Enrichment of alkanes within a phytoplankton bloom during an in situ iron enrichment experiment in the western subarctic Pacific

During the Subarctic Pacific Iron Experiment for Ecosystem Dynamics Study ΙΙ (SEEDS-II), we monitored variations in the concentrations of non-methane hydrocarbons (NMHCs), CH₃Cl, N₂O, and CH₄ within a phytoplankton bloom. Stable isotopic compositions were also determined to evaluate the sources of the variations. Although there was little variation in either the concentrations or the stable isotopic compositions of alkenes, CH₃Cl, N₂O, and CH₄ during the 23-day observation period, alkane concentrations increased substantially as the phytoplankton bloomed. The column-integrated quantities of alkanes increased to 3 times pre-bloom levels for C₂H₆, 5 times for C₃H₈, and 20 times for n-C₄H₁₀. The δ¹³C values of both C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ remained almost constant while concentrations increased, whereas that of n-C₄H₁₀ increased by about 12‰. To evaluate the sources of the alkanes produced during the bloom, we compared their δ¹³C values with those of alkanes produced in axenic phytoplankton cultures in our laboratory. We concluded that during the SEEDS-ΙΙ experiment the major portions of C₂H₆ and C₃H₈ were produced during the autolysis of diatoms cells, whereas n-C₄H₁₀ was produced during autolysis of other phytoplankton cells such as cryptophytes and dinoflagellates.     

Seasonal change of oceanographic conditions and chlorophyll <Emphasis Type="Italic">a</Emphasis> vertical distribution in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea during the non-iced season

Seasonal changes in oceanographic conditions related to primary productivity was investigated in the southwestern Okhotsk Sea during non-iced seasons, using the observation data conducted in 2000∼2006. Based on hydrographic characteristics, the studied area could be classified into two regions, the Coastal Region which is influenced under the Soya Warm Current and the Forerunner Water of the Soya Warm Current, and the Offshore Region where the Intermediate Cold Water was located in the subsurface layer. This study is the first report on seasonal change of nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations in the offshore region of the southwestern Okhotsk Sea. Variability of concentrations of chlorophyll a and nutrients is temporally and regionally high in the Coastal Region. The maximum chlorophyll a concentration in April was observed at the surface layer of both regions. The most remarkable feature on the vertical structure in the Offshore Region was the consistent existence of the Intermediate Cold Water and the development of seasonal thermocline in the subsurface layer during summer and autumn. The stratification formed within the euphotic zone in the Offshore Region resulted in the formation of the subsurface chlorophyll a maximum (SCM) from May to October. Throughout the research period, although less amplitude of nutrients at the surface was observed in the Coastal Region than that in the Offshore Region, comparable amplitude of chlorophyll a concentration was observed between regions. These results suggested differences of environmental conditions for primary production between the two regions. Depending on the presence of SCM, relationships between chlorophyll a concentration at the sea surface and chlorophyll a standing stock within the euphotic layer were different. At most stations with SCM, the surface chlorophyll a concentration was lower than 0.6 mg m-3. This suggests that the presence of SCM and the chlorophyll a standing stock within the euphotic layer may be estimated using the surface chlorophyll a concentration from spring to autumn in the studied area.     

Geology,Alteration, and Mineralization of the Kay Tanda Epithermal Gold Deposit,Lobo, Batangas,Philippines

