Tracing the origin of Southwest Japan using the Hf isotopic composition of detrital zircons from the Akiyoshi Belt

The Permian Akiyoshi Belt, which is the oldest unmetamorphosed accretionary complex in Southwest Japan, plays an important role in understanding the origin of the Japanese Islands; however, its tectonic affinity is still not well constrained. Herein, we present the first Hf isotopic data for U–Pb dated detrital zircons of the Late Permian sandstones in the Akiyoshi Belt. Almost all the late Palaeozoic detrital zircons yielded highly positive ?_Hf (t) values compatible with a juvenile source, suggesting that the major provenance of the trench sediments was from the South China block and not from the Bureya‐Jiamusi‐Khanka massif. We propose that in the late Palaeozoic, a block of juvenile lower crust existed outboard of the South China block, and it was being melted during the westward subduction of the Palaeo‐Pacific oceanic plate to produce voluminous volcanic and plutonic rocks with positive ?_Hf (t) values.     

Activity Profile of the Sextantid Meteor Shower

The detailed activity profile of the Sextandids - one of the day-time meteor showers - is poorly known and still unclear. Using the forward-scatter radio technique we have successfully been able to obtain further detailed overall activity profile of the Sextantids for seven consecutive years: 1991–1997. Analysis confirmed the Sextantid activity duration in solar longitude (J2000) of at least 184–193° and the maximum solar longitude at 188.35 ± 0.10° with a full width at half maximum (FWHM) of 2.0 ± 0.2°. Performing the numerical integrations, we also substantiated a possibility of the association between Apollo-type asteroid (3200) Phaethon and the Sextantids. Furthermore, we roughly estimated relative maximum flux rate of Sextantids : Geminids as 1 : 3 amplitude ratio. Depending upon the flux rates and the time lags of the orbital evolution with Phaethon, we conclude that the Sextantids are at a more progressive stage of orbital evolution than the Geminids if both meteor streams are really associated with Phaethon. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

PETROLOGY OF THE YAMATO METEORITES (j), (k), (l), AND (m) FROM ANTARCTICA*

The Yamato (j), (k), (l), and (m) meteorites collected from near the Yamato Mountains in December, 1973, are respectively an H-4 and L-5 chondrite, a howardite, and an L-5 chondrite. Yamato (l), the howardite, is a polymict breccia of diogenite and eucrite clasts. Olivine in the chondrites ranges in composition from Fo₇₅ to Fo₈₀, whereas in the howardite, where it is rare, the composition is about Fo₆₀. Pyroxenes in the chondrites are mostly orthopyroxenes and (En₈₃), while the pyroxenes in the howardite are more complex, comprising orthopyroxene, pigeonite, augite, and rare clinohypersthene (in the order of decreasing abundance), with the range from En₈₀ to En₃₇. They form a definite trend, probably formed by the fractional crystallization of the parental magma of the achondrite, and later subjected to exsolution phenomena during the slow cooling. Plagioclase is high-temperature oligoclase in the chondrites, and anorthite in the howardite. Maskelynitization is sometimes observed. Other shock effects are also observed. Opaque phases consist mostly of nickel-iron, troilite, chromite, and rarely ilmenite. Intergrowth of these minerals are common. The accessory minerals comprise quartz, cristobalite, apatite, spinel, and rare uranium-bearing minerals. The bulk composition and genetic significance are discussed.     

Simplified methods for design of base‐isolated structures in the long‐period high‐damping range

A recent trend in the design of base‐isolated structures is the extension of the natural period and the incorporation of high damping. This paper shows that the existing simplified methods perform less accurately in this field of application, mainly due to inappropriate use of spectral data and insufficiently adjusted equivalent models. The paper proposes new period‐dependent concepts to reduce pseudo‐acceleration spectra and to transform these values into total accelerations with respect to the viscous damping ratio. The model of equivalent damping is adjusted to reflect several period‐dependent effects. The estimation of the accelerations in MDOF systems is based on additional period shifts. All modifications are derived for a simplified linear approach based on eigenforms, and a non‐linear approach based on pushover and capacity spectrum analysis. To illustrate observed problems and to demonstrate the capabilities of the proposed concepts, example structures are studied in detail. Furthermore, intensive statistical tests prove the effectiveness of the modifications in a wide parameter range and show considerable improvements over traditional approaches. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tectonic architecture through Landsat-7 ETM+/SRTM DEM-derived lineaments and relationship to the hydrogeologic setting in Siwa region, NW Egypt

Fracture zones on the Earth’s surface are important elements in the understanding of plate motion forces, the dynamics of the subsurface fluid flow, and earthquake distributions. However, good exposures of these features are always lacking in arid regions, characterized by flat topography and where sand dunes extensively cover the terrain. During field surveys these conditions, in many cases, hinder the proper characterization of such features. Therefore, an approach that identifies the regional fractures as lineaments on remotely-sensed images or shaded digital terrain models, with its large scale synoptic coverage, could be promising.In the present work, a segment tracing algorithm (STA), for lineament detection from Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery, and the data from the Shuttle Radar Topographic Mission (SRTM) 30 m digital elevation model (DEM), has been applied in the Siwa region, located in the northwest of the Western Desert of Egypt. The objectives are to analyze the spatial variation in orientation of the detected linear features and its relation to the hydrogeologic setting in the area and the underlying geology, and to evaluate the performance of the algorithm applied to the ETM+ and the DEM data.Detailed structural analysis and better understanding of the tectonic evolution of the area could provide useful tools for hydrologists for reliable groundwater management and development planning. The results obtained have been evaluated by the structural analysis of the area and field observations. Four major vertical fracture zones were detected corresponding to two conjugate sets of strike-slip faults that governed the surface, and subsurface environments of the lakes in the region, and these correlate well with the regional tectonics.     

