Active spreading and hydrothermalism in North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). Results of Japanese French Cruise Kaiyo 87

The aim of the Japanese-French Kaiyo 87 cruise was the study of the spreading axis in the North Fiji Basin (SW Pacific). A Seabeam and geophysical survey allowed us to define the detailed structure of the active NS spreading axis between 16° and 22° S and its relationships with the left lateral motion of the North Fiji Fracture Zone. Between 21° S and 18°10′ S, the spreading axis trends NS. From 18°10 S to 16°40 S the orientation of the spreading axis changes from NS to 015°. North of 16°40′ S the spreading axis trends 160°. These two 015° and 160° branches converge with the left lateral North Fiji fracture zone around 16°40′ S to define an RRFZ triple junction. Water sampling, dredging and photo TV deep towing give new information concerning the hydrothermal activity along the spreading axis. The discovery of hydrothermal deposits associated with living communities confirms this activity.     

Structural and fabric analyses of basal slip zone of the Jin’nosuke-dani landslide, northern central Japan: its application to the slip mechanism of decollement

We describe in detail the deformation structures and textures of a large-scale landslide body that developed in the Betto-dani Valley in northern central Japan. We studied the shape-preferred orientation of clasts and clay flakes and the development of internal shear planes within the slip zone of the landslide. The slip has an average rate of 5–10 cm/year under the overburden pressure of approximately 1.6 MPa; these values are similar to those of the proto-decollement zone of the Nankai accretionary prism in SW Japan. The anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility of samples obtained from the slip zone reveals that the long axes of clay flakes define an imbricate structure. The slip was due to a long-term periodical creep, which occurs during the thaw seasons with an average slip rate of 0.16–0.32 μm/min. During the creep, the long axes of grains including clay flakes in the slip zone are developed from parallel to perpendicular to the slip direction. The observed textures provide a clue to elucidate the deformation textures and process in the decollement zone of the Nankai prism.     

Lateral load pattern in pushover analysis

The seismic capacity curves of three types of buildings including frame, frame-shear wall and shear wall obtained by pushover analysis under different lateral load patterns are compared with those from nonlinear time history analysis. Based on the numerical results obtained a two-phase load pattern; an inverted triangle (first mode) load pattern until the base shear force reachesβ times its maximum value, V_max, followed by a (x/H)^α form, hereβ and α being some coefficients depending on the type of the structures considered, is proposed in the paper, which can provide excellent approximation of the seismic capacity curve for low-to-mid-rise shear type buildings. Furthermore, it is shown both the two-phase load pattern proposed and the invariant uniform pattern can be used for low-to-mid-rise shear-bending type and low-rise bending type of buildings. No suitable load patterns have been found for high-rise buildings.     

Hydrogen isotope fractionation between OH-bearing minerals and water

Hydrogen isotope fractionation factors between hydroxyl-bearing minerals and water were determined at temperatures ranging between 400 and 850°C. The hydrogen isotope exchange rates for the mineral-water pairs examined were very slow. In most cases it was necessary to use an interpolation method for the determination of the hydrogen isotope equilibrium fractionation factor, α_e.For the temperature range of 450–850°C the hydrogen isotope fractionation factors for the mica-water and amphibole-water systems are simply expressed as a function of temperature and the molar fractions of the six-fold coordinated cations in the crystal, regardless of mineral species, as follows: 10³ In α_{e(mineral-water)} = ? 22.4 (10⁶T^?2) + 28.2 + (2X_Al ? 4X_Mg ? 68X_Fe), where X is the molar fraction of the cations. As the equation indicates, for any specific composition of the OH-bearing minerals, the change of α_e with temperature, over the temperature range investigated, is the same for all minerals studied. Thus for any specified values of X_Al, X_Mg, and X_Fe for these minerals, the relationship between α_e and T is 10³ In α_e = αT^?2 + k. Consequently, hydrogen isotope fractionation among coexisting minerals is temperature independent and cannot be used as a hydrogen isotope geothermometer.Some exceptions to the above general observations exist for minerals such as boehmite and kaolinite. In these minerals hydrogen bonding modifies the equilibrium hydrogen isotopic fractionation between mineral and water.     

Chaotic Itinerancy and Thermalization in a One-Dimensional Self-Gravitating System

Long time behavior of one-dimensional self-gravitating system is numerically investigated. Itinerant behavior among quasiequilibria is discovered, and its origin is clarified. The macroscopic distributions of the quasiquilibria are different from the isothermal distribution, but the transient states, which appears between two successive quasiequilibria, resemble the isothermal distribution. Averaging over the is itinerancy gives approximately the thermal equilibrium. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Stable isotope-guided analysis of biomagnification profiles of arsenic species in a tropical mangrove ecosystem

We performed stable carbon and nitrogen-guided analyses of biomagnification profiles of arsenic (As) species, including total As, lipid-soluble As, eight water-soluble As compounds (arsenobetaine (AB), arsenocholine (AC), tetramethylarsonium ion (TETRA), trimethylarsine oxide (TMAO), dimethylarsinic acid (DMA), monomethylarsonic acid (MMA), arsenate (As[V]), and arsenite (As[III])), and non-extracted As in a tropical mangrove ecosystem in the Ba Ria Vung Tau, South Vietnam. Arsenobetaine was the predominant As species (65-96% of water-soluble As). Simple linear regression slopes of log-transformed concentrations of total As, As fractions or individual As compounds on stable nitrogen isotopic ratio (δ15N) values are regarded as indices of biomagnification. In this ecosystem, lipid-soluble As (slope, 0.130) and AB (slope, 0.108) were significantly biomagnified through the food web; total As and other water-soluble As compounds were not. To our knowledge, this is one of the first reports on biomagnification profiles of As compounds from a tropical mangrove ecosystem.     

基于GIS的住宅区周边危险边坡三维稳定性评价

为了评价日本千叶县某住宅区周边大范围边坡的滑坡危险度,探讨了一种基于GIS的三维边坡稳定性评价方法。首先根据已有的CAD格式的地形等高线图及有限的钻孔数据,得到地表、地层、地下水的三维GIS数据。在依据边坡倾角、倾向等地形特性对该大范围边坡划分边坡单元的基础上,采用一种基于GIS栅格数据的边坡稳定三维极限平衡分析模型计算了研究区域各边坡单元的安全系数,进行了滑坡危险性分区评价。本研究对于如何利用有限的现场调查数据来进行高精度的数值计算分析,以及GIS在地质防灾领域的更深层次的应用具有一定的参考价值。     

Exploration Indices and Mineral Potential Map of the Kuroko Deposits in Northeast Japan

Abstract. Recent discoveries of seafloor hydrothermal mineralization in submarine volcanic centers of felsic magma in western Pacific island arcs are regarded as modern analogues of Kuroko type deposits. Studies of these deposits and their surrounding geology raised question whether the exploration activity for the Kuroko deposits on land which peaked in the 1960's was adequate or not. However, such an evaluation is not easy because the exploration data are about to be lost as a result of the closure of all the Kuroko mines in the area since 1994.
The Metal Mining Agency of Japan (MMAJ), therefore, decided to compile existing data on about 180 Kuroko deposits and related mineral occurrences in northeast Japan as a new Kuroko database.
This study extends a concept called "exploration indices" which was developed based on a case study of the thoroughly surveyed Hokuroku district to draw a potential map of the Kuroko occurrences for the entire northeast Japan quantitatively with a Geographical Information System (GIS). Effective exploration indices include: 1) distribution of dacitic-rhy-olitic submarine volcanic rocks of the Nishikurosawa and Onnagawa stages, 2) distribution of intrusive rocks of pre- and post-Kuroko horizon, 3) low aeromagnetic anomaly caused by hydrothermal alteration of magnetite, 4) low gravity anomaly which suggests depressions in the basement rocks such as a tectonic basin and/or caldera, and 5) nearby existence of vein type deposits. It is concluded that about 33 % of known Kuroko deposits fall within the high potential zone (score=4 and 5) that occupies only 4 % of the entire northeast Japan arc. The Kuroko potential map is, therefore, useful for limiting the target area for Kuroko type deposits in an island arc setting.