Geothermal measurements at ODP Leg 127 and 128 sites

Downhole temperature and thermal conductivity measurements in core samples recovered during Legs 127 and 128 in the Japan Sea resulted in five accurate determinations of heat flow through the seafloor and accurate estimates of temperature vs. depth over the drilled sections. The heat flows measured at these sites are in excellent agreement with nearby seafloor measurements. Drilling sampled basaltic rocks that form the acoustic basement in the Yamato and Japan basins and provided biostratigraphic and isotopic estimates of the age of these basins. The preliminary age estimates are compared with predicted heat flow values for two different thermal models of the lithosphere. A heat flow determination from the crest of the Okushiri Ridge yielded an anomalously high heat flow of 156 mW/m**2. This excessive heat flow value may have resulted from frictional heating on an active reverse fault that bounds the eastern side of the Ridge. Accurate estimates of sedimentation rates and temperatures in the sedimentary section combined with models of basin formation provide an opportunity to test thermochemical models of silica diagenesis. The current location of the opal-A/opal CT transition in the sedimentary section is determined primarily by the thermal history of the layer in which the transition is now found. Comparison of the ages and temperatures of the layer where the opal-A/opal-CT is found today is compatible with an activation energy of 14 to 17 kcal/mole.

Ba, Al and SO4 concentrations in sediments and pore fluid of ODP Leg 127/128 samples

The barium distribution in sediments and pore fluids from five sites drilled in the Japan Sea have been used to illustrate the geochemical behavior of this element as it pertains paleoproductivity reconstructions, diagenetic remobilization, and barite precipitation in authigenic fronts. Sites where sulfate is depleted in the pore fluids also show high concentrations of dissolved barium, reflecting dissolution of biogenic barite. The high rate of sedimentation at Sites 798 and 799 results in a rapid sulfate depletion, which in turn leads to barite dissolution and reprecipitation in diagenetic fronts. The dissolved barium distribution at these sites has been used to quantify the rate of barite dissolution; we estimate a first-order rate constant for barite dissolution to be 2*10**-6/s at Site 799 and 2*10**-7/s at Site 798. Authigenic barite has been documented in sediments from Site 799 at 323 meters below seafloor by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray fluorescence analysis. These results indicate barite precipitation in a diagenetic front near the zone of sulfate depletion by upward migration of dissolved barium and downward diffusion of sulfate. Barite precipitation has also been inferred at Sites 796 and 798 based on sedimentary and dissolved barium distributions. Sulfate is not depleted in the pore fluids of Site 794. The lack of diagenetic remobilization of biogenic barium at this site preserves the high barium signal associated with the high-productivity sequences deposited during the late Miocene to Pliocene. Significantly, the organic carbon distribution does not indicate high accumulation rates during the periods of high opal and barium deposition. Instead, higher organic carbon accumulations are recorded in the Quaternary and middle Miocene sequences; intervals that are also characterized by deposition of siliciclastic turbidites. The presence of a terrestrial component in the organic carbon record renders barium a more useful indicator than organic carbon for paleoproductivity reconstructions in this marginal sea.

Stable and radiogenic isotope ratios in pore waters from ODP Leg 127 sites

Interstitial waters from four sites of the Japan Sea (794 to 797) have been analyzed for stable isotopes (delta D, delta11B, delta18O, and delta34S) and 87Sr/86Sr, besides major and minor ions. The isotopic composition is dominated by organic matter degradation, alteration of ash layers and volcaniclastic sands, silica transformation (opal A/CT), and basement alteration. Organic matter degradation and corresponding sulfate reduction leads to 32S depletion and is dependent upon sedimentation rate. The remaining sulfate reservoir is characterized by very "heavy" delta34S ratios, up to +93 ? (rel. CDT = Canyon Diabolo Troilite). "Barite fronts," which may develop in such sediments, should also be characterized by very "heavy" sulfur isotopes. The alteration of volcaniclastic material in the Quaternary sections influences the delta18O (-1.5 ? shift) and delta11B (desorption and later adsorption of "labile"11B). A pronounced positive delta11B anomaly at Site 795 represents the depth range of preferential 10B uptake by alteration products of the ash layers. At Site 796 delta D, delta11B, and 87Sr/86Sr are severely affected by alteration processes of volcaniclastic sands. The opal A/CT transformation may influence the oxygen isotopes and serves as a potential source for B, which is liberated at this interval at Site 795. This positive B anomaly is not reflected in the delta11B profile. Basement alteration processes dominate the sedimentary sequence below the opal A/CT transition, which serves as a chemical and physical boundary. The decreases in delta D and delta18O are probably related to a "paleo ocean water reservoir" situated in the permeable Layer II of the oceanic crust, as is indicated by the positive correlation between these two parameters. Besides Mg, alkalies and delta18O basement rocks also serve as a sink for 11 B (Site 795) and are the source for the Ca and Sr increases, as is documented by the less radiogenic 87Sr/86Sr ratio. 87Sr/86Sr ratios for the lowermost pore waters from Site 795 (0.70529) are comparable to those from volcaniclastic rocks from the "Green Tuff' region (0.704 to 0.706) and oil field brines from the Niigata Oil Field.