Effects of the water-soluble fraction of microbiologically or physically altered crude petroleum on the heterotrophic activity of marine bacteria

Crude petroleum was emulsified or degraded by marine microorganisms and physically altered by an artificial weathering process. Only the water-soluble fraction from emulsified crude petroleum inhibited glutamate uptake by marine microorganisms from South Carolina and Georgia coastal waters. Chloroform extraction recovered almost equal amounts of total hydrocarbon from each water-soluble fraction. Chromatographic data indicated that the composition of microbially emulsified petroleum was similar to that of microbially degraded petroleum. Emulsification of crude petroleum was only observed in summer water samples and did not consistently occur at a given location. Results of this study indicate that the process by which crude petroleum is altered will influence its toxicity to microbial heterotrophic activity.     

Volcanic-sedimentary complex of Otrozhnaya sheet in the Ust-Belaya Terrane,western Koryakia

New data on the structure and composition of the rock complexes making up the Otrozhnaya sheet of the Ust-Belaya Terrane are discussed. This sheet is currently regarded as a complete section of the Early Devonian oceanic crust. The U-Pb age of zircon (547 ± 17 Ma) from plagiogranite porphyry that cuts through the ultramafic-gabbroic complex indicates that the country rocks are much older. Basalts of volcanic complex are similar to MORB-type rocks. The contact between volcanic and volcano-sedimentary complexes is tectonic. No volcanic-cherty association of rocks typical of ophiolites has been established at the base of the sedimentary sequence. The U-Pb age of detrital zircons from the base of this section is 571 Ma. As follows from the composition of terrigenous rocks and the suprasubduction origin of andesitic lavas and tuffs, the rocks of the lower part of volcano-sedimentary complex were deposited at the marginal part of the basin near convergent boundary. The remains of conodont elements make it possible to estimate the age of the upper part of the volcano-sedimentary complex as Late Devonian. The composition of terrigenous rocks shows that the provenance has abruptly changed. Sporadic rock fragments evidence the erosion of ophiolitic sections. Silurian rocks became the main source of clastic material. This is corroborated by redeposited microfauna species and U-Pb age of detrital zircons (～432 Ma). The geochemistry of dacite pebbles from conglomerate indicates that this volcanic rock was formed in a suprasuduction setting. The Ordovician-Silurian island arc could have been a source.     

Observed response of marine boundary layer cloud to the interannual variations of summertime Oyashio extension SST front

Active roles of both sea surface temperature (SST) and its frontal characteristics to the atmosphere in the mid-latitudes have been investigated around the western boundary current regions, and most studies have focused on winter season. The present study investigated the influence of the variation of the summertime Oyashio extension SST front (SSTF) in modulating low-level cloud properties (i.e., low-level cloud cover [LCC], cloud optical thickness [COT], and shortwave cloud radiative effect [SWCRE]) on inter-annual timescales, based on available satellite and Argo float datasets during 2003–2016. First, we examined the mechanism of summertime SSTF variability itself. The strength of the SSTF (S_SSTF), defined as the maximum horizontal gradient of SST, has clear inter-annual variations. Frontogenesis equation analysis and regression analysis for subsurface temperature indicated that the inter-annual variations of the summertime S_SSTF in the western North Pacific are closely related to the variations of not surface heat flux, but western boundary currents, particularly the Oyashio Extensions. The response of low-level cloud to intensified S_SSTF is that negative SWCRE with positive COT anomaly in the northern flank of the SSTF can be induced by cold SST anomalies. The spatial scale of the low-level cloud response was larger than the SST frontal scale, and the spatial distribution of the response was mainly constrained by the pathways of Kuroshio and Oyashio Extensions. Multi-linear regression analysis revealed that the local SST anomaly played largest role in modulating the SWCRE and COT anomalies among the cloud controlling factors (e.g., estimated inversion strength, air-temperature advection) accounting for more than 50% of the variation. This study provides an observational evidence of the active role of local SST anomalies in summertime associated with the western boundary currents to the oceanic low-level cloud.

