Late Quaternary faulting along the western margin of the Poronaysk Lowland in central Sakhalin, Russia

Sakhalin Island straddles an active plate boundary between the Okhotsk and Eurasian plates. South of Sakhalin, this plate boundary is illuminated by a series of M_w 7–8 earthquakes along the eastern margin of the Sea of Japan. Although this plate boundary is considered to extend onshore along the length of Sakhalin, the location and convergence rate of the plate boundary had been poorly constrained. We mapped north-trending active faults along the western margin of the Poronaysk Lowland in central Sakhalin based on aerial photograph interpretation and field observations. The active faults are located east of and parallel to the Tym–Poronaysk fault, a terrane boundary between Upper Cretaceous and Neogene strata; the active faults appear to have reactivated the terrane boundary at depth in Quaternary time. The total length of the active fault zone on land is about 140 km. Tectonic geomorphic features such as east-facing monoclinal and fault scarps, back-tilted fluvial terraces, and numerous secondary faults suggest that the faults are west-dipping reverse faults. Assuming the most widely developed geomorphic surface in the study area formed during the last glacial maximum at about 20 ka based on similarities of geomorphic features with those in Hokkaido Island, we obtain a vertical component of slip rate of 0.9–1.4 mm/year. Using the fault dip of 30–60°W observed at an outcrop and trench walls, a net slip rate of 1.0–2.8 mm/year is obtained. The upper bound of the estimate is close to a convergence rate across the Tym–Poronaysk fault based on GPS measurements. A trenching study across the fault zone dated the most recent faulting event at 3500–4000 years ago. The net slip associated with this event is estimated at about 4.5 m. Since the last faulting event, a minimum of 3.5 m of strain, close to the strain released during the last event, has accumulated along the central portion of the active strand of the Tym–Poronaysk fault.     

Earthquake swarms on Mount Erebus, Antarctica

Mount Erebus (3794 m), located on Ross Island in McMurdo Sound, is one of the few active volcanoes in Antartica. A high-sensitivity seismic network has been operated by Japanese and US parties on and around the Volcano since December, 1980. The results of these observations show two kinds of seismic activity on Ross Island: activity concentrated near the summit of Mount Erebus associated with Strombolian eruptions, and micro-earthquake activity spread through Mount Erebus and the surrounding area.Seismicity on Mount Erebus has been quite high, usually exceeding 20 volcanic earthquakes per day. They frequently occur in swarms with daily counts exceeding 100 events.Sixteen earthquake swarms with more than 250 events per day were recorded by the seismic network during the three year period 1982–1984, and three notable earthquake swarms out of the sixteen were recognized, in October, 1982 (named 82-C), March–April, 1984 (84-B) and July, 1984 (84-F).Swarms 84-B and 84-F have a large total number of earthquakes and large Ishimoto-Iida's “m”; hence these two swarms are presumed to constitute on one of the precursor phenomena to the new eruption, which took place on 13 September, 1984, and lasted a few months.     

Estimation of field irrigation water demand based on lumped kinematic wave model considering soil moisture balance

An estimation model of farm field irrigation water demand is developed. The model is based on the lumped kinematic wave model considering soil water balance. The lumped model approach reduces the computational load in rainfall-runoff analysis and allows application to large river basins. Evapotranspiration is estimated on hourly basis by the improvement of FAO’s method. Not only water volume necessary for farm field irrigation but also the number of the water charge and its interval can be estimated by the combined use of the lumped runoff model and the hourly evapotranspiration model.     

Coastal upwelling events along the southern coast of Java during the 2008 positive Indian Ocean Dipole

To understand the coastal upwelling system along the southern coast of Java, we investigated ocean temperature and salinity obtained from an Argo float. In 2008, a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event began to develop in early May and anomalously cool SST developed around south of Java from May to September. During the peak of the IOD, an Argo float successfully observed vertical structure of temperature and salinity within 90 km from Java. The float observed two intraseasonal-scale temperature cooling events in July and August, with significant upward movements of the thermocline more than 90 m. Concurrent with the signals, anomalous southeasterly alongshore winds, lowering of local SST and sea level, and upward expansion of high-salinity water were also observed. During the event in August, vertical velocity estimated by the anomalous wind stress agreed well with the observations. These results indicate that the Argo float observed the coastal upwelling, which was enhanced by the 2008 positive IOD, along the southern coast of Java.     

