Geochemical characteristics of deposits from the 2011 Tohoku‐oki tsunami at Hasunuma,Kujukuri coastal plain,Japan

We examined the geochemical characteristics and temporal changes of deposits associated with the 2011 Tohoku‐oki tsunami. Stable carbon isotope ratios, biomarkers, and water‐leachable ions were measured in a sandy tsunami deposit and associated soils sampled at Hasunuma, Kujukuri coastal plain, Japan, in 2011 and 2014. At this site, the 2011 tsunami formed a 10–30 cm ‐thick layer of very fine to medium sand. The tsunami deposit was organic‐poor, and no samples contained any detectable biomarkers of either terrigenous or marine origin. In the underlying soil, we identified hydrocarbons and sterols derived from terrestrial plants, but detected no biomarkers of marine origin. In the samples collected in 2011, concentrations of tsunami‐derived water‐leachable ions were highest in the soil immediately beneath the tsunami deposit and then decreased gradually with depth. Because of its finer texture and higher organic content, the soil has a higher water‐holding capacity than the sandy tsunami deposit. This distribution suggests that ions derived from the tsunami quickly penetrated the sand layer and became concentrated in the underlying soil. In the samples collected in 2014, concentrations of water‐leachable ions were very low in both soil and sand. We attribute the decrease in ion concentrations to post‐tsunami rainfall, seepage, and seasonal changes in groundwater level. Although water‐leachable ions derived from seawater were concentrated in the soil beneath the tsunami deposit following the tsunami inundation, they were not retained for more than a few years. To elucidate the behavior of geochemical characteristics associated with tsunamis, further research on organic‐rich muddy deposits (muddy tsunami deposits and soils beneath sandy tsunami deposits) as well as sandy tsunami deposits is required.     

Geochronological Constraints Using 40Ar/39Ar Dating on the Mineralization of the Hishikari Epithermal Gold Deposit, Japan

Abstract. Ages for thirty adularia samples collected from various veins were in the Hishikari gold deposit determined by ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating to constrain the timing of adularia‐quartz vein formation and to determine the temporal change in temperature of hydrothermal fluid. Plateau ages were obtained from all adularia samples, and significant excess ⁴⁰Ar is not recognized from inverse isochrones. The duration of mineralization within individual veins was determined by adularia ages from the early and late stages of mineralization within the same vein. The durations of mineralization in the Daisen‐1, Daisen‐3, Hosen‐2 and Keisen‐3 veins in the Honko‐Sanjin zone were 7,000, 140,000, 160,000 and 170,000 years, respectively. The durations of mineralization in the Seisen‐2 and Yusen‐1–2 veins in the Yamada zones were 360,000 and 320,000 years, respectively. Mineralization lasted for a relatively longer period in individual veins at the Yamada zone. Mineralization ages from the Honko‐Sanjin zone range from 1.04 to 0.75 Ma, and most mineralization ages are concentrated in a short period from 1.01 to 0.88 Ma. In contrast, mineralization ages for the Yamada zone range from 1.21 to 0.64 Ma. These results indicate that fracturing and subsequent vein formation lasted for a longer period in the Yamada zone (about 570,000 years) compared with those events in the Honko‐Sanjin zone (about 290,000 years). The homogenization temperatures of liquid‐rich fluid inclusions in columnar adularia used for age determination were determined to be 223°C on average, and most of these temperatures range from 180 to 258d?C. No significant temporal change in homogenization temperature is recognized in this study. However, adularia in the Keisen veins indicated higher homogenization temperatures compared with elsewhere in the deposit, suggesting that the principal ascent of mineralizing hydrothermal fluid was via the Keisen veins.     

Geochemical Features and Tectonic Setting of Greenstones from Kunimiyama, Northern Chichibu Belt, Central Shikoku, Japan

Abstract. We report whole‐rock chemical data for the greenstones from the Kunimiyama area in the Northern Chichibu Belt and their implications on the tectonic setting of these rocks. The Kunimiyama greenstones are associated with stratiform fer‐romanganese deposits or bedded cherts in the northern part of the study area, but are closely associated with a thick limestone block or bedded cherts in the southern part. The constituent minerals of greenstones are albitized plagioclase, clinopy‐roxene, chlorite, calcite, epidote, pumpellyite, prehnite, quartz, celadonite, sericite and opaque minerals such as iron oxyhy‐droxide and hematite. These mineral assemblages, epidote + pumpellyite + chlorite and chlorite + pumpellyite + prehnite, suggest that the metamorphic grade of greenstones from the Kunimiyama area is prehnite‐pumpellyite facies. The whole‐rock chemical compositions of greenstones associated with ferromanganese deposits are generally similar to those of normal mid‐ocean ridge basalt (N‐MORB). In contrast, the chemical compositions of the greenstones associated with the limestone block are comparable to those of ocean island alkaline basalt. Greenstones associated with bedded cherts are of enriched MORB and ocean island basalt, as well as N‐MORB origins, suggesting they probably formed as a result of plume‐related MOR volcanism in the Panthalassa Ocean in Early Permian and by tectonic mixing of ocean island basalts with oceanic ridge crustal fragments during accretion/subduction processes. These geological and geochemical lines of evidence suggest that the Kunimiyama greenstones are allochthonous blocks of accreted oceanic crust and seamounts. The ferromanganese deposits are frequently accompanied by reddish greenstones. Compared to common greenish greenstones, the reddish greenstones are characterized by high MnO and rare earth element contents and distinct negative Ce anomalies, implying a slight contribution of hydro thermal component forming the ferromanganese deposits.     

