Emplacement of subaerial pahoehoe lava sheet flows into water: 1990 Kūpaianaha flow of Kilauea volcano at Kaimū Bay, Hawai`i

Episode 48 of the ongoing eruption of Kilauea, Hawai`i, began in July 1986 and continuously extruded lava for the next 5.5 years from a low shield, Kūpaianaha. The flows in March 1990 headed for Kalapana and inundated the entire town under 15–25 m of lava by the end of August. As the flows advanced eastward, they entered into Kaimū Bay, replacing it with a plain of lava that extends 300 m beyond the original shoreline. The focus of our study is the period from August 1 to October 31, 1990, when the lava buried almost 406,820 m² of the 5-m deep bay. When lava encountered the sea, it flowed along the shoreline as a narrow primary lobe up to 400 m long and 100 m wide, which in turn inflated to a thickness of 5–6 m. The flow direction of the primary lobes was controlled by the submerged delta below the lavas and by damming up lavas fed at low extrusion rates. Breakout flows through circumferential and axial inflation cracks on the inflating primary lobes formed smaller secondary lobes, burying the lows between the primary lobes and hiding their original outlines. Inflated flow lobes eventually ruptured at proximal and/or distal ends as well as mid-points between the two ends, feeding new primary lobes which were emplaced along and on the shore side of the previously inflated lobes. The flow lobes mapped with the aid of aerial photographs were correlated with daily observations of the growing flow field, and 30 primary flow lobes were dated. Excluding the two repose periods that intervened while the bay was filled, enlargement of the flow field took place at a rate of 2,440–22,640 square meters per day in the bay. Lobe thickness was estimated to be up to 11 m on the basis of cross sections of selected lobes measured using optical measurement tools, measuring tape and hand level. The total flow-lobe volume added in the bay during August 1–October 31 was approximately 3.95 million m³, giving an average supply rate of 0.86 m³/s.     

Internal gravity wave selection in the upper troposphere and lower stratosphere observed by the MU radar: Preliminary results

Marked wavelike variations of the lower stratospheric wind observed on 7–10 May, 1985 by an MST radar in Japan (by the MU radar) are analyzed assuming that they are induced by monochromatic internal inertio-gravity waves. These variations are mainly composed of two modes (periods: 22 and 24 hours), both of which have zonal phase velocities (C _X ) slower than the mean westerly wind (). A statistical analysis of the zonal phase velocity shows thatC _X above andC _X below the tropopause jet stream, which is considered to be a vivid proof of wave selection due to the tropospheric mean flow and upward wave emission from the tropopause jet. A comparison between the MU radar results and routine meteorological observations leads to the conclusion that the marked waves appear when the jet stream takes a maximum wind speed.     

Wind fluctuations near a cold vortex-tropopause funnel system observed by the MU radar

Vertical and temporal variations of three-dimensional wind velocity associated with an upper-tropospheric cold vortex-tropopause funnel system were observed by an MST radar in Japan (the MU radar). Marked changes of vertical velocity and horizontal wind direction were found between the inside and outside of the cold vortex. The vertical velocity activity outside the vortex was asymmetric; it was most active in a sector before the vortex. Unsaturated internal gravity waves in their generation stage contribute predominantly to the vertical velocity activity, suggesting that tropospheric occluded cyclones may be a possible source of middle-atmospheric gravity waves through the geostrophic adjustment process.     

Eocene volcanism during the incipient stage of Izu–Ogasawara Arc: Geology and petrology of the Mukojima Island Group,the Ogasawara Islands

The Ogasawara Islands mainly comprise Eocene volcanic strata formed when the Izu–Ogasawara–Mariana Arc began. We present the first detailed volcanic geology, petrography and geochemistry of the Mukojima Island Group, northernmost of the Ogasawara Islands, and show that the volcanic stratigraphy consists of arc tholeiitic rocks, ultra‐depleted boninite‐series rocks, and less‐depleted boninitic andesites, which are correlatable to the Maruberiwan, Asahiyama and Mikazukiyama Formations on the Chichijima Island Group to the south. On Chichijima, a short hiatus is identified between the Maruberiwan (boninite, bronzite andesite, and dacite) and Asahiyama Formation (quartz dacite and rhyolite). In contrast, these lithologies are interbedded on Nakodojima of the Mukojima Island Group. The stratigraphically lower portion of Mukojima is mainly composed of pillow lava, which is overlain by reworked volcaniclastic rocks in the middle, whereas the upper portion is dominated by pyroclastic rocks. This suggests that volcanic activity now preserved in the Mukojima Island Group records growth of one or more volcanoes, beginning with quiet extrusion of lava under relatively deep water followed by volcaniclastic deposition. These then changed into moderately explosive eruptions that took place in shallow water or above sea level. This is consistent with the uplift of the entire Ogasawara Ridge during the Eocene. Boninites from the Mukojima Island Group are divided into three types on the basis of geochemistry. Type 1 boninites have high SiO₂ (>57.0 wt.%) and Zr/Ti (>0.022) and are the most abundant type in both Mukojima and Chichijima Island Groups. Type 2 boninites have low SiO₂ (<57.1 wt.%) and Zr/Ti (<0.014). Type 3 boninites have 57.6–60.7 wt.% SiO₂ and are characterized by high CaO/Al₂O₃ (0.9–1.1). Both type 2 and 3 boninites are common on Mukojima but are rare in the Chichijima Island Group.     

