Changing grading of soil: effect on critical states

Examples of situations are presented where the grading of a soil changes during its lifetime either by crushing of particles leading to an increase of fine material or by slow transport of fine particles with seepage leading to a decrease of fine material. Such grading changes influence the basic constitutive properties of the soil, in particular properties such as critical states which are dependent on the available range of densities of packing. Discrete element modelling is used to show the dependence of critical state conditions on grading and the way in which the particle assembly seeks out new critical state conditions as the grading changes.     

Water-rock interaction in a zone of lateral flow: A natural example from the active geothermal field and gold-mineralized zone of Beppu (Kyushu Island,Japan)

Summary Beppu is a water-dominated active geothermal system in Kyushu (Japan). Gold mineralization exists in places within altered Pleistocene volcanites in the southernmost part of this field. A shallow 300 m well was drilled in an alluvial fan deposit made up of unsorted volcanic clasts of andesite and dacite. Water and core samples were collected and a temperature log was carried out. In the depth range of 150-230 m and at temperatures of 126-148° C the main authigenic minerals are quartz, calcite, K-feldspar, mixed layers illite/smectite, stilbite and pyrite. The chemical data of the waters indicate that mixing occurs between shallow bicarbonate waters and deep Na-Cl geothermal waters in the outflow zone. The authigenic mineral assemblages found in the well are analogous to those found in the epithermal gold deposits of southern Kyushu. Au concentration data for the hydrothermal springs of Beppu (0.53 g/kg) indicate that the fluids found in the borehole at 148° C could theoretically deposit gold. It is reasonable to hypothesise that a process of mixing between deep Na-Cl fluids and shallow Ca-HCO₃-SO₄ fluids were responsible for massive silicate deposition, accompanied in places by Au mineralizations.

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Wasser-Gesteins-Wechselwirkung in einer Zone lateraler Fließbewegung: ein natürliches Beispiel aus der aktiven Geothermal-Golderz-Zone von Beppu (Kyushu, Japan)

Zusammenfassung Beppu ist ein geothermales System auf der Insel Kyushu, Japan, in der Wasser die dominante Rolle spielt. Goldvererzungen treten stellenweise in umgewandelten pleistozänen Vulkaniten im südlichsten Teil des Gebietes auf. Ein 300 m tiefes Bohrloch wurde in einem alluvialen Sedimentations-Fächer, der aus unsortierten vulkanischen Klasten, aus Andesit und Dazit besteht, niedergebracht. Wasserproben und Kernproben wurden genommen und die Temperaturen im Bohrloch systematisch gemessen. In Tiefen von 150–230 m und bei Temperaturen von 126–148°C sind die wichtigsten autigen gebildeten Minerale Quarz, Calcit, K-Feldspat, Illit/Smectit, Stilbit und Pyrit. Der Chemismus der Wässer zeigt, daß eine Mischung zwischen seichten Bikarbonat-Wässern und aus der Tiefe stammenden Na-Cl geothermalen Wässern erfolgt. Die autigenen Mineralassoziationen in diesem. Bohrloch sind vergleichbar mit denen in epithermalen Goldlagerstätten des südlichen Kyushu. Auf der Basis von existierenden Goldkonzentrationsdaten für die hydrothermalen Quellen auf Beppu (0.53 g/kg) läßt sich zeigen, daß die Fluide, die in dem Bohrloch bei 148 angetroffen wurden, theoretisch Gold absetzen könnten. Daher läßt sich die Theorie vertreten, daß Mischungsvorgänge zwischen einem aus der Tiefe stammenden Na-Cl Fluid und einem oberflächennahen Ca-HCO₃-SO₄ Wasser für die massive Silikatausscheidung verantwortlich waren, die stellenweise von Goldmineralisation begleitet wurden.

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Contribution No 4. Foreign Visiting Scientist Section, Beppu Geophysical Research Laboratory, Kyoto University.

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This paper was presented at the IGCP 291 Project Symposium Metamorphic Fluids and Mineral Deposits, ETH Zurich, March 21–23, 1991.     

K-Ar Ages of Granitic Magmatism and Related Pegmatite Formation at the Umanotani-Shiroyama Mine, Shimane Prefecture, SW Japan and Their Bearings on Cooling History

Abstract. The Umanotani-Shiroyama pegmatite deposits, the largest producer of K-feldspar and quartz in Japan, are of typical granitic pegmatite. Ilmenite-series biotite granite and granite porphyry, hosting the ore deposits, and biotites separated from these rocks yielded K-Ar ages ranging from 89.0 to 81.4 Ma and 95.2 to 93.7 Ma, respectively. Muscovite and K-feldspar separated from the ore zone yielded K-Ar ages with the range of 96.2 to 93.1 Ma and 87.3 to 80.7 Ma, respectively. Muscovites from quartz-muscovite veins in the ore zone and in the granite porphyry yielded K-Ar ages of 90.4 and 76.3 Ma, respectively. K-feldspar is much younger in age than coexisting muscovite. It is noted that the K-Ar ages of biotite separates and the whole-rock ages are identical to those of muscovite and K-feldspar in the ore zone, respectively. These time relations, as well as field occurrence, indicate that the formation of the pegmatite deposits at the Umanotani-Shiroyama mine is closely related in space and time to a series of granitic magmatism of ilmenite-series nature. Using closure temperatures of the K-Ar system for biotite and K-feldspar (microcline), cooling rate of the pegmatite deposits is estimated to be about 82C/m.y. at the beginning, but slowed down to about 15C/m.y. in the later period.     

