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Sasao, Eiji
Genshiryoku Bakkuendo Kenkyu (CD-ROM), 29(2), p.112 - 118, 2022/12
Since fractures in granite act as pathways for groundwater flow and mass transport, understanding of fracture distribution is an important subject for the disposal of high-level nuclear waste. Fracture data obtained through the borehole investigation from ground surface contains errors due to the crossing angle between boreholes and fractures. I studied method of borehole investigation that can effectively characterize the fracture distribution based on fracture information obtained from geological investigation of shaft wall at the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory. As a result, it was found that inclined boreholes captured larger number of fractures than vertical boreholes. Therefore, inclined boreholes are preferable for efficient characterization of the fractures. Fracture orientation at surface exposure is well concordant with that at the shaft, which implies that the drilling direction should be determined based on the result of surface fracture mapping.
Sasao, Eiji; Ishimaru, Tsuneari; Niwa, Masakazu; Shimada, Akiomi; Shimada, Koji; Watanabe, Takahiro; Sueoka, Shigeru; Yokoyama, Tatsunori; Fujita, Natsuko; Ogita, Yasuhiro; et al.
JAEA-Review 2022-022, 29 Pages, 2022/09
This report is a plan of research and development (R&D) on geosphere stability for long-term isolation of high-level radioactive waste (HLW) in Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), in fiscal year 2022. The objectives and contents in fiscal year 2022 are described in detail based on the JAEA 4th Medium- and Long-term Plan (fiscal years 2022-2028). In addition, the background of this research is described from the necessity and the significance for site investigation and safety assessment, and the past progress. The plan framework is structured into the following categories: (1) Development and systematization of investigation techniques, (2) Development of models for long-term estimation and effective assessment, (3) Development of dating techniques
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Yuasa, Haruka*; Izumino, Yuya*; Nakashima, Kazuo*; Sasao, Eiji; Nishiyama, Tadao*
American Mineralogist, 107(3), p.476 - 488, 2022/03
Times Cited Count:1 Percentile:63.54(Geochemistry & Geophysics)The methodology and interpretations in this study provide new insights into the mechanism of myrmekite formation in a granitic system. The presence of micropores in the myrmekites and this study clarified that the genesis of micropores is related to the formation of myrmekites in the Toki granite. The results led to an increased understanding of (1) an estimate of mass transfer between the reactant and product minerals, and the inflow and outflow of components with consideration of the volume change due to micropore formation, (2) the factor controlling the formation of micropores during myrmekitization, and (3) the sequential variations in the hydrothermal fluid chemistry during sub-solidus conditions. The micropores act as a migration pathway for hydrothermal fluid and thus enhance the mass transfer within a granitic body starting with the myrmekite formation and continuing through the present day and into the future.
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Izumino, Yuya*; Sasao, Eiji
Journal of Mineralogical and Petrological Sciences (Internet), 117(1), p.220415_1 - 220415_12, 2022/00
Times Cited Count:0 Percentile:0.02(Mineralogy)This study presents the use of petrographic plagioclase alteration indicators as a new method for quantitatively evaluating the extent of plagioclase alteration within granites, using the Toki granite, central Japan. Alteration indicators and areal fractions of microvoids in the plagioclases were obtained via BSE image analysis. The volume of the micropores in the altered plagioclase was characterized by the areal fraction of microvoids in the grains. The plagioclase alteration indicators were obtained as the ratio between the alteration product area and the original plagioclase area. In our previous study, we focused on biotite chloritization indicators. We found positive correlations between the plagioclase alteration and biotite chloritization indicators in the same sample, indicating that each alteration indicator can be used independently as a representative value for the sample. In the Toki granite, the plagioclase alteration was related to the biotite chloritization.
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Matsuki, Takanobu*; Izumino, Yuya*; Sasao, Eiji; Nishiyama, Tadao*
American Mineralogist, 106(7), p.1128 - 1142, 2021/07
Times Cited Count:2 Percentile:23.14(Geochemistry & Geophysics)This study reveals the hydrothermal alteration processes in a pluton, with a focus on the mass transfer between minerals and hydrothermal fluid. Hydrothermal alteration of the Toki granite in Tono area, central Japan, progressed through the successive processes of chloritization, plagioclase alteration, and precipitation of a carbonate mineral. This paper describes the alteration process of hornblende chloritization, K-feldspar chloritization, and the formation of fracture-filling chlorite through petrography and mineral chemistry. Several types of chloritization reactions (including biotite chloritization) can be characterized by their reaction with the inflow of Al, Fe
, Mn
, and Mg
and the outflow of H
SiO
, Ca
, K
+, and F
. The reactions of chloritization and plagioclase alteration represent the sequential variations in fluid chemistry at temporal conditions from 68 Ma to 51 Ma as the temperature decreased from 350
C to 180
C.
