A unified model of dwarf nova outbursts based on the disk instability

A unified model for outbursts of dwarf novae is proposed based on the disk instability model in cataclysmic variable stars. In this model, two different intrinsic instabilities (i.e., the thermal instability and the tidal instability) within accretion disks are considered in non-magnetic cataclysmic variable stars. It is suggested that all of three sub-classes of dwarf novae (i.e., U Gem-type, Z Cam-type and SU UMa-type dwarf novae) may be explained in terms of two model parameters of the orbital period of the binary and of the mass transfer rate within the framework of the disk instability model.     

Locomotor activity rhythm in the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica elvers

Under artificial LD cycles(6,12,18 L),the elvers of Japanese eel,Anguilla japonica,showed a 24 h cycle of locomotor activity rhythm being most active at light transitions:the eels' activity rose to a primary peak after lights-off,followed by a quiescent period during which they buried into the shelters or lying motionlessly on sand for most of the time,and then reached a secondary peak before lights-on.Elvers could resynchronize their activity rhythm with a new photo cycle within 4 d.Moreover,their activity level at dark phase significantly increased as the light period was prolonged:higher activity levels during shorter dark period.However,the elvers did not display clearly the existence of a circadian rhythm under constant light or dark conditions.The timing of daily activity rhythm evidenced in the Japanese eels may occur through the action of the LD cycles with a weak participation of an endogenous circadian system.In all the LD cycles,over 99% of the activity occurred in the dark phase,indicating that the eels were always nocturnally active no matter what time of day it might be.Under 12 L conditions,the eels' activity level and the time outside sand were significantly elevated both at light and dark phases as temperature increased from 10~15 to 20~25 ℃.The activity rhythm pattern(i.e.,two peaks occurring around light transitions) did not apparently change among temperatures.However,in contrast with the primary activity peaks immediately after lights-off at 20 and 25 ℃,the timing of the primary peaks at 10 and 15 ℃ showed a latency of a few hours following lights-off,indicating the inhibiting effect of low temperature on the eels' activity.     

Model simulations of carbon sequestration in the northwest Pacific by patch fertilization

Iron fertilization of nutrient-rich surface waters of the ocean is one possible way to help slow the rising levels of atmospheric CO₂ by sequestering it in the oceans via biological carbon export. Here, I use an ocean general circulation model to simulate a patch of nutrient depletion in the subpolar northwest Pacific under various scenarios. Model results confirm that surface fertilization is an inefficient way to sequester carbon from the atmosphere (Gnanadesikan et al., 2003), since only about 20% of the exported carbon comes initially from the atmosphere. Fertilization reduces future production and thus CO₂ uptake by utilizing nutrients that would otherwise be available later. Effectively, this can be considered as leakage when compared to a control run. This “effective” leakage and the actual leakage of sequestered CO₂ cause a significant, rapid decrease in carbon retention (only 30–45% retained after 10 years and less than 20% after 50 years). This contrasts markedly with the almost 100% retention efficiency for the same duration using the same model, when carbon is disposed directly into the northwest Pacific (Matsumoto and Mignone, 2005). As a consequence, the economic effectiveness of patch fertilization is poor in two limiting cases of the future price path of carbon. Sequestered carbon in patch fertilization is lost to the atmosphere at increasingly remote places as time passes, which would make monitoring exceedingly difficult. If all organic carbon from one-time fertilization reached the ocean bottom and remineralized there, acidification would be about −0.05 pH unit with O₂ depletion about −20 μmol kg⁻¹. These anomalies are probably too small to seriously threaten deep sea biota, but they are underestimated in the model because of its large grid size. The results from this study offer little to advocate purposeful surface fertilization as a serious means to address the anthropogenic carbon problem.     

