3-D Viscoelastic FEM Modeling of Crustal Deformation in Northeast Japan

-- As a first step toward establishing a standard earthquake cycle model in Japan, we simulate the crustal deformation during the past 100 years in northeast Japan, using a 3-D FEM based on the kinematic model. Then, we compare the computed results with the observed long-term leveling data and the recent GPS data. On the whole, although the effect of the subducting PAC is dominant, coseismic deformation of the interplate earthquakes can be clearly seen in the inland. Moreover, the postseismic deformation of the earthquakes due to the viscoelastic upper mantle seriously affects the inland movements, and continues for a few decades. Our modeling, including the effects of the interplate earthquakes and the three-dimensional viscoelastic inhomogeneity, reasonably explains the observed movement. Finally, we stress that the viscoelastic effect should be taken into consideration in the analyses, even if no earthquakes occur in the analyzed period.     

The effects of possible contamination by sample holders on samples to be returned by Hayabusa2

Chemical compositions of materials used for new sample holders (vertically aligned carbon nanotubes [VACNTs] and polyimide film), which were developed for the analysis of Hayabusa2‐return samples, were determined by instrumental neutron activation analysis and/or instrumental photon activation analysis, to estimate contamination effects from the sample holders. The synthetic quartz plate used for the sample holders was also analyzed. Ten elements (Na, Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Eu, W, Au, and Th) and 14 elements (Na, Al, K, Sc, Ti, Cr, Zn, Ga, Br, Sb, La, Eu, Ir, and Au) could be detected in the VACNTs and polyimide film, respectively. The VACNT data show that contamination by this material with respect to the Murchison meteorite is negligible in terms of the elemental ratios (e.g., Fe/Mn, Na/Al, and Mn/Cr) used for the classification of meteorites due to the extremely low density of VACNTs. However, for the Au/Cr ratio, even small degrees (1.7 wt%) of contamination by VACNTs will change the Au/Cr ratio. Elemental ratios used for the classification of meteorites are only influenced by large amounts of contamination (>60 wt%) of polyimide film, which is unlikely to occur. In contrast, detectable effects on Ti isotopic compositions are caused by >0.1 and >0.3 wt% contamination by VACNTs and polyimide film, respectively, and Hf isotopic changes are caused by >0.1 wt% contamination by VACNTs. The new sample holders (VACNTs and polyimide film) are suitable for chemical classification of Hayabusa2‐return samples, because of their ease of use, applicability to multiple analytical instruments, and low contamination levels for most elements.     

Soldier crab (Dotilla myctiroides) distribution,food resources and subsequent role in organic matter fate in Ao Tang Khen,Phuket, Thailand

This study aimed to elucidate Dotilla myctiroides (H. Milne-Edwards) food resources and how the soldier crab influences the organic matter composition on the intertidal flat. A preliminary assessment of D. myctiroides size, sex, and population distribution was conducted to clarify the characteristics of the inhabiting population. Overall, D. myctiroides size and abundance was normal across the tidal flat area. Comparison of different sediment types from the soldier crab habitat (surface sediments, igloos, burrow lining, burrow pellets, feeding pellets, and feces) using the fatty acid (FA) analysis technique revealed D. myctiroides removes organic matter via the significantly lower contributions of polyunsaturated FAs, essential FAs, and dinoflagellates in the feeding pellets. Dotilla myctiroides tissue analysis of the hepatopancreas and hindgut in individuals that had been starved for 24 h confirmed not only the consumption of dinoflagellates, but diatoms and macroalgae as well. In addition, the FA metabolism within the digestive system implied the ability of the soldier crab to synthesize highly unsaturated FAs (HUFAs) such as 20:4n–6, 20:5n–3 and 22:6n–3.     

Primary melt from Sannome-gata volcano,NE Japan arc: constraints on generation conditions of rear-arc magmas

