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.     

Northward transport of pacific summer water along the Northwind Ridge in the Western Arctic Ocean

The recent sea-ice reduction in the Arctic Ocean is not spatially uniform, but is disproportionally large around the Northwind Ridge and Chukchi Plateau compared to elsewhere in the Canada Basin. In the Northwind Ridge region, Pacific Summer Water (PSW) delivered from the Bering Sea occupies the subsurface layer. The spatial distribution of warm PSW shows a quite similar pattern to the recent ice retreat, suggesting the influence of PSW on the sea-ice reduction. To understand the regionality of the recent ice retreat, we examine the dynamics and timing of the delivery of the PSW into this region. Here, we adopt a two-layer linearized potential vorticity equation to investigate the behavior of Rossby waves in the presence of a topographic discontinuity in the high latitude ocean. The analytical results show a quite different structure from those of mid-latitude basins due to the small value of β. Incident barotropic waves excited by the sea-ice motion with large annual variation can be scattered into both barotropic and baroclinic modes at the discontinuity. Since the scattered baroclinic Rossby wave with annual frequency cannot propagate freely, a strong baroclinic current near the topographic discontinuity is established. The seasonal variation of current near the topographic discontinuity would cause a kind of selective switching system for shelf water transport into the basin. In our simple analytical model, the enhanced northward transport of summer water and reduced northward transport of winter water are well demonstrated. The present study indicates that these basic dynamics imply that a strengthening of the surface forcing during winter in the Canada Basin could cause sea-ice reduction in the Western Arctic through the changes of underlying Pacific Summer Water.     

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.     

Community Structure and Dynamics of Phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Pacific Ocean: A Synthesis

The phytoplankton community in the western subarctic Pacific (WSP) is composed mostly of pico- and nanophytoplankton. Chlorophyll a (Chl a) in the <2 μm size fraction accounted for more than half of the total Chl a in all seasons, with higher contributions of up to 75% of the total Chl a in summer and fall. The exception is the western boundary along the Kamchatka Peninsula and Kuril Islands and the Oyashio region where diatoms make up the majority of total Chl a during the spring bloom. Among the picophytoplankton, picoeukaryotes and Synechococcus are approximately equally abundant, but the former is more important in term of carbon biomass. Despite the lack of a clear seasonal variation in Chl a concentration, primary productivity showed a large seasonal variation, and was lowest in winter and highest in spring. Seasonal succession in the phytoplankton community is also evident with the abundance of diatoms peaking in May, followed by picoeukaryotes and Synechococcus in summer. The growth of phytoplankton (especially >10 μm cell size) in the western subarctic Pacific is often limited by iron bioavailability, and microzooplankton grazing keeps the standing stock of pico- and nano-phytoplankton low. Compared to the other HNLC regions (the eastern equatorial Pacific, the Southern Ocean, and the eastern subarctic Pacific), iron limitation in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG) may be less severe probably due to higher iron concentrations. The Oyashio region has similar physical condition, macronutrient supply and phytoplankton species compositions to the WSG, but much higher phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity. The difference between the Oyashio region and the WSG is also believed to be the results of difference in iron bioavailability in both regions. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of bromodeoxyuridine immunoassay with tritiated thymidine radioassay for measuring bacterial productivity in oceanic waters

Recently, bromodeoxyuridine (BrdU) has been successfully applied to the measurement of bacterial productivity as an alternative to tritiated thymidine (³H-TdR), which is widely used but often restricted by regulations, particularly in field settings. Here, I report improvements to existing BrdU methods to simplify procedures and increase sensitivity. The feasibility of the method was tested measuring bacterial production in low-productive waters. The method provided radioisotope-free measurements of bacterial production rates at shorter (∼1 h) on-board processing time of samples than previously reported procedures. It was applicable to the detection of rates ranging from 0.021 to 2.7 pmol BrdU l⁻¹h⁻¹. BrdU incorporation rates measured by immunoassay showed a statistically significant correlation with ³H-TdR incorporation rates measured by radioassay (r = 0.74, n = 24, p < 0.001). The linear regression obtained (BrdU = 0.80[³H-TdR] − 0.016) showed a similar relationship to previously reported regressions (BrdU = 0.65[³H-TdR] + 0.12, [³H-BrdU] = 0.69[³H-TdR] − 0.81). There were no statistically significant differences among these regression lines. These results suggest that the method described here provides a non-radioisotopic productivity measurement of bacteria in oceanic epipelagic waters, while retaining continuity of the data with other existing ³H-TdR and BrdU methods.     

A laboratory experiment to monitor the contact state of a fault by transmission waves

