Sulfur dioxide emissions and degassing behavior of Erebus volcano,Antarctica

Emission rates of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) were measured at Erebus volcano, Antarctica in December between 1992 and 2005. Since 1992 SO₂ emissions rates are normally distributed with a mean of 61 ± 27 Mg d^− 1 (0.7 ± 0.3 kg s^− 1) (n = 8064). The emission rates vary over minutes, hours, days and years. Hourly and daily variations often show systematic and cyclic trends. Long-wavelength, large amplitude trends appear related to lava lake area and both are likely controlled by processes occurring at depth. Time series analysis of continuous sequences of measurements obtained over periods of several hours reveals periodicity in SO₂ output ranging from 10 to 360 min, with a 10 min cycle being the most dominant. Closed and open-system degassing models are considered to explain observed variable degassing rates. Closed-system degassing is possible as rheological stiffening and stick/slip may occur within the system. However, the timescales represented in these models do not fit observations made on Erebus. Open-system degassing and convection fits the observations collected as the presented models were developed for a system similar to Erebus in terms of degassing, eruptive activity and process repose time. We show that with the observed emission rate (0.71 kg s^− 1) and a crystal content of 30%, magma will cool 65 °C to match observed heat fluxes; this cooling is sufficient enough to drive convection.     

Organic carbon and nutrient fluxes to the coastal zone from the Sepik River outflow

The Sepik River is a major contributor of water, sediment and associated organic loads to the coastal waters of northern New Guinea and the Bismarck Sea. We compare dissolved and particulate organic carbon data from September 1997 during an extremely dry El Nino year with those from 1996, 1999 and 2000 during La Nina wet season discharges. Estimated Sepik River flux of DOC is 3.2×10¹⁰ mol yr⁻¹ and POC is 1.1×10¹¹ mol yr⁻¹. The estimates for total river nutrient fluxes to the sea are 1.1×10¹⁰ mol yr⁻¹ for nitrogen and 4.6×10⁸ mol yr⁻¹ for phosphorus. The Sepik DOC flux is about equal to that combined from all four major rivers that enter the Gulf of Papua on the south coast of PNG. The Sepik inorganic PIC flux is low (1.4×10⁸ mol yr⁻¹) as the river does not drain carbonate soils. With a narrow continental shelf, and strong coastal currents, much of this exported material is available for long distance transport into the coastal Bismarck Sea and beyond.     

Tidal-induced inorganic carbon dynamics in the Strait of Gibraltar

This study presents the distribution of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) along the Strait of Gibraltar, its tidal-induced variability, as well as the inorganic carbon exchange between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. During November 2003, water column samples were collected at nine stations to measure total alkalinity (TA), pH, and dissolved oxygen (DO) for the spatial characterization of the carbonate system. At the same time, anchored samplings were carried out, above the Camarinal Sill and in the Eastern Section of the Strait, in order to assess the tidal mixing effects for oxygen and DIC distribution on the water column. Three distinct water masses can be discerned in this area: the Surface Atlantic Water (SAW), the Mediterranean Water (MW), and the less abundant North Atlantic Central Water (NACW). The observations show an increase in the DIC and a decrease in oxygen concentration with depth, related to the different physico-chemical features of each water mass. The results show the high time-dependence of the vertical distribution of DIC with the interface oscillation, affected by the intense mixing processes taking place in the Strait. Intense mixing episodes over the Camarinal Sill are responsible for an increase in the DIC concentrations in the upper layer of the Eastern Section of the Strait. Higher DIC concentrations in the Mediterranean than in the Atlantic waters are responsible for a net DIC transport of 1.47×10¹² mol C yr⁻¹ to the Atlantic Ocean. Nevertheless, the net exchange is highly sensitive to the interface definition, as well as to the estimate of water volume transport used.     

纳米TiO2/SiO2对甲苯-SO2体系气相光催化作用的影响因素

以纳米TiO₂/SiO₂为光催化剂、C₇H₈(toluene)-SO₂-O₂-TiO₂/SiO₂为重点研究体系,研究了甲苯的初始浓度、氧气含量、水蒸气含量和光强对甲苯光催化降解的影响。结果发现,甲苯的初始反应速率随其初始浓度的增加而增大,并最终趋于稳定;随着含氧量增加而不断增大,体积分数为25％时达到最大,之后逐渐减小;水蒸气的体积分数为0.4%时,甲苯降解速率最大;光强增加,甲苯增大反应速率, 3.0 mW/cm²时反应速率趋于定值。体系中引入SO₂促进了甲苯的初步降解,却抑制反应中间产物的进一步降解;同时甲苯的存在也抑制了SO₂的降解。     

