Chemical composition and rare gas content of four new detected antarctic meteorites

Within a region of 5 km × 10 km on a downhill slope of the Yamato Mounties, in 1969 the Japanese Expedition Team collected many stones. 9 of them were recognized as meteorites. On 4 of these findings we determined the chemical composition and the rare gas content. According to the mineralogical and the chemical composition, Yamato (a) is an enstatite chondrite, Yamato (b) a Ca-poor achondrite, Yamato (c) seems to be a carbonations chondrite Type III and Yamato (d) a olivine bronzite chondrite. Exposure ages are 1.7, 31, 25 and 4.3 my respectively.     

Evapotranspiration from citrus trees growing in sandy soil under drip irrigation with saline water

An experiment on evapotranspiration from citrus trees under irrigation with saline water was carried out for 4 months. Two lysimeters planted with a citrus tree in the green house were used. One lysimeter was irrigated with saline water (NaCl and CaCl₂ of 2000 mg/L equivalence,EC = 3.8 dS/m, SAR = 5.9) and the other was irrigated with freshwater using drip irrigation. The applied irrigation water was 1.2 times that of the evapotranspiration on the previous day. Evapotranspiration was calculated as the change in lysimeter weight recorded every 30 minutes. The lysimeters were filled with soil with 95.8% sand. The results of the experiment were as follows. (i) The evapotranspiration from citrus tree was reduced after irrigation with saline water. The evapotranspiration returns to normal after leaching. However it takes months to exhaust the salt from the tree. (ii) To estimate the impact of irrigation with saline water on the evapotranspiration from citrus trees, the reduction coefficient due to salt stress (K_s) was used in this experiment. Evapotranspiration under irrigation with saline water (ET _s ) can be calculated from evapotranspiration under irrigation with freshwater (ET) by the equationET _s =K _s × ET. K_s can be expressed as a function ofEC _sw . (iii) The critical soil-water electrical conductivity (EC _sw ) is 9.5 dS/m, beyond which adverse effects on evapotranspiration begin to appear. IfEC _sw can be controlled at below 9.5 dS/m, saline water can be safely used for irrigation.     

Wide-Field Camera for Gravitational Microlensing Survey: MOA-cam2

We have constructed a large, mosaic CCD camera called MOA-cam2 which has 4096 × 6144-pixelsto search for gravitational microlensing events. MOA-cam2 has three4096 × 2048-pixel SITe CCD chips, which have a very high quantum efficiency (nearly 80% in the wave region 500 to 800 nm),and three buttable sides. We have placed the threechips side by side with 100 m dead space. MOA-cam2 has been installed on the 61 cm Boller and Chivens telescope of the MOA collaboration at the Mt. John University Observatory (MJUO) in NewZealand since July 1998. The field coverage is 0.92° × 1.38° per exposure. The technical details of MOA-cam2 and the first images obtained with the Boller and Chivens telescope are presented. MOA-cam2 introduces a second phase of research on gravitational microlensing by the MOA collaboration.     

Age model, physical properties and paleoceanographic implications of the middle Pleistocene core sediments in the Choshi area, central Japan

Abstract   A continuous, well-preserved core was obtained from the Choshi area, on the Pacific side of Japan, to investigate paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes around the northwestern Pacific region during the middle Pleistocene. Siliciclastic sequences in the core are divided into five formations – the Obama, Yokone, Kurahashi and Toyosato Formations in the Inubo Group and the Katori Formation, in ascending order. Examination of calcareous nannofossils and magnetic polarities detected four datums in the core sediments of the Inubo Group: the top of Reticulofenestra asanoi , the base of Helicosphaera inversa , the top of Pseudoemiliania lacunosa and the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary. Fourteen marine isotope stages (MIS24–MIS11) were identified in the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C records based on detected datums and the graphic correlation with the standard stack oxygen isotope curve. Magnetic susceptibility and gamma-ray attenuation porosity evaluator density were also measured and low values characterize the glacial intervals. Biogenic sedimentation by primary production may be larger during the glacial periods because of invasions of nutrient-rich northern surface-waters related to the southward shift of the Kuroshio front in the Choshi area.     

Floral changes in calcareous nannofossils and their paleoceanographic significance in the equatorial Pacific Ocean during the last 500 000 years

Abstract   The late Quaternary calcareous nannofossil assemblages from Ocean Drilling Program Holes 807A and 846B, located in the western and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, respectively, were analyzed to clarify changes in surface-water conditions during the last 500 000 years. The uppermost Quaternary sediments in both holes contain abundant nannofossils, and their assemblages are characterized by high species diversity. The absolute abundances of coccoliths (specimens/g) and relative numbers of small reticulofenestrids decreased drastically in both holes between 0.3 and 0.2 Ma, whereas the relative abundance of warm-water species and Florisphaera profunda increased suddenly at this time. These data indicate that upwelling around the western and eastern equatorial Pacific regions weakened after 0.2 Ma, which was caused by a decrease in trade-wind strength.     

Methane-induced dolomite “chimneys” on the Kuroshima Knoll, Ryukyu islands, Japan

The Kuroshima Knoll is about 26 km south of Ishigaki Island in the southern part of the Ryukyu Arc. The area is considered to be the source area of “The 1771 Yaeyama Earthquake Tsunami”, which was due to the submarine landslide caused by an earthquake. It has been cleared from some investigations using “Dolphin 3K” and “Shinkai 2000” that there are large-scale dead Calyptogena colonies, many gravels of fallen dolomite chimneys and carbonates on the top of the Knoll [Matsumoto, T., Uechi, C., Kimura, M., 1997; Machiyama, H., Matsumoto, T., Matsumoto, R., Hattori, M., Okano, M., Iwase, R., Tomaru, H., 2001b.]. Carbonates of Kuroshima Knoll have various shapes and macroscopic textures. These have been classified into 4 types; shell crust (pavement), chimney, burrow, and nodule. It is clear that all chimney and burrow carbonates are composed of dolomite, while shell curst and nodule are composed of calcite, sometimes both calcite and dolomite. These carbonates are considered to have been formed by cold seep, because they are characterized by the light carbon isotopic ratio (semi-biogenic) and the heavy oxygen isotopic ratio. This suggests that methane hydrate layers develop under this survey area and the water that has the heavy oxygen and the light carbon isotopic ratio is derived from the dissociation of methane hydrate.     

Performance of a lithium fluoride bolometer for Tokyo dark matter search experiment

The performance of a 21-g lithium fluoride bolometer is presented. The background spectrum was measured in the surface laboratory. We derive an exclusion plot for the spin-dependent coupled Weakly Interacting Massive Particles (WIMPs) cross section.     

Ca, Al-rich inclusions in Yamato 791717 (CO3) carbonaceous chondrite: Formation and alteration

In three polished thin sections of Yamato 791717 (CO3). fifty-five Ca, Al-rich inclusions were found, which include two hibonite-bearing, eight melilite-rich and forty-five spinel-pyroxene inclusions. Based on the petrography and mineral chemistry of the inclusions, it is proposed that the melilite-rich inclusions and spinel-pyroxene inclusions condensed in the solar nebula, and the hibonite-bearing inclusions crystallized from melts. The heavy alteration of the inclusions in Yamato 791717, which probably took place under a very oxidizing condition in the solar nebular, is also confirmed. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49673200). and by the Japanese Society for Promotion of Sciences (JSPS).