Southern Foot Research Articles

Identification of volcanic products around the southern foot of Haruna Volcano, central Japan : An example of identifying volcanic products using refractive indices of plagioclase phenocrysts

斜長石斑晶の屈折率を用いた火山噴出物の同定・対比法の有効性を詳細に検討するため，重鉱物の屈折率では識別が困難な榛名火山起源の噴出物について，斜長石斑晶の屈折率分析を行った．その結果，斜長石斑晶の屈折率によって，5～6世紀に相次いで生産された噴出物，32ka の榛名三原田降下軽石，45ka の榛名八崎降下軽石および白川火砕流堆積物について，互いの識別が可能になった．主成分化学組成からも，屈折率分析と同様の結果が得られ，斜長石斑晶の屈折率による火山噴出物の識別が有効であることが示された．また，榛名火山南麓に主として分布する白川火砕流堆積物中に，斜長石斑晶の屈折率が明瞭に異なる火砕流堆積物が存在することが確認された．これを新たに里見火砕流堆積物と呼ぶことにする．

Structure contours expressing imaginary geomorphic surface of 10, 000 years ago at the southern foot of Mt. ASHITAKA

Structure contours expressing imaginary geomorphic surface of 10, 000 years ago at the southern foot of Mt. ASHITAKA

Die Chestenenweid am Vierwaldstättersee (Kanton Luzern, Zentralschweiz) — ein Bedeutender Lebensraum für Flechten Trockenwarmer Standorte Auf Der Alpennordseite

Abstract: DIETRICH, M. & BURGI-MEYER, K. 2011. Chestenenweid at Lake Lucerne (Canton of Lucerne, Central Switzerland) — an important habitat for lichens of dry and warm sites on the northern side of the Alps. — Herzogia 24: 33–52. Due to its dry and warm climate, Chestenenweid, at the southern foot of Mount Rigi, represents an extraordinary habitat in Inner-Switzerland, a region generally characterised by high precipitation. The area, rich in boulders of Nagelfluh conglomerates, was investigated intensively as a contribution to lichen conservation in the canton of Lucerne. A total of 182 lichen species was recorded. The epiphytic Arthonia ligniaria, the terricolous Endocarpon pallidulum and the saxicolous Lemmopsis arnoldiana are reported for the first time from Switzerland. Fourteen additional species are new to the canton of Lucerne: Agonimia globulifera, A. opuntiella, Caloplaca conversa, C. polycarpa, Cladonia parasitica, C. rei, Endocarpon pusillum, Leptogium teretiusculum, Myriospora heppii, Peltige...

P28 富士山南麓における火砕流堆積物の特徴(続報)(ポスターセッション)

P28 富士山南麓における火砕流堆積物の特徴(続報)(ポスターセッション)

Integrated geophysical methods for determining geometry of the Kahrizak Fault, Tehran, Iran

Historical studies and geologic investigations show that the Kahrizak fault located at the southern foot of the central Alborz Mountains poses a high seismic risk for the Tehran region. However, little is known about the geometry and mechanism of movement along this seismogenic fault. This paper uses three different geophysical methods namely, seismic refraction, electrical resistivity and magnetic techniques to investigate geometry and sense of motion across the Kahrizak fault in southern Tehran. Although the geoelectric measurements do not show clear anomaly across the fault deep down into the ground, it reveals an obvious anomaly in shallow depths. However, looking at the seismic refraction and magnetic profiles across the Kahrizak scarp, we identified a high angle fault dipping south. This result in conjunction with the local relief across the fault scarp would suggest that the southern block is downthrown with respect to the northern block across a normal fault. Such knowledge can contribute to better evaluate the seismic hazard potential of one of the main seismogenic faults in the Tehran area.