Temporal variation in primary magma compositions in the northeast Japan Arc

Abstract A remarkable temporal variation in primary magma compositions has been found in the Northeast Japan arc. The trench-side magmas have become more enriched in FeO* and the backarc-side magmas have become more depleted in FeO* while retaining almost constant SiO, levels for the last ∼20 million years. In order to understand the origin of the temporal variation, FeO* and SiO, contents in partial melts are modeled for an adiabatically-rising mantle as a function of potential temperature and original composition of the mantle material. The result demonstrates that the primary magmas that are more depleted in FeO* were derived from the mantle materials either at lower potential temperatures or with compositions more depleted in basaltic components. A possible mechanism for the inferred primary magma variability is the change in depth intervals with time of magma production in a compositionally-layered mantle wedge; greater degrees of depletion at a greater depth is reconciled with a probable thermal regime in the mantle wedge.     

Steric height trends at Ocean Station Papa in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Abstract

We estimate secular changes in steric sea level in the northeast Pacific Ocean using the 27‐year time series of monthly hydrographic observations for Station PAPA (50°N, 145°W). Linear trends based on the entire data record suggest that steric heights relative to 1000 db are increasing at a rate of 0.93 mm/yr and that 67% of this increase is due to thermosteric changes at depths below 100 m; the smaller halosteric contribution to the steric trend appears to be confined to the upper 100 m. A trend of 0(1 mm/yr) is consistent with estimates of sea level rise based on coastal tide gauge records. However, a critical examination of the results indicates that sea level changes of such small magnitude would be masked by the large (1–10 cm) interannual variability of open ocean steric height. This is verified by recalculation of trends using abridged versions of the data set. We conclude that our trend estimates are still open to question and that the present 27‐year time series is too short to permit accurate resolution of possible climate‐induced changes in global sea level.     

The Krakatau islands: The geotectonic setting

The Sunda Strait is located in a transitional zone between two different modes of subduction, the Java frontal and Sumatra oblique subductions. Western Java and Sumatra are, however, geologically continuous.The Krakatau complex lies at the intersection of two graben zones and a north-south active, shallow seismic belt, which coincides with a fracture zone along this seismic belt with fissure extrusion of alkali basaltic rocks commencing at Sukadana and continuing southward as far as the Panaitan island through Rajabasa, Sebuku and Krakatau.Paleomagnetic studies suggest that the island of Sumatra has been rotating clockwise relative to Java from at least 2.0 Ma to the present at a rate of 5–10h/Ma, and therefore the opening of the Sunda Strait might have started before 2 Ma (Nishimura et al. 1986).From geomorphological and seismological studies, it is estimated that the western part of Sumatra has been moving northward along the Semangko fault and the southern part of Sunda Strait has been pulled apart.Assuming that the perpendicular component (58 mm/yr; Fitch 1972) of the oblique subduction has not changed, we can estimate that the subduction started at 7–10 Ma. Huchon and LePichon (1984) also estimated that the subduction started at 13 Ma.Recent crustal earthquakes in the Sunda Strait area are clustered into three groups: (1) beneath the Krakatau complex where they are typically of tectonic origin, (2) inside a graben in the western part of the strait, and (3) in a more diffuse zone south of Sumatra. The individual and composite focal mechanisms of the events inside the strait show an extensional regime. A stress tensor, deduced from the individual focal mechanisms of the Krakatau group shows that the tensional axis has a N 130°E orientation (Harjono et al. 1988).These studies confirm that the Sunda Strait is under a tensional tectonic regime as a result of clockwise rotation along the continental margin and northward movement of the Sumatra sliver plate along the Semangko fault zone.     

A field study of diffusion around a model cube in a suburban area

To investigate diffusion around a building in a suburban area, a field observation was conducted on a model cube with a centrally located rooftop level source in September 1992 in Sapporo, Japan. The results show that high concentrations were observed both upwind and downwind of the source on the roof, although the mean velocity U was positive. The values of normalized concentration at locations upwind and downwind of the source were lower than those obtained from wind tunnel data conducted at moderated turbulence levels. At ground level, the mean concentrations along the model centre line show the highest value near the cube and decay rapidly in the downstream direction. The relationship between the instantaneous concentrations and instantaneous velocity was investigated using two fast-response concentration detectors and an ultrasonic anemometer. It was found that when reverse flow occurred on the roof, the tracer gas was detected upwind of the source.     

New age constraints on the cooling and unroofing history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith (Kargil area), N. W. India

Thermotectonic history of the Trans-Himalayan Ladakh Batholith in the Kargil area, N. W. India, is inferred from new age data obtained here in conjunction with previously published ages. Fission-track (FT) ages on apatite fall around 20±2 Ma recording cooling through temperatures of ∼100°C and indicating an unroofing of 4 km of the Ladakh Range since the Early Miocene. Coexisting apatite and zircon FT ages from two samples in Kargil show the rocks to have cooled at an average rate of 5–6°C/Ma in the past 40 Ma. Zircon FT ages together with mica K−Ar cooling ages from the Ladakh Batholith cluster around 40–50 Ma, probably indicating an Eocene phase of uplift and erosion that affected the bulk of the batholith after the continental collision of India with the Ladakh arc at 55 Ma. Components of the granitoids in Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene sediments of the Indus Molasse in Ladakh supports this idea. Three hornblende K−Ar ages of 90 Ma, 55 Ma, and 35 Ma are also reported; these distinctly different ages probably reflect cooling through 500–550°C of three phases of I-type plutonism in Ladakh also evidenced by other available radiometric data: 102 Ma (mid-Cretaceous), 60 Ma (Palaeocene), and 40 Ma (Late Eocene); the last phase being localised sheet injections. The geodynamic implications of the age data for the India-Asia collision are discussed.