碳酸盐岩氧、碳稳定同位素地球化学研究目前面临的几个问题

碳酸盐岩氧,碳同位素的研究是地球化学重要的示踪手段之一。它可以为认识地质历史时期的地质过程,地球表面的气候过程和海洋环境过程等提供定量依据。４０多年的研究结果,尤其是进入８０年代方解石质的腕足化石壳体和早期成岩胶结物等特殊样品的应用,取得了若干重大研究进展,但同时也发现了一些新的问题。     

The depositional environment and mineralogical and chemical compositions of high ash brown coal resting on early Tertiary saprock (Schirnding Coal Basin, SE Germany)

The late Tertiary high ash brown coal (R_r=0.26%) of the Schirnding Seam Zone is mainly composed of huminite. The seam is underlain by a thick saprock (mica saprockkaolinite-mica saprock) some tens of meters thick which gradually developed from phyllitic basement rocks and a thin Footwall Series of coarse-grained clastic sediments which, however, occur only in a few places. The roof rocks ‘ Hanging Wall Series' abruptly appear on top of the seam and consist of massive gray mudstones and arenites, intercalated with some tuffites. These Tertiary series were studied in open-pit mines operated for coal and clay and in bore holes. Chemical investigation involved the analyses of TOC, TSC, Ni, Co, Pb, Zn, Ga, Be, V, Cr, U, Th, P, Zr, REE and organic compounds of extracted organic matter (=OM). Early Tertiary chemical weathering was responsible for the monotonous kaolinite-mica-goethite mineral assemblage in the saprock and the footwall series. In the coal-bearing basin a more variegated mineral association including, pyrite, kaolinite, illite, smectite, illite-smectite mixed layers and siderite was brought about by volcanic processes, intrastratal solution set free in course of coalification and early diagenesis and by meteoric waters infiltrating the coal-bearing series from uplifted parts of the basin, which underwent strong oxidation. The environment of deposition is interpreted in terms of peatswamps that were fed by small streams and crevasse splays of a meandering drainage system grading towards the basin margin into a braided stream system on an alluvial fan plain. Strongly fluctuating water levels were responsible for the pronounced cyclicity to be encountered across the coal-bearing series. The processes of element redeposition and element migration in the Schirnding Basin are operative across the interface coal-saprolite (detrital influx of heavy minerals and intrastratal solution, hydrocarbon infiltration and redistribution of organic matter, reworking of duricrusts), in the saprolite proper (weathering leachats) and across the redox boundaries between the Schirnding Seam Zone and the Hanging Wall Series (input of physils and diagenetic alteration) as well as its strongly oxidized stratigraphic equivalents at the basin edge (volcanic influx, intrastratal solutions). Chemical and mineralogical variations across the coal basin which are directly controlled by the variation in the environment of deposition, weathering and groundwater movements may be directly correlated to changes in the saprock due to the immediate contact between coal and bedrock.     

~(13)C/~(12)C比值在海洋生态系统营养关系研究中的应用──海洋植物的同位素组成及其影响因素的初步探讨

于1993年2月-1995年5月,采用生物显微镜鉴定并计数和高温氧化的方法,对崂山湾海洋植物的种类组成及其有机碳同位素组成的季节性变化作了5个季度月的研究。结果表明,该区同采浮游植物全年以硅藻为主,甲藻在夏季也可成为优势种之一。浮游植物的碳同位素组成在夏季较重,冬季和春季较轻,并与海水温度有弱的正相关性。浮游植物δ13C值的变化范围为-259ｘ10-3—-19.2ｘ10-3,全年平均值为（-23.2±2.4）ｘ10-3。该生态系统的另一碳源为底栖藻类,其δ13C平均值为（-18.5±2.4）ｘ10-3,明显区别于浮游植物。对除温度以外的其它影响海洋植物同位素组成的因素,诸如植物种类组成、海水中溶解无机碳δ13C值、CO2供应速率以及CO2固定过程中不同验化酶的同位素分馏作用等也作了初步探讨。     

Partial Pressure of Carbon Dioxide in Coral Reef Lagoon Waters: Comparative Study of Atolls and Barrier Reefs in the Indo-Pacific Oceans

