Recognition of conjugate solid-type and liquid-type relationship among the oceanic basalts,with respect to REE

The REE abundances and their chondrite-normalized pattern lead one to consider that the basalt from the Caroline ridge area southeast of the Marianas Arc and the one from the Puerto Rico Trench happen to be equivalent to conjugate liquid-type and solid-type materials, respectively, reflecting an equilibrium of a 20% partial melting. This line of interpretation enables us not only to assess the REE abundances in the original solid-type material (M), but also to estimate the corresponding values in the product (¯L) of a very small (say, less than 1 %) extent of a partial melting. It is also found that the relative REE abundances in a basalt from directly east of the Marianas Trench are quite the same as those thus estimated. Alternatively, it is possible to interpret this basalt as representing the residual liquid left after the primary fractional differentiation of the mantle.It is suggested that the straight-type bulk partition coefficients, the absence of the apparent europium anomaly, and the higher pressure are closely associated.     

Evolution of lunar materials in light of the abundance variation of oxyphile trace elements

Based on the lunar data on lanthanides, U, Th, Ba, and Sr, the partition coefficients for fractional solidification were estimated for these elements. The resultant values suggest the removal of solids with perhaps pyroxenic composition. The partition coefficient for europium can be judged to be normal as divalent europium dominantly present in the melt. When we go back following the trend of fractionation of abundances, we can reach the stage where there is no europium anomaly and where the thorium concentration level is chondritic. It can be imagined that the material corresponding to this stage was the directly original lunar material system. As a possibility, a zone melting is thought to be a possible process for the derivation of that material from chondritic material. The chondrite-normalized lanthanide patterns for silicate materials of two stony-irons appear to provide us with an intriguing clue to this problem.     

Spectroscopic Studies of the Solar Corona – V. Physical Properties of Coronal Structures

Spectra around the 6374 Å [Fex] and 7892 Å [Fexi] emission lines were obtained simultaneously with the 25-cm coronagraph at Norikura Observatory covering an area of 200 ×500 of the solar corona. The line width, peak intensity and line-of-sight velocity for both the lines were computed using Gaussian fits to the observed line profiles at each location (4 ×4 ) of the observed coronal region. The line-width measurements show that in steady coronal structures the FWHM of the 6374 Å emission line increases with height above the limb with an average value of 1.02 mÅ arc sec^–1. The FWHM of the 7892 Å line also increases with height but at a smaller average value of 0.55 mÅ arc sec^–1. These observations agree well with our earlier results obtained from observations of the red, green, and infrared emission lines that variation of the FWHM of the coronal emission lines with height in steady coronal structures depends on plasma temperatures they represent. The FWHM gradient is negative for high-temperature emission lines, positive for relatively low-temperature lines and smaller for emission lines in the intermediate temperature range. Such a behaviour in the variation of the FWHM of coronal emission lines with height above the limb suggests that it may not always be possible to interpret an increase in the FWHM of emission line with height as an increase in the nonthermal velocity, and hence rules out the existence of waves in steady coronal structures.     

Trace element characteristics of the fluid liberated from amphibolite-facies slab: Inference from the metamorphic sole beneath the Oman ophiolite and implication for boninite genesis

Major and trace element compositions of amphibolites and quartzose rocks in the 230-m-thick metamorphic sole underlying the mantle section of the Oman ophiolite in Wadi Tayin area were determined to investigate the chemical characteristics of the hydrous fluid released from subducted amphiboltie-facies slab. The fluid-immobile element compositions indicate that protoliths of these rocks are mid-ocean ridge basalt-like tholeiite and deep-sea chert, which is consistent with the idea that these rocks represent Tethyan oceanic crust overridden during the early, intraoceanic thrusting stage of the Oman ophiolite emplacement. The rare-earth element (REE) and high field-strength element concentrations of the amphibolites show limited variations, within a factor of two except for a few evolved samples, throughout transect of the sole. On the other hand, concentrations of fluid-mobile elements, especially B, Rb, K and Ba, in amphibolites are highly elevated in upper 30 m of the sole (> 600 °C in peak metamorphic temperature), suggesting the equilibration with evolved, B-Rb-K-Ba-rich fluids during prograde metamorphism. The comparison with amphibolites in the lower 150 m (500 to 550 °C) demonstrates that the trace element spectra of the fluids equilibrated with the high-level amphibolites may vary as a function of metamorphic temperature. The fluids are characterized by striking enrichments of B, Rb, K and Ba and moderate to minor enrichments of Sr, Li, Be and Pb. At higher temperature (up to 700 °C), the fluids become considerably enriched in light REE and Nb in addition to the above elements. The estimated trace element spectra of the fluids do not coincide with the compositions of basalts from matured intra-oceanic arcs, but satisfactorily explain the characteristics of the low-Pb andesites and boninites found in the Oman ophiolite. Compositional similarity between the boninites of Oman and other localities suggests that the fluids estimated here well represent the amphibolite-derived fluids involved in the magmatism of immatured, hot, shallow subduction zones.     

Electrical Structure in Marine Tectonic Settings

This review paper presents recent research on electrical conductivity structure in various marine tectonic settings. In at least three areas, marine electromagnetic studies for structural exploration have increasingly progressed: (1) data accumulations, (2) technical advances both for hardware and software, and (3) interpretations based on multidisciplinary approaches. The mid-ocean ridge system is the best-studied tectonic setting. Recent works have revealed evidence of conductive zones of hydrothermal circulation and axial magma chambers in the crust and partial melt zones of the mid-ocean ridge basalt source in the mantle. The role of water or dissolved hydrogen and its redistribution at mid-ocean ridges is emphasized for the conductivity pattern of the oceanic lithosphere and asthenosphere. Regions of mantle upwelling (hotspot or plume) and downwelling (subducting slab) are attracting attention. Evidence of heterogeneity exists not only in the crust and the upper mantle, but also in the mantle transition zone. Electrical conductive zones frequently overlap seismic low-velocity zones, but discrepancies are also apparent. Some studies have compared conductivity models with the results of seismic and other studies to investigate the physical properties or processes. A new laboratory-based conductivity model for matured oceanic lithosphere and asthenosphere is proposed. It takes account of both the water distribution in the mantle as well as the thermal structure. It explains observed conductivity patterns in the depth range of 60–200 km.     

The 1998 Hida Mountain, Central Honshu, Japan, earthquake swarm: Double-difference event relocation, frequency–magnitude distribution and Coulomb stress changes

By using the double-difference relocation technique, we have determined the fine structure of seismicity during the 1998 Hida Mountain earthquake swarm. The distribution of seismic activity defines two main directions (N–S and E–W) that probably correspond to the regional stress pattern. The detailed structure of seismicity reveals intense spatio-temporal clustering and earthquake lineations. Each cluster of events contains a mainshock and subsequent aftershock activity that decays according to the Omori law. The seismicity and the b-value temporal and spatial patterns reflect the evolution of the static stress changes during the earthquake swarm. About 80% of the swarm's best-relocated events occur in regions of increased ΔCFF. The smaller value of b found in the northern part of the swarm region and a larger b-value observed to the south, for the same period of time, could be well explained by the static stress changes caused by the larger events of the sequence. We argue that the state of stress in the crust is the main factor that controls the variation of b-value.     

Stray-light correction in magnetograph observations using the maximum entropy method

We have developed a method of stray-light correction which is applicable to filter-based magnetograph observations. Stray-light-corrected Stokes images are obtained by performing the deconvolution of observed Stokes images by the point spread function which is determined from the Stokes I image. For image deconvolution, the maximum entropy principle is used to guarantee that intensity should be positive and polarization degrees should be less than unity. We present an iterative algorithm for the maximum entropy method, which seeks the solution in Fourier space and thus accomplishes fast convergence. We find that our method is effective in correcting stray light which has a spread angle greater than the full width at half maximum of the point spread function. We also discuss the effect of stray light on magnetograph calibration.     

High temperature creep of single crystal gadolinium gallium garnet

High temperature creep of single crystal gadolinium gallium garnet (GGG) was studied in the temperature range of 1723–1853 K (0.86–0.94 T_m, T_m: melting temperature) and strain rate from 9 · 10^?7 s^?1 to 2 · 10^?5 s^?1. The compression tests were made along the 〈100〉 and 〈111〉 orientations. We have performed both constant strain-rate and stress-dip tests. For the 〈100〉 orientation, deformation occurs via the 〈111〉 slip systems. For the 〈111〉 orientation, both the 〈100〉 {010} and the 〈111〉 slip systems can be activated. GGG garnet is very strong under these conditions: σ/μ=(1–3)×10^?3 (σ: creep strength, μ: shear modulus). The creep behavior is characterized by a power law with stress exponent n=2.9–3.3 and high activation energies E^*=612–743 kJ/mol (E^*～45×RT_m, at zero stress which decrease with the increase of stress). Stress-dip tests suggest a small internal stress (σ_i/σ～0.62; σ_i: internal stress, σ: applied stress) compared to other materials. These results suggest that the high creep strength of GGG is mainly due to difficulty of dislocation glide rather than dislocation climb.     

Crustal structure of the Mizuho Plateau, East Antarctica from geophysical data

Various kinds of geophysical surveys have been carried out in the Mizuho Plateau, East Antarctica by the Japanese Antarctic Research Expeditions (JARE). The correlation between the high-level gravity anomaly and the bedrock elevation is examined along a route where both data are sufficient to permit deriving a crustal model from gravity, radio-echo sounding and explosion seismic data. The bedrock elevation usually correlates well with the high-level gravity anomaly. However, along the traverse route S-H-Z from the Syowa to Mizuho stations, the bedrock elevation has a weak negative correlation with the high-level gravity anomaly. Such a weak negative correlation is attributed to the deeper part of the crust.The crustal structure between the Syowa and Mizuho stations is modeled from the gravimetric data and the radio-echo sounding of bedrock elevations, so as to fit the P-wave velocity structure derived from the data of explosion seismic experiments. Then the structure is extended from Syowa Station seaward across Lützow-Holm Bay and from Mizuho Station southeastwards inland, where only gravimetric data are available. Thus, a crustal section about 600 km long is obtained on a margin of East Antarctica. The depth of the Moho increases by about 7 km from Syowa Station to the point Y200 (71° 46′S, 48° 56′E), about 500 km from the coast. A graben-like structure is obtained along the line across Lützow-Holm Bay. This suggests that both sides of the bay are bounded by faults.