CIC NEWSLETTER

No.16 2018

Center for International Collaboration
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute
The University of Tokyo

PICES-2018 Annual Meeting

Contents

Hiroaki SAITO

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

The city of Yokohama was the first port opened for foreign countries
in 1859 after 220 years of Japan’s seclusion from foreign influence.
Scientific knowledge and goods were transported into Japan through the port,
which contributed to establishing Japan as a modern state. The North Pacific
Marine Science Organization (PICES) held its 26th Annual Meeting inJapan’s leading maritime city October 25–November 4, 2018. PICES is anintergovernmental scientific organization promoting and coordinating
marine research in the North Pacific and adjacent sea. Its members are
Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Russia, and the USA. The theme of themeeting was “Towards integrated understanding of ecosystem variability in
the North Pacific.” More than 550 scientists, including 140 early career
scientists, attended from 16 countries. Representatives of 22international/regional organizations and programs also attended.
During the opening ceremony, Professor Hiroaki Saito—the chair of
the PICES Science Board—summarized the organization’s annual activities,
includingpublications,collaborations
withinternationalorganizations/projects, and capacity development activities. During themeeting, more than 440 papers were presented. Many studies focused on the
recent acceleration of the impact of human activities on the North Pacificecosystems; these include the marine heat wave, microplastic contamination,and the influence of fisheries on food web structure. Additionally, newtechniques for monitoring the status of ecosystems and ocean management
for sustainable ecosystem services were introduced. To cope with theincreasing impact of human activities, the establishment of two expert
groups was approved by the Governing Council, thus responding torecommendations from the Science Board. One is the Study Group on
Impacts of Mariculture on Coastal Ecosystems; the other is the Working
Group on Marine Microplastics. The next annual meeting will be held in
Victoria, Canada, October 16–27, 2019. The theme of the meeting will be“Connecting Science and Communities in a Changing North Pacific.”

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3

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5
1

PICES-2018 Annual Meeting2

51st Session of the
Executive
Council of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOCEC51)

3RENSEA Seminar on Coastal
Ecosystems in Southeast Asia
High Level Scientific Conference“From COP 21 towards the United
Nations Decade of Ocean Science for
Sustainable Development” and thein-person meeting of the Ocean KAN
Development Team in Paris

4

ANU-UTokyo Joint Activities
1)
Dr. Anthony Purcell’s visit(April–June 2018)

52) UTokyo-ANU student
excursion (September 2018)

field

3) Science & Technology
Diplomacy and Public Policy Forum(November 5, 2018)

Professor Saito (left) celebrated the 2018 Wooster
Award winner, Dr. Vyacheslav B. Lobanov(right),
during the opening ceremony.

Various types of sake wereserved during the poster
session.

6

Workshop on the Intercomparison of
Global Cloud Resolving Models andRelated Studies, November 13, 20187

Visiting Professors
Visiting Professors’ reports

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.16 2018

51st Session of the Executive Council of theIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission(IOCEC-51)
Yutaka MICHIDA

