Primordial and cosmogenic noble gases in the Sutter's Mill CM chondrite

The Sutter's Mill (SM) CM chondrite fell in California in 2012. The CM chondrite group is one of the most primitive, consisting of unequilibrated minerals, but some of them have experienced complex processes occurring on their parent body, such as aqueous alteration, thermal metamorphism, brecciation, and solar wind implantation. We have determined noble gas concentrations and isotopic compositions for SM samples using a stepped heating gas extraction method, in addition to mineralogical observation of the specimens. The primordial noble gas abundances, especially the P3 component trapped in presolar diamonds, confirm the classification of SM as a CM chondrite. The mineralogical features of SM indicate that it experienced mild thermal alteration after aqueous alteration. The heating temperature is estimated to be <350 °C based on the release profile of primordial ³⁶Ar. The presence of a Ni‐rich Fe‐Ni metal suggests that a minor part of SM has experienced heating at >500 °C. The variation in the heating temperature of thermal alteration is consistent with the texture as a breccia. The heterogeneous distribution of solar wind noble gases is also consistent with it. The cosmic‐ray exposure (CRE) age for SM is calculated to be 0.059 ± 0.023 Myr based on cosmogenic ²¹Ne by considering trapped noble gases as solar wind, the terrestrial atmosphere, P1 (or Q), P3, A2, and G components. The CRE age lies at the shorter end of the CRE age distribution of the CM chondrite group.     

Hydrocarbon-Degrading Bacteria and Paraffin from Polluted Seashores 9 Years after the Nakhodka Oil Spill in the Sea of Japan

Pollution of petroleum hydrocarbons, in particular oil spills, has attracted much attention in the past and recent decades. Oil spills influence natural microbial community, and physical and chemical properties of the affected sites. The biodegradation of hydrocarbons by microorganisms is one of the primary ways by which oil spill is eliminated from contaminated sites. One such spill was that of the Russian tanker the Nakhodka that spilled heavy oil into the Sea of Japan on January 2, 1997. The impact of the Nakhodka oil spill resulted in a viscous sticky fluid fouling the shores and affected natural ecosystems. This paper describes the weathering of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria （genus Pseudomonas） and crystallized organic compounds from the Nakhodka oil spill-polluted seashores after nine years. The Nakhodka oil has hardened and formed crust of crystalline paraffin wax as shown by XRD analysis （0.422, 0.377, and 0.250 nm d-spacing） in association with graphite and calcite after 9 years of bioremediation. Anaerobic reverse side of the oil crust contained numerous coccus typed bacteria associated with halite. The finding of hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria and paraffin wax in the oil crust may have a significant effect on the weathering processes of the Nakhodka oil spill during the 9- year bioremediation.     

Distribution of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers, alkenones and polyunsaturated fatty acids in suspended particulate organic matter in the East China Sea

We investigated the spatial distribution of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), alkenones, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in particulate organic matter collected at four sites along a depth transect from the continental shelf to the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea during the spring bloom in 2008. The maximum alkenone concentration appeared in the top 25?m at all sites and the $ U_{37}^{{{\text{K}}'}} $ values were consistent with in situ water temperatures in the depth interval, suggesting that the alkenones were produced mainly in surface water. At the slope and shelf sites, GDGTs in the water column showed a concentration maximum at 74?C99?m depth, and the $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{H}} $ agreed with in situ water temperatures, suggesting the in situ production of GDGTs in the depth interval. The low-salinity surface water above 20?m depth was characterized by low GDGT concentrations and low $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{L}} $ -based temperatures, suggesting either the production of GDGTs in winter season or the lateral advection of GDGTs by an eastward current. At the slope and Okinawa Trough sites, TEX₈₆-based temperatures were nearly constant in the water column deeper than 300?m and corresponded to temperatures at the surface and near-surface waters rather than in situ temperatures. This observation is consistent with a hypothesis that Thaumarchaeota cells produced in surface waters are delivered to deeper water and also indicates that the residence time of suspended GDGTs in the deep-water column is large enough to mix the GDGTs produced in different seasons.     

