Stoichiometry among bioactive trace metals in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas

The distribution of Al, Mn, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb in seawater was investigated in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas of the western Arctic Ocean in September 2000. The unfiltered and filtered seawater samples were used for determination of total dissolvable metal (TDM) and dissolved metal (DM), respectively. The concentration of labile particulate metal (LPM) was estimated with the difference between that of TDM and DM. The concentrations of TDAl, TDMn, TDFe, TDCo and TDPb varied substantially in the study area. The high concentrations occurred at stations near the Bering Strait, in the Mackenzie delta, and above reductive sediments on the shelf and slope. These elements were mostly dominated by labile particulate species, such as Fe?CMn oxides and species adsorbed on terrestrial clay. DCo was correlated with DMn over the study area (r?=?0.78, n?=?135), and the slope of the regression line was 27 times higher at a pelagic station than at a shelf station. TDNi, TDCu, TDZn and TDCd showed relatively small variations and were generally dominated by dissolved species. There was a moderate correlation between DCd and phosphate for all samples (r?=?0.79), whereas there were no significant correlation between the other DMs and nutrients. TDNi and TDCu showed a remarkable linearity for most stations except those near the Bering Strait (R ²?=?0.95, n?=?126). These results suggest that biogeochemical cycling including uptake by phytoplankton and remineralization from settling particles has only minor control over the distribution of trace metals in this area. Using the present data, the annual input of bioactive trace metals form the Bering Strait and the Mackenzie River was estimated. Also, the trace metal compositions of major water masses were evaluated. The dissolved elemental ratio was P:Al:Mn:Fe:Co:Ni:Cu:Zn:Cd?=?1:1.2?×?10^?2:4.4?×?10^?4:1.4?×?10^?3:3.7?×?10^?5:3.7?×?10^?3:1.4?×?10^?3:4.5?×?10^?3:2.2?×?10^?4 for Canada Basin deep water (CBDW). This ratio was significantly different from that for Pacific deep water and Bering Sea water, suggesting substantial modification of the trace metal compositions of seawater in the study area.     

Development of density measurement for metals at high pressures and high temperatures using X-ray absorption imaging combined with externally heated diamond anvil cell

A technique for density measurement under high pressure and high temperature was developed using the X-ray absorption imaging method combined with an externally heated diamond anvil cell. The densities of solid and liquid In were measured in the pressure and temperature ranges of 3.2–18.6 GPa and 294–719 K. The densities obtained through the X-ray absorption imaging method were in good agreement (less than 2.0% difference) with those obtained through X-ray diffraction. Based on the measured density, the isothermal bulk modulus of solid In is determined as 48.0 ± 1.1?40.9 ± 0.8 GPa at 500 K, assuming K′ = 4 to 6. The compression curve of liquid In approaches that of solid In at higher pressures and does not cross over the solid compression curve in the measurement range. The present technique enables us to determine the densities of both solids and liquids precisely in a wide pressure and temperature range.     

Sedimentary records of reduction in resting egg production of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Daphnia galeata</Emphasis> in Lake Biwa during the 20th century: a possible effect of winter warming

To clarify long-term variations in the resting egg production of Daphnia galeata in Lake Biwa during the 20th century, we examined an abundance of plankton remains and ephippia in a 26-cm sediment core with a time resolution of approximately 2–6 years. Historical changes shown by these plankton remains indicated that the Daphnia population has not produced resting eggs since the 1980s, but it has remained the most abundant zooplankton species in the lake. Plankton monitoring data collected from 1966 to 2000 revealed that the overwintering individuals (January–March) of D. galeata plankters showed a significant increasing trend in recent years, such increase being negatively correlated with ephippial abundance in the sediment samples. Further analyses showed that the dominant phytoplankton in winter has changed from large inedible diatoms to edible flagellated algae, probably due to changes in vertical mixing regimes resulting from winter warming. These changes that occurred in the last several decades suggest that global warming has improved winter food conditions and thus enabled the Daphnia plankton to maintain its population without producing resting eggs in Lake Biwa.     

