Deserpentinization and high-pressure(eclogite-facies) metamorphic features in the Eoarchean ultramafic body from Isua,Greenland

Discontinuous chains of ultramafic rock bodies form part of the 3800–3700 Ma Isua Supracrustal Belt(ISB),hosted in the Itsaq Gneiss Complex of southwestern Greenland.These bodies are among the world’s oldest outcrops of ultramafic rocks and hence an invaluable geologic record.Ultramafic rocks from Lens B in the northwestern limb of ISB show characteristics of several stages of serpentinization and deserpentinization forming prograde and retrograde mineral assemblages.Ti-rich humite-group minerals such as titanian chondrodite(Ti-Chn)and titanian clinohumite(Ti-Chu)often occur as accessory phases in the metamorphosed ultramafic rocks.The Ti-rich humite minerals are associated with metamorphic olivine.The host olivine is highly forsteritic(Fo96-98)with variable Mn O and Ni O contents.The concentrations of the rare-earth elements(REE)and high-field strength elements(HFSE)of the metamorphic olivine are higher than typical mantle olivine.The textural and chemical characteristics of the olivine indicate metamorphic origin as a result of deserpentinization of a serpentinized ultramafic protolith rather than primary assemblage reflecting mantle residues from high-degrees of partial melting.The close association of olivine,antigorite and intergrown Ti-Chn and Ti-Chu suggests pressure condition between$1.3–2.6 GPa within the antigorite stability field(<700°C).The overall petrological and geochemical features of Lens B ultramafic body within the Eoarchean ISB indicate that these are allochthonous ultramafic rocks that recorded serpentine dehydration at relatively lower temperature and reached eclogite facies condition during their complex metamorphic history similar to exhumed UHP ultramafic rocks in modern subduction zone channels.     

Seismic response control using electromagnetic inertial mass dampers

This paper presents a new type of electromagnetic damper with rotating inertial mass that has been developed to control the vibrations of structures subjected to earthquakes. The electromagnetic inertial mass damper (EIMD) consists of a ball screw that converts axial oscillation of the rod end into rotational motion of the internal flywheel and an electric generator that is turned by the rotation of the inner rod. The EIMD is able to generate a large inertial force created by the rotating flywheel and a variable damping force developed by the electric generator. Device performance tests of reduced‐scale and full‐scale EIMDs were undertaken to verify the basic characteristics of the damper and the validity of the derived theoretical formulae. Shaking table tests of a three‐story structure with EIMDs and earthquake response analyses of a building with EIMDs were conducted to demonstrate the seismic response control performance of the EIMD. The EIMD is able to reduce story drifts as well as accelerations and surpasses conventional types of dampers in reducing acceleration responses. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Negligible effect of the benthic fauna on measuring the nutrient upward fluxes from coastal sediments

Although the influence of benthic fauna on estimating the nutrient upward fluxes from the coastal sediments are a concern, there are few comprehensive studies. We conducted monthly observations in a coastal embayment to examine the effect of benthic fauna on measuring the nutrient flux. Nutrient fluxes were measured by the core incubation method and the densities of organisms in benthic communities were also measured. Numerical composition of benthic communities, according to taxonomic group, was dominated by Polychaeta composed of a few Capitellida and Spionidae species. A negligible effect of the benthic communities on measuring nutrient fluxes was demonstrated.     

Geotechnical sealing material for coastal disposal facility for soils and wastes contaminated by radioactive cesium

Safe disposal of wastes produced due to the process of decontamination in and around Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is an urgent requirement. The purpose of this study was to develop a sealing material which can be used as an engineered barrier for a final disposal facility for the soils and wastes contaminated by radioactive cesium. The analyses conducted based on 4-m-thick sealing layer revealed that the hydraulic conductivity of the sealing material needs to be kept below 5.0?×?10^?10?m/s to avoid the seepage of contaminants below the environmentally safe limits. Sealing material was developed using marine clay–bentonite mixture and the engineering characteristics were examined. The results of laboratory experiments showed that, with the addition of bentonite, the hydraulic conductivity equal to or less than 5.0?×?10^?10?m/s was achieved when the effective consolidation stress is equal to or more than 27?kPa. From the tests for adsorption properties for cesium, it was found that the sealing material showed the significant capacity of adsorption for cesium in seawater. It was concluded that the construction of waste disposal facility on the sandy seafloor is feasible using the sealing layer proposed in this study.     

Sealevel history recorded in the Pleistocene carbonate sequence in IODP Hole 310‐M0005D,off Tahiti

Material cored during the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) Expedition 310 ‘Tahiti Sea Level’ revealed that the fossil reef systems around Tahiti are composed of two major stratigraphic sequences: (i) a last deglacial sequence; and (ii) an older Pleistocene sequence. The older Pleistocene carbonate sequence is composed of reef deposits associated with volcaniclastic sediments and was preserved in Hole 310‐M0005D drilled off Maraa. Within an approximately 70‐m‐thick older Pleistocene sequence (33.22–101.93 m below seafloor; 92.85–161.56 m below present sealevel) in this hole, 11 depositional units are defined by lithological changes, sedimentological features, and paleontological characteristics and are numbered sequentially from the top of the hole downward (Subunits P1–P11). Paleowater depths inferred from nongeniculate coralline algae, combined with those determined by using corals and larger foraminifers, suggest two major sealevel rises during the deposition of the older Pleistocene sequence. Of these, the second sealevel rise is associated with an intervening sealevel drop. It is likely that the second sealevel rise corresponds to that during Termination II (TII, the penultimate deglaciation, from Marine Isotope Stages 6 to 5e). Therefore, the intervening sealevel drop can be correlated with that known as the ‘sealevel reversal’ during TII. Because there are limited data on the Pleistocene reef systems in the tropical South Pacific Ocean, this study provides important information about Pleistocene sealevel history, the evolution of coral reef ecosystems, and the responses of coral reefs to Quaternary climate changes.     

