Anomalously large seismic amplifications in the seafloor area off the Kii peninsula

Seismic wave amplifications were investigated using strong-motion data obtained from the ground’s surface (K-net) on the Kii peninsula (southwestern Japan) and from the network of twenty seismic stations on the seafloor (DONET) located off the peninsula near the Nankai trough. Observed seismograms show that seismic signals at DONET stations are significantly larger than those at K-net stations, independent of epicentral distances. In order to investigate the cause of such amplifications, seismic wavefields for local events were simulated using the finite-difference method, in which a realistic 3D velocity structure in and around the peninsula was incorporated. Our simulation results demonstrate that seismic waves are significantly amplified at DONET stations in relation to the presence of underlying low-velocity sediment layers with a total thickness of up to 10 km. Our simulations also show considerable variations in the degree of amplification among DONET stations, which is attributed to differences in the thickness of the sediment layers. The degree of amplification is relatively low at stations above thin sediment layers near the trough axis, but seismic signals are much more amplified at stations closer to the Kii peninsula, where sediment layers are thicker than those at the trough axis. Simulation results are consistent with observations. This study, based on seafloor observations and simulations, indicates that because seismic signals are amplified due to the ocean-specific structures, the magnitude of earthquakes would be overestimated if procedures applied to data observed at land stations are used without corrections.     

Experimental constraints on permeable gas transport in crystalline silicic magmas

The gas and fluid transport in magmas via permeable flow through interconnected bubble networks controls the rate of outgassing from magmas ascending in volcanic conduits and the fluid transport in the mushy boundary layer of magma reservoirs. Hence, clarifying its mechanism and rate is crucial to understanding the explosivity of volcanic eruptions and the evolution and dynamics of a magma reservoir. Recent experimental studies have determined the gas permeabilities in crystal-free rhyolite and basalt. However, no experimental study has investigated the effect of the crystal contents on the permeable gas transport in magmas. In this study, we performed decompression experiments for hydrous rhyolitic melts having crystallinities of 30 and 50 vol% to examine the effect of crystals on the bubble microstructure and gas permeability during magma vesiculation. Size-controlled (100-meshed) corundum crystals were used as an analog of the phenocrysts in silicic magmas. Microstructural analyses using X-ray CT showed that bubbles coalesce and their connectivity increases with a decrease in the final pressure after the decompression, that is, an increase in the vesicularity. As long as the vesicularities of melt part in the crystal-free basis (melt vesicularity) were similar, no clear effect of the crystallinity on the degree of bubble coalescence and connectivity was observed at melt vesicularities <68 vol%. The corundum showed a large contact angle with aqueous fluid as well as plagioclase and alkaline feldspar; this failed to induce the efficient heterogeneous nucleation and coalescence of bubbles on its surface. The gas permeabilities of all the run products were lower than the detection limits of the present analysis (the order of 10⁻¹⁶ m²) at melt vesicularities <68 vol%. These results show that silicic magmas containing 30 and 50 vol% phenocrysts with a large contact angle have low gas permeabilities until the vesicularity becomes large (at least >68 vol%). This result indicates that the permeable fluid transport through a deep volcanic conduit, which has been proposed on the basis of the observations of volcanic gases and natural products, is so slow that other processes, like shear deformation or magma convection, may be needed to explain the observations.     

Assessment of factors influencing groundwater-level change using groundwater flow simulation,considering vertical infiltration from rice-planted and crop-rotated paddy fields in Japan

Assessing factors that influence groundwater levels such as land use and pumping strategy, is essential to adequately manage groundwater resources. A transient numerical model for groundwater flow with infiltration was developed for the Tedori River alluvial fan (140 km²), Japan. The main water input into the groundwater body in this area is irrigation water, which is significantly influenced by land use, namely paddy and upland fields. The proposed model consists of two models, a one-dimensional (1-D) unsaturated-zone water flow model (HYDRUS-1D) for estimating groundwater recharge and a 3-D groundwater flow model (MODFLOW). Numerical simulation of groundwater flow from October 1975 to November 2009 was performed to validate the model. Simulation revealed seasonal groundwater level fluctuations, affected by paddy irrigation management. However, computational accuracy was limited by the spatiotemporal data resolution of the groundwater use. Both annual groundwater levels and recharge during the irrigation periods from 1975 to 2009 showed long-term decreasing trends. With the decline in rice-planted paddy field area, groundwater recharge cumulatively decreased to 61 % of the peak in 1977. A paddy-upland crop-rotation system could decrease groundwater recharge to 73–98 % relative to no crop rotation.     

