The bottom currents in the area of abyssal hills in the north-east tropical Pacific Ocean

The results of simultaneous measurements of the bottom (6.25 and 35 m above the bottom) currents, deep currents, and surface currents made at three points in the north-east tropical Pacific Ocean are given. The bottom intensification of the current velocity is revealed in a layer of 35–25 m above the bottom. The estimation of the thickness of the bottom boundary layer (BBL) indicates that the velocity intensification is observed over the boundary layer upper border. A 10-day long benthic storm with a maximum measured velocity of 13 cm/s was revealed 6 m above the bottom. As was found, the origin of the benthic storm is associated with the penetration of an anticyclonic eddy down to the bottom.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Observation of the abyssal current in the West Mariana Basin

In order to investigate long-term variations of deep sea currents and temperature in the western North Pacific, a direct current measurement was made at 12.5°N, 137°E from July 1985 to July 1986. The current meter was moored at a depth of about 4,000 m (bottom depth 4,604 m) in the West Mariana Basin, very close to the deep water passage to the North Pacific Basin. Throughout the observed period, the current flows southward with an average speed of 0.8 cm sec^–1. There are significant variations of both currents and temperature within the period of 60 days. For the shorter time scales, in addition to the tidal oscillations with one day and half day periods, there is a notable spectral peak of the current with a clockwise rotation at a period of 2.2 days, which is slightly shorter than the local inertial period of 2.3 days.The observed southward current seems to indicate that the deep sea water in the West Mariana Basin flows out through the sill which is deeper than 4,000 m and is located about 200 km southeast of the mooring point. A simple analysis of the linear plane wave indicates that the medium time-scale variation with a period of 60 days is associated with the barotropic Rossby wave whose wavelength is 390 km and whose trough direction is 30° clockwise from the north.     

Response of the mid shoreface of the southern mid-Atlantic Bight to a “northeaster”

An instrumented, bottom-mounted, tripod deployed off Duck, North Carolina, at a depth of 8 m provided time Series of pressure, benthic currents, suspended Sediment concentrations and bed-level changes prior to and during a typical northeast storm. A Strong jet-like southerly-setting current generated by the northeaster was accompanied by downwelling and Strong bottom agitation by wind waves. A total bed-level change of over 15 cm was recorded. After a phase of bed erosion, the bed accreted rapidly. Side-scan imagery supports the inference that offshore or alongshore migration of quasi-discrete sediment lobes may have produced the observed pulse-like accretion.     

Response of water column to strong wind forcing,southern Brazilian inner shelf: Implications for sand ridge formation

The result of two sequential oceanographic stations of 36 hours each in the area of sand ridges are presented. One station was located in the trough between two sand ridges and the other was at the crest of a sand ridge. At these stations salinity and temperature of the sea water, currents, winds, waves, and barometric pressure were measured each hour.During the observations, a cold front passed; this generated westerly winds that grew in speed from 24 to 52 km h^?1. The average height of the wind generated waves grew from 1.0 to 1.5 m and their periods increased from 7 to 10 s, and the speed of the northeast directed surface current increased from 40 to 82 cm s^?1. A bottom current (also directed northeast) increased from 26 to 34 cm s^?1.After the cold front had passed, the wind backed to the southeast and decreased in speed from 26 to zero km h^?1. The surface current in a northwest direction decreased from 29 to 8 cm s^?1. A bottom current (also directed northwest) decreased from 22 to 3 cm s^?1. Later, swells from the southeast appeared and their periods increased from 5 to 9 s and their heights grew from 1.0 to 1.5 m. After 3 hours, the speeds of the surface and bottom currents increased from 8 to 72 cm s^?1 and 3 to 62 cm s^?1 respectively.This cold front induced strong winds and storm-wave currents able to erode sediments (assuming a threshold velocity of 20 cm s^?1) and transport them in a north-northeast direction.The origin and the maintenance of these sand ridges is thought to be a function of sediments eroded from troughs and piled up at ridge crests during a storm condition. Some eroded sediments are transported north of Verga lighthouse where they are deposited on a smooth bottom.     

Mesoscale current fluctuations observed in the deep western North Pacific

A set of simultaneous long-term, deep current measurements was taken using a moored array in the mid-ocean of the western North Pacific near 30°N, 146°E. Five current meters at three stations provided good quality records over 84 days. Low-frequency current fluctuations with meridional dominance are clearly seen in the deep layer records. They are consistent with signals of a mesoscale current fluctuation which has a period of about 100 days, an east-west wave length of about 200 km, and a westward phase propagation with a speed of about 2 cm sec^–1. Bottom intensification of the east component of low-frequency current fluctuations is also observed.     

