Thermal and chemical evolution of the terrestrial magma ocean

The Earth is likely to have experienced a magma ocean stage during accretion. Thermal and chemical evolution of magma ocean is investigated based on a one-dimensional two-phase-flow heat and mass transfer model. Differentiation at lower mantle pressure depends on the type of magma ocean and surrounding atmosphere. If the magma ocean is formed by the blanketing effect of a solar-type proto-atmosphere, extensive differentiation proceeds at lower mantle pressure. If the magma ocean is formed by the blanketing effect of an impact-induced steam atmosphere, no differentiation at lower mantle pressure is likely. If a very deep magma ocean is formed by a giant impact, whether differentiation proceeds at lower mantle pressure or not depends on grain size, viscosity of melt and/or properties of a transient atmosphere. On the contrary, chemical differentiation likely proceeds at upper mantle pressure irrespective of magma ocean type. A shallow magma ocean can remain for 100 200 My without any heating processes.     

NEUTRON ACTIVATION ANALYSIS OF FIFTEEN GSJ IGNEOUS ROCK REFERENCE SAMPLES

Fifteen rock reference samples "Igneous rock series" issued by the Geological Survey of Japan were analysed for up to 31 elements by neutron activation analysis (NAA); 14 MeV-NAA for Si and Al, fission track method for U, radiochemical and instrumental NAA for rare-earth elements, and instrumental NAA for the remaining elements, with reactor neutrons for the latter three. The present results are compared with published values.     

Thermal-chemical instability in a pre-galactic gas cloud

The growth of thermal-chemical instability in a pre-galactic medium is followed by numerical simulation of gas dynamics. Results show that a primordial gas cloud breaks into self-gravitating subcondensations with the mass of normal stars.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Propagation of hydromagnetic disturbances in the solar corona and Moreton's wave phenomenon

Moreton's wave phenomenon, observed to propagate across the solar disk during certain solar flares, may be explained as the intersection line between an expanding coronal wavefront surface and the chromosphere: The propagation of a hydromagnetic disturbance in a spherically symmetric model corona with a radial magnetic field is studied in the WKB-approximation, and the propagation paths of wavepackets, the shape of the wavefronts expanding in time, and the variation of the direction of material oscillation along the paths are discussed for disturbances in hydromagnetic wave modes. It is shown that the wavefront expanding in fast-mode in the corona has a circular intersection line with the chromosphere, which sweeps on the solar surface with a velocity and a direction of material oscillation just favorable for explaining the observed features of the phenomenon.     

Possibility of recent changes in vertical distribution and size composition of chlorophyll-a in the western North Pacific region

Our analysis of the last three decades of retrospective data of vertical distributions and size composition of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) over the western North Pacific has revealed significant changes of three indices related to Chl-a during summer season, as follows: (1) decreasing linear trend of the proportion of Chl-a in surface layer to that of the whole water column by 0.4 and 2.3% year⁻¹ in the subtropical area along 137°E (STA₁₃₇) during 1972 to 1997 and in the Kuroshio Extension area along 175°E (KEA₁₇₅) during 1990 to 2001; (2) increasing linear trend of the depth of subsurface Chl-a maximum (DCM) by 0.4 and 2.6 m year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅; and (3) decreasing linear trend of larger-size Chl-a (>3 μm) by 0.1 and 2.5% year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅, respectively. Water density (σ _θ ) at 75 m depth had also decreased by 0.006 and 0.05 year⁻¹ in STA₁₃₇ and KEA₁₇₅, respectively. The ratio of biogenic opal to biogenic CaCO₃ in the sinking flux decreased by 0.015 year⁻¹ in the subtropical region from 1997 to 2005. These findings may indicate that the subsurface chlorophyll maximum is deepening and larger phytoplankton such as diatoms has been decreasing during the past decade, associated with the decreasing density of surface water caused by warming in the western North Pacific, especially in the summer.     

Generation mechanism of higher mode nondispersive shelf waves by wind forcing

The higher mode predominance in the current velocity fields associated with wind-induced shelf waves in the nondispersive regime is studied with a special attention to the effect of the geographical boundary, e.g. wide strait or wide bank areas. The effect of such large topographic change is represented by wind forcing with a finite dimension near the geographical boundary. The time development processes of the wind-induced shelf waves is examined in the context of an initial-value problem, where a spatially finite wind stress is applied att=0. Various modes of shelf waves excited at the boundary start propagating simultaneously and develop monotonically within the forcing region. After the passage of such wave, the energy of wind is used to maintain the attained equilibrium condition, i.e. the steady shelf circulation. The current evolution of the lower mode is restricted to the earlier stage because of the large propagation speed. In contrast, the higher mode waves can travel slowly within the forcing region so that the kinetic energy is supplied from wind stress for a long time before the equilibrium condition is established. Consequently, the observation at the fixed point near the geographical boundary would show that the higher mode waves gradually dominate as time goes on, i.e. for the long-term forcing.     

