Evidence of crustal ＇channel flow＇ in the eastern margin of Tibetan Plateau from MT measurements

Magnetotelluric （MT） survey has been carried out in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau and its neighboring Shimian-Leshan area, Sichuan Province. Analysis of this MT data reveals that the electric structure of the Tibetan Plateau differ much from that of the Sichuan block. In general, the electric resistivity of crust beneath the Sichuan block in the east is larger than that of the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau in the west. The crust of the plateau is divided into upper, middle, and lower layers. The middle crust is a low resistivity layer with minimum down to 3-10Ωm about 10-15 km thick. It presumably contains partial melt and/or salt-bearing fluids with low viscosity, prone to deform and flow, producing a ＂channel flow＂ under the southeastward squeeze of the eastern Tibetan Plateau. This low-resistivity layer makes the upper crust decoupled mechanically from the lower crust. In the brittle upper crust, faults are dominated by left-lateral strike-slip and thrust motions, leading to surface rising and shallow earthquakes. The low-resistivity layer also cut the Xianshuihe-Anninghe fault zone into two sections vertically. In this region, the thicknesses of upper, middle, and lower crust vary laterally, producing a transitional zone in the eastern margin of the Tibetan Plateau characterized by thicker crust and higher elevation in the west and thinner crust and lower elevation in the east.     

Early Cambrian eodiscoid trilobites of the Yangtze Platform and their stratigraphic implications

Analysis of the taxonomy and stratigraphic distribution of the Early Cambrian eodiscoid trilobites of the Yangtze Platform indicates that species of Tsunyidiscus and Hupeidiscus can be used for biostratigraphic correlation. T. aclis occurs only in the lower Qiongzhusian, T. armatus occurs in the lower and middle Qiongzhusian, while T. niutitangensis and T. tingi occur mainly in the middle and upper Qiongzhusian, with only T. tingi extending upward into the lower Canglangpuian. H. orientalis first appears in the upper Qiongzhusian, reaching peak abundance in the lower Canglangpuian and becoming extinct above the Drepanuroides Zone. Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic correlations indicate that the limestone in the lower part of the Mingxinsi Formation, the Upper Member of Jiumenchong Formation, and the upper part of the Middle Member of the Huangbailing Formation, can be correlated with each other as Hupediscus, an index fossil of the lower Canglangpuian, is abundant in all these units. The lower part of the Niutitang and Jiumenchong formations in eastern Guizhou, which mainly represent Qiongzhusian strata, can be correlated with the Lower Member of the Huangbailing Formation. The basal part of the Niutitang Formation, which may be equivalent to the Upper Meishucunian Shiyantou Formation in eastern Yunnan, is very condensed. Well-preserved sponge faunas and non-mineralized fossils in the lower part of the Niutitang and Hetang formations are not older than Qiongzhusian in age.     

Features of the EAP events on the medium-range evolution process and the mid- and high-latitude Rossby wave activities during the Meiyu period

In this paper, features for the evolution of the East Asia/Pacific （EAP） events and their association with high- and mid-latitude Rossby waves during the Meiyu period are analyzed on the medium-range time scale, it is shown that life cycles of the positive and negative EAP events cannot be simply regarded as ＂mirror＂ each other. In the upper troposphere, downward propagations of Rossby wave packets both over high- and mid-latitude regions of Eurasian continent and over the Asian jet region are responsible for generating basic patterns of high- and mid-latitude anomaly centers of the events. In this layer, Rossby wave packets also propagate from the mid-latitude anomaly center to the high-latitude one. In the middle and lower troposphere, the formation of the subtropical anomaly center of the event is mainly attributed to the anomalous convective activity in the tropical Pacific warm pool. The northward Rossby wave energy dispersion from this center is favorable to the enhancement and maintenance of the mid-latitude anomaly center in the same layer. Finally, it might be hypothesized that typical features of the positive and negative EAP events in their mature phase result from the interaction between （or phase-locking of） respective anomalous circulations induced both by quasi-zonal Rossby wave packets embedded in upper troposphere westerly and by quasi-meridional Rossby wave packets in the background flow of the East Asian summer monsoon in the middle and lower troposphere.     

