In situ strength measurements on natural upper-mantle minerals

Using in situ strength measurements at pressures up to 10 GPa and at room temperature, 400, 600, and 700°C, we examined rheological properties of olivine, orthopyroxene, and chromian-spinel contained in a mantle-derived xenolith. Mineral strengths were estimated using widths of X-ray diffraction peaks as a function of pressure, temperature, and time. Differential stresses of all minerals increase with increasing pressure, but they decrease with increasing temperature because of elastic strain on compression and stress relaxation during heating. During compression at room temperature, all minerals deform plastically at differential stress of 4–6 GPa. During subsequent heating, thermally induced yielding is observed in olivine at 600°C. Neither orthopyroxene nor spinel shows complete stress relaxation, but both retain some stress even at 700°C. The strength of the minerals decreases in the order of chromian-spinel ≈ orthopyroxene > olivine for these conditions. This order of strength is consistent with the residual pressure of fluid inclusions in mantle xenoliths.     

The instability of viscous two-layer oscillatory flows

The instability of oscillatory flows in a two-layer fluid where the two layers differ in density and viscosity has been analysed using a perturbation method for long waves with special interest on effects of viscosity, time scale, density and depth of the fluid. The flow of a fluid with homogeneous density can be unstable, when the kinematic viscosity of the upper fluid layer is different from that of the lower one. Viscosity stratification results in unstable oscillatory flows. Two limiting cases of single-layer flow are also considered.     

Rifting to Spreading Process along the Northern Continental Margin of the South China Sea

Understanding the development from syn-rift to spreading in the South China Sea (SCS) is important in elucidating the western Pacific's tectonic evolution because the SCS is a major tectonic constituent of the many marginal seas in the region. This paper describes research examining the transition from rifting to spreading along the northern margin of the SCS, made possible by the amalgamation of newly acquired and existing geophysical data. The northernmost SCS was surveyed as part of a joint Japan-China cooperative project (JCCP) in two phases in 1993 and 1994. The purpose of the investigation was to reveal seismic and magnetic characteristics of the transitional zone between continental crust and the abyssal basin. Compilation of marine gravity and geomagnetic data of the South China Sea clarify structural characteristics of its rifted continental and convergent margins, both past and present. Total and three component magnetic data clearly indicate the magnetic lineations of the oceanic basin and the magnetic characteristics of its varied margins. The analyses of magnetic, gravity and seismic data and other geophysical and geological information from the SCS led up to the following results: (1) N-S direction seafloor spreading started from early Eocene. There were at least four separate evolutional stages. Directions and rates of the spreading are fluctuating and unstable and spreading continued from 32 to 17 Ma. (2) The apparent difference in the present tectonism of the eastern and western parts of Continent Ocean Boundary (COB) implies that in the east of the continental breakup is governed by a strike slip faulting. (3) The seismic high velocity layer in the lower crust seems to be underplated beneath the stretched continental crust. (4) Magnetic anomaly of the continental margin area seems to be rooted in the uppermost sediment and upper part of lower crust based on the tertiary volcanism. (5) Magnetic quiet zone (MQZ) anomaly in the continental margin area coincides with COB. (6) The non-magnetic or very weakly magnetized layer is probably responsible for MQZ. One of the causes of demagnetization of the layer is due to hydrothermal alteration while high temperature mantle materials being underplated. Another explanation is that horizontal sequences of basalt each with flip-flop magnetization polarity cancel out to the resultant magnetic field on the surface. We are currently developing a synthetic database system containing datasets of seismicity, potential field data, crustal and thermal structures, and other geophysical data to facilitate the study of past, contemporary and future changes in the deep sea environment around Japan; i.e. trench, trough, subduction zones, marginal basins and island arcs. Several special characteristics are an object-oriented approach to the collection and multi-faceted studies of global data from a variety of sources.     

Detection of systematic errors in XBT data and their correction

Comparison experiment between XBT of T-7 probe and CTD was conducted at 15 stations in the sea area centered on 29°N, 135°E in December 1985. There were systematic errors in XBT temperature profiles in comparison with CTD temperature profiles. The main cause of errors was attributed to an error in the free-fall speed of the XBT probes which was provided by the XBT maker. A previous equation for depth correction proposed by Heinmilleret al. (1983) could not give effective correction for our data. A new equation between the probe depth and the elapsed time from landing of the probe on the water was obtained by the method of adjusting temperature gradients of XBT profiles to those of CTD profiles. This equation agreed with the theoretical result given by Seaver and Kuleshov (1982) much better than that of Heinmilleret al. (1983). Systematic errors due to a scatter of values of the reference resistance and variation of B-constant of thermistors used in XBT also seemed to exist. After an adjustment using the temperature difference between XBT and CTD in the mixed layer with depths of about 100 m, the standard deviation of temperature difference between XBT and CTD from the surface to the depth of 750 m was 0.14°C.     

North Pacific Subtropical Mode Waters Observed in Long XBT Cross Sections along 32.5°N Line

The S/V Shoyo, of the Hydrographic Department, Japan Coast Guard, has conducted high-density expendable bathythermograph (XBT) measurements along the 32.5°N line in the North Pacific every year from 1990 to 1993 as a part of the Japanese-World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). These XBT data are analyzed here, focusing on year-to-year variations of the inventory and core layer temperature (CLT) of the North Pacific subtropical mode water (NPSTMW). Large year-to-year changes are found in the NPSTMW CLTs estimated in longitudes between 140°E and 160°E. CLT values were found of 17.4°C in 1990, 17.1°C in 1991, 17.3°C in 1992 and 17.6°C in 1993. Inspection of the wintertime westerlies over the formation area and sea surface temperature distribution revealed that this change in CLT can be qualitatively attributed to the strength of atmospheric cooling in the formation area in the previous winter. Although a large year-to-year variation of NPSTMW inventory was also found, it is hard to state any relationship between CLT and atmospheric forcing. There is a possibility that different observational seasons may affect the inventory. It has also been found that the thermocline depth in 1991 was shallower in the sea area east of 180° than in 1992 and 1993. Associated with this change, the North Pacific central mode water (NPCMW), characterized by thermostad with temperatures ranging from 14°C to 11°C, appears in the sea area east of 180° in the 1992 and 1993 cross sections. The 1993 cross section, which ranged from the Japanese coast to the west coast of North America, possessed another thermostad in the surface layer, with a temperature of about 17°C in the eastern part of the cross section, off California. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effects of salinity downshock on dimethylsulfide production

During time-series observations in Sagami Bay, Japan, the concentration of dissolved dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP_d), a precursor of dimethylsulfide (DMS), was negatively correlated with salinity. In the laboratory, low-salinity shock reduced DMS production rates of the natural bacterial community and induced rapid DMSP release from a dinophyte, Heterocapsa triquetra, suggesting that low-salinity shock reduced DMSP_d consumption but enhanced DMSP_d production, which agrees with the negative correlation between DMSP_d and salinity observed in Sagami bay. In addition, low-salinity shock did not affect DMSP lyase activity of H. triquetra. Low-salinity shock would increase the contribution from algae in DMS production, leading to an increase in potential DMS productivity in the environment.     

A New Fall-Rate Equation for T-5 Expendable Bathythermograph (XBT) by TSK

The accuracy of the manufacturer’s fall-rate equation for the T-5 Model of expendable bathythermograph (XBT) has been investigated based on about 300 collocated pairs of XBT-CTD (Conductivity-Temperature-Depth profiler) measurements in various climatological regions. We found that the equation systematically overestimates depth by about 5% for the T-5 produced by Tsurumi Seiki, Co. Ltd. (TSK), but almost no bias is associated with the T-5 produced by Sippican, Inc., in USA. The cause of this difference is not clear, because the two manufacturers’ T-5 probes are reported to have identical shape and weight in water. We propose a new fall-rate equation for the TSK T-5: z(t) = 6.54071t - 0.0018691t ², where z(t) is depth in meters at time, t, in seconds.     

Simple determination of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a simple, sensitive and less destructive method for the determination of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in seawater. Combined with detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the method had sufficient sensitivity (minimum detectable concentration of DMS was 0.05 nM), and practical levels of reproducibility (relative standard deviation ≤7%) and linearity (r ² > 0.995) over a wide concentration range (0.5 to 910 nM). The protocol developed was applied to a Sagami Bay water sample to determine concentrations of DMS and DMSP, and in situ DMSP-lyase activity.     

Detecting fluctuations of the Kuroshio axis south of Japan using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data

Sea surface dynamic topography (SSDT) can be divided into temporal mean SSDT and fluctuation SSDT. The former is approximated with a climatological mean SSDT and the latter is derived from satellite altimetry data, to give an approximated total SSDT (called a composite SSDT). The method is applied to detecting fluctuations of the Kuroshio axis south of Japan using TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data from the first year mission in 1992–1993. The fluctuation SSDT averaged over a wide area south of Japan clearly shows an annual cycle with an amplitude of about 15 cm. Temporal changes of SSDT along a subsatellite track crossing the Kuroshio compare moderately well with those estimated from repeated hydrographic observations, although there is a discrepancy of unknown origin. The composite SSDT also compares well with SSDT estimated from the same hydrographic data. Horizontal distribution of the surface geostrophic velocity component normal to subsatellite tracks is derived every ten days from the composite SSDT. Most locations of estimated strong eastward geostrophic velocities coincide well with locations of the Kuroshio axis determined every 15 days fromin situ surface velocity measurements on various vessels; for example, a fairly large meander of the Kuroshio south of Honshu is clearly detected. It is concluded that the composite SSDT can be used reliably to detect fluctuations of the Kuroshio axis south of Japan.