The Cretaceous Ofuku Pluton and Its Relation to Mineralization in the Western Akiyoshi Plateau,Yamaguchi Prefecture,Japan

The relationship between the magmatism of the Cretaceous Ofuku pluton and mineralization in and around the Akiyoshi Plateau, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan was investigated using a combination of field observation, petrographic and geochemical analyses, K–Ar geochronology, and fluid inclusion data. The Ofuku pluton has a surface area of 1.5 × 1.0 km, and was intruded into the Paleozoic accretionary complexes of the Akiyoshi Limestone, Ota Group and Tsunemori Formation in the western part of the Akiyoshi Plateau. The pluton belongs to the ilmenite‐series and is zoned, consisting mainly of early tonalite and granodiorite that share a gradational contact, and later granite and aplite that intruded the tonalite and granodiorite. Harker diagrams show that the Ofuku pluton has intermediate to silicic compositions ranging from 60.4 to 77.9 wt.% SiO₂, but a compositional gap exists between 70.5 to 73.4 wt.% SiO₂ (anhydrous basis). Modal and chemical variations indicate that the assumed parental magma is tonalitic. Quantitative models of fractional crystallization based on mass balance calculations and the Rayleigh fractionation model using major and trace element data for all crystalline phases indicate that magmatic fractionation was controlled mainly by crystal fractionation of plagioclase, hornblende, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene at the early stage, and quartz, plagioclase, biotite, hornblende, apatite, ilmenite and zircon at the later stage. The residual melt extracted from the granodiorite mush was subsequently intruded into the northern and western parts of the Ofuku pluton as melt lens to form the granite and aplite. The age of the pluton was estimated at 99–97 Ma and 101–98 Ma based on K–Ar dating of hornblende and biotite, respectively. Both ages are consistent within analytical error, indicating that the Ofuku pluton and the associated Yamato mine belong to the Tungsten Province of the San‐yo Belt, which is genetically related to the ilmenite‐series granitoids of the Kanmon to Shunan stages. The aplite contains Cl‐rich apatite and REE‐rich monazite‐(Ce), allanite‐(Ce), xenotime and bastnäsite‐(Ce), indicating that the residual melt was rich in halogens and REEs. The tonalite–granodiorite of the Ofuku pluton contains many three‐phase fluid inclusions, along with daughter minerals such as NaCl and KCl, and vapor/liquid (V/L) volume ratios range from 0.2 to 0.9, suggesting that the fluid was boiling. In contrast, the granite and aplite contain low salinity two‐phase inclusions with low V/L ratios. The granodiorite occupies a large part of the pluton, and the inclusions with various V/L ratios with chloride daughter minerals suggest the boiling fluids might be related to the mineralization. This fluid could have carried base metals such as Cu and Zn, forming Cu ore deposits in and around the Ofuku pluton. The occurrence and composition of fluid inclusions in the igneous rocks from the Akiyoshi Plateau are directly linked to Cu mineralization in the area, demonstrating that fluid inclusions are useful indicators of mineralization.     

Generation of high resolution sea surface temperature using multi-satellite data for operational oceanography

In the present article, we introduce a high resolution sea surface temperature(SST) product generated daily by Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology(KIOST). The SST product is comprised of four sets of data including eight-hour and daily average SST data of 1 km resolution, and is based on the four infrared(IR) satellite SST data acquired by advanced very high resolution radiometer(AVHRR), Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer(MODIS), Multifunctional Transport Satellites-2(MTSAT-2) Imager and Meteorological Imager(MI), two microwave radiometer SSTs acquired by Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer 2(AMSR2), and Wind SAT with in-situ temperature data. These input satellite and in-situ SST data are merged by using the optimal interpolation(OI) algorithm. The root-mean-square-errors(RMSEs) of satellite and in-situ data are used as a weighting value in the OI algorithm. As a pilot product, four SST data sets were generated daily from January to December 2013. In the comparison between the SSTs measured by moored buoys and the daily mean KIOST SSTs, the estimated RMSE was 0.71°C and the bias value was –0.08°C. The largest RMSE and bias were 0.86 and –0.26°C respectively, observed at a buoy site in the boundary region of warm and cold waters with increased physical variability in the Sea of Japan/East Sea. Other site near the coasts shows a lower RMSE value of 0.60°C than those at the open waters. To investigate the spatial distributions of SST, the Group for High Resolution Sea Surface Temperature(GHRSST) product was used in the comparison of temperature gradients, and it was shown that the KIOST SST product represents well the water mass structures around the Korean Peninsula. The KIOST SST product generated from both satellite and buoy data is expected to make substantial contribution to the Korea Operational Oceanographic System(KOOS) as an input parameter for data assimilation.     

