Leader Yasushi Sakamoto

My group conducts research on the movement of pollutants in water cycles. With flow in soil as the primary theme, we deal with the vertical seepage in unsaturated soil and with horizontal movement in ground water, to estimate the flow based on the analysis of pollutant sources in groundwater and water quality analysis. We not only consider chemicals, but pathogenic microorganisms. Finally, we hope that our research on unclear aspects necessary to perform risk assessments, and aspects of exposure assessments performed to estimate what quantity of pollutants will travel how far through which routes will contribute to technological development.

Futaba Kazama

Good quality water is, along with abundant water, one social infrastructure. A variety of water treatment technologies have been developed for providing good quality water, but to eventually achieve a low carbon society, we must assess the current water utilization systems, or collect information needed to obtain a consensus for making up new water utilization systems. It is, therefore, necessary to clarify the actual state of water environments in the natural world and human activities which act on these, and to do so, I wish to propose the application of appropriate treatment technologies and installation of treatment systems into an area in order to maintain and conserve the water quality which living people desire. In my present lab, we are measuring the stable isotope ratio of oxygen or hydrogen and the nitrogen in nitrate-nitrogen in water, measuring pollutants such as agricultural chemicals in the environment, and developing low energy consumption water treatment methods. With the Kofu Basin as the home field of our research, I wish to apply methodology obtained there to the countries of Asia. Also I wish to prepare design drawings for river basin management cooperatively with students from each Asian country.

Kei Nishida

I research nutrient/microorganism dynamics in terrestrial ecosystem driven by hydrologic flow. To hold clearer discussions on carbon sequestration by forest and the riverine linkage between land and the sea, our team is analysing major sources of carbon, nitrogen and other nutrients for estimating these fluxes through river systems in forest, agricultural and urban land uses. On the other hands, though appreciating the great benefit from natural water resources in many Asian regions, we can't give a reliable answer immediately how likely we are to suffer from waterborne infections by drinking ground waters or stream waters, or bathing in environmental waters. We are conducting a wide range of field surveys in our home ground, Fuji River Basin in Yamanashi, Japan, extending the activities from headwaters to slum areas in Asian countries, and expecting a practical contribution for understanding water environments and mitigating water-related problems with new findings and proposals.

Junko Shindo

Tomoya Iwata

Drainage basin is a landscape unit delineated by watershed divides that form a spatially discrete hydrological system. Within the system, streams not only route the material flow downstream but function as energy artery that transports organic matter and nutrients to the various spatial elements. My group investigates the routes and dynamics of such material flow that influences food web dynamics in streams, lakes, forests and even urban ecosystems in drainage networks.

Hiroshi Kobayashi

Solar radiation propagating through the atmosphere and the ocean is affected by absorption and scattering processes. Analysis of the absorbed and/or scattered solar radiation, which is detected on the ground or in space, provides environmental information. Our research team develops an algorithm of ocean color remote sensing to estimate turbidity for coastal waters based on the radiative transfer using optical properties of each material.

Eiji Haramoto

Waterborne pathogens, such as enteric viruses or protozoa, cause serious health problems in many areas of Asian countries. Based on field surveys on the occurrence of the waterborne pathogens, we quantitatively determine the health risks of these pathogens in the aquatic environments in Asian countries. Our final goal is focused on establishing an appropriate system for controlling the health risks of the pathogens via contaminated water.

Takashi Nakamura

Groundwater system analysis by stable isotopic analysis

Yuki Yoneyama

Vishnu Prasad PANDEY
GCOE researcher

My research interest covers a number of focal areas related to integrated water resources management at a river basin. They include water resources system modeling, analysis, climate change vulnerability and adaptation in water, groundwater development and management, real and virtual water flow, disaster risk reduction, GIS application in water resources management.

Sujata MANANDHAR
GCOE researcher

Do Thu Nga
GCOE researcher

Jun'ichiro Ide
GCOE researcher

I research about runoff mechanisms of nutrient such as nitrogen and phosphorus in forested watersheds. I am especially interested in the relationships between forest types or management forms and nutrient exports from the forested watersheds. In Japan, there are lots of plantation forests under poor management practices because Japan's domestic forest industry is in decline in the context of falling birthrate and increased proportions of elderly individuals. I want to clarify whether large amounts of nutrient are lost from such forests and flow into downstream rivers and waters.
moved in Aug. 2011

Ken’ichi Osaka
GCOE researcher

Stable isotope has useful information about origin of chemical substance and processes that chemical substance has affected. Based on measurement of stable isotopes of several nitrogen compounds in rainfall, soilwater, groundwater and streamwater, we access the nitrogen compounds export processes from catchment.
moved in Jul. 2010

Saroj Kumar CHAPAGAIN
GCOE researcher

Groundwater quality in Kathmandu, Nepal
moved in Mar. 2010