Real-time difference imaging analysis of MOA Galactic bulge observations during 2000

We describe observations carried out by the MOA group of the Galactic bulge during 2000 that were designed to detect efficiently gravitational microlensing of faint stars in which the magnification is high and/or of short duration. These events are particularly useful for studies of extrasolar planets and faint stars. Approximately 17 deg² were monitored at a sampling rate of up to six times per night. The images were analysed in real time using a difference imaging technique. 20 microlensing candidates were detected, of which eight were alerted to the microlensing community whilst in progress. Approximately half of the candidates had high magnifications (≳10), at least one had very high magnification (≳50), and one exhibited a clear parallax effect. The details of these events are reported here, together with details of the on-line difference imaging technique. Some nova-like events were also observed and these are described, together with one asteroid.     

Identification of the interstellar cyanomethyl radical (CH2CN) in the molecular clouds TMC-1 and Sagittarius B2

We report the astronomical identification of the cyanomethyl radical, CH2CN, the heaviest nonlinear molecular radical to be identified in interstellar clouds. The complex fine and hyperfine structures of the lowest rotational transitions at about 20.12 and 40.24 GHz are resolved in TMC-1, where the abundance appears to be about 5 x 10(-9) relative to that of H2. This is significantly greater than the observed abundance of CH3CN (methyl cyanide) in TMC-1. In Sgr B2 the hyperfine structure is blended in the higher frequency transitions at 40, 80, and 100 GHz, although the spin-rotation doubling is clearly evident. Preliminary searches in other sources indicate that the distribution of CH2CN is similar to that for such carbon chain species as HC3N or C4H.     

Diel Patterns in Chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> Specific Absorption Coefficient and Absorption Efficiency Factor of Picoplankton

Diel patterns in the chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient of surface picoplankton, a*_pico (γ) (m²·[mg chlorophyll a]⁻¹), were studied at 7 stations under daily cycle of in situ light condition in the western subarctic Pacific and Japan Sea. All the data were normalized by dividing the anomaly with daily averaged a*_pico (γ). Opposite diel patterns were observed for the normalized a*_pico (443) and a*_pico (675) with maximum toward dawn or dusk and minimum toward midday at 4 stations under low-irradiance (LI) conditions and vice versa at 3 stations under high-irradiance (HI) conditions. The absorption efficiency factors at red absorption peak, Q _a (675), were determined by reconstruction with intracellular chlorophyll a concentration and cell diameter. The normalized Q _a (675) also showed diel pattern with maximum toward midday and minimum toward dawn or dusk under LI. The diel pattern in a*_pico (675) and Q _a (675) were primarily caused by changes in intracellular chlorophyll a concentration due to photoadaptation under LI. The diel pattern in a*_pico (443) was influenced by pigmentation, as recognized by blue to red ratio [a*_pico (443)/a*_pico (675)] under HI. This study proposed that the opposite diel pattern in a*_pico (γ) might occur for a wide range of algal species. The results presented here have important consequences for the interpretation of diel variations in optical properties observed in the open ocean.     

Relationship between cadmium and phosphate in the northwest Pacific Ocean

The relationship between Cd and PO₄ in the Kuroshio and Oyashio regions and the Okhotsk Sea was examined. The resultant equations are as follows: Cd (ng l^–1)=37.0 PO₄ (M)+2.6; Cd(ng l^–1)=32.1 PO₄ (M)+1.2 and Cd (ng l^–1)=34.1 PO₄ (M)+7.9, respectively. These results are in good agreement with previously reported studies, and indicate that during removal from surface waters to deeper waters by biological assimilation and regeneration in deeper waters Cd and PO₄ maintain the same ratio in the open ocean. The relationship between Cd and PO₄ in coastal waters, however, differed from that in the open ocean.     

