Gram Stain Index (GSI) of Bacterial and Archaeal Cells in the Natural Microbial Communities of Slightly and Extremely Saline Environments

The use of GSI (Gram Stain Index) was studied for natural microbial cells in slightly and extremely saline environments. The GSI spectra of archaeal cells in an extremely saline environment showed unique profiles, different from those of Bacteria. These profiles can be applied for structural analysis of the microbial communities in aquatic environments.     

Oxygen isotopic heterogeneities,their petrological correlations,and implications for melt origins of chondrules in unequilibrated ordinary chondrites

Ten whole chondrules separated from the Dhajala (H3, 4), Hallingeberg (L3), and Semarkona (LL3) chondrites were individually analyzed for bulk element composition by instrumental neutron activation with half of each chondrule subsequently sacrificed for oxygen isotopic analysis and half retained for petrographic and electron microprobe analysis. On a three-isotope plot (δ¹⁷O vs. δ¹⁸O), the chondrules neither cluster near their respective chondrite hosts nor in the vicinities of previously recognized chondrite group averages. Instead, they define a trend resolvable into mixing and fractionation components but dominated by mixing in a manner similar to that previously observed for clasts from the LL3 chondrite ALHA76004. Covariations of chondrule isotopic mixing and fractionation parameters with petrological parameters were sought by two-variable linear least-squares regression analyses. However, the only two isotopic/petrological correlations significant at the 95% confidence level were δ¹⁷O vs. total bulk Fe (r = ?0.68) and mixing parameter,m¹⁸, vs. bulk weight ratio (CaO + Al₂O₃)/MgO (r = +0.67). Other correlations of apparent statistical significance were found by treating the chondrules as separate porphyritic (3 porphyritic olivine-pyroxene, 1 porphyritic olivine, 1 barred olivine) and non-porphyritic (4 radial pyroxene, 1 granular pyroxene/cryptocrystalline) textural subgroups. The reliability of the trends, based on so few samples, is not clear but the results at least indicate that possible existence of distinct isotopic/petrological subgroups of chondrules should be further investigated. Absence of certain isotopic/petrological trends expected as condensation effects argues against direct nebular condensation as the dominant process of chondrule formation. Instead, a model involving melting of heterogeneous solids, followed by various degrees of liquid/gas exchange, is favored. In any case, chondrule oxygen isotopic evolution was dominated by two-component mixing; fractional vaporization was, at most, a second-order effect. In addition to chondrules, parent bodies of unequilibrated ordinary chondrites must have also incorporated a¹⁶O-rich component which might have been fine-grained “matrix”.     

Amount of clockwise rotation of Southwest Japan — fan shape opening of the southwestern part of the Japan Sea

Paleomagnetic measurements have been carried out on welded tuffs ranging in age between 58 Ma and 112 Ma from Yamaguchi and Go¯river areas in the central part of Southwest Japan. The new data, together with those of younger igneous rocks published previously, define the change of paleomagnetic field direction during the late Mesozoic/ Cenozoic period for Southwest Japan. The paleomagnetic direction from this area has pointed 56 ± 3° clockwise from the expected field direction estimated from APWP (apparent polar wandering path) of the whole of Eurasia during the period between 100 and 20 Ma. In comparison with the expected one from the eastern margin of Eurasia (Korea, China, Siberia), the Cretaceous field direction of Southwest Japan shows the clockwise deflection by 44–49°. These results establish that while the eastern margin of Eurasia, including Southwest Japan, was rotated more or less with respect to the main part of Eurasia during last 100 Ma, Southwest Japan was rotated clockwise through more than 40° with respect to the eastern margin of Eurasia since 20 Ma. The large amount of rotation for Southwest Japan implies that it is rotated by an opening of the southwestern part of the Japan Sea, which widens northeastward (fan shape opening). The tectonic feature of Southwest Japan and the Japan Sea is analogous to that of Corso-Sardinia and the Ligurian Sea in the Mediterranean, indicating that the fan shape opening is a specific feature of the rifting of the continental sliver at the continental rim.     

