CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

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

Asian CORE-COMSEA Seminaron Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast Asia

Contents
1.

Asian CORE-COMSEA Seminar on
Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast
Asia

2.

Activities of the IOC subcommission for the Western Pacific(WESTPAC)3.

The 49th session of the Executive
Council of Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOCEC)

Date :
24–26 Feb., 2016
Venue : Auditorium, Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute (AORI)

Shuhei NISHIDA

Professor Emeritus

SOLAS in Asia : A Future SOLAS
Symposium in Qingdao, China
4.

The project “Establishment of Research and Education Network on
Coastal Marine Science in Southeast Asia (ACORE-COMSEA)” started in April,

SIMSEA Regional Symposium 2016
held in Diliman, Quezon City

2011, under the Asian CORE Program of the Japan Society for the Promotion of
Science (JSPS), was completed in March, 2016. The seminar, entitled “Asian

5.

Join the Workshop on developmentof Future Earth “Oceans KAN” in
Kiel, Germany

6.

The 25th Anniversary of PICES

CORE-COMSEA Seminar on Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast Asia”, wasaimed at presenting and discussing recent findings by project members,
synthesizing the accomplishments throughout the five years, and planning for

Memorandum of Understanding
between AORI and SIO

future collaborations in research and education. A total of 70 participants,
including 47 from the five collaborating countries (Indonesia, Malaysia,
Philippine, Thailand and Vietnam), joined the Seminar.
The seminar was comprised of five sessions with different foci. Session-1
included presentations on the current status of physical processes, biodiversity,and environmental pollution in seagrass habitats, coral reefs, and other coastal
ecosystems representing Southeast Asia; there were 20 oral and 28 poster
presentations with active discussion. Session-2 presented and discussed theresults from the “Integrative Ecosystem Research (IER)”, which focused on the

7.

NTU-UTokyo Joint Conference

8.

Prof.Stephen Eggins visits AORI9.

The 4th International Workshop on
Nonhydrostatic Numerical Models

10.

Professor Mitsuo Uematsu awarded
Japan Prime Minister’s Prize

11.

Assoc. Prof. Teruhisa Komatsu
awarded the Officer of “l’Ordrenational de Mérite” of France

12.

-On the occasion of my retirement-New member of CIC

13.

Visiting Professors
Visiting professors’ reports

large seagrass ecosystem in the Merambong Shoal, Johor, Malaysia; it also
included related contributions from other areas and countries, with 12
presentations in total. In Session-3, activities from each research group were
presented and summarized by the Group Leaders, while in Session-4, activities

International symposium“Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global
Dialogue”

from collaborating countries were synthesized by the National Coordinators.
The final session, Session-5, was dedicated to the discussion of our futurecollaborations, and the scope of a newly adopted 3-year (FY2016–2018) project
under the JSPS Core-to-Core Program, entitled “Research and Education
Network on Coastal Ecosystems in Southeast Asia (CCore-RENSEA)” wasintroduced. It was agreed that our collaborations, for the time being, will belargely made under the umbrella of this program.

1. Asian CORE-COMSEA Seminor
View during the oral presentation

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

Activities of the IOC Sub-Commission for the Western Pacific (WESTPAC)
Yutaka MICHIDA

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

WESTPAC is the most active regional program of the IOC, which was upgraded to an IOC Sub-Commission froma regional Committee in 1989 based on its outstanding outcomes since 1979. WESTPAC has 22 Member States as of theend of 2016. Japan has continuously played a leading role in the strategic planning and implementation of several scientificand services projects. WESTPAC organized the Advisory Group (AG) meeting twice in 2016—in January and November.
The first AG meeting in 2016 was held from January 13–15 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia; the second meeting took place from
November 28–30 in Qingdao, China. Prof. Michida participated in both meetings as one of the experts invited to the AG.
Dr. Kentaro Ando of JAMSTEC also joined the meeting as one of the designated official members of the AG.
The AG meetings were chaired by Dr. Youn-Ho Lee of the Republic of Korea, the first vice-chair of WESTPAC, toexchange views of experts on the WESTPAC work plan and make advisory suggestions for its implementation, including
the evaluation of research projects and organization of the forthcoming WESTPAC International Scientific Conference in2017 (WESTPAC ISC-10).
WESTPAC ISC-10 will be held from April 17–20, 2017, in Qingdao, China. The Local Organizing Committee(LOC) of the conference estimated the participation of more than 600 people presenting more than 400 papers.

WESTPAC Advisory Group meeting in January 2016 in Yogyakarta, Indonesia

WESTPAC Advisory Group meeting in November 2016 in Qingdao, China
Prof.Michida (left), Dr. Lee (first Vice-Chair of WESTPAC;
center), and Dr. Khokiattiwong (Chairman of WESTPAC;
right) having a preparatory discussion at the Advisory
Group meeting in Yogyakarta

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

The 49th Session of the Executive Council ofthe Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC-EC)
Yutaka MICHIDA

