Selective detection of Fe and Mn species at mineral surfaces in weathered granite by conversion electron yield X-ray absorption fine structure

A new method for the speciation of Fe and Mn at mineral surfaces is proposed using X-ray absorption fine structure in conversion electron yield mode (CEY-XAFS). This method generally reflects information on the species at the sub-μm scale from the particle surface due to the limited escape depth of the inelastic Auger electron. The surface sensitivity of this method was assessed by experiments on two samples of granite showing different degrees of weathering. The XANES spectra of the Fe-K and Mn-K edge clearly gave different information for CEY and fluorescence (FL) modes. These XANES spectra of Fe and Mn show a good fit upon application of least-squares fitting using ferrihydrite/MnO₂ and biotite as the end members. The XANES spectra collected by CEY mode provided more selective information on the secondary phases which are probably present at the mineral surfaces. In particular, CEY-XANES spectra of Mn indicated the presence of Mn oxide in unweathered granite despite a very small contribution of Mn oxide being indicated by FL-XANES and selective chemical-extraction analyses. Manganese oxide could not be detected by micro-beam XANES (beam size: 5 × 5 μm²) in unweathered granite, suggesting that Mn oxide thinly and ubiquitously coats mineral surface at a sub-μm scale. This information is important, since Mn oxide can be the host for various trace elements. CEY-XAFS can prove to be a powerful tool as a highly sensitive surface speciation method. Combination of CEY and FL-XAFS will help identify minor phases that form at mineral surfaces, but identification of Fe and Mn oxides at mineral surfaces is critical to understand the migration of trace elements in water-rock interaction.     

Electrical conductivities of pyrolitic mantle and MORB materials up to the lowermost mantle conditions

The electrical conductivities of natural pyrolitic mantle and MORB materials were measured at high pressure and temperature covering the entire lower mantle conditions up to 133 GPa and 2650 K. In contrast to the previous laboratory-based models, our data demonstrate that the conductivity of pyrolite does not increase monotonically but varies dramatically with depth in the lower mantle; it drops due to high-spin to low-spin transition of iron in both perovskite and ferropericlase in the mid-lower mantle and increases sharply across the perovskite to post-perovskite phase transition at the D″ layer. We also found that the MORB exhibits much higher conductivity than pyrolite. The depth–conductivity profile measured for pyrolite does not match the geomagnetic field data below about 1500-km depth, possibly suggesting the existence of large quantities of subducted MORB crust in the deep lower mantle. The observations of geomagnetic jerks suggest that the electrical conductivity may be laterally heterogeneous in the lowermost mantle with high anomaly underneath Africa and the Pacific, the same regions as large low shear-wave velocity provinces. Such conductivity and shear-wave speed anomalies are also possibly caused by the deep subduction and accumulation of dense MORB crust above the core–mantle boundary.     

Tsunami evacuation behavior of coastal residents in Kochi Prefecture during the 2014 Iyonada Earthquake

The 2014 Iyonada Earthquake, which occurred at 02:06 JST on 14 March, measured 6.2 on the Richter scale and originated in the Seto Inland Sea of Japan. To elucidate tsunami evacuation behavior, we examined two coastal communities in Kochi Prefecture, Okitsu and Mangyo, where residents evacuated to high ground in anticipation of a tsunami. In the event of a Nankai megathrust earthquake and tsunami, it is expected that a huge tsunami will be generated and these communities will be severely damaged. Before the Iyonada Earthquake, we had previously collected data about tsunami preparedness and evacuation plans from the residents of these communities, and after the earthquake, we conducted in-depth interviews and questionnaire surveys with the residents regarding the actual evacuation behaviors that they took. This enabled us to compare evacuation plans with evacuation behaviors. Results indicate that many residents responded quickly to the earthquake, either by immediately evacuating to emergency shelters on high ground or by preparing themselves for evacuation. Additionally, the earthquake revealed great differences between the prior evacuation plans and the actual situation of residents’ evacuation, such as specific triggers that significantly led residents to evacuate and the use of vehicles in evacuation.     

Stress drops, wave spectra and recurrence intervals of great earthquakes — implications of the Etorofu earthquake of 1958 November 6

Summary . The great Etorofu earthquake of 1958 November 6 is characterized by a relatively small aftershock area (70 × 150 km²) and an extremely large felt area. The felt area is more extensive than those of any other large earthquakes which have occurred in the southern Kurile to northern Japan arc since the beginning of this century. The mechanism is a pure thrust fault typical of most great earthquakes in island arcs. A body wave magnitude of m _b = 8.2 is obtained at periods around 6 s using more than 40 observations, although an m _b value of only 7.6–7.7 would be expected empirically from the observed surface wave magnitude of M _s= 8.1–8.2. Both an unusually large felt area and a high m _b indicate a dominance of high-frequency components in the seismic waves. A seismic moment of M _o= 4.4 × 10²⁸ dyne cm is determined from long-period surface waves from which a high stress drop of Δσ = 78 bar is obtained using a relatively small aftershock area. Historic data indicate an anomalously long time interval between the 1958 event and any earlier great earthquake from the same source region. The observed high stress drop can be interpreted as a consequence of this long intervening period through which strain built up. The dominance of the high-frequency seismic waves can then be interpreted as a result of this high stress drop. Stress drops, seismic wave spectra and recurrence intervals of great earthquakes are in this way closely related to each other. The 1958 event may represent a high strength extreme of stochastic fluctuation of fracture strength relevant to great earthquakes.     

Large-scale structures of high galactic latitude dark clouds

Abstrct The obscuring material distribution of an area of about 2000 square degrees was derived by analyzing about 130 plates, using the starcounts method.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.     

Assessing land-use and carbon stock in slash-and-burn ecosystems in tropical mountain of Laos based on time-series satellite images

In the tropical mountains of Southeast Asia, slash-and-burn (S/B) agriculture is a widely practiced and important food production system. The ecosystem carbon stock in this land-use is linked not only to the carbon exchange with the atmosphere but also with food and resource security. The objective of this study was to provide quantitative information on the land-use and ecosystem carbon stock in the region as well as to infer the impacts of alternative land-use and ecosystem management scenarios on the carbon sequestration potential at a regional scale. The study area was selected in a typical slash-and-burn region in the northern part of Laos. The chrono-sequential changes of land-use such as the relative areas of community age and cropping (C) + fallow (F) patterns were derived from the analysis of time-series satellite images. The chrono-sequential analysis showed that a consistent increase of S/B area during the past three decades and a rapid increase after 1990. Approximately 37% of the whole area was with the community age of 1–5 years, whereas 10% for 6–10 years in 2004. The ecosystem carbon stock at a regional scale was estimated by synthesizing the land-use patterns and semi-empirical carbon stock model derived from in situ measurements where the community age was used as a clue to the linkage. The ecosystem carbon stock in the region was strongly affected by the land-use patterns; the temporal average of carbon stock in 1C + 10F cycles, for example, was greater by 33 MgC ha⁻¹ compared to that in 1C + 2F land-use pattern. The amount of carbon lost from the regional ecosystems during 1990–2004 periods was estimated to be 42 MgC ha⁻¹. The study approach proved to be useful especially in such regions with low data-availability and accessibility. This study revealed the dynamic change of land-use and ecosystem carbon stock in the tropical mountain of Laos as affected by land-use. Results suggest the significant potential of carbon sequestration through changing land-use and ecosystem management scenarios. These quantitative estimates would be useful to better understand and manage the land-use and ecosystem carbon stock towards higher sustainability and food security in similar ecosystems.     

Quantitative approach for damage detection of reinforced concrete frames

The objective of this paper is to provide an analytical basis for the quantitative evaluation of damage to a reinforced concrete structure based on the vibration data obtained by using the damage detection technique. A partial reinforced concrete system of a weak beam/strong column moment frame is chosen as an example. A pushover analysis is carried out in order to numerically examine both the story shear-relative displacement characteristics and the associated damage level. In the analysis, a two dimensional nonlinear finite element analysis is employed considering several constitutive models. As a result, the degradation of the stiffness at the damaged story is characterized in association with the story relative displacement. It is also pointed out that the rotation angle of the column-base is highly correlated with the story relative displacement. Based on the analytical findings, quantitative approaches for a structural health monitoring system are suggested considering both the current sensor technologies and those available in the future. Supported by: Ministry of Education, Science, Sports and Culture, Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (Base Research (c) (1), Research No. 14550555)