Deterioration of eelgrass,Zostera marina L., meadows by water pollution in Seto Inland Sea,Japan

Survival of transplanted Zostera marina L. (eelgrass) and environmental conditions (water quality, bottom sediments, sedimentation on leaves and flow regime) were studied concurrently in the center, edge, and at the outside of a eelgrass meadow located in a eutrophic coastal zone in northern Hiroshima Bay, Seto Inland Sea, Japan. Eelgrass transplants at the outside of the meadow declined significantly, whereas those at the center were consistently well established. Silt content in the bottom sediments at the outside was higher than that at the center. The sediment was oxic from the surface to 2 cm deep at the center, whereas those at the edge and the outside were reductive almost from the surface. The sediment characteristics typical in eutrophic water seemed to be a factor responsible for the deterioration of eelgrass meadows. Although suspended solid concentrations in the water columns were almost the same, the amount of sediments deposited on leaves of eelgrass at the outside was higher than that at the center of the meadow. The amount of the deposition at the outside seems to be enough to inhibit photosynthesis; i.e. photosynthetic photon flux density (PPFD) available for eelgrass was only 36% of that without any deposition. The deposition in the center, however, was small enough to allow 84% of the original PPFD. Flow rates, determined at 30 cm above the bottom, a half height of average eelgrass, suggested that the rate at the outside was not enough to remove deposited sediments from the surface of eelgrass leaves. Thus, the large amount of sediment deposition caused by water pollution and/or eutrophication seemed to be another factor to inhibit the survival of eelgrass at the outside edge of the meadow.     

Two-stage model for chemical evolution of galactic halo

We propose a model of chemical evolution of the galactic halo which consists of a succession of two different evolutionary stages; each stage is characterized by different outflow rate of gas from the star-forming region so that different metal-enrichment rate is resulted. The low-metal stars with [Fe/H]<–0.8 are formed mainly during the first 3×10⁸ yr, and most of the high-metal stars with [Fe/H]–0.8 are formed during the succeeding 2×10⁹ yr. This model naturally explains the metallicity distribution of globular clusters in the galactic halo including both the metal-rich and the metal-poor clusters. We also discuss the implications of the present model on the formation and evolution of the galactic halo.     

Effects of temperature and chlorinity on the microdistribution ofFavella taraikaensis Hada (Ciliata) in Maizuru Bay

Continuous sampling of the plankton with a pump sampler was carried out along a 960 m straight-line course in Maizuru Bay. The 25 collections of plankton were successively obtained at a depth of 1.5 m along the course, each of the collections covering a horizontal distance of 38 m. Vertical samplings of the plankton were done at five different depths (90, 120, 150, 180 and 210 cm) at 13 stations along the course. In both kinds of samplings temperature and chlorinity were measured.In the horizontal distribution ofF. taraikaensis, it was demonstrated that the counts of plankton had no correlation with the temperature and chlorinityin situ. There was a correlation between the counts and the differences of temperature and chlorinity between two successive sampling stations. It seemed thatF. taraikaensis was most abundant in the locations where the temperature difference was greater than +0.2C and the chlorinity difference was greater than +0.04 . This species was more abundant around the steep thermocline and the steep halocline. When the vertical profiles of temperature and chlorinity did not show steep gradients, this species was more abundant near the surface.     

A Eulerian-Eulerian Physical-Biological Impact Model of Zooplankton Injury Due to CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> Ocean Sequestration

To study the biological impacts of CO₂ ocean sequestration on floating marine organisms, a full Eulerian-Eulerian scheme model has been developed in a large-eddy simulation (LES) version using one-way coupling of the equations of seawater flow to the transport equations of the bio-scalar variables. Special attention was paid to deriving the transport equation, involving non-conservative scalars to describe the degree of injury to floating organisms due to the change in the pH environment resulting from CO₂ dissolution. The source terms of the transport equations of bio-scalar variables are based on experimental data on zooplankton activities affected by lower pH seawater, allowing construction of empirical sub-models of three kinds of floating marine organisms: Gaidius variabilis, Paraeuchaeta Birostrata, and Multi-organisms. An example is given to show the applicability of the model to the assessment of the biological impact of CO₂ sequestration in the ocean. Given an initial CO₂ droplet diameter of 8.0 mm and an injection rate of 1.0 kg/sec, the model simulation predicts that the zooplanktons lose approximately 90% of their activity when the lowest pH inside the plume decreases from 7.57 to 5.61. These injured zooplanktons then recovered gradually to their normal state within two hours due to dilution of the plume. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Study on the manganese nodule V. Thermal studies of the iron-manganese phase

The thermal phase transformation of the iron-manganese phase of the Pacific Ocean manganese nodules were studied by the differential thermal and X-ray diffraction methods. X-ray powder patterns of the heated samples at the temperature of 600°C to 1000°C show the occurrence of hematite, bixbyite and cubic and tetragonal (Fe, Mn)₃O₄. Bixbyite produced by the heat treatment of the iron-manganese phase gives an abnormal X-ray pattern in comparison with the standard sample of bixbyite. Cubic (Fe, Mn)₃O₄ is produced not only by the reaction of bixbyite with hematite over 900°C, but also at the lower temperature, such as 600°C. While, tetragonal (Fe, Mn)₃O₄ is a reaction product of cubic (Fe, Mn)₃O₄ with bixbyite over 900°C in the case of manganese rich nodules. The species and quantities of the products after the heat treatment are assumed to be mostly influenced by the relative contents of iron and manganese in the manganese nodule.