The Kay Tanda epithermal Au deposit in Lobo, Batangas is one of the Au deposits situated in the Batangas Mineral District in southern Luzon, Philippines. This study aims to document the geological, alteration, and mineralization characteristics and to determine the age of the mineralization, the mechanism of ore deposition, and the hydrothermal fluid characteristics of the Kay Tanda deposit. The geology of Kay Tanda consists of (i) the Talahib Volcanic Sequence, a Middle Miocene dacitic to andesitic volcaniclastic sequence that served as the host rock of the mineralization; (ii) the Balibago Diorite Complex, a cogenetic intrusive complex intruding the Talahib Volcanic Sequence; (iii) the Calatagan Formation, a Late Miocene to Early Pliocene volcanosedimentary formation unconformably overlying the Talahib Volcanic Sequence; (iv) the Dacite Porphyry Intrusives, which intruded the older lithological units; and (v) the Balibago Andesite, a Pliocene postmineralization volcaniclastic unit. K‐Ar dating on illite collected from the alteration haloes around quartz veins demonstrated that the age of mineralization is around 5.9 ± 0.2 to 5.5 ± 0.2 Ma (Late Miocene). Two main styles of mineralization are identified in Kay Tanda. The first style is an early‐stage extensive epithermal mineralization characterized by stratabound Au‐Ag‐bearing quartz stockworks hosted at the shallower levels of the Talahib Volcanic Sequence. The second style is a late‐stage base metal (Zn, Pb, and Cu) epithermal mineralization with local bonanza‐grade Au mineralization hosted in veins and hydrothermal breccias that are intersected at deeper levels of the Talahib Volcanic Sequence and at the shallower levels of the Balibago Intrusive Complex. Paragenetic studies on the mineralization in Kay Tanda defined six stages of mineralization; the first two belong to the first mineralization style, while the last four belong to the second mineralization style. Stage 1 is composed of quartz ± pyrophyllite ± dickite/kaolinite ± diaspore alteration, which is cut by quartz veins. Stage 2 is composed of Au‐Ag‐bearing quartz stockworks associated with pervasive illite ± quartz ± smectite ± kaolinite alteration. Stage 3 is composed of carbonate veins with minor base metal sulfides. Stage 4 is composed of quartz ± adularia ± calcite veins and hydrothermal breccias, hosting the main base metal and bonanza‐grade Au mineralization, and is associated with chlorite‐illite‐quartz alteration. Stage 5 is composed of epidote‐carbonate veins associated with epidote‐calcite‐chlorite alteration. Stage 6 is composed of anhydrite‐gypsum veins with minor base metal mineralization. The alteration assemblage of the deposit evolved from an acidic mineral assemblage caused by the condensation of magmatic volatiles from the Balibago Intrusive Complex into the groundwater to a slightly acidic mineral assemblage caused by the interaction of the host rocks and the circulating hydrothermal waters being heated up by the Dacite Porphyry Intrusives to a near‐neutral pH toward the later parts of the mineralization. Fluid inclusion microthermometry indicates that the temperature of the system started to increase during Stage 1 (T = 220–250°C) and remained at high temperatures (T = 250–290°C) toward Stage 6 due to the continuous intrusion of Dacite Porphyry Intrusives at depth. Salinity slightly decreased toward the later stages due to the contribution of more meteoric waters into the hydrothermal system. Boiling is considered the main mechanism of ore deposition based on the occurrence of rhombic adularia, the heterogeneous trapping of fluid inclusions of variable liquid–vapor ratios, the distribution of homogenization temperatures, and the gas ratios obtained from the quantitative fluid inclusion gas analysis of quartz. Ore mineral assemblage and sulfur fugacity determined from the FeS content of sphalerite at temperatures estimated by fluid inclusion microthermometry indicate that the base metal mineralization at Kay Tanda evolved from a high sulfidation to an intermediate sulfidation condition.     

Fluid Inclusion and Stable Isotope Study at the Southeastern Martabe Deposit: Purnama,Barani and Horas Ore Bodies,North Sumatra,Indonesia

