Major and trace element abundances in volcanic glass shards in visible tephras in SG93 and SG06 drillcore samples from Lake Suigetsu,central Japan,obtained using femtosecond LA–ICP–MS

The major and trace element concentrations of volcanic glass shards from visible tephra layers in the SG93 and SG06 cores from Lake Suigetsu, central Japan, were determined by femtosecond laser ablation–inductively coupled plasma–mass spectrometry. The glass-shard analyses, together with the petrographic properties of the tephra samples, allow the Suigetsu tephra layers to be broadly classified into tephras derived from calderas on Kyushu Island, and from Daisen and Sambe volcanoes in the Chugoku district of southwest Japan. The layers correlated with tephras from Kuju caldera and Daisen volcano, and with the younger Sambe tephras, have adakitic elemental features. A Suigetsu tephra sample correlated with the Sambe−Kisuki tephra based on petrographic properties has an elemental pattern similar to that of the Toya tephra from Hokkaido Island, northeast Japan. This match implies that tephras from northeast Japan, as well as Kyushu–Chugoku tephras, are possible correlatives of the Suigetsu tephra layers. Both petrographic properties and major–trace element data of volcanic glass shards are essential for robust tephra correlations, and hierarchical cluster analysis proved additionally useful in statistically evaluating relationships among the tephras.     

Advances in Understanding Top-of-Atmosphere Radiation Variability from Satellite Observations

This paper highlights how the emerging record of satellite observations from the Earth Observation System (EOS) and A-Train constellation are advancing our ability to more completely document and understand the underlying processes associated with variations in the Earth’s top-of-atmosphere (TOA) radiation budget. Large-scale TOA radiation changes during the past decade are observed to be within 0.5?Wm^?2 per decade based upon comparisons between Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System (CERES) instruments aboard Terra and Aqua and other instruments. Tropical variations in emitted outgoing longwave (LW) radiation are found to closely track changes in the El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). During positive ENSO phase (El Ni?o), outgoing LW radiation increases, and decreases during the negative ENSO phase (La Ni?a). The coldest year during the last decade occurred in 2008, during which strong La Nina conditions persisted throughout most of the year. Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations show that the lower temperatures extended throughout much of the troposphere for several months, resulting in a reduction in outgoing LW radiation and an increase in net incoming radiation. At the global scale, outgoing LW flux anomalies are partially compensated for by decreases in midlatitude cloud fraction and cloud height, as observed by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectrometer and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer, respectively. CERES data show that clouds have a net radiative warming influence during La Ni?a conditions and a net cooling influence during El Ni?o, but the magnitude of the anomalies varies greatly from one ENSO event to another. Regional cloud-radiation variations among several Terra and A-Train instruments show consistent patterns and exhibit marked fluctuations at monthly timescales in response to tropical atmosphere-ocean dynamical processes associated with ENSO and Madden–Julian Oscillation.     

Compound chondrule formation in the shock-wave heating model: Three-dimensional hydrodynamics simulation of the disruption of a partially-molten dust particle

We carried out three-dimensional hydrodynamics simulations of the disruption of a partially-molten dust particle exposed to high-speed gas flow to examine the compound chondrule formation due to mutual collisions between the fragments (fragment-collision model; [Miura, H., Yasuda, S., Nakamoto, T., 2008a. Icarus194, 811-821]).In the shock-wave heating model, which is one of the most plausible models for chondrule formation, the gas friction heats and melts the surface of the cm-sized dust particle (parent particle) and then the strong gas ram pressure causes the disruption of the molten surface layer. The hydrodynamics simulation shows details of the disruptive motion of the molten surface, production of many fragments and their trajectories parting from the parent particle, and mutual collisions among them. In our simulation, we identified 32 isolated fragments extracted from the parent particle. The size distribution of the fragments was similar to that obtained from the aerodynamic experiment in which a liquid layer was attached to a solid core and it was exposed to a gas flow. We detected 12 collisions between the fragments, which may result in the compound chondrule formation. We also analyzed the paths of all the fragments in detail and found the importance of the shadow effect in which a fragment extracted later blocks the gas flow toward a fragment extracted earlier. We examined the collision velocity and impact parameter of each collision and found that 11 collisions should result in coalescence. It means that the ratio of coalescent bodies to single bodies formed in this disruption of a parent particle is R_coa=11/(32-11)=0.52. We concluded that compound chondrule formation can occur just after the disruption of a cm-sized molten dust particle in shock-wave heating.     