Takeuchi, Ryuji; Onoe, Hironori; Murakami, Hiroaki; Watanabe, Yusuke; Mikake, Shinichiro; Ikeda, Koki; Iyatomi, Yosuke; Nishio, Kazuhisa*; Sasao, Eiji
JAEA-Review 2021-003, 63 Pages, 2021/06
The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of geological disposal technologies through investigations of the deep geological environment in the crystalline rock (granite) at Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. On the occasion of JAEA reformation in FY2014, JAEA identified three remaining important issues on the geoscientific research program based on the synthesized latest results of research and development (R&D): "Development of countermeasure technologies for reducing groundwater inflow", "Development of modeling technologies for mass transport" and "Development of drift backfilling technologies". At the MIU, the R&D are being pursued with a focus on the remaining important issues from FY2015, and satisfactory results have been achieved. Based on this situation, the R&D on the MIU Project were completed at the end of FY2019. In this report, the results of R&D and construction activities of the MIU Project in FY2019 are summarized.
Hatano, Nozomi*; Yoshida, Koki*; Sasao, Eiji
Chishitsugaku Zasshi, 127(6), p.345 - 362, 2021/06
This paper is guidebook of field excursion at the 127th annual meeting of the Geological Society of Japan, originally planned to be held on September, 2020 (postponed for one year). Miocene to Pleistocene Seto Group yields porcelain clay and are studied in the point of view of clay mineralogy and geology. In this field excursion, genesis of porcelain clay will be discussed through the observation of paleosols, paleoweathering profiles of the Seto Group and the basement strongly weathered granite.
Sasao, Eiji; Danhara, Toru*; Yamashita, Toru*; Hayashi, Joji*
Mizunamishi Kaseki Hakubutsukan Kenkyu Hokoku, (48), p.9 - 19, 2021/05
Petrographic description of tuffs in the Miocene Mizunami Group has been made to offer basic data. This report includes the descriptions of 14 and 4 tuff beds in the Mizunami and Iwamura Groups, respectively. Followings are presented in this report; mineral and heavy mineral composition, shape of volcanic glass, and refractive indices of volcanic glass and plagioclase.
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Izumino, Yuya*; Sasao, Eiji
PLOS ONE (Internet), 16(5), p.e0251198_1 - e0251198_17, 2021/05
Times Cited Count:1 Percentile:18.41(Multidisciplinary Sciences)This study analyzes the relationships among alteration indicators, areal microvoid fractions in chloritized biotite, and macroscopic fracture frequencies in the Toki granite, central Japan, to establish the genesis and development processes of fractures in granite. Petrographic alteration indicators using biotite chloritization as innovative methods are proposed to evaluate the extent of hydrothermal alteration and fracture frequency within granites. Samples with high macroscopic fracture frequencies correspond to a high number of areal microvoid fractions and large alteration indicators. The alteration indicators contribute to the characterization of present and future distributions of macroscopic fracture frequencies.
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Yagi, Koshi*; Sasao, Eiji; Nishiyama, Tadao*
Heliyon (Internet), 7(4), p.e06750_1 - e06750_9, 2021/04
Times Cited Count:1 Percentile:23.14(Multidisciplinary Sciences)Our methodology and interpretations provide new insight for K-Ar geochronology in hydrothermal microcline within altered plagioclase in a granitic pluton. Our methodology employs a two-step separation process consisting of (1) plagioclase extraction from the rock sample and (2) separation of the hydrothermal microcline from the plagioclase, giving precise determination of microcline powders in K-Ar geochronology. This tighter constraint should provide the ability to better unravel thermal and age histories in granite subject to multi-step alteration processes and complex thermal histories.
Hatano, Nozomi*; Yoshida, Koki*; Mori, Saori*; Sasao, Eiji
Sedimentary Geology, 408, p.105751_1 - 105751_13, 2020/10
Times Cited Count:2 Percentile:32.96(Geology)The history of the East Asian monsoon and the relationship between the development of the monsoon climate, tectonics and global climate are complicated and controversial. The present study clarifies the chemical weathering conditions in southwest Japan based on the concentrations of major elements and rare earth elements (REEs) in lacustrine muddy sediments. Between 3.8 and 3.4 Ma, chemical weathering significantly intensified, as indicated by the high values of the chemical index of alteration as well as the high concentrations of REEs and light REEs against heavy REEs and kaolinite-rich clay mineral compositions. The intense chemical weathering on land in southwest Japan from 3.8 to 3.4 Ma may have been regulated by alternating periods of warm and humid climate brought by the invasion of the Kuroshio Current and the intensification of the East Asian summer monsoon.
