Oblique and near collision subduction, Sagami and Suruga Troughs —preliminary results of the French-Japanese 1984 Kaiko cruise, Leg 2

Leg 2 of the French-Japanese 1984 Kaiko cruise has surveyed the Suruga and the Sagami Troughs, which lie on both sides of the northwestward moving and colliding Izu-Bonin Ridge, the northernmost part of the Philippine Sea plate. The transition from the Nankai Trough to the Suruga Trough is characterized by northward decrease in width of the accretionary prism, in good agreement with the increasing obliquity between the through axis and the direction of the convergence, as the strike of the convergent boundary changes from ENE-NNE to south-north. South of the area, the southern margin of the Zenisu Ridge shows contractional deformations. This supports the interpretation made by the team of Leg 1 who studied the western extension of the area we studied, that it is an intra-oceanic thrusting of the ridge over the Shikoku Basin. In the Sagami Trough, where the relative motion is highly oblique to the plate boundary, active subduction is mostly confined in the east-west trending portions of the trough located south of the Boso Peninsula and along the lower Boso Canyon, near the TTT triple junction. In between, the present motion is mainly right-lateral along the northwest trending Boso escarpment. However, an inactive but recent (Pliocene to lower Pleistocene) accretionary prism exists south of the Boso escarpment, which suggests that the relative motion was more northerly than at present before about 1 Ma ago.     

Diffusivity of oxygen in jadeite and diopside melts at high pressures

The diffusivity of oxygen was determined in melts of Jadeite (NaAlSi₂O₆) and diopside (CaMgSi₂O₆) compositions using diffusion couples with ¹⁸O as a tracer. In the Jadeite melt, the diffusivity of oxygen increases from $\text{6.87}{}_{\mathrm{?0.25}}{}^{\mathrm{+0.28}}\text{× 10}{}^{\mathrm{?10}}\text{cm}{}^2\text{/}\text{sec}$ at 5 Kb to $\text{1.32 ± 0.08 × 10}{}^{\mathrm{?9}}\text{cm}{}^2\text{/}\text{sec}$ at 20 Kb at constant temperature (1400°C), whereas in the diopside melt at 1650°C, the diffusivity decreases from $\text{7.30}{}_{\mathrm{?0.18}}{}^{0.29}\text{× 10}{}^{\mathrm{?7}}\text{cm}{}^2\text{/}\text{sec}$ at 10 Kb to $\text{5.28}{}_{\mathrm{?0.55}}{}^{\mathrm{+0.60}}\text{× 10}{}^{\mathrm{?7}}\text{cm}{}^2\text{/}\text{sec}$ at 17 Kb. These results demonstrate that the diffusivity is inversely correlated with the viscosity of the melt. For the jadeite melt, in particular, the inverse correlation is very well approximated by the Eyring equation using the diameter of oxygen ions as a unit distance of translation, suggesting that the viscous flow is rate-limited by the diffusion of individual oxygen ions. In the diopside melt, the activation volume is slightly greater than the molar volume of oxygen ion, indicating that the individual oxygen ion is the diffusion unit. The negative activation volume obtained for the jadeite melt is interpreted as the volume decrease associated with a diffusive jump of an oxygen ion due to local collapse of the network structure.     

Carbon suboxide and the genetic code

Carbon suboxide (C₃O₂) polymers formed in the primitive atmosphere would have produced an organic compound soup of high concentration on the Earth. Various vestiges of C₃O₂ are found in the present genetic scheme, which might suggest that the living system had formed from the polymer soup.     

Determination of zircon/melt trace element partition coefficients from SIMS analysis of melt inclusions in zircon

