THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MOVEMENT OF THE MEIYU/BAIU RAIN BELT AND THE PERIODIC NORTHWESTWARD PROPAGATION OF THE CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY FROM TROPICAL WEST PACIFIC

In order to investigate the effect of the factors in tower latitudes on Meiyu/Baiu front,adiagnostic analysis for the two cases during June to July of 1985 and 1986 was examined.We foundthat (1)when the tropical convective activity moves westward to 10.5-15.5′N/140°E from eastside of 10.5-15.5°N/160°E,the northward shifts of the Meiyu/Baiu rain belt occurs;(2)themain factor which results in the northward and southward shifts of Meiyu/Baiu rain belt is thoughtas the 8,18 and 30 day oscillations of the tropical convective activity around West Pacific.Meanwhile,the wave train propagating from Lake Baikal via Okhotsk Sea to the tropics couldsometimes shift Baiu rain belt southward;(3)the onsets of Meiyu in China of both cases tend totake place just when the convective activity around lower latitudes moves westward through about140°E with the 8,18 and 30 day oscillation periods firstly coming to June.     

Possible Miocene rifting of the Izu–Ogasawara (Bonin) arc deduced from magnetic anomalies

A magnetic anomaly map of the northern part of the Philippine Sea plate shows two conspicuous north–south rows of long-wavelength anomalies over the Izu–Ogasawara (Bonin) arc, which are slightly oblique to the present volcanic front. These anomalies are enhanced on reduced-to-pole and upward-continued anomaly maps. The east row is associated with frontal arc highs (the Shinkurose Ridge), and the west row is accompanied by the Nishi-Shichito Ridge. Another belt of long-wavelength anomalies very similar to the former two occurs over the Kyushu–Palau Ridge. To explain the similarity of the magnetic anomalies, it is proposed that after the spreading of the Shikoku Basin separated the Izu–Ogasawara arc from the Kyushu–Palau Ridge, another rifting event occurred in the Miocene, which divided the Izu–Ogasawara arc into the Nishi-Shichito and Shinkurose ridges. The occurrence of Miocene rifting has also been suggested from the geology of the collision zone of the Izu–Ogasawara arc against the Southwest Japan arc: the Misaka terrain yields peculiar volcanic rocks suggesting back-arc rifting at ～ 15 Ma. The magnetic anomaly belts over the Izu–Ogasawara arc do not extend south beyond the Sofugan Tectonic Line, suggesting a difference in tectonic history between the northern and southern parts of the Izu–Ogasawara arc. It is estimated that the Miocene extension was directed northeast–southwest, utilizing normal faults originally formed during Oligocene rifting. The direction is close to the final stage of the Shikoku Basin spreading. On a gravity anomaly relief map, northeast–southwest lineaments can be recognized in the Shikoku Basin as well as over the Nishi-Shichito Ridge. We thus consider that lines of structural weakness connected transform faults of the Shikoku Basin spreading system and the transfer faults of the Miocene Izu–Ogasawara arc rifting. Volcanism on the Nishi-Shichito Ridge has continued along the lines of weakness, which could have caused the en echelon arrangement of the volcanoes.     

Antarctic Radiosonde Observations Reduce Uncertainties and Errors in Reanalyses and Forecasts over the Southern Ocean:An Extreme Cyclone Case

Cyclones with strong winds can make the Southern Ocean and the Antarctic a dangerous environment.Accurate weather forecasts are essential for safe shipping in the Southern Ocean and observational and logistical operations at Antarctic research stations.This study investigated the impact of additional radiosonde observations from Research Vessel"Shirase"over the Southern Ocean and Dome Fuji Station in Antarctica on reanalysis data and forecast experiments using an ensemble data assimilation system comprising the Atmospheric General Circulation Model for the Earth Simulator and the Local Ensemble Transform Kalman Filter Experimental Ensemble Reanalysis,version 2.A 63-member ensemble forecast experiment was conducted focusing on an unusually strong Antarctic cyclonic event.Reanalysis data with(observing system experiment)and without(control)additional radiosonde data were used as initial values.The observing system experiment correctly captured the central pressure of the cyclone,which led to the reliable prediction of the strong winds and moisture transport near the coast.Conversely,the control experiment predicted lower wind speeds because it failed to forecast the central pressure of the cyclone adequately.Differences were found in cyclone predictions of operational forecast systems with and without assimilation of radiosonde observations from Dome Fuji Station.     