The role of organic haze in Titan's atmospheric chemistry: II. Effect of heterogeneous reaction to the hydrogen budget and chemical composition of the atmosphere

One of the key components controlling the chemical composition and climatology of Titan's atmosphere is the removal of reactive atomic hydrogen from the atmosphere. A proposed process of the removal of atomic hydrogen is the heterogeneous reaction with organic aerosol. In this study, we investigate the effect of heterogeneous reactions in Titan's atmospheric chemistry using new measurements of the heterogeneous reaction rate [Sekine, Y., Imanaka, H., Matsui, T., Khare, B.N., Bakes, E.L.O., McKay, C.P., Sugita, S., 2008. Icarus 194, 186-200] in a one-dimensional photochemical model. Our results indicate that 60-75% of the atomic hydrogen in the stratosphere and mesosphere are consumed by the heterogeneous reactions. This result implies that the heterogeneous reactions on the aerosol surface may predominantly remove atomic hydrogen in Titan's stratosphere and mesosphere. The results of our calculation also indicate that a low concentration of atomic hydrogen enhances the concentrations of unsaturated complex organics, such as C₄H₂ and phenyl radical, by more than two orders in magnitude around 400 km in altitude. Such an increase in unsaturated species may induce efficient haze production in Titan's mesosphere and upper stratosphere. These results imply a positive feedback mechanism in haze production in Titan's atmosphere. The increase in haze production would affect the chemical composition of the atmosphere, which might induce further haze production. Such a positive feedback could tend to dampen the loss and supply cycles of CH₄ due to an episodic CH₄ release into Titan's atmosphere.     

Fragment-collision model for compound chondrule formation: Estimation of collision probability

We propose a new scenario for compound chondrule formation named as “fragment-collision model,” in the framework of the shock-wave heating model. A molten cm-sized dust particle (parent) is disrupted in the high-velocity gas flow. The extracted fragments (ejectors) are scattered behind the parent and the mutual collisions between them will occur. We modeled the disruption event by analytic considerations in order to estimate the probability of the mutual collisions assuming that all ejectors have the same radius. In the typical case, the molten thin () layer of the parent surface will be stripped by the gas flow. The stripped layer is divided into about 200 molten ejectors (assuming that the radius of ejectors is 300 μm) and then they are blown away by the gas flow in a short period of time (). The stripped layer is leaving from the parent with the velocity of depending on the viscosity, and we assumed that the extracted ejectors have a random velocity Δv of the same order of magnitude. Using above values, we can estimate the number density of ejectors behind the parent as . These ejectors occupy ∼9% of the space behind the parent in volume. Considering that the collision rate (number of collisions per unit time experienced by an ejector) is given by Rcoll=σcollneΔv, where σcoll is the cross-section of collision [e.g., Gooding, J.K., Keil, K., 1981. Meteoritics 16, 17-43], we obtain by substituting above values. Since most collisions occur within the short duration () before the ejectors are blown away, we obtain the collision probability of Pcoll∼0.36, which is the probability of collisions experienced by an ejector in one disruption event. The estimated collision probability is about one order of magnitude larger than the observed fraction of compound chondrules. In addition, the model predictions are qualitatively consistent with other observational data (oxygen isotopic composition, textural types, and size ratios of constituents). Based on these results, we concluded that this new model can be one of the strongest candidates for the compound chondrule formation. It should be noted that all collisions do not necessarily lead to the compound chondrule formation. The formation efficiency and the future works which should be investigated in the forthcoming paper are also discussed.     

亚太地区环境综合监测的研究方法--APEIS项目研究综述

为了对亚太地区的环境灾害、环境破坏和环境退化及其影响进行监测和评估,由日本环境省发起的亚太地区环境革新战略项日（APEIS)环境综合监测子项（IEM)自2001年开始,建立了一个以MODIS卫星数据和地面观测资料为基础的综合环境监视网络系统。该网络系统起初是由日本国立环境研究所(NIES)和中国科学院地理科学与资源研究所(IGSNRR)共同合作建成的。之后,新加坡国立大学和澳大利亚联邦科学产业研究组织(CSIRO)地球观测中心也正式宣布加入,该系统覆盖整个亚太地区。美国宇航局(NASA)提供了一套MCDIS的高级数据产品,然而,这些产品没能在亚洲地区利用当地的实测资料进行充分地比较和验证。APEIS项目旨在提供利用该地区精确地面观测数据进行了比较验证的高质量数据集。利用该数据集可以推导出水分亏缺指数、沙尘暴指数、地表面温度、土地覆盖变化,以及净第一性生产量等一系列生态环境指标,从而埘环境破坏、环境退化和生态脆弱区进行长期有效的监测。为了评价水资源、食物生产等生态系所提供的产品与服务的现状和变化特征,本研究还开发了一个可利用M0DIS数据的流域环境综合管理模型。该模型已经被用于对流域规模的水、热、碳循环、泥沙转移以及农业生产等生态要素的模拟和评估,并利用高精度的观测资料对其进行了验证。利用该模式可以对流域生态系统所提供的产品与服务的有效利用,以及流域的可持续发展提供一系列战略性的政策选项。     

Azimuthal dependence on amplifications for long-period ground motions propagating in the Kanto Basin,Japan

Journal of Seismology - In the Kanto Basin, Japan, it has been reported that the dominant periods of long-period ground motions vary depending on the areas where earthquakes occurred. This suggests...     

