Characteristics and Mineralization Age of the Fukusen No. 1 Vein,Hishikari Epithermal Gold Deposits,Southern Kyushu,Japan

The Fukusen No. 1 vein is located in the southeastern part of the Yamada deposit, Hishikari epithermal gold deposits, southern Kyushu, Japan. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar plateau ages of adularia from the margin and the center of the Fukusen vein are determined to be 0.617 ± 0.024 Ma and 0.606 ± 0.009 Ma, respectively. The Fukusen No. 1 vein shows banding structure composed mainly of quartz, adularia and clay minerals. Colloform texture is displayed by cryptocrystalline to amorphous silica material that is associated with fine-grained electrum and sulfides near the center of the vein. Pyrite in the Fukusen No. 1 vein often shows acicular shape resulting from inversion from marcasite. Near the center of the vein, primary marcasite occurs associated with colloform texture of silica. The Fukusen No.1 vein preserves primary texture and materials which were deposited from the ore-forming hydrothermal solution. The Fukusen No. 1 vein was formed in a short period and is one of the youngest veins in the Hishikari deposits.     

Why does the Sea Level Difference between Kushimoto and Uragami Show Periods of Large Meander and Non-Large Meander Paths of the Kuroshio South of Japan?

The sea level difference between Kushimoto and Uragami, located to the west and east of the southern tip of the Kii Peninsula, is relatively large in periods of non-large meander path (nLMP) of the Kuroshio south of Japan in comparison with periods of large meander path (LMP). Based on this clear relationship, the sea level difference between Kushimoto and Uragami has been used as an index showing the periods of nLMP and those of LMP of the Kuroshio south of Japan. It has been pointed out that warm and saline Kuroshio water, separated from the main path of the Kuroshio, has a tendency to approach the western area off Kii Peninsula to off Muroto Peninsula in periods of nLMP, while it approaches the eastern area off Kii Peninsula to Omae-zaki in periods of LMP. On the basis of this observational evidences, the dynamic background underlaying the well-known relationship between the Kuroshio path and the sea level difference between Kushimoto and Uragami is examined in the present study, using the temperature and salinity data observed by Wakayama Prefectural Fisheries Experimental Station and Fisheries Research Institute of Mie. It is shown that deviations in vertically integrated specific volume off Kushimoto and Uragami almost equal deviations in observed sea level at Kushimoto and Uragami, respectively. It is also shown that the difference in vertically integrated specific volume between off Kushimoto and off Uragami almost equals the difference in observed sea level between Kushimoto and Uragami. As for the Kuroshio water, the high-temperature contribution is predominant for its specific volume rather than that of high salinity, which yields thermal expansion in comparison with coastal water. Because the difference in vertically integrated specific volume between off Kushimoto and off Uragami almost equals the difference in observed sea level between Kushimoto and Uragami, it is concluded that the relationship between the Kuroshio path and sea level difference between Kushimoto and Uragami is caused by the different approaching of the warm Kuroshio water between in nLMP periods and in LMP periods.     

Impact-induced chondrule flattening in the Allende CV3 carbonaceous chondrite: Shock experiments

Abstract— We have carried out shock-recovery experiments on the Allende CV3 carbonaceous chondrite using a single-stage propellant gun and succeeded in reproducing oriented, flattened chondrules like those observed in some natural CV3 chondrites. The Allende samples were shocked at equilibrium pressures of 11 and 21 GPa, which are close to the highest values in shock stages S2 and S3, respectively (Stöffler et al., 1991). Chondrules are flattened nearly perpendicular to the compaction axis with mean aspect ratios of 1.34 and 1.62 at pressures of 11 and 21 GPa, respectively; thus, the degree of chondrule flattening is proportional to the shock intensity. The chondrule flattening and foliation are mainly due to collapse of pores in the matrix under shock pressure. High matrix abundance of CV3 chondrites could result in much apparent chondrule flattening relative to ordinary chondrites. Optical and electron microscope observations show that textural and mineralogical characteristics of chondrules and matrix in the shock-loaded samples are very similar to those observed in naturally shocked CV3 chondrites. Our results provide strong support for the interpretation that the chondrule flattening and foliation in CV3 chondrites were caused by shock-induced pressure due to hypervelocity impacts on the meteorite parent bodies.     

