Eocene volcanism during the incipient stage of Izu–Ogasawara Arc: Geology and petrology of the Mukojima Island Group, the Ogasawara Islands.

The Ogasawara Islands mainly comprise Eocene volcanic strata formed when the Izu-Ogasawara-Mariana Arc began. We present the first detailed volcanic geology, petrography and geochemistry of the Mukojima Island Group, northernmost of the Ogasawara Islands, and show that the volcanic stratigraphy consists of arc tholeiitic rocks, ultra-depleted boninite-series rocks, and less-depleted boninitic andesites, which are correlatable to the Maruberiwan, Asahiyama and Mikazukiyama Formations on the Chichijima Island Group to the south. On Chichijima, a short hiatus is identified between the Maruberiwan (boninite, bronzite andesite, and dacite) and Asahiyama Formation (quartz dacite and rhyolite). In contrast, these lithologies are interbedded on Nakodojima of the Mukojima Island Group. The stratigraphically lower portion of Mukojima is mainly composed of pillow lava, which is overlain by reworked volcaniclastic rocks in the middle, whereas the upper portion is dominated by pyroclastic rocks. This suggests that volcanic activity now preserved in the Mukojima Island Group records growth of one or more volcanoes, beginning with quiet extrusion of lava under relatively deep water followed by volcaniclastic deposition. These then changed into moderately explosive eruptions that took place in shallow water or above sea level. This is consistent with the uplift of the entire Ogasawara Ridge during the Eocene. Boninites from the Mukojima Island Group are divided into three types on the basis of geochemistry. Type1 boninites have high SiO2 (>57.0wt.%) and Zr/Ti (>0.022) and are the most abundant type in both Mukojima and Chichijima Island Groups. Type2 boninites have low SiO2 (<57.1wt.%) and Zr/Ti (<0.014). Type3 boninites have 57.6-60.7wt.% SiO2 and are characterized by high CaO/Al2O3 (0.9-1.1). Both type2 and 3 boninites are common on Mukojima but are rare in the Chichijima Island Group. © 2012 Wiley Publishing Asia Pty Ltd.12 months embarg

Thermal and chemical evolution of the subarc mantle revealed by spinel-hosted melt inclusions in boninite from the Ogasawara (bonin) Archipelago, Japan

Primitive melt inclusions in chrome spinel from the Ogasawara Archipelago (Japan) compose two discrete groups of high-SiO2, high-MgO (high-Si) and low-SiO2, low-MgO (low-Si) boninitic suites, with ultra-depleted dish- and V-shaped, and less-depleted flat, rare earth element patterns. The most magnesian melt inclusions of each geochemical type were used to estimate the temperature-pressure conditions for primary boninites, which range from 1345 °C at 0.56 GPa to 1421 °C at 0.85 GPa for the 48-46 Ma low-Si and high-Si boninites, and 1381 °C at 0.85 GPa for the 45 Ma low-Si boninite. The onset of the Pacific slab subduction at 52 Ma forced upwelling of depleted mid-oceanic ridge basalt mantle (DMM) to yield proto-arc basalt (PAB). With the rise of DMM, refractory harzburgite ascended without melting. At 48-46 Ma, introduction of slab fluids induced melting of the PAB residue and high-temperature harzburgite, resulting in the low-Si and high-Si boninites, respectively. Meanwhile, convection within the mantle wedge brought the less-depleted residue of PAB and DMM into the region fluxed by slab fluids, which melted to yield the less-depleted low-Si boninite at 45 Ma, and fertile arc basalts, respectively

Suppression of osteoclastogenesis via α2-adrenergic receptors

The sympathetic nervous system is known to regulate osteoclast development. However, the involvement of α2-adrenergic receptors (α2-ARs) in osteoclastogenesis is not well understood. In the present study, their potential role in osteoclastogenesis was investigated. Guanabenz, clonidine and xylazine were used as agonists of α2-ARs, while yohimbine and idazoxan were employed as antagonists. Using RAW264.7 pre-osteoclast and primary bone marrow cells, the mRNA expression of the osteoclast-related genes nuclear factor of activated T-cells, cytoplasmic 1 (NFATc1), tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) and cathepsin K was evaluated following induction with receptor activator of nuclear factor κB ligand (RANKL). TRAP staining was also conducted to assess effects on osteoclastogenesis in mouse bone marrow cells in vitro. Administration of 5-20 µM guanabenz (P<0.01, for RANKL-only treatment), 20 µM clonidine (P<0.05, for RANKL-only treatment) and 20 µM xylazine (P<0.05, for RANKL-only treatment) attenuated RANKL-induced upregulation of NFATc1, TRAP and cathepsin K mRNA. Furthermore, the reductions in these mRNAs by 10 µM guanabenz and 20 µM clonidine in the presence of RANKL were attenuated by 20 µM yohimbine or idazoxan (P<0.05). The administration of 5-20 µM guanabenz (P<0.01, for RANKL-only treatment) and 10-20 µM clonidine (P<0.05, for RANKL-only treatment) also decreased the number of TRAP-positive multi-nucleated osteoclasts. Collectively, the present study demonstrates that α2-ARs may be involved in the regulation of osteoclastogenesis

Geochemical characteristics of back-arc basin lower crust and upper mantle at final spreading stage of Shikoku Basin: an example of Mado Megamullion