Tetrahedral occupancy of ferric iron in (Mg,Fe)O: Implications for point defects in the Earth's lower mantle

We investigated the concentration and site occupation of ferric iron (Fe³⁺) in (Mg,Fe)O to understand the influence of point defects on transport properties such as atomic diffusion, electrical conductivity and viscosity. We conducted Mössbauer spectroscopy of (Mg_0.8Fe_0.2)O single crystals synthesized at temperatures from 1673 to 2273 K and pressures from 5 to 15 GPa with Re–ReO₂ and Mo–MoO₂ oxygen fugacity buffers. The isomer shift of the Mössbauer spectra suggests that Fe³⁺ occupies mostly the tetrahedral site at reduced conditions and both the octahedral and tetrahedral sites at oxidized conditions. We formulate a thermodynamic model of point defect dissolution in (Mg,Fe)O which suggests that unassociated tetrahedral Fe³⁺ is more stable than unassociated octahedral Fe³⁺ at high-pressure and low oxygen fugacity due to the effect of configurational entropy. The pressure dependence of Fe³⁺ concentration indicates a change in the dominant site occupancy of Fe³⁺: (1) Fe³⁺ in the tetrahedral site, (2) Fe³⁺ in the octahedral site, and (3) defect clusters of Fe³⁺ and cation vacancy, in the order of increasing oxygen fugacity and decreasing pressure. This is in reasonable agreement with previously reported experiments on Fe³⁺ concentration, Mg–Fe interdiffusivity and electrical conductivity. We consider it plausible that (Mg,Fe)O accommodates Fe³⁺ in the tetrahedral site down to the lower mantle. Based on our results and available experimental data, we discuss the solubility competition between Fe³⁺ and protons (H⁺), and its implications for transport properties in the lower mantle.     

Chemical composition of Coscinodiscus wailesii and the implication for nutrient ratios in a coastal water, Seto Inland Sea, Japan

Chemical compositions of Coscinodiscus wailesii were determined for four samples of natural cells. Results revealed that the cellular Si:N ratio of C. wailesii cell was 2.4:1.0-5.2:1.0. The impacts of C. wailesii on surrounding coastal water were evaluated from hydrographic observations, in which C. wailesii cell density, nutrients concentrations and temperature were monitored from November 2001 to February 2005 in Harima-Nada, the Seto Inland Sea, Japan. In low temperature periods, from October to December, two peaks of C. wailesii cell density were observed and nutrient concentrations were depleted. The draw-down ratio of Si(OH)(4) and DIN (Si(OH)(4):DIN ratio) in the water column were similar to the cellular Si:N ratio of C. wailesii cells, which have high Si contents. In addition the effects of different Si(OH)(4):DIN ratio were determined for in situ bottle incubation experiments. In the culture experiments, picoplankton (0.2-2.0 microm) which consisted of small flagellates became dominant under low Si(OH)(4):DIN ratios. These results suggested that the sizes distribution shifted to small size and the phytoplankton community was changed to small flagellates after the C. wailesii bloom. These changes would influence predators at higher trophic levels in its coastal ecosystem.     

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.     

The relative formation ages of ferromagnesian chondrules inferred from their initial aluminum‐26/aluminum‐27 ratios

Abstract— We performed a systematic high‐precision secondary ion mass spectrometry ²⁶Al‐²⁶Mg isotopic study for 11 ferromagnesian chondrules from the highly unequilibrated ordinary chondrite Bishunpur (LL3.1). The chondrules are porphyritic and contain various amounts of olivine and pyroxene and interstitial plagioclase and/or glass. The chemical compositions of the chondrules vary from FeO‐poor to FeO‐rich. Eight chondrules show resolvable ²⁶Mg excesses with a maximum δ²⁶Mg of ?1% in two chondrules. The initial ²⁶Al/²⁷Al ratios inferred for these chondrules range between (2.28 ± 0.73) × 10^?5 to (0.45 ± 0.21) × 10^?5. Assuming a homogeneous distribution of Al isotopes in the early solar system, this range corresponds to ages relative to CAIs between 0.7 ± 0.2 Ma and 2.4_+0.7^?0.4 Ma. The inferred total span of the chondrule formation ages is at least 1 Ma, which is too long to form chondrules by the X‐wind. The initial ²⁶Al/27Al ratios of the chondrules are found to correlate with the proportion of olivine to pyroxene suggesting that olivine‐rich chondrules formed earlier than pyroxene‐rich chondrules. Though we do not have a completely satisfactory explanation of this correlation we tentatively interpret it as a result of evaporative loss of Si from earlier generations of chondrules followed by addition of Si to the precursors of later generation chondrules.     

The comoving-frame equation of radiative transfer in relativistic flows

The comoving-frame equations of radiative transfer and moment equations to accurate terms of all orders inv/c are derived in the modified Lagrangian form. The equations exactly describe the interaction of radiation with matter in a relativistically moving medium in flat or curved spacetime. Two specialized sets of equations are presented: (1) the equation of radiative transfer and moment equations accurate to terms of second order (v ²/c ²), and (2) the transfer equation and moment equations for a radial flow in curved spacetime with the Schwarzschild-type metric.