Flow behavior of large-scale pyroclastic flows — Evidence obtained from petrofabric analysis

The grain orientations within the matrix of two large-scale welded, two small-scale nonwelded and two nonwelded low-aspect ratio pyroclastic flow deposits are measured to analyze flow behavior. Preferred grain alignments are especially apparent in the middle part of layer 2 of each deposit. Preferred grain alignments do not vary laterally within a 10 m interval. The grain alignments obtained are radial from the source caldera, especially in proximal to medial and plateau-forming facies of pyroclastic flow deposits. Grain alignments are controlled by valley-channel directions for the valley-ponded facies of pyroclastic flow deposits, especially at medial to distal locations. Such local topographic factors strongly affect the data for high-aspect ratio and smallscale deposits, and weakly affect the data for widespread low-aspect ratio pyroclastic flow deposits. This work suggests that grain alignment analysis should be used with care when attempting to determine the location of an unknown source.     

Marine hdrothermal alteration at a Kuroko ore deposit,Kosaka, Japan

Isotopic compositions were determined for quartz, sericite and bulk rock samples surrounding the Uwamuki no. 4 Kuroko ore body, Kosaka, Japan. ¹⁸O values of quartz from Siliceous Ore (S.O.), main body of Black Ore B.O.) and the upper layer of B.O. are fairly uniform, +8.7 to +10.5. Formation temperatures calculated from fractionation of ¹⁸O between sericite and quartz from B.O. and upper S.O. are 250° to 300° C. The ore-forming fluids had ¹⁸O values of +1 and D values of –10, from isotope compositions of quartz and sericite.Tertiary volcanic rocks surrounding the ore deposits at Kosaka have uniform ¹⁸O values, +8.1±1.0 (n=50), although their bulk chemical compositions are widely varied because of different degrees of alteration. White Rhyolite, which is an intensely altered rhyolite occurring in close association with the Kuroko ore bodies, has also uniform ¹⁸O values, +7.9±0.9 (n=19). Temperatures of alteration are estimated to be around 300° C from the oxygen isotope fractionation between quartz and sericite. Paleozoic basement rocks phyllite and chert, have high ¹⁸O values, +18 and +19. The Sasahata formation of unknown age, which lies between Tertiary and Paleozoic formations, has highly variable ¹⁸O, +8 to +16 (n=4). High ¹⁸O values of the basement rocks and the sharp difference in ¹⁸O at their boundary suggest that the hydrothermal system causing Kuroko mineralization was mainly confined within permeable Tertiary rocks. D values of altered Tertiary volcanic rocks are highly variable ranging from –34 to –64% (n=12). The variation of D does not correlate with change of chemical composition, ¹⁸O values, nor distance from the ore deposits. The relatively high D values of the altered rocks indicate that the major constituent of the hydrothermal fluid was sea water. However, another fluid having lower D must have also participated. The fluid could be evolved sea water modified by interaction with rocks and the admixture of magmatic fluid. The variation in D may suggest that sea water mixed dispersively with the fluid.     

Meteoric hydrothermal origin of calcites in “Green Tuff” formations,Miocene age,Japan

Oxygen and carbon isotope compositions were determined for calcites from the Green Tuff formations of Miocene age in Japan. Values of ¹⁸O from 24 calcites in altered rocks from 5 districts range from –2 to +16_SMOW, in most cases from 0 to +8_SMOW. The low ¹⁸O values rule out the possibility of their low-temperature origin or any significant contribution of magmatic fluid in the calcite precipitation. These values, coupled with their mineral assemblages, suggest that the calcites formed from meteoric hydrothermal solutions which caused propylitic alteration after the submarine strata became emergent.Values of ¹³C from the calcites show a wide variation from –17 to 0_PDB. Calcites from different districts have different ranges of ¹³C values, indicating that there was no homogeneous reservoir of carbon at the time the calcite formed, and that the carbon had local sources. Carbon isotopic compositions of calcite within ore deposits in the Green Tuff formations range from –19 to 0_PDB, similar to those of calcite in the altered rocks in the same district, suggesting that the carbon in ore calcites was likely supplied from the surrounding rocks through activity of meteoric hydrothermal solutions.     

Evaluation of pounding countermeasures and serviceability of elevated bridges during seismic excitation using 3D modeling

This paper conducts elaborate analyses to evaluate the effectiveness of pounding countermeasures and the serviceability of elevated bridges subject to severe ground motions using detailed 3‐dimensional non‐linear modeling of an entire bridge structure system. A three‐span elevated steel bridge is selected for a case study. The peak and residual magnitude of gaps between girders and the maximum shear deformations of bearings are computed and used in the serviceability evaluation. The results show that under proper configurations the mitigation devices work effectively in reducing pounding actions in both the longitudinal and rotational directions. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

吉林东部汪清新生代玄武岩中地幔包体的矿物化学：对该地区岩石圈地幔形成过程的启示

在对吉林汪清新生代玄武岩中橄榄岩包体进行全岩主、微量元素分析的基础上,重点分析了矿物的主、微量元素含量,讨论了华北克拉通东北缘与兴蒙造山带结合部位陆下岩石圈地幔所经历的部分熔融作用和地幔交代作用。橄榄石的Fo、单斜辉石以及尖晶石的Mg#和Cr#均表明该地区陆下岩石圈地幔相对饱满。对地幔橄榄岩透辉石微量元素模拟计算证实,汪清陆下岩石圈地幔经历了1%~3%的部分熔融作用,并遭受后期硅酸盐熔体交代作用。这些地幔特征与中国东部其他地区新生代主体岩石圈相似。研究结果证明,吉林汪清中、新生代以来岩石圈性质的转变是在汇聚板块构造体制下通过“拆沉作用”实现的。     

