Siderophile element characteristics of acapulcoite–lodranites and winonaites: Implications for the early differentiation processes of their parent bodies

We have studied magnetic fractions of five acapulcoites, three lodranites, and two winonaites to investigate chemical compositions of their precursor materials and metallic partial melting processes occurring on their parent bodies. One winonaite metal is similar in composition to low Au, low Ni IAB iron subgroup, indicating genetic relationship between them. Magnetic fractions of chondrule‐bearing acapulcoite and winonaite have intermediate chemical compositions of metals between H chondrites and EL chondrites. This fact indicates that the precursor materials of acapulcoite–lodranites and winonaites were similar to H and/or EL chondrites in chemical compositions. Magnetic fractions in acapulcoite–lodranites have a large variety of chemical compositions. Most of them show enrichments of W, Re, Ir, Pt, Mo, and Rh, and one of them shows clear depletion in Re and Ir relative to those of chondrule‐bearing acapulcoite. Chemical compositional variations among acapulcoite–lodranite metals cannot be explained by a single Fe‐Ni‐S partial melting event, but a two‐step partial melting model can explain it.     

The mechanism of bottom water DO variation in summer at the northern mouth of Isahaya Bay,Japan

Recently, bivalves have been massively killed by anoxia or hypoxia in summer at the northern part of Isahaya Bay, Japan, which constituted a major problem for fisheries. However, the mechanism behind the occurrence of hypoxic water masses is unclear. It is known that the bottom water dissolved oxygen (DO) in this area is affected by the inflow of seawater into the northern mouth of Isahaya Bay. To understand the mechanism of hypoxia, it is necessary to determine the physical processes that cause changes in the bottom DO concentrations in this area. This study shows that there is a neap-spring tidal variation in bottom DO due to a change in vertical tidal mixing, and it also suggests that the decrease in bottom DO was generated by a baroclinic flow, which is due to the internal tide, and a shear flow, which is induced by the external tide in the bottom boundary layer. In addition, our study suggests that the source of cold and hypoxic water that appears in the bottom layer at low tide is the inner area of the Ariake Sea.     

Combining IR and X‐ray microtomography data sets: Application to Itokawa particles and to Paris meteorite

In the near future, a new generation of sample return missions (Hayabusa2, OSIRIS‐REx, MMX, etc.) will collect samples from small solar system bodies. To maximize the scientific outcome of laboratory studies and minimize the loss of precious extraterrestrial samples, an analytical sequence from less destructive to more destructive techniques needs to be established. In this work, we present a combined X‐ray and IR microtomography applied to five Itokawa particles and one fragment of the primitive carbonaceous chondrite Paris. We show that this analytical approach is able to provide a 3‐D physical and chemical characterization of individual extraterrestrial particles, using the measurement of their 3‐D structure and porosity, and the detection of mineral and organic phases, and their spatial co‐localization in 3‐D. We propose these techniques as an efficient first step in a multitechnique analytical sequence on microscopic samples collected by space missions.     

Distribution of microzooplankton in the Philippine Sea and the Celebes Sea in summer, 1972

Regional and vertical distribution of the microzooplankton in the Philippine and the Celebes Seas is reported in relation to the phytoplankton distribution. The maximum concentration of chlorophylla occurred at the surface in the Celebes Sea and in subsurface layer (50–150 m depth) in the Philippine Sea. On the other hand, the maximum occurrence of the microzooplankton was observed in the subsurface layer (50–150 m) throughout these sea areas; discrepancy in the vertical positions of the chlorophylla and microzooplankton maxima was observed in the former sea area. The higher dominancy of large-sized phytoplankton such as diatoms andTrichodesmium at the surface maximum, probably because most large-sized phytoplankton were uningestible for the microzooplankton, was the main reason why the discrepancy existed in the Celebes Sea. In the Philippine Sea, where the subsurface chlorophylla maximum layer was formed mainly by small-sized phytoplankton such as coccolithophorids and small dinoflagellates, such a discrepancy was not observed. These may indicate the establishment of a close food relationship between the microzooplankton and the small-sized phytoplankton rather than to the large-sized phytoplankton.     

Field-based description of near-surface crustal deformation in a high-strain shear zone: A case study in southern Kyushu,Japan

This study investigated geological evidence for near-surface crustal deformation in a high-strain shear zone that has been geodetically identified but which is not associated with obvious tectonic landforms. Fieldwork was conducted in the east–west-trending southern Kyushu high-strain shear zone (SKHZ), Japan, focusing mainly on occurrences of fracture zones, which are defined by a visible fracture density of >1 per 10 cm² and are commonly associated with cataclasite, fault breccia, and gouge. The area in which east–west-trending fracture zones are dominant is restricted to the east–west-trending, ~2-km-wide aftershock area of the 1997 Northwestern Kagoshima Earthquakes. Analysis of slip data from minor faults using the multiple inverse method, irrespective of whether the faults are in fracture zones, reveals that the area where the calculated main stress field is consistent with the current stress field estimated from focal-mechanism solutions of microearthquakes is restricted to the east–west-trending aftershock area. This finding for the SKHZ contrasts with the case of the Niigata–Kobe Tectonic Zone, which is a major strain-concentration zone with many exposed active faults in central Japan and for which the stress field estimated using fault-slip data is considered to be uniform and coincides with the current stress field. The cumulative amount of displacement estimated from the areal density of fracture zones in the SKHZ study area is smaller than that estimated from geodetically measured strain rates. Investigations based on slip data from minor faults and fracture-zone occurrence could help to identify concealed faults that are too small to generate tectonic landforms but which are sufficiently large to trigger major earthquakes.     

The Meteoritical Bulletin,No. 92, 2007 September

Abstract— In this edition of The Meteoritical Bulletin, 1394 recognized meteorites are reported, 27 from specific locations within Africa, 133 from Northwest Africa, 1227 from Antarctica (from ANSMET, PNRA, and PRIC expeditions), and 7 from Asia. The Meteoritical Bulletin announces the approval of four new names series by the Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society, two from Africa and one from Asia, including Al Haggounia, from Al Haggounia, Morocco, which is projected to be on the order of 3 metric tons of material related to enstatite chondrites and aubrites. Approved are two falls from Africa, Bassikounou (Mauritania) and Gashua (Nigeria). Approved from areas other than Antarctica are one lunar, two Martian, 32 other achondrites, three mesosiderites, two pallasites, one CM, two CK, one CR2, two CV3, one CR2, and four R chondrites. The Nomenclature Committee of the Meteoritical Society announces 48 newly approved relict meteorites from two new name series, Österplana and Gullhögen (both from Sweden).     

Geology of the Gorny Altai subduction–accretion complex, southern Siberia: Tectonic evolution of an Ediacaran–Cambrian intra-oceanic arc-trench system

The Gorny Altai region in southern Siberia is one of the key areas in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This region features various orogenic elements of Late Neoproterozoic–Early Paleozoic age, such as an accretionary complex (AC), high-P/T metamorphic (HP) rocks, and ophiolite (OP), all formed by ancient subduction–accretion processes. This study investigated the detailed geology of the Upper Neoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic rocks in a traverse between Gorno-Altaisk city and Lake Teletskoy in the northern part of the region, and in the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun area in the southern part. The tectonic units of the studied areas consist of (1) the Ediacaran (=Vendian)–Early Cambrian AC, (2) ca. 630 Ma HP complex, (3) the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian OP complex, (4) the Cryogenian–Cambrian island arc complex, and (5) the Middle Paleozoic fore-arc sedimentary rocks. The AC consists mostly of paleo-atoll limestone and underlying oceanic island basalt with minor amount of chert and serpentinite. The basaltic lavas show petrochemistry similar to modern oceanic plateau basalt. The 630 Ma HP complex records a maximum peak metamorphism at 660 °C and 2.0 GPa that corresponds to 60 km-deep burial in a subduction zone, and exhumation at ca. 570 Ma. The Cryogenian island arc complex includes boninitic rocks that suggest an incipient stage of arc development. The Upper Neoproterozoic–Lower Paleozoic complexes in the Gorno-Altaisk city to Lake Teletskoy and the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun areas are totally involved in a subhorizontal piled-nappe structure, and overprinted by Late Paleozoic strike-slip faulting. The HP complex occurs as a nappe tectonically sandwiched between the non- to weakly metamorphosed AC and the OP complex. These lithologic assemblages and geologic structure newly documented in the Gorny Altai region are essentially similar to those of the circum-Pacific (Miyashiro-type) orogenic belts, such as the Japan Islands in East Asia and the Cordillera in western North America. The Cryogenian boninite-bearing arc volcanism indicates that the initial stage of arc development occurred in a transient setting from a transform zone to an incipient subduction zone. The less abundant of terrigenous clastics from mature continental crust and thick deep-sea chert in the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian AC may suggest that the southern Gorny Altai region evolved in an intra-oceanic arc-trench setting like the modern Mariana arc, rather than along the continental arc of a major continental margin. Based on geological, petrochemical, and geochronological data, we synthesize the Late Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic tectonic history of the Gorny Altai region in the western CAOB.     

Simplified seismic design approach for steel portal frame piers with hysteretic dampers

A simplified seismic design procedure for steel portal frame piers installed with hysteretic dampers is proposed, which falls into the scope of performance‐based design philosophy. The fundamental goal of this approach is to design a suite of hysteretic damping devices for existing and new bridge piers, which will assure a pre‐defined target performance against future severe earthquakes. The proposed procedure is applicable to multi‐degree‐of‐freedom systems, utilizing an equivalent single‐degree‐of‐freedom methodology with nonlinear response spectra (referred to as strength‐demanded spectra) and a set of formulae of close‐form expressions for the distribution of strength and stiffness produced in the structure by the designed hysteretic damping devices. As an illustrative example, the proposed procedure is applied to a design of a simple steel bridge pier of portal frame type with buckling‐restrained braces (one of several types of hysteretic dampers). For the steel portal frame piers, an attempt is made to utilize not only the displacement‐based index but also the strain‐based index as pre‐determined target performance at the beginning of design. To validate this procedure, dynamic inelastic time‐history analyses are performed using the general‐purpose finite element program ABAQUS. The results confirm that the proposed simplified design procedure attains the expected performance level as specified by both displacement‐based and strain‐based indices with sufficient accuracy. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial gradient analysis of urban green spaces combined with landscape metrics in Jinan City of China

1IN T R O D U C T IO NUrban green spaces can be consideredas the outdoorplacesintheurban covered with significanatmounts ofvegetation,naturalor manmade,as opposed to areasthatare paved or having buildingon them(JIM andC HEN,2003;SHIVANAND and SUZANA,2005)…