Characteristics of photosynthetic pigment composition ofGymnodinium mikimotoi Miyake etKominami exOda

Gymnodinium mikimotoi, a senior synonym ofGymnodinium nagasakiense often causes red tides in coastal waters of the western part of Japan. The photosynthetic pigment composition of two strains ofG. mikimotoi were analyzed by HPLC. They contain chlorophyllc ₃ which has not been reported from dinoflagellates. They also contain fucoxanthin, 19'-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin and 19'-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin as major carotenoides, which are anomalous in dinoflagellates. The pigment composition ofG. mikimotoi is compared with that ofGyrodinium aureolum which occur in European waters and is thought as a conspecific species withG. mikimotoi by several authors.     

日本(虫寻)和底栖短桨蟹线粒体DNA 12SrRNA基因序列的初步研究

以相应引物对日本和底栖短桨蟹的线粒体 DNA1 2 S r RNA基因片段进行了 PCR扩增和序列测定 ,分析比较了 2种间序列差异。结果表明 :日本 1 2 S r RNA基因片段长度为 41 4 bp,底栖短桨蟹为 41 5bp,2种的 A,T,G,C含量分别为 1 51 bp(36.47% ) ,1 53bp(36.96% ) ,43bp(1 0 .39% ) ,67bp(1 6.1 8% )和 1 50 bp(36.1 4 % ) ,1 55bp(37.35% ) ,44bp(1 0 .60 % ) ,66bp(1 5.90 % )。 2种间共出现了 3个碱基的缺失 /插入和 38bp的序列差异 ,其碱基转换与碱基颠换比约为 2 .1 7。     

Crustal transect from the North Atlantic Knipovich Ridge to the Svalbard Margin west of Hornsund

The crustal structure along a 312 km transect, stretching from the axial mountains of the North Atlantic Knipovich Ridge to the continental shelf of Svalbard, has been obtained using seismic reflection data and wide angle OBS data. The resulting seismic V_p and V_s models are further constrained by a 2-D-gravity model. The principal objective of this study is to describe and resolve the physical and compositional properties of the crust in order to understand the processes and creation of oceanic crust in this extremely slow-spreading counterpart of the North Atlantic Ridge Systems. V_p is estimated to be 3.50–6.05 km/s for the upper oceanic crust (oceanic layer 2), with a marked increase away from the ridge. The measured V_p of 6.55–6.95 km/s for oceanic layer 3A and 7.10–7.25 km/s for layer 3B, both with a V_p/V_s ratio of 1.81, except for slightly higher values at the ridge axis, does not allow a clear distinction between gabbro and mantle-derived peridotite (10–40% serpentized). The thickness of the oceanic crust varies a lot along the transect from the minimum of 5.6 km to a maximum of 8.1 km. The mean thickness of 6.7 km for the oceanic crust is well above the average thickness for slow-spreading ridges (<10 mm/year half-spreading rate). The areas of increased thickness could be explained by large magma production-rates found in the zones of axial highs at the ridge axis, which also have generated the off-axial highs adjacent the ridge. We suggest that these axial and off-axial highs along the ridge control the lithological composition of the oceanic crust. This approach suggests normal gabbroic oceanic crust to be found in the areas bound by the active magma segments (the axial and off-axial highs) and mantle-derived peridotite outside these zone.     

Sr and Nd isotope compositions of atmospheric mineral dust at the summit of Mt. Sefuri, north Kyushu, southwest Japan: A marker of the dust provenance and seasonal variability

We analyzed Rb-Sr-Nd isotope ratios of mineral dust in total aerosol load collected with rainwater continuously from 1998 to 2006 at the summit of Mt. Sefuri, northern Kyushu, southwestern Japan. During this period, the total mass of the dust generally increased in late winter, peaked in early spring, and then decreased.⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr in atmospheric mineral dust varied from 0.7096 to 0.7180, and εNd(0)_CHUR from −19.9 to −3.5. During heavy deposition periods, the dust had high ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr isotope ratios and low to middle εNd(0)_CHUR values, respectively. These compositions are comparable to those of sand and loess in arid areas of Northeast China, Takla Makan and Western Beijing. Such particles were transported by westerlies from those areas to northern Kyushu in winter and spring. In summer and autumn, the isotopic compositions of the dust varied greatly; however, during light deposition periods, the Sr isotope composition was low. In these seasons, the contributions to the dust from Japanese soils and volcanic ash, transported by southern winds, were relatively larger than in winter and spring because of decreased mineral dust particle transport from the continent. Nevertheless, fine sandy desert particles and loess in general accounted for most mineral dust deposition in northern Kyushu year-round, even in summer. Local soils derived from weathered granite and volcanic ash were minor components only.The net mass of water-insoluble inorganic matter in the collected mineral dust fluctuated from year-to-year; deposition on Mt. Sefuri was relatively large before 2001, decreased from 2002 to 2005, and increased greatly in spring 2006. These year-to-year differences probably reflected changes in the strength of the westerlies and in climate conditions in the arid source areas.     

