On-going orogeny in the outer-arc of the Timor–Tanimbar region, eastern Indonesia

The Timor–Tanimbar islands of eastern Indonesia form a non-volcanic arc in front of a 7 km deep fore-arc basin that separates it from a volcanic inner arc. The Timor–Tanimbar Islands expose one of the youngest high P/T metamorphic belts in the world, providing us with an excellent opportunity to study the inception of orogenic processes, undisturbed by later tectonic events.Structural and petrological studies of the high P/T metamorphic belt show that both deformation and metamorphic grade increase towards the centre of the 1 km thick crystalline belt. Kinematic indicators exhibit top-to-the-north sense of shear along the subhorizontal upper boundaries and top-to-the-south sense in the bottom boundaries of the high P/T metamorphic belt. Overall configuration suggests that the high P/T metamorphic rocks extruded as a thin sheet into a space between overlying ophiolites and underlying continental shelf sediments. Petrological study further illustrates that the central crystalline unit underwent a Barrovian-type overprint of the original high P/T metamorphic assemblages during wedge extrusion, and the metamorphic grade ranged from pumpellyite-actinolite to upper amphibolite facies.Quaternary uplift, marked by elevation of recent reefs, was estimated to be about 1260 m in Timor in the west and decreases toward Tanimbar in the east. In contrast, radiometric ages for the high P/T metamorphic rocks suggest that the exhumation of the high P/T metamorphic belt started in western Timor in Late Miocene time and migrated toward the east. Thus, the tectonic evolution of this region is diachronous and youngs to the east. We conclude that the deep-seated high P/T metamorphic belt extrudes into shallow crustal levels as a first step, followed by doming at a later stage. The so-called ‘mountain building’ process is restricted to the second stage. We attribute this Quaternary rapid uplift to rebound of the subducting Australian continental crust beneath Timor after it achieved positive buoyancy, due to break-off of the oceanic slab fringing the continental crust. In contrast, Tanimbar in the east has not yet been affected by later doming. A wide spectrum of processes, starting from extrusion of the high P/T metamorphic rocks and ending with the later doming due to slab break-off, can be observed in the Timor–Tanimbar region.     

Inclusion-trail geometry of albite porphyroblasts in a fold structure in the Sambagawa Belt, central Shikoku, Japan

The orientation of straight inclusion trails within albite porphyroblasts from basic schists has been measured around a north-closure fold, in the Besshi district of the Sambagawa Belt, central Shikoku, Japan. The porphyroblasts are aligned with their longest dimension parallel to both the subhorizontal, east–west-directed mineral lineation and to the fold axis. There is a systematic variation in inclusion-trail geometry between the upper (northern) and lower (southern) fold limbs. The shear sense deduced from quartz c-axis fabrics is top-to-the-west in the upper limb and top-to-the-east in the lower limb. Based on observed variations in porphyroblast inclusion trails, the structural history can be modelled as follows: (i) shear flow caused east–west stretching and folding of the metamorphic zonation; (ii) east–west ductile shear resulted in opposing senses of shear in the upper and lower limbs as the eclogite body situated in the core of the fold was extruded to the east.     

Oxygen isotope fractionation factors between anhydrite and water from 100 to 550°C

Oxygen isotope exchange between anhydrite and water was studied from 100 to 550°C, using the partial equilibrium method. The exchange rate was extremely low in NaCl solution. In the lower-temperature range, acid solutions were used to produce sufficient reaction to determine the oxygen isotope fractionation factors. The fractionation factors obtained in the present study are definitely different from those given by Lloyd [8]. They are similar to those for the HSO₄^?-water system studied by Mizutani and Rafter [19], and are consistently 2‰ higher than those of the barite-water system by Kusakabe and Robinson [5]. The temperature dependence of the oxygen isotope fractionation factors was calculated by the least squares method in which the weight was taken to be inversely proportional to the experimental error. The fractionation is given by:10³lnαanhydrite-water=3.21×(10³/T)²?4.72Available δ¹⁸O values of natural anhydrite were used to test the validity of this expression. It is shown that this newly revised geothermometer can be successfully applied to natural hydrothermal anhydrite.     

Relations between load and settlement of circular foundations on or in a dense sand expressed by a function of diameter and depth

When load acts on a circular foundation on or in a dense sand, average contact pressure on the lower surface of the foundation is q and settlement of the foundation is s. Diameter and depth of the foundation are B and D_f. When the sand, B and D_f are given, we can know the relation between q and s/B by, e.g. a loading test, i.e. the relation is determined by B and D_f for the sand. Using the results of numerical analyses, we express a relation between q and s/B up to s=0.1B by functions of a single variable which is a linear combination of B and D_f. Consequently when two foundations have different B's and different D_f's but have the same value of the variable, the relations are the same. Then we examine whether the functions can express the results of eleven tests of model foundations of wide range of B and/or D_f. In all the tests, the relations are expressed with sufficient accuracy. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

CHEMICAL COMPOSITION,PETROGRAPHY AND MINERALOGY OF THE SHIBAYAMA CHONDRITE FOUND IN SHIBAYAMA-MACHI,SANBU-GUN,CHIBA-KEN,JAPAN

