Abyssal current along the northern periphery of Shikoku Basin

Abyssal currents along the northern periphery of the Shikoku Basin south of Japan were measured by current meters moored off Cape Daio-zaki, Cape Shiono-misaki and Cape Ashizuri-misaki and on the eastern foot of the northernmost part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. Total length of observation off Cape Shiono-misaki was about five years including the periods of the Kuroshio large meander and no meander. Analyses of current data show:

1. Mean currents with a magnitude of 5–10 cm sec^?1 were observed during the whole observation period at all of current meters which were set 400 m above the sea bottom that was deeper than 4,500 m. The mean current for each current meter was parallel to the local bottom contour arond each station and was toward a direction looking the Nankai Trough (a trough located along the northern end of the Shikoku Basin) to the left.
2. At each station located above the shelf toe off Cape Daio-zaki and off Cape Shiono-misaki and on the foot of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, the mean current increases with depth (a bottomward intensification of the mean current), and the vertical extent of the mean current is estimated to be about 2,000 m above the sea bottom.
3. At a station located at 2,600 m depth on the continental slope off Cape Shiono-misaki, no bottom-ward intensification of currents was observed.

These results strongly suggest that a steady abyssal flow exists in the depths deeper than about 3,000 m along the northern and northwestern peripheries of the Shikoku Basin. Existence of the abyssal circulation system is also suggested, at least, in the north of the Shikoku Basin.     

Bedrock structure in Adapazari, Turkey—a possible cause of severe damage by the 1999 Kociaeli earthquake

The 1999 Kocaeli earthquake brought serious damage to downtown of Adapazari. To study why strong motions were generated at the town, a bedrock structure was investigated on the basis of Bouguer gravity anomaly, and SPAC and H/V analyses of microseisms. It was revealed that, the basin consists of three narrow depressions of bedrock with very steep edges, extending in E–W or NE–SW directions along the North Anatolia faults, and the depth to bedrock reaches 1000 m or more. Downtown of Adapazari is located 1–2 km apart from the basin-edge. It is considered that, the specific configuration of bedrock amplifies ground motions at the downtown area by focusing of seismic waves and/or interference between incident S-waves and surface-waves secondarily generated at the basin-edge. Studying 3D bedrock structure is an urgent issue for microzoning an urban area in a sedimentary basin.     

The effects of the spinel—garnet phase transition on the formation of rifted sedimentary basins

We have examined the effects of the spinel-garnet phase transition on subsidence of extensional sedimentary basins. For a constant positive Clapeyron slope ( dP/dT ), the phase boundary moves downwards in the syn-rift and upwards in the post-rift phase. For a non-linear Clapeyron curve ( dP/dT > 0 above 900°C and dP/dT < 0 below 900°C), theory predicts for the reaction of the spinel-garnet phase transition, the direction of phase boundary movement is dependent on the stretching factor, the position of the Clapeyron curve and the lithospheric thickness. A smaller syn-rift and larger post-rift subsidence are predicted for a deeper phase boundary and a thicker lithosphere. The model with a non-linear Clapeyron curve is applied to the subsidence histories of a young extensional basin (Gulf of Lion) and an old continental margin (eastern Canada). The observed syn-rift uplift and the larger post-rift subsidence can be reasonably explained by this model, where the optimum depth of the phase boundary for eastern Canada (˜90 km) is consistent with the estimate from seismic observations and is larger than that for the Gulf of Lion (˜ 50 km). The depth of the spinel-garnet phase boundary is sensitive to the composition of mantle rocks and increases with the extraction of basaltic components from the lithosphere, compatible with our result that the phase boundary is deeper for an older and thicker lithosphere. Thus the surface movement associated with the rifting for these areas may reflect the chemical evolution of the continental lithosphere.     

Seasonal and interannual variability of oceanic carbon cycling in the western and central tropical-subtropical pacific: A physical-biogeochemical modeling study

The oceanic carbon cycle in the tropical-subtropical Pacific is strongly affected by various physical processes with different temporal and spatial scales, yet the mechanisms that regulate air-sea CO₂ flux are not fully understood due to the paucity of both measurement and modeling. Using a 3-D physical-biogeochemical model, we simulate the partial pressure of CO₂ in surface water (pCO_2sea) and air-sea CO₂ flux in the tropical and subtropical regions from 1990 to 2004. The model reproduces well the observed spatial differences in physical and biogeochemical processes, such as: (1) relatively higher sea surface temperature (SST), and lower dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pCO_2sea in the western than in the central tropical-subtropical Pacific, and (2) predominantly seasonal and interannual variations in the subtropical and tropical Pacific, respectively. Our model results suggest a non-negligible contribution of the wind variability to that of the air-sea CO₂ flux in the central tropical Pacific, but the modeled contribution of 7% is much less than that from a previous modeling study (30%; McKinley et al., 2004). While DIC increases in the entire region SST increases in the subtropical and western tropical Pacific but decreases in the central tropical Pacific from 1990 to 2004. As a result, the interannual pCO_2sea variability is different in different regions. The pCO_2sea temporal variation is found to be primarily controlled by SST and DIC, although the role of salinity and total alkalinity, both of which also control pCO_2sea, need to be elucidated by long-term observations and eddy-permitting models for better estimation of the interannual variability of air-sea CO₂ flux.     

