Showing papers in "Japan Geoscience Union in 2018"

Precession-band variance missing from East Asian monsoon runoff

Abstract: Speleothem CaCO3 δ18O is a commonly employed paleomonsoon proxy. However, inferring local rainfall amount from speleothem δ18O can be complicated due to changing source water δ18O, temperature effects, and rainout over the moisture transport path. These complications are addressed using δ18O of planktonic foraminiferal CaCO3, offshore from the Yangtze River Valley (YRV). The advantage is that the effects of global seawater δ18O and local temperature changes can be quantitatively removed, yielding a record of local seawater δ18O, a proxy that responds primarily to dilution by local precipitation and runoff. Whereas YRV speleothem δ18O is dominated by precession-band (23 ky) cyclicity, local seawater δ18O is dominated by eccentricity (100 ky) and obliquity (41 ky) cycles, with almost no precession-scale variance. These results, consistent with records outside the YRV, suggest that East Asian monsoon rainfall is more sensitive to greenhouse gas and high-latitude ice sheet forcing than to direct insolation forcing.

Real-time observational evidence of changing Asian dust morphology with the mixing of heavy anthropogenic pollution

Abstract: Natural mineral dust and heavy anthropogenic pollution and its complex interactions cause significant environmental problems in East Asia. Due to restrictions of observing technique, real-time morphological change in Asian dust particles owing to coating process of anthropogenic pollutants is still statistically unclear. Here, we first used a newly developed, single-particle polarization detector and quantitatively investigate the evolution of the polarization property of backscattering light reflected from dust particle as they were mixing with anthropogenic pollutants in North China. The decrease in observed depolarization ratio is mainly attributed to the decrease of aspect ratio of the dust particles as a result of continuous coating processes. Hygroscopic growth of Calcium nitrate (Ca(NO3)2) on the surface of the dust particles played a vital role, particularly when they are stagnant in the polluted region with high RH conditions. Reliable statistics highlight the significant importance of internally mixed, ‘quasi-spherical’ Asian dust particles, which markedly act as cloud condensation nuclei and exert regional climate change.

Mean winds at the cloud top of Venus obtained from two-wavelength UV imaging by Akatsuki

Abstract: Venus is covered with thick clouds. Ultraviolet (UV) images at 0.3–0.4 microns show detailed cloud features at the cloud-top level at about 70 km, which are created by an unknown UV-absorbing substance. Images acquired in this wavelength range have traditionally been used to measure winds at the cloud top. In this study, we report low-latitude winds obtained from the images taken by the UV imager, UVI, onboard the Akatsuki orbiter from December 2015 to March 2017. UVI provides images with two filters centered at 365 and 283 nm. While the 365-nm images enable continuation of traditional Venus observations, the 283-nm images visualize cloud features at an SO2 absorption band, which is novel. We used a sophisticated automated cloud-tracking method and thorough quality control to estimate winds with high precision. Horizontal winds obtained from the 283-nm images are generally similar to those from the 365-nm images, but in many cases, westward winds from the former are faster than the latter by a few m/s. From previous studies, one can argue that the 283-nm images likely reflect cloud features at higher altitude than the 365-nm images. If this is the case, the superrotation of the Venusian atmosphere generally increases with height at the cloud-top level, where it has been thought to roughly peak. The mean winds obtained from the 365-nm images exhibit local time dependence consistent with known tidal features. Mean zonal winds exhibit asymmetry with respect to the equator in the latter half of the analysis period, significantly at 365 nm and weakly at 283 nm. This contrast indicates that the relative altitude may vary with time and latitude, and so are the observed altitudes. In contrast, mean meridional winds do not exhibit much long-term variability. A previous study suggested that the geographic distribution of temporal mean zonal winds obtained from UV images from the Venus Express orbiter during 2006–2012 can be interpreted as forced by topographically induced stationary gravity waves. However, the geographic distribution of temporal mean zonal winds we obtained is not consistent with that distribution, which suggests that the distribution may not be persistent.

