Formation of chaotic rock units during primary accretion processes: Examples from the Miura–Boso accretionary complex, central Japan

Chaotic rock units exposed in the upper part of the accretionary complex preserve detailed tectonic information related to the periods before, during, and immediately after accretion. Based on the detailed survey in the upper Miocene Miura–Boso accretionary complex, central Japan, three types of chaotic rock units were identified on the basis of the grain sizes and characteristics of blocks and surrounding matrices. The chaotic rock units composed of silt matrices and sandy to pebbly blocks (Type 3) formed by gravity-driven slumping upon the seafloor. The slumping occurred contemporaneously with deposition of the Misaki and Nishizaki Formations within the Izu–Bonin forearc. Vertical variations in the direction of slump vergence represent successive changes from an initially flat seabed to tilting to the northwest and finally to the southeast. Slumping with a northwest vergence indicates landward tilting of the seafloor immediately prior to accretion, whereas vergence to the southeast reflects oceanward tectonic tilting that occurred once the sediments had crossed the deformation front. Other chaotic rock units that have matrices abundant in sand and pebbles (Types 1, 2) formed as a result of subsurface liquefaction and injection associated with large earthquakes that occurred during and after accretion of the sediments. These chaotic rock units are useful in examining surface/subsurface changes such as tectonic tilting of the seafloor and earthquake events during the initial accretion process.     

Impacts of the Nakhodka heavy-oil spill on an intertidal ecosystem: an approach to impact evaluation using geographical information system

A major heavy-oil spill from the Russian tanker Nakhodka occurred in the Sea of Japan on 2 January 1997. We investigated the impacts of this spill on a rocky intertidal ecosystem along the southern coast of the Sea of Japan. We selected Imago-Ura Cove as our study site to observe temporal changes along the oiled shore, because minimal cleaning effort was made in this area. Field surveys were conducted every autumn and spring from 1997 to 2000. We measured coverage by macroalgae in 1 x 1-m(2) quadrats and counted the animals in 5 x 5-m(2) quadrats along the intertidal zone. Changes in the ecosystem caused by the oil spill were analyzed by applying a geographical information system (GIS) to the Sea of Japan for the first time. The GIS showed that following the accident there were heavily oiled areas in sheltered regions, but these decreased over the three years. It also showed that coverage by macroalgae and the number of animals increased, although some species of algae with microscopic sporophyte generations, and some populations of perennial shellfish, remained stable or decreased during the study period. GIS was able to trace temporal changes in intertidal communities resulting from the impacts of heavy oil on flora and fauna at a spatial scale of 10-100 m. GIS is thus a practical tool for visualizing, analyzing, and monitoring changes in an ecosystem polluted by oil, taking into account topographic differences along the coastline.     

Acoustic backscattering from a sandy seabed

Acoustic backscattering from a sandy seabed was measured at a frequency of 5.5 kHz at a wide range of grazing angles. The measurement system used was the University of Miami's sonar tower, consisting of an omni-directional broadband source and two 16-channel hydrophone receiver arrays. A volume scattering model, which combines a fluid model with reflection/transmission coefficients derived from the Biot theory, is used. This model allows energy penetration into the bottom, calculations of the volume scattering at all grazing angles, and the frequency dependence of the sound speed in the water-saturated sediment. In the model, rather than assume sound-speed correlation length in sedimentary volume, core data were used to assimilate a 3-D fluctuation spectrum of the density. The numerical results showed excellent agreement with the measurement at lower grazing angles. We concluded that the interface roughness scattering was dominant at lower grazing angles, while the volume scattering is dominant at higher grazing angles at the sandy site. The border of the dominance of the interface and volume scattering was the so-called critical angle at this frequency. The frequency dependence of sound speeds is also discussed.     

Velocity distributions of high-velocity ejecta from regolith targets

We measured the velocity distributions of impact ejecta with velocities higher than ∼100 m s⁻¹ (high-velocity ejecta) for impacts at variable impact angle α into unconsolidated targets of small soda-lime glass spheres. Polycarbonate projectiles with mass of 0.49 g were accelerated to ∼250 m s⁻¹ by a single-stage light-gas gun. The impact ejecta are detected by thin aluminum foils placed around the targets. We analyzed the holes on the aluminum foils to derive the total number and volume of ejecta that penetrated the aluminum foils. Using the minimum velocity of the ejecta for penetration, determined experimentally, the velocity distributions of the high-velocity ejecta were obtained at α=15°, 30°, 45°, 60°, and 90°. The velocity distribution of the high-velocity ejecta is shown to depend on impact angle. The quantity of the high-velocity ejecta for vertical impact (α=90°) is considerably lower than derived from a power-law relation for the velocity distribution on the low-velocity ejecta (less than 10 m s⁻¹). On the other hand, in oblique impacts, the quantity of the high-velocity ejecta increases with decreasing impact angle, and becomes comparable to those derived from the power-law relation. We attempt to scale the high-velocity ejecta for oblique impacts to a new scaling law, in which the velocity distribution is scaled by the cube of projectile radius (scaled volume) and a horizontal component of impactor velocity (scaled ejection velocity), respectively. The high-velocity ejecta data shows a good correlation between the scaled volume and the scaled ejection velocity.     

Observations of the Dust Cloud in Comet Hale-Bopp on 9–11 May 1997

During our monitoring observations of comet Hale-Bopp, we found several sporadic ejections of dust from the nucleus. The most prominent ejection was observed on May 6–9, 1997, in the post-perihelion phase of the apparition. In this paper, we report preliminary analysis of this event, in which the total mass of the dust cloud is estimated to be 1.6 × 10¹¹ g. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Springs of Japan

There are numerous springs in Japan. The largest and most famous ones are volcanic and karstic springs. Springs in the areas of Mount Fuji, Mount Aso, and Akiyoshidai are discussed here as sources of water used for drinking, irrigation, fish cultivation, industrial water, and sightseeing.     

Altitudinal Distribution Of 20 Persistent Meteor Trains: Estimates Derived From Metro Campaign Archives

Observations of persistent meteor trains are limited because of the extreme rarity of the phenomenon. The altitudinal distribution of persistent trains has previously been investigated via limited instances of simultaneous observation from multiple sites, however, a statistical study of persistent trains has yet to be realized. The meteor train observation (METRO) campaign was established in Japan in 1998 to obtain images of persistent trains. From 1998 to 2002, the METRO campaign, involving Japanese amateur collaborators, captured more than 400 image sequences of persistent trains, resulting in 53 simultaneous multi-site observations. Several Japanese observers were involved in imaging persistent trains prior to the METRO campaign, producing 6 simultaneous observations over the period 1988–1997. In this paper, simultaneous multi-site observations of high spatial and temporal resolution are used to determine, via triangulation, the altitudinal distribution of persistent trains for 20 events. The altitudinal range of 2 Orionid trains was slightly higher than that of 18 Leonid trains. The Leonid train data reveal no clear dependence of upper and lower altitude on the brightness of the associated fireball. The upper altitude of the 18 observed Leonid trains were almost invariant with respect to local time (LT) of observation, however, a possible dependence of lower altitude on LT of observation was also found, indicating a near-constant penetrating path-length in the upper atmosphere for each train. The average upper altitude of persistent Leonid trains was 99.8 km, while the average central altitude was 93.0 km. These trends are probably determined by atmospheric conditions such as the abundance of O and O₃.     

Solubility controlled noble gas fractionation during magmatic degassing: Implications for noble gas compositions of primary melts of OIB and MORB

Noble gas abundances in basaltic glasses from ocean islands (OIBs) are generally lower than those of mid-oceanic ridge basalts (MORBs), contrary to most geodynamic models which usually require that the source of OIBs is less degassed (resulting in higher primordial noble gas abundances) and more trace element enriched (resulting in higher radiogenic noble gas abundances) than the MORB source. Therefore, noble gas abundances in OIBs are often thought to have been reduced by extensive gas loss from the magma before eruption.The extent of magmatic degassing can be tested as it will cause characteristic changes in the composition of the volatiles; notably the ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar* ratio (where ⁴⁰Ar* is ⁴⁰Ar corrected for atmospheric contamination) will increase in residual volatiles due to the higher solubility of He relative to Ar. The degree of He-Ar fractionation for a given fraction of gas loss depends on the ratio of the solubilities, S_He/S_Ar, which is sensitive to (among other things) the CO₂ and H₂O content of the basalt at the time of degassing.From a global database of OIB and MORB glasses, we show that ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar* ratios of MORB glasses are broadly consistent with degassing of a magma with an initial ⁴⁰Ar of ≈1.5 × 10⁻⁵ ccSTP/g, i.e., similar to that of the “popping rock.” However, OIB glasses generally have lower ⁴⁰Ar* concentration for a given ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar*. While this would appear to require lower ⁴⁰Ar* abundances in the undegassed OIB magmas, the higher volatile contents of OIBs will reduce S_He/S_Ar (relative to MORBs) during degassing. By modeling S_He/S_Ar in OIBs, it is possible to show that extensive degassing of OIBs can occur without dramatically increasing the ⁴He/⁴⁰Ar* ratio. We show that undegassed ⁴⁰Ar concentrations of OIB magmas were probably similar to those of MORBs.     

High-pressure transformations of ilmenite to perovskite, and lithium niobate to perovskite in zinc germanate

In-situ X-ray powder diffraction measurements conducted under high pressure confirmed the existence of an unquenchable orthorhombic perovskite in ZnGeO₃. ZnGeO₃ ilmenite transformed into perovskite at 30.0 GPa and 1300±150 K in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. After releasing the pressure, the lithium niobate phase was recovered as a quenched product. The perovskite was also obtained by recompression of the lithium niobate phase at room temperature under a lower pressure than the equilibrium phase boundary of the ilmenite–perovskite transition. Bulk moduli of ilmenite, lithium niobate, and perovskite phases were calculated on the basis of the refined X-ray diffraction data. The structural relations among these phases are considered in terms of the rotation of GeO₆ octahedra. A slight rotation of the octahedra plays an important role for the transition from lithium niobate to perovskite at ambient temperature. On the other hand, high temperature is needed to rearrange GeO₆ octahedra in the ilmenite–perovskite transition. The correlation of quenchability with rotation angle of GeO₆ octahedra for other germanate perovskites is also discussed.