Mass distribution of Antarctic ordinary chondrites and the estimation of the fall-to-specimen ratios

Abstract— The cumulative mass distributions (mass range > 100 g) of each type of Japanese and U.S. Antarctic ordinary chondrites are compared with those of non-Antarctic falls and those obtained from the present-day flux of meteorites. The steeper slope of the mass distribution of Antarctic chondrites is indicative of the presence of several chondrite showers. The fall-to-specimen ratio of Antarctic ordinary chondrites larger than 100 g is about 1:2, indicating that half of them are shower components. The fall-to-specimen ratios of each group range from 1:1 to 1:6; those of the Japanese and U.S. Antarctic meteorite collections are 1:1 to 1:2 and 1:4 for H chondrites, 1:1 to 1:2 and 1:2 for L chondrites, and 1:2 and 1:6 for LL chondrites, indicating that the Japanese collection includes less abundant shower components than the U.S. collection. The fall-to-specimen ratios of each H4-6 and L4-6 type range from 1:1 to 1:4, and U.S. H6 and Japanese H4 have the low ratios of 1:4.     

On measuring settlement by magnetic method at any depth

Abstract

When artificial islands are constructed, they are subject to surface subsidence, which is the resultant sum of the consolidation strata, many of which seem differ in character. When these strata are soft and thick, or heavily loaded, it becomes very difficult to estimate how much settlement will eventually take place, and over how long a period. For the estimate to be accurate, the settlement characteristics of each layer must first be determined.

For this purpose, the authors have investigated a new method of measuring settlement, based on two unique principles. One principle is the application of a permanent magnet as an indicator of settlement, and the other is the exploitation of semiconductor, magneto‐resistance elements for detecting the magnetic fields. In advance of the observation, the magnets are forced into the earth, being pushed out through the bore‐hole casing by the oil jack at suitable depths and intervals. The small‐sized magneto‐resistance element is essential to the practicality and efficiency of this method.

In this study, the principles of this method, measuring procedure, the special characteristics and potential of this system, and the results of field trials are described.     

Storage conditions of Bezymianny Volcano parental magmas: results of phase equilibria experiments at 100 and 700 MPa

The crystallization sequence of a basaltic andesite from Bezymianny Volcano, Kamchatka, Russia, was simulated experimentally at 100 and 700 MPa at various water activities (aH₂O) to investigate the compositional evolution of residual liquids. The temperature (T) range of the experiments was 950–1,150 °C, aH₂O varied between 0.1 and 1, and the log of oxygen fugacity (fO₂) varied between quartz–fayalite–magnetite (QFM) and QFM + 4.1. The comparison of the experimentally produced liquids and natural samples was used to constrain the pressure (P)–T–aH₂O–fO₂ conditions of the Bezymianny parental magma in the intra-crustal magma plumbing system. The phase equilibria constraints suggest that parental basaltic andesite magmas should contain ~2–2.5 wt% H₂O; they can be stored in upper crustal levels at a depth of ~15 km, and at this depth they start to crystallize at ~1,110 °C. The subsequent chemical evolution of this parental magma most probably proceeded as decompressional crystallization occurred during magma ascent. The final depths at which crystallization products accumulated prior to eruption are not well constrained experimentally but should not be shallower than 3–4 km because amphibole is present in natural magmas (>150 MPa). Thus, the major volume of Bezymianny andesites was produced in a mid-crustal magma chamber as a result of decompressional crystallization of parental basaltic andesites, accompanied by mixing with silicic products from the earlier stages of magma fractionation. In addition, these processes are complicated by the release of volatiles due to magma degassing, which occurs at various stages during magma ascent.     

Marine artificial structures as amplifiers of Aurelia aurita s.l. blooms: a case study of a newly installed floating pier

Increase of marine artificial structures, providing more substrate for jellyfish polyps, has been argued to increase jellyfish outbreaks, although no explicit evidence exists. We report a case study demonstrating a remarkable increase of Aurelia aurita s.l. ephyrae after the installation of a floating pier (48 × 6 m) in a fishing port on the Inland Sea of Japan. Monitoring of ephyrae from January 2010, prior to the installation of the floating pier in April 2010, to July 2011, revealed that their time-weighted average density increased 3.5 fold, from 1.1 to 3.9 ephyrae m^?3, and the integrated number of ephyrae exported from the port increased 4.3 fold, from 5.7 × 10⁶ to 25 × 10⁶ ephyrae, after the installation. However, in a nearby port, a control site, the abundance of ephyrae decreased by ca. one third during the same period. Monitoring of polyps showed that they initially colonized the undersurface of the pier by August 2010, followed by a rapid population increase. They strobilated from December 2010 to May 2011. We computed the number of ephyrae released from the strobilae to be ca. 25 × 10⁶, very close to the net increase of ephyrae produced and exported from the port. This study corroborates that the installation of an artificial structure provides new a substrate for polyps, which allows them to produce more ephyrae to induce medusa blooms.     

