A study of the structure of low-level katabatic winds at Mizuho Station,East Antarctica

Low-level katabatic wind profiles, which have shapes similar to those of the low-level jet (LLJ) wind profiles, are often observed during strong winds in the summer period at Mizuho Station, which is located at 70°42 S, 44°20 E in East Antarctica. The profiles may be classified according to the height of the maximum wind speed, z _m , found below 30 m height. The behavior of z m and of conditions in the layer above z mare explained well by the normalized frequency, f N = Nz/U at 30 m, whose value can be used to predict the existence of a LLJ wind profile. Subsidence and inertial oscillations above z m are related closely to the height and time variations of z m. Thus, not only effects emanating upward from surface but also momentum and heat transported downward from above are significant for the evolution of z m.     

Development of the Emulsion Chamber Detector for Space Observations

The emulsion chamber detector on board the “ShiJian-8” satellite is the first one in China designed especially for observing in space the highenergy electrons and γ-rays. In this paper, the principle of the detector design, the method of data processing and the preliminary results of observations are introduced. The design lifetime of the detector is 15 days on the orbit, and the energy range of detectable particles is 100GeV∼5TeV.     

Numerical experiment for strontium-90 and cesium-137 in the Japan Sea

A numerical experiment is carried out to reproduce distribution of concentration of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs, estimate their total amount and verify their source in the Japan Sea. Model results are in good agreement with observational findings in the Japan Sea expeditions between 1997 and 2002 by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency. Vertical profiles of the concentration of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs show exponential decreases with depth from the sea surface to the sea bottom. From the model and observational results, it is suggested that the concentration of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs in the surface layer is approximately in the range of 1.0–1.5 Bq/m³ and 2.0–2.5 Bq/m3, respectively. On the other hand, it is found that the concentration in the intermediate and deep layer is higher than that observed in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, suggesting active winter convection in the Japan Sea. The total amount of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs in the seawater is evaluated to be 1.34 × 10¹⁵ Bq and 2.02 × 10¹⁵ Bq, respectively, in the numerical experiment, which demonstrates an estimation by observational data obtained in the Japan Sea expeditions. The total amount of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs changed during the second half of 20th century corresponding to deposition at the sea surface with the maximums of 4.86 × 10¹⁵ Bq for ⁹⁰Sr and 7.33 × 10¹⁵ Bq for ¹³⁷Cs, respectively, in the mid-1960s. The numerical experiment suggests that the main source of ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs has been global fallout, although there have been some potential sources in the Japan Sea.     

Coherency of rupture and seismic spectrum

In considering the seismic spectrum, one of the methods to incorporate irregularity of fault motion statistically is to introduce the concept of coherency of fracture. In a classic paper,Aki (1967) investigated the scaling law of seismic spectrum on the basis of a statistical model in which an exponentially decaying function is fitted to the autocorrelation function of the dislocation velocity. It is found, however, thatAki's model does not necessarily express irregular fault motion, but corresponds to a smooth dislocation. We show that an analytical function of dislocation velocity gives the same autocorrelation function and the same seismic spectrum as those ofAki's model. In actual fault motion, there is considerable evidence which indicates that the dislocation is not continuous and smooth over the whole fault plane, but is often segmented in several parts. In order to take into consideration this feature we introduce a generalized autocorrelation function of the dislocation velocity in which many coherent fractures smaller than the size of the fault dimension are included. It is shown that the more small-scale coherent fractures, the larger the seismic wave energy in the high frequency range.Kanamori andAllen (1986) showed that a large ratio of seismic wave energy relative to the seismic moment means a large effective stress drop. On the other hand, it is well known that when a fault plane is segmented in several parts, stress drop becomes large (e.g.,Madariaga, 1979;Rudnicki andKanamori, 1981). These two results are fused in our model, because we find that large seismic wave energy is obtained when the fault motion includes small-scale fractures.Kanamori andAllen (1986) also showed that there is a tendency for earthquakes with long repeat times to have a large effective stress drop. Our model implies that a fracture corresponding to earthquakes with long recurrence intervals is more complex, and the strength is large, as also suggested byCao andAki (1986) using a numerical simulation. It should be noted that to the zeroth order, an approximate scaling relation is observed among earthquakes, which means that a large earthquake consists of a relatively large-scale coherent fracture. This fact seems to suggest that the condition of occurrence of a large earthquake is related to the maturing of a source region in which a large coherent fracture becomes feasible.     

