The Future of Beppu

  During the last ice age, a lower sea level surrounded Japan allowing for a more connected landform. Many of the separate islands we know today, including Kyushu, Shikoko, and Honshu, formed one island. The area now called Beppu, located on the western edge of the Seto Inland Sea (SIS), would have been in the middle of a weaving fluvial, stream-based, landscape. 

Location of Beppu during glaciation

Instead of staying that way, the glaciers ablated (retreated) causing the sea levels to rise and flow through Chugoku and Shikoko mountain ranges. This flooded the river basin forming the body of water known as the SIS. Beppu now contains remnants of the fluvial landscape in the west and the newer coastal landscape in the east. Due to this positioning, both fluvial processes and processes in the littoral zone, a marine ecological area close to the shore, affect the present day landscape. (“Oceans and Seas”)

Notice the mountainous, fluvial backdrop with "v" shaped valleys and the coastal foreground of Beppu

Beppu 10 Years From Now:

           Beppu hustles and bustles as an industrial and shipping powerhouse on the southwestern edge of the Seto Inland Sea ("Welcome"). As such, the more manmade than natural coastline was built to withstand differing tides, currents, sea levels, deposits, and erosion within a ten-year span. Revetments, jetties and groins control the few beaches that exist.

The concrete pile to the left forms a revetment in Beppu harbor. These are used to
 "re-cover" depleting beaches.

The biggest changes in ten years will come from the rivers flowing from the volcanic mountain ranges bordering Beppu on three sides. The perennial rivers will continue meandering through the valleys creating point bars and cut banks increasing the wiggle. However, even these, the biggest, changes will hardly be seen because the transport-limited area has dense foliage preventing quick water-based erosion.

Thick, transport limiting foliage surrounding one of Beppu's hot springs

Beppu 100 Years From Now:

           The appearance of fluvial processes will more prominently show after one hundred years. The streams’ striving to reach equilibrium will have changed the mountains, interfluves, and valleys in their favor for higher efficiency. The valleys will slowly erode ever wider, but still stay “v” shaped because they are created by rivers instead of glaciers.

Yuru Gorge showing erosion

The gradient of the valleys may turn gentler as the foliage wears away with the water, but this amount of time will probably not show this effect. The buildings and roads on the coastline will have to be moved farther inland because the movement of sand and other particles follows the littoral drift northward. This process takes from the coast of Beppu and places that material up the coast in spite of the jetties.

Beppu 1000 Years from Now:

            Beppu lies atop several fault zones and volcanic activity, which may not affect the area in the ten or one hundred years, but is sure to change the landscape in one thousand years (Eckelmann). Tectonic plate movement may uplift, submerge, or consume the entire bay area independent of the uplifting convergence of the rest of Japan.

Colored lines designate earthquake and fault zones

Since this is difficult to predict, fluvial and coastal processes provide the most reliable outlook on Beppu. The processes seen after one hundred years will exacerbate to the point that Beppu will have to move up the coast or closer to the mountains to survive economically. All of this sounds dramatic, but in reality, the predictable “drastic” effects of the processes should stay relatively gentle because of the transport limitations and the gentle nature of the bay’s tides and waves.

The river cut hills covered in foliage leading out into Beppu Bay

References:

Allen, Casey. “Fluvial Landscapes.” http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Landscapes/Fluvial/Fluvial.html

Allen, Casey. “Karst and Coastal Landscapes.” http://clasfaculty.ucdenver.edu/callen/1202/Landscapes/KarCoast/KarCoast.html

Eckelmann, Alena. http://www.japantoday.com/category/travel/view/exploring-kyushu%E2%80%99s-tectonic-nether-regions

“Oceans and Seas.” http://oceans.animalcorner.co.uk/pasea_seto.html

"Welcome to Beppu." http://www.beppu-navi.jp/nve-com/modules/aboutbeppu/

Images Courtesy of (in order of appearance):

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Japan_glaciation.gif

-http://www.globeimages.net/img-beppu-bay-oita-japan-5203.htm
--http://www.flickr.com/photos/wiwillbe/4276555653/sizes/l/in/photostream/

-http://www.olympichottub.com/hot-tubs-sauna-blog/2010/12/create-a-japanese-hot-spring-experience-in-your-hot-tub/

-http://www.city.beppu.oita.jp/02kankou/english/01info/03shizen/03yufugawa.html

-maps.google.com

- http://www.town.hiji.oita.jp/etc/takokugo/english/e003-4-1.html

- http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fil:Beppu_Bay.jpg

Climate and Typhoons in Beppu, Oita, Kyushu

Oita, along with most of the island of Kyushu, hosts a humid subtropical climate classified as Cfa in the Koeppen Classification system. 

