What controls the seasonal cycle of columnar methane observed by GOSAT over different regions in India?

Methane (CH4) is one of the most important short-lived climate forcers for its critical roles in greenhouse warming and air pollution chemistry in the troposphere, and the water vapor budget in the stratosphere. It is estimated that up to about 8% of global CH4 emissions occur from South Asia, covering less than 1% of the global land. With the availability of satellite observations from space, variability in CH4 has been captured for most parts of the global land with major emissions, which were otherwise not covered by the surface observation network. The satellite observation of the columnar dry-air mole fractions of methane (XCH4) is an integrated measure of CH4 densities at all altitudes from the surface to the top of the atmosphere. Here, we present an analysis of XCH4 variability over different parts of India and the surrounding cleaner oceanic regions as measured by the Greenhouse gases Observation SATellite (GOSAT) and simulated by an atmospheric chemistry-transport model (ACTM). Distinct seasonal variations of XCH4 have been observed over the northern (north of 15°N) and southern (south of 15°N) parts of India, corresponding to the peak during the southwestern monsoon (July-September) and early autumn (October-December) seasons, respectively. Analysis of the transport, emission, and chemistry contributions to XCH4 using ACTM suggests that a distinct XCH4 seasonal cycle over northern and southern regions of India is governed by both the heterogeneous distributions of surface emissions and a contribution of the partial CH4 column in the upper troposphere. Over most of the northern Indian Gangetic Plain regions, up to 40% of the peak-to-trough amplitude during the southwestern (SW) monsoon season is attributed to the lower troposphere ( ? 1000-600hPa), and ? 40% to uplifted high-CH4 air masses in the upper troposphere ( ? 600-200hPa). In contrast, the XCH4 seasonal enhancement over semi-arid western India is attributed mainly ( ? 70%) to the upper troposphere. The lower tropospheric region contributes up to 60% in the XCH4 seasonal enhancement over the Southern Peninsula and oceanic region. These differences arise due to the complex atmospheric transport mechanisms caused by the seasonally varying monsoon. The CH4 enriched air mass is uplifted from a high-emission region of the Gangetic Plain by the SW monsoon circulation and deep cumulus convection and then confined by anticyclonic wind in the upper tropospheric heights ( ? 200hPa). The anticyclonic confinement of surface emission over a wider South Asia region leads to a strong contribution of the upper troposphere in the formation of the XCH4 peak over northern India, including the semi-arid regions with extremely low CH4 emissions. Based on this analysis, we suggest that a link between surface emissions and higher levels of XCH4 is not always valid over Asian monsoon regions, although there is often a fair correlation between surface emissions and XCH4. The overall validity of ACTM simulation for capturing GOSAT observed seasonal and spatial XCH4 variability will allow us to perform inverse modeling of XCH4 emissions in the future using XCH4 data.CC-BY 3.

Interleukin-33 produced by M2 macrophages and other immune cells contributes to Th2 immune reaction of IgG4-related disease

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is characterized by elevated serum IgG4 and marked infiltration of IgG4-positive cells in multiple organs. Interleukin-33 (IL-33) is a recently described cytokine that is secreted by damaged epithelial cells, macrophages, and dendritic cells, and potently activates helper T type 2 (Th2) immune responses, which have been suggested to play a major role in IgG4 production of IgG4-RD. Here, we assessed the expression of IL-33 and related molecules in the salivary glands (SGs) of patients with IgG4-RD versus that in patients with Sjögren’s syndrome (SS) and controls. Expression of IL-33 and its receptor (ST2) was strongly detected around ectopic germinal centers (GCs) in the SGs from patients with IgG4-RD, whereas IL-33 was expressed only in epithelial cells in patients with SS and controls. Moreover, IL-33 and CD68+/CD163+ macrophages were mainly distributed around ectopic GCs in patients with IgG4-RD. Double immunofluorescence staining showed that IL-33 expression co-localized with CD68+/CD163+ macrophages. Finally, mRNA expression levels of IL-33 showed a positive correlation to those of Th2 cytokines (IL-4 and IL-13) in patients with IgG4-RD. Our data suggest that IL-33 produced by M2 macrophages might contribute to the pathogenesis of IgG4-RD via aberrant activation of Th2 immune responses

Stratospheric aerosol increase after eruption of Pinatubo observed with lidar and aureolemeter

An increase in the amount of stratospheric aerosol due to the Pinatubo eruption (June 12-15, 1991, 15.14 deg N, 120.35 deg E) was observed from the end of June, 1991 by a lidar in NIES (National Institute for Environmental Studies), Tsukuba (36.0 deg N, 140.1 deg E). After large fluctuations in summer of 1991, the amount of the aerosols increased in mid-September as a result of enhanced transportation from the subtropical region. In autumn and winter of 1991, dense aerosol layers were continuously observed. Aureolemeter (scanning spectral radiometer) measurements were also carried out with lidar measurements and columnar size distribution of stratospheric aerosols was estimated for some cases. Collaborative measurements with the lidar and aureolemeter provided some information on height distribution of the surface area of aerosols in late 1991

