Carbon isotope fractionation between graphite and diamond during shock experiments

Abstract— Carbon isotopic compositions were measured for shock‐produced diamond and shocked graphite formed at peak pressures ranging from 37 to 52 GPa. The δ¹³C values of diamonds produced in a sealed container were generally lower than that of the initial graphite. The differences in the carbon isotopic composition between initial graphite and shocked graphite/diamond may reflect kinetic isotopic fractionation during the oxidation of the graphite/diamond and/or analytical artifacts possibly induced by impurities in the samples. The pressure effect on the isotopic fractionations between graphite and diamond can be estimated from the δ¹³C values of impurity‐free diamonds produced using a vented container from which gases, including oxygen, in pore spaces escaped during or after the diamond formation (e.g., 0.039 ± 0.085‰ at a peak pressure of 52 GPa). Any isotopic fractionation induced by shock conversion of graphite to diamond is too small to be detected in natural shock‐induced diamond‐graphite systems related to terrestrial impact cratering processes.     

A comparison of methods for calculating the motion of a semi-submersible

The 17th ITTC Ocean Engineering Committee undertook the comparison of methods for calculating semi-submersible wave motion, and 34 programs from 28 different organizations participated in the project. The summary of the results are reported in the Technical Report of the 17th ITTC (ITTC, 1984).In this paper, the details of the project are described. Namely, almost all the calculation results of the 34 programs are shown and examined from the viewpoints of the validity of the program itself and of the correlation between the differences in the various calculation methods and the differences in the calculation results. The calculation results are also compared with the experiments, the details of which are also illustrated.     

Design of mooring system of vessels inside breakwater

A method of simulation calculation for a mooring system of vessels inside a breakwater is illustrated. Using a simulation program based on the above method, a test design for a mooring system for oil-storage vessels of total 5.6 million kiloliters was conducted.In order to obtain data for the simulation program, various experiments, such as wind tunnel tests to test wind resistance, and wave tank tests to test the waves transmitted through or over the breakwater, and the motions of vessels inside the breakwater due to waves, were conducted.Some proposals concerning design criteria and safety factors are presented.Finally, the results of the test design under estimated sea and weather conditions are shown, and the design is concluded to be both technically and economically feasible.     

Anisotropic phase transition of rutile under shock compression

Shock recovery experiments for single crystal and powdered specimens of TiO₂ with the rutile structure were performed in the pressure range up to 72 GPa. Single crystal specimens were shocked parallel to [100], [110] and [001] directions. X-ray powder diffraction analysis showed that the amount of -PbO₂ type TiO₂ produced by shock-loading depended strongly on the shock propagation direction. The maximum yield (about 70%) was observed for shock loading to 36 GPa parallel to the [100] direction. In the [001] shock direction, the yield is much smaller than that of the [100] direction. This anisotropic yield was consistent with the observed anisotropy of the phase transition pressure in shock compression measurements. However, transformation to the -PbO₂ type cannot explain the large volume change observed above about 20 GPa. On the basis of the high pressure behavior of MnF₂, we assumed that the high pressure phase was either fluorite or distorted fluorite type and that the phase conversion to the -PbO₂ type was induced spontaneously in the pressure reduction process.We present a displacive mechanism of phase transition under shock compression from the rutile structure to the fluorite structure, in which the rutile [100] is shown to correspond to the fluorite [001] or [110] and the rutile [001] to the fluorite [110]. Direct evidence is obtained by examining the [100] shocked specimen by high resolution electron microscopy.     

Fine structure beneath the Tohoku district, northeastern Japan arc, as derived by an inversion of P-wave arrival times from local earthquakes

Three dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the Tohoku district, northeastern Japan arc, is investigated by an inversion of arrival times from local earthquakes using the method originally due to Aki and Lee (1976).In the crust (0–32 km depth) a low-velocity region is found along the volcanic front and its vicinity. Velocities at depths of 32–65 km are low beneath the regions where many Quaternary volcanoes and geothermal areas are distributed. In the region deeper than 65 km, the subduction of the Pacific plate is clearly revealed, and the mantle structure above the descending plate is rather uniform. These features suggest that volcanic activities have relation to the upper mantle structure. The results obtained in this study will be helpful in investigating the mechanism of magma generation in a subduction zone.     

The effect of the Mt St Helens eruption on tropospheric and stratospheric ions

Balloon-borne observations of electrical conductivity in the troposphere and stratosphere were performed using conductivity sondes at Garmisch-Partenkirchen, West Germany, from June to November, 1980, after the Mt St Helens eruption. A significant decrease of atmospheric ions in the altitudes from the troposphere to lower stratosphere has been detected until several months after the eruption in comparison with the observational results obtained before the eruption. Simulteneous ruby lidar observation a month after the eruption indicates an increased amount of aerosol at nearly the same altitude as that of conductivity decrease. Several months after the eruption it appears that aerosols detected by lidar and those effective in reducing ion concentration have different profiles.     