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

The 49th Session of the Executive Council of theIntergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) was heldfrom June 7–10, 2016, at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Japanese delegation at the 49th Session of the IOC-EC. Front row fromProf. Mitsuo Uematsu, director of the Center for International the left: Prof. Uematsu, the head of delegation; Prof. Michida, thealternate; and Dr. Kawano (JAMSTEC). On the left end of the back row:
Collaboration (CIC) of AORI, participated as the head of the Assoc. Prof. Saito.
Japanese delegation. Prof. Yutaka Michida and Associate Prof.
Hiroaki Saito also attended the meeting as members of the delegation. The session adopted various decisions to prioritize
the programs of the IOC. These decisions involved the IOC’s contribution towards Agenda 2030 of the United Nations,which contains a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In particular, SDG-14, calling to ‘conserve and sustainably
use of the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development’, is directly relevant to the work of the IOC.
Another decision related to the work of the UN was a follow-up to the Paris Climate Change Conference 2015 based on
which the IOC should consider more active contributions to the Paris Agreement/UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC). In addition, it was decided during the session to take action to enhance the IOC’s involvement in the
General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO), a joint project of the IOC and the International Hydrographic
Organization (IHO), which has been ongoing for more than 30 years.

SOLAS in Asia: A Future SOLAS Symposium in Qingdao, China
Mitsuo UEMATSU

Professor and Director, Center for International Collaboration

The Surface Ocean - Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) is an international interdisciplinary research initiative. Its
primary objective is to achieve quantitative understanding of key biogeochemical-physical interactions and feedbacks
between the ocean and the atmosphere. The SOLAS community is very proud of the extraordinary accomplishments madeduring the past decades as a core project under the International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme (IGBP), which ended
in 2015. Challenges remain however, when we look to the future of SOLAS, not only in coordinating cross-disciplinary
basic research, but also in climate and ecosystem services, because SOLAS became a core project of Future Earth.
Considering Asian countries acting as the world economic engines, SOLAS studies should strengthen internal
collaborations and pioneer some international collaboration programs to better service future socioeconomic activities on
earth.
Prior to the Future SOLAS symposium, the international SOLAS SSC meeting was held and several SSC members
remained for the symposium. The SOLAS SSC members, invited scientists, and Chinese scientists gave talks and opened
discussion for future collaborations within Asian countries and elsewhere. Many young Chinese scientists joined thediscussions with great enthusiasm. The
symposium was carried out at the Qingdao
National Laboratory for Marine Science andTechnology (QNLM). The facility waslaunched with an investment of 200 million
USD, and a total floor area of 150,000 m2,
420,000 m2 in land area, and still underconstruction. It is has been supported by the
Ministry of Science and Technology,
Shandong Province Government, andQingdao Municipal Government since
October 2015. We should maintain a close
relationship with the Chinese and AsianGroup photo with young Chinese students of ocean sciences at QNLM
ocean communities.

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

International Symposium“Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global Dialogue”
Hiroaki SAITO

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

The United Nations (UN) environment program (UNEP) andConvention on Biological Diversity (CBD) held an international
symposium “Sustainable Ocean Initiative Global Dialogue” from Group discussion to exchange information andexperience between the RFOs and RSOs
September 26–29, 2016, in Seoul. The goal was to facilitate the dialogue
to exchange experiences and identify options and opportunities to enhance the cross-sectional collaboration between
regional seas organizations (RSOs) and regional fisheries bodies (RFBs). The collaboration between RFOs and RSOs isessential to reach the Aichi Biodiversity Target and UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The attendees shared
information on the success and failure of the collaboration between the RFOs and RSOs. However, it seemed that bothorganizations do not understand each other well with respect to the reasons of establishment, decision-making processes,
and stakeholders. To reach the goal, which is still far away, continuous dialogue between RFOs and RSIs is essential.
.

SIMSEA Regional Symposium 2016 held in Diliman, Quezon City
Mitsuo UEMATSU

Professor and Director, Center for International Collaboration

The 3-day Regional Symposium of the Sustainability Initiative in the Marginal Seas of South and East Asia
(SIMSEA) began on 26 September 2016 in Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines. Hosted by the Regional Office of SIMSEA
and the Marine Science Institute (MSI) of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, the symposium attracted theparticipation of 111 scientists, including young local students and other stakeholders from 11 countries in the region.
The symposium’s goal was to promote transdisciplinary research in the context of Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) focused on coastal and marine issues. Examples include, exploring opportunities for research collaboration andnetworking towards sustainable development in the region, and introducing transdisciplinary research in sustainable
development to early career and other scholars in the region. Fourteen scientists from Japan joined the symposium.
Professor Emeritus Toshio YAMAGATA from the University of Tokyo and Professor Emeritus Yasuhiko Naito from the
National Institute of Polar Research (NIPR) have the plenary presentations. From AORI, Professor Emeritus Nobuyuki
MIYAZAKI and Professor Katsufumi SATO and his group led the discussions, especially application of bio-logging
science in the region.
SIMSEA was endorsed as a regional activity of Future Earth, the new international research platform that aims toprovide knowledge and support to accelerate transformations to a sustainable world. Fortunately, Emeritus Professor Mohd.
Nordin Hasan from the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (National University of Malaysia), who stepped down from theposition as director for the ICSU Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (ICSU ROAP), is still actively involved with
Future Earth as Chair of the Regional Advisory Committee of the Regional Center for Future Earth in Asia and continues
to be active inter alia in promoting SIMSEA. Our participation in the symposium encouraged us to revitalize SIMSEA
activity in Japan.