Paleoenvironmental analysis of the Mawaki archaeological site,central Japan,in relation to the stratigraphic position of dolphin bones

In order to elucidate the paleoenvironment associated with the early Holocene Mawaki archaeological site on the Noto Peninsula of central Japan, a high‐resolution stratigraphic study was conducted of 17 boreholes drilled at the archaeological site. We selected three boreholes for which lithological and/or chronological data are reported. Initial magnetic susceptibility was utilized for correlation of clastic core samples with the assistance of 26 radiocarbon dates. Four lithological units (A, B, C, and D in ascending order) were identified and interpreted as a sequence in a cycle of marine transgression and regression. Dated coastal horizons were chosen to indicate former sea levels. A Holocene relative sea level curve was generated on the basis of the geological data, and a rapid rise from 8000cal. yr B.P. to 7000cal. yr B.P. and a succeeding minor sea level fall represent the basic eustatic trend around the Sea of Japan because hydroisostatic and tectonic effects are moderate in the study area. Abundant dolphin bones lay just above the top of the marine sequence (boundary between Units C and D), located in the seashore environment. Cultural artifacts are found in a subaerial deposit (Unit D) near the dolphin bone level that is assigned to a period of high, stable sea level after the post‐glacial eustatic highstand. Dolphin bones are associated with stone artifacts (arrowheads, knives, and scrapers) and ritual wood columns, indicating the presence of a longstanding fishery during the early Holocene on the Sea of Japan coast. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Interannual Sea Level Variations and Annual Tides in the Northwestern Pacific

Specific properties of the interannual sea level variations and annual tides in the Northwestern Pacific were studied. Several tide stations were monitored. The monthly mean sea level for the year of 1995 was analyzed at each tide station. A seismic event in 1995, some tectonic activity around the subject area, and the Kuroshio (the oceanic western boundary current) may possibly contaminate results which would have occurred from the astronomical annual tide alone.     

Estimate of exceedance probability of tsunami occurrence in the Eastern Pacific

The exceedance probability of tsunami occurrence in the eastern Pacific was estimated as an extended Poisson process. Estimation was also undertaken for several blocks in the eastern Pacific. Some tsunamis that originated off South America hit the Japanese islands after crossing the Pacific.     

Degassing, crystallization and eruption dynamics at Stromboli: trace element and lithium isotopic evidence from 2003 ashes

During its 1800-year-long persistent activity the Stromboli volcano has erupted a highly porphyritic (HP) volatile-poor scoriaceous magma and a low porphyritic (LP) volatile-rich pumiceous magma. The HP magma is erupted during normal Strombolian explosions and lava effusions, while the LP one is related to more energetic paroxysms. During the March–April 2003 explosive activity, Stromboli ejected two typologies of juvenile glassy ashes, namely highly vesicular LP shards and volatile-poor HP shards. Their textural and in situ chemical characteristics are used to unravel mutual relationships between HP and LP magmas, as well as magma dynamics within the shallow plumbing system. The mantle-normalized trace element patterns of both ash types show the typical arc-lava pattern; however, HP glasses possess incompatible element concentrations higher than LP glasses, along with Sr and Eu negative anomalies. HP shards are generally characterized by higher Li contents (to ~20 ppm) and lower δ⁷Li values (+1.2 to −3.8‰) with respect to LP shards (Li contents of 7–14 ppm and δ⁷Li ranging between +4.6 and +0.9‰). Fractional crystallization models based on major and trace element compositions, combined with a degassing model based on open-system Rayleigh distillation and on the assumption that ^melt/fluidD_Li > 1, show that abundant (~30%) plagioclase precipitation and variable degrees of degassing can lead the more primitive LP magma to evolve toward a differentiated (isotopically lighter) HP magma ponding in the upper conduit and undergoing slow continuous degassing-induced crystallization. This study also evidences that in March 2003 Stromboli volcano poured out a small early volume of LP magma that traveled slower within the conduit with respect to later and larger volumes of fast ascending LP magma erupted during the April 5 paroxysm. The different ascent rates and cooling rates of the two LP magma batches (i.e., pre- and post-paroxysm) resulted in small, but detectable, differences in their chemical signatures. Finally, this study highlights the high potential of in situ investigations of juvenile glassy ashes in petrologic and geochemical monitoring the volcanic activity and of Li isotopes as tracers of degassing processes within the shallow plumbing system.