Late Pleistocene crustal uplift and gravity anomaly in the eastern part of Kyushu, Japan, and its geophysical implications

The Miyazaki Plain, eastern part of Kyushu, Japan, is characterized by both significant negative gravity anomalies and aseismic crustal uplifting (1 mm/year) in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. We examine the relationship between these two phenomena, which may provide important constraints on the interaction between the collision and/or subduction of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge and the forearc. We estimate the mass deficiency below 11-km depth by using the gravity anomalies and P-wave velocity structure of the upper crust. The onset of the load accumulation, 0.5–0.4 Ma, is inferred from the movement of the fluvial terraces considering the tephrochronology. The loading history is assumed to be a linear function of time. We evaluate the crustal rebound by assuming a viscoelastic plate deformation with an underplating load existing at 20- or 30-km depth. The predicted crustal movement for models with a lithospheric (crustal) viscosity of 10²³–10²⁴ Pa s can explain the observed altitudes of the shoreline of the marine terraces formed at the Last Interglacial of about 125 kyr BP and the middle Holocene of 5–6 kyr BP. Although we cannot restrict the origin of the buoyant body, the subduction of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, remnant arc associated with back-arc opening of the Shikoku Basin, may be related to the buoyancy for the uplifting region examined here. On the other hand, the buoyant body off the Miyazaki Plain probably plays an important role in the interaction between the subducting oceanic slab and the overriding forearc crust. Thus, the observed lateral variation of the interplate coupling on the convergent boundary along the Nankai Trough may be attributed to the existence of the buoyant body.     

Neural Network-Based Estimation of Principal Metal Contents in the Hokuroku District,Northern Japan,for Exploring Kuroko-Type Deposits

The Hokuroku district, extending over 40 × 40 km² in northern Japan, is known to be dominated by kuroko-type massive sulfide deposits that have a genetic relation to submarine volcanic activity. The deposits are hosted in a specific stratigraphic zone of Miocene volcanic rocks. Because kuroko-type deposits are under exploration in several countries, it is important to integrate the geologic and geochemical data that have been accumulated in the Hokuroku district to characterize the distribution of deposits and produce a map of mineral potential. Thus, we collected data on multiple chemical components from 1917 rock cores at 143 drillhole sites and concentrated on components with relatively large amounts of data, which are SiO₂, Al₂O₃, and Fe₂O₃ as major elements and Cu, Pb, and Zn as trace elements. Although frequencies of these data can be approximated by normal or lognormal distributions, spatial correlation structures cannot be extracted from the semivariograms of each component nor from the cross-semivariograms between two components of the major or minor elements. To handle such complexity, a spatial method of modeling content distribution, SLANS, is developed by applying a feedforward neural network. The principle of SLANS is to train a network repeatedly to recognize the relation between the data value and the location and lithology of a sample point. One-hundred outputs for each element are obtained by changing the numbers of neurons in a middle layer from 1 to 10 and sample data used for training from 3 to 12, and finally one output is selected based on the estimation precision of the network which is restricted near the target point. After constructing a geologic distribution model from the geological column classified into 25 rock codes, three-dimensional distributions of Cu, Pb, and Zn contents are estimated over the study area. The content models are considered to be valid because high-content zones are located on the known mine sites and the margins of ancient volcanoes or calderas. Some zones are distributed along strikes of major deep-seated fractures in the district.     

U–Pb zircon geochronology of the North Pole Dome adamellite in the eastern Pilbara Craton

Supracrustal rocks around the North Pole Dome area, Western Australia, provide valuable information regarding early records of the evolution of crustal processes, surface environments, and biosphere. Owing to the occurrence of the oldest known microfossils, the successions at the North Pole Dome area have attracted interest from many researchers. The Paleoarchean successions (Warrawoona Group) mainly comprise mafic‐ultramafic greenstones with intercalated cherts and felsic lavas. Age constraints on the sediments have been mainly based on zircon U–Pb geochronology. However, many zircon grains have suffered from metamictization and contain anomalously high contents of common Pb, which makes interpretation of the U–Pb data complicated. In order to provide more convincing chronological constraints, an U–Pb Concordia age is widely accepted as the best estimate. Most zircons separated from two adamellites also suffered from severe metamictization. In our analyses, less metamictized domains were selected using a pre‐ablation technique in conjunction with elemental mapping, and then their U–Pb isotopic compositions were determined with a laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. Most analyzed domains contained certain amounts of common Pb (²⁰⁴Pb/²⁰⁶Pb > 0.000 1), whereas three and five U–Pb data points with less common Pb (²⁰⁴Pb/²⁰⁶Pb < 0.000 1) were obtained. These U–Pb datasets yielded U–Pb Concordia ages of ca 3 445 Ma and 3 454 Ma, respectively. These ages represent the timing of the adamellite intrusion, and constrain the minimum depositional age of the Warrawoona Group. In addition, a single xenocrystic zircon grain showed a ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb age of ca 3 545 Ma, supporting the idea that the sialic basement of the Pilbara Craton existed prior to 3 500 Ma. The in situ U–Pb zircon dating combined with the pre‐ablation technique has the potentials to identify non‐metamictized parts and to yield precise and accurate geochronological data even from partially metamictized zircons.     