Sr–Nd isotopic and chemical characteristics of the silicic magma reservoir of the Aira pyroclastic eruption, southern Kyushu, Japan

Sr and Nd isotope and geochemical investigations were performed on a remarkably homogeneous, high-silica rhyolite magma reservoir of the Aira pyroclastic eruption (22,000 years ago), southern Kyushu, Japan. The Aira caldera was formed by this eruption with four flow units (Osumi pumice fall, Tsumaya pryoclastic flow, Kamewarizaka breccia and Ito pyroclastic flow). Quite narrow chemical compositions (e.g., 74.0–76.5 wt% of SiO₂) and Sr and Nd isotopic values (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70584–0.70599 and _Nd=−5.62 to −4.10) were detected for silicic pumices from the four units, with the exception of minor amounts of dark pumices in the units. The high Sr isotope ratios (0.7065–0.7076) for the dark pumices clearly suggest a different origin from the silicic pumices. Andesite to basalt lavas in pre-caldera (0.37–0.93 Ma) and post-caldera (historical) eruptions show lower ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.70465–0.70540) and higher _Nd (−1.03 to +0.96) values than those of the Aira silicic and dark pumices. Both andesites of pre- and post-caldera stages are very similar in major- and trace-element characteristics and isotope ratios, suggesting that the both andesites had a same source and experienced the same process of magma generation (magma mixing between basaltic and dacitic magmas). Elemental and isotopic signatures deny direct genetic relationships between the Aira pumices and pre- and post-caldera lavas. Relatively upper levels of crust (middle–upper crust) are assumed to have been involved for magma generation for the Aira silicic and dark pumices. The Aira silicic magma was derived by partial melting of a separate crust which had homogeneous chemistry and limited isotope compositions, while the magma for the Aira dark pumice was generated by AFC mixing process between the basement sedimentary rocks and basaltic parental magma, or by partial melting of crustal materials which underlay the basement sediments. The silicic magma did not occupy an upper part of a large magma body with strong compositional zonation, but formed an independent magma body within the crust. The input and mixing of the magma for dark pumices to the base of the Aira silicic magma reservoir might trigger the eruptions in the upper part of the magma body and could produce a slight Sr isotope gradient in the reservoir. An extremely high thermal structure within the crust, which was caused by the uprise and accumulation of the basaltic magma, is presumed to have formed the large volume of silicic magma of the Aira stage.     

M2 tidal currents near the continental shelf margin in the East China Sea

Time series of velocity and water temperature were measured at three stations on the continental shelf, on the shelf margin and on the slope off the northwest Tokunoshima in December 1980 to study influences of the slope on tides.Tidal currents with semidiurnal periods were dominant at the stations on the shelf and shelf margin. However, semidiurnal components in temperature fluctuations were dominant at the stations on the shelf margin and the slope. We estimated horizontal currents due to semidiurnal internal tides from the vertical distribution of water density and temperature, assuming that the temperature fluctuations were caused by the vertical displacement of water particles due to semidiurnal internal tides. The tidal ellipses at the station on the shelf and the phase relation of the tidal currents between the two stations on the shelf and shelf margin indicated that the M₂ surface tide on the shelf was a Sverdrup wave propagating to the northwest.Semidiurnal tidal currents on the slope were also caused by tides of surface and internal modes. Furthermore, the axis of the tidal ellipse was not perpendicular to the co-tidal line estimated by Ogura (1934) but rather parallel to the isobaths on the slope, which shows a striking effect of the bottom topography on the tidal currents.     

