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.     

Noble gases in ureilites released by crushing

Abstract— Noble gases in two ureilites, Kenna and Allan Hills (ALH) 78019, were measured with two extraction methods: mechanical crushing in a vacuum and heating. Large amounts of noble gases were released by crushing, up to 26.5% of ¹³²Xe from ALH 78019 relative to the bulk concentration. Isotopic ratios of the crush‐released Ne of ALH 78019 resemble those of the trapped Ne components determined for some ureilites or terrestrial atmosphere, while the crush‐released He and Ne from Kenna are mostly cosmogenic. The crush‐released Xe of ALH 78019 and Kenna is similar in isotopic composition to Q gas, which indicates that the crush‐released noble gases are indigenous and not caused by contamination from terrestrial atmosphere. In contrast to the similarities in isotopic composition with the bulk samples, light elements in the crush‐released noble gases are depleted relative to Xe and distinct from those of each bulk sample. This depletion is prominent especially in the ²⁰Ne/¹³²Xe ratio of ALH 78019 and the ³⁶Ar/¹³²Xe ratio of Kenna. The values of measured ³He/²¹Ne for the gases released by crushing are significantly higher than those for heating‐released gases. This suggests that host phases of the crush‐released gases might be carbonaceous because cosmogenic Ne is produced mainly from elements with a mass number larger than Ne. Based on our optical microscopic observation, tabular‐foliated graphite is the major carbon mineral in ALH 78019, while Kenna contains abundant polycrystalline graphite aggregates and diamonds along with minor foliated graphite. There are many inclusions at the edge and within the interior of olivine grains that are reduced by carbonaceous material. Gaps can be seen at the boundary between carbonaceous material and silicates. Considering these petrologic and noble gas features, we infer that possible host phases of crush‐released noble gases are graphite, inclusions in reduction rims, and gaps between carbonaceous materials and silicates. The elemental ratios of noble gases released by crushing can be explained by fractionation, assuming that the starting noble gas composition is the same as that of amorphous carbon in ALH 78019. The crush‐released noble gases are the minor part of trapped noble gases in ureilites but could be an important clue to the thermal history of the ureilite parent body. Further investigation is needed to identify the host phases of the crush‐released noble gases.     

Case a evolution of massive close binary systems

The evolution of three close binary systems of total mass 20.4M in and after the phase of mode Br mass-transfer in caseA of mass exchange is investigated. In every case a secondary component evolves to interfere with the progress of primary's evolution and the system overflows the outer critical surface before the primary completes its nuclear-burning evolution. This strongly indicates the importance of simultaneous calculation of both components. A summary of evolution of the systems considered in this series of papers up to the stage ofL ₂-overflow is given. The observational aspects of the numerical models are also discussed.     

A new photographic method for mapping lunar eclipse shadow

A new photographic method suitable for digital processing of a two-dimensional density distribution of lunar eclipse shadow has been developed and it has been applied to the observation of the eclipse of December 30, 1982. The principle of this method is to extract the terrestrial shadow by utilizing immediate post- or pre-eclipse full Moon image as a reference template. The uncertainties of the obtained shadow maps in density and position are mostly 0.03–0.05 and 10–15 respectively. Iso-density contours of the penumbra have revealed unknown systematic deviations from a geometrical (concentric) shadow model in terms of their directions of center and radii of curvature. A density map of the umbra has shown very irregular shapes of isophotoes and density variation in the outer umbra has been proved to be consistent with the optical depth measurement of the stratosphere performed in the same period of time with lidars and aircrafts. Geographic consideration of the shadow terminator on the Earth suggests that the remnant aerosols above the northern Pacific and northern Europe flown up by a Mexican volcano 8 months ago prior to this eclipse will be mainly responsible for the formation of such variation of density in the outer penumbra.On leave from Tokyo Astronomical Observatory as Visiting Scientist (from 28 Aug. 1984 to 27 Aug. 1985).     