     

Influence of the ground profile on the reduction of earthquake motion at the filled man-made islands in the Kobe harbor during the 1995 Hyogoken Nambu earthquake

During the 1995 Hyogoken Nambu earthquake in Kobe, the ground motion at the filled man-made islands in the Kobe harbor was not as severe as that at the mainland. The building damage was also less compared to that on the mainland. It was found by comparative study of earthquake records that the magnitude of acceleration response on the ground surface decreases at the islands as opposed to the mainland. One dimensional effective stress analysis is adopted in this study. Input data has been generated from test results, e.g. the SPT N-value by standard penetration test and shear wave velocity V_s by PS logging. Results obtained by the analyses showed good agreement with the observed records, which is an indication of the suitability of the adopted analysis procedure. From this study, the followings are concluded. By the increase of SPT N-value of the filled layers, liquefaction near ground surface is restrained and damage modes such as ejection of water and soil can be prevented. Since the ground profile at the islands is that considerably soft filled layer and marine clay layers, etc. are present and the thickness of the surface layer is large, the initial natural period of the ground is above 1 s and the natural period is elongated further under the earthquake excitation, which is deemed to be the principal reason for the reduction of the earthquake motion at the ground surface.     

SHRIMP zircon and EPMA monazite dating of granitic rocks from the Maizuru terrane, southwest Japan: Correlation with East Asian Paleozoic terranes and geological implications

Abstract The Maizuru terrane, distributed in the Inner Zone of southwest Japan, is divided into three subzones (Northern, Central and Southern), each with distinct lithological associations. In clear contrast with the Southern zone consisting of the Yakuno ophiolite, the Northern zone is subdivided into the western and eastern bodies by a high-angle fault, recognized mainly by the presence of deformed granitic rocks and pelitic gneiss. This association suggests an affinity with a mature continental block; this is supported by the mode of occurrence, and petrological and isotopic data. Newly obtained sensitive high mass-resolution ion microprobe (SHRIMP) zircon U–Pb ages reveal the intrusion ages of 424 ± 16 and 405 ± 18 Ma (Siluro–Devonian) for the granites from the western body, and 249 ± 10 and 243 ± 19 Ma (Permo–Triassic) for the granodiorites from the eastern body. The granites in the western body also show inherited zircon ages of around 580 and 765 Ma. In addition, electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) monazite U–Th–total Pb dating gives around 475–460 Ma. The age of intrusion, inherited ages, mode of occurrence, and geological setting of the Siluro–Devonian granites of the Northern zone all show similarities with those of the Khanka Massif, southern Primoye, Russia, and the Hikami granitic rocks of the South Kitakami terrane, Northeast Japan. We propose that both the Siluro–Devonian and Permo–Triassic granitic rocks of the Northern zone are likely to have been juxtaposed through the Triassic–Late Jurassic dextral strike-slip movement, and to have originated from the Khanka Massif and the Hida terrane, respectively. This study strongly supports the importance of the strike-slip movement as a mechanism causing the structural rearrangement of the Paleozoic–Mesozoic terranes in the Japanese Islands, as well as in East Asia.     

Permo–Triassic Barrovian-type metamorphism in the ultrahigh-temperature Kontum Massif, central Vietnam: Constraints on continental collision tectonics in Southeast Asia

The Kontum Massif in central Vietnam is composed of various metamorphic complexes including a high-temperature southern part (Kannak and Ngoc Linh complexes) and a low- to medium-temperature northern part (Kham Duc complex). The Kham Duc complex exhibits Barrovian-type medium-pressure metamorphism evidenced by kyanite- and/or staurolite-bearing metapelites. The garnet–gedrite–kyanite gneiss, which is the focus of the present study, preserves several mineral parageneses formed during a prograde and retrograde metamorphic history: staurolite + quartz in gedrite, garnet + gedrite + kyanite in the matrix, and spinel + cordierite symplectite between gedrite and sillimanite. The calculated semiquantitative petrogenetic grid reveals peak pressure conditions of 620–650°C at 1.1–1.2 GPa and peak temperature conditions of 730–750°C at 0.7–0.8 GPa. The monazite U–Th–Pb electron microprobe ages of the garnet–gedrite–kyanite gneiss and associated gneisses yield 246 ± 3 Ma for the Kham Duc complex, which is similar to the age of the high- to ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism in the adjacent Kannak and Ngoc Linh complexes of the southern Kontum Massif. The present results indicate that both the Barrovian-type and ultrahigh-temperature metamorphism occurred simultaneously in the Kontum Massif during an event strongly related to Permo–Triassic microcontinental collision tectonics in Asia.     