A simple indirect method for the determination of organic-carbon in marine particles

A simple indirect method for the determination of organic carbon in marine particulate matter is proposed. The recommended procedure is as follows: The dried sample is ashed at 450°C for about 24 hr. The ashed sample is put into a Teflon vessel followed by a mixed solution of nitric acid, perchloric acid and hydrofluoric acid. The vessel is sealed and allowed to stand at 150°C for 5 hr. The concentrations of Si and Al in the digested solution are determined. The organic carbon content (Cal-C, %) is calculated by the following equation: Cal-C=0.52 ([CF]–0.10 [Opal]–0.03 [A-Si]), where [CF] is the combustible fraction (%), [Opal] is the biogenic-SiO₂(%), and [A-Si] is the content of aluminosilicate mineral (%).     

Ocean Color Satellite Imagery and Shipboard Measurements of Chlorophyll a and Suspended Particulate Matter Distribution in the East China Sea

Satellite-derived ocean color data of Coastal Zone Color Scanner (CZCS) on board the Nimbus-7 and Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner (OCTS) on board the Advanced Earth Observing Satellite (ADEOS) are jointly used with historical in situ data to examine seasonal and spatial distributions of chlorophyll a (Chl-a) and suspended particulate matter (SPM) concentrations in the East China Sea. Ocean color imagery showed that Chl-a concentrations on the continental shelf were higher than those of the Kuroshio area throughout the year. Satellite-derived Chl-a concentrations are generally in good accordance with historical in situ values during spring through autumn (although no shipboard in situ measurement was conducted at nearshore areas). In contrast, ocean color imagery in winter indicated high Chl-a concentrations (4–10 mg m^–3) on the continental shelf where bottom depth was less than 50 m when surface water was turbid (2–72 g m^–3 of SPM at surface), while historical in situ values were usually less than 1 mg m^–3. This suggests that resuspended bottom sediment due to wind-driven mixing and winter cooling is responsible for the noticeable overestimation of satellite-derived Chl-a concentrations. The algorithm for ocean color needs to be improved urgently for turbid water.     

Phytoplankton communities in the Bering Sea and adjacent seas

Vertical distribution of phytoplankton in early warming season in the eastern Bering Sea and adjacent sea areas was investigated. In the surface layer which was under the influence of newly melted sea ice in the shelf water region of the Bering Sea in May, remarkably dense populations ofThalassiosira hyalina andT. nordenskiöldii and relatively large populations ofFragilaria andNavicula occupied large part of phytoplankton community. In June, although theThalassiosira populations sunk into the bottom layer and withered, a certain part of theFragilaria-Navicula populations was still suspended in subsurface layer. Thus,Fragilaria-Navicula were the leading components of the June community in the shelf region.In the Bering Basin region, no dense phytoplankton populations were developed until a shallow thermocline was established. In June when the shallow thermocline developed near shelf edge,Thalassiosira decipiens burst out. As the shallow thermocline extended from near shelf to central part of the Basin region with surface warming, the areas of blooming also shifted from near shelf to the central part.Contribution No. 73 from the Research Institute of North Pacific Fisheries, Hokkaido University.     

Lower Cd/P ratio in settling particles than in surface seawater in the Okinawa Trough

The characteristics of the ratios between cadmium (Cd) and phosphorus (P) in settling particles collected from the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea were examined using a sediment trap, moored at a depth of 811 m for one year. The Cd/P ratios varied within a narrow range throughout the year, in spite of the large seasonal change in the total dry mass, Cd, and P fluxes. The average Cd/P ratio of settling particles was 0.062 (nmol/μmol), which was obviously lower than that of surface seawater around the study site (0.16). This lower ratio in the Okinawa Trough particles collected using the 811 m-moored trap certainly reflected the mixture of biologically produced organic matter around the study site and other components that were mainly transported as lateral flux from the shelf edge and slope area of the East China Sea.     