Trace element composition in tuite decomposed from natural apatite in high-pressure and high-temperature experiments

Tuite has been suggested as a potential reservoir for trace elements in the deep mantle,but no evidence confirms this supposition.By using a natural apatite as starting material,the trace-element-bearing tuite large crystals were obtained under highpressure and high-temperature conditions(15 GPa and 1800 K).X-ray diffraction pattern and Micro-Raman spectrum of the run product confirm that tuite was synthesized.The concentrations of trace elements in tuite crystals were analyzed by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry(LA-ICP-MS).The rare earth element patterns of tuite show enrichment of light rare earth elements relative to heavy rare earth elements.Tuite shows high concentrations of Th and Sr,and negative anomalies of Rb,Nb,and Hf.The results show that tuite can accommodate a large amount of trace elements.Tuite might be an important host to accommodate trace elements if there is much apatite subducted into the deep mantle.     

HORIZONTAL-TO-VERTICAL SPECTRUM RATIO OF EARTHQUAKE GROUND MOTION FOR SITE CHARACTERIZATION

Nakamura's method, which uses a horizontal-to-vertical Fourier spectrum ratio of microtremor, has become popular to determine the predominant period and amplification of a site. In this study, this method is extended for earthquake ground motion recordings using new strong motion data recorded by JMA-87-type accelerometers. From the analysis of these accelerograms, horizontal-to-vertical Fourier spectrum ratios of a site for different earthquakes are also found to be stable irrespective of magnitude, distance and depth. To establish this fact, attenuation relations of velocity response spectra for horizontal and vertical components are derived for three damping ratios (0, 2 and 5 per cent) using the JMA data. Then the horizontal-to-vertical ratios of the velocity response spectra are obtained. The results show that the horizontal and vertical velocity response spectra are dependent on magnitude, distance and depth, but that their ratios are almost independent of magnitude, distance and depth. However, since the current data set consists of mostly intermediate to far field data, this observation should be limited to records of these distance ranges. Introducing station coefficients, representing site amplification, to this relation yields the value comparable to the horizontal-to-vertical Fourier spectrum ratio at a specific site. The stability of the spectrum ratio is explained by the transfer function between the ground surface and stiff-soil outcrop due to S-wave propagation. These results suggest that site amplification characteristics can be evaluated by one-point two-component surface recordings of earthquake ground motion, in a similar manner as proposed by Nakamura for microtremor. © 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE MOVEMENT OF THE MEIYU/BAIU RAIN BELT AND THE PERIODIC NORTHWESTWARD PROPAGATION OF THE CONVECTIVE ACTIVITY FROM TROPICAL WEST PACIFIC*

In order to investigate the effect of the factors in tower latitudes on Meiyu/Baiu front,a diagnostic analysis for the two cases during June to July of 1985 and 1986 was examined.We found that (1) when the tropical convective activity moves westward to 10.5-15.5'N/140°E from east side of 10.5-15.5°N/160°E,the northward shifts of the Meiyu/Baiu rain belt occurs;(2)the main factor which results in the northward and southward shifts of Meiyu/Baiu rain belt is thought as the 8,18 and 30 day oscillations of the tropical convective activity around West Pacific.Meanwhile,the wave train propagating from Lake Baikal via Okhotsk Sea to the tropics could sometimes shift Baiu rain belt southward;(3) the onsets of Meiyu in China of both cases tend to take place just when the convective activity around lower latitudes moves westward through about 140°E with the 8,18 and 30 day oscillation periods firstly coming to June.     

EARTHQUAKE HAZARD MAPPING IN THE MAGHREB COUNTRIES: ALGERIA,MOROCCO, TUNISIA

This paper presents new seismic hazard maps of the Maghreb countries by using newly re-evaluated earthquake data catalogue in the region under consideration. For this region, there is a clear need to use common procedure and data bases through the whole Maghreb region so that seismic hazard assessments are consistent from country to country. An effort is made to assess the seismic hazard and to construct earthquake hazard maps in terms of expected horizontal and vertical PGA for a 10 per cent chance of being exceeded, expected intensity (MSK), all in an economic life time of 50 and 100 years. Also, a return period seismic hazard map for PGA≥140cm/s² is presented. For engineering applications, earthquake hazard maps for structures with different periods are also constructed.