What Did Natural History have to do with Salvation? José de Acosta Sj (1540–1600) in the Americas

At the southern foot of the Palatine Hill in Rome, a little more than one hundred metres due west of the triumphal arch erected by the emperor who is associated more than any other with the Christian conversion of the Old World — Constantine the Great – there stands another arch. Relocated from its original position at the eastern foot of the Palatine, more or less directly across from the biggest remaining ruin in the forum — that of the Basilica of Maxentius — it formed the monumental entrance to one of the most important botanic gardens in sixteenth-century Europe — theOrti farnesiani, which were given their definitive shape between 1565 and 1590. I propose that this second arch has reason to be considered as occupying a similar symbolic significance for the conversion of the New World.

P55 富士山南麓における火砕流堆積物の特徴(ポスターセッション)

P55 富士山南麓における火砕流堆積物の特徴(ポスターセッション)

Environmental Evaluation of the Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii) Forest on the Southern Foot of Mt. Fuji Using the Landsat TM Data

Environmental Evaluation of the Japanese Black Pine (Pinus thunbergii) Forest on the Southern Foot of Mt. Fuji Using the Landsat TM Data

Diurnal Variation of Convective Activity and Precipitable Water around Ulaanbaator, Mongolia, and the Impact of Soil Moisture on Convective Activity during Nighttime

Abstract The diurnal variations of convective activity and precipitable water were investigated using a C-band airport radar and GPS receivers around Ulaanbaator (UB), Mongolia; this location was considered as an example of an arid region. The convective activity exhibited a pronounced diurnal cycle; it increased rapidly at 1100 local solar time (LST; 0300 UTC), reached the maximum at 1400 LST, and almost disappeared after 1900 LST. On the other hand, no diurnal variation of precipitable water could be observed, which implied that there was no considerable evapotranspiration, and the diurnal variation of the convective activity was irrelevant to the variation of water vapor. The reason why the deep convection could not develop at night is discussed using numerical modeling from the viewpoint of soil moisture. In the moist soil conditions assumed for humid simulations, an increase in the water vapor in the boundary layer due to evapotranspiration led to a potentially unstable condition that was sustained until night. Deep convection was formed at the southern foot of mountains where topographical convergence was expected. On the other hand, in the dry soil conditions assumed for the arid simulations, deep convection did not occur during nighttime even though topographical convergence was expected over the southern foot of the mountains. These features of dry soil conditions were consistent with the results from radar observations around UB. In other words, since the soil around UB is too dry in practice to sustain an unstable condition until night, the deep convection had to decay by night and could not be initiated at night.

Transportation of Water Vapor into the Tibetan Plateau in the Case of a Passing Synoptic-Scale Trough

The passing of a synoptic trough is expected to contribute strongly to water vapor (WV) transport processes from the Indian Ocean to the Tibetan Plateau (TP) during the monsoon season. However, the pathway of the WV into the plateau associated with passing a trough and its contribution to the WV budget over the TP are not clear. In this study, the processes of WV transport in the case of a passing trough in 1998 were analyzed using GAME reanalysis data and the numerical model, focusing especially on the WV transportation pattern in the Indian Monsoon region and the diurnal variation of WV intrusion from south of the Himalayas to the TP.WV advection into the TP was larger in the case of a passing synoptic trough than in the case of a prevailing Tibetan High. Sub-continental scale circulation for the two synoptic types corresponded with active/break phase of the Indian monsoon. In case of prevailing Tibetan High, a cyclonic circulation with a low-pressure area over India, associated with active Indian monsoon phase, prevented the WV intrusion into the TP in the middle troposphere. However, in the case of the trough that corresponded with break phase of Indian Monsoon, WV was transported directly from Arabian Sea to the southern foot of the Himalayas with a northward shift of the low-level monsoon westerly and it intruded into the southeastern TP.Numerical experiments showed that the WV transport process was composed of multiple steps in the case of the passing trough. WV was transported by the monsoon westerly to the southern foot of the Himalayas at 1500 m above sea level (a.s.l.). The moist air mass reached south of the TP with at about 5500 m a.s.l. during the noon to evening because of the development of a mixing layer and the enhancement of an upslope wind in southern slope of the Himalayas. A moist southwesterly flow was converged latitudinally in the southeastern TP because of the dry northwesterly flow prevailing in the rear of the passing trough over the TP. This convergence area expanded northward from mid-afternoon into the night and disappeared early next morning.