The Martabe Au–Ag deposit, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia, is a high sulfidation epithermal deposit, which is hosted by Neogene sandstone, siltstone, volcanic breccia, and andesite to basaltic andesite of Angkola Formation. The deposit consists of six ore bodies that occurred as silicified massive ore (enargite–luzonite–pyrite–tetrahedrite–tellurides), quartz veins (tetrahedrite–galena–sphalerite–chalcopyrite), banded sulfide veins (pyrite–tetrahedrite–sphalerite–galena) and cavity filling. All ore bodies are controlled by N–S and NW–SE trending faults. The Barani and Horas ore bodies are located in the southeast of the Purnama ore body. Fluid inclusion microthermometry, and alunite‐pyrite and barite‐pyrite pairs sulfur isotopic geothermometry show slightly different formation temperatures among the ore bodies. Formation temperature and salinity of fluid inclusions of the Purnama ore body range from 200 to 260 C and from 6 to 8 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. Formation temperature and salinity of fluid inclusions of the Barani ore body range from 200 to 220 °C and from 0 to 2.5 wt.% NaCl equivalent and those of the Horas ore body range from 240 to 275 °C and from 2 to 3 wt.% NaCl equivalent, respectively. The Barani and Horas ore bodies are less silicified and sulfides are less abundant than the Purnama ore body. A relationship between enthalpy and chloride content indicates mixing of hot saline fluids with cooler dilute fluids during the mineralization of each of the ore bodies. The δ¹⁸O values of quartz samples from the southeast ore bodies exhibit a wide range from +4.2 to +12.9‰ with an average value of +7.0‰. The δ¹⁸O values of H₂O estimated from δ¹⁸O values of quartz, barite and calcite confirm the oxygen isotopic shift to near meteoric water trend, which support the incorporation of meteoric water. Salinity of the fluid inclusions decrease from >5 wt.% NaCl equivalent in the Purnama ore body to <3 wt.% NaCl equivalent in the Barani ore body, indicating different fluid systems during mineralization. The δ³⁴S values of sulfide and sulfate in Purnama range from ? 4.2 to +5.5‰ and from +1.2 to +26.7‰, those in the Barani range from ? 4.3 to +26.4‰ and from +3.9 to +18.5‰ and those in the Horas ore body range from ? 11.8 to +3.5‰ and from +1.4 to +25.7‰, respectively. The δ³⁴S of total bulk sulfur in southeastern ore bodies (Σδ³⁴S) was estimated to be approximately +6‰. The estimated sulfur fugacity during formation of the Purnama and Horas ore bodies is relatively high. It was between 10^?4.8 and 10^?10.8 atm at 220 to 260 °C. Tellurium fugacity was between 10^?7.8 and 10^?9.5 atm at 260 °C and between 10^?9 and 10^?10.6 atm at 220 °C in the Purnama ore body. The Barani ore body was formed at lower fS₂, lower than about 10^?14 atm at 200 to 220 °C based on the presence of arsenopyrite and pyrrhotite in the early stage, and between 10^?14 and 10^?12 atm based on the existence of enargite and tennantite in the last stage. © 2016 The Society of Resource Geology     

Abel inversion for deriving refractivity profile from down-looking GPS radio occultation: simulation analysis

Down-looking (DL) Global Positioning System (GPS) radio occultation can produce an estimate of the atmospheric refractivity profile. The main observations are the bending angle as a function of the impact parameter. DL provides both negative as well as positive elevation angle measurements. Abel inversion can be operated on a profile of partial bending angle found by subtracting the positive elevation measurement from the negative one with the same impact parameter. Abel inversion requires the spherical symmetrical assumption. Basically, partial bending calculation removes the ionospheric bending and hence it is possible to use a single frequency GPS receiver. The current paper introduces a simulation data for the case of a receiver on mountain top. The simulation uses model refractivity from MSISE-90 model as well as radiosonde data. Random noises are added to the bending angle profile before inversion. The result shows that it is possible to produce accurate vertical refractivity profile below the receiver altitude. The calculation of the water vapor profile is also made using temperature profile information from the MSISE-90 model as well as radiosonde. The errors in the retrieved vapor profile are always less than 0.1?mbar.     

