Influence of an oxygen minimum zone and macroalgal enrichment on benthic megafaunal community composition in a NE Pacific submarine canyon

Megafaunal diversity in the deep sea shows a parabolic pattern with depth. It can be affected by factors such as low oxygen concentration, which suppresses diversity, or the presence of submarine canyons, which enhances it. Barkley Canyon, located off the west coast of British Columbia, Canada, is a submarine canyon that extends from the continental margin (200 m) into the deep ocean (2,000 m). This canyon receives drift kelp from shoreline kelp forests and contains an oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) at 500 to 1,500 m depth. Our study investigated the abundance and diversity of epibenthic megafauna over a range of depths (200–2,000 m) and oxygen concentrations (0.5–5.0 ml/L) within Barkley Canyon, as well as changes in abundance near detrital kelp. Video was collected using the remotely operated vehicle ROPOS along seven 1‐km cross‐canyon (i.e., across the axis of the canyon) transects and three 40‐m perpendicular cross‐transects over kelp. Taxonomic groups were associated with depth, temperature, and the presence of pebbles. The OMZ restricted pennatulids, and edge effects along OMZ boundaries were observed for ophiuroids. The geomorphology of the sea floor affected the distribution of taxa across the canyon, with Porifera mainly found along the walls and Echinoidea within the canyon axis. Expected richness exhibited a bimodal pattern, peaking at 300 and 2,000 m, possibly due to the combined effect of the OMZ and the submarine canyon. Echinoidea aggregated near drift kelp at 200 and 300 m. We found that faunal communities in Barkley Canyon were influenced by several confounded factors including depth, oxygen and substrate. Understanding faunal patterns is paramount with increased exploitation and a changing climate.     

Scattering of Plane P Waves by Circular-arc Canyon Topography:High-frequency Solution

Through the Fourier-Bessel series expansion of wave functions,the analytical solution to the two-dimensional scattering problem of incidental plane P waves by circular-arc canyon topography with different depth-to-width ratio is deduced.Unlike other existing analytical solutions,in order to ensure that the analytical solution is valid for higher frequency incident waves,the asymptotic properties of cylindrical functions are in this paper introduced to directly determine the unknown coefficients of scattering waves,avoiding the solution of linear equation systems and corresponding numerical issues,which in turn expand the frequency band in which the analytical solution is valid.Comparison with other existing analytical solutions demonstrates that the proposed analytical solution is correct.Furthermore,the scattering effects of a circular-arc canyon on the incident plane P wave are analyzed in a comparatively broad frequency band.     

雅鲁藏布大峡谷地质成因

文中总结了雅鲁藏布大峡谷科学探险考察中获得投奔 石学和构造地质学认识与区域上已经取得的多学科成果,论述了牙鲁藏布大峡谷得以形成的根本原因是该地区深部存在着地幔上涌体,雅鲁藏布大峡谷和大另弯的形成是地幔上涌体作用于岩石圈和地表的效应。地幔上涌体的确认揭开了该地区的特有的生物学,气候特征等方面的奥秘,雅鲁藏布大峡谷及其周缘地区是大陆动力学研究,壳－幔动力学,地球系统中各圈层间耦合作用及大陆块体运动学研     

青藏高原考察新发现--帕隆藏布大峡谷

通过多年的考察和室内科学论证,发现认定在雅鲁藏布大峡谷顶端汇流的一级支流———帕隆藏布峡谷也是一条堪称世界级的大峡谷（照片１）。就深度而言,帕隆藏布至少可以排位于尼泊尔王国境内的喀利根德格大峡谷（最深为４４０３ｍ）之后名列世界第三而深于秘鲁的科尔卡大...     