Group photo during the SIMSEA Regional Symposium 2016

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

Join the Workshop on development of Future Earth “Oceans KAN”
in Kiel, Germany
Mitsuo UEMATSU

Professor and Director, Center for International Collaboration

Oceans provide vital ecosystem services to humans, and these
services are currently subject to multiple stresses that are bothincreasing and changing, creating complex, often unpredictable
feedbacks. Defining acceptable targets for ocean health andsustainability, establishing a knowledge base needed to maintain andimprove the health of ocean systems, and developing tools to predict
and respond to shocks or disasters to and from ocean systems are all
critical research needs.

Snapshot during the break-out session of “Ocean solutions fora sustainable future-supporting the SDG 14 agenda”

Developing such systems-approaches will require integrated
transdisciplinary ocean research and direct links to decision-makers around the world. Future Earth is well positioned tofacilitate the formation of transdisciplinary teams together with partners, such as WCRP, UNESCO-IOC, ICSU-SCOR,
UNEP, and practitioners. Together, they can address these challenges through a suite of new integrative initiatives under
the framework of an ocean research platform, the Future Earth Knowledge-Action Networks (KANs).
A workshop at an integrated ocean science meeting was held to develop the content for an ocean knowledge foraction (Oceans KAN) platform. Approximately 100 ocean experts from academia, government, business, nongovernmental organizations came to Kiel to co-design new research on 4-5 December 2016. There were only 9participants from Asian countries.
The primary aims of the workshop were as follows.
1) To assemble representatives from several existing academic and practitioner communities dealing with ocean
sustainability to co-design priority research activities.
2) To discuss core ideas, practicalities, and expectations for an integrative ocean research network, including a synthesisof outcomes of recent, related workshops.
3) To identify prospective partners (including non-academic, action-oriented groups) and possible funding institutions.
4) To support the creation of a Development Team for the Ocean Research Network, and to define their roles andresponsibilities.
The workshop included a few short presentations, panel discussions and facilitated discussion working group and aposter session. The World Café discussed 10 themes, including: “Games and Comics: New formats for ocean scienceengage”, “Engaging society in integrated ocean science” and “Identifying key stakeholders for integrated oceans sciences
and how does stakeholder dialogue work best?” at 10 tables on the floor. Eleven break-out groups exchanged theirknowledges and ideas on through such topics as: “Impact of marine debris, plastics, and other pollutants on ocean health”,“Predicting, mitigating and responding to ocean disasters to reduce risk”, “Ocean solutions for a sustainable futuresupporting the SDG 14 agenda” and so on. These break-out session topics were considered for the Belmont Collaborative
Research Action (CRA) proposal preparing by the Development Team for the Ocean Research Network. A policy paperon priorities for integrative ocean
sustainability research and a synthesis ofresearch knowledge derived from theworkshop will serve as the basis for a majordeliverable for the SDG 14 meeting in New
York City in June 2017. Please visit the URL(http://www.futureearth.org/events/futureearth-oceans-knowledge-action-networkworkshop) to obtain further information.

Group photo of the Oceans KAN workshop in Kiel

5

CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

The 25th Anniversary of PICES
Hiroaki SAITO

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

The North Pacific Marine Science Organization (PICES) is an intergovernmental
scientific organization promoting and coordinating marine research in the northern North
Pacific and adjacent seas. Its present members are Canada, Japan, China, Korea, Russia,
and the USA. PICES held its 25th anniversary annual meeting “25 Years of PICES:
Celebrating the Past, Imaging the Future” from November 1–13, 2016, in San Diego.
PICES’ new logo
Two important decisions were made during the meeting. The first was the decision
to establish the Committee of Human Dimension. This clearly indicatesthat PICES activates studies using social science approaches tounderstand the relationship between the marine ecosystems and people
and to solve societal issues related to marine ecosystem changes anddegradation. The second decision is including the Arctic Sea to the area
concerned where anthropogenic environmental change is rapidly
progressing. After the meeting, Prof. Hiroaki Saito (CIC, AORI)
became the chair of the science board.

Reception scenery

Memorandum of Understanding between AORI and SIO
Hiroaki SAITO

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

On March 29, 2016, AORI signed a revised Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for academic exchange with
the Scripps Institute of Oceanography (SIO) of the University California, San Diego. The SIO has been a leading institutein marine sciences since its foundation in 1902 and has produced leading scientists, including two Nobel Laureates. The
AORI and SIO signed an MOU in 1988 and many collaborative studies have been carried out since then. The MOU has
now been revised to build a closer relationship between the top institutions in the west and east of the Pacific Ocean. The
signing ceremony of the MOU was held on March 29, 2016, at SIO. During the signing ceremony, Prof. Mitsuo Uematsu,
director of CIC (AORI), and Dr. Margaret Leinen, director of SIO, exchanged the signed MOU. Following the MOU
revision, the AORI–SIO Symposium for Building a Strategic Partnership was held on October 3–4, 2016, at the Martin
Johnson House of the SIO, facing the beautiful La Jolla coast. Director Atsushi Tsuda and 22 faculty members, postdocs,
and students from AORI attended the symposium. The participants discussed recent findings of each scientific disciplineand future collaborations. At the end of the symposium, the attendees reached the consensus of having joint studies andexchanging students.