The unequilibrated enstatite chondrites

The enstatite chondrites formed under highly reducing (and/or sulfidizing) conditions as indicated by their mineral assemblages and compositions, which are sharply different from those of other chondrite groups. Enstatite is the major silicate mineral. Kamacite is Si-bearing and the enstatite chondrites contain a wide variety of monosulfide minerals that are not present in other chondrite groups. The unequilibrated enstatite chondrites are comprised of two groups (EH3 and EL3) and one anomalous member (LEW 87223), which can be distinguished by differences in their mineral assemblages and compositions. EH3 chondrites have >1.8 wt.% Si in their kamacite and contain the monosulfide niningerite (MgS), whereas EL3 chondrites have less than 1.4 wt.% Si in their kamacite and contain the monosulfide alabandite (MnS). The distinct mineralogies, compositions and textures of E3 chondrites make comparisons with ordinary chondrites (OCs) and carbonaceous chondrites (CCs) difficult, however, a range of recrystallization features in the E3s are observed, and some may be as primitive as type 3.1 OCs and CCs. Others, especially the EL3 chondrites, may have been considerably modified by impact processes and their primary textures disturbed. The chondrules in E3 chondrites, although texturally similar to type I pyroxene-rich chondrules, are sharply different from chondrules in other chondrite groups in containing Si-bearing metal, Ca- and Mg–Mn-rich sulfides and silica. This indicates formation in a reduced nebular environment separate from chondrules in other chondrites and possibly different precursor materials. Additionally the oxygen isotope compositions of E3 chondrules indicate formation from a unique oxygen reservoir. Although the abundance, size distribution, and secondary alteration minerals are not always identical, CAIs in E3 chondrites generally have textures, mineral assemblages and compositions similar to those in other groups. These observations indicates that CAIs in O, C and E chondrites all formed in the reservoir under similar conditions, and were redistributed to the different chondrite accretion zones, where the secondary alteration took place. Thus, chondrule formation was a local process for each particular chondrite group, but all CAIs may have formed in the similar nebular environment. Lack of evidence of water (hydrous minerals), and oxygen isotope compositions similar to Earth and Moon suggest formation of the E chondrites in the inner solar system and make them prime candidates as building blocks for the inner planets.     

Rejuvenated extension of the Philippine Sea plate and its effect on subduction dynamics in the Nankai Trough

The Nankai Trough, Japan, is a subduction zone characterized by the recurrence of disastrous earthquakes and tsunamis. Slow earthquakes and associated tremor also occur intermittently and locally in the Nankai Trough and the causal relationship between slow earthquakes and large earthquakes is important to understanding subduction zone dynamics. The Nankai Trough off Muroto, Shikoku Island, near the southeast margin of the rupture segment of the 1946 Nankai earthquake, is one of three regions where slow earthquakes and tremor cluster in the Nankai Trough. On the Philippine Sea plate, the rifting of the central domain of the Shikoku Basin was aborted at ~15 Ma and underthrust the Nankai forearc off Muroto. Here, the Tosa-Bae seamount and other high-relief features, which are northern extension of the Kinan Seamount chain, have collided with and indented the forearc wedge. In this study, we analyzed seismic reflection profiles around the deformation front of accretionary wedge and stratigraphically correlated them to drilling sites off Muroto. Our results show that the previously aborted horst-and-graben structures, which were formed around the spreading center of the Shikoku Basin at ~15 Ma, were rejuvenated locally at ~6 Ma and more regionally at ~3.3 Ma and have remained active since. The reactivated normal faulting has enhanced seafloor roughness and appears to affect the locations of slow earthquakes and tremors. Rejuvenated normal faulting is not limited to areas near the Nankai Trough, and extends more than 200 km into the Shikoku Basin to the south. This extension might be due to extensional forces applied to the Philippine Sea plate, which appear to be driven by slab-pull in the Ryukyu and Philippine trenches along the western margin of the Philippine Sea plate.     

