Chromitite and peridotite from Rayat, northeastern Iraq, as fragments of a Tethyan ophiolite

Ophiolitic rocks (chromitites and serpentinized peridotites) were petrologically examined in detail for the first time from Rayat, in the Iraqi part of the Zagros thrust zone, an ophiolitic belt. Almost all the primary silicates have been altered out, but chromian spinel has survived from alteration and gives information about the primary petrological characteristics. The protolith of the serpentinite was clinopyroxene-free harzburgite with chromian spinel of intermediate Cr# (= Cr/[Cr + Al] atomic ratio) of 0.5 to 0.6. The harzburgite with that signature is the most common in the mantle section of the Tethyan ophiolites such as the Oman ophiolite, and is the most suitable host for chromitite genesis. Except for one sample, which has Cr# = 0.6 for spinel, the Cr# of spinel is high, around 0.7, in chromitite. The variation in Cr# of spinel in chromitite observed here has been also reported in the Oman ophiolite. The peridotite with chromitite pods exposed at Rayat was derived from an ophiolite similar in petrological character to the Oman ophiolite, one of the typical Tethyan ophiolites (fragments of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere). This result is consistent with the previous interpretation based on geological analysis.     

Ecological variations in diatom assemblages in the Paleo-Kathmandu Lake linked with global and Indian monsoon climate changes for the last 600,000 years

Variations in fossil diatom assemblages and their relationship with global and Indian monsoon climate changes for the last 600,000 yr were investigated using a core of ancient lake (Paleo-Kathmandu Lake) sediments drilled at the Kathmandu Basin, Nepal Himalaya. Chronological scales of the core were constructed by tuning pollen wet and dry index records to the SPECMAP δ¹⁸O stack record. Examinations of biogenic silica contents and fossil diatom assemblages revealed that variations in productivity and compositions of diatom assemblages were closely linked with global and Indian monsoon climate changes on glacial and interglacial time scales. When summer monsoonal rainfall increased during interglacials (interstadials), diatom productivity increased because of increased inputs of terrestrial nutrients into the lake. When summer monsoonal rainfall reduced and/or winter monsoonal aridification enhanced during glacials (stadials), productivity of the diatoms decreased and lake-level falling brought about changes in compositions of diatom assemblages. Monospecific assemblages by unique Cyclotella kathmanduensis and Puncticulata versiformis appeared during about 590 to 390 ka. This might be attributed to evolutionary fine-tuning of diatom assemblages to specific lake environmental conditions. Additionally, low-amplitude precessional variations in monsoon climate and less lake-level changes may have also allowed both species to dominate over the long periods.     

Short-term flow fluctuations in Onagawa Bay,Japan, as revealed by long-term mooring observation

Short-term flow fluctuations in the southern central part of Onagawa Bay were examined using long-term mooring and hydrographic data observed during the period from May 2013 to April 2014. The short-term flow fluctuations were dominant in the periodic bands of 15–27 days and shorter than 10 days. The principal and minor components of these flow fluctuations were respectively along and across the local isobaths, which are almost parallel in the north direction. The northward flow fluctuations along the local isobaths were correlated with the northeastward wind fluctuations in both periodic bands, and these correlations were more evident from fall to winter. On the basis of these results, the northward flows are regarded as wind-induced barotropic coastal jets. On other hand, the eastward flow fluctuations across the local isobaths were related to inflow and outflow via the bay mouth or the Izushima Channel. Inflow and outflow with reverse flow at lower depths formed in summer, but those with vertically uniform flow tended to form in winter. The main summertime inflow and outflow were driven by horizontal gradients in density. These permit us to regard the main summertime inflow and outflow as gravitational circulation. Also, the summertime inflow can be intermittently caused by internal waves.     

High-resolution terrestrial carbon isotope and planktic foraminiferal records of the Upper Cenomanian to the Lower Campanian in the Northwest Pacific

Making Upper Cretaceous biostratigraphic correlations between the Northwest Pacific and Tethyan–Atlantic sections have been difficult because of rare frequencies of age-diagnostic macro- and microfossils in the sequences in the Northwest Pacific region. In order to correlate these sections precisely, an integrated planktic foraminiferal and bulk wood carbon-isotope stratigraphy from the upper Cenomanian to the lower Campanian succession (the middle–upper part of the Yezo Group) of Hokkaido, northern Japan is established with an average resolution of 50 k.y. The δ¹³C curves from bulk wood of the Yezo Group and from bulk carbonate of English Chalk show remarkably similar patterns of isotopic fluctuation, allowing the correlation of 22 carbon isotopic events between these sections. This high-resolution correlation greatly improves the previous micro- and macrofossil biostratigraphic schemes in the Northwest Pacific region, and reveals that global events, such as the oxygen depletion at the OAE 2 horizon, the constant decrease in pCO₂ during the Late Cretaceous, and the eustatic sea-level falls in the late middle Turonian, Santonian/Campanian Boundary and early Campanian, are recorded in the Upper Cretaceous sequence of the Northwest Pacific.     