The influence of wind waves and tidal currents on sediment resuspension in Middle Chesapeake Bay

Resuspension of bottom sediments by waves and tidal currents was investigated in three characteristic environments of middle Chesapeake Bay (shallow platform, deep platform, and main channel). In the shallow near shore platform wind waves frequently resuspended significant amounts of sediment, some of which was transported offshore. In both the shallow and adjacent deep platform regions, tidal currents were too weak (<20 cm cm/sec) to resuspend bottom sediments. In the main channel, peak current velocities were substantially stronger (40 cm/sec), but were still not competent to erode the bottom. The stability of the bottom in this area is related to the activities of the benthic organisms which are influenced by seasonal anoxia. University of Maryland Center for Environmental and Estuarine Studies (CEES) Contribution No. 1572.     

Photographic observations of deep-sea infaunal ophiuroids in Suruga Bay,central Japan: an application of a free-fall system of time-lapse cameras and current meters

Underwater observations of infaunal amphiurid ophiuroids were made at a depth of about 480 m in Suruga Bay, central Japan, using a free-fall system which consists of time-lapse stereo-photography units and current meters. The megabenthos fauna was characterized by the dominance of infaunal echinoderms; in particular, amphiurid ophiuroids were numerically dominant. The density and biomass of the amphiurids were 170 m^–2 and 37 g m^–2, respectively. They buried their discs in the sediment and extended their arm tips out of the sediment surface. They protruded 2.2 arms per individual on the average. Strong bottom currents were observed, and the average velocity was 12 cm sec^–1 at 4 m above the sea floor. No arm tip was observed to be raised vertically into the water column for suspension feeding utilizing the bottom current, and amphiurids were considered to be primarily a surface deposit feeder at the present site.     

Resuspension potential of surficial sediments in Saguenay Fjord (Québec,Canada)

A flash flood that occurred in July 1996 in the Saguenay area (Québec, Canada), deposited a bed of cohesive sediments, average of 10–60 cm thick, over an area of 65 km² of the deep fjord basin of the upper Saguenay Fjord. Because this turbidite covered contaminated sediments, the resuspension potential of surficial sediments is an important parameter in determining the efficiency of the 1996 layer as a natural capping layer. This is because contaminants that may have diffused through the 1996 layer may be resuspended. The resuspension potential of surficial sediments in Saguenay Fjord was investigated in situ over a 3-yr period at fifteen sites in the Baie des Ha! Ha! and the North Arm using a benthic flume, the Miniflume. In addition, geotechnical measurements, photographs of benthic sediments and recordings of benthic current velocities were also carried out. The measured critical velocities of sediment resuspension (u_c) vary between 7 and 15 cm s^− 1. The maximum bottom current speed recorded in the North Arm and in Baie des Ha! Ha! from May to August 2000 was 27 cm s^− 1. Erosion depths were determined from Miniflume data combined with laboratory measurements carried out with an axial tomography scanner, which provided variation of sediment density at an interval of 0.13 mm. A general relationship between depth of erosion (ze, mm) and shear stress applied on the bed (τ_b, Pa) was determined. As Saguenay Fjord sediment characteristics vary greatly from one station to another, the potential for resuspension of surficial sediments shows the same trend.     

The structure of the nearshore branch of the Tsushima current on the shelf off the San'in coast in summer

Current measurements were made at five moored stations over the continental shelf off the San'in coast of the Japan Sea for a month in the summer of 1980 to study the vertical structure of the nearshore branch of the Tsushima Current. The time-mean current for the observational period is 20 to 25 cm sec^–1 eastward near the surface and about 10 cm sec^–1 westward near the sea bottom except at the shallowest station. The time-mean current,i.e. the nearshore branch of the Tsushima Current is mainly due to the baroclinic modes. The currents are less variable in the first half of the observational period, but fluctuate with a several-day period in the latter half. The obtained current data were decomposed into barotropic and baroclinic modes to investigate the detailed characteristics of the fluctuations. In the latter half, the current fluctuations of the two modes with about a 5-day period are well correlated with each other, as the baroclinic mode lagging behind the barotropic mode by 12 hr. The barotropic current fluctuation is correlated to the sea level, with the former leading the latter by about 12 hr. The baroclinic current is correlated to the temperature at the subsurface layer with a shorter time lag.     

