Sea water weathering effect on K-Ar age of submarine basalts

K-Ar dating and ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar step heating experiments have been done for successive zones from the surface to the interior in two, altered dredged submarine basalts (16-2-6 and Aries V-23). The K contents show a systematic decrease (surface to the interior), whereas the K-Ar ages show a similar decrease in one sample (16-2-6) and almost no change in the other (Aries V-23).A simple diffusion model suggests that the K content decreases systematically from the surface to the interior, whereas the K-Ar age decreases or remains almost constant, depending on whether the times of solidification and of commencement of K-diffusion are close to each other or differ significantly. Comparison of the observed K content and K-Ar age variations within the rocks with the theoretical model then suggests that the solidification age of the sample Aries V-23 is much older than the commencement of the potassium-diffusion, the latter age perhaps being represented by the Eocene planktonic foraminifera on this sample. The ⁴⁰Ar-³⁹Ar isochron age obtained for the freshest specimen of Aries V-23 is 86.6 ± 3.7 m.y., supporting the above conclusion.The mathematical simulation indicates that an apparent concordance of the K-Ar age observed in some submarine basalts may be an artifact, only reflecting the significant gap between the solidification age and the time of the commencement of the K-diffusion in the rocks. Microprobe examination reveals that the potassium enrichment in the outer margin, is mainly due to K feldspar, which is an alteration product of plagioclase.     

Smectite-Zeolite Envelope Surrounding the Tsukiyoshi Uranium Deposit, Central Japan: A Natural Analogue Study

Abstract. The Tsukiyoshi uranium deposit in Gifu Prefecture is the largest one in Japan. It is embedded in lower part of the Mizunami Group of Miocene age. Relating to the existence of this uranium deposit, the constituent minerals in sediments were studied by XRD and SEM, using many drilling cores. The most abundant authigenic mineral is smectite. The amount of smectite increases generally from upper to lower horizons, and a highly smectitized zone is situated around the uranium deposit. Smectitization predominated in mafic glassy grains of sediments, which was probably formed in early burial diagenesis. Zeolites including clinoptilolite-heulandite, mordenite, analcime, chabazite and philipsite are secondly abundant authigenic minerals. They seem to have been formed at early to late diagenetic stages. Opaline silica is rather rare. Carbonate minerals, including cal-cite, dolomite, siderite and rhodochrosite are common. They may be formed by diagenesis as well. Gypsum and pyrite occur in upper horizons and lower horizons, respectively. In particular, a highly smectitized zone including pyrite probably played an important role for retarding the migration of uranium and as a result keeping the uranium deposit for past one million years. This smectite-zeolite envelope surrounding the Tsukiyoshi uranium deposit is regarded as a natural analogue of the buffer materials surrounding the high-level radioactive waste repository.     

Decomposition of Phytoplankton in Seawater. Part I: Kinetic Analysis of the Effect of Organic Matter Concentration

Decomposition experiments were conducted on cultured phytoplankton (Skeletonema costatum) in seawater containing decomposer and consumer of size less than 500 μm. We determined the decomposition rates of bulk particulate organic matter (POM), the ratio of labile to semi-refractory fractions in the POM, and the POM carbon/ nitrogen (C/N) ratio during decomposition. To identify the kinetic mechanisms involved in the reactions of different order (e.g., first- and second-order), we studied the sensitivity of reaction rates to the initial concentration of POM, ranging from 2.4 to 71 mg-C L⁻¹. The results showed that decomposition consists of two first-order reactions: decomposition of labile and of semi-refractory particulate organic carbon (POC). The decomposition rate constants found for labile (0.13 day⁻¹ at 20°C), and semi-refractory POC (0.008 day⁻¹ at 20°C), and the carbon weight ratio of semi-refractory POC (13% at 20°C), were insensitive to the initial organic matter concentration. The time-dependence of the C/N ratio was also independent of this initial concentration. The decomposition rate constants and the content of semi-refractory POC did not change, regardless of the absence or presence of 25–500 μm organisms in natural seawater. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Geochronological and petrological investigations of Miocene felsic igneous rocks in the Amakusa Islands,southwest Japan: Possible extension of the Setouchi Volcanic Belt