Genesis of the Zhaokalong Fe-Cu Polymetallic Deposit at Yushu, China:Evidence from Ore Geochemistry and Fluid Inclusions

The ore types of the Zhaokalong Fe-Cu deposit are divided into two categories: sulfide-type and oxide-type. The sulfide-type ore include siderite ore, galena-sphalerite ore and chalcopyrite ore, whereas the oxide-type ore include magnetite ore and hematite ore. The ore textures and structures indicate that the Zhaokalong deposit is of the sedimentary-exhalative mineralization type. Geochemical analyses show that the two ore types have a high As, Sb, Mn, Co and Ni content. The REE patterns reveal an enrichment of the LREE compared to the HREE. Isotopic analysis of siderite ore reveal that the δ13CPDB ranges from 2.01 to 3.34 (‰) whereas the δ18O SMOW ranges from 6.96 to 18.95 (‰). The fluid inclusion microthermometry results indicate that homogenization temperatures of fluid inclusions in quartz range from 131 to 181℃, with salinity values of 1.06 to 8.04 wt% NaCl eq. The mineralizing fluid therefore belongs to the low temperature - low salinity system, with a mineralizing solution of a CO2-Ca2+(Na+, K+)-SO42-(F-, Cl-)-H2O system. The geochemical results and fluid inclusion data provide additional evidence that the Zhaokalong deposit is a sedex-type deposit that experienced two stages of mineralization. The sulfide mineralization probably occurred first, during the sedimentary exhalative process, as exhibited by the abundance of marine materials associated with the sulfide ores, indicating a higher temperature and relatively deoxidized oceanic depositional environment. After the main exhalative stage, hydrothermal activity was superimposed to the sulfide mineralization. The later stage oxide mineralization occurred in a low temperature and relatively oxidized environment, in which magmatic fluid circulation was dominant.     

Characteristics of the Cibaliung Gold Deposit: Miocene Low-Sulfidation-Type Epithermal Gold Deposit in Western Java, Indonesia

Middle Miocene (11.18–10.65 Ma) low sulfidation‐type epithermal gold mineralization occurred in the Cibaliung area, southwestern part of Java Island, Indonesia. It is hosted by andesitic to basaltic andesitic lavas of the Middle Miocene Honje Formation (11.4 Ma) and is covered by Pliocene Cibaliung tuff (4.9 Ma). The exploration estimates mineral resource of approximately 1.3 million tonnes at 10.42 g/t gold and 60.7 g/t silver at a 3 g/t Au cut‐off. This equates to approximately 435,000 ounces of gold and 2.54 million ounces of silver. That resource resulted from two ore shoots: Cibitung and Cikoneng. Studies on ore mineralogy, hydrothermal alteration, geology, fluid inclusion, stable isotopes and age dating were conducted in order to characterize the deposit and to understand a possible mechanism of preservation of the deposit. The ore mineral assemblage of the deposit consists of electrum, naumannite, Ag‐Se‐Te sulfide minerals, chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite and galena. Those ore minerals occur in quartz veins showing colloform–crustiform texture. They are enveloped by mixed layer clay illite/smectite zone, which grades into smectite zone outward. The temperature of mineralization revealed by fluid inclusion study on quartz in the veins ranges from 170 and 220°C at shallow and deep level, respectively. The temperature range is in agreement with the temperature deduced from the hydrothermal alteration mineral assemblage including mixed layered illite/smectite and laumontite. The mineralizing fluid is dilute, with a salinity <1 wt% NaCl equivalent and has stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen composition indicating a meteoric water origin. Although the deposit is old enough that it would have been eroded in a tropical island arc setting, the coverage by younger volcanic deposits such as the Citeluk tuff and the Cibaliung tuff most probably prevented this erosion.     