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Ogita, Yasuhiro; Kato, Takenori*; Yokota, Rintaro*; Sasao, Eiji; Nishiyama, Tadao*
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 192, p.104289_1 - 104289_16, 2020/05
Times Cited Count:4 Percentile:38.07(Geosciences, Multidisciplinary)Quartz from a granitic pluton is found to have formed through sequential growth events under different mechanisms and crystallization temperatures, which can provide new insights into magmatic processes of granitic magmas that were eventually consolidified into plutons. The events were identified using (1) the description of crystal shape and occurrence, (2) the study of the internal structure with cathodoluminescence (CL), and (3) derivation of the crystallization temperatures based on TitaniQ thermometry. The magmatic quartz crystals from the Toki granite, central Japan, are characterized as having the following internal structures: oscillatory zonation, no-oscillatory zonation with luminescence graduation (gradational zonation), and heterogeneous CL. The quartz crystals with oscillatory zonation were formed in the temperature range of about 800 C to below 700
C, which is referred to as oscillatory zoning temperature (OZT) conditions. The CL zonation pattern was controlled by the temperature conditions and titanium diffusivity in the melt (magma). The crystallization process of quartz within the Toki granite reveals the cooling processes of the granitic pluton; the lithofacies with a high frequency of oscillatory-zoned quartz underwent slower cooling under the OZT conditions than those in other lithofacies.
Takeuchi, Ryuji; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Matsui, Hiroya; Nohara, Tsuyoshi; Onoe, Hironori; Ikeda, Koki; Mikake, Shinichiro; Hama, Katsuhiro; Iyatomi, Yosuke; Sasao, Eiji
JAEA-Review 2020-001, 66 Pages, 2020/03
The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of geological disposal technologies through investigations of the deep geological environment in the crystalline rock (granite) at Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. On the occasion of JAEA reformation in 2014, JAEA identified three remaining important issues on the geoscientific research program based on the synthesized latest results of research and development (R&D): "Development of countermeasure technologies for reducing groundwater inflow", "Development of modeling technologies for mass transport" and "Development of drift backfilling technologies". The R&D on three remaining important issues have been carrying out in the MIU Project. In this report, the current status of R&D and construction activities of the MIU Project in fiscal year 2018 is summarized.
Sasao, Eiji
Chishitsu To Chosa, (154), p.67 - 72, 2019/11
JAEA is implementing the Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory Project, which is a geoscientific research program in crystalline rock environment in Mizunami City, Japan. This report summarise history, progress and present situation of the project and also history of R&D in the Tono Geoscience Center.
Takeuchi, Ryuji; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Matsui, Hiroya; Ikeda, Koki; Mikake, Shinichiro; Hama, Katsuhiro; Iyatomi, Yosuke; Matsuoka, Toshiyuki; Sasao, Eiji
JAEA-Review 2019-014, 30 Pages, 2019/10
The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) Project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency(JAEA) to enhance the reliability of geological disposal technologies through investigations of the deep geological environment in the crystalline host rock(granite) at Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. On the occasion of the reform of the entire JAEA organization in 2014, JAEA identified three important remaining issues on the geoscientific research program based on the synthesized latest results of research and development (R&D): "Development of countermeasure technologies for reducing groundwater inflow", "Development of modeling technologies for mass transport" and "Development of drift backfilling technology". The R&D on three remaining important issues have been carrying out in the MIU Project. This report summarizes the R&D activities planned for fiscal year 2019 on the basis of the MIU Master Plan updated in 2015 and Investigation Plan for the Third Medium to Long-term Research Phase.
Hatano, Nozomi*; Yoshida, Koki*; Adachi, Yoshiko*; Sasao, Eiji
Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 184, p.103971_1 - 103971_13, 2019/10
Times Cited Count:4 Percentile:27.33(Geosciences, Multidisciplinary)Whole rock major and REE geochemistry and mineral compositions of the Pliocene sediments in southwest Japan reveal the effects of source rock compositions and grain sizes, as well as the relationship between sedimentary environments and the degree of chemical weathering in the Pliocene warm period. A wide variation in the degree of chemical weathering, source rock compositions and grain sizes were observed with vertical and spatial changes in the sedimentary environment. Regardless of the wide variety of source rock compositions and grain sizes, REE and kaolinite-rich clay mineral concentrations in sediments, of which CIA values are generally above 90, are indicative of the intense weathering conditions that prevailed in the Pliocene period (3-4 Ma) in southwest Japan.
