Bioinformatic approach to explain how Mg from seawater may be incorporated into coral skeletons

Northern shifts in the migration of Japanese glass eels to subarctic Hokkaido Island over the past three decades

2-Week Extended Prediction of Tropical Cyclones by a Hybrid Machine Learning/Physics-Based Modeling Framework

Squids’ birthday influences mating: Male spear squids become “sneakers” or “consorts” depending on when they were born, and stay that way

Climate change shrinking fish: Global warming increased competition for food in the 2010s, leading to decreased fish weight in important fishing area

Dense measurement network revealed high level of PM2.5 in Punjab due to crop residue burning and its transport to Haryana and Delhi NCR

Our research on post-tsunami ecosystems and recovery was featured on Nature Spotlight

Professor Yutaka Michida elected as Chairperson of IOC/UNESCO

Metagenome-assembled genome of N2-fixing bacteria from the Arctic Ocean: Survival strategies of endemic and cosmopolitan species

Out of this World Control on Ice Age Cycles

Snow cover in the Antarctic interior has decreased over the past 5,000 years, with a marked increase since the Industrial Revolution -Clarified from ice cores in the Dome Fuji area, Antarctica-

Deep-sea black carbon comes from hydrothermal vents

Does climate change disrupt salmon microbiota?

Discovery of a novel type of phytoplankton bloom in the Arctic shelf region: the widespread occurrence with the recent sea ice loss

Getting to The Bottom of The Arctic Sea Ice Decline: Investigation of Heat Movement near The North Pole and Under the Arctic Sea Ice

Defining the Anthropocene -Radioactive traces in ocean materials mark the start of the modern age-

Phytoplankton dynamics as a response to physical events in the oligotrophic Eastern Indian Ocean

New Analysis of Tsunami Deposits Paints a Clearer Picture of Sanriku's Past

Quick Test for Potential Probiotic in Seawater May Reveal Health of Corals

Separating natural and man-made pollutants in the air: Japanese researchers show the major drop in atmospheric nitrogen oxide levels in 2020 in India was the result of the COVID-19 lockdown

Ancient melting, future warning: Evidence of ancient Antarctic melting could inform models of Antarctica's future

Japanese Research Group Performs Largest Ever Meteorological Calculation on Supercomputer Fugaku

First direct measurements of ocean current off coast of Russia; Cold water from Anadyr Strait likely affects Arctic sea ice and global climate

Survival strategy of single-celled ocean cyanobacteria: Division of labor might contribute to expand their habitat

Giant underwater waves keep corals cool: Massive, long-term monitoring project shows why some reefs are protected from bleaching events

Difference in air temperature change depending on chemical components of PM2.5 - toward suitable mitigation both for climate change and air pollution -

Drifting macrophytes as a potential contributor to the deep-sea carbon sequestration

Ocean giant gets a health check -Combination of blood and tissue test reveals whale shark diets-

Investigating Mt. Fuji Eruption History with Lake-Floor Sediments - Undetected eruptions preserved in Lake Motosu -

Cold never bothered me anyway -Pacific sea turtles' metabolisms stay active over winter-

Seabird study investigates paternity -Genetic analysis exposes infidelity within flock-

Great Barrier Reef reveals rapid changes of ancient glaciers -Insights from past suggest existing models may be conservative-

Nitrogen Fixation is an Important Nutrient Source in the Arctic Ocean

Bio-logging helps scientists uncover sea of knowledge: Latest research with animal-borne devices could improve weather forecasting

Scientists accurately model the action of aerosols on clouds

Ocean acidification poses looming threat to corals -Precise measurement of boron isotopes in skeleton reveals impact-

Scientists discover passive feeding in baleen whale species -"Tread-water feeding" behavior found in Bryde's whales-

Groundwater helium level could signal potential risk of earthquake

Sea turtles feeding habits influences reaction to marine debris - Loggerhead turtles distinguish rubbish from food but green turtles don’t

Reading the Earth’s history in atmospheric oxygen - Plate tectonics and high atmospheric oxygen concentration closely linked

