Exsolution in augite from the Skaergaard Intrusion

The exsolution phenomena of augite from Ferrogabbro 4430 of the Skaergaard Intrusion were examined in detail by single crystal X-ray diffraction and heating experiments to study the stepwise exsolution process. In the augite crystals, five different phases were detected: pigeonite (001), pigeonite (100), orthopyroxene (a), orthopyroxene (p) and a small amount of clinoamphibole. The two different pigeonites nearly share the corresponding (001) and (100) planes with the host. Orthopyroxene (a) and orthopyroxene (p) have (100) in common with the host and with exsolved pigeonite (001), respectively. Clinoamphibole was observed in the form of rather weak reflections in many crystals. It has (010) in common with the host.A large number of augite crystals exhibited a pigeonite (001) phase with curved, rotated reflections and diffuse streaks along the a* direction in (h0l) precession photographs. It appears that these streaks are related to orthopyroxene (p). Orthopyroxene (p) seems to be crystallized from pigeonite (001) by nucleation at (100) stacking fault planes (inverted pigeonite). Pigeonite (100) may be formed at growth ledges between augite host and exsolved orthopyroxene (a) at a later stage of exsolution to stabilize the boundaries.From the X-ray diffraction profiles and the results of the heating experiments, a possible exsolution sequence is suggested. Clinoamphibole appears to be a product of alteration at the latest stage of the exsolution process. It seems to be related to particular conditions of partial water pressure.     

Structure,formation, and decomposition of APB's in calcic plagioclase

In calcic plagioclase (Ca, Na) [(Al, Si) AlSi₂O₈] Al-Si ordering produces superstructures with periodic and non periodic antiphase boundaries (APB's). Crystals growing at high temperature close to the melting point and cooling fairly rapidly order by nucleation of ordered domains which grow, resulting in an irregular pattern of curved APB's (b plagioclase). A modulated structure with periodic APB's forms by continuous ordering at large undercooling below the critical ordering temperature (e plagioclase). During annealing APB's are eliminated by pairwise recombination of adjacent APB's to reduce strain energy along the boundaries thereby transforming nonstable e plagioclase into stable b plagioclase without change in chemical composition. This process is often accompanied by a chemical phase separation with APB's providing favorable surfaces for diffusion. Transformations are documented by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) micrographs illustrating the variation in morphology of APB patterns in igneous and metamorphic plagioclase. They are in agreement with Korekawa et al.'s (1978) model of intermediate plagioclase which relies on periodic stacking of basic units rather than wavelike modulations. The paper includes observations of a new type of satellite in Stillwater bytownite (‘h’ satellites) which are due to fine lamellar exsolution.     

Major-element petrochemistry of some extrusive rocks from the volcanically active Mariana Islands

Volcanic rocks from six of the currently or recently active volcances of the Mariana Island are show little variation in major element abundances. SiO₂ content averages 51.5 wt.%. The flows are high in Al₂O (mean 17.7 wt.%) and Fe oxides (mean 10.1 wt.% calculated as FeO only), and moderate in MgO content (mean 4.7 wt.%), Na₂O (mean 2.7 wt.%), and K₂O (mean 0.7 wt.%). Only the rocks from Farallon de Pajaros, the northernmost of the Mariana Islands, deviate slightly from the average of the analyses. Three analyses from this island are slightly higher in SiO₂ (about 54 wt.%) and Al₂O₃, and are lower in total Fe oxides and MgO. According to preferred classification, the lavas of the Mariana Islands can be termed mela-andesites, high-alumina basalts, or calc-alkaline (orogenic) basalts. The K₂O values (mean 0.7 wt.%) obtained from lavas of the Mariana Islands are significantly higher than the K₂O values (about 0.33 wt.%) from volcanics of the Izu chain to the north. Inasmuch as the substantial scatter in location of earthquake foci beneath both arcs prevents accurate delineation of the upper boundary of the Benioff zone, it presently cannot be determined whether this discrepancy in K₂O values reflects a difference in depth from the volcanic are to the dipping seismic zone or relates to other phenomena. The older volcanic islands within the Mariana-Bonin island chain apparently defined an island arc system during Eocene to Miocene time. This indicates that the present plane of convergence between the Pacific plate and the Philippine Sea plate has defined the convergence between these plates since Eocene time.     

Turnover Frequency in Solar Microwave Bursts with an Extremely Flat Optically Thin Spectrum

Four microwave bursts have been selected from the Nobeyama Radio Polarimeter (NoRP) observations with an extremely flat spectrum in the optically thin part and a very hard spectral index between 0 and ?1 in the maximum phase of all bursts. It is found that the time evolution of the turnover frequency is inversely proportional to the time profiles of the radio flux in all bursts. Based on the nonthermal gyrosynchrotron theory of Ramaty (Astrophys. J. 158, 753, 1969), the local magnetic field strength and the electron spectral index are calculated uniquely from the observed radio spectral index and the turnover frequency. We found that the electron energy spectrum is very hard (spectral index 1?–?2), and the time variation of the magnetic field strength is also inversely proportional to the radio flux as a function of time in all bursts. Hence, the time evolution of the turnover frequency can be explained directly by its dependence on the local magnetic field strength. The high turnover frequency (several tens of GHz) is mainly caused by a strong magnetic field of up to several hundred gauss, and probably by the Razin effect under a high plasma density over \(10^{10}~\mbox{cm}^{-3}\) in the maximum phase of these bursts. Therefore, the extremely flat microwave spectrum can be well understood by the observed high turnover frequency and the calculated hard electron spectral index.     

