Calcium distribution patterns in alkali feldspar in a quartz syenite from Oki-Dozen, southwest Japan

Summary Microscopically alkali feldspar in a quartz syenite from Oki-Dozen, Japan, consists of clear and turbid areas. Clear areas occur in the interiors of feldspar grains and are cryptoperthitic. Film microperthites are developed with turbidity in the rims, and mosaic microperthites are developed with turbidity in the interiors and in the rims. Turbidity is attributed to the presence of abundant micropores. The chemical compositions of pristine clear feldspars are around Or₃₃Ab₆₄An₃. The interior microperthitic feldspars have lower An content than the clear feldspars. Some areas of the clear and microperthitic feldspars in the interiors are poor in calcium. In contrast, the microperthitic rims contain almost no calcium. The zonal patterns of calcium-rich cores and calcium-poor rims are very distinct in almost all feldspar grains. The overall calcium distribution patterns suggest a secondary calcium-depletion from the feldspars during hydrothermal or deuteric reactions. The development of Or-rich veins transversing feldspar grains and rim albite is consistent with this model. Calcium distribution patterns in alkali feldspar provide new and useful information on processes during geologic events.

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Calcium-Verteilung in Alkalifeldspat eines Quarz-Syenites von Oki-Dozen, Südwest-Japan

Zusammenfassung Mikroskopisch zeigt Alkalifeldspat aus einem Quarz-Syenit von Oki-Dozen, Japan, klare und trübe Bereiche. Die klaren Bereiche treten in den inneren Zonen von Feldspatkörnern auf und sind kryptoperthitisch. Die getrübten Ränder sind Film-Mikroperthite während Mosaik-Perthite Trübung in Kern-und Randbereichen zeigen. Die Trübung ist auf die Anwesenheit zahlreicher Mikroporen zurückzuführen. Die chemische Zusammensetzung der ursprünglichen klaren Feldspäte ist etwa Or₃₃Ab₆₄An₃. Die Kerne der mikroperthitischen Feldspäte haben niedrigere An-Gehalte als die klaren Feldspäte. Im Unterschied führen die Mikroperthit-Ränder kein Kalzium. Die Zonierungsmuster, d.h. Ca-reiche Kerne und Ca-arme Ränder, sind sehr typisch für alle Feldspäte. Die generelle Ca-Verteilung weist auf eine sekundäre Ca-Verarmung der Feldspäte im Zuge hydrothermaler oder deuterischer Prozesse hin. Die Bildung Orreicher Gängehen, die die Feldspatkörner durchsetzen und von Albiträndern stimmen mit diesem Modell überein. Die Ca-Verteilungsmuster in Alkalifeldspat erlauben somit Einblicke in und geben nützliche Informationen über geologische Prozesse.

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With 7 Figures     

Similarity solutions of the Cauchy problem of horizontal flow of water through porous media for experimental determination of diffusivity

An experimental method for determining diffusivity is studied by using similarity solutions of the Cauchy problem of horizontal flow of water through homogeneous porous media. The theoretical justification of the method is presented by applying a mathematical theorem recently derived by Van Duyn. Some important aspects of data analysis are discussed by using actual experimental data.     

Numerical forecasting of the time interval between successive M8 earthquakes along the Nankai Trough,southwest Japan,using ocean bottom cable network data

One possible approach to estimating the time interval between large-scale Tōnankai (Tōkai) and Nankai earthquakes on the Japan arc is sequential assimilation of crustal deformation data. We conducted numerical modeling of sequential assimilation using surface deformation calculated from earthquake generation cycle simulations along the Nankai Trough. To account for observation noise, we used measured ocean bottom pressure gauge data, excluding tidal modulation, from a station on the ocean bottom cable network Dense Oceanfloor Network System for Earthquakes and Tsunamis in the Kumano basin. We used sequential importance sampling as our data assimilation method. We found that as the amount of data increased, the estimated time interval between the Tōnankai and Nankai earthquakes approached the “true” observed interval. In addition, the noise in the pressure gauge data was sufficiently small that simulated crustal deformation patterns could be distinguished for different time intervals.     

The role of sticky interstellar organic material in the formation of asteroids

Abstract— Collision experiments and measurements of viscoelastic properties were performed involving an interstellar organic material analogue to investigate the growth of organic grains in the protosolar nebula. The organic material was found to be stickiest at a radius of between 2.3 and 3.0 AU, with a maximum sticking velocity of 5 m s^?1 for millimeter‐size organic grains. This stickiness is considered to have resulted in the very rapid coagulation of organic grain aggregates and subsequent formation of planetesimals in the early stage of the turbulent accretion disk. The planetesimals formed in this region appear to be represent achondrite parent bodies. In contrast, the formation of planetesimals at <2.1 and >3.0 AU begins with the establishment of a passive disk because silicate and ice grains are not as sticky as organic grains.     

Particular solutions to the problem of vertical flow of water and air through porous media near a water table

Particular solutions to the problem of vertical flow of water and air through homogeneous porous media are derived and the regularity properties of the solutions are presented. It is found that under certain conditions a singularity occurs in the solutions at the water table, though it is not certain whether or not a singularity always occurs. Effects of air flow on water flow are discussed.     

