1. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Ferrara, via Saragat 1, I‐44122 Ferrara, Italy (E‐mail: )
2. Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464‐8601, Japan. Present address (Y.I.): Institute of Geology and Paleontology, Graduate School of Science, Tohoku University, Aobayama, Sendai 980‐8578, Japan
3. Department of Earth Environmental Sciences, Graduate School of Technology and Science, Kumamoto University, Kumamoto 860‐8555, Japan
4. Submarine Resources Research Project, Japan Agency for Marine‐Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC), 2‐15 Natsushima‐cho, Yokosuka, 237‐0061 Japan
5. Department of Fine Art and Culture, Kanazawa Gakuin University, 10 Sue‐machi, Kanazawa 920‐1392, Japan
6. Faculty of Education, University of the Ryukyus, Nishihara, Okinawa 903‐0213, Japan
7. Institute of Geology and Geoinformation, AIST (National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology), AIST Tsukuba Central 7, Higashi‐1‐1‐1, Tsukuba, 305‐8567 Japan
Associate Editor – Bernhard Riegl