First 10 min intervals of Pi2 onset at geosynchronous altitudes during the expansion of energetic ion regions in the nighttime sector

We examined the temporal variations of the geomagnetic field and energetic ions at geosynchronous altitudes associated with substorms during the nighttime using a superposed epoch analysis timed by Pi2 onset. We focused on the first 10 min intervals of Pi2 onset and on subsequent intervals to study the substorm expansion. We conclude that the first 10 min interval of Pi2 onset is a transitional state of the substorm dominated by MHD processes associated with earthward flow and its bifurcation. Intervals of field line variations following the first 10 min were well organized by dipolarization (substorm current wedge) due to the reduced cross-tail current. We also show that energetic ion regions localized in the local time sector from 2000 to 0000 LT in the first 10 min intervals of Pi2 onset expanded to the post-midnight sector, reaching 0400 LT within 20 min after Pi2 onset. We conclude that the expansion of the energetic plasma regions can be attributed to the inflation of the inner magnetosphere during dipolarization.     

Groundwater-wetland ecosystem interaction in the semiarid glaciated plains of North America

The prairie wetlands of northern USA and Canada exist in numerous topographical depressions within the glaciated landscape. The wetlands are disconnected from each other most of the time with respect to surface-water drainage. The wetland water balance is controlled by snowmelt runoff and snowdrift from the surrounding uplands, precipitation, evapotranspiration, groundwater exchange, and occasional “fill-spill” connections to other wetlands. Salinity of water and the seasonal variability of water level in these wetlands have a strong influence on the ecosystem. Clay-rich glacial tills, covering much of the region, have very low (0.001–0.01 m/yr) hydraulic conductivity, except for the top several meters where the factures and macropores increase conductivity up to 1,000 m/yr. Transpiration in the wetland margin induces infiltration and lateral flow of shallow groundwater from wetland ponds through the high-conductivity zone, which strongly affects the water balance of wetlands. In contrast, groundwater flow in the deeper low-conductivity till has minor effects on water balance, but has a strong influence on salinity because the flow direction determines if the salts accumulate in wetlands (upward flow) or are leached out (downward flow) under wetlands. Understanding of the roles of shallow and deep groundwater systems will improve the hydrological conceptual framework for the management of wetland ecosystems.     

Measurement of iodine-129 in seawater samples collected from the Japan Sea area using accelerator mass spectrometry: Contribution of nuclear fuel reprocessing plants

The concentrations of ¹²⁹I in seawater samples from two sites (off Sekine and the Toyama Bay) in the Japan Sea were determined by accelerator mass spectrometry. The observed concentrations exceed amounts expected from natural origin and globally distributed fallout due to nuclear weapons testing. Because the fraction of natural origin and global fallout is 2% and 8.9–13.8%, respectively, the residual more than 80% of the concentration must come primarily from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. This result indicates a rapid distribution of ¹²⁹I through atmospheric transport on a global scale. The depth distribution of ¹²⁹I at the Toyama Bay in the Japan Sea shows that the ¹²⁹I maximum is in the mixed layer and that concentrations decrease with depth. The inventory of ¹²⁹I in water column is four times higher than that measured in the Gulf of Mexico which has almost the same depth at the Toyama Bay. This higher inventory probably reflects: (1) the rapid water sinking in the Japan Sea, (2) the difference of distance in sampling locations with respect to major ¹²⁹I releasing plants and (3) the strong increase in emissions from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants after the profile of the Gulf of Mexico was taken.     

Platinum–Group Minerals in Podiform Chromitite from the Kamuikotan Zone, Hokkaido, Northern Japan

Abstract: Ru–Os–Ir alloys have been found in two podiform chromitites located at the Chiroro and Bankei mines in the Sarugawa peridotite complex in the Kamuikotan zone, Hokkaido, Japan. This is the first report on the occurrence of PGM (= platinum-group minerals) from chromitites in Japan. The Ru–Os–Ir alloys most typically form polyhedra associated with other minerals (Ni–Fe alloys and heazlewoodite) in chromian spinel. The PGM are possibly pseudomorphs after some primary PGM such as laurite and are chemically highly inhomogeneous, indicating a low-temperature alteration origin. This is consistent with intense alteration (formation of serpentine, uvarovite and kämmererite) imposed on the Kamuikotan chromitites. High-temperature primary PGE (platinum–group elements)–bearing sulfides were possibly recrystallized at low temperatures into a new assemblage of PGM, Ni-Fe alloys and sulfides. Placer PGM around the peridotite complexes are chemically different from the PGM in dunite and chromitite possibly due to the, as yet, incomplete search for the rock-hosted PGM. The PGE content in chromitites is distinctly higher in those in the Kamuikotan zone than in those in the Sangun zone of Southwest Japan, consistent with the more refractory nature (Cr# of spinel, up to 0.8) of the former than the latter (Cr# of spinel, 0.5).     

Unveiling the formation of stars and planets with a large infrared-optical telescope

Diffraction-limited imaging in the near-IR (with the aid of adaptive optics) to middle-IR wavelengths will be a major breakthrough with 8m IR-optical telescopes. Special interest is on the scale of planet formation, that is, within 100 AU of the embedded sources in the nearby Taurus or Ophiuchus clouds. In this report, we demonstrate the sensitivity of a telescope with a virtual instrument that covers a wide spectral range.