Prof. Uematsu and Dr. Leinen at the signingceremony
Attendee of the joint symposium at SIO

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

NTU-UTokyo Joint Conference
Yuji SANO

Professor, Department of Chemical Oceanography andAnalytical Center for Environmental Study
Kotaro SHIRAIAssistant Professor, International Coastal Research Center

The University of Tokyo and National Taiwan
University are building a collaborative relationship under
the framework of a “Strategic Partnership” project.
Following the Joint Symposium held at The University ofTokyo last December, the Second Joint Conference was held
Photo of the group discussion (chemistry) on Nov 30.
at the National Taiwan University this November 30 and
December 1st, 2016. Approximately 90 scientists, including
18 students from the University of Tokyo, and more than 200 people from the Taiwan University attended. The
following 15 scientists from the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute joined the conference: Profs. Kano,
Kawamura, Saito, Tsuda and Hyodo (Biology), Sachihiko Ito, Komatsu, Kiyoshi Tanaka, Yanase (Physics),
Kagoshima, Kuroda, Yamaguchi (Geology), Sano, Shirai, Nagata (Chemistry).
On the morning of the 30th, an opening ceremony was held with all participants from nine departments. On
the afternoon of Nov. 30th and morning of Dec. 1st, participants separated into 19 sessions organized by each NTU
department to search for possible collaborations. At the AORI-UTokyo and IO-NTU session, on the afternoon of the
30th, a group discussion was held separately in each research field, and we briefly introduced our own research topics
and discussed the possibility for future collaborations. That evening, we were invited to a banquet, and deepened ourfriendship while enjoying delicious Taiwanese cuisine.
On the morning of Dec 1st, we held a joint seminar. One scientist from each research field from each University
gave a presentation. Presenters and titles are as follows; Prof. Saito (Biology), "Pivotal role of boreal copepod
Neocalanus linking the end-to-end food web in the subarctic North Pacific"; Prof. Yanase (Physics), "Environmental
factors responsible for tropical cyclone development"; Prof. Kuroda (Geology), “Radiogenic isotopic record of marine
sediments as a tracer of extreme climate events in the geologic past”; Prof. Nagata (Chemistry), "Radiocarbon as a
new tool for investigating fish migration in the ocean".On the afternoon of Dec. 1st, a closing ceremony was held andagain all participants gathered. In addition to a brief report from each department's achievement over the two days,
Professor Jan, the deputy director of the IO-NTU, gave a presentation entitled “The Kuroshio, eddies, and typhoons:
The link between the East and Northeast Asia", and Prof. Hyodo gave a presentation entitled “Environmental
adaptation of marine organisms” and briefly introduced AORI activity and his study, on behalf each Universities.
From this Joint Conference, I believe that we built friendship and good partnership that will lead to futurecollaborative research projects between AORI-UTokyo and IO-NTU.

Photo of all participants taken at the opening ceremony

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

Professor Stephen Eggins visits AORI
Yusuke YOKOYAMA

Professor, Analytical Center for Environmental Study

On 24 June 2016, Professor Stephen Eggins from Research
School of Earth Sciences (RSES), The Australian National
University (ANU) visited AORI. Professor Eggins is director of
RSES and his visit was made under the auspices of a top global
university project between UTokyo and ANU; the project was astrong motive visiting AORI while at the University of Tokyo. The
meeting was held at the AORI director’s room with Professors
Atsushi Tsuda (Director, AORI), Mitsuo Uematsu (Director of CIC),
Hiroaki Saito (CIC Professor) and Yusuke Yokoyama (ACES
Professor and officiator of the ANU exchange). Fruitful discussions
were made on such topics as, research exchanges, staff and student
exchanges, and collaborations using research vessels. Although
Professor Eggins is geochemist originally studying magmatic
processes, his research interests have expanded to marine
biogeochemistry; one of his research group’s main topics isbiogeochemical cycles using trace element chemistry of marine
plankton. Therefore, the research discussions within the AORI
meeting included the topic of marine ecosystem changes.
Professor Eggins subsequently gave a special lecture after the
meeting, in the auditorium, presenting a foraminiferal ecology study
using trace element chemistry. Both parties agreed to extend andstrengthen relationships between AORI and ANU. These ties will be
aimed at including Fishery and Biological science fields in addition
to Earth Science. More than 15 ANU students will be visiting
UTokyo in mid 2017 under this exchange agreement.
Professor Eggins also kindly gave a special two-day lecture
series at the Hongo Campus with his colleagues (Doctors Yuri
Amelin and Penelope King) to students from the Schools of Scienceand Engineering, and others.

Special lecture by Professor Eggins during the Paleoclimate
Workshop organized by the Analytical Center for Environmental
Study.

Professor Eggins in the AORI director room with Professors Tsuda,
Uematsu, Saito and Yokoyama

The 4th International Workshop on Nonhydrostatic Numerical Models
Masaki SATOH

Professor, Center for Earth Surface System Dynamics

Nonhydrostatic models are one of the core types of numerical model used in atmospheric simulations, particularly
for capturing meso-scale and even finer-scale motion. In addition to nonhydrostatic dynamical schemes, they requirestudies on details of physical processes such as cloud microphysics, turbulence, and radiation. Data assimilations of various
uses of observations are related studies. Nonhydrostatic models have typically been used at horizontal grid intervals of lessthan 5 km, but they can also be run with grid intervals of 100 m or even 5 m in what is known as large eddy simulation(LES) models. Thanks to recent advances in computational power, nonhydrostatic models can now simulate atmospheric
events over the global domain in unprecedented detail; such models are referred to as global nonhydrostatic models. The
Nonhydrostaic Icosahedral Atmospheric Model (NICAM), which was developed by the Atmosphere and Ocean ResearchInstitute (AORI) in collaboration with other institutes, particularly shows its strength and usefulness for studying multiscale phenomena such as the Madden-Julian oscillations (MJO) and tropical cyclones.
Nonhydrostatic models are now used in a broad range of researches including weather forecast and climate studies.
In recognition of the importance of the development and applications of nonhydrostatic models, Research Group on Nonhydrostatic Numerical Models of the Meteorological Society of Japan (MSJ) launched workshops on this topic around2000. The domestic workshops have been held annually for the first ten years. In 2010, we decided to hold biennial
international workshops to reflect wider global interest in nonhydrostaic models.