Ag-Cu-Pb-Bi-S Minerals Newly Discovered from the Ohori Base Metal Deposit, Yamagata Prefecture, NE Japan: Implications for Bi-metallogenesis in the Green-Tuff Region

The Ohori deposit, one of the base metal deposits in the Green-Tuff region, NE Japan, is composed of two types of mineralization; a skarn-type (Kaninomata orebody) made by the replacement of the Miocene calcareous layer, and a vein-type (Nakanomata orebody). While the ore mineral assemblage of the deposit (chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite and galena) has been known for being rather simple, some Pb-Bi-S minerals have been discovered for the first time in the present study. The minerals mainly occur in the chalcopyrite-rich ores of both orebodies. They essentially belong to the Pb-Bi-S system and contain Cu and Ag in minor amounts, which correspond to the lillianite–gustavite solid solution series (phases Z and X), cosalite, neyite, felbertalite, krupkaite and Bi-bearing galena. The chalcopyrite-rich (Bi-bearing) ores from both orebodies are richer in chalcopyrite, pyrite and chlorite, and have higher homogenization temperatures (>300°C) of fluid inclusions, and higher FeS contents in sphalerite compared to the Bi-free ores. In the Green-Tuff region, Bi-minerals have been reported from many base metal deposits. Most of these Bi-bearing ore deposits are referred to as xenothermal-type deposits, and are characterized by the following common features; composite mineralization of high- and low-temperatures in the shallower environments, and close relationships with the Tertiary granitic rocks. The whole mineralization at the Ohori deposit also has a similar xenothermal character because of the coexistence of high-temperature chalcopyrite-rich ores with Pb-Bi-S minerals, which were formed by the influence of the Tertiary granitic rocks at a shallow depth.     

Phase separation,fluid mixing,and origin of the greisens and potassic episyenite associated with the Água Boa pluton,Pitinga tin province,Amazonian Craton,Brazil

Based on petrographical data, three types of greisen have been characterized at the western border of Água Boa pluton: siderophyllite–topaz–quartz greisen (greisen 1), fluorite–phengite–quartz greisen (greisen 2) and quartz–chlorite–phengite greisen (greisen 3). Episyenites were also identified.Two fluids of independent origin interacted with the same protolith – a hornblende-biotite alkali feldspar granite – and produced both the greisens and potassic episyenite: (1) an acid, low-salinity (4–12 wt.% NaCl eq.), F-rich, relatively hot (400–350 °C) reduced aqueous-carbonic fluid (CH₄–H₂O–NaCl–FeCl₂ ± KCl), which by immiscibility gave rise to fluid IA (aqueous) and IC (carbonic); and (2) a lower salinity (2–4 wt.% NaCl eq.) and temperature (200–150 °C) aqueous fluid (H₂O–NaCl), which was responsible for all dilution processes. Fluid 1 seems to have had a magmatic-hydrothermal origin, while fluid 2 is probably surface-derived (meteoric water?). An alkaline, F-poorer and diluted equivalent of fluid IA was interpreted to have caused the episyenitization of the granite host rock as well as the formation of phengite-rich greisen 3. The continuos interaction of this fluid with the potassic episyenite produced a moderate- to high-salinity (20–24 wt.% NaCl eq.), low-temperature (200–100 °C) fluid (H₂O–NaCl–CaCl₂ ± KCl), leading to the formation of chlorite-rich zone of greisen 3 and late silicification of potassic episyenite.In the greisen 1, decreasing F-activity and increasing oxygen fugacity, as the system cooled down, favored the formation of a topaz-rich inner zone, which grades into a siderophyllite-rich zone outwardly. Greisen 2 was formed under more oxidizing conditions by fluids poorer in F than those trapped in the siderophyllite-rich zone.The oxidation of aqueous-carbonic fluid took place at three distinct stages: (i) below the FMQ buffer; (ii) between the FMQ and NNO buffers; and (iii) above the NNO buffer.The dissolution cavities generated during the episyenitization process increased the permeability of the altered rocks, resulting in an increase of the fluid/rock ratios at the potassic episyenite and greisen 3 sites.All these fluids were trapped under pressure conditions of <1.0 kbar, representing shallow crustal levels and are consistent with those that have been estimated for the Pitinga tin–granites.The oxygen fugacity, F-activity gradients and salinity variations that occurred during the cooling of the hydrothermal system, in addition to differences in permeability, were important factors in the formation of distinct greisens. They not only controlled the fluid compositional changes, but also caused the cassiterite and sulfide precipitation at the greisen sites.     

Ridge collision and in situ greenstones in accretionary complexes: An example from the Late Cretaceous Ryukyu Islands and southwest Japan margin

Abstract Mélange units containing greenstones are common throughout the Cretaceous-Miocene Shimanto Supergroup in the Ryukyu Is and southwest Japan. Most greenstones in the accretionary complex originated in oceanic spreading ridges and seamounts, and they formed far from the convergent margin. Some mélange-like units in the supergroup, however, contain greenstones that were extruded upon and intruded into unconsolidated fine-grained terrigenous clastic sediments. It is inferred that eruption of the in situ greenstones resulted from igneous activity in the trench area. Geochemical signatures indicate that the greenstone protoliths were similar to mafic lavas generated at spreading ridges. Fossil ages of the strata containing in situ greenstones become younger over a distance of 1300 km eastward from Amami-Oshima (Cenomanian-Turonian) in the Ryukyu Is to central Japan (Late Maestrichtian-earliest Paleocene), implying that a site of igneous activity in the trench area migrated eastward along the Ryukyu Is and southwest Japan margin. Plate reconstructions of the northwest Pacific Ocean suggest the presence of the Kula-Pacific ridge near Late Cretaceous to early Paleogene Japan. In this context, it is suggested that the greenstones formed in response to Kula-Pacific ridge-forearc collision.
Ancient ridge-forearc collisions are best recognized by the presence of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) extruded on sediments inferred to have accumulated in the trench area. Diachronous occurrences of the strata associated with these MORB in an orogenic belt are useful for documenting the ridge collision through time.