Textural and Chemical Evolution of Unidirectional Solidification Textures in Highly Differentiated Granitic Rocks at Kharaatyagaan,Central Mongolia

Unidirectional solidification texture (UST) in an aplite body is recognized in the Neoproterozoic highly differentiated granitic rocks at Kharaatyagaan, central Mongolia. On the basis of crystal morphology, two main types of UST were identified in the aplite body: (i) thin crenulate UST layers; and (ii) thick intergrowth UST layers. Bulk geochemistry indicates that the Kharaatyagaan UST‐bearing aplite and aplite dike are alkaline, and are enriched in light rare‐earth elements. Scanning electron microscopy and cathadoluminescence imaging of UST quartz from Kharaatyagaan show four types of quartz: euhedral quartz phenocrysts with well‐developed concentric growth zoning (Qa1) in the aplite; euhedral quartz with weak growth zoning in the aplite (Qa2); UST quartz exhibiting distinct growth zones (Qu1); and UST quartz showing mosaic texture (Qu2). Crystallization temperatures determined by the Ti‐in‐quartz geothermometer of Qa1 and Qu1 quartz range between around 500°C and 780°C and Qa2 and Qu2 range between about 490° and 630°C. The cathodoluminescence textures of quartz are predominantly caused by variations in the trace elements contents of quartz. The Qa1 and Qu1 quartz crystals are characterized by high Ti and Al concentrations in the quartz lattice, and are observed in the bottom of the Kharaatyagaan hill, which formed in the early, less evolved magmatic stage. The Qa2 and Qu2 UST quartz characterized by low Ti and variable Al concentrations are found at the top. The UST layers crystallized along the upper part of the magma chamber in the presence of fluid phases exsolved from felsic magma.     

Gold Mineralization in Banded Iron Formation in the Amalia Greenstone Belt,South Africa: A Mineralogical and Sulfur Isotope Study

The Blue Dot gold deposit, located in the Archean Amalia greenstone belt of South Africa, is hosted in an oxide (± carbonate) facies banded iron formation (BIF). It consists of three stratabound orebodies; Goudplaats, Abelskop, and Bothmasrust. The orebodies are flanked by quartz‐chlorite‐ferroan dolomite‐albite schist in the hanging wall and mafic (volcanic) schists in the footwall. Alteration minerals associated with the main hydrothermal stage in the BIF are dominated by quartz, ankerite‐dolomite series, siderite, chlorite, muscovite, sericite, hematite, pyrite, and minor amounts of chalcopyrite and arsenopyrite. This study investigates the characteristics of gold mineralization in the Amalia BIF based on ore textures, mineral‐chemical data and sulfur isotope analysis. Gold mineralization of the Blue Dot deposit is associated with quartz‐carbonate veins that crosscut the BIF layering. In contrast to previous works, petrographic evidence suggests that the gold mineralization is not solely attributed to replacement reactions between ore fluid and the magnetite or hematite in the host BIF because coarse hydrothermal pyrite grains do not show mutual replacement textures of the oxide minerals. Rather, the parallel‐bedded and generally chert‐hosted pyrites are in sharp contact with re‐crystallized euhedral to subhedral magnetite ± hematite grains, and the nature of their coexistence suggests that pyrite (and gold) precipitation was contemporaneous with magnetite–hematite re‐crystallization. The Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio of the dolomite–ankerite series and chlorite decreased from veins through mineralized BIF and non‐mineralized BIF, in contrast to most Archean BIF‐hosted gold deposits. This is interpreted to be due to the effect of a high sulfur activity and increase in fO₂ in a H₂S‐dominant fluid during progressive fluid‐rock interaction. High sulfur activity of the hydrothermal fluid fixed pyrite in the BIF by consuming Fe²⁺ released into the chert layers and leaving the co‐precipitating carbonates and chlorites with less available ferrous iron content. Alternatively, the occurrence of hematite in the alteration assemblage of the host BIF caused a structural limitation in the assignment of Fe³⁺ in chlorite which favored the incorporation of magnesium (rather than ferric iron) in chlorite under increasing fO₂ conditions, and is consistent with deposits hosted in hematite‐bearing rocks. The combined effects of reduction in sulfur contents due to sulfide precipitation and increasing fO₂ during progressive fluid‐rock interactions are likely to be the principal factors to have caused gold deposition. Arsenopyrite–pyrite geothermometry indicated a temperature range of 300–350°C for the associated gold mineralization. The estimated δ³⁴S_ΣS (= +1.8 to +2.5‰) and low base metal contents of the sulfide ore mineralogy are consistent with sulfides that have been sourced from magma or derived by the dissolution of magmatic sulfides from volcanic rocks during fluid migration.     

Coexistence of a Fluid Phase with Granitic Magma: Geochemical Characteristics of REE and Cu in Miyako Granite and in Scheelite-bearing Aplitic Veins at the Yamaguchi Cu-W Skarn Deposit, Iwate, Japan

