WaterResource
ResearchMarineScience

Disaster
Mitigation

Urban andRegional
DesignCenter for Water Cycle,
Marine Environmentand Disaster Management

CWMD
くまもと水循環・減災研究教育センター

We Contribute to Development of Kumamoto
by Presenting Results of our Researchon Water Circulation

Overview of CWMD
Kumamoto Prefecture, dubbed ‘the Land of Water’, is blessed with groundwater which supplies quality tap water to almost all households
in the city. A groundwater cycle system in Kumamoto extends some dozen kilometers from Mt. Aso to the Ariake Sea, supporting agriculturalareas which produce an abundance of crops, and creating Japan’s widest tidal flats in the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea and supporting its
wide variety of marine products.
This water cycle system is supported by the volcanic geology, and the average annual rainfall of 3000 mm a year, which constantly drench
the mountainous areas. On the other hand, however, such natural environment causes frequent disasters such as floods and landslides in thearea. Mt. Aso is an active volcano which erupts repeatedly, and the tidal flats of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea are exposed to thefrequent risk of storm surges due to the tidal variation that is the biggest in Japan. We are also confronted by some other problems, including
a drawdown of groundwater, pollution of water by nitrate nitrogen, deterioration of the environment in coastal areas which include tidal flats,and declining aquatic resources.
The Center for Water Cycle, Marine Environment and Disaster Management (CWMD) consists of the Water Resource Research Laboratory,
Marine Science Laboratory, Disaster Mitigation Laboratory, and Urban and Regional Design Laboratory. The center cultivates human resources, using our academic knowledge, and distributes the result of our research in and out of the country, especially to the monsoon regions inAsia. The center is to contribute to the revitalization of Kumamoto through such activities, and to support the reconstruction of areas affectedby the Kumamoto earthquakes in 2016.
The center has a marine facility, the Aitsu Marine Station in Amakusa, where field studies are provided, and provides environmental education to primary, junior, and senior high-school students as well as adults.

Water Resource Marine Science
Research Laboratory Laboratory
Aims to perpetuate the water cyccycle
cle on the groundw
groundwater
water
resource through various researc
earch and academic efffforts.
research
efforts.

Carriiies out the researchh on biodiversity and ecosystem
Carriesecosystems,
ms,susta
aainable developmentt andan conservation of marine resources.
rsustainable

Disaster Mitigation Urban and Regional
Laboratory Design Laboratory
Promotes a wide range of research and education in disaster
astervities.
prevention and reduction activities.

Works on the development of design and implementation
towards a livable, resilient and sustainable region.

Water Resource Research Laboratory
About the Laboratory
The water circulation system in Kumamoto is standing on thecollaboration with surface water and groundwater flows from
Mt. Aso to the Ariake Sea maintaining a fine balance with agricultural activities.The research on the groundwater circulation is
promoted under the cooperation of researchers from various
fields, expertise, and findings.
In our laboratory, we have researchers in the hydrogeologic
field who analyze physical aspects of water such as flow rate,
specialists who assess water environment, agricultural engineers who study the relationship between water and agriculture,sanitary engineers who study biological processes of water, andresearchers who study the relationship between water andmaterial circulations which leads to biological production.

Outline of the Research
Research on water quality control of groundwater for water resource conservation
In Kumamoto, groundwater is supplied to over one million people for their drinking-water demand, making aunique city in the world. There is no doubt that groundwater is dependent on the water circulation system composed of not only natural phenomena like a precipitation and surface-water flow but also human activities suchas agriculture and infrastructure development. We are constantly monitoring water volume and quality for understanding of water circulation system based on the groundwater of Kumamoto and developing the water cycle
model for conservation of water resource into the future.
Research on agricultural hydrotechnics in paddy fields
We gauge the variously scaled hydrological phenomenon, including water balance in paddy fields and water
circulation of river basins, by monitoring and analyzing numerical values. We also analyze local tradition for agricultural irrigation systems and transition of land usage along basin areas, using methods related to the humanities and social sciences. In doing so, we forecast the local water circulation and assess its sustainability andclarify specific policies to maintain basin areas.
Research on wide-ranging transportation and morphological changes of elements andorganic matters which are related to the maintenance of life forms
We promote research on elements that foster growth and internal adjustment of organisms. We also study
their wide-ranging transportation to the land, rivers, groundwater, and the coastal areas, as well as their morphological changes in the water systems.
These elements are the essential fabric to maintain life of organisms. They change and take many forms, suchas suspended solids, dissolved matter, and organic and non-organic sediment. Therefore, we observe themcarefully, and try to clarify the mechanism of their material dynamics so that the result of our research will help
estimate the state of the future aquatic environment.
Research on nitrogen removal technology using Anammox:anaerobic ammonium oxidation
Anammox is a unique nitrogen metabolic pathway which firstly discovered in the late 1990s. In the anammox
reaction, ammonium ion is oxidized by nitrite ion and both ions are converted to nitrogen gas under anaerobiccondition. Anammox is catalyzed by autotrophic anammox bacteria which require no organic-carbon source or
oxygen for their growth. Therefore anammox is expected as a promising-basic reaction in the future to apply tocost-effective nitrogen removal technology. We established two types of anammox-bacterial culture derived
from freshwater and marine environments, and are promoting the basic study and applied research of them forwater-quality conservation.

