Fluid-induced high-temperature metasomatism at Rundv?gshetta in the Lützow-Holm Complex,East Antarctica: Implications for the role of brine during granulite formation

We report new petrological, phase equilibria modeling, and fluid inclusion data for pelitic and mafic granulites from Rundv?gshetta in the highest-grade region of the Neoproterozoic Lützow-Holm Complex(LHC),East Antarctica, and provide unequivocal evidence for fluid-rock interaction and high-temperature metasomatism in the presence of brine fluid. The studied locality is composed dominantly of well-foliated pelitic granulite(K-feldspar+quartz+sillimanite+garnet+ilmenite) with foliation-parallel bands and/or layers of mafic granulite(plagioclase+orthopyroxene+garnet+ilmenite+quartz+biotite). The boundary between the two lithologies is defined by thin(about 1 -20 cm in thick) garnet-rich layers with a common mineral assemblage of garnet+plagioclase+quartz+ilmenite+biotite ? orthopyroxene. Systematic increase of grossular and decrease of pyrope contents in garnet as well as decreasing Mg/(Fe+Mg) ratio of biotite from the pelitic granulite to garnet-rich rock and mafic granulite suggest that the garnet-rich layer was formed by metasomatic interaction between the two granulite lithologies. Phase equilibria modeling in the system NCKFMASHTO demonstrates that the metasomatism took place at 850 -860℃, which is slightly lower than the peak metamorphism of this region, and the modal abundance of garnet is the highest along the metapeliteemetabasite boundary(up to 40%), which is consistent with the field and thin section observations. The occurrence of brine(7.0 -10.9 wt.% Na Cleqfor ice melting or 25.1 -25.5 wt.% NaC leqfor hydrohalite melting) fluid inclusions as a primary phase trapped within plagioclase in the garnet-rich layer and the occurrence of Cl-rich biotite(Cl = 0.22 -0.60 wt.%) in the metasomatic rock compared to that in pelitic(0.15 -0.24 wt.%) and mafic(0.06-0.13 wt.%) granulites suggest infiltration of brine fluid could have given rise to the high-temperature metasomatism. The fluid might have been derived from external sources possibly related to the formation of major suture zones formed during the Gondwana amalgamation.     

Relationship between time-series diatom fluxes in the central and western equatorial Pacific and ENSO-associated migrations of the Western Pacific Warm Pool

The water masses of the central and western equatorial Pacific can be divided into two parts: the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) and the Equatorial Upwelling Region (EUR). The behavior of the WPWP plays a significant role in global climate changes such as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), and it drastically modifies the oceanographic conditions in the area every few years. It is important to evaluate changes in time-series diatom fluxes during both the El Niño and the La Niña events. As a part of the Global Carbon Cycle and Related Mapping based on Satellite Imagery (GCMAPS) Program, time-series sediment trap moorings were deployed and recovered along the Equator at seven stations (Sites MT1–MT7) during five R/V Mirai cruises in the central and western Pacific during January 1999–January 2003. The entire length of this study is divided into two phases depending on the oceanographic conditions: the La Niña event (1999 and 2000); and the El Niño event (2002). Site MT3 was located in the WPWP and Sites MT5–MT7 were in the EUR. Annual means of total diatom fluxes increased towards the east in each year. The fluxes observed at Sites MT4–MT6 decreased from the La Niña event to the El Niño event. However, the fluxes observed at Site MT3 in 2001 and 2002 were higher than those in 2000. Total diatom fluxes showed different seasonal patterns at all sites. The diatom assemblages in the WPWP differed from those of the EUR. Pennate diatoms (e.g., Nitzschia bicapitata, Thalassionema nitzschioides) dominated in the WPWP, while the relative abundances of centric diatoms (e.g., Rhizosolenia bergonii, Azpeitia spp., Thalassiosira spp.) were higher than those of pennate diatoms in the EUR. The diatom fluxes during the La Niña event reflected seasonal oscillation of the WPWP in spatial extent. At Site MT3 during El Niño, terrestrial materials appeared to have been transported by subsurface currents, which might be a secondary influence on total diatom fluxes. The spatial extent of the WPWP reached Site MT7 in 2002, when total diatom fluxes decreased in the sediment traps located in the eastern region including Site MT7. Therefore, we conclude that the relationships between the ENSO and diatoms fluxes in the western and central equatorial Pacific can be explained by the geographic (west–east) expansion or contraction of the WPWP.     

