Single planet formation regime in the high-ionization environment:Possible origin of hot Jupiters and super-Earths

We studied the particle growth in a protoplanetary disk in a high-ionization environment and found that icy planet formation is inactive for a disk with an ionization rate 100 times higher than that of the present Solar System. In particular, in the case of M 10~(-7.4)M_☉yr~(-1), only rocky planet formation occurs. In such a case, all the solid materials in the disk drift inward, eventually reach the inner MRI front,and accumulate there. They form a dense, thin sub-disk of solid particles, which undergoes gravitational instability to form rocky planetesimals. The planetesimals rapidly grow into a planet through pebble accretion. Consequently, rocky planets tend to be much larger than planets formed through other regimes(tandem planet formation regime and dispersed planet formation regime), in which icy planet formation actively takes place. These rocky planets may evolve into hot Jupiters if they grow fast enough to the critical core mass of the runaway gas accretion before the dispersal of the disk gas, or they may evolve into super-Earths if the gas dispersed sufficiently early.     

Software Dedicated for the Curation of Geochemical Data Sets in Analytical Laboratories

Software designed for analytical laboratories to guarantee traceability and accessibility of rocks with their geochemical properties has been developed. The software documents the sample origin, current sample location and the location of any sample subsets (e.g., thin sections, solutions, etc.), and archives all associated geochemical data sets. The software can be installed on a personal computer so is available for use in any laboratory and allows curation before and after publication. The software will be of use in integrating and sharing geological reference materials within and among institutes. In this article, the system design and implementation are detailed. All source codes for the software are available at http://dream.misasa.okayama-u.ac.jp/ .     

Solidification depth and crystallization age of the Shiaidani Granodiorite: Constraints to the average denudation rate of the Hida Range,central Japan

Solidification pressure and crystallization age of the ~5 Ma Shiaidani Granodiorite (Hida Mountain Range, central Japan) are determined based on Al-in-hornblende geobarometry and U–Pb zircon dating. Al-poor patchy replacements developed in amphiboles are common in this granite and petrographic study revealed that the replacements include chloritized biotite and albitic plagioclase. These are probably the hydrothermally recrystallized domains, and should not be used for solidification pressure estimates. Magmatic rim of amphibole is characterized by Si < 7.3 a.p.f.u. (Al_IV > 0.7 a.p.f.u.), and utilized in solidification pressure estimate that yielded 0.17–0.29 GPa. The solidification age of the granite is estimated as ~5.6–5.2 Ma using U–Pb zircon dating. From these data, the lower limit of an average denudation rate after ~5.6–5.2 Ma for the area where Shiaidani Granodiorite is exposed is estimated as 0.93–2.5 mm/year.     

Estimation and exclusion of multipath range error for robust positioning

In integrated systems for accurate positioning, which consist of GNSS, INS, and other sensors, the GNSS positioning accuracy has a decisive influence on the performance of the entire system and thus is very important. However, GNSS usually exhibits poor positioning results in urban canyon environments due to pseudorange measurement errors caused by multipath creation, which leads to performance degradation of the entire positioning system. For this reason, in order to maintain the accuracy of an integrated positioning system, it is necessary to determine when the GNSS positioning is accurate and which satellites can have their pseudorange measured accurately without multipath errors. Thus, the objective of our work is to detect the multipath errors in the satellite signals and exclude these signals to improve the positioning accuracy of GNSS, especially in an urban canyon environment. One of the previous technologies for tackling this problem is RAIM, which checks the residual of the least square and identifies the suspicious satellites. However, it presumes a Gaussian measurement error that is more common in an open-sky environment than in the urban canyon environment. On the other hand, our proposed method can estimate the size of the pseudorange error directly from the information of altitude positioning error, which is available with an altitude map. This method can estimate even the size of non-Gaussian error due to multipath in the urban canyon environment. Then, the estimated pseudorange error is utilized to weight satellite signals and improve the positioning accuracy. The proposed method was tested with a low-cost GNSS receiver mounted on a test vehicle in a test drive in Nagoya, Japan, which is a typical urban canyon environment. The experimental result shows that the estimated pseudorange error is accurate enough to exclude erroneous satellites and improve the GNSS positioning accuracy.     

Fractional-order derivative and time-dependent viscoelastic behaviour of rocks and minerals

A general constitutive equation for viscoelastic behaviour of rocks and minerals with fractional-order derivative is investigated. This constitutive law is derived based on differential geometry and thermodynamics of rheology, and the fractional order of derivative represents the degree of time delay. Analyzing some laboratory experimental data of high temperature deformation of rocks and minerals such as halite, marble and orthopyroxene, we propose how to determine the orders of fractional derivative for viscoelastic behaviours of rocks and minerals. The order is related to the exponents for the temporal scaling in the relaxation modulus and the stress power-law of strain rate, i.e., the non-Newtonian flow law, and considered as an indicator representing the macroscopic behaviour and microscopic dynamics of rocks.     

Permian Peri‐glacial Deposits from Central Mongolia in Central Asian Orogenic Belt: A Possible Indicator of the Capitanian Cooling Event

A dropstone‐bearing, Middle Permian to Early Triassic peri‐glacial sedimentary unit was first discovered from the Khangai–Khentei Belt in Mongolia, Central Asian Orogenic Belt. The unit, Urmegtei Formation, is assumed to cover the early Carboniferous Khangai–Khentei accretionary complex, and is an upward‐fining sequence, consisting of conglomerates, sandstones, and varved sandstone and mudstone beds with granite dropstones in ascending order. The formation was cut by a felsic dike, and was deformed and metamorphosed together with the felsic dike. An undeformed porphyritic granite batholith finally cut all the deformed and metamorphosed rocks. LA‐ICP‐MS, U–Pb zircon dating has revealed the following ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U weighted mean igneous ages: (i) a granite dropstone in the Urmegtei Formation is 273 ± 5 Ma (Kungurian of Early Permian); (ii) the deformed felsic dike is 247 ± 4 Ma (Olenekian of Early Triassic); and (iii) the undeformed granite batholith is 218 ± 9 Ma (Carnian of Late Triassic). From these data, the age of sedimentation of the Urmegtei Formation is constrained between the Kungurian and the Olenekian (273–247 Ma), and the age of deformation and metamorphism is constrained between the Olenekian and the Carnian (247–218 Ma). In Permian and Triassic times, the global climate was in a warming trend from the Serpukhovian (early Late Carboniferous) to the Kungurian long and severe cool mode (328–271 Ma) to the Roadian to Bajocian (Middle Jurassic) warm mode (271–168 Ma), with an interruption with the Capitanian Kamura cooling event (266–260 Ma). The dropstone‐bearing strata of the Urmegtei Formation, together with the glacier‐related deposits in the Verkhoyansk, Kolyma, and Omolon areas of northeastern Siberia (said to be of Middle to Late Permian age), must be products of the Capitanian cooling event. Although further study is needed, the dropstone‐bearing strata we found can be explained in two ways: (i) the Urmegtei Formation is an autochthonous formation indicating a short‐term expansion of land glacier to the central part of Siberia in Capitanian age; or (ii) the Urmegtei Formation was deposited in or around a limited ice‐covered continent in northeast Siberia in the Capitanian and was displaced to the present position by the Carnian.     

Holocene lake development and glacial-isostatic uplift at Lake Skallen and Lake Oyako,Lützow-Holm Bay,East Antarctica: Based on biogeochemical facies and molecular signatures

The paleolimnology of two lakes which were isolated as a result of the crustal uplift during the late Holocene along the Soya Coast, Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica were studied. The focus was on temporal variations in the biogeochemical composition of sediment cores recovered from Lake Skallen at Skallen and Lake Oyako at Skarvsnes. Both sets of lake sediments record environmental changes associated with a transition from marine to lacustrine settings, as indicated by analyses of C and N contents, nitrogen isotopic compositions (δ¹⁵N), and major element concentrations. Changes in the dominant primary producers during the marine–lacustrine transition (marine diatom to cyanobacteria) at L. Skallen was clearly revealed by biogenic opal-A, diatom assemblages, and molecular signature from denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) with 16S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene analysis. Radiocarbon dating of acid-insoluble organic C suggested that the environmental transition from marine to fresh water occurred at 2940 ± 100 cal yr BP at L. Skallen and 1060 ± 90 cal yr BP at L. Oyako. Based on these data, a mean crustal uplift rate of 3.2 mm yr⁻¹ is inferred for the history of marine–lacustrine transition via brackish conditions. The geological setting causing glacio-isostatic uplift was the primary factor in controlling the transition event in sedimentary and biological facies.     

Ocean mixing with lead-dependent subgrid scale brine rejection parameterization in a climate model

Sea ice thickness is highly spatially variable and can cause uneven ocean heat and salt flux on subgrid scales in climate models.Previous studies have demonstrated improvements in ocean mixing simulation using parameterization schemes that distribute brine rejection directly in the upper ocean mixed layer.In this study,idealized ocean model experiments were conducted to examine modeled ocean mixing errors as a function of the lead fraction in a climate model grid.When the lead is resolved by the grid,the added salt at the sea surface will sink to the base of the mixed layer and then spread horizontally.When averaged at a climate-model grid size,this vertical distribution of added salt is lead-fraction dependent.When the lead is unresolved,the model errors were systematic leading to greater surface salinity and deeper mixed-layer depth(MLD).An empirical function was developed to revise the added-salt-related parameter n from being fixed to lead-fraction dependent.Application of this new scheme in a climate model showed significant improvement in modeled wintertime salinity and MLD as compared to series of CTD data sets in 1997/1998 and 2006/2007.The results showed the most evident improvement in modeled MLD in the Arctic Basin,similar to that using a fixed n=5,as recommended by the previous Arctic regional model study,in which the parameter n obtained is close to 5 due to the small lead fraction in the Arctic Basin in winter.