基于亚太地区环境综合监测的陆地生态系统中水、热和二氧化碳的监测与模拟

The Integrated Environmental Monitoring (IEM) project, part of the Asia-Pacific Environmental Innovation Strategy (APEIS) project, developed an integrated environmental monitoring system that can be used to detect, monitor, and assess environmental disasters, degradation, and their impacts in the Asia-Pacific region. The system primarily employs data from the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer (MODIS) sensor on the Earth Observation System- (EOS-) Terra/Aqua satellite,as well as those from ground observations at five sites in different ecological systems in China. From the preliminary data analysis on both annual and daily variations of water, heat and CO2 fluxes, we can confirm that this system basically has been working well. The results show that both latent flux and CO2 flux are much greater in the crop field than those in the grassland and the saline desert, whereas the sensible heat flux shows the opposite trend. Different data products from MODIS have very different correspondence, e.g. MODIS-derived land surface temperature has a close correlation with measured ones, but LAI and NPP are quite different from ground measurements, which suggests that the algorithms used to process MODIS data need to be revised by using the local dataset. We are now using the APEIS-FLUX data to develop an integrated model, which can simulate the regional water,heat, and carbon fluxes. Finally, we are expected to use this model to develop more precise high-order MODIS products in Asia-Pacific region.     

On the Application of Mwp in the Near Field and the March 11, 2011 Tohoku Earthquake

Tsunami Warning Centers issue rapid and accurate tsunami warnings to coastal populations by estimating the location and size of the causative earthquake as soon as possible after rupture initiation. Both US Tsunami Warning Centers have therefore been using Mwp to issue Tsunami Warnings 5–10 min after Earthquake origin time since 2002. However, because Mwp (Tsuboi et al., Bulletin of the Seismological society of America 85:606–613, 1995) is based on the far-field approximation to the P-wave displacement due to a double couple point source, we should only very carefully apply Mwp to data obtained in the near field, at distances of less than a few wavelengths from the fault. On the other hand, the surface waves from Great Earthquakes, including those that occur just offshore of populated areas, such as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, clip seismographs located near the fault. Because the first arriving P-waves from such large events are often on scale, Mwp should provide useful information, even for these Great Earthquakes. We therefore calculate Mwp from 18 unclipped STS-1 broadband P-wave seismograms, recorded at 2–15° distance from the Tohoku epicenter to determine if Mwp can usefully estimate Mw for this earthquake, using data obtained close to the epicenter. In this case there should be a good chance to get reliable Mwp values for stations at epicentral distances of 9–10°, since the source duration for the Tohoku earthquake is less than 200 s and the time window used to estimate Mwp is 120 s in duration. Our analysis indicates that Mwp does indeed give reliable results (Mw ~ 9.1) beginning at about 11° distance from the epicenter. The values of Mwp from seismic waveforms obtained at 11–15° epicentral distance from the Mw 9.1 off the east coast of Tohuku earthquake of March 11, 2011 fell within the range 9.1–9.3, and were available within 4–5 min after origin time. Even the Mwp values of 7.7–8.4, obtained at less than 5° epicentral distance, exceed the PTWC’s threshold of Mw 7.6 for issuing a regional tsunami warning to coastal populations within 1,000 km of the epicenter, and of Mw 6.9 for issuing a local tsunami warning to the coastal populations of Hawaii.     

Distribution and dispersal of the early larval stages of the Japanese spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus in the East China Sea

The annual distribution and dispersal of early‐stage phyllosoma of the Japanese spiny lobster Panulirus japonicus were examined in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan off western Japan. Early‐stage larvae were sampled mainly in summer and relatively near the coast off western Kyusyu Island. Few larvae were found in the other three seasons in the East China Sea and the Sea of Japan. This finding suggests that P. japonicus larvae are retained in coastal areas for a few months after hatching until stage V and are transported offshore until autumn, before they grow to stage VI. Examination of archival drifter data off western Kyusyu Island during the spawning season of P. japonicus supported the relatively rapid dispersal of the larvae from the East China Sea near Japan to the Pacific Ocean or the Sea of Japan. Larval transport from the East China Sea to the Pacific Ocean, which is considered to be a main distribution area of middle‐ and late‐stage larvae, would occur in the south at approximately 32–33°N in the East China Sea near western Kyusyu Island.     

Intra-Day Variability of Sagittarius A* at Multi-Wavelengths

This paper reviews the recent progress in the study of the intra-day variability (IDV) of Sagitarrius A* (Sgr A*), the best known supermassive black hole candidates with a dark mass concentration of 4 × 10\(^6 M_{\odot}\) at the center of our galaxy.     