Holocene beach deposits for assessing coastal uplift of the northeastern Boso Peninsula, Pacific coast of Japan

This paper presents a case study that assessed spatial variations in the tectonic uplift rates of beach deposits in the relict Kujukuri strand plain, situated on the northeastern coast of the Boso Peninsula, eastern Japan. The southern Boso Peninsula is tilted downward to the northeast due to plate subduction along the Sagami Trough. However, the cause of the northeastern coast uplift creating the relict strand plain is unclear, due to the absence of a Holocene raised marine terrace sequence. Elevations and ages of beach deposits were collected from drilled cores and ground-penetrating radar profiles along three shore-normal sections in the southern Kujukuri strand plain. From this, alongshore variations in the relative sea level since the mid-Holocene could be seen. These corresponded to north-to-northeast downward tilting at a rate of 0.4 m/ka for an interval 10 km and are concordant with the longer term tilting of the last interglacial marine terrace surrounding the plain. Although it is difficult to assess shore-normal variations of uplift based on the present dataset, the recognized tilting apparently continues to the tilting of the southern Boso Peninsula, implying the Sagami Trough probably affects the uplift of the Kujukuri coast.     

The effect of aerosol representation on cloud microphysical properties in Northeast Asia

This study performed a three-dimensional regional-scale simulation of aerosol and cloud fields using a meso-scale non-hydrostatic model with a bin-based cloud microphysics. The representation of aerosols in the model has been improved to account for more realistic multi-modal size distribution and multiple chemical compositions. Two case studies for shallow stratocumulus over Northeast Asia in March 2005 were conducted with different aerosol conditions to evaluate model performance. Improved condensation nuclei (CN) and cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) are attributable to the newly constructed aerosol size distribution. The simulated results of cloud microphysical properties (cloud droplet effective radius, liquid water path, and optical thickness) with improved CN/CCN number are close to the retrievals from satellite-based observation. The effects of aerosol on the microphysical properties of shallow stratocumulus are investigated by model simulation, in terms of columnar aerosol number concentration. Enhanced aerosol number concentration results in increased liquid water path in humid case, but invariant liquid water path in dry case primarily due to precipitation occurrence. The changes of cloud microphysical properties are more predominant for small aerosol burden than for large aerosol burden with the retarded changes in cloud mass and size due to inactive condensation and collision-coalescence processes. Quantitative evaluation of sensitivity factor between aerosol and cloud microphysical properties indicates a strong aerosol-cloud interaction in Northeast Asian region.     

Atoll island vulnerability to flooding and inundation revealed by historical reconstruction: Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

The reef islands formed on coral atolls are generally small, low, and flat, with elevations of only a few meters. These islands are thus highly vulnerable to elevated sea levels caused by extreme events and global warming. Such vulnerability was recently evidenced at Fongafale Islet, the capital of Tuvalu, when it flooded during accelerated spring high tides possibly related to sea level rise caused by global warming. Many factors, not only environmental but also economic and social, determine the vulnerability of an island to sea level rise. In this study, we used data spanning 108 yrs to reconstruct changes in topography, land use/cover, population, and the distribution of buildings at Fongafale Islet. The results indicate that the vulnerability of Fongafale Islet relates to its original landform characteristics: the central part of the island was formerly dominated by swampland that flooded at high tides. Fongafale Islet experienced greater population in-migration and centralization beginning in the 1970s following the independence of Tuvalu and Kiribati. Migrants were also responding to declines in overseas mining operations and limited options for paid employment. As the population increased, construction took place in vulnerable swampland areas. Our results clearly demonstrate that examinations of global environmental issues should focus on characteristics specific to the region of interest. These characteristics should be specified using historical reconstruction to understand and address the vulnerability of an area to global environmental changes.     

Collapse of primordial clouds and the formation of a central core

The collapse of rotating clouds is investigated using three-dimensional self-gravitating hydrodynamical simulations. We take into account the detailed non-equilibrium chemical reactions for primordial gas that consists of pure hydrogen. The parameters of the collapse and the condition of the fragmentation are compared with those of isothermal clouds. It is shown that the geometrical flatness of the central region of the disc is a good indicator for predicting whether the clouds fragment or not. If the flatness is greater than the critical value, ∼ 4π, a cloud fragments into filaments and blobs. On the other hand, if the flatness is smaller than the critical value, fragmentation is not expected before the central core formation even if the cooling is efficient and the total mass becomes much greater than the local Jeans mass at the centre. The critical mass is found to be 3 × 10⁶ M_⊙ for a typical initial condition. If the initial cloud mass is smaller than this critical value, fragmentation before the central core formation is not expected. For a typically estimated first collapsing cosmological baryonic object, M ≲ 10⁶ M_⊙, central core formation is expected and will have a significant effect on the later evolution of the whole system. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The eccentric-orbit binary model for the transient X-ray sources

Eccentric-orbit binary models for transient X-ray sources are investigated. In these models, a compact star is in an eccentric orbit around a more massive star. As the compact star accretes mass from the stellar wind of the massive star, the accretion rate becomes time-dependent. The accretion rate is determined by Bondi's accretion radius, which depends on both the relative velocity of the stellar wind to the compact star and the sound velocity through the stellar wind. With reasonable sets of the eccentricity, the semi-major axis, the stellar wind velocity and the sound velocity, we obtain the variations of the light curves compatible with observations for the transient X-ray sources. It is likely that many transient X-ray sources are explainable by eccentric-orbit binary models.