An efficient method to compute the dynamic response of a fluid-filled crack

The vibration of a fluid-filled crack is considered to be one of the most plausible source mechanisms for the long-period events and volcanic tremors occurring around volcanoes. As a tool for the quantitative interpretation of source process of such volcanic seismic signals, we propose a method to numerically simulate the dynamic response of a fluid-filled crack. In this method, we formulate the motions of the fluid inside and the elastic solid outside of the crack, using boundary integrals in the frequency domain and solve the dynamic interactions between the fluid and the elastic solid using the point collocation method. The present method is more efficient compared with the time-domain finite difference method, which has been used in simulations of a fluid-filled crack and enables us to study the dynamics of a fluid-filled crack over a wide range of physical parameters. The method also allows us direct calculation of the attenuation quality factor of the crack resonance, which is an indispensable parameter for estimating the properties of the fluid inside the crack. The method is also designed to be flexible to many applications, which may be encountered in volcano seismology, and thus, extensions of the method to more complicated problems are promising.     

Petrographic features of a high-temperature granite just newly solidified magma at the Kakkonda geothermal field, Japan

A 3729-m-deep geothermal research well, WD-1a, provides us with a unique opportunity to study initial petrographic features of a high-temperature granite just after solidification of magma. The well succeeded in collecting three spot-cores of the Kakkonda Granite that is a pluton emplaced at a shallow depth and regarded as a heat source of the active Kakkonda geothermal system. The core samples were collected at the present formation temperatures of 370, 410 and over 500°C. These samples are granodiorite to tonalite consisting mainly of plagioclase, quartz, hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar. A sample collected at a formation temperature of over 500°C possesses the following remarkable petrographic features compared to the other two samples. Interstitial spaces are not completely sealed. K-feldspar exhibits no perthite by the exsolution of albite lamella. Quartz includes glassy melt inclusions without devitrification. Hornblende is less intensively altered to actinolite, and biotite is not altered. This study directly confirmed that perthite in K-feldspar is a recrystallization texture formed at 410–500°C based on a comparison of the in situ temperatures of the samples. Chemical compositions of minerals were analyzed to compare temperatures determined from geothermometers in several publications to the in situ temperatures of the samples.     

Importance of feeding on regenerable parts of prey for juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus in estuarine habitats

Prey availability is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of nursery grounds. Estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for juvenile stone flounder, but the mechanism behind the consistently high availability of prey has never been examined. This study investigates which prey is mainly selected by juvenile stone flounder (15–55 mm standard length) in the estuary of the Natori River, northern Japan. In a cage experiment, juveniles showed positive selection for the palps of the spionid polychaete Pseudopolydora kempi in March, and for the siphons of the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea in April, May and June in both sandy and muddy-sand habitats. This selective predation showed that sublethal predation on regenerable parts of invertebrates is important for stone flounder. Nuttallia olivacea, the dominant bivalve in the estuary, was more abundant and in better somatic condition in the sandy area in spite of the stronger siphon-cropping pressure by juvenile stone flounder. These results confirm that sublethal predation on highly abundant benthos plays an important role in forming estuarine habitats into areas of high prey availability for juvenile stone flounder, which leads to their high growth rate.     

The Tiger Sulfide Chimney,Yonaguni Knoll IV Hydrothermal Field,Southern Okinawa Trough,Japan: The First Reported Occurrence of Pt–Cu–Fe‐Bearing Bismuthinite and Sn‐Bearing Chalcopyrite in an Active Seafloor Hydrothermal System

A sulfide chimney ore sampled from the flank of the active Tiger vent area in the Yonaguni Knoll IV hydrothermal field, south Okinawa trough, consists of anhydrite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, chalcopyrite and bismuthinite. Electron microprobe analysis indicates that the chalcopyrite contains up to 2.4 wt% Sn, whereas bismuthinite contains up to 1.7 wt% Pt, 0.8 wt% Cu and 0.5 wt% Fe. The Sn‐rich chalcopyrite and Pt–Cu–Fe‐bearing bismuthinite are the first reported occurrence of such minerals in an active submarine hydrothermal system. The results confirm that Sn enters the chalcopyrite as a solid solution towards stannite by the coupled substitution of Sn⁴⁺Fe²⁺ for Fe³⁺Fe³⁺, whereas Pt, Cu and Fe enter the bismuthinite structure as a solid solution during rapid nucleation. The fluid inclusions homogenization temperatures in anhydrite (220–310°C) and measured end‐member temperature of the vent fluids on‐site (325°C) indicate that Sn‐bearing chalcopyrite and Pt–Cu–Fe‐bearing bismuthinite express the original composition of the minerals that precipitated as metastable phases at a temperature above 300°C. The result observed in this study implies that sulfides in ancient volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits have similar trace element distribution during nucleation but it is remobilised during diagenesis, metamorphism or supergene enrichment processes.     