We performed a series of laboratory experiments in which elastic waves were transmitted across a simulated fault. Two types of experiments were carried out: (1) Normal Stress Holding Test (NSHT): normal stress was kept constant for about 3 h without shear stress and transmission waves were observed. (2) Shear Stress Increasing Test (SSIT): shear stress was gradually increased until a stick-slip event occurred. Transmission waves were continuously observed throughout the process of stress accumulation. We focused on the change in transmission waves during the application of shear stress and especially during precursory slips.It was found in NSHT that the amplitude of transmission waves linearly increased with the logarithm of stationary contact time. The increase amounted to a few percent after about 3 h. Creep at asperity contacts is responsible for this phenomenon. From a theoretical consideration, it was concluded that the real contact area increased with the logarithm of stationary contact time.We observed in SSIT a significant increase in wave amplitude with shear stress application. This phenomenon cannot be attributed to the time effect observed in NSHT. Instead, it can be explained by the mechanism of “junction growth” proposed by Tabor. Junction growth yields an increase in real contact area. It is required for junction growth to occur that the material in contact is already plastic under a purely normal loading condition. A computer simulation confirmed that this requirement was satisfied in our experiments. We also found that the rate at which the amplitude increased was slightly reduced prior to a stick-slip event. The onset time of the reduction well coincides with the onset of precursory slip. The cause of the reduction is attributed to the reset of stationary contact time due to displacement. This interpretation is supported by the result of NSHT. Taking the time of stationary contact in SSIT into account, we may expect the change in wave amplitude to be, at most, only a few percent. The observed slight reduction in increasing rate is, in this sense, reasonable. The static stiffness of the fault also decreases with precursory slip. It was also found that low frequency waves are a better indicator of precursory slip than high frequency waves. This might suggest that low frequency waves with longer wavelength are a better indicator of average behavior of faults. The problem, however, merits a further investigation. The shifts in phase were also found to be a good indicator of the change in contact state of the fault. The changes in both amplitude and phase of transmission waves are unifyingly understood through the theory of transmission coefficient presented by Pyrak-Nolte et al. Rough surfaces have a tendency to give larger stick-slips than smooth surfaces. The amount of precursory slip is larger for rough surfaces than for smooth surfaces. Although it was confirmed by a computer simulation that rough surfaces have larger contact diameters than smooth surfaces, the rigorous relationship between the surface roughness (contact diameter) and the amount of precursory slips was not established.     

Internal deformation of Sikhote Alin volcanic belt, far eastern Russia: Paleocene paleomagnetic results

We present paleomagnetic results of Paleocene welded tuffs of the 53–50 Ma Bogopol Group from the northern region (46°N, 137°E) of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt. Characteristic paleomagnetic directions with high unblocking temperature components above 560 °C were isolated from all the sites. A tilt-corrected mean paleomagnetic direction from the northern region is D=345.8°, I=49.9°, α₉₅=14.6° (N=9). The reliability of the magnetization is ascertained through the presence of normal and reversed polarities. The mean paleomagnetic direction from the northern region of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt reflects a counterclockwise rotation of 29° from the Paleocene mean paleomagnetic direction expected from its southern region. The counterclockwise rotation of 25° is suggested from the paleomagnetic data of the Kisin Group that underlies the Bogopol Group. These results establish that internal tectonic deformation occurred within the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt over the past 50 Ma. The northern region from 44.6° to 46.0°N in the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt was subjected to counterclockwise rotational motion through 29±17° with respect to the southern region. The tectonic rotation of the northern region is ascribable to relative motion between the Zhuravlevka terrane and the Olginsk–Taukhinsk terranes that compose the basements of the Sikhote Alin volcanic belt.     

Polymetallic Mineralization at the Suttsu Vein-type Deposit, Southwestern Hokkaido, Japan

Abstract. The Suttsu polymetallic vein-type deposit, hosted by tuff, tuff breccia and shale of the Miocene Kunnui Formation and propylitized hornblende-augite andesite, is located in southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. It has been exploited and explored for Cu, Pb, Zn and Ag until 1962.
In this study, we examined K-Ar ages, ore mineralogical characteristics and fluid inclusions to obtain new data for the deposit.
The K-Ar ages on sericite indicate that the polymetallic mineralization occurred in Late Miocene (8.1–5.7 Ma). The polymetallic banded ore from the Ohkubo vein is characterized by an abundance of Au, Ag, Sn, Bi, in, Se and Te. These metals are mainly ascribed to electrum (30.3–37.8 atom% Ag), Se-bearing pavonite (8.5–9.5 wt% Se), gustavite-lillianite solid solution, Se-bearing bismuthinite (5.0–5.3 wt% Se), kawazulite, cassiterite, Sn-bearing chalcopyrite (3.3–4.2 wt% Sn), In-bearing stannite, stannite-chalcopyrite solid solution, and In- and Sn-bearing sphalerite (2.6–8.4 wt% In and 1.8–4.3 wt% Sn), occurring in narrow bands of the ore. The In- and Sn-bearing sphalerite likely forms a sphalerite-roquesite-stannite solid solution with the contents of roquesite and stannite being about 2–9 and 2-A mole%, respectively. Temperatures and salinities (in wt% NaCl equiv.) of the ore fluids are estimated to be 180-250C and 3–4 wt%, respectively. The Sn-bearing chalcopyrite therefore probably precipitated metastably. The geologic and mineralogical features suggest that pre-Tertiary basement rocks rich in organic material underlie the Miocene Kunnui Formation nearby the deposit and that they contributed to local and temporary reduction of magnetite-series magmas favorable for the early stage tin-polymetallic mineralization.     

ASSESSMENT OF 17β-ESTRADIOL IN AQUATIC ENVIRONMENTS AROUND KLANG VALLEY, MALAYSIA

This study was conducted to assess the existing concentration of 17β-estradiol(E2)in the surface water samples collected from rivers and lakes around Klang Valley,Malaysia.E2,which is a natural feminizing chemical produced in female organisms,regularly used to compare with other environmental estrogens because they behave similarly and react effectively as a hormone at a very low concentration.It was found that the average concentration of E2 in the aquatic environment of Klang Valley was(14.08 ±3.67)pg/mL,which was 14 times higher than those in the Japanese aquatic environment in this study.The river system had the average concentration of(20.02±5.26)pg/mL while the lake had an average concentration of(5.91±3.39)pg/mL.The E2 concentration was presumed high if the sources occurred nearby the area.Current levels of E2 in the aquatic environment may possess threats to existing aquatic organisms.Since high level of E2 has been discovered in the aquatic environment around Klang Valley,further studies and monitoring of E2 and other EDCs concentrations are needed to determine their levels in Malaysian aquatic environment and help to control these chemicals pollution in the aquatic environment.