Biosilicification drives a decline of dissolved Si in the oceans through geologic time

Abstract: Biosilicification has driven variation in the global Si cycle over geologic time. The evolution of different eukaryotic lineages that convert dissolved Si (DSi) into mineralized structures (higher plants, siliceous sponges, radiolarians, and diatoms) has driven a secular decrease in DSi in the global ocean leading to the low DSi concentrations seen today. Recent studies, however, have questioned the timing previously proposed for the DSi decreases and the concentration changes through deep time, which would have major implications for the cycling of carbon and other key nutrients in the ocean. Here, we combine relevant genomic data with geological data and present new hypotheses regarding the impact of the evolution of biosilicifying organisms on the DSi inventory of the oceans throughout deep time. Although there is no fossil evidence for true silica biomineralization until the late Precambrian, the timing of the evolution of silica transporter genes suggests that bacterial silicon-related metabolism has been present in the oceans since the Archean with eukaryotic silicon metabolism already occurring in the Neoproterozoic. We hypothesize that biological processes have influenced oceanic DSi concentrations since the beginning of oxygenic photosynthesis. (Less)

Chemical reactions between Fe and H 2 O up to megabar pressures and implications for water storage in the Earth’s mantle and core

Abstract: We investigated the phase relations of the Fe-H2O system at high pressures based on in situ X-ray diffraction experiments and first-principles calculations and demonstrate that FeHx and FeO are present at pressures less than ~78 GPa. A recently reported pyrite-structured FeO2 was identified in the Fe-H2O system at pressures greater than ~78 GPa after laser heating. The phase observed in this study has a unit cell volume 8%–11% larger than that of FeO2, produced in the Fe-O binary system reported previously, suggesting that hydrogen might be retained in a FeO2Hx crystal structure. Our observations indicate that H2O is likely introduced into the deep Earth through reaction between iron and water during the accretion and separation of the metallic core. Additionally, reaction between Fe and H2O would occur at the core-mantle boundary, given water released from hydrous subducting slabs that intersect with the metallic core. Accumulation of volatile-bearing iron compounds may provide new insights into the enigmatic seismic structures observed at the base of the lower mantle.

Time lag and negative responses of forest greenness and tree growth to warming over circumboreal forests

Abstract: The terrestrial forest ecosystems in the northern high latitude region have been experiencing significant warming rates over several decades. These forests are considered crucial to the climate system and global carbon cycle and are particularly vulnerable to climate change. To obtain an improved estimate of the response of vegetation activity, e.g., forest greenness and tree growth, to climate change, we investigated spatiotemporal variations in two independent data sets containing the dendroecological information for this region over the past 30 years. These indices are the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI3g) and the tree-ring width index (RWI), both of which showed significant spatial variability in past trends and responses to climate changes. These trends and responses to climate change differed significantly in the ecosystems of the circumarctic (latitude higher than 67°N) and the circumboreal forests (latitude higher and lower than 50°N and 67°N, respectively), but the way in which they differed was relatively similar in the NDVI3g and the RWI. In the circumarctic ecosystem, the climate variables of the current summer were the main climatic drivers for the positive response to the increase in temperatures showed by both the NDVI3g and the RWI indices. On the other hand, in the circumboreal forest ecosystem, the climate variables of the previous year (from summer to winter) were also important climatic drivers for both the NDVI3g and the RWI. Importantly, both indices showed that the temperatures in the previous year negatively affected the ecosystem. Although such negative responses to warming did not necessarily lead to a past negative linear trend in the NDVI3g and the RWI over the past 30 years, future climate warming could potentially cause severe reduction in forest greenness and tree growth in the circumboreal forest ecosystem.

Remote water sampling using a drone at Yugama crater lake, Kusatsu – Shirane Volcano, Japan

Abstract: Remote sampling of water from Yugama crater lake at Kusatsu-Shirane volcano, Japan, was performed using a drone. Despite the high altitude of over 2000 m above sea level, our simple method was successful in retrieving a 250 mL sample of lake water. The procedure presented here is easy for any researcher to follow who operates a drone without additional special apparatus. We compare the lake water sampled by drone with that sampled by hand at a site where regular samplings have previously been carried out. Chemical concentrations and stable isotope ratios are largely consistent between the two techniques. As the drone can fly automatically with the aid of navigation by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), it is possible to repeatedly sample lake water from the same location, even when entry to Yugama crater lake is restricted due to the risk of eruption.