The effect of pyridine treatment on phase Q: Orgueil and Allende

Marrocchi et al. (2005) reported that low‐temperature fractions of heavy noble gases were largely removed upon pyridine treatment of the Orgueil CI meteorite. As pyridine is known to induce the swelling of the macromolecular network of organic matter, they concluded that the low‐temperature phase Q is macromolecular organic carbon. However, Busemann et al. (2008) showed that pyridine had no significant effect on the noble gas contents for other very primitive meteorites, such as CM and CR. Therefore, we prepared an HF–HCl residue and the pyridine‐treated residue of Orgueil, and re‐examined the results of Marrocchi et al. (2005) by analyzing all noble gases. We confirmed that heavy noble gases are surely removed by the pyridine treatment, but the degree of the loss of heavy noble gases is generally small, and is even smaller for the lighter noble gases. Furthermore, we could not observe the evidence of Xe isotopic ratios by removing only phase Q after the pyridine treatment. We further prepared the HF–HCl residue and the pyridine‐treated residue of the Allende CV3 meteorite and performed noble gas analyses. For Allende, there is no significant change in the elemental abundances after the pyridine treatment. These results suggest that only Orgueil is special, and it is likely that the gas loss of the Orgueil residue is due to the loss of some kind of organic matter that was formed and that adsorbed the fractionated Q and HL gases during the aqueous alteration within the parent body of Orgueil.     

Compositional Variation of Hydrothermally Altered Volcanic Rocks in Hishikari Gold Epithermal System: A Useful Geochemical Indicator of Gold–Silver Epithermal Mineralization

The hydrothermally altered andesite hosting the Hishikari gold-silver vein deposits in southern Kyushu, Japan, is analyzed with respect to the spatial variation in chemical composition. The (CaO + Na₂O) content is found to be inversely correlated with the K₂O content as it progresses away from the site of mineralization. It was found that analytical data plotted on a (CaO + Na₂O) − K₂O diagram cannot be explained only by addition of K⁺ from the hydrothermal solution to the original rock and release of Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ from the original rock (K- alteration). Addition of Ca²⁺ and Na⁺ from the hydrothermal solution to the rock and release of K⁺ from the rock but release of K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Na⁺ to the hydrothermal solution (advanced argillic alteration) is important for causing the wide variations in K₂O, CaO, and Na₂O contents on the (CaO + Na₂O) − K₂O diagram. These variations can be explained by superimposed potassic, advanced argillic and calcium alterations. The altered rocks in the Honko-Sanjin area, Yamada area, and Masaki area analyzed by this study are characterized by their intermediate K₂O content and variable CaO content, high K₂O content and low CaO content, and low K₂O content and low CaO content, respectively. The K₂O, Na₂O and CaO contents and oxygen isotopic composition of altered andesite, in conjunction with the solubility of gold as a thio complex, suggest that both gold deposition and the observed compositional variation of altered andesite are the result of mixing between acidic groundwater and neutral gold-bearing hydrothermal solution. The present results indicate that the compositional variation of hydrothermally altered rocks may represent a useful geochemical indicator of epithermal gold–silver mineralization.     

Characteristics and Mineralization Age of the Fukusen No. 1 Vein,Hishikari Epithermal Gold Deposits,Southern Kyushu,Japan

The Fukusen No. 1 vein is located in the southeastern part of the Yamada deposit, Hishikari epithermal gold deposits, southern Kyushu, Japan. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of adularia from the margin and the center of the Fukusen vein are determined to be 0.617 ± 0.024 Ma and 0.606 ± 0.009 Ma, respectively. The Fukusen No. 1 vein shows banding structure composed mainly of quartz, adularia and clay minerals. Colloform texture is displayed by cryptocrystalline to amorphous silica material that is associated with fine-grained electrum and sulfides near the center of the vein. Pyrite in the Fukusen No. 1 vein often shows acicular shape resulting from inversion from marcasite. Near the center of the vein, primary marcasite occurs associated with colloform texture of silica. The Fukusen No.1 vein preserves primary texture and materials which were deposited from the ore-forming hydrothermal solution. The Fukusen No. 1 vein was formed in a short period and is one of the youngest veins in the Hishikari deposits.     

