Anhydrous and water-saturated melting experiments of an olivine andesite from Mt Yakushi-Yama, northeastern Shikoku, Japan

Abstract Melting experiments have been carried out on an olivine andesite of Mt Yakushi-Yama from the Miocene Setouchi volcanic belt in northeastern Shikoku, Japan. This andesite has been characterized by a low ratio of FeO*/Mg° (= 0.78). Phase relations have been determined within the pressure range of 2.8 to 19.3 kbar at 1000-1300°C under anhydrous and water-saturated conditions. At pressures less than 8.8 kbar, olivine is a liquidus phase. Orthopyroxene appears on the liquidus at 9.3 kbar under the anhydrous conditions. The multiple saturation point rises up to 17.5 kbar for water-saturated experiments. The andesite melt coexists with olivine and orthopyroxene just below the liquidus at 8.8–9.3 kbar and 1230°C for dry conditions, and at 17.5 kbar and 1060°C under water-saturated conditions. These experimental results indicate that the Yakushi-Yama olivine andesite magma could coexist with a harzburgitic mantle at depths between about 30 and 60 km, and at temperatures between 1060 and 1230°C. Experimental data also suggest a possibility that a high magnesian andesite magma would be generated by a direct partial melting of the uppermost harzburgitic mantle under anhydrous conditions.     

Age model, physical properties and paleoceanographic implications of the middle Pleistocene core sediments in the Choshi area, central Japan

Abstract   A continuous, well-preserved core was obtained from the Choshi area, on the Pacific side of Japan, to investigate paleoceanographic and paleoclimatic changes around the northwestern Pacific region during the middle Pleistocene. Siliciclastic sequences in the core are divided into five formations – the Obama, Yokone, Kurahashi and Toyosato Formations in the Inubo Group and the Katori Formation, in ascending order. Examination of calcareous nannofossils and magnetic polarities detected four datums in the core sediments of the Inubo Group: the top of Reticulofenestra asanoi , the base of Helicosphaera inversa , the top of Pseudoemiliania lacunosa and the Brunhes–Matuyama boundary. Fourteen marine isotope stages (MIS24–MIS11) were identified in the δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C records based on detected datums and the graphic correlation with the standard stack oxygen isotope curve. Magnetic susceptibility and gamma-ray attenuation porosity evaluator density were also measured and low values characterize the glacial intervals. Biogenic sedimentation by primary production may be larger during the glacial periods because of invasions of nutrient-rich northern surface-waters related to the southward shift of the Kuroshio front in the Choshi area.     

Lithological and physical properties of core samples from the Sagara oil field: Oil occurrence in Sagara core samples

Abstract   A drilling and coring investigation of the Sagara oil field, central Honshu, Japan, was conducted to contribute to the understanding of hydrocarbon migration processes in a forearc basin. Core samples were analyzed to determine lithology, physical properties (specifically gas permeability) and the characteristics of oil occurrence. Gas permeability values greater than approximately 10⁻¹¹ m² constitute the basic precondition for any lithology to serve as a potential fluid conduit or reservoir in the Sagara oil field. Cores recovered from the 200.6-m-deep borehole were primarily composed of alternating siltstone, sandstone and conglomerate, all of which are correlated to the late Miocene Sagara Group. Both sandstone and conglomerate can be classified into two types, carbonate-cemented and poorly to non-cemented, based on matrix material characteristics. Oil stains are generally absent in the former lithology and more common in the latter. Variations in physical properties with respect to gas permeability values are directly related to the presence and character of carbonate cement, with higher permeabilities common in poorly to non-cemented rocks. The relationships between lithology, oil-staining, cementation and permeability indicate that cementation preceded oil infiltration and that cementation processes exerted significant control on the evolution of the reservoir.     

Tectonic implications of new age data for the Meratus Complex of south Kalimantan, Indonesia