Bottom currents in Nankai Trough and Sagami Trough

Mean flows and velocity fluctuations are described from direct measurements of bottom currents made at three stations across Nankai Trough and two stations in Sagami Trough from May 1982 to May 1984. Aanderaa current meters were moored 7 m above the bottom. The observed mean flows indicate a counter-clockwise circulation in Nankai Trough with current speeds of 0.9–2.1 cm sec^–1. The mean flows were larger on the slopes than on the flat bottom of the trough. The mean flows observed in Sagami Trough show an inflow into Sagami Bay which is considered to be a part of the Oyashio undercurrent from the north that flows along the eastern coast of Honshu. Velocity fluctuations with periods greater than 100 hr were less energetic in the troughs than those at a station west of Hachijo-jima Island. A highly energetic fluctuation with a period of 66.7 hr was observed on the northern slope of Sagami Trough in the velocity component parallel to the trough axis. A maximum current speed of 49 cm sec^–1 was observed in Sagami Trough.This study was sponsored by the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, Japan.     

Megabenthic recolonization in an experimentally disturbed abyssal manganese nodule area 1

The near total removal of manganese nodules during commercial deep‐sea mining will destroy the habitat of the benthic hard‐bottom fauna within the mined areas and result in the formation of a soft‐bottom community of lower diversity. In 1989 the first large‐scale and long‐term experiment, DISCOL, was initiated in the abyssal tropical southeastern Pacific Ocean to study the impact of disturbances similar to ocean mining on the deep‐sea fauna. The megabenthic assemblage and the recolonization of the disturbed area were monitored during three cruises of the German research vessel SONNE by use of an Ocean Floor Observation System with real‐time TV and “photo‐on‐command” capabilities. The results of the image analyses of the baseline and three postimpact studies demonstrate not only a direct impact within the disturber tracks, but also an apparent impact on areas that were not primarily disturbed. Commercial mining will create a sediment plume, which will drift away with near‐bottom currents and also affect animals outside the mined areas. Reduction of environmental effects remains an important objective during development of future nodule collector systems.     

Submarine ridges do not prevent large-scale dispersal of abyssal fauna: A case study of Mesocletodes (Crustacea, Copepoda, Harpacticoida)

We examined the large-scale distribution of deep-sea harpacticoid copepods at the species level, in order to clarify the underlying processes of copepod dispersal. The study was based on samples collected from 12 regions and a total of 113 stations: 57 stations at depths between 1107 and 5655 m on abyssal plains in the South and North Atlantic, Southern Ocean, southern Indian Ocean, and the Pacific Ocean, and 56 stations above 900 m in the North Atlantic and eastern Mediterranean Sea.We chose the genus Mesocletodes Sars, 1909 as an ideal group to study the large-scale distribution of harpacticoid copepods in the deep oceans. Clear apomorphies and a comparatively large body size of about 1 mm allow rapid recognition of allied species in meiofauna samples. In addition, Mesocletodes represents more than 50% of the family Argestidae Por, 1986, one of the most abundant harpacticoid families in the deep sea.The geographical distributions of 793 adult females of Mesocletodes belonging to 61 species throughout the South and North Atlantic, Southern Ocean, southern Indian Ocean, Pacific Ocean, and eastern Mediterranean Sea indicated that most species are cosmopolitan. Neither the topography of the sea bottom nor long distances seem to prevent species from dispersing. Passive transport by bottom currents after resuspension is likely the propulsive factor for the dispersal of Harpacticoida, while plate tectonics and movement of individuals in the sediment may play relatively minor roles.     

Abyssal current along the northern periphery of Shikoku Basin

Abyssal currents along the northern periphery of the Shikoku Basin south of Japan were measured by current meters moored off Cape Daio-zaki, Cape Shiono-misaki and Cape Ashizuri-misaki and on the eastern foot of the northernmost part of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge. Total length of observation off Cape Shiono-misaki was about five years including the periods of the Kuroshio large meander and no meander. Analyses of current data show:

1. Mean currents with a magnitude of 5–10 cm sec^?1 were observed during the whole observation period at all of current meters which were set 400 m above the sea bottom that was deeper than 4,500 m. The mean current for each current meter was parallel to the local bottom contour arond each station and was toward a direction looking the Nankai Trough (a trough located along the northern end of the Shikoku Basin) to the left.
2. At each station located above the shelf toe off Cape Daio-zaki and off Cape Shiono-misaki and on the foot of the Kyushu-Palau Ridge, the mean current increases with depth (a bottomward intensification of the mean current), and the vertical extent of the mean current is estimated to be about 2,000 m above the sea bottom.
3. At a station located at 2,600 m depth on the continental slope off Cape Shiono-misaki, no bottom-ward intensification of currents was observed.

These results strongly suggest that a steady abyssal flow exists in the depths deeper than about 3,000 m along the northern and northwestern peripheries of the Shikoku Basin. Existence of the abyssal circulation system is also suggested, at least, in the north of the Shikoku Basin.     

