Sequence of faulting and deformation during the 2000 eruptions of the Usu Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan—interpretation and image analyses of aerial photographs

Significant faulting and deformation of the ground surface has been rarely known during volcanic eruptions. Usu Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan, is a unique example of deformation due to felsic magma intrusion. Usu Volcano has a history of such types of eruptions as phreatic, pumice eruption (Plinian type), pyroclastic flowing and lava doming since 1663. On March 31, 2000, phreatomagmatic to phreatic eruptions took place after 23 years of dormancy in the western piedmont, followed by explosions on the western flank of Usu Volcano. They were associated with significant deformation including faulting and uplift. The eruptions and deformation were continuing up to the end of May 2000.We identified the faulting using total nine sets of aerial photographs taken from before the eruption (March 31, 2000) to more than 1 year (April 27, 2001) after the end of the activity, and traced deformation processes through image processing using aerial photographs. We found that some of the new faults and the associated phreatic eruptions were related to old faults formed during the 1977–1981 eruptive episode.The image processing has revealed that the surface deformation is coincident with the area of faulting forming small grabens and the phreatic explosion vents. However, the faulting and main explosive eruptions did not take place in the highest uplift area, but along the margin. This suggests that the faulting and explosive activities were affected by small feeder channels diverging from the main magma body which caused the highest uplift.     

ASCA observations of the Galactic superluminal sources GRO J1655–40 and GRS 1915+105

We summarize the ASCA observations of the two Galactic superluminal sources GRO J1655–40 and GRS 1915+105, focusing on theabsorption line features.The high spectroscopic capability of ASCA enabled us to detectiron-K absorption line features from both objects. This is direct evidence for the presence of highly ionized plasma in a non-spherical configuration around a black hole, and is considered to be a unique signature of superluminal jet systems. The candidate of the line-absorber would be a part of an accretion disk at a distance of 10^9-11 cm from the central X-ray source.     

A three‐component end‐member analysis of streamwater hydrochemistry in a small Japanese forested headwater catchment

Intensive water sampling in conjunction with hydrological observations was conducted during three different rainstorms in order to understand the effects of rainfall events on the temporal variation of streamwater chemistry in a small headwater forest catchment. Concentrations of Na⁺ and SO₄^2? decreased as the discharge rate increased. Hydrograph separation of the components was made using the three‐component model based on the end‐members mixing analysis (EMMA). The three end‐members were:

• 1 the groundwater in the saturated zone that prescribes the chemistry of the baseflow;
• 2 the throughfall that dilutes the streamwater;
• 3 the groundwater in the transient saturated zone prescribed, which was dependent on the groundwater level.

When the groundwater level was lower, only the two components, groundwater in the saturated zone and throughfall, affected the streamwater chemistry. When the groundwater level rose and the saturated zone spread, the groundwater in the transient saturated zone became the third component. When the groundwater in the transient saturated zone contributed to the discharge, this component became the dominant source and the streamwater chemistry was affected by the groundwater chemistry in the transient saturated zone. When this component was discharged as the saturation overland flow, the streamwater chemistry was greatly affected by this component. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed layer depth climatology of the North Pacific based on Argo observations

A monthly mean climatology of the mixed layer depth (MLD) in the North Pacific has been produced by using Argo observations. The optimum method and parameter for evaluating the MLD from the Argo data are statistically determined. The MLD and its properties from each density profile were calculated with the method and parameter. The monthly mean climatology of the MLD is computed on a 2° × 2° grid with more than 30 profiles for each grid. Two bands of deep mixed layer with more than 200 m depth are found to the north and south of the Kuroshio Extension in the winter climatology, which cannot be reproduced in some previous climatologies. Early shoaling of the winter mixed layer between 20–30°N, which has been pointed out by previous studies, is also well recognized. A notable feature suggested by our climatology is that the deepest mixed layer tends to occur about one month before the mixed layer density peaks in the middle latitudes, especially in the western region, while they tend to coincide with each other in higher latitudes.     

ASCA observations of OAO 1657−415 and its dust-scattered X-ray halo

We report on two ASCA observations of the high-mass X-ray binary pulsar OAO 1657−415. A short observation near mid-eclipse caught the source in a low-intensity state, with a weak continuum and iron emission dominated by the 6.4-keV fluorescent line. A later, longer observation found the source in a high-intensity state and covered the uneclipsed through mid-eclipse phases. In the high-intensity state, the non-eclipse spectrum has an absorbed continuum component due to scattering by material near the pulsar and 80 per cent of the fluorescent iron emission comes from less than 19 light-second away from the pulsar. We find a dust-scattered X-ray halo whose intensity decays through the eclipse. We use this halo to estimate the distance to the source as 7.1 ± 1.3 kpc.     

Argon and nitrogen isotopes of trapped air in the GISP2 ice core during the Holocene epoch (0-11,500 B.P.): Methodology and implications for gas loss processes

Argon and nitrogen isotopes of air in polar ice cores provide constraints on past temperature and firn thickness, with relevance to past climate. We developed a method to simultaneously measure nitrogen and argon isotopes in trapped air from the same sample of polar ice. This method reduces the time required for analysis, allowing large numbers of measurements. We applied this method to the entire Holocene sequence of the GISP2 ice core (82.37-1692.22 m) with a 10-20 year sampling interval (670 depths). δ⁴⁰Ar and δ¹⁵N show elevated values in the oldest part of the dataset, consistent with a thicker firn layer and increased temperature gradient in the firn due to the legacy of the abrupt warming at the end of the Younger Dryas interval and the gradual warming during the Preboreal interval (11.5-10.0 ka). The Preboreal Oscillation and the 8.2k event are clearly recorded. The data show remarkable stability after the 8.2k event.Available data suggests that post-coring gas loss involves two distinct types of fractionation. First, smaller molecules with less than a certain threshold size leak through the ice lattice with little isotopic fractionation. Second, gas composition changes via gas loss through microcracks, which induces isotopic fractionation. These two gas loss processes can explain most trends in our data and in other ice core records.     

Reproducibility and variability of submesoscale frontal eddies on a broad,low-energy shelf of freshwater influence

Ocean Dynamics - A multi-decadal simulation of ocean circulation in the northern Gulf of Mexico produces strong submesoscale instabilities in the Mississippi/Atchafalaya plume fronts. The model...     

Interannual variability of the North Pacific Subtropical Countercurrent: role of local ocean–atmosphere interaction

Seasonal and interannual variability of the Subtropical Countercurrent (STCC) in the western North Pacific are investigated using observations by satellites and Argo profiling floats and an atmospheric reanalysis. The STCC displays a clear seasonal cycle. It is strong in late winter to early summer with a peak in June, and weak in fall. Interannual variations of the spring STCC are associated with an enhanced subtropical front (STF) below the surface mixed layer. In climatology, the SST front induces a band of cyclonic wind stress in May north of the STCC on the background of anticyclonic curls that drive the subtropical gyre. The band of cyclonic wind and the SST front show large interannual variability and are positively correlated with each other, suggesting a positive feedback between them. The cyclonic wind anomaly is negatively correlated with the SSH and SST below. The strong (weak) cyclonic wind anomaly elevates (depresses) the thermocline and causes the fall (rise) in the SSH and SST, accelerating (decelerating) STCC to the south. It is suggested that the anomalies in the SST front and STCC in the preceding winter affect the subsequent development of the cyclonic wind anomaly in May. Results from our analysis of interannual variability support the idea that the local wind forcing in May causes the subsequent variations in STCC.