Petrogenesis of the new lherzolitic shergottite Grove Mountains 99027: Constraints of petrography,mineral chemistry,and rare earth elements

Abstract— We report petrography, mineral chemistry, and microdistribution of rare earth elements (REE) in a new lherzolitic shergottite, Grove Mountains (GRV) 99027. The textural relationship and REE patterns of minerals suggest precipitation of cumulus olivine and chromite, followed by equilibrium crystallization of a closed system with a bulk composition of the inferred intercumulus melt. Subsolidus equilibrium temperatures of pyroxenes and olivine range from 1100 to 1210 °C, based on a two‐pyroxene thermometry and Ca partitioning between augite and olivine. Oxygen fugacity of the parent magma is 1.5–2.5 (av. 2.0 ± 0.4) log units below the quartz‐fayalite‐magnetite (QFM) buffer at 960–1360 °C, according to the olivine‐orthopyroxene‐chromite barometer. The ilmenite‐chromite barometer and thermometer show much wider ranges of oxygen fugacity (1.0–7.0 log unit below QFM) and temperature (1130–480 °C), suggesting subsolidus equilibration of the oxides at low temperatures, probably due to deep burial of GRV 99027 on Mars. The low oxygen fugacity and LREE depletion of the parent magma of GRV 99027 suggest low contamination by martian crust. Characteristics of GRV 99027 demonstrate similarity of lherzolitic shergottites, suggesting a high possibility of launch pairing or a homogeneous upper mantle of Mars if they were ejected by individual impact events. However, GRV 99027 probably experienced severe post‐shock thermal metamorphism in comparison with other lherzolitic shergottites, based on the re‐crystallization of maskelynite, the homogeneity of minerals, and the low subsolidus equilibrium temperatures between chromite and ilmenite.     

A pair of Langmuir cells in two laboratory tanks (II) on generation mechanism

Vertical and cross-wind profiles of mean currents were measured systematically in vertical cross-sections of two wind-wave tanks with aspect ratios of order one to study the secondary flow in the tanks. A pair of Langmuir cells turned out to be driven by a close combination of the pressure gradient along the tank and the side-wall effects. That is, part of the adverse pressure gradient produced a parabolic cross-wind profile with the smallest downwind current at the centerline and the largest current along the two sidewalls. As a result, upwelling occurred in the center zone where the return flow was strongest, probably because of the entrainment action of the wind-driven current. In order to compensate for this upwelling, downwelling occurred along the two side-walls from the flow continuity. The resulting vertical circulation formed a pair of Langmuir circulations across the span and served to maintain the parabolic profile formed by the pressure gradient. A positive feedback mechanism is thus found between the primary and secondary circulations through upwelling of the return flow in the center zone. Vertical shears of the span-averaged downwind current measured in two tanks were found to be systematically different from each other. This difference seems to depend on the magnitude of the advective Reynolds stresses in the two tanks.     

Triaxial stress state deep in orogenic belts: an example from Turkey

A rare metachert pebble containing amphibole grains with microboudin structures in a wide range of orientations provides an opportunity to perform stress analysis in two orthogonal orientations on the foliation surface. The sample was analysed by the microboudin method to infer the triaxial stress state during microboudinage. Stress parameters proportional to the far-field differential stress were determined for sodic amphibole grains in the two orientations. The ratio of the stresses in the two orthogonal orientations (σ₁−σ₂)/(σ₁−σ₃) was calculated to be 0.64, indicating that σ₂ lies closer to the midpoint between σ₁ and σ₃ than to σ₃.     

Correlation of large displacement drained shear strength of landslide soils measured by direct shear and ring shear devices

Based on a laboratory study of drained direct shear tests of remoulded, pre-cut and polished specimens and drained ring shear tests of uncut and remoulded specimens of slip surface materials of five landslide soils, significant correlations of the mobilized shear strength parameters, cohesion (c, c _r) and internal friction angle (Φ, Φ_r), are proposed. The investigated soils consisted of the slip surface material belonging to tuffaceous clay, mudstone, loess and siltstone. Most of the previous studies on residual shear strength measured by reversal direct shear and ring shear devices have obtained significantly different results using the two devices, even when pre-cut and polished specimens were used in the direct shear device. In this study, the residual shear strength values of remoulded specimens measured by a ring shear device are shown to significantly correlate with the drained large displacement shear strength values of remoulded specimens, which were measured using pre-cut and polished specimens in a direct shear device. The correlation between the cohesion measured in the two shear devices is expressed by the linear relationship, $ {c_{\text{r}}} = 0.{7394}c - {6}.{6857} $ , while the correlation between the friction angle measured in the two devices is expressed by the linear relationship, $ {\Phi_{\text{r}}} = {1}.0{852}\Phi - {6}.0{247} $ . The proposed linear correlations for effective cohesion (c′) and effective friction angle (Φ′) have yielded significant coefficients of determination within an effective normal stress range of 30–150?kN/m².     

Magnitude of σ1, σ2, and σ3 at mid-crustal levels in an orogenic belt: Microboudin method applied to an impure metachert from Turkey

We revised an equation for estimating palaeostress magnitude using the microboudin technique by incorporating the influence of time on the fracture strength of minerals. The equation was used to estimate triaxial palaeostresses from a rare sample of metachert from Turkey that contains microboudinaged, columnar tourmaline grains in a wide range of orientations within the foliation plane. The estimated principal palaeostresses are σ₁ = 605 MPa, σ₂ = 598 MPa, and σ₃ = 597 MPa. As the microboudinage is considered to have occurred immediately before the rock encountered the brittle-plastic transition during exhumation, these stress values correspond to conditions at approximately 18 km depth and 300 °C within a Cretaceous orogenic belt.     