Temperature scaling pattern dependence on representative concentration pathway emission scenarios A letter

To preserve consistency among developed emission scenarios, the scenarios used in climate modeling, and the climate scenarios available for impact research, the pattern scaling technique is useful technique. The basic assumption of pattern scaling is that the spatial response pattern per 1 K increase in the global mean surface air temperature (SAT) (scaling pattern) is the same among emission scenarios, but this assumption requires further validation. We therefore investigated the dependence of the scaling pattern of the annual mean SAT on GHGs emission scenarios of representative concentration pathways (RCP) and the causes of that dependence using the Model for Interdisciplinary research on Climate 5 developed by Japanese research community. In particular, we focused on the relationships of the dependency with effects of aerosols and Atlantic meridional overturning circulation. We found significant dependencies of the scaling pattern on emission scenarios at middle and high latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere, with differences of >15 % over parts of East Asia, North America, and Europe. Impact researchers should take into account those dependencies that seriously affect their research. The mid-latitude dependence is caused by differences in sulfate aerosol emissions per 1 K increase in the global mean SAT, and the high-latitude dependence is mainly caused by nonlinear responses of sea ice and ocean heat transport to global warming. Long-term trends in land-use and land-cover changes did not significantly affect the scaling pattern of annual mean SAT, but they might have an effect at different timescales.     

Low and high frequency Madden–Julian oscillations in austral summer: interannual variations

The Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) is the main component of intraseasonal variability of the tropical convection, with clear climatic impacts at an almost-global scale. Based on satellite observations, it is shown that there are two types of austral-summer MJO events (broadly defined as 30–120 days convective variability with eastward propagation of about 5 m/s). Equatorial MJO events have a period of 30–50 days and tend to be symmetric about the equator, whereas MJO events centered near 8°S tend to have a longer period of 55–100 days. The lower-frequency variability is associated with a strong upper-ocean response, having a clear signature in both sea surface temperature and its diurnal cycle. These two MJO types have different interannual variations, and are modulated by the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD). Following a negative IOD event, the lower-frequency southern MJO variability increases, while the higher-frequency equatorial MJO strongly diminishes. We propose two possible explanations for this change in properties of the MJO. One possibility is that changes in the background atmospheric circulation after an IOD favour the development of the low-frequency MJO. The other possibility is that the shallower thermocline ridge and mixed layer depth, by enhancing SST intraseasonal variability and thus ocean–atmosphere coupling in the southwest Indian Ocean (the breeding ground of southern MJO onset), favour the lower-frequency southern MJO variability.     

Emission scenario dependencies in climate change assessments of the hydrological cycle

Anthropogenic global warming will lead to changes in the global hydrological cycle. The uncertainty in precipitation sensitivity per 1 K of global warming across coupled atmosphere-ocean general circulation models (AOGCMs) has been actively examined. On the other hand, the uncertainty in precipitation sensitivity in different emission scenarios of greenhouse gases (GHGs) and aerosols has received little attention. Here we show a robust emission-scenario dependency (ESD); smaller global precipitation sensitivities occur in higher GHG and aerosol emission scenarios. Although previous studies have applied this ESD to the multi-AOGCM mean, our surprising finding is that current AOGCMs all have the common ESD in the same direction. Different aerosol emissions lead to this ESD. The implications of the ESD of precipitation sensitivity extend far beyond climate analyses. As we show, the ESD potentially propagates into considerable biases in impact assessments of the hydrological cycle via a widely used technique, so-called pattern scaling. Since pattern scaling is essential to conducting parallel analyses across climate, impact, adaptation and mitigation scenarios in the next report from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, more attention should be paid to the ESD of precipitation sensitivity.     

Similarity solution for the interaction of the stellar wind with surrounding interstellar medium

Similarity solution for the interaction of stellar wind with surrounding interstellar medium is obtained on the base of momentum conservation. The conversion efficiency of kinetic energy of stellar wind into the kinetic energy of expanding shell is derived. The results are compared with the observations on the ring nebulae associated with the Wolf-Rayet star and it is shown that the observed values of energy conversion are in good agreement with the momentum conserving model.     

The first confirmed Perseid lunar impact flash

The first confirmed lunar impact flash due to a non-Leonid meteoroid is reported. The observed Perseid meteoroid impact occurred at 18^h28^m27^s on August 11, 2004 (UT). The selenographic coordinates of the lunar impact flash are 48±1° N and 72±2° E, and the flash had a visual magnitude of ca. 9.5 with duration of about 1/30 s. The mass of the impactor is estimated to have been 12 g based on a nominal model with conversion efficiency from kinetic to optical energy of 2×¹⁰⁻³. Extrapolation of a power law size-frequency distribution fitting the sub-centimeter Perseid meteoric particles to large meteoroids suggests that several flashes should have been observed at this optical efficiency. The detection of only one flash may indicate that the optical efficiency for Perseid lunar impact is much lower, or that the slope of the size distribution differs between large meteoroids and typical sub-centimeter meteoric particles.