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

The 51st Session of the Executive Council of the Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) was held on July 3–6, 2018, at
Japanese delegation at the 51st Session of the
UNESCO’s headquarters in Paris. Professor Yutaka Michida, theExecutive Council of the IOC. On the front row,
director of Center for International Collaboration (CIC) of AORI,
Professor Saito (second left) and Professor
Michida (third left), the head of the delegation.
participated as the head of the Japanese delegation. Professor Hiroaki
Saito also attended the meeting as a delegation member. The session
adopted various decisions to prioritize programs of the IOC. Of significant impact in terms of the entirety of the IOC
activities for the next decade was a resolution adopted by the Executive Council to establish an Executive PlanningGroup to take the lead in preparing the implementation plan for the UN Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable
Development (2021–2030). The resolution followed the proclamation by the United Nations General Assembly(UNGA) at the 72nd session in December 2017 and recalled the UNGA’s invitation to the IOC to prepare an
implementation plan for the Decade. The period 2018–2020 is considered to be the preparatory stage for the Decade;a draft and final plan that encompasses a scientific strategy and an engagement plan for a wide range of stakeholders,
including international ocean-related organizations, will be developed. Heads of such organizations and institutions
were invited to the session to provide statements regarding their contributions and commitments to the Decade.
Representatives of more than 30 Member States among 40 Executive Council members took the floor, and almost allof them expressed their strong support for the Decade, and some of them clearly stated their commitment to the
Decade in its preparatory stage and beyond. Japan also expressed its support and stated that it has a plan to host oneof the regional planning workshops in the Asia-Pacific region that should be organized during the period 2019–2020.
Dr. Mitsuo Uematsu, Professor Emeritus of the University of Tokyo and the former director of the CIC, has been
selected as one of the 18 members of the Executive Planning Group for the Decade. The CIC will also be involvedin the preparation processes for the Decade, cooperating closely with Dr. Uematsu and the Japanese government.
Another decision related to strategic matters of the IOC was the proposed reform of the Joint WMO-IOC
Technical Commission for Oceanography and Marine Meteorology (JCOMM). JCOMM, established in 1999 byparallel resolutions taken by the World Meteorological Congress (WMO) and IOC Assembly, has been a very
successful framework for closer collaboration between WMO and the IOC for the last 20 years in scientific researchand services of oceanography and marine meteorology through its joint expert teams and projects. WMO has decided
its reform aiming at becoming a more flexible and integrated organization with stronger partnerships to meet
emerging societal needs and challenges of global climate, water, andweather. The reform will also impact partner organizations,particularly the IOC (the closest cooperative body). The Executive
Council of IOC decided to establish jointly with WMO a consultationgroup on the reform of JCOMM, emphasizing the importance ofcontinued and enhanced cooperation between oceanography andmeteorology, namely between the IOC and WMO. It is necessary tohave careful and constructive discussions but not lose the existing andsuccessful technical cooperation within JCOMM. Professor Michidahas been selected as a member of the consultation group in his
capacity as the co-chair of the International Oceanographic Data andProfessor Michida, reporting the outcome of theInformation Exchange (IODE) of IOC.
Resolutions Committee (a sessional committee
established under the beginning agenda item) on
During the Executive Council session, Professor Michida was
the podium at the 51st Session of the Executive
appointed as the chairperson of the Resolutions Committee to review
Council of the IOC
the draft resolutions and report results back to the plenary.
2[ここに出典を記載します。]

CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

RENSEA Seminar on Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast Asia
Hiroaki SAITO

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

Southeast Asia is a hotspot of marine biological diversity. However, the richness of biological diversity andmarine ecosystem services in Southeast Asia are in crisis because of increasing human activity and the demand formarine ecosystem services. Unfortunately, our knowledge of the structure and dynamics of these important marine
ecosystems is seriously limited. Building an international network to proceed with marine ecosystem studies in thisregion is an emergent issue.
To enhance multilateral collaboration for research and education regarding coastal ecosystems among five
Southeast Asian countries (i.e., Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam) and Japan, a science project
known as “Research and Education Network on coastal ecosystems in Southeast Asia” (RENSEA) was initiated in
April 2016; it is supported by the Core-to-Core Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS).
There are three research groups in RENSEA focused on physical processes, biodiversity, and environmental pollution,
respectively.
The second RENSEA seminar was held at the University of the Philippines Visayas (UPV), Iloilo City, fromFebruary 27 to March 1, 2018. In Session 1, highlights of recent research regarding various ecosystems, such as
seagrass beds, coral reefs, coastal physical processes, biodiversity, and pollution, were presented. Session 2 was an
educational forum; UPV students presented their ongoing studies, and attendees offered suggestions and comments.
After the group discussion during Session 3, attendees shared best practices for applying scientific knowledge for thesustainable use of marine ecosystem services and exchanged ideas to proceed with RENSEA scientific investigations
and collaborations over the next year. The next phase of the Core-to-Core Program (from 2019) was also planned.
The third RENSEA seminar will be held at Chulalongkorn University, Bangkok, February 20–22, 2019.

Emeritus Professor Shuhei Nishida was
acknowledged for his long-term contributions
to JSPS collaboration projects in Southeast Asia
from RENSEA’s national leaders.

Group photo of seminar attendees

High Level Scientific Conference “From COP 21 towards the United Nations
Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development” and the in-person meetingof the Ocean KAN Development Team in Paris
Mitsuo UEMATSU

Emeritus Professor, AORI, the University of Tokyo

In view of the launching of the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development (2021–2030) - hereafter, “the Decade” - , the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO and Ocean andClimate Platform were held at the High Level Scientific Conference, September 10–11, 2018, at the UNESCO
Headquarters in Paris.
Two hundred and eighty people from more than 30 countries participated, but only one Japanese from Asian
countries. The importance of scientific oceanographic observation was emphasized in relation to such issues as the3

CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

The High Level Scientific Conference was held in Room X,
UNESCO Headquarters, in Paris

Members of the Ocean KAN Development Team on thecampus of University Paris VI

sea level rise resulting from global warming, acidification, oxygen deficiency, and microplastic contamination. We
also concluded that Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) should collaborate and reflect on the scientific facts
obtained for the decision making by policy makers. Finally, Professor Haugan, the IOC chair, summarized theimportance of marine science in polar and deep sea regions, collaboration with climate science, expectations andefforts for female researchers’ success, the natural science and social science network, ocean literacy, collaboration
with industry, science-based communication, and policy planning. The Decade is comprehended as a plan that
actually got the timing to start.
The second in-person meeting of the Ocean Knowledge-Action Network (KAN) Development Team (DT), cochaired by Anna Zivian and Mitsuo Uematsu, was held and supported by SCOR at the French National Center for
Scientific Research (CNRS) in Paris, September 12–13, 2018, immediately following the High Level Scientific
Conference. Fifteen members from nine countries attended the meeting and discussed the progress of the various
working groups (i.e., Learning Networks, Knowledge Mobilization, Transboundary Fisheries Crime, Coastal Risk,
and Ocean Governance) in addition to the Early Career Network. We must endeavor to raise interest in Asia as well.
For the Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) Open Science Conference in Sapporo in April 2019,
the discussion session regarding “What is Ocean KAN?” was proposed. At the Integrated Marine Biosphere Research(IMBeR) project Open Science Conference in June 2019, a session for Ocean Governance will be organized. The DT
has been holding a Web meeting monthly, and we are considering holding an in-person meeting outside the US next
year. The final report will be compiled at the DT meeting. We confirmed the roadmap for Ocean KAN on December
2019 as well.

ANU-UTokyo joint activities
Yusuke YOKOYAMA

Professor, Analytical Center for Environmental Study

Continuous active exchanges were conducted during 2018 between the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and Australian
National University (ANU) under their strategic partnership program. The Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute(AORI) has been playing an important role as the leading institute for the UTokyo side of exchanges between theuniversities (based on the memorandum of understanding [MOU]). This report highlights several events in which
AORI played a pivotal role during the year.

1) Dr. Anthony Purcell’s visit (April–June 2018)
Dr. Purcell is a key researcher in the field of geophysics; presently, he is affiliated with
the Research School of Earth Sciences (RSES). Furthermore, ANU has a world-leading
laboratory for sea level studies. Dr. Purcell’s group has developed a comprehensive global
sea level model, and it is one of the three best models used for predicting past and future sea
level changes. Dr. Purcell has been heavily involved in a project aimed at improving themodel and has been playing a pivotal role because of his strong mathematical andcomputational skills.

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Dr. Anthony Purcell (right)
and AORI PhD student (K.
Yagasaki)

CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

Dr. Purcell visited AORI for three months as a visiting associate professor and gave several presentations at
institutional seminars and a scientific conference. He interacted with various scholars and students during his stay, andseveral collaborative studies have been submitted for publication in scientific journals. These articles point to the successof his visit to AORI this year.

2) UTokyo-ANU student field excursion (September 2018)
We also welcomed 20 ANU students and two staff members from ANU in September for two weeks for joint
instruction at AORI and various other sites in Japan. More than 15 students from different schools in UTokyo also attended
the course and work intensively for two weeks from morning to night. They collaborated effectively with ANU students
and made lifetime friends. While students attended classes at AORI, Director/Professor Tsuda, as well as Professors Hyodo,
Nagata, and Shinzato, as well as other members of AORI helped organize the program. A summary of this year’s activities
can be found via Twitter (#GeohazardsNCP2018) and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gCeZ6_1a4E&app=desktop), as well as the website of the Analytical Center for Environmental Study (http://lamsyokoyama.blogspot.com/search/label/Diary ). This exchange programs will also be conducted in 2019 and include UTokyo
students visiting Australia in March.

Tsunami boulders in Tohoku

Visiting an elementary school to hearstories of tsunami survivors

Group photo at the Hoei crater3) Science & Technology Diplomacy and Public Policy
Forum (November 5, 2018)
The workshop was organized as a collaboration between ANU and
UTokyo. It was planned as a cooperative activity with the Australian
Embassy
andtheoutreachcalled“Australia
now”(https://australianow2018.com/program/australia-japan-sciencediplomacy-and-public-policy-forums). Planning was initiated in 2017 byProfessor Jennifer Corbett with the Crawford School of Public Policy andProfessor Joan Leach of the ANU Centre for the Public Awareness of
Science. The program was wide-ranging and multidisciplinary.
(https://cpas.anu.edu.au/news-events/events/australia-japan-sciencediplomacy-and-public-policy) The workshop was extremely interestingand educational because of the many different perspectives on themechanisms of interdisciplinary research collaborations and theircontributions to formal and informal diplomacy. It was also informativefor explaining how scientific and technological evidence can be madeaccessible and brought to bear on policymaking and why we should all bethinking responsibly about the societal and environmental impacts of theresearch that we conduct. The discussions shed light on points wherein
Japan and Australia differ. However, it also shows that we can makeimportant discoveries and innovations when we work together. The
workshop was a great success, and students and postdocs who attended enjoyed the active discussions.
Although the MOU between the universities will be ending in February 2019, we will renew it to conduct continuous
active exchanges; hence, further developments on strategic partnerships will be seen in the
coming year. Continuous support from AORI as well as from UTokyo is appreciated andwill be an important component for the success of the partnership.
Professor Corbett(left) and Professor Leach(center), whoorganized the Science & Technology Diplomacy andPublic Policy forum with Professor Yokoyama(right)

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CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

Workshop on the Intercomparison of Global
Cloud Resolving Models and Related Studies,
November 13, 2018
Masaki SATOH

Professor, Division of Ocean-Earth System Science

This referenced workshop was held in the Seminar Room,
Ito International Research Center, The University of Tokyo tointensively discuss preliminary results of the project DYAMOND
and related studies regarding global/regional high-resolution
atmospheric simulations. The project DYAMOND describes aframework for the intercomparison of an emerging class ofWorkshop in the Seminar Room, Ito International
weather and climate models that, through their resolution of the
Research Center (November 3, 2018)
major modes of atmospheric heat transport, endeavor to represent
the most important scales of the full three-dimensional fluid dynamics of the atmospheric circulation. Simulations
will be performed for a 40-day period with the goals of (i) identifying similarities and differences that emerge onstorm-resolving scales (1–5 km) as compared to traditional (hydrostatic scale) representations of the atmosphericcirculation and (ii) defining the frameworks and protocols for subsequent—and scientifically more ambitious—
phases. Phase zero of the project DYAMOND has resulted in simulations from nine groups in the world at the time
the workshop was held.
Members of four groups of the project DYAMOND—that is, Japan (NICAM), the Max Plank Institute ofMeteorology (MPI-M, Germany; ICON), two groups in the United States (global-SAM and FV3)—have participatedin the workshop and communicated with each other regarding recent results of project activities. Dr. Ryosuke Shibuya(JAMSTEC) showed results of “The DYAMOND simulations with NICAM” as the activity involving the Japanese
global cloud-resolving model and collaboration with AORI. Professor Marat Khairoutdinov (Stony Brook University)
introduced “Preliminary results from Global SAM”. Dr. Shian-Jiann Lin (GFDL) talked on “The DYAMOND
simulations with a prototype of super FB3”, and Dr. Christopher Moseley (MPI-M) presented “The DYAMOND
activities with ICON at MPI-M”. Two talks on large eddy simulation (LES) studies were also invited to interact withDYAMOND studies. Dr. Takanobu Yamaguchi (NOAA) gave a talk entitled the “Perspective of shallow clouds as anintegral component of the atmospheric circulation system”, and Dr. Junshi Ito (AORI) introduced studies regarding“Whole typhoon LES”. At the beginning of the workshop, Professor David Randall (Colorado State University) was
invited to give an introductory talk entitled “Convective aggregation on the sphere with and without rotation”.
This workshop was supported by the Center for Earth Surface System Dynamics (CESD), AORI. The agendaof the workshop was announced at http://cesd.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/info/20181023.html. Following this workshop, the
5th International Workshop on Nonhydrostatic Models(NHM2018) was held at the Japan Meteorological
Agency, November 14–16, 2018, and all members
who participated in the present “Workshop on theIntercomparison of Global Cloud Resolving Models
and Related” have continued the discussions at
NHM2018. The International Workshop on
Nonhydrostatic Models is held regularly every two
years. Global nonhydrostatic model studies by
NICAM have been presented at International
Workshops on Nonhydrostatic Models since the firstworkshop was held 10 years ago. This year, as
described above, more international groups havebegun global nonhydrostatic model simulations.
Thus, it was a good idea to hold the workshop on theintercomparison of global cloud-resolving models.
We are grateful for the support from AORI and
5th International Workshop on Nonhydrostatic Models (NHM2018),
assistance from Ms. Hidemi Hibino and Ms. Yoko
November 14–16, 2018, held at the Japan Meteorological Agency
Obayashi.

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CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

Visiting Professors
Name / Affiliation

Nationality

Length ofstay

Subject for study

LEICHTER, James

USA

Scripps Institution of Oceanography
University of California, San Diego
Professor
CALIL, Paulo H. R.
Instituto de Oceanografia, Universidade
Federal do Rio Grande
Associate Professor

2017/9/2712/24

Brazil2017/5/158/14

China

2017/4/12018/1/31

Austria

2017/9/1812/17

Animal-prokaryote association and its
contribution to biogeochemical cycles in
the oceanAustralia/UK

2017/5/256/30

The genetic architecture of colour inmarine invertebrates and adaptive
evolution of deep-sea gastropods

Australia

2017/10/2312/1

Paleoenvironment reconstruction using
biogenic carbonate trace elementUSA

2017/4/1-5/31

Simplified Representations of theStratospheric Quasibiennial Oscillation(QBO)

Russia2017/4/1-6/25

Studies on the atmospheric environment
over West-Siberia and Arctic region using
Russian airplane

ZHANG, Hui
Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academyof Sciences (IOCAS)
Associate Professor
WEINBAUER, Markus G.
Laboratoire d'Oceanographie de Villefranche(LOV), Sorbonne Universités, UPMC
Researcher
WILLIAMS, Suzanne
Natural History Museum, London
Research Leader
CHIVAS, Allan R.
The School of Earth and Environmental
Sciences,
Universityof
Wollongong,
Australia
Professor
HAMILTON, KevinInternational Pacific Research Center,
University of Hawaii
retired professor and Director
STRUNIN, Alexandr M.
CAO/ROSHYDROMET
Researcher

International research network forelucidating trophic, geochemical, andpopulation connectivity of coral reef
ecosystems
Multiple temporal and spatial scales ofvariability in WBC systems and theirbiogeochemicalconsequence:acomparison between the Brazil-Malvinas
and Kuroshio-Oyashio Current systems
Ecology of ichthyoplankton assemblage
and early life history of fishes
in the Yangtze River Estuary

Visiting professors’ reports
WILLIAMS, Suzanne
Research Leader, Natural History Museum, London

I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit
AORI in May and June 2017 to visit Japan for the firsttime and to continue collaborating with Prof. Yasunori
Kano. I first met Prof. Kano in London in 2007 when

he visited the Natural
History Museum. A few
years
ago,
we
collaborated on a paper
where we published thefirstmolecular
phylogeny for a groupof deep-sea gastropods
belonging to the family
Solariellidae.

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CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

During my time at AORI, Prof. Kano and I havebeen working on two more papers about solariellids.
One is a small monograph of the genera, which will
provide a taxonomic framework for the family and theother is investigating reproductive behavior in agenus that broods young snails in the umbilicus of its
shell. The monograph is nearly finished and we hopeto submit it soon.
A key activity during my visit was giving a onecredit graduate course at the Kashiwa Campus"Special lectures of Aquatic Science", which wasattended by approximately 40 people. My seminar
was entitled ‘Colourful shells: Investigating theevolution of shell colour in molluscs’. It was areview of the function of colour and pattern in thephylum Mollusca and then an introduction to someresearch that I have undertaken in this field.
Afterwards we had a small party where I was able totalk further with several professors and students.
One of the highlights of my trip was meeting
Prof. Kano’s team of students and post-docs and Prof.
Kojima. They were all very friendly and helpful andwe shared many meals together. Another highlight ofmy visit to AORI was the fieldwork I was able toundertake in Okinawa. I went to the beautiful islandsof Okinawa and Ishigaki from 20-28 June with Prof.
Kano, and five of his students and post-docs and we
met up with three Spanish colleagues. During ourfieldwork I collected samples of the starfish, Linckia
laevigata, for molecular and ecological studies on theevolution of colour in this colourful species, andstrombid gastropod samples for molecular andmorphological studies, in order to learn more about
their vision. The analysis of these samples will takeplace back in London at the Natural History Museum,and Yasunori and I will work on papers that result
from this fieldwork.
My visit has been an extremely rewarding time,
both personally and scientifically. I have very muchenjoyed my visit to Japan and I would like to thankProf. Kano for his kindness and generosity as my host.
He and his team have been unfailingly kind andhelpful at all times and I am very grateful to all ofthem.