Amplification of semidiurnal internal tide observed in the outer part of Tokyo Bay

Monitoring using a thermistor array and an acoustic Doppler current profiler was carried out in the outer part of Tokyo Bay from May 20 to November 30, 2006. Current fluctuations with tidal periods were amplified during the maximum temperature period in early September. The strong current interfered with fishing operations using set nets. Although the current fluctuation was speculated to be baroclinic motion from a phase relationship among fluctuations of temperature, current and sea level, empirical orthogonal function analysis showed the dominance of a barotropic structure. Such a discrepancy in the current structure was explained by an internal tide propagating along a deep canyon in the outer part of Tokyo Bay. Furthermore, amplification of the semidiurnal internal tide and the warming of the temperature field were found to be induced by the intrusion of Kuroshio warm water. The amplification mechanism was examined using a two-dimensional model with idealized topography. It was concluded that the large amplitude of the semidiurnal internal tide is resonantly generated in the deep canyon in the outer Tokyo Bay when stratification becomes strong and the period of the internal seiche approaches the semidiurnal period.     

Epithermal Gold Mineralization in the Trenggalek District,East Java,Indonesia

Gold‐mineralized quartz veins at the Trenggalek district of the Southern Mountains Range in East Java, Indonesia, are hosted by Oligo‐Miocene volcaniclastic and volcanic rocks, and are distributed close to andesitic plugs in the northern prospects (Dalangturu, Suruh, Jati, Gregah, Jombok, Salak, and Kojan) and the southern prospects (Sentul and Buluroto). The plugs are subalkaline tholeiitic basaltic‐andesite to calc‐alkaline andesite in composition. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating of a quartz‐adularia vein at the Dalangturu prospect yielded an age of 16.29 ± 0.56 Ma (2σ), and a crystal tuff of a limestone‐pyroclastic rock sequence at the southwest of the Dalangturu prospect was determined as 15.6 ± 0.5 Ma (2σ). Statistic overlap of ages suggests that the gold mineralization in the northern prospects took place in a shallow marine to subaerial transitional environment. Hydrothermal alteration of the host rocks is characterized by the replacement of quartz, illite and adularia. Quartz veins in surface outcrops are up to 50 cm wide in the northern prospects and up to 3 m wide in the southern prospects, showing a banded or brecciated texture, and are composed of quartz, adularia, carbonates with pyrite, electrum, sphalerite, galena, and polybasite. Gold contents of quartz veins are positively correlated with Ag, Zn, Pb, and Cu contents in both the northern and southern prospects. The quartz veins at the Jati, Gregah, and Sentul prospects have relatively lower gold‐silver ratios (Ag/Au = 23.2) compared to those at the Kojan, Dalangturu, Salak, and Suruh prospects (Ag/Au = 66.8). The quartz veins at the Dalangturu prospect are relatively rich in base metal sulfides. Ag/(Au+Ag) ratios of electrum in the Dalangturu prospect range from 45.2 to 65.0 at%, and FeS contents of sphalerite range from 1.2 to 6.4 mol%. Fluid inclusion microthermometry indicates ore‐forming temperatures of 190–200°C and 220–230°C at the Sentul and Kojan prospects, respectively. Widely variable vapor/liquid ratio of fluid inclusions indicates that fluid boiling took place within the hydrothermal system at the Sentul prospect. Salinities of ore‐fluids range from 0 to 0.7 wt% (av. 0.4 wt% NaCl equiv.) and from 0.5 to 1.4 wt% (av. 0.9 wt%) for the Sentul and Kojan prospects, respectively. The boiling of hydrothermal fluid was one of the gold deposition mechanisms in the Sentul prospect.     

Study of the structure of silica film by infrared spectroscopy and electron diffraction analyses

Amorphous silicon oxide films have been studied on the basis of electron diffraction (ED) analyses and infrared (IR) spectroscopy in order to elucidate the relationship between the structures. After the heat treatment of the film in air at 300 and 500°C, the ED pattern showed halo rings, and the IR spectra clearly changed. Intensity analysis of the ED pattern provided evidence for the structural change of the amorphous film. It was concluded that the spectral changes in the ranges of 9.2–10.2, 12.5–13.5 and 19.5–22.5 μm were the result of phase transitions of the microcrystallites of α-cristobalite to β-cristobalite, and α- or β-quartz. Astrophysical implications have been discussed.