Post-Eruption Arcades and Interplanetary Coronal Mass Ejections

We compare the temporal and spatial properties of posteruption arcades (PEAs) associated with coronal mass ejections (CMEs) at the Sun that end up as magnetic cloud (MC) and non-MC events in the solar wind. We investigate the length, width, area, tilt angle, and formation time of the PEAs associated with 22 MC and 29 non-MC events and we find no difference between the two populations. According to current ideas on the relation between flares and CMEs, the PEA is formed together with the CME flux-rope structure by magnetic reconnection. Our results indicate that at the Sun flux ropes form during CMEs in association with both MC and non-MC events; however, for non-MC events the flux-rope structure is not observed in the interplanetary space because of the geometry of the observation, i.e. the location of the spacecraft when the structure passes through it.     

Whole rock geochemistry and Sr isotopic compositions of Phanerozoic sedimentary rocks in the Inner Zone of the Southwest Japan Arc

Pre-Cretaceous metasedimentary rocks occurring in the Inner Zone of the Southwest Japan Arc can be divided into three major groups, namely, high P/T metamorphic (Renge and Suo belts), low P/T metamorphic (Hida-Oki, Ryoke and Higo belts), and accretionary terranes (Akiyoshi, Maizuru, Mino-Tamba, and Ashio belts). Major and trace element compositions of most of the sedimentary rocks are typical of relatively mature sedimentary rocks, although abundances of ferromagnesian elements also suggest the presence of a significant mafic to intermediate igneous component. The sedimentary rocks with older Nd model ages (> 2.0 Ga) have high εSr values and major and trace element geochemical signatures typical of mature sediments, whereas those with younger model ages (< 1.45 Ga) have low εSr values and immature geochemical characteristics. With the exception of Hida samples, the sedimentary rocks from other districts have geochemical and isotopic features intermediate between the rocks with old and young Nd model ages. Some of the Hida samples have old Nd model ages, but others are influenced by younger rock fragments and have immature geochemical features. Based on combined isotopic and geochemical evidence, Inner Zone sedimentary rocks with older Nd model ages are interpreted to have been derived from felsic upper continental crustal materials such as Sino-Korean or northwest Yangtze craton granitoids. Compositions of rocks with younger Nd model ages reflect addition of mafic to intermediate detritus, such as island arc basalts and andesites. The rocks with intermediate Nd model ages may have formed in and around the Asian continental margin. The Hida metasedimentary rocks may have been derived from several terranes of varying age and geochemical composition.     

A Vendian-Cambrian Island Arc System of the Siberian Continent in Gorny Altai (Russia, Central Asia)

An extended Vendian-Cambrian island-arc system similar to the Izu-Bonin-Mariana type is described in the Gorny Altai terrane at the margin of the Siberian continent.

Three different tectonic stages in the terrane are recognized. (1) A set of ensimatic active margins including subducted oceanic crust of the Paleo-Asian ocean, the Uimen-Lebed primitive island arc, oceanic islands and seamounts: the set of rocks is assumed to be formed in the Vendian. (2) A more evolved island arc comprising calc-alkaline volcanics and granites: a fore-arc trough in Middle-late Cambrian time was filled with disrupted products of pre-Middle Cambrian accretionary wedges and island arcs. (3) Collision of the more evolved island arc with the Siberian continent: folding, metamorphism and intrusion of granites occurred in late Cambrian-early Ordovician time.

In the late Paleozoic, the above-mentioned Caledonian accretion-collision structure of the Siberian continent was broken by large-scale strike-slip faults into several segments. This resulted in the formation of a typical mosaic-block structure.     

