Occurrence of lawsonite in pelitic schists from the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, central Shikoku, Japan

The occurrence of lawsonite is described from pelitic schists of the lower-grade part of the pumpellyite-bearing subzone of the chlorite zone in the Asemi River area of central Shikoku. The lawsonite-bearing parageneses are consistent with the generally accepted view that the Sanbagawa facies series represents higher pressures than the lawsonite-bearing facies series in New Zealand.     

Composition of aqueous fluid coexisting with mantle minerals at high pressure and its bearing on the differentiation of the Earth’s mantle

In order to understand the role of aqueous fluid on the differentiation of the mantle, the compositions of aqueous fluids coexisting with mantle minerals were investigated in the system MgO-SiO₂-H₂O at pressures of 3 to 10 GPa and temperatures of 1000 to 1500°C with an MA8-type multianvil apparatus. Phase boundaries between the stability fields of forsterite + aqueous fluid, forsterite + enstatite + aqueous fluid, and enstatite + aqueous fluid were determined by varying the bulk composition at constant temperature and pressure. The composition of aqueous fluid coexisting with forsterite and enstatite can be defined by the intersection of these two phase boundaries. The solubility of silicate components in aqueous fluid coexisting with forsterite and enstatite increases with increasing pressure up to 8 GPa, from about 30 wt% at 3 GPa to about 70 wt% at 8 GPa. It becomes almost constant above 8 GPa. The Mg/Si weight ratio of these aqueous fluids is much higher than at low pressure (0.2 at 1.5 GPa) and almost constant (1.2) at pressures between 3 and 8 GPa. At 10 GPa, it becomes about 1.4. Aqueous fluid migrating upward through the mantle can therefore dissolve large amounts of silicates, leaving modified Mg/Si ratios of residual materials. It is suggested that the chemical stratification of Mg/Si in the Earth may have been formed as a result of aqueous fluid migration.     

Remelting of an Andesitic Crust as a Possible Origin for Rhyolitic Magma in Oceanic Arcs: an Example from the Izu-Bonin Arc

The Izu–Bonin volcanic arc is an excellent example ofan intra-oceanic convergent margin. A total of 1011 chemicalanalyses of 17 Quaternary volcanoes of the arc are reviewedto estimate relative proportions of magmas erupted. Basalt andbasic andesite (SiO₂ < 57 wt %) are the predominant eruptiveproducts of the Izu–Bonin arc, and rhyolite (SiO₂ >70 wt %) forms another peak in volume. Such rhyolites possesscompositions identical to those of partial melts produced bydehydration-melting of calc-alkaline andesites at low pressure(<7 kbar). Meanwhile, the major element variation of theShirahama Group Mio-Pliocene volcanic arc suite, Izu Peninsula,completely overlaps that of the Quaternary Izu–Bonin arcvolcanoes, and groundmasses of Shirahama Group calc-alkalineandesites have compositions similar to those of Izu–Boninrhyolites. Moreover, phenocryst assemblages of calc-alkalineandesites of the Shirahama Group resemble restite phase assemblagesof dehydration-melting of calc-alkaline andesite. These linesof evidence suggest that the rhyolite magmas may have been producedby dehydration-melting of calc-alkaline andesite in the upperto middle crust. If so, then the presence of large amounts ofcalc-alkaline andesite (3–5 times more abundant than therhyolites) within the oceanic arc crust would be expected, whichis consistent with a recently proposed structural model acrossthe Izu–Bonin arc. The calc-alkaline andesite magmas maybe water saturated, and would crystallize extensively and solidifywithin the crust. The model proposed here suggests that rhyoliteeruptions could be triggered by an influx of hot basalt magmafrom depth, reheating and partially melting the calc-alkalineandesite component of the crust. KEY WORDS: bimodal magmatism; calc-alkaline andesite; oceanic arcs; rhyolite     

Decreases in turbidity during neap tides initiate late winter blooms of Eucampia zodiacus in a macrotidal embayment