A comparison of channel-base currents and optical signals for rocket-triggered lightning strokes

A comparative analysis has been performed of the channel-base current and light waveforms for four rocket-triggered lightning strokes. It has been found that the current and light signals at the bottom of the channel exhibit a linear relationship (direct proportionality) in their rising portions. However, just after the peaks the linearity disappears, and the light signals usually decrease faster than the currents during the next several microseconds. Later, this trend is reversed and in some cases the light signals show another rising trend, even when the currents continue to decrease. The linear light/current relationship for the rising portions of the waveforms appears to be the same for different strokes. The findings support the idea of evaluating the variation of return stroke current along the lightning return stroke channel using light signals, provided that evaluation is limited to the rising portions of those signals and assuming that the light/current relationship observed at the bottom of the channel holds at other heights.     

Mantle process beneath Philippine Sea back-arc spreading ridges: A synthesis of peridotite petrology and tectonics

Abstract In order to obtain a general view of the mantle process beneath a back‐arc basin spreading ridge, the diversity of peridotite petrology and tectonic occurrences in two back‐arc basin spreading ridges from the Philippine Sea were examined: the Parece Vela Rift and the Mariana Trough. The Parece Vela Basin spreading ridge (Parece Vela Rift) was a physically fast/intermediate‐spreading ridge, although many tectono‐magmatic features resemble those of slow‐ to ultraslow‐spreading ridges. Two unusual features of the Parece Vela Rift further demonstrate the uniqueness of the ridge: full‐axial development of oceanic core complexes and exposure of mantle peridotite at segment midpoints. The Parece Vela Rift yields a lithological assemblage of residual but still fertile lherzolite/harzburgite, plagioclase‐bearing harzburgite and dunite; similar assemblages are reported from the equatorial Mid‐Atlantic Ridge at the Romanche Fracture Zone and the ultraslow‐spreading ridges from the Indian and Arctic Oceans. The tectono‐magmatic characteristics of the Parece Vela Rift suggest that diffuse porous melt flow and pervasive melt–mantle interaction were the important mantle processes there. Globally, this ‘porous melt flow‐type’ mantle process is likely to occur beneath a segment midpoint of the ridge having a thick lithosphere, typically an ultraslow‐spreading ridge. In contrast, the Mariana Trough is a typical slow‐spreading ridge, exposing mantle peridotite at segment ends. The Mariana Trough yields a lithological assemblage of residual harzburgite and veined harzburgite, a common assemblage among the global abyssal peridotite suite. The tectono‐magmatic characteristics of the Mariana Trough suggest that channeled melt/fluid flow and limited melt–mantle interaction are the important mantle processes there, because of the colder wall‐rock peridotite in the segment end. This ‘channeled melt flow‐type’ mantle process is likely to occur in the shallow lithospheric mantle at the segment ends of any spreading ridges.     

Double-planed deep seismic zone and anomalous structure in the upper mantle beneath northeastern Honshu (Japan)

Seismicity located by using the most recent data obtained from the high-gain seismograph network of Tohoku University shows that the deep seismic zone beneath northeastern Honshu, Japan, is composed of two thin planes which are parallel to each other and are 30–40 km apart. Focal mechanisms derived from the earthquakes in the upper plane are reverse-faulting, or, some of them, down-dip compression. As a contrast, those in the lower plane are down-dip extension. The location of the upper boundary of the descending lithospheric slab, inferred from the arrival-time difference between ScS and ScSp waves and from the travel-time anomaly of intermediate-depth earthquakes observed at the small-scale seismic array, coincides exactly with the upper plane of the double-planed deep seismic zone. Anelasticity (1/Q) structure of the upper mantle consists of three distinct zones: a high-Q (Qs− 1500) inclined lithospheric slab, an intennediate-Q (Qs−350) land-side mantle between the Pacific coast and the volcanic front, and a low-Q (Qs − 100) land-side mantle between the volcanic front and the coast of the Japan Sea.The evidence obtained here provides valuable information as to the definition of the type of mechanism producing the plate motion beneath island arcs.     

Measurement of lower-stratospheric aerosol by a balloon-borne photometer

Height distribution of the stratospheric aerosol extinction coefficient was measured in the altitude range 10 to 20 km by a balloon-borne multi-color sunphotometer in May 1978. It is demonstrated that detailed structures of the distribution of stratospheric aerosol can be remotely measured by the solar occultation method as well as by lidar andin situ particle counter observations. In the aerosol layer appearing at 18 km altitude the extinction coefficient at 800–1000 nm wavelength reached to 3×10^–7 m^–1, which was reasonable compared with lidar observations. Wavelength dependence of the aerosol optical depth was crudely estimated to be proportional to ^–1.5.