Subduction of mantle wedge peridotites: Evidence from the Higashi-akaishi ultramafic body in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt

The Higashi-akaishi garnet-bearing ultramafic body in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, Southwest Japan, represents a rare example of oceanic-type ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism. The body of 2 km × 5 km is composed mostly of anhydrous dunite with volumetrically minor lenses of clinopyroxene-rich rocks. Dunite samples contain high Ir-type platinum group elements (PGE) and Cr in bulk rocks, high Mg and Ni in olivine, and high Cr in spinel. On the other hand, clinopyroxene-rich rocks contain low concentrations of Ir-type PGE and Cr, high concentrations of fluid-mobile elements in bulk rocks, and low Ni and Mg in olivine. Clinopyroxene is diopsidic with low Al₂O₃. The compositions of bulk rocks and mineral chemistry of spinel, olivine, and clinopyroxene suggest that the olivine-dominated rocks are residual mantle peridotites after high degrees of influx partial melting, and that the clinopyroxene-rich rocks are cumulates of subduction-related melts. Thus, the Higashi-akaishi ultramafic body originated from the interior of the mantle wedge, most likely the forearc upper mantle. It was then incorporated into the Sanbagawa subduction channel by a mantle flow, and underwent high pressure metamorphism to a depth greater than 100 km. Such a strong active flow in the mantle wedge is likely facilitated by the lack of serpentinites along the interface between the slab and the overlying mantle, as it was too hot for serpentine. These unusually hot conditions and strong active mantle flow may reflect conditions in the earliest stage of development of subduction, and may have been maintained by massive upwelling and subsequent eastward flow of asthenospheric mantle in the northeastern Asian continent in Cretaceous time when the Sanbagawa belt began to form.     

Pounding of superstructure segments in isolated elevated bridge during earthquakes

Past severe earthquakes indicate that pounding may cause considerable damage or even lead to collapse of colliding structures. The aim of this paper is to present an analysis of pounding between superstructure segments of an isolated elevated bridge induced by the propagating seismic wave. High-damping rubber bearings (HDRBs), used as isolation devices, are modelled by proposed non-linear formulation and the significance of the bearings model for pounding is indicated. The results of the study show that pounding leads to the increase or decrease of the forces acting on piers, depending on the gap size between superstructure segments. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strength of single-crystal orthopyroxene under lithospheric conditions

Creep strength of oriented orthopyroxene single crystals was investigated via shear deformation experiments under lithospheric conditions [P (pressure) = 1.3 GPa and T (temperature) = 973–1,373 K]. For the A-orientation (shear direction [001] on (100) plane), the samples have transformed completely to clinoenstatite and much of the deformation occurred after transformation. In contrast, for the B-orientation (shear direction [001] on (010) plane), samples remained orthoenstatite and deformation occurred through dislocation motion in orthoenstatite. The strength of orthopyroxene with these orientations is smaller than for olivine aggregates under all experimental conditions. Flow of the B-orientation samples is described by a power-law, and the pre-exponential constant, the apparent activation energy, and the stress exponent are determined to be A = 10^−9.5 s⁻¹·MPa^−4.2, Q = 114 kJ/mol and n = 4.2. However, for the A-orientation, the results cannot be fit by a single flow law and we obtained the following: A = 10^8.9 s⁻¹·MPa^−3.0, Q = 459 kJ/mol and n = 3.0 at high temperatures (≥1,173 K), and A = 10^−27.4 s⁻¹·MPa^−14.3, Q = 296 kJ/mol and n = 14.3 at low temperatures (<1,173 K). The stress exponent for the low-temperature regime is high, suggesting that deformation involves some processes where the activation energy decreases with stress such as the Peierls mechanism. Our study shows that orthopyroxene with these orientations is significantly weaker than olivine under the lithospheric conditions suggesting that orthopyroxene may reduce the strength of the lithosphere, although the extent to which orthopyroxene weakens the lithosphere depends on its orientation and connectivity.     

Geochemical and Microbiological Analysis of Sambe Hot Springs,Shimane Prefecture,Japan

Microbiological contribution to the formation of the manganese deposits in Sambe hot springs, Shimane, was investigated in combination with water chemistry, characterization of sediments and microbial community structure. Analysis of bacterial and fungal community structure based on DNA extracted from a Mn‐oxidizing enrichment culture indicated close matches with Pseudomonas putida, Phoma sp. and Plectosphaerella cucumerina, all Mn‐oxidizing microorganisms. These sediments were poorly crystalline and formed at neutral pH values, which is characteristic of biogenic precipitates. The EPMA results demonstrated a positive correlation between Mn and Ba contents in well‐crystalline Mn oxide grains. Substantial Ba contents were observed inside Mn oxide grains. These findings indicated that Ba contents in sediments are influenced by not only aqueous Ba²⁺ concentrations but also crystallinity of biogenic birnessite. Barium would be incorporated in birnessite during biomineralization.