Examination of Sediment Dynamics Based on the Distribution of Silica Fluxes and Flood Sediments in the Otoishi River Related to the Northern Kyushu Heavy Rain Disaster, July 2017

The heavy rain disaster occurred in July 2017, in northern Kyushu, Japan. The river environment greatly changed due to sediment moving accompanied by erosion. It is important regarding disaster prevention to localize watersheds where sediment transportation is active. In this study, the sediment dynamics were discussed on the basis of our investigation about the stored sediment, water-flow, and silica fluxes from sub-basins. As a result, the sediment survey revealed that many sediments consist of sand or gravel and were moved secondarily by water-flow. By the hydrological survey, it was confirmed that the trend of the dissolved silica concentrations varied between the right and the left bank tributaries. It was suggested that the left bank tributaries have a various process of water-flow. Considering the distribution of collapsed slopes, the right bank tributaries have more collapsed slopes than the left bank tributaries. As suggested by the results, the range of the silica flux is wider at the left bank tributaries because the sedimentation shows various distributions. On the other hand, the right bank tributaries were estimated topographically stable since the value of the silica flux is about the same.

Biogenic Silica Record in Lake Biwa of Central Japan over the Past 145,000 Years

The record of the biogenic silica flux (BSF, g cm−2(103yr)−1) in Lake Biwa reflects changes in diatom productivity in the lake and provides information regarding changes in paleoclimatic conditions. The BSF record of Lake Biwa demonstrates five periods over the past ca. 145,000 yr when the BSF values were significantly greater than 7.5 g cm−2(103yr)−1, and five intervals when they were lower. The data imply that paleoclimatic conditions were warmer and wetter from ca. 123,000 to 115,000, 103,000 to 95,000, 88,000 to 72,000, 57,000 to 32,000 yr B.P., and around ca. 6000 yr B.P. when the BSF values were greater, and relatively dry and cold from ca. 141,000 to 123,000 yr B.P. and during intervals between two of the five warm and wet episodes when the BSF values were lower. Time series of the BSF record can be correlated with the record of biogenic silica content in Lake Baikal and the marine oxygen isotope stages 1 through 6. Furthermore, the BSF values varied with much higher amplitude during the last interglaciation than during the last glaciation, probably implying that the diatom productivity in Lake Biwa was likewise more variable and had a larger range under interglacial conditions than under glacial conditions.