Bathymetry, biota and sediments on the Hirota Reef, Tane-ga-shima – the northernmost coral reef in the Ryukyu Islands

Abstract Investigations were conducted on bathymetry, reef biota and sediments on the Hirota Reef, Tane‐ga‐shima, North Ryukyus, near the northern limit for coral‐reef formation. A bathymetric profile from shore to the reef edge was depicted along an approximately 420‐m transect on the Hirota Coast of this island. A total of 20 quadrats (1 m × 1 m) were analyzed along the profile at 10‐ or 20‐m intervals to clarify distribution of macrobenthos inhabiting the reef. The Hirota Reef is divided into four geomorphologic zones according to their depth, gradient, surface roughness, substrate and characteristic macrobenthos. They are, from shore to offshore, shallow lagoon, seaward reef flat, reef edge and reef slope. The shallow lagoon comprises a shoreward depression (∼160 m wide on the transect) with a sand/gravel bottom that inclines gently toward offshore, and a seaward patch zone (∼70 m wide). The patches (<2 m high) are covered with fleshy algae, coralline algae and hermatypic corals. The seaward reef flat (∼190 m wide) is a flat plane that is constructed by biogenic carbonates and is covered with turf algae, with hermatypic corals scattered. Although the seaward reef flat of the Hirota Reef cannot be differentiated into different geomorphologic zones, similar seaward reef flat areas in the Central and South Ryukyus can be clearly subdivided into inner reef flat, reef crest and outer reef flat. This difference may be attributed to a lower reef growth rate and/or the later reef formation of the Hirota Reef in Holocene time than the southern examples. The coral fauna on the Hirota Reef is delineated by low diversity and characterized by taxa typical of high‐latitude, non‐reefal communities. The algal flora consists of tropical to subtropical species associated with warm‐temperate species. These faunal and floral characteristics may be related largely to lower water temperature in Tane‐ga‐shima than those in typical coral‐reef regions.     

230Th/234U and 14C dating of a lowstand coral reef beneath the insular shelf off Irabu Island, Ryukyus, southwestern Japan

Abstract   High-resolution seismic reflection profiles delineated the distribution of mound-shaped reflections, which were interpreted as reefs, beneath the insular shelf western off Irabu Island, Ryukyus, southwestern Japan. A sediment core through one of the mounded structures was recovered from the sea floor at a depth of −118.2 m by offshore drilling and was dated by radiometric methods. The lithology and coral fauna of the core indicate that the mounded structure was composed of coral–algal boundstone suggesting a small-scaled coral reef. High-precision α-spectrometric ²³⁰Th/²³⁴U dating coupled with calibrated accelerator mass spectrometric ¹⁴C ages of corals obtained reliable ages of this reef ranging from 22.18 ± 0.63 to 30.47 ± 0.98 ka. This proves that such a submerged reef was formed during the lowstand stage of marine oxygen isotope stages 3–2. The existence of low-Mg calcite in the aragonitic coral skeleton of 22.18 ± 0.63 ka provides evidence that the reef had once been exposed by lowering of the relative sealevel to at least −126 m during the last glacial maximum in the study area. There is no room for doubt that a coral reef grew during the last glacial period on the shelf off Irabu Island of Ryukyus in the subtropical region of western Pacific.     

Dynamics of Wood Transport in Streams: A Flume Experiment

The influence of woody debris on channel morphology and aquatic habitat has been recognized for many years. Unlike sediment, however, little is known about how wood moves through river systems. We examined some dynamics of wood transport in streams through a series of flume experiments and observed three distinct wood transport regimes: uncongested, congested and semi-congested. During uncongested transport, logs move without piece-to-piece interactions and generally occupy less than 10 per cent of the channel area. In congested transport, the logs move together as a single mass and occupy more than 33 per cent of the channel area. Semi-congested transport is intermediate between these two transport regimes. The type of transport regime was most sensitive to changes in a dimensionless input rate, defined as the ratio of log volume delivered to the channel per second (Q_log) to discharge (Q_W); this ratio varied between 0·015 for uncongested transport and 0·20 for congested transport. Depositional fabrics within stable log jams varied by transport type, with deposits derived from uncongested and semi-congested transport regimes having a higher proportion of pieces orientated normal to flow than those from congested transport. Because wood input rates are higher and channel dimensions decrease relative to piece size in low-order channels, we expect congested transport will be more common in low-order streams while uncongested transport will dominate higher-order streams. Single flotation models can be used to model the stability of individual pieces, especially in higher-order channels, but are insufficient for modelling the more complex intractions that occur in lower-order streams. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stiffened steel box columns. Part 1: Cyclic behaviour

This paper aims to study the cyclic inelastic behaviour of stiffened steel box columns failed by local and overall interaction instability under a constant compressive axial force and cyclic lateral loading. Such columns find broad application in steel bridge piers. The columns are of box sections with longitudinal stiffeners. In the analysis, a modified two‐surface plasticity model developed at Nagoya University is employed to model material non‐linearity. For comparison, analyses using classical isotropic‐ and kinematic‐hardening models are also carried out. Hysteretic curves and buckling modes obtained from analysis using the two‐surface model and classical models are compared with experimental results. Moreover, the progression of deformation from occurrence of local buckling to structural failure is discussed in detail. The comparisons show that the use of an accurate plasticity model is quite important in the prediction of both the cyclic inelastic behaviour and failure characteristic of steel box columns failed by coupled local and overall instability. It is found that the modified two‐surface model is a satisfactory model in predicting the cyclic hysteretic behaviour of both the thin‐ and thick‐walled steel box columns. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Evaluation of the internal radiation field in a composite planetary atmosphere with the lambert surface calculated by matrix method

If the atmosphere is simulated by a number of homogeneous sublayers, it was shown (Takashima, 1973a) that the intensity and polarization parameters emerging from any boundary of internal sublayer's field can be determined, provided that the diffuse reflection and transmission matrices of radiation of sublayers are known. Furthermore, if the surface (ground) is assumed to reflect light in accordance with the Lambert law, it is shown in this paper that the internal radiation field at boundary of any sublayer can be also computed in terms of the diffuse radiation matrices of sublayers rather than in terms of that of the entire atmosphere (Sekera, unpublished). The effect of polarization is included.     

