Depositional environments and maturity evaluated by biomarker analyses of sediments deposited across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary in the Yezo Group,Tomamae area,Hokkaido, Japan

Biomarker analyses for evaluating maturity of organic matter and depositional environments such as redox conditions, were performed in sediments across the Cenomanian–Turonian boundary (CTB) in the Saku Formation of the Yezo Group distributed along the Shumarinai‐gawa River and the Omagari‐zawa River, both in the Tomamae area, Hokkaido, Japan. Maturity indicators using steranes and hopanes, show that organic matter in sediments from the Shumarinai‐gawa and Omagari‐zawa sections are of lower maturity than those from the Hakkin‐gawa section (Oyubari area). Moreover, the ββ hopane ratios clearly show that the maturity of the Shumarinai‐gawa samples is lower than that of the Omagari‐zawa samples. These variations in the maturity of organic matter presumably reflect the difference in their burial histories. The results for the pristane/phytane (Pr/Ph) ratios suggest that the Shumarinai‐gawa samples were deposited under dysoxic to anoxic environments across the CTB, while the depositional environments of the Omagari‐zawa samples were relatively oxic. By another paleoredox indicator using C₃₅ homohopanoids including a homohopene index (HHenI), higher values are observed in the Shumarinai‐gawa section, particularly in the horizons of the preceding period and an early stage of the first negative shift phase and the latest oceanic anoxic event 2 (OAE2) interval. These results suggest that the Shumarinai‐gawa samples record dysoxic to anoxic environments across the CTB. In contrast, the signals for the C₃₅ homohopanoid index values show a relatively oxic condition in the Omagari‐zawa section. The trends of stratigraphic variations in redox conditions are different from those in the OAE2 interval in the proto‐Atlantic and Tethys regions as reported previously. Hence, the redox variations in the Tomamae area were basically related to a local environmental setting rather than global anoxia. However, the prominent anoxic emphasis observed in the HHenI profile of the Shumarinai‐gawa section can be a distinctive, and possibly global, event in the North‐West Pacific just before the OAE2.     

Development of U–Pb dating of uraninite using a secondary ion mass spectrometer: Selection of reference material and establishment of calibration method

A method for U–Pb isotopic dating using secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) was developed for uraninite. Correlation between ²⁵¹(UO)⁺/²³⁵U⁺ and ²⁰⁶Pb⁺/²³⁵U⁺ obtained by a sensitive high‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) was adopted for a calibration from secondary ion ratios (Pb⁺/U⁺) to the atomic abundance ratios (Pb/U). In this study, a uraninite sample (²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U = 0.1647) collected from Faraday mine, Bancroft, Canada, is used as a reference material for the U–Pb calibration. The established method was applied to three uraninite samples collected from the Chardon, Ecarpière, and Mistamisk mines. The calibrated ²⁰⁶Pb^*/²³⁸U ratios of the three uraninites show correlation with Pb/U elemental ratios obtained using an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) (correlation coefficients: 0.98, 0.99, and 0.97, respectively), which indicates the reliability of the SHRIMP calibration method used in this study. The analysis of Ecarpière uraninite provides concordant U–Pb data, and a weighted average of the ²⁰⁶Pb^*/²³⁸U age is 287 Ma ±8 Ma (95 % conf.) which is consistent with the previous chronological results by SIMS. Mistamisk uraninite provides discordant U–Pb data with the upper and lower intercept ages of 1 729 and 421 Ma, which correspond to uraninite formation in association with the Hudsonian orogeny and the remobilization of uranium as pitchblende, respectively. The U–Pb age of Chardon uraninite (315 Ma) is consistent with the igneous activity of Mortagne granite, but is older than the previously reported age (264 Ma). Marcasite in the Chardon uraninite altered to goethite under the oxidizing condition, which indicates that U–Pb system in the uraninite crystallized at 315 Ma was disturbed under the oxidizing condition. The established calibration method using Faraday uraninite is useful for U–Pb isotopic dating on the scale of a few micrometers to tens of micrometers, which make it possible to obtain the accurate age of uraninite.     

