Temperature limits to deep subseafloor life in the Nankai Trough subduction zone.

Microorganisms in marine subsurface sediments substantially contribute to global biomass. Sediments warmer than 40°C account for roughly half the marine sediment volume, but the processes mediated by microbial populations in these hard-to-access environments are poorly understood. We investigated microbial life in up to 1.2-kilometer-deep and up to 120°C hot sediments in the Nankai Trough subduction zone. Above 45°C, concentrations of vegetative cells drop two orders of magnitude and endospores become more than 6000 times more abundant than vegetative cells. Methane is biologically produced and oxidized until sediments reach 80° to 85°C. In 100° to 120°C sediments, isotopic evidence and increased cell concentrations demonstrate the activity of acetate-degrading hyperthermophiles. Above 45°C, populated zones alternate with zones up to 192 meters thick where microbes were undetectable.

Continuous depth profile of the rock strength in the Nankai accretionary prism based on drilling performance parameters.

A new method for evaluating the in situ rock strength beneath the seafloor is proposed and applied to the Nankai Trough accretionary prism. The depth-continuous in situ rock strength is a critical parameter for numerous studies in earth science, particularly for seismology and tectonics at plate convergence zones; yet, measurements are limited owing to a lack of drilled cores. Here, we propose a new indicator of strength, the equivalent strength (EST), which is determined only by drilling performance parameters such as drill string rotational torque, bit depth, and string rotational speed. A continuous depth profile of EST was drawn from 0 to 3000 m below the seafloor (mbsf) across the forearc basin and accretionary prism in the Nankai Trough. The EST did not show a significant increase around the forearc basin-accretionary prism boundary, but it did show a clear increase within the prism, ca. below 1500 mbsf. This result may indicate that even the shallow accretionary prism has been strengthened by horizontal compression derived from plate subduction. The EST is a potential parameter to continuously evaluate the in situ rock strength during drilling, and its accuracy of the absolute value can be improved by combining with laboratory drilling experiments.

Fault rheology beyond frictional melting.

During earthquakes, comminution and frictional heating both contribute to the dissipation of stored energy. With sufficient dissipative heating, melting processes can ensue, yielding the production of frictional melts or "pseudotachylytes." It is commonly assumed that the Newtonian viscosities of such melts control subsequent fault slip resistance. Rock melts, however, are viscoelastic bodies, and, at high strain rates, they exhibit evidence of a glass transition. Here, we present the results of high-velocity friction experiments on a well-characterized melt that demonstrate how slip in melt-bearing faults can be governed by brittle fragmentation phenomena encountered at the glass transition. Slip analysis using models that incorporate viscoelastic responses indicates that even in the presence of melt, slip persists in the solid state until sufficient heat is generated to reduce the viscosity and allow remobilization in the liquid state. Where a rock is present next to the melt, we note that wear of the crystalline wall rock by liquid fragmentation and agglutination also contributes to the brittle component of these experimentally generated pseudotachylytes. We conclude that in the case of pseudotachylyte generation during an earthquake, slip even beyond the onset of frictional melting is not controlled merely by viscosity but rather by an interplay of viscoelastic forces around the glass transition, which involves a response in the brittle/solid regime of these rock melts. We warn of the inadequacy of simple Newtonian viscous analyses and call for the application of more realistic rheological interpretation of pseudotachylyte-bearing fault systems in the evaluation and prediction of their slip dynamics.

Intact preservation of environmental samples by freezing under an alternating magnetic field.

The study of environmental samples requires a preservation system that stabilizes the sample structure, including cells and biomolecules. To address this fundamental issue, we tested the cell alive system (CAS)-freezing technique for subseafloor sediment core samples. In the CAS-freezing technique, an alternating magnetic field is applied during the freezing process to produce vibration of water molecules and achieve a stable, super-cooled liquid phase. Upon further cooling, the temperature decreases further, achieving a uniform freezing of sample with minimal ice crystal formation. In this study, samples were preserved using the CAS and conventional freezing techniques at 4, -20, -80 and -196 (liquid nitrogen) °C. After 6 months of storage, microbial cell counts by conventional freezing significantly decreased (down to 10.7% of initial), whereas that by CAS-freezing resulted in minimal. When Escherichia coli cells were tested under the same freezing conditions and storage for 2.5 months, CAS-frozen E. coli cells showed higher viability than the other conditions. In addition, an alternating magnetic field does not impact on the direction of remanent magnetization in sediment core samples, although slight partial demagnetization in intensity due to freezing was observed. Consequently, our data indicate that the CAS technique is highly useful for the preservation of environmental samples.

Biological CO2 conversion to acetate in subsurface coal-sand formation using a high-pressure reactor system.

Geological CO2 sequestration in unmineable subsurface oil/gas fields and coal formations has been proposed as a means of reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. However, the feasibility of injecting CO2 into subsurface depends upon a variety of geological and economic conditions, and the ecological consequences are largely unpredictable. In this study, we developed a new flow-through-type reactor system to examine potential geophysical, geochemical and microbiological impacts associated with CO2 injection by simulating in-situ pressure (0-100 MPa) and temperature (0-70°C) conditions. Using the reactor system, anaerobic artificial fluid and CO2 (flow rate: 0.002 and 0.00001 ml/min, respectively) were continuously supplemented into a column comprised of bituminous coal and sand under a pore pressure of 40 MPa (confined pressure: 41 MPa) at 40°C for 56 days. 16S rRNA gene analysis of the bacterial components showed distinct spatial separation of the predominant taxa in the coal and sand over the course of the experiment. Cultivation experiments using sub-sampled fluids revealed that some microbes survived, or were metabolically active, under CO2-rich conditions. However, no methanogens were activated during the experiment, even though hydrogenotrophic and methylotrophic methanogens were obtained from conventional batch-type cultivation at 20°C. During the reactor experiment, the acetate and methanol concentration in the fluids increased while the δ(13)Cacetate, H2 and CO2 concentrations decreased, indicating the occurrence of homo-acetogenesis. 16S rRNA genes of homo-acetogenic spore-forming bacteria related to the genus Sporomusa were consistently detected from the sandstone after the reactor experiment. Our results suggest that the injection of CO2 into a natural coal-sand formation preferentially stimulates homo-acetogenesis rather than methanogenesis, and that this process is accompanied by biogenic CO2 conversion to acetate.

Ultralow friction of carbonate faults caused by thermal decomposition.

High-velocity weakening of faults may drive fault motion during large earthquakes. Experiments on simulated faults in Carrara marble at slip rates up to 1.3 meters per second demonstrate that thermal decomposition of calcite due to frictional heating induces pronounced fault weakening with steady-state friction coefficients as low as 0.06. Decomposition produces particles of tens of nanometers in size, and the ultralow friction appears to be associated with the flash heating on an ultrafine decomposition product. Thus, thermal decomposition may be an important process for the dynamic weakening of faults.

Natural and experimental evidence of melt lubrication of faults during earthquakes.

Melt produced by friction during earthquakes may act either as a coseismic fault lubricant or as a viscous brake. Here we estimate the dynamic shear resistance (tau(f)) in the presence of friction-induced melts from both exhumed faults and high-velocity (1.28 meters per second) frictional experiments. Exhumed faults within granitoids (tonalites) indicate low tau(f) at 10 kilometers in depth. Friction experiments on tonalite samples show that tau(f) depends weakly on normal stress. Extrapolation of experimental data yields tau(f) values consistent with the field estimates and well below the Byerlee strength. We conclude that friction-induced melts can lubricate faults at intermediate crustal depths.