CHIVAS, Allan R.

Emeritus Professor, School of Earth and Environmental
Sciences, University of Wollongong, Australia

I visited AORI during October and November
2017 and resided in Professor Yusuke Yokoyama’ sgroup,
namelytheAnalyticalCenterforEnvironmental Study (ACES). We have known eachother since the time of his PhD studies at theAustralian National University, starting in 1995, and it
is always a pleasure to continue our scientificcollaboration.
A key aspect of my visit was our discussions ofa joint project concerning past air temperaturesduring the Last Glacial Maximum, about 20,000 years
ago, in New Zealand. This involves several isotopic
techniques applied to carbonate nodules andrhizomorphs (plant roots replaced by soil carbonate
minerals). A fundamental part of this investigation
requires being able to date small amounts of thesecarbonate minerals using radiocarbon. To this end,
the unique capabilities of the YSAMS single-stage
Accelerator Mass Spectrometer (AMS) at AORI has
been critical as there are few other laboratories
world-wide with such capability.
Indeed, thisequipment and the associated graphite-target
preparation procedure are quite special and unique
for small samples.
I was fortunate enough to be able to participate
in and present a talk concerning clumped-isotope
palaeothermometry at the symposium organised at
AORI to mark the retirement of Professor Masao
Nakada, a University of Tokyo scholar now at the8

University of Kyushu. This was an event that paid
tribute to his many important scientific achievements.
For me, it was particularly pleasing in that, in theearly 1980s we were both working at the Research
School of Earth Sciences at the Australian National
University.
Another aspect of my visit that is always ahighlight is the interaction that I so enjoy with
graduate students and other post-doctoral visitors in
ACES. There is much scientific endeavour being
pursued and across a range of important research
topics. This is a strong and cohesive team. I was
pleased to provide a talk to the group about
Quaternary stratigraphy and the possibility that thepart of the official global geological timescale may beformally named “Chibanian” after the prefecture inwhich we reside. During my time here, I was alsoable to complete revisions to several manuscripts inanencouraging
and
conducively
peaceful
environment.
I thank Professor Yokoyama andassistant Tomoko Shibatsuji for smoothing the way
for a most enjoyable sojourn.

CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

WEINBAUER, Markus G.
Researcher, Laboratoire d'Oceanographie de Villefranche (LOV), Sorbonne Universités, UPMC

I was invited by Prof. Koji Hamasaki at AORI as guest professor. I have a long lasting collaboration
with this institute (former ORI). A former ORI student who also worked at my institute during her PhD studies,
worked later with me as postdoc on pelagic microorganisms at my institute (Laboratoire d’Océanographie deVilllefranche, France). We are reassuming
work that we have proposed 10 areas ago, i.e. to compare so-called free-living microorganisms with attachedorganisms (bound to organic aggregates or living within metazoans, i.e. copepods and fish). Now we have thefunding to actually start this research and Prof. Hamasaki was my care-taking host. The main idea of my stay
was to compile data for a potential conceptual paper on this topic. However, some ideas for more detailed
projects raised and we will try to get that funded (the initial part will be covered by a French University). Indeed,
the first DNA samples for microbial metagenome sequencing of the gut microbiome of some bristlemouth fish
species, the most abundant group of fish in the world, have been obtained. Additionally, I gave a seminar at
the institute and for the GFS students on the neglected role of the effects of volcano ash and soot for thediversity and activity of microorganisms in the ocean.
According to the allowances of the University of Tokyo, I could visit the Noto Marine Station. Parts ofthis peninsula look like the pre-alpine area of my home country (Austria) especially now in fall but then you
drive around a corner and there is the sea… .I could even help Prof. Hamasaki in a sampling exercice.
I had also the chance to visit Kochi University and JAMSTEC. The
technological facilities associated to deep subsurface drilling at this institute areamazing. This visit was organized by Prof. Keizo Nagasaki, a colleague frompostdoc times when we worked on viruses.
In addition, I could visit the Hakuho-Maro when unloading after a longcruise and attend the symposium in Tsukuba in honor to Prof. Rita Colewell(University of Maryland) who won the 33rd International Prize for Biology(Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science).
The time here at AORI and general in Japan was wonderful. The leaves
changed the color in the period from late summer to late fall when I lived here.
This was a very pleasing experience. Also, I will never forget all the cheerfullunches and dinners with colleagues and friends. I am deeply grateful to theadministration, students and postdocs, who helped whenever they could i(notonly with science related issues). And I am particularly grateful to Prof.
Hamasaki for his hospitality and for his pertinent help. They all made my stayat AORI a real pleasure!

