Behaviors of 210Pb and 210Po around hydrothermal vents in the Okinawa Trough

Vertical profiles for the uranium-series radioisotopes 210Pb and 210Po were obtained at thetwo hydrothermal vent sites, the Iheya Ridge and the Minami-Ensei Knoll, in the Mid-Okinawa Trough in 1993 and 1994, respectively. In 1995, both radioisotopes were measured at the Minami-Ensei Knoll a-gain. At the Iheya Ridge, where the hydrothermal activity is not active as reflected by the CH_4, and 222Rn data, both the total 210Pb and 210Po activities show deficiency relative to their parents, and the mean residence time of 210Pb and 210Po is approximately equal to 20 and 2-5 a, respectively. At the Minami-Ensei Knoll, which is characterized by black smokers, the total 210Pb(0.167 × 10~(-3)-2.5 × 10~(-3)_ Bq/kg) around the plumes is deficient relative to 226Ra but the total 210Po activities (1.83 × 10 ~(-3) - 2.83 × 10~(-3) Bq/kg) are in excess relative to 210Pb. The 210Po activities are higher than those in the East China Sea and the Okinawa Trough and excess 210Po has been found. The 210Pb/226Ra and 210Po/     

A slow earthquake

Anomalous earthquakes such as creep events, tsunami earthquakes and silent earthquakes have been reported in the recent literature. In this paper we discuss an anomalous “slow earthquake” that occurred on June 6, 1960 in southern Chile. Although the surface-wave magnitude of this event is only 6.9, it excited anomalously large long-period multiple surface waves with a seismic moment of 5.6 · 10²⁷ dyn cm. The Benioff long-period seismogram of this earthquake recorded at Pasadena shows an extremely long, about 1.5–2 h coda of Rayleigh waves, with a period of 10–25 s. The coda length for other events with a comparable magnitude which occurred in the same region is about 10 min. This observation suggests that the long coda length is due to a long source rupture process which lasted at least 1 h. Although at least 15 distinct events can be identified in the coda, no short-period body waves were recorded corresponding to these, except for the first one. These results suggest that a relatively small (M_s ? 6.9) earthquake triggered a series of slow events; the duration of the whole sequence being longer than 1 h. This event probably occurred on a transform fault on the extension of the Chile Rise and provides important information regarding the nature of the transform fault.     

A mechanical model for plate deformation associated with aseismic ridge subduction in the new hebrides arc

Tectonic features associated with a subducting fracture zone-aseismic ridge system in the New Hebrides island arc are investigated. Several notable features including a discontinuity of the trench, peculiar locations of two major islands (Santo and Malekula), regional uplift, and the formation of a basin are interpreted as a result of the subduction of a buoyant ridge system. The islands of Santo and Malekula are probably formed from an uplifted mid-slope basement high while the interarc basin of this particular arc is probably a subsiding basin instead of a basin formed by backarc opening. The situation can be modeled by using a thin elastic half plate overlying a quarter fluid space with a vertical upward loading applied at the plate edge. This model is consistent with topographic and geophysical data. This study suggests that subduction of aseismic ridges can have significant effects on tectonic features at consuming plate boundaries.     

Re-examination of the earth's free oxcillations excited by the Kamchatka earthquake of November 4, 1952

Benioff's suggestion that the 58-min period sinusoidal oscillation found on a Pasadena strain seismogram after the Kamchatka earthquake of November 4, 1952 may represent the earth's gravest normal mode is re-examined in terms of a slow large-scale post-seismic deformation. The mechanism and the seismic moment of the main shock of the Kamchatka earthquake are determined by using the amplitude and the initial phase of G₂ and R₂ recorded at Pasadena and R₆ recorded at Palisades. By constraining the dip angle and the strike of the fault at 30° (towards NW) and N34°E, respectively, on the basis of the geometry of the Benioff zone, the slip angle is determined as 110° which represents 74% thrust and 26% right-lateral faulting. The direction of the slip angle agrees with the slip direction of the Pacific plate. A seismic moment of 3.5 · 10²⁹ dyn cm is obtained. If a fault area of 650 · 200 km² is assumed, an average dislocation of 5 m is obtained. Spectral analyses of the Pasadena strain records show that the 58-min sinusoidal oscillation in fact consists of a spectral peak near 54 min which is very close to the ₀S₂ mode and other high-frequency peaks which can be correlated to the earth's normal modes. The records from two independent recording galvanometers correlate with each other very well, indicating that the recorded oscillation represents a real strain and not instrumental noise. The phase relation between the NS and EW components is consistent with the strain field associated with ₀S₂ mode. Although these results provide positive evidence for a slow post-seismic deformation, the cause of the abrupt termination of the oscillation and the excitation mechanism remain unresolved.     

Source process and tectonic implications of the Spanish deep-focus earthquake of March 29, 1954

The source process of the deep-focus Spanish earthquake of March 29, 1954 (m_b = 7.1, h = 630 km) has been studied by using seismograms recorded at teleseismic distances. Because of its unusual location, this earthquake is considered to be one of the most important earthquakes that merit detailed studies. Long-period body-wave records reveal that the earthquake is a complicated multiple event whose wave form is quite different from that of usual deep earthquakes. The total duration of P phases at teleseismic distances is as long as 40 s. This long duration may explain the considerable property damage in Granada and Malaga, Spain, which is rather rare for deep earthquakes. Using the azimuthal distribution of the differences between the arrival times of the first, the second and later P phases, the hypocenters of the later events are determined with respect to the first event. The focus of the second event is located on the vertical nodal plane of the first shock suggesting that this vertical plane is the fault plane. This fault plane which strikes in N2°E and dips 89.1°E defines a nearly vertical dip-slip fault, the block to the west moving downwards. The time interval and spatial separation between the first and the second events are 4.3 s and 19 km respectively, giving an apparent rupture velocity of 4.3 km/s which is about 74% of the S-wave velocity at the source. A third event occurred about 8.8 s after the first event and about 35.6 km from it. At least six to ten events can be identified during the whole sequence. The mechanism of some of the later events, however, seems to differ from the first two events. Synthetic seismograms are generated by superposition of a number of point sources and are matched with the observed signals to determine the seismic moment. The seismic moments of the later events are comparable to, or even larger than, that of the first. The total seismic moment is determined to be 7 · 10²⁷ dyn cm while the moments of the first and the second shocks are 2.1 · 10²⁶ dyn cm and 5.1 · 10²⁶ dyn cm, respectively. The earthquake may represent a series of fractures in a detached piece of the lithosphere which sank rapidly into the deep mantle preserving the heterogeneity of material property at shallow depths.     

The Montenegro,Yugoslavia, earthquake of April 15, 1979: source orientation and strength

Long-period teleseismic P, S and Rayleigh waves and geologic considerations indicate that the Montenegro earthquake involved thrust faulting on a plane striking nearly parallel to the Adriatic coast and dipping ca. 15° toward the Yugoslav mainland. There is some support from modeling of body waves recorded on long-period WWSSN instruments for a focal depth of 22 km, but the possibility of a multiple source and the difficulty of matching some of the detailed characteristics of the P- and S-wave forms reduce our confidence in the determination of the depth. Fortunately, the source orientation and moment of the event are not sensitive functions of the depth. The long-period (256 s) moment was 4.6 × 10¹⁹ Nm (4.6 × 10²⁶ dyne-cm). The moment obtained by fitting the first cycle of P and S waves recorded on WWSSN long-period instruments is about four times smaller. This increase of moment with period is consistent with spectral estimates of the moment from SH waves recorded at SRO and ASRO stations.     

Origin of waters responsible for serpentinization of the Izu-Ogasawara-Mariana forearc seamounts in view of hydrogen and oxygen isotope ratios

Many serpentinite seamounts occur over a region 20–120 km west of the trench axis in the Izu-Ogasawara-Mariana forearc regions. The hydrogen and oxygen isotopic compositions of serpentine from these regions indicate that there are at least two kinds of waters responsible for serpentinization: seawater and water derived from dehydration of the descending slab. Serpentine from two Mariana and two Torishima samples with microscopically ductile and sheared texture (sheared-type) have lowerδD(−63to−52‰) and slightly higherδ18O values (+6.1 to +8.2‰) than that of other nine Ogasawara samples with mesh texture (mesh-type) (δD= −43to−49‰ andδ¹⁸O= +5.8to+6.7‰). This suggests that the sheared-type serpentine with lowerδD and slightly higherδ¹⁸O values was formed within the wedge mantle by interaction with water derived from a descending slab. The sheared texture is likely to have been produced during diapiric uplift. The unaltered portion of the ultramafic bodies later interacted with seawater after emplacement at or near the seafloor, resulting in formation of the mesh-type serpentine with higherδD values.     

Oxygen and sulfur isotope equilibria in the BaSO4HSO4−H2O system from 110 to 350°C and applications

Oxygen isotope exchange between BaSO₄ and H₂O from 110 to 350°C was studied using 1 m H₂SO₄-1 m NaCl and 1 m NaCl solutions to recrystallize the barite. The slow exchange rate (only 7% exchange after 1 yr at 110°C and 91% exchange after 22 days at 350°C in 1 m NaCl solution) prompted the use of the partial equilibrium technique. However, runs at 300 and 350°C were checked by complete exchange experiments. The temperature calibration curve for the isotope exchange is calculated giving most weight to the high temperature runs where the partial equilibrium technique can be tested. Oxygen isotope fractionation factors (α) in 1 m NaCl solution (110–350°C), assuming a value of 1.0407 for α_CO2H2O at 25°C, are:

.These data, when corrected for ion hydration effects in solution (Truesdell, 1974), give the fractionation factors in pure water:

.In the 1 m H₂SO₄-1 m NaCl runs, sulfur isotope fractionation between HSO^?₄ and BaSO₄ is less than the detection limit of 0.4%. A barite-sulfide geothermometer is obtained by combining HSO^?₄H₂S and sulfide-H₂S calibration data.Barite in the Derbyshire ore field, U.K., appears to have precipitated in isotopic equilibrium with water and sulfur in the ore fluid at temperatures less than 150°C. At the Tui Mine, New Zealand, the barite-water geothermometer indicates temperatures of late stage mineralization in the range 100–200°C. A temperature of 350 ± 20°C is obtained from the barite-pyrite geothermometer at the Yauricocha copper deposit, Peru, and oxygen isotope analyses of the barite are consistent with a magmatic origin for the ore fluids.