Neodymium isotopic variations in Northwest Pacific waters

Four vertical profiles of the concentration and isotopic composition of Nd in seawater were obtained in the western North Pacific. Two profiles from the Kuroshio Current regime showed congruently that although the Nd concentration increases gradually with depth, its isotopic composition varies significantly with depth depending upon the water mass occupying the water column. The high-salinity Kuroshio waters originating from the North Pacific Tropical Water (NPTW) carry the least radiogenic Nd (?_Nd = −7.4 to −8.7) to this region at ∼250 m from the western margin continental shelves, most likely from the East China Sea. The Nd isotopic compositions in the North Pacific Intermediate Water (NPIW) that occurs at 600 to 1000 m in the subtropical region are fairly uniform at ?_Nd = −3.7. The profile data from the ∼38° to 40°N Kuroshio/Oyashio mixed water region off Sanriku of Honshu, Japan, also suggest that the newest NPIW with ?_Nd = −3.2 is formed there by the mixing of various source waters, and the radiogenic component of Nd is derived mainly from the Oyashio waters.In the Pacific Deep Water (PDW) below ∼1000 m, the Nd isotopic composition is neither vertically nor horizontally homogeneous, suggesting that it serves as a useful tracer for sluggish deep water circulation as well. Two profiles from the Izu-Ogasawara Trench showed a minimum ?_Nd value at ∼2000 m, suggesting that there exists a horizontal advective flow in the vicinity of Honshu, Japan. There is some evidence from other chemical properties to support this observation. The waters below 4000 m including those within the trench in the subtropical region have ?_Nd values of around −5, suggesting that the deep waters are fed from the south along the western boundary, ultimately from the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the South Pacific. This extends up to ∼40°N along the Japanese Islands. In the subarctic region (>∼42°N), the waters have more radiogenic Nd with ?_Nd > −4.0 throughout the water column, presumably due to the supply of Nd by weathering in such igneous provinces as the Kuril-Kamchatska-Aleutian Island chain. The lateral inhomogeneity of the Nd isotopic composition in PDW suggests that there may be different circulation and mixing regimes in the North Pacific Basin.     

A practical method for estimating dynamic soil stiffness on surface of multi‐layered soil

It is important to estimate the influence of layered soil in soil–structure interaction analyses. Although a great number of investigations have been carried out on this subject, there are very few practical methods that do not require complex calculations. In this paper, a simple and practical method for estimating the horizontal dynamic stiffness of a rigid foundation on the surface of multi‐layered soil is proposed. In this method, waves propagating in the soil are traced using the conception of the cone model, and the impulse response function can be calculated directly and easily in the time domain with a good degree of accuracy. The characteristics of the impedance, that is the transformed value to the frequency domain of the obtained impulse response, are studied using two‐ to four‐layered soil models. The cause of the fluctuation of impedance is expressed clearly from its relation to reflected waves from the lower layer boundary in the model. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rare Earth, Major and Trace Elements in the Kunimiyama Ferromanganese Deposit in the Northern Chichibu Belt, Central Shikoku, Japan

Abstract. Rare earth, major and trace element geochemistry is reported for the Kunimiyama stratiform ferromanganese deposit in the Northern Chichibu Belt, central Shikoku, Japan. The deposit immediately overlies greenstones of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) origin and underlies red chert. The ferromanganese ores exhibit remarkable enrichments in Fe, Mn, P, V, Co, Ni, Zn, Y and rare earth elements (excepting Ce) relative to continental crustal abundance. These enriched elements/ Fe ratios and Post-Archean Average Australian Shale-normalized REE patterns of the ferromanganese ores are generally analogous to those of modern hydrothermal ferromanganese plume fall-out precipitates deposited on MOR flanks. However in more detail, Mn and Ti enrichments in the ferromanganese ores are more striking than the modern counterpart, suggesting a significant contribution of hydrogenetic component in the Kunimiyama ores. Our results are consistent with the interpretation that the Kunimiyama ores were umber deposits that primarily formed by hydrothermal plume fall-out precipitation in the Panthalassa Ocean during the Early Permian and then accreted onto the proto-Japanese island arc during the Middle Jurassic. The presence of strong negative Ce anomaly in the Kunimiyama ores may indicate that the Early Permian Panthalassa seawater had a more striking negative Ce anomaly due to a more oxidizing oceanic condition than today.     