A lack of any dry season in combination with hot summers defines a Cfa climate. In Beppu, Oita, this type of climate allows for plentiful rain in the summer months while maintaining temperatures in the higher 80s (degrees Fahrenheit). The precipitation levels drop during the winter months along with the temperatures, but a measurable amount of moisture remains. 

Originating in the tropical Pacific Ocean, the Maritime Tropical (mT) air mass located just south of Kyushu around the subtropical high (STH) contributes to Cfa climate. In the summer months when the warmer isotherms, or lines connecting the same air temperatures rest up north because of the jet stream positioning, this air mass moves toward Kyushu (Ritter). Created in a stable STH, mT air masses are “warm, moist, and usually unstable” leading to precipitation and the warm temperatures (“Air Masses”). When the jet streams move the isotherms south for the winter, the maritime polar (mT) air mass just north of Japan brings with it cool and moist air keeping precipitation in the area year-round.

Purple indicates mT
Yellow indicates mP

Along with jet streams and air masses, low-pressure systems with organized convection and cyclonic movement, also know as typhoons or hurricanes, commonly affect Kyushu (Landsea). The typhoon season begins around May and peak season occurs in August and September (“Typhoons”). The main islands of Japan, especially Kyushu and Shikoku, usually experience three typhoons a year making preparation and clean-up of the aftermath normal for the population (“Typhoons”). 

Typhoon moving toward the main islands of Japan

During Typhoon in Tokyo

Clean-up after Typhoon Talas

A typhoon moving right over Kyushu

Sources:

“Air Masses and Fronts,” http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/class/frntmass.html.

Landsea, Chris. “FAQ.” Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory. http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/tcfaq/A1.html

Ritter, Michael. “Air Temperature and Air Mass Movement.” http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/temperature/temperature_air_masses.html.

“Typhoons.” http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2117.html

Sources of Illustrations (In order of appearance):

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/32/World_Koppen_Map.png

Ibid.

http://en.allmetsat.com/climate/japan-kyushu-shikoku.php?code=47815

Ibid.

http://cimss.ssec.wisc.edu/wxwise/class/frntmass.html.

http://tx.english-ch.com/teacher/albert/level-c/typhoons-in-japan/

http://sakura-hotel-ikebukuro.com/blog/2011/09/post_46.php

http://www.thenational.ae/deployedfiles/Assets/Richmedia/Image2/fo06se-JapanTyphoon01.jpg

http://www.eorc.jaxa.jp/en/imgdata/topics/2011/tp111101.html

The Fertility of Oita

Fields of Beppu

The meaning of “Oita,” the prefecture in which Beppu belongs, originates from the word "Okita," meaning many fields (Oita Prefectural Government). This designation refers to the complex terrain throughout the region. Between volcanic mountain ranges and seaside bays, a multitude of field-like areas and forests abounds. Perfect for vegetation, the area's drainage and soil types encourage nutrient storage.

Kuju Volcano, Oita Prefecture

Farming Land in Oita Prefecture

Beppu Bay, Oita Prefecture

The major water sources draining in and around the Oita prefecture include the Banjo, Oita, Ono, Yamakuni, and Yakkan rivers. The drainage process forms several basins from these rivers beginning with first order tributaries fed from the Sobo Katamuki mountain system, the Kuju volcanic region, and the lava plateaus of Kusu and Yabatei (“Terrain”). Most of the tributaries display radial, radiating from the peak of a volcano or mountain, or dendritic, like veins underneath skin, stream patterns. The ratio of veins to land area results in a middle to low drainage density, allowing the gathering of most tributaries into larger streams.

The drainage patterns occurring in the Oita Prefecture
Notice the lines radiating from Mount Tara (radial drainage)
and how the lines in the middle section look like a
 tree leaf (dendritic drainage).

Human hand for comparison

In comparison with Denver, Colorado (an arid area) and Kolkata, India (a super wet area), the worries of drought or flooding barely enter the conversation. The abundance of water without being overly abundant allows for a, hydrologically speaking, happy medium.

(Do not forget to look at the unit of measurement in the following graphs)

Another factor making Oita suitable for growing lies in the soil. The two main soil types in the area include Andisols and Inceptisols (Global Soil Regions). Prevalence of the first type relies on the amount of volcanic material in the area. This soil contains at least 50% volcanic ash and is naturally fertile (“Soil Orders”). The reddish browns, possibly created by podzolization in which organic matter thrives, and dark blacks, suggesting high mineral or organism content, in the soil profile create colorful strips and allow plentiful supplies of nutrient storage. 

Andisol soil profile:
Notice the dark black volcanic ash showing the A-Horizon
while the red-brown accumulation designates the B-Horizon

Also Andisol

Sources:

Global Soil Regions, http://soils.usda.gov/use/worldsoils/mapindex/order.html.

Oita Prefectural Government. Guide-O Oita Prefecture Guide Book (2006), p. 20.

