40Ar—39Ar ages of guyots in the western Pacific and discussion of their evolution

Summary. Six submarine rocks dredged from guyots in the western Pacific were dated by means of ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar step heating dating technique. All ages show mid- to late-Cretaceous ages in accordance with the generally supposed age of the ocean crust estimated from the magnetic anomaly pattern.
The back-tracked paths were calculated for the guyots with the use of their absolute ages, for both the Pacific plate movements proposed by Morgan and by Clague & Jarrard. In both cases these show birth places for the guyots, which are located near the equator.
Fossil ages are nearly concordant with the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages for the guyots which are older than 95 Myr, whereas the fossil ages are considerably younger than the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar ages for the guyots younger than 90 Myr. This contrast may be due to the world-wide marine transgression, whose climax is believed to have occurred at about 85 Myr BP.     

An interpretation of the Nusselt-Rayleigh number relationship for convection in a spherical shell

Recent studies on the relationship between the Nusselt ( Nu ) and Rayleigh ( Ra ) numbers for base-heated convection in a spherical shell with a constant viscosity show that the power-law index is around 1/4, which is different from the value of 1/3 predicted by a simple boundary layer theory. We show that such a difference may be caused by the flow pattern due to the geometry. The flow pattern of the convection in a spherical shell at relatively low Ra , at least, less than 10⁶, is characterized by narrow upwelling and broad downwelling, which is similar to the opposite flow pattern of internally heated convection. Convection in the internally heated case predicts the power-law index of 1/4. We demonstrate this relationship based on the concept of 'local' Rayleigh ( Ra1 ) and Nusselt ( Nu1 ) numbers     

Influence of submarine fumaroles on the distribution of mercury in the sediment of Kagoshima Bay,Japan

To estimate the influence of mercury emitted from submarine fumaroles, the horizontal and vertical distribution of mercury in sediment of Kagoshima Bay was studied. The fumaroles are located in the northern bay head area, and the sediment samples had been taken from 52 points throughout the bay with a gravity core sampler. The core samples obtained were cut at a thickness of 1–2 cm and used for measurements. The total concentration of mercury in surface sediment in the northern and central areas of the bay was 51–679 μg kg^− 1 (average 199 μg kg^− 1, n = 22) and 23–100 μg kg^− 1 (average 55 μg kg^− 1, n = 30), respectively. The highest value was obtained in the vicinity of the fumaroles. The mercury concentration in sediment near the fumaroles varied with depth, which may reflect the variation in fumarolic activity. A successive extraction method was applied to the speciation of mercury in the sediment. The results showed that sediment taken in the vicinity of submarine fumaroles contained a higher percentage of mercury bound with organic matter.     

Towed ADCP fish with Depth and Roll controllable wings and its application to the Kuroshio observation

An intelligent ADCP (Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler) fish, called DRAKE (Depth and Roll Adjustable Kite for Energy flux measurements) was developed with the controllable wings which can adjust the submerging depth of the fish and stabilize its roll motion. The Kuroshio west of Okinawa was measured in a roundtrip course on the same traverse line by the ADCP fish. The forward survey obtained the maximum submerging depth of 208 m at a fish operation speed of 2.9 ms^–1. The maximum fish speed of 5.4 ms^–1 was achieved at a submerging depth of 48 m in the return survey. The data in the overlapped area of data acquisition between depths 212 and 276 m were used to examine the accuracy of velocity measurement for the towed ADCP system. The summation of both survey data made it possible to estimate a sectional velocity structure and transport of the upper 600 m corresponding roughly to the whole section of the Kuroshio in this region.     

Geochemical Features of Vein Anhydrite from the Kakkonda Geothermal System, Northeast Japan

Abstract. Cathodoluminescence (CL) color, rare earth element (REE) content, sulfur and oxygen isotopes and fluid inclusions of anhydrite, which frequently filled in hydrothermal veins in the Kakkonda geothermal system, were investigated to elucidate the spatial, temporal and genetical evolution of fluids in the deep reservoir. The anhydrite samples studied are classified into four types based on CL colors and REE contents: type-N (no color), type-G (green color), type-T (tan color) and type-S (tan color with a high REE content). In the shallow reservoir, only type-N anhydrite is observed. In the deep reservoir, type-G anhydrite occurs in vertical veins whereas type-T and -N in lateral veins. Type-S anhydrite occurs in the heat-source Kakkonda Granite. The CL textures revealed that type-G anhydrite deposited earlier than type-T in the deep reservoir, implying that fracture system was changed from predominantly vertical to lateral.
Studies of fluid inclusions and δ³⁴S and δ¹⁸O values of the samples indicate that type-N anhydrite deposited from diluted fluids derived from meteoric water, whereas type-G, -T and -S anhydrites deposited from magmatic brines derived from the Kakkonda Granite with the exception of some of type-G with recrystallization texture and no primary fluid inclusion, which deposited from fossil seawater preserved in the sedimentary rocks. Type-G, -T and -S anhydrites exhibit remarkably different chondrite-normalized REE patterns with a positive Eu anomaly, with a convex shape (peak at Sm or Eu) and with a negative Eu anomaly, respectively. The difference in the patterns might result from the different extent of hydrothermal alteration of the reservoir rocks and contribution of the magmatic fluids.     