Cretaceous subduction complexes surround the southeastern margin of Sundaland in Indonesia. They are widely exposed in several localities, such as Bantimala (South Sulawesi), Karangsambung (Central Java) and Meratus (South Kalimantan).
The Meratus Complex of South Kalimantan consists mainly of mélange, chert, siliceous shale, limestone, basalt, ultramafic rocks and schists. The complex is uncomformably covered with Late Cretaceous sedimentary-volcanic formations, such as the Pitap and Haruyan Formations.
Well-preserved radiolarians were extracted from 14 samples of siliceous sedimentary rocks, and K–Ar age dating was performed on muscovite from 6 samples of schist of the Meratus Complex. The radiolarian assemblage from the chert of the complex is assigned to the early Middle Jurassic to early Late Cretaceous. The K–Ar age data from schist range from 110 Ma to 180 Ma. Three samples from the Pitap Formation, which unconformably covers the Meratus Complex, yield Cretaceous radiolarians of Cenomanian or older.
These chronological data as well as field observation and petrology yield the following constraints on the tectonic setting of the Meratus Complex.
(1) The mélange of the Meratus Complex was caused by the subduction of an oceanic plate covered by radiolarian chert ranging in age from early Middle Jurassic to late Early Cretaceous.
(2) The Haruyan Schist of 110–119 Ma was affected by metamorphism of a high pressure–low temperature type caused by oceanic plate subduction. Some of the protoliths were high alluminous continental cover or margin sediments. Intermediate pressure type metamorphic rocks of 165 and 180 Ma were discovered for the first time along the northern margin of the Haruyan Schist.
(3) The Haruyan Formation, a product of submarine volcanism in an immature island arc setting, is locally contemporaneous with the formation of the mélange of the Meratus Complex.     

Relative durability of chert and rhyolite detritus in conglomerates and sandstones: with reference to the study of provenance geology

Modal changes in both gravel and sands occur because of unequal durability of some clastic materials to abrasion. Selective abrasion causes an elimination of undurable materials and a complimentary enrichment of competent components. The fluviatile Oligocene Noda Group, northeast Japan, consists of two formations that include both the competent and undurable clastics. Modal analyses of rhyolite‐ or chert‐rich sediments in both formations show that the amount of pebble‐ and granule‐size chert detritus is nearly constant, but the sand‐size chert fragments remarkably decrease with the decreasing grain size. The amount of rhyolite pebbles and the sands, however, is nearly unchangeable despite the variable clast size. Results of our study reveal that we need careful thoughts for a restricted size of sediments and the mode of fine‐grained detritus that include undurable chert sands tends to significantly underestimate the outcrop area of chert bedrocks in the provenance.     

High-resolution observations of dissolved isoprene in surface seawater in the Southern Ocean during austral summer 2010–2011

We measured dissolved isoprene (2-methyl-1,3-butadiene; C₅H₈) concentrations in a broad area of the southern Indian Ocean and in the Indian sector of the Southern Ocean from 35°S to 64°S and from 37°E to 111°E during austral summer 2010–2011. Isoprene concentrations were continuously measured by use of a proton-transfer-reaction mass spectrometer combined with a bubbling-type equilibrator. Concentrations of isoprene and its emission flux throughout the study period ranged from 0.2 to 395 pmol L^?1 and from 181 to 313 nmol m^?2 day^?1, respectively, the averages being generally higher than those of previous studies. Although we found a significant linear positive relationship between isoprene and chlorophyll-a concentrations (r ² = 0.37, n = 36, P < 0.001), the correlation coefficient was lower than previously reported. In contrast, in the high-latitude area (>53°S) we identified a significant negative correlation (r ² = 0.59, n = 1263, P < 0.001) between isoprene and the temperature-normalized partial pressure of carbon dioxide (n-pCO₂), used as an indicator of net community production in this study. This suggests that residence times and factors controlling variations in isoprene and n-pCO₂ are similar within a physically stable water column.     

Records of environmental and ecological changes related to excavation in varve sediment from Lake Hiruga in central Japan

Journal of Paleolimnology - Sub-annual-scale environmental and ecosystem changes since the mid-18th century were reconstructed in a semi-closed lagoon, Lake Hiruga, located along the Sea of Japan...     

Transient crater growth in granular targets: An experimental study of low velocity impacts into glass sphere targets

We experimentally studied the formation and collapse processes of transient craters. Polycarbonate projectiles with mass of 0.49 g were impacted into the soda-lime glass sphere target (mean diameters of glass spheres are ∼36, 72, and 220 μm, respectively) using a single-stage light-gas gun. Impact velocity ranged from 11 to 329 m s⁻¹. We found that the transient crater collapses even at laboratory scales. The shape (diameter and depth) of the transient crater differs from that of the final crater. The depth-rim diameter ratios of the final and transient craters are 0.11-0.14 and 0.26-0.27, respectively. The rim diameter of both the transient and final crater depends on target material properties; however, the ratio of final to transient crater diameter does not. This suggests that target material properties affect the formation process of transient craters even in the gravity regime, and must be taken into account when scaling experimental results to planetary scales. By observing impacts into glass sphere targets, we show that although the early stage of the excavation flow does not depend on the target material properties, the radial expansion of the cavity after the end of vertical expansion does. This suggests that the effect of target material properties is specifically important in the later part of the crater excavation and collapse.