Heat content change in the surface isothermal layer of a warm core ring in the sea east of Japan

Heat content change in the surface isothermal layer of a typical warm core ring in the sea east of Japan is described based on approximately 90 CTD profiles obtained by one profiling float. Erosion of the seasonal thermocline and development of a surface isothermal layer from the mid-summer to the early winter of 1999 are clearly seen. While heat content change between two consecutive profiles with a 35-hour time interval is much noisier, its 10-day running mean is consistent with net surface heat flux, indicating that surface heat flux dominates the temporal heat content change in the surface isothermal layer in the warm core ring.     

Seasonal and interannual variability of sea surface chlorophyll a concentration in the Japan/East Sea (JES)

Seasonal and interannual variability of chlorophyll a concentration in the Japan/East Sea (JES) was detected spatially by ocean color satellite remote sensing. Start timing of the spring bloom was different spatially. The spring bloom started at the subpolar front and southward of it in March, northward of subpolar front, along the Primorye coast and off Hokkaido in April and in the middle of the Japan Basin in May. The start of the spring bloom showed interannual variability that corresponded with the wind speed in the area. The spring bloom in 1998 and 2002 appeared about four weeks earlier than in 1997, 1999 and 2001, and it corresponded with weak winds that can lead to an early development of the thermocline. The bloom was late in 1999 and 2001 in the Japan Basin and along the Primorye coast, and in the southern area in 2000. It corresponded with stronger wind stress that delayed seasonal thermocline formation. The bloom along the Primorye coast appeared later in 1999, and it corresponded with stronger wind stress, and at the same time, it seemed to be related with the delay of melting of sea ice in Mamiya Strait. The fall bloom appeared from early October to early December, and it did not have a clear temporal transition. The area where chlorophyll a concentration exceeded 0.8 μg l⁻¹ was wider in the western area than in the eastern area every year. The magnitude of the fall bloom was different between years, but it did not show a correlation with average wind speed in fall. Those results indicated that the timing of the seasonal bloom in the JES is largely affected by the variability of global climate such as ENSO events.     

Interannual SST variability in the Japan/East Sea and relationship with environmental variables

Interannual variability of the Japan/East Sea (JES) sea surface temperature (SST) is investigated from the reconstructed NOAA/AVHRR Oceans Pathfinder best SST data (1985–2002) using the complex empirical function (CEOF) analysis. The iterative empirical function analysis is used for the SST data reconstruction. The first two leading CEOFs account for 86.0% of total variance with 66.4% for the first mode and 19.6% for the second mode. The first CEOF mode represents a standing oscillation and a maximum belt in the central JES. There are two near-7-year events and one 2–3-year event during the period of 1985–2002. The first mode oscillates by adjacent atmospheric systems such as the Aleutian Low, the North Pacific High, the Siberian High, and the East Asian jet stream. Positive correlation in a zonal belt between the first mode JES SST anomaly and the background surface air temperature/SST anomaly reveals intensive ocean-atmosphere interaction near the Polar Front in the North Pacific. The second CEOF mode represents two features: standing oscillation and propagating signal. The standing oscillation occurs in the northern (north of 44°N) and southern (south of 39°N and west of 136°E) JES with around 180° phase difference. A weak southwestward propagating signal is detected between the two regions. The eastward propagating signal is detected from the East Korean Bay to near 135°E. The second mode contains 4–5-year periodicity before 1998 and 2–3-year periodicity thereafter. It is associated with the Arctic Oscillation, which leads it by 1–5-year. Furthermore, a strong correlation with the background surface air temperature/SST anomaly is detected in the tropical to subtropical western Pacific.     

Distribution and sources of organic matter in surficial sediments on the shelf and slope off Tokachi, western North Pacific, inferred from C and N stable isotopes and C / N ratios

Organic carbon (C) and total nitrogen (N) contents and corresponding isotope ratios were determined in surficial sediment (0–3 cm) at 94 stations ranging from 21 to 1995 m water depth off Tokachi, Hokkaido, Japan, to elucidate the distribution and source of sedimentary organic matter. Suspended particulate organic matter (POM) in the seawater and suspended POM and sediment in the Tokachi River were also examined. δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C / N ratios of the samples in the Tokachi River suggest that the spring snowmelt is an important process for the transport of terrestrial organic matter to the coastal waters. δ¹³C values of suspended POM in the surface seawater were higher in May and November than in August, while δ¹⁵N values of the POM were higher in May and August than in November. These changes are attributed to seasonal changes in phytoplankton growth rate and nitrate availability. δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in the sediments off Tokachi were lowest near the Tokachi River mouth, and increased offshore to constant values that persisted from 134 to 1995 m water depth. The spatial variation in C / N ratios in the sediment mirrored those of δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N. Comparison of δ¹³C, δ¹⁵N and C / N ratios in the sediments off Tokachi with those in the Tokachi River and seawater indicates that about half of the organic matter in the sediment was of terrestrial origin near the Tokachi River mouth, and the sedimentary organic matter from 134 to 1995 m water depth was of marine origin. The organic C content in the sediment was high near the Tokachi River mouth, and also around 1000 m water depth. The C content was significantly correlated with silt plus clay content, with different regression lines for those stations shallower and deeper than 134 m, owing to several stations of higher C content with the elevated C / N ratio on the inner shelf. These results suggest that transport and deposition of organic-rich fine sediment particles by hydrodynamic processes were major factors controlling C content off Tokachi. In addition, the supply of a fraction of terrestrial organic matter with high C / N probably also affected C content on the inner shelf.     

