Estimation of variation of mercury concentration in the oceans during the last several decades

Variation of mercury concentration in the oceans during the last several decades has been investigated by determining the mercury concentration in rock fishes caught recently andca. 20 years ago. From this result, it is concluded that there has been no variation of mercury concentration in the oceans during the last several decades.     

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.     

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.     

Bachelor-modon type eddies and isolated eddies near the coast on anf-plane

The behavior of isolated meso-scale eddies near the coastal boundary is studied by numerical experiments based on the quasi-geostrophic equation in a basin on an f-plane. First, Bachelor-modon type eddies are investigated as an idealized model of isolated eddies close to the wall. The first-mode Bachelor-modon type eddy is found to be robust enough to recover its original form even after it turns a corner of the basin. In contrast, the second mode is unstable; it tends to move away from the wall and finally splits into two eddies proceeding in opposite directions along the wall. An initially Gaussian eddy a little distant from the boundary interacts with a Bachelor-modon type eddy translating along the boundary, sometimes resulting in vortex merging and pairing just as in the head-on collision of two modons on a beta-plane. It is found that an initially Gaussian eddy located moderately close to the coast rapidly settles down to a steadily translating eddy, which can be approximated remarkably well by a first-mode Bachelor-modon type eddy not only in appearance but also in translation velocity within an error of about 20%.     

Fluid–Sediment Interaction in a Marine Shallow-Water Hydrothermal System in the Wakamiko Submarine Crater, South Kyushu, Japan

The Wakamiko submarine crater is a small depression located in Kagoshima Bay, southwest Japan. Marine shallow‐water hydrothermal activity associated with fumarolic gas emissions at the crater sea floor (water depth 200 m) is considered to be related with magmatic activity of the Aira Caldera. During the NT05‐13 dive expedition conducted in August 2005 using remotely operated vehicle Hyper‐Dolphine (Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology), an active shimmering site was discovered (tentatively named the North site) at approximately 1 km from the previously known site (tentatively named the South site). Surface sediment (up to 30 cm) was cored from six localities including these active sites, and the alteration minerals and pore fluid chemistry were studied. The pore fluids of these sites showed a drastic change in chemical profile from that of seawater, even at 30 cm below the surface, which is attributed to mixing of the ascending hydrothermal component and seawater. The hydrothermal component of the North site is estimated to be derived from a hydrothermal aquifer at 230°C based on the hydrothermal end‐member composition. Occurrence of illite/smectite interstratified minerals in the North site sediment is attributed to in situ fluid–sediment interaction at a temperature around 150°C, which is in accordance with the pore fluid chemistry. In contrast, montmorillonite was identified as the dominant alteration mineral in the South site sediment. Together with the significant low potassium concentration of the hydrothermal end‐member, the abundant occurrence of low‐temperature alteration mineral suggests that the hydrothermal aquifer in the South site is not as high as 200°C. Moreover, the montmorillonite is likely to be unstable with the present pore fluid chemistry at the measured temperature (117°C). This disagreement implies unstable hydrothermal activity at the South site, in contrast to the equilibrium between the pore fluid and alteration minerals in the North site sediment. This difference may reflect the thermal and/or hydrological structure of the Wakamiko Crater hydrothermal system.     

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.     

Different thermal preferences for brooding and larval dispersal of two neighboring shrimps in deep‐sea hydrothermal vent fields

Temperature is an important factor affecting the distributions and life‐history traits of marine animals. Deep‐sea hydrothermal vents are suitable environments to examine ecologic differences related to temperature, due to the steep temperature gradients around the vents. Rearing experiments under various temperature conditions (5–30 °C) at atmospheric pressure demonstrated a difference in thermal effects on egg hatching and larva in two co‐occurring, vent‐associated alvinocaridid shrimps – the peripherally distributed Alvinocaris longirostris and the centrally distributed Shinkaicaris leurokolos. The duration before hatching became shorter as temperature increased, while the maximum hatching rate occurred at higher temperatures in S. leurokolos (10–20 °C) than in A. longirostris (10 °C). Hatched larvae of both species were negatively buoyant, and larva with normal abdominal length could actively swim and stay suspended in the mid‐ or surface water layers of the culture plates under our experimental conditions. However, no larvae settled or metamorphosed into juveniles under the rearing conditions used in this study. Larvae with shortened abdomens occurred under most of the experimental conditions, although they were less frequent at 10 °C in A. longirostris and 20 °C in S. leurokolos. The maximum survival periods at these temperatures were 88 days in A. longirostris and 30 days in S. leurokolos. These characteristics may cause differences in the distributional ranges of the two species. The present results indicate that temperature is an important factor controlling life‐history traits of vent shrimps.