Clarification of regional and local in situ stresses using the compact conical-ended borehole overcoring technique and numerical analysis

Abstract Stress measurement is performed to estimate the states of in situ rock stress at the Torigata open‐pit limestone mine in Japan using the compact conical‐ended borehole overcoring (CCBO) technique. A set of back and forward analyses are then carried out to evaluate the states of regional and local in situ rock stresses and the mine‐induced rock slope stability using a 3‐D finite element model. The maximum horizontal local in situ rock stress measured by the CCBO technique acts in the northeast–southwest direction. The horizontal regional tectonic stresses obtained by the back analysis are in good agreement with those of the horizontal local in situ rock stress measured by the CCBO technique. However, the horizontal regional tectonic stress is more compressive than the horizontal local in situ rock stress. This is because the horizontal regional stress due to gravity is not considered in the back‐analyzed horizontal regional tectonic stress, but it is included in the local in situ rock stress measured by the CCBO technique. The local stress obtained by the forward analysis, especially its horizontal components, is in good agreement with the horizontal local in situ rock stress measured by the CCBO technique, and the magnitude of the vertical normal stress increases more rapidly than those of the horizontal normal stresses with depth. As a result, the ratio of the horizontal normal stress to the vertical normal stress is largest at the nearest excavation level and decreases with depth. This means that the stress field within the mine‐induced rock slope is affected by the horizontal components of the local in situ rock stress.     

The examination of fracturing process subjected to triaxial compression test in Inada granite

The behavior of a granite subject to a triaxial compression test ranging from the prefailure stage to the postfailure stage was studied using a fluorescent technique from the geological point of view. Microscopic observations of the specimens at different stages showed changes in the failure process. The start of formation of new microcracks paralleled the compression direction through their propagation until the onset of faulting and ended with the failure of shear zones after the strength failure point. Pores chiefly identified in the feldspar increased in length and width in the early stages, but not in number. It seems that the effect of pore spaces did not have any effect of failure. The microcracks generated on angular edges of quartz or feldspar grains and around biotite grains with increasing compression force. The phenomenon appearing on the crystal boundaries among biotite and quartz or feldspar agrees with the result calculated based on the theory on stress fields with ellipsoidal inhomogeneity suggested by Eshelby.     

Viscosity measurements of subliquidus magmas: Alkali olivine basalt from the Higashi-Matsuura district, Southwest Japan

We carried out viscosity measurements and sampling of a crystal suspension derived from alkali olivine basalt from the Matsuura district, SW Japan, at subliquidus temperatures from 1230 °C to 1140 °C under 1 atm with NNO oxygen buffered conditions. Viscosity increased from 31 to 1235 Pa s with a decrease in temperature from 1230 to 1140 °C. On cooling, olivine first appeared at 1210 °C, followed by plagioclase at 1170 °C. The crystal content of the sample attained 31 vol.% at 1140 °C (plagioclase 22%, olivine 9%). Non-Newtonian behaviors, including thixotropy and shear thinning, were pronounced in the presence of tabular plagioclase crystals. The cause of such behavior is discussed in relation to shear-induced changes in melt–crystal textures. Relative viscosities, η_r (= η_s / η_m, where η_s and η_m are the viscosities of the suspension and the melt, respectively), were obtained by calculating melt viscosities from the melt composition and temperature at 1 atm using the equation proposed by Giordano and Dingwell [Giordano, D., Dingwell, D.B., 2003. Non-Arrhenian multicomponent melt viscosity: a model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 208, 337–349.]. The obtained relative viscosities are generally consistent with the Einstein–Roscoe relation, which represents η_r for suspensions that contain equant and equigranular crystals, even though the crystal suspension analyzed in the present experiments contained tabular plagioclase and granular olivine of various grain sizes. This consistency is attributed to the fact that the effect of crystal shape was counterbalanced by the effect of the dispersion of crystal size. The applicability of the Einstein–Roscoe equation with respect to crystal shape is discussed on the basis of the present experimental results. Our experiments and those of Sato [Sato, H., 2005. Viscosity measurement of subliquidus magmas: 1707 basalt of Fuji volcano. Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences, 100, 133–142.] show that the relationship between relative viscosity and crystal fraction is consistent with the Einstein–Roscoe relationship for axial ratios that are smaller than the critical value of 4–6.5, but discrepancies occur for higher ratios.     