A numerical study on nonlinear propagation and short-term variability of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides

By using a three-dimensional fully nonlinear numerical model in spherical coordinates and taking the linear steady solutions of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides in January from the Global-Scale Wave Model （GSWM） as the initial values, we simulate the linear and nonlinear propagations of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides in the atmosphere from the ground to the lower thermosphere. A comparison of our simulations with the results of GSWM is also presented. The simulation results show that affected by the nonlinearity, the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides propagating in the middle and upper atmosphere exhibit evident short-term variability. The nonlinear interactions between the migrating tides and the background atmosphere can obviously alter the background wind and temperature fields, which suggests that the nonlinear propagations of the migrating diurnal and semidiurnal tides impact significantly on the transient dynamical and thermal structures of the background middle and upper atmosphere and the nonlinear effect is an important cause of the difference between the results of GSWM and observations.     

Experimental investigation on the flow structure over a simplified Papilio Ulysses model

The aerodynamic characteristics of butterflies, especially those which can migrate overseas, have received a great deal of attention because they have larger-scale wingspans and lower flapping frequencies than other insects such as drosophilae and bees. The objective of this work is to investi-gate the flow structures over a simplified model of Papilio Ulysses, one kind of migratory butterflies, through hydrogen bubble visualizations, and leading-edge vortices, wing-tip vortices, separation bub-bles and horseshoe vortex wake are observed. Moreover, the variations of these structures with the angle of attack are discussed in detail. A new type of leading-edge vortices which resembles the in- versed Chinese character “八” is observed in the experiment.     

Nonlinear short-term heart rate variability prediction of spontaneous ventricular tachyarrhythmia

As malign ventricular tachyarrhythmias triggering sudden cardiac death （SCD）, both ventricular tachycardla （VT） and ventricular fibrillation （VF） are major causes of mortality. The most efficient therapy for SCD prevention is implantable cardioverter defibrillators （ICD）. The ICD can accurately and effectively Identify the forthcoming of fatal ventricular tachyarrhythmlas and deliver a shock in order to restore patients＇ normal sinus rhythm. In this study, two nonlinear complexity measures based on entropy： approximate entropy （ApEn） and sample entropy （SampEn） as well as two time linear indices： the mean RR interval （the average of time intervals between consecutive R-waves） and the standard deviation of RR Intervals were used for short-term forecasting of VT-VF occurrence. The last small sections of interbeat Intervals preceding 135 VT-VF episodes from 78 patients stored by the ICD were analyzed and compared with individually acquired control time series （CON series） from the same patients, which are normally intrinsic sinus rhythms. The results demonstrate that in addition to an obvious increase in heart rates of the patients, the values of two entropy measures are significantly smaller for VT-VF episodes than those for CON series. Conclusions can be drawn that when a ventricular tachyarrhythmia approaches, the sympathetic tone of the patients is increased, and the complexity of their RR intervals immediately before the onset of VT-VF events is obviously lower than that of RR intervals recorded during sinus rhythms. For a better separation, the optimal range of threshold r is determined for two algorithms. ApEn and SampEn measures might be the suitable nonlinear parameters for shodterm prediction of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias in the application of the cardioversion and defibrillation.     

Constraints on the upper boundary age of the Tiaojishan Formation volcanic rocks in West Liaoning-North Hebei by LA-ICP-MS dating

In West Liaoning-North Hebei, the Tiaojishan Formation volcanic rocks are developed and many isotopic ages with a very wide age range were obtained in them as well. These different ages have direct influence on confirming and interpreting the related geological issues in West Liaoning-North Hebei and have restricted the study of geological problems related. In the field, the Tiaojishan Formation and the overlying Tuchengzi Formation are in parallel unconformable contact. By systematical sampling and dating of LA-ICP-MS in the Tiaojishan Formation （especially in the upper part） in Luanping, Chengde basins of Northern Hebei Province and in Lingyuan, Jinlingsi-Yangshan basins of Western Liaoning Province, combined with the dating data obtained by previous researchers, results indicate that the upper boundary age of the Tiaojishan Formation is from 156 to 153 Ma, and the lower boundary age of the Tiaojishan Formation is about 165 Ma, the Tiaojishan Formation was formed from the late of middle Jurassic to late Jurassic Epoch.     

A Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage from the Hongjingshao Formation （Cambrian Stage 3） at Chenggong,Kunming, Yunnan

A new Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage is reported herein from the lower part of the Hongjingshao Formation at Xiazhuang village of Chenggong,Kunming,Yunnan.The fossil assemblage,named as Xiazhuang fossil assemblage,yields predominantly soft-bodied fossils,including arthropods,brachiopods,priapulids,lobopods and some problematic taxa,with arthropods being the most dominant group.Preservation and composition of the fossil assemblage are very similar to the typical Chengjiang biota,which is preserved in the middle Yu’anshan Formation in the large area of eastern Yunnan.The associated trilobites demonstrate that the soft-bodied fossil assemblage belongs to the late Qiongzhusian in age(Stage 3,Cambrian),suggesting that the Hongjingshao Formation is probably a diachronous lithostratigraphic unit ranging from the upper Qiongzhusian to the lower Canglangpuan stages in eastern Yunnan.The fossil assemblage from the Xiazhuang area fills up the missing link between the typical older Chengjiang biota and the younger Malong and Guanshan biotas,making eastern Yunnan a unique area in the world to reveal the early evolutionary history of animals and palaeocommunity dynamics during the‘‘Cambrian explosion’’.     

CALCULATION OF NATURAL FREQUENCIES FOR THE PLANAR SIX-BAR LINKAGE OF WATT TYPE

By using transfer matrix,the lower-order natural frequencies of the Watt type planar six-barlinkage are calculated in this paper.The experiment of the modal analysis is done with the SignalProcessor 7T17S,and the experiment results agree with the calculated ones.This method only re-quires calculation of lower-order transfer matrix and determinant values,so that, it can be done ona minicomputer such as IBM/PC.The method adopted in this paper is also suitable for vibrationanalysis of other types of linkages.     

Relationship between precipitation and the infiltration depth over the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley

The purpose of the paper is to extract and make the best use of rainfall information contained in the Chinese historical archives of Qing Dynasty, and reconstruct the precipitation series during 1736-1911. The study followed the Yu-Fen-Cun （rainfall infiltration depth） observation method in Qing Dynasty, to conduct soil infiltration experiment under the natural rainfall conditions during 2004-2006. The related parameters, such as precipitation, intensity, initial soil moisture content and infiltration depth have been measured at 10 stations （east of 105°E, 30°-40°N） with representative climatic conditions and soil physical texture in the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley. The statistical results indicate that precipitation is the primary influencing factor to infiltration depth and is positively correlated with the infiltration depth. Additionally, the effects of every factor on infiltration depth are significantly different between the middle and lower reaches of the Yellow River and Yangtze-Huaihe River Valley. Finally, the relationship equations of precipitation and infiltration depth are established for each site, most of which can pass over 60% of the variance explanations and provide quantitative models to reconstruct the precipitation series using Yu-Fen-Cun records in Qing Dynasty.     

Constraint on the late Mesozoic regional angular unconformity in West Liaoning--North Hebei by LA-ICP-MS dating

The angular unconformity between the Tuchengzi Formation and the Zhangjiakou Formation in the Chengde area is commonly regarded as the direct evidence of boundary between Jurassic and Cretaceous systems, and as the evidence of tectonic transformation interfaces in Mesozoic Era in the West Liaoning-North Hebei. Moreover, the lower boundary age of the Zhangjiakou Formation in the Chengde was to be thought about 135 Myr in the past. Based on the detailed study and systematic sampling in Yixian-Beipiao, Lingy- uan, Chengde and Luanping areas in the field, the authors obtained the following isotopic ages by means of LA-ICP-MS dating： In the Lingyuan area, the Zhangjiakou Formation and the Yixian Formation are in angular unconformable contact; the age range of the Zhangjiakou Formation volcanic rock is from 133 to 130 Myr （seven samples）, and that of the Yixian Formation volcanic rock is from 126 to 121 Myr （eleven samples）. In the Luotuoshan of Chengde, the Tuchengzi Formation and the Zhangjiakou Formation are in angu- lar unconformable contact; the age at the lower Zhangjiakou Formation is about 124 Myr （one sample）, which reflects that the age range of the lower Zhangjiakou Formation is from 129 to 124 Myr combined with the previous study. In the Luanping basin, there is the larg- est sediment gap in upper Mesozoic, whose lower boundary age is confined in 131 to 130 Myr. In the Yixian-Beipiao area, the second Member of the Yixian Formation, making up more than 3/4 thickness of the Yixian Formation, was formed in 126 to 119 Myr, and the age of the Yixian Formation at the bottom is about 132 Myr. Moreover, the upper boundary age of the Tuchengzi Formation is about 136 Myr in the West Liaoning-North Hebei region. Based on the above isotopic data combined with the geological characteristics in the field in the West Liaoning-North Hebei region, it reflects that there was a widespread tectonic event in the period of 136 to 126 Myr （mainly in 130-126 Myr） in the West Liaoning-North Hebei, and it formed th     

