. We will employ a software strategy involving an hierarchical rendering service, which will have as software an Ajax interface for interactive visualization of large data sets on many different platforms from desktop PC’s to hand-held devices, such as the OQO and the Nokia N-800. An option for stereo viewing is also implemented. We have installed a user interface as web application, using Java and Ajax framework in order to achieve over the Internet reasonable accessibility to our ongoing runs. Our goal is to expand the array of interactive devices, which will make it feasible to carry out ubiquitous visualization and monitoring of large-scale simulations or onsite events and to allow for collaborations across oceans.     

应用Terra/MODIS卫星数据估算洞庭湖蓄水量的变化

以洞庭湖为例,利用2002年的美国Terra/MODIS卫星数据,以16天为周期将全年划分为23个时段,分别对湖区水位和蓄水量分布特征和变化规律进行动态监测和综合分析。具体测算方法包括以下4个步骤: (1) 根据湖区特性,将整个洞庭湖分为3个部分：自西向东依此是西洞庭湖 (WDL), 南洞庭湖 (SDL) 和东洞庭湖 (EDL)。这3个部分的蓄水量之和就是整个洞庭湖的总蓄水量。(2) 以水体和陆地的光谱差异为基础,使用Terra/MODIS卫星的NDVI 数据识别并量测湖区水面积。(3) 将湖区水面影像同湖区数字高程模型DEM相叠加,以被监测的湖区水面的平均高度值作为水面高度。水面高度与湖底高度的差即为相应点的水深。(4) 按50 m×50 m网格大小和相应位置的水深的乘积来计算每个水柱体积。最后,将整个湖内的所有水柱的体积值累加便得到洞庭湖的总蓄水量。用上述方法测算的水位和蓄水量与实测资料进行了比较表明,两者具有很好的一致性。     

Nutrient and Phytoplankton Dynamics in Harima-Nada, Eastern Seto Inland Sea, Japan During a 35-Year Period from 1973 to 2007

Long-term monitoring of water quality and phytoplankton was conducted at 19 sampling stations in Harima-Nada, eastern Seto Inland Sea, Japan for 35 years from 1973 to 2007. There were two significant long-term changes, an increase in winter water temperatures of 0.042°C year^?1, and a decrease in dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) from about 10 μM in the 1970s to ~5 μM in the late 1990s due to the reduction in nutrient inputs. DIN concentrations and total phytoplankton cell density were both higher during the 1970s to the early 1980s and then exhibited a significant decrease in the mid 1980s and remained relatively constant thereafter. Diatoms were the dominant phytoplankton group (>90%) over the 35-year period, and there was a dramatic shift from Skeletonema dominance (~70%) to Chaetoceros in the mid 1980s. This shift in diatom species may be attributed to differences in the life cycle of Skeletonema and Chaetoceros and the response to the decrease in DIN concentration.     

Flare ribbon expansion and energy release

We report a detailed examination about the relationship between the evolution of the Hα flare ribbons and the released magnetic energy during the April 10 2001 flare. In the Hα images, several bright kernels are observed in the flare ribbons. We identified the conjugated foot-points, by analyzing the lightcurves at each Hα kernels, and showed their connectivities during the flare. Then, based on the magnetic reconnection model, we calculated quantitatively the released energy by using the photospheric magnetic field strengths and separation speeds of the Hα flare ribbons. Finally, we examined the downward motions which are observed at the Hα kernels. We found that the stronger the red-asymmetry tends to be associated with the brighter the Hα kernel.     

Large-scale electric fields in post-flare loops

As the electrical conductivity along the magnetic field in solar atmosphere is large, parallel electric fields have been neglected in most investigations. We will first demonstrate their importance for post-flare loops, and then introduce a model for them which takes into account the effect of parallel electric fields. The electric field calculated from the model is consistent with the electric field observed by Foukal et al. (1983).     

Phosphorus mass balance in a highly eutrophic semi-enclosed inlet near a big metropolis: a small inlet can contribute towards particulate organic matter production

Terrigenous loading into enclosed water bodies has been blamed for eutrophic conditions marked by massive algal growth and subsequent hypoxia due to decomposition of dead algal cells. This study aims to describe the eutrophication and hypoxia processes in a semi-enclosed water body lying near a big metropolis. Phosphorus mass balance in a small inlet, Ohko Inlet, located at the head of Hiroshima Bay, Japan, was quantified using a numerical model. Dissolved inorganic phosphorous inflow from Kaita Bay next to the inlet was five times higher than that from terrigenous load, which may cause an enhancement of primary production. Therefore, it was concluded that not only the reduction of material load from the land and the suppression of benthic flux are needed, but also reducing the inflow of high phosphorus and oxygen depleted water from Kaita Bay will form a collective alternative measure to remediate the environmental condition of the inlet.