The opening of the Japan Sea led to the separation of southwest Japan from the Eurasian continent. Subsequent to this event, a diverse range of igneous activities occurred in southwest Japan. On the back-arc side of the region, igneous activity commenced at approximately 22 Ma and persisted for an extended period. In the trench-proximal region of southwest Japan, magmatism initiated around 15.6 Ma, immediately following the cessation of the Japan Sea opening, in correlation with the subduction of the Philippine Sea plate beneath southwest Japan. The Amakusa Islands in western Kyushu host felsic to intermediate igneous rocks with Miocene radiometric ages. There has been a debate regarding the attribution of the igneous rocks in Amakusa Island among the Miocene igneous rocks in southwest Japan. To address this issue, we conducted zircon U–Pb dating and analyzed the major- and trace-element compositions of felsic igneous rocks in the Amakusa Islands to elucidate their characteristics. The obtained U–Pb ages range from 14.5 to 14.8 Ma, suggesting contemporaneity between magmatism in the Amakusa Islands and the Setouchi Volcanic Rocks in the trench-proximal region of southwest Japan. The major and trace element compositions of the felsic igneous rocks exhibit similarities to the dacites of the Setouchi Volcanic Rocks. These findings support previous suggestions that the magmatism in the Amakusa Islands can be correlated with the Setouchi Volcanic Rocks, based on the discovery of a high-Mg andesite dike and paleo-stress analysis utilizing the direction of dikes and sills. Therefore, the Setouchi Volcanic Belt is proposed to extend further west than the previously identified Ohno volcanic rocks in eastern Kyushu. The subduction of the Shikoku Basin of the Philippine Sea plate toward western Kyushu supports the hypothesis that the Kyushu-Palau Ridge was positioned west of Kyushu at ~15 Ma.     

Matching Martian crustal magnetization and magnetic properties of Martian meteorites

Abstract— Magnetic properties of 26 (of 32) unpaired Martian meteorites (SNCs) are synthesized to further constrain the lithology carrying Martian magnetic crustal sources. Magnetic properties of ultramafic cumulates (i.e., Chassigny, Allan Hills [ALH] 84001) and lherzolitic shergottites (ALH 77005, Lewis Cliff [LEW] 88516) are one or two orders of magnitude too weak to account for the crustal magnetizations, assuming magnetization in an Earth‐like field. Nakhlites and some basaltic shergottites, which are the most magnetic SNCs, show the right intensity. Titanomagnetite is the magnetic carrier in the nakhlites (7 meteorites), whereas in most basaltic shergottites (11 meteorites) it is pyrrhotite. Dhofar (Dho) 378, Los Angeles, and NWA 480/1460 and 2046 are anomalous basaltic shergottites, as their magnetism is mainly due to titanomagnetite. Pyrrhotite should be among the candidate minerals for the magnetized Noachian crust.     

Damage to coastal villages due to the 1992 Flores Island earthquake tsunami

A field survey of the 1992 Flores Island earthquake tsunami was conducted during December 29, 1992 to January 5, 1993 along the north coast of the eastern part of Flores Island. We visited over 40 villages, measured tsunami heights, and interviewed the inhabitants. It was clarified that the first wave attacked the coast within five minutes at most of the surveyed villages. The crust was uplifted west of the Cape of Batumanuk, and subsided east of it. In the residential area of Wuring, which is located on a sand spit with ground height of 2 meters, most wooden houses built on stilts collapsed and 87 people were killed even though the tsunami height reached only 3.2 meters. In the two villages on Babi Island, the tsunami swept away all wooden houses and killed 263 of 1,093 inhabitants. Tsunami height at Riang-Kroko village on the northeastern end of Flores Island reached 26.2 meters and 137 of the 406 inhabitants were killed by the tsumani. Evidence of landslides was detected at a few points on the coast of Hading Bay, and the huge tsunami was probably formed by earthquake-induced landslides. The relationship between tsunami height and mortality was checked for seven villages. The efficiencies of trees arranged in front of coastal villages, and coral reefs in dissipating the tsunami energy are discussed.     