黄河晋陕峡谷河流阶地和鄂尔多斯高原第四纪构造运动

本文通过黄河晋陕峡谷河段21个地点的阶地横剖面观察和阶地对比研究,确定出6级宽谷阶地序列,同时,依据17个放射性测年数据对阶地定年。6级宽谷阶地序列揭示了鄂尔多斯高原第四纪区域造陆隆起和局部构造变形,区域造陆隆起的发生时间比之青藏高原隆起要滞后0．113～0．25Ma,而且,平均区域造陆隆起量比之青藏高原的内部和边缘的隆起量小得多。晋陕峡谷河段发生过3期加积作用幕,指示着造陆隆起景观中的气候变化时间线。渭河盆地北缘的韩城断裂悬崖带记录着构造基准面下降,影响的河流长度仅为21～127km。     

Difference infiltrometer: a method to measure temporally variable infiltration rates during rainstorms

We developed a difference infiltrometer to measure time series of non‐steady infiltration rates during rainstorms at the point scale. The infiltrometer uses two, tipping bucket rain gages. One gage measures rainfall onto, and the other measures runoff from, a small circular plot about 0.5‐m in diameter. The small size allows the infiltration rate to be computed as the difference of the cumulative rainfall and cumulative runoff without having to route water through a large plot. Difference infiltrometers were deployed in an area burned by the 2010 Fourmile Canyon Fire near Boulder, Colorado, USA, and data were collected during the summer of 2011. The difference infiltrometer demonstrated the capability to capture different magnitudes of infiltration rates and temporal variability associated with convective (high intensity, short duration) and cyclonic (low intensity, long duration) rainstorms. Data from the difference infiltrometer were used to estimate saturated hydraulic conductivity of soil affected by the heat from a wildfire. The difference infiltrometer is portable and can be deployed in rugged, steep terrain and does not require the transport of water, as many rainfall simulators require, because it uses natural rainfall. It can be used to assess infiltration models, determine runoff coefficients, identify rainfall depth or rainfall intensity thresholds to initiate runoff, estimate parameters for infiltration models, and compare remediation treatments on disturbed landscapes. The difference infiltrometer can be linked with other types of soil monitoring equipment in long‐term studies for detecting temporal and spatial variability at multiple time scales and in nested designs where it can be linked to hillslope and basin‐scale runoff responses. Published 2012. This article is a U.S. Government work and is in the public domain in the USA.     

A meta-analysis of geochronologically relevant half-lives: what’s the best decay constant?

Twenty-first century advances in both the analytical procedures and instrumentation used in geochronology promise age accuracy better than ±1‰, but realizing this potential requires knowledge of decay constants (λ) that exceed this level. Given the paucity of improved recent measurements of λ, the community has experimented with hybrid methodologies utilizing data largely generated during the 1970s. In this article, we perform a systematic review of laboratory decay constant determinations relevant to geochronology (i.e. ⁸⁷Rb, ¹⁴⁷Sm, ¹⁷⁶Lu, ²³⁰Th, ²³²Th, ²³⁵U, and ²³⁸U), focusing on methodological consistency. For radioisotopes for which multiple studies are available, results are combined through a random effects model to yield the best available values and associated uncertainties. Unfortunately, despite its vital role in modern geochronology, only one experimental determination of ²³⁸U decay met our criteria for consideration, significantly limiting the ability to assess its reliability. Thus, utilizing λ₂₃₈ as an anchor for establishing other decay constants (e.g. ⁴⁰K, ¹⁷⁶Lu, and spontaneous ²³⁸U fission) places an unverified result at the core of geochronology. For geochronology to attain its greatest potential, more and better laboratory determinations of decay constants are required, along with a community methodology that permits us to continuously take advantage of new data.     

