Phytoplankton communities in the Bering Sea and adjacent seas

Vertical distribution of phytoplankton in early warming season in the eastern Bering Sea and adjacent sea areas was investigated. In the surface layer which was under the influence of newly melted sea ice in the shelf water region of the Bering Sea in May, remarkably dense populations ofThalassiosira hyalina andT. nordenskiöldii and relatively large populations ofFragilaria andNavicula occupied large part of phytoplankton community. In June, although theThalassiosira populations sunk into the bottom layer and withered, a certain part of theFragilaria-Navicula populations was still suspended in subsurface layer. Thus,Fragilaria-Navicula were the leading components of the June community in the shelf region.In the Bering Basin region, no dense phytoplankton populations were developed until a shallow thermocline was established. In June when the shallow thermocline developed near shelf edge,Thalassiosira decipiens burst out. As the shallow thermocline extended from near shelf to central part of the Basin region with surface warming, the areas of blooming also shifted from near shelf to the central part.Contribution No. 73 from the Research Institute of North Pacific Fisheries, Hokkaido University.     

Temporal change of clustered distribution of planktonic ciliates in Toyama Bay in summers of 1989 and 1990

Temporal change of clustered distribution in vertical profiles of three nutritional groups of planktonic ciliates, e.g. heterotrophic naked ciliates, mixotrophic naked ciliates and heterotrophic loricated ciliates, was investigated by following a drifting buoy in Toyama Bay on the Japan Sea coast of central Japan in summers of 1989 and 1990. Clustered distribution, represented as the mode of population density in the vertical plane, occurred mainly in the oligotrophic upper layer (0–50 m depth) above the subsurface chlorophyll-a maximum layer. Its clustered degree was stronger when the mode of population density in the vertical plane was formed at shallower depth, while its longevity was shorter as mentioned above. Vertical distribution of ciliates during summer in Toyama Bay is characterized by ephemeral clustered distribution, or in other wards, by rapid alternations of appearance and disappearance of the clustered distribution.     

Entropy dependence of viscosity and the glass-transition temperature of melts in the system diopside-anorthite

Viscosities of diopside-anorthite melts were measured over the wide range of temperature (near the glass-transition temperature–1580°C/1bar) and pressure (5–20 kb/above the liquidus temperature). The measurements were carried out by the fibre-elongation method for low temperature and the counter-balanced sphere method for high temperature at 1 bar, and the sinking and floating spheres method for high temperature at high pressure. Some of the values obtained deviated slightly from those in the literature. The data on viscosity and the glasstransition temperature have been interpreted on the basis of the configurational entropy theory, by which temperature and compositional effects on viscosity were explained well. The configurational entropies at the glasstransition temperature of magmatic silicate melts are almost constant if we use an average molecular weight (amw) or bead as a unit; 8.0±1.2 J/K·amw, 1.1 ±0.2cal/K·bead. The latter value coincides well with the value from the literature for organic polymers. The negative deviation from linearity of the glass-transition temperature of intermediate melts may be interpreted as the effect of the mixing entropy. The calculated glasstransition temperature-composition curve using the mixing entropy agreed well with the experimental values.     

Sequence of faulting and deformation during the 2000 eruptions of the Usu Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan—interpretation and image analyses of aerial photographs

Significant faulting and deformation of the ground surface has been rarely known during volcanic eruptions. Usu Volcano, Hokkaido, Japan, is a unique example of deformation due to felsic magma intrusion. Usu Volcano has a history of such types of eruptions as phreatic, pumice eruption (Plinian type), pyroclastic flowing and lava doming since 1663. On March 31, 2000, phreatomagmatic to phreatic eruptions took place after 23 years of dormancy in the western piedmont, followed by explosions on the western flank of Usu Volcano. They were associated with significant deformation including faulting and uplift. The eruptions and deformation were continuing up to the end of May 2000.We identified the faulting using total nine sets of aerial photographs taken from before the eruption (March 31, 2000) to more than 1 year (April 27, 2001) after the end of the activity, and traced deformation processes through image processing using aerial photographs. We found that some of the new faults and the associated phreatic eruptions were related to old faults formed during the 1977–1981 eruptive episode.The image processing has revealed that the surface deformation is coincident with the area of faulting forming small grabens and the phreatic explosion vents. However, the faulting and main explosive eruptions did not take place in the highest uplift area, but along the margin. This suggests that the faulting and explosive activities were affected by small feeder channels diverging from the main magma body which caused the highest uplift.     

Origin of layering in cumulate gabbros in the Oman ophiolite: Insights from magnetic susceptibility measurements in the Wadi Sadm area

Abstract   Magnetic susceptibility and the anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility were measured on an 800-cm-thick succession of cumulate gabbro in the Sadm area of the Oman ophiolite. The section contained three distinct cumulate units. The susceptibility tends to decrease upward in each from a melanocratic layer (several tens of centimeters thick) to a leucocratic layer (a few meters thick). The susceptibility decreases in accordance with the decreasing number of magnetite grains, which are the alteration product mainly of olivine minerals. This suggests the cyclic downward accumulation of olivine in the cumulate gabbro. The apparent strain deduced from the patterns of magnetic and grain fabrics was the result mostly of simple shear, so that the layering of gabbro is understood to be formed primarily by a crystal cumulus process followed by simple shear deformation.     