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CIC NEWSLETTER

No.14 2016

The 4th International Workshop on Nonhydrostatic Numerical Models was held at Hakone, Kanagawa, from
November 30 to December 2, 2016, organized mainly by AORI, together with RIKEN, the Advanced Institute for
Computational Science (AICS), and MSJ’s Research Group on Non-hydrostatic Numerical Models. More than 60
participants including 16 international delegates joined. A broad range of research topics was presented in oral and poster
presentations: deep convection, meso-scale circulations, dynamical cores, numerical schemes, MJO, field experiments,
assimilations, cloud schemes, clouds, aerosols, and LES.
Several studies presented at the meeting were particularly impressive, in my view. a global domain sub-kilometer
mesh simulation by Dr. Yashiro, an LES of local valley wind by Dr. Ito, and research towards low cloud permitting
superparameterization by Dr. Pritchard are notable as using massive parallel supercomputers (such as the K computer). As
innovative ideas in numerical and physical schemes, Mr. Nishikawa discussed a topographic scheme and Drs. Morrisonand Hashimoto described cloud schemes. New avenues were opened for assimilation studies; Dr. Miyoshi reviewed “bigdata assimilations” and Dr. Honda described the use of Himarari-8 for assimilation. Prof. Sui and Dr. Nasuno presented
field experiment studies for the Year of the Maritime Continent (YMC). The talks by Prof. Randall about the new dynamicalcore and by Dr. Khairoutdinov about the near-global cloud-resolving System for Atmospheric Modelling (SAM) were also
enlightening. I cannot site all interesting talks here, but the presentation files can be viewed at the web page:
http://157.82.240.172/~nhm/. I thank all the participants.
Special thanks are given to the following organizations for their supports of the workshop: Japan Meteorological
Agency, Center for Earth Surface System Dynamics of AORI, the Virtual Laboratory for the Earth’s Climate Diagnostics
Program, FOCUS Establishing Supercomputing Center of Excellence, FLAGSHIP2020 Project Priority Issue 4,
Meteorological Society of Japan, Japan Geoscience Union, and SGI Japan, Ltd.

Oral presentation and discussion

Group photo of the 4th International Workshop on Nonhydrostatic Models, The Prince Hakone Lake Ashinoko

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CIC NEWSLETTER No.14 2016

Professor Mitsuo Uematsu awarded Japan Prime Minister’s Prize
Mitsuo UEMATSU

Professor and Director, Center for International Collaboration

On 25 August 2016, Professor Mitsuo Uematsu was awarded the 9 th National Maritime Award, the Japan Prime
Minister’s Commendations for Contributors to promote the country as a “Maritime Nation”, in recognition of his significant
achievements and contributions to the development of multidisciplinary studies in marine and atmospheric science atnational, regional, and global levels over 35 years. He was recognized for his pioneering work, understanding large-scaletransport of aerosols from land to the ocean and their impacts on marine ecosystems. He served as a national focal point ofJapan for WESTPAC, as well as serving on the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO(IOC/UNESCO) since December 2011 as Chair of the IOC Working Group under the Subcommittee on Natural Science,
UNESCO National Committee of Japan, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT). He
is the second recipient of this award from the CIC following Prof. Yutaka MICHIDA in 2015.

Professor Uematsu received the award from the Minister in chargeof Ocean Policy, Mr. Jun Matsumoto
Professor Mitsuo Uematsu (the second right on the front row), Mr. Jun Matsumoto, theMinister in charge of marine policy (the middle on the front

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CIC NEWSLETTER No.14 2016

Assoc. Professor Teruhisa Komatsu
awarded the Officer of “l’Ordre nationalde Mérite” of France
Teruhisa KOMATSU