Non-volcanic deep low-frequency tremors accompanying slow slips in the southwest Japan subduction zone

Non-volcanic deep low-frequency tremors in southwest Japan exhibit a strong temporal and spatial correlation with slow slip detected by the dense seismic network. The tremor signal is characterized by a low-frequency vibration with a predominant frequency of 0.5–5 Hz without distinct P- or S-wave onset. The tremors are located using the coherent pattern of envelopes over many stations, and are estimated to occur near the transition zone on the plate boundary on the forearc side along the strike of the descending Philippine Sea plate. The belt-like distribution of tremors consists of many clusters. In western Shikoku, the major tremor activity has a recurrence interval of approximately six months, with each episode lasting over a week. The tremor source area migrates during each episode along the strike of the subducting plate with a migration velocity of about 10 km/day. Slow slip events occur contemporaneously with this tremor activity, with a coincident estimated source area that also migrates during each episode. The coupling of tremor and slow slip in western Shikoku is very similar to the episodic tremor and slip phenomenon reported for the Cascadia margin in northwest North America. The duration and recurrence interval of these episodes varies between tremor clusters even on the same subduction zone, attributable to regional difference in the frictional properties of the plate interface.     

Measuring the k–S–p relations on DNAPLs migration

Migration characteristics of dense non-aqueous phase liquids (DNAPLs) in the subsurface can be expressed as a water–DNAPL two-phase system based on mainly the k–S–p relations, which describe the relations among relative permeability (k), degree of water saturation (S), and capillary pressure head (p). The aims of this research are to develop an experimental system with new type of probes, such as the electrical conductivity probe for measuring the degree of water saturation and the hydrophilic and hydrophobic tensiometer for measuring the pore water and DNAPL pressures, and also to estimate the results obtained from the developed experimental system. From these tests, the excellent k–S–p relations were obtained and the efficiency and validity of this developed experimental system have been confirmed in terms of the concept of the scaling coefficient calculated by interfacial tensions.     

Singular Unit Restoration in Interferograms Based on Complex-Valued Markov Random Field Model for Phase Unwrapping

In generating a digital elevation map from an interferogram obtained by interferometric synthetic aperture radar, the filtering process is as important as the phase unwrapping process. Before unwrapping, we usually have to restore the data image by reducing so-called singular points (SPs) by filtering process without destroying or smearing delicate fringes. Previously, an effective SP restoration method was proposed based on the complex-valued Markov random field (CMRF) model. However, there is still room for improvement in the definition of SPs and in the formulation of CMRF parameter estimation. In this letter, we propose a novel scheme by introducing a new concept, namely, the ldquosingular unit.rdquo We also estimate CMRF parameters locally as a weighted sum by taking the distance and SP numbers in sample sites into account. By using this restoration method, we demonstrate a high-performance removal of SPs. We also find that delicate landscape features, which are often lost in conventional filtering, are preserved appropriately. We confirm the quality in higher signal-to-noise ratios obtained against actual height data.     

Changes in the abundance and composition of picophytoplankton in relation to the occurrence of a Kyucho and a bottom intrusion in the Bungo Channel,Japan

The Bungo Channel in southwestern Japan receives both warm, called Kyucho, and cold deep-water intrusions (bottom intrusion) from the Pacific Ocean. Abundances of Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, and eukaryotic picophytoplankton were monitored from 18 July to 17 August 2001 to clarify whether advected picophytoplankton from the Pacific Ocean can grow in the channel or not. Synechococcus cells were further discriminated into low- and high-PUB types according to their fluorescence property in flow cytometry. From 18 to 25 July, the water temperature decreased by 3 °C at a 5-m depth at all stations, indicating the occurrence of a bottom intrusion. From 25 July to 4 August, a Kyucho occurred and the water temperature rapidly increased. From 4 to 17 August, a bottom intrusion and a Kyucho both occurred twice, although the intensities were smaller than those occurring until 4 August. From 18 to 30 July, the abundance of both Prochlorococcus and a high-PUB type of Synechococcus drastically decreased because of a bottom intrusion; however, the abundances rapidly increased due to the advection by a Kyucho. These advected cells increased from 4 to 17 August in the channel and Kitanada Bay. Changes in the abundance of low-PUB type of Synechococcus and eukaryotic picophytoplankton were less noticeable than those in the abundance of Prochlorococcus and high-PUB type. The present study demonstrated that oceanic picophytoplankton advected by the Kyucho could grow in the channel. However, abundances of low-PUB type and eukaryotic picophytoplankton increased higher than those of Prochlorococcus and high-PUB type did. Thus, these oceanic phytoplankters will be excluded when Kyucho does not occur for a long time. The co-occurrence of various types of picophytoplankton found in the channel is probably achieved by both Kyucho event and their growth capability in the channel.     