Zircon U–Pb ages of granitic and mafic dikes associated with granitoids and metamorphic rocks of the Ryoke Belt in the eastern Kii Peninsula,southwest Japan

Zircon U–Pb dates for felsic and intermediate to mafic dikes intruding into the Ryoke granitoids and metamorphic rocks at selected outcrops in the Takamiyama area of the eastern Kii Peninsula, southwest Japan, were determined along with their geology and petrography to reveal the history of Cretaceous magmatism. At each outcrop, the felsic and intermediate to mafic dikes exhibit specific structures that are indicative of magma intermingling and have coeval intrusion ages of ca. 81–77 Ma. Our zircon U–Pb data complement previously published data, suggesting that the mafic magmatism continued intermittently from 83 to 76 Ma in the Takamiyama area and that magmatism migrated eastward within the Ryoke Belt. A comparison of intrusion ages between a dike and a host Ryoke granitoid at one outcrop indicates that the host rock experienced ductile deformation at ~88 to ~83 Ma. Judging from the small number of zircons and the concordant date distributions, we didn't recognize the evidence suggesting the partial melting of the host rocks, as Nakajima et al. (Journal of the Geological Society of Japan, 2021, 127, 69–78) reported.     

Surface tension of melts in the system CaMgSi2O6-CaAl2Si2O8 and its structural significance

The surface tension between silicate melts and air has been measured for melt compositions lying on the diopside-anorthite (Di-An) join from 1300° C to 1580° C. It ranges from 300 dyne/cm to 400 dyne/cm, and decreases with increasing temperature, except for a pure diopside composition. At relatively high temperatures, the surface tension decreases as the anorthite content increases, whereas at lower temperature it is almost constant. These results suggest that diopside melt has a more discrete structure at higher temperatures, whereas, anorthite-bearing melts do not dissociate in the temperature range studied. They also suggest that the structure of both the surface and interior parts of the melt are almost identical at lower temperatures, but at higher temperatures, the surface part has a more polymerized structure with Al₂O₃ enrichment. The surface energy, obtained from the relationship between surface tension and temperature, increases from 294 erg/cm² (Di composition) to 1013 erg/cm² (Di40An60) with increasing anorthite content.     

Structure and development of the Sagami trough and the Boso triple junction

The Sagami trough is located at the particular plate margin where the Izu forearc is subducted underneath the Honshu forearc. At its southeastern end, the world's only known TTT-type triple junction (Boso triple junction) has developed. Several different kinds of basins occur in different segments along the Sagami trough and at the triple junction. The bathymetric, geologic, and geophysical data obtained during the Kaiko Project and from additional studies are summarized together with our onland studies. We suggest that the right-lateral oblique plate motion formed an eduction margin in the Sagami basin, while a normal subduction margin and an oblique subduction margin have been formed in the Middle Sagami trough basin. These tectonic phenomena resulted from the long-lasting compressional covergence between the Philippine Sea plate and Eurasian plate since the early or middle Miocene. The North basin on the northeasternmost margin of the Philippine Sea plate near the Boso triple junction has developed as a stretched basin due to the westward motion of the Philippine Sea plate with respect to the Eurasian plate.     

Relationship of the landslide distribution to geology in Hokkaido, Japan

The island of Hokkaido, Japan, is subdivided into nineteen regions on the basis of regional geology and landslide distribution. Four major geologic zones characterize these regions, as follows: (1) Volcanic Rock Zone, (2) “Green Tuff” Zone, (3) Mudstone Zone, and (4) Serpentinite “Green Rock” Zone. Each zone is marked by landslides of a distinctive type. In addition, we have analyzed the relationship between landslide distribution and geologic structure for several areas.     

Estimated Recharge Rates From Groundwater Temperatures In The Nara Basin,Japan

Groundwater recharge rates to the sandy aquifer in the Nara basin, Japan, were determined by using a theory that describes the simultaneous transfer of heat and water in a porous medium. Seasonal changes in temperatue-depth profiles were used to estimate the recharge rates in a relatively shallow aquifer. Estimations of the recharge rates were done by fitting a dimensionless parameter to the type curves developed by Taniguchi (1993) after the amplitudes of annual variations of groundwater temperatures were measured at several depths. Annual recharge rate estimated by fitting observed temperatures to the type curves was 459 mm in the Nara basin. This value agrees well with values calculated from water-balance methods and values reported in the literature. Résumé: Les taux de recharge d'un aquifère sableux dans le bassin de Nara (Japon) ont été déterminés au moyen d'un modèle qui décrit le transfert simultané de la chaleur et de l'eau en milieu poreux. Les variations saisonnières le long de profils verticaux de température sont utilisées pour estimer les taux de recharge dan un aquifère relativement superficiel. Les estimations de ces taux de recharge ont été réalisées par l'ajustement d'un paramètre sans dimension aux courbes types proposées par Taniguchi (1993) d'après les amplitudes des variations annuelles de la température de l'eau souterraine mesurée à différentes profondeurs. La recharge annuelle estimée par l'ajustement des températures observées aux courbes types est 459 mm dans le bassin de Nara. Cette valeur est en bon accord avec celles caculées à partir du bilan hydrologique et avec celles de littérature. Resumen: Las velocidades de recarga en el acuífero arenoso de la cuenca del Nara, Japón, se determinaron por medio de una teoría que describe la transferencia simultánea de calor y agua en un medio poroso. Los cambios estacionales en los perfiles temperatura-profundidad permitieron estimar las velocidades de recarga en una acuífero relativamente somero. Las estimaciones de la velocidad de recarga se hicieron por ajuste de un parámetro adimensional a las curvas-tipo desarrolladas por Taniguchi (1993). Para ello se utilizaron las amplitudes de las variaciones anuales de las temperaturas del agua a distintas profundidades. La recarga anual en la cuenca del Nara, estimada mediante este método de ajuste de curvas, fue de 459 mm. Este valor es semejante a la recarga calculada a partir de métodos de balance y a la obtenida de la bibliografía.