Abstract: The North granitic body of the Miyako pluton is located in the Northern Kitakami belt, Northeast Japan. The formation of the scheelite–chalcopyrite–magnetite–bearing aplitic veins and scheelite–chalcopyrite–magnetite–bearing Yamaguchi skarn deposit was closely associated with the formation of the Miyako plutons. Petrographic facies of the North granitic body vary from quartz diorite in marginal zone (zone A), to tonalite and granodiorite (zone B), and to granite (zone C) in the central. The large numbers of aplitic veins distributed around the Yamaguchi mining area are divided into two groups: barren and scheelite–mag–netite–chalcopyrite–bearing aplitic veins. The latter cut massive clinopyroxene skarns of the Yamaguchi deposit, and are composed of plagioclase, K‐feldspar and titanite. Some plagioclase crystals have dusty cores with irregularly shaped K‐feldspar flakes, and clear rims of albite. Textures of plagioclase in the mineralized aplitic veins are different from the idiomorphic textures with sharp plagioclase crystal boundaries that occur in the North granitic body and barren aplitic veins. These textural data suggest that the mineralized aplitic veins were formed from hydrothermal fluid. Changes in the contents of major and minor (Rb, Sr, Sc, Co, Th, U) elements in the North Miyako granitic body are similar to those of zoned plutons formed by typical magmatic differentiation processes. On the other hand, concentrations of REE, especially middle to heavy REE, of granitic rocks in zone C and barren aplitic veins are significantly lower than those of granitic rocks in zones A and B. The hypothetical chondrite‐normalized REE patterns, calculated assuming fractional crystallization from zone B granitic melt, suggest that REE concentrations of the residual melt increased with the degree of fractional crystallization, and changed into a pattern with enriched LREE and strongly negative Eu anomaly. However, the REE patterns of granitic rocks in zone C are different from the hypothetical patterns. Moreover, the REE patterns of magnetite–scheelite–chalcopyrite aplitic veins are quite different from those of granitic rocks. The Cu contents of granitic rocks in the North Miyako body increase from zone A (5–26 ppm) to zone B (10–26 ppm), and then clearly decrease to zone C (5–7 ppm) and drastically increase to the barren aplitic veins (39–235 ppm). Concentrations of Cu in the mineralized aplitic veins are also higher than those of the granitic rocks in zone C. The decrease in REE and Cu contents of granitic rocks from zone B to zone C is not a result of simple magmatic fractional differentiation. Fluid inclusions in quartz from mineralized aplitic veins contain 3.3 wt% NaCl equivalent and 5.8 wt% CO₂. It was also demonstrated experimentally that the removal of MREE and HREE by fluid from melt enabled the formation of complexes of REE and ligands of OH^‐ and CO₃^2‐. Based on the possibility that the melt of the granitic rocks of zone C and the mineralized aplitic veins coexisted with CO₂‐bearing fluid, it is thought that REE were extracted from the melt to the CO₂‐bearing fluid, and that the REE in the mineralized aplitic veins were transported by the CO₂‐bearing fluid. It is likely that the low HREE and Cu contents of the granitic rocks in zone C could have been caused by the removal of those elements from the granitic melt by the fluid coexisting with the melt. The expelled materials could have been the sources of scheelite–magnetite–chalcopyrite–bearing aplitic veins and copper mineralization of the Yamaguchi Cu‐W skarn deposit.     

Trace-element characteristics of east–west mantle geochemical hemispheres

Recent statistical analyses on the isotopic compositions of oceanic, arc, and continental basalts have revealed that the Earth's mantle is broadly divided into eastern and western hemispheres. The present study aimed to characterize the isotopically defined east–west geochemical hemispheres using trace-element concentrations. Basalt data with Rb, Sr, Nd, Sm, Pb, Th, and U in addition to the isotopic ratios ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd, ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁴Pb, and ²⁰⁸Pb/²⁰⁴Pb were selected mostly from the GEOROC and PetDB databases. A total of 4787 samples were used to investigate the global geochemical variations. The results show that the wide trace-element variations are broadly explained by the melting of melt-metasomatized and fluid-metasomatized mantle sources. The larger amount of the fluid component derived from subducted plates in the eastern hemisphere than that in the western hemisphere is inferred from the basalts. These characteristics support the hypothesis that focused subduction towards the supercontinent created the mantle geochemical hemispheres.     

Quasi-2-Day Signals Observed in the Warm Pool Region during TOGA/COARE IOP

During Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere (TOGA)/Coupled Ocean and Atmosphere Research Experiment (COARE) Intensive Observing Period (IOP), upward-looking acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) and current meters were moored at two equatorial sites (147°E and 154°E) and two off-equatorial sites (2°N and 2°S, 156°E) in the warm pool region of the western equatorial Pacific. Using current data obtained by these moorings, we have shown that there is a dominant signal with a period of about 2 days from the end of November to the middle of December in 1992, except at the equatorial site on 147°E (Ueki et al., 1998). The energy of this quasi-2-day signal for the meridional current is larger than that for the zonal one and the signal has a high coherence between two off-equatorial sites. In this paper, using band-passed time series of the meridional curerent, we investigated characters of the quasi-2-day signal and attempted to interpret this signal as an equatorially trapped wave. Complex empirical orthogonal function (CEOF) analysis reveals two different phase propagating features between the equatorial and off-equatorial site. One is an upward propagating signal, which is dominant near the surface at two off-equatorial sites, and the other is a downward propagating signal, which is dominant near 200 m at the equatorial site. If one interprets the quasi-2-day signal as an equatorially trapped wave, it is suggested that it cannot be explained as a single wave but can be described as the superimposition of several wave signals. The main part of these signals consists of two signals, one caused by a meteorological forcing and another by another factor in the ocean field.