Seagrasses from the Nansei Islands, Southern Japanese Archipelago: species composition, distribution and biogeography

The Nansei Islands in the southern Japanese Archipelago have 15 taxa of seagrasses from seven genera within three families. Seagrasses in this region grow on coral sands or coral debris in shallow reefs and on sandy or muddy substrata in the shallow areas of bays and inlets. Certain Halophila species grow in deep water off some islands. Enhalus acoroides only reaches to Ishigaki I. with winter sea water temperature (WST) at 23 °C, while Okinawa I. (WST at 21.6 °C) is the northern biogeographic limit for Halophila decipiens, H. okinawensis, H. major and H. gaudichaudii. Amami‐oshima I. (WST at 20.7 °C) is the northern border for Thalassia hemprichii, H. minor, H. ovalis, Cymodocea serrulata, Cymodocea rotundata, Syringodium isoetifolium, Halodule uninervis and Halodule pinifolia. Halophila mikii the sole seagrass collected from Yakushima I. (WST at 19.3 °C), is of volcanic origin. The distribution of tropical seagrasses in the Nansei Islands is clearly associated with the warm Kuroshio Current, WST and habitat availability. Zostera japonica is the only temperate species occurring in the region. Meadows of Z. japonica, H. ovalis and Halodule pinifolia have disappeared from certain localities in the Archipelago, due probably to human activities and natural siltation.     

Teshima pyroclastics: Onset of characteristic Setouchi magmatism induced by slab melting at 14.8 Ma

Ar-Ar ages, and petrographical and geochemical characteristics of pyroclastics and an overlying lava from Teshima Island, southwest Japan are presented. Although previous geological and age data suggested Teshima pyroclastics were products of magmatism > 3 my prior to lava flows of Setouchi volcanic rocks generated in association with southward migration of the southwest Japan arc sliver during opening of the Sea of Japan backarc basin at ~ 15 Ma, the present results led to the conclusion that a sequence of Setouchi volcanism, induced by slab melting and subsequent melt-mantle reactions, produced both pyroclastics and lava at 14.6–14.8 Ma. This age is oldest among those reported so far and may represent the timing of onset of characteristic Setouchi magmatism immediately posterior to and hence as a result of the mega-tectonic event including rotation of the southwest Japan arc sliver.     

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.     

Metasomatism of sub-arc mantle peridotites below southernmost South America: reduction of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> f</Emphasis>O<Subscript>2</Subscript> by slab-melt

Quaternary basalts in the Cerro del Fraile area contain two types of mantle xenoliths; coarse-grained (2–5 mm) C-type spinel harzburgites and lherzolites, and fine-grained (0.5–2 mm) intensely metasomatized F-type spinel lherzolites. C-type xenoliths have high Mg in olivine (Fo = 90–91) and a range in Cr# [Cr/ (Cr + Al) = 0.17–0.34] in spinel. Two C-type samples contain websterite veinlets and solidified patches of melt that is now composed of minute quenched grains of plagioclase + Cr-spinel + clinopyroxene + olivine. These patches of quenched melts are formed by decompression melting of pargasitic amphibole. High Ti contents and common occurrence of relic Cr-spinel in the quenched melts indicate that the amphibole is formed from spinel by interaction with the Ti-rich parental magma of the websterite veinlets. The fO₂ values of these two C-type xenoliths range from ΔFMQ −0.2 to −0.4, which is consistent with their metasomatism by an asthenospheric mantle-derived melt. The rest of the C-type samples are free of “melt,” but show cryptic metasomatism by slab-derived aqueous fluids, which produced high concentrations of fluid-mobile elements in clinopyroxenes, and higher fO₂ ranging from ΔFMQ +0.1 to +0.3. F-type lherzolites are intensely metasomatized to form spinel with low Cr# (∼0.13) and silicate minerals with low MgO, olivine (Fo = ∼84), orthpyroxene [Mg# = Mg/(Mg + ΣFe) = ∼0.86] and clinopyroxene (Mg# = ∼0.88). Patches of “melt” are common in all F-type samples and their compositions are similar to pargasitic amphibole with low TiO₂ (<0.56 wt%), Cr₂O₃ (<0.55 wt%) and MgO (<16.3 wt%). Low Mg# values of silicate minerals, including the amphibole, suggest that the metasomatic agent is most likely a slab melt. This is supported by high ratios of Sr/Y and light rare earth elements (REE)/heavy REE in clinopyroxenes. F-type xenoliths show relatively low fO₂ (ΔFMQ −0.9 to −1.1) compared to C-type xenoliths and this is explained by the fusion of organic-rich sediments overlying the slab during the slab melt. Trench-fill sediments in the area are high in organic matter. The fusion of such wet sediments likely produced CH₄-rich fluids and reduced melts that mixed with the slab melt. High U and Th in bulk rocks and clinopyroxene in F-type xenoliths support the proposed interpretation.     

Phytoplankton community adaptation to changing light levels in the southern Beaufort Sea,Canadian Arctic

The chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficient of phytoplankton, a_φ^∗(λ) is an important parameter to determine for primary production models and for the estimation of phytoplankton physiological condition. Knowledge of this parameter at high latitudes where nutrient rich cold water submitted to low incident light is a common environment is almost nonexistent. To address this issue, we investigated the light absorption properties of phytoplankton as a function of irradiance, temperature, and nutrients using a large data set in the southern Beaufort Sea during the open water to ice cover transition period. The a_φ^∗(λ) tended to increase from autumn when open water still existed to early winter when sea ice cover was formed, resulting from a biological selection of smaller-size phytoplankton more efficient to absorb light. There was no significant correlation between a_φ^∗(λ) and irradiance or temperature for both seasons. However, a_φ^∗(λ) showed a significant positive correlation with NO₃ + NO₂. Implications of the results for phytoplankton community adaptation to changing light levels are discussed.     

Trophic structure and pathways of biogenic carbon flow in the eastern North Water Polynya

In the eastern North Water, most of the estimated annual new and net production of carbon (C) occurred during the main diatom bloom in 1998. During the bloom, at least 30% of total and new phytoplankton production occurred as dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and was unavailable for short-term assimilation into the herbivorous food web or sinking export. Based on particle interceptor traps and ²³⁴Th deficits, 27% of the particulate primary production (PP) sank out of the upper 50 m, with only 7% and 1% of PP reaching the benthos at shallow (≈200 m) and deep (≈500 m) sites, respectively. Mass balance calculations and grazing estimates agree that ≈79% of PP was ingested by pelagic consumers between April and July. During this period, the vertical flux of biogenic silica (BioSi) at 50 m was equivalent to the total BioSi produced, indicating that all of the diatom production was removed from the euphotic zone as intact cells (direct sinking) or empty frustules (grazing or lysis). The estimated flux of empty frustules was consistent with rates of herbivory by the large, dominant copepods and appendicularians during incubations. Since the carbon demand of the dominant planktivorous bird, Alle alle, amounted to ≈2% of the biomass synthesized by its main prey, the large copepod Calanus hyperboreus, most of the secondary carbon production was available to pelagic carnivores. Stable isotopes indicated that the biomass of predatory amphipods, polar cod and marine mammals was derived from these herbivores, but corresponding carbon fluxes were not quantified. Our analysis shows that a large fraction of PP in the eastern North Water was ingested by consumers in the upper 50 m, leading to substantial carbon respiration and DOC accumulation in surface waters. An increasingly early and prolonged opening of the Artic Ocean is likely to promote the productivity of the herbivorous food web, but not the short-term efficiency of the particulate, biological CO₂ pump.     

Search for TeV Gamma-Rays from 3EG J1234-1318 with the Cangaroo-II Telescope

We observed 3EG J1234-1318 with the CANGAROO-II telescope in March, 2002. This source is a steady unidentified EGRET gamma-ray source at high Galactic latitude which has been associated with a dynamically merging clusters of galaxies, and is therefore a candidate TeV source. TeV gamma-ray emission is also expected as a result of large-scale cosmological structure formation. We here report the resulting upper limit on the TeV gamma-ray emission from 3EG J1234-1318. For the CANGAROO Collaboration.     

An atomic level study of rhenium and radiogenic osmium in molybdenite

Local atomic structures of Re and radiogenic Os in molybdenite from the Onganja mine, Namibia, were examined using X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS). Rhenium L_III-edge X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) and extended X-ray absorption fine structure (EXAFS) show that the oxidation state of Re, the interatomic distances between Re and the neighboring atoms, and the coordination number of Re to S are very similar to those of Mo in molybdenite. The results confirm that Re is present as Re(IV) in the Mo site in molybdenite.Measurement of L_III-edge XANES and EXAFS of a minor concentration (8.55 ppm) of radiogenic Os was accomplished in fluorescence mode by removing the interfering X-rays from Re and other elements using a crystal analyzer system. The data indicate that the oxidation state of radiogenic Os is Os(III) and Os(IV) and clearly different from Os(II) in natural sulfide minerals, such as OsS₂ (erlichmanite). XANES data also suggest that radiogenic Os does not form a secondary Os phase, such as OsS₂ or Os metal, in molybdenite.EXAFS of radiogenic Os was successfully simulated assuming that Os is present in the Mo site in molybdenite. The data are consistent with the XANES data; Os does not form Os phases in molybdenite. The EXAFS simulation showed that the interatomic distance between Os and S is 2.27 Å, which is 0.12 Å smaller than the distances of Re-S and Mo-S (2.39 Å) in molybdenite. Similar valences and ionic sizes of Re and Mo in molybdenite support the fact that large amounts of Re can be incorporated into the Mo site as has been observed in previous studies, whereas the different properties of Os compared to Mo and Re suggested here support much lower abundance of common Os in molybdenite. This makes molybdenite an ideal mineral for the Re-Os geochronometer as shown in many studies. However, the shorter distance between radiogenic Os and S compared to those of Re-S and Mo-S in molybdenite suggests that the radiogenic Os has a smaller ionic size than Re(IV) and Mo(IV). Furthermore, Os may be partly present as Os(III). Smaller and lower charge Os can diffuse faster than larger and higher charge Re in molybdenite at a given set of conditions. Hence, our study provides an atomic-level explanation for the high mobility of Os compared to Re, which has been suggested by earlier workers using laser ablation ICP-MS.     

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Satellite Primary Production in the Japan Sea from 1998 to 2002

The spatial and seasonal variability of primary production in the Japan Sea from 1998 to 2002 was estimated using a satellite primary production model. A size-fractionated primary production model was validated by in situ primary production data measured in the Japan Sea. Estimated primary production and in situ primary production showed a good positive correlation. Estimated primary production showed spatial variability. Annual primary production levels were 170, 161, 191 and 222 gC m⁻²year⁻¹ at the Russian coast, in the middle of the Japan Basin, the southeastern area and the southwestern area, respectively. It was higher to the south around 40°N than to the north, and higher in the western area than in the eastern one. Peaks of primary production appeared twice, in spring and fall, in the southern area, while a single peak appeared in the northern area. Primary production along the Russian coast was higher than in other areas during summer. The spring bloom contributed 42% to the annual primary production in these four areas. Furthermore, estimated primary production showed an interannual variability that was largest in spring. Primary production in fall also showed interannual variability, especially in the middle of the Japan Basin and the southwestern area. This corresponded mainly to the size of the phytoplankton bloom in each year. Winter convection by wind and the depth of nutrient-rich, cold subsurface water underlying the Tsushima Current may contribute to the nutrient supply to upper layer and interannual variations of primary production in spring.