Characteristics in trace elements compositions of tephras (B-Tm and To-a) for identification tools

Nara, Fumiko*; Yokoyama, Tatsunori; Yamasaki, Shinichi*; Minami, Masayo*; Asahara, Yoshihiro*; Watanabe, Takahiro; Yamada, Kazuyoshi*; Tsuchiya, Noriyoshi*; Yasuda, Yoshinori*

Geochemical Journal, 55(3), p.117 - 133, 2021/00

https://doi.org/10.2343/geochemj.2.0619

The absolute date of the Millennium Eruption (ME) of Changbaishan Volcano is widely recognized as AD 946. The Baegdosan-Tomakomai (B-Tm) tephra dispersed during the ME is a robust-age key bed. In order to identify the tephra, refractive index and major-element compositions of volcanic glass shards are conventionally used. However, trace-element analysis has been rarely carried out, especially for rare-earth elements (REEs) and for tephra layer bulk sediments. Here we present the datasets of major- and trace-element compositions datasets for the glass shards and bulk sediments of the B-Tm and Towada caldera eruptions (To-a) tephra deposits from the Lake Ogawara sediment core, Tohoku region, northern Japan. The depth profiles of the major and trace elements show the significant peaks for the KO and some trace elements (Zn, Rb, Zr, Nb, Sn, Y, La, Ce, Nd, Th, and U) at the B-Tm tephra layer in the Lake Ogawara sediment core, but no peaks of these elements at the To-a tephra layer. High concentrations of the trace elements in the B-Tm tephra layer were observed in individual glass shards as well as in the bulk sediment. These concentrations are highlighted by the elemental abundance pattern normalized by the crustal abundance. The elemental pattern in individual glass shards from other Japanese tephras showed significant differences from those of the B-Tm tephra, especially in REEs compositions. The trace-element compositions of the glass shards and bulk sediment show strong advantages for distinguishing the B-Tm tephra from other Japanese tephras.

A Geochemical approach for identifying marine incursions; Implications for tsunami geology on the Pacific coast of northeast Japan

Watanabe, Takahiro; Tsuchiya, Noriyoshi*; Yamasaki, Shinichi*; Sawai, Yuki*; Hosoda, Norihiro*; Nara, Fumiko*; Nakamura, Toshio*; Komai, Takeshi*

Applied Geochemistry, 118, p.104644_1 - 104644_11, 2020/07

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apgeochem.2020.104644

Possible tsunami inundation areas can be predicted from the distribution of paleo tsunami deposits, which are mainly composed of marine-derived sands and muds on land. Such exotic sandy and muddy layers have been identified by multiple approaches. However, there still remain uncertainties and other useful proxies need to be investigated for the identification of tsunami deposits. Here we show the geochemical signatures of modern tsunami deposits from the Pacific coast of Northeast Japan (2011 Tohoku tsunami), as well as those paleo tsunami deposits, which were taken from the Tohoku District (Jogan, ca. 1080 calibrated ages before present [cal BP] and Yayoi, ca. 2000 cal BP). A geochemical ternary diagram (Seawater-Rock-(As+Metals)) enables the weathering trend of tsunami deposits over ca. 2000 years in the Sendai Plain in the Tohoku to be shown. In the paleo tsunami layers from the Tohoku, the Na/Ti atomic ratios markedly increased to 23.4, and the average values were 19.33.0 (Jogan and Yayoi tsunami deposits), which were clearly higher than those of other layers (soil deposits, 10.33.5 on average). These results show that the Na/Ti ratio is a useful indicator of marine incursions in our case. Our rapid and simple method using the Na/Ti ratio can be easily applied to the Tohoku, and it may contribute to the detection of unrecorded muddy tsunami deposits.

Impurity effects in the microscopic elastic properties of polycrystalline Mg-Zn-Y alloys with a synchronised long-period stacking ordered phase

Hosokawa, Shinya*; Kimura, Koji*; Yamasaki, Michiaki*; Kawamura, Yoshihito*; Yoshida, Koji*; Inui, Masanori*; Tsutsui, Satoshi*; Baron, A. Q. R.*; Kawakita, Yukinobu; Ito, Shinichi*

Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 695, p.426 - 432, 2017/02

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jallcom.2016.10.266

Research plan on geosphere stability for long-term isolation of radioactive waste; Scientific programme for fiscal years 2011

Yasue, Kenichi; Asamori, Koichi; Kusano, Tomohiro; Kokubu, Yoko; Tanikawa, Shinichi; Niwa, Masakazu; Hanamuro, Takahiro; Yamasaki, Seiko; Yamada, Kunimi; Ishimaru, Tsuneari; et al.

