Infrared polarization of venus: Its periodic fluctuations and evidence for thin haze

Infrared polarimetry of Venus over the phase angles from 18 to 171° has been made extending previous measurements (S. Sato, K. Kawara, Y. Kobayashi, H. Okuda, K. Noguchi, T. Mukai, and S. Mukai (1980). Icarus43, 288) in both wavelength λ and phase angle θ. The results of polarization measurements at 2.25 μm ? λ ? 5.0 μm are (i) small positive and negative values at K(2.25 μm), (ii) a remarkable variation with λ in the CVF(2.2?4.2μm) filter region, (iii) a nearly smooth curve as a function of θ having a peak value of ～36% at θ ～ 90° at both 3.6 μm and L′(3.8 μm), and (iv) a decrease with increasing field of view at M(5.0 μm) due to the contamination of thermal emission from the dark crescent. Furthermore, at 3.6 μm and L′(3.8 μm), (v) higher values at the poles than at the equator and (vi) 4.5- to 5.9-day periodic fluctuations are also found. From a comparison with model calculations, the results confirm the existence of a thin haze layer consisting of submicron-size particles above the main clouds of Venus; e.g., its optical thickness is about 0.1 at λ ～ 0.94 μm. In addition, result (vi) could be explained by a variation of the optical thickness of the haze layer or that of the brightness temperature of the main clouds.     

The effects of the spinel—garnet phase transition on the formation of rifted sedimentary basins

We have examined the effects of the spinel-garnet phase transition on subsidence of extensional sedimentary basins. For a constant positive Clapeyron slope ( dP/dT ), the phase boundary moves downwards in the syn-rift and upwards in the post-rift phase. For a non-linear Clapeyron curve ( dP/dT > 0 above 900°C and dP/dT < 0 below 900°C), theory predicts for the reaction of the spinel-garnet phase transition, the direction of phase boundary movement is dependent on the stretching factor, the position of the Clapeyron curve and the lithospheric thickness. A smaller syn-rift and larger post-rift subsidence are predicted for a deeper phase boundary and a thicker lithosphere. The model with a non-linear Clapeyron curve is applied to the subsidence histories of a young extensional basin (Gulf of Lion) and an old continental margin (eastern Canada). The observed syn-rift uplift and the larger post-rift subsidence can be reasonably explained by this model, where the optimum depth of the phase boundary for eastern Canada (˜90 km) is consistent with the estimate from seismic observations and is larger than that for the Gulf of Lion (˜ 50 km). The depth of the spinel-garnet phase boundary is sensitive to the composition of mantle rocks and increases with the extraction of basaltic components from the lithosphere, compatible with our result that the phase boundary is deeper for an older and thicker lithosphere. Thus the surface movement associated with the rifting for these areas may reflect the chemical evolution of the continental lithosphere.     

Measures for groundwater security during and after the Hanshin-Awaji earthquake (1995) and the Great East Japan earthquake (2011), Japan

Many big earthquakes have occurred in the tectonic regions of the world, especially in Japan. Earthquakes often cause damage to crucial life services such as water, gas and electricity supply systems and even the sewage system in urban and rural areas. The most severe problem for people affected by earthquakes is access to water for their drinking/cooking and toilet flushing. Securing safe water for daily life in an earthquake emergency requires the establishment of countermeasures, especially in a mega city like Tokyo. This paper described some examples of groundwater use in earthquake emergencies, with reference to reports, books and newspapers published in Japan. The consensus is that groundwater, as a source of water, plays a major role in earthquake emergencies, especially where the accessibility of wells coincides with the emergency need. It is also important to introduce a registration system for citizen-owned and company wells that can form the basis of a cooperative during a disaster; such a registration system was implemented by many Japanese local governments after the Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake in 1995 and the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, and is one of the most effective countermeasures for groundwater use in an earthquake emergency. Emphasis is also placed the importance of establishing of a continuous monitoring system of groundwater conditions for both quantity and quality during non-emergency periods.     

New insights into the P- and S-wave velocity structure of the D" discontinuity beneath the Cocos plate

Broad-band P - and S -waves from earthquakes in South America recorded at Californian network stations are analysed to image lateral variations of the D"-discontinuity beneath the Cocos plate. We apply two array processing methods to the data set: a simplified migration method to the P -wave data set and a double-array method to both the P - and S -wave data sets, allowing us to compare results from the two methods. The double-array method images a dipping reflector at a depth range from 2650 to 2700 km in the southern part of the study area. We observe a step-like topography of 100 km to a shallower reflector at about 2600 km depth to the north, as well as evidence for a second (deeper) reflector at a depth range from 2700 to 2750 km in the north. Results from the simplified migration agree well with those from the double-array method, similarly locating a large step in reflector depth in a similar location (about 2650 km depth in the south and about 2550 km in the north) as well as the additional deeper reflector at the depth of about 2750 km in the north. Waveform modelling of the reflected waves from both methods suggests a positive velocity contrast for S waves, but a negative velocity contrast for P waves for the upper reflector in agreement with predictions from mineral physical calculations for a post-perovskite phase transition. The data also show some evidence for the existence of another deeper reflector that could indicate a double intersection of the geotherm with the post-perovskite stability field, that is, the back-transformation of post-perovskite to perovskite close to the core–mantle boundary.     

Geological age of the Yokawa Formation of the Kobe Group (Japan) on the basis of terrestrial mammalian fossils

Abstract   The age of the Yokawa Formation of the Cenozoic Kobe Group distributed in Hyogo Prefecture of western Japan based on mammalian fossils is discussed. Two fossil dental specimens of terrestrial mammals discovered from the lowest part of the Yokawa Formation in the Sanda area are described. These two fossils described here are: (i) a right mandibular fragment with p2–m3 of Bothriodon sandaensis sp. nov. (selenodont anthracotheriid artiodactyl), which appears to be the most primitive among the species of the genus; and (ii) right m1–m3 of cf. Hyrachyus sp. (primitive rhinocerotoid perissodactyl). In the lower part of the Yokawa Formation, Zaisanamynodon (amynodontid perissodactyl) was previously reported. The morphology ('evolutionary stage') of B. sandaensis is indicative of the latest Middle to Late Eocene, that of cf. Hyrachyus sp. is indicative of the Early to Middle Eocene, and Zaisanamynodon is indicative of the Late Middle to Late Eocene. Therefore, the fossil mammals of the Yokawa Formation indicate an latest Middle Eocene ( ca . 38 Ma) correlation for the lower part of the formation, as a working hypothesis. Although the resolution of the geological age based on these mammalian fossils is relatively low compared to that based on marine index fossils, this result is concordant with the recent radiometric correlation of the lower part of the Yokawa Formation in the Sanda area.     

Tectonic implications of damage zone-related fault-fracture networks revealed in drill core through the Nojima fault, Japan

1800 m of drill core through the Nojima fault zone, Japan, reveals subsidiary fault and fracture networks that developed in the fault zone that triggered the 1995 Ms 7.2 Kobe earthquake. The subsidiary fault zones contain a fault gouge of < 1 cm bounded by thin zones of foliated cataclasite or breccia. Fractures are filled with calcite veins, calcite-cemented breccias, clay, and iron-oxide and carbonate alternation of the granitic host rock. These features are typical of extensional fractures that form the conduit network for fluid flux close to a major fault zone. The zone of distributed deformation surrounding the main fault is 50 m in width, and the dip of the Nojima fault at > 1 km depth is 75°. The fault-fracture networks associated with the Nojima fault zone are coseismic and were filled with carbonate and fine-grained material during repeated seismic-related infiltration of the fault zone by carbonate-bearing subsurface water. This study shows that fault-related fracture networks plays an important role as fluid flow conduits within seismically active faults, and can change in character from zones of high permeability to low permeability due to cementation and/or pore collapse.     

Experimental study on internal waves in a stratified shear flow

This paper describes experiments on interfacial phenomena in a stratified shear flow having a sharp velocity shear at a density interface. The interface was visualized in vertical cross-section using dye, and the flow pattern was traced using aluminum powder. Two kinds of internal waves with different phase velocities and wave profiles were observed. They are here named p(positive)-waves and n(negative)-waves, respectively. By means of a two-dimensional visualization technique, the following facts have been confirmed regarding these waves. (1) The two kinds of waves propagate in the opposite direction relative to a system moving with the mean velocity at the interface, and their dispersion relations approximately agree with the two solutions of interfacial waves in a two-layer system of a linear basic shear flow. (2) The p-wave has sharp crests and flat troughs, and the n-wave has the reverse of this. This difference in wave profile is due to the finite amplitude effect. (3) Phase velocity of each wave lies within the range of the mean velocity profile, so that a critical layer exists and each wave has a “cat's eye” flow pattern in the vicinity of the critical layer, when observed in a system moving with the phase velocity. Consequently, these two waves are symmetrical with respect to the interface. The mechanisms of generation of these waves, and the entrainment process are discussed. It is inferred that when the “cat's eye” flow pattern is distorted and a stagnation point approaches the interface, entrainment in the form of a stretched wisp from the lower to the upper layer occurs for the p-wave, and from the upper to the lower layer for the n-wave.     

Cation distribution in pentlandites (Fe,Ni)9S8: Dependence on pressure and temperature and kinetics of the cation exchange reaction

This paper describes the distribution of Fe and Ni between the octahedral and tetrahedral sites in pentlandite (Fe,Ni)₉S₈. The dependence of the distribution on pressure and temperature and the activation energy of the cation exchange reaction were determined through annealing experiments. Synthetic crystals were annealed at 433–723 K and pressures up to 4 GPa, and natural crystals were annealed at 423, 448 and 473 K in evacuated silica capillary tubes for various durations. The cation distributions in the synthetic crystals were determined with an X-ray powder method employing the anomalous dispersion effect of CuK. and FeK radiations, while those of natural crystals were calculated from the cell dimensions. The values of U, S and V for the Fe/Ni exchange reaction are –6818 J mol^–1, 20.52 J K^–1 mol^–1, and 6.99 × 10^–6 m³ mol^–1, respectively. The dependence of the Fe/Ni distribution on pressure (Pa) and temperature (Kelvin) was determined as lnK = 2.47+8.20 × 10² T ^–1+8.41 x 10^–7 T ^–1 P, where K = (Fe/Ni)_octahedral /(Fe/Ni)_tetrahedral. The activation energy of the cation exchange reaction was 185 kJ mol^–1.     

Pressure and temperature dependence of cation distribution in Mg-Mn olivine

Synthetic (Mg_0.51, Mn_0.49)₂SiO₄ olivine samples are heat-treated at three different pressures; 0, 8 and 12 GPa, all at the same temperature (～500° C). X-ray structure analyses on these single crystals are made in order to see the pressure effect on cation distribution. The intersite distribution coefficient of Mg and Mn in M1 and M2 sites, K _D = (Mn/Mg) _M1/(Mn/Mg) _M2, of these samples are 0.192 (0 GPa), 0.246 (8 GPa) and 0.281 (12 GPa), indicating cationic disordering with pressure. The small differences of cell dimensions between these samples are determined by powder X-ray diffraction. Cell dimensions b and c decrease, whereas a increases with pressure of equilibration. Cell volume decreases with pressure as a result of a large contraction of the b cell dimension. The effect of pressure on the free energy of the cation exchange reaction is evaluated by the observed relation between the cell volume and the site occupancy numbers. The magnitude of the pressure effect on cation distribution is only a fifth of that predicted from the observed change in volume combined with thermodynamic theory. This phenomenon is attributed to nonideality in this solid solution, and nonideal parameters are required to describe cation distribution determined in the present and previous experiments. We use a five-parameter equation to specify the cationic equilibrium on the basic of thermodynamic theory. It includes one energy parameter of ideal mixing, two parameters for nonideal effects, one volume parameter, and one thermal parameter originated from the lattice vibrational energy. The present data combined with some of the existing data are used to determine the five parameters, and the cation distribution in Mg-Mn olivine is described as a function of temperature, pressure, and composition. The basic framework of describing the cationic behavior in olivine-type mineral is worked out, although the result is preliminary: each of the determined parameters is not accurate enough to enable us to make a reliable prediction.     

Pressure dependence of Néel transition in (Mg,Fe)O

Pressure dependence of Néel temperature (T _N) in (Mg_0.20Fe_0.80)O, (Mg_0.25Fe_0.75)O, and (Mg_0.30Fe_0.70)O was newly measured up to 1.14 GPa, using superconducting quantum interference device magnetometer and piston–cylinder-type pressure cell under hydrostatic condition. The dT _N/dP values of (Mg_0.20Fe_0.80)O, (Mg_0.25Fe_0.75)O, and (Mg_0.30Fe_0.70)O were determined as 4.0 ± 0.3, 2.7 ± 0.3, and 4.4 ± 0.4 K/GPa, respectively, in linear approximation; however, the T _N deviated from the linearity under nonhydrostatic conditions. The compositional dependence of dT _N/dP in (Mg_1?X Fe _X )O showed a rapid decay with increasing Mg components at X ≥ 0.75 and the trend ended at X = 0.70. The estimated Néel transition pressure at room temperature by extrapolating these linearities are very similar to the rhombohedral distortion determined by previous X-ray diffraction studies for X ≥ 0.75, which suggests that the rhombohedral phase of (Mg_1?X Fe _X )O (X ≥ 0.75) at room temperature is antiferromagnetic under hydrostatic conditions.