Spatial distribution and temporal trends of rainfall and erosivity in the Eastern Africa region

Soil erosion by water is one of the main environmental concerns in the drought‐prone Eastern Africa region. Understanding factors such as rainfall and erosivity is therefore of utmost importance for soil erosion risk assessment and soil and water conservation planning. In this study, we evaluated the spatial distribution and temporal trends of rainfall and erosivity for the Eastern Africa region during the period 1981–2016. The precipitation concentration index, seasonality index, and modified Fournier index have been analysed using 5 × 5‐km resolution multisource rainfall product (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations). The mean annual rainfall of the region was 810 mm ranging from less than 300 mm in the lowland areas to over 1,200 mm in the highlands being influenced by orography of the Eastern Africa region. The precipitation concentration index and seasonality index revealed a spatial pattern of rainfall seasonality dependent on latitude, with a more pronounced seasonality as we go far from the equator. The modified Fournier index showed high spatial variability with about 55% of the region subject to high to very high rainfall erosivity. The mean annual R‐factor in the study region was calculated at 3,246 ± 1,895 MJ mm ha^?1 h^?1 yr^?1, implying a potentially high water erosion risk in the region. Moreover, both increasing and decreasing trends of annual rainfall and erosivity were observed but spatial variability of these trends was high. This study offers useful information for better soil erosion prediction as well as can support policy development to achieve sustainable regional environmental planning and management of soil and water resources.     

Surface current and vertical thermal structure on the continental slope in Tosa Bay

In order to specify a vertical thermal structure related to surface current variation on the continental slope in Tosa Bay, Japan, we analyzed monthly regular hydrographic measurements in the years 1991–2004. Subsurface temperature below 200 m on the slope was found to vary synchronously with the vertical displacement of the main thermocline around 200 m. It is shown that the vertical-averaged temperature below 200 m is significantly correlated with an along-isobath/southwestward surface current velocity on the slope. This correlation indicates that when a strong (weak) southwestward surface current is observed, temperature below 200 m decreases (increases) simultaneously, that is, isotherms below the 200 m are displaced upward (downward) together with the main thermocline. Moreover, when the strong southwestward flow is detected, across-isobath isotherms around 200 m slope upward toward the offshore direction. Furthermore, it is suggested that as the Kuroshio axis moves offshore south of the bay, the southwestward flow tends to be weakened by the combined effect of other Kuroshio parameters such as transport and stream width as well as the Kuroshio axis position. As a result, it is inferred that the correlation between the surface current and subsurface temperature can be interpreted in terms of the formation and decay of an anticlockwise circulation interacting with a cold eddy.     

A Review on the Currents in the South China Sea: Seasonal Circulation, South China Sea Warm Current and Kuroshio Intrusion

Researches on the currents in the South China Sea (SCS) and the interaction between the SCS and its adjacent seas are reviewed. Overall seasonal circulation in the SCS is cyclonic in winter and anticyclonic in summer with a few stable eddies. The seasonal circulation is mostly driven by monsoon winds, and is related to water exchange between the SCS and the East China Sea through the Taiwan Strait, and between the SCS and the Kuroshio through the Luzon Strait. Seasonal characteristics of the South China Sea Warm Current in the northern SCS and the Kuroshio intrusion to the SCS are summarized in terms of the interaction between the SCS and its adjacent seas.     

Phase boundary between ilmenite and perovskite structures in MnGeO3 determined by in situ X-ray diffraction measurements

In situ X-ray observations of the phase transition from ilmenite to perovskite structure in MnGeO₃ were carried out in a Kawai-type high-pressure apparatus interfaced with synchrotron radiation. The phase boundary between the ilmenite and perovskite structures in the temperature range of 700–1,400°C was determined to be P (GPa) = 16.5(±0.6) − 0.0034(±0.0006)T (°C) based on Anderson’s gold pressure scale. The Clapeyron slope, dP/dT, determined in this study is consistent with that for the transition boundary between the ilmenite and the perovskite structure in MgSiO₃.     

