Erratum

The Philippine Sea at 5 m.y. B.P has been reconstructed by the following process. Firstly, it was rotated rigidly relative to the Eurasian plate around the pole of rotation at 45.5°N, 150. 2°E with a rotation angle of 6.0° for the past 5 m.y. Secondly, the evolution and deformation along the plate boundaries were incorporated in the rigid rotation. This reconstruction suggests: (1) the Izu Peninsula, which was originally a volcanic island of the Izu-Bonin Arc, collided with central Honshu in a west-northwest direction a few million years B.P.; (2) a TTT(a)-type triple junction east of Honshu has migrated west-northwestward relative to the Eurasian plate; and (3) the subduction zone of the Pacific plate, beneath the central part of the Mariana Arc, has remained fixed relative to Eurasia. Westward motion of the Philippine Sea plate and subduction beneath the eastern Eurasian margin resulted in the opening of the Marian Trough.     

Probability of earthquake occurrence estimated from results of rock fracture experiments

The hazard rate, the number of fracture occurrences per unit time, which has been obtained from laboratory experiments of rock fracture, is obtained for the earth's crust by analysing the statistical distribution of geodetically-observed ultimate strain. The associated hazard function has two coefficients, A and B, to be determined. Comparison of the coefficients obtained by the results of rock-fracture experiments with the geodetically determined ones discloses that B is independent of the size-effect. It is therefore concluded that, if A is estimated from the statistics of the geodetically observed ultimate strain and B is obtained from fracture experiments of rock forming a local part of the crust, the probability of a local large-scale earthquake occurrence can be estimated.     

Contrasting two types of orogen in Permo-Triassic Japan: Accretionary versus collisional

Abstract Proto-Japan originated from a continental margin of the Neoproterozoic Yangtze (South China) craton. It represents a unique Permo-Triassic tectonic setting in western Panthalassa, where two distinct types of orogenic belt occurred side by side. There was an accretionary orogen between the Yangtze craton and the Proto-Pacific (Farallon) Plate and a collisional orogen between the Sino-Korean (North China) and Yangtze cratons. This article reviews results of the latest on-land geological studies concerning Permo-Triassic tectonics in Japan and proposes a new plate tectonic interpretation as well as a paleogeographic reconstruction of this particularly unique geotectonic regime. Special emphases are given to (i) the accretion processes and products derived by collision-subduction of the Permian Akiyoshi paleoseamount and Maizuru paleo-oceanic plateau; (ii) the field occurrence of 220-Ma Sangun high-P/T schists and its implication for the exhumation process and 'tectonic sandwich' structure; (iii) the extensive development of a subhorizontal nappe of the pre-Jurassic rocks and their bearing on the orogenic edifice; and (iv) the restricted occurrence of the 250-Ma collision complex in the Hida and Oki belts and the relevant connection to the Precambrian cratons and collision suture in East Asia. The newly proposed paleogeographic reconstruction is also tested by faunal provinciality of Permo-Triassic fossils from shallow-water sediments.     

An unconformity in the early Miocene syn-rifting succession, northern Noto Peninsula, Japan: Evidence for short-term uplifting precedent to the rapid opening of the Japan Sea

Abstract   The present paper describes the newly discovered early Miocene unconformity in the northern Noto Peninsula, on the Japan Sea side, central Japan. The unconformity marks the boundary between an early Miocene non-marine to marine succession and a more extensive, late early to early middle Miocene marine succession, and contains a time gap of an order of 1 million years or less from 18 Ma or earlier to 17 Ma. The early Miocene succession likely represents an early phase of marine transgression and initial slow rifting. The overlying early to early middle Miocene succession records the climax of the opening of the Japan Sea at ca  16 Ma with widespread, rapid subsidence of the Japan Arc. The unconformity between the two transgressive successions may represent a global sealevel fall or, more likely, crustal uplifting because no upward-shallowing or regressive facies remains between the two successions. Early Miocene unconformities that are thought to be correlative with this unconformity in the northern Noto Peninsula occur in places along the Japan Sea coast of Sakhalin and Japan. They are likely to have been produced during rifting in response to upwelling of asthenospheric mantle, although more accurate age constraints are necessary to evaluate this idea.     