Modeling of strain dependency of shear modulus and damping of clayey sand

A series of cyclic triaxial tests on clayey sands was carried out and attempts were made to evaluate the strain dependency of shear modulus and damping. Strain dependencies of shear modulus and damping were simply modeled. It was shown that the change in the effective confining stress with loading cycles in the undrained shear test needed to be considered particularly in the large strain range. The consideration could be made by normalizing G with G′₀=AF(e)(σ′_m/σ_mr)ⁿ, the initial shear modulus for the effective confining stress of that particular loading cycle, instead of using G₀. G/G′₀ was expressed by a function of γ as G/G′₀=1/(1+b_gγ) which was almost stress level independent for clayey sands used in this study. The damping ratio was not much affected by the confining stress. The strain dependency of the damping ratio was modeled by h=a_hγ/(1+b_hγ). Effects of load irregularity on the shear modulus were also investigated. The excess pore pressure and the residual strain were generated especially when the major peaks in the irregular loading were applied to the specimen. However, G/G′₀ for the irregular loading could be represented reasonably well by the average curve for the uniform cyclic loading, if the excess pore water pressure and the residual strain were taken into account.     

Adjustment processes of mountainous rivers affected by tilting uplift: Laboratory experiments and a case study of Yakushima Island,Japan

Mountainous river basins are one of the main sources of sediment. Over long time scales, sediment production is sustained by the persistent dissection of river basins, which is promoted by tectonic activity. The response or adjustment of rivers to forcing factors such as uplift is based on the concept of the graded river and a feedback mechanism between the incision and uplift. Although the development of graded rivers under natural circumstances has been discussed for a long time, knowledge about the transition of river basins under heterogeneous uplift is not enough. To understand the development of a river basin with a non‐uniform uplift rate, two simple cases are examined: landward and seaward tilting uplift, where the uplift rate varies linearly in space. For our study, laboratory experiments were conducted and the results were compared with those of natural river basins; two river basins in Yakushima Island were selected for this purpose. In both the laboratory and Yakushima, the longitudinal profile of the river basin under landward‐tilting uplift has a convex‐up zone and a specific knickpoint is formed at the upstream end of this zone. This knickpoint is inactive with respect to migration and incision owing to the insufficient cumulative uplift to the equilibrium state. It was also observed in both the experimental and natural cases that the profile of the river basin under seaward tilting is unlikely to have such a convex‐up zone in the long term, and will instead have a smooth concave profile. Therefore, the spatiotemporal pattern of dissection differs depending on the type of tilting uplift, which suggests that sediment production also varies in time and space according to the type of uplift.     

Study on a failed dip slope with a thin sandy layer in 2004 Niigata-ken Chuetsu Earthquake

Among the extensive failed slopes in the 2004 Niigata-ken Chuetsu Earthquake, Japan, a dip slope at Yokowatashi, Ojiya, was investigated intensively. The sliding plane was along a weak thin tuff sandy layer which had been deeply weathered. Triaxial compression tests and plane strain compression tests were performed on undisturbed specimens obtained by block sampling and boring sampling to evaluate the strength that was mobilized on the sliding plane. Stability analysis based on the test results reveals that, at normal time, without earthquake and without an extremely high groundwater level, the slope is stable. Furthermore, the calculation of earthquake-induced displacement provides a reasonable simulation of the failure of this slope.     

Effect of helix bending deflection on load settlement behaviour of screw pile

A screw pile has higher end bearing capacity than any other straight pipe piles due to its larger helix with respect to central shaft. However, larger helices are not frequently used as it will bend and may reduce the actual bearing capacity of the ground. In the present study, the effect of helix bending deflection on the load settlement behaviour and ultimate bearing capacity is investigated. To achieve the objectives, model scale pile load tests were conducted. The effect of helix bending on the load settlement behaviour at higher stress level was also investigated in this research. The helices with different helix-to-shaft-diameter ratios and thicknesses were used, so that clear difference of deformed and non-deformed screw piles in the load settlement behaviour can be observed. Dry Toyoura sand in dense state was used as a model ground. It is observed from test results that the helix bending deflection starts affecting the load settlement behaviour of the ground if it is more than the critical helix bending deflection. The ratio of critical helix bending deflection to outstand length decreases with increase in helix-to-shaft-diameter ratio, and its relationship is presented in this study. It is also observed that the Roark’s formula for flat circular plate having uniform load over a very small circular area with fixed outer edges showed good agreement with the measured helix bending deflection. In order to estimate the optimum helix thickness, the well-agreed equation is also modified with respect to critical helix bending deflection.

     

Simplified technique for the rapid determination of phytoplankton pigments by reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatography

A simplified technique for the rapid analysis of photosynthetic pigments in marine phytoplankton is described. The pigments extracted in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF) are injected directly into the reverse-phase high-performance liquid chromatograph fitted with a photodiode array detector. We developed a new stepwise program; that is methanol-water (7525 v/v), methanol, methanol-acetone (8020) and methanol-acetone (6535). This program gives a good separation of at least 13 carotenoids, and 10 chlorophylls and their derivatives, completed within 20 min. The quantitative precision is high; the maximum standard error was less than 6%. The stability of pigments in DMF were also considered for application of this technique to the lab work on board the ship.