“Soil Orders.” http://www4.uwsp.edu/geo/faculty/ritter/geog101/textbook/soil_systems/

soil_orders_p1.html

“Terrain and Geological Features.” Guide-O Oita Prefecture Guide Book. Web. Accessed

March 6, 2012. http://www.pref.oita.jp/10400/guide-o/eng_shizen01_new.htm

Images including graphs (in order of appearance):
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHFVL36sHzDikQr4BEtj9EFM3p1G5Gm74TkUvzOjFqpmuLIM4tQkBB3HsORPx2ZE2T3wNbejZrSKCD09Ur7Ts30V1YnISEocWh9SjYVEt0FfFDEpqgHdR0keUg8rbbiWGptTXO8wF2vPj7/s1600/IMG_1176.JPG
http://www.pref.oita.jp/10400/guide-o/image/gaiyo_photo/tashibu.jpg
http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/5568551.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/st-stev/1137162160/
http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?id=8412

http://blackpoppymag.wordpress.com/a-z-of-health/injecting-in-the-hands/

http://www.weather-and-climate.com/average-monthly-precipitation-

Rainfall,beppu,Japan

http://www.rssweather.com/climate/Colorado/Denver/

http://www.rainwaterharvesting.org/rainfall_htm/kolkata.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/23779/Andisol
http://www.ctahr.hawaii.edu/tpss/research_extension/rxsoil/andisols.htm

Kyushu's Volcanism

Plate tectonics are responsible for the formation of the island arc of Japan. The Philippine and the Pacific plates continuously move toward and eventually under (a process known as subduction) the Eurasian and North American plates creating the islands of Japan. 

.       

This style of convergence forces the subducting plates into the athenosphere generating friction. The partially molten athenosphere and the solid ocean crust become completely molten in areas and that molten material rises to the surface of the ocean crust. The molten material cools as it rises, creating islands. Since converging plates and not hot spots, like Hawaii, create these islands they should continue building as long as the plates move in this fashion.

   

In the case of Japan, the subduction zone allows for an abundance of active volcanos. Beppu as well as Mount Aso, an active composite volcano, reside on Kyushu. Mt. Aso is not a single peak, but actually composed of Mt. Taka, Mt. Naka, Mt. Eboshi, Mt. Kijima, and Mt. Neko. Pyroclastic flows from four different explosions supposedly formed each peak- the oldest about 270,000 years ago (“Description”). To this day, the crater of Mt. Naka continues realeasing volcanic ash made of incredibly tiny pyroclastics, also known as tephra. 

Mt. Naka Crater

Mt. Aso Caldera

One of the world's largest calderas, measuring 11x15 miles, surrounds the five peaks  (“Mt. Aso”). Although a composite volcano like Mt. Aso encourages explosive eruptions, this caldera formed nonexplosively. Instead of volcanos collapsing in on themselves after erupting, this area of the continental plate "floated" on chambers of molten material. When the volcanos contained in the area exploded, the magma released from the underground chambers causing the structure to fall. A vast expanse of fertile land capable of sustaining over 50,000 people remained ("Mt. Aso).

Mt. Aso Caldera Basin

Sources:

“Description of Mt. Aso.” Information on Restrictions for the Aso Volcano West Crater.

Web. The Aso Volcano Disaster Prevention Council, 2008. Web. 9 February.

2012.

“Mt. Aso.” Japan Atlas: Nature. Web Japan. Web. 9 February. 2012.

Images Courtesy of (in order of appearance):

-http://www.emu.org.uk/curriculum/projects/japan/ASPECTS/EARTHQUAKE/PLATEB/Plate.html

-http://www.japan-hopper.com/2007/10/30_061262.php

-http://midnightwatcher.wordpress.com/2011/05/16/japan-government-raises-alert-level-for-erupting-mount-aso-to-2/

-http://mynxbrom.blogspot.com/2011/07/kyushu-spring-break-adventure.html

-http://www.houseofjapan.com/travel/a-visit-to-mount-aso

Introduction

This is a blog created and updated by Jane Nelson.

The location chosen for my blog is Beppu, Japan in the Oita Prefecture.

I have never been to Beppu, or even Japan for that matter, but I am going to live there for a few months this summer. Not only will this assignment help me become familiar with my soon-to-be temporary home, it will also help me understand the variety of geographical features found in the area. The places I wonder most about are those of the Nine Hells (Jigoku). All of which are hot springs, however, they vary considerably from one another. Luckily, I will get to use this class to see these and other geographically interesting places from a geographer's point of view.

Map courtesy of Beppu Travel Guide at http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4700.html
Image courtesy of Beppu Travel Guide at http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e4701.html
Background image from http://portoforigin.blogspot.com/2010/03/buried-alive.html