Concentration and Regeneration of Cd in the Japan Sea Proper Water

The concentration level of cadmium (Cd) and the regeneration related to phosphate (PO₄) were examined at two stations (CM10, CM12) in the eastern Japan Basin in July 1998. The observed Cd concentrations were around 0.2–0.3 nM and 0.5–0.6 nM in the surface and deep layers (Japan Sea Proper Water; JSPW), respectively; the concentration of Cd in the JSPW was much lower than that in the Pacific deep water, which is attributed to its specific formation system (which driven by the winter convection of the surface layer within the Japan Sea, thereafter descending to the deep layer) connected with the relatively active vertical mixing in the Japan Sea. A plot of Cd against PO₄ showed good linearity with positive y-intercept values, suggesting that the excess Cd was apparently not available in the biogeochemical cycle. The molecular ratios of consumed O₂ to regenerated Cd and PO₄ in the JSPW were 688,000, 140 and 881,000, 146 for CM10 and CM12, respectively, and a lower preformed Cd concentration (around 0.37 nM) was also estimated in the JSPW, different from that of the North Pacific deep water (613,000 for Cd, 170 for PO₄, and 0.64 nM of preformed Cd).     

森林脑炎时空分布特征和环境影响因素分析

森林脑炎作为一种蜱传自然疫源性疾病,其空间分布与环境关系密切,探索其时空分布模式与环境因子对其影响机制对于掌握和预测森林脑炎的发病风险区域具有重要意义。本文以我国东北疫源区（黑龙江省、吉林省和内蒙古自治区）为研究区,通过统计分析和空间自相关分析探究了2005—2015年森林脑炎时空分布特征,进而运用地理探测器模型探讨森林脑炎空间分布影响因素及其指示作用。结果表明：① 研究区内森林脑炎发病率在2005—2015年有明显的增长趋势和季节性发病特征,且其发病率具有较强的空间集聚模式,主要有2个大的热点集聚区;② 从整个研究区来看,植被类型、土地利用、年均气温、土壤类型、5—8月均气温、坡度、高程和年均降雨量是森林脑炎发病率空间流行的主要环境影响因素;③ 对于所筛选的环境指示因子而言,各指示因子对森林脑炎发病风险的影响程度存在差异,即各因子的各类型（范围）内,森林脑炎发病率不同;各指示因子两两之间的相互作用对森林脑炎的发病风险具有显著增强效应。研究结果可为研究区及全国森林脑炎疫情的有效控制提供科学依据和决策支持。     

Reply to comments by H. Mashima on ‘Evolution of the eastern margin of Korea: constraints on the opening of the East Sea (Japan Sea)’ by Kim et al. [Tectonophysics 436 (2007) 37–55]

We thank H. Mashima for his interest in our recent article in Tectonophysics [Kim, H.J., Lee, G.H., Jou, H.T., Cho, H.M., Yoo, H.S., Park, G.T., Kim, J.S., 2007, Evolution of the eastern margin of Korea: Constraints on the opening of the East Sea (Japan Sea). Tectonophysics 436, 37–55.] and welcome the opportunity to respond to his comments. In our article we suggested that the southern part of the East Sea (Japan Sea) opened principally in the southeast direction in response to the northwestward subduction of the Pacific Plate beneath the Japan Arc. In contrast, Mashima claims that the opening of the East Sea was achieved in the south–southeast direction. However, there are many crucial things in his comments that we find scientifically unconvincing and misleading. In this reply, we give a detailed response to his comments.     

日本海百年来沉积速率及粒度指示意义

对日本海中部、北部和西部四个深水多管沉积岩芯中的210Pb活度和沉积物粒度进行分析。结果显示百年以来大和海脊、日本海北部和西部陆坡沉积物以粉砂和黏土质粉砂为主。在日本海北部和大和海脊表层沉积物存在显著的生物扰动现象,而在西部陆坡不存在。基于恒定供给速率(CRS)模式建立了4个岩芯的年代框架,并计算了沉积速率。日本海现代平均沉积速率介于0.19~0.42 cm/a,最低值出现在大和海脊。4个岩芯中沉积物平均粒径呈现不同的分布模式,但是在1940年和1980年,沉积物粒度分布模式同时发生了改变,这可能与百年以来北太平洋十年涛动(PDO)及东亚夏季风震荡有关。     

1995年1月17日日本兵库县南部地震现场调查概况

１９９５年１月１７日日本兵库县南部淡路岛发生７．２级地震后，正在工作的本文作者亲临地震灾区，进行了现场调查，作者以日记的形式叙述了现场调查情况，此外，他还给出了自己对灾害的分析。