Normal faulting of the Daiichi-Kashima Seamount in the Japan Trench revealed by the Kaiko I cruise, Leg 3

A detailed topographic and geophysical survey of the Daiichi-Kashima Seamount area in the southern Japan Trench, northwestern Pacific margin, clearly defines a high-angle normal fault which splits the seamount into two halves. A fan-shaped zone was investigated along 2–4 km spaced, 100 km long subparallel tracks using narrow multi-beam (Seabeam) echo-sounder with simultaneous measurements of gravity, magnetic total field and single-channel seismic reflection records. Vertical displacement of the inboard half was clearly mapped and its normal fault origin was supported. The northern and southern extensions of the normal fault beyond the flank of the seamount were delineated. Materials on the landward trench slope are displaced upward and to sideways away from the colliding seamount. Canyons observed in the upper landward slope terminate at the mid-slope terrace which has been uplifted since start of subduction of the seamount. Most of the landward slope except for the landward walls aside the seamount comprises only a landslide topography in a manner similar to the northern Japan Trench wall. This survey was conducted on R/V “Jean Charcot” as a part of the Kaiko I cruise, Leg 3, in July–August 1984 under the auspices of the French-Japanese scientific cooperative program.     

Compositional relations of pyroxenes in a ferrogabbro from Beaver Bay intrusion,Minnesota

Four different types of pyroxene found in a Beaver Bay ferrogabbro were analysed by microprobe. The crystallization sequence of pyroxene is augite-ferroaugite with exsolution lamellae of Ca-poor clinopyroxene → ferropigeonite with exsolution lamellae of augite → ferrohypersthene without exsolution lamellae+augite and ferroaugite without exsolution lamellae. The core of augite-ferroaugite with exsolution lamellae is cumulus pyroxene, whereas others, including the margin of augite-ferroaugite with lamellae, are interpreted to have crystallized from the intercumulus liquid. The sequence of crystallization of minerals from intercumulus liquid is different from that of minerals which have accumulated successively to the bottom and which were related to the fractionation of the whole layered series. The difference may be attributed to the different oxidation state of crystallization.     

Kinetics of nitrogen- or phosphorus-limited growth and effects of growth conditions on nutrient uptake inChattonella antiqua

Chattonella antiqua was grown in a nitrogen- or phosphorus-limited semicontinuous culture system. Using the cells in steady growth state, the relationship between growth rate and cell quota and effects of growth conditions on nitrate, ammonium and phosphate uptake were examined. Under nitrogen-limited conditions, growth rate as a function of nitrogen cell quota followed the empirical Droop equation and the uptake of nitrate and ammonium was not significantly affected by growth rate. Similarly, under phosphorus-limited conditions, the growth rate as a function of phosphorus cell quota also followed the Droop equation and phosphate uptake was not significantly affected by growth rate.Combining the results obtained in the present study with those from previous studies on nutrient uptake, half saturation constants for growth (K _g ) were calculated for nitrate, ammonium and phosphate. Comparisons ofK _g with nutrient concentrations in the Seto Inland Sea in summer, where red tides ofC. antiqua often occur, suggest that phosphate is one of the controlling factors for the population ofC. antiqua.     

Three-year investigations into sperm whale-fall ecosystems in Japan

We report the first study of sperm whale‐fall ecosystems, based on mass sinking of whale carcasses at shelf depths in the northwest Pacific. We conducted three observations over a 2‐year period on replicate sperm‐whale carcasses implanted at depths of 219–254 m off the southern part of Japan from July 2003 to August 2005. The study was made possible by a mass stranding of sperm whales in January 2002, and the subsequent sinking of 12 carcasses in the waters off Cape Nomamisaki. Dense aggregations of unique chemosynthesis‐based fauna had formed around the whale carcasses after 18 months (July 2003). The mytilid mussel Adipicola pacifica was the most abundant macrofaunal species and covered most of the exposed bone surfaces. The general composition of the fauna was similar to that of deep‐water reducing habitats, but none of the species appearing in this study has been found at hydrothermal vents, cold seeps or deep‐water whale falls. A new species of lancelet, which was the first record of the subphylum Cephalochordata from reducing environments, a new species of Osedax; a rarely encountered benthic ctenophore, and a rare gastropod species were discovered at this sperm whale‐fall site. Benthic communities were similar across all the carcasses studied, although the body sizes of the whales were very different. The succession of epifaunal communities was relatively rapid and the sulphophilic stage was considerably shorter than that of other known whale falls.     

Nitrogen circulation in the water column in the Oyashio region with reference to its high productivity

In order to determine quantitatively the reason for the high productivity in the Oyashio Region, which is the southwest part of the Pacific Subarctic Region, the annual-mean vertical circulation of nitrogen in the region was estimated from the vertical profiles of nitrate, dissolved oxygen and salinity, and sediment-trap data by adapting them to the balance equations. Estimates of the upwelling velocity (1.7×10⁻⁵cm sec⁻¹) and the vertical diffusivity (2.1 cm² sec⁻¹) in the abyssal zone and the primary and secondary productivities (44 and 4 mgN m⁻²day⁻¹, respectively) in the euphotic zone were close to those of previous works. The estimated vertical circulation of nitrogen strongly suggested that, since the divergence (5 mgN m⁻²day⁻¹) is caused by the abyssal convergence (6 mgN m⁻²day⁻¹) and the positive precipitation, the local new production (22 mgN m⁻²day⁻¹) necessarily exceeds not only the sinking flux (10 mgN m⁻²day⁻¹) itself but also the sum of the sinking flux and the downward diffusion of dissolved and particulate organic matter (7 mgN m⁻²day⁻¹) produced probably in the euphotic zone. The important roles of the abyssal circulation, the winter convection, and the metabolic activity in the bathyal zone to support the high productivity in the euphotic zone were clarified quantitatively.     