Factors controlling the CO₂ system parameters, including the partial pressure of CO₂ (PCO₂) in coral reef waters, were investigated in three mid-oceanic reefs of the Indo-Pacific region. Surface water PCO₂ in the lagoons of Majuro Atoll and Palau barrier reef in the Pacific were 25 µatm and 48 µatm higher than those of the offshore waters, respectively, while South Male Atoll lagoon of the Maldives in the Indian Ocean exhibited relatively small difference in PCO₂ compared to the offshore water. Observations from Majuro Atoll and Palau barrier reef are consistent with the view that calcium carbonate production predominates in coral reefs. On the other hand, results from South Male Atoll can be attributed to the thorough flushing of the lagoon, which is connected to the open ocean by numerous deep channels. The offshore-lagoon PCO₂ difference depends on system-level net organic-to-inorganic carbon production ratio while reef topography, especially residence time of the lagoon, has a secondary effect on the magnitude of the offshore-lagoon difference. A potential for releasing CO₂ might be more evident in an enclosed atoll where the reef water has a longer residence time. Oceanic atoll and barrier reef lagoons, which are in the terminal stage of evolutionary history of oceanic volcanic islands, have the potential to release CO₂ to the atmosphere.     

Particle flux across the mid-European continental margin

Results are presented from particle flux studies using sediment trap and current meter moorings along a transect at the European continental margin at 49°N within the EU-funded Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX) project. Two moorings were placed, at the mid- and outer slope in water depths of 1500 and 3660 m, with traps at 600 and 1050 m and at 580, 1440 and 3220 m, respectively. Residual currents at the mid-slope follow the slope contour, whereas seasonal off-slope flow was registered at the outer slope. At 600 m on the slope fluxes are similar to those in the abyssal North Atlantic. The flux of all components (bulk dry weight, particulate organic and inorganic carbon, lithogenic matter and opal) increased with water depth. Highest fluxes were recorded at 1440 m at the outer slope, where off-slope residual currents mediate particle export. The injection of biogenic and lithogenic particles below the depth of winter mixing results in the export of particles from shallower waters. Calculated lateral fluxes of particulate organic carbon exceed the primary flux by over a factor of 2 at 1440 m on the outer slope. Estimated lateral fluxes of suspended particulate matter in the water column and intermediate nepheloid layers at the outer slope are potentially large compared to sinking fluxes measured by sediment traps. A comparison is made of particle flux at three continental margin sites and two sites in the adjacent open North Atlantic, from which it is seen that bulk and organic matter flux increases exponentially with proximity to the shelf break. The percentage contribution of particulate organic carbon to biogenic fluxes increases from a mean of 5.7% in the abyssal N. Atlantic to 13.9% at the continental margins.     

Doubled CO2 impact on subarctic marine carbon cycle: a case study at Ocean Station P

Along with meteorological observations, complementary and systematic oceanographic observations of various physical, biological and chemical parameters have been made at Ocean Station P (OSP) (50°N, 145°W) since the early 1950s. These decadal time scale data have contributed to a better understanding of the physical, biological and chemical processes in the surface layer of the northeastern subarctic region of the Pacific Ocean. These data have demonstrated the importance of the North Pacific in the global carbon cycle and, in particular, the role of biological/chemical processes in the net exchange of CO₂ across the air–sea interface. Although we do not fully comprehend how climatic variations influence marine communities or marine biogeochemistry, previous studies have provided some basic understanding of the mechanisms controlling the seasonal and inter-annual variations of biological and chemical parameters (such as phytoplankton, bacteria, nitrate/ammonium concentration) at OSP, and how they affect the carbon cycling in the subarctic North Pacific. In this study, we investigate how these mechanisms might alter the seasonal variations of these parameters at OSP under a 2XCO₂ condition. We examine these influences using a new biological model calibrated by the climatological data from OSP. For the 2XCO₂ simulation, the biological model is driven off line (i.e., no feedback to the ocean/atmospheric model components) by the climatology plus 2XCO₂−1XCO₂ outputs from a global surface ocean model and the Canadian GCM. Under the 2XCO₂ condition, the upper layer ocean shows an increase in the entrainment rate at the bottom of the mixed layer for OSP during the late autumn and winter seasons, resulting in an increase in the f-ratio. Although there is an overall increase in the primary production (PP) by 3–18%, a decrease in the biomass of small phytoplankton and microzooplankton (due to mesozooplankton grazing) lowers the concentration of dissolved organic matter (DOM) by 4–25%. The model also predicts a significant increase in the concentrations of nitrate and ammonium, and in bacterial production during July and August. Doubling of the atmospheric CO₂ from 330 to 660 ppm forces the marine pCO₂ to increase by about 63%, much of which is driven by an increased flux of CO₂ from the atmosphere to the oceans.