Source Estimate for the 1960 Chile Earthquake from Joint Inversion of Geodetic and Transoceanic Tsunami Data

Abstract: The source of the 1960 Chile earthquake was re-estimated using the geodetic data, local tsunami data, and the newly usable transoceanic tsunami data. The 1960 Chile earthquake was the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded. However, different magnitudes were estimated using different data, e.g. Mw 9.7 was estimated from free oscillation (Kanamori and Anderson, 1975), the magnitude estimated from the geodetic data is Mw 9.3 (Barrientos and Ward, 1990; Moreno et al., 2009), and Fujii and Satake (2013) estimated Mw 9.2 from joint tsunami and geodetic data. In the present study, we used 301 coastal geodetic data (Plafker and Savage, 1970), five near-field tsunami data from South America, and 50 far-field tsunami data from North America, Asia, and Oceania. Due to the dispersion effect of elasticity of the Earth and ocean during long distance traveling, the far-field tsunami data were not used to estimate the earthquake source in previous studies. With the phase correction method (Watada et al., 2014), the dispersion effects at far-field stations are well explained and the data can be used for source estimation (Ho et al., 2017). In addition, we apply a nonlinear inversion method (NOMAD) with the optimal time alignment (OTA, Romano et al., 2016) which accounts for the arrival time mismatch between observed and synthetic data caused by inaccurate station location, inaccurate recording time, local bathymetry, or artificial structures. Our fault model shows that a rupture starts from the epicenter to the southern end at about 46°S with main slips at depths shallower than 50 km. The estimated magnitude was about Mw 9.2. There was a north asperity from 39°S to 43°S with slips of 20 to 30 m and a south peak at about 45°S with a slip of about 43 m. Our results also indicated that the south peak has a significant effect on the geodetic data measured in the south as well as some far-field stations located in the South Pacific Ocean.

Potential impact of ocean circulation on the declining Japanese eel catches

Abstract: Recruitment of Japanese eels, Anguilla japonica, has declined in recent decades possibly due to both anthropogenic and ocean-atmosphere factors. The potential impact of ocean circulation on the decreasing Japanese eel catches in the western North Pacific was examined based on a three-dimensional particle-tracking method, in which virtual larvae (v-larvae) were programmed to swim horizontally and vertically, in addition to being transported by ocean currents after being released in their North Equatorial Current (NEC) spawning area. Transport patterns varied among years between 1993 and 2013, and dispersion of v-larvae towards East Asia decreased in the last two decades, especially for the western Taiwan and Japan regions. In recent years, instead of entering the Kuroshio and moving towards East Asia as in the 1990s', more v-larvae tended to enter the southern areas due to the weakening of the NEC and strengthening of subsurface southward flow near the spawning area. Changes in ocean circulation in the western Pacific appear to be caused by the weakening of subtropical and tropical wind stress curl in the past two decades. This suggests that decadal changes in ocean circulation have occurred that affect the larval migration success of the Japanese eel to their recruitment areas.

Multi-band Photometry of Trans-Neptunian Objects in the Subaru Hyper Suprime-Cam Survey

Abstract: We present a visible multi-band photometry of trans-Neptunian objects (TNOs) observed by the Subaru Telescope in the framework of Hyper Suprime-Cam Subaru Strategic Program (HSC-SSP) from March in 2014 to September in 2016. We measured the five broad-band (g, r, i, z, and Y) colors over the wavelength range from 0.4 um to 1.0 um for 30 known TNOs using the HSC-SSP survey data covering ~500 deg2 of sky within +/-30 deg of ecliptic latitude. This dataset allows us to characterize the dynamical classes based on visible reflectance spectra as well as to examine the relationship between colors and the other parameters such as orbital elements. Our results show that the hot classical and scattered populations share similar color distributions, while the cold classical population has a reflective decrease toward shorter wavelength below the i band. Based on the obtained color properties, we found that the TNO sample examined in the present work can be separated into two groups by inclination (I), the low-I population consisting of cold classical objects and high-I population consisting of hot classical and scattered objects. The whole sample exhibits an anti-correlation between colors and inclination, but no significant correlation between colors and semi-major axis, perihelion distance, eccentricity, or absolute magnitude. The color-inclination correlation does not seem to be continuous over the entire inclination range. Rather, it is seen only in the high-I population. We found that the low- and high-I populations are distinguishable in the g-i vs. eccentricity plot, but four high-I objects show g-i colors similar to those of the low-I population. If we exclude these four objects, the high-I objects show a positive correlation between g-i and eccentricity and a negative correlation between g-i and inclination with high significance levels.