The structure of the kuroshio front in the vicinity of separation point where the Kuroshio leaves the Japanese coast

By using existing data obtained in the offshore area from the Boso Peninsula to the Joban Coast, it was shown that the double structure of the Kuroshio Front — which is usually found along the northern edge of the Kuroshio Extension to the east 143°E (Nagataet al., 1986 ; Shinet al., 1988) — is hardly found at the edge of the Kuroshio when it is flowing along the Japanese coast or in the area to the west of 142°E. It was suggested that the cold and fresh water core beneath the density front of the double structure originates from the fresh and cold Oyashio Water which is captured beneath the Kuroshio Front just off the Kashima Coast. The double structure of the Kuroshio Front would be generated and developed very rapidly in the region between 142°E and 143°E just after the Kuroshio leaves the Japanese coast.     

Seasonal variations of water system distribution and flow patterns in the southern sea area of Hokkaido,Japan

Hydrographic data and composite current velocity data (ADCP and GEK) were used to examine the seasonal variations of upper-ocean flow in the southern sea area of Hokkaido, which includes the “off-Doto” and “Hidaka Bay” areas separated by Cape Erimo. During the heating season (April–September), the outflow of the Tsugaru Warm Current (TWC) from the Tsugaru Strait first extends north-eastward, and then one branch of TWC turns to the west along the shelf slope after it approaches the Hidaka Shelf. The main flow of TWC evolves continuously, extending eastward as far as the area off Cape Erimo. In the late cooling season (January–March), part of the Oyashio enters Hidaka Bay along the shallower part of the shelf slope through the area off Cape Erimo, replacing almost all of the TWC water, and hence the TWC devolves. It is suggested that the bottom-controlled barotropic flow of the Oyashio, which may be caused by the small density difference between the Oyashio and the TWC waters and the southward migration of main front of TWC, permits the Oyashio water to intrude along the Hidaka shelf slope.     

Improved Method for Calculating Anthropogenic CO2 in the Upper Layer of the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre along 175°E

Seawater samples were collected in the North Pacific along 175°E during a cruise of the Northwest Pacific Carbon Cycle Study (NOPACCS) program in 1994. Many properties related to the carbonate system were analyzed. By using well-known ratios to correct for chemical changes in seawater, the CO₂ concentration at a given depth was back calculated to its initial concentration at the time when the water left the surface in winter. We estimated sea-surface CO₂ and titration alkalinity (TA) in present-day winter, from which we evaluated the degree of air-sea CO₂ disequilibrium in winter was. Using a correction factor for air-sea CO₂ disequilibrium in winter, we reconstructed sea-surface CO₂ in pre-industrial times. The difference between the back-calculated initial CO₂ and sea-surface CO₂ in pre-industrial times should correspond to anthropgenic CO₂ input. Although the mixing of different water masses may cause systematic error in the calculation, we found that the nonlinear effect induced by the mixing of different water masses was negligible in the upper layer of the North Pacific subtropical gyre along 175°E. The results of our improved method of assessing the distribution of anthropogenic CO₂ in that region show marked differences from those obtained using the previous back-calculation method.     

A Preliminary Study of Oceanic Bomb Radiocarbon Inventory in the North Pacific during the Last Two Decades

Radiocarbon and total carbonate data were obtained near the 1973 GEOSECS stations in the North Pacific along 30°N and along 175°E between 1993 and 1994. In these stations, we estimated radiocarbon originating from atomic bomb tests using tritium, trichlorofluoromethane and silicate contents. The average penetration depth of bomb radiocarbon during the two decades has deepened from 900 m to 1300 m. Bomb radiocarbon inventories above the average value for the whole North Pacific were found widely in the western subtropical region around 30°N both in the 1970s and 1990s, and its area in the 1990s was broader than that in the 1970s. In most of the North Pacific, while the bomb radiocarbon has decreased above 25.4, the bomb radiocarbon flux below 25.4 was over 1 × 10¹² atom m^-2yr^-1 in the subtropical region around 30°N. In the tropical area south of 20°N, the bomb radiocarbon inventory below 25.4 increased from zero to over 10 × 10¹² atom m^-2 during the last three decades. These distributions suggest that the bomb radiocarbon removed from the surface is currently accumulated with bomb ¹⁴C flux of over 1 × 10¹² atom m^-2yr^-1 below 25.4 in the subtropical region, mainly by advection from the higher latitude, and that part of the accumulated bomb ¹⁴C gradually spread southward with about 30 years.