Staﬀ
Name

Specialty

LeaderYasunori Kawagoshi

Water Environment

Professor, D.Eng.

Tsugihiro Watanabe
Project Professor, D.Agr.

Irrigation andDrainage Engineering

Kei Ishida

Hydrology

Associate Professor, D.Agr.

Hiroaki Ito
Assistant Professor, D.Eng.

Luong Van Duc
Research Assistant, Ph.D.

Water Environment

EnvironmentalEngineering

Marine Science Laboratory
About the Laboratory
In the closed water areas including the Ariake Sea andthe Yatsushiro Sea, many problems including loss ofbiodiversity and decline of bioresources, occur due to thedeterioration of natural environment. Moreover, in thecoastal areas, floods and high tides also occur frequently.
Additionally, many other urgent issues have surfaced
such as depopulation, a declining birth rate, and an aging
population. Our laboratory promotes cutting edge andwide-ranging research and education to help solve theseissues and makes efforts to create a rich natural environment. Especially, we now highlight the research andeducation for the restoration and creation of riverine andcoastal areas, e.g. habitat utilization, life history, community structure, molecular mechanism of marine life, andinteractions among different environments in the atmosphere, water and sediment. We are sure that theseresearch and education efforts will contribute to regionsin Asia and Africa which have similar issues, and which
now experience rapid development of infrastructure.

Outline of the Research
Many of our research efforts on the conservation of coastal areas of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea are
still in process of collecting basic data, and specific research regarding environmental restoration and creation has
just started. However, environmental restoration of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea is an impending issue
for the national government, and municipalities are seeking specific plans to improve the environment. In Japan,bridges, dikes, and dams constructed in the period of high economic growth are now in process of reconstruction,and newly-designed structures are required to be resistant to natural disasters and harmonized with the natural andsocial environment of the areas. In this context, we promote research to elucidate mutual relationships between
various elements comprised of natural and social environments and human life, coordinating nature, industry, history, culture, climate, and landscape to maintain healthy management of rivers and coastal environments.
As a matter of course, the research for the environmental conservation of the Ariake Sea and the Yatsushiro Sea
is delegated to Kumamoto University because it is located in the home region of both seas, and moreover, researchon coastal environments is a subject on which Kumamoto University can take the lead as a global hub. And, inorder to conserve coastal environments, understanding and maintaining watershed ecosystems of terrestrial andriver areas is paramount. From this point of view, we need to undertake more advanced research, grasping accurately the situation of river catchments and coastal environments, analyzing collected data and making efforts torestore and create each specific area in the environment. Furthermore, we are aiming to establish a global hub.

Staﬀ
NameSpecialty

Yasuhisa Henmi

Marine Ecology

LeaderProfessor, D.Sc.

Motohiro Shimanaga

Community Ecology

Kazumi Akimoto

Geoscience

Katsumasa Yamada

Coastal Ecology

Ryuya Matsuda

Marine Biology

Professor, D.Sc.

Associate Professor, D.Sc.
Associate Professor, D.Sc.
Researcher, D.Sc.

Hideyuki Shimasaki
Technical Staff■ Concurrent Staff

Haruhiko Nakata
Associate Professor

Takeshi Kitano
Associate Professor

Tomoko Minagawa Shigeru Morimura
Associate Professor

Associate Professor

Disaster Mitigation Laboratory
About the Laboratory
Our laboratory consists of three sections, Research and promotion of disaster management for
natural and social infrastructure systems, Social
skill implementation, and Education for disastermanagement. In these three sections, research,education, and actual practices are provided to establish a disaster management society, and they haveclose contact with each other. We also promote ouractivities, cooperating with the national government,
local municipalities, educational institutions, industries, NPOs and local citizens.
These activities are not only provided on ourcampus but also in local society, where actual practices are specifically available (the field campus), andwhere development of research methods and theiroutcomes can be linked seamlessly to social technology. And by doing so, people who are able to support disaster mitigation society can be nurtured.