Associate Professor, Behavior, Ecology and Observation
Systems

Assoc. Professor Teruhisa Komatsu was promoted to
the rank of Officer of the National Order of Merit (l’Ordre
1. Certificate for decoration of the Officer of “l’Ordre National du
National du Mérite) of France on 9 March 2016 by the
Mérite” of France to Prof. Teruhisa Komatsu with the signature
French Republic (Picture 1), in recognition of hisof His Excellency François Hollande, the President of the French
outstanding contributions to promote exchange in
Republic as the center of three signatures dated 9 March 2016.
oceanography and fisheries science between Japan andFrance.
He has organized more than ten workshops and symposiums in France and Japan topromote scientific research collaboration between the two countries. He has hosted morethan twenty French students as interns in his laboratory. He was Vice-President of the
Société franco-japonaise d’Océanographie (SFJO) of Japan from 2010 to 2012 and has
been President since 2012. After the huge tsunami on 11 March 2011, he mobilized SFJOs
of Japan and France to restore oyster cultures on Sanriku Coast, which had helped Frenchoyster culture through exports of oyster seeds in the 1960s. The groups provided plankton
nets and microscopies to fishery experimental stations in the Miyagi and Iwate Prefectures
to obtain natural seeds for oyster cultures in the summer of 2011. He has organized several
France-Japan symposiums for realizing restoration of the Sanriku fisheries from theviewpoint of sustainable development since 2012.
The order of merit ceremony was held at the Residence of French Ambassador on2
9 December 2016 (Picture 2) with attendance of President of JAMSTEC, Prof. Asahiko
Taira, Executive Director, Prof. Yoshihisa Shirayama, Vice-President of the University of 2. His Excellency Thierry Dana, theTokyo, Prof. Ken Furuya, Vice-President of Tokyo University of Marine Science and Ambassador of the French Republic,
Technology, Prof. Jyota Kanda, Officer of MEXT, Mr. Eisho Sato, Director of Ocean awarded the decoration of the Officer
of “l’Ordre National du Mérite” to Prof.
Policy Research Institute, Mr. Hiroshi Terashima, President of The Oceanographic Society Komatsu on 9 December 2016.
of Japan, Prof. Toshiyuki Hibiya, Ex-president of The Japanese-French Oceanographic
Society, Prof. Shiro Imawaki, Director of AORI, Prof. Atsushi Tsuda, Vice-Director, Prof. Yutaka Michida, Director of
CIC, Mitsuo Uematsu, friends and colleagues (Picture 3).

3. Prof. Komatsu attaching the medal of the Officer and His Excellency Thierry Dana, Ambassador of France, at the front row center with other participantsat the award ceremony for “l’Ordre National du Mérite” at the Residence of the French Ambassador, Embassy of France in Tokyo on 9 December 2016 .

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CIC NEWSLETTER No.14 2016

Shuhei NISHIDA

Professor Emeritus

I had sent off many senior colleagues, subordinates, and supervisors on their retirement, andthen I realized last March that it was my turn. I was employed as a research associate for the
Plankton Laboratory of the Ocean Research Institute (ORI) in 1980, and worked for really longtime, 36 years, as a member of ORI (1980–2010) and the Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute(AORI, 2010–2016). During this period, I enjoyed my research on plankton, especially on thefunctional morphology of the feeding and sensory organs of copepods, mechanisms for generationand maintenance of species diversity, and food-web structure. The study sites for this research werebased in the mesopelagic realm of the oceans, by utilizing the research vessels Hakuho-Maru andTansei-Maru.
Since 2010, when I transferred to the Center for International Collaboration, I have been engaged in coordinatinginternational collaboration of five Southeast Asian countries (Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippine, Thailand and Vietnam) andJapan to enhance the research and education network for coastal marine science in the region. To our pleasure, we wereable to obtain funding support from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) under the Core University
Program (FY2001–2010) and the Asian CORE Program(FY2011–2015), both of which have been highly successful
and were evaluated as excellent. Fortunately, a new 3-year
project under the JSPS Core-to-Core Program was acceptedand began in April 2016; I hope to continue a little longer
working on this program.
Finally, I would like to express my gratitude to all
coworkers and wish continued success of our international
collaboration.

Scenery from the training course on zooplankton taxonomy in thePhilippines (August, 2013)-New member of CIC
Hiroaki SAITO

Professor, Center for International Collaboration

In June, Dr. Hiroaki Saito was appointed as professor of the Section of International Research
Cooperation of the Center for International Collaboration (CIC). Prof. Saito is a biologicaloceanographer studying the roles of organisms in food-web dynamics and biogeochemical cycling.
His primary target organisms are plankton, but he also studies fish, top predators, and human beings.
He has made contributions to various international organizations and programs such as IMBER(Integrated Marine Biogeochemistry and Ecosystem Research) and PICES (North Pacific Marine
Science Organization). After his arrival at CIC, he is seeking the best way to develop international
collaborations considering the benefits for scientists and students of AORI and the expectations
toward AORI from foreign universities and institutions.

12CIC NEWSLETTER No.14 2016

Visiting Professors
Name / Affiliation

Nationality

HAMILTON, Kevin

Length of stay
2015/4/1-2015/6/25

Atmospheric dynamics: mountaintorque and tides

France2015/5/10-2015/5/29

Geochemistry of volatile elementsof origin of the atmosphere andoceans, noble gas geochemistry

China

2015/6/1-2015/9/30

Aerosol data assimilation
NICAM+SPRINT ARS model

China

2/15/7/1-2015/12/31

The Role of Tropical Waves inTropical Cyclogeneisis over theWestern North Pacific

Australia

2015/9/3-2015/11/16

A high-resolution palaeoclimate
study for the Central Pacific basedon speleothem dataUSA

2015/9/16-2016/1/15

Foraging behavior and body
condition of marine mammals using
bio-logging method

Australia

2015/9/15-2015/12/10

Study on the influence of largescale climate mode at high latitudes
upon subtropical precipitation

USA

2015/9/25-2015/11/8

Establishing a framework forJapan-USA collaborative researchon coastal oceanography including
coral reef ecology

International Pacific Research Center,
University of Hawaii
Retired Professor and Director
MARTY, Bernard

Centre de Recherches Petrographiqueset Geochimiques, Universite de Lorraine
Professor
DAI, Tie

Institute of Atmospheric
Chinese Academy of Sciences
Associate Professor

Physics,

WU, Liang

Chinese Academy of Sciences, Instituteof Atmospheric Physics, Center for
Monsoon System Research
Associate Professor
CLARK, Geoffrey

College of Asia and the Pacific, The
Australian National University
Associate Professor
MILLER, Patrick

Scottish Oceans Institute, School of
Biology, University of St. Andrews
LeaderHENDON, Harry H.