The conditions under which rear-arc magmas are generated were estimated using primary basalts from the Sannome-gata volcano, located in the rear of the NE Japan arc. Scoriae from the volcano occur with abundant crustal and mantle xenoliths, suggesting that the magma ascended rapidly from the upper mantle. The scoriae show significant variations in their whole-rock compositions (7.9–11.1 wt% MgO). High-MgO scoriae (MgO > ~9.5 wt%) have mostly homogeneous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70318–0.70320), whereas low-MgO scoriae (MgO < ~9 wt%) have higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (>0.70327); ratios tend to increase with decreasing MgO content. The high-MgO scoriae are aphyric, containing ~5 vol% olivine microphenocrysts with Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺)] of up to 90. In contrast, the low-MgO scoriae have crustal xenocrysts of plagioclase, alkali feldspar, and quartz, and the mineralogic modes correlate negatively with whole-rock MgO content. On the basis of these observations, it is inferred that the high-MgO scoriae represent primary or near-primary melts, while the low-MgO scoriae underwent considerable interaction with the crust. Using thermodynamic analysis of the observed petrological features of the high-MgO scoriae, the eruption temperature of the magmas was constrained to 1,160–1,220 °C. Given that the source mantle was depleted MORB-source mantle, the primary magma was plausibly generated by ~7 % melting of a garnet-bearing spinel peridotite; taking this into consideration, and considering the constraints of multi-component thermodynamics, we estimated that the primary Sannome-gata magma was generated in the source mantle with 0.5–0.6 wt% H₂O at 1,220–1,230 °C and at ~1.8 GPa, and that the H₂O content of the primary magma was 6–7 wt%. The rear-arc Sannome-gata magma was generated by a lower degree of melting of the mantle at greater depths and lower temperatures than the frontal-arc magma from the Iwate volcano, which was also estimated to be generated by ~15 % melting of the source mantle with 0.6–0.7 wt% H₂O at ~1,250 °C and at ~1.3 GPa.     

Flood hazard assessment in the Kujukuri Plain of Chiba Prefecture,Japan, based on GIS and multicriteria decision analysis

A simple flood hazard assessment based on GIS and multicriteria decision analysis was presented, and the sensitivity analysis was applied to evaluate the uncertainty of input factors. The location chosen for the study is the Kujukuri Plain, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. The model incorporates six factors: river system, elevation, depression area, ratio of impermeable area, detention ponds, and precipitation. A hazard map for the year 2004, as an example, was obtained. The method of analytic hierarchy process was applied to calculate the weighting values of each factor. The hazard map was compared with the actual flood area, and good coincidence was found between them. The relative importance and uncertainty of the six input factors and weights were evaluated by using the global sensitivity analysis, i.e., extended FAST method, and the results showed a robust behavior of the model. The flood hazard assessment method presented here is meaningful for the flood management and environment protection in the area under the similar condition as this study.     

The Cretaceous Ofuku Pluton and Its Relation to Mineralization in the Western Akiyoshi Plateau,Yamaguchi Prefecture,Japan

The relationship between the magmatism of the Cretaceous Ofuku pluton and mineralization in and around the Akiyoshi Plateau, Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan was investigated using a combination of field observation, petrographic and geochemical analyses, K–Ar geochronology, and fluid inclusion data. The Ofuku pluton has a surface area of 1.5 × 1.0 km, and was intruded into the Paleozoic accretionary complexes of the Akiyoshi Limestone, Ota Group and Tsunemori Formation in the western part of the Akiyoshi Plateau. The pluton belongs to the ilmenite‐series and is zoned, consisting mainly of early tonalite and granodiorite that share a gradational contact, and later granite and aplite that intruded the tonalite and granodiorite. Harker diagrams show that the Ofuku pluton has intermediate to silicic compositions ranging from 60.4 to 77.9 wt.% SiO₂, but a compositional gap exists between 70.5 to 73.4 wt.% SiO₂ (anhydrous basis). Modal and chemical variations indicate that the assumed parental magma is tonalitic. Quantitative models of fractional crystallization based on mass balance calculations and the Rayleigh fractionation model using major and trace element data for all crystalline phases indicate that magmatic fractionation was controlled mainly by crystal fractionation of plagioclase, hornblende, clinopyroxene and orthopyroxene at the early stage, and quartz, plagioclase, biotite, hornblende, apatite, ilmenite and zircon at the later stage. The residual melt extracted from the granodiorite mush was subsequently intruded into the northern and western parts of the Ofuku pluton as melt lens to form the granite and aplite. The age of the pluton was estimated at 99–97 Ma and 101–98 Ma based on K–Ar dating of hornblende and biotite, respectively. Both ages are consistent within analytical error, indicating that the Ofuku pluton and the associated Yamato mine belong to the Tungsten Province of the San‐yo Belt, which is genetically related to the ilmenite‐series granitoids of the Kanmon to Shunan stages. The aplite contains Cl‐rich apatite and REE‐rich monazite‐(Ce), allanite‐(Ce), xenotime and bastnäsite‐(Ce), indicating that the residual melt was rich in halogens and REEs. The tonalite–granodiorite of the Ofuku pluton contains many three‐phase fluid inclusions, along with daughter minerals such as NaCl and KCl, and vapor/liquid (V/L) volume ratios range from 0.2 to 0.9, suggesting that the fluid was boiling. In contrast, the granite and aplite contain low salinity two‐phase inclusions with low V/L ratios. The granodiorite occupies a large part of the pluton, and the inclusions with various V/L ratios with chloride daughter minerals suggest the boiling fluids might be related to the mineralization. This fluid could have carried base metals such as Cu and Zn, forming Cu ore deposits in and around the Ofuku pluton. The occurrence and composition of fluid inclusions in the igneous rocks from the Akiyoshi Plateau are directly linked to Cu mineralization in the area, demonstrating that fluid inclusions are useful indicators of mineralization.     

A 3-D Quasi-static Model for a Variety of Slip Behaviors on a Subduction Fault

— Earthquake faultings have a wide variety of slip behaviors, such as, a log-linear frequency-magnitude relation, characteristic earthquakes, slow slip events, and so on. We report a model which can reproduce a certain variety of observed complex slip behaviors on a fault. Our 3-D model simulates the seismic cycle on a shallow dipping subduction fault in a homogeneous elastic half-space, on which frictional sliding is controlled by a rate- and state-dependent friction law. We find that the behaviors of reproduced seismic cycles depend on a lateral dimension of a seismogenic zone (H) with respect to a constant seismogenic width in dip direction (W). The following three domains appear in the seismic cycle behaviors: (1) Regular, periodic behaviors when H is comparable to W; (2) transitional, quasi-periodic behaviors when H/W~ 3; and (3) complex behaviors when H/W is larger than about 4. The slip behavior in the domain (1) is characterized by a periodical recurrence of a characteristic earthquake, which is centered in strike direction. In the domain (2), although earthquakes are still centered, these recurrence intervals and the sizes are modulated within a certain range. Also, in the domain (3), earthquakes occur not only at the center but at various lateral positions on the seismogenic zone. In this domain, the log-linear frequency-magnitude relations, like the Gutenberg-Richter relation, are produced. Slow slip events also occur at source areas of the earthquakes. It is suggested that a heterogeneous stress distribution at a source region is important, as well as heterogeneities in friction properties on the fault, for understanding the wide variety of slip behaviors in faultings.     

Alkylbenzenes in mussels from South and South East Asian coasts as a molecular tool to assess sewage impact

Alkylbenzenes, molecular markers of sewage, were measured in 34 green mussels collected from India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines together with blue mussels collected from Tokyo Bay, Japan. Linear alkylbenzene (LAB) concentrations in South and South East Asian countries ranged from 10 to 1640 ng-∑LAB/g-dry tissue. In some populous cities, LAB concentrations were similar or higher than those found in northern Tokyo Bay which is heavily impacted by sewage effluents. I/E ratios (a ratio of internal to external isomers of LABs) in the South and South East Asian countries (1–3) were much lower than those in Tokyo Bay (3–8), indicating sewage discharged in the coastal zone is poorly treated (e.g., raw sewage and/or primary effluents). Alkylbenzenes with branched alkyl chains, tetrapropylene-based alkylbenzenes, were also detected in mussels from Indonesia and Philippines. This “tell-tale” sign indicates that poorly degradable detergents are still in use in this area, although they have long been phased-out in many industrialized countries.     

Interplate Earthquake Fault Slip During Periodic Earthquake Cycles in a Viscoelastic Medium at a Subduction Zone

--A 2-D finite-element-method (FEM) numerical experiment of earthquake cycles at a subduction zone is performed to investigate the effect of viscoelasticity of the earth on great interplate earthquake fault slip. We construct a 2-D viscoelastic FEM model of northeast Japan, which consists of an elastic upper crust and a viscoelastic mantle wedge under gravitation overlying the subducting elastic Pacific plate. Instead of the dislocation model prescribing an amount of slip on a plate interface, we define an earthquake cycle, in which the plate interface down to a depth is locked during an interseismic period and unlocked during coseismic and postseismic periods by changing the friction on the boundary with the master-slave method. This earthquake cycle with steady plate subduction is periodically repeated to calculate the resultant earthquake fault slip.¶As simulated in a previous study (Wang, 1995), the amount of fault slip at the first earthquake cycle is smaller than the total relative plate motion. This small amount of fault slip in the viscoelastic medium was considered to be one factor explaining the small seismic coupling observed at several subduction zones. Our simulation, however, shows that the fault slip grows with an increasing number of repeated earthquake cycles and reaches an amount comparable to the total relative plate motion after more than ten earthquake cycles. This new finding indicates that the viscoelasticity of the earth is not the main factor in explaining the observed small seismic coupling. In comparison with a simple one-degree-of-freedom experiment, we demonstrate that the increase of the fault slip occurs in the transient state from the relaxed initial state to the stressed equilibrium state due to the intermittent plate loading in a viscoelastic medium.