Mesoscale eddy effects on temporal variability of surface chlorophyll a in the Kuroshio Extension

We investigated the relationship between chlorophyll a (Chl-a) concentrations estimated from satellite observations and the activity of eddies in the Kuroshio Extension region. High (low) area-averaged Chl-a concentrations were frequently observed in the core of cyclonic (anticyclonic) eddies. Such relationships between Chl-a concentrations and eddy cores were not frequently observed in the southern part of the recirculation gyre, and advection of background meridional gradient of Chl-a by eddy-edge currents accounted for Chl-a spatial variability. Decadal-scale changes of Chl-a concentrations around the Kuroshio Extension were strongly affected by eddy activity and transport but not by large-scale near-surface isopycnal heaving. We also found that decadal changes of nutrient concentrations near the main stream could affect Chl-a concentrations in the southern part of the recirculation gyre via southward transport of eddies and mean flow.     

Upwelling of oxygen-depleted water (Sumishio) in Omura Bay,Japan

Wind-induced circulation and the distribution of hypoxia corresponding to the upwelling of oxygen-depleted water (called “Aoshio” in Japan and “Sumishio” locally in Omura Bay) in Omura Bay, Japan, was examined field observations and by three-dimensional modeling. During the calm weather in summer, well-mixed strait water, in rich oxygen at the mouth of the bay intruded into the middle layer of the bay, southward and northward along the west and east coast, respectively, forming basin-scale cyclonic circulation. A stagnant water mass was formed below the center of this cyclonic circulation, and it became hypoxic water. As a result of the prevailing strong southeast (northeast) wind, the bottom hypoxia moved in a southeasterly (northeasterly) direction. This induces the upwelling of hypoxic water, accompanied by mass mortality of marine organisms.     

Isotopic composition of gas hydrates in subsurface sediments from offshore Sakhalin Island, Sea of Okhotsk

Hydrate-bearing sediment cores were retrieved from recently discovered seepage sites located offshore Sakhalin Island in the Sea of Okhotsk. We obtained samples of natural gas hydrates and dissolved gas in pore water using a headspace gas method for determining their molecular and isotopic compositions. Molecular composition ratios C₁/_C2+ from all the seepage sites were in the range of 1,500–50,000, while δ¹³C and δD values of methane ranged from ?66.0 to ?63.2‰ VPDB and ?204.6 to ?196.7‰ VSMOW, respectively. These results indicate that the methane was produced by microbial reduction of CO₂. δ¹³C values of ethane and propane (i.e., ?40.8 to ?27.4‰ VPDB and ?41.3 to ?30.6‰ VPDB, respectively) showed that small amounts of thermogenic gas were mixed with microbial methane. We also analyzed the isotopic difference between hydrate-bound and dissolved gases, and discovered that the magnitude by which the δD hydrate gas was smaller than that of dissolved gas was in the range 4.3–16.6‰, while there were no differences in δ¹³C values. Based on isotopic fractionation of guest gas during the formation of gas hydrate, we conclude that the current gas in the pore water is the source of the gas hydrate at the VNIIOkeangeologia and Giselle Flare sites, but not the source of the gas hydrate at the Hieroglyph and KOPRI sites.     

Analysis of RC slab–beam–column sub‐assemblages subjected to bidirectional lateral cyclic loading using a new 3D macroelement

An existing two‐dimensional macroelement for reinforced concrete beam–column joints is extended to a three‐dimensional macroelement. The three‐dimensional macroelement for beam–column joints consists of six rigid interface plates and uniaxial springs for concrete, steel, and bond–slip, which model the inside of a beam–column joint. The mechanical models for the materials and the stiffness equation for the springs are also presented. To validate the model, we used test results from three slab–beam–column sub‐assemblages subjected to bi‐lateral cyclic load. It is revealed that the new joint model is capable of capturing the strength of beam–column joints and the bidirectional interaction in joint shear response, including the concentration of damage in the beam–column joint, the pinching nature in hysteretic behavior, the stiffness degradation, and strength deterioration resulting from cyclic and bidirectional loading. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.