CCD surface photometry of an outburst of P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 comet

We have observed an outburst of P/Schwassmann-Wachmann 1 (SW1) on 25–26 July 1987 using a CCD imager with R-band filter. The total brightness increased from 15.5 mg (25d) to 14.4 mag (26d) during tabout 24 hrs. The southward elongated coma of 25 was detected. The radial surface brightness (B) profiles are plotted against apparent distance p from the nucleus. The logarithmic derivative k = d ln B/d ln p for the inner coma is found to have steepened from k = –1.40 (25d) to k = –1.69 (26d), whereas that for the outer coma showed no appreciable change (k = –1.19 ~ –1.22). The ellipticity of the isophotal contour of the inner coma increased about 15% fro 25d to 6d. It is concluded that the scale of this outburst was smaller than the typical ones whose magnitude change is 5–8 mag. From recent findings on the outburst natur eof SW1 including ours, a working model of the nuclues is proposed.     

Organohalogen and organotin compounds in killer whales mass-stranded in the Shiretoko Peninsula, Hokkaido, Japan

Blubber and liver samples were obtained for analysis of wide ranges of contaminants from killer whales (Orcinus orca) which were locked away in drifting sea ice on the coast of Rausu, the Shiretoko Peninsula in Eastern Hokkaido, Japan in February 2005. Among the organohalogen compounds analyzed, DDTs were the predominant contaminants with concentrations ranging from 28 to 220 microg/g on a lipid-weight basis followed by PCBs and other organochlorine pesticides. PBDEs levels were two or three orders of magnitude lower than those of PCBs and DDTs. 2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin toxic equivalents (TEQs) derived by WHO mammal-TEF in killer whales were in the range of 110-440 pgTEQ/g. Mono-ortho coplanar PCBs contributed to 75-98% of total TEQs, indicating coplanar PCBs are significant contaminants for risk assessment in this species. The fact that hepatic residue levels of butyltins (from 13 to 770 ng/g wet weight) were much higher than those of phenyltins may be reflecting extensive use of tributyltin as antifouling paint.     

Late Cenozoic volcanic activity in the Chugoku area, southwest Japan arc during back-arc basin opening and reinitiation of subduction

Abstract Temporal–spatial variations in Late Cenozoic volcanic activity in the Chugoku area, southwest Japan, have been examined based on 108 newly obtained K–Ar ages. Lava samples were collected from eight Quaternary volcanic provinces (Daisen, Hiruzen, Yokota, Daikonjima, Sambe, Ooe–Takayama, Abu and Oki) and a Tertiary volcanic cluster (Kibi Province) to cover almost all geological units in the province. Including published age data, a total of 442 Cenozoic radiometric ages are now available. Across‐arc volcanic activity in an area approximately 500 km long and 150 km wide can be examined over 26 million years. The period corresponds to syn‐ and post‐back‐arc basin opening stages of the island arc. Volcanic activity began in the central part of the rear‐arc ca 26 Ma. This was followed by arc‐wide expansion at 20 Ma by eruption at two rear‐arc centers located at the eastern and western ends. Expansion to the fore‐arc occurred between 20 and 12 Ma. This Tertiary volcanic arc was maintained until 4 Ma with predominant alkali basalt centers. The foremost‐arc zone activity ceased at 4 Ma, followed by quiescence over the whole arc between 4 and 3 Ma. Volcanic activity resumed at 3 Ma, covering the entire rear‐arc area, and continued until the present to form a Quaternary volcanic arc. Adakitic dacite first occurred at 1.7 Ma in the middle of the arc, and spread out in the center part of the Quaternary volcanic arc. Alkali basalt activities ceased in the area where adakite volcanism occurred. Fore‐arc expansion of the volcanic arc could be related to the upwelling and expansion of the asthenosphere, which caused opening of the Japan Sea. Narrowing of the volcanic zone could have been caused by progressive Philippine Sea Plate subduction. Deeper penetration could have caused melting of the slab and resulted in adakites. Volcanic history in the Late Cenozoic was probably controlled by the history of evolution of the upper mantle structure, coinciding with back‐arc basin opening and subsequent reinitiation of subduction.     

