Shigeru TABETA Professor|Department of Ocean Technology, Policy, and Environment, Graduate School, The University of Tokyo

Member

Shigeru TABETA Professor

Field : Marine Environment Systems

TEL : +81-4-7136-4718

E-mail : tabeta@edu.k.u-tokyo.ac.jp

Private Website :

Career Summary

1989: Graduated, Faculty of Engineering, The University of Tokyo
1994: Doctor of Engineering from The University of Tokyo
1994: Lecturer, Yokohama National University
1996: Associate Professor, Yokohama National University
1997: Visiting Research Fellow, Delft University of Technology
1999: Associate Professor, The University of Tokyo
2001-2002: Visiting Research Fellow, University of Sydney
2002: Visiting Research Fellow, Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Educational Activities

Graduate School: Study of Marine Environment, Special Lecture on Environmental Ecology, Projects on Environment Systems, Environmental Systems, Seminar on Environment Systems
School of Engineering: Hydrosphere/Geosphere Environmental Engineering, Environment Risk Assessment, Earth Science II, Applied Project on Environment and Energy, Special Project on Environment and Energy
School of Liberal Arts: Ocean Utilization for Sustainable Society, Energy and Global Environmental Problems

Research Activities

Environmental impact assessment for marine structures
The impact on the marine environment of marine structures or human activities are investigated by field research and numerical modeling. For example, an ecosystem model is developed to assess the environmental impacts of the “Mega-float” used for field research and laboratory experiments. It was clarified that sessile organisms such as mussels have a very large effect on water quality and material cycling around large floating structures[1].

Environmental forces on marine structures
Numerical estimation methods were developed for estimating the environmental forces on marine structures, especially in the case of tsumani or storm surges.

Material cycles in coastal zones
Carbon and nutrient cycles in the coastal zones are investigated by means of numerical simulations. In particular, influences of event-like ocean phenomena on water exchange, influences of submarine ground water discharge, as well as long-term environmental changes related to eutrophication and reverse processes are of interest[2].

Multi-scale ocean model
An ocean model for multi-scale analysis, which is able to conduct hydrostatic analysis for phenomena in wide area and FULL-3D(non-hydrostatic) analysis, is developed for simultaneously following detailed phenomena around interesting objects by using the nested-grid system[3].

Ecosystem model for ice-covered ocean
A coupled ice-ocean ecosystem model that links the pelagic and ice ecosystems was developed to investigate the role of ice algae in ice-covered ocean ecosystems[4].

Ocean fertilization technologies
The feasibility of ocean fertilization technologies such as artificial upwelling, deep water pumping, and ocean nourishment, are investigated. The implementation of multi-scale ocean models to reproduce detailed phenomena around the equipment[5], development of ecosystem models to evaluate CO₂ budgets, as well as the application of economic models to investigate the influences of these technologies on global and regional food demand supply are carried out.

Literature
1) S. Tabeta, M. Fujino, D. Kitazawa, Investigation of marine environmental impacts due to very large floating structures, The 1st Joint Korea/Japan Workshop on Marine Environmental Engineering, 145-153, 2003
2) D. Kitazawa, M. Fujino, S. Tabeta, A Numerical study on change in the marine environment of Tokyo Bay in the latest [last?] 70 Years, 22nd International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, 791-798, 2003
3) T. Kinoshita, S. Tabeta, M. Fujino, Numerical simulation of artificial purification system by using hydrostatic and FULL-3D combined model, Proceedings of the 22nd International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, pp. 743-748, 2003.
4) Y. Nishi, S. Tabeta, Analysis of the contribution of ice algae to the ice-covered ecosystem in Lake Saroma by means of a coupled ice-ocean [OK?] ecosystem model, Journal of Marine Systems, 55, 249-270, 2005
5) S. Tabeta, T. Kinoshita, Y. Shimizu, Numerical simulation of tidal current in the coastal region with an artificial seabed mound for upwelling, Proceedings of the 24th International Conference on Offshore Mechanics and Arctic Engineering, pp. 419-423, 2005

Other Activities

The Japan Society of Naval Architects and Ocean Engineers (JASNAOE)
Japanese Association for Coastal Zone Studies (JACZS)
The Oceanographic Society of Japan
The Japanese Society of Fisheries Engineering
Marine Technology Society

2006.7-Present: Chair of the Research Committee: Marine Environmental Model for East Asia, JASNAOE
2006.9-Present: Chair of Planning & Steering Committee, JACZS
2005.2-Present: Member of the board of directors, Japan Foundation of Ocean Engineering Societies
1998-Present: Member of the Research Association of Coastal Ecosystem Engineering
Others

Future Plan

I will continue to participate in research in order to contribute to the development of technologies for utilizing the ocean for realizing a sustainable society. For the purpose of preserving, restoring, and creating ideal coastal environments, the marine environment system will be analyzed and evaluated from the diverse viewpoints such as physics, ecosystem and socio-economics, while considering terrestrial and oceanic interactions. Studies on technology, such as ocean fertilization, to utilize the ocean in order to contribute to addressing problems of global warming or food supply will be also conducted.