Relationship of topography to surface water chemistry with particular focus on nitrogen and organic carbon solutes within a forested watershed in Hokkaido,Japan

We studied the relationships between streamwater chemistry and the topography of subcatchments in the Dorokawa watershed in Hokkaido Island, northern Japan, to examine the use of topography as a predictor of streamwater chemistry in a watershed with relatively moderate terrain compared with other regions of Japan. Topographic characteristics of the Dorokawa watershed and its subcatchments were expressed as topographic index (TI) values, which ranged from 4·5 to 20·4 for individual grid cells (50 × 50 m²), but averaged from 6·4 to 7·4 for the 20 subcatchments. Streamwater samples for chemical analyses were collected four times between June and October 2002 from 20 locations in the watershed. The pH of water that passed through the watershed increased from ～5·0 to 7·0, with major increases in Na⁺ and Ca²⁺ and marked decreases in NO₃^? and SO . Distinctive spatial patterns were observed for dissolved organic carbon (DOC), dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), and NO₃^? concentrations of streamwater across the watershed. Statistical analyses indicated significant linear relationships between the average TI values of subcatchments and DOC, DON, and NO₃^? concentrations. Furthermore, the proportion of DOC in streamwaters in the wet season increased with TI values relative to other nitrogen species, whereas NO₃^? concentrations decreased with TI. The gradients of soil wetness and the presence of wetlands explained many of the observed spatial and temporal patterns of DOC, DON, and NO₃^? concentrations in the surface waters of the Dorokawa watershed. Our results suggest that the TI is especially useful for predicting the spatial distribution of DOC, DON and NO₃^? in the surface waters of Hokkaido, where topographical relief is moderate and wetlands more common than in other regions of Japan. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rutile inclusions in garnet from a dissolution‐reprecipitation mechanism

Metamorphic garnet commonly contains needle‐like rutile inclusions as well as equant rutile inclusions that surround quartz inclusions and range in size from submicrometer to nanometer. Although the origin of these equant rutile inclusions, that is, exsolution or non‐exsolution, has important implications for petrological and tectonic processes, the crystallographic characteristics of these inclusions have rarely been studied because of the small sizes and analytical difficulties involved. Here, we report the crystallographic characteristics pertinent to the genetic origin of minute equant rutile inclusions in cloudy, nearly spherically shaped garnet domains with Ti‐depleted compositions surrounding quartz inclusions in ultrahigh‐pressure garnet from several diamondiferous Erzgebirge quartzofeldspathic gneissic rock samples. TEM analyses show that the equant rutile crystals in cloudy garnet domains are partially bounded by the low‐energy {100}_rt ± {110}_rt ± {101}_rt facets and have rather random crystallographic orientation relationships (CORs) with the garnet host, with preferential alignment of low‐energy lattice planes, for example, {100}_rt//{112}_grt, for some rutile crystals. Although the rather random CORs are unlikely to be attributed to solid‐state exsolution subjected to the stringent topotactic garnet lattice constraints, the characteristic subhedral {100}_rt ± {110}_rt ± {101}_rt crystal forms of rutile can be rationalized by a metasomatic dissolution‐reprecipitation mechanism via a fluid phase. In this scenario, the quartz+fluid inclusions in garnet were first subjected to decompression microcracking during rock exhumation, followed by dissolution of Ti‐bearing garnet matrix at the crack tips or along the crack surfaces and subsequent reprecipitation of rutile, apatite, gahnite, akdalaite, and Ti‐depleted garnet. The rapid coalescence between rutile and garnet crystals in fluid or direct attachment of rutile crystals onto the dissolving crack surfaces would then yield the rather random CORs as reported here. These results, along with previous work on rutile needles, indicate rather diverse genesis of rutile inclusions in various crystal forms, thus shedding light on the controversial exsolution origin for other inclusion suite/microstructure in minerals.     

Decadal change in the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation

A decadal change in activity of the boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation (BSISO) was identified at a broad scale. The change was more prominent during August–October in the boreal summer. The BSISO activity during 1999–2008 (P2) was significantly greater than that during 1984–1998 (P1). Compared to P1, convection in the BSISO was enhanced and the phase speed of northward-propagating convection was reduced in P2. Under background conditions, warm sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in P2 were apparent over the tropical Indian Ocean and the western tropical Pacific. The former supplied favorable conditions for the active convection of the BSISO, whereas the latter led to a strengthened Walker circulation through enhanced convection. This induced descending anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean. Thermal convection tends to be suppressed by descending anomalies, whereas once an active BSISO signal enters the Indian Ocean, convection is enhanced through convective instability by positive SST anomalies. After P2, the BSISO activity was weakened during 2009–2014 (P3). Compared to P2, convective activity in the BSISO tended to be inactive over the southern tropical Indian Ocean in P3. The phase speed of the northward-propagating convection was accelerated. Under background conditions during P3, warmer SST anomalies over the maritime continent enhance convection, which strengthened the local Hadley circulation between the western tropical Pacific and the southern tropical Indian Ocean. Hence, the convection in the BSISO over the southern tropical Indian Ocean was suppressed. The decadal change in BSISO activity correlates with the variability in seasonal mean SST over the tropical Asian monsoon region, which suggests that it is possible to predict the decadal change.