2015 Fiscal Year Annual Research Report
SURFACE CURRENT MAPPING IN COASTAL ZONES USING HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION SATELLITE DATA
| Project/Area Number |
25610140
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| Research Institution | Kyoto University |
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Principal Investigator |
ジョン マシューズ 京都大学, 国際高等教育院, 教授 (70649152)
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | SATELLITE OCEANOGRAPHY / SURFACE CURRENTS / FLOATING DEBRIS MOTIONS / FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI / WIND RESTRUCTURING |
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| Outline of Annual Research Achievements |
This successful project has produced a wealth of information on conditions in the Fukushima coastal zone in the crucial period directly after the tsunami. The multi-satellite approach used here has provided the only means available to map the behavior of the post-tsunami surface currents that had such an important influence on the dispersal of oil, contaminants and surface-floating debris. Furthermore, the project has revealed the internal dynamical structure established within extended trails of buoyant debris and has produced the significant discovery of “wind restructuring” taking place in the open ocean. Through this new understanding of the behavior of the near-surface wind field, it has been possible to interpret many aspects of the evolution and decay of the numerous floating debris rafts that were distributed throughout the coastal zone of NE Japan in the wake of the tsunami. Clearly, it is vital that we should learn every lesson in relation to the discharge of potentially contaminated material from coastal nuclear-power facilities. The work continues and further new results are anticipated. Joural article regarding this project is currently under review for Nature Geoscience.
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