Bureau of Meteorology
Melbourne, Australia
Senior Principal Research
Program Team Leader

Subject for study

USA

using

Scientist,

LEICHTER, James

Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Professor*Visiting professors’ reports of Division of Climate System Research are included in the CCSR NEWS

Visiting professors’ reports
HAMILTON, KevinInternational Pacific Research Center, University of Hawaii

I was delighted to have the opportunity to visit
CCSR/AORI in spring 2015. A key activity was givinga one-credit graduate course at the Hongo Campus“Special Lectures in Atmospheric and Oceanic ScienceIV” which I used to present a detailed summary of
our knowledge of the circulation in the tropical middle
atmosphere. I think I surprised the students byshowing how much detailed knowledge there alreadyis about such a specialized topic and how muchresearch remains to bedone to achieve a truly
satisfying understandingof the dynamics of thisatmosphericregion.
The students should see
this as illustrating theremarkably
subtlephenomena that emerge spontaneously out of the13

CIC NEWSLETTER No.14 2016

motions of the thin fluid layers we call the ocean andatmosphere!
I presented a seminar describing IPRC’s Hawaii
climate modeling effort at several centers (here at
AORI, at the Hongo campus and at Kyoto University).
I was gratified by the interest expressed by mycolleagues at each venue. The microclimates inboth Hawaii and Japan are characterized by strong
horizontal contrasts caused by steep and narrow
topography, and so I think our experience with Hawaii
climate simulation resonates with colleagues
concerned about modeling Japan’s regional climate.
My visit allowed me to interact closely withcolleagues at JAMSTEC and this resulted in theinitiation or continuation of a number of collaborative
research projects.
I was able to persuade
JAMSTEC’s Shingo Watanabe to use his version of the
MIROC Earth System Model to simulate thehypothesized effects of the 1908 Tunguska meteor on
the global ozone layer and we are looking for a anindirect signal of this event in actual barometric datafrom that time. I was also pleased with progress inongoing projects with JAMSTEC’s Yoshio Kawatani on
the representation of the stratospheric QBO in global
reanalysis data and on middle atmosphere water
vapor variability.

I enjoyed learning about the impressive
accomplishments and plans of the NICAM group led
by Masaki Satoh, and I was pleased to have a chance
to comment on the development of the “middle
atmosphere” version of NICAM.
I expect theinteractions I had during this period in Japan will be
influencing my research agenda for the next few
years!
It has been a joy to have an extended visit inJapan. I have visited Japan many times but this was
the first time I could stay through most of the spring
bloom of flowers – seeing successively sakura(cherry), tsubaki (camellia), tsutsuji (azalea), fuji
(wisteria), ajisai (hydrangea), hanashobu (iris) & bara(rose). The abundant gifts of nature and the skill andsensibility of Japan’s landscape gardeners makeJapan a very special place to experience the spring
season!
I would like to thank Masaki Satoh for his kindness
as my host, as well as Kazuki Matsumoto 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! At Hongo I
would like to thank Kaoru Sato for the chance to teachthe graduate course and Masashi Kohma for his
assistance.

BERNARD Marty

Professor of Geochemistry, Université de Lorraine, France

I have known Professor Yuji Sano from AORI
University of Tokyo since more than three decades. I
met him for the first time when I was post-doc at the
University of Tokyo, Geophysical Institute, with Prof.
Minoru Ozima, in the early 80's.Yuji Sano was a Ph.
D. student at that time and he introduced me to theart of helium isotopes in natural gases. Since then,we have been close collaborators and friends, andvisited each other on several opportunities, including
several stays in Nancy (France) supported by the
French National Center for Scientific Research. We
wrote several papers together, and my stay at AORI
was another opportunity to make collaborate work.
The University of Tokyo kindly invited me for three
weeks in May-June 2015 and one week in February
2016. This was the first time for me to stay at the
Kashiwa no Ha campus and I enjoyed thepeacefulness and the friendly atmosphere of AORI.
All the staff from Prof. Sano's lab made their best to
have me a relaxed stay, through many conversations
and informal exchanges. I gave three lectures, at
AORI, at Todai main campus, and at the Japan
Geological Congress which I also attended with Porf.
Sano in June 2015.

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The quietness of the campus was an excellent
opportunity for me to focus on science. Being
involved in the Rosetta space mission (European
Space Agency), I dedicated part of my time ininterpreting the recently obtained argon data fromthe coma of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko,
analyzed by the Rosina instrument, a mass
spectrometer on board of the Rosetta spacecraft.
Collaboration with Prof. Sano greatly helped me toput in shape ideas and concepts. We were interested

Enjoying friendship and scientific discussions at night. From rightto left: Prof. Yuji Sano, Ph.D. student Hsin-yi Wen, Prof. Bernard
Marty, Post-doc Yama Tomonaga, Prof. Daniele Pinti from Univ.
Quebec at Montréal.

