Cluster analysis on the bulk elemental compositions of Antarctic stony meteorites

Remote sensing observations by recent successful missions to small bodies have revealed the difficulty in classifying the materials which cover their surfaces into a conventional classification of meteorites. Although reflectance spectroscopy is a powerful tool for this purpose, it is influenced by many factors, such as space weathering, lighting conditions, and surface physical conditions (e.g., particle size and style of mixing). Thus, complementary information, such as elemental compositions, which can be obtained by X‐ray fluorescence (XRF) and gamma‐ray spectrometers (GRS), have been considered very important. However, classifying planetary materials solely based on elemental compositions has not been investigated extensively. In this study, we perform principal component and cluster analyses on 12 major and minor elements of the bulk compositions of 500 meteorites reported in the National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR), Japan database. Our unique approach, which includes using hierarchical cluster analysis, indicates that meteorites can be classified into about 10 groups purely by their bulk elemental compositions. We suggest that Si, Fe, Mg, Ca, and Na are the optimal set of elements, as this set has been used successfully to classify meteorites of the NIPR database with more than 94% accuracy. Principal components analysis indicates that elemental compositions of meteorites form eight clusters in the three‐dimensional space of the components. The three major principal components (PC1, PC2, and PC3) are interpreted as (1) degree of differentiations of the source body (i.e., primitive versus differentiated), (2) degree of thermal effects, and (3) degree of chemical fractionation, respectively.     

Seasonal variation of volatile organic iodine compounds in the water column of Funka Bay,Hokkaido, Japan

Volatile organic iodine compounds (VOIs) emitted from the ocean surface to the air play an important role in atmospheric chemistry. Shipboard observations were conducted in Funka Bay, Hokkaido, Japan, bimonthly or monthly from March 2012 to December 2014, to elucidate the seasonal variations of VOI concentrations in seawater and their sea-to-air iodine fluxes. The bay water exchanges with the open ocean water of the North Pacific twice a year (early spring and autumn). Vertical profiles of CH₂I₂, CH₂ClI, CH₃I, and C₂H₅I concentrations in the bay water were measured bimonthly or monthly within an identified water mass. The VOI concentrations began to increase after early April at the end of the diatom spring bloom, and represented substantial peaks in June or July. The temporal variation of the C₂H₅I profile, which showed a distinct peak in the bottom layer from April to July, was similar to the PO₄ ^3? variation profile. Correlation between C₂H₅I and PO₄ ^3? concentrations (r = 0.93) suggests that C₂H₅I production was associated with degradation of organic matter deposited on the bottom after the spring bloom. CH₂I₂ and CH₂ClI concentrations increased substantially in the surface and subsurface layers (0–60 m) in June or July resulted in a clear seasonal variation of the sea-to-air iodine flux of the VOIs (high in summer or autumn and low in spring).     

Effects of ulvoid (Ulva spp.) accumulation on the structure and function of eelgrass (Zostera marina L.) bed

The objective of this study is to clarify the effect of ulvoid (Ulva spp.) accumulation on the structure and function of an eelgrass bed by the coast of Iwakuni, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. We monitored eelgrass shoot density and volume of ulvoid accumulation in the study site and evaluated effects of the accumulated ulvoid canopy on the percent survival, seedling density, growth rates, photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) and carbon contents of eelgrass. Eelgrass shoot density decreased by the accumulation of ulvoid. Also, seedling density decreased by the increase in the ulvoid volumes. Shoot density, seedling density and leaf elongation were negatively correlated with ulvoid volume. Carbon contents in eelgrass decreased by the accumulation of ulvoid (canopy height: 25cm). These results suggest that accumulation of ulvoid bloom has significant negative impacts on the structure and function of eelgrass bed, i.e. decreases in vegetative shoot density, seedling density, shoot height and growth rate.     