Fine three-dimensional P-wave velocity structure beneath the capital region and deep environment for the nucleation of strong earthquakes

A detailed 3-D P-wave velocity model of the crust and uppermost mantle under the capitol region is determined with a spatial resolution of 25 km in the horizontal direction and 4-17 km in depth. We used 48750 precise P-wave arrival time data from 2973 events of local crustal earthquakes, controlled seismic explosions and quarry blasts. These events were recorded by 123 seismic stations. The data are analyzed by using a 3-D seismic tomography method. Our tomographic model provides new information on the geological structure and complex seismotectonics of this region. Different patterns of velocity structures show up in the North China Basin, the Taihangshan and the Yanshan Mountainous areas. The velocity images of the upper crust reflect well the surface geological, topographic and lithological features. In the North China Basin, the depression and uplift areas are imaged as slow and fast velocity belts, respectively, which are oriented in NE-SW direction. The trend of velocity anomalies is the same as that of major structure and tectonics. Paleozoic strata and Pre-Cambrian basement rocks outcrop widely in the Taihangshan and Yanshan uplift areas, which exhibit strong and broad high-velocity anomalies in our tomographic images, while the Quaternary intermountain basins show up as small low-velocity anomalies. Most of large earthquakes, such as the 1976 Tangshan earthquake (M 7.8) and the 1679 Sanhe earthquake (M 8.0), generally occurred in high-velocity areas in the upper to middle crust. However, in the lower crust to the uppermost mantle under the source zones of the large earthquakes, low-velocity and high-conductivity anomalies exist, which are considered to be associated with fluids, just like the 1995 Kobe earthquake (M 7.2) and the 2001 Indian Bhuj earthquake (M 7.8). The fluids in the lower crust may cause the weakening of the seismogenic layer in the upper and middle crust and thus contribute to the initiation of the large crustal earthquakes.     

C-isotope composition and correlation of the Upper Neoproterozoic in Keping area, Xinjiang

C-isotope analysis of the carbonates in the Upper Neoproterozoic in Keping, Xinjiang indicates that the Qigebrak Formation and the Upper Sugaitbrak Formation mainly record positive C-isotope values, and a distinct positive excursion occurs in the lower part of the Qigebrak Formation. There are three negative excursions in the boundary between the Qigebrak Formation and the Cambrian, the uppermost and lowermost Upper Sugaitbrak Formation. These characters resemble those of the Upper Neoproterozoic in the Three-Gorge area, which suggests that the Upper Sugaitbrak Formation and Qigebrak Formation can be correlated with the middle and upper parts of the Doushantuo Formation and Dengying Formation, respectively. The negative excursion at the top of the Upper Sugaitbrak Formation corresponds to that at the top of the Doushantuo Formation, while the negative excursion at the bottom of the Sugaitbrak Formation can be correlated with that at the middle part of the Doushantuo Formation in the Three-Gorge area and that at the top of the Hangelchaok diamictites in the Quruqtagh area.     

Tone-3 Accent Realization in Short Chinese Sentences

To investigate how a low tone （tone-3, T3） syllable in Chinese can be perceived to be focal accented or not, a total of 156 sentences containing tone-3 words were synthesized and used as stimuli in a perceptual study. The sentences differed in the falling value between the two high pitches, and in the duration and phonation types of the T3 syllables. Thirty-nine subjects were asked to judge where the focus or accent was for each sentence. The results show that at least three degrees of pitch drop are involved in the focus recognition： a big sized drop of about 10 semitones; a middle sized drop of about 6 semitones; a small sized drop of about 2 semitones. The results suggest that the three sizes of pitch drop have different indications in Chinese intonation, depending on both the tone and the tone combination. In perception, there are various ways to realize tone-3 focus in the Tx-T3-Ty sentences series, but in production or for text-to-speech synthesis, the rule simply is making a middle sized pitch drop with a long and creaky T3 syllable. Similarly, to focus on the low tone syllable in the T3-Tx-Ty sentences, a creaky T3 syllable is essential. However, a long T3 syllable is a strong determinant for a low tone focus in the Tx-Ty-T3 sentences.     