Factors acting on the distribution region of Carlemanniaceae: Rainfall, temperature and the plants’ biological characteristics

The family Carlemanniaceae in East Asia and tropical Asia, comprising two genera, Carlemannia and Silvianthus, are mainly distributed along the southern foot of the Himalaya Mountains and the western and southern interface of the Yunnan Plateau. The main reproductive process for Carlemannia tetragona was verified as self-pollination by the pollination experiments in this work. Germination rates for seeds of both C. tetragona and Silvianthus bracteatus could reach 100% when the seeds were collected after two months, while the rates decreased to 25% when collection took place in the previous year. It was found that the seed had no dormancy stages, and their seed banks were of the Transient Soil type. In field observations, the dehiscence status for fruits showed that their seeds could not be ejected effectively by capsules for dispersal. After analyzing the temperature and rainfall data from the years 1971 to 2000, it was shown that annual rainfall, the lowest mean monthly temperature in a year, and the extreme lowest temperature in a month had a great effect on the distribution range of Carlemanniaceae, while the mean annual temperature had a lesser effect. The narrow distribution range of Carlemanniaceae was affected by multiple factors, such as the short pollen dispersal distance and the Transient Soil Seed Bank. The population sizes of Carlemanniaceae were also easily affected by the level of rainfall, not by any single variable.

Patnos'ta Açığa Çıkarılan Urartu Stelleri

Doğu Anadolu Bölgesi'nde yer alan Ağrı iline bağlı Patnos ilçesi, önemli Urartu yerleşmelerine sahip olması ile tanınmaktadır. Bu merkezlerden biri olan Kot Tepe, arkeoloji dünyasına "Aznavur" adı ile tanıtılmıştır (Harita 1). Yörenin kaçak kazılarla tahrip edilmesi üzerine başlatılan arkeolojik çalışmalar, yerleşim yerinin tepe kısmında Urartu panteonunun baş tanrısı Haldi'ye ait olduğu düşünülen bir tapınağın açığa çıkarılması ile sonuçlanmıştır. Söz konusu tapınakla ilgili araştırmalar sonraki yıllarda da devam etmiştir. Ayrıca, tepenin yaklaşık 7 km doğusunda bulunan ve arkeoloji dünyasına "Giriktepe" (Değirmentepe) adı ile tanıtılan Giresor Tepe'de de bir Urartu sarayı saptanmıştır.

Comparative study of wold and lowland situated small watercourses from fishbiological aspect

Fishbiological research was held on 10 small watercourses, especially on the streams of woldy region of the southern foot of the Bükk-mountains and on the creeks of the lowland Borsodi-Mezőség in 2004. 7475 specimens of 34 species were caught as the result of our surveys on 28 sampling sites. Significant differences were found between fish stocks living in wold and lowland situated sampling sites.Nevertheless on the border of the hilly and lowland regions continous transition observed in the composition of fishstocks. Using Ind Val 2.0 statistical software indicator species appointed of the stocks of wold situated samling sites in “natural” and in “disturbed” states, and of the lowland situated sampling sites.

Tectonic Setting and the Features of the Surface Rupture Zone caused by the Mani Earthquake (Ms7.9) in 1997