Pseudo-bending method for three-dimensional seismic ray tracing in a spherical earth with discontinuities

We present a 'pseudo-bending' approach to 3-D ray tracing in a spherical earth with discontinuities. This method is based on a three-point perturbation associated with a first-order approximation, while Snell's law in curvilinear coordinates is applied at the discontinuities. We demonstrate the computational accuracy and efficiency of the pseudo-bending method in tracing rays for various velocity models by comparing results with analytical solutions and with results from the bending method. The improvement of efficiency is significant, but is reduced as the number of discontinuities increases. Since the bending approach may be computationally unstable in some situations, even though it is exact, the pseudo-bending approach is preferable for automatic calculation of rays.     

A ground-based observation of the LCROSS impact events using the Subaru Telescope

The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) mission was an impact exploration searching for a volatile deposit in a permanently shadowed region (PSR) by excavating near-surface material. We conducted infrared spectral and imaging observations of the LCROSS impacts from 15 min before the first collision through 2 min after the second collision using the Subaru Telescope in order to measure ejecta dust and water. Such a ground-based observation is important because the viewing geometry and wavelength coverage are very different from the LCROSS spacecraft. We used the Echelle spectrograph with spectral resolution λ/Δλ ∼ 10,000 to observe the non-resonant H₂O rotational emission lines near 2.9 μm and the slit viewer with a K′ filter for imaging observation of ejecta plumes. Pre-impact calculations using a homogeneous projectile predicted that 2000 kg of ejecta and 10 kg of H₂O were excavated and thrown into the analyzed area immediately above the slit within the field of view (FOV) of the K′ imager and the FOV of spectrometer slit, respectively. However, no unambiguous emission line of H₂O or dust was detected. The estimated upper limits of the amount of dust and H₂O from the main Centaur impact were 800 kg and 40 kg for the 3σ of noise in the analyzed area within the imager FOV and in the slit FOV, respectively. If we take 1σ as detection limit, the upper limits are 300 kg and 14 kg, respectively. Although the upper limit for water mass is comparable to a prediction by a standard theoretical prediction, that for dust mass is significantly smaller than that predicted by a standard impact theory. This discrepancy in ejecta dust mass between a theoretical prediction and our observation result suggests that the cratering process induced by the LCROSS impacts may have been substantially different from the standard cratering theory, possibly because of its hollow projectile structure.     

An experimental study on impact-induced alterations of planetary organic simulants

The present study systematically investigates shock-induced alteration of organic simulants of planetary bodies (OSPBs) as a function of peak shock pressure and temperature by impact experiments. Our results show that the composition and structure of OSPBs are unchanged upon impacts at peak pressures ≤~5 GPa and temperatures ≤~350 °C. On the other hand, these are dramatically changed upon impacts at >7–8 GPa and > ~400 °C, through loss of hydrogen-related bonds and concurrent carbonization, regardless of the initial compositions of OSPBs. Compared with previous results on static heating of organic matter, we suggest that shock-induced alteration cannot be distinguished from static heating only by Raman and infrared spectroscopy. Our experimental results would provide a proxy indicator for assessing degree of shock-induced alteration of organic matter contained in carbonaceous chondrites. We suggest that a remote-sensing signature of the 3.3–3.6 μm absorption due to hydrogen-related bonds on the surface of small bodies would be a promising indicator for the presence of less-thermally-altered (i.e., <350 °C) organic matter there, which will be a target for landing to collect primordial samples in sample-return spacecraft missions, such as Hayabusa2 and OSIRIS-REx.     

