Transpressional tectonics of the Mineoka Ophiolite Belt in a trench–trench–trench-type triple junction, Boso Peninsula, Japan

Abstract   Structures developed in metamorphic and plutonic blocks that occur as knockers in the Mineoka Ophiolite Belt in the Boso Peninsula, central Japan, were analyzed. The aim was to understand the incorporation processes of blocks of metamorphic and plutonic rocks with an arc signature into the serpentinite mélange of the Mineoka Ophiolite Belt in relation to changes in metamorphic conditions during emplacement. Several stages of deformation during retrogressive metamorphism were identified: the first faulting stage had two substage shearing events (mylonitization) under ductile conditions inside the crystalline blocks in relatively deeper levels; and the second stage had brittle faulting and brecciation along the boundaries between the host serpentinite bodies in relatively shallower levels (zeolite facies). The first deformation occurred during uplift before emplacement. The blocks were intensively sheared by the first deformation event, and developed numerous shear planes with spacing of a few centimeters. The displacement and width of each shear plane were a few centimeters and a few millimeters, respectively, at most. In contrast, the fault zone of the second shearing stage reached a few meters in width and developed during emplacement of the Mineoka Ophiolite. Both stages occurred under a right-lateral transpressional regime, in which thrust-faulting was associated with strike-slip faulting. Such displacement on an outcrop scale is consistent with the present tectonics of the Mineoka Belt. This implies that the same tectonic stress has been operating in the Boso trench–trench–trench-type triple junction area in the northwest corner of the Pacific since the emplacement of the Mineoka Ophiolite. The Mineoka Ophiolite Belt must have worked as a forearc sliver fault during the formation of a Neogene accretionary prism further south.     

卫星测高不同波形重构方法的偏差特性分析

利用我国近海4条轨迹、40个周期EnviSat-1的卫星测高波形数据,采用OCOG、Threshold、5-β参数算法以及Ocean法进行波形重构计算。根据不同轨迹和周期的波形数据,由上述四种方法重构海面高并计算相互之间的偏差及其中误差。结果表明,OCOG、Threshold、5-β参数算法与Ocean方法之间的偏差分别为88.46cm、35.90cm和25.83cm,相应的中误差分别为2.11cm、1.96cm和0.41cm,而且该偏差量对于不同的轨迹和周期是不变的。因此,只要对系统偏差进行改正,就能融合不同波形重构方法求得海面高,充分发挥不同波形重构方法在不同海区的优势,为近岸海域海平面变化,大地水准面的研究提供高精度的资料。     

High inorganic phosphate concentration in coral mucus and its utilization by heterotrophic bacteria in a Malaysian coral reef

Inorganic nutrient contents of mucus released by Acropora corals and its utilization by heterotrophic bacteria at several different hour intervals in the coral mucus were investigated at a coral reef in Malaysia. The dissolved inorganic phosphate (DIP) concentration was 135‐fold higher than in the ambient seawater, probably due to inorganic P release from the coral gut cavity. We experimentally confirmed that heterotrophic bacteria rapidly (within 8 h) consumed ca. 80% of the initial concentration of DIP derived from coral mucus. High DIP concentration in coral mucus may enhance heterotrophic bacterial production and associated carbon flow in the microbial loop of reef ecosystems.     

The detectability of shallow slow earthquakes by the Dense Oceanfloor Network system for Earthquakes and Tsunamis (DONET) in Tonankai district,Japan

In order to understand the characteristics of shallow very low-frequency (VLF) events as revealed by recent ocean-floor observation studies, we perform a trial simulation of earthquake cycles in the Tonankai district by taking the characteristics of the 1944 Tonankai earthquake and assuming that slow earthquakes occur on numerous small asperities. Our simulation results show that the increase of moment release rate of shallower VLF events in the pre-seismic stage of a megathrust earthquake is higher than that of deeper VLF events. This increase may make leveling change due to VLF swarms detectable at Dense Oceanfloor Network system for Earthquakes and Tsunamis (DONET). We also introduce the time series of hydraulic pressure data at DONET, comparing with the leveling change expected from our numerical simulation. Since leveling change due to shallower VLF swarms is so local as to be incoherent, removal of the moving-averaged data from the data stacked by four nearby observation points in the same node may be useful to detect the short-term local leveling change.     

长江口EnviSat测高数据的波形分类重构分析

采用波形分类重构算法处理EnviSat卫星从2002年10月至2010年5月在长江口近岸海域28°N~32°N、121°E~125°E范围内的波形数据。该区域内海洋波形、波形后缘前端出现峰值的波形、波形后缘后端出现峰值的波形、似镜面波形和复杂波形分别占89.03%、2.95%、0.45%、3.31%和4.26%。根据不同的波形类别采用不同波形算法进行波形重构。同时,分析了不同重构算法之间的系统偏差,并据此确定OCOG算法、Threshold算法和子波形算法的最优阈值水平分别为65%、45%和50%。重构结果表明,波形分类重构算法优于其他波形重构算法,能有效改善原始海面高的精度,改善程度在16.62%~53.86%之间。此外,重构后交叉点差值小于重构前的交叉点差值,与轨迹P089、P411形成的交叉点的海面高差值由1m降低到25cm左右,其余交叉点的差值均在2~6cm。     

Field observation and numerical simulation of past and future storm surges in the Bay of Bengal: case study of cyclone Nargis

Natural Hazards - Storm surges are one of the most important risks to coastal communities around the Bay of Bengal, and it is feared that the threat they pose will increase with climate change in...     