Geology and Skarn Cu–Bi–Au Mineralization at Shwe Min Bon Area,Kalaw Township,Southern Shan State,Myanmar

The Shwe Min Bon Cu–Au skarn deposit lies within one of the largest Au–Cu belts in Myanmar. The deposit is situated along the Shan scarp zone, which marks the boundary between the Myanmar central basin to the west and the Shan plateau to the east. The Shwe Min Bon deposit comprises skarn‐type metasomatic alteration, and the Cu–Au mineralization occurs along the contact face between the Nwabangyi Dolomite and Shweminbon Formation and the Cretaceous dioritic rocks. The metasomatic process resulted in pro‐ and retrograde mineral assemblages in exoskarn. Hydrothermal activities in the Shwe Min Bon deposit are classified into prograde, retrograde stage I, and retrograde stage II. The prograde skarn is classified into a proximal garnet skarn with minor clinopyroxene and a distal wollastonite skarn. Chlorite, epidote, and tremolite–actinolite were formed during the retrograde stage I. Cu–Au mineralization mainly occurred in retrograde stage I, which was characterized by moderate temperatures (260–320 °C) and fluid with a moderate salinity (5.0–6.0% NaCl equiv.). Low temperature (180–200 °C) and low salinity (2.0–3.0% NaCl equiv.) were responsible for retrograde stage II. Au mineralization is mainly associated with chalcopyrite and tennantite in retrograde stage I and with tellurobismuthite in retrograde stage II.     

Geodetic observations of ice flow velocities over the southern part of subglacial Lake Vostok, Antarctica, and their glaciological implications

In the austral summer seasons 2001/02 and 2002/03, Global Positioning System (GPS) data were collected in the vicinity of Vostok Station to determine ice flow velocities over Lake Vostok. Ten GPS sites are located within a radius of 30 km around Vostok Station on floating ice as well as on grounded ice to the east and to the west of the lake. Additionally, a local deformation network around the ice core drilling site 5G-1 was installed.
The derived ice flow velocity for Vostok Station is  2.00 m a⁻¹± 0.01 m a⁻¹  . Along the flowline of Vostok Station an extension rate of about 10⁻⁵ a⁻¹ (equivalent to 1 cm km⁻¹ a⁻¹) was determined. This significant velocity gradient results in a new estimate of 28 700 years for the transit time of an ice particle along the Vostok flowline from the bedrock ridge in the southwest of the lake to the eastern shoreline. With these lower velocities compared to earlier studies and, hence, larger transit times the basal accretion rate is estimated to be 4 mm a⁻¹ along a portion of the Vostok flowline. An assessment of the local accretion rate at Vostok Station using the observed geodetic quantities yields an accretion rate in the same order of magnitude. Furthermore, the comparison of our geodetic observations with results inferred from ice-penetrating radar data indicates that the ice flow may not have changed significantly for several thousand years.     

Timing of the Mineralization and Volcanism at Cibaliung Gold Deposit, Western Java, Indonesia

Abstract. The Cibaliung deposit is a low-sulfidation type epithermal gold deposit situated about 70 km west of the Bayah dome complex. The gold-bearing quartz veins are hosted by basaltic andesite of the Honje Formation, which is comparable to the host rock of gold deposits at the Bayah dome complex.
In order to clarify the timing of the mineralization and the volcanism at the Cibaliung area, two radiometric dating methods were applied. First, ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating was conducted on six adularia samples to elucidate the age of mineralization. Second, K-Ar method was applied to two samples of the host rock, andesite and the Cibaliung tuff, in order to reveal the timing of volcanism.
The ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar dating determined mineralization ages in the range from 11.18 to 10.65 Ma while the K-Ar dating indicated the age of the andesite and the Cibaliung tuff to be 11.4±0.8 Ma and 4.9±0.6 Ma, respectively. These results imply that the epithermal gold mineralization in the Cibaliung area is related to the volcanic activity that produced the Honje Formation, while the Cibaliung tuff played an important role in the preservation of the Cibaliung deposit. The Cibaliung deposit is the oldest epithermal gold deposit yet discovered in western Java.     

WEATHERING OF PALEOZOIC MARBLES IN THE INDEPENDENCE HILLS AND PATRIOT HILLS,ELLSWORTH MOUNTAINS,ANTARCTICA

Weathering processes in the Ellsworth Mountains of Antarctica are dominated by frost action. These processes were observed to be different on the same group of marbles under different slope conditions. North- and south-facing walls of the bedrock showed the same shattering rate in the summer of 1992–1993. Frost shattering of rocks is controlled by surface temperature, moisture, and the physical properties of the rock. The most important control on frost shattering in this area was moisture availability, given the same bedrock and freeze-thaw cycle. Snow particles are moved by katabatic winds, bringing moisture to the rock. Moisture is collected mainly in lower cliffs and cols. [Key words: weathering, marble, moisture conditions, Antarctica.]