Merger of binary globular clusters: Case of unequal masses

Merger process of binary globular cluster is discussed for a pair of unequal-mass components. We calculated the case of mass ratio 10.5 by means of anN-body code with 6144 particles in total. We have found the followings. The mass exchange between the components takes place through the Roche-lobe overflow. In the early stages, however, the dynamical evolution is mainly governed by escape of particles from the system. As the particles escape carrying angular momentum with them, the separation between the component cluster shrinks. The time-scale of this shrinkage depends upon the size of the clusters. When a critical separation is reached, the orbital angular momentum is transferred unstably to the spins of the component clusters. This is the process of the synchronization instability which was found in a previous study on binary cluster of equal masses. As a result the component clusters merge into a single cluster. The structures of the mergers are quite similar among different cases except for the central cores which retain their initial central concentrations. In particular, the ellipticity and the rotation curve are quite close each other among models of different initial radii and of different mass ratios.     

Organic matters and acid‐sulfate alteration in Itomuka mercury mine,Hokkaido, Japan: Implications for the transportation and deposition mechanisms of Hg

In order to examine the transportation and deposition mechanisms of Hg, we investigated the ore and hydrothermal alteration minerals and solid organic matters from Itomuka mercury mine located in the eastern part of central Hokkaido. In addition to the ore minerals, native mercury and cinnabar, quartz, marcasite, alunite, kaolinite, and minor amounts of pyrite and smectite were identified in the Hg ore by powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. This mineral assemblage of acid sulfate alteration was likely developed under the conditions of low temperature (≤100°C) and low pH (≤2) in the steam‐heated environment. The H₂SO₄ was produced above the water table by the oxidation of H₂S separated from deep, near‐neutral fluids by boiling. The dominance of native mercury over cinnabar in Hg ore indicates that the greater part of mineralized Hg was transported as Hg⁰ in aqueous solution and vapor with low sulfur fugacity. The solid organic matters found in the Hg ore were analyzed with SEM‐EDS, micro‐XRD, and micro‐Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, and these results suggest that the organic matters contributed to keeping the low fO₂ of the Hg‐bearing fluid and transportation of Hg as Hg⁰ in S‐poor condition. Because the solubility of Hg in acidic fluid is low, neutral to alkaline fluid seems to have leached Hg from the basement sedimentary rocks of Hidaka Group which also supplied the organic matters to the fluid. The oxidation and cooling of Hg‐bearing solution and vapor triggered the deposition of liquid Hg as a primary phase.     

Prediction of earthquake energy input from smoothed fourier amplitude spectrum

This paper attempts to show analytically that the energy-input spectra of damped SDOF systems and undamped MDOF systems excited by an earthquake motion can be predicted by smoothing the Fourier amplitude spectrum of the base acceleration. The spectral window for smoothing in the frequency domain for a damped SDOF system is identical with the probability density function of the time-variant or instantaneous vibration frequency resulting from non-linear hysteresis. The spectral window for an undamped MDOF system is identical with the set of squared participation factors associated with vibration modes. It was found that the increase in damping factor and the increase in participation of higher modes provide wider spectral windows, resulting in more flattened or unaltered energy-input spectra due to enhanced smoothing effects.     

Statistical Analysis of Periodic Oscillations in LASCO Coronal Mass Ejection Speeds

A large set of coronal mass ejections (CMEs, 3463) has been selected to study their periodic oscillations in speed in the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) mission’s Large Angle and Spectrometric Coronagraph (LASCO) field of view. These events, reported in the SOHO/LASCO catalog in the period of time 1996?–?2004, were selected based on having at least 11 height–time measurements. This selection criterion allows us to construct at least ten-point speed–distance profiles and evaluate kinematic properties of CMEs with a reasonable accuracy. To identify quasi-periodic oscillations in the speed of the CMEs a sinusoidal function was fitted to speed–distance profiles and the speed–time profiles. Of the considered events 22 % revealed periodic velocity fluctuations. These speed oscillations have on average amplitude equal to \(87~\mbox{km}\,\mbox{s}^{-1}\) and period \(7.8 R _{\odot}/241~\mbox{min}\) (in distance/time). The study shows that speed oscillations are a common phenomenon associated with CME propagation implying that all the CMEs have a similar magnetic flux-rope structure. The nature of oscillations can be explained in terms of magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) waves excited during the eruption process. More accurate detection of these modes could, in the future, enable us to characterize magnetic structures in space (space seismology).     