Characterization of the Mefjell plutonic complex from the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica: Implications for the petrogenesis of Pan-African plutonic rocks of East Gondwanaland

Abstract The Mefjell plutonic complex consists of 500–550‐Ma Pan‐African plutonic rocks, which intrude into the Precambrian crystalline basement in the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica, and forms part of the Sør Rondane Suture Zone. The complex comprises syenitic and granitic (mostly monzogranitic) rocks, and is characterized by the presence of iron‐rich hydrous mafic minerals and primary ilmenite, both of which imply its formation at high temperature and under low oxygen fugacity conditions. The syenitic rocks are metaluminous, and are high in alkalis, K₂O/Na₂O, Al₂O₃, FeO_t/(FeO_t + MgO) (0.88–0.98), K/Rb (800–1000), Ga (18–28 p.p.m.), Zr (up to 2100 p.p.m.) and Ba. They also have a low Mg? (Mg/[Mg + Fe²⁺]), Rb, Sr, Nb, Y and F, low to moderate light rare earth element (LREE)/heavy rare earth element (HREE) ratios and positive Eu anomalies in their rare earth element (REE) patterns. The granitic rocks are metaluminous to peraluminous, and have a high Rb content, high Sr/Ba and LREE/HREE ratios, low K/Rb and negative Eu anomalies. Most of the syenitic and granitic rocks have Y/Nb ratios greater than 1.2, and are depleted in Nb, Ti and Sr on the primitive mantle‐normalized spider diagrams, indicating a crustal origin with subduction zone signatures. We interpret both the syenitic and granitic rocks to be derived from an iron‐rich lower crustal source by dehydration melting induced by the heat of mantle‐derived basaltic intrusion, after which they then underwent limited fractional crystallization. The Mefjell plutonic complex has a high Zr content and tectonic discrimination diagram signatures indicative of normal A‐type granitic rocks. Both rock suites may have been generated under the same postorogenic tectonic setting. The Mefjell syenitic rocks are chemically comparable to charnockites in the Gjelsvikjella and western Mühlig‐Hofmannfjella areas of East Antarctica, whereas the granitic rocks are comparable to aluminous A‐type granitic rocks in South India, which were emplaced during formation and evolution of the Gondwanaland supercontinent.     

Ecosystem shift resulting from loss of eelgrass and other submerged aquatic vegetation in two estuarine lagoons, Lake Nakaumi and Lake Shinji, Japan

Zostera marina L. was intensively harvested until the early 1950s in Lake Nakaumi, a eutrophic estuarine lagoon. We have estimated the amount of nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) removed from the lagoon through Z. marina harvesting. Lake Nakaumi lies in Tottori and Shimane prefectures, and the annual harvest of Z. marina in the late 1940s in Tottori was recorded as at least 56,250 t wet weight. The nutrient content of 56,250 t of Z. marina was calculated to be 61.9 t of N and 12.9 t of P, which is equivalent to 5.3% and 11%, respectively, of present annual nutrient loads to the lake. The nutrients formerly used by Z. marina were likely used by phytoplankton after the Z. marina started to decline in the mid-1950s at Lake Nakaumi. This shift in the chief primary producer, from benthic macrophytes to phytoplankton, caused a subsequent shift in secondary producers. Benthic fish and crustacean populations decreased and the non-commercial filter-feeding bivalve, Musculus senhausia, increased in Lake Nakaumi after the decline of seagrass beds. This affected the local economy, inducing not only eutrophication but also the collapse of local fisheries. On the other hand, at adjacent Lake Shinji, loss of submerged aquatic vegetation induced an increase of the commercial filter-feeding bivalve, Corbicula japonica, which doubled the fishery yield in the lake.