Provenance of quartzite clasts from the Shimanto belt, southwest Japanese Islands (preliminary report)

The conglomerate including quartzite clasts occurs at various places in Japan. In this paper, the Muro and Nichinan clasts of the Shimanto belt were examined using optical and cathodoluminescence microscopes. Based on the paleogeography of Paleo-Japan before the opening of the Sea of Japan, it is concluded that these quartzite clasts were probably derived from the edge of East Asian continent.     

An overview of decadal climate predictability in a multi-model ensemble by climate model MIROC

Decadal climate predictability is examined in hindcast experiments by a multi-model ensemble using three versions of the coupled atmosphere-ocean model MIROC. In these hindcast experiments, initial conditions are obtained from an anomaly assimilation procedure using the observed oceanic temperature and salinity with prescribed natural and anthropogenic forcings on the basis of the historical data and future emission scenarios in the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change. Results of the multi-model ensemble in our hindcast experiments show that predictability of surface air temperature (SAT) anomalies on decadal timescales mostly originates from externally forced variability. Although the predictable component of internally generated variability has considerably smaller SAT variance than that of externally forced variability, ocean subsurface temperature variability has predictive skills over almost a decade, particularly in the North Pacific and the North Atlantic where dominant signals associated with Pacific decadal oscillation (PDO) and the Atlantic multidecadal oscillation (AMO) are observed. Initialization enhances the predictive skills of AMO and PDO indices and slightly improves those of global mean temperature anomalies. Improvement of these predictive skills in the multi-model ensemble is higher than that in a single-model ensemble.     

Experiments on cauldron formation: A polygonal cauldron and ring fractures

The sequence of formation of the Motojuku-type cauldron (Fujita et al., 1970) is summarized as follows: (1) doming due to ascent of a magma body; (2) development of normal faults which produce a polygonal cauldron; and (3) eruption of acidic to intermediate pyroclastic material. Model experiments on a scale of 1/200,000 reveal that ascent of the magma body, which was imitated by a ball of hardened putty, produced a polygonal cauldron composed of radial and concentrically arranged short fractures on the roof of a dome. No ring fractures were formed. This type of cauldron develops near the surface. On the other hand, emission of magma which was imitated by evaporation of a ball of dry ice in brittle powdered material, caused ring faults dipping outward and a circular cauldron without up- or downwarping. This type of cauldron develops upward from the magma body. The former model is equated to the Motojuku-type cauldron, and the latter model to the other types of cauldrons with ring fractures.     

Benthic Foraminifera in Siliceous Black Ore from the Ezuri Kuroko Deposit, Hokuroku District, Japan

Abstract: Abundant benthic foraminifera have been identified in thin sections of the siliceous black ore in the Ezuri Kuroko deposit, Hokuroku, Japan. By treating samples with conventional hydrofluoric acid digestion techniques, sponge spicules and radiolaria have also been recognized in the residue. Under microscopic observations, 94 individual foraminiferal specimens have been detected. However, as it is difficult to identify species or genera by means of microscope observations alone, only a small number of genera have been identified based on morphology. The foraminiferal assemblage is composed predominantly of agglutinated species (83%) with subordinate calcareous species (17%), and is assigned to the Cyclammina Assemblage based on the preponderance of Cyclammina (57%). The foraminifera are generally well preserved within micro‐crystalline to cryptocrystalline quartz, and exhibit no obvious features related to compaction or secondary deformation. Textural observations suggest that the siliceous component of this rock was not derived from an allochthonous block but instead constitutes autochthonous proto‐Kuroko sediment. The Cyclammina Assemblage in the ore is different from recently described foraminiferal assemblages in the vicinity of present deep‐sea hydrothermal vents, but is identical to those found in black shales of the Onnagawa to Funakawa stages in the Green Tuff region. The proto‐Kuroko sediment is assumed to have been deposited in an oxygen‐deficient environment within a closed, deep‐seated basin. The existence of siliceous microfossils suggests that the silica in the siliceous ore did not originate from silica sinter deposits produced by submarine hydrothermal activities, but from a biogenic siliceous ooze, probably composed of diatoms. Sulfide mineralization in the interstices of some of the microfossils is inferred to relate primarily to bacterial sulfate reduction associated with the decomposition of organic matter. The later sulfide mineralization associated with larger crystals (which contain fluid inclusions with homogenization temperatures of approximately 250C) cuts across the siliceous masses and foraminiferal septa, and may have been formed after consolidation of the siliceous ooze, accompanying the formation of acidic intrusive rocks during the late Onnagawa stage.     

Comparison of carbon cycle between the western Pacific subarctic and subtropical time-series stations: highlights of the K2S1 project

A comparative study of ecosystems and biogeochemistry at time-series stations in the subarctic gyre (K2) and subtropical region (S1) of the western North Pacific Ocean (K2S1 project) was conducted between 2010 and 2013 to collect essential data about the ecosystem and biological pump in each area and to provide a baseline of information for predicting changes in biologically mediated material cycles in the future. From seasonal chemical and biological observations, general oceanographic settings were verified and annual carbon budgets at both stations were determined. Annual mean of phytoplankton biomass and primary productivity at the oligotrophic station S1 were comparable to that at the eutrophic station K2. Based on chemical/physical observations and numerical simulations, the likely “missing nutrient source” was suggested to include regeneration, meso-scale eddy driven upwelling, meteorological events, and eolian inputs in addition to winter vertical mixing. Time-series observation of carbonate chemistry revealed that ocean acidification (OA) was ongoing at both stations, and that the rate of OA was faster at S1 than at K2 although OA at K2 is more critical for calcifying organisms.     

Meridional and seasonal footprints of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation on phytoplankton biomass in the northwestern Pacific Ocean

We used 16 years of multiplatform-derived biophysical data to reveal the footprint of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) on the phytoplankton biomass of the northwestern Pacific Ocean in terms of chlorophyll a concentration (Chl), and to discern the probable factors causing the observed footprint. There were meridional differences in the response of phytoplankton to changes of environmental conditions associated with deepening of the mixed layer during the positive phase of the PDO. In general, deepening of the mixed layer increased phytoplankton biomass at low latitudes (increase of Chl due to increase of nutrient supply), but lowered phytoplankton at high latitudes (decrease of Chl due to reduction of average irradiance and temperature in the mixed layer). The areas where Chl increased or decreased changed meridionally and seasonally in accord with regulation of nutrient and light/temperature limitation by changes of mixed layer depth. The observed PDO footprint on Chl in the northwestern Pacific is likely superimposed on the high-frequency component of the PDO excited by El Niño/Southern Oscillation interannual variability. On a decadal time scale, however, Chl in the northwestern Pacific were more strongly associated with the recently discovered North Pacific Gyre Oscillation.