Partition coefficients (^zircon/meltD_M) for rare earth elements (REE) (La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Dy, Er and Yb) and other trace elements (Ba, Rb, B, Sr, Ti, Y and Nb) between zircon and melt have been calculated from secondary ion mass spectrometric (SIMS) analyses of zircon/melt inclusion pairs. The melt inclusion-mineral (MIM) technique shows that D_REE increase in compatibility with increasing atomic number, similar to results of previous studies. However, D_REE determined using the MIM technique are, in general, lower than previously reported values. Calculated D_REE indicate that light REE with atomic numbers less than Sm are incompatible in zircon and become more incompatible with decreasing atomic number. This behavior is in contrast to most previously published results which indicate D > 1 and define a flat partitioning pattern for elements from La through Sm. The partition coefficients for the heavy REE determined using the MIM technique are lower than previously published results by factors of ≈15 to 20 but follow a similar trend. These differences are thought to reflect the effects of mineral and/or glass contaminants in samples from earlier studies which employed bulk analysis techniques.D_REE determined using the MIM technique agree well with values predicted using the equations of Brice (1975), which are based on the size and elasticity of crystallographic sites. The presence of Ce⁴⁺ in the melt results in elevated D_Ce compared to neighboring REE due to the similar valence and size of Ce⁴⁺ and Zr⁴⁺. Predicted ^zircon/meltD values for Ce⁴⁺ and Ce³⁺ indicate that the Ce⁴⁺/Ce³⁺ ratios of the melt ranged from about 10⁻³ to 10⁻². Partition coefficients for other trace elements determined in this study increase in compatibility in the order Ba < Rb < B < Sr < Ti < Y < Nb, with Ba, Rb, B and Sr showing incompatible behavior (D_M < 1.0), and Ti, Y and Nb showing compatible behavior (D_M > 1.0).The effect of partition coefficients on melt evolution during petrogenetic modeling was examined using partition coefficients determined in this study and compared to trends obtained using published partition coefficients. The lower D_REE determined in this study result in smaller REE bulk distribution coefficients, for a given mineral assemblage, compared to those calculated using previously reported values. As an example, fractional crystallization of an assemblage composed of 35% hornblende, 64.5% plagioclase and 0.5% zircon produces a melt that becomes increasingly more enriched in Yb using the D_Yb from this study. Using D_Yb from Fujimaki (1986) results in a melt that becomes progressively depleted in Yb during crystallization.     

Late Pleistocene crustal uplift and gravity anomaly in the eastern part of Kyushu, Japan, and its geophysical implications

The Miyazaki Plain, eastern part of Kyushu, Japan, is characterized by both significant negative gravity anomalies and aseismic crustal uplifting (1 mm/year) in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. We examine the relationship between these two phenomena, which may provide important constraints on the interaction between the collision and/or subduction of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge and the forearc. We estimate the mass deficiency below 11-km depth by using the gravity anomalies and P-wave velocity structure of the upper crust. The onset of the load accumulation, 0.5–0.4 Ma, is inferred from the movement of the fluvial terraces considering the tephrochronology. The loading history is assumed to be a linear function of time. We evaluate the crustal rebound by assuming a viscoelastic plate deformation with an underplating load existing at 20- or 30-km depth. The predicted crustal movement for models with a lithospheric (crustal) viscosity of 10²³–10²⁴ Pa s can explain the observed altitudes of the shoreline of the marine terraces formed at the Last Interglacial of about 125 kyr BP and the middle Holocene of 5–6 kyr BP. Although we cannot restrict the origin of the buoyant body, the subduction of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, remnant arc associated with back-arc opening of the Shikoku Basin, may be related to the buoyancy for the uplifting region examined here. On the other hand, the buoyant body off the Miyazaki Plain probably plays an important role in the interaction between the subducting oceanic slab and the overriding forearc crust. Thus, the observed lateral variation of the interplate coupling on the convergent boundary along the Nankai Trough may be attributed to the existence of the buoyant body.     

Upstream perturbation and floodplain formation effects on chute-cutoff-dominated meandering river pattern and dynamics

A sustained dynamic inflow perturbation and bar–floodplain conversion are considered crucial to dynamic meandering. Past experiments, one-dimensional modelling and linear theory have demonstrated that the initiation and persistence of dynamic meandering require a periodic transverse motion of the inflow. However, it remains unknown whether the period of the inflow perturbation affects self-formed meander dynamics. Here, we numerically study the effect of the inflow perturbation period on the development and meander dynamics of a chute-cutoff-dominated river, which requires two-dimensional modelling with vegetation forming floodplain on bars. We extended the morphodynamic model Nays2D with growth and mortality rules of vegetation to allow for meandering. We tested the effect of a transversely migrating inflow boundary by varying the perturbation period between runs over an order of magnitude around typical modelled meander periods. Following the cutoff cascade after initial meander formation from a straight channel, all runs with sufficient vegetation show series of growing meanders terminated by chute cutoffs. This generates an intricate channel belt topography with point bar complexes truncated by chutes, oxbow lakes, and scroll-bar-related vegetation age patterns. The sinuosity, braiding index and meander period, which emerge from the inherent biomorphological feedback loops, are unrelated to the inflow perturbation period, although the spin-up to dynamic equilibrium takes a longer time and distance for weak and absent inflow perturbations. This explains why, in previous experimental studies, dynamic meandering was only accomplished with a sustained upstream perturbation in flumes that were short relative to the meander wavelength. Our modelling of self-formed meander patterns is evidence that scroll-bar-dominated and chute-cutoff-dominated meanders develop from downstream convecting instabilities. This insight extends to many more fluvial, estuarine and coastal systems in morphological models and experiments, which require sustained dynamic perturbations to form complex patterns and develop natural dynamics. © 2019 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

Spatial distribution and temporal trends of rainfall and erosivity in the Eastern Africa region

