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Sawada, Atsushi; Hayano, Akira; Goto, Junichi*; Inagaki, Manabu*
no journal, ,
no abstracts in English
Amano, Yuki; Ise, Kotaro; Terashima, Motoki; Sasaki, Yoshito; Amamiya, Hiroki; Yoshikawa, Hideki
no journal, ,
Microorganisms are widely distributed in the subsurface environments. However, the distribution, role and rate of metabolisms, and the origin of the activity are not well known. In this study, we investigated deep groundwater samples of sedimentary rocks, which is contained supersuturated methane and carbon dioxide, using boreholes in the Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory (URL), in the northern part of Hokkaido, Japan. Abundant methanogens were detected in the groundwater, and 80% of them were related to Methanoregula boonei and Methanobacterium flexile that can utilize hydrogen and carbon dioxide as methanogenesis. Phylotypes clustered within the phylum Firmicutes, beta-Proteobacteria, delta-Proteobacteria and Candidatte division TM7 were dominant in the groundwater samples. Laboratory experiment using culture a technique showed that humic substances purified from Horonobe area could be degraded by microorganisms. Our results suggest that microbial spatial distribution in the subsurface environment was correlate closely with geochemical conditions, such as redox condition and carbon sources.
Mizuno, Takashi; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Saegusa, Hiromitsu; Kato, Tomoko; Matsuoka, Toshiyuki; Yasue, Kenichi; Oyama, Takuya; Sasao, Eiji
no journal, ,
Amamiya, Hiroki; Mizuno, Takashi; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Yuguchi, Takashi; Murakami, Hiroaki; Kokubu, Yoko
no journal, ,
The long-term evolution of geochemical environment in deep underground is indispensable research subject for geological disposal of high-level radioactive waste. Many researchers have made efforts previously to elucidate the geochemical environment within the groundwater residence time based on the analysis of the actual groundwater. However, it is impossible to estimate the geochemical environment for the longer time scale than the groundwater residence time in this method. In this case, analysis of the chemical properties of secondary minerals are one of useful method to estimate the past hydrochemical characteristics (temperature, salinity, pH and redox potential). We reviewed the previous studies on carbonate minerals and geochemical conditions in deep underground and estimated the hydrochemical characteristics of past groundwater by using carbonate minerals in crystalline rock at Tono area, Japan. As a result, it is found that temperature and salinity of the groundwater during crystallization of carbonate minerals were evaluated quantitatively. On the other hand, pH and redox potential can only be understood qualitatively. However, it is suggested that the content of heavy metal elements such as manganese, iron and uranium, and rare earth elements in the carbonate minerals are useful indicators for estimating redox potential.
Ise, Kotaro; Amano, Yuki; Sasaki, Yoshito; Yoshikawa, Hideki
no journal, ,
We investigated the changes in geochemical and microbial characteristics by using molecular techniques to characterize subsurface microbial community structure response toward oxygen intrusion. Therefore we collected groundwater samples from a borehole at -250 m gallery of Horonobe Underground Research Laboratory. The first sampling was conducted right after the borehole was drilled. In this sample, 
-Proteobacteria dominated and accounted for 65% of total clone library. All these -Proteobacteria clones are closely related to 
spp. which is known as sulfide oxidizer and which can growth chemoautrophically. And after two years, the microbial structure was drastically changed and most detected clones were uncultured species such as candidate division WS6, JS1 relatives which are frequently detected in deep-sea sediments.
Desai, A. R.*; Wohlfahrt, G.*; Zeeman, M.*; Katata, Genki; Mauder, M.*; Schmid, H. P.*
no journal, ,
The impact of climate change on regional ecosystem has two important aspects: (1) ecosystems don't respond directly to climate, but indirectly via frequency and occurrence of weather systems, (2) many responses of ecosystems to these weather patterns and extremes are lagged in time. Here, we examine these aspects for northern Alpine grasslands. Long-term flux and phenology observations in Austria and Germany and biophysical models reveal a strong influence of winter air temperature, snowfall, and snowmelt frequency on winter grass mortality and spring grassland carbon uptake. Further, the mode of climate variability that drives winter air temperature and snow depth patterns is primarily the frequency of strong regional southerly Foehn flow. Finally, we demonstrate that much of the interannual variance in Foehn frequency and southerly flow is driven by statistics and climatic trends of 500 hPa pressure patterns in Greenland, part of the Arctic Oscillation.
Shimizu, Mayuko; Umeda, Koji; Asamori, Koichi; Makuuchi, Ayumu; Sueoka, Shigeru; Tamura, Hajimu
no journal, ,
In 1997, the Kagoshima earthquake doublet, consisting of two closely associated Mw 6 strike-slip events, five km and 48 days apart, has occurred in southwest Japan. The location is where an E-W trending discontinuity along 32N latitude on southern Kyushu Island is clearly defined in GPS velocities, indicating the presence of a highly active left-lateral shear zone. However, there have not been any obvious indications of active faulting at the surface prior to the earthquake doublet, which could be associated with this shear zone. Three-dimensional inversion of magnetotelluric sounding data obtained in the source region of the earthquake doublet reveals a near-vertical conductive zone with a width of 20 km, extending down to the base of the crust and perhaps into the upper mantle toward the Okinawa trough. The prominent conductor corresponds to the western part of the active shear zone. Elevated 
He/
He ratios in groundwaters sampled from hot spring and drinking water wells suggest the emission of mantle-derived helium from the seismic source region. The geophysical and geochemical observations are significant indications that the invasion of mantle fluids into the crust, driven by upwelling asthenosphere from the Okinawa trough, triggers the notable left-lateral shearing in the zone in the present-day subduction system. In addition, the existence of aqueous fluids in and below the seismogenic layer could change the strength of the zones, and alter the local stress regime, resulting in the occurrence of the 1997 earthquake doublet.