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h1 title img:Geological Survey of Japan

AIST:Geological Survey of Japan

Understanding and living with the Earth

Geological information is essential for a country like Japan, located at a tectonically active area, to ensure a safe and secure society. The Geological Survey of Japan gathers, compiles, and provides geological information and promotes its wider use. We also develop technologies to overcome various difficulties related to global environment protection, exploration of minerals and energy resources, and natural disaster mitigation, and coordinate international cooperation as a national representative.

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New Research Results

Why Does Asteroid Ryugu Look Different in Space and in the Laboratory?

Researchers at AIST, in collaboration with Tohoku University, the Japan Atomic Energy Agency, the University of Tokyo, Kyushu University, and others, conducted a direct comparison of remote-sensed data of the Cb-type asteroid Ryugu’s surface observed by the Asteroid Explorer Hayabusa2 and lab-measured data using Ryugu samples brought back to the Earth by Hayabusa2 spacecraft without exposure to the Earth's atmosphere. The remote-sensed and lab-measured reflectance spectra of Ryugu are quite similar, however, a clear difference is the OH absorption band depth: the OH band of remote-sensed spectra is more than half weaker than that of lab-measured spectra. To clarify what causes that difference, we performed lab experiments and data comparisons using primitive carbonaceous chondrites similar to Ryugu. Then we revealed that the most likely cause is that the surface of Ryugu, about 1/100 mm in depth, has been affected by space weathering, alteration caused by exposure to cosmic rays and cosmic dusts, resulting in partial dehydration and the OH band weakening. Our result has been enabled for the first time by the combination of remote sensing of asteroid Ryugu and laboratory measurements using collected samples by Hayabusa2, and suggests the importance of sample return missions playing an important role in planetary science.

Figure of new research results Geological Survey of Japan

Paving the Way to Measure Oleic Acid Content in Live Cattle!

Researchers in AIST developed a measurement method of oleic acid in live cattle by magnetic resonance.
A magnetic resonance experiment was conducted on beef fat samples, and it was found that the length of the proton transverse relaxation time is highly correlated with the content of unsaturated fatty acids such as oleic acid in beef fat. This was used to successfully estimate the oleic acid content with an error of 2.2 % from the proton transverse relaxation time of beef fat. The application of this discovery to analysis of data acquired by a magnetic resonance surface scanner in separate development will pave the way to enable nondestructive, noninvasive, in-situ measurement of unsaturated fatty acid content in live beef cattle.

Figure of new research results Geological Survey of Japan

Image of using a magnetic resonance surface scanner to measure the oleic acid content of live cattle

Research Unit

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