Paleomagnetic study of Cretaceous rocks of Peru, South America: Evidence for rotation of the Andes

Paleomagnetic data for the Cretaceous volcanic and sedimentary rocks in the Andean region of Peru are given. Reliable paleomagnetic field directions were obtained for three Cretaceous (Albian to Cenomanian) formations from calcareous sediments in northern Peru. Stable remanent magnetization directions were also derived from twelve Cretaceous lava flows and dikes in coastal Peru. Paleomagnetic data of the same age from the stable areas of South America such as Brazil demonstrate that the paleomagnetic poles are nearly coincident with the present pole, but Peruvian paleomagnetic directions studied here showed several tens of degrees of counterclockwise declination shifts. This suggests counterclockwise tectonic rotation of an extensive block which includes the whole of Andean Peru.     

Experimental studies of He and Ar degassing during rock fracturing

We studied degassing of He and Ar from granite, basalt and volcanic tuff samples which were subjected to uniaxial compression. From the samples which were fractured in the dilatant region He was always degassed, while degassing of Ar dependent not only on the dilatancy, but also on the type of rock and the compressional conditions such as wet, room dry or vacuum conditions. It is concluded that degassing of rare gases from the compressed samples depends primarily on the generation of new surface area by dilatancy.     

Isotopic Evaluation on the Genesis of the Kanamaru Pegmatite Deposit, Niigata Prefecture, Japan

Abstract: The Kanamaru pegmatite is one of the two largest pegmatite deposits in Japan and is rich in K–feldspar, which is maximum microcline. The mica minerals and microcline from this ore deposit were studied for K-Ar ages and δ¹⁸O ratios. Biotite gives K-Ar age of 78. 5 Ma, but microcline is much younger in age of 66. 0 and 58. 3 Ma. Oxygen isotopic equilibrium temperature of the biotite-quartz pair is 625°C. Using closure temperature of the K-Ar system for biotite and microcline, cooling rate of the pegmatite is calculated to be 88°C/m. y. at the beginning but 12°C/m. y. in the later period of the cooling history. The microcline is slightly depleted in ¹⁸O, yielding apparent equilibrium temperatures of 230°C and 155°C on quartz-microcline pairs. It is suggested that the fluid phase, magmatic and partly meteoric in origin, contained in the solidifying pegmatite, was interacted with the original orthoclase and converted it to microcline during the subsolidus stage.     

Oblique and near collision subduction, Sagami and Suruga Troughs —preliminary results of the French-Japanese 1984 Kaiko cruise, Leg 2

Leg 2 of the French-Japanese 1984 Kaiko cruise has surveyed the Suruga and the Sagami Troughs, which lie on both sides of the northwestward moving and colliding Izu-Bonin Ridge, the northernmost part of the Philippine Sea plate. The transition from the Nankai Trough to the Suruga Trough is characterized by northward decrease in width of the accretionary prism, in good agreement with the increasing obliquity between the through axis and the direction of the convergence, as the strike of the convergent boundary changes from ENE-NNE to south-north. South of the area, the southern margin of the Zenisu Ridge shows contractional deformations. This supports the interpretation made by the team of Leg 1 who studied the western extension of the area we studied, that it is an intra-oceanic thrusting of the ridge over the Shikoku Basin. In the Sagami Trough, where the relative motion is highly oblique to the plate boundary, active subduction is mostly confined in the east-west trending portions of the trough located south of the Boso Peninsula and along the lower Boso Canyon, near the TTT triple junction. In between, the present motion is mainly right-lateral along the northwest trending Boso escarpment. However, an inactive but recent (Pliocene to lower Pleistocene) accretionary prism exists south of the Boso escarpment, which suggests that the relative motion was more northerly than at present before about 1 Ma ago.     

Palaeomagnetism of Neogene Ocros dyke swarm, the Peruvian Andes: implication for the Bolivian orocline

Summary. Remanent magnetization directions of 32 dykes and lava flows sampled near Ayacucho, the Peruvian Andes revealed 14.2°± 5.5° counterclockwise rotation after the Neogene intrusion of this dyke swarm. Palaeo-magnetic results of these rocks and other palaeomagnetic evidences from the Central Andean Mesozoic rocks suggest relatively recent occurrence of the Andean oroclinal bending around the axis at the Peru-Chile border.     

Monitoring of DSP toxins in small-sized plankton fraction of seawater collected in Mutsu Bay,Japan, by ELISA method: relation with toxin contamination of scallop

Monitorings were conducted on DSP toxins in mid-gut gland of scallop (mouse assay), cell numbers of toxic dinoflagellate species of Dinophysis, and diarrhetic shellfish poisoning (DSP) toxins in small-sized (0.7-5 microm) plankton fraction of seawater collected from surface (0 m) and 20 m depth at a station in Mutsu Bay, Aomori Prefecture, Japan, in 2000. A specific enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed for the analysis of DSP toxins in small-sized plankton fraction using a mouse monoclonal anti-okadaic acid antibody which recognizes okadaic acid, dinophysistoxin-1, and dinophysistoxin-3. DSP toxins were detected twice in the mid-gut gland of scallops at 1.1-2.3 MU (mouse units) g(-1) on 26 June and at 0.6-1.2 MU g(-1) on 3 July, respectively. Relatively high cell densities of D. fortii were observed on 26 June and 11 September, and may only contribute to the bivalve toxicity during late June to early July. D. acuminata did not appear to be responsible for the toxicity of scallops in Mutsu Bay in 2000. ELISA monitoring of small-sized plankton fraction in seawater could detect DSP toxins two weeks before the detection of the toxin in scallops, and could do so two weeks after the loss of the bivalve toxicity by mouse assay. On 17 July, toxic D. fortii was detected at only small number, <10 cells l(-1), but DSP toxins were detected by the ELISA assay, suggesting a presence of other toxic small-sized plankton in seawater. For the purpose of reducing negative impacts of DSP occurrences, monitorings have been carried out hitherto on DSP toxins of bivalve tissues by mouse assay and on cell densities of "toxic" species of Dinophysis. Here we propose a usefulness of ELISA monitoring of plankton toxicity, especially in small-sized fraction, which are possible foods of mixotrophic Dinophysis, as a practical tool for detecting and predicting DSPs in coastal areas of fisheries grounds of bivalve aquaculture.     

Paleomagnetic study of the Central Andes: Counterclockwise rotation of the Peruvian block

Paleomagnetic study was performed on Mesozoic and Tertiary rocks from Peru and northernmost Chile. Comparisons of these results as well as other data from the Central Andes with paleomagnetic poles from South American craton strongly support the orocline hypothesis of Carey for the formation of the Arica (Santa Cruz) deflection. Paleomagnetic declinations of Jurassic and Cretaeous rocks are quite similar to the direction of the present-day structural trend in the Central Andes, which suggests that the mountain belt has rotated in a coherent fashion (i.e., rigid body rotation) in sections of the Central Andes. The occurrence of this deformation is certainly post-Cretaceous, with some suggestion that rotation still continued as recently as Neogene. The mechanism of this deformation is not well known, but a differential stretching of the Amazon Basin behind the Peruvian Andes is a possibility.