On-going orogeny in the outer-arc of the Timor–Tanimbar region, eastern Indonesia

The Timor–Tanimbar islands of eastern Indonesia form a non-volcanic arc in front of a 7 km deep fore-arc basin that separates it from a volcanic inner arc. The Timor–Tanimbar Islands expose one of the youngest high P/T metamorphic belts in the world, providing us with an excellent opportunity to study the inception of orogenic processes, undisturbed by later tectonic events.Structural and petrological studies of the high P/T metamorphic belt show that both deformation and metamorphic grade increase towards the centre of the 1 km thick crystalline belt. Kinematic indicators exhibit top-to-the-north sense of shear along the subhorizontal upper boundaries and top-to-the-south sense in the bottom boundaries of the high P/T metamorphic belt. Overall configuration suggests that the high P/T metamorphic rocks extruded as a thin sheet into a space between overlying ophiolites and underlying continental shelf sediments. Petrological study further illustrates that the central crystalline unit underwent a Barrovian-type overprint of the original high P/T metamorphic assemblages during wedge extrusion, and the metamorphic grade ranged from pumpellyite-actinolite to upper amphibolite facies.Quaternary uplift, marked by elevation of recent reefs, was estimated to be about 1260 m in Timor in the west and decreases toward Tanimbar in the east. In contrast, radiometric ages for the high P/T metamorphic rocks suggest that the exhumation of the high P/T metamorphic belt started in western Timor in Late Miocene time and migrated toward the east. Thus, the tectonic evolution of this region is diachronous and youngs to the east. We conclude that the deep-seated high P/T metamorphic belt extrudes into shallow crustal levels as a first step, followed by doming at a later stage. The so-called ‘mountain building’ process is restricted to the second stage. We attribute this Quaternary rapid uplift to rebound of the subducting Australian continental crust beneath Timor after it achieved positive buoyancy, due to break-off of the oceanic slab fringing the continental crust. In contrast, Tanimbar in the east has not yet been affected by later doming. A wide spectrum of processes, starting from extrusion of the high P/T metamorphic rocks and ending with the later doming due to slab break-off, can be observed in the Timor–Tanimbar region.     

Long-term precipitation and stream discharge records at seven forested experimental watersheds along a latitudinal transect in Japan: Jozankei,Kamabuchi, Takaragawa,Tsukuba, Tatsunokuchi-yama,Kahoku and Sarukawa

This data note introduces a database of long-term daily total precipitation and stream discharge data for seven forested watersheds in Japan that have been continuously monitored by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. Three of the watersheds started data collection in the 1930s. Forest cover across the sites ranges from cool to warm temperate regions with the latitude spanning from 31 to 44° N and annual precipitation ranging from 1200 to 3000 mm yr⁻¹. The effects of vegetation change via clearcutting, thinning and forest fire (among other stressors) on stream discharge can be analysed from the long-term observation sites. Moreover, this multi-site dataset allows for inter- and intra-site comparisons of annual water loss (difference of annual precipitation and stream discharge). These long-term datasets can provide comprehensive insights into the effects of climate change and other stressors on forested ecosystems, not only in Japan but across a spectrum of forest types, if combined with other long-term records from other forested watersheds across the world.     

Deep structure of the northeastern Japan arc and its implications for crustal deformation and shallow seismic activity

Seismic tomography studies in the northeastern Japan arc have revealed the existence of an inclined sheet-like seismic low-velocity and high-attenuation zone in the mantle wedge at depths shallower than about 150 km. This sheet-like low-velocity, high-attenuation zone is oriented sub-parallel to the subducted slab, and is considered to correspond to the upwelling flow portion of the subduction-induced convection. The low-velocity, high-attenuation zone reaches the Moho immediately beneath the volcanic front (or the Ou Backbone Range) running through the middle of the arc nearly parallel to the trench axis, which suggests that the volcanic front is formed by this hot upwelling flow. Aqueous fluids supplied by the subducted slab are probably transported upward through this upwelling flow to reach shallow levels beneath the Backbone Range where they are expelled from solidified magma and migrate further upward. The existence of aqueous fluids may weaken the surrounding crustal rocks, resulting in local contractive deformation and uplift along the Backbone Range under the compressional stress field of the volcanic arc. A strain-rate distribution map generated from GPS data reveals a notable concentration of east–west contraction along the Backbone Range, consistent with this interpretation. Shallow inland earthquakes are also concentrated in the upper crust of this locally large contraction deformation zone. Based on these observations, a simple model is proposed to explain the deformation pattern of the crust and the characteristic shallow seismic activity beneath the northeastern Japan arc.     

