Nitrogen isotopic discrimination by water column nitrification in a shallow coastal environment

Temporal changes in nitrogen isotopic composition (δ¹⁵N) of the NO₃ ⁻ pool in the water column below the pycnocline in Ise Bay, Japan were investigated to evaluate the effect of nitrification on the change in the δ¹⁵N in the water column. The δ¹⁵N of NO₃ ⁻ in the lower layers varied from −8.5‰ in May to +8.4‰ in July in response to the development of seasonal hypoxia and conversion from NH₄ ⁺ to NO₃ ⁻. The significantly ¹⁵N-depleted NO₃ ⁻ in May most likely arose from nitrification in the water column. The calculated apparent isotopic discrimination for water column nitrification (ɛ_nit = δ¹⁵N_substrate − δ¹⁵N_product) was 24.5‰, which lies within the range of previous laboratory-based estimates. Though prominent deficits of NO₃ ⁻ from hypoxic bottom waters due to denitrification were revealed in July, the isotopic discrimination of denitrification in the sediments was low (ɛ_denit = ∼1‰). δ¹⁵N_NO3 in the hypoxic lower layer mainly reflects the isotopic effect of water column nitrification, given that water column nitrification is not directly linked with sedimentary denitrification and the effect of sedimentary denitrification on the change in δ¹⁵N_NO3 is relatively small.     

How hydrological factors initiate instability in a model sandy slope

Knowledge of the mechanisms of rain‐induced shallow landslides can improve the prediction of their occurrence and mitigate subsequent sediment disasters. Here, we examine an artificial slope's subsurface hydrology and propose a new slope stability analysis that includes seepage force and the down‐slope transfer of excess shear forces. We measured pore water pressure and volumetric water content immediately prior to a shallow landslide on an artificial sandy slope of 32°: The direction of the subsurface flow shifted from downward to parallel to the slope in the deepest part of the landslide mass, and this shift coincided with the start of soil displacement. A slope stability analysis that was restricted to individual segments of the landslide mass could not explain the initiation of the landslide; however, inclusion of the transfer of excess shear forces from up‐slope to down‐slope segments improved drastically the predictability. The improved stability analysis revealed that an unstable zone expanded down‐slope with an increase in soil water content, showing that the down‐slope soil initially supported the unstable up‐slope soil; destabilization of this down‐slope soil was the eventual trigger of total slope collapse. Initially, the effect of apparent soil cohesion was the most important factor promoting slope stability, but seepage force became the most important factor promoting slope instability closer to the landslide occurrence. These findings indicate that seepage forces, controlled by changes in direction and magnitude of saturated and unsaturated subsurface flows, may be the main cause of shallow landslides in sandy slopes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The effect of aluminum and water on the development of deformation fabrics of orthopyroxene

The effect of alumina and water solubility on the development of fabric in orthopyroxene in response to simple shear deformation has been investigated at a pressure of 1.5 GPa and a temperature of 1,100 °C using the D-DIA apparatus. The microstructure observations at these conditions indicate that dislocation glide is the dominant deformation mechanism. In MgSiO₃ enstatite and hydrous aluminous enstatite, partial dislocations bounding the stacking faults in [001] glide parallel to the (100) (or) the (100) [001] slip system. Electron backscattered diffraction analysis of anhydrous aluminous enstatite, however, indicates operation of the (010) [001] slip system, and microstructure analysis indicates dislocation movement involving [001] on both (100) and {210} planes. The strong covalent bonding induced by the occupation of M1 and T2 sites by Al could have restricted the glide on (100), activating slip on {210}. The resulting seismic anisotropies (~2 %) in orthopyroxene are weaker compared to olivine (~9.5 %), and reduced anisotropy can be expected if orthopyroxene coexists with olivine. Weak anisotropy observed in stable cratonic regions can be explained by the relatively high abundance of orthopyroxene in these rocks.     

Transport of oceanic nitrate from the continental shelf to the coastal basin in relation to the path of the Kuroshio

Hydrographic and biogeochemical observations were conducted along the longitudinal section from Ise Bay to the continental margin (southern coast of Japan) to investigate changes according to the Kuroshio path variations during the summer. The strength of the uplift of the cold deep water was influenced by the surface intrusion of the Kuroshio water to the shelf region. When the intrusion of the Kuroshio surface water to the shelf region was weak in 2006, the cold and NO₃⁻-rich shelf water intruded into the bottom layer in the bay from the shelf. This bottom intrusion was intensified by the large river discharge. The nitrogen isotope ratio (δ¹⁵N) of NO₃⁻ (4–5‰) in the bottom bay water was same as that in the deeper NO₃⁻ over the shelf, indicating the supply of new nitrogen to the bay. The warm and NO₃⁻-poor shelf water intruded into the middle layer via the mixing region at the bay mouth when the Kuroshio water distributed in the coastal areas off Ise Bay in 2005. The regenerated NO₃⁻ with isotopically light nitrogen (δ¹⁵N=−1‰) was supplied from the shelf to the bay. This NO₃⁻ is regenerated by the nitrification in the upper layer over the shelf. The contribution rate of regenerated NO₃⁻ over the shelf to the total NO₃⁻ in the subsurface chlorophyll maximum layer in the bay was estimated at 56% by a two-source mixing model coupled with the Rayleigh equation.     