Eucampia zodiacus Ehrenberg is harmful, as it causes reduction in the quality of the aquacultured Porphyra thalli owing to nutrient depletions during dense blooms in the late winter in the macrotidal Ariake Sea, Japan. To understand the mechanism of bloom development, changes in the abundance of E. zodiacus during a bloom were investigated along vessel transects from February to April 2012. In addition, marine environmental variables were continuously monitored by the Ariake Sea Monitoring Tower, which revealed that turbidity periodically decreased during neap tides. During the 16 February neap tide, a high Secchi depth (4.3 m) was recorded at offshore stations and the Z _1% depth, at which the light intensity attenuates to 1 % of that at the sea surface, exceeded the water depth. On 16 February, the abundance of E. zodiacus was 52–732 cells mL^?1, peaking at 7.0 m depth offshore. Subsequently, abundance increased at all stations. During the 22 February spring tide, abundance became vertically uniform. On 19 March, abundance at the tower reached 3758 cells mL^?1 at the surface. We conclude that an improvement in light conditions in the deeper layer triggered the bloom, although the size and the duration of the bloom were determined by nutrient availability. Thus, decreases in turbidity during neap tides and subsequent strong vertical mixing during spring tides may be instrumental in the population dynamics of the large diatom E. zodiacus in macrotidal environments.     

LINEAR QUADRATIC REGULATOR FOR STRUCTURE UNDER ON-LINE PREDICTED FUTURE SEISMIC EXCITATION

A predictive-adaptive (PA) control algorithm has been developed for a structure under a seismic excitation. This algorithm analyses information of an observed seismic excitation, estimates future structural responses and determines the control force for the structure, based on the linear quadratic regulator. That is, at a given moment t_k: (1) seismic excitation information is converted to an autoregressive model, which forms the state equation for the excitation; (2) the identification model is combined with the structural model to build a state equation in an augmented space; (3) the weighted quadratic norm of the state vector and the future control force is formed as a cost function for estimating future responses; (4) the Ricatti equation is solved to find the optimum value of the cost function; and (5) the optimum gain matrix is obtained, and the control force is determined. The PA algorithm is not restricted to one type of control system, but can be applied to both an active driver system and an active tendon system. Its effectiveness is confirmed by numerical experiments for 1DOF and 3DOF structural models under sine and seismic excitations.     

Statistics of Wind and Waves off Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka, in the Eastern Tsushima Strait

The variability of the sea surface wind and wind waves in the coastal area of the Eastern Tsushima Strait was investigated based on the hourly data from 1990 to 1997 obtained at a station 2 km off Tsuyazaki, Fukuoka. The annual mean wind speed was 4.84 m s⁻¹, with strong northwesterly monsoon in winter and weak southwesterly wind in summer. Significant wave heights and wave periods showed similar sinusoidal seasonal cycles around their annual means of 0.608 m and 4.77 s, respectively. The seasonal variability relative to the annual mean is maximum for wave heights, medium for wind speeds, and minimum for wave periods. Significant wave heights off Tsuyazaki turned out to be bounded by a criterion, which is proportional to the square of the significant wave period corresponding to a constant steepness, irrespective of the season or the wind speed. For terms shorter than a month, the significant wave height and the wave period were found to have the same spectral form as the inshore wind velocity: white for frequencies less than 0.2 day⁻¹ and proportional to the frequency to the −5/3 power for higher frequencies, where the latter corresponds to the inertial subrange of turbulence. The spectral levels of wave heights and wave periods in that inertial range were also correlated with those of the inshore wind velocity, though the scatter was large. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Study on hydraulic characteristics of sabo dam with a flap structure for debris flow

The front part of the flow is very important and complex in the case of debris flow where there is an accumulation of large boulders. It is important to control or dampen the energy of the frontal part of a debris flow for the safety of the downstream area because the impact pressure of debris flow is much greater than that of clear fluid. The main objective of this study is to analyze the hydraulic characteristics of the proposed dam (i.e. closed-type dam with flap). The vertical pressure distribution of this type is compared with conventional dam types. In the experiments, the total pressure associated with major debris flows was recorded in real time by a system consisting of four dynamic pressure sensors installed on different types of dam. The results from experimental data clearly show that the dam with the flap has advantages of capturing the debris flow with large boulders and controls the total pressure by flow circulation due to presence of the flap structure compared to a closed-type dam without flap. Further-more, the empirical coefficients of hydrodynamic and solid collision models were proposed and com-pared with available coefficients.     