A ground-based observation of the LCROSS impact events using the Subaru Telescope

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was an impact exploration searching for a volatile deposit in a permanently shadowed region (PSR) by excavating near-surface material. We conducted infrared spectral and imaging observations of the LCROSS impacts from 15 min before the first collision through 2 min after the second collision using the Subaru Telescope in order to measure ejecta dust and water. Such a ground-based observation is important because the viewing geometry and wavelength coverage are very different from the LCROSS spacecraft. We used the Echelle spectrograph with spectral resolution λ/Δλ ∼ 10,000 to observe the non-resonant H₂O rotational emission lines near 2.9 μm and the slit viewer with a K′ filter for imaging observation of ejecta plumes. Pre-impact calculations using a homogeneous projectile predicted that 2000 kg of ejecta and 10 kg of H₂O were excavated and thrown into the analyzed area immediately above the slit within the field of view (FOV) of the K′ imager and the FOV of spectrometer slit, respectively. However, no unambiguous emission line of H₂O or dust was detected. The estimated upper limits of the amount of dust and H₂O from the main Centaur impact were 800 kg and 40 kg for the 3σ of noise in the analyzed area within the imager FOV and in the slit FOV, respectively. If we take 1σ as detection limit, the upper limits are 300 kg and 14 kg, respectively. Although the upper limit for water mass is comparable to a prediction by a standard theoretical prediction, that for dust mass is significantly smaller than that predicted by a standard impact theory. This discrepancy in ejecta dust mass between a theoretical prediction and our observation result suggests that the cratering process induced by the LCROSS impacts may have been substantially different from the standard cratering theory, possibly because of its hollow projectile structure.     

Manganiferous schists and their origin,Hidaka Mountains,Hokkaido, Japan

Manganiferous quartz-mica schists (4 m in stratigraphic thickness) overlie epidote amphibolite in the Chiroro River area, Hidaka Mountains, Hokkaido. The schist layers have a considerable range of A/F ratios and bulk oxidation ratios which vary from 21.5 to 100. Manganese contents are from 4 to 30 times higher than that of the average shale with 0.09% MnO. The schists are essentially quartz-white mica-biotite-Mn garnet-tourmaline-±epidote-magnetite assemblages. A highly oxidized layer (5–8 cm thick) 95 cm above the epidote amphibolite contact is characterized by viridine-piemontite-spessartine-Mn white mica-Mn tourmaline-Ti-Mn haematite indicative of both high initial manganese content and very high f _O2 conditions of recrystallization.Viridine contains up to 17 mol% Mn³⁺SiO₅ and coexists with piemontite with between 13.6 and 15.4 wt% Mn₂O₃. Mn-poor-Fe-rich (Ps₃₂) epidote occurs in the less oxidized schist enclosing the viridine-piemontite bearing seam. Garnets vary widely in composition with end member variations (mol%) of Spess_22.9–80.5; And_0.2–11.7; Alm_1.1–57.1; Pyr_2.0–12.2; Gross_7.0–49.0. The more manganiferous garnets occur in rocks with higher oxidation ratios while almandiferous varieties occur in schists with low oxidation ratios. Biotite ranges from green to red-brown varieties (increasing Ti and Fe) with Mg/ (Mg+Fe) ratios varying from 56 to 48. Ten to fifteen percent octahedral R²⁺ is replaced by Al indicating a trend towards eastonite-siderophyllite. The white micas deviate only slightly from dioctahedral stoichiometry but have up to 25% of octahedral sites occupied by Fe, Mg and to a lesser extent Mn and Ti as R²⁺ Si⁴⁺2Al³⁺ and in highly oxidized rocks as (Fe,Mn)³⁺Al³⁺. The white mica in the highly oxidized viridine-piemontite schist is pale pinkishorange, exhibits reverse pleochroism, and has between 0.30 and 0.43 wt% Mn₂O₃.There is a close comparison, both in terms of stratigraphic thickness and Fe-Mn variation, between the Chiroro schist sequence and many oceanic cores so that the bulk chemistry and mineralogy of the pelitic schists is largely an extension of the original Eh-pH conditions of hemipelagic sedimentation and post-depositional adjustments during diagenesis. The thin viridine-piemontite bearing schist is correlated with an oxidized, Fe-Mn rich layer commonly found in present day oceanic cores. The viridine presumably formed by reaction of original ferro-manganese microgranules and clay minerals. Halmrolytic alteration of the underlying metabasalt resulted in leaching of Mn and Fe (in particular) into the overlying sediments and the formation of concentrations of haematite — manganese oxide — Mn garnet along the schist-epidote amphibolite contact.Estimation of the P-T conditions of metamorphism from the phase relations and compositions in the epidote amphibolite associated with the manganiferous schist gives T °C = 530560 and a minimum P _fluid > 3 kb which corresponds to the epidote amphibolite facies of Barrovian-type terrains.This paper is dedicated to Professor Kenzo Yagi on the occasion of his retirement from the Chair of Mineralogy, Department of Geology and Mineralogy, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan