Basaltic pyroclastic flows of Fuji volcano, Japan: characteristics of the deposits and their origin

Fuji volcano is the largest active volcano in Japan, and consists of Ko-Fuji and Shin-Fuji volcanoes. Although basaltic in composition, small-volume pyroclastic flows have been repeatedly generated during the Younger stage of Shin-Fuji volcano. Deposits of those pyroclastic flows have been identified along multiple drainage valleys on the western flanks between 1,300 and 2,000 m a.s.l., and have been stratigraphically divided into the Shin-Fuji Younger pyroclastic flows (SYP) 1 to 4. Downstream debris flow deposits are found which contain abundant material derived from the pyroclastic flow deposits. The new¹⁴C ages for SYP1 to SYP4 are 3.2, 3.0, 2.9, and 2.5 ka, respectively, and correspond to a period where explosive summit eruptions generated many scoria fall deposits mostly toward the east. The SYP1 to SYP4 deposits consist of two facies: the massive facies is about 2 m thick and contains basaltic bombs of less than 50 cm in size, scoria lapilli, and fresh lithic basalt fragments supported in an ash matrix; the surge facies is represented by beds 1 to 15 cm thick, consisting mainly of ash with minor amount of fine lapilli. The bombs and scoria are 15 to 30% in volume within the massive facies. The ashes within the SYP deposits consist largely of comminuted basalt lithics and crystals that are derived from the Middle-stage lava flows exposed at the western flanks. SYP1 to SYP4 were only dispersed down the western flanks. The reason for this one-sided distribution is the asymmetric topography of the edifice; the western slopes of the volcano are the steepest (over 34 degrees). Most pyroclastic materials cannot rest stably on the slopes steeper than 33 degrees. Therefore, ejecta from the explosive summit eruptions that fell on the steep slopes tumbled down the slopes and were remobilized as high-temperature granular flows. These flows consisted of large pyroclastics and moved as granular avalanches along the valley bottom. Furthermore, the avalanching flows increased in volume by abrasion from the edifice and generated abundant ashes by the collision of clasts. The large amount of the fine material was presumably available within the transport system as the basal avalanches propagated below the angle of repose. Taking the typical kinetic friction coefficient of small pyroclastic flows, such flows could descend the western flanks where scattered houses are below 1,000 m a.s.l. A similar type of pyroclastic flow could result if explosive summit eruptions occur in the future.Editorial responsibility: R Cioni     

Meteoritic and bedrock constraints on the glacial history of Frontier Mountain in northern Victoria Land, Antarctica

In 2001, a small H4 chondrite, Frontier Mountain (FRO) 01149, was found on a glacially eroded surface near the top of Frontier Mountain, Antarctica, about 600 m above the present ice level. The metal and sulphides are almost completely oxidized due to terrestrial weathering. We used a chemical leaching procedure to remove weathering products, which contained atmospheric ¹⁰Be and ³⁶Cl in a ratio similar to that found in Antarctic ice. The FRO 01149 meteorite has a terrestrial age of 3.0 ± 0.3 Myr based on the concentrations of the cosmogenic radionuclides ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al and ³⁶Cl. This age implies that FRO 01149 is the oldest stony meteorite (fossil meteorites excluded) discovered on Earth. The noble gas cosmic ray exposure age of FRO 01149 is ~ 30 Myr. The meteorite thus belongs to the 33 Myr exposure age peak of H-chondrites.The bedrock surface on which FRO 01149 was found has wet-based glacial erosional features recording a former high-stand of the East Antarctic ice sheet. This ice sheet evidently overrode the highest peaks (> 2800 m a.s.l.) of the inland sector of the Transantarctic Mountains in northern Victoria Land. We argue that FRO 01149 was a local fall and that its survival on a glacially eroded bedrock surface constrains the age of the last overriding event to be older than ~ 3 Myr. The concentrations of in-situ produced cosmogenic ¹⁰Be, ²⁶Al and ²¹Ne in a glacially eroded bedrock sample taken from near the summit of Frontier Mountain yield a surface exposure age of 4.4 Myr and indicate that the bedrock was covered by several meters of snow. The exposure age is also consistent with bedrock exposure ages of other summit plateaus in northern Victoria Land.     

青海湖全新世硬水效应随时间变化性及其对沉积物~(14)C年龄的校正

通过研究青海湖全新世硬水效应变化与大气~(14)C浓度(X_(atm))之间的关系,确定了湖水溶解无机碳(DIC)与大气~(14)C浓度之比值(X_(DIC)/X_(atm))约为0.790.利用已知X_(atm)随时间变化曲线重建了青海湖全新世的硬水效应,并对沉积物年龄作了相应校正.结果表明,青海湖全新世沉积物(有机质)~(14)C年龄偏老主要缘于湖泊硬水效应,从全新世早期的1000a左右升高到核爆近前的2300a左右,核爆效应之后2005AD又降至1500a左右,其变化至少在很大程度上受控于X_(atm)的波动(对应于以上3个时期,根据X_(atm)所恢复的硬水效应分别为1100a、2150a、1313a).在此基础上,利用硬水效应校正表对青海湖全新世沉积物~(14)C年龄进行了分阶段校正,基于此校正年龄的红度曲线较好地响应了9000-8000cal aBP、6000-5000cal aBP、4200-3800cal aBP、3500-2500cal aBP、1200-1000cal aBP和600-150cal aBP等全球性冷事件.     