Minimizing the interference of carbonate ions on degradation of SRF3B dye by Fe 0 -aggregate-activated persulfate process

Abstract: Abstract Carbonate ions in wastewater can interfere with the reactions in advanced oxidation processes. In the present study, the effects of carbonate ions on the degradation of a polyazo direct dye, the Sirius® Red F3B (SRF3B), using persulfate (PS) oxidation catalyzed by Fe 0 aggregates (PS/Fe 0 ) was investigated. Results of this study indicated that the oxidation power of the PS/Fe 0 process was inhibited in the dye solutions containing carbonates, and the efficiency of SRF3B decolorization decreased with increasing concentration of Na 2 CO 3 . A short period of ultrasound (US) irradiation can significantly enhance the destruction of dye molecules. Complete decolorization of a 25 mg/L SRF3B solution containing 1 × 10 − 3 M carbonate, 5 × 10 −3 M PS, and 1.5 g/L Fe 0 was achieved within 5 min in a PS/Fe 0 /US system augmented with 5 min of US irradiation (60 kHz, 106 W/cm 2 ). The operating cost to complete removal of the dye was estimated at 2.79 USD/m 3 . Higher PS dosage and US power further minimized the interference from carbonate ions. A two-step reaction model, including a slow surface heterogeneous and a fast homogeneous aqueous reactions was proposed for the system. The presence of Fe 2+ and Fe 3+ ions identified using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, suggests a direct oxidation of the dye on the surface of the Fe 0 aggregates.

Mid-latitude source of the ENSO-spread in SINTEX-F ensemble predictions

Abstract: The ensemble spread of seasonal prediction is investigated in this study to understand its role in the predictability of El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) based on the results of SINTEX-F2, a coupled ocean–atmosphere general circulation model In the SINTEX-F2 seasonal prediction system, the first ENSO precursor appears as a cyclonic wind anomaly over the central north Pacific in boreal winter (January) This is followed by warm SST, positive rainfall and cross-equatorial southerly wind anomalies in the northern hemisphere during spring (particularly in April) These anomalies in April are accompanied by westerly wind anomaly in the western equatorial Pacific Finally, El Nino-like conditions with warm SST and positive rainfall anomalies become dominant in the ensemble standard deviation after boreal summer The 500 hPa geopotential height suggests that stochastic atmospheric variability excites El Nino-like spread through air-sea interaction The oceanic response in the form of upper heat content (in the top 150 m) appears to result from the equatorial wind forcing during boreal spring and summer These model results suggest that air-sea interaction related to the seasonal footprinting mechanism (SFM) is important for ENSO spread and the “spring predictability barrier” The dependence of ENSO spread on the background ensemble-mean state is also investigated

Strength of tremor patches along deep transition zone of a megathrust

Abstract: Deep low frequency tremors are indicators of slow slip transients in the brittle-ductile transition zone along subducting plates. Investigation of comprehensive tremor activities is therefore an important issue for understanding the seismic/aseismic characteristics in transition zones. Here, we focus on the radiated energy from tremors to reveal the along-strike heterogeneity in the strength of tremor patches. Based on a tremor catalog that more accurately evaluates radiated energy, we examine the spatio-temporal activity of tremors accompanied by slow slip events (SSEs) in western Shikoku, southwestern Japan. The new finding of this study is that the energy radiated from tremors is positively correlated with the speed of tremor migration front and the slip rate along the plate interface during a SSE. This can be qualitatively explained by a stress diffusion model, which consists of along-strike heterogeneities in the effective strength of tremor patches embedded in a ductile shear zone. This effective strength heterogeneity is supported by a lateral variation in the stress drop of a SSE; it is consistent with the fluid pressure distribution along the plate boundary fault and the tidal sensitivity of tremors. Accurate evaluation of tremor activities, especially the radiated energy, can be used to infer the spatial distribution of the strength of tremor patches in transition zones worldwide.

