Thermal and chemical evolution of the terrestrial magma ocean

The Earth is likely to have experienced a magma ocean stage during accretion. Thermal and chemical evolution of magma ocean is investigated based on a one-dimensional two-phase-flow heat and mass transfer model. Differentiation at lower mantle pressure depends on the type of magma ocean and surrounding atmosphere. If the magma ocean is formed by the blanketing effect of a solar-type proto-atmosphere, extensive differentiation proceeds at lower mantle pressure. If the magma ocean is formed by the blanketing effect of an impact-induced steam atmosphere, no differentiation at lower mantle pressure is likely. If a very deep magma ocean is formed by a giant impact, whether differentiation proceeds at lower mantle pressure or not depends on grain size, viscosity of melt and/or properties of a transient atmosphere. On the contrary, chemical differentiation likely proceeds at upper mantle pressure irrespective of magma ocean type. A shallow magma ocean can remain for 100 200 My without any heating processes.     

The first absolute gravity measurements in Indonesia

For the purposes of the calibration of the superconducting gravimeter (SG) in Bandung and the establishment of the absolute gravity (AG) points, we carried out AG measurements for the first time in Indonesia in November 2002. The measurements in Bandung were conducted between November 15th and 20th by means of a FG5 (#210), and 14,520 effective drops were obtained. The gravity value newly determined at the AG point in Bandung is 977976701.2 μgal (1 μgal = 10⁻⁸ ms⁻²) and the scale factor for the SG is −52.22 μgal/V. We also established another AG point in Yogyakarta near Merapi volcano and carried out AG measurements in Yogyakarta between November 22nd and 26th. The gravity value determined for this station is 978203093.5 μgal.     

类石材料--灰泥的冻融过程

Serious failure on the slope of rock ground can be caused by a cyclic action of freezing and thawing in the cold regions. The frost susceptibility and the effect of freezing and thawing onthe rock material, however, have not been well investigated. In order to find out the freezing effect on the rock materials, mortar specimens are frozen as a pseudo-rock material under the constant rate of freezing by means of controlling the temperature of both ends of specimen. The freezing process is given one-dimensionally to the cylindrical samples in the laboratory to simulate the in-situ freezing phenomena in the natural ground. Formation of ice lens, frost heave and water intake during freezing process are observed on the mortar specimen under constant freezing rate, which probably causes cracks or large deformation in the real rock ground. The values of the velocity of elastic wave propagation are compared before and after freezing process to estimate the degree of weathering due to freezing and thawing.     

Factors controlling dissolved silica in coral reef surface water of Urasoko Bay, Ishigaki Island, Japan

From August 2006 to August 2007, the concentrations of dissolved silica (Si(OH)₄) were monitored in the surface water of Urasoko Bay and the mouth of the stream that runs into the bay. Urasoko Bay is located on the northern coast of Ishigaki Island, Okinawa, Japan, which is in a subtropical area of the North Pacific Ocean and is surrounded by a relatively poorly developed fringing reef. Added to these samples were freshwater from the upstream area and brackish water that exudes at the beach site, which were collected from April to June 2007. Rainwater samples were also collected during the study period. The concentration of Si(OH)₄ generally decreased from upstream to the bay site, and, on clear days, Si(OH)₄ data from all study sites (the bay, beach, stream mouth, and upstream) plotted against salinity fell on a single straight line. When the influence of rainwater was, the results were scattered below the straight line, which suggests dilution by rainwater with a much lower Si(OH)₄ concentration. These findings show that offshore seawater, rainwater, and upstream freshwater regulate the concentration of Si(OH)₄ in the surface water of Urasoko Bay.     

Quaternary bedrock erosion and landscape evolution in the Sør Rondane Mountains, East Antarctica: Reevaluating rates and processes

Rates and processes of rock weathering, soil formation, and mountain erosion during the Quaternary were evaluated in an inland Antarctic cold desert. The fieldwork involved investigations of weathering features and soil profiles for different stages after deglaciation. Laboratory analyses addressed chemistry of rock coatings and soils, as well as ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al exposure ages of the bedrock. Less resistant gneiss bedrock exposed over 1 Ma shows stone pavements underlain by in situ produced silty soils thinner than 40 cm and rich in sulfates, which reflect the active layer thickness, the absence of cryoturbation, and the predominance of salt weathering. During the same exposure period, more resistant granite bedrock has undergone long-lasting cavernous weathering that produces rootless mushroom-like boulders with a strongly Fe-oxidized coating. The red coating protects the upper surface from weathering while very slow microcracking progresses by the growth of sulfates. Geomorphological evidence and cosmogenic exposure ages combine to provide contrasting average erosion rates. No erosion during the Quaternary is suggested by a striated roche moutonnée exposed more than 2 Ma ago. Differential erosion between granite and gneiss suggests a significant lowering rate of desert pavements in excess of 10 m Ma^− 1. The landscape has been (on the whole) stable, but the erosion rate varies spatially according to microclimate, geology, and surface composition.     

