Attenuation of compressional waves in peridotite measured as a function of temperature at 200 MPa

A technique has been developed to determine attenuation in rocks at high temperature using a gas-media, high-pressure apparatus. A pulse transmission technique and a spectral ratio method are used to study compressional seismic properties of rocks. Seismic waves are transmitted to and from the sample through buffer rods of mullite. The effect of seismic wave reflections within the sample assembly are cancelled out by taking ratios of the spectra measured at different temperatures. In order to obtain good signal-to-noise ratio for resolving the attenuation at high pressure and temperature, special care is taken in the sample assembly and the ultrasonic coupling between the sample, buffer rods and transducers. A very tight connection of the sample-buffer rod-transducer is essential for obtaining high frequency signals (>300 kHz) at high temperature. A small mass is attached to each outside end of the transducer to drive low frequency signals (<250 kHz) into the sample. Before attenuation measurements, the sample and the buffer rods are tightly compacted in a platinum tube at high pressure and room temperature to ensure pressure seal of the sample assembly. The frequency range of measurement covers 50 to 450 kHz for the sample. Attenuation is very small in the buffer rod compared to the sample for the entire temperature range of the study. Because of the small attenuation, a wide frequency band of 50 kHz to 3.2 MHz can be covered for investigating the attenuation in the buffer rod. The technique has been used to measure attenuation at high confining pressure, and temperatures including sub- and hyper-solidus of upper mantle rocks. Therefore, effects of partial melting on attenuation can be studied.The method is applied to the attenuation measurement in a peridotite as a function of temperature to 1225°C at 200 MPa confining pressure. At high temperature, signal amplitude decays more rapidly at high frequency than at low frequency, from which attenuation (andQ) can be determined using a spectral ratio method. No frequency dependence ofQ is resolved for both the sample and the buffer rod over the entire temperature and frequency ranges of the measurement. The results show thatQ decreases rapidly with increasing temperature even in the temperature range below the solidus of peridotites. Such temperature sensitivity ofQ is probably more useful to probe thermal structure in the upper mantle than that of conductivity at temperatures below the solidus. The results in this study are compared with available seismic velocity, electrical conductivity and solidus data for peridotites, suggesting that there is no discontinuous change in both mechanical and electrical properties of peridotites at the solidus temperature. Even at hypersolidus temperatures, it appears that velocity drops and conductivity increases continuously (not abruptly) with increasing melt fraction. This implies that mechanical and electrical properties of the upper mantle will gradually change at the boundary where the geotherm crosses the solidus.     

Projected future changes in the contribution of Indo-Pacific sea surface height variability to the Indonesian throughflow

The Indonesian throughflow (ITF) transports a significant amount of warm freshwater from the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, making it critical to the global climate system. This study examines decadal ITF variations using ocean reanalysis data as well as climate model simulations from the Coupled Model Inter-comparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5). While the observed annual cycle of ITF transport is known to be correlated with the annual cycle of sea surface height (SSH) difference between the Pacific and Indian Oceans, ocean reanalysis data (1959–2015) show that the Pacific Ocean SSH variability controls more than 85% of ITF variation on decadal timescales. In contrast, the Indian Ocean SSH variability contributes less than 15%. While those observed contributions are mostly reproduced in the CMIP5 historical simulations, an analysis of future climate projections shows a 25–30% increase in the Indian Ocean SSH variability to decadal ITF variations and a corresponding decrease in the Pacific contribution. These projected changes in the Indian Ocean SSH variability are associated with a 23% increase in the amplitudes of negative zonal wind stress anomalies over the equatorial Indian Ocean, along with a 12º eastward shift in the center of action in these anomalies. This combined effect of the increased amplitude and eastward shift in the zonal wind stress increases the SSHA variance over the Indian Ocean, increasing its contribution to the ITF variation. The decadal ITF changes discussed in this study will be crucial in understanding the future global climate variability, strongly coupled to Indo-Pacific interactions.

     

Atoll island vulnerability to flooding and inundation revealed by historical reconstruction: Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

The reef islands formed on coral atolls are generally small, low, and flat, with elevations of only a few meters. These islands are thus highly vulnerable to elevated sea levels caused by extreme events and global warming. Such vulnerability was recently evidenced at Fongafale Islet, the capital of Tuvalu, when it flooded during accelerated spring high tides possibly related to sea level rise caused by global warming. Many factors, not only environmental but also economic and social, determine the vulnerability of an island to sea level rise. In this study, we used data spanning 108 yrs to reconstruct changes in topography, land use/cover, population, and the distribution of buildings at Fongafale Islet. The results indicate that the vulnerability of Fongafale Islet relates to its original landform characteristics: the central part of the island was formerly dominated by swampland that flooded at high tides. Fongafale Islet experienced greater population in-migration and centralization beginning in the 1970s following the independence of Tuvalu and Kiribati. Migrants were also responding to declines in overseas mining operations and limited options for paid employment. As the population increased, construction took place in vulnerable swampland areas. Our results clearly demonstrate that examinations of global environmental issues should focus on characteristics specific to the region of interest. These characteristics should be specified using historical reconstruction to understand and address the vulnerability of an area to global environmental changes.     

Log N — log S of radio sources at 10 GHz with flat spectra

A logN — logS relation at 10 GHz is constructed for sources with the flat spectra 0.5 (flux densitySv ^–) from observations at NRO, MPIfR and others. Based on the source distribution on log (Luminosity) volume plane we obtain an epoch-depending luminosity function which explains the above relation.Paper presented at the IAU Third Asian-Pacific Regional Meeting, held in Kyoto, Japan, between 30 September–6 October, 1984.Nobeyama Radio Observatory, a branch of the Tokyo Astronomical Observatory, University of Tokyo, is a facility open for general use by researchers in the field of astronomy and astrophysics.     

Factors governing the formation of pyroclastic rocks

The basic condition governing the formation of pyroclastic rocks is the relationship between the disruptive force of gas pressure in bubbles to the strength of the liquid for short term stresses and surface tension. The latter factor controls the coalescence of bubbles, because it is strongly dependent on the composition, temperature, and water content of the liquid. Data on surface tension of volcanic liquids are presented.     

Mid-latitude horizontal electric fields in the stratosphere during magnetically disturbed periods

The horizontal electric field has been measured with balloons over the Pacific Ocean near the Sanriku Coast in Japan. By comparing the electric-field data obtained during magnetically disturbed periods, 16–17 October 1973, 6–7 October 1975 and 3–4 October 1977, with IMF B_z, auroral zone AU and AL, equatorial Dst and $\text{Δ(Dst)}\text{Δt}$, mid-latitude magnetic fields (H, D, Z at Kakioka), and the ionospheric electron density (?₀F2 at Kokubunji), it is found that the observed electric fields of about 9 mVm^?1 made the clockwise rotation during the growth and recovery stages of the magnetospheric substorms. Relations between high and middle latitude ionospheres and between the magnetosphere and the ionosphere are discussed in relation to the origin and propagation of these electric fields.     

Effects of Bathymetric Grid-Cell Sizes on Habitat Suitability Analysis of Cold-water Gorgonian Corals on Seamounts

We investigated the effects of the spatial resolution of bathymetry data on the predicted local distribution of large gorgonian corals on the southern Emperor Seamounts in the high seas of North Pacific. Terrain attributes were calculated from bathymetric survey data at six different grid-cell sizes (25–800 m) to investigate how the values of bottom terrain attributes and the prediction of MaxEnt habitat suitability models would vary with grid-cell size. The values of each terrain attribute showed different patterns among different grid-cell sizes, and MaxEnt demonstrated better performance at grid-cell size of 100 m or less than at larger sizes.     

Gold Mineralization of the Gatsuurt Deposit in the North Khentei Gold Belt,Central Northern Mongolia

Mineral assemblages, chemical compositions of ore minerals, wall rock alteration and fluid inclusions of the Gatsuurt gold deposit in the North Khentei gold belt of Mongolia were investigated to characterize the gold mineralization, and to clarify the genetic processes of the ore minerals. The gold mineralization of the deposit occurs in separate Central and Main zones, and is characterized by three ore types: (i) low‐grade disseminated and stockwork ores; (ii) moderate‐grade quartz vein ores; and (iii) high‐grade silicified ores, with average Au contents of approximately 1, 3 and 5 g t^?1 Au, respectively. The Au‐rich quartz vein and silicified ore mineralization is surrounded by, or is included within, the disseminated and stockwork Au‐mineralization region. The main ore minerals are pyrite (pyrite‐I and pyrite‐II) and arsenopyrite (arsenopyrite‐I and arsenopyrite‐II). Moderate amounts of galena, tetrahedrite‐tennantite, sphalerite and chalcopyrite, and minor jamesonite, bournonite, boulangerite, geocronite, scheelite, geerite, native gold and zircon are associated. Abundances and grain sizes of the ore minerals are variable in ores with different host rocks. Small grains of native gold occur as fillings or at grain boundaries of pyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena and tetrahedrite in the disseminated and stockwork ores and silicified ores, whereas visible native gold of variable size occurs in the quartz vein ores. The ore mineralization is associated with sericitic and siliceous alteration. The disseminated and stockwork mineralization is composed of four distinct stages characterized by crystallization of (i) pyrite‐I + arsenopyrite‐I, (ii) pyrite‐II + arsenopyrite‐II, (iii) galena + tetrahedrite + sphalerite + chalcopyrite + jamesonite + bournonite + scheelite, and iv) boulangerite + native gold, respectively. In the quartz vein ores, four crystallization stages are also recognized: (i) pyrite‐I, (ii) pyrite‐II + arsenopyrite + galena + Ag‐rich tetrahedrite‐tennantite + sphalerite + chalcopyrite + bournonite, (iii) geocronite + geerite + native gold, and (iv) native gold. Two mineralization stages in the silicified ores are characterized by (i) pyrite + arsenopyrite + tetrahedrite + chalcopyrite, and (ii) galena + sphalerite + native gold. Quartz in the disseminated and stockwork ores of the Main zone contains CO₂‐rich, halite‐bearing aqueous fluid inclusions with homogenization temperatures ranging from 194 to 327°C, whereas quartz in the disseminated and stockwork ores of the Central zone contains CO₂‐rich and aqueous fluid inclusions with homogenization temperatures ranging from 254 to 355°C. The textures of the ores, the mineral assemblages present, the mineralization sequences and the fluid inclusion data are consistent with orogenic classification for the Gatsuurt deposit.     

SHRIMP U–Pb zircon geochronology and Sr–Nd isotopic systematic of the Neoproterozoic Ghimbi-Nedjo mafic to intermediate intrusions of Western Ethiopia: a record of passive margin magmatism at 855 Ma?

The reworked Pre-Neoproterozoic and juvenile Neoproterozoic terrane of the Western Ethiopian Shield (WES) consists of three N–S trending terranes. These are the western migmatitic gneissic terrane, the central metavolcano sedimentary terrane (CVST) and the eastern migmatitic gneissic terrane. The eastern part of the CVST mostly consists of suture-related ultramafic-metasedimentary complexes, whereas metavolcanics predominate in the western part. Gabbroic to granitic intrusions frequently occur in the CVST and in adjacent areas. New zircon SHRIMP U–Pb ages for two gabbros and three diorites in the Ghimbi-Nedjo region of the WES indicate magmatic crystallization ages. Two pulses of magmatism, at 860–850 and 795–785 Ma, are documented with the former for the first time. The tholeiitic Kemashi diorite and Bikilal-Ghimbi gabbros have oceanic affinities and yield U/Pb zircon ages of 856.3 ± 9.8 and 846.0 ± 7.6 Ma, respectively. The calc-alkaline Gebeya Kemisa pyroxene diorite, and the Senbet Dura hornblende diorite plus the tholeiitic Wayu Meni gabbro, which collectively have arc-back arc characteristics are indistinguishable at ages of 794.3 ± 9.4, 787.7 ± 8.8 and 778.1 ± 6.3 Ma, respectively. Positive εNd (4.5–7.0) and low initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr (0.7029 ± 0.0002) and a mean T _DM model age of 0.95 Ga for the Ghimbi-Nedjo region (mean T _DM model age of 0.95 Ga for the WES overall) indicate that the magmas were generated from juvenile Neoproterozoic depleted mantle sources, with no discernable involvement of pre-Neoproterozoic continental crust. The occurrence of gabbros and diorites with oceanic tholeiite affinities combined with the new ages suggests that the intrusions were emplaced in the earliest stages of the rifting of Rodinia. This event in the WES led to the development of a passive margin and associated plume-type magmatism at ~855 Ma. The two intrusive groups with differing magma chemistry and ages suggest that the earliest magmatism was tholeiitic and associated with the passive margin system followed by continental breakup to form the Mozambique Ocean. The combination of tholeiitic and calc-alkaline magmatism was related to arc and back-arc basin formation and later terrane accretion (~830–690 Ma).