Fluid inclusion evidence for rapid formation of the vapor-dominated zone at Sulphur Springs, Valles caldera, New Mexico, USA

Microthermometric measurements were obtained for 618 fluid inclusions in hydrothermal quartz, fluorite and calcite and magmatic quartz phenocrysts in intracaldera tuffs from the VC-2A core hole in order to study evolutionary processes of the Sulphur Springs hydrothermal system in the Valles caldera. Relatively high T_h values in samples from shallow depths indicate erosion of about 200 m of caldera fill since deposition of hydrothermal minerals at shallow depths in the Sulphur Springs hydrothermal system, accompanied by a descent in the water table of the liquid-dominated reservoir. For samples collected below the current water level of the well, the minimum values of homogenization temperature (T_h) fit the present thermal profile, whereas minimum T_h values of samples from above the water level are several tens of degrees higher than the present thermal profile and fit a paleo-thermal profile following the boiling point curve for pure water, as adjusted to 92 °C at 20 m below the present land surface. This is attributed to development of an evolving vapor zone that formed subsequent to a sudden drop in the water table of the liquid-dominated reservoir. We suggest that these events were caused by the drainage of an intracaldera lake when the southwestern wall of the caldera was breached about 0.5 Ma. This model indicates that vapor zones above major liquid-dominated geothermal reservoirs can be formed due to dramatic changes in geohydrology and not just from simple boiling.     

Petrographic features of a high-temperature granite just newly solidified magma at the Kakkonda geothermal field, Japan

A 3729-m-deep geothermal research well, WD-1a, provides us with a unique opportunity to study initial petrographic features of a high-temperature granite just after solidification of magma. The well succeeded in collecting three spot-cores of the Kakkonda Granite that is a pluton emplaced at a shallow depth and regarded as a heat source of the active Kakkonda geothermal system. The core samples were collected at the present formation temperatures of 370, 410 and over 500°C. These samples are granodiorite to tonalite consisting mainly of plagioclase, quartz, hornblende, biotite and K-feldspar. A sample collected at a formation temperature of over 500°C possesses the following remarkable petrographic features compared to the other two samples. Interstitial spaces are not completely sealed. K-feldspar exhibits no perthite by the exsolution of albite lamella. Quartz includes glassy melt inclusions without devitrification. Hornblende is less intensively altered to actinolite, and biotite is not altered. This study directly confirmed that perthite in K-feldspar is a recrystallization texture formed at 410–500°C based on a comparison of the in situ temperatures of the samples. Chemical compositions of minerals were analyzed to compare temperatures determined from geothermometers in several publications to the in situ temperatures of the samples.     

Combining ECCI and FIB milling techniques to prepare site-specific TEM samples for crystal defect analysis of deformed minerals at high pressure

Dislocation microstructures in experimentally deformed single-crystal pyrope-rich garnet, (Mg,Fe)₃(Al,Cr)₃Si₃O₁₂, and polycrystalline forsterite, Mg₂SiO₄, were investigated by using electron channeling contrast imaging (ECCI) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) combined with a focused ion beam (FIB)-microsampling. In the orientation-optimized ECCI method, we successfully observed individual dislocations across subgrain boundaries in a low-atomic-number mineral, pyrope-rich garnet (averaged Z-numbers, AZs ～ 10). Dislocations in a deformed forsterite (iron-free olivine) were also visible in the ECCI. In the ECCI on the single-crystal garnet, deformation bands consisting of dislocations, unusual contrasts in stripes and inhomogeneous distributions of sub-micrometer-sized pores were found. Further site-specific TEM observation on the deformation band revealed a high density of partial dislocations and stacking fault ribbons. The site-specific characterizations from ECCI to TEM, with assistance of FIB, can provide a new approach to investigate dislocation microstructures of deformed materials at high pressure and high temperature.     

Evaluation of spatial correlation between nutrient exchange rates and benthic biota in a reef-flat ecosystem by GIS-assisted flow-tracking

A Geographic Information System (GIS)-aided flow-tracking technique was adopted to investigate nutrient exchange rates between specific benthic communities and overlying seawater in a fringing reef of Ishigaki Island, subtropical Northwestern Pacific. Net exchange rates of NO₃ ⁻, NO₂ ⁻, NH₄ ⁺, PO₄ ³⁻, Total-N and Total-P were estimated from concentration changes along the drogue trajectories, each of which was tracked by the Global Positioning System and plotted on a benthic map to determine the types of benthic habitat over which the drogue had passed. The observed nutrient exchange rates were compared between 5 typical benthic zones (branched-coral (B) and Heliopora communities (H), seaweed-reefrock zone (W), bare sand area (S), and seagrass meadow (G)). The dependence of nutrient exchange rates on nutrient concentrations, physical conditions and benthic characteristics was analyzed by multiple regression analysis with the aid of GIS. The spatial correlation between nutrient exchange rates and benthic characteristics was confirmed, especially for NO₃ ⁻ and PO₄ ³⁻, which were usually absorbed in hydrographically upstream zones B and W and regenerated in downstream zones H and G. NO₃ ⁻ uptake in zones B and W was concentration-dependent, and the uptake rate coefficient was estimated to be 0.58 and 0.67 m h⁻¹, respectively. Both nutrient uptake in zone W and regeneration in zone H were enhanced in summer. The net regeneration ratio of NO₃ ⁻/PO₄ ³⁻ in zone H in summer ranged 5.2 to 34 (mean, 17.4), which was somewhat higher than previously measured NO₃ ⁻/PO₄ ³⁻ for sediment pore waters around this zone (1.1–8.5). Nutrient exchanges in zone S were relatively small, indicating semi-closed nutrient cycling at the sediment-water interface of this zone. NH₄ ⁺ efflux from sediments was suggested in zone G. The data suggest that the spatial pattern of nutrient dynamics over the reef flat community was constrained by zonation of benthic biota, and that abiotic factors such as nutrient concentrations and flow rates, influenced nutrient exchange rates only in absorption-dominated communities such as zones B and W.