Formation of tonalite from basaltic magma at the Komahashi-Daini Seamount,northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge in the Philippine Sea,and growth of Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana arc crust

Tonalitic rocks dredged from the Komahashi-Daini Seamount, northern Kyushu-Palau Ridge are classified as biotite-hornblende tonalites and hornblende tonalites. These rocks have radiometric ages of 37-38 Ma, indicating that felsic plutonic activity occurred during the early stages of Izu-Ogasawara (Bonin)-Mariana (IBM) arc volcanism. Therefore, this tonalite complex has great importance for understanding the initial processes of island arc and continental crust formation. These tonalitic rocks exhibit the following petrological and geochemical characteristics: (1) common lamellar twins and oscillatory zoning patterns in plagioclase phenocrysts throughout the compositional range; (2) hornblende tonalite shows parallel REE patterns and increasing total REE content with increasing SiO₂, except for an increasingly strong negative Eu anomaly at higher SiO₂ levels; and (3) isotopic composition remains constant over a wide silica variation. We compare this tonalite with younger tonalities of the same arc from the Tanzawa Complex (10-5 Ma), central Japan, considered to represent the lower-middle crust of the IBM arc, and find the following differences: (1) cumulate textures found in Tanzawa tonalites are not observed in samples from the Komahashi-Daini Seamount; and (2) Komahashi-Daini Seamount tonalites, unlike those from Tanzawa, exhibit linear variations of Zr and REEs vs. SiO₂ plots. These data and other observations support the interpretation that tonalite in the Komahashi-Daini Seamount was produced by crystal fractionation from basaltic magma. We suggest that fractional crystallization operated during the early stage of oceanic island arc formation to produce tonalite, whereas tonalities in later stages formed largely by partial melting of basaltic lower crust, as represented by the tonalites in the Tanzawa Complex.     

Evidence for ocean water invasion into the Chicxulub crater at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary

Abstract The possibility of ocean water invasion into the Chicxulub crater following the impact at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary was investigated based on examination of an impactite between approximately 794.63 and 894.94 m in the Yaxcopoil‐1 (Yax‐1) core. The presence of cross lamination in the uppermost part of the impactite suggests the influence of an ocean current at least during the sedimentation of this interval. Abundant occurrence of nannofossils of late Campanian to early Maastrichtian age in the matrices of samples from the upper part of the impactite suggests that the carbonate sediments deposited on the inner rim margin and outside the crater were eroded and transported into the crater most likely by ocean water that invaded the crater after its formation. The maximum grain size of limestone lithics and vesicular melt fragments, and grain and bulk chemical compositions show a cyclic variation in the upper part of the impactite. The upward fining grain size and the absence of erosional contact at the base of each cycle suggest that the sediments were derived from resuspension of units elsewhere in the crater, most likely by high energy currents association with ocean water invasion.     

Outline of the fault zone drilling project by NIED in the vicinity of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, Japan

Abstract Three boreholes, 1001 m, 1313 m and 1838 m deep, were drilled by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED) in the vicinity of the epicenter of the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu (Kobe) earthquake to investigate tectonic and material characteristics near and in active faults. Using these boreholes, an integrated study of the in situ stress, heat flow, and material properties of drill cores and crustal resistivity was conducted. In particular, the Nojima–Hirabayashi borehole was drilled to a depth of 1838 m and directly intersected the Nojima Fault, and three possible fault strands were detected at depths of 1140 m, 1313 m and 1800 m. Major results obtained from this study include the following: (i) shear stress around the fault zone is very small, and the orientation of the maximum horizontal compression is perpendicular to the surface trace of faults; (ii) from the results of a heat flow study, the lower cut-off depth of the aftershocks was estimated to be roughly 300°C; (iii) cores were classified into five types of fault rocks, and an asymmetric distribution pattern of these fault rocks in the fracture zones was identified; (iv) country rock is characterized by a very low permeability and high strength; and (v) resistivity structure can be explained by a model of a fault extending to greater depths but with low resistivity.     

Terrestrial heat flow at Hirabayashi on Awaji Island, south-west Japan

Abstract Terrestrial heat flow at Hirabayashi in Awaji Island, south-west Japan, was investigated using the deep borehole penetrating through the Nojima Fault, which was activated during the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake, by measuring the thermal conductivity of basement rocks. Using the temperature logging data, the value of terrestrial heat flow in Hirabayashi was found to be 56.6 ± 5.2 mW/m². The relationship between cut-off depth of aftershocks of the Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake in Hirabayashi and terrestrial heat flow are discussed. The cut-off depth roughly corresponds to isotherms of 300°C.