Petrology of the Miller Range 03346 nakhlite in comparison with the Yamato‐000593 nakhlite

Abstract— We petrologically examined the Miller Range (MIL) 03346 nakhlite. The main‐phase modal abundances are 67.7 vol% augite, 0.8 vol% olivine, and 31.5 vol% mesostasis. Among all known nakhlites, MIL 03346's modal abundance of olivine is the smallest and of mesostasis is the largest. Augite occurs as cumulus phenocrysts having a homogeneous core composition (En_36–38Fs_24–22Wo₄₀), which is identical with other nakhlites. They accompany thin ferroan rims divided into inner and outer rims with a compositional gap at the boundary between the two rims. Olivine grains have magnesian cores (Fa ≥ 55) and show normal zoning toward ferroan rims (Fa ≤ 84). Mesostasis consists mostly of glass (26.0 vol%) with minor skeletal fayalites, skeletal titanomagnetites, acicular phosphate, massive cristobalite, and sulfides. We conclude that MIL 03346 is the most rapidly cooled nakhlite among all known nakhlites based on the petrography. We obtain the intercumulus melt composition for MIL 03346 from the mass balance calculation using the modal abundances and discuss the crystallization sequence of MIL 03346 in comparison with that of Yamato (Y‐) 000593. Although magnesian olivines of Y‐000593 are phenocrystic, magnesian olivine grains of MIL 03346 seem to have texturally crystallized from the intercumulus melt. After the MIL 03346 magma intruded upward to the Martian surficial zone, the magnesian olivine crystallized, and then the ferroan inner rim formed on phenocrystic core augite. The outer rim of phenocrystic augites formed after the crystallization of skeletal fayalites and skeletal titanomagnetites, resulting in a compositional gap between the inner and outer rims. Finally, glassy mesostasis formed from the residual melt. This crystallization sequence of MIL 03346 is different from those of other nakhlites, including Y‐000593.     

Geology of the Gorny Altai subduction–accretion complex, southern Siberia: Tectonic evolution of an Ediacaran–Cambrian intra-oceanic arc-trench system

The Gorny Altai region in southern Siberia is one of the key areas in reconstructing the tectonic evolution of the western segment of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB). This region features various orogenic elements of Late Neoproterozoic–Early Paleozoic age, such as an accretionary complex (AC), high-P/T metamorphic (HP) rocks, and ophiolite (OP), all formed by ancient subduction–accretion processes. This study investigated the detailed geology of the Upper Neoproterozoic to Lower Paleozoic rocks in a traverse between Gorno-Altaisk city and Lake Teletskoy in the northern part of the region, and in the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun area in the southern part. The tectonic units of the studied areas consist of (1) the Ediacaran (=Vendian)–Early Cambrian AC, (2) ca. 630 Ma HP complex, (3) the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian OP complex, (4) the Cryogenian–Cambrian island arc complex, and (5) the Middle Paleozoic fore-arc sedimentary rocks. The AC consists mostly of paleo-atoll limestone and underlying oceanic island basalt with minor amount of chert and serpentinite. The basaltic lavas show petrochemistry similar to modern oceanic plateau basalt. The 630 Ma HP complex records a maximum peak metamorphism at 660 °C and 2.0 GPa that corresponds to 60 km-deep burial in a subduction zone, and exhumation at ca. 570 Ma. The Cryogenian island arc complex includes boninitic rocks that suggest an incipient stage of arc development. The Upper Neoproterozoic–Lower Paleozoic complexes in the Gorno-Altaisk city to Lake Teletskoy and the Kurai to Chagan-Uzun areas are totally involved in a subhorizontal piled-nappe structure, and overprinted by Late Paleozoic strike-slip faulting. The HP complex occurs as a nappe tectonically sandwiched between the non- to weakly metamorphosed AC and the OP complex. These lithologic assemblages and geologic structure newly documented in the Gorny Altai region are essentially similar to those of the circum-Pacific (Miyashiro-type) orogenic belts, such as the Japan Islands in East Asia and the Cordillera in western North America. The Cryogenian boninite-bearing arc volcanism indicates that the initial stage of arc development occurred in a transient setting from a transform zone to an incipient subduction zone. The less abundant of terrigenous clastics from mature continental crust and thick deep-sea chert in the Ediacaran–Early Cambrian AC may suggest that the southern Gorny Altai region evolved in an intra-oceanic arc-trench setting like the modern Mariana arc, rather than along the continental arc of a major continental margin. Based on geological, petrochemical, and geochronological data, we synthesize the Late Neoproterozoic to Early Paleozoic tectonic history of the Gorny Altai region in the western CAOB.     