Space weathered rims found on the surfaces of the Itokawa dust particles

On the basis of observations using Cs‐corrected STEM, we identified three types of surface modification probably formed by space weathering on the surfaces of Itokawa particles. They are (1) redeposition rims (2–3 nm), (2) composite rims (30–60 nm), and (3) composite vesicular rims (60–80 nm). These rims are characterized by a combination of three zones. Zone I occupies the outermost part of the surface modification, which contains elements that are not included in the unchanged substrate minerals, suggesting that this zone is composed of sputter deposits and/or impact vapor deposits originating from the surrounding minerals. Redeposition rims are composed only of Zone I and directly attaches to the unchanged minerals (Zone III). Zone I of composite and composite vesicular rims often contains nanophase (Fe,Mg)S. The composite rims and the composite vesicular rims have a two‐layered structure: a combination of Zone I and Zone II, below which Zone III exists. Zone II is the partially amorphized zone. Zone II of ferromagnesian silicates contains abundant nanophase Fe. Radiation‐induced segregation and in situ reduction are the most plausible mechanisms to form nanophase Fe in Zone II. Their lattice fringes indicate that they contain metallic iron, which probably causes the reddening of the reflectance spectra of Itokawa. Zone II of the composite vesicular rims contains vesicles. The vesicles in Zone II were probably formed by segregation of solar wind He implanted in this zone. The textures strongly suggest that solar wind irradiation damage and implantation are the major causes of surface modification and space weathering on Itokawa.     

Mineral chemistry of MUSES‐C Regio inferred from analysis of dust particles collected from the first‐ and second‐touchdown sites on asteroid Itokawa

The mineralogy and mineral chemistry of Itokawa dust particles captured during the first and second touchdowns on the MUSES‐C Regio were characterized by synchrotron‐radiation X‐ray diffraction and field‐emission electron microprobe analysis. Olivine and low‐ and high‐Ca pyroxene, plagioclase, and merrillite compositions of the first‐touchdown particles are similar to those of the second‐touchdown particles. The two touchdown sites are separated by approximately 100 meters and therefore the similarity suggests that MUSES‐C Regio is covered with dust particles of uniform mineral chemistry of LL chondrites. Quantitative compositional properties of 48 dust particles, including both first‐ and second‐touchdown samples, indicate that dust particles of MUSES‐C Regio have experienced prolonged thermal metamorphism, but they are not fully equilibrated in terms of chemical composition. This suggests that MUSES‐C particles were heated in a single asteroid at different temperatures. During slow cooling from a peak temperature of approximately 800 °C, chemical compositions of plagioclase and K‐feldspar seem to have been modified: Ab and Or contents changed during cooling, but An did not. This compositional modification is reproduced by a numerical simulation that modeled the cooling process of a 50 km sized Itokawa parent asteroid. After cooling, some particles have been heavily impacted and heated, which resulted in heterogeneous distributions of Na and K within plagioclase crystals. Impact‐induced chemical modification of plagioclase was verified by a comparison to a shock vein in the Kilabo LL6 ordinary chondrite where Na‐K distributions of plagioclase have been disturbed.     

Depositional Age of a Fossil Whale Bone from São Paulo Ridge,South Atlantic Ocean,Based on Os Isotope Stratigraphy of a Ferromanganese Crust

Whale carcasses (whale falls) deposited on the deep seafloor are associated with a distinctive biotic community. A fossil whale bone recovered from São Paulo Ridge, South Atlantic Ocean, during cruise YK13–04 Leg 1 of R/V Yokosuka was covered by a ferromanganese (Fe–Mn) crust approximately 9 mm thick. Here, we report an age constraint for this fossil bone on the basis of Os isotopic stratigraphy (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratio) of the Fe–Mn crust. Major‐ and trace‐element compositions of the crust are similar to those of Fe–Mn crusts of predominantly hydrogenous origin. Rare earth element concentrations in samples of the crust, normalized with respect to Post‐Archean average Australian Shale, exhibit flat patterns with positive Ce and negative Y anomalies. These results indicate that the Fe–Mn crust consists predominantly of hydrogenous components and that it preserves the Os isotope composition of seawater at the time of its deposition. ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os ratios of three Fe–Mn crust samples increased from 0.904 to 1.068 in ascending stratigraphic order. The value of 1.068 from the surface slice (0–3 mm depth in the crust) was identical to that of present‐day seawater within error (~1.06). The value of 0.904 from the basal slice (6–9 mm) equaled seawater values from ca. 4–5 Ma. Because it is unknown how long the bone lay on the seafloor before the Fe–Mn crust was deposited, the Os stratigraphic age of ca. 5 Ma is a minimum age of the fossil. This is the first application, to our knowledge, of marine Os isotope stratigraphy for determining the age of a fossil whale bone. Such data may offer valuable insights into the evolution of the whale‐fall biotic community.