On 8 November 1997, an Ms7.9 earthquake occurred at the northern edge of Qiangtang basin in Mani of the Xizang autonomous region. The Qiangtang area lies in northern Tibet where nobody inhabits, the climate is cold, the air is thin and the field investigation condition is very arduous. In this work LANDSAT images are used to study the geological tectonic background of the earthquake. The result shows that the earthquake occurred in the NEE trending Margai Caka-Rola Co fault zone, which is an active deep fault since the Holocene. CBERS-1 images of 1/100000 scale reveal the geometric characteristics of the surface rupture zone caused by the event. The trace of the Mani surface rupture zone is linear and composed of fissures, swells and dammed pools, which can be used to measure the length and segmentation of the rupture zone. The analysis shows that the major surface rupture zone of the earthquake, which is 110km long and trending 70°N~80°E, appears at the northern edge of the Qiangtang basin, Baixue Lake plain which lies in the southern foot of the Suijia Mountains, and extends eastward to the western bank of the Shuangduan Lake. The surface rupture zone can be divided into 3 sections: Baixue Lake-Margai Caka section, Margai Caka-Chaoyang Lake section and Chaoyang Lake-Shuangduan Lake section. The analysis of multi-phase MSS and TM images indicates that the surface rupture is the result of re-fracturing along an old fault.

Molecular phylogenetic and chemical analyses of the microbial mats in deep-sea cold seep sediments at the northeastern Japan Sea

Microbial communities inhabiting deep-sea cold seep sediments at the northeastern Japan Sea were characterized by molecular phylogenetic and chemical analyses. White patchy microbial mats were observed along the fault offshore the Hokkaido Island and sediment samples were collected from two stations at the southern foot of the Shiribeshi seamount (M1 site at a depth of 2,961 m on the active fault) and off the Motta Cape site (M2 site at a depth of 3,064 m off the active fault). The phylogenetic and terminal-restriction fragment polymorphism analyses of PCR-amplified 16S rRNA genes revealed that microbial community structures were different between two sampling stations. The members of ANME-2 archaea and diverse bacterial components including sulfate reducers within Deltaproteobacteria were detected from M1 site, indicating the occurrence of biologically mediated anaerobic oxidation of methane, while microbial community at M2 site was predominantly composed of members of Marine Crenarchaeota group I, sulfate reducers of Deltaproteobacteria, and sulfur oxidizers of Epsilonproteobacteria. Chemical analyses of seawater above microbial mats suggested that concentrations of sulfate and methane at M1 site were largely decreased relative to those at M2 site and carbon isotopic composition of methane at M1 site shifted heavier ((13)C-enriched), the results of which are consistent with molecular analyses. These results suggest that the mat microbial communities in deep-sea cold seep sediments at the northeastern Japan Sea are significantly responsible for sulfur and carbon circulations and the geological activity associated with plate movements serves unique microbial habitats in deep-sea environments.

Evaluating Equity Impacts of Animal Disease Control: The Case of Foot and Mouth Disease in Zimbabwe*

As in other countries in southern Africa, foot and mouth disease (FMD) is endemic in certain parts of Zimbabwe inhabited by African buffalo, which harbor the virus. Despite this, Zimbabwe has invested for many years in maintaining freedom from FMD over much of its territory, permitting it to take advantage of favorable tariff arrangements for export of boneless beef and other livestock products to high-value markets in Europe. To maintain freedom from FMD, a zonation system implemented with fencing and movement controls has been used to protect a central export zone where much of the large-scale commercial farming is concentrated. Since 2001, Zimbabwe has suffered a series of FMD outbreaks, leading to a ban on the export of many livestock products, including beef. A high level of investment would now be required to re-establish FMD freedom and permit renewed export. Traditionally, assessing such investment in animal disease control involves a straightforward application of benefit-cost analysis (BCA) to see if the investment is justified on efficiency grounds as contributing to economic growth (Dijkhuizen and Morris). Policy objectives in developing countries, however, increasingly feature poverty alleviation in addition to economic growth, as

Study on the Feature of Surface Rupture Zone of the West of Kunlun Mts. Pass Earthquake (Ms8.1) with High Spatial Resolution Satellite Images