~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar and Rb-Sr isochron dating of the gold deposits on northern margin of the Jiaolai Basin,Shandong,China

The Shandong Peninsula (Jiaodong) is a very important gold producer of China. Over ten large and super-large quartz-vein type and shear zone-type gold deposits related to Yanshannian granite intrusions have been exploited in the northern part of the Jiaod…     

40Ar/39Ar and Rb-Sr isochron dating of the gold deposits on northern margin of the Jiaolai Basin, Shandong, China

The Pengjiakuang, Dazhuangzi and Fayunkuang gold deposits, located on the northern margin of the Mesozoic Jiaolai Basin, east of Shandong Province, are controlled by a low-angle normal fault. Gold ores are typically brecciated, veinlet and disseminated. The Ar-Ar and Rb-Sr isochron dating methods were adopted to date ores and lamprophyre dike. The results indicate that the age of the Pengjiakuang gold deposit is 117.33–118.42 Ma, that of the Dazhuangzi gold deposit is 117.39 Ma, and that of the Fayunkuang gold deposit is (128.49±7.2) Ma. The consistency in metallogenic age between the gold deposits on the margin of the Jiaolai Basin and the gold deposits (115–126 Ma) of the northern uplift area suggests that both were formed in the same metallogenic period. That is to say, the large-scale metallogeny of the Jiaodong region took place in late-Yanshannian ((120±10) Ma).     

Impacts of climate change on the discharge and glacier mass balance of the different glacierized watersheds in the Tianshan Mountains,Central Asia

The Tianshan Mountains represent an important water source for the arid and semi‐arid regions of Central Asia. The discharge and glacier mass balance (GMB) in the Tianshan Mountains are sensitive to changes in climate. In this study, the changes in temperature, precipitation, and discharge of six glacierized watersheds of Tianshan Mountains were explored using non‐parametric tests and wavelet transforms during 1957–2004. On the basis of the statistical mechanics and maximum entropy principle model, the GMB at the watershed scale were reconstructed for the study period. The discharge and GMB responses to climate change were examined in different watersheds. The results showed that regional climate warming was obvious, especially after 1996. The warming trend increased gradually from east to west, and the increase in temperature was greater on the north slope than on the south slope. The changing trends in precipitation increased from eastern region to central region, and then, the trend decreased in the western region, although the value was higher than that in the eastern region. The discharge presented significant periods of 2.7–5.4 years and increased from east to west. Significant periodicity indicated that the discharge in the different watersheds exhibited obviously different patterns. The GMB losses were larger in south and east than in north. The large glaciers had more stable interannual variations in discharge, and large fluctuations in discharge will be observed as the glacier areas shrink. Precipitation was the dominant factor for discharge during the study period, although the influence of increasing temperatures on hydrological regimes should not be neglected in the long term. Systematic differences in discharge and the GMB in glacierized watersheds in response to climate change are apparent in the Tianshan Mountains.     

Constraints on the age of the Tuchengzi Formation by LA-ICP-MS dating in northern Hebei-western Liaoning,China

Accurately determining the age of the Tuchengzi Formation has direct influence on confirming the boundary between the Jurassic and the Cretaceous systems in northern Hebei-western Liaoning, and on related geological problems in China. However, the Tuchengzi Formation mainly consists of sedimentary rocks, with a poor fossil record and especially lack of index fossils. The Tuchengzi Formation is also lack of the type of volcanic rocks that can provide an isotopic age. Therefore, the age of the Tuchengzi Formation has been uncertain. Based on our systematic dating of the tuff interbedded in the Tuchengzi Formation of Chengde and Jinlingsi-Yangshan basins in northern Hebei-western Liaoning, combined with the dating results of previous researchers, here we suggest that the age range of the Tuchengzi Formation in northern Hebei-western Liaoning is from 147 Ma to 136 Ma. It implied that the Tuchengzi Formation was mainly formed in the Early Cretaceous. Supported by National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 90714010)     

南海北部神狐海域天然气水合物成藏模式研究

南海北部陆坡神狐海域是我国海洋天然气水合物勘探开发研究的重点靶区,独特的水合物成藏特征,难以利用当前观测到的沉积速率和流体流动条件对其成藏机理进行解释和量化说明,对其形成演化模式和控制因素尚不明确.本文构建了海洋天然气水合物形成演化过程的动力学模型,模型的主控参量为海底沉积速率和水流速率,以此计算了神狐海域天然气水合物聚集演化过程,并与饱和度的盐度测试值进行对比.最后,在研究神狐海域地质构造活动和水合物成藏动力学基础上建立了神狐天然气水合物形成演化模式.认为神狐海域当前的天然气水合物是在上新世末—更新世早期断裂体系水合物基础上继承演化而来的,神狐海域天然气水合物形成演化具有典型的二元模式.第一阶段水合物形成发生在距今1.5 Ma之前构造活动形成的断裂体系中,高达50 m/ka的孔隙水流动携带了大量的甲烷进入水合物稳定带,导致了水合物的快速生成,在4万年内形成了饱和度达20%的甲烷水合物;第二阶段发生在1.5 Ma以来,泥质粉砂沉积使沉积体渗透率骤减,0.7 m/ka的低速率水流使甲烷供给不足,在海底浅层新沉积体中无法生成水合物,仅在水合物稳定带底部有缓慢的水合物继承增长,并因此形成了神狐海域当前观测到的水合物产出特征,而且水合物资源量仍在减少.     