Effects of the copepod community structure on fecal pellet flux in Kagoshima bay,a deep,semi-enclosed embayment

Seasonal changes in the shape and size composition of fecal pellets were investigated with sediment trap samples from 50 and 150 m in Kagoshima Bay to evaluate how the mesozooplankton community affects fecal pellet flux. Deep vertical mixing was evident in March, and thermal stratification was developed above 50 m in June, August and November. Chlorophyll a, suspended particulate organic carbon (POC) and copepod abundance were uniform throughout the water column during the seasonal mixing and concentrated above 50 m in the stratified seasons. Calanoids were the most predominant copepods in March and poecilostomatoids composed more than 45% of the copepod community in June, August and November. Fecal pellet fluxes at 50 and 150 m were the highest in March, nearly half of POC flux. The relative contribution declined considerably in the other months, especially for less than 4% of POC flux in August. The decline was corresponded to the predominance of cyclopoids and poecilostomatoids. Cylindrical pellets dominated the fecal matters at both depths throughout the study period, while larger cylindrical pellets nearly disappeared at 150 m in June, August and November. Copepod incubation revealed that cylindrical and oval pellets were egested by calanoids and the other copepods, respectively. We suggest that cylindrical fecal pellets produced by calanoid copepods contribute to feces flux but the predominance of poecilostomatoids and/or cyclopoids decreases feces flux via the increase of oval pellets and fragmentation of larger cylindrical pellets.     

Evidence for ocean water invasion into the Chicxulub crater at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

Abstract— The possibility of ocean water invasion into the Chicxulub crater following the impact at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary was investigated based on examination of an impactite between approximately 794.63 and 894.94 m in the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) core. The presence of cross lamination in the uppermost part of the impactite suggests the influence of an ocean current at least during the sedimentation of this interval. Abundant occurrence of nannofossils of late Campanian to early Maastrichtian age in the matrices of samples from the upper part of the impactite suggests that the carbonate sediments deposited on the inner rim margin and outside the crater were eroded and transported into the crater most likely by ocean water that invaded the crater after its formation. The maximum grain size of limestone lithics and vesicular melt fragments, and grain and bulk chemical compositions show a cyclic variation in the upper part of the impactite. The upward fining grain size and the absence of erosional contact at the base of each cycle suggest that the sediments were derived from resuspension of units elsewhere in the crater, most likely by high energy currents association with ocean water invasion.     

Co-accretion of the Earth-Moon system after the giant impact: reduction of the total angular momentum by lunar impact ejecta

Though the Moon is considered to have been formed by the so-called giant impact, the mass of the Earth immediately after the impact is still controversial. If the Moon was formed during the Earth's accretion, a subsequent accretion of residual heliocentric planetesimals onto the protoearth and the protomoon must have occurred. In this co-accretion stage, a significant amount of lunar-impact-ejecta would be ejected to circumterrestrial orbits, since the mean impact velocity of the planetesimals with the protomoon is much larger than the escape velocity of the protomoon. Orbital calculations of test particles ejected from the protomoon, whose semimajor axis is smaller than that of the present Moon, reveal that most of the particles escaping from the protomoon also escape from the Hill sphere of the protoearth and reduce the planetocentric angular momentum of the primordial Earth-Moon system. Using the results of the ejecta simulations, we investigate the evolution of the mass ratio and the total angular momentum (Earth's spin angular momentum + Moon's orbital angular momentum) of the Earth-Moon system during the co-accretion. We find that the mass of the protomoon is almost constant or rather decreases and the total angular momentum decreases significantly, if the random velocity of planetesimals is as large as the escape velocity of the protoearth. On the other hand, if the random velocity is the half of the escape velocity of the protoearth, the mass ratio is kept to be almost as large as the present value and the decrease of the total angular momentum is not so significant. Comparing with the results of giant impact simulations, we find that the mass of the protoearth immediately after the Moon-forming impact was 0.7-0.8 times the present value if the impactor-to-target mass ratio was 3:7, whereas the giant impact occurred almost in the end of the Earth's accretion if the impactor-to-target mass ratio was 1:9.     

A multilayer model for thermal infrared emission of Saturn's rings: Basic formulation and implications for Earth-based observations

We present our new model for the thermal infrared emission of Saturn's rings based on a multilayer approximation. In our model, (1) the equation of classical radiative transfer is solved directly for both visible and infrared light, (2) the vertical heterogeneity of spin frequencies of ring particles is taken into account, and (3) the heat transport due to particles motion in the vertical and azimuthal directions is taken into account. We adopt a bimodal size distribution, in which rapidly spinning small particles (whose spin periods are shorter than the thermal relaxation time) with large orbital inclinations have spherically symmetric temperatures, whereas non-spinning large particles (conventionally called slow rotators) with small orbital inclinations are heated up only on their illuminated sides. The most important physical parameters, which control ring temperatures, are the albedo in visible light, the fraction of fast rotators (ffast) in the optical depth, and the thermal inertia. In the present paper, we apply the model to Earth-based observations. Our model can well reproduce the observed temperature for all the main rings (A, B, and C rings), although we cannot determine exact values of the physical parameters due to degeneracy among them. Nevertheless, the range of the estimated albedo is limited to 0-0.52±0.05, 0.55±0.07-0.74±0.03, and 0.51±0.07-0.74±0.06 for the C, B, and A rings, respectively. These lower and upper limits are obtained assuming all ring particles to be either fast and slow rotators, respectively. For the C ring, at least some fraction of slow rotators is necessary (ffast?0.9) in order for the fitted albedo to be positive. For the A and B rings, non-zero fraction of fast rotators (ffast?0.1-0.2) is favorable, since the increase of the brightness temperature with increasing solar elevation angle is enhanced with some fraction of fast rotators.     