河南云台山世界地质公园红石峡谷形成年代研究

地貌年代是地貌学研究的重要内容,红石峡谷作为云台山世界地质公园重要的地貌景观与地质遗迹资源,其形成年代的研究具有重要科学意义。本文对红石峡谷地貌特征进行了详细野外调查及研究,通过地貌对比及释光法测年对红石峡谷的形成年代、新构造运动对峡谷的控制作用进行了探讨。红石峡谷具有年轻河谷的地貌特征:平面展布明显受构造节理控制、横剖面呈现V型、纵剖面为上凸形;用热释光法(TL)测得红石峡谷谷肩河流相砂砾石层泥质胶结物年代为(374.86±31.86)ka B.P.;与谷肩宽谷同期发育的灰岩溶蚀裂隙中蚀余红土的年龄为(340.74±28.96)ka B.P.;控制红石峡形成的黑龙潭断裂其分支断裂中断层泥年代为(300.04±25.50)ka B.P.。据以上证据并与子房河阶地级序及年代的综合对比认为:红石峡谷主要受黑龙王庙断裂的控制,形成于中更新世中期(Qp2-2)451—(374.86±31.86)ka B.P.之后。本研究利用测年数据对红石峡谷形成年代进行了定量约束,对太行山南缘地貌与新构造运动的研究具有参考价值。     

Oxygen isotope composition of annually banded modern and mid-Holocene travertine and evidence of paleomonsoon floods, Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA

Holocene and modern travertine formed in spring-fed Havasu Creek of the Grand Canyon, Arizona, was studied to determine the factors governing its oxygen-isotope composition. Analysis of substrate-grown travertine indicates that calculated calcite-formation temperatures compare favorably with measured water temperatures, and include silt-rich laminae deposited by monsoon-driven floods. Ancient spring-pool travertine is dated by U-series at 7380 ± 110 yr and consists of 14 travertine-silt couplets of probable annual deposition. One hundred eighty high-resolution δ¹⁸O analyses of this mid-Holocene sample average −11.0‰ PDB. The average value for modern travertine is 0.5‰ lower, perhaps because mid-Holocene temperature was higher or there was proportionally greater summer recharge. δ¹⁸O cyclicity in the mid-Holocene travertine has average amplitude of 1.9 ± 0.5‰ PDB, slightly less than the inferred modern-day annual temperature range of Havasu Creek. The annual temperature range might have been reduced during the 14-yr interval compared to present, although other non-temperature factors could account for the muted annual variation. Silt-rich laminae within isotopically lower calcite in the modern and mid-Holocene travertine verifies the seasonal resolution of both samples, and suggests that similar temperature-precipitation conditions, as well as monsoon-generated summer floods, prevailed in the mid-Holocene as they do throughout the Grand Canyon region today.     

Live (stained) benthic foraminifera in the Whittard Canyon, Celtic margin (NE Atlantic)

Living (Rose Bengal stained) benthic foraminifera were investigated at 18 deep-sea stations sampled in the Whittard Canyon area (NE Atlantic). The stations were positioned along 4 bathymetric transects ranging from 300 to 3000 m depth: two along the main canyon axes (Western and Eastern branches) and two along adjacent open slopes (Western and Eastern slopes). The aim of this study was to assess changes of foraminiferal standing stock, composition and microhabitat in relation to the physico-chemical conditions prevailing at and below the sediment-water interface in various canyon and open-slope environments. Minimal oxygen penetration depths and maximal diffusive oxygen uptakes were recorded at upper canyon stations, suggesting a high mineralisation rate. This is confirmed by the high phytopigment concentrations measured in the sediment of the upper canyon axes. Foraminiferal abundance was positively correlated with diffusive oxygen uptake and phytopigment concentration in the sediment. This suggests a control of organic matter fluxes on the foraminiferal communities. Foraminiferal abundance was generally higher along the canyon axis compared to open-slope sites at comparable water depths. The species composition varied with water depth along all four transects, but was also different between canyon branches and adjacent slopes. The silty/sandy intercalations at many of the deeper canyon stations may have been rapidly deposited by fairly recent gravity flows. At station 51WB (3002 m), the faunal characteristics (strong dominance, shallow infaunal microhabitats) suggest that the foraminiferal community is in an early state of ecosystem colonisation after these recent sedimentation events, which would have supplied the important amounts of phytopigments.