Miocene provenance change in Himalayan foreland basin and Bengal Fan sediments,with special reference to detrital garnet chemistry

Bengal Fan Miocene sediments were collected during International Ocean Discovery Program Expedition 354 and investigated using petrographic and detrital garnet chemistry analyses. The Miocene Siwalik Group, which is composed of sediments deposited in the Himalayan foreland basin, was also analyzed for comparison with the Bengal Fan data for the provenance change during the Miocene. Our petrographic analyses revealed that the Miocene sediments of the Bengal Fan and Siwalik Group consist predominantly of Higher Himalayan Crystalline (HHC)-derived detritus such as chloritoid, staurolite, sillimanite, and/or kyanite, which appear among the accessory minerals. The chemistry of the detrital garnet varies across the stratigraphy; most of the garnet is rich in almandine and poor in spessartine and pyrope. However, pyrope-rich garnet, which is considered to originate from the HHC core (granulite facies), was found in the lower to upper Miocene deposits. The deposition of HHC-derived detrital garnet began before the Middle Miocene (15 Ma) and before the Late Miocene (10–9 Ma) in the Siwalik Group. The Bengal Fan data, by contrast, indicated that pyrope-rich garnet appeared in the Early Miocene (17.3 Ma) and Late Miocene (8.5–6.5 Ma). We conclude that the Bengal Fan sediments record the erosion of the HHC zone since the Early Miocene that appears in the Siwalik sediments. Furthermore, we found that the HHC-derived inputs decreased from the late Middle Miocene (12 Ma) to the early Middle Miocene (10 Ma) in both the Nepal Himalaya foreland basin and the Bengal Fan. The disappearance of the HHC-derived detritus is probably the result of dilution by Lesser Himalayan detritus, which suggests that the Lesser Himalayan zone, which is composed of metamorphosed and unmetamorphosed sedimentary rocks, was uplifted.     

基于钻孔截面变形方法(CBDM)测量岩石应力变化

本文发展了一种基于钻孔技术来监测岩石应力变化的钻孔截面变形法(CB-DM),该方法可以用来测量垂直于钻孔轴线的岩体的二维应力状态变化.本文通过载有激光位移传感器的样机,对该方法进行详细介绍,理论上分析测量结果的影响因子,证明该方法能够有效估测岩体的应力变化.     

Hydrogeologic-structure and groundwater-movement imaging in tideland using electrical sounding resistivity: a case study on the Ariake Sea coast, southwest Japan

Groundwater flow exerts a crucial control on the boundary between the sea and freshwater and is thus a key factor for preserving groundwater resources and preventing seawater intrusion in coastal areas. Although it is highly probable that geological faults in coastal areas affect groundwater flow patterns, the effect has not been described yet in detail. This study is aimed at detecting and imaging groundwater flow and its temporal change around a fault in a coastal area through resistivity and chargeability distributions using electrical sounding. The Okoshiki area in central Kyushu, southwest Japan, was selected as a case study area, because of the presence of Kamiouda Fault. The measurements were conducted along six lines of both parallel and perpendicular orientations to the coastline. A feature suggesting a fault zone was evident on two lines. Through the temporal change of resistivity, movement and mixing processes of the seawater and freshwater during the ebb, low and flood tides were interpreted. A conceptual model of the processes was constructed in which a fault zone and the configuration of bedrock are dominant elements by acting as a selective path and a barrier to the groundwater flow, respectively.     

Horizontal structure of planetary-scale waves at the cloud top of Venus deduced from Galileo SSI images with an improved cloud-tracking technique

An improved cloud tracking method for deriving wind velocities from successive planetary images was developed. The new method incorporates into the traditional cross-correlation method an algorithm that corrects for erroneous cloud motion vectors by re-determining the most plausible correlation peak among all of the local maxima on the correlation surface by comparing each vector with its neighboring vectors. The newly developed method was applied to the Venusian violet images obtained by the Solid State Imaging system (SSI) onboard the Galileo spacecraft during its Venus flyby. Although the results may be biased by the choice of spatial scale of atmospheric features, the cloud tracking is the most practical mean of estimating the wind velocities with extensive spatial and temporal coverage. The two-dimensional distribution of the horizontal wind vector field over 5 days was obtained. It was found from these wind maps that the solar-fixed component in 1990 was similar to that in 1982 obtained by the Pioneer Venus orbiter. The deviation of the instantaneous zonal wind field from the solar-fixed component shows a distinct wavenumber-1 structure in the equatorial region. On the assumption that this structure is a manifestation of an equatorial Kelvin wave, the phase relationship between the zonal wind and the cloud brightness suggests a short photochemical lifetime of the violet absorber. The momentum deposition by this Kelvin wave, which is subject to radiative damping, would induce a westward mean-wind acceleration of ～0.3 m s^?1 per Earth day.     

Modelling exposure of oceanic higher trophic-level consumers to polychlorinated biphenyls: Pollution ‘hotspots’ in relation to mass mortality events of marine mammals

Marine mammals in the past mass mortality events may have been susceptible to infection because their immune systems were suppressed through the bioaccumulation of environmental pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). We compiled mortality event data sets of 33 marine mammal species, and employed a Finely-Advanced Transboundary Environmental model (FATE) to model the exposure of the global fish community to PCB congeners, in order to define critical exposure levels (CELs) of PCBs above which mass mortality events are likely to occur. Our modelling approach enabled us to describe the mass mortality events in the context of exposure of higher-trophic consumers to PCBs and to identify marine pollution ‘hotspots’ such as the Mediterranean Sea and north-western European coasts. We demonstrated that the CELs can be applied to quantify a chemical pollution Planetary Boundary, under which a safe operating space for marine mammals and humanity can exist.     

