2007 Annual Report - jamstec japan agency for marine-earth ...

(4) Outline of Activities of Kochi Institute for Core
Sample Research
1 Outline of Activities
On the start of international operation of the deep-sea
drilling vessel Chikyu, the Kochi Institute for Core Sample
Research was established in October 2005 as a research institute
with combined responsibilities including operation of a
refrigerated core repository for storage of core samples. As a
Photo 5 Marine Environment Monitor Report Meeting (February 5,
2008)
result, it carries out activities as the nucleus research center for
the series of processes in connection with analysis and research
on core samples and safekeeping of the samples. At present, the
Kochi Institute comprises three research groups, the Science
Services Group, and the General Affairs Division.
Photo 6 Scene during a visiting lesson at Wakinosawa Elementary
School in Mutsu City
5 Record of Media Presentations, Etc.
FM radio program (weekly broadcasts)
Introduction of technologies related to the Mutsu Institute by
the Too-nippo Seeds Series (throughout the year)
Results of time-series observational research in the North
Pacific (April), “World's First Successful Long-term,
Automatic Sampling of Seawater - Expectations for an
Elucidation of the Mechanism of Absorption of CO 2 by
Seawater - ”
Results of “Development of an Oceanic CO 2 Sensor”
(June)“Start of Actual Ocean Testing of Compact Ocean
Surface Layer CO 2 Partial Pressure Observation Device - A
Large Advance toward to the Realization of Low-cost, Longterm
Automatic Observation of the Distribution of CO 2 in the
Surface Layer of Oceans - ”
6 Other Activities
Visiting lessons at three elementary and middle schools in
Wakinosawa/Kawauchi District in Mutsu City (November)
Receiving of one middle school student for work experience
(August)
Receiving of three high school students for work experience
(September)
Marine environment monitoring measurements of
Sekinehama and Noushi with the cooperation of Aomori
Prefecture (throughout the year)
2 Research Activities
(1) Physical Properties Research Group (Fault Research)
The Physical Properties Research Group is in engaged
research with the aim of achieving a comprehensive understanding
of earthquake faults based on material science, which
includes promoting earthquake fault drilling science in the
Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone Experiment (NanTroSEIZE),
Taiwan Chelungpu Fault Drilling Project (TCDP), etc., and
measurements of various physical and mechanical properties
and measurements of stress/strain, etc. of core samples containing
fault rocks. In FY 2007, the group clarified the structures of
anomalies and fault zones with high magnetic susceptibility and
high water contents which occurred due to fault slippage in
faults zones by analysis of drilling samples from the Taiwan
Chelungpu Fault, and based on this, traced the mechanism of
occurrence of high magnetic susceptibility in laboratory experiments
and other research. The group also discovered that the
principal stress direction in the vicinity of a fault zone changes
by image analysis of core samples and the borehole wall, and
thus succeeded in obtaining important evidence for designation
of the fault which slipped in the 1999 Chi-chi Earthquake.
These results were compiled and presented in more than 10
papers in international journals.
The Physical Properties Research Group is also actively
participating in the Nankai Trough Seismogenic Zone
Experiment which began in the autumn of 2007. The group has
proposed various types of post-cruise research, and requested
and received samples. At the end of FY 2007, the group began
research using samples from the Nankai drilling. As shipboard
research, researchers measured nonelastic strain using core
samples from Nankai trough drilling, and were able to obtain
secular change curves for strain having sufficient accuracy for
stress analysis. The group also developed/introduced devices
for simple, high accuracy measurement of various basic proper-