用X射线分析显微镜对海藻元素的研究Ⅰ.海藻的X射线荧光光谱

X射线分析显微镜(XGT-2000V, Horiba Co.,Japan,1993年制造)是一种新颖、快速的元素分析仪器,可以用来分析海藻中元素的组成特点。本研究对1997年4,5月在山东省威海市采集的22种海藻进行了研究,测定了海藻的Ⅹ射线荧光光谱(XRF),并根据Ⅹ射线特性荧光的能量分析海藻的主要元素组成。然后采用基本参数法(FP法)对每种海藻的主要元素进行了半定量分析。研究结果表明,Ⅹ射线分析显微镜可以快速观测海藻中的主要元素如钾、硫、钙、铁、锌、溴、锶等,是研究元素组成与化学种态的有效的非破坏分析手段。从Ⅹ射线荧光光谱可以看出,绿藻的特征元素是钾、钙、硫,孔石莼(Ulva pertusa)含有较多的铁元素,而浒苔则含有较多的溴元素。褐藻的特征元素除钾、钙、硫之外,还含有较多的锶元素。另外,酸藻 (Desmarestia viridis)含有大量的硫及溴元素,鼠尾藻(Sargassum thunbergii)、单条髓藻(Myelophycus simplex)及酸藻 (Desmarestia viridis)中尚含有较多的铁元素。红藻的特征是多种红藻均含有较大量的溴元素,例如波登仙菜(Ceramium kondai)、松节藻(Rhodomela confervoides)、多管藻(Polysiphonia urceolata)、石花菜(Gelidium amansii)及亮管藻(Hyalosiphonia caespitosa)。另外,珊瑚藻(Corallina pilulifera)中含有大量的钙质。     

Cooling and inferred exhumation history of the Ryoke metamorphic belt in the Yanai district, south-west Japan: Constraints from Rb–Sr and fission-track ages of gneissose granitoid and numerical modeling

Abstract The Ryoke metamorphic belt in south-west Japan consists mainly of I-type granitoids and associated low-pressure/high-temperature metamorphic rocks. In the Yanai district, it has been divided into three structural units: northern, central and southern units. In this study, we measured the Rb–Sr whole-rock–mineral isochron ages and fission-track ages of the gneissose granodiorite in the central structural unit. Four Rb–Sr ages fall in a range of ca 89–87 Ma. The fission-track ages of zircon and apatite are 68.9 ± 2.6 Ma and 57.4 ± 2.5 Ma (1σ error), respectively. Combining the newly obtained ages with previously reported (Th–)U–Pb ages from the same unit, thermochronologic study revealed two distinctive cooling stages; 1) a rapid cooling (> 40°C/Myr) for a period (~7 Myr) soon after the peak metamorphism (~ 95 Ma) and 2) the subsequent slow cooling stage (~ 5°C/Myr) after ca 88 Ma. The first rapid cooling stage corresponds to thermal relaxation of the intruded granodiorite magma and its associated metamorphic rocks, and to the uplift by a displacement along low-angle faults which initiated soon after the intrusion of the magma. Uplift by the later stage deformation having formed large-scale upright folds resulted in progress of the exhumation during the first stage. The average exhumation velocity of the stage is ≥ 2 mm/yr. During the second stage, the rocks were not accompanied by ductile deformation and were exhumed with the rate of 0.1–0.2 mm/yr. The difference in the exhumation velocity between the first and second cooling stages resulted from the difference in the thickness of the crust and in the activity of ductile deformation between the early and later stages of the orogenesis.