Transformation of arsenic compounds in modern intertidal sediments of Iriomote Island, Japan

The arsenic accumulation process in intertidal sediments of Iriomote Island, Japan, is analyzed as a naturally balanced arsenic-fixation system. Major and minor element chemistry is analyzed by X-ray fluorescence photometry, mineralogy is investigated by X-ray diffractometry, and four arsenic compounds are characterized by hydrogen-generated atomic absorption photometry. It is found that arsenic is accumulated by iron hydroxides/oxides precipitated following the decomposition of humic acids in the shallower sediment, and is subsequently incorporated into iron sulfide minerals at depth. The arsenic is immobile during incorporation into arsenic-bearing phases, suggesting that arsenic is unlikely to be released into the porewater under natural conditions in early diagenesis. The formation and decomposition of arsenic-bearing organic compounds appear to be associated with the formation and decomposition of arsenic in oxyhydroxides/oxides, suggesting that microbial activity may play an important role in controlling the behavior of arsenic and arsenic-bearing phases in the sediment column.     

Local records of long-term dynamics of bamboo gregarious flowering in northern Laos and regional synchronicity of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dendrocalamus membranaceus</Emphasis> in two flowering sites

Bamboos are widely distributed in mainland Southeast Asia and have abundant biomass. They are characterized by prolonged vegetative growth and semelparity. Where bamboos are dominant, their synchronous flowering and death has a major impact on forest vegetation. Although the small-scale dynamics of this process have become clearer in recent years, the history, geographical scale and synchronicity of bamboo flowering over broad areas remains unknown. This study focused on the flowering history of six bamboo species, Bambusa tulda, Cephalostachyum virgatum, Dendrocalamus hamiltonii, Dendrocalamus membranaceus, Indosasa sinica and Oxytenanthera parvifolia, over 40 years across a broad area of northern Laos. We also examined the synchronicity of flowering in D. membranaceus. We visited 49 villages in northern Laos and surveyed knowledgeable inhabitants about bamboo flowering history. The timing, scale and synchronicity of gregarious flowering varied among species. D. hamiltonii and D. membranaceus showed higher flowering synchronicity than other species. All the species except I. sinica had both sporadic and gregarious flowering traits, and showed conspicuous variability in their flowering scale. The flowering bamboo population at two gregarious flowering sites for D. membranaceus was surveyed. While this species had the highest synchronicity in this study, its synchronicity was lower than other species in previous studies worldwide. We found that the gregarious flowering of bamboos in northern Laos over the last 40 years showed lower synchronicity than bamboo flowering reported in other areas of the world. The historical dynamics and scale of bamboo flowering must be further clarified to understand the vegetation composition of this area.     

Effect of subsurface water level on gully headcut retreat in tropical highlands of Ethiopia

Gully erosion is a major cause of soil loss and severe land degradation in sub-humid Ethiopia. The objective of this study was to investigate the role and the effect of subsurface water level change on gully headcut retreat, gully formation and expansion in high rainfall tropical regions in the Ethiopian highlands. During the rainy seasons of 2017–2019, the expansion rate of 16 fixed gullies was measured and subsurface water levels were measured by piezometers installed near gully heads. During the study period, headcut retreats ranged from 0.70 to 2.35 m, with a mean value of 1.49 ± 0.56 m year⁻¹, and average depth of the surface water level varied between 1.12 and 2.82 m, with a mean value of 2.62 m. Gully cross-section areas ranged from 2.90 to 20.90 m², with an average of 9.31 ± 4.80 m². Volumetric retreat of gully headcuts ranged from 4.49 to 40.55 m³ and averaged 13.34 ± 9.10 m³. Soil loss from individual gullies ranged from 5.79 to 52.31 t year⁻¹ and averaged 17.21 ± 11.74 t year⁻¹. The headcut retreat rate and sediment yield were closely related over the three study seasons. Elevated subsurface water levels facilitated the slumping of gully banks and heads, causing high sediment yield. When the soil was saturated, bank collapse and headcut retreat were favoured by the combination of elevated subsurface water and high rainfall. This study indicates that area exclosures are effective in controlling subsurface water level, thus reducing gully headcut retreat and associated soil loss.     

