Variations in seawater osmium isotope composition since the last glacial maximum: A case study from the Japan Sea

Concentrations of Re and Os, and the isotopic composition of Os have been measured in the Japan Sea sediments to assess the response of the Japan Sea to glacial–interglacial climate change and associated weathering fluxes. The osmium concentrations in the sediment samples analyzed vary from 59 to 371 pg/g, and ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os from 0.935 to 1.042. Only ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os of sediment samples from dark laminations deposited under suboxic to anoxic conditions and having elevated concentrations of Re and Os, and with ≥ 80% hydrogenous Os are explained in terms of seawater composition. Lower ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os were observed for sediments deposited during the last glacial maximum (LGM) when planktonic foraminifera from the Japan Sea recorded lighter oxygen isotopic composition. Decrease in dissolved Os fluxes from continents and/or change in the composition of the dissolved load to the Japan Sea are suggested as the driving mechanisms for the observed lower LGM ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os. The results of this study, coupled with lower ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os during the last glacial observed at other sites from ocean basins with different lithology and contrasting sediment accumulation rates, suggest that this trend is characteristic of the global oceans.

Data from this study show that the Japan Sea recorded higher ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os during the current interglacial coinciding with excursions of oxygen isotopic compositions of planktonic foraminifera to heavier values. This is explained in terms of preferential release of ¹⁸⁷Os during deglacial weathering and/or higher continental Os flux driven by warm and wet climate. This study demonstrates that Os isotopic composition of reducing margin sediments has immense potential to track variations in the seawater composition. In addition, ¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os of reducing sediments may be used to draw inferences about local paleoceanographic processes in semi-enclosed basins such as the Japan Sea.     

Os, Nd, and Sr isotopic and chemical compositions of ultramafic xenoliths from Kurose, SW Japan: Implications for contribution of slab-derived material to wedge mantle

We examined seven ultramafic xenoliths from 1~3 Ma alkali olivine basalt reefs near the Eurasian continent and one sample of the host alkali basalt to identify the mantle wedge material and to constrain the origin and evolution of mantle beneath SW Japan. Six xenoliths are from Kurose and one xenolith is from Takashima, northern part of the Kyushu islands, SW Japan. The Sr and Nd isotopic ratios vary from 0.70416 to 0.70773 and from 0.51228 to 0.51283, respectively. The Kurose and Takashima xenoliths have higher Sr isotopic ratios and lower Nd isotopic ratios than those of the peridotite xenoliths from the other arc settings such as Simcoe and NE Japan.

The Kurose xenoliths have less radiogenic Os isotopic ratios (¹⁸⁷Os/¹⁸⁸Os = 0.123–0.129) than the primitive upper mantle (PUM) estimate and limited variation compared to the other arc xenoliths. Their Os isotope compositions are rather similar to the ultramafic xenoliths from NE and east China. In addition, the samples of the Kurose and Takashima xenoliths plot along a mixing line between ultramafic xenoliths from SE and NE China and a slab component in Sr–Nd–Os isotopic space. Our results suggest that fragments of continental lithospheric mantle from the China craton may exist beneath Kurose and Takashima after the Sea of Japan expansion when the Japanese islands were rifted away from the Eurasian continent during Miocene. Later magmatism due to subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath the SW Japan arc around 15 Ma ago may have introduced fluids or melts derived from slab component, interpreted to be oceanic sediments rather than altered oceanic crust, that possibly modified the original composition of the lithospheric mantle sampled by the peridotite xenoliths from Kurose and Takashima.     

慢地震与深部不连续颤动和慢滑事件同时发生

我们对日本西南部南海俯冲板块界面过渡带发生的超低频地震进行报道。由矩震级为3.1～3.5的超低频地震引起的地震波显示其卓越长周期约为20s。超低频地震活动伴随深源低频颤动和慢滑事件同时发生,并随之移动。慢地震一直被认为会增加向上倾斜的大型逆冲地震断裂带上的应力,而这3种现象的同时发生提高了人们对慢地震的探测和特性鉴定水平。     

Petrological and Geochemical Characteristics of Intrusive Rocks Related to Porphyry Copper Mineralization and the Implications for the Genesis of Deposits in the Namosi area, Viti Levu, Republic of the Fiji Islands

In the Namosi district, of Viti Levu Island, Republic of the Fiji Islands, we conducted chemical analysis on intrusive rocks and attempted to clarify the relationship between petrological characteristics and mineralization. Samples were collected from the Waisoi copper deposit, Waivaka corridor, Waisomo, Wailutelevu and Wainabama Southwest localities. The intrusive rocks in the district show the overall characteristics of calc-alkaline magnetite series. Using the normative composition diagram for granite classification, most of the intrusive rocks plot in the tonalite, granodiorite, quartz monzodiorite and quartz diorite fields. Rare earth element (REE) analysis revealed that at Waisoi the intrusive rocks tend towards an Eu positive anomaly, whereas most of those at Waisomo tend to have a negative anomaly. The (Ce_cn/Yb_cn)/Yb_cn ratio shows that the intrusive rocks in the Namosi district may be derived from a mantle origin magma possibly contaminated by crustal materials. Waisoi rocks have less contamination with continental crust and show higher gold content compared to those of the Waivaka corridor. The observed differences between Waisoi and Waivaka corridor in the Cu/Au ratio might also be caused by varying amounts of contamination by crustal materials. There is no clear correlation between the La/Yb ratio and K–Ar ages, however, the La/Yb ratio of the Waivaka corridor rocks has a wide range, suggesting a variable amount of crustal contamination of the magma from 7 to 5 Ma. The less crustal contamination and generation of relatively high silica contents under relatively oxidized conditions in the Waisoi magmas is correlated with Au-rich porphyry copper mineralization and in contrast more crustal contamination produced Au-poor porphyry copper mineralization at the Waivaka Corridor in the Namosi district.     

Gamma-ray burst neutrino background and star formation history in the universe

We estimate the flux of the gamma-ray burst (GRB) neutrino background and compute the event rate at SK and TITAND in the collapsar model, assuming that GRB formation rate is proportional to the star formation rate. We find that the predicted background neutrino flux is highly sensitive to unknown model parameters, mainly to the mass–accretion rate, to the fraction of disk energy emitted in thermal neutrinos (as opposed to emission through electromagnetic processes), and to the fraction of collapsar events leading to GRBs. The predicted neutrino flux varies over many orders of magnitude as the values of unknown model parameters are varied. We investigate the detection possibility of thermal neutrinos from collapsars which lead to GRBs by TITAND. We find that the GRB neutrino background might be detected by TITAND within 10 yrs only for the optimistic cases in which the average mass–accretion rate is high ( a few M s⁻¹), and the probability that one collapsar generates a GRB is high (f=0.5–1.0).     

New buoy observation system for tsunami and crustal deformation

We have developed a new system for real-time observation of tsunamis and crustal deformation using a seafloor pressure sensor, an array of seafloor transponders and a Precise Point Positioning (PPP ) system on a buoy. The seafloor pressure sensor and the PPP system detect tsunamis, and the pressure sensor and the transponder array measure crustal deformation. The system is designed to be capable of detecting tsunami and vertical crustal deformation of ±8 m with a resolution of less than 5 mm. A noteworthy innovation in our system is its resistance to disturbance by strong ocean currents. Seismogenic zones near Japan lie in areas of strong currents like the Kuroshio, which reaches speeds of approximately 5.5 kt (2.8 m/s) around the Nankai Trough. Our techniques include slack mooring and new acoustic transmission methods using double pulses for sending tsunami data. The slack ratio can be specified for the environment of the deployment location. We can adjust slack ratios, rope lengths, anchor weights and buoy sizes to control the ability of the buoy system to maintain freeboard. The measured pressure data is converted to time difference of a double pulse and this simple method is effective to save battery to transmit data. The time difference of the double pulse has error due to move of the buoy and fluctuation of the seawater environment. We set a wire-end station 1,000 m beneath the buoy to minimize the error. The crustal deformation data is measured by acoustic ranging between the buoy and six transponders on the seafloor. All pressure and crustal deformation data are sent to land station in real-time using iridium communication.     

Broad-band power-law spectra of well-log data in Japan

For the purpose of revealing the statistical characteristics of P -wave velocity, S -wave velocity and density in the uppermost part of the crust, we analysed well-log data obtained from five deep wells in different tectonic regions in Japan: three wells through the mainly sedimentary rocks in the Kanto plain and two wells in the Kuju volcano group in Kyushu Island. In the Kanto plain, the power spectral density of fractional fluctuation of P -wave velocity and that of density are proportional to a power of the spatial wavelength from a few metres to 100 m. where the power index (slope of the power spectral density at double logarithmic scale) is 1.1-1.3. At the Kuju volcano group, that of P - and S -wave velocity and density also obey a power law, with a power index of 1.3-1.6 for wavelengths from a few metres to few hundred metres. Correcting the effect of the moving box-car observation window which corresponds to the separation of two receivers of the logging tool, we find that the power-law characteristics hold for wavelengths down to a few tens of centimetres. The 1-D sections of the elastic inhomogeneities follow a kind of band-limited self-affine random process. Comparing the power spectral densities, we find smaller values of the power index in stable areas and larger values in tectonically active areas. The difference in the power index arises from long-wavelength components.     

Mercury concentration in the ocean

Seventy percent of 342 seawater samples collected in the Bering Sea, North and South Pacific, Japan Sea, East and South China Seas, and Indian Ocean had concentrations of “total” mercury ranging from 3 to 6 ng Hg l^?1 with an arithmetic mean of 5.3 ng l^?1 and a geometric mean of 5.0 ng l^?1. In some cases, a higher concentration was observed at the surface, at the halocline or thermocline, or in the bottom water. But in general, there was no consistent correlation between mercury concentration and depth, except for a statistical tendency for mercury concentration to be slightly higher in the surface water. This tendency suggests that mercury in the ocean is supplied from the atmosphere by rain washout. The latitudinal variation of surface mercury concentrations showed that the maximum concentration at each latitude decreased from 40°N to 30°S. This variation provides evidence that atmospheric mercury is emitted mainly from continental areas naturally or anthropogenically.     

In situ filtration sampler for taking filtered water samples

A new type ofin situ filtration sampler is described. The all Teflon sampler is hung on a nylon rope attached to a steel wire (Fig. 3). By dropping a messenger, the sampler piston is pulled down by a released weight of 50 kg, and the sampler is filled with about 400 ml of filtered water. The sample is not contaminated by metals because there is no metal around the sampler.