曹妃甸粉沙质海岸围垦后港内泥沙研究

粉沙质海岸离岸围垦后港内淤积引人关注。基于平面二维潮流数学模型,采用网格嵌套技术,模拟了渤海、曹妃甸海域潮流场;该海域泥沙为粘性沙,且围垦后港内流速很小,采用悬沙运动数学模型模拟了潮流和波浪作用下正常天气和大风天的含沙量场,分析了大风后含沙量衰减过程,计算了正常天气年淤积强度和大风天泥沙淤积厚度。计算表明,外海泥沙主要通过甸头东侧老龙沟进入港池水域。正常天气下,港内流速小,基本处于淤积环境,但由于外海含沙量小,港池水域年淤积厚度小于10 cm。大风浪作用下,曹妃甸海域含沙量明显增大,由老龙沟进入三港池的泥沙沿程落淤,港内普遍淤积,泥沙淤积厚度在5 cm以内。     

Tidal current fluctuations in the Soya Current

Long-term current measurements were carried out near the Soya Strait in the Okhotsk Sea during a period from February 1980 to September 1982. The data were divided into five segments, each being 150 days long, and the tidal ellipse parameters of major axis, minor axis, orientation, and phase for the four major constituents (M2, S2, K1 and O1 tides) were calculated at each segment. The major axis of the mean tidal ellipse averaged over five segments was 29.9 cm sec^–1 for O1 tide, 28.3 cm sec^–1 for K1 tide, 10.4 cm sec^–1 for M2 tide, and 3.7 cm sec^–1 for S2 tide. The phase and orientation of the tidal ellipse were much stable. But, the root mean square deviations of the major axis reached 20% of the mean values for all four constituents. The tidal currents estimated from the sea level records at Wakkanai and Esashi along the Hokkaido coast in the Okhotsk Sea show that their amplitudes and phases are in good agreement with the observed ones for all four constituents.     

浙江三门湾猫头深潭风暴快速沉积研究

三门湾频受热带风暴的影响,风暴期出现剧烈的滩冲、槽淤的泥沙交换,而在风暴后的正常天气条件下,则产生滩淤、槽冲的泥沙交换过程.通过猫头深潭(槽)9417号台风前后剖面水深重复测量、沉积特征及沉积物放射性同位素(210Pb,137Cs)测年等资料,揭示猫头深潭风暴快速沉积(骤淤).正常天气条件下风暴沉积产生再悬浮随潮运移,深潭水深得以恢复.在连续强热带风暴的影响下,又遇强的风暴增水,风暴沉积难以完全被冲刷,部分残留在深潭内,在猫头深潭沉积层中储存着风暴沉积的信息     

Distribution and morphology of large submarine sediment slides and slumps on Atlantic continental margins

Abstract

Numerous large sediment slides and slumps have been discovered and surveyed on the continental margins of Northwest Africa, Southwest Africa, Brazil (Amazon Cone), the Mediterranean, the Gulf of Mexico, and North America over the past 10 years. The mass movements are of two primary types: (1) translational slides, and (2) rotational slumps. Translational slides are characterized by a slide scar and a downslope zone of debris flows, after traveling in some areas for several hundreds of kilometers on slopes of less than 0.5°. Rotational slumps are bounded by steep scarps, but they do not involve large‐scale translation of sediments, although seismic records indicate disturbance in the down‐dropped block. Many of the slides and slumps have occurred in water depths greater than 2000 m on initial slopes of less than 1.5°. The largest slide so far discovered is off Spanish Sahara; in this case, the slide scar is 18,000 km² in area, at least 600 km³ in volume of translated sediments. No apparent consistent relationship has yet been observed between the presence of the slides and the sedimentary environment in which they occurred. The slides off Southwest Africa and Spanish Sahara occurred in pelagic sediments rich in planktonic organic matter. In contrast, the slides off North America, Senegal‐Mauritania, and Brazil (Amazon Cone) occurred in sediments containing a high percentage of terrigenous material from nearby landmasses. Large sediment slides have also occurred in pelagic sediments on isolated oceanic rises such as the Madeira Rise (East‐Central Atlantic) and the Ontong‐Java Plateau (Pacific), where sedimentation rates are less than 2 cm/1000 years. The failure mechanism of the slides initiated near the shelf edge can probably be explained by sediment overloading during low glacio‐eustatic sea level, which allowed rivers to debouch sediments directly onto the outer shelf or upper slope. Possible mechanisms of failure of the deepwater slides and slumps include earthquakes, undercutting of the slope by bottom currents, and changes in porewater pressures induced as a direct or indirect result of glacio‐eustatic changes in sea level.     