Life history ofEuphausia similis (crustacea,euphausiacea) in Sagami Bay,central Japan

The life history ofEuphausia similis G.O. Sars in Sagami Bay, central Japan, has been studied by examining the abundance, size distribution, and occurrence of each growing stage from egg to adult. Three cohorts were laid within the period from July 1979 to July 1980. Individuals of cohort I of 1980 were laid in November and December 1979, and matured and spawned in March and April of the following year. Those of cohort II of 1980 laid in January and February 1980 should mature in November and spawn after December, by analogy with cohort II of 1979. Cohort III of 1980 was laid in April 1980, but decreased in number in July. Cohort II was the dominant cohort in Sagami Bay throughout the period studied. From December 1979 to April 1980 when the mixing layer was present, many eggs ofE. similis were in the epipelagic zone. It is suggested that the spawning season ofE. similis roughly coincided with the season of active feeding, indicated by high fullness of stomachs in individuals. The production of juveniles and adults was about 1.33 mg C m^–2 day^–1, and the production to bio mass (P/B) ratio was estimated to be 4.78 between July 1979 and July 1980.     

Monitoring over‐winter soil water dynamics in a freezing and snow‐covered environment using a thermally insulated tensiometer

Water potential below a frozen soil layer was continuously monitored over an entire winter period (using thermally insulated tensiometers sheltered in a heated chamber) along with other soil, snow and atmospheric variables. In early winter, the freezing front advanced under a thin snow cover, inducing upward soil water flow in the underlying unfrozen soil. The freezing front started to retreat when the snow cover became thick enough to insulate the soil, resulting in the reversal of the flow direction in the unfrozen zone. These data provide a clear illustration of soil water dynamics, which have rarely been monitored with a tensiometer. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

两个相连湖泊的微生态系统——云南高原湖泊中浅水的星云湖和深水的抚仙湖研究

抚仙湖是中国云南省的一个深水湖，连接着富营养化的浅水湖－－星云湖，星云湖排放含绿藻的水进入抚仙湖。两湖位于省会昆明附近，由于地方文化、集约化农业、以及旅游业的发展，两湖已经富营养化。因为湖泊体积容量的级别差异，深水湖的富营养化几乎没被注意，抚仙湖秋季下层滞水带缺氧已经关注了20年，似乎下层滞水带是深水湖富营养化的指标或趋势。抚仙湖看起来目前情况尚好，可以说寡营养，然而，外界负荷是潜在的，且是以稳定的加速度进行的。在此对浅水湖富营养化的原因进行了讨论，包括在其它云南湖泊观察到富营养化的过程，再者，对两个连相湖的藻和蓝藻碎片的大小构成进行比照。为了与深水的抚仙湖状况进行比较，简略介绍了一个日本的深湖及其径流系统。其中，涡流和它的微生态系统，在两者中相关性很好。对于以涡流生态系统的见解判断微生态系统的深水湖富营养化问题将给予概括。     

Miocene pinnipeds of the otariid subfamily Allodesminae in the North Pacific Ocean: Systematics and relationships

