Deformation structures in shale bed indicate flow direction of overlying Miocene subaqueous pyroclastic flow

Thrusts, pinch-and-swell structures and undulations are present within a 2-m-thick layered shale bed of Miocene age that is overlain by a rhyolite subaqueous pyroclastic flow deposit 2–3 m thick. The deformation structures were caused by loading and lateral compression by the subaqueous pyroclastic flow, probably analogous to those observed in layered muds deformed by a sand mass advancing across them. Prominent thrusts strike east-west and dip south, and the crests of undulations strike east-west, indicating that the subaqeuous pyroclastic flow moved northward.     

Earthquake response spectra taking account of number of response cycles

Proposed is a new definition of earthquake response spectra, which takes account of the number of response cycles N. The Nth largest amplitude of absolute acceleration response of a linear oscilator with natural period T and damping ratio h, which is subjected to ground motion at its base, is defined as S_A(T, h, N). By defining a reduction factor η(T, h, N) as S_A(T, h, N)/S_A(T, h, 1), characteristics of η(T, h, N) were investigated based on 394 components of strong motion records obtained in Japan. Two practical empirical formulae to assess the reduction factor η(T, h, N) are proposed.     

Ambient air measurements of six bifunctional carbonyls in a suburban area

Low-molecular-weight carbonyl compounds, generated by photochemical reactions in the atmosphere and found in the exhaust of motor vehicles, have recently come to the attention of researchers because some of them are suspected carcinogens or mutagens. Six bifunctional carbonyl compounds were detected and measured in a suburban site 30 km northwest of the Tokyo metropolitan area. Samples were taken on five sunny days between 2 August and 11 August 2003 with a low-volume denuder and three-filter tandem system using O-(2,3,4,5,6-pentafluorobenzyl)hydroxylamine (PFBHA) as a sorbent. Bifunctional carbonyls were measured by gas chromatography–mass spectrometry after two derivatization processes with PFBHA and N,O-bis(trimethylsilyl)-trifluoroacetamide (BSTFA). The average total (gas plus particle) concentrations were 162.8 ng m^− 3 for pyruvic acid, 113.7 ng m^− 3 for methylglyoxal, 36.0 ng m^− 3 for glycolaldehyde and 58.6 ng m^− 3 for glyoxal.     

Hydraulic and numerical study on the generation of a subaqueous landslide-induced tsunami along the coast

By carrying out the hydraulic experiments in a one-dimensional open channel and two-dimensional basin, we clarified the process of how a landslide on a uniform slope causes the generation of a tsunami. The effect of the interactive force that occurs between the debris flow layer and the tsunami is significant in the generation of a tsunami. The continuous flow of the debris into the water makes the wave period of the tsunami short. The present experiments apply numerical simulation using the two-layer model with shear stress models on the bottom and interface, and the results are compared. The simulated debris flow shows good agreement with the measured results and ensures the rushing process into the water. We propose that the model use a Manning coefficient of 0.01 for the smooth slope and 0.015 for the rough slope, and a horizontal viscosity of 0.01 m²/s for the landslide; an interactive force of 0.2 for each layer is recommended. The dispersion effect should be included in the numerical model for the propagation from the shore.     

Latitudinal changes in larger benthic foraminiferal assemblages in shallow-water reef sediments along the Ryukyu Islands, Japan