Application of Magnetotelluric (MT) Resistivity to Imaging of Regional Three-Dimensional Geologic Structures and Groundwater Systems

Widespread definition of a groundwater system in three dimensions is necessary for the management and maintenance of groundwater resources. A magnetotelluric (MT) survey can be an effective geophysical prospecting method for imaging regional geological structures by measuring both shallow and deep resistivity. To demonstrate the capability of an MT survey to characterize a groundwater system, the Kumamoto area of central Kyushu in southwestern Japan was selected as a case study site because of its rich groundwater resources. Three-dimensional (3D) MT resistivity structure to a depth of 5?km was modeled by 1D inversion analysis of raw MT data and 3D interpolation of the resultant resistivity column data by the optimization principle method. Consequently, both deep and shallow aquifers were detected. A high-resistivity zone appears at depths between 500 and 2,000?m between the Futagawa?CHinagu faults and the Usuki?CYatsushiro tectonic line, which supports the existence of an aquiclude under the aquifer. The most important characteristic inferred from the 3D resistivity model is that the deep groundwater system below a depth of 1,000?m has two main flow paths. One path is likely to be through porous rocks because the low resistivity zone is regarded as tuff with sand and gravel, and the other flow path is interpreted to be through fractured zones along the Hinagu faults. Hence, the path and direction of the groundwater flows are probably controlled by geologic structures and the configuration of the active faults. These findings support the effectiveness of the MT method for investigating groundwater systems.     

Tomographic imaging of hydrated crust and mantle in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan: Evidence for dehydration embrittlement as a cause of intraslab earthquakes

We estimate detailed three-dimensional seismic velocity structures in the subducting Pacific slab beneath Hokkaido, Japan, using a large number of arrival-time data from 6902 local earthquakes. A remarkable low-velocity layer with a thickness of ~ 10 km is imaged at the uppermost part of the slab and is interpreted as hydrated oceanic crust. The layer gradually disappears at depths of 70–80 km, suggesting the breakdown of hydrous minerals there. We find prominent low-velocity anomalies along the lower plane of the double seismic zone and above the aftershock area of the 1993 Kushiro-oki earthquake (M7.8). Since seismic velocities of unmetamorphosed peridotite are much higher than the observations, hydrous minerals are expected to exist in the lower plane as well as the hypocentral area of the 1993 earthquake. On the other hand, regions between the upper and lower planes, where seismic activity is not so high compared to the both planes, show relatively high velocities comparable to those of unmetamorphosed peridotite. Our observations suggest that intermediate-depth earthquakes occur mainly in regions with hydrous minerals, which support dehydration embrittlement hypothesis as a cause of earthquake in the subducting slab.     

Quasi-static slip on the plate boundary associated with the 2003 M8.0 Tokachi-oki and 2004 M7.1 off-Kushiro earthquakes, Japan

We analyzed small repeating earthquakes recorded over a 13-year period and GPS data recorded over an 8-month period to estimate interplate quasi-static slip associated with the 2003 Tokachi-oki earthquake (M8.0) and the 2004 off-Kushiro earthquake (M7.1). The repeating-earthquake analysis revealed that the slip rate near the source region of the Tokachi-oki earthquake was relatively low (< 5 cm/year) prior to the earthquake; however, in the last 3 years leading up to the event, a minor acceleration in slip occurred upon the deeper extension of the coseismic slip area of the earthquake. Repeating-earthquake and GPS data indicate that large amounts of afterslip occurred around the rupture area following the earthquake; the afterslip mainly propagated to the east of the coseismic slip area. We also infer that the occurrence of the 2004 off-Kushiro earthquake, located about 100 km northeast of the epicenter of the Tokachi-oki earthquake, was advanced by the afterslip associated with the Tokachi-oki earthquake.     

Calorimetric measurements of fusion enthalpies for Ni2SiO4 and Co2SiO4 olivines and application to olivine-liquid partitioning

Calorimetric measurements of fusion enthalpies for Ni₂SiO₄ and Co₂SiO₄ olivines were carried out using a high-temperature calorimeter, and Ni and Co partitioning between olivine and silicate liquid was analyzed using the measured heats of fusion. The fusion enthalpy of Co₂SiO₄ olivine measured by transposed-temperature drop calorimetry was 103 ± 15 kJ/mol at melting point (1688 K). The fusion enthalpy of Ni₂SiO₄ olivine was calculated based on the enthalpies of liquids in the system An₅₀Di₅₀-Ni₂SiO₄ measured by transposed-temperature drop calorimetry at 1773 K, and was 221 ± 26 kJ/mol at its metastable melting point (1923 K). The fusion enthalpy of Ni₂SiO₄ is the largest among those of olivine group, this is caused by the large crystal field stabilization energy of six-coordinated Ni²⁺ in olivine. The larger fusion enthalpy of Ni₂SiO₄ can account for the large and variable partition coefficient of Ni between olivine and silicate liquid. Based on the comparison between partition coefficients calculated from thermodynamic data and those observed in partition experiments, it is considered that the magnitude of partition coefficients is primarily dependent on the heats of fusion of the components. Furthermore, the activity coefficients for Ni-, Co- and Mn-bearing components in magmatic liquid are nearly of the same magnitude.