Estimation of debris flow discharge coefficient considering sediment concentration

A sabo dam has a purpose to block the path of debris flow. However, when overflow occurs, a sabo dam works as a weir, a vertical obstruction, where the fluid must flow over. Many empirical formulas and discharge coefficients for weirs relating flow depth to discharge have been proposed to calculate overflow discharges. However, only a few studies about overflow discharge coefficients are available in the case of debris flow. In this paper, experiments and numerical simulations were done to estimate debris flow discharge coefficients by considering the sediment concentration. In the numerical simulation, a complete overflow equation and a free overfall equation were implemented to calculate debris overflow discharges at a sabo dam. To determine the discharge coefficients for each equation, single factor regression analysis was used. Laboratory experiments were done to calibrate and to compare with the simulation. Study results showed that the discharge coefficients increase as the sediment concentration increases. This finding suggests debris flow discharge coefficients are derived to calculate the debris overflow discharges at a sabo dam.     

Development of U–Pb dating of uraninite using a secondary ion mass spectrometer: Selection of reference material and establishment of calibration method

A method for U–Pb isotopic dating using secondary ion mass spectrometer (SIMS) was developed for uraninite. Correlation between ²⁵¹(UO)⁺/²³⁵U⁺ and ²⁰⁶Pb⁺/²³⁵U⁺ obtained by a sensitive high‐resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) was adopted for a calibration from secondary ion ratios (Pb⁺/U⁺) to the atomic abundance ratios (Pb/U). In this study, a uraninite sample (²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U = 0.1647) collected from Faraday mine, Bancroft, Canada, is used as a reference material for the U–Pb calibration. The established method was applied to three uraninite samples collected from the Chardon, Ecarpière, and Mistamisk mines. The calibrated ²⁰⁶Pb^*/²³⁸U ratios of the three uraninites show correlation with Pb/U elemental ratios obtained using an electron probe microanalyzer (EPMA) (correlation coefficients: 0.98, 0.99, and 0.97, respectively), which indicates the reliability of the SHRIMP calibration method used in this study. The analysis of Ecarpière uraninite provides concordant U–Pb data, and a weighted average of the ²⁰⁶Pb^*/²³⁸U age is 287 Ma ±8 Ma (95 % conf.) which is consistent with the previous chronological results by SIMS. Mistamisk uraninite provides discordant U–Pb data with the upper and lower intercept ages of 1 729 and 421 Ma, which correspond to uraninite formation in association with the Hudsonian orogeny and the remobilization of uranium as pitchblende, respectively. The U–Pb age of Chardon uraninite (315 Ma) is consistent with the igneous activity of Mortagne granite, but is older than the previously reported age (264 Ma). Marcasite in the Chardon uraninite altered to goethite under the oxidizing condition, which indicates that U–Pb system in the uraninite crystallized at 315 Ma was disturbed under the oxidizing condition. The established calibration method using Faraday uraninite is useful for U–Pb isotopic dating on the scale of a few micrometers to tens of micrometers, which make it possible to obtain the accurate age of uraninite.     

精确测量的地幔体波走时及地幔非均匀性的强度

用波形相关法精确地测定了在世界各地发生的87个6级以上地震的P波, PP波和Pdiff波的503个走时数据。记录这些地震波形的是新建于西太平洋地区的海洋半球地震观测网。我们利用这些高精度的走时数据研究了地幔体波的走时残差的范围及地幔非均匀性的强度。结果表明,P波、PP波和Pdiff波的走时残差最大分别为9 s ,11 s和15 s ,这为地幔层析成像反演中应该使用的体波走时残差数据的范围提供了重要信息。超出这一范围的走时残差数据不应该用于反演中,以免歪曲成像结果。我们发现,当震中距小于40°时,P波走时残差的范围为-6到+9 s。而对于40°到99°之间的震中距,P波走时残差的范围为-3到+5s。由于震中距越大,P波穿透地幔越深,我们这一结果提供了直接和确凿的证据,表明上地幔和地幔转换带中的横向非均匀性的强度要远胜于下地幔。我们精确测量的Pdiff波的走时数据表明,在地幔底部存在显著的低速异常,可能与地幔热柱或者超级地幔柱有关。我们使用了一个最新的三维全球层析成像模型来解释这些体波走时数据的空间变化。