He–Ar and Nd–Sr isotopic compositions of late Pleistocene felsic plutonic back arc basin rocks from Ulleungdo volcanic island, South Korea: Implications for the genesis of young plutonic rocks in a back arc basin

We report analyses of noble gases and Nd–Sr isotopes in mineral separates and whole rocks of late Pleistocene (< 0.2 Ma) monzonites from Ulleungdo, South Korea, a volcanic island within the back arc basin of the Japan island arc. A Rb–Sr mineral isochron age for the monzonites is 0.12 ± 0.01 Ma. K–Ar biotite ages from the same samples gave relatively concordant ages of 0.19 ± 0.01and 0.22 ± 0.01 Ma. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar yields a similar age of 0.29 ± 0.09 Ma. Geochemical characteristics of the felsic plutonic rocks, which are silica oversaturated alkali felsic rocks (av., 12.5 wt% in K₂O + Na₂O), are similar to those of 30 alkali volcanics from Ulleungdo in terms of concentrations of major, trace and REE elements. The initial Nd–Sr isotopic ratios of the monzonites (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70454–0.71264, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.512528–0.512577) are comparable with those of the alkali volcanics (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr = 0.70466–0.70892, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd = 0.512521–0.512615) erupted in Stage 3 of Ulleungdo volcanism (0.24–0.47 Ma). The high initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values of the monzonites imply that seawater and crustally contaminated pre-existing trachytes may have been melted or assimilated during differentiation of the alkali basaltic magma.A mantle helium component (³He/⁴He ratio of up to 6.5 RA) associated with excess argon was found in the monzonites. Feldspar and biotite have preferentially lost helium during slow cooling at depth and/or during their transportation to the surface in a hot host magma. The source magma noble gas isotopic features are well preserved in fluid inclusions in hornblende, and indicate that the magma may be directly derived from subcontinental lithospheric mantle metasomatized by an ancient subduction process, or may have formed as a mixture of MORB-like mantle and crustal components. The radiometric ages, geochemical and Nd–Sr isotopic signatures of the Ulleungdo monzonites as well as the presence of mantle-derived helium and argon, suggests that these felsic plutonic rocks evolved from alkali basaltic magma that formed by partial melting of subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the back arc basin located along the active continental margin of the southeastern part of the Eurasian plate.     

Effect of emersion and immersion on the porewater nutrient dynamics of an intertidal sandflat in Tokyo Bay

Porewater nutrient dynamics during emersion and immersion were investigated during different seasons in a eutrophic intertidal sandflat of Tokyo Bay, Japan, to elucidate the role of emersion and immersion in solute transport and microbial processes. The water content in the surface sediment did not change significantly following emersion, suggesting that advective solute transport caused by water table fluctuation was negligible. The rate of change in nitrate concentration in the top 10 mm of sediments ranged from −6.6 to 4.8 μmol N l⁻¹ bulk sed. h⁻¹ during the whole period of emersion. Steep nutrient concentration gradients in the surface sediment generated diffusive flux of nutrients directed downwards into deeper sediments, which greatly contributed to the observed rates of change in porewater nutrient concentration for several cases. Microbial nitrate reduction within the subsurface sediment appeared to be strongly supported by the downward diffusive flux of nitrate from the surface sediment. The stimulation of estimated nitrate production rate in the subsurface layer in proportion to the emersion time indicates that oxygenation due to emersion caused changes in the sediment redox environment and affected the nitrification and/or nitrate reduction rates. The nitrate and soluble reactive phosphorus pools in the top 10 mm of sediment decreased markedly during immersion (up to 68% for nitrate and up to 44% for soluble reactive phosphorus), however, this result could not be solely explained by molecular diffusion.     