An empirical model for transient crater growth in granular targets based on direct observations

The present paper describes observations of crater growth up to the time of transient crater formation and presents a new empirical model for transient crater growth as a function of time. Polycarbonate projectiles were impacted vertically into soda-lime glass sphere targets using a single-stage light-gas gun. Using a new technique with a laser sheet illuminating the target [Barnouin-Jha, O.S., Yamamoto, S., Toriumi, T., Sugita, S., Matsui, T., 2007. Non-intrusive measurements of the crater growth. Icarus, 188, 506-521], we measured the temporal change in diameter of crater cavities (diameter growth). The rate of increase in diameter at early times follows a power law relation, but the data at later times (before the end of transient crater formation) deviates from the power law relation. In addition, the power law exponent at early times and the degree of deviation from a power law at later times depend on the target. In order to interpret these features, we proposed to modify Maxwell’s Z-model under the assumption that the strength of the excavation flow field decreases exponentially with time. We also derived a diameter growth model as: d(t)∝[1-exp(-βt)]^γ, where d(t) is the apparent diameter of the crater cavity at time t after impact, and β and γ are constants. We demonstrated that the diameter growth model could represent well the experimental data for various targets with different target material properties, such as porosity or angle of repose. We also investigated the diameter growth for a dry sand target, which has been used to formulate previous scaling relations. The obtained results showed that the dry sand target has larger degree of deviation from a power law, indicating that the target material properties of the dry sand target have a significant effect on diameter growth, especially at later times. This may suggest that the previously reported scaling relations should be reexamined in order to account for the late-stage behavior with the effect of target material properties.     

CME Velocity and Acceleration Error Estimates Using the Bootstrap Method

The bootstrap method is used to determine errors of basic attributes of coronal mass ejections (CMEs) visually identified in images obtained by the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission’s Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) instruments. The basic parameters of CMEs are stored, among others, in a database known as the SOHO/LASCO CME catalog and are widely employed for many research studies. The basic attributes of CMEs (e.g. velocity and acceleration) are obtained from manually generated height-time plots. The subjective nature of manual measurements introduces random errors that are difficult to quantify. In many studies the impact of such measurement errors is overlooked. In this study we present a new possibility to estimate measurements errors in the basic attributes of CMEs. This approach is a computer-intensive method because it requires repeating the original data analysis procedure several times using replicate datasets. This is also commonly called the bootstrap method in the literature. We show that the bootstrap approach can be used to estimate the errors of the basic attributes of CMEs having moderately large numbers of height-time measurements. The velocity errors are in the vast majority small and depend mostly on the number of height-time points measured for a particular event. In the case of acceleration, the errors are significant, and for more than half of all CMEs, they are larger than the acceleration itself.     

Coastal aquifer system in late Pleistocene to Holocene deposits at Horonobe in Hokkaido,Japan

The groundwater flow systems and chemistry in the deep part of the coastal area of Japan have attracted attention over recent decades due to government projects such as geological disposal of radioactive waste. However, the continuous groundwater flow system moving from the shallow to deep parts of the sedimentary soft rock has not yet been characterized. Therefore, the Cl^–, δD and δ¹⁸O values of the pore water in the Horonobe coastal area in Hokkaido, Japan, were measured to 1,000 m below the ground surface, and a vertical profile of the pore-water chemistry was constructed to assist in elucidating groundwater circulation patterns in the coastal area. The results show that the groundwater flow regime may be divided into five categories based on groundwater age and origin: (1) fresh groundwater recharged by modern rainwater, (2) fresh groundwater recharged by paleo rainwater during the last glacial age, (3) low-salinity groundwater recharged during the last interglacial period, (4) mixed water in a diffusion zone, and (5) connate water consisting of paleo seawater. These results suggest that the appearance of hydrological units is not controlled by the boundaries of geological formations and that paleo seawater is stored in younger Quaternary sediments.     