Identification of Lower Pleistocene widespread tephras associated with large caldera-forming eruptions in the Tohoku area,north-east Japan

Tephra fingerprinting techniques contributing to volcanology and palaeoenvironmental studies have been developed using a combination of laser-ablation inductively coupled-plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) and scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDS). In particular, femtosecond LA-ICP-MS can determine major- and trace element abundances in individual glass shards. On the basis of the major oxide and trace element composition of the glass shards, using those methods, we re-examined the identification of four lower Pleistocene tephras originating from north-east Japan. All trace element abundances exhibited the typical pattern of tephras from the Hokkaido–Tohoku area, and major element concentrations were distinct. As a result, we re-examined the correlation of the widespread Tmg-R4 tephra (2.0 Ma), and newly defined the widespread Kd44-Naka tephra (1.968–1.781 Ma), both originating from the Sengan geothermal region. Furthermore, we re-examined identifications of Sr-Asn-Kd8 (1.219 Ma) and Sr-Kc-U8 (0.922–0.910 Ma) in central Japan, both derived from the Aizu volcanic region. The extensive distributions of the former two tephras suggest the occurrence of two large caldera-forming eruptions (Volcanic Explosivity Index 7) during a short period. Also, the distributions and volumes of the latter two tephras are broader and larger than those previously assumed. The results provide insight into large volcanic eruption history and terrestrial and marine palaeoenvironmental history.     

An attempt to characterize phase Q: Noble gas, Raman spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy in residues prepared from the Allende meteorite

We have prepared a HF-HCl residue and its oxidized residue of the Allende meteorite and have measured the elemental concentrations and the isotopic compositions of noble gases. In the HF-HCl reside, noble gases are enriched in colloidal fraction compared to the non-colloidal fraction by a factor of 2-4. The heavy noble gases were evidently lost after the oxidization, indicating that phase Q (carrier of planetary heavy noble gases) was removed by the oxidation. The Raman spectroscopic parameters show that the colloidal fraction of the HF-HCl residue is more amorphous compared to the non-colloidal fraction. As the ion irradiation converts carbon into a more amorphous form, our result indicates that the “plasma model” is more plausible than the “labyrinth model” as the origin of phase Q. TEM (Transmission Electron Microscope) observations also show such a trace of ion irradiation. While the TEM observations did not show any large difference between the HF-HCl residue and its oxidized residue, the Raman spectroscopic parameters changed discretely resulting from the oxidization. This observation indicates that the oxidization not only dissolved and removed oxidized carbon, but also changed the carbon structure itself to a more amorphous (disordered) state. The Raman spectroscopic results indicate the possibility that release of Q-gas during oxidation is not accompanied by mass loss and that the release of Q-gas simply resulted from rearrangement of carbon structure during oxidation.     

不同类型生态系统水热碳通量的监测与研究

亚太地区环境革新战略项目(APEIS) 在中国5种主要生态系统类型区(草地: 海北、耕地: 禹城、稻田: 桃源、林地: 千烟洲、荒漠: 阜康) 建立了一个以连续观测能量、水分和碳素通量为中心,包括气象、水文、土壤、植被等各项生态要素的监测网络系统,被称之为APEIS-FLUX系统。作者首先对APEIS-FLUX系统的观测数据进行了初步分析,表明该系统稳定可靠,它可以实时地提供高质量、高精度、长期而连续的通量及生态要素的观测数据。对数据的比较清楚地反映出了不同生态系统类型区的水热碳通量的差异性。其次,利用APEIS-FLUX数据对美国航空航天局(NASA) 的MODIS数据产品进行比较验证后发现,除部分产品如地表面温度(MOD11) 等与观测数据较吻合以外,大部分数据产品如土地覆盖(MOD12),叶面积指数(MOD15) 和光合速率与净第一性生产力(MOD17) 等都与观测数据相差深远,有必要对其处理程序和模式进行修正。为此,我们利用APEIS-FLUX的数据作为MOD15和MOD17的生成模型(BIOME-BGC) 的输入数据,并对该模型的有关参数进行了修订。结果表明,该模式在通过修正后,可以很好地模拟植被的生长过程及其相应的水热碳循环过程。