Calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic study of forearc basin sediments: Lower to Upper Cretaceous Budden Canyon Formation (Great Valley Group), northern California,USA

The results of a calcareous nannofossil biostratigraphic investigation of the North Fork Cottonwood Creek section of the Budden Canyon Formation (BCF; Hauterivian–Turonian) in northern California are summarized using the Boreal – cosmopolitan Boreal Nannofossil Biostratigraphy (BC) – Upper Cretaceous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy (UC) nannofossil zonal schemes of Bown et al. and Burnett et al. Sixteen intervals, ranging from the BC15 to UC8 zones, were established in the section. Combined biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic studies suggest a Hauterivian to mid‐Turonian age for the studied sequence. The Hauterivian–Barremian, Barremian–Aptian, Aptian–Albian, Albian–Cenomanian, and Cenomanian–Turonian stage boundaries were delineated near the top of the Ogo Member, below the Huling Sandstone Member, within the upper Chickabally Member, in the upper portion of the Bald Hills Member and within the Gas Point Member, respectively. Unconformities probably exist at the base of the Huling Sandstone Member and the upper part of the upper Chickabally Member. The nannofossil assemblage in the North Fork Cottonwood Creek suggests that the study area was under the influence of cold‐water conditions during the Barremian to Lower Aptian interval, shifting to tropical/warm‐water conditions during the Albian to Turonian interval as a result of the mid‐Cretaceous global warming. Although oceanic anoxic events have not yet been reported in the BCF, preliminary total organic carbon, along with nannofossil data, suggest the presence of the global Cenomanian–Turonian boundary oceanic anoxic event 2.     

Satellite All-sky Infrared Radiance Assimilation: Recent Progress and Future Perspectives

Satellite infrared(IR)sounder and imager measurements have become one of the main sources of data used by data assimilation systems to generate initial conditions for numerical weather prediction(NWP)models and atmospheric analysis/reanalysis.This paper reviews the development of satellite IR data assimilation in NWP in recent years,especially the assimilation of all-sky satellite IR observations.The major challenges and future directions are outlined and discussed.     

Progress of actinolite-forming reactions in mafic schists during retrograde metamorphism: an example from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt in central Shikoku, Japan

Hydration reactions are direct evidence of fluid–rock interaction during regional metamorphism. In this study, hydration reactions to produce retrograde actinolite in mafic schists are investigated to evaluate the controlling factors on the reaction progress. Mafic schists in the Sanbagawa belt contain amphibole coexisting with epidote, chlorite, plagioclase and quartz. Amphibole typically shows two types of compositional zoning from core to rim: barroisite → hornblende → actinolite in the high‐grade zone, and winchite → actinolite in the low‐grade zone. Both types indicate that amphibole grew during the exhumation stage of the metamorphic belt. Microstructures of amphibole zoning and mass‐balance relations suggest that: (1) the actinolite‐forming reactions proceeded at the expense of the preexisting amphibole; and (2) the breakdown reaction of hornblende consumed more H₂O fluid than that of winchite, when one mole of preexisting amphibole was reacted. Reaction progress is indicated by the volume fraction of actinolite to total amphibole, Y_act, with the following details: (1) reaction proceeded homogeneously in each mafic layer; (2) the extent of the hornblende breakdown reaction is commonly low (Y_act < 0.5), but it increases drastically in the high‐grade part of the garnet zone (Y_act > 0.7); and (3) the extent of the winchite breakdown reaction is commonly high (Y_act > 0.7). Many microcracks are observed within hornblende, and the extent of hornblende breakdown reaction is correlated with the size reduction of the hornblende core. Brittle fracturing of hornblende may have enhanced retrograde reaction progress by increasing of influx of H₂O and the surface area of hornblende. In contrast to high‐grade rocks, the winchite breakdown reaction is well advanced in the low‐grade rocks, where reaction progress is not associated with brittle fracturing of winchite. The high extent of the reaction in the low‐grade rocks may be due to small size of winchite before the reaction.     

Nappe structure of the Sambagawa belt

The thermal structure of the Sambagawa belt, which is reflected by minerals produced during the highest temperature of metamorphism, generally is characterized by the occurrence of the highest grade schists in the middle of the structural pile. The origin of this structure has been analysed in the upper horizon of the Sambagawa schist sequence in Central Shikoku as an example for the structure of the whole belt. The upper horizon of the Sambagawa schist sequence in Central Shikoku consists of three nappes, the Saruta nappe II, the Saruta nappe I and the Fuyunose nappe in descending order of structural level. The Saruta nappe II shows a downward increase of metamorphic grade from the garnet zone, through the albite-biotite zone, to the oligoclase-biotite zone. The Saruta nappe I consists mainly of rocks in the albite-biotite zone and partly in the oligoclase-biotite zone, but the direction of the increase of metamorphic grade is not clear. The Fuyunose nappe shows an upward increase in metamorphic grade which changes from the glaucophane zone to the barroisite zone. It is concluded that the Saruta nappe II and Saruta nappe I were overturned and then mechanically coupled with the Fuyunose nappe. The Sambagawa metamorphic field, which is of the highest temperature phase of metamorphism, appears to have had an inverted thermal gradient and a thermal structure comparable with that expected in the deeper parts of a subduction complex.     

EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF FPS SYSTEM IN BRIDGE SEISMIC ISOLATION

An experimental study of a seismically isolated and a comparable non-isolated bridge is presented. The bridge model featured flexible piers, weighed 158kN and was tested on a shake table with an array of real and simulated seismic motions with peak acceleration in the range 0⋅1–1⋅1g. When isolated, the bridge deck was supported by four spherically shaped sliding bearings (known as Friction Pendulum System or FPS bearings) with friction coefficient under dynamic conditions in the range 0⋅07–0⋅12. The experimental results demonstrated a substantial improvement in the ability of the isolated bridge to sustain all levels of seismic excitation under elastic conditions.     

Misorientations of garnet aggregate within a vein: an example from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, Japan

In this study, the chemistry and microstructure of garnet aggregates within a metamorphic vein are investigated. Garnet‐bearing veins in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, Japan, occur subparallel to the foliation of a host mafic schist, but some cut the foliation at low angle. Backscattered electron image and compositional mapping using EPMA and crystallographic orientation maps from electron‐backscattered diffraction (EBSD) reveal that numerous small garnet (10–100 μm diameter) coalesce to form large porphyroblasts within the vein. Individual small garnet commonly exhibits xenomorphic shape at garnet/garnet grain boundaries, whereas it is idiomorphic at garnet/quartz boundaries. EBSD microstructural analysis of the garnet porphyroblasts reveals that misorientation angles of neighbour‐pair garnet grains within the vein have a random distribution. This contrasts with previous studies that found coalescence of garnet in mica schist leads to an increased frequency of low angle misorientation boundaries by misorientation‐driven rotation. As garnet nucleated with random orientation, the difference in misorientation between the two studies is due to the difference in the extent of grain rotation. A simple kinetic model that assumes grain rotation of garnet is rate‐limited by grain boundary diffusion creep of matrix quartz, shows that (i) the substantial rotation of a fine garnet grain could occur for the conditions of the Sanbagawa metamorphism, but (ii) the rotation rate drastically decreased as garnet grains formed large clusters during growth. Therefore, the random misorientation distribution of garnet porphyroblasts in the Sanbagawa vein is interpreted as follows: (i) garnet within the vein grew so fast that substantial grain rotation did not occur through porphyroblast formation, and thus (ii) random orientations at the nucleation stage were preserved. The extent of misorientation‐driven rotation indicated by deviation from random orientation distribution may be useful to constrain the growth rate of constituent grains of porphyroblast that formed by multiple nucleation and coalescence.     

Reaction progress related to indentation structures at glaucophane/glaucophane contacts in an impure marble from Syros, Greece

Microstructures of brittle mineral grains embedded in a ductile matrix provide information on the influence of stress concentration on reaction progress during metamorphism. Under non-hydrostatic conditions, contrasts of mechanical properties between minerals possibly cause stress concentrations at specific grain boundaries, which may result in a localization of subsequent reactions. In an impure marble from Syros, Greece, glaucophane grains occurring in a calcite matrix commonly impinge on other glaucophane grains to form concavo-convex boundary contacts. The geometrical relationship between grain boundary and growth zoning within glaucophane grains indicates that indentation and dissolution occurred preferentially at the glaucophane/glaucophane contacts in response to compression normal to the foliation. In contrast, idioblastic surfaces of glaucophane were preserved at glaucophane/calcite boundaries, indicating that stress concentrated at glaucophane/glaucophane contacts. The retrograde minerals (winchite, albite and biotite) that were formed by consuming glaucophane are observed not only at the extensive site, but also at the 'compressive' site where indentation occurred. The precipitation of retrograde minerals at the extensive sites was accompanied by glaucophane dissolution at the indentation stage. In contrast, the formation of retrograde minerals at the 'compressive' site indicates that retrograde replacement preferentially proceeded at the indented sites even after stress relaxation. Such a localization of the replacement suggests that the formation of damaged zones around glaucophane/glaucophane contacts induced by stress concentration would have provided the preferential sites for glaucophane breakdown at the later stage.     

Origin of polymict breccias on asteroids deduced from their pyroxene fragments

Abstract— Cumulate eucrite, noncumulate eucrite, and diogenite meteorites are considered to have come from the crust of one (or similar) parent asteroid. Howardites are regarded as regolith breccias of eucrites and diogenites, and polymict eucrites are regarded as polymict breccias of eucrites. These polymict breccias show many textural and chemical features. In order to gain a better understanding of the origin of polymict breccias and the origin of their components, we investigated four polymict breccias, Yamato (Y)-791439, Y-791192, Y-82009, and Y-82049 with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with a chemical mapping system, and by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA). We analyzed all pyroxene grains with chemical maps, classified them by chemical composition, and observed their chemistry and mineralogy in detail. The characteristics of pyroxenes suggest that the polymict breccias were generated by gathering locally ordinary eucrites and cumulate eucrites. The chemical-evolutionary features of the pyroxenes (such as homogenization, chemical zoning, and exsolution lamellae) suggest that there were at least two long annealing events and one short (or low-temperature) annealing event, separated by mixing events. Local heterogeneity on the asteroidal crust is also suggested.