Kubo, Taiki*; Matsuda, Norihiro*; Kashiwaya, Koki*; Koike, Katsuaki*; Ishibashi, Masayuki; Tsuruta, Tadahiko; Matsuoka, Toshiyuki; Sasao, Eiji; Lanyon, G. W.*
Engineering Geology, 259, p.105163_1 - 105163_15, 2019/09
Times Cited Count:10 Percentile:62.18(Engineering, Geological)Rock matrix permeability is mainly controlled by microcracks. This study aims to identify the factors influencing the permeability of the Toki granite, central Japan. Permeability of core samples, measured by a gas permeameter, largely increases in the fault and fracture zones. Although a significant correlation is identified between permeability and P-wave velocity, this correlation is enhanced by classifying the samples into two groups by the Mn/Fe concentration ratio. Thus, lithofacies is another control factor for permeability due to the difference in mineral composition. Moreover, permeability shows significant negative and positive correlations with Si and Ca concentrations, respectively. These concentrations are probably affected by dissolution of silicate minerals and calcite generation in the hydrothermal alteration process. Therefore, a combination of hydrothermal alteration and strong faulting are the predominant processes for controlling permeability.
Takeuchi, Ryuji; Iwatsuki, Teruki; Matsui, Hiroya; Nohara, Tsuyoshi; Onoe, Hironori; Ikeda, Koki; Mikake, Shinichiro; Hama, Katsuhiro; Iyatomi, Yosuke; Sasao, Eiji
JAEA-Review 2019-005, 76 Pages, 2019/06
The Mizunami Underground Research Laboratory (MIU) project is being pursued by the Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA) to enhance the reliability of geological disposal technologies through investigations of the deep geological environment in the crystalline rock (granite) at Mizunami City, Gifu Prefecture, central Japan. On the occasion of the research program and management system revision of the entire JAEA organization in 2014, JAEA identified three remaining important issues on the geoscientific research program based on the latest results of the synthesizing research and development: "Development of countermeasure technologies for reducing groundwater inflow", "Development of modeling technologies for mass transport" and "Development of drift backfilling technologies". The research and development on three remaining important issues have been carrying out on the MIU project. In this report, the current status of the research and development activities and construction in fiscal year 2017 is summarized.
Hatano, Nozomi*; Yoshida, Koki*; Sasao, Eiji
Sedimentary Geology, 386, p.1 - 8, 2019/05
Times Cited Count:9 Percentile:72.78(Geology)Grain size variation of sediments generally complicates the assessment of the degree of chemical weathering. Mineralogical and geochemical research was carried out on Miocene and Pliocene fluvial sediments in southwest Japan to evaluate the effects of grain size on the degree of chemical weathering. We indicated that the AlO
/SiO
ratio may be suitable as a grain size index. Most of the fine-grained sediments have higher CIA values. In contrast, coarse-grained sediments, display a wide range of CIA values. The CIA values for intermediate grain sized samples reflect distinctive differences in the degree of chemical weathering between Miocene and Pliocene sediments. In the intermediate grain sized samples, the Miocene sediments have higher CIA values than Pliocene sediments. To compare the degree of chemical weathering, it is desirable to evaluate with the Al
O
/SiO
ratios limited to the intermediate grain size range.
Yuguchi, Takashi*; Shobuzawa, Kaho*; Ogita, Yasuhiro*; Yagi, Koshi*; Ishibashi, Masayuki; Sasao, Eiji; Nishiyama, Tadao*
American Mineralogist, 104(4), p.536 - 556, 2019/04
Times Cited Count:14 Percentile:73.88(Geochemistry & Geophysics)This study describes the plagioclase alteration process with a focus on the role of micropores, mass transfer and reaction rate in the Toki granitic pluton, central Japan. The plagioclase alteration process involves albitization, K-feldspathization, and the formation of illite, calcite, fluorite and epidote. Such secondary minerals of hydrothermal origin in plagioclase within granitic rocks record the chemical characteristics of the hydrothermal fluid. Our results highlight (1) the nature of micropores such as distribution and volume in plagioclase, (2) the reaction nature of plagioclase alteration inferred by petrography and chemistry, (3) the physical conditions including alteration age and temperature, (4) the sequential variations of the fluid chemistry and (5) the mass transfer rate and reaction rate in the plagioclase alteration.