Life habit of vesicomyid clam,Calyptogena soyoae,and hydrogen sulfide concentration in interstitial waters in Sagami Bay,Japan

In and around the beds of vesicomyid clam (Calytogena soyoae) located off Hatsushima Island in Sagami Bay, central Japan, hydrogen sulfide concentration in bottom water and interstitial water was measured every 10 cm from just above seafloor to 40 cm deep usingin situ separative dialysis bags. While hydrogen sulfide over 0.01 mmol/kg was not measured from the seawater just above the dense clam beds, the concentration of hydrogen sulfide increased rapidly below 10 cm deep. The results indicate that the habit of the clam is correlated with high concentration of hydrogen sulfide contained in pore waters of sediments between depths of 10 and 20 cm from the bottom surface. Concentrations of hydrogen sulfide ranging from approximately 0.05 mmol/kg to 0.6 mmol/kg might be suitable requirement for the habitat ofC. soyoae.     

Active spreading and hydrothermalism in North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). Results of Japanese French Cruise Kaiyo 87

The aim of the Japanese-French Kaiyo 87 cruise was the study of the spreading axis in the North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). A Seabeam and geophysical survey allowed us to define the detailed structure of the active NS spreading axis between 16° and 22° S and its relationships with the left lateral motion of the North Fiji Fracture Zone. Between 21° S and 18°10′ S, the spreading axis trends NS. From 18°10 S to 16°40 S the orientation of the spreading axis changes from NS to 015°. North of 16°40′ S the spreading axis trends 160°. These two 015° and 160° branches converge with the left lateral North Fiji fracture zone around 16°40′ S to define an RRFZ triple junction. Water sampling, dredging and photo TV deep towing give new information concerning the hydrothermal activity along the spreading axis. The discovery of hydrothermal deposits associated with living communities confirms this activity.     

Stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a Quaternary sequence along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam

The pre-Holocene Cenozoic sequence outcrops in the terrestrial part of the eastern margin of the Mekong Basin. However, the stratigraphy of the sequence is still unclear. Its detailed stratigraphy and chronology were therefore studied along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam, and the lithofacies and the relations among the formations were investigated from the outcrops. The ages of the deposits were determined by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.The Ba Mieu Formation was deposited about 176±52 ka during marine isotope stage (MIS) 7–6. The Thu Duc Formation was deposited about 97±27 ka during MIS 5. Both the Ba Mieu and Thu Duc formations are composed of fluvial and tidally influenced coastal deposits. The newly proposed Nhon Trach Formation was originally an eolian (blanket) deposit, but it has been partly reworked by fluvial processes. The Nhon Trach Formation was deposited about 10.9±4.7 ka, in the last part of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The OSL ages for the Ba Mieu, Thu Duc, and Nhon Trach formations are younger than the ages previously assigned to these formations.     

Elemental and isotopic fractionation of Type B calcium-, aluminum-rich inclusions: experiments, theoretical considerations, and constraints on their thermal evolution

Experiments exposing Type B calcium-, aluminum-rich inclusion (CAI)-like melts at high temperatures to high vacuum or reducing hydrogen-rich gas mixtures were used to determine the rates and consequences of elemental and isotopic fractionation by evaporation. Silicon and magnesium were found to evaporate much faster than calcium and aluminum, and the resulting residual liquid trajectories in composition space are reproduced via a thermodynamic model for the saturation vapor pressure of the evaporating species. Isotopic fractionations associated with evaporation were measured for magnesium. The resulting relationship between fraction of magnesium lost and enrichment of the residue in the heavy isotopes of magnesium follows a Rayleigh fractionation curve with a fractionation factor that is close to, but not exactly, the theoretically expected value. The rate of evaporation is found to be a strong function of temperature, oxygen fugacity, and melt composition, which can be understood and modeled in terms of the dependence of the saturation vapor pressures on these variables. The relationship between evaporation rate, which we measure, and calculated saturation vapor involves empirical evaporation coefficients that we find to be significantly less than one (∼0.1). Analytical and numerical models are used to characterize how diffusion in both the melt and in the surrounding gas affects evaporation rates and the degree of chemical and isotopic fractionation. The experimental data and theoretical considerations are combined to give a parameterization of the rates and consequences of evaporation of Type B CAI-like liquids, which is then used to translate the measured isotopic fractionation of Type B CAIs into constraints on their thermal history. Cooling rates of the order of 10°C per hour are indicated.     