Short-term temperature and salinity variations in the Tsushima Strait in 2004: Behavior of the surface low-salinity water in the strait

Temporal variations in temperature and salinity observed in 2004 were investigated on a short time scale in the Tsushima Strait. The data were obtained by long-term in situ measurements at Mitsushima and Futaoi Island using an instrument equipped with a piston-type wiper to avoid biofouling. In addition, the temperature and salinity values of the surface layer obtained by a commercial ferryboat between Hakata and Busan were used to investigate their spatiotemporal variations. Temperature and salinity variations with a time scale of several days had a negative correlation in the summer. This evidence suggests that a warm and less saline water mass, which is considered to be mainly the Changjiang Diluted Water (CDW), flowed intermittently through the Tsushima Strait in summer. In late July 2004, a large low-salinity water mass was detected in the Tsushima Strait. At that time, the freshwater transport through the Tsushima Strait transiently reached about 12 × 10⁴ m³s⁻¹, which is estimated from observed acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) data along a ferryboat line and inferred salinity profiles. This estimated value is more than double the maximum of the climatological monthly mean of the Changjiang discharge. Furthermore, salinity and surface current data obtained by high frequency ocean radar (HF radar) indicate that water properties at Mitsushima may occasionally represent part of the water flowing through the western channel via a countercurrent, although Mitsushima is geographically located in the eastern channel.     

Excess228Th in the airborne dust: an indicator of continental dust from the East Asian deserts

Thorium isotopes in the airborne dust collected at Tsukuba Science City in Japan from January 1981 to December 1982 show clear seasonal variations. Especially²²⁸Th in the airborne particles have a typical maximum cincentration between February and April, which is about an order of magnitude higher than during the remainder of the year. According to the result of size distribution of thorium isotope-bearing particles in the air, about 53% of²²⁸Th is associated with the particles less than 1.6 μm aerodynamic diameter. These results reveal that²²⁸Th in the airborne particles is present in fine soily matters originating from the East Asian deserts.     

Solubility of FeO in (Mg,Fe)SiO3 perovskite and the post-perovskite phase transition

Phase relations in Mg_0.5Fe_0.5SiO₃ and Mg_0.25Fe_0.75SiO₃ were investigated in a pressure range from 72 to 123 GPa on the basis of synchrotron X-ray diffraction measurements in situ at high-pressure and -temperature in a laser-heated diamond-anvil cell (LHDAC). Results demonstrate that Mg_0.5Fe_0.5SiO₃ perovskite is formed as a single phase at 85–108 GPa and 1800–2330 K, indicating a high solubility of FeO in (Mg,Fe)SiO₃ perovskite at high pressures. Post-perovskite appears coexisting with perovskite in Mg_0.5Fe_0.5SiO₃ above 106 GPa at 1410 K, the condition very close to the post-perovskite phase transition boundary in pure MgSiO₃. The coexistence of perovskite and post-perovskite was observed to 123 GPa. In addition, post-perovskite was formed coexisting with perovskite also in Mg_0.25Fe_0.75SiO₃ bulk composition at 106–123 GPa. In contrast to earlier experimental and theoretical studies, these results show that incorporation of FeO stabilizes perovskite at higher pressures. This could be due to a larger ionic radius of Fe²⁺ ion, which is incompatible with a small Mg²⁺ site in the post-perovskite phase.