Initiation of Run-Out Flows on Venus by Oblique Impacts

A hypervelocity oblique impact results in a downrange-moving vapor cloud, a significant fraction of which is derived from the projectile. Since the vapor cloud expands to great extent and becomes very tenuous quickly on a planet with a thin or no atmosphere, it does not leave a well-defined geologic expression. The thick atmosphere of Venus, however, is sufficient to contain such a rapidly expanding vapor cloud. As a result of atmospheric interactions, impact vapor condenses and contributes to run-out flows around craters on Venus. Previous results of both laboratory experiments and simple semi-analytical calculations indicate that an impact-vapor origin can account for the morphology of run-out flows on Venus most consistently. However, the detailed dynamics and geologic record of downrange-moving impact vapor clouds in Venus's atmosphere are not understood quantitatively. To approach these problems, we carried out two-dimensional hydrocode calculations. Parametric studies of these hydrocode calculations yield simple scaling laws for both the total downrange travel distance and the final temperature of impact vapor clouds under conditions on Venus. Under typical impact conditions, impact vapor clouds travel downrange more than a crater radius prior to the completion of crater formation. Furthermore, the scaling law for the total travel distance is compared with observations for the downrange offset of the source regions of run-out flows around oblique craters. The results of this comparison suggest that energy/momentum-partitioning processes other than pure shock coupling may play important roles in hypervelocity impact at planetary scales. The results of hydrocode calculations also indicate that the terminal temperature of the impact vapor is close to the condensation temperatures of silicates, suggesting that two scenarios are possible for expected range of impact conditions: 1. Impact vapor condenses and forms run-out flows. 2. Impact vapor fails to condense and leaves no run-out flows. Consequently, natural variation in impact angle, velocity, and projectile composition may account for partial occurrence of run-out flows around impact craters on Venus.     

长江干流主要营养盐含量的变化特征——1998~1999年日中合作调查结果分析

根据1998年和1999年秋季在长江干流从重庆至长江口进行的纵向采样和分析,对长江干流的各态氮、磷含量的沿江变化进行研究。从整体上了解长江干流的水质变化特性,特别是营养盐含量的分布状况。研究结果表明,长江干流的SS浓度很高,介于50~400 mg/l。TN、TP浓度分别在70~110 滋mol/L、2~25 滋mol/L之间,前者以NO3-N为主,后者以PTP为主,PO4-P含量仅占TP的10%~20%。DIN/PO4-P的比值在70~160之间,远高于浮游植物生长P限制值,表明长江口及临近海域中P可能是生物生命活动的主要限制因素。葛洲坝水库对SS、TP、TN、NH4-N、BOD、COD等水质有一定的净化作用。长江水体在通过各大城市以及两大湖泊时,BOD、NH4-N负荷的增加迅速,特别是通过重庆、武汉、南京、上海及洞庭湖和鄱阳湖之后尤为明显。N、P含量的上升与人口增长、生活污水排放量及流域内化肥施用量增加有关。洞庭湖和鄱阳湖水系以及周围的面源负荷,对长江流域的营养盐变动有很大的影响。     

Seasonal Variation in Host Utilization of Epiphytic Lacuna Species in Mixed Algal and Surfgrass Stands in Japan

Abstract.  On the subtidal rocky shore of Akkeshi Bay, Hokkaido, Japan, the congeneric phytal gastropods, Lacuna uchidai and L. decorata , inhabit the multispecific vegetation consisting of the surfgrass, Phyllospadix iwatensis and the brown alga, Cystoseira hakodatensis . We studied the phenologies of Phyllospadix and Cystoseira , host utilization patterns and life histories of Lacuna spp. to examine how these gastropods accommodate the seasonal fluctuations of the habitat. The preferences for macrophyte by Lacuna spp. were examined by laboratory experiments. The phenologies of macrophytes, the seasonal and between-substrata variations of Lacuna spp. were examined by monthly sampling from Phyllospadix and Cystoseira beds between May 1999 and May 2000. Lacuna uchidai showed significant preference for Phyllospadix , whereas L. decorata had no preference for a particular substratum. Most L. uchidai were collected from the Phyllospadix bed, however L. decorata appeared in both Phyllospadix and Cystoseira beds. The peak of new recruit of L. uchidai coincided with that of Phyllospadix biomass. The synchronization of life cycle with the phenology of the host may be adaptive for using the limited habitat. Seasonal variation in density of L. decorata coincided with neither patterns for Phyllospadix nor Cystoseira . Seasonal variation in density and size frequency distribution suggested L. decorata migrated among adjacent macrophytes. Although it was a little vague, this hypothesis was probably the best explanation of our results. Our study shows that two co-occurring Lacuna species utilize the macrophytes as habitats by the different life histories and utilization patterns and, may be alternatively accommodated to the seasonal fluctuations of their habitats.