Magnetite/Ilmenite–series Classification and Magnetic Susceptibility of the Mesozoic-Cenozoic Batholiths in Peru

Abstract: Plutonic rocks of the Coastal Batholith of Peru were evaluated in terms of the granitoid-series classification using the bulk ferric/ferrous ratio from the literature and new measurements of magnetic susceptibility. The batholith is largely composed of magnetite-series plutonic rocks; the magnetite series make up 85% by number of chemical analyses (n=130) and 80% by measurement of magnetic susceptibility (n=210). The ilmenite-series rocks are mostly found in the felsic facies of the batholith. Asymmetrical distribution of magnetic susceptibility is not clear as in the Japanese Islands and Peninsular Range Batholith, but the magnetic susceptibility may decreases continentward (i. e., Peninsular Range type).
The Cordillera Blanca Batholith and stocks are also composed of mainly magnetite series plutonic rocks, but ilmenite-series rocks may be more predominant than in the Coastal Batholith, which is also indicated by the presence of Sn and W mineralizations.     

云南禄丰早侏罗世一新的原蜥脚类恐龙

云南禄丰下侏罗统下禄丰组产出一新的原蜥脚类孙氏细细坡龙(Xixiposaurus suni gen.et sp.nov.),其特征为:侧视头骨背缘向前强烈倾斜,下颌高度大于齿骨最小高度的两倍,颈椎体中第四颈椎体最长,耻骨裙宽度大于肠骨的耻骨突,股骨第四转子侧视具有V形切口。其系统位置比较进步,是禄丰发现的原蜥脚类中最进步的一种。     

Robust and exploratory analysis of active mesoscale tectonic zones in Japan utilizing the nationwide GPS array

A monitoring GPS array recently developed in Japan can yield nationwide maps of active inland tectonic zones (ATZs) on a mesoscale, approximately 70 to several hundred kilometers in lateral extent. But it has been difficult to characterize ATZs in Japan, as they are in fact operational on multiple scales and our efforts are often hindered by various irregularities in the data. The key to overcoming these problems would be to gain an insight into the available data before any precise kinematic modeling is performed with indefinite assumptions. In this study, horizontal velocity fields, deduced from the nationwide GPS array, were treated with a set of techniques in robust smoothing and exploratory data analysis that brought out exceptionally powerful mesoscale ATZs, and made them easier to characterize. The resolved ATZs were then retrospectively monitored to study their regional and temporal variations, using a set of approx. 840 observation stations, about 30 km apart, for a 4-year series of fixed observation time-intervals, 810 days each. The smoothing operation involved three steps: (1) imputation of the velocity fields for the purpose of anti-aliasing, (2) robust smoothing of the velocity fields with the median operative, and (3) visualization of deformation-rate distributions in several coordinate independent parameters, and post-filtering. The geometrical resolvability of mesoscale ATZs was confirmed by calibrating the smoothing scheme against synthetic tectonic boundary models before it was applied to the case study in Japan. ATZs in Japan, which are essentially visible as systematic deviations in the velocity fields on the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF) and as strain rate anomalies, were highlighted sharply along some known tectonic zones, chains of active volcanoes, and areas above low seismic velocity anomalies in the crust and upper mantle, all of which generally paralleled the offshore trench axes. The geometrical agreements among the mapped ATZs and the physical anomalies in the crust are presumably due to their common structural weakness on the mesoscale. In the four main islands of Japan, all but 30–40% of the strain rate anomalies persisted during the entire 6 years of the case study period, while the rest sporadically appeared or disappeared in a period from several months to a few years. The transient shifts in the deformation rates were remarkably synchronous with some nearby major tectonic episodes: large earthquakes and slow events. Differential plate coupling strengths along the subduction zones can also be inferred from the persistent pattern of rotational strain rate anomalies forming clockwise and counterclockwise pairs along the Pacific. Our empirical observations suggest that the first-order features of interseismic crustal deformations in Japan can be characterized as collateral processes behaving in response to fluctuations of the tectonic stresses on multiple scales, likely influenced by changes of plate coupling strengths on the contiguous subduction faults.