AbstractThis paper explores the evolutional process of back-arc basin (BAB) magma system at final spreading stage of extinct BAB, Shikoku Basin (Philippine Sea) and assesses its tectonic evolution using a newly discovered oceanic core complex, the Mado Megamullion. Bulk and in-situ chemical compositions together with in-situ Pb isotope composition of dolerite, oxide gabbro, gabbro, olivine gabbro, dunite, and peridotite are presented. Compositional ranges and trends of the igneous and peridotitic rocks from the Mado Megamullion are similar to those from the slow- to ultraslow-spreading mid-ocean ridges (MOR). Since the timing of the Mado Megamullion exhumation corresponds to the very end of the Shikoku Basin opening, the magma supply was subdued and highly episodic, leading to extreme magma differentiation to form ferrobasaltic, hydrous magmas. In-situ Pb isotope composition of magmatic brown amphibole in the oxide gabbro is identical to that of depleted source mantle for mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB). In the context of hydrous BAB magma genesis, the magmatic water was derived solely from the MORB source mantle. The distance from the back-arc spreading center to the arc front increased away through maturing of the Shikoku Basin to cause MORB-like magmatism. After the exhumation of Mado Megamullion along detachment faults, dolerite dikes intruded as a post-spreading magmatism. The final magmatism along with post-spreading Kinan Seamount Chain volcanism were introduced around the extinct back-arc spreading center after the opening of Shikoku Basin by residual mantle upwelling

The relationship between eruptive activity, flank collapse, and sea level at volcanic islands: A long-term (>1 Ma) record offshore Montserrat, Lesser Antilles

Hole U1395B, drilled southeast of Montserrat during Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 340, provides a long (>1 Ma) and detailed record of eruptive and mass-wasting events (>130 discrete events). This record can be used to explore the temporal evolution in volcanic activity and landslides at an arc volcano. Analysis of tephra fall and volcaniclastic turbidite deposits in the drill cores reveals three heightened periods of volcanic activity on the island of Montserrat (?930 ka to ?900 ka, ?810 ka to ?760 ka, and ?190 ka to ?120 ka) that coincide with periods of increased volcano instability and mass-wasting. The youngest of these periods marks the peak in activity at the Soufrière Hills volcano. The largest flank collapse of this volcano (?130 ka) occurred towards the end of this period, and two younger landslides also occurred during a period of relatively elevated volcanism. These three landslides represent the only large (>0.3 km3) flank collapses of the Soufrière Hills edifice, and their timing also coincides with periods of rapid sea-level rise (>5 m/ka). Available age data from other island arc volcanoes suggests a general correlation between the timing of large landslides and periods of rapid sea-level rise, but this is not observed for volcanoes in intra-plate ocean settings. We thus infer that rapid sea-level rise may modulate the timing of collapse at island arc volcanoes, but not in larger ocean-island settings

A record of spontaneous subduction initiation in the Izu–Bonin–Mariana arc

The initiation of tectonic plate subduction into the mantle is poorly understood. If subduction is induced by the push of a distant mid-ocean ridge or subducted slab pull, we expect compression and uplift of the overriding plate. In contrast, spontaneous subduction initiation, driven by subsidence of dense lithosphere along faults adjacent to buoyant lithosphere, would result in extension and magmatism. The rock record of subduction initiation is typically obscured by younger deposits, so evaluating these possibilities has proved elusive. Here we analyse the geochemical characteristics of igneous basement rocks and overlying sediments, sampled from the Amami Sankaku Basin in the northwest Philippine Sea. The uppermost basement rocks are areally widespread and supplied via dykes. They are similar in composition and age—as constrained by the biostratigraphy of the overlying sediments—to the 52–48-million-year-old basalts in the adjacent Izu–Bonin–Mariana fore-arc. The geochemical characteristics of the basement lavas indicate that a component of subducted lithosphere was involved in their genesis, and the lavas were derived from mantle source rocks that were more melt-depleted than those tapped at mid-ocean ridges. We propose that the basement lavas formed during the inception of Izu–Bonin–Mariana subduction in a mode consistent with the spontaneous initiation of subduction

Permeability and pressure measurements in Lesser Antilles submarine slides: Evidence for pressure-driven slow-slip failure

Recent studies hypothesize that some submarine slides fail via pressure-driven slow-slip deformation. To test this hypothesis, this study derives pore pressures in failed and adjacent unfailed deep marine sediments by integrating rock physics models, physical property measurements on recovered sediment core, and wireline logs. Two drill sites (U1394 and U1399) drilled through interpreted slide debris; a third (U1395) drilled into normal marine sediment. Near-hydrostatic fluid pressure exists in sediments at site U1395. In contrast, results at both sites U1394 and U1399 indicate elevated pore fluid pressures in some sediment. We suggest that high pore pressure at the base of a submarine slide deposit at site U1394 results from slide shearing. High pore pressure exists throughout much of site U1399, and Mohr circle analysis suggests that only slight changes in the stress regime will trigger motion. Consolidation tests and permeability measurements indicate moderately low (~10⁻¹⁶–10⁻¹⁷ m²) permeability and overconsolidation in fine-grained slide debris, implying that these sediments act as seals. Three mechanisms, in isolation or in combination, may produce the observed elevated pore fluid pressures at site U1399: (1) rapid sedimentation, (2) lateral fluid flow, and (3) shearing that causes sediments to contract, increasing pore pressure. Our preferred hypothesis is this third mechanism because it explains both elevated fluid pressure and sediment overconsolidation without requiring high sedimentation rates. Our combined analysis of subsurface pore pressures, drilling data, and regional seismic images indicates that slope failure offshore Martinique is perhaps an ongoing, creep-like process where small stress changes trigger motion