Petrological feature of spinel lherzolite xenolith from Oki-Dogo Island: An implication for variety of the upper mantle peridotite beneath southwestern Japan

Abstract   Spinel lherzolite is a minor component of the deep-seated xenolith suite in the Oki-Dogo alkaline basalts, whereas other types of ultramafic (e.g. pyroxenite and dunite) and mafic (e.g. granulite and gabbro) xenoliths are abundant. All spinel lherzolite xenoliths have spinel with a low Cr number (Cr#; < 0.26). They are anhydrous and are free of modal metasomatism. Their mineral assemblages and microtextures, combined with the high NiO content in olivine, suggest that they are of residual origin. But the Mg numbers of silicate minerals are lower (e.g. down to Fo₈₆) in some spinel lherzolites than in typical upper mantle residual peridotites. The clinopyroxene in the spinel lherzolite shows U-shaped chondrite-normalized rare-earth element (REE) patterns. The abundance of Fe-rich ultramafic and mafic cumulate xenoliths in Oki-Dogo alkali basalts suggests that the later formation of those Fe-rich cumulates from alkaline magma was the cause of Fe- and light REE (LREE)-enrichment in residual peridotite. The similar REE patterns are observed in spinel peridotite xenoliths from Kurose and also in those from the South-west Japan arc, which are non-metasomatized in terms of major-element chemistry (e.g. Fo > 89), and are rarely associated with Fe-rich cumulus mafic and ultramafic xenoliths. This indicates that the LREE-enrichment in mantle rocks has been more prominent and prevalent than Fe and other major-element enrichment during the metasomatism.     

利用断层应力积累探讨大地震发生的地点——以日本2011年东北9级大地震为例

大地震在哪里发生是地震预报首先要解决的问题.利用反演GNSS观测数据得到的2011年日本东北9级大地震前7年（2004—2010年）断层上的应力变化,我们发现了这次地震断层的孕震区.为了进一步研究该孕震区的演化过程,本文继续反演这次大地震在1997—2003年间的断层应力变化过程.通过这两期的反演工作,我们看到,在这14年中,断层应力的年变化图案的主要特征基本是稳定的,并存在明显的应力增加区和降低区.前者与地震的破裂区吻合,后者与前震、重复小地震和无震滑动的区域一致.显著的剪切应力增加区不但与主震,而且还与大余震的破裂区相符合.我们发现断层面上高应力积累区的零剪应力和零正应力变化的等值线不重合,前者在断层面上的深度大于后者,这意味着在剪应力增加区存在着正应力降低区或剪切强度降低区（由于剪切强度与正应力成正比）.断层初始破裂点似乎更偏好零正应力等值线附近的位置,这是因为该处不但靠近剪切强度降低区,而且位于剪应力积累最显著的地方.研究结果表明,正应力变化对大地震的初始破裂有影响;本文所使用的断层应力变化反演方法,可以用来作为预测大地震发生位置的一种手段.

     

Formation Process of Zircon Associated with REE‐Fluorocarbonate and Niobium Minerals in the Nechalacho REE Deposit,Thor Lake,Canada