A numerical experiment on the anomalous southward intrusion of the Oyashio east of Japan

In recent years, anomalous southward intrusions of the Oyashio have been observed frequently from winter to late spring. A barotropic model is used to see the occurrence of the Oyashio intrusion, with special reference to a short time lag between the change in the wind stress in midwinter and the occurrence of the Oyashio intrusion generally in spring of the same year. It is shown that the barotropic response of the ocean to the change in wind stress is fast, and its representative time scale is about 50 days at most. The southward shift of the Oyashio and the subarctic circulation are simulated quantitatively, when the imposed wind stress is changed from the mean wind stress prior to no Oyashio intrusion to that prior to the Oyashio intrusion. It is suggested that the southward intrusion of the Oyashio is a phenomenon connected with the global change in atmospheric circulation.     

Spin-up and spin-down processes of the large cold water mass of the Kuroshio south of Japan

Time variation of the cold water mass of the Kuroshio south of Japan, which was formed in August 1975 and disappeared in August 1980, is studied. Its lifecycle includes several repetitions of spin-down and spin-up processes. The spin-down (or the spin-up) process is accompanied by warming (cooling) of the cold water mass and descending (ascending) motion of the inner water. Expansion of the cold water area is also associated with the spin-up period while shrinking occurs in the spin-down period. The rate of spin-down of the cold water mass is approximately equal to that of the Gulf Stream rings. The spin-up process is not observed in the Gulf Stream rings and the longer lifetime of the cold water mass off Japan, in comparison with the Gulf Stream rings, is due to the existence of the spin-up periods. The spin-up process tends to occur in late spring to summer, and it seems to be related to the seasonal variation in intensity of the Kuroshio.     

The formation of mantle phlogopite in subduction zone hybridization

Extrapolation and extension of phase equilibria in the model system KAlSiO₄-Mg₂SiO₄-SiO₂-H₂O suggests that at depths greater than 100 km (deeper than amphibole stability), hybridism between cool hydrous siliceous magma, rising from subducted oceanic crust, and the hotter overlying mantle peridotite produces a series of discrete masses composed largely of phlogopite, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene (enriched in Jadeite). Quartz (or coesite) may occur with phlogopite in the lowest part of the masses. The heterogeneous layer thus produced above the subducted oceanic crust provides: (1) aqueous fluids expelled during hybridization and solidification, which rise to generate in overlying mantle (given suitable thermal structure) H₂O-undersaturated basic magma, which is the parent of the calc-alkalic rock series erupted at the volcanic front; (2) masses of phlogopite-pyroxenites which melt when they cross a deeper, high-temperature solidus, yielding the parents of alkalic magmas erupted behind the volcanic front; and (3) blocks of phlogopite-pyroxenites which may rise diapirically for long-term residence in continental lithosphere, and later contribute to the potassium (and geochemically-related elements) involved in some of the continental magmatism with geochemistry ascribed to mantle metasomatism.     

Time-resolved measurement of high-pressure phase transition of fluorite under shock loading

In situ time-resolved measurements of shock wave profiles for anisotropic fluorite crystals with two different crystal orientations were carried out up to a pressure of 34 GPa that is above the transition pressure for the fluorite to cotunnite phase. They indicate that the Hugoniot elastic limit varies with the crystal orientation and final pressure and that high-pressure phase transition from fluorite to a cotunnite-type structure occurs at 13 GPa in 10–20 ns for CaF₂ [100]-oriented crystals and at 17 GPa in more than 50 ns for CaF₂ [111]-oriented crystals, respectively. These results are in disagreement with those from static compression. The phase transition at static pressures has been known to be very sluggish, but the present results indicate a large sensitivity of kinetics to the relationship between crystallographic orientation and shock direction, supporting a martensitic mechanism for the fluorite to cotunnite phase transition that is enhanced by the effect of shock-induced shear. It is also helpful to explain the observation that the in situ emission spectra for shocked Eu-doped fluorite became weak and had no shift above ~15 GPa.