Disparities and diversities among female‐headed households in rural Malawi after 20 years of economic liberalization

Using data from a survey carried out in six tobacco growing villages across Malawi in 2004–5, this paper summarizes some main differences found in subsistence production and income levels between male‐ and female‐headed households and the disparities among female‐headed households in the light of economic liberalization policies of the past two decades. The disadvantaged position of female‐headed households in terms of land and labour endowment, together with the high cost of inputs since the structural adjustment programmes and removal of subsidies since the 1980s has prevented poorer female‐headed households not only from attaining maize self‐sufficiency, but also from engaging in high‐return agriculture such as tobacco production. Although livelihood diversification is adopted by both male‐ and female‐headed households, many female‐headed households still depend on low‐entry‐barrier activities such as agricultural waged labour and are unable to break out of the poverty cycle. However, female‐headed households are a heterogeneous category and factors such as the availability of nonfarm income opportunities, social networks to access labour and capital, land acquisition through flexible applications of patrilineal inheritance rules, and the existence of formal channels for credit and informal tobacco trading have enabled some to improve agricultural productivity and achieve high incomes.     

Seasonal Changes in Nano/Micro-Zooplankton Herbivory and Heterotrophic Nano-Flagellates Bacterivory off Cape Esan, Southwestern Hokkaido, Japan

Seasonal changes in nano/micro-zooplankton grazing on pico-, nano- and micro-size phytoplankton and heterotrophic nano-flagellates (HNF) feeding on heterotrophic bacteria were quantified by the dilution technique in the surface layer off Cape Esan, southwestern Hokkaido, Japan. Pico- and nano-size phytoplankton were major components throughout the year except in spring when a diatom bloom was observed. Although there was little seasonal variation in bacteria and HNF biomass throughout the year, the micro-zooplankton biomass varied appreciably with a peak in spring. Nano/micro-zooplankton grazing or feeding on pico-size chl-a and bacteria were well balanced throughout the year. However, nano-size and micro-size chl-a growth were much greater than grazing in summer. Nano/micro-zooplankton ingestion of phytoplankton was greater than their ingestion of bacteria almost throughout the year, which suggests phytoplankton are more important as food sources of nano/micro-zooplankton in microbial food webs off Cape Esan than bacteria off Cape Esan. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Circulation patterns in the lower Arctic Ocean derived from geochemical data

Climatological water-mass structures were identified in the Arctic Ocean using the geochemical dataset in the Hydrochemical Atlas of the Arctic Ocean (HAAC) as well as data on a geochemically conserved parameter, PO₄*, based on phosphate and dissolved oxygen. In the upper ocean above a depth of 500 m, the HAAC was found to reliably depict the boundary between Pacific-Origin Water (P-Water) and Atlantic-Origin Water (A-Water), which is aligned 135°E–45°W near the surface but rotates counterclockwise with depth. Thus, the Arctic and Atlantic oceans exchange high-silicate P-Water and low-silicate A-Water. The PO₄* field in the lower ocean below a depth of 1500 m was analyzed statistically, and the results indicated that the Eurasian Basin receives low-PO₄* Nordic Seas Deep Water, which flows along the bottom from the Greenland Sea. The routes from the upper ocean to the lower ocean were determined. Only the southern portion of the Canada Basin, which receives water from the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, has high PO₄* levels; the rest of the Amerasian Basin receives low-PO₄* water from the Laptev Sea and/or the Barents Sea. The Eurasian Basin receives moderate levels of PO₄* from the Fram Strait and from the intermediate layer. The intermediate-layer water gradually travels up from the lower ocean and returns to the Atlantic, entraining the subsurface portion. It is likely that high-PO₄* water occasionally flows down from the upper ocean along Greenland, making the Eurasian Basin heterogeneous.     

Sequential updating assimilation of simulated Geosat altimeter data from mesoscale features into a two-layer quasi-geostrophic model

A sequential updating method for assimilating Geosat altimeter data into an eddyresolving, quasi-geostrophic model is examined using simulated data of mesoscale features taken from a control run solution. The upper-layer streamfunction in the model is updated by the altimeter data on satellite tracks (at 110 km intervals) at times of observations (with 17-day cycles). To evaluate data suitability, the correlation between the data and the assimilation solution just before update is compared with the correlation between the two data with a 1-cycle separation: i.e., predictability is compared with persistence. The assimilation method is tested on mesoscale features such as linear Rossby waves, unstable mesoscale meanders in a jet and dipole eddies over realistic deep ocean topography. The assimilation method is successful for reconstructing the mesoscale features that evolve gradually or extend over more than one track. Assimilation is degraded by quick evolution of smaller scale features; i.e the unstable meanders that have short wavelengths and are not well captured by the altimeter with the low cross-track resolution, and the mesoscale features, whose lower layer component receives effects of bottom topography in the data but is underestimated due to inefficient downward transfer of the surface data in the assimilation.