Primary Ore Mineral Assemblage and Fluid Inclusion Study of the Batu Hijau Porphyry Cu-Au Deposit, Sumbawa, Indonesia

Abstract. The Batu Hijau porphyry Cu‐Au deposit, Sumbawa Island, Indonesia, is associated with a tonalitic intrusive complex. The temperature‐pressure condition of mineralization at the Batu Hijau deposit is discussed on the basis of fluid inclusion microthermometry. Then, the initial Cu‐Fe sulfide mineral assemblage is discussed. Bornite and chalcopyrite are major copper ore minerals associated with quartz veinlets. The quartz veinlets have been classified into ‘A’ veinlets associated with bornite, digenite, chalcocite and chalcopyrite, ‘B’ veinlets having chalcopyrite bornite along vuggy center‐line, rare ‘C’ chalcopyrite‐quartz veinlets, and late ‘D’ veinlets consisting of massive pyrite and quartz (Clode et al., 1999). Copper and gold mineralization is associated with abundant ‘A’ quartz veinlets. Abundant fluid inclusions are found in veinlet quartz consisting mainly of gas‐rich inclusions and polyphase inclusions throughout the veinlet types. The hydrothermal activity occurred in temperature‐pressure conditions of aqueous fluid immiscibility into hypersaline brine and dilute vapor. The halite dissolution (Tm[halite]) and liquid‐vapor homogenization (Th) temperatures of the polyphase inclusions in veinlet quartz range from 270 to 472d?C and from 280 to 454d?C, respectively. The estimated salinity ranges from 36 to 47 wt% (NaCl equiv.). The apparent pressures lower than 300 bars are estimated to have been along the liquid‐vapor‐halite curve for the fluid inclusions having the Th lower than the Tm that trapped the brine saturated with halite, or at slightly higher pressure relative to liquid‐vapor‐halite curve for the fluid inclusions having the Th higher than the Tm that trapped the brine unsaturated with halite. The actual temperature and pressure during the hydrothermal activity at the Batu Hijau deposit are estimated to have been around 300d?C and 50 bars. At such temperature‐pressure conditions, the principal and initial Cu‐Fe sulfide mineral assemblages are thought to be chalcopyrite + bornite solid solution (bnss) for the chalcopyrite‐bearing assemblage, and chalcocite‐digenite solid solution and bnss for the chalcopyrite‐free assemblage.     

Responses of phytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria in the northwest subarctic Pacific to in situ iron fertilization as estimated by HPLC pigment analysis and flow cytometry