Timing of rotational motion of Southwest Japan inferred from paleomagnetism

Paleomagnetic field directions for the period younger than 35 Ma are obtained from igneous rocks distributed in the San'in district, Inner Zone of Southwest Japan. The remanent magnetization of samples between 30 and 35 Ma old are fairly well grouped with a mean direction of D = 65.9°, I = 48.6°, and ₉₅ = 6.5°. This result establishes that Southwest Japan rotated clockwise 56 ± 12° during the past 30 m.y. A declination value of about 60° is observed in the rocks of 28 Ma ( D = 52.2°, I = 33.5°) and 21 Ma (D = 69.9°, I = 49.5°). Comparing this with results from dacitic rocks with an age of 15 Ma in other areas of Southwest Japan suggests that rotational motion did not occur possibly until 15 Ma. These results require that the rotation of Southwest Japan occurred just after the Shikoku Basin had been created.     

Distribution of some trivalent ions between melt and single crystals of Mg2SiO4 grown by the Czochralski method

Partition coefficients for trace amounts of trivalent ions between artificial single crystals of Mg₂SiO₄ grown by the Czochralski method and the coexisting melt have been determined by neutron activation analysis. They are found to vary greatly with the amount of visible imperfections in the crystal and slightly with the concentration of the ions in the melt. Plots of the partition coefficients against ionic radius of the trace ions give a pattern which agrees qualitatively with that found in a natural olivine phenocryst-groundmass pair.     

Dynamic characteristics of lateral load-deflection relationships of flexible piles

Most offshore platforms are supported on long and large-diameter piles with variable wall-thickness along the length, and soil properties varying with depth. The design and analyses of these piles are made by modelling the soil-pile system with a beam-on-Winkler foundation. Therefore, evaluation of appropriate soil-pile springs for use in such analyses is a matter of concern. Fundamental characteristics of dynamic lateral load-deflection relationships for piles were studied analytically considering the soil-pile-structure interaction under seismic loading conditions. The soil layer was assumed homogeneous, linearly elastic with hysteretic type material damping, and overlying a rigid base. A superstructure with multi-degrees of freedom was supported by a single vertical pile hinged at the rigid base. Parametric studies were carried out to identify the influence of the system parameters on the behaviour of the dynamic lateral load-deflection relationships of piles. The lateral load-deflection relationships vary considerably with depth and are influenced not only by the dynamic properties of soil but also by the structural properties of a pile and loading conditions. These lateral load-deflection relationships can be used to define the soil-pile springs for the seismic response analysis of a soil-pile-structure system, and the results can be extended to problems with soil profiles with layering and non-linearity.     

Reaction between liquid iron and (Mg,Fe)SiO3-perovskite and solubilities of Si and O in molten iron at 27 GPa

The Earth’s core contains light elements and their identification is essential for our understanding of the thermal structure and convection in the core that drives the geodynamo and heat flow from the core to the mantle. Solubilities of Si and O in liquid iron coexisting with (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite, a major constituent of the lower mantle, were investigated at temperatures between 2,320 and 3,040 K at 27 GPa. It was observed that Si dissolved in the liquid iron up to 1.70 wt% at 3,040 K and O dissolved in the liquid iron up to 7.5 wt% at 2,800 K. It was also clearly seen that liquid iron reacts with (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite to form magnesiowüstite and it contains Si and O at 27 GPa and at 2,640 and 3,040 K. The amounts of Si and O in the liquid iron are 1.70 and 2.25 wt% at 3,040 K, respectively. The solubilities of Si and O in liquid iron coexisting with (Mg,Fe)SiO₃-perovskite have strong positive temperature dependency. Hence, they can be plausible candidates for the light elements in the core.     

Ion Chromatographic Determination of Fluorine and Chlorine in Silicate Rocks Following Alkaline Fusion

A simple and accurate method to determine fluorine and chlorine contents in small amounts (∼ 30 mg) in rock has been developed using ion chromatography after extraction by alkaline fusion. Powdered sample was mixed with sodium carbonate and zinc oxide at a mass ratio of 1:3:1, and was fused in an electric furnace at 900 °C for 30-40 minutes. An aqueous solution obtained by dissolving the fused silicate rock was diluted to the appropriate concentration of sodium carbonate (< ∼ 24 mmol l^-1) to minimise the tailing effect on F^- during ion chromatography caused by the large amount of carbonate species originating from the flux. Fluorine and chlorine contents were then determined by a standard additions method. Based on the relative standard deviation of the backgrounds, detection limits of both fluorine and chlorine were ∼ 4 μg g^-1, when 30 mg test portions were fused and diluted by a factor of 1200. We also report new fluorine and chlorine contents in nine GSJ (Geological Survey of Japan) reference materials, including peridotite (JP-1), granite (JG-1a), basalts (JB-1b, 2 and 3), andesites (JA-1 and 2) and rhyolites (JR-1 and 2). Fluorine and chlorine contents in the reference materials in this study were consistent with previously reported values. Reproducibilities were < 10 % for samples with F and Cl concentrations of > 20 μg g-1 and < 20 % with F and Cl < 20 μg g^-1.     

