A Zonal Pathway for NADW in the South Atlantic

Several large deployments of neutrally buoyant floats took place within the Antarctic Intermediate (AAIW), North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW), and the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) of the South Atlantic in the 1990s and a number of hydrographic sections were occupied as well. Here we use the spatially and temporally averaged velocities measured by these floats, combined with the hydrographic section data and various estimates of regional current transports from moored current meter arrays, to determine the circulation of the three major subthermocline water masses in a zonal strip across the South Atlantic between the latitudes of 19°S and 30°S. We concentrate on this region because the historical literature suggests that it is where the Deep Western Boundary Current containing NADW bifurcates. In support of this notion, we find that a net of about 5 Sv. of the 15–20 Sv that crosses 19°S does continue zonally eastward at least as far as the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Once across the ridge it takes a circuit to the north along the ridge flanks before returning to the south in the eastern half of the Angola Basin. The data suggest that the NADW then continues on into the Indian Ocean. This scheme is discussed in the context of distributions of dissolved oxygen, silicate and salinity. In spite of the many float-years of data that were collected in the region a surprising result is that their impact on the computed solutions is quite modest. Although the focus is on the NADW we also discuss the circulation for the AAIW and AABW layers.     

The fate of dumped sediments monitored by a high-resolution multibeam echosounder system,Weser Estuary,German Bight

With the development of high-resolution multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) for surveying shallow-water areas a new tool is available to monitor rapid changes in seabed morphology as, e.g., caused by the dumping of dredge spoil in coastal waters. In this study, four data sets of repeated bathymetric surveys with a MBES were processed and analyzed. The data were collected in a 1.94-km² dumping site in the outer Weser Estuary (German Bight). Between June and December 1998, 2.6 million m³ of dredged sediment were deposited there. The bathymetric maps generated in the course of this study reveal features such as subaqueous dunes, scour holes, and mounds of dumped dredge spoil. The mean water depth decreased by about 1 m during the dumping period. Furthermore, difference grids showing changes in sediment volume allowed a calculation of the sediment budget for the monitored area. After a time period of only 5 months, 0.5 million m³ of the originally dumped 2.6 million m³ of dredge spoil had already been removed from the dumping site.     

Size-Fractionated Primary Production Estimated by a Two-Phytoplankton Community Model Applicable to Ocean Color Remote Sensing

In order to estimate primary production from ocean color satellite data using the Vertical Generalized Production Model (VGPM; Behrenfeld and Falkowski, 1997), we propose a two-phytoplankton community model. This model is based on the two assumptions that changes in chlorophyll concentration result from changes of large-sized phytoplankton abundance, and chlorophyll specific productivity of phytoplankton tends to be inversely proportional to phytoplankton size. Based on the analysis of primary production data, P _opt ^B , which was one parameter in the VGPM, was modeled as a function of sea surface temperature and sea surface chlorophyll concentration. The two-phytoplankton community model incorporated into the VGPM gave good estimates in a relatively high productive area. Size-fractionated primary production was estimated by the two-phytoplankton community model, and P _opt ^B of small-sized phytoplankton was 4.5 times that of large-sized phytoplankton. This result fell into the ranges observed during field studies.     

Long-term Sensor Drift Found in Recovered Argo Profiling Floats

We recovered three Argo profiling floats after 2 to 2.5 years of operation, and recalibrated their temperature, conductivity, and pressure sensors. The results demonstrate that these floats exhibited a significant drift in salinity of −0.0074 to −0.0125, primarily due to the conductivity sensor drift. Combined with the recalibration result for another previously recovered float, the indication is that the negative salinity drift increases nearly in proportion to the operating period of floats. The increasing rate is −0.0041 (±0.0015) year⁻¹, which yields a salinity drift of −0.016 (±0.006) for the expected float lifetime of four years. The present result suggests that reducing the float surfacing time would improve the accuracy of the salinity measurements.     

Simple determination of dimethylsulfide (DMS) and dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP) using solid-phase microextraction and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) is a simple, sensitive and less destructive method for the determination of dimethylsulfide (DMS) in seawater. Combined with detection by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), the method had sufficient sensitivity (minimum detectable concentration of DMS was 0.05 nM), and practical levels of reproducibility (relative standard deviation ≤7%) and linearity (r ² > 0.995) over a wide concentration range (0.5 to 910 nM). The protocol developed was applied to a Sagami Bay water sample to determine concentrations of DMS and DMSP, and in situ DMSP-lyase activity.     

Eddy Shedding from the Kuroshio Bend at Luzon Strait

TOPEX/POSEDIENT-ERS satellite altimeter data along with the mean state from the Parallel Ocean Climate Model result have been used to investigate the variation of Kuroshio intrusion and eddy shedding at Luzon Strait during 1992–2001. The Kuroshio penetrates into the South China Sea and forms a bend. The Kuroshio bend varies with time, periodically shedding anticyclonic eddies. Criteria of eddy shedding are identified: 1) When the shedding event occurs, there are usually two centers of high Sea Surface Height (SSH) together with negative geostrophic vorticity in the Kuroshio Bend (KB) area. 2) Between the two centers of high SSH there usually exists positive geostrophic vorticity. These criteria have been used to determine the eddy shedding times and locations. The most frequent eddy shedding intervals are 70, 80 and 90 days. In both the winter and summer monsoon period, the most frequent locations are 119.5°E and 120°E, which means that the seasonal variation of eddy shedding location is unclear.     

Geodynamics of the deep sedimentary basin of the Caspian Sea region: paragenetic correlation of seismicity and mud volcanism

In this paper we analyze seismic regime and earthquake depth distribution and correlation of seismicity and mud volcanism in the Azerbaijan and the Caspian Sea region. For the present region we have calculated accurate source locations, seismic activity, earthquake repetition and released earthquake energy parameters. It is shown that the active tectonic processes in the region are concentrated within the thick sedimentary cover that we consider as a general source of contemporary stress and a main structural element responsible for the origin of regional earthquakes. The correlation of seismicity and mud volcanism is of paragenetic character.     

Oil-generation kinetics for organic facies with Type-II and -IIS kerogen in the Menilite Shales of the Polish Carpathians

The Menilite Shales (Oligocene) of the Polish Carpathians are the source of low-sulfur oils in the thrust belt and some high-sulfur oils in the Carpathian Foredeep. These oil occurrences indicate that the high-sulfur oils in the Foredeep were generated and expelled before major thrusting and the low-sulfur oils in the thrust belt were generated and expelled during or after major thrusting. Two distinct organic facies have been observed