Welcome to Sasaki's Laboratory

UTokyo’s restriction index for COVID-19 has been lowered to Level A since March 28.
The main research fields of our laboratory are coastal environmental studies, coastal engineering, environmental hydraulic engineering, and international development studies. We aim to publish our research results in international journals.
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Recent posts

  • GitHub Tips
    This is a list of basic tips on GitHub. We plan to add more items. Importing a GitHub Repository You can import other public repositories. For example, you can import a public GitHub repository into a private repository in GitHub Organizations. Click the + in the upper right corner of the GitHub page, then click Import repository. Enter the required information. References Importing a repository with GitHub Importer
  • FY2022 Coastal Engineering Paper Award
    The following paper, published in Journal of JSCE B2 (Coastal Engineering), received Coastal Engineering Paper Award from the JSCE Coastal Engineering Committee. This research focused on a blue carbon function of Tokyo Bay, one of the world's representative urban bays. This paper reported on the continuous observation of partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in the surface seawater in a harbor using an inexpensive and practical handmade sensor system. Congratulations to Masanori Endo, Project Academic Specialist, and SUN Jing, 2nd-year master's student. Publication Endo, M., Sun, Jing and Sasaki, J.: Continuous observation of partial pressure of carbon dioxide in winter at a port in the head of Tokyo Bay. Journal […]
  • Field survey in the Fukido River mangrove on Ishigaki Island in the summer of 2022
    We conducted a one-month field survey in the Fukido River mangrove forest in Ishigaki Island again in the summer of 2022; Nakamura (D2) and Phyo (M2) were major contributors. We again received supports from the Port and Airport Research Institute, the National Institute for Environmental Studies, and Osaka Metropolitan University. This summer, we mainly investigated the process of inorganic carbon export from mangrove soils and the carbon cycle between mangroves, seagrasses, and coral reefs. We express our gratitude to the members of Fukui Prefectural University for their assistance in collecting and analyzing groundwater samples. We will continue our research to understand the whole picture of blue carbon in mangroves in […]
  • Award for Outstanding Student Presentation at the 2022 Congress of Japan Geoscience Union
    Wataru Nakamura, a second-year PhD student, received the Outstanding Student Presentation Award in the Atmospheric and Hydrospheric Sciences Section at the 2022 Congress of the Japan Geoscience Union (JpGU Meeting 2022). More than 550 students entered the competition; about 5-10 % of the entries in each section received this award in the 2022 Congress. The title of the presentation was "Tidal-driven high CO2 evasion from mangrove swamp to the air and adjoining waters over spring-neap tidal cycles in the estuary of Fukido River, Ishigaki Island". Congratulations!
  • Mapping of subtidal and intertidal seagrass meadows via application of the Feature Pyramid Network to unmanned aerial vehicle orthophotos
    Research Overview Seagrass meadows, including eelgrass beds, are expected to contribute to blue carbon, defined as carbon sequestered and stored by the ocean, and to provide co-benefits with ecosystem services such as fisheries. Although the restoration of seagrass meadows has long been undertaken by local non-profit organizations, it is necessary to annually monitor the distribution of seagrass meadows in an inexpensive, simple, and high-resolution manner for the certified assessment of carbon dioxide sequestration. In this study, we proposed a method for mapping seagrass meadows distributed from subtidal to intertidal zones by employing consumer-grade aerial drone photography and deep learning of Feature Pyramid Network (FPN). Extensive efforts were made to create […]
  • Filed survey on Fukido River mangrove in Ishigaki Island
    With the cooperation of the Port and Airport Research Institute, Nakamura (D1) and Phyo (M2) have started to study carbon dioxide sequestration and emission by mangrove forests. In August 2021, they conducted a one-month field survey in the mangroves of the Fukidori River in Ishigaki Island. Fukido River mangrove in Ishigaki Island Mangrove forests are said to have a high carbon sequestration capacity due to carbon sequestration by photosynthesis and the deposition of organic matter by complex above-ground roots. The carbon sequestration is also promoted by the fact that the soil is always in a reducing state due to the high organic matter content, and the rate of soil decomposition […]
  • Comprehensive Probabilistic Tsunami Hazard Assessment in the Makran Subduction Zone
    Research Overview Although earthquakes in the Makran subduction zone (MSZ) can cause tsunamis along the southern coast of Iran, little research has been done because of ethnic minority settlements and undeveloped areas. Chabahar is an important port city in this region and some areas are considered to be an important coastal zone in Iran as a free trade zone. In this study, a probabilistic tsunami hazard analysis (PTHA) method is proposed to apply to the source and coastal areas where information is scarce, and the probability of tsunami height exceedance for different recurrence periods (50, 100, 250, 500, and 1000 years) is presented for several areas along the southern coast […]