In April 1969, the chondrite was accidentally found in the side wall of the vegetable storage excavated at Shibayama-machi, Sanbu-gun, Chiba-ken, Japan, by Mr. A. Ishii and his grandson, Mr. S. Ito. The chondrite named Shibayama has been weathered thoroughly for a long period of burial underground. The bulk chemical composition, especially total Fe (21.41%) and ratios of Fe_total/SiO₂(0.557), SiO₂/MgO (1.59) and molar composition of olivine (Fa₂₃) and pyroxene (Fs₂₂) as well as mineral composition, indicate that Shibayama is a typical olivine-hypersthene chondrite. If the oxidized Fe is assumed only from metallic Fe, the original metallic Fe (7.75%) and Fe_metal/Fe_total(0.361) also support the above conclusion. From the well-recrystallized texture, indistinct and obliterated chondrule-matrix boundary, homogeneous composition of olivine and pyroxene, absence of igneous glass, and interstitial and well-developed plagioclase, this chondrite could be classified in petrologic type 6. Mosaic texture, kink bands, undulatory extinction of silicate grains and maskelynitization of plagioclase indicate that Shibayama suffered from a heavy shock effect, as is seen in other L-6 group chondrites.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon dating of quartz-bearing eclogite from the Sanbagawa Belt, south-west Japan: implications for metamorphic evolution of subducted protolith

In order to decipher the origin of eclogite in the high‐P/T Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, SHRIMP U–Pb ages of zircons from quartz‐bearing eclogite and associated quartz‐rich rock (metasandstone) were determined. One zircon core of the quartz‐rich rock yields an extremely old provenance age of 1899 ± 79 Ma, suggesting that the core is of detrital origin. Eight other core ages are in the 148–134 Ma range, and are older than the estimated age for trench sedimentation as indicated by the youngest radiolarian fossil age of 139–135 Ma from the Sanbagawa schists. Ages of metamorphic zircon rims (132–112 Ma) from the quartz‐rich rock are consistent with metamorphic zircon ages from the quartz‐bearing eclogite, indicating that eclogite facies metamorphism peaked at 120–110 Ma. These new data are consistent with both the Iratsu eclogite body and surrounding highest‐grade Sanbagawa schists undergoing coeval subduction‐zone metamorphism, and subsequent re‐equilibration under epidote amphibolite facies conditions during exhumation.     

A magnetization process of sediments: laboratory experiments on post-depositional remanent magnetization

Summary. Palaeomagnetic studies require a theory of magnetization mechanism of sediments and a method of estimating magnetic field intensity from their remanences. This paper establishes a physical basis for the generation of the remanence in deep-sea and lake sediments experimentally.
Redeposition experiments have been carried out under centrifugal force in weak magnetic fields. The centrifuging method produces post-depositional remanent magnetization (post-DRM) in the compacted sediment, and its remanence and susceptibility are compatible with those of natural sediments and reconstituted materials of other redepositional experiments. Three properties of the post-DRM have been deduced from the experiments: (1) the efficiency of acquisition of post-DRM decreases with increase in density during the compaction process, (2) the total post-DRM is equal to the sum of the partial post-DRM (addition law), and (3) time is not a substantial factor for alignment of the magnetic particles. These results lead to the conclusions that the magnetic particles do not rotate steadily but in a series of steps, and that the density change is the crucial factor giving rise to the post-DRM.
A mathematical formula representing the remanence record in sediments is proposed on the basis of the experimental results and the model. The principal equation is expressed as an integral of the product of three parameters over time when sediments have been compacted; the field intensity variation, characteristic function of the sediment and the time derivative of the density change.     

Preliminary observation of missing energy flux of sunspot

We have searched for the missing energy flux of the sunspot by measuring white-light photographs over the region around the sunspots exceeding ten times of the diameter of spots. It was found that the excess brightness amounts to 0.3–0.8% of the local continuum intensity immediately beyond the penumbra and smoothly decrease to zero at the edge of our inspected radii of 130 000–160000km. This result suggests that the flux deficit in sunspots of the order of 30% over the umbra-penumbra is roughly the same as the excess flux found in the very large surrounding region which includes photospheric facular contributions. Among nineteen spots fourteen showed this extended bright ring. Narrow band photoelectric scans revealed that the excess radiation originates in the continuum, not from weakened absorption lines.     

Microbial responses using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to oil and chemical dispersant in enclosed ecosystems

Microbial responses to the addition of oil with or without a chemical dispersant were examined in mesocosm and microcosm experiments by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of bacterial ribosomal DNA and direct cell counting. When a water-soluble fraction of oil was added to seawater, increases in cell density were observed in the first 24h, followed by a decrease in abundance and a change in bacterial species composition. After addition of an oil-dispersant mixture, increases in cell density and changes in community structure coincided, and the amount of bacteria remained high. These phenomena also occurred in response to addition of only dispersant. Our results suggest that the chemical dispersant may be used as a nutrient source by some bacterial groups and may directly or indirectly prevent the growth of other bacterial groups.