Geology of the Gorny Altai subduction–accretion complex, southern Siberia: Tectonic evolution of an Ediacaran–Cambrian intra-oceanic arc-trench system

The Gorny Altai region in southern Siberia is one of the key areas in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This region features various orogenic elements of Late Neoproterozoic–Early Paleozoic age, such as an accretionary complex (AC), high-P/T metamorphic (HP) rocks, and ophiolite (OP), all formed by ancient subduction–accretion processes. This study investigated the detailed geology of the Upper Neoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic rocks in a traverse between Gorno-Altaisk city and Lake Teletskoy in the northern part of the region, and in the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun area in the southern part. The tectonic units of the studied areas consist of (1) the Ediacaran (=Vendian)–Early Cambrian AC, (2) ca. 630 Ma HP complex, (3) the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian OP complex, (4) the Cryogenian–Cambrian island arc complex, and (5) the Middle Paleozoic fore-arc sedimentary rocks. The AC consists mostly of paleo-atoll limestone and underlying oceanic island basalt with minor amount of chert and serpentinite. The basaltic lavas show petrochemistry similar to modern oceanic plateau basalt. The 630 Ma HP complex records a maximum peak metamorphism at 660 °C and 2.0 GPa that corresponds to 60 km-deep burial in a subduction zone, and exhumation at ca. 570 Ma. The Cryogenian island arc complex includes boninitic rocks that suggest an incipient stage of arc development. The Upper Neoproterozoic–Lower Paleozoic complexes in the Gorno-Altaisk city to Lake Teletskoy and the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun areas are totally involved in a subhorizontal piled-nappe structure, and overprinted by Late Paleozoic strike-slip faulting. The HP complex occurs as a nappe tectonically sandwiched between the non- to weakly metamorphosed AC and the OP complex. These lithologic assemblages and geologic structure newly documented in the Gorny Altai region are essentially similar to those of the circum-Pacific (Miyashiro-type) orogenic belts, such as the Japan Islands in East Asia and the Cordillera in western North America. The Cryogenian boninite-bearing arc volcanism indicates that the initial stage of arc development occurred in a transient setting from a transform zone to an incipient subduction zone. The less abundant of terrigenous clastics from mature continental crust and thick deep-sea chert in the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian AC may suggest that the southern Gorny Altai region evolved in an intra-oceanic arc-trench setting like the modern Mariana arc, rather than along the continental arc of a major continental margin. Based on geological, petrochemical, and geochronological data, we synthesize the Late Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic tectonic history of the Gorny Altai region in the western CAOB.     

应用卫星与气象数据及其关系研究黄河流域的荒漠化现状

本文应用20年（1981—2000年）的卫星数据反演归一化差值植被指数（NDVI）,同时获取地面格网的温度与降雨数据,并分析这些数据之间的关系。基于地面的温度和降雨格网数据将研究区划分为8个气候区域,再利用NDVI数据把降雨量最少的3个气候区——区1,2,3各划分为10个等级。此外,分析这3个气候区在1983—1998年15年间的NDVI变化状况,结果显示出研究区荒漠化状况的加剧。     

Effects of motion of the equatorial plane on the orbital elements of an earth satellite

Exact differential equations relating the perturbations to satellite orbital elements by the motion of the Earth's equatorial plane are derived, and they are solved to second order in precession. The system proposed in a previous paper (Kozai, 1960), in which the inclination and the argument of perigee are referred to the equator of date and the longitude of the ascending node is measured from a fixed point along a fixed plane and then along the equator of date, can still be recommended for precise studies of satellite motion even when the second-order perturbations are taken into account.