A model tank test using artificial ground freezing — with an in-ground lng storage tank in view

As a clean form of energy able to replace oil, the demand for LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas) has been increasing. LNG must be stored in a cryogenic temperature of —162°C. The storage tanks now existing throughout the world can be divided into above-ground and inground types. In the Tokyo area, there are now 22 in-ground LNG storage tanks, either in operation or under construction, which are constructed with primary consideration given to safety and earthquake-proof design because of the circumstances around the LNG terminals.

In the feasibility study of a very large-scale, in-ground LNG storage tank, comparative preliminary studies were made of various construction methods. Among them, the method using artificial ground freezing was proposed, in which it was planned to utilize the frozen soil as the means of ground water control and the temporary retaining wall. To confirm the feasibility of the design, a model tank test was conducted by freezing the actual tank yard. The yard ground, composed of sand and silt layers, was artificially frozen 10 m in diameter and 50 m in depth; in the frozen soil a shaft of 4 m in diameter was sunk to a depth 26 m below the ground level for various tests and measurements. The purpose of the test was mainly to confirm the construction method and to examine the agreement between theory and practice.

Although this construction method has not been adopted in the actual tank work, the feasibility of the method itself has been confirmed as a result of the test. In this paper, the outline and major results of the test and analysis are described.     

Size of the hard X-ray source in the Crab Nebula

The size of the hard X-ray source in the Crab Nebula was observed with scintillation counters on board two balloons at a lunar occulatation on 24 January, 1975. The Gaussian width of the source is 34 (+17, –14) and the center thereof is offset from the pulsar by 6±4 at position angle 102°. The observed time profile can also be fitted to an alternative model of two line sources whose intensities are 48% at 11 and 25.5% at 7 on both sides of the pulsar.Paper presented at the COSPAR Symposium on Fast Transients in X- and Gamma-Rays, held at Varna, Bulgaria, 29–31 May, 1975.     

Single-crystal X-ray diffraction and spectroscopic studies on humboldtine and lindbergite: weak Jahn–Teller effect of Fe<Superscript>2+</Superscript> ion

The single-crystal of humboldtine [Fe²⁺(C₂O₄) · 2H₂O] was first synthesized and the crystal structure has been refined. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction data were collected using an imaging-plate diffractometer system and graphite-monochromatized MoKα radiation. The crystal structure of humboldtine was refined to an agreement index (R1) of 3.22% calculated for 595 unique observed reflections. The mineral crystallizes in the monoclinic system, space group C2/c, with unit cell dimensions of a = 12.011 (11), b = 5.557 (5), c = 9.920 (9) Å, β = 128.53 (3)?, V = 518.0 (8) Å³, and Z = 4. In this crystal structure, the alternation of oxalate anions [(C₂O₄)^2?] and Fe²⁺ ions forms one-dimensional chain structure parallel to [010]; water molecules (H₂O)⁰ create hydrogen bonds to link the chains, where (H₂O)⁰ is essentially part of the crystal structure. The water molecules with the two lone electron pairs (LEPs) on their oxygen atom are tied obliquely to the chains, because the one lone electron pair is considered to participate in the chemical bonds with Fe²⁺ ions. Humboldtine including hydrogen bonds is isotypic with lindbergite [Mn²⁺(C₂O₄) · 2H₂O]. The donor–acceptor separations of the hydrogen bonds in humboldtine are slightly shorter than those in lindbergite, which suggests that the hydrogen bonds in the former are stronger than those in the latter. The infrared and Raman spectra of single-crystals of humboldtine and lindbergite confirmed the differences in hydrogen-bond geometry. In addition, Fe²⁺–O stretching band of humboldtine was split and broadened in the observed Raman spectrum, owing to the Jahn–Teller effect of Fe²⁺ ion. These interpretations were also discussed in terms of bond-valence theory.