Trace element geochemistry of the Lower Cambrian black rock series from northwestern Hunan, South China

Samples of black rock series collected from the Lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation, northwestern Hunan Province, China, were analyzed for trace elements.The trace element geochemical characteristics of the ore layer (high enrichments of Ni, Mo, V, U, Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Tl and Ba; high U/Th ratios and LREE-enriched patterns with positive Eu and Y anomalies) support the assumption that the Ni-Mo polymetallic layer is of submarine hydrothermal origin.High field strength elements (HFSE) and lithophile elements such as Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Li, Be, Rb, Cs, Th and Sc are remarkably higher in the upper unit than those in the lower unit of the Niutitang Formation.These features may reflect that hydrothermal contributions were diminished, and terrigenous constituents were increased in the sediments of the upper unit of the Niutitang Formation.     

Timing of the Wudangshan, Yaolinghe volcanic sequences and mafic sills in South Qinling: U-Pb zircon geochronology and tectonic implication

The Wudangshan, Yaolinghe volcanic-sedimentary sequences and doleritic-gabbroic sills comprise the largest exposed Precambrian basement in South Qinling. Zircons separated from 5 volcanic-pyroclastic samples of the Wudangshan Group, 2 volcanic samples of the Yaolinghe Group and one sample for the mafic sills were used for U-Pb dating by laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry （LA-ICPMS）. The results reveal that the Wudangshan volcanic sequence was formed at （755±3） Ma （a weighted mean from the 5 samples, MSWD=0.47）, whereas the Yaolinghe volcanic suite and the mafic sill were crystallized at （685±5） （2 samples, MSWD=0.36） and （679±3） Ma （MSWD=1.6）, respectively, which are equal to each other within analysis errors. These ages are markedly younger than those previously documented for the rocks. The newly obtained ages for the Wudangshan and Yaolinghe Groups are Identical to those of the bottom Liantuo and slightly older than those of the Nantuo Formations, respectively, lower strata of the Nanhua （middle to late Neoproterozoic） stratotype section in eastern Three Gorges, Yangtze creton. A range of inherited magmatic zircons was recognized with ages of 830 to 780 Ma, which are typical of Neoprotzrozoic magmatisms recorded along the margins and interior of the Yangtze craton. Thus, there is Neoproterozoic basement comprising 830-780 Ma igneous suites in South Qinling; the inherited zircons were detrital sediments derived from the northern margin of the Yangtze craton. Accordingly, it is suggested that the South Qinling is a segment of the Yangtze creton before the Qinling Orogeny.     

Ecological and environmental explanation of microbiotic crusts on sand dune scales in the Gurbantonggut Desert, Xinjiang

Results obtained from the field investigation and the analysis in laboratory show that many species of microbiotic crusts of lichens, mosses and algae develop extensively in the Gurbantonggut Desert, Xinjiang. The formation, species and distribution are closely related to the environmental conditions at the different positions of sand dunes. The animalcule crusts develop mainly on the mobile or semi-mobile sand surface of dune tops, the alga crusts develop mainly at the upper to middle parts of dune slopes, the lichen crusts develop at middle and lower parts of dune slopes, and the moss crusts are mainly distributed at the lower part of dune slopes and the interdune lowlands. The species, thickness and developing degree of microbiotic crusts increase from the upper part to the middle and lower parts of dune slopes and the interdune lowlands, and an obvious contrast between the microbiotic crusts and the different species of plant communities forms. The development and differentiation of microbiotic crusts at the different positions of dunes are the ecological appearance and the natural selection of synthetic adaptability of the different microbiotic crust species to the local environmental conditions, and are closely related to the ecological conditions, such as the physiochemical properties of soils and stability of topsoil texture.     