Geochemistry of the subduction-related magmatic rocks in the Dahong Mountains, northern Hubei Province--Constraint on the existence and subduction of the eastern Mianlüe oceanic basin

The existence and subduction of the eastern Mianlue oceanic basin in the south Qinling belt are keys to understand the Qinling orogen. Based on geological mapping, several volcanic slices have been identified in Tumen, Zhoujiawan, Xiaofu and Yuantan areas, which distribute in the northern margin of the Dahong Mountains (DHM), and thrust into the Sanligang-Sanyang fault. These slices consist mainly of diabases, basaltic-andesitic lavas, pyroclastic rocks and a minor tuff. The geochemistry of the basalts, andesites, and diabases is characterized by depleting in Nb and Ta, enriching in Th and LILE (e.g.K, Rb, Ba), and undifferentiating in HFSE. These geochemical characteristics suggest that the original magma of these rocks was derived from a mantle wedge above a subduction zone, and formed in an island-arc setting in Carboniferous-early Triassic. Comparing with the ophiolites and island-arc volcanic rocks in Mianxian-Lueyang area to the west, it is reasonable to consider that there had been an oceanic basin connecting with the Mianlue ancient ocean to the westward, distributing along the south edge of the Tongbai-Dabie block. In view of the ophiolite in Huashan area and these island-arc volcanic rocks along the north of the Dahong Mountains, it is suggested that there had been a plate tectonic evolutionary history with oceanic basin rifting and subduction in this region.     

Effects of clear-cutting,meteorological, and physiological factors on evapotranspiration in the Kamabuchi experimental watershed in northern Japan

This study investigated the effects of clear-cutting and the meteorological and physiological factors on forest evapotranspiration (ET), by using the water-budget method in the Kamabuchi experimental watershed (KMB; 38° 56′ 21″ N, 140° 15′ 58″ E) in northern Japan. Meteorological and discharge data collected during no-snow periods (from June to October) from 1939 were used to compare ET in three sub-watersheds: No. 1, where the forest had been left undisturbed, and No. 2 and No. 3, where Cryptomeria japonica was planted after clear-cutting. Paired watershed experiments revealed that clear-cutting caused ET to decrease by approximately 100 mm yr⁻¹, and this reduction continued for more than 20 years, even after C. japonica was planted. ET fluctuated similarly across all watersheds, regardless of clear-cutting or planting. This fluctuation is mainly caused by solar radiation and temperature. Intrinsic water-use efficiency (iWUE) calculated using δ¹³C of tree-ring cellulose in C. japonica increased due to elevated atmospheric CO₂ concentration. We estimated annual carbon fixation in a single tree as the annual net photosynthesis (A). Subsequently, transpiration (E) was calculated from the relationship between iWUE and A. The results showed that A and E per tree increased as the tree grew older; however, the trees' responses to increasing c_a suppress the increase in ET. Moreover, the fluctuation of ET from the watershed was small compared to the fluctuation of P during the observation periods because the increase and decrease in E and interception loss complemented each other.     

内蒙古湖相沉积14C年代测定中“硬水”影响的发现

对内蒙古科尔沁沙地巴克窑泡子湖相沉积物分别做了＾２１０Ｐｂ和＾１４Ｃ测年,比较这两种方法测定结果发现,＾１４Ｃ年龄比＾２１０Ｐｂ估计年龄偏老约２０００年,内蒙古其它湖泊的沉积物＾１４Ｃ测年资料一般也都存在年龄偏老问题,作者认为,这一现象主要是由干燥和半干燥地区湖泊“硬水”影响引起的。     

Ar/Ar and C geochronology of the Albano maar deposits: Implications for defining the age and eruptive style of the most recent explosive activity at Colli Albani Volcanic District,Central Italy

New ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and ¹⁴C ages have been found for the Albano multiple maar pyroclastic units and underlying paleosols to document the most recent explosive activity in the Colli Albani Volcanic District (CAVD) near Rome, Italy, consisting of seven eruptions (Albano 1 = oldest). Both dating methodologies have been applied on several proximal units and on four mid-distal fall/surge deposits, the latter correlated, according to two current different views, to either the Albano or the Campi di Annibale hydromagmatic center. The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages on leucite phenocrysts from the mid-distal units yielded ages of ca. 72 ka, 73 ka, 41 ka and 36 ka BP, which are indistinguishable from the previously determined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of the proximal Albano units 1, 2, 5 and 7, thus confirming their stratigraphic correspondence.