Power spectra of temperature and salinity fluctuations in the slope water off Cape Hatteras

Summary Eleven STD stations by lowering and raising the sensor were occupied about 170 n. miles northeast of Cape Hatteras in June, 1968. The stations were located in the slope water region covered by the upper warm water from the Gulf Stream. Power spectra of temperature and salinity fluctuations at 1-meter depth intervals were computed versus vertical wave numbers for the upper layer (5–320 m) and lower layer (320–1000 m) at each station. The power law coefficients of the spectra about the vertical wave number are between –5/3 and –3. These coefficients indicate that the temperature and salinity fluctuations are influenced by stratification as well as by turbulence.     

International survey on the distribution of stranded and buried litter on beaches along the Sea of Japan

The distribution and abundance of marine litter on 26 beaches along the Sea of Japan were investigated from September to November 2000. The mean concentration of stranded litter in Japan and Russia was 2144 and 1344 g/100 m(2), respectively. The mean number of pieces of stranded litter in Japan and Russia was 341 and 20.7/100 m(2), respectively. The most abundant type of stranded litter was plastic, which accounted for 40-80 % of the total items in terms of weight and number. The mean concentration of buried litter in Japan and Russia was 9.03 and 2.70 g/m(2), respectively. The total weight ratio of buried litter to stranded litter in the samples was 0.65, suggesting the significance of buried litter when evaluating the status of litter on beaches. Resin pellets were found on 12 Japanese beaches, but on none of the Russian beaches.     

Jointing of two tunnel shields using artificial underground freezing

Freezing was used in the jointing section of two shields (diameter 3.14 m) which ran across at right angles and at 25-m depth under the crossing of main roads for the construction of a 2.4-m diameter sewer tunnel. The object of freezing was to create a frozen barrier to prevent the inflow of water and fine sand into the area to be excavated.

Thirty-five freeze pipes (length about 7 m) were placed from one shield conically in the direction of the flank of another shield with freeze pipes attached to its inside wall. The cooling unit was placed on unoccupied land at about 60 m distant from the jointing section and the freeze pipes were connected with the cooling unit by supply and return pipelines.

The cooling unit had a cooling capacity of 79,000 kcal/h at an evaporation temperature of −27°C and a condensation temperature of +40°C. Freezing was continued for 180 days and the CaCl₂ brine temperature was −25 to −30°C. These works were accomplished without the sinking of shaft and the use of injection, in complete safety with no traffic restriction on the road surface.     

Water saturated phase relations of some andesites with application to the estimation of the initial temperature and water pressure at the time of eruption

Near-liquidus phase relations in one-atmosphere dry and water-saturated high pressure conditions were experimentally determined on products of three historic andesitic eruptions. Run conditions ranged from 900 to 1100°C, at pressures up to 1500 bars with fO₂ controlled close to the nickel-nickel oxide (NNO) buffer. In order to represent the compositions of the true liquid parts of the erupting magmas, groundmass portions were mechanically separated from the porphyritic andesites. Such groundmass materials should lie exactly on the liquidus field boundary between the phases precipitating from the magma just prior to eruption under the prevailing P-T condition.All the samples showed a crossing of the plagioclase and orthopyroxene liquidi in the pressure-temperature range from 1 to 800 bar and 950–1090°C. The crossing condition approximates the magmatic condition immediately prior to eruption. In the case of the 1970 eruption of Akita-komagatake, the crossing point is at 150 bar and 1090°C, matching closely the observed explosive gas pressure and the temperature. In both cases of the 1783 eruption of Asama and the 1914–1915 eruption of Sakurajima volcanoes, the crossing point shift from higher water pressure and lower temperature for the earlier erupting magmas to lower pressure and higher temperature for the later magmas. This regularity may be explained by a vertical gradient of the temperature and water content within the magma column prior to eruption.     