Generation of baroclinic tide energy in a global three-dimensional numerical model with different spatial grid resolutions

Abstract: We examine the global distribution of energy conversion rates from barotropic to baroclinic tides using a hydrostatic sigma-coordinate numerical model with a special attention to the dependence on the model grid resolution as well as the model topography resolution. A series of numerical experiments shows that the baroclinic tidal energy conversion rate increases almost exponentially with the decrease of the horizontal grid spacing, namely, from 1/5° to 1/20°. The baroclinic tidal energy conversion rates for the semidiurnal tidal constituents (M2, S2) are more sensitive to the horizontal grid spacing than those for the diurnal tidal constituents (K1, O1), reflecting the difference of their horizontal wavelengths. The sensitivity of the baroclinic tidal energy conversion rate to the horizontal grid spacing is also dependent on the generation sites of baroclinic tides; it becomes very sensitive in the regions characterized by geologically young seafloor having numerous small-scale rough topographic features such as the Mid-Atlantic Ridges, the eastern Pacific Ridges, and the Mid-Indian Ocean Ridges, whereas it is less sensitive in the regions such as the Indonesian Archipelago, and the western Pacific Ocean. The difference of the sensitivity can be best explained in terms of the value of the forcing function that is proportional to the square of the vertical velocity caused by barotropic tidal currents interacting with high-pass filtered bottom topography. Using the extrapolated value of the forcing function that takes into account all the topographic features generating baroclinic tides, we present the global distribution of the baroclinic tidal energy conversion rates in the limit of zero horizontal grid spacing.

Experimental evidence on the dependence of the standard GPS phase scintillation index on the ionospheric plasma drift around noon sector of the polar ionosphere

Abstract: First experimental proof of a clear and strong dependence of the standard phase scintillation index (σφ) derived using Global Positioning System measurements on the ionospheric plasma flow around the noon sector of polar ionosphere is presented. σφ shows a strong linear dependence on the plasma drift speed measured by the Super Dual Auroral Radar Network radars, whereas the amplitude scintillation index (S4) does not. This observed dependence can be explained as a consequence of Fresnel frequency dependence of the relative drift and the used constant cutoff frequency (0.1 Hz) to detrend the data for obtaining standard σφ. The lack of dependence of S4 on the drift speed possibly eliminates the plasma instability mechanism(s) involved as a cause of the dependence. These observations further confirm that the standard phase scintillation index is much more sensitive to plasma flow; therefore, utmost care must be taken when identifying phase scintillation (diffractive phase variations) from refractive (deterministic) phase variations, especially in the polar region where the ionospheric plasma drift is much larger than in equatorial and midlatitude regions.

Exploring Magnitude Forecasting of the Next Earthquake

Abstract: Almost all forecasting of the magnitude of the next earthquake has assumed the same independent probability distribution, such as the Gutenberg–Richter law, with the same b-value (b = 0.9 in Japan region standard), throughout an earthquake sequence. Identifying a broadened forecasting procedure for general models of space-time magnitude sequences may enhance the information gain of earthquake forecasts. This manuscript explores and evaluates three such models for earthquake magnitude forecasting. The first model forecasts magnitudes by location-dependent b-values; the second model forecasts magnitudes by space-time weighted moving average of the short-term past and neighboring magnitude sequence; and the third forecasts based on short-term tightness of clustering among earthquakes. The forecasting performances of these models estimated in a learning periods are shown at each time in the CSEP Japan testing period, from November 1, 2008 till October 31, 2017. Except for the last example, the forecasts do not outperform the baseline G–R law with the b value of 0.9. We discuss the reasons by some residual analysis.

