Boron isotopic ratios (
11B/
10B) of 27 hot spring waters in Japan were measured. Average boroncontent of the hot spring waters was 7.52 mg/dm
3 and the
11B/
10B value varied from 4.023 to 4.107.
On the basis of the 11B/10B value, the hot spring waters examined can be classified into twogroups: the one with higher 11B/10B values (>4.07) and the other with lower 11B/10B values (<4.07). The geographical distribution of the two groups is rather systematic; the hot springs inHakone and Kusatsu-shirane in the Chubu district and those in the Tohoku district show the higher11B/10B values, while hot springs of the other areas show lower values. The former is consideredto be influenced by the sea water which has the highest
11B/
10B value among natural terrestrialmaterials ever examilled. This is best understood by considering the subduction process of the Pacific Ocean plate in which boron with the marine origin is taken into magmas.
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