Experimental Study of Fe-Mg Exchange Reaction Between Orthopyroxene and Sapphirine and its Calibration as a Geothermometer

The exchange of Fe²⁺ and Mg²⁺ between orthopyroxene and sapphirine has been investigated at pressures 7-16 kbar and temperatures 850-1300°C using a piston cylinder apparatus for the synthetic and natural systems. This reaction is temperature-dependent and would be a good geothermometer. The equilibration temperature T is approximately expressed by the distribution coefficient as follows: T(°C)=1515/(ln K_D+0.943)-273.

This empirical equation was applied to some Antarctic granulites and associated rocks. The new orthopyroxene-sapphirine geothermometer gives consistent results with those estimated from the Fe-Mg orthopyroxene-garnet geothermometer.     

Internal gravity wave selection in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed by the MU radar: Preliminary results

Marked wavelike variations of the lower stratospheric wind observed on 7–10 May, 1985 by an MST radar in Japan (by the MU radar) are analyzed assuming that they are induced by monochromatic internal inertio-gravity waves. These variations are mainly composed of two modes (periods: 22 and 24 hours), both of which have zonal phase velocities (C _X ) slower than the mean westerly wind (). A statistical analysis of the zonal phase velocity shows thatC _X above andC _X below the tropopause jet stream, which is considered to be a vivid proof of wave selection due to the tropospheric mean flow and upward wave emission from the tropopause jet. A comparison between the MU radar results and routine meteorological observations leads to the conclusion that the marked waves appear when the jet stream takes a maximum wind speed.     

Sealevel history recorded in the Pleistocene carbonate sequence in IODP Hole 310‐M0005D,off Tahiti

Material cored during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 ‘Tahiti Sea Level’ revealed that the fossil reef systems around Tahiti are composed of two major stratigraphic sequences: (i) a last deglacial sequence; and (ii) an older Pleistocene sequence. The older Pleistocene carbonate sequence is composed of reef deposits associated with volcaniclastic sediments and was preserved in Hole 310‐M0005D drilled off Maraa. Within an approximately 70‐m‐thick older Pleistocene sequence (33.22–101.93 m below seafloor; 92.85–161.56 m below present sealevel) in this hole, 11 depositional units are defined by lithological changes, sedimentological features, and paleontological characteristics and are numbered sequentially from the top of the hole downward (Subunits P1–P11). Paleowater depths inferred from nongeniculate coralline algae, combined with those determined by using corals and larger foraminifers, suggest two major sealevel rises during the deposition of the older Pleistocene sequence. Of these, the second sealevel rise is associated with an intervening sealevel drop. It is likely that the second sealevel rise corresponds to that during Termination II (TII, the penultimate deglaciation, from Marine Isotope Stages 6 to 5e). Therefore, the intervening sealevel drop can be correlated with that known as the ‘sealevel reversal’ during TII. Because there are limited data on the Pleistocene reef systems in the tropical South Pacific Ocean, this study provides important information about Pleistocene sealevel history, the evolution of coral reef ecosystems, and the responses of coral reefs to Quaternary climate changes.     

S-wave velocity structures of sediments estimated from array microtremor records and site responses in the near-fault region of the 1999 Chi-Chi,Taiwan earthquake

The 1999 Chi-Chi, Taiwan earthquake, M_W = 7.6, caused severe damage in the near-fault region of the earthquake. In order to evaluate site effects in the near-field strong motions we estimate S-wave velocity structures of sediments at four sites using array records of microtremors. We also recalculated S-wave velocity structures at other four sites previously reported. To show the validity of the estimated S-wave velocity structures we separate empirical site responses from aftershock records using the generalized inversion method and show the agreement between empirical and theoretical site responses. We also show an observed fact that suggests soil nonlinearity during the Chi-Chi earthquake by comparing horizontal-to-vertical spectral ratios (HVRs) for main shock records with HVRs for aftershock records. Then we calculate one-dimensional equivalent-linear site responses using the estimated S-wave velocity structures and the main shock records observed on the surface. It is found that site amplification due to thick (about 6 km) sediments is one of the important factors for explaining the long-period velocity pulses of about 5 to 10 sec observed at sites in the footwall during the Chi-Chi earthquake. It is also found that the theoretical site responses of shallow soft sediments at sites that sustained severe damage in the hanging wall shows significant amplification around 1 sec. As the amplitude of velocity pulses with period around 1 sec is most critical in causing damage to ordinary buildings of moderate heights, our results suggest that the 1-sec period velocity pulses, amplified by the site response of shallow sediments should contribute to the severe damage during the Chi-Chi earthquake.     

Age constraints on the Palaeoproterozoic Lomagundi–Jatuli Event in Zimbabwe: Zircon geochronology of the Magondi Supergroup

The ca. 2.2–2.1 Ga Magondi Supergroup on the Zimbabwe Craton in Southern Africa is mainly composed of sedimentary rocks deposited in a rift basin/passive continental margin, which record a unique episode in carbon isotope perturbation called the Lomagundi–Jatuli Event (LJE). This study reports new U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Deweras and Lomagundi groups of the Magondi Supergroup, and of igneous zircons from underlying granitoids, to constrain the timing of the LJE and to identify the provenance of the Magondi Supergroup. Most analysed detrital zircon grains range in ages between ca. 2.9 and 2.6 Ga. Three ca. 2.3–2.2 Ga detrital zircons from sandstone of the Deweras Group, with the youngest ²⁰⁷Pb‐²⁰⁶Pb age of 2,216 ± 22 Ma, indicate the onset of LJE in the Zimbabwe Craton was almost simultaneous to that in Fennoscandia and the Superior Craton, supporting the global synchronicity of the LJE.     

H-adaptivity applied to liquefiable soil in nonlinear analysis of soil–pile interaction

This paper is concerned with application of the h-adaptive finite element method to dynamic analysis of a pile in liquefiable soil considering large deformation. In finite element analysis of pile behavior in liquefiable soil during an earthquake, especially considering large deformation of liquefied ground, error due to discretization in the zone near the pile becomes very large. Our purpose was to refine the approximation of the finite element method. The updated Lagrangian formulation and a cyclic elasto-plastic model based on the kinematic hardening rule were adopted to deal with the nonlinearity of the soil. The mixed finite element and finite difference methods together with the u-p formulation and Biot's two-phase mixture theory were used. To improve the accuracy and increase the efficiency of finite element analysis, an h-adaptive scheme that included a posteriori error estimation and h-version mesh refinement was applied to the analysis. The calculated results of effective stress were smoothed locally by the extrapolation method and smoothed stress was used to calculate the L₂ norm of the effective stress error in the last step of the calculation of each time increment. The mesh was refined by a fission procedure based on the indication of the error estimate As a numerical example, a soil–pile interaction system loaded cyclically was analyzed by our method.     

Some instabilities in the 3/1 and 2/1 resonances

In a very simple way, it is possible to show the existence of small regions of instability, inside the observed 3/1 and 2/1 Kirkwood Gap, by using the classical Laplace-Lagrange secular theory.     

Three-dimensional Mapping of Magma Source and Transport Regions from Seismic Data: The Mantle Wedge beneath Northeastern Japan

—We investigate the distribution of partial melt in island arc using the seismic velocity structure of the mantle wedge beneath northeastern Japan. The comparison of the seismic tomography with laboratory velocity data on a partially-molten mantle rock yields estimates of melting zones in three dimensions. We employ experimental data on the degree of partial melt in hydrous peridotite to give constraints on the melt fraction and temperature. Melting and magma-rich zones derived from the velocity structure coincide with observed low Q zones. The results of the three-dimensional mapping indicate that the source of magma in island arc is diapir-like melting patches localized within the low velocity zones of the mantle wedge. Extensive volcanic activity along the volcanic front is due to the presence of vast magma-rich zones just beneath the Moho. Those melting zones in the uppermost mantle may, in turn, cause melting of lower crustal materials and produce felsic magma. Melt appears to stay at and beneath the Moho, where crystallization fractionation may proceed. Melt exists at greater depths in the back-arc region, which may correlate with across-arc variations of chemical compositions of the volcanic rocks observed in northeastern Japan. We suggest that magma migration in the ductile lower crust may cause low-frequency microearthquakes, and magma penetration into the brittle upper crust may produce mid-crustal S-wave reflectors.     

Wind fluctuations near a cold vortex-tropopause funnel system observed by the MU radar

Vertical and temporal variations of three-dimensional wind velocity associated with an upper-tropospheric cold vortex-tropopause funnel system were observed by an MST radar in Japan (the MU radar). Marked changes of vertical velocity and horizontal wind direction were found between the inside and outside of the cold vortex. The vertical velocity activity outside the vortex was asymmetric; it was most active in a sector before the vortex. Unsaturated internal gravity waves in their generation stage contribute predominantly to the vertical velocity activity, suggesting that tropospheric occluded cyclones may be a possible source of middle-atmospheric gravity waves through the geostrophic adjustment process.