Structural controls on the 1998 volcanic unrest at Iwate volcano: Relationship between a shallow, electrically resistive body and the possible ascent route of magmatic fluid

Magnetotelluric (MT) measurements were conducted at Iwate volcano, across the entirety of the mountain, in 1997, 1999, 2003, 2006, and 2007. The survey line was 18 km in length and oriented E–W, comprising 38 measurements sites. Following 2D inversion, we obtained the resistivity structure to a depth of 4 km. The surface resistive layer (~ several hundreds of meters thick) is underlain by extensive highly conductive zones. Based on drilling data, the bottom of the highly conductive zone is interpreted to represent the 200 °C isotherm, below which (i.e., at higher temperatures) conductive clay minerals (smectite) are rare. The high conductivity is therefore mainly attributed to the presence of hydrothermally altered clay. The focus of this study is a resistive body beneath the Onigajo (West-Iwate) caldera at depths of 0.5–3 km. This body appears to have impeded magmatic fluid ascent during the 1998 volcanic unrest, as inferred from geodetic data. Both tectonic and low-frequency earthquakes are sparsely distributed throughout this resistive body. We interpret this resistive body as a zone of old, solidified intrusive magma with temperatures in excess of 200 °C. Given that a similar relationship between a resistive body and subsurface volcanic activity has been suggested for Asama volcano, structural controls on subsurface magmatic fluid movement may be a common phenomenon at shallow levels beneath volcanoes.     

A tripolar pattern as an internal mode of the East Asian summer monsoon

A tripolar anomaly pattern with centers located around the Philippines, China/Japan, and East Siberia dominantly appears in climate variations of the East Asian summer monsoon. In this study, we extracted this pattern as the first mode of a singular value decomposition (SVD1) over East Asia. The squared covariance fraction of SVD1 was 59?%, indicating that this pattern can be considered a dominant pattern of climate variations. Moreover, the results of numerical experiments suggested that the structure is also a dominant pattern of linear responses, even if external forcing is distributed homogeneously over the Northern Hemisphere. Thus, the tripolar pattern can be considered an internal mode that is characterized by the internal atmospheric processes. In this pattern, the moist processes strengthen the circulation anomalies, the dynamical energy conversion supplies energy to the anomalies, and the Rossby waves propagate northward in the lower troposphere and southeastward in the upper troposphere. These processes are favorable for the pattern to have large amplitude and to influence a large area.     

Assessing the role of forests in mitigating eutrophication downstream of pasture during spring snowmelt

Little research has examined whether forests reduce stream water eutrophication in agricultural areas during spring snowmelt periods. This study evaluated the role of forests in ameliorating deteriorated stream water quality in agricultural areas, including pasture, during snowmelt periods. Temporal variation in stream water quality at a mixed land‐use basin (565 ha: pasture 13%, forestry 87%), northern Japan, was monitored for 7 years. Synoptic stream water sampling was also conducted at 16 sites across a wide range of forest and agricultural areas in a basin (18.3 km²) in spring, summer and fall. Atmospheric nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) deposition were measured for 4 years. The results showed that concentration pulses of nitrate, organic N and total P in stream water were observed when discharge increased during spring snowmelt. Their concentrations were high when silicate concentrations were low, suggesting surface water exported from pasture largely contributed to stream water pollution during snowmelt. Atmospheric N and P deposition (4.1 kg N ha^?1 y^?1; 0.09 kg P ha^?1 y^?1, respectively) was too low to affect the background concentrations of N and P in streams from forested areas. Reduction of eutrophication caused by nutrients from pasture was mainly due to dilution by water containing low concentrations of N and P exported from forested areas, whereas in‐stream reduction was not a dominant process. Results indicate that forests have a limited capacity to reduce the concentration pulses of N and P in stream water during snowmelt in this study basin. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

High-Mg diorites derived from sanukitic HMA magmas, Kyushu Island, southwest Japan arc: evidence from clinopyroxene and whole rock compositions

High-Mg diorites that have similar whole rock composition to high-Mg andesites (HMAs) should not be simply interpreted as rocks solidified from the HMA magmas, because the high-Mg diorites may be mafic cumulates derived from a different magma from the HMAs.

The HMAs contain unique clinopyroxenes with higher Mg# and Si than those of other sub-alkaline series igneous rocks. The Mg# and Si are controlled by the source magma composition rather than its crystallized conditions such as pressure and temperature. The chemical composition of clinopyroxenes would present important information for the investigation of the source of high-Mg diorites.

We considered the source of Early Cretaceous high-Mg diorites on Kyushu Island, southwest Japan arc, based on their clinopyroxene and whole rock compositions. The clinopyroxenes have similar chemical characteristics to those in HMAs rather than those in other sub-alkaline rocks. Moreover, the whole rock compositions are equivalent to the sanukitic HMA and do not show features of mafic cumulates. This indicates that the high-Mg diorites solidified from sanukitic HMA magmas. It is generally believed that the sanukitic HMA magmas involve the subduction of a young and/or hot oceanic slab was situated in their genesis. Therefore, the occurrence of the high-Mg diorites suggests that Kyushu was situated in the tectonic setting of young and/or hot slab subduction in the Early Cretaceous.     

Pan-African Alkali Granitoids from the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica

Alkali granitoids (500-550 Ma) representing a prominent Pan-African magmatic event are widely distributed in the Sør Rondane Mountains, Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. Geochemically, they are granitic to syenitic in composition and show an alkaline affinity of A-type granites. They are characterized by high K₂O+Na₂O (7-13 wt%) and K₂O/Na₂O (1-2), low to intermediate Mg#, wide ranges of SiO₂ (45-78 wt%), Sr (20-6500 ppm) and Ba (40-13000 ppm) and have Nb and Ti depletion in the primitive mantle normalized diagram. The granitoids are subdivided into Group I granites, Group II granites, Lunckeryggen Syenitic Complex and Mefjell Plutonic Complex. The Group I granites have higher Mg#, Sr/Ba, Sr/Y, (La/Yb)_N and LREE/HREE, lower A/CNK, SREE and initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁷Sr ratios and lack Eu anomalies compared to those with negative Eu anomalies in the Group II granites. The syenitic rocks from the Mefjell Plutonic Complex are higher in alkali, Ga, Zr, Ba, and have lower Mg#, Rb, Sr, Nb, Y, F and LREE/HREE with positive Eu anomaly, whereas the granites from the Mefjell Plutonic Complex have high LREE/HREE ratios with negative Eu anomaly. The Lunckeryggen syenitic rocks have intermediate Mg#, higher K₂O, P₂O₅, TiO₂, Fe₂O₃/FeO, Ba, Sr/Y and LREE/HREE ratios with lack of Eu anomalies and are lower in Al₂O₃, Ga, Y, Nb and Rb/Sr ratios. Based on chemical characteristics combined with isotopic data, we suggest that the Lunckeryggen syenitic body and Group I granitic bodies may be derived from the mantle-derived hot basic magma by fractional crystallization with minor assimilation. We also suggest that the Group II granites may be derived from assimilation with crustal rocks to varing degrees and then fractional crystallization in higher crustal levels (ACF model). The Mefjell Plutonic Complex seems to be derived from a heterogenetic magma source compared with other granitoids from the Sør Rondane Mountains. The syenitic rocks in the Mefjell Plutonic complex have a unique source (iron-enriched) and have a chemical affinity with the charnockites in Gjelsvikjella and western Mühlig-Hofmannfjella, but not like the Yamato syenites in adjacent areas.     

Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal alteration of basalt in the Kuroko mine area, Japan: implications for the evolution of a Back Arc Basin hydrothermal system

Basalt in the Furutobe District of the Kuroko mine area in Japan is characterized by abundant chlorite and epidote. Fluid inclusion studies indicate that chlorite is formed at lower temperatures (230–250°C) than epidote (250–280°C). The seawater/basalt mass ratio for the early chlorite-rich alteration was high (max. 40), but that for the later alteration was low (0.1–1.8). The CaO, Na₂O and SiO₂ of the bulk rock correlate negatively with MgO, while FeO and Σ Fe correlate positively with MgO. These changes in the characteristic features of hydrothermal alteration from early to late are generally similar to those for a mid-ocean ridge geothermal system accompanying basalt alteration.The MgO/FeO ratios of chlorite and actinolite and the Fe₂O₃ concentration of epidote from the basalt are greater than those of mid-ocean ridge basalt probably owing to the differences in the Fe₂O₃/FeO and MgO/FeO ratios of the parent rocks. The lower CaO concentration and the higher Na₂O concentration of the bulk rock compared with altered mid-ocean ridge basalt can be interpreted in terms of the difference in original bulk rock compositions.The Furutobe basalt, as well as other submarine back arc basalts, contains more vesicles filled with hydrothermal minerals (epidote, calcite, quartz, chlorite, pyrite) than do the mid-ocean ridge basalts. The abundance of vesicles plays an important role in controlling the secondary mineralogy and geochemistry of hydrothermally altered submarine back arc basin basalts.     

Very high-density carbonic fluid inclusions in sapphirine-bearing granulites from Tonagh Island in the Archean Napier Complex, East Antarctica: implications for CO2 infiltration during ultrahigh-temperature (T>1,100 °C) metamorphism

The ultrahigh-temperature (UHT) metamorphism of the Napier Complex is characterized by the presence of dry mineral assemblages, the stability of which requires anhydrous conditions. Typically, the presence of the index mineral orthopyroxene in more than one lithology indicates that H₂O activities were substantially low. In this study, we investigate a suite of UHT rocks comprising quartzo-feldspathic garnet gneiss, sapphirine granulite, garnet-orthopyroxene gneiss, and magnetite-quartz gneiss from Tonagh Island. High Al contents in orthopyroxene from sapphirine granulite, the presence of an equilibrium sapphirine-quartz assemblage, mesoperthite in quartzo-feldspathic garnet gneiss, and an inverted pigeonite-augite assemblage in magnetite-quartz gneiss indicate that the peak temperature conditions were higher than 1,000 °C. Petrology, mineral phase equilibria, and pressure-temperature computations presented in this study indicate that the Tonagh Island granulites experienced maximum P-T conditions of up to 9 kbar and 1,100 °C, which are comparable with previous P-T estimates for Tonagh and East Tonagh Islands. The textures and mineral reactions preserved by these UHT rocks are consistent with an isobaric cooling (IBC) history probably following an counterclockwise P-T path. We document the occurrence of very high-density CO₂-rich fluid inclusions in the UHT rocks from Tonagh Island and characterize their nature, composition, and density from systematic petrographic and microthermometric studies. Our study shows the common presence of carbonic fluid inclusions entrapped within sapphirine, quartz, garnet and orthopyroxene. Analysed fluid inclusions in sapphirine, and some in garnet and quartz, were trapped during mineral growth at UHT conditions as 'primary' inclusions. The melting temperatures of fluids in most cases lie in the range of -56.3 to -57.2 °C, close to the triple point for pure CO₂ (-56.6 °C). The only exceptions are fluid inclusions in magnetite-quartz gneiss, which show slight depression in their melting temperatures (-56.7 to -57.8 °C) suggesting traces of additional fluid species such as N₂ in the dominantly CO₂-rich fluid. Homogenization of pure CO₂ inclusions in the quartzo-feldspathic garnet gneiss, sapphirine granulite, and garnet-orthopyroxene gneiss occurs into the liquid phase at temperatures in the range of -34.9 to +4.2 °C. This translates into very high CO₂ densities in the range of 0.95-1.07 g/cm³. In the garnet-orthopyroxene gneiss, the composition and density of inclusions in the different minerals show systematic variation, with highest homogenization temperatures (lowest density) yielded by inclusions in garnet, as against inclusions with lowest homogenization (high density) in quartz. This could be a reflection of continued recrystallization of quartz with entrapment of late fluids along the IBC path. Very high-density CO₂ inclusions in sapphirine associated with quartz in the Tonagh Island rocks provide potential evidence for the involvement of CO₂-rich fluids during extreme crustal temperatures associated with UHT metamorphism. The estimated CO₂ isochores for sapphirine granulite intersect the counterclockwise P-T trajectory of Tonagh Island rocks at around 6-9 kbar at 1,100 °C, which corresponds to the peak metamorphic conditions of this terrane derived from mineral phase equilibria, and the stability field of sapphirine + quartz. Therefore, we infer that CO₂ was the dominant fluid species present during the peak metamorphism in Tonagh Island, and interpret that the fluid inclusions preserve traces of the synmetamorphic fluid from the UHT event. The stability of anhydrous minerals, such as orthopyroxene, in the study area might have been achieved by the lowering of H₂O activity through the influx of CO₂ at peak metamorphic conditions (>1,100 °C). Our microthermometric data support a counterclockwise P-T path for the Napier Complex.     

Aircraft Observations of Air-mass Modification Over the Sea of Okhotsk during Sea-ice Growth

In order to quantitatively investigate the role of leads and sea-ice in air-mass modification, aircraft observations were conducted over the partially ice-covered Sea of Okhotsk. We investigated two cold-air outbreak events with different sea-ice concentrations. In both cases, the difference between the temperatures of surface air and the sea surface (ΔT) dropped rapidly with the accumulated fetch-width of leads up to about 35-40 km, and then decreased very slowly. The surface sensible heat flux originating from open water was about 300 W m⁻² within a few kilometres from the coast and decreased with increasing accumulated fetch-width. The sensible heat flux was about 100 W m⁻² on average. These results indicate that the downwind air-mass modification depends mainly on the total (accumulated) extent of open water. The total buoyancy flux calculated by the joint frequency distribution method correlated very well with ice concentration. Such a relationship was not clear in the case of the moisture flux . The ratio between rising thermals and cold downdrafts differed significantly between upwind and downwind regions; that is, the buoyancy flux was dominated by in the developing stage of the boundary layer, while also became important after the development of the boundary layer.     

Vertical diffusion in coastal areas—I

The suspended matter in seawater near the bottom is distributed by the effects of sinking and diffusion. The author developed a method of estimation of the vertical eddy diffusivity near the sea bottom and the particle size distribution of bottom sediment, in the case of equilibrium state. This estimation was made by the comparison of measured and computed vertical distribution of beam attenuation. The parameters which were used for the computation were (1) median of the particle size distribution of bottom sediment, assuming that the particle size was a log-normal distribution, and (2) the proportional constant of vertical eddy diffusivity which was proportional to the height from the bottom.As the suspended matter in seawater contains particles of different sizes, the computation of the diffusion and beam attenuation was made for each particle size, and summarizing the results, the vertical distribution of beam attenuation coefficient was computed.In order to estimate the beam attenuation in high particle concentration, an equation by which the effect of overlapping of particle shadow in the light beam was eliminated, was used.     

A Generation Mechanism for Mesoscale Eddies in the Kuril Basin of the Okhotsk Sea: Baroclinic Instability Caused by Enhanced Tidal Mixing

Mesoscale eddies, particularly anticyclonic ones, are dominant features in the Kuril Basin of the Okhotsk Sea. In 1999, both surface drifter and hydrographic observations caught the same anticyclonic eddy northwest of Bussol’ Strait, which has a diameter of ∼100 km, typical surface velocity of 0.2–0.3 m s⁻¹, and less dense core extending to a depth of ∼1200 m. Based on an idea that the generation of mesoscale eddies is caused by strong tidal mixing in and around Kuril Straits, we have conducted a series of three-dimensional numerical model experiments, in which strong tidal mixing is simply parameterized by increasing coefficients of vertical eddy viscosity and diffusivity along the eastern boundary. Initially, a regular series of disturbances with a wavelength of ∼70 km starts to develop. The disturbances can be clearly explained by a linear instability theory and regarded as the baroclinic instability associated with the near-surface front formed in the region between the enhanced mixing and offshore regions. In the mature phase, the disturbances grow large enough that some eddies pinch off and advect offshore (westward), with the scale of disturbances increasing gradually. Typical eddy scale and its westward propagation speed are ∼100 km and ∼0.6 km day⁻¹, respectively, which are consistent with the observations by satellites. The westward propagation can be explained partly due to nonlinear effect of self-offshore advection and partly due to the β-effect. With the inclusion of the upper ocean restoring, the dominance of anticyclonic eddy, extending from surface to a depth of ∼1200 m, can be reproduced.