Electrical resistivity of fcc phase iron hydrides at high pressures and temperatures

We measured the electrical resistivity of face-centered-cubic (fcc) structured iron hydrides at high pressures up to 65 GPa and high temperatures in a laser-heated diamond anvil cell. The results indicate that the resistivity of stoichiometric fcc FeH_x (x ～ 1.0) is smaller than that of fcc Fe at the same pressure and temperature conditions. The same behavior was also observed in fcc FeNiH_x (x ～ 1.0). On the other hand, hydrogen-poor fcc FeH_x (x < 0.77) showed a resistivity comparable to that of the fcc phase of pure iron. Therefore, we conclude that the stoichiometric fcc Fe (–Ni) hydride is more conductive than Fe (–Ni) with the same crystal symmetry, and the impurity resistivity of hydrogen in Fe is vanishingly small. Even if hydrogen is the major light element in the Earth's core, it would have little influence on the electrical and thermal conductivity of Fe–Ni alloys, and hence the thermal evolution of the core.     

Elasticity of MgO to 130 GPa: Implications for lower mantle mineralogy

The aggregate shear wave velocities of MgO (periclase) have been determined throughout Earth's lower mantle pressure regime approaching 130 GPa using Brillouin spectroscopy in conjunction with synchrotron X-ray diffraction technique in a diamond anvil cell apparatus. We found that the extrapolations of the high-pressure shear wave velocities and shear moduli to ambient pressure are highly consistent with earlier studies. However, the measurements over a wide pressure range revealed that the pressure derivative of the shear modulus (dG/dP = G₀′) of MgO is 1.92(2), which is distinctly lower than that of previous lower-pressure experiments. Compared with the previous results on (Mg,Fe)O ferropericlase, there is no clear correlation between iron content and G₀′. We calculate that the shear wave velocity profile of lower mantle along the adiabatic geotherm applied by the lower G₀′ value of periclase can remarkably well reproduce the global seismological 1-D velocity profile model with uniform composition model. The best-fitting result indicates the possibility of a lower mantle mineralogy with ~ 92 vol.% silicate perovskite phase, implying that the bulk composition of lower mantle is likely not to be pyrolitic but more chondritic. The present acoustic measurements performed over the large pressure range have thus led us to a better understanding of compositional model of the Earth's lower mantle.     

Simultaneous volume measurements of post-perovskite and perovskite in MgSiO3 and their thermal equations of state

Simultaneous volume measurements of MgSiO₃ post-perovskite (PPv) and perovskite (Pv) were performed in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) combined with synchrotron X-rays. An externally-heated DAC was used in addition to a laser-heated DAC for the volume measurement experiment at high temperatures. The volume data were collected in the stability field of post-perovskite from 115 to 130 GPa. The temperature generated in the externally-heated and the laser-heated DACs for the volume measurement were up to 832 and 2330 K, respectively. Using two different but complementary heating techniques, we collected the data at a wide temperature range from 300 to 2330 K. The obtained P-V-T data for PPv and Pv were fitted to a third-ordered Birch-Murnaghan equation of state (EOS). For a precise comparison of the volume between the two phases, the EOSs were constructed based on the same pressure scale of MgO. The simultaneous volume measurements and the volumes calculated from the determined EOSs demonstrate that the volume difference between PPv and Pv of about 1.5% is almost constant with increasing temperature to 4000 K at the transition. At the base of the mantle, this density difference corresponds to a temperature anomaly of 1300 K without the phase transition due to the very small thermal expansivity of minerals, which has a significant effect on mantle dynamics. The thermal expansivity contrast between the top and the bottom of the mantle is a factor of 3.6. From a mantle convection study, this value suggests that huge and hot plumes are formed at the core–mantle boundary.     

Geological constraints on the 2003–2005 ash emissions from the Nakadake crater lake,Aso Volcano,Japan

The active crater of Nakadake at Aso Volcano, southwestern Japan, has been occupied by a lake during its dormant periods. Multiple ash emissions were observed from the crater lake between July 2003 and August 2005. The largest events occurred on 10 July 2003 and 14 January 2004. On 10 July 2003, ash (41 tons) was dispersed throughout an area extending 14 km east-northeast of the vent, and on 14 January 2004 ash (32 tons) extended 8 km to the east-southeast. Thereafter, small ash emissions were frequent at the crater lake, in which the water level fell considerably from April to August 2005. During this period major ash emitting events, producing mostly white aggregated ash, occurred on June 10–12, June 21 (4.2 tons) and July 25 (1.2 tons). Ash emissions at the Nakadake crater in 2003–2005 were classified into three types: gentle release of white aggregated ash from fumaroles inside the crater lake (e.g. daytime of 14 April, 10–12 June and 25 July 2005); emission of black ash from an almost dried-up vent (21 June 2005); and short-time (ca. 20 s) small-explosion-triggered gas-and-ash emission through the crater lake (10 July 2003, 14 January 2004 and 14 April 20h41m 2005). All products from these ash emissions consisted of fine-grained (< 1 mm) glass shards, crystals and lithic fragments, and contained neither lapilli nor blocks. Although the glass shards show varying degrees of crystallization and alteration, clear glass shards, which appear fresh, are probably juvenile materials. These observations suggest that the 2003–2005 ash emissions from the crater lake of Nakadake Volcano are related to newly ascending magma.