Size fraction and class composition of phytoplankton in the Antarctic marginal ice zone along the 140°E meridian during February–March 2003

We investigated the size fraction and pigment-derived class compositions of phytoplankton within the euphotic zone of the Antarctic marginal ice zone between 63.3°S and 66.5°S along the 140°E meridian on two consecutive cruises in the late austral summer and early austral autumn of 2003. We observed significant temporal and spatial variations in phytoplankton size and taxonomic composition, although chlorophyll a concentrations were generally below 1 μg l⁻¹ during both periods. Microphytoplankton (>20 μm), mainly diatoms, were prominent in the euphotic zone in the southernmost area around 66.5°S during late summer. In the rest of the study area during both cruises, the phytoplankton community was dominated by pico- and nano-sized populations (<20 μm) throughout the euphotic zone. The small-size populations mostly consisted of diatoms and haptophytes, although chlorophytes were dominant in extremely cold water (−1.5°C) below the overlying warm water around 65.5°S during late summer. From late summer to early autumn, chlorophytes declined in abundance, probably due to increasing temperature within the euphotic zone (−1 to 0°C). These pico- and nano-phytoplankton-dominated populations were often accompanied by relatively high concentrations of ammonium, suggesting the active regeneration of nutrients within the small-size plankton community.     

The early Miocene (~25 Ma) volcanism in the northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge,enriched mantle source injection during rifting prior to the Shikoku backarc basin opening

The northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge (KPR), remnant conjugate arc of the Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana (IBM) active arc, is dominated by basalt-andesite except for the Komahashi-Daini Seamount where acidic plutonic rocks of 38 Ma were recovered. These mafic to intermediate volcanics are produced by the rifting volcanism in the proto-IBM arc associated with spreading of the Shikoku Basin. The HFSE and HREE contents and ratios of these volcanics indicate enriched source mantle composition compared to recent volcanic front. The LILE ratios exhibit similar characteristics to reararc volcanism of the recent Izu arc, and some enriched volcanics exhibit high abundance of sediment melt inputs. Based on these observations and compilations of the published data set, the replacement event of the wedge mantle under the IBM arc occurred two times. The first event occurred between 45 and 38 Ma, with Pacific type mantle being replaced by depleted Indian type mantle. The second event occurred between 36 and 25 Ma, enriched mantle flowed from reararc side. The slab component during the proto-IBM arc rifting was a similar characteristic to recent reararc volcanism of the Izu arc, and sediment melt added in a local area.     

南海张裂过程及其对晚中生代以来东南亚构造的启示——IODP建议书735-Full介绍

南海的形成揭示了大陆边缘张裂和盆地形成的复杂模式,尽管已经进行了广泛研究,但是关于基底岩石和深海盆沉积层的精确年代数据还很缺乏,这使得对南海张裂年代的估计存在很大的误差,对张裂机制和历史的各种假设没有得到验证.同时只有对南海的张裂过程有了精确地分析与刻画,才能更好地理解西太平洋边缘海盆地的形成以及它们在印支块体受印度-欧亚板块碰撞而向东南挤出、青藏高原隆升中可能起到的作用.2009年正式提交的国际综合大洋钻探计划(IODP)建议书735-Full建议在南海深海盆内的4个站位上实施钻探.这4个站位分布在南海盆地4个不同的次级构造单元上(南海东北部、西北次海盆、东部次海盆和西南次海盆),这样的站位设计会确保完成本建议书的整体研究目标,即揭示南海的张裂历史和它对晚中生代以来东南亚构造的启示.位于南海盆地最东北部的站位有助于确定该区域地壳的属性和验证古南海是否存在,位于西北次海盆的站住可能会提供南海的最早张裂年代,另外2个分别位于东部次海盆和西南次海盆的站位将重点确定2个次海盆的绝对年龄、基底矿物成分与磁化率以及2个次海盆的相对张裂次序.这些站位的水深大约在2 910～4 400 m,钻探深度预计到海底以下大约700～2 200 m,总的钻透深度为5 959 m,其中5 359 m穿透沉积层,另外600 m或400 m钻入基底.所有这些站位的位置是由已有的地球物理观测数据所确定,目前计划收集更多的地质与地球物理数据以满足IODP对井位调查数据的要求.     

Detection and isolation of p-nitrophenol-lowering bacteria from intestine of marine fishes caught in Japanese waters

To determine the existence of p-nitrophenol (PNP)-lowering bacteria in intestine of Japanese coastal fish, the gastro-intestinal contents were incubated in Brain Heart Infusion (BHI) broth and minimal medium (MM) broths containing 1 mmol/L PNP at 30 °C for 7 days. Among 26 samples of 19 fish species, 17 samples showed a decrease in PNP of 0.5-0.8 mmol/L in BHI broth, but no decrease was shown in MM broth. Eighteen PNP-lowering bacterial strains were isolated from four fishes. All of the strains were identified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. Three L. lactis strains JS1-3 isolated from Japanese seabass Lateolabrax japonicus showed the highest PNP-lowering activity (0.44 mmol/L). Optimum temperature and pH for the growth and PNP decreasing corresponded with the marine environment. These results suggested that marine fishes have PNP decreasing bacteria in their intestine. These bacteria might protect host fish from toxicities of PNP and PNP related compounds.