Abstract The taxonomic diversity of hermatypic corals decreases with increasing latitude, which correlates with sea‐surface temperatures. However, little is known about latitudinal changes in the taxonomic diversity and biogeographic patterns of larger benthic foraminifera, although their physiological requirements are similar to those of hermatypic corals because of their symbiotic relationships with microalgae. The present study examined how the abundance and taxonomic composition of larger foraminiferal assemblages in shallow‐water reef sediments change with latitude along the Ryukyu Islands (Ryukyus), which are located near the northern limit of coral‐reef distributions in the western Pacific Ocean. Three islands from different latitudes in the Ryukyus were selected to investigate latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages: Ishigaki Island (24°20′N, 124°10′E), Kudaka Island (26°09′N, 127°54′E) and Tane‐ga‐shima Island (30°20′N, 131°E). Four sediment samples were taken at each of three topographic sites (beach, shallow lagoon and reef crest) on the reef flat of each island. Foraminiferal tests of a 2.0‐ to 0.5‐mm size fraction were selected, identified and counted. The variations in foraminiferal abundance in reef sediments from three latitudinally different islands exhibit two contrasting trends along reef flats: a shoreward decrease on Ishigaki and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands and a shoreward increase on Kudaka Island. A total of 25, 24 and 13 foraminiferal taxa were identified in Ishigaki, Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands, respectively. Baculogypsina sphaerulata, Neorotalia calcar and Amphistegina spp. were dominant (i.e. >3% of foraminiferal assemblages) in the three islands. Calcarina gaudichaudii and Calcarina hispida were common on Ishigaki and Kudaka Islands but were absent on Tane‐ga‐shima Island. Larger foraminiferal assemblages from three different reef‐flat environments on Ishigaki Island can be distinguished, whereas those from the three environments on Kudaka and Tane‐ga‐shima Islands are similar in composition. These latitudinal changes in larger foraminiferal assemblages in reef sediments may possibly be caused by variations in the topography of reef flats, distributions and standing crops of living foraminifers on reef flats, and the northern limit of some calcarinid species in the northern Ryukyus.     

Heating experiments of the Tagish Lake meteorite: Investigation of the effects of short‐term heating on chondritic organics

We present in this study the effects of short‐term heating on organics in the Tagish Lake meteorite and how the difference in the heating conditions can modify the organic matter (OM) in a way that complicates the interpretation of a parent body's heating extent with common cosmothermometers. The kinetics of short‐term heating and its influence on the organic structure are not well understood, and any study of OM is further complicated by the complex alteration processes of the thermally metamorphosed carbonaceous chondrites—potential analogues of the target asteroid Ryugu of the Hayabusa2 mission—which had experienced posthydration, short‐duration local heating. In an attempt to understand the effects of short‐term heating on chondritic OM, we investigated the change in the OM contents of the experimentally heated Tagish Lake meteorite samples using Raman spectroscopy, scanning transmission X‐ray microscopy utilizing X‐ray absorption near edge structure spectroscopy, and ultraperformance liquid chromatography fluorescence detection and quadrupole time of flight hybrid mass spectrometry. Our experiment suggests that graphitization of OM did not take place despite the samples being heated to 900 °C for 96 h, as the OM maturity trend was influenced by the heating conditions, kinetics, and the nature of the OM precursor, such as the presence of abundant oxygenated moieties. Although both the intensity of the 1s?σ* exciton cannot be used to accurately interpret the peak metamorphic temperature of the experimentally heated Tagish Lake sample, the Raman graphite band widths of the heated products significantly differ from that of chondritic OM modified by long‐term internal heating.     

Small-Amplitude Disturbances in a Radiating and ScatteringGrey MediumI. Solutions of Given Real Frequency ω

We reanalyze the propagation of one-dimensional small-amplitude disturbances of given real frequency ω in a radiating and scattering grey medium using the Eddington approximation, which has been studied previously by us (Kaneko et al., 1976). Numerical results reveals three frequency regimes to be distinguished, and two wave modes always appear in each frequency regime. The governing equations and analytic solutions are derived for all wave modes using Whitham's method modified into quadratic form and approximate methods based on radiation thermodynamics. In the high-frequency regime appear the radiation-wave and adiabatic sound modes, which are damped by opacity and radiative cooling, respectively. Wave patterns in the intermediate-frequency and low-frequency regimes depend critically on the importance of radiation, for which the criterion is given in terms of the ratio of total specific heats at constant pressure and constant volume. When the radition overwhelms the matter (radiation-dominated case), the radiative mode in the intermediate-frequency regime is the constant-volume diffusion mode. When the matter overwhelms the radiation (matter-dominated case), damped radiation-wave and damped radiation-diffusion modes newly appear between the radiation-wave and constant-volume diffusion modes. The acoustic mode in the intermediate-frequency regime is the isothermal sound mode,which is damped by radiative cooling at higher frequencies and by radiation-thermal drag force at lower frequencies. Two modes appearing in the low-frequency regime are the isentropic radiation-acoustic and constant-pressure diffusion modes. The absorption coefficient derived for the former is shown to be a radiation-thermodynamic extension of that of Landau and Lifshitz (1987). The transition frequencies between all adjacent two modes are also derived to discuss the implications of them. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Simple estimation of penetration rate of light in intertidal sediments