JAEA-Review 2011-023, 43 Pages, 2011/07

JAEA-Review-2011-023.pdf:1.84MB

The concept of geological disposal of HLW in Japan is based on a multibarrier system which combines a stable geological environment with an engineered barrier system. Potential geological host formations and their surroundings are chosen, in particular, for their long-term stability, taking into account the fact that Japan is located in a tectonically active zone. This report is a plan of research and development (R&D) for geosphere stability for long-term isolation of HLW in JAEA, in fiscal year 2011. The objectives and contents in fiscal year 2011 are described in detail based on the outline of 5 years plan (fiscal years 2010-2014). In addition, 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.

Research plan on geosphere stability for long-term isolation of radioactive waste; Scientific programme for fiscal years 2010

Yasue, Kenichi; Asamori, Koichi; Yamada, Kunimi; Kokubu, Yoko; Yamasaki, Seiko; Kurosawa, Hideki; Tanikawa, Shinichi; Negi, Tateyuki; Kusano, Tomohiro; Hanamuro, Takahiro; et al.

JAEA-Review 2010-034, 42 Pages, 2010/09

JAEA-Review-2010-034.pdf:1.15MB

The concept of geological disposal of HLW in Japan is based on a multibarrier system which combines a stable geological environment with an engineered barrier system. Potential geological host formations and their surroundings are chosen, in particular, for their long-term stability, taking into account the fact that Japan is located in a tectonically active zone. This report is a plan of research and development (R&D) for geosphere stability for long-term isolation of HLW in JAEA, in fiscal year 2010. The objectives and contents in fiscal year 2010 are described in detail based on the outline of 5 years plan (fiscal years 2010-2014). In addition, 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.

The Millennium scale monsoon cycles recorded in a sediment core from alpine Tibetan lake

Watanabe, Takahiro; Nara, Fumiko*; Matsunaka, Tetsuya*; Minoura, Koji*; Kakegawa, Takeshi*; Yamasaki, Shinichi*; Tsuchiya, Noriyoshi*; Nakamura, Toshio*; Junbo, W.*; Liping, Z.*

no journal, , 

Understanding of past environmental and geochemical changes is significant issues to estimate global climate variation. Therefore, these changes have been studied by continuous terrestrial sediments. The high-time resolution past environmental changes, especially monsoon fluctuations, have been reported in previous studies using geochemical signatures in stalagmites from Asian caves. However, continuous climate records in Tibetan plateau have not yet been cleared, which a key area to understand mechanism of monsoon fluctuations. In this study, mean grain size and geochemical proxies from lake sediment cores from south Tibetan plateau were used for estimation of past monsoon changes during Holocene. Spectral analysis of the mean grain size in the Tibetan lake indicated 1000-1500 years climate cycles, which might be caused by the changes in solar activities. These monsoon fluctuations based on the mean grain size were also supported by geochemical proxies in this study.

Estimation of the age with the brackish lake environmental changes using continuous sediment core samples from Lake Ogawara

Nara, Fumiko*; Matsunaka, Tetsuya*; Yamasaki, Shinichi*; Tsuchiya, Noriyoshi*; Watanabe, Takahiro; Yamada, Kazuyoshi*; Yasuda, Yoshinori*

no journal, , 

Lake Ogawara, which is the brackish lake in Aomori prefecture, northern Japan, has been formed by the sea level change. Although the lake formation period is roughly estimated at the late Jomon period, the precise formation period is still unclear. The Lake Ogawara formation is directly connected with the sea level change, therefore, determination of the precise formation period of the Lake Ogawara is very important to understand the sea level history during the Jomon period. In this study, we constructed the precise age model based on the radiocarbon (C-14) for the plant residues and total organic carbon (TOC), Cs-137, Pb-210 and tephra identify in the Lake Ogawara sediment core. Two visible tephras (the Baegdosan-Tomakomai: B-Tm and Towada carudera eruption: To-a) were observed in the sediment core. Since the absolute age of the Millennium Eruption (ME) of Changbaishan volcano is widely accepted as AD 946, the B-Tm tephra in the sediment core can be used as the precice chronological key bed layer. Age profile of the trace element (Br), which was derived from the sea water, in the core showed that the Lake Ogawara started to change to the brackish lake at around 2000 cal BP.