Seasonal variations of the surface currents in the Tsushima Strait

Seasonal variations of the surface currents in the Tsushima Strait were investigated by analyzing the monthly mean surface currents measured with HF radar. Several new features of the surface currents have been found. One notable feature is the large, complicated seasonal variation in the current structure in the eastern channel of the strait. For example, in the southeastern and northwestern regions of the channel, southwestward countercurrents are found in summer while southeastward acrossshore currents are found in autumn and winter. The wind-driven flow (Ekman flow) as well as surface geostrophic currents are responsible for these complicated variations of the surface currents. To quantify each variation of the flow and current, the wind-driven flow was calculated from the monthly wind (more precisely, the friction velocity) using the monthly speed factor and deflection angle estimated in our previous study, and the surface geostrophic currents were then estimated by subtracting the wind-driven flow from the measured surface currents. It was found that the acrossshore currents are the wind-driven flow, and that the surface geostrophic currents flow almost in the along-shore direction, indicating the validity of the decomposition of the surface velocity into the wind-driven flow and the geostrophic currents using the speed factor and deflection angle. A real-vector empirical orthogonal function (EOF) analysis of the surface geostrophic currents shows a pair of eddies in the lee of Tsushima and Iki Islands as the first mode, which indicates that the southwestward countercurrents in the eastern channel are formed primarily by the incoming Tsushima Warm Current.     

Molecular ecological study of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Siganus spinus</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">S. guttatus</Emphasis> from Okinawan waters based on mitochondrial DNA control region sequences

The mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region was sequenced to examine the genetic variability and gene flow of juvenile Siganus spinus and S. guttatus. In total, 461 nucleotide sequences were obtained from 69 specimens of juvenile S. spinus from Okinawa Island and Ishigaki Island, in which 17 variable sites and 22 haplotypes were identified. Haplotype diversity (h) was high (0.9244 in Okinawa and 0.8984 in Ishigaki), whereas nucleotide diversity (π) was low (0.0063 in Okinawa and 0.0059 in Ishigaki). The two populations were not genetically distinct. Siganus guttatus, which do not form large schools at recruitment, in contrast S. spinus, were also analyzed by studying 152 individuals collected off Okinawa Island, Miyako Island, and Ishigaki Island. Of 476 nucleotide sequences, 50 were variable, and 42 haplotypes were identified. Genetic variability values were high (h = 0.8766 and π = 0.0151 in Okinawa; h = 0.9640 and π = 0.0192 in Miyako; h = 0.9161 and π = 0.0199 in Ishigaki). The Okinawa population was genetically isolated from the Miyako and Ishigaki populations. As a result, genetic diversity was high for each of these siganid populations despite their being target species for fisheries; however, the degree of inter-population gene flow was higher for S. spinus than S. guttatus, suggesting that these species exhibit different dispersal strategies.     

Suspended matter in surface waters of the eastern Gulf of Guinea

Suspended matter in the surface waters of the eastern Gulf of Guinea was studied in relation to the prevailing oceanic currents and the sediment composition and source. A confused current system arises from the confluence of the Guinea Current and the South Equatorial Current in this area. Sediment-laden water is transported to the south of Fernando Póo into the Gulf in a south-westerly direction. The southeasterly flowing Guinea Current along the western edge of the Niger delta and the enormous sediment loads of the distributaries in this area contribute to a major lobe of suspended matter off the southwestern nose of the delta. Sediment concentration is inversely related to salinity in the northeastern Gulf. Sediment is also swept northwestward from the continental shelf of Gabon and the Congo Republic into the Gulf. Diatoms are the most abundant constituents with lesser amounts of organic aggregates and two varieties of fecal pellets.     

Quaternary vertical offset and average slip rate of the Nojima Fault on Awaji Island, Japan

Abstract Drilling was carried out to penetrate the Nojima Fault where the surface rupture occurred associated with the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake. Two 500 m boreholes were successfully drilled through the fault zone at a depth of 389.4 m. The drilling data show that the relative uplift of the south-east side of the Nojima Fault (south-west segment) was approximately 230 m. The Nojima branch fault, which branches from the Nojima Fault, is inferred to extend to the Asano Fault. From the structural contour map of basal unconformity of the Kobe Group, the vertical component of displacement of the Nojima branch–Asano Fault is estimated to be 260–310 m. Because the vertical component of displacement on the Nojima Fault of the north-east segment is a total of those of the Nojima Fault of the south-west segment and of the Nojima branch–Asano Fault, it is estimated to total to 490–540 m. From this, the average vertical component of the slip rate on the Nojima Fault is estimated to be 0.4–0.45 m/10³ years for the past 1.2 million years.     

Crack-filling clays and weathered cracks in the DPRI 1800 m core near the Nojima Fault, Japan: Evidence for deep surface-water circulation near an active fault

Abstract Crack-filling clays and weathered cracks were observed in the Disaster Prevention Research Institute, Kyoto University (DPRI) 1800 m cores drilled from the Nojima Fault Zone, which was activated during the 1995 Hyogo-ken Nanbu earthquake (Kobe earthquake). The crack-filling clays consist mainly of unconsolidated fine-grained materials that fill opening cracks with no shear textures. Most of the cracks observed in the DPRI 1800 m cores are yellow-brown to brown in color due to weathering. Powder X-ray diffraction analyses show that the crack-filling clays are composed mainly of clay minerals and carbonates such as siderite and calcite. Given that the top of the borehole is approximately 45 m above sea level, most of the core is far below the stable groundwater table. Hence, it is suggested that the crack-filling clays and weathered cracks in the cores taken at depths of 1800 m were formed by the flow of surface water down to the deep fractured zone of the Nojima Fault Zone during seismic faulting.