A simple estimation of light penetration in tidal flat sediments was developed using various sediment size fractions and their attenuation rate of irradiance. The attenuation coefficients of the sediment size fractions of 63–125, 125–250, 250–500, 500–1000 μm and 1000–2000 μm were 8.10, 4.08, 2.92, 2.12 and 1.44 mm⁻¹, respectively. Using the average attenuation coefficient of the particle size fractions in the sediment, the calculated attenuation coefficient agreed well with the actual attenuation coefficient. The method presented gives a photo-parameter to predict productivity in intertidal sediments, given only the particle size fraction.     

Onboard experiment investigating metal leaching of fresh hydrothermal sulfide cores into seawater

We observed the initial release rate of metals from four fresh (i.e., without long time exposure to the atmosphere) hydrothermal sulfide cores into artificial seawater. The sulfide samples were collected by seafloor drilling from the Okinawa Trough by D/V Chikyu, powdered under inert gas, and immediately subjected to onboard metal-leaching experiments at different temperatures (5 °C and 20 °C), and under different redox conditions (oxic and anoxic), for 1–30 h. Zinc and Pb were preferentially released from sulfide samples containing various metals (i.e., Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Cd, and Pb) into seawater. Under oxic experimental conditions, Zn and Pb dissolution rates from two sulfide samples composed mainly of iron disulfide minerals (pyrite and marcasite) were higher than those from two other sulfide samples with abundant sphalerite, galena, and/or silicate minerals. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the high metal-releasing sample contained several galvanic couples of iron disulfide with other sulfide minerals, whereas the low metal-releasing sample contained fewer galvanic couples or were coated by a silicate mineral. The experiments overall confirmed that the galvanic effects with iron disulfide minerals greatly induce the initial release of Zn and Pb from hydrothermal sulfides into seawater, especially under warm oxic conditions.     

Shimajiri Group equivalent sedimentary rocks dredged from sea knolls off Kume Island,central Ryukyus: Implications for timing and mode of rifting of the middle Okinawa Trough back-arc basin

The late Cenozoic geohistory of the Ryukyu arc is closely related to the rifting history of the Okinawa Trough. The submarine geology and stratigraphy of areas around Kume Island, which is situated near the eastern rifted margin of the middle Okinawa Trough, provide key constraints to understand the timing and mode of Okinawa Trough rifting. Here we report the lithology of sedimentary rocks dredged along slopes of ~1000-m-deep sea knolls located north and northwest off Kume Island, and their depositional ages determined by calcareous nannofossils and strontium (Sr) isotope analyses. Various types of sedimentary rocks, such as siltstone, very fine-grained sandstone, medium-grained sandstone, fossiliferous coarse-grained sandstone, and tuffaceous sandstone, were recovered at two dredge sites. These sedimentary rocks are lithologically similar to those in the Aka Formation and a part of the Maja Formation of the Shimajiri Group in nearby Kume Island. Calcareous nannofossils and Sr isotope analyses indicate their depositional ages from the early Pliocene to the early Pleistocene, which are generally consistent with those of the Aka Formation. The finding of the dredged rocks similar in lithology and ages to the Aka Formation indicates that marine deltaic area continued toward north and northwest from Kume Island during these periods. The presence of the Shimajiri Group equivalent sedimentary rocks at the dredge sites are likely related to the main rifting of the Okinawa Trough after ca. 2 Ma in the central Ryukyus.