Age constraints on the Palaeoproterozoic Lomagundi–Jatuli Event in Zimbabwe: Zircon geochronology of the Magondi Supergroup

The ca. 2.2–2.1 Ga Magondi Supergroup on the Zimbabwe Craton in Southern Africa is mainly composed of sedimentary rocks deposited in a rift basin/passive continental margin, which record a unique episode in carbon isotope perturbation called the Lomagundi–Jatuli Event (LJE). This study reports new U–Pb ages of detrital zircons from the Deweras and Lomagundi groups of the Magondi Supergroup, and of igneous zircons from underlying granitoids, to constrain the timing of the LJE and to identify the provenance of the Magondi Supergroup. Most analysed detrital zircon grains range in ages between ca. 2.9 and 2.6 Ga. Three ca. 2.3–2.2 Ga detrital zircons from sandstone of the Deweras Group, with the youngest ²⁰⁷Pb‐²⁰⁶Pb age of 2,216 ± 22 Ma, indicate the onset of LJE in the Zimbabwe Craton was almost simultaneous to that in Fennoscandia and the Superior Craton, supporting the global synchronicity of the LJE.     

A method for analyzing the expansion and shrinkage of point pattern

This article proposes a new method for analyzing the spatial expansion and shrinkage of point patterns. Spatial expansions of epidemic diseases and market areas are represented as the expansions of point patterns when disease cases and store customers are represented as points. The spatial expansion and shrinkage have been studied in many scientific fields. Existing analytical methods, however, are not sufficient for treating complicated spatiotemporal patterns. To answer this demand, this article develops a new method for analyzing the expansion and shrinkage of points. Three vector measures evaluate the degree and direction of expansion and shrinkage as functions of location and time. They are visualized as vector maps, which are valid for capturing the global spatiotemporal pattern as well as for discussing the local variation. Summary measures of these vectors allow us to grasp the overall spatiotemporal pattern efficiently. To test the validity of the proposed method, this article applies it to the analysis of visitors to Shinjuku and Ginza in Tokyo. The proposed measures permitted us to evaluate the spatiotemporal pattern of the visitors in detail and to consider its underlying structure from various perspectives, which indicated the soundness of the technique.     

A practical model to estimate photosynthetically active radiation using general meteorological elements in a temperate humid area and comparison among models

Although accurately evaluating photosynthetically active radiation is important, much effort is required to measure this radiation using a quantum sensor. We develop a new model that makes estimates using only general meteorological data—solar radiation, atmospheric pressure, air temperature, and relative humidity. Root mean square deviations for eight datasets at five sites in Japan were smaller than 5.2 %, similar to error in other studies and to individual differences of quantum sensors. Most root mean square deviations of nine previous models and our eight datasets are larger than that of the new estimation model, which performed well. This suggests that the model is useful for estimating photosynthetically active radiation in a temperate, humid area of Japan.