Feasibility of a Simplified Version of Guided Autobiography in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Pilot Study

This study developed a shortened version of guided autobiography (GAB), which consisted of four sessions in which participants wrote a weekly autobiographical essay and shared it with others. This intervention study aimed to help community-dwelling older adults find a meaningful life, and we tested its feasibility. In the final session, instead of an autobiographical essay, they created an autobiographical collage using photos and letters and shared it with others. Among those who participated in all sessions, ego integrity increased, and mental health tended to improve after the program. This study suggested that the shortened GAB can be feasible for positively accepting the self and finding meaning in life among Japanese older adults.&nbsp

A foreign woman who decided to separate from her partner because of his violence: A case study.

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Hemispheric Contrast of Inorganic Chlorine Partitioning in the Polar Lower Stratosphere during Ozone Recovery Period Observed from Space

The time evolution of two major chlorine reservoirs, HCl and ClONO2, in the polar lower stratosphere for both hemispheres in late spring and early summer was analyzed by utilizing satellite measurements. Analysis of the collocated ClONO2 observed with ILAS, and HCl observed with HALOE indicated that Cly was mostly in the form of HCl in the Antarctic vortex in November 1996, while more than half was ClONO2 in the Arctic vortex in March 1997. The analysis of N2O indicates that there was strong subsidence of the air inside the Antarctic vortex. The vortex remnant with HCl-rich air persisted in December 1996 even after the vortex weakened, suggesting slow mixing in the boundary. The ClONO2/Cly ratio was about 0.3, which was derived from analysis of correlation with N2O, as a representative value for the extravortex air and upper air inside the vortex (with potential temperature greater than 〓600 K) in both hemispheres in spring.JOI JST.JSTAGE/sola/2007-030 Copyright (c) 2007 (社)日本気象学会journal articl

Study of lower tropospheric ozone over central and eastern China: Comparison of satellite observation with model simulation

Land Atmospheric Interactions in Asia(Springer社より刊行予定)のプレプリント。Land‐Atmospheric Interactions in Asia, Book Series: Springer Remote Sensing/Photogrammetryothe

Spatiotemporal Variation in Tropospheric Column Ozone over East Asia Observed by GOME and Ozonesondes

We analyzed tropospheric column ozone (TCO) observed by the GOME-1 (Global Ozone Monitoring Experiment; European Space Agency, 1995) and ozonesondes to determine the spatiotemporal variation in TCO over East Asia from 1996 to 2003. An enhanced TCO belt (E-TCO belt) was observed at approximately 35°N throughout the year. The E-TCO belt moved northward from winter to summer and southward from summer to winter, strongly suggesting connection with the seasonal variation of meteorological onditions. The large enhancement of TCO found over central China in summer suggests that there is significant outflow of ozone from that region. This study presents the first satellite-derived comprehensive picture of the TCO spatiotemporal variation over East Asia, which has not been obtained from limited ground-based measurements.JOI JST.JSTAGE/sola/2008-030 Copyright (c) 2008 (社)日本気象学会journal articl

冬季極域でのオゾン破壊過程シュミレーションモデルの構築について

Stratospheric,ozone,destruction,by,anthropogenic,chemical,substances,is,well,known,as,one,of,the,serious,global,environmental,problems.,In,the,Polar,Regions,significant,chemical,ozone,destruction,has,been,observed.,The,understanding,of,chemically,induced,ozone,loss,in,the,polar,stratosphere,has,increased,significantly,over,the,past,decade.,However,quantitative,estimates,of,ozone,loss,remain,uncertain.,Especially,in,the,Arctic,chemical,conditions,in,the,winter,stratosphere,highly,depend,on,dynamic,processes;,thus,it,is,difficult,to,estimate,the,amount,of,chemical,ozone,destruction,quantitatively.,Therefore,a,detailed,study,on,chemical,ozone,destruction,processes,is,required.,We,constructed,a,simulation,model,of,polar,ozone,destruction,processes,using,a,chemical,box,model,combined,with,a,trajectory,tool.,The,chemical,box,model,includes,the,sufficient,number,of,chemical,reactions,in,order,to,explain,the,chemical,processes,in,winter,polar,region.,It,also,includes,the,TUV,(Thopospheric,Ultraviolet,and,Visible,Radiation,Model),to,calculate,multiple,scattering,of,solar,ultraviolet,flux,which,is,important,for,simulating,radical,species,that,are,sensitive,to,ultraviolet,intensity.,The,chemical,box,model,is,run,along,the,trajectories,to,obtain,the,mixing,ratios,of,the,chemical,species.,The,simulation,model,reproduced,ozone,destruction,processes,in,winter,polar,region,successfully.,This,report,describes,the,details,of,the,simulation,model,and,demonstrates,its,validity,for,ozone,studies.departmental bulletin pape