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.     

A precise bathymetric map of the world’s deepest seafloor,Challenger Deep in the Mariana Trench

Data from three bathymetric surveys by R/V Kairei using a 12-kHz multibeam echosounder and differential GPS were used to create an improved topographic model of the Challenger Deep in the southwestern part of the Mariana Trench, which is known as the deepest seafloor in the world. The strike of most of the elongated structures related to plate bending accompanied by subduction of the Pacific plate is N70°E and is not parallel to the trench axis. The bending-related structures were formed by reactivation of seafloor spreading fabric. Challenger Deep consists of three en echelon depressions along the trench axis, each of which is 6–10 km long, about 2 km wide, and deeper than 10,850 m. The eastern depression is the deepest, with a depth of 10,920 ± 5 m.     

Scattered light models of the dust shell around HD 179821

The dust shell around the evolved star HD 179821 has been detected in scattered light in near-IR imaging polarimetry observations. Here, we subtract the contribution of the unpolarized stellar light to obtain an intrinsic linear polarization of between 30 and 40 per cent in the shell that seems to increase with radial offset from the star. The J - and K -band data are modelled using a scattering code to determine the shell parameters and dust properties. We find that the observations are well described by a spherically-symmetric distribution of dust with an r ⁻² density law, indicating that when mass-loss was occurring, the mass-loss rate was constant. The models predict that the detached nature of a spherically-symmetric, optically-thin dust shell, with a distinct inner boundary, will only be apparent in polarized flux. This is in accordance with the observations of this and other optically-thin circumstellar shells, such as IRAS 17436+5003. By fitting the shell brightness we derive an optical depth to the star that is consistent with V -band observations and that, assuming a distance of 6 kpc, gives an inner-shell radius of     , a dust number density of     at r _in and a dust mass of     . We have explored axisymmetric shell models but conclude that any deviations from spherical symmetry in the shell must be slight, with an equator-to-pole density contrast of less than 2:1. We have not been able to fit simultaneously the high linear polarizations and the small     colour excess of the shell and we attribute this to the unusual scattering properties of the dust. We suggest that the dust grains around HD 179821 either are highly elongated or consist of aggregates of smaller particles.     

The escape of ionizing photons from supernova-dominated primordial galaxies

In order to assess the contribution of Lyman break galaxies (LBGs) and Lyman α emitters (LAEs) at redshifts  3 < z < 7  to the ionization of intergalactic medium (IGM), we investigate the escape fractions of ionizing photons from supernova-dominated primordial galaxies by solving the three-dimensional (3D) radiative transfer. The model galaxy is employed from an ultra-high-resolution chemodynamic simulation of a primordial galaxy by Mori & Umemura, which well reproduces the observed properties of LAEs and LBGs. The total mass of model galaxy is  10¹¹ M_⊙  . We solve not only photoionization but also collisional ionization by shocks. In addition, according to the chemical enrichment, we incorporate the effect of dust extinction, taking the size distributions of dust into account. As a result, we find that dust extinction reduces the escape fractions by a factor of 1.5–8.5 in the LAE phase and by a factor of 2.5–11 in the LBG phase, while the collisional ionization by shocks increases the escape fractions by a factor of  ≈2  . The resultant escape fractions are 0.07–0.47 in the LAE phase and 0.06–0.17 in the LBG phase. These results are well concordant with the recent estimations derived from the flux density ratio at 1500 to 900 Å of LAEs and LBGs. Combining the resultant escape fractions with the luminosity functions of LAEs and LBGs, we find that high- z LAEs and LBGs can ionize the IGM at   z = 3–5  . However, ionizing radiation from LAEs as well as LBGs falls short of ionizing the IGM at   z > 6  . That implies that additional ionization sources may be required at   z > 6  .     

MicroRaman spectroscopy of anomalous planar microstructures in quartz from Mt. Oikeyama: Discovery of a probable impact crater in Japan

Abstract– Planar deformation features (PDFs) and planar fractures (PFs) have been found and confirmed by optical microscope observations and microRaman spectroscopy in quartz grains from Mt. Oikeyama (Akaishi Mountains, Central Japan), for which the semicircular topographic feature of the ridge suggests a crater formed by an impact event. According to the optical microscope observations, a low shock pressure (8–10 GPa) is estimated by the occurrence of basal or ω PDFs leading to lack of multiple sets of PDFs. In addition, a new type of planar microstructure was found in several quartz grains. The microRaman characteristics of PDFs in quartz from Mt. Oikeyama show the amorphous state indicating the presence of weak broad bands at 400 and 800 cm^?1 peak positions. These characteristics are indicative of PDFs that are limited to shocked quartz. This indicates an impact origin for distinct planar microstructures in quartz from Mt. Oikeyama.