Upper and middle crustal deformation of an arc–arc collision across Hokkaido, Japan, inferred from seismic refraction/wide-angle reflection experiments

The Hidaka Collision Zone (HCZ), central Hokkaido, Japan, is a good target for studies of crustal evolution and deformation processes associated with an arc–arc collision. The collision of the Kuril Arc (KA) with the Northeast Japan Arc (NJA), which started in the middle Miocene, is considered to be a controlling factor for the formation of the Hidaka Mountains, the westward obduction of middle/lower crustal rocks of the KA (the Hidaka Metamorphic Belt (HMB)) and the development of the foreland fold-and-thrust belt on the NJA side. The “Hokkaido Transect” project undertaken from 1998 to 2000 was a multidisciplinary effort intended to reveal structural heterogeneity across this collision zone by integrated geophysical/geological research including seismic refraction/reflection surveys and earthquake observations. An E–W trending 227 km-long refraction/wide-angle reflection profile found a complicated structural variation from the KA to the NJA across the HCZ. In the east of the HCZ, the hinterland region is covered with 4–4.5 km thick highly undulated Neogene sedimentary layers, beneath which two eastward dipping reflectors were imaged in a depth range of 10–25 km, probably representing the layer boundaries of the obducting middle/lower crust of the KA. The HMB crops out on the westward extension of these reflectors with relatively high Vp (>6.0 km/s) and Vp/Vs (>1.80) consistent with middle/lower crustal rocks. Beneath these reflectors, more flat and westward dipping reflector sequences are situated at the 25–27 km depth, forming a wedge-like geometry. This distribution pattern indicates that the KA crust has been delaminated into more than two segments under our profile. In the western part of the transect, the structure of the fold-and-thrust belt is characterized by a very thick (5–8 km) sedimentary package with a velocity of 2.5–4.8 km/s. This package exhibits one or two velocity reversals in Paleogene sedimentary layers, probably formed by imbrication associated with the collision process. From the horizontal distribution of these velocity reversals and other geophysical/geological data, the rate of crustal shortening in this area is estimated to be greater than 3–4 mm/year, which corresponds to 40–50% of the total convergence rate between the NJA and the Eurasian Plate. This means that the fold-and-thrust belt west of the HCZ is absorbing a large amount of crustal deformation associated with plate interaction across Hokkaido Island.     

Flow behavior and microstructures of hydrous olivine aggregates at upper mantle pressures and temperatures

Deformation experiments on olivine aggregates were performed under hydrous conditions using a deformation-DIA apparatus combined with synchrotron in situ X-ray observations at pressures of 1.5–9.8 GPa, temperatures of 1223–1800 K, and strain rates ranging from 0.8 × 10^?5 to 7.5 × 10^?5 s^?1. The pressure and strain rate dependencies of the plasticity of hydrous olivine may be described by an activation volume of 17 ± 6 cm³ mol^?1 and a stress exponent of 3.2 ± 0.6 at temperatures of 1323–1423 K. A comparison between previous data sets and our results at a normalized temperature and a strain rate showed that the creep strength of hydrous olivine deformed at 1323–1423 K is much weaker than that for the dislocation creep of water-saturated olivine and is similar to that for diffusional creep and dislocation-accommodated grain boundary sliding, while dislocation microstructures showing the [001] slip or the [001](100) slip system were developed. At temperatures of 1633–1800 K, a much stronger pressure effect on creep strength was observed for olivine with an activation volume of 27 ± 7 cm³ mol^?1 assuming a stress exponent of 3.5, water fugacity exponent of 1.2, and activation energy of 520 kJ mol^?1 (i.e., power-law dislocation creep of hydrous olivine). Because of the weak pressure dependence of the rheology of hydrous olivine at lower temperatures, water weakening of olivine could be effective in the deeper and colder part of Earth’s upper mantle.