Outline of the Research
Our laboratory is providing research and educational activities for wideranging disaster mitigation and risk reduction and making efforts to enable anearly establishment of a disaster-mitigating society where flexible and rapid
measures are available against disasters.
Research and promotion of disaster management for naturaland social infrastructure systems
Covering research and development of technology in a wide range of fields,
including natural sciences which elucidate changes in the natural environment
and mechanisms of disaster, disaster management includes engineering ofearthquake-resistant structures and construction against avalanches, and socialsciences which improve disaster risk communication.
Social skill implementation
In order to introduce research outcome and develop cutting-edge technology
designed to mitigate disasters in society at large, a prototype of disaster mitigation social system was developed and demonstrated.

Education for disaster management
Cooperating with other universities in the Kumamoto area, we will nurture
leaders who, supported by basic knowledge, master professional education in awide range of academic fields and can lead discussions joined by those having
different opinions. As we provide diversified disaster management education byindividual topography, geology, and society, we make educational programs andteaching materials with the cooperation of educational institutes including primary, junior, and senior high schools, municipalities, and voluntary organizations fordisaster risk mitigation.

Staﬀ
Name
LeaderSpecialty

Professor, D.Eng

Masahide Matsumura

Bridge Engineering,
Seismic Design of Bridge,
Bridge MaintenanceYasuo Miyabuchi

Volcanology, Quaternary Research

Professor, Ph.D.

Toshio Fujimi

Associate Professor, D.Agr.

Disaster Economics
Disaster Risk Management

Sooyoul Kim

Ocean and Coastal Engineering

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Masayuki Torii

Geology
Tephrochronology

Yoshito Inamoto

System Development
Information System for
Risk Management

Toshiaki Hasenaka

Volcanology
Mechanism of Volcanic Eruption
Disaster Mitigation

Project Associate Professor, D.Sc.

Special Researcher

Professor Emeritus, Ph.D.

■ Concurrent Staff

Hiroki Matsuda

Hiroshi Isobe

Gozo Tsujimoto

Toshifumi Mukunoki

Yukiko Takeuchi

Hitoshi Moriyama

Professor, D.Sc.
Professor

Associate Professor

Professor

Professor

Assistant Professor

Urban and Regional Design Laboratory
About the Laboratory
Based on the achievements of cross-sectional
research in our university, we promote social contribution and provide activities for social implementation,
aiming to establish a resilient society which can provide
quality of life. Through hands-on learning experiences
at studios in the area, we provide a resilient regional
design research with the collaboration of residents,
considering their history, their culture, and their landscape. To be specific, we support reconstruction of thearea, being a liaison between municipalities and residents, having Mashiki Labo as one of our bases, whichis the satellite institute established in Mashiki-machi,
the disaster area most affected by the Kumamoto
Earthquake.

Outline of the Research
As practical research to support reconstruction after the Kumamoto Earthquake, we provide the following activities while stationing in Mashiki-machi. We
support planning and designing of the Earthquake Memorial Park with the collaboration of residents, support designing a highway which will be highly standardized, provide practical support for city planning along the streets, support planning and designing disaster-recovery public houses, support city planning intended to preserve the memory of the earthquake from generation to generation. We
also visit sufferers at temporary houses for interviews, and ask for their opinions
about their residences, analyze the reasons they changed their intention, anddiscuss to find methods to enhance efficiency and a better method for our interviews. Furthermore, we discovered some problems in the current system about
the resettlement of sufferers through fact-finding investigations, so we suggest
changing the current system.
In a comprehensive survey about disaster prevention and disaster risk management concerning the Kumamoto Earthquake, we check the resilience of thecity by using a model of a five-story pagoda. To be specific, it categorizes theimpact of Kumamoto Earthquake into five stages from a spacio-temporal point ofview: Status of fault and earthquake (foundation) and damage to cultural assets(the first layer), responses of municipalities (the second layer) to damage,damage to social infrastructure (the third layer), damage to buildings (the fourthstage), impact to lives and economic activities (the fifth stage).

