Effect of the development of notches and tension cracks on instability of limestone coastal cliffs in the Ryukyus, Japan

Notches cut by waves are currently developing at the base of vertical coastal limestone cliffs in Okinawa, Japan. The cliff height varies from 3.0–22.1 m, and the maximum notch depth is 8.8 m. Many rectangular or cubic blocks, which appear to have originated from cliff failures, are found on platforms in front of the cliffs. On the flat top surface of the cliff, tension cracks often run parallel to the cliff face. The vertical face of the cliffs displays small undulations but no sliding striation, suggesting that cliff failures have been caused by toppling rather than by shearing or sliding. We use slope stability analysis to determine the critical condition for toppling failure. Physical and mechanical properties of the cliff material were first obtained from laboratory tests. The results indicate that the strength of limestone shows a scale effect, such that the strength decreases with increasing size of the test specimens. Based on this result, we estimated the strength of a rock mass corresponding to the size of the coastal cliff. Cliff stability was then analyzed using a cantilever beam model. Comparison of the stability analysis and the dimension of fallen blocks indicates that toppling failure is strongly associated with the development of notches and tension cracks.     

A Late Holocene geomagnetic secular variation record from Erhai Lake, southwest China

A secular variation record of the geomagnetic field direction for the last 6.5  kyr has been obtained from the magnetization of sediment cores from Erhai Lake, southwest China. In order to make a comparison with this record, secular variation in east-central China was investigated by combining available magnetic field data from historical records and archaeomagnetic measurements since about 350 bc . The secular variation in Erhai Lake shows features consistent with the combined record, except for the oldest three observed declination swings in Sian from 720 to 900 ad . Many features of declination and inclination in China also occur in Japan. From 500 to 1000 ad , declination was westerly ranging from about −20° to −5° in Erhai Lake, east-central China, and Japan.     

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.     

Vibration of a disordered chain: A model to investigate light absorption of amorphous grain

Vibration of a two-component disordered chain of 500 atoms is investigated. The mass ratio is 28:16. Squared frequency-spectra are obtained for several cases with different degrees of disorder. For a simple case eigenvectors are also calculated to show that there exists a local vibration mode at disorder. If there is an additional impurity atom in the chain, there appear localized vibration modes at the impurity atom above the optical branch and between the optical and the acoustical branches. Vibration of the chain with variable force constants, which are governed by a probability distribution, is studied as a model for a glassy substance.Invited contribution to the Proceedings of a Workshop onThermodynamics and Kinetics of Dust Formation in the Space Medium held at the Lunar and lanetary Institute, Houston, 6–8 September, 1978.     

Chrome spinel in normal MORB‐type greenstones from the Paleozoic–Mesozoic Mino terrane,East Takayama area,central Japan: Crystallization course with a U‐turn

Phenocrystic chrome spinel crystallized in normal MORB‐type greenstones in the East Takayama area. Associated phenocryst minerals show a crystallization sequence that was olivine first, followed by plagioclase, and finally clinopyroxene. Chrome spinel ranges from 0.54 to 0.77 in Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) and 0.21 to 0.53 in Cr/(Cr+Al); the Fe³⁺ content varies from 0.07 to 0.22 p.f.u. (O = 4). Significant compositional differences of spinel were observed among the phenocryst mineral assemblages. Chrome spinel in the olivine–spinel assemblage shows a wide range in Cr/(Cr+Al), and is depleted in Fe²⁺ and Fe³⁺. Chrome spinel in the olivine–plagioclase–clinopyroxene–spinel assemblage is Fe²⁺‐ and Fe³⁺‐rich at relatively high Cr/(Cr+Al) ratios. Basalt with the olivine–plagioclase–spinel assemblage contains both aluminous spinel and Fe²⁺‐ and Fe³⁺‐rich spinel. The assumed olivine–spinel equilibrium suggests that chrome spinel in the olivine–spinel assemblage changed in composition from Cr‐ and Fe²⁺‐rich to Al‐ and Mg‐rich with the progress of fractional crystallization. Chrome spinel in the olivine–plagioclase–clinopyroxene–spinel assemblage, on the other hand, exhibits the reversed variations in Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺) and in Cr/(Cr+Al) ratios that decrease and increase with the fractional crystallization, respectively. The entire crystallization course of chrome spinel, projected onto the Mg/(Mg+Fe²⁺)–Cr/(Cr+Al) diagram, exhibits a U‐turn, and appears to be set on a double‐lane route. The U‐turn point lies in the compositional field of chrome spinel in the olivine–plagioclase–spinel assemblage, and may be explained by plagioclase fractionation that began during the formation of the olivine–plagioclase–spinel assemblage.