Marine Ecosystems Research Department - jamstec japan agency ...

Japan Marine Science and Technology Center
Frontier Observational Research System for Global Change
Fig.12 GPS receiver at Pontianak, Indonesia.
study the water cycle in a broader area. Observations
at Chiang Mai, Bangkok and Phuket in Thailand started
in the previous fiscal year () have been successfully
continued. A gigantic diurnal cycle of water
vapor with an increase during afternoon before
evening has been discovered from GPS data analysis
at Gaize and Naqu in Tibet, and numerical simulations
using a local atmospheric circulation model are also
prepared for publication.
(c) Origin of precipitating water in Siberia, Tibet,
Thailand and Indonesia
In addition to water sampling in Siberia and Tibet
since FY and at four stations in Thailand and two
stations in western Indonesia since FY, observations
have been started at three stations (Denpasar of
Bali, and Makassar and Manado of Sulawesi) in central
Indonesia and at Palau in the western Pacific
(located in the north of Biak, eastern Indonesia) from
this fiscal year.
Seasonal characteristics of water transport over
Siberia and Tibet have been analyzed, and the origin
of water of a broad region from Himalaya to central
Tibet have been found in the Indian Ocean. Analysis
of data obtained in the past over the southern Pacific
and in Indonesia led to a striking interannual variation
of water isotope ratio in this broad region and a clear
correlation with ENSO. It was published in an international
journal and also commended by the Japanese
Fig.13 Rain gauge at Manado weather station, Indonesia.
Association of Hydrological Science and the Director-
General of FORSGC.
The studies of (a) and (c) are carried out in collaboration
with Kyoto University.
(II) Land-Surface Hydrological Cycle and Processes Group
The objectives of the Land-Surface Hydrological
Cycle and Processes Group are to clarify the surface
processes and the atmosphere-land surface interactions
in the cold continental regions and to understand the
role of these regions in the regional/global hydrological
cycles. The observational studies made in
were as follows:
(a) Clarify the land water cycle and the thermal conditions
of the cold regions such as Eastern Siberia,
Tibet, and Mongolia, and the influence of snow
cover, frozen ground and vegetation on these
processes.
(b) Develop high quality data-sets of the water and
thermal cycle.
(c) Develop physical models of the water and thermal
cycle and validate these models.
In order to fulfill these objectives, the following
observations were made in .
( i ) Observation on the surface heat/water exchange
at the various sites in eastern Siberia such as
tundra (Tiksi) and taiga (Yakutsk).
(ii) Continuance of the observation on water/heat
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