In situ stress measurements in NIED boreholes in and around the fault zone near the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, Japan

Abstract The 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake, M 7.2, occurred along the north-east–south-west trending Rokko–Awaji Fault system. Three boreholes of 1001 m, 1313 m and 1838 m deep were drilled in the vicinity of the epicenter of the earthquake. Each borehole is located at characteristic sites in relation to active faults and the aftershock distribution. In particular, the Nojima–Hirabayashi borehole [Hirabayashi National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) drilling] in Awaji Island was drilled to a depth of 1838 m, approximately 320 m southeast from the surface rupture of the Nojima Fault, and it crosses fracture zones below a depth of 1140 m. In situ stress measurements by the hydraulic fracturing method were conducted in these boreholes within 1.5 years after the earthquake. Measurement results suggest the following: (i) Differential stress values are very small, approximately 10 MPa at a depth of 1000 m at each site; (ii) the orientation of maximum horizontal compression is almost the same in the boreholes, perpendicular to the surface trace of the faults, north-west–south-east; (iii) fault types estimated from the state of stress differ among these sites; and (iv) the differential stress value just beneath the fault fracture zone decreases abruptly to one-half of that above the fault zone in the Hirabayashi NIED drilling. These features support the idea that the shear stress along the Rokko–Awaji Fault system decreased to a low level just after the earthquake.     

Observation of Sea Surface Temperature by an Infrared Radiation Thermometer

Laboratory experiments were made to examine some characteristics of a radiation thermometer (PRT 14–313, Barnes Engineering Company). Effect of nonblackness of the water surface and a large temperature difference between the water and the air above it were investigated. Sea surface temperatures were then measured by the radiation thermometer, thermistor thermometers and a mercury thermometer from a marine tower. The result showed that the temperature at the air-sea interface was not always cooler than the subsurface temperature. The standard deviation of difference of temperatures measured by the radiation thermometer and the thermistor thermometer was 0.44°C. The dependence of the temperature difference on various factors was investigated with the result that current velocity had a good correlation with the temperature difference.     

Fracture-zone conditions on a recently active fault: insights from mineralogical and geochemical analyses of the Hirabayashi NIED drill core on the Nojima fault, southwest Japan, which ruptured in the 1995 Kobe earthquake

An 1800-m-deep borehole into the Nojima fault zone was drilled at Nojima-Hirabayashi, Japan, after the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake. Three possible fracture zones were detected at depths of about 1140, 1300, and 1800 m. To assess these fracture zones in this recently active fault, we analyzed the distributions of fault rocks, minerals, and chemical elements in these zones. The central fault plane in the shallowest fracture zone was identified by foliated blue-gray gouge at a depth of 1140 m. The degree of fracturing was evidently greater in the hanging wall than in the footwall. Minerals detected in this zone were quartz, orthoclase, plagioclase, and biotite, as in the parent rock (granodiorite), and also kaolinite, smectite, laumontite, stilbite, calcite, ankerite, and siderite, which are related to hydrothermal alteration. Biotite was absent in both the hanging wall and footwall across the central fault plane, but it was absent over a greater distance from the central fault plane in the hanging wall than in the footwall. Major element compositions across this zone suggested that hydrothermal alteration minerals such as kaolinite and smectite occurred across the central fault plane for a greater distance in the hanging wall than in the footwall. Similarly, H₂O+ and CO₂ had higher concentrations in the hanging wall than in the footwall. This asymmetrical distribution pattern is probably due to the greater degree of wall–rock fracturing and associated alteration in the hanging wall. We attributed the characteristics of this zone to fault activity and fluid–rock interactions. We analyzed the other fracture zones along this fault in the same way. In the fracture zone at about 1300 m depth, we detected the same kinds of hydrothermal alteration minerals as in the shallower zone, but they were in fewer samples. We detected relatively little H₂O+ and CO₂, and little evidence for movement of the major chemical elements, indicating little past fluid–rock interaction. In the fracture zone at about 1800 m depth, H₂O+ and CO₂ were very enriched throughout the interval, as in the fracture zone at about 1140 m depth. However, smectite was absent and chlorite was present, indicating the occurrence of chloritization, which requires a temperature of more than 200 °C. Only smectite can form under the present conditions in these fracture zones. The chloritization probably occurred in the past when the fracture zone was deeper than it is now. These observations suggest that among the three fracture zones, that at about 1140 m depth was the most activated at the time of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake.