Hydrometeorological behaviour of pine and larch forests in eastern Siberia

Seasonal changes in the water and energy exchanges over a pine forest in eastern Siberia were investigated and compared with published data from a nearby larch forest. Continuous observations (April to August 2000) were made of the eddy‐correlation sensible heat flux and latent heat flux above the canopy. The energy balance was almost closed, although the sum of the turbulent fluxes sometimes exceeded the available energy flux (R_n ? G) when the latent heat flux was large; this was related to the wind direction. We examined the seasonal variation in energy balance components at this site. The seasonal variation and magnitude of the sensible heat flux (H) was similar to that of the latent heat flux (λE), with maximum values occurring in mid‐June. Consequently, the Bowen ratio was around 1·0 on many days during the study period. On some clear days just after rainfall, λE was very large and the sum of H and λE exceeded R_n ? G. The evapotranspiration rate above the dry canopy from May to August was 2·2 mm day^?1. The contributions of understory evapotranspiration (E_u) and overstory transpiration (E_o) to the evapotranspiration of the entire ecosystem (E_t) were both from 25 to 50% throughout the period analysed. These results suggest that E_u plays a very important role in the water cycle at this site. From snowmelt through the tree growth season (23 April to 19 August 2000), the total incoming water, comprised of the sum of precipitation and the water equivalent of the snow at the beginning of the melt season, was 228 mm. Total evapotranspiration from the forest, including interception loss and evaporation from the soil when the canopy was wet, was 208–254 mm. The difference between the incoming and outgoing amounts in the water balance was from +20 to ?26 mm. The water and energy exchanges of the pine and larch forest differed in that λE and H increased slowly in the pine forest, whereas λE increased rapidly in the larch forest and H decreased sharply after the melting season. Consequently, the shape of the Bowen ratio curves at the two sites differed over the period analysed, as a result of the differences in the species in each forest and in soil thawing. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Induction of tributyltin-binding protein type 2 in Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, by exposure to tributyltin-d27

In this study, individual Japanese flounder were intraperitoneally injected with 2 μg tributyltin-d27 (TBT-d27) fish⁻¹. Blood samples were collected on day 7 after injection. TBT-binding protein types 1 and 2 (TBT-bp1, -bp2) in the blood serum were quantified by western blotting analysis. As a result, the concentration of TBT-bp2 in TBT-d27 treated group increased to 220% of that in the solvent control, whereas the TBT-bp1 concentration decreased to 65% of that in the solvent control. Additionally, a positive relationship between the concentrations of TBT-bp2 and TBT was observed in blood sera of wild and cultured flounder. We suggest that TBT-bp2 is produced in response to TBT exposure and may play an important role in fish physiology.     

Geology, Mineralogy, and Formation Environment of the Disseminated Gold-Silver Telluride Bulawan Deposit, Negros Occidental, Philippines

Abstract: The Bulawan deposit is located in the porphyry copper belt of southwest Negros island, Philippines. Propylitic, K–feldspar, sericitic, and carbonate alteration types can be distinguished in the deposit. Propylite alteration occurs mainly in Cretaceous-Eocene andesitic lavas and agglomerates while K–feldspar, sericite and carbonate alteration types occur mostly in the Middle Miocene dacite porphyry breccia pipes and stocks which were intruded into the andesites. K-feldspar zones occur in the inner parts of the sericitized zone. Sericite alteration overprinted the propylitized and K-feldspar alteration zones, at lower temperature than epidote and chlorite in the propylitized zone. Carbonate alteration is associated with the mineralization in the center of the breccia pipes and along faults. Mineralization consists of gold-silver telluride ores that are hosted by the carbonate– and sericite-altered dacite porphyry breccia pipes. The Bulawan ores occur mainly as disseminations, but unlike many epithermal gold deposits, lack classical epithermal colloform and crustiform quartz veins. The ore minerals are sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite, pyrite and tetrahedite-tennantite with minor amounts of electrum, calaverite, petzite, sylvanite, hessite, tellurobismuthite, coloradoite, altaite, and rucklidgeite. Electrum and telluride minerals are associated mostly with calcite and dolomite-ankerite minerals. Fluid inclusions in quartz and calcite in clasts of propylitized andesite in the breccia pipes homogenize from about 300° to 400°C while fluid inclusions in quartz, calcite and sphalerite within the dacite porphyry breccia pipes homogenize between 300° to 310°C. The ores were formed around 300°C from hydrothermal solutions with salinity of about 6. 6 wt % NaCl equivalent. The presence of sylvanite and calaverite as intergrowths with each other, and the Ag content of calaverite are consistent with the above temperature estimate. Based on paragenesis, the Bulawan deposit formed in a pyrite-stable environment, with pH between 3. 4 and 5. 5, f_O2 between 10^-32 to 10^-30 atm, f_S2 between 10^-9.8 to 10^-7.8 atm, f_Te2 between 10^-8.9 to 10^-6.5 atm, and total sulfur content about 10^-2.8 molal. The dominant reduced sulfur species in the ore solutions may have been H₂S_(aq), and the likely aqueous tellurium species were H₂Te_(aq) and H₂TeO_3(aq). The ore minerals in the Bulawan deposit were probably formed by mixing of slightly saline and low salinity fluids.     

Study on permanent ground displacement induced by seismic liquefaction

Permanent ground displacement as induced by seismic liquefaction was measured in the area which was recently hit by an earthquake. The measurement was carried out by comparing two aerophotographs of the area which were taken before and after the tremor. Using the measured data an empirical equation was derived which can calculate the magnitude of the displacement briefly. Furthermore, a finite-element technique was developed in order to predict the magnitude and the direction of the displacement in more precise manners.     

Factors affecting preservation of coesite in ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphic rocks: Insights from TEM observations of dislocations within kyanite

To understand the preservation of coesite inclusions in ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks, an integrated petrological, Raman spectroscopic and focussed ion beam (FIB) system–transmission electron microscope (TEM) study was performed on a UHP kyanite eclogite from the Sulu belt in eastern China. Coesite grains have been observed only as rare inclusions in kyanite from the outer segment of garnet and in the matrix. Raman mapping analysis shows that a coesite inclusion in kyanite from the garnet rim records an anisotropic residual stress and retains a maximum residual pressure of ~0.35 GPa. TEM observations show quartz is absent from the coesite inclusion–host kyanite grain boundaries. Numerous dislocations and sub‐grain boundaries are present in the kyanite, but dislocations are not confirmed in the coesite. In particular, dislocations concentrate in the kyanite adjacent to the boundary with the coesite inclusion, and they form a dislocation concentration zone with a dislocation density of ~10⁹ cm^?2. A high‐resolution TEM image and a fast Fourier transform‐filtered image reveal that a tiny dislocation in the dislocation concentration zone is composed of multiple edge dislocations. The estimated dislocation density in most of the kyanite away from the coesite inclusion–host kyanite grain boundaries is ~10⁸ cm^?2, being lower than that in kyanite adjacent to the coesite. In the case of a coesite inclusion in a matrix kyanite, using Raman and TEM analyses, we could not identify any quartz at the grain boundaries. Dislocations are not observed in the coesite, but numerous dislocations and stacking faults are developed in the kyanite. The estimated overall dislocation density in the coesite‐bearing matrix kyanite is ~10⁸ cm^?2, but a high dislocation density region of ~10⁹ cm^?2 is also present near the coesite inclusion–host kyanite grain boundaries. Inclusion and matrix kyanite grains with no coesite have dislocation densities of ≤10⁸ cm^?2. Dislocation density is generally reduced during an annealing process, but our results show that not all dislocations in the kyanite have recovered uniformly during exhumation of the UHP rocks. Hence, one of the key factors acting as a buffer to inhibit the coesite to quartz transformation is the mechanical interaction between the host and the inclusion that lead to the formation of dislocations in the kyanite. The kyanite acts as an excellent pressure container that can preserve coesite during the decompression of rocks from UHP conditions. The search for and study of inclusions in kyanite may be a more suitable approach for tracing the spatial distribution of UHP metamorphic rocks.     

Chromitite and peridotite from Rayat, northeastern Iraq, as fragments of a Tethyan ophiolite

Ophiolitic rocks (chromitites and serpentinized peridotites) were petrologically examined in detail for the first time from Rayat, in the Iraqi part of the Zagros thrust zone, an ophiolitic belt. Almost all the primary silicates have been altered out, but chromian spinel has survived from alteration and gives information about the primary petrological characteristics. The protolith of the serpentinite was clinopyroxene-free harzburgite with chromian spinel of intermediate Cr# (= Cr/[Cr + Al] atomic ratio) of 0.5 to 0.6. The harzburgite with that signature is the most common in the mantle section of the Tethyan ophiolites such as the Oman ophiolite, and is the most suitable host for chromitite genesis. Except for one sample, which has Cr# = 0.6 for spinel, the Cr# of spinel is high, around 0.7, in chromitite. The variation in Cr# of spinel in chromitite observed here has been also reported in the Oman ophiolite. The peridotite with chromitite pods exposed at Rayat was derived from an ophiolite similar in petrological character to the Oman ophiolite, one of the typical Tethyan ophiolites (fragments of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere). This result is consistent with the previous interpretation based on geological analysis.     

Geotechnical evaluation of slope and ground failures during the 8 October 2005 Muzaffarabad earthquake, Pakistan

A large devastating earthquake with a magnitude of 7.6 struck in Kashmir on Oct. 8, 2005. The largest city influenced by the earthquake was Muzaffarabad. Balakot town was the nearest settlement to the epicenter, and it was the most heavily damaged. The earthquake caused extensive damage to housing and structures founded on loose deposits or weathered/sheared rock masses. Furthermore, extensive slope failures occurred along Neelum and Jhelum valleys, which obstructed both river flow and roadways. In this article, failures of natural and cut slopes as well as other ground failures induced by the earthquake and their geotechnical evaluation are presented, and their implications on civil infrastructures and site selection for reconstruction and rehabilitation are discussed. It is suggested that if housing and constructions on soil slopes containing boulders as observed in Balakot and Muzaffarabad are allowed, there should be a safety zone between the slope crest and allowable construction boundary.     

Dissolved iron and zinc in Sagami Bay and the Izu-Ogasawara Trench

Using a clean seawater sampling system for trace metals onboard the R. V. Shinsei-Maru, newly launched in 2013, we investigated the vertical distributions of dissolved iron and zinc in Sagami Bay and the Izu-Ogasawara Trench. We applied appropriate clean sampling and filtering processes for trace metals, so that uncontaminated seawater samples were successfully collected. The distribution of zinc in the trench area was similar to that of silicate and the same as that previously reported in the subtropical North Pacific. There were spatial variations in the iron (Fe) distribution in the trench areas. We used previously reported information about biogeochemical cycling in the trench area, and found that Fe has a residence time of 29 years in the water column. The short residence time of Fe (29 years) corresponds to the vertical variations of dissolved Fe in the water column.     

Experimental analysis of recruitment patterns of coral reef fishes in seagrass beds: Effects of substrate type, shape, and rigidity

Habitat choice of reef fish larvae at settlement is one of the mechanisms proposed to explain spatial patterns in the distribution of fishes and the corresponding spatial structure of communities. Field experiments using Pomacentridae were conducted at Iriomote Island, southern Japan, in order to determine if rare recruitment of coral reef fishes in seagrass beds is due to larval settlement preference. When three types of natural patch treatments (branching coral patch, seagrass patch, and control without patches) were established in cleared seagrass squares in the center of a seagrass bed, four pomacentrid species, Amblyglyphidodon curacao, Dischistodus prosopotaenia, Cheiloprion labiatus, and Dascyllus aruanus, recruited exclusively onto the coral patches, indicating that larvae distributed in the seagrass bed may have preferred a coral rather than seagrass substrate as a settlement habitat. The effects of differences in physical shape (grid structure for branching coral vs. vertical structure for seagrass leaves) and rigidity (rigid substrate for coral vs. flexible substrate for seagrass) between coral and seagrass substrates on such recruitment patterns were investigated using artificial coral and seagrass units. When artificial habitat units with predator exclusion cages were established in the cleared seagrass squares as above, high densities of A. curacao and D. prosopotaenia recruits were observed on the rigid rather than flexible habitat units (both unit types having similar shape), whereas differences in recruit numbers of the two species were unclear in differently shaped units. These results demonstrated that even though pomacentrid larvae are distributed in the seagrass bed, they do not settle on the seagrass substrate owing to their habitat choice being partially based on a preference for substrate rigidity. Moreover, non-recruitment of C. labiatus and D. aruanus on artificial habitat units suggested that the presence of living coral substrates rather than physical shape/rigidity of substrates are an important cue for habitat choice of these fishes.     

A new type of orthopyroxenite xenolith from Takashima, Southwest Japan: silica enrichment of the mantle by evolved alkali basalt

We found fine-grained Fe-rich orthopyroxene-rich xenoliths (mainly orthopyroxenite) containing partially digested dunite fragments of Group I from Takashima, Southwest Japan. Orthopyroxenite veinlets, some of which contain plagioclase at the center, also replace olivine in dunite and wehrlite xenoliths of Group I. This shows high reactivity with respect to olivine of the melt involved in orthopyroxenite formation, indicating its high SiO₂ activity. The secondary orthopyroxene of this type is characterized by low Mg# [= Mg/(Mg + total Fe) atomic ratio] (down to 0.73) and high Al₂O₃ contents (5–6 wt%). It is different in chemistry from other secondary orthopyroxenes found in peridotite xenoliths derived from the mantle wedge. Clinopyroxenes in the Fe-rich orthopyroxenite show a convex-upward REE pattern with a crest around Sm. This pattern is strikingly similar to that of clinopyroxenes of Group II pyroxenite xenoliths and of phenocrystal and xenocrystal clinopyroxenes, indicating involvement of similar alkali basaltic melts. The Fe-rich orthopyroxenite xenoliths from Takashima formed by reaction between evolved alkali basalt melt and mantle olivine; alkali basalt initially slightly undersaturated in silica might have evolved to silica-oversaturated compositions by fractional crystallization at high-pressure conditions. The Fe-rich orthopyroxenites occur as dikes within the uppermost mantle composed of dunite and wehrlite overlying pockets of Group II pyroxenites. The orthopyroxene-rich pyroxenites of this type are possibly common in the uppermost mantle beneath continental rift zones where alkali basalt magmas have been prevalent.