HAMILTON, Kevinretired professor and Director, International PacificResearch Center, University of Hawaii

I am just about to complete my second
extended (April-May) visit to CCSR/AORI (myprevious visit was in spring 2015). I am pleased tohave the chance to report on my activities. In April
I presented a seminar on recent work quantifying theeffect of atmospheric tides on the daily cycle ofrainfall in the tropics and was pleased by the
discussions with AORI scientists that this seminarstimulated. During my earlier 2015 visit I presented
a series of lectures (in English) at the Hongo campus

as a 1-credit graduate course, and later reflected on
the barriers many Japanese students had dealing
with my lectures and generally in operating
professionally in English.
Back in Hawaii thisexperience led me tosome informal online
research into available
adviceforwriting
papersinEnglish.
Armed
with
this
background, in thisApril I had an extended
presentationinteraction session with
the
CCSR/AORI
students and younger

9CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

researchers on ways to improve the standard ofEnglish in scientific manuscripts and presentations.
I enjoyed this interaction and I hope this may havebeen helpful for these young climate scientists.
The overall subject of my research activities
here was the variability of the stratospheric quasibiennial oscillation (QBO), a subject I introduced in aseminar at AORI I gave during a brief visit in
September last year. The QBO dominates theequatorial stratospheric circulation where prevailingwinds are observed to undergo a remarkable
alternation between strong easterlies and strong
westerlies in a cycle with period averaging ~27
months.
Unlike the completely predictable,
astronomically-forced, seasonal or tidal cycles, theQBO emerges spontaneously from the internal fluid
dynamics of the atmosphere, and so - while it has
behaved fairly regularly in most of the observed
record - there is interest in understanding thevariability of the QBO from cycle-to-cycle. This issue
became even more interesting after 2016 which saw
a very anomalous QBO cycle – one that isunprecedented since at least 1953 when regularballoon observations allowed careful monitoring of
the QBO state.
I am involved now in several research projects
with Japanese colleagues relating to different aspectsof the QBO variability, and my stay I Japan has
enabled me to interact with my collaborators on theseprojects and provide my comments and input. At
JAMSTEC I am assisting Yoshio Kawatani in his
investigation of the systematic effects of ENSO on the
QBO behavior. Notably Yoshio has been able toreproduce in his atmospheric GCM the observed
tendency for the QBO phase to progress faster in El
Nino vs La Nina conditions. We are now considering
further analysis of the GCM results. Once again at
JAMSTEC, Shingo Watanabe is leading an effort toexamine the predictability of the 2016 QBO disruption
using a very high vertical resolution GCM. Initial
results are promising and may represent the first time
any comprehensive simulation model has been able
to reproduce the basic features of the observed 2016
disruption. I am consulting with Shingo and hiscolleagues on how to proceed from these exciting
initial results.

10

In addition to these collaborations on
sophisticated model analysis, I also collaborated with
Takatoshi Sakazaki (now at U Hawaii on a JSPS
postdoctoral fellowship) on a very simple
observational study which we were actually able tocomplete during my CCSR/AORI visit. In light of theincreasing interest in QBO variability, it would very
useful to extend the observed QBO time series backto the pre-1953 era when no regular daily balloon
observations of the wind in the equatorial
stratosphere are available. One data point in the
distant past has been known for some time, namelythat in there was a strong equatorially-centered
easterly jet in the stratosphere in the period
immediately after the Krakatau eruption in August
1883. The existence of these “Krakatau easterlies”
was inferred from the motion of the stratosphericaerosol cloud injected by the major eruption. The
aerosols produced very spectacular optical effects,
including very long twilight periods and colorfulsunsets.
By tracking the first time the presence of
these optical effects was reported, the spread of thestratospheric aerosol cloud around the equator could
be tracked (see top panel of the Figure). In our new
study we were able to find reports of typical posteruption optical effects after major eruptions in earlyMay 1902 on Caribbean islands, and are able to infer
the QBO phase at that time (see bottom panel of the
Figure). We also identified several other major lowlatitude eruptions during 1800-1952 for which there
might be useful data to infer equatorial winds.
Working with Takatoshi, I completed last month asmall manuscript on this historical study that has justbeen accepted for publication in the British journal
Weather.
My stay in Japan was very enjoyable and I was
pleased to have a chance to do some sightseeingboth around the Tokyo area and further afield. I
would like to express my gratitude to AORI/CCSR forthe chance to make this extended visit. I especiallywould like to thank Masaki Satoh for the invitation tocome to AORI/CCSR and for his kindness as my host,as well as Midori Kubota for her efficient and friendly
assistance beginning months before I actually arrived.
They made it a real pleasure for me to stay at the
Kashiwa campus!

CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

Figure Caption: Maps showing observations relevant to the stratospheric dispersal of the aerosol following major
volcanic eruptions. Note that dates identifying individual features are given as “month of year”/”day of month”.
(top) Observed spread of the sunset optical phenomena in the two weeks following the Krakatau eruption. The
black lines are redrafted from an earlier study and show the westward extent of the phenomena each day.
(bottom) The red circles show locations of St. Vincent and Mt. Pelee which had explosive eruptions on 7 May
and 8 May, 1902, respectively. The stars show the locations of Honolulu and Madiera where observations oftwilight phenomena resulting from the aerosol cloud from the eruptions were first observed on 20 May and 6
June, respectively.

STRUNIN, Aleksandr M.

Researcher
Federal State Budgetary Institute “Central AerologicalObservatory CAO” ROSHYDROMET (FSBI “CAO”), Russia

I work as a researcher in Laboratory of
Thermodynamic of Atmosphere, Department of CloudPhysics and Weather Modifications, Central
Aerological Observatory, Russia. I am interested ininvestigations of thermodynamic and turbulence of
atmosphere, especially turbulence in the clouds,
atmospheric aerosols, mainly based on aircraft
observations. I took part in creating new Russian
aircraft-laboratory Yak-42D “Roshygromet” and now
I work as onboard operator, responsible for theaircraft system for measuring flight navigation
parameters and thermodynamic characteristics ofatmosphere.

During my visit to Japan I worked at
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (AORI) of
Tokyo University about three months from beginningof April, 2017 up to end of June, 2017. During mystaying in AORI I had chance to attend the Japan
Geosciences Union and American Geophysical Union
joint meeting 2017 (JpGU-AGU). I also made a shortvisit to Dr. MACHIDA
Toshinobu
office(National Institute forEnvironmental Studies,
NIES) where I leaned
withComprehensive
Observation Network
for Trace gases by
Airliner(CONTRAIL)
project. I also visited to
Dr. KANAYA Yugo office11

CIC NEWSLETTER No.16 2018

(Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science andTechnology, JAMSTEC).
The main goal of my staying in AORI was thefinding a way for using aircraft-based data on
atmospheric aerosols, thermodynamic parameters of
atmosphere and precise aircraft navy data forvalidation of satellite data. Russian aircraft-laboratory
Yak-42D “Roshydromet” fulfilled some researchflights in Arctic, Moscow and St. Petersburg regions(in period from July, 2013 up to June 2017 82
research flights were made), and its tracks
sometimes crossed with projection of trajectory of
MODIS satellite (Aqua and Terra platforms) and
Orbiting Carbon Observatory. This gave me possibility
to compare concentrations of small and sub-micronparticles,
particlesof
blackcarbonwith
correspondent satellite data.
Beyond the research work in AORI, I also had chance
to enjoy nice spring in Japan, including beautiful
sakura (cherry) and other flowers blossoming. My
family - my wife and daughter - accompanied me to
Japan, it was their first visit to Japan and they muchenjoyed staying here. We got great experience andmany nice impressions during the visit.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank myhost, Prof. Ryoichi Imasu for this chance to visit AORI
and all laboratories’ members for a welcome. I also
hope for our further cooperation between our
institutes.

CIC STAFF
Director of CIC
International Scientific Planning
International Research Cooperation

Prof. Yutaka MICHIDA
Prof. Yutaka MICHIDA
Prof. Hiroaki SAITO

Prof. Koji INOUE
Prof. Yusuke YOKOYAMA
Prof. Ryoichi IMASU
Assoc. Prof. Jin-Oh PARK
Assoc. Prof. Sachihiko ITOCenter for International Collaboration
Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute,
The University of Tokyo
5-1-5 Kashiwanoha, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8564, JAPAN
Phone&Fax : +81-4-7136-6361
URL : http://www.aori.u-tokyo.ac.jp/12