On November 14, 2001, a MS8.1 earthquake occurred on the west of Kunlun Mts. pass. Using high spatial resolution satellite images the earthquake surface rupture zone can be interpreted. By means of 10m spatial resolution SPOT images the main rupture zone can be revealed distinctly, meanwhile, 1m spatial resolution IKONOS images show the fine structures and kinematical characteristics of the surface rupture of the earthquake. The results show that the rupture is about 350km long on the east side of Buka Daban Feng peak and its strike is about 100 degrees. In some section, the rupture consisted of 3 subsidiary faults. The surface rupture zone is mostly located in the valleys on the piedmont diluvial platform or on its back edge along the southern foot of Kunlun Mts. and re-ruptured the pre-existing fault. The water systems, which flow across the fault, are left-laterally wrenched and the average slip rate is 13.4~16.8mm/a. These evidences indicate that the eastern Kunlun fault is an AA class active fault. The maximum left-lateral offset is about 7.8m and the maximum width of rupture zone is about 1250m. The macro-epicenter lies in 93°17'E, 35°47'N, near the surface rupture zone of Yuxi Feng peak.

The role of fire in the invasion process of evergreen broad-leaved species

Summary Since the early 1970s evergreen broad-leaved (=laurophyllous) species growing at the southern foot of the Alps (Ticino, southern Switzerland) have increasingly spread from gardens and parks into adjacent forests. To assess the capability of survival of these newly established populations, knowledge of their responses to disturbance within the local ecosystems is required. This paper highlights the relevance of different fire histories to the structure, abundance, species richness and composition of evergreen broad-leaved vegetation on comparable sites and relates these findings to other factors influencing the invasion process of laurophyllous species in the area. The results suggest that the growth and performance of evergreen broad-leaved species are heavily affected by forest fires. The capability of evergreen broad-leaved species to recolonise repeatedly burned sites is very low, suggesting that fires not only damage the affected individuals but also temporarily modify habitats previously suitable for colonisation by evergreens.

Three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure of Bandai volcano in northeastern Japan inferred from active seismic survey

The three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure of the Bandai volcano has been revealed by tomographic inversion using approximately 2200 travel-time data collected during an active seismic survey comprising 298 temporary seismic stations and eight artificial shots. The key result of this study is the delineation of a high-velocity anomaly (Vp>4.6 km/s at sea-level) immediately below the summit peak. This feature extends to depths of 1–2 km below sea-level. The near-surface horizontal position of the high-velocity anomaly coincides well with that of a positive Bouguer gravity anomaly. Geological data demonstrate that sector collapses have occurred in all directions from the summit and that the summit crater has been repeatedly refilled with magmatic material. These observations suggest that the high-velocity region revealed in this study is a manifestation of an almost-solidified magmatic plumbing system. We have also noted that a near-surface low-velocity region (Vp<3.0 km/s at sea-level) on the southern foot of the volcano corresponds to the position of volcanic sediments including ash and debris avalanche material. In addition, we have made use of the tomographic results to recompute the hypocenters of earthquake occurring during seismic swarms beneath the summit in 1988 and 2000. Relocating the earthquakes using the three-dimensional velocity model clearly indicates that they predominantly occurred on two steeply dipping planes. Low-frequency earthquakes observed during the swarms in 2000 occurred in the seismic gap between the two clusters. The hypocentral regions of the seismic swarms and the low-frequency earthquakes are close to the higher-velocity zone beneath the volcano's summit. These observations suggest that the recent seismic activity beneath the summit is likely associated with thermal energy being released within the solidifying magmatic plumbing system.

Rock avalanches of the Ardon River valley at the southern foot of the Rocky Range, Northern Caucasus, North Osetia

Deposits of very large rock avalanches were identified at the southern foot of the Rocky Range of the Northern Caucasus. Cliffs facing the Ardon River are 1–1.5 km high and composed of Cretaceous and upper Jurassic, hard, crystaline limestone, underlain by softer, middle Jurassic shale, siltstone and sandstone flysh. The largest rock avalanche, at Karivhoh, is ~2×109 m3 in volume, travelled more than 7 km, and covered about 18 km2 with deposits up to 200–300 m thick. All rock-avalanche bodies are composed of intensively crushed debris overlain by a blocky carapace. Numerous subsequent landslides develop within these deposits, and pose a threat to villages built on them.