To verify the hypothesis that the growth of phytoplankton in the Western Subarctic Gyre (WSG), which is located in the northwest subarctic Pacific, is suppressed by low iron (Fe) availability, an in situ Fe fertilization experiment was carried out in the summer of 2001. Changes over time in the abundance and community structure of phytoplankton were examined inside and outside an Fe patch using phytoplankton pigment markers analyzed by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and flow cytometry (FCM). In addition, the abundance of heterotrophic bacteria was also investigated by FCM. The chlorophyll a concentration was initially ca. 0.9 μg l⁻¹ in the surface mixed layer where diatoms and chlorophyll b-containing green algae (prasinophytes and chlorophytes) were predominant in the chlorophyll biomass. After the iron enrichment, the chlorophyll a concentration increased up to 9.1 μg l⁻¹ in the upper 10 m inside the Fe patch on Day 13. At the same time, the concentration of fucoxanthin (a diatom marker) increased 45-fold in the Fe patch, and diatoms accounted for a maximum 69% of the chlorophyll biomass. This result was consistent with a microscopic observation showing that the diatom Chaetoceros debilis had bloomed inside the Fe patch. However, chlorophyllide a concentrations also increased in the Fe patch with time, and reached a maximum of 2.2 μg l⁻¹ at 5 m depth on Day 13, suggesting that a marked abundance of senescent algal cells existed at the end of the experiment. The concentration of peridinin (a dinoflagellate marker) also reached a maximum 24-fold, and dinoflagellates had contributed significantly (>15%) to the chlorophyll biomass inside the Fe patch by the end of the experiment. Concentrations of 19′-hexanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a prymnesiophyte marker), 19′-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin (a pelagophyte marker), and alloxanthin (a cryptophyte marker) were only incremented a few-fold increment inside the Fe patch. On the contrary, chlorophyll b concentration reduced to almost half of the initial level in the upper 10 m water column inside the Fe patch at the end of the experiment. A decrease with time in the abundance of eukaryotic ultraphytoplankton (<ca. 5 μm in size), in which chlorophyll b-containing green algae were possibly included was also observed by FCM. Overall, our results indicate that Fe supply can dramatically alter the abundance and community structure of phytoplankton in the WSG. On the other hand, cell density of heterotrophic bacteria inside the Fe patch was maximum at only ca. 1.5-fold higher than that outside the Fe patch. This indicates that heterotrophic bacteria abundance was little respondent to the Fe enrichment.     

Using a regional numerical weather prediction model for GNSS positioning over Brazil

The global navigation satellite system (GNSS) can provide centimeter positioning accuracy at low costs. However, in order to obtain the desired high accuracy, it is necessary to use high-quality atmospheric models. We focus on the troposphere, which is an important topic of research in Brazil where the tropospheric characteristics are unique, both spatially and temporally. There are dry regions, which lie mainly in the central part of the country. However, the most interesting area for the investigation of tropospheric models is the wet region which is located in the Amazon forest. This region substantially affects the variability of humidity over other regions of Brazil. It provides a large quantity of water vapor through the humidity convergence zone, especially for the southeast region. The interconnection and large fluxes of water vapor can generate serious deficiencies in tropospheric modeling. The CPTEC/INPE (Center for Weather Forecasting and Climate Studies/Brazilian Institute for Space Research) has been providing since July 2012 a numerical weather prediction (NWP) model for South America, known as Eta. It has yield excellent results in weather prediction but has not been used in GNSS positioning. This NWP model was evaluated in precise point positioning (PPP) and network-based positioning. Concerning PPP, the best positioning results were obtained for the station SAGA, located in Amazon region. Using the NWP model, the 3D RMS are less than 10 cm for all 24 h of data, whereas the values reach approximately 60 cm for the Hopfield model. For network-based positioning, the best results were obtained mainly when the tropospheric characteristics are critical, in which case an improvement of up to 7.2 % was obtained in 3D RMS using NWP models.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of recent groundwater-level trends in the Red River Delta, Vietnam

A groundwater-monitoring network has been in operation in the Red River Delta, Vietnam, since 1995. Trends in groundwater level (1995?C2009) in 57 wells in the Holocene unconfined aquifer and 63 wells in the Pleistocene confined aquifer were determined by applying the non-parametric Mann-Kendall trend test and Sen??s slope estimator. At each well, 17 time series (e.g. annual, seasonal, monthly), computed from the original data, were analyzed. Analysis of the annual groundwater-level means revealed that 35?% of the wells in the unconfined aquifer showed downward trends, while about 21?% showed upward trends. On the other hand, confined-aquifer groundwater levels experienced downward trends in almost all locations. Spatial distributions of trends indicated that the strongly declining trends (>0.3?m/year) were mainly found in urban areas around Hanoi where there is intensive abstraction of groundwater. Although the trend results for most of the 17 time series at a given well were quite similar, different trend patterns were detected in several. The findings reflect unsustainable groundwater development and the importance of maintaining groundwater monitoring and a database in the Delta, particularly in urban areas.     

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.