As for the activities based on the affected area mentioned above, we are planning to collaborate with other local universities which also have witnessedmega-earthquakes, including the Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake, the Chuetsu
Earthquake, and the Great East Japan Earthquake. By comparing damage byearthquakes in other areas with that in Kumamoto, we shall integrate our knowledge, which will prove useful in times of disaster.

Staﬀ
NameSpecialty

Director of the center/ Leader

Ryuji Kakimoto

Urban planning
Disaster Mitigation

Professor, Ph.D.

Yuji Hoshino

Landscape andUrban Design

Takuya Maruyama

Urban Planning
Transportation Planning

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Yoshihiro Sato
Research Assistant

Urban planning
Transportation Planning■ Concurrent Staff

Tomoyuki Tanaka
Professor

Naoto Tanaka
Associate Professor

Digital Archives Laboratory
About the Laboratory
The 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake caused great damages tothe Memorial Museum of Fifth High School which is one of thenationally important cultural property, Faculty of Engineering(Building No.1) and others. Figures showed damages visually.
However, there are fears fading away the memories and lessonsof this earthquake due to restoration works and reducing
number of students after the graduation who experienced thisearthquake.
Digital Archives Laboratory builds the archive system“Hinokuni Saishiroku” to record and store memories andlessons of this earthquake for the future. This digital laboratory
would help to carry out research and education activities on theimportance of preparations for not only earthquake but also forvarious disasters.
Tell, Learn and to Make Preparedness for Next Disaster “Hinokuni
Saishiroku”
https://cwmd.kumamoto-u.ac.jp/terada/

Outline of the Research“Hinokuni Saishiroku” are being built to record, organize and accumulate thedamages, know-how obtained from the process of recovery and revival andlessons from 2016 Kumamoto Earthquake and to make efficient use of thedigital archives for future revival supports and disaster education.
A physicist, Torahiko TERADA, who studied at Fifth High School, thepredecessor of Kumamoto University, left the words “natural disasters will
occur when we forget”. We respect him and establish the Team TERADA(Team of Education and Research According Digital Archive). TERADA
promotes each activities based on the following three policies.
1. Connect data and people
The succession place of memory of Kumamoto Earthquake in Kumamoto
University were extracted from questionnaire survey of students andconsidered setting of succession signboard linked to digital archive andpractical use method. Also, the short film production is promoted for thesuccession of experiencing earthquake disaster behaviors to new students.

2. Connect what you were able to do and what you were notable to do
Digital archives make possible to watch/look/listen photos, videos andsounds about disaster wherever they are and to maintain massive amount ofdata without consideration of deterioration. The way of data building are
considered to gather and show the data not only immediately after theearthquake but also recovery and revival and the past disasters in Kumamoto,heavy rainfall disaster, storm surge disaster, volcanic disaster and so on.
3. Connect field and education
Our laboratory shares the instances of practical use and data building of“Hinokuni Saishiroku” with Tohoku University and Harvard University thatarchive The Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, works on collaboration andexchange of research and education based on using archive data and carriesout development and verification of education programs.

Staﬀ
NameSpecialty

Director of the laboratory/Leader

Community Based
Disaster Risk Reduction

Yukiko Takeuchi

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Disaster Education

Toshitaka Yamao

Structural Mechanics
Seismic Engineering

Naoto Tanaka

Urban and Regional Planning
Landscape Management

Professor Emeritus, Dr.Eng.

Associate Professor, Ph.D.

Yoshito Inamoto

System Development

Special ResearcherInformation System for Risk
Management

Mariko FUKUNAGA

Regional planningResearcher

Campus Map
Center for Water Cycle,
Marine Environmentand Disaster Management

Kurokami South Campus

Kurokami South E5 2F 207

Marine Science Laboratory→Kurokami South C7 6F 612
To AsoTEL:096-342-3498

Disaster Mitigation Laboratory/
Urban and Regional Design Laboratory/
Digital Archives Laboratory
Kurokami South C2 4F 426

FORICO(Cafeteria and Store)

Pre

fec
tural Road
#337

TEL:096-342-3489

The Red Gate

Museum of Engineering Faculty
100th Anniversary Memorial Hall→To Kumamoto
City Area※Inquiry for Water Resource Laboratory:Please contact CWMD oﬃce

Center for Water Cycle,Marine Environmentand Disaster Management

CWMD

2-39-1 Kurokami, Chuo-ku, Kumamoto 860-8555, JAPANTel / FAX: 096-342-3490
Email : CWMD2017@kumamoto-u.ac.jp（Published in October 2020）