Recycled crustal melt injection into lithospheric mantle: implication from cumulative composite and pyroxenite xenoliths

A rare composite xenolith and abundant cumulative pyroxenites obtained from the Mesozoic Fangcheng basalts on the eastern North China Craton record a complex history of melt percolation and circulation in the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The composite xenolith has a dunite core and an olivine clinopyroxenite rim. The dunite is of cumulative origin and has a granular recrystallized texture and extremely low Mg# [100 Mg/(Mg + Fe) = 81–82] contents in olivines. The olivine clinopyroxenite contains larger clinopyroxene and/or orthopyroxene with a few fine-grained olivine and tiny phlogopite, feldspar, and/or carbonate minerals interstitial to clinopyroxene. The clinopyroxene has low Mg# (83–85). Compositional similarity between dunitic olivine and pyroxenitic one indicates a sequential crystallization of dunite and pyroxenite from a precursor melt. Pyroxenite xenoliths include olivine websterites and clinopyroxenites, both are of cumulative origin. Estimation of the melt from major oxides in olivines and REE concentrations in clinopyroxenes in these composite and pyroxenite xenoliths suggests a derivation from subducted crustal materials, consistent with the highly enriched EMII-like Sr and Nd isotopic ratios observed in the pyroxenites. Occurrence of phlogopite, feldspar and carbonate minerals in some xenoliths requires the melt rich in alkalis (K, Na), silica and volatiles (water and CO₂) at the latest stage as well, similar to highly silicic and potassic melts. Thus, the occurrence of these composite and pyroxenite xenoliths provides an evidence for voluminous injection of recycled crustal melts into the lithosphere beneath the southeastern North China Craton at the Late Mesozoic, a reason for the rapid lithospheric enrichment in both elemental and isotopic compositions.     

Effects of cyclonic mesoscale eddies on the marine ecosystem in the Kuroshio Extension region using an eddy-resolving coupled physical-biological model

Effects of mesoscale eddies on the marine ecosystem in the Kuroshio Extension (KE) region are investigated using an eddy-resolving coupled physical-biological model. The model captures the seasonal and intra-seasonal variability of chlorophyll distribution associated with the mesoscale eddies, front variability, Kuroshio meanders, and upwelling. The model also reproduces the observed interannual variability of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) in the KE region along a zonal band of 32–34°N from 2002 to 2006. The distribution of high surface chlorophyll corresponds to low SSHA. Cyclonic eddies are found to detach from the KE jet near 150°E and 158°E and propagate westward. The westward propagating cyclonic eddies lift the nutrient-rich thermocline into the euphotic zone and maintain high levels of chlorophyll in summer. In the subsurface layer, the pattern in chlorophyll is influenced by both lateral and vertical advection. In winter, convection inside the eddy entrains high levels of nutrients into the mixed layer, increasing production, and resulting in high chlorophyll concentration throughout the surface mixed layer. There is significant interannual variability in both the cyclonic eddy activity and the surface phytoplankton bloom south of the KE jet, although whether or not there is a causal link is unclear.     

Flow behavior and microstructures of hydrous olivine aggregates at upper mantle pressures and temperatures

Deformation experiments on olivine aggregates were performed under hydrous conditions using a deformation-DIA apparatus combined with synchrotron in situ X-ray observations at pressures of 1.5–9.8 GPa, temperatures of 1223–1800 K, and strain rates ranging from 0.8 × 10^?5 to 7.5 × 10^?5 s^?1. The pressure and strain rate dependencies of the plasticity of hydrous olivine may be described by an activation volume of 17 ± 6 cm³ mol^?1 and a stress exponent of 3.2 ± 0.6 at temperatures of 1323–1423 K. A comparison between previous data sets and our results at a normalized temperature and a strain rate showed that the creep strength of hydrous olivine deformed at 1323–1423 K is much weaker than that for the dislocation creep of water-saturated olivine and is similar to that for diffusional creep and dislocation-accommodated grain boundary sliding, while dislocation microstructures showing the [001] slip or the [001](100) slip system were developed. At temperatures of 1633–1800 K, a much stronger pressure effect on creep strength was observed for olivine with an activation volume of 27 ± 7 cm³ mol^?1 assuming a stress exponent of 3.5, water fugacity exponent of 1.2, and activation energy of 520 kJ mol^?1 (i.e., power-law dislocation creep of hydrous olivine). Because of the weak pressure dependence of the rheology of hydrous olivine at lower temperatures, water weakening of olivine could be effective in the deeper and colder part of Earth’s upper mantle.