Since the 11 March 2011 Tohoku earthquake, the mechanisms of large earthquakes along the Japan Trench have been intensely investigated. However, characteristics of tsunami earthquakes, which trigger unusually large tsunami, remain unknown. The earthquake of 4 November 1677 was a tsunami earthquake striking the southern part of the Japan Trench. Its source mechanism remains unclear. This study elucidates the fault slip and moment magnitude of the 1677 earthquake and tsunami based on integrated analyses of historical documents, tsunami deposits, and numerical simulation. Geological survey results, the analytical results of thickness and grain size distributions and diatoms, revealed that tsunami deposits in a small pond at 11 m elevation were probably formed by the 1677 event. This finding and historical descriptions are useful as important constraint conditions to estimate unusually large fault slips and moment magnitude of the 1677 earthquake. Numerical simulation results reveal that 8.34–8.63 moment magnitude with the large 11–16 m slip area is necessary to satisfy the constraint conditions. This fault slip and magnitude are equivalent to those of the 1896 Sanriku earthquake: a well‐known tsunami earthquake in the northern part of the Japan Trench. We therefore conclude that a tsunami earthquake of moment magnitude 8.3–8.6 with unusually large slip can occur elsewhere along the Japan Trench. This point should be considered for future tsunami risk assessment along the Japan Trench and along any trench having similar tectonic settings to those of the Japan Trench.
Coccolithophorid algae are microscopic but prolific calcifiers in modern and ancient oceans. When the pH of seawater is modified, as may occur in the future due to ocean acidification, different species and strains of coccolithophorids have exhibited diverse calcification responses in laboratory culture. Since their biomineralization is a completely intracellular process, it is unclear why their response should be affected by extracellular seawater pH. Variations in the B/Ca in coccoliths are potential indicators of pH shifts in the intracellular coccolith vesicle where calcification occurs, because B/Ca in abiogenic calcites increases at higher pH due to the greater abundance of borate ions, the only B species incorporated into calcite. We used a SIMS ion probe to measure B/Ca of coccoliths from three different strains of Emiliania huxleyi and one strain of Coccolithus braarudii braarudii cultured under different seawater pH conditions to ascertain if the B/Ca can be used to elucidate how coccolithophorids respond to changing ocean pH. These data are interpreted with the aid of a conceptual model of cellular boron acquisition by coccolithophorids. Based on uptake in other plants, we infer that boron uptake by coccolithophorid cells is dominated by passive uptake of boric acid across the lipid bilayer. Subsequently, in the alkaline coccolith vesicle (C.V.), boron speciates according to the C.V. pH, and borate is incorporated into the coccolith. At increasing seawater pH, the relative abundance of the neutral boric acid in seawater decreases, lowering the potential B flux into the cell. Homeostasis or constant pH of the coccolith vesicle results in a decrease of the B/Ca in the coccolith with increasing seawater pH. In contrast, if coccolith vesicle pH increases with increasing seawater pH, then the B/Ca will increase as the fraction of borate in the coccolith vesicle increases. The coccolith B/Ca is also expected to depend inversely on the dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) concentration in the coccolith vesicle. The B/Ca in cultured coccoliths is much lower than that of foraminifera or corals and limits precision in the analysis. Modest variations in DIC or pH of the coccolith vesicle can account for the observed trends in B/Ca in cultured coccoliths. The model shows that paired measurements of B/Ca and B isotopic composition of the calcite could distinguish between regulation of pH or DIC in the coccolith vesicle.
In the late 13 th century, Kublai Khan, ruler of the Mongol Empire, launched one of the world's largest armadas of its time in an attempt to conquer Japan. Early narratives described the decimation and dispersal of these fleets by the "Kamikaze" of 1274 CE and 1281 CE, a pair of intense typhoons "divinely" sent to protect Japan from invasion. These historical accounts are prone to exaggeration, and significant questions remain regarding the occurrence and true intensity of these legendary typhoons. To provide independent insight, we present a new 2000 yr sedimentary reconstruction of extreme coastal flooding from a coastal lake near the location of the Mongol invasions. Two marine-sourced flood deposits date to the Kamikaze typhoons and are the events of record in the reconstruction. The complete reconstruction indicates periods of greater flood activity relative to modern beginning ca. 250 CE and extending past the timing of the Kamikaze events to 1600 CE. Comparisons with additional reconstructions are consistent with greater regional typhoon activity during the Mongol invasions due to the preferential steering of storms toward Japan, and driven by greater El Niño activity relative to modern. Results are consistent with the paired Kamikaze typhoons being of significant intensity, and support accounts of them playing an important role in preventing the conquering of Japan by Mongol fleets. The Kamikaze typhoons may therefore serve as a prominent example for how past increases in severe weather associated with changing climate have had significant geopolitical impacts. their employment. Individual scientists are hereby granted permission, without fees or further Copyright not claimed on content prepared wholly by U.S. government employees within scope of Notes articles must include the digital object identifier (DOIs) and date of initial publication.
Abstract. The Early Eocene Thermal Maximum 2 (ETM2) at ∼53.7 Ma is one of multiple hyperthermal events that followed the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM, ∼56 Ma). The negative carbon excursion and deep ocean carbonate dissolution which occurred during the event imply that a substantial amount (10 3 Gt) of carbon (C) was added to the ocean-atmosphere system, consequently increasing atmospheric CO 2 (pCO 2 ). This makes the event relevant to the current scenario of anthropogenic CO 2 additions and global change. Resulting changes in ocean stratification and pH, as well as changes in exogenic cycles which supply nutrients to the ocean, may have affected the productivity of marine phytoplankton, especially calcifying phytoplankton. Changes in productivity, in turn, may affect the rate of sequestration of excess CO 2 in the deep ocean and sediments. In order to reconstruct the productivity response by calcareous nannoplankton to ETM2 in the South Atlantic (Site 1265) and North Pacific (Site 1209), we employ the coccolith Sr/Ca productivity proxy with analysis of well-preserved picked monogeneric populations by ion probe supplemented by analysis of various size fractions of nannofossil sediments by ICP-AES. The former technique of measuring Sr/Ca in selected nannofossil populations using the ion probe circumvents possible contamination with secondary calcite. Avoiding such contamination is important for an accurate interpretation of the nannoplankton productivity record, since diagenetic processes can bias the productivity signal, as we demonstrate for Sr/Ca measurements in the fine (<20 µm) and other size fractions obtained from bulk sediments from Site 1265. At this site, the paleoproductivity signal as reconstructed from the Sr/Ca appears to be governed by cyclic changes, possibly orbital forcing, resulting in a 20-30 % variability in Sr/Ca in dominant genera as obtained by ion probe. The ∼13 to 21 % increase in Sr/Ca above the cyclic background conditions as measured by ion probe in dominating genera may result from a slightly elevated productivity during ETM2. This high productivity phase is probably the result of enhanced nutrient supply either from land or from upwelling. The ion probe results show that calcareous nannoplankton productivity was not reduced by environmental conditions accompanying ETM2 at Site 1265, but imply an overall sustained productivity and potentially a small productivity increase during the extreme climatic conditions of ETM2 in this portion of the South Atlantic. However, in the open oceanic setting of Site 1209, a significant decrease in dominant genera Sr/Ca is observed, indicating reduced productivity.
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