Stratigraphy of the sediment infill in Bosphorus Strait: water exchange between the Black and Mediterranean Seas during the last glacial Holocene

The sediment infill over the Paleozoic bedrock in the Bosphorus Strait consists of four sedimentary units which were deposited in the last 26,000 ¹⁴C years B.P. The stratigraphy of these units suggests that this part of the Bosphorus was a freshwater lake between 26,000 and 5,300 ¹⁴C years B.P., depositing sands with a freshwater mollusc fauna of Black Sea neo-euxinian affinity (Dreissena rostriformis, Dreissena polymorpha, and Monodacna pontica). The first appearance of euryhaline Mediterranean molluscs (e.g., Ostrea edulis, Mytilus edulis) was observed at 5,300 ¹⁴C years B.P. in this part of the Bosphorus. Deposition of coarse Mytilus-bank and Ostrea-bank units suggests that the establishment of the present dual-flow regime in the Bosphorus took place at about 4,400 ¹⁴C years B.P.     

SCOPIX – digital processing of X-ray images for the enhancement of sedimentary structures in undisturbed core slabs

X-ray images of sediment core allow recognition of fine-scaled sedimentary structures which traditional epoxy casts or lacquer peels are unable to resolve. The X-ray imaging system SCOPIX has the additional advantage of acquiring high-resolution digital pictures suitable for further analysis by advanced image processing techniques. Because of the frequent presence of both physical and biogenic sedimentary structures in undisturbed sediment cores, two image analysis procedures have been established which simplify the information contained in the images (in term of structures and facies), and allow a quantitative characterization of the observed structures. This form of parametrization of the image structure constitutes an additional source of information for a better interpretation of the physical processes responsible for the generation of the sedimentary structures.     

Imbalance in the carbonate budget of surficial sediments in the North Atlantic Ocean: variations over the last millenium?

Fluxes contributing to the particulate carbonate system in deep-sea sediments were investigated at the BENGAL site in the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (Northeast Atlantic). Deposition fluxes were estimated using sediment traps at a nominal depth of 3000 m and amounted to 0.37±0.1 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹. Dissolution of carbonate was determined using flux of total alkalinity from in situ benthic chambers, is 0.4±0.1 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹. Burial of carbonate was calculated from data on the carbonate content of the sediment and sedimentation rates from a model age based on ¹⁴C dating on foraminifera (0.66±0.1 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Burial plus dissolution was three times larger than particle deposition flux which indicates that steady-state is not achieved in these sediments. Mass balances for other components (BSi, ²¹⁰Pb), and calculations of the focusing factor using ²³⁰Th, show that lateral inputs play only a minor role in this imbalance. Decadal variations of annual particle fluxes are also within the uncertainty of our average. Long-term change in dissolution may contribute to the imbalance, but can not be the main reason because burial alone is greater than the input flux. The observed imbalance is thus the consequence of a large change of carbonate input flux which has occured in the recent past. A box model is used to check the response time of the solid carbonate system in these sediments and the time to reach a new steady-state is in the order of 3 kyr. Thus it is likely that the system has been perturbed recently and that large dissolution and burial rates reflect the previously larger particulate carbonate deposition rates. We estimate that particulate carbonate fluxes have certainly decreased by a factor of at least 3 and that this change has occurred during the last few centuries.     

Effect of ice cover on oscillations of fluid in a closed basin

Within the framework of the linear theory of long waves, the problem of the effect of ice cover on seiche oscillations of fluid in a two-dimensional constant-depth basin is solved. The eigenfrequencies and eigenfunctions of seiche oscillations are obtained for different boundary conditions at ice edges: rigid coupling and free edges. The forced oscillations of fluid and ice under the action of a moving disturbance of atmospheric pressure are investigated. The change in the stress of ice bending is considered and it is shown that the coast ice can be broken.     

3D gravity modelling for Anyongbok Seamount in the East Sea

A seamount chain with an approximately WNW trend is observed in the northeastern Ulleung Basin. It has been argued that these seamounts, including two islands called Ulleung and Dok islands, were formed by a hotspot process or by ridge related volcanism. Many geological and geophysical studies have been done for all the seamounts and islands in the chain except Anyongbok Seamount, which is close to the proposed spreading ridge. We first report morphological characteristics, sediment distribution patterns, and the crustal thickness of Anyongbok Seamount using multibeam bathymetry data, seismic reflection profiles, and 3D gravity modeling. The morphology of Anyongbok Seamount shows a cone shaped feature and is characterized by the development of many flank cones and flank rift zones. The estimated surface volume is about 60 km³, and implies that the seamount is smaller than the other seamounts in the chain. No sediments have been observed on the seamount except the lower slope, which is covered by more than 1,000 m of strata. The crustal structure obtained from a 3D gravity modeling (GFR = 3.11, SD 3.82 = mGal) suggests that the seamount was formed around the boundary of the Ulleung Plateau and the Ulleung Basin, and the estimated crustal thickness is about 20 km, which is a little thicker than other nearby seamounts distributed along the northeastern boundary of the Ulleung Basin. This significant crustal thickness also implies that Anyongbok Seamount might not be related to ridge volcanism.     

Variations in the sedimentation in Kara Bogaz Gol Bay related to sea level fluctuations during the Novocaspian time

The structure of the bottom sediments in Kara Bogaz Gol Bay is correlated with the history of the sea level fluctuations in the Caspian Sea during the Novocaspian time based on the radiocarbon geochronology of the coastal and bottom sediments. Instrumental observations of the sea level and the hydrochemical regime of the bay are considered to substantiate the correlations obtained.