Distribution of fossil seawater and its role in Neogene sedimentary rock landslides in Niigata,eastern marginal region of the Japan Sea

The Neogene marine sedimentary rock area in the eastern marginal region of the Japan Sea is an area with some of the highest landslide densities in Japan. Some of the landslides in this area have been known to involve saline groundwater, which can be the cause of these landslides. In order to demonstrate the relationships between landslides and saline water, topographic, geological, groundwater, and electromagnetic surveys were performed in the eastern marginal region of the Japan Sea. Many landslides and gravitational slope deformations with linear depressions and small scarps were recognized in the study area. The resistivity profile obtained by an electromagnetic survey suggests that there is a wide zonal distribution of saline water with salt concentrations equivalent to seawater at depths of 50–100 m or more and that the groundwater shallower than 50 m has an electrical conductivity of less than 100 mS/m. The shallow resistive groundwater is inferred to be meteoric water that replaced the saline groundwater, which likely weakened the bedrock, resulting in landslides. A ridge of competent tuff overlying mudstone has many linear depressions from gravitational slope deformation and low‐resistivity water to a depth of 600 m, which suggests that the mudstone was weakened by water replacement and deformed under the tuff caprock. The saline groundwater is inferred to be fossil seawater trapped in pores during sediment deposition, which is brought near the ground surface along with rocks by tectonic movement in the hills. Thus, the saline water and its fresh water replacement are among the important basic causes of the landslides. The oil well data obtained in the eastern marginal region of the Japan Sea suggest that such saline water replacement has occurred widely and that replacement is likely one of the predispositions for the frequent landslides there.     

Geochemical characteristics of zircons in the Ashizuri A‐type granitoids: An additional granite topology tool for detrital zircon studies

Zircon is resistant to alteration over a wide range of geological environments, and isotopic ratios within the mineral provide constraints on ages and their parental magmas. Trace element compositions in zircon are also expected to reflect those of their parent magmas, and have a potential as essential indicators for their host rocks. Because most detrital zircons that accumulate at river mouths are derived primarily from granitoids, the classification of zircon within granitoids is potentially meaningful. This study employs the conventional classification scheme of granites (I‐, S‐, M‐, and A‐types). To clarify geochemical characteristics of zircons in A‐type granites, trace element compositions of zircons extracted from the A‐type Ashizuri granitoids were examined. Zircons from the Ashizuri granitoids commonly show enrichments of heavy rare earth elements and positive Ce anomalies, indicating that these zircons were igneous in origin. In addition, zircons in these A‐type granites are characterized by enrichments of Nb, Y, Ta, Th, and U and strong negative Eu anomalies, which exhibit good positive correlations with those in their whole rocks. This fact indicates that these signatures in zircons reflect well those in their parental bodies and are useful in identifying zircons derived from A‐type granite. Based on compilations of available data, zircons from A‐type granites can be clearly discriminated from other‐types of granites within Nb/Sr–Eu anomaly, U/Sr–Eu anomaly, Nb/Sr–U/Sr, and Nb/Sr–Ta/Sr cross‐plots. All indices used in these diagrams were selected based on the geochemical features of both zircon and whole rock of A‐type granites. Application of these discrimination diagrams to detrital zircons will likely provide further insights. For example, some Hadean detrital zircons plot in similar fields to A‐type granites, implying the existence of A‐type magmatism in the Earth's earliest history.     

Development of collapse-consistent loading protocols for experimental testing of steel columns

In order to effectively utilize results from quasi-static cyclic testing on structural components for the earthquake-induced collapse risk quantification of structures, the need exists to establish collapse-consistent loading protocols representing the asymmetric lateral drift demands of structures under low-probability of occurrence earthquakes. This paper summarizes the development of such protocols for experimental testing of steel columns prone to inelastic local buckling. The protocols are fully defined with a deformation- and a force-controlled parameter. They are generally applicable to quantify the capacity and demands of steel columns experiencing constant and variable axial load coupled with lateral drift demands. Through rigorous nonlinear earthquake collapse simulations, it is found that the building height, the column's local slenderness ratio, and ground motion type have the largest influence on the dual-parameter loading protocol indexes. Comprehensive comparisons with measured data from full-scale shake table collapse tests suggest that unlike routinely used symmetric cyclic loading histories, the proposed loading protocol provides sufficient information for modeling strength and stiffness deterioration in steel columns at large inelastic deformations.     

A dataset of continental river discharge based on JRA-55 for use in a global ocean circulation model

A dataset of historical river discharge into oceans was created using the CaMa-Flood global river routing model and adjusted runoff from the land component of JRA-55. The major rivers were well resolved with a 0.25° horizontal resolution. The total runoff on each drainage basin exhibits a distinctive bias on decadal time scales. The input runoff data were modified using 5-year low-pass-filtered multiplicative factors to fit the annual mean climatology and decadal variations in the reference dataset. The model incorporated data from 1958 to 2016. The yearly and seasonal variations of the major rivers are well represented by the model.     

Effects of alkali and alkaline-earth cations on the high-pressure sound velocities of aluminosilicate glasses

Physics and Chemistry of Minerals - A black tourmaline sample from Seagull batholith (Yukon Territory, Canada) was established to be a schorl with concentrations of Fe2+ among the highest currently...