Gelifluction within a solifluction lobe in the Kärkevagge valley, Swedish Lapland

Soil displacement, soil temperature, depths of thaw plane and groundwater level were continuously monitored during the period from July 1999 to June 2000 within a solifluction lobe in the Kärkevagge valley, northern Sweden. The strain–probe method was used to measure soil displacement, and we found significant soil displacements in the thawing period 2000. These displacements were the result of gelifluction. The ice content profile showed that gelifluction occurred at the same time as the thaw plane reached the layers with high ice content at shallow soil depths (0–6 and 16–25 cm deep). In contrast, gelifluction did not occur when the thaw plane reached the layers with high ice content at greater depth (46–49 cm deep). These observations indicate that thawing of ice lenses in the near–surface layer triggers gelifluction.     

Dynamics of Wood Transport in Streams: A Flume Experiment

The influence of woody debris on channel morphology and aquatic habitat has been recognized for many years. Unlike sediment, however, little is known about how wood moves through river systems. We examined some dynamics of wood transport in streams through a series of flume experiments and observed three distinct wood transport regimes: uncongested, congested and semi-congested. During uncongested transport, logs move without piece-to-piece interactions and generally occupy less than 10 per cent of the channel area. In congested transport, the logs move together as a single mass and occupy more than 33 per cent of the channel area. Semi-congested transport is intermediate between these two transport regimes. The type of transport regime was most sensitive to changes in a dimensionless input rate, defined as the ratio of log volume delivered to the channel per second (Q_log) to discharge (Q_W); this ratio varied between 0·015 for uncongested transport and 0·20 for congested transport. Depositional fabrics within stable log jams varied by transport type, with deposits derived from uncongested and semi-congested transport regimes having a higher proportion of pieces orientated normal to flow than those from congested transport. Because wood input rates are higher and channel dimensions decrease relative to piece size in low-order channels, we expect congested transport will be more common in low-order streams while uncongested transport will dominate higher-order streams. Single flotation models can be used to model the stability of individual pieces, especially in higher-order channels, but are insufficient for modelling the more complex intractions that occur in lower-order streams. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Satellite Navigation and Geospatial Awareness: Long-Term Effects of Using Navigation Tools on Wayfinding and Spatial Orientation

This article examined long-term effects of using navigation tools on wayfinding and spatial orientation, through a survey analysis of the experience of using navigation tools and spatial aptitudes, and a behavioral experiment of real-world navigation. Experience of tool use was measured in terms of regular use (time length and frequency) and accumulated experience (time length multiplied by frequency). The survey analysis showed that frequent users of pedestrian navigation systems tended to be low on sense of direction and mental rotation. In contrast, longtime users of maps tended to be high on sense of direction and favor survey navigation strategies. The behavioral experiment showed that people who had more accumulated experience of using in-car navigation systems traveled less efficiently and learned the configurations of traveled routes less accurately with a mobile tool and a paper map. The analysis of long-term effects through structural equation modeling showed that spatial aptitudes and accumulated experience of tool use independently affect wayfinding and spatial orientation and that the negative effects of accumulated experience were larger than the positive effects of spatial aptitudes. The results and implications are discussed in relation to existing studies of short-term effects and spatial thinking.     

Characteristic of the vertical seismic waves associated with the 1995 Hyogo‐ken Nanbu (Kobe), Japan earthquake estimated from the failure of the Daikai Underground Station

The dynamic behaviour of underground structures built by cut‐and‐cover methods is discussed. A simple model analysis shows that a column supporting the overburden at midspan (central column) can resonate upon incidence of an elastic wave of a specific frequency. The analytical results indicate that not only the size and material properties of the column, but also the static load acting on the column (overburden) is a decisive factor that influences the resonant frequency. Based on the results obtained by the analysis, the mechanism of the failure at the Daikai Underground Station in Kobe caused by the 1995 Hyogo‐ken Nanbu, Japan, earthquake is investigated. It is shown that the wave‐induced damage to underground structures can concentrate on the sections with specific overburden, and from the induced damage, it is possible to estimate the frequency characteristics of the associated seismic waves. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of alkali and alkaline-earth cations on the high-pressure sound velocities of aluminosilicate glasses

Physics and Chemistry of Minerals - A black tourmaline sample from Seagull batholith (Yukon Territory, Canada) was established to be a schorl with concentrations of Fe2+ among the highest currently...     

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.     

Production of the Blood Pressure Lowing Peptides from Brown Alga （ Undaria pinnatifida ）

Brown alga （ Undaria pinnatifida） was treated with alginate lyase and hydrolyzed using 17 kinds of proteases and the inhibitory activity of the hydrolysates for the angiotensin-I-converting enzyme （ACE） was measured. Four hydrolysates with potent ACE-inhibitory activity were administered singly and orally to spontaneously hypertensive rats （SHRs）. The systolic blood pressure of SHRs decreases significantly after single oral administration of the brown alga hydrolysates by pro- tease S ＇ Amano＇ （from Bacillus stearothermophilus） at the concentration of 10 （mg protein） （kg body weight）^ - 1. In the 17 weeks of feeding experiment, 7-week-old SHRs were fed standard diet supplemented with the brown alga hydrolysates for 10 weeks. In SHRs fed 1.0 and 0.1% brown alga hydrolysates, elevating of systolic bloodpressure was significantly suppressed for 7 weeks. To elucidate the active components, the brown alga hydrolysates were fractionated by 1-butanol extraction and HPLC on a reverse-phase column. Seven kinds of ACE-inhibitory peptides were isolated and identified by amino acid composition analysis, sequence analysis, and LC-MS with the results Val-Tyr, Ile-Tyr, Ala-Trp, Phe-Tyr, Val-Trp, Ile-Trp, and Leu-Trp. Each peptide was determined to have an antihypertensive effect after a single oral administration in SHRs. The brown alga hydrolysates were also confirmed to decrease the blood pressure in humans.     

Notes on non-marine bivalve Trigonioides (Trigonioides?) from the mid-Cretaceous Goshoura Group, Kyushu, Japan

Trigonioides goshourensis n. sp. and Trigonioides amakusensis Kikuchi and Tashiro occur in the late Albian Eboshi Formation of the Goshoura Group in Kyushu, Japan. These Albian species are characterized by three radial pseudocardinal teeth on the thick and wide hinge plate, and are probably ancestors of Cenomanian species of Trigonioides (Kumamotoa) with four radial pseudocardinal teeth. This chronological relation may be important for the correlation of non-marine Cretaceous strata in East Asia. In addition, the habitat of T. amakusensis is interpreted as estuarine tidal flats under brackish water conditions, although Trigonioides is generally a freshwater bivalve genus.     

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.     

Population geography with GIS in Japan

Japanese geography studies are now being greatly affected by the rapid development of geographical information systems (GIS). Unfortunately, there has been little response from Japanese population geographers to this movement. Is GIS a welcome or an unwelcome guest? After discussing the significance of employing GIS, this article introduces some recent papers that used GIS in the field of population geography on such issues as mortality mapping, migration analysis, and household studies. Then, the two promising population-related topics of married one-person households and fertility are discussed. The ability of GIS to greatly facilitate analysis, which previously needed much time and energy, can be an encouraging stimulus of innovation in studies of current population geography. Therefore, GIS is clearly a welcome guest, although it is too wishful to think that its use would lead directly to a revitalization of contemporary population geography studies.