Photographic observations of the swimming behavior of the deep-sea pelagothuriid holothurianEnypniastes (Elasipoda,Holothurioidea)

A peculiar swimming holothurian referable toEnypniastes eximia Theel, of the family Pelagothuriidae was photographed frequently on the continental slopes within Suruga Bay and Sagami Bay. The holothurians of this family are gelatinous, medusa-like creatures with a specific gravity nearly equal to that of seawater, and they have been thought to live a pelagic life. Of the 35 individuals in the bottom photographs taken near the bottom, 26 individuals (74.3 %) were swimming, 1 (2.9 %) was just landing on the bottom and 8 (22.8 %) were walking on the sea floor. Correction for the pyramidal shape of the camera's field of view suggests that 90 % of the population was swimming within several meters of the bottom, and 10 % was on the sea floor. When swimming, 12 antero-dorsal appendages, inter-connected by webe to form a velum as in the elpidiid holothurianPeniagone, are either folded anteriorly in a circle or opened posteriorly like an umbrella. Propulsion seems to be accomplished by metachronal fanning of the posterior webbed podia and by undulatory movement of the antero-dorsal veil-like structure. The latter might also function as a parachute or stabilizer in descending. When on the sea floor, the holothurian always faces downstream with the velum stretched forward, while the aspidochirote tentacles, which are folded in swimming, are pressed on the sediment surface. In addition, this organism leaves trails and constricted fecal strings on the sediment. These observations suggest thatE. eximia does not ingest food in midwater, but, rather feeds selectively on the surface deposits of the sea floor. Although the holothurian has lost the ability to walk effectively on the sea floor by podia, it may utilize the swifter bottom current above the turbulent Ekman layer for locomotion and dispersal.     

Effects of providing measures against earthquakes: experimental studies on the perceived risks of disasters and disaster preparedness intentions in Japan

This research examined the effects of providing measures against disasters on recipients’ perceived risks and preparedness intentions by conducting two experimental studies. A provision of a set of emergency food was manipulated in the first experiment. Participants (N = 143) were randomly assigned to the provided condition or non-provided condition. In the second experiment (N = 123), provision of an emergency toilet kit was manipulated. The results of the two experiments consistently indicated that (1) the provision of a measure increased the recipients’ perceived risks of the disaster concerned, (2) it increased their preparedness intentions for the disaster, and (3) it had no effects on perceived risks of or preparedness intentions against disasters unrelated to the measure provided. These results were contrary to the prediction deduced from the protection effect and single action effect. The findings in this study encourage promoting the risk management policy of providing people with disaster measures as the first step in disaster preparedness.     

Factors controlling regional spatial distribution of 53 elements in coastal sea sediments in northern Japan: Comparison of geochemical data derived from stream and marine sediments

In all, 53 elements were analyzed in 1406 coastal sea sediment samples collected from an area off Hokkaido and the Tohoku region of Japan during a nationwide marine geochemical mapping project. The spatial distribution patterns of the elemental concentrations in coastal seas along with the existing geochemical maps in terrestrial areas were used to define natural geochemical background variation and mass transport processes. The terrestrial area is covered by mafic volcanic rocks and accretionary complexes associated with ophiolite, which has small amounts of felsic volcanic rocks and granite. The spatial distribution patterns of elements enriched in mafic lithologies such as Fe (Total Fe₂O₃) and Sc in marine environments are influenced by adjoining terrestrial materials. The spatial distribution patterns of Cr and Ni concentrations, which are highly abundant in ultramafic rocks on land, are used to evaluate the mass transport from land to the sea and the dispersive processes caused by oceanic currents. The scale of mass transport by oceanic currents occurs up to a distance of 100–200 km from the coast along the coastal areas. The regional differences of elements rich in felsic lithologies such as K (K₂O), Nb and La in marine sediments are determined mainly by the relative proportion of minerals and lithic fragments enriching felsic materials to those associated with mafic materials. The spatial distribution of elemental concentration is not always continuous between the land areas and coastal sea areas. That difference is interpreted as resulting from (1) transportation of marine sediments by oceanic currents and storm waves, (2) contribution of volcanic materials such as tephra, (3) occurrence of shell fragments and foraminifera tests and (4) distribution of relict sediments of the last glacial age and early transgression age. Contamination with Cu, Zn, Cd, As, Mo, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb and Bi was not observed in marine environments because the study area has little anthropogenic activity. Terrestrial materials are the dominant source for these metals. The Mo, Cd, Sn, Sb, Hg, Pb and Bi are abundant in silty and clayey sediments locally because of early diagenetic processes, authigenic precipitation and organic substances associated with these elements. The spatial distribution of As concentration shows exceptions: it is concentrated in some coarse and fine sands on the shelf. The enrichment is explained by adsorption of As, sourced from a coal field, to Fe hydroxide.     