Upwelling of Deep-seated Fluid in the Sikhote-Alin Region,Far East of the Eurasian Plate

Aquatic Geochemistry - Spring waters with high-pCO2 content are widely distributed in the Sikhote-Alin region in Russia. Mukhen spa is one such spring located in the northern Sikhote-Alin region....     

A PRELIMINARY ANALYSIS ON THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE KUROSHIO FRONTAL EDDY IN THE EAST CHINA SEA IN SPRING

The Kuroshi'o front eddy's surface and sectional isothermal distribution characteristics were analyzed on the basis of observation data obtained in April 13-16 of 1989 in the East China Sea. It was found from the similarity between these isothermal distributions with those in January and beginning of June for the years 1986-1990 that the Kuroshio front eddy often occurred from March to the beginning of June. The Kuroshio front eddy movement in the East China Sea in spring was along two routes: the Okinawa Trough route, and the continental shelf slope route. The two moving routes both in the surface layer and in the section are described, their causes are discussed, and differences are compared.     

Dynamic slope stability analyses with a non-linear finite element method

A new technique is presented with which to investigate slope stability during strong earthquake motion. This technique is based on a non-linear finite element method that uses a joint element to express non-linear behaviour and the progressive failure of a slope. Joint elements are arranged at every interface between soil elements. Accordingly, each soil element is allowed to move in directions parallel, perpendicular and rotational to neighbouring elements; consequently, they express the sliding and separation at any interface between the soil elements. The method was used to investigate the stability of an existing slope during strong earthquake motions. Preliminary static analyses were made, and their results were compared with results obtained with Janbu's method in order to check the validity of our proposed method. The dynamic analyses also took into account the material non-linearity of the soil. The process of progressive failure was examined for a slope whose material constants are known. The influence of input excitations on slope stability is discussed in detail. The method also has been used to assess the effectiveness of a countermeasure used to prevent slope failure.     

Origin of high-magnesian andesites in the Setouchi volcanic belt,southwest Japan,I. Petrographical and chemical characteristics

High-magnesian andesites of middle Miocene age occur in southwest Japan, forming an obvious volcanic belt. These andesites have low FeO*/MgO ratios (0.546–0.931), and are rich in Ni (101–312 ppm), Co (30.0–45.1 ppm), and Cr (208–756 ppm). They are relatively aphyric (phenocrysts <10 vol.%), and the phenocrysts of magnesian olivine (～Fo₈₈) are in equilibrium with the host high-magnesian andesite magmas on the basis of the Fe-Mg exchange partitioning. These features suggest that the high-magnesian andesites are not differentiated or accumulative; they appear to represent primary andesites generated in the upper mantle. These southwest Japanese high-magnesian andesites are rich in incompatible elements, and show light rare earth enrichment relative to boninites, suggesting that the former is derived from a less depleted mantle source than the latter.     

Why is Shirase Glacier turning its flow direction eastward?

We applied an image correlation method to Japanese Earth Resources Satellite-1 (JERS-1) synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data obtained from 1996 to 1998 to examine flow velocity within Shirase Glacier, Antarctica. From the grounding line to the downstream region of the glacier, the obtained ice-flow velocity was systematically higher on the western streamline than the eastern. The differences between the two streamlines were 0.31 km/a in 1996 and 0.37 km/a in 1998, significantly larger than the error estimate of 0.03 km/a. The direction of ice flow was about 312° at the grounding line and changed to 327° at 10 km, 346° at 20 km and 2° at 30 km downstream from the grounding line. The total accumulated deflection is 50° to the east. Under the assumption of the conservation of ice mass across the glacier, the observed eastward change in flow direction can be explained by an asymmetric deepening of bedrock topography, that is, across the 8 km width of the glacier, the eastern side is 50 m (10%) deeper than the western side. This eastward turning of flow direction appears to be accelerated by tributary inlets, that flow to the north and northeast at 60–75% of the velocity of inlets on the western streamline.