The two drill holes, which penetrated sub‐horizontal rare earth element (REE) ore units at the Nechalacho REE in the Proterozoic Thor Lake syenite, Canada, were studied in order to clarify the enrichment mechanism of the high‐field‐strength elements (HFSE: Zr, Nb and REE). The REE ore units occur in the albitized and potassic altered miaskitic syenite. Zircon is the most common REE mineral in the REE ore units, and is divided into five types as follows: Type‐1 zircon occurs as discrete grains in phlogopite, and has a chemical character similar to igneous zircon. Type‐2 zircon consists of a porous HREE‐rich core and LREE–Nb–F‐rich rim. Enrichment of F in the rim of type‐2 zircon suggests that F was related to the enrichment of HFSE. The core of type‐2 zircon is regarded to be magmatic and the rim to be hydrothermal in origin. Type‐3 zircon is characterized by euhedral to anhedral crystals, which occur in a complex intergrowth with REE fluorocarbonates. Type‐3 zircon has high REE, Nb and F contents. Type‐4 zircon consists of porous‐core and ‐rim, but their chemical compositions are similar to each other. This zircon is a subhedral crystal rimmed by fergusonite. Type‐5 zircon is characterized by smaller, porous and subhedral to anhedral crystals. The interstices between small zircon grains are filled by fergusonite. Type‐4 and type‐5 zircon grains have low REE, Nb and F contents. Type‐1 zircon is only included in one unit, which is less hydrothermally altered and mineralized. Type‐2 and type‐3 zircon grains mainly occur in the shallow units, while those of type‐4 and type‐5 are found in the deep units. The deep units have high HFSE contents and strongly altered mineral textures (type‐4 and type‐5) compared to the shallow units. Occurrences of these five types of zircon are different according to the depth and degree of the hydrothermal alteration by solutions rich in F and CO₃, which permit a model for the evolution of the zircon crystallization in the Nechalacho REE deposit as follows: (i) type‐1 (discrete magmatic zircon) is formed in miaskitic syenite. (ii) LREE–Nb–F‐rich hydrothermal zircon formed around HREE‐rich magmatic zircon (type‐2). (iii) type‐3 zircon crystallized through the F and CO₃‐rich hydrothermal alteration of type‐2 zircon which formed the complex intergrowth with REE fluorocarbonates; (iv) the CO₃‐rich hydrothermal fluid corroded type‐3, forming REE–Nb‐poor zircon (type‐4). Niobium and REE were no longer stable in the zircon structure and crystallized as fergusonite around the REE–Nb‐leached zircon (type‐4); (v) type‐5 zircon is formed by the more CO₃‐rich hydrothermal alteration of type‐4 zircon, suggested by the fact that type‐4 and type‐5 zircon grains are often included in ankerite. Type‐3 to type‐5 zircon grains at the Nechalacho REE deposit were continuously formed by leaching and/or dissolution of type‐2 zircon in the presence of F‐ and/or CO₃‐rich hydrothermal fluid. These mineral associations indicate that three representative hydrothermal stages were present and related to HFSE enrichment in the Nechalacho REE deposit: (i) F‐rich hydrothermal stage caused the crystallization of REE–Nb‐rich zircon (type‐2 rim and type‐3), with abundant formation of phlogopite and fluorite; (ii) F‐ and CO₃‐rich hydrothermal stage led to the replacement of a part of REE–Nb–F‐rich zircon by REE fluorocarbonate; and (iii) CO₃‐rich hydrothermal stage resulted in crystallization of the REE–Nb–F‐poor zircon and fergusonite, with ankerite. REE and Nb in hydrothermal fluid at the Nechalacho REE deposit were finally concentrated into fergusonite by way of REE–Nb–F‐rich zircon in the hydrothermally altered units.     

Mechanism and tectonic implications of the great Banda Sea earthquake of November 4, 1963

The Banda Sea earthquake of November 4, 1963 (h = 100 km, m_B = 7.8) is probably one of the largest intermediate-depth shocks to have occurred worldwide this century. The mechanism of this earthquake is studied in detail on the basis of P-wave first motion, surface wave and aftershock data. From the analysis of long-period multiple surface waves, a seismic moment of 3.1 × 10²⁸ dyn-cm is obtained, which is the largest reported so far for any intermediate or deep focus shock. This value, together with the estimated fault area of 90 × 70 km², gives an average dislocation of 7.0 m and a stress drop of 120 bar. This event represents an oblique thrust movement on a plane with dip direction N170°E, dip 48° and rake 52°. A geometrical consideration for the fault plane and the configuration of the inclined seismic zone beneath the Banda arc suggests, almost definitely, that the large-scale faulting took place within the subducted plate and offset it. Further repetition of such large-scale faulting might eventually break the subducted plate. The 1963 Banda Sea earthquake thus represents a seismological manifestation of the large-scale deformation of the subducted plate in the mantle.     

Long-term precipitation and stream discharge records at seven forested experimental watersheds along a latitudinal transect in Japan: Jozankei,Kamabuchi, Takaragawa,Tsukuba, Tatsunokuchi-yama,Kahoku and Sarukawa

This data note introduces a database of long-term daily total precipitation and stream discharge data for seven forested watersheds in Japan that have been continuously monitored by the Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute. Three of the watersheds started data collection in the 1930s. Forest cover across the sites ranges from cool to warm temperate regions with the latitude spanning from 31 to 44° N and annual precipitation ranging from 1200 to 3000 mm yr⁻¹. The effects of vegetation change via clearcutting, thinning and forest fire (among other stressors) on stream discharge can be analysed from the long-term observation sites. Moreover, this multi-site dataset allows for inter- and intra-site comparisons of annual water loss (difference of annual precipitation and stream discharge). These long-term datasets can provide comprehensive insights into the effects of climate change and other stressors on forested ecosystems, not only in Japan but across a spectrum of forest types, if combined with other long-term records from other forested watersheds across the world.