Early diagenesis of fatty acids in lacustrine sediments—II. A statistical approach to changes in fatty acid composition from recent sediments and some source materials

The percentage composition and total amounts of fatty acids from plankton, live and dead plants (waterweeds and higher plants) and a forest soil, considered as possible origins of autochthonous and allochthonous organic materials in lacustrine sediments, have been determined by gas-liquid chromatography. Statistical analyses were carried out by computing distance index of the fatty acid composition between these source materials and the uppermost sediment from Lake Suwa, and the composition diversity index (CDI) of fatty acids in the recent sediments from Lake Suwa.The distance index indicated that the fatty acid composition in the uppermost sediment is similar to those in diatoms, Zooplankton and forest soil, and the values for dead leaves were smaller than for live ones. It suggests that the autolysis and/or decomposition processes prior to deposition onto the top sediment makes the fatty acid composition of organic debris similar to the uppermost sediment. The CPI in recent sediments varied irregularly, whereas the CDI increased during early diagenesis to yield a value comparable to ancient sediments.     

Intrusion of Kuroshio water onto the continental shelf of the East China Sea

As a fundamental study to evaluate the contribution of the Kuroshio to primary production in the East China Sea (ECS), we investigated the seasonal pattern of the intrusion from the Kuroshio onto the continental shelf of the ECS and the behavior of the intruded Kuroshio water, using the RIAM Ocean Model (RIAMOM). The total intruded volume transport across the 200m isobath line was evaluated as 2.74 Sv in winter and 2.47 Sv in summer, while the intruded transport below 80m was estimated to be 1.32 Sv in winter and 1.64 Sv in summer. Passive tracer experiments revealed that the main intrusion from the Kuroshio to the shelf area of the ECS, shallower than 80m, takes place through the lower layer northeast of Taiwan in summer, with a volume transport of 0.19 Sv. Comparative studies show several components affecting the intrusion of the Kuroshio across the 200 m isobath line. The Kuroshio water intruded less onto the shelf compared with a case without consideration of tide-induced bottom friction, especially northeast of Taiwan. The variations of the transport from the Taiwan Strait and the east of Taiwan have considerable effects on the intrusion of the Kuroshio onto the shelf.     

Static Spheroidal Deformation of Degree 1 - Consistency Relation, Stress Solution and Partials

This paper treats the static spheroidal deformation of degree 1 in detail. We give a physical interpretation of the consistency relation imposed on it. the relation serves as a guiding principle to find out all of its members. Following Okubo & Saito, we derive the partial derivatives of the degree 1 Love numbers with respect to density, bulk modulus and rigidity.     

Markarian 313: An intermediate object between a seyfert and a starburst galaxy

An ultraviolet-excess galaxy Markarian 313 (NGC 7465), which consists of a multiple system with NGC 7463 and NGC 7464, is studied using the low- and high-resolution optical spectrum. Emission lines of H, H, [NII], and [OIII] have conspicuous blueward asymmetrical wings or blue slanted profiles in the spectrum of the nuclear region of the galaxy. The width of these emission lines is as broad as 600 km s^–1 at the zero-intensity level, and the velocity difference between the narrow and broad components is estimated at around 80 km s^–1 from the two-component Gaussian profile fitting. This fact could be an evidence of a large-scale dynamical motion in or surrounding the nuclear region of the galaxy, implying that it bears an intermediate characteristic between a Seyfert and a starburst galaxy.     

The formation of large mudwaves by turbidity currents on the levees of the Toyama deep-sea channel, Japan Sea