Effect of bottom slope in northeastern North Pacific on deep-water upwelling and overturning circulation

Hydrographic data show that the meridional deep current at 47°N is weak and southward in northeastern North Pacific; the strong northward current expected for an upwelling in a flat-bottom ocean is absent. This may imply that the eastward-rising bottom slope in the Northeast Pacific Basin contributes to the overturning circulation. After analysis of observational data, we examine the bottom-slope effect using models in which deep water enters the lower deep layer, upwells to the upper deep layer, and exits laterally. The analytical model is based on geostrophic hydrostatic balance, Sverdrup relation, and vertical advection–diffusion balance of density, and incorporates a small bottom slope and an eastward-increasing upwelling. Due to the sloping bottom, current in the lower deep layer intensifies bottomward, and the intensification is weaker for larger vertical eddy diffusivity (K _V), weaker stratification, and smaller eastward increase in upwelling. Varying the value of K _V changes the vertical structure and direction of the current; the current is more barotropic and flows further eastward as K _V increases. The eastward current is reproduced with the numerical model that incorporates the realistic bottom-slope gradient and includes boundary currents. The interior current flows eastward primarily, runs up the bottom slope, and produces an upwelling. The eastward current has a realistic volume transport that is similar to the net inflow, unlike the large northward current for a flat bottom. The upwelling water in the upper deep layer flows southward and then westward in the southern region, although it may partly upwell further into the intermediate layer.     

吕宋海峡纬向海流及质量输送

分析和计算了吕宋海峡PR21断面最近海洋调查的部分CTD资料和ADCP资料,再一次证明吕宋海峡常年存在纬向流。但对于天气尺度而言,该流型是多变的。根据高分辨率的海洋环流数值模式4a(1992～1996年)海平面高度(SSH)的输出值,运用地转关系估计了吕宋海峡纬向流的月平均值。研究表明;通过海峡流入、流出南海纬向流的深度一般达到500m左右,200m以上流速较大,平均流速为50cm/s,最大时达80cm/s以上。500m以下的纬向地转流流速较小,通常小于10cm/s.由大洋进入海峡的入流位置位于海峡的中部和南部,月平均入流最大值出现在11月,为50cm/s.位于海峡的北部和南部上层海洋的月平均出流,最大流速亦出现在11月,也为50cm/s,这与秋季北赤道流分叉位置最北(15°N),春季分叉位置最南(14°N)有关。上层流入、流出海峡的流量的月平均值分别约为10×106m3/s和5×106m3/s.当东北季风盛行时(从10月到翌年2月),流入海峡的流量远大于流出海峡的流量,两者的差可达8×106m3/s,而在其他季节两者的差仅为3×106m3/s.这说明东北季风盛行时,会有较多的水从南海南？     

Characteristics of resuspended sediment from Georges Bank collected with a sediment trap

A sediment trap was deployed 3 m from the bottom at a water depth of 62 m on the southern flank of Georges Bank (41°02·2′N, 67°33·5′W) from 30 September 1978 to 10 March 1979 to qualitatively determine the size of sediments resuspended from the bottom by winter storms and to determine if seasonal changes in the phytoplankton could be observed in the trapped sediment.Bulk X-ray analyses of the trapped sediment showed layers of distinctly different textures preserved in the collection vessel. The median grain size of sampled layers ranged from 2·7 to 6·5 φ (fine sand to silt), but all layers contained a pronounced mode in the 3 φ (fine sand) range. Nine layers containing relatively large amounts of sand were present. The sand content was 75% in the coarest layers and about 32% in the fine layers. The median grain size of bottom sediments at the deployment site was considerably coarser than the trap samples, although the dominant grain size was also 3 φ.Average bottom-current speeds during the deployment period were about 30 cm s^?1 with a range of 10 to 50 cm s^?1. Bottom stress, computed from the observed currents and waves, suggest that 11 storms caused sufficient stress to resuspend 3 φ-sized sediments, in good agreement with the nine layers of relatively coarse sediments collected in the trap. Surface waves had to be included in the calculation of bottom stress because the bottom currents alone were insufficient to cause the resuspension of 3 φ-sized sediment.The trapped sediments contain numerous diatoms and coccoliths that are typical of late fall and winter assemblages. No clear seasonal difference in the flora was noted among sampled layers, probably due to the large influx of resuspended material and a reduced primary flux during this period. An undescribed species of Thalassiosira (G. Fryxell, personal communication), and siliceous scales of unknown systematic position were observed at all levels.