Spatial patterns of ephemeral plants in Gurbantünggüt Desert

In the present research, the authors measured parameters of richness, cover and importance value of ephemeral and ephemeroid plants on south-north and east-west transects in the Gurbantünggüt Desert in early spring, and investigated and analyzed the microhabitats, such as terrain, geomorphology, soil physical-chemical properties and crusts. By comparison, the regional differences in the ephemeral distribution in the desert were revealed. The species of ephemeral plants in the south and center are the richest and those in the west are the poorest in the desert. The cover of ephemeral plants in the mid-south is higher than that in the north, and that in the mid-east is higher than that in the west. The response of ephemeral plants to the spatial variation of the desert habitat forms the population-habitst gradient of ephemeral plants. The characteristics are： （1） In the habitat with higher terrain, coarser textured soil with poorer sorting and correspondingly higher organic matter and lower alkali-saline contents, Carex physoides and Eremopyrum orientale are the dominant ephemeral plants; （2） In the dry habitat with lower terrain, looser textured soil, some organic matter, alkali-saline soil, and developed crust, the ephemeral plants Alyssum linifolium and Erodium oxyrrhynchum are of characteristic of drought and alkali-saline tolerance; （3） In the habitat with lower terrain, some water and more alkali-saline soil, the ephemeral plants Neotorularia torulosa and Hypecoum parviflorum being of alkali-saline tolerance are mainly developed. However, most ephemerals are distributed in a habitat order of higher terrain, some organic, and less alkali-saline soil on the above-mentioned ephemeral population-habitst gradient. The spatial gradient of variation in desert microhabitsts is small, and as a whole, the physiological character of mesophytism is represented by the desert ephemerals.     

Structures, kinematics, thermochronology and tectonic evolution of the Ramba gneiss dome in the northern Himalaya

The Ramba gneiss dome, one of the north Himalayan gneiss domes, is composed of three tectono-lithologic units separated by an upper and a lower detachment fault. Low-grade metamorphic Tethyan Himalayan sedimentary sequence formed the upper unit above the brittle upper detachment fault. Mylonitic gneiss and a leucogranite pluton made up the lower unit beneath the ductile lower detachment fault. Mylonitic middle-grade garnet-, staurolite- and andalusite-schist constituted the middle unit between the two faults, which may be that the basal part of the upper unit experienced detachment shear. The Ramba dome underwent three episodes of deformation in its tectonic evolution. The first episode was a top-down-to-north-northwest sliding possibly related to the activity of the south Tibetan detachment system （STDS）. The second episode was the dominant deformation related to a east west extension, which resulted in a unique top-down-to-east kinematics and the major tectonic features of the dome. The third episode was a collapse sliding toward the outsides of the dome. The Ramba gneiss dome is possibly a result of the east-west extension and magmatic diapir. The lower detachment fault is probably the main detachment fault separating the sedimentary sequence from the crystalline basement during the eas-west extension in the dominant deformation episode. The diapir of the leucogranite pluton formed the doming shape of the Ramba gneiss dome. This pluton intruded in the core of the dome in a late stage of the dominant deformation, and its Ar-Ar cooling ages are about 6 Myr. This indicates that the dominant deformation of the dome happened at the same time of the east west extension represented by the nort-south trending rifts throughout the northern Himalaya and southern Tibet. Therefore, the formation of the Ramba gneiss dome should be related to this east west extension.     

Making continental crust: The sanukitoid connection

The average continental crust possesses intermediate compositions that typify arc magmatism and as a result it is believed to have been created at ancient convergent plate boundaries. One possible mechanism for intermediate continental crust formation is the direct production of andesitic melts in the upper mantle. Sanukitoids, which characterize the Setouchi volcanic belt, SW Japan, include unusually high-Mg andesites （HMA）. They were generated by slab melting and subsequent melt-mantle interactions under unusual tectonic settings such as where warm lithosphere subducts into hot upper mantle. Such conditions would have existed in the Archean. Hydrous HMA magmas are likely to have solidified within the crust to form HMA plutons, which were then remelted to produce differentiated sanukitoids. At present, generation and differentiation of HMA magmas may be taking place in the Izu-Bonin-Mariana arc-trench system （IBM）, because （1） HMA magmatism characterizes the initial stages of the IBM evolution and （2） the IBM middle crust exhibits Vp identical to that of the bulk conti- nental crust. Vp estimates for plutonic rocks with HMA compositions support this. However tonalitic composition for middle-crust-forming rocks cannot be ruled out, suggesting an alternative possibility that the continental crust has been created by differentiation of mantle-derived basaltic magmas.