New residence times of the Holocene reworked shells on the west coast of Bohai Bay, ChinaNew residence times of the Holocene reworked shells on the west coast of Bohai Bay, China

Abstract: Abstract Shelly cheniers and shell-rich beds found intercalated in near-shore marine muds and sandy sediments can be used to indicate the location of ancient shorelines, and help to estimate the height of sea level. However, dating the deposition of material within cheniers and shell-rich beds is not straightforward because much of this material is transported and re-worked, creating an unknown temporal off-set, i.e., the residence time, between the death of a shell and its subsequent entombment. To quantify the residence time during the Holocene on a section of the northern Chinese coastline a total 47 shelly subsamples were taken from 17 discrete layers identified on the west coast of Bohai Bay. This material was AMS 14C dated and the calibrated ages were systematically compared. The subsamples were categorized by type as articulated and disarticulated bivalves, gastropod shells, and undifferentiated shell-hash. It was found that within most individual layers the calibrated ages of the subsamples got younger relative to the amount of apparent post-mortem re-working the material had been subject to. For examples, the 14C ages of the bivalve samples trended younger in this order: shell-hash → split shells → articulated shells. We propose that the younger subsample age determined within an individual layer will be the closest to the actual depositional age of the material dated. Using this approach at four Holocene sites we find residence times which range from 100 to 1260 cal yrs, with two average values of 600 cal yrs for the original 14C dates older than 1 ka cal BP and 100 cal yrs for the original 14C dates younger than 1 ka cal BP, respectively. Using this semi-empirical estimation of the shell residence times we have refined the existing chronology of the Holocene chenier ridges on the west coast of Bohai Bay.

Impact of the lower thermospheric winter-to-summer residual circulation on thermospheric composition

Abstract: Gravity wave forcing near the mesopause drives a summer-to-winter residual circulation in the mesosphere and a reversed, lower thermospheric winter-to-summer residual circulation. We conducted modeling studies to investigate how this lower thermospheric residual circulation impact thermospheric composition (O/N2). We found that the upwelling associated with the residual circulation significantly decreases O/N2 in winter and the downwelling in summer slightly increases O/N2. Consequently, the residual circulation reduces the summer-to-winter latitudinal gradient of O/N2, which causes the simulated latitudinal gradient of O/N2 to be more consistent with observations. The smaller summer-to-winter latitudinal gradient of O/N2 would decrease the ionosphere winter anomaly in model simulations, which would bring the simulated winter anomaly into better agreement with ionospheric observations. The lower thermospheric residual circulation may be a process that has been largely ignored but is very important to the summer-to-winter latitudinal gradients, as well as annual/semiannual variations in the thermosphere and ionosphere.

Geometrical Dependence on the Stress and Slip Tendency Acting on the Subduction Megathrust of Nankai Seismogenic Zone Off Kumano

Abstract: AbstractWe assess the dependence of megathrust geometry near the updip edge of the Nankai seismogenic zone according to the slip tendency of the megathrust based on a reprocessed 3D PSDM seismic volume image and International Ocean Discovery Program (IODP) NanTroSEIZE drilling data off the coast of the Kii Peninsula, central Japan. The plate boundary fault surface is manually picked from the 3D seismic volume and is divided into three groups: low dip (10°–15°) trending NW to N in the NE region, intermediate dip (~ 25°) trending north in the western region, and high dip (30°–40°) trending NW in the SE corner. We then calculate the overburden (Sv) by converting the modeled 3D velocity to bulk density. Here, Sv ranges from 100 MPa near the SW edge to 160 MPa on the NE corner. In order to derive horizontal principal stresses (SH and Sh) and the pore fluid pressure (Pp), we assign the ratio of horizontal-to-vertical principal stresses, r (= SH/Sv), and the ratio of pore fluid pressure-to-vertical stress, λ (= Pp/Sv) based on IODP drilling data. The directions of SH and the slip on the fault are set parallel to the plate convergence vector (N55W). Assuming a triaxial condition (SH > Sh = Sv), the slip tendency (Ts) can be calculated from the dip angle and dip azimuth of the fault surface, r, and λ. We found that Ts is sensitive to the variation in fault geometry. For r = 1.2 and λ = 0.7 (normalized pore pressure ratio λ* = 0.25), Ts is low (~ 0.1) in the low-angle dip region and higher (> 0.2) in the high-angle dip region. This suggests that the high-angle fault is optimally oriented under this condition. Low Ts in the low-angle dip region would correspond to a weaker region due to a low frictional strength, assuming that the fault surface should slip simultaneously. Using the high pore pressure ratio (λ* ~ 0.85) beneath the fault zone, the fault beneath IODP Site C0002 is very close to failure if r > 1.2.