We have identified Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous magnetic anomaly lineations (M0 to M35 of the Japanese and Hawaiian lineation sets) and fracture zones in the northwestern Pacific more comprehensively than previous investigators. We fixed 3500 positions of magnetic anomalies identified from magnetic data collected along cruise tracks as well as 151 positions of fracture zones from bathymetric and seismic profiles. The resultant isochron map revealed the evolution of the triple junction of the Pacific, Izanagi, and Farallon plates and the intimate relationship between the triple junction and the origin of the Shatsky Rise. The triple junction stagnated on a hotspot (the Shatsky hotspot) from chron M21 (149.5 Ma) to chron M4 (126 Ma). The Shatsky Rise is a trace of the hotspot on the Pacific plate. A sudden appearance of the Shatsky hotspot between chrons M21 and M20 caused a regional reorganization of the Pacific‐Izanagi‐Farallon plate boundaries.

This paper presents development of an X-ray pixel detector with a multi-port charge-coupled device (MPCCD) for X-ray Free-Electron laser experiments. The fabrication process of the CCD was selected based on the X-ray radiation hardness against the estimated annual dose of 1.6 × 10(14) photon/mm(2). The sensor device was optimized by maximizing the full well capacity as high as 5 Me- within 50 μm square pixels while keeping the single photon detection capability for X-ray photons higher than 6 keV and a readout speed of 60 frames/s. The system development also included a detector system for the MPCCD sensor. This paper summarizes the performance, calibration methods, and operation status.

S U M M A R YLate Jurassic to Early Cretaceous (Mesozoic) magnetic anomaly lineations (the Phoenix, Magellan, Mid-Pacific Mountains, Hawaiian and Japanese lineation sets) with fracture zones in the west-central Pacific Ocean were identified more comprehensively than in any previous studies. We fixed 2100 positions of identified magnetic anomalies based on magnetic data of 283 cruise tracks. Two remarkable fracture zones, the Phoenix and Central Pacific Fracture Zones, were mapped and newly named. Our newly identified lineations from MlON to MO around the Mid-Pacific Mountains, which belong to the Hawaiian lineation set, illustrated that the sea-floor south of t h e Mid-Pacific Mountains has the same age as that of the north (132-118 Ma). Our analysis of skewness parameters revealed that the older part of the Phoenix set (M17-M29) has skewness different from that of the younger part (Ml-M14), implying an effect of magnetic overprints by the Cretaceous volcanism. It was confirmed that the spreading rate of the Mesozoic Pacific spreading system was the fastest in the world in the Mesozoic. A drastic change in spreading rates occurred simultaneously at the period between chrons M21 and M20 (149.5-148.5 Ma) in all the Mesozoic Pacific spreading systems. The event appears to be synchronous with events in other oceans such as the Mesozoic Atlantic and Indian Oceans.

Elongated fault escarpments on the outer slopes of the western Kuril and Japan trenches have been investigated through detailed swath bathymetric mapping. Numerous horsts and grabens formed by these escarpments were identified. Distinct N70°E linear alignment of the escarpments, parallel to the magnetic anomaly lineations, was revealed on the outer slope of the western Kuril Trench. In the Japan Trench north of 39°00′N, most of the escarpments are parallel to the trench axis and oblique to the magnetic lineations. A zig‐zag pattern of faulting exists south of 39°00′N. Each topographic profile was decomposed by computer analysis into two curves representing (1) the smoothed long‐wavelength slope of the subducting ocean‐crust surface and (2) the short‐wavelength (<10 km) roughness of plateaus and valleys edged by outward‐ and inward‐facing fault escarpments. Throughout the surveyed areas, escarpment heights increase from the crest of the trench outer swell down to a depth of about 6000 m on the slope of the outer trench wall, but with no distinct increase below that depth. No significant difference is recognized in fault throws towards and away from the trench. It can be concluded that these elongated escarpments originate from normal faults on the upper layer of the oceanic crust under extensional stress in a direction perpendicular to the trench axis, which is caused by downward bending of the subducting lithosphere. The relationship of escarpment height to escarpment length is similar to that obtained from normal fault escarpments in the East Pacific Rise crest. The maximum length and height of escarpments are small in the Kuril Trench compared with those in the Japan Trench, implying a difference in mechanical strength depending on the fault orientation. The crust is weakest along the inherited spreading fabric, second weakest probably along the non‐transform offset direction and strongest in directions very oblique to these orientations. Seamounts appear to be more rigid than normal ocean crust, with no particular weak orientations, resulting in fewer but larger faults along the axis of plate bending, as most clearly represented in the subducting Daiichi–Kashima Seamount.

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A new Mesozoic isochron chart of the northwestern Pacific Ocean has been completed by utilizing all the currently available data from 357 cruises. Our chart provides the first whole view of the Mesozoic magnetic anomaly lineations in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and yields essential information for understanding the problems of the Mesozoic magnetostratigraphic time scale and the evolutional history of the Pacific plate. The Mesozoic magnetostratigraphic time scale must be recalibrated using not only the Hawaiian lineation set but also other Mesozoic lineation sets. The lack of lineation M0 in the lineation sets other than the Hawaiian lineation set indicates that a reorganization of the ridges except the Pacific‐Farallon ridge occurred between chrons M1 and M0 (nearly 120 Ma). The eruption rate of the Shatsky hotspot seems to be comparable to that of the Reunion hotspot at their initial stage. The growth of the Pacific plate began in a small triangular region at about 190 Ma.

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