The development of mudwaves on the levees of the modern Toyama deep‐sea channel has been studied using gravity core samples combined with 3·5‐kHz echosounder data and airgun seismic reflection profiles. The mudwaves have developed on the overbank flanks of a clockwise bend of the channel in the Yamato Basin, Japan Sea, and the mudwave field covers an area of 4000 km². Mudwave lengths range from 0·2 to 3·6 km and heights vary from 2 to 44 m, and the pattern of mudwave aggradation indicates an upslope migration direction. Sediment cores show that the mudwaves consist of an alternation of fine‐grained turbidites and hemipelagites whereas contourites are absent. Core samples demonstrate that the sedimentation rate ranged from 10 to 14 cm ka^?1 on the lee sides to 17–40 cm ka^?1 on the stoss sides. A layer‐by‐layer correlation of the deposits across the mudwaves shows that the individual turbidite beds are up to 20 times thicker on the stoss side than on the lee side, whereas hemipelagite thicknesses are uniform. This differential accretion of turbidites is thought to have resulted in the pattern of upcurrent climbing mudwave crests, which supports the notion that the mudwaves have been formed by spillover turbidity currents. The mudwaves are interpreted to have been instigated by pre‐existing large sand dunes that are up to 30 m thick and were created by high‐velocity (10°ms^?1), thick (c. 500 m) turbidity currents spilling over the channel banks at the time of the maximum uplift of the Northern Japan Alps during the latest Pliocene to Early Pleistocene. Draping of the dunes by the subsequent, lower‐velocity (10^?1ms^?1), mud‐laden turbidity currents is thought to have resulted in the formation of the accretionary mudwaves and the pattern of upflow climbing. The dune stoss slopes are argued to have acted as obstacles to the flow, causing localized loss of flow strength and leading to differential draping by the muddy turbidites, with greater accretion occurring on the stoss side than on the lee slope. The two overbank flanks of the clockwise channel bend show some interesting differences in mudwave development. The mudwaves have a mean height of 9·8 m on the outer‐bank levee and 6·2 m on the inner bank. The turbidites accreted on the stoss sides of the mudwaves are 4–6 times thicker on the outer‐bank levee than their counterparts on the inner‐bank levee. These differences are attributed to the greater flow volume (thickness) and sediment flux of the outer‐bank spillover flow due to the more intense stripping of the turbidity currents at the outer bank of the channel bend. Differential development of mudwave fields may therefore be a useful indicator in the reconstruction of deep‐sea channels and their flow hydraulics.     

Transfer of60Co from midwater squid to sperm whales

Sperm whales are notable squid-eaters. They feed mainly on medium to large-sized cephalopods at midwater levels and defecate near the surface. This suggests the existence of an upward transport of⁶⁰Co by sperm whales from the mesopelagic zone (150–1,200 m). To elucidate this squid-whale route for this artificial radionuclide,⁶⁰Co content was determined in squid and in predator whales captured by commercial whaling. In the Cephalopoda livers⁶⁰Co levels of 30–500 mBq kg^–1 wet were found and in the viscera of Odontoceti (toothed whales) 15–40 mBq kg^–1 wet. About 0.3% of⁸⁰Co ingested was estimated to be retained in a 23-year-old male sperm whale. In the livers of Bryde's whales,⁶⁰Co levels of 40–80 mBq kg^–1 wet were detected, but not in euphausiids and sardines, their possible prey. The level of Co in sperm whales was nearly the same as in Bryde's whales. Specific radioactivity⁶⁰Co/⁵⁹Co in mBq µg^–1 was several times higher in sperm whale (1.1–1.6) than in cephalopods (0.19–0.77). Eating prey with a high content of⁶⁰Co in the 1960's may have contributed to the present body burden in sperm whales with a long-life span. However, the origin of⁶⁰Co in Bryde's whales is unknown.     

Primary melt from Sannome-gata volcano,NE Japan arc: constraints on generation conditions of rear-arc magmas

The conditions under which rear-arc magmas are generated were estimated using primary basalts from the Sannome-gata volcano, located in the rear of the NE Japan arc. Scoriae from the volcano occur with abundant crustal and mantle xenoliths, suggesting that the magma ascended rapidly from the upper mantle. The scoriae show significant variations in their whole-rock compositions (7.9–11.1 wt% MgO). High-MgO scoriae (MgO > ~9.5 wt%) have mostly homogeneous ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (0.70318–0.70320), whereas low-MgO scoriae (MgO < ~9 wt%) have higher ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios (>0.70327); ratios tend to increase with decreasing MgO content. The high-MgO scoriae are aphyric, containing ~5 vol% olivine microphenocrysts with Mg# [100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe²⁺)] of up to 90. In contrast, the low-MgO scoriae have crustal xenocrysts of plagioclase, alkali feldspar, and quartz, and the mineralogic modes correlate negatively with whole-rock MgO content. On the basis of these observations, it is inferred that the high-MgO scoriae represent primary or near-primary melts, while the low-MgO scoriae underwent considerable interaction with the crust. Using thermodynamic analysis of the observed petrological features of the high-MgO scoriae, the eruption temperature of the magmas was constrained to 1,160–1,220 °C. Given that the source mantle was depleted MORB-source mantle, the primary magma was plausibly generated by ~7 % melting of a garnet-bearing spinel peridotite; taking this into consideration, and considering the constraints of multi-component thermodynamics, we estimated that the primary Sannome-gata magma was generated in the source mantle with 0.5–0.6 wt% H₂O at 1,220–1,230 °C and at ~1.8 GPa, and that the H₂O content of the primary magma was 6–7 wt%. The rear-arc Sannome-gata magma was generated by a lower degree of melting of the mantle at greater depths and lower temperatures than the frontal-arc magma from the Iwate volcano, which was also estimated to be generated by ~15 % melting of the source mantle with 0.6–0.7 wt% H₂O at ~1,250 °C and at ~1.3 GPa.