Gravity Anomaly and Tectonics in the Northern Part of the North Fiji Basin - Preliminary Result of the 1994 NOFI Cruise under the NEW STARMER Programme

A surface ship gravity survey was carried out in the northern part of the North Fiji Basin during the NOFI cruise by the R/V l'Atalante in August-September, 1994. The two ridges inside the study area, the South Pandora Ridge and the Tripartite Ridge, present different structures and states of isostatic equilibrium in terms of gravity anomaly and its tectonic implications. The former is supported by a restoring force of an imaginary elastic plate in the crust and the latter by the Airy type isostasy. These characteristics can be derived from the difference in magmatic activity, as influenced by the difference in lithospheric structure. The latter is characterised by greater active magmatism and hydrothermalism underneath the ridge than the former. Such a difference in the magmatic activity and the horizontal scale of the shallow subsurface structure is derived from the difference in the stiffness or viscosity of the lithosphere beneath the two ridges.     

A preliminary study of carbon system in the East China Sea

In the central part of the East China Sea, the activity of CO₂ in the surface water and total carbonate, pH and alkalinity in the water column were determined in winter and autumn of 1993. The activity of CO₂ in the continental shelf water was about 50 ppm lower than that of surface air. This decrease corresponds to the absorption of about 40 gC/m²/yr of atmospheric CO₂ in the coastal zone or 1 GtC/yr in the global continental shelf, if this rate is applicable to entire coastal seas. The normalized total carbonate contents were higher in the water near the coast and near the bottom. This increase toward the bottom may be due to the organic matter deposited on the bottom. This conclusion is supported by the distribution of pH. The normalized alkalinity distribution also showed higher values in the near-coast water, but in the surface water, indicating the supply of bicarbonate from river water. The residence time of the East China Sea water, including the Yellow Sea water, has been calculated to be about 0.8 yr from the excess alkalinity and the alkalinity input. Using this residence time and the excess carbonate, we can estimate that the amount of dissolved carbonate transported from the coastal zone to the oceanic basin is about 70 gC/m²/yr or 2 GtC/yr/area-of-global-continental-shelf. This also means that the rivers transport carbon to the oceans at a rate of 30 gC/m²/yr of the coastal sea or 0.8 GtC/yr/ area-of-global shelf, the carbon consisting of dissolved inorganic carbonate and terrestrial organic carbon decomposed on the continental shelf.     

Active spreading and hydrothermalism in North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). Results of Japanese French Cruise Kaiyo 87

The aim of the Japanese-French Kaiyo 87 cruise was the study of the spreading axis in the North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). A Seabeam and geophysical survey allowed us to define the detailed structure of the active NS spreading axis between 16° and 22° S and its relationships with the left lateral motion of the North Fiji Fracture Zone. Between 21° S and 18°10′ S, the spreading axis trends NS. From 18°10 S to 16°40 S the orientation of the spreading axis changes from NS to 015°. North of 16°40′ S the spreading axis trends 160°. These two 015° and 160° branches converge with the left lateral North Fiji fracture zone around 16°40′ S to define an RRFZ triple junction. Water sampling, dredging and photo TV deep towing give new information concerning the hydrothermal activity along the spreading axis. The discovery of hydrothermal deposits associated with living communities confirms this activity.     

A cDNA microarray technique applied for analysis of global gene expression profiles in tributyltin-exposed ascidians

To analyze global gene expressions, we constructed a cDNA microarray from a basal chordate, the ascidian Ciona intestinalis. Ciona is a cosmopolitan species and a genomic analysis of Ciona revealed that ascidians had approximately 15,500 protein-coding genes. Our "Ciona intestinalis cDNA chip version 1 (Ci cDNA chip ver. 1)" has arrayed 13,400 unique Ciona cDNAs. To establish a detection system for gene expression profiles in wild ascidians using a cDNA microarray, we analyzed gene expressions in the whole body of Ciona adults after exposure to 100 nM tributyltin (TBT) for 24 h. In our preliminary array data using Ci cDNA chip ver. 1, we found more than 200 genes that showed strong differential expressions. These genes encoded proteins that were concerned with stress response, detoxification, oxidoreduction reaction, biosynthesis, and catabolism. This, the first large cDNA microarray of this animal, should facilitate analyses of global gene expressions following exposure to TBT.