Abstract Fossil pinnipeds in the extinct otariid subfamily Allodesminae are large, relatively highly evolved marine carnivores that became abundant and diverse in Middle Miocene time and were restricted to the North Pacific Ocean. Their record extends from early Middle Miocene through Late Miocene, with records from California, Oregon, Washington, Baja California and Japan. Allodesmines are characterized by extreme sexual dimorphism, a large orbit, retracted orbital margin of the zygomatic arch, a deeply mortised jugal-squamosal junction, wide palate, bulbous cheek tooth crowns, nearly flat tympanic bulla with wrinkled ventral surface, a large tympanohyal fossa, large ear ossicles and deep mandible. Eleven allodesmine species are known (eight of which are named), in at least four genera, and most belong to the typical genus Allodesmus Kellogg, 1922. The earliest and most generalized allodesmine known is from the early Middle Miocene (ca 16 Ma) Astoria Formation in coastal Oregon. The last known records are from Late Miocene rocks (ca 10 Ma) in California and Washington. New taxa proposed here are: the genus Brachyallodesmus Barnes and Hirota, to contain Allodesmus packardi Barnes, 1972; the genus Megagomphos Hirota and Barnes, to contain Allodesmus sinanoensis (Nagao, 1941); the species Allodesmus sadoensis Hirota, (Middle Miocene, Japan); the species Allodesmus megallos Hirota (Middle Miocene, Japan); and the species Allodesmus gracilis Barnes (Middle Miocene, California). Additionally, the genus Atopotarus Downs, 1956, and the species Allodesmus kelloggi Mitchell, 1966, are resurrected. Allodesmines were apparently a rapidly evolving group, and most appear to have been adapted to roles later filled by otariine, dusignathine and imagotariine otariids, and the Phocidae (true seals). They became extinct in Late Miocene time and left no living descendants. Although some of their characters evolved convergently with various living species of the pinniped family Phocidae, Allodesminae are an otariid group and not part of the evolutionary history of Phocidae.     

Are C1 chondrites chemically fractionated? a trace element study

Six C1 chondrite samples and a C2 xenolith from the Plainview H5 chondrite were analyzed by radiochemical neutron activation for the elements Ag, Au, Bi, Br, Cd, Ce, Cs, Eu, Ge, In, Ir, Lu, Nd, Ni, Os, Pd, Pt, Rb, Re, Sb, Se, Sn, Tb, Te, Tl, Yb, and Zn. The data were combined with 9 earlier analyses from this laboratory and examined for evidence of chemical fractionation in C1 chondrites.A number of elements (Br, Rb, Cs, Au, Re, Os, Ni, Pd, Sb, Bi, In, Te) show small but correlated variations. Those of the first 8 probably reflect hydrothermal alteration in the meteorite parent body, whereas those of Sb, Bi, In, and Te may at least in part involve nebular processes. Br and Au show systematic abundance differences from meteorite to meteorite, which suggests hydrothermal transport on a kilometer scale. The remaining elements vary from sample to sample, suggesting transport on a centimeter scale.There is no conclusive evidence for nebular fractionation affecting C1 's. Though C1 chondrites have lower $\text{Zr}\text{Hf}$ and $\text{Ir}\text{Re}$ ratios than do other chondrite classes, these ratios vary in other classes, suggesting that those classes rather than C1's are fractionated. Three fractionation-prone REE—Ce, Eu, and Yb have essentially the same relative abundances in C1's and all other chondrite classes, and hence apparently are not fractionated in C1's. We did not confirm the large Tb and Yb variations in C1's reported by other workers.We present revised mean C1 abundances for 35 elements, based on the new data and a critical selection of literature data. Changes are generally less than 10%, except for Br, Rb, Ag, Sb, Te, Au, and the REE.The Plainview C2 xenolith has normal trace element abundances, except for 3 elements falling appreciably above the C2 range: Rb, Cs, and Bi. Hydrothermal alteration may be the reason for all 3, though nebular fractionation remains a possibility for Bi.     

Analysis of change of red tide species in Yodo River estuary by the numerical ecosystem model

Occurrence number of red tides in Osaka Bay in Japan is more than 20 cases every year. Diatom red tide was dominant in Osaka Bay, but the non-diatom red tide was dominant in early 1990s. Therefore, the material cycling in Yodo River estuary in Osaka Bay during August from 1991 to 2000 was analyzed by using the numerical ecosystem model and field observation data to clarify the reasons of change in red tide species. Year-to-year variation in calculated concentration ratio of diatom to non-diatom corresponds to the variation in observed ratio of red tide days of diatom to non-diatom. Limiting nutrient of primary production is phosphate over the period. Diatom dominated from 1991 to 1993, but it was difficult for non-diatom to grow due to the limitation by physical condition. Non-diatom was able to grow because of good physical and nutrient conditions from 1994 to 1996. And diatom dominated again under the good physical condition, and phosphorus supply was not enough for non-diatom to grow from 1998 to 2000. Phosphate concentration in the lower layer of Yodo River estuary was important to the variation in red tide species in the upper layer of Yodo River estuary.