The evolution of Pinatubo aerosols in the Arctic stratosphere during 1994–2000

Balloon-borne aerosol measurements were performed with an optical particle counter between 1994 and 2000 at Ny-Ålesund (79°N), Svarbard. Throughout the observation period, continuous decay was found in the concentrations of particles with 0.4–0.6 μm in radius in the Arctic stratosphere, suggesting that Pinatubo aerosols remained even at the end of the 1990s. The decay rate was clearly higher for larger particle sizes, and higher at higher altitude (e-folding time of 970–526 days), suggesting a gravitational sedimentation effect. For smaller particles with R<0.4 μm, slight increases in concentration with time were found, which agreed with the measurements at mid-latitude. The sulfate mass mixing ratio in the Arctic stratosphere before 1998 showed values higher than those at middle latitude, while values were almost the same in both regions after 1998. A possible explanation of the latitudinal difference is a time lag (of 0.5–1 year) in the arrival of Pinatubo aerosols in the Arctic.     

Distribution of tungsten and molybdenum between metal,silicate, and sulphide phases of meteorites

The concentrations of W, Mo, Co and Ni have been determined by neutron activation analysis in the separated metal, silicate and troilite of twelve chondrites—nine ordinary, two enstatite and one carbonaceous. Concentration ratios of W and Mo in silicate relative to metal are 0.03–0.6 and 0.05–0.55, respectively, and those of W in the troilite relative to the metal are 0.01–0.2. The contents of Mo in the troilite are nearly equal to those in the metal. Co and Ni are more depleted than W and Mo both in the silicate and troilite.Thermodynamic considerations have been made for determined concentration ratios. In some L-chondrites, W is depleted in the silicate by a factor of three to four of the value estimated from the correlation line between H- and LL-chondrites. This tendency seems to suggest a relatively higher temperature in the thermal history of these L-chondrites.     

CaPtO3 as a novel post-perovskite oxide

Structural, morphological, magnetic, and thermal properties have been investigated for a novel post-perovskite oxide CaPtO₃ synthesized under high pressure. By comparing obtained structural parameters with those for known post-perovskite compounds, we argue that the chemical bond has a strong covalent character. Precise measurements of the Langevin susceptibility χ ₀ = −9.6 × 10⁻⁵ emu/mol and Debye temperature θ ∼ 470 K provide a good opportunity to confirm the reliability of first-principle calculations on predicting physical properties of the Earth’s D” layer.     

Impact penetration of Europa's ice crust as a mechanism for formation of chaos terrain

Abstract— Ice thickness estimates and impactor dynamics indicate that some impacts must breach Europa's ice crust; and outcomes of impact experiments using ice‐over‐water targets range from simple craters to chaos‐like destroyed zones, depending on impact energy and ice competence. First‐order impacts‐into thick ice or at low impact energy‐produce craters. Second‐order impacts punch through the ice, making holes that resemble raft‐free chaos areas. Third‐order impacts‐into thinnest ice or at highest energy‐produce large irregular raft‐filled zones similar to platy chaos. Other evidence for an impact origin for chaos areas comes from the size‐frequency distribution of chaos+craters on Europa, which matches the impact production functions of Ganymede and Callisto; and from small craters around the large chaos area Thera Macula, which decrease in average size and density per unit area as a function of distance from Thera's center. There are no tiny chaos areas and no craters >50 km diameter. This suggests that small impactors never penetrate, whereas large ones (ÜberPenetrators: >2.5 km diameter at average impact velocity) always do. Existence of both craters and chaos areas in the size range 2–40 km diameter points to spatial/temporal variation in crust thickness. But in this size range, craters are progressively outnumbered by chaos areas at larger diameters, suggesting that probability of penetration increases with increasing scale of impact. If chaos areas do represent impact sites, then Europa's surface is older than previously thought. The recalculated resurfacing age is 480 (‐302/+960) Ma: greater than prior estimates, but still very young by solar system standards.