New K–Ar ages for calculating end-of-shield extrusion rates at West Maui volcano,Hawaiian island chain

Thirty-seven new K–Ar ages from West Maui volcano, Hawai‘i, are used to define the waning stages of shield growth and a brief episode of postshield volcanism. All but two samples from shield-stage strata have reversed polarity magnetization, so conceivably the exposed shield is not much older than the Olduvai Normal-Polarity subchron, or about 1.8 Ma. The oldest ages obtained are in the range 1.9–2.1 Ma but have large analytical error. Shield volcanism ended about 1.35 Ma, and postshield volcanism followed soon thereafter, persisting until about 1.2 Ma. Exposed shield-stage strata were emplaced at a rate of about 0.001 km³ per year, a rate smaller than historic Hawaiian magmatic rates by a factor of 100. Stratigraphic accumulation rates are similar to those measured previously at Wai‘anae volcano (O‘ahu) or the upper part of the Mauna Kea shield sequence (Hilo drill core, Hawai‘i). These rates diminish sharply during the final 0.3–0.5 m.y. of the shield stage. Hawaiian shield volcanoes begin waning well before their last 0.5 m.y. of life, then end quickly, geologically speaking, if West Maui is representative.     

MOS-1/1b MESSR Observations of the Antarctic Sea Ice: Ice Bands and Ice Streamers

Meso- or submeso-scale features of the Antarctic sea ice are investigated using the MOS-1/1b MESSR Images (spatial resolution of approximately 50 m) received at Syowa Station. Particular attention is paid to the ice bands and ice streamers in coastal polynyas. In the Antarctic Ocean, ice bands can be often seen not only at the ice edge but also in the ice interior zone throughout the year and they extend for hundreds of kilometers in the latitudinal direction. It is found that the width and spacing of ice bands tend to decrease from winter to summer. The width of ice band is about 2–6 km in August and September, and 0.1–0.7 km in December. The spacing of ice bands is about 3–10 km in August and September, and 0.1–2 km in December. In coastal polynyas, ice streamers, which are composed of new ice, are sometimes observed. In general, the row of the streamers is spaced at 0.5–2 km with a width of 0.1–1.0 km.     

Influence of the asymmetrical cratering rate on the lunar cratering chronology

The lunar cratering rate studied over the past 1.1 Gyr, which is a foundation of the lunar cratering chronology, is a decreasing function of the angular distance from the apex of the orbital motion due to the synchronous rotation of the Moon. We here evaluate an influence of the asymmetrical rate upon the age determination.     

Earthquake‐related geomorphic environment and pond sediment information

Shaking during the 1995 Kobe earthquake caused surface material to be more mobile in catchment areas in the Rokko Mountains, Kobe, where there are some active fault lines. As a result, there were many landslides associated with the earthquake. The sedimentation rate in a pond in the mountains increased several fold, then exponentially decreased with seasonality over several years. Six years after the earthquake there were no marked surface movements related to the earthquake, even though the sedimentation rates had increased slightly. A new steady state for the structure of the earthquake‐modi?ed surface had evidently been reached. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A new fault rupture scenario for the 2003 Mw 6.6 Bam earthquake, SE Iran: Insights from the high-resolution QuickBird imagery and field observations

The December 26, 2003 M_w 6.6 Bam earthquake is one of the most disastrous earthquakes in Iran. QuickBird panchromatic and multispectral satellite imagery with 61 cm and 2.4 m ground resolution, respectively provide new insights into the surface rupturing process associated with this earthquake. The results indicate that this earthquake produced a 2–5 km-wide surface rupture zone with a complex geometric pattern. A 10-km-long surface rupture zone developed along the pre-existing Bam fault trace. Two additional surface rupture zones, each 2–5 km long, are oblique to the pre-existing Bam fault in angles of 20–35°. An analysis of geometric and geomorphic features also shows that movement on the Bam fault is mainly right-lateral motion with some compressional component. This interpretation is consistent with field investigations, analysis of aftershocks as well as teleseismic inversion. Therefore, we suggest that the 2003 Bam earthquake occurred on the Bam fault, and that the surface ruptures oblique to the Bam fault are caused by secondary faulting such as synthetic shears (Reidel shears). Our fault model for the Bam earthquake provides a new tectonic scenario for explaining complex surface deformations associated with the Bam earthquake.