Candidate precursors: pulse-like geoelectric signals possibly related to recent seismic activity in Japan

Telemetric network observations of pulse-like geoelectric charge signals using a vertical dipole buried under the ground were undertaken at various observation sites over a wide area in Japan from April 1996. From continuous records of the signals during the six months following that, we attempted to select anomalous signals, possibly related to seismic electric activity. Special attention was paid to the elimination of noise resulting from industrial and meteorological electric activity, comparison with other electromagnetic signals in the VLF band and the relation between the precursor period and the distance from the eventual main shock that occurred in Japan. Four candidate precursor electric signals, which were not contaminated by industrial and meteorological electric activity, were then selected, of which the second appeared before the Akita-ken Nairiku-nanbu earthquake swarm, for which the maximum M = 5.9 occurred on 1996 August 11, and the third and fourth before the Chiba-ken Toho-oki earthquake, M = 6.6, on 1996 September 11. A tentative qualitative model explaining why the candidate precursory signal is related to stress building up before an earthquake is presented in terms of the electrification of gases released from fracturing rocks immediately prior to the main shock.     

Concentrations of organotin compounds in blue mussels from the wharves of Tokyo Bay

Organotin compounds (tributyltin (TBT), dibutyltin (DBT), monobutyltin (MBT), triphenyltin (TPT), diphenyltin (DPT), and monophenyltin (MPT)) were quantified in blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, in 1989 at 26 wharves along Tokyo Bay. Organotin compounds, other than DPT, were detected in all mussel samples (in case of DPT: 23 of 26). The concentration of DBT was highest among butyltin compounds and that of TPT was highest among phenyltin compounds. The results showed that relatively high concentrations of organotin compounds persist in blue mussels of Tokyo Bay, although the use of the paints containing these compounds has been limited for several years by regulations.     

Accretionary rims on inclusions in the Allende meteorite

Many inclusions in Allende, particularly those with irregular shapes, are surrounded by a sequence of thin layers which differ from one another in texture, mineralogy and mineral-chemistry. The layer underlying all others contains either: IA, pyroxene needles + olivine + clumps of hedenbergite and andradite; IB, olivine doughnuts; or IC, rectangular olivine crystals. The next layer outward, II, contains tiny (<5 μm) olivine plates and Layer III large (5–10 μm) olivine laths. The final layer, IV, occurs as clumps of andradite + hedenbergite surrounded by magnesium-rich pyroxene needles. It separates Layer III from the Allende matrix which is more poorly sorted and more sulfide-rich than Layer III. Nepheline and iron sulfide are common constituents of most layers, the latter being particularly fine-grained and abundant in Layer II. Although not every layer is present on every inclusion, the sequence of layers is constant. Evidence that the rims are accretionary aggregates includes the presence of highly disequilibrium mineral assemblages and the fact that they are highly porous masses consisting of many euhedral crystals with few intergrowths. In addition, the layers are thickest in topographic hollows on the surfaces of inclusions and the inner layers are absent or discontinuous beyond such irregularities, suggesting that the probability of accretion of crystals was low initially, except in pockets, and became greater later, after a soft cushion of accreted condensate crystals had already formed. Separation of assemblages of different mineralogy, mineral-chemistry and texture into different rim layers seems best explained by nebular models in which long, slow cooling histories allow differentiation during condensation by grain/gas separation processes.     

Raman spectra of methane hydrate up to 86 GPa

High-pressure Raman studies of methane hydrate were performed using a diamond anvil cell in the pressure range of 0.1–86 GPa at room temperature. Raman spectra of the methane molecules revealed that new softened intramolecular vibration mode of ν ₁ appeared at 17 GPa and that the splitting of vibration mode of ν ₃ occurred at 15 GPa. The appearance of these two modes indicates that an intermolecular attractive interaction increases between the methane molecules and the host water molecules and between the neighboring methane molecules. These interactions might result in the exceptional stability of a high-pressure structure, a filled ice Ih structure (FIIhS) for methane hydrate, up to 40 GPa. At 40 GPa, a clear change in the slope of the Raman shift versus pressure occurred, and above 40 GPa the Raman shift of the vibration modes increased monotonously up to 86 GPa. A previous XRD study showed that the FIIhS transformed into another new high-pressure structure at 40 GPa. The change in the Raman spectra at 40 GPa may be induced by the transition of the structure.     

Bathymetry and Canyons of the western Solomon Sea

The floor of the western Solomon Sea (for new bathymetric map see inside back cover of this issue) is dominated by the arched and ridged basement of the Solomon Sea Basin, the partly-sediment-filled New Britain Trench, and a more completely filled trench, the Trobriand Trough. There is a deep basin where the trenches join (149° Embayment), and a silled basin west of the New Britain Trench (Finsch Deep). Submarine canyons descend from the west and south to the 149° Embayment. Abyssal fans and plains are structurally defined and locally disturbed by young faults. Probable submerged pinnacle reefs stand in water depths as great as 1,200 m.