Major collapse of ice shelf as tall as Tokyo Sky Tree - Revealed by cosmic rays produced nuclides and numerical model

European shags adjust flight style according to wind - Strategy minimizes costs of takeoff and cruising flight

Heterogeneous Symbiont Subpopulations Utilizing Different Energy Sources in a Deep-sea Bathymodiolus Mussel ~New Insights on Bacterial Symbiont Population's Adaptation to the Environment~

Helium anomaly preceded Mount Ontake eruption

2014 Mount Ontake eruption  © 2015 Earthquake Research Institute, The University of Tokyo.

Demonstrated Possibility of Predicting Typhoon Genesis Two Weeks in Advance - First Step Toward Realization of Typhoon Projection -

A joint research team led by Dr. Masuo Nakano, Department of Seamless Environmental Prediction Research (DSEP) at Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC: Asahiko Taira, President) and Prof. Masaki Satoh, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute at The University of Tokyo demonstrated that it is possible to predict tropical cyclogenesis about two weeks in advance. It is based on simulations of eight tropical cyclones in August 2004 by applying a Nonhydrostatic ICosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM) on K computer.

Month-long Predictability of Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) Demonstrated on K Computer Using Highly Complex New-generation Global Model

A joint research team consisted of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science Technology (JAMSTEC: Asahiko Taira, President), the University of Tokyo, and Riken, led by Dr. Tomoki Miyakawa, Postdoctral Researcher (Basic Research Area/Coupled Ocean-Atmosphere-Land Process Research, JAMSTEC) and Professor Masaki Satoh (Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, the University of Tokyo) demonstrated that the Nonhydrostatic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM)  on the supercomputer K is effective for month-long forecasts of the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO), a huge eastward propagating atmospheric pulse that affects the entire globe.

A Low Trophic Position of Japanese Eel Larvae Indicates Feeding on Marine Snow

What eel larvae feed on in the surface layer of the ocean has remained mysterious. Gut contents and bulk nitrogen stable isotope studies suggested that these larvae, called leptocephali, feed at a low level in the oceanic food web, whereas other types of evidence have suggested small zooplankton are eaten.  In this study we determined the nitrogen isotopic composition of amino acids of both natural larvae and laboratory reared larvae of the Japanese eel to estimate the trophic position (TP) of leptocephali.  We observed a mean TP of 2.4 for natural leptocephali, which is consistent with feeding on particulate organic matter (POM) such as marine snow and discarded appendicularian houses containing bacteria, protozoans and other biological materials.  The nitrogen isotope enrichment values of the reared larvae confirm that the primary food source of natural larvae is only consistent with POM.  This shows that leptocephali feed on readily available particulate material originating from various sources closely linked to ocean primary production and that leptocephali are a previously unrecognized part of oceanic POM cycling.

RESEARCH PAPER SUMMARY(358KB)

Detection of Fukushima-derived radionuclides in seawater, zooplankton, and small fish off Japan

Assistant professor Jun Nishikawa and research fellow Hiroomi Miyamoto of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo, were part of an international team of researchers investigating radionuclides in the Pacific Ocean 30-600 km offshore from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plants (NPPs). In June 2011, the team detected NPPs-derived 134Cs, 137Cs, and 110mAg from seawater, zooplankton, euphausiids (shrimp-like crustaceans), jellyfish, and micronektonic fishes.
The results of this research appear in the April 2 online edition of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS).

Rapid Progress in Spawning Ecology Research on Freshwater eels

The R/V Hakuho Maru (JAMSTEC) has made a research cruise to the spawning area of the Japanese eel (Cruise KH-11-6), directed by Prof. Katsumi Tsukamoto of the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute of the University of Tokyo in June-July 2011, which has found wild Japanese eel eggs, by successfully collecting about 150 eggs.

Photographs of various stages of eggs of the Japanese eel, Anguilla japonica, that were collected near the salinity front along the southern end of the West Mariana Ridge Seamount chain in June of 2011.