Soil erosion by water is one of the main environmental concerns in the drought‐prone Eastern Africa region. Understanding factors such as rainfall and erosivity is therefore of utmost importance for soil erosion risk assessment and soil and water conservation planning. In this study, we evaluated the spatial distribution and temporal trends of rainfall and erosivity for the Eastern Africa region during the period 1981–2016. The precipitation concentration index, seasonality index, and modified Fournier index have been analysed using 5 × 5‐km resolution multisource rainfall product (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations). The mean annual rainfall of the region was 810 mm ranging from less than 300 mm in the lowland areas to over 1,200 mm in the highlands being influenced by orography of the Eastern Africa region. The precipitation concentration index and seasonality index revealed a spatial pattern of rainfall seasonality dependent on latitude, with a more pronounced seasonality as we go far from the equator. The modified Fournier index showed high spatial variability with about 55% of the region subject to high to very high rainfall erosivity. The mean annual R‐factor in the study region was calculated at 3,246 ± 1,895 MJ mm ha^?1 h^?1 yr^?1, implying a potentially high water erosion risk in the region. Moreover, both increasing and decreasing trends of annual rainfall and erosivity were observed but spatial variability of these trends was high. This study offers useful information for better soil erosion prediction as well as can support policy development to achieve sustainable regional environmental planning and management of soil and water resources.     

Subsidence associated with the LUSI mud eruption,East Java,investigated by SAR interferometry

A mud volcano LUSI initiated its eruption on 29 May 2006, adjacent to a hydrocarbon exploration well in East Java. Ground subsidence in the vicinity of the LUSI eruptive vent was well recorded by a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) PALSAR onboard the Japanese ALOS satellite. We apply an Interferometric SAR (InSAR) technique on ten PALSAR data scenes, acquired between 19 May 2006 and 21 May 2007, in order to obtain continuous maps of ground displacements around LUSI. Although the displacements in the area closest to the eruptive vent (spatial extension of about 1.5 km) are not detectable because of the erupted mud, all the processed interferograms indicate subsidence in an ellipsoidal area of approximately 4 km (north–south) × 3 km (east–west), centered at the main eruptive vent. In particular, interferograms spanning the first four months until 4 Oct. 2006 and the subsequent 46 days between 4 Oct. 2006 and 19 Nov. 2006 show at least about 70 cm and 80 cm of displacements away from the satellite, respectively. Possible causes of the subsidence, i.e., 1) loading effect of the erupted mud, 2) creation of a cylindrical mud conduit, and 3) pressure decrease and depletion of materials at depth, are investigated. The effects of the first two causes are found to be insufficient to explain the total amount of subsidence observed in the first six months. The third possibility is quantitatively examined using a boundary element approach by modeling the source of deformation as a deflating oblate spheroid. The spheroid is estimated to lie at depths of a few hundred to a thousand meters. The estimated depths are significantly shallower than determined from analyses of erupted mud samples; the difference is explained by presence of significant amount of inelastic deformation including compaction and downward transfer of material.     

Long-term patterns in the diets of Japanese temperate bassLateolabrax japonicus larvae and juveniles in Chikugo estuarine nursery ground in Ariake Bay, Japan

Larval and juvenile Japanese temperate bass (Lateolabrax japonicus) samples were collected from a wide range of spatial gradients (covering a distance of approximately 30 km) in Chikugo estuary, Ariake Bay, Japan over a period of 8 yr (1997–2004) in order to observe changes in diet. Gut contents were studied by separating, identifying, counting, and estimating the dry weight of prey organisms. Copepod samples were collected during each cruise to observe the numerical composition, abundance, and biomass in the estuary. Considerable spatial and temporal variations were observed in copepod distributions in ambient water and the diets of the fish. Two distinctly different copepod assemblages were identified in the estuary: One in the upper estuarine turbidity maximum (ETM), dominated by a single speciesSinocalanus sinensis and the other in the lower estuary consisting of a multispecies assemblage, dominated byOithona davisae, Acartia omorii, Paracalanus parvus, andCalanus sinicus. The gut content composition of the fish in the upper estuary was dominated byS. sinensis, while in the lower estuary, it consisted ofP. parvus, O. davisae, andA. omorii. Within the size group analyzed (13.0–27.0 mm SL), the smaller individuals were found to feed on a mixed diet composed of smaller prey. The diets gradually shifted to bigger prey composed predominantly ofS. sinensis for larger size groups. Greater proportions of empty guts were recorded in the smaller individuals and dropped with increasing fish size. Higher dry biomass of copepods in the environment, as well as higher dry weights of gut contents, were recorded in the upper estuary, indicating that the upper estuarine ETM areas are important nursery grounds for the early life stages of the Japanese temperate bass. The early life stages of the Japanese temperate bass are adapted to use the upstream nursery grounds and ascending to the nursery areas to useS. sinensis is one of the key survival strategies of the Japanese temperate bass in the Chikugo estuary.