Relationship between Cd and PO4 in the Subtropical Sea near the Ryukyu Islands

The relationship between dissolved cadmium (Cd) and phosphate (PO₄) was examined at three stations in the subtropical area near the Ryukyu Islands in May 1999. Preformed PO₄ was obtained using the Redfield ratio in order to separate the surface water and the other layers in this study area. Almost 0 μM (−0.043 μM to 0.094 μM) was estimated in the layers above 300 m and 250 m at Sts. 1 and 3 and at St. 2, respectively. Up to these depths, water was considered to be uniform, and these layers were defined as the surface water in this study area. In the surface water, the slopes of the regression lines of the Cd-PO₄ plot were 0.162, 0.156, and 0.226 (nM/μM) at Sts. 1, 2, and 3, respectively, and these values were much closer to the estimated regenerated ratio of Cd to PO₄ from the Apparent Oxygen Utilization (AOU)-Cd/PO₄ plots, which was 0.197 (nM/μM) in this study area. Below surface layers, the slopes of the Cd-PO₄ plot changed to 0.371, 0.352, and 0.362 (nM//μM) at Sts. 1, 2, and 3, respectively. In the relationships between Cd and PO₄, clear deviations or kinks were observed at three stations at a PO₄ concentration of approximately 0.2 μM in the plot, which was attributable to the discontinuity of surface water and the other layers across the North Pacific subtropical mode water. In studies of the interaction between surface water and biogenic particles concerning the Cd/PO₄ ratio, separate analyses of seawater (surface water and the other layers) should be carried out to obtain the individual surface water ratio because the Cd/PO₄ ratio in the surface water is expected to differ from that of the underlying water. Furthermore, the biological fractionation of these constituents is based on the surface water ratio. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Responses of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in the northwest subarctic Pacific to in situ iron fertilization as estimated by HPLC pigment analysis and flow cytometry

To verify the hypothesis that the growth of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG), which is located in the northwest subarctic Pacific, is suppressed by low iron (Fe) availability, an in situ Fe fertilization experiment was carried out in the summer of 2001. Changes over time in the abundance and community structure of phytoplankton were examined inside and outside an Fe patch using phytoplankton pigment markers analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flow cytometry (FCM). In addition, the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria was also investigated by FCM. The chlorophyll a concentration was initially ca. 0.9 μg l⁻¹ in the surface mixed layer where diatoms and chlorophyll b-containing green algae (prasinophytes and chlorophytes) were predominant in the chlorophyll biomass. After the iron enrichment, the chlorophyll a concentration increased up to 9.1 μg l⁻¹ in the upper 10 m inside the Fe patch on Day 13. At the same time, the concentration of fucoxanthin (a diatom marker) increased 45-fold in the Fe patch, and diatoms accounted for a maximum 69% of the chlorophyll biomass. This result was consistent with a microscopic observation showing that the diatom Chaetoceros debilis had bloomed inside the Fe patch. However, chlorophyllide a concentrations also increased in the Fe patch with time, and reached a maximum of 2.2 μg l⁻¹ at 5 m depth on Day 13, suggesting that a marked abundance of senescent algal cells existed at the end of the experiment. The concentration of peridinin (a dinoflagellate marker) also reached a maximum 24-fold, and dinoflagellates had contributed significantly (>15%) to the chlorophyll biomass inside the Fe patch by the end of the experiment. Concentrations of 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a prymnesiophyte marker), 19′-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a pelagophyte marker), and alloxanthin (a cryptophyte marker) were only incremented a few-fold increment inside the Fe patch. On the contrary, chlorophyll b concentration reduced to almost half of the initial level in the upper 10 m water column inside the Fe patch at the end of the experiment. A decrease with time in the abundance of eukaryotic ultraphytoplankton (<ca. 5 μm in size), in which chlorophyll b-containing green algae were possibly included was also observed by FCM. Overall, our results indicate that Fe supply can dramatically alter the abundance and community structure of phytoplankton in the WSG. On the other hand, cell density of heterotrophic bacteria inside the Fe patch was maximum at only ca. 1.5-fold higher than that outside the Fe patch. This indicates that heterotrophic bacteria abundance was little respondent to the Fe enrichment.