森林航空摄影比例尺和森林判读像片放大倍数的研究

为了确定森林航空摄影的最佳比例尺和波段以及判读像片的放大倍数,我们在广东省南昆山林业遥感试验场,测定了地物光谱,拍摄了不同比例尺的多光谱片和彩色红外片,进行了内业判读、野外检测和综合分析。本文讨论了航空摄影机、胶片、地物光谱反射系数和摄影位移等因素对像片分辨力的影响,用经验关系式估算了南昆山像片的影像分辨力,阐述了内业判读和实地检测的情况。试验表明,在所试验的波长附围内绿波段表达森林影像的效果最佳,用于森林判读的影像分辨力宜放大到3.5线/毫米,若用新型航空摄影机和高分辨力胶片,则用于森林资源调查分类判读的像片比例尺可缩小到1:4.8万。     

Influence of interaction between small asperities on various types of slow earthquakes in a 3-D simulation for a subduction plate boundary

Recently, the occurrence of slow earthquakes such as low-frequency earthquakes and very low-frequency earthquakes have been recognized at depths of about 30 km in southwest Japan and Cascadia. These slow earthquakes occur sometimes in isolation and sometimes break into chain-reaction, producing tremor that migrates at a speed of about 5–15 km/day and suggesting a strong interaction among nearby small asperities. In this study, we formulate a 3-D subduction plate boundary model with two types of small asperities chained along the trench at the depth of 30 km. Our simulation succeeds in representing various types of slow earthquakes including low-frequency earthquakes and rapid slip velocity in the same asperity, and indicates that interaction between asperities may cause the very low-frequency earthquakes. Our simulation also shows chain reaction along trench with propagation speed that can be made consistent with observations by adjusting model parameters, which suggests that the interactions also explain the observed migration of slow earthquakes.     

Status of butyltin pollution along the coasts of western Japan in 2001, 11 years after partial restrictions on the usage of tributyltin

Restrictions on the use of tributyltin (TBT) in aquaculture and on boats in coastal regions, except for ocean-going vessels, have been in place in Japan since 1990 due to the strong toxic effects of TBT on marine organisms. However, TBT pollution along the Japanese coasts has been reported after this legislation was enacted. In order to elucidate the present status of contamination by butyltin (BT) compounds, we measured the levels of BTs [monobutyltin (MBT), dibutyltin (DBT) and TBT] in seawater and Caprella spp. samples obtained from the western part of Seto Inland Sea, Uwa Sea and Uranouchi Bay in western Japan during March to September, 2001. Butyltins were detected in more than 90% of the seawater samples (n = 59), with average concentrations of 8.2 ± 9.2 (SD) ng MBT L⁻¹, 3.3 ± 3.0 ng DBT L⁻¹ and 9.0 ± 7.0 ng TBT L⁻¹. Among 41 stations situated on coastal lines, a sufficient number of Caprella organisms for chemical analysis could be collected from only 16 stations. The butyltin concentrations in seawater and Caprella samples from Uwa Sea and Uranouchi Bay, in which the dominant industry in both waters is aquaculture, showed significantly higher than or no significant differences from those samples from the western part of Seto Inland Sea, a major heavy-industry area in Japan. As the TBT concentration in seawater increased, the number of Caprella organisms collected decreased. The mean TBT concentration among the seawater samples was above the estimated lowest observable effect concentration (LOEC) that reduces the survival rate of Caprella danilevskii. Thus, the present study indicates that TBT is still a potential ecological hazard to the survival of marine invertebrates inhabiting coasts along western Japan, even 11 years after the partial ban on TBT usage was implemented.     

Influence of deflection angles on flow behaviours in openchannel bends

The deflection angle of a river bend plays an important role on behaviours of the flow within it, and a clear understanding of the angle's influence is significant in both theoretical study and engineering application. This paper presents a systematic numerical investigation on effects of deflection angles(30°, 60°, 90°, 120°, 150°, and 180°) on flow phenomena and their evolution in open-channel bends using a Re-Normalization Group(RNG) κ-ε model and a volume of fluid(VOF) method. The numerical results indicate that the deflection angle is a key factor for flows in bends. It is shown that the maximum transverse slope of water surface occurs at the middle cross section of a bend, and it increases with the deflection angle. Besides a major vortex, or, the primary circulation cell near the channel bottom, a secondary vortex, or, an outer bank cell, may also appear above the former and near the outer bank when the deflection angle is sufficiently large, and it will gradually migrate towards the inner bank and evolve into an inner bank cell. The strength of the secondary circulations increases with the deflection angle. The simulation demonstrates that there is alow-stress zone on the bed near the outer bank and a high-stress zone on the bed near the inner bank, and both of them increase in size with the deflection angle. The maximum of shear stress on the inner bank increases nonlinearly with the angle, and its maximums on the outer bank and on the bed take place when the deflection angle becomes 120°.