Photographic observations of the stalked crinoidMetacrinus rotundus carpenter in Suruga Bay,central Japan

Photographic observations were carried out at depths of the shelf edge at the mouth of Uchiura Inlet, Suruga Bay, central Japan in order to clarify the life style of the isocrinid stalked crinoid,Metacrinus rotundus (Echinodermata). The distribution of the species was found to be restricted to a narrow area where boulders and rock outcrops were locally present. Mean density of the crinoid was 0.05 m^–2, and this value was an order of magnitude smaller than that of the deeper isocrinid,Diplocrinus wyvillethomsoni, reported from the Bay of Biscay.Metacrinus rotundus formed a parabolic filtration fan with its arms recurved into the bottom current, and was thought to be a passive suspension feeder elevating the fan into the water column by its stalk. The distal half of the stalk lay along the hard substratum and about ten groups of cirri grasped the substratum. This mode of attachment was similar to that ofCenocrinus rather than that ofDiplocrinus. Metacrinus rotundus collect food at the layer between 10 and 50 cm above the sea floor, and do not utilize a higher layer even when this layer could be utilized by climbing over a larger boulder. Resuspended benthic materials are thought to be important as a food source forM. rotundus, and the crinoids seek not only locations of stronger currents but also the position where much resuspended matter is available.     

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.     

Primary proton spectrum around the knee deduced from the emulsion-chamber data obtained at Mts. Fuji and Kanbala

We have done extensive Monte Carlo simulations using the new simulation codes of CORSIKA and COSMOS to compare with the gamma-family data obtained at Mts. Fuji (3750 m above sea level) and Kanbala (5500 m above sea level). Then, we estimated the primary proton and helium spectra around the knee energy region using a multiple-layered feed-forward neural network as a classifier of primary particle kind. The selection efficiency of proton-induced family events is estimated to be 82%. The flux value of protons at 2×10¹⁵ eV is (5.5±1.5)×10⁻¹⁴ (m⁻² s⁻¹ sr⁻¹ GeV⁻¹). The result suggests heavy-enriched primary composition around the knee region.     

Life habit of vesicomyid clam,Calyptogena soyoae,and hydrogen sulfide concentration in interstitial waters in Sagami Bay,Japan

In and around the beds of vesicomyid clam (Calytogena soyoae) located off Hatsushima Island in Sagami Bay, central Japan, hydrogen sulfide concentration in bottom water and interstitial water was measured every 10 cm from just above seafloor to 40 cm deep usingin situ separative dialysis bags. While hydrogen sulfide over 0.01 mmol/kg was not measured from the seawater just above the dense clam beds, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide increased rapidly below 10 cm deep. The results indicate that the habit of the clam is correlated with high concentration of hydrogen sulfide contained in pore waters of sediments between depths of 10 and 20 cm from the bottom surface. Concentrations of hydrogen sulfide ranging from approximately 0.05 mmol/kg to 0.6 mmol/kg might be suitable requirement for the habitat ofC. soyoae.     

Impact of Changes in Redox Conditions on Leaching of Some Elements from MSW Fly Ash

Abstract. Oxidation and reduction processes can influence extent of leaching of elements from solid waste. Three samples of municipal solid waste combustion fly ash were subjected to oxidizing and reducing conditions in order to evaluate leaching of elements in the Milli-Q water and fly ash (liquid to solid ratio, 100) mixtures. Although the oxidizing and reducing conditions were applied for 6 hours only, elements like Cs, Li, Mg, Sb, Tl and V leached more under oxidizing condition than under reducing condition in the case of all three ash samples. Cadmium, Pb and Zn leached more from all samples under reducing condition than under oxidizing condition. Leaching of other elements like Al, Ba, Cr, Cu, Ni and Rb was inconsistent with oxidizing or reducing conditions and varied from sample to sample, suggesting that factors other than redox may be more important in controlling leaching of these elements. Strong acid neutralization capacity of the fly ash samples let the pH vary within a narrow range, and thus severely limited the extent of leaching during the course of the experiment. Lead and Zn were the most sensitive while K and Na were the least sensitive to changes in redox conditions.     

Statistical empirical index of chemical weathering in igneous rocks: A new tool for evaluating the degree of weathering

Chemical weathering indices are useful tools in characterizing weathering profiles and determining the extent of weathering. However, the predictive performance of the conventional indices is critically dependent on the composition of the unweathered parent rock. To overcome this limitation, the present paper introduces an alternative statistical empirical index of chemical weathering that is extracted by the principal component analysis (PCA) of a large dataset derived from unweathered igneous rocks and their weathering profiles. The PCA analysis yields two principal components (PC1 and PC2), which capture 39.23% and 35.17% of total variability, respectively. The extent of weathering is reflected by variation along PC1, primarily due to the loss of Na₂O and CaO during weathering. In contrast, PC2 is the direction along which the projections of unweathered felsic, intermediate and mafic igneous rocks appear to be best discriminated; therefore, PC1 and PC2 represent independent latent variables that correspond to the extent of weathering and the chemistry of the unweathered parent rock. Subsequently, PC1 and PC2 were then mapped onto a ternary diagram (MFW diagram). The M and F vertices characterize mafic and felsic rock source, respectively, while the W vertex identifies the degree of weathering of these sources, independent of the chemistry of the unweathered parent rock.

The W index has a number of significant properties that are not found in conventional weathering indices. First, the W index is sensitive to chemical changes that occur during weathering because it is based on eight major oxides, whereas most conventional indices are defined by between two and four oxides. Second, the W index provides robust results even for highly weathered sesquioxide-rich samples. Third, the W index is applicable to a wide range of felsic, intermediate and mafic igneous rock types. Finally, the MFW diagram is expected to facilitate provenance analysis of sedimentary rocks by identifying their weathering trends and thereby enabling a backward estimate of the composition of the unweathered source rock.