CIC NEWSLETTER No.14 2016

in investigating the delivery of volatile elements to theatmospheres of Mars and Earth, and managed towrite a draft that was subsequently published in Earthand Planetary Science Letters (Marty, Avice, Sano etal., EPSL 441, 91-102, 2016). We also defined a
project with Prof. Sano and Dr. Kagoshima to sample
volcanic gases in Southern Japan in order toinvestigate the geochemical sources contributing
volatile elements in these areas. In February 2016,
we went to Kagoshima to catch a boat to YakushimaIsland and sample there geothermal gases.
Unfortunately, the rough weather conditions resulted
in the cancellation of all commercial boats and wechanged our plans, heading then to sample gases in
the Kirishima volcano area. The samples are now
under analysis.

My visits at AORI have been highly rewarding interms of science and of collaboration. The conditions
were excellent, and I would like to sincerely thankProf. Sano and his team - students, post docs,
assitant professor, adminstrative staff - for theirwelcome. There I met Ms. Koike, a graduate studentwith Prof. Sano, who will come to my laboratory inNancy next Autumn to carry on specific analyses on
Martian meteorites and to develop a model of theearly evolution of the atmosphere of Mars. Our
collaboration will thus continue, thanks to the kind
invitation of the AORI department.

HENDON, Harry H.

Senior Principal Research scientist, Program Team Leader
Bureau of Meteorology, Melbourune, Australia

I visited AORI September-December 2015 andwas hosted by Prof. Yukari Takayabu.
My mainresearch focus is on tropical climate variability andpredictability and so it was a great honor to be able
to spend 3 months visiting Prof. Takayabu’s group to
discuss and learn more about tropical convection.
While at AORI I also made visits to the other U Tokyo
campuses. In particular I owe thanks to Prof. Hiro
Miura for organizing a “mini MJO symposium” at
Hongo Campus and Prof. Hisashi Nakamura fororganizing a “mini dynamics symposium” at the
Komaba Campus.
Prof. Takayabu also helped to organize visits for me
to JAMSTEC, where I was hosted for 2 days by
Takeshi Doi and Prof Yamagata. I also visited MRI to
discuss seasonal prediction research, thanks to
Yukiko Yamada and Shuhei Maeda. I learned that
we have common interests in El Nino predictability.
A key highlight of my visit was attending aworkshop on the two-way interaction of the tropical
troposphere with the tropical stratosphere, hosted by
Prof Shigeo Yoden at Kyoto University. My interest in
the interaction of the tropical Madden-Julian
Oscillation (MJO) with the stratospheric QuasiBiennial Oscillation (QBO) was sparked and has
subsequently resulted in a submitted paper to the J.
Climate. I also attended the 1st Asian Meteorology
Conference at Kyoto University.
Prof Masahiro
Watanabe was on the organizing committee, andkindly allowed for my participation.
Prof. M. Satohinvited me to the University Allied Workshop at AORI
that brought together outstanding graduate students

and post docs from Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and China.
I made a presentation at that workshop on the roleof anomalous ocean temperatures in the equatorial
central Pacific for promoting MJO activity, that thenfeeds back to the onset of El Nino. Based on
discussions and feedback at that workshop, a paper
has now been published in GRL on that topic. Since
returning to Australia, I have continued to explore the
MJO-QBO interaction and hope to present new results
at the SPARC General Assembly in Kyoto later in 2017.
My visit to AORI would not have been possible
without the assistance of Eiko Niikura and Marie
Iwagami. My insight into Japanese culture wasalso heightened by memorable meals
andexcursions organized by Dr. Junya Uchida, Prof. Yukio
Masumoto, Prof. Toshi Hibiya, Prof. Hiro Miura, Dr.
Tomoki Tozuka, and of course Prof. Takayabu. I
am forever indebted to their kindness and willingness
to entertain and host me and my wife.

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CIC

NEWSLETTER

No.14

2016

DAI, Tie
Associate Professor
Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences

I am an associate researcher from the Institute ofAtmospheric Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences.
My research interests are aerosol model and data
assimilation. I have visited the Atmosphere andOcean Research Institute (AORI) for several times.
First time, I visited the AORI as a student on 2010.
Then I worked in AORI for about one and half a year
as a postdoc researcher. This time, I am reallyhonored to be a visiting researcher in AORI for fourmonths. During this stay, I extend the aerosol
assimilation system to include pollutant emissions
inversion function with the host NICAM+SPRINTARS
model, which is developed by the AORI as the next
generation model (especially for high resolution
simulation). During the stay, I also have a chance tojoin the 9th Asian Aerosol Conference in Kanazawa
and have a short visit to the Kyushu University.
Beyond the research, I also have a nice summer trip

to Atami. I would like to take this opportunity to thankmy host, Prof. Teruyuki Nakajima, Prof. Masaki Satohand Prof. Kentaroh Suzuki. I am looking forward to
more productive collaborations in aerosol simulations
and data assimilations.

CIC STAFF

Director of CIC
International Scientific Planning
International Advanced ResearchInternational Research Cooperation

Prof. Mitsuo UEMATSU
Prof. Yutaka MICHIDA
Prof. Mitsuo UEMATSU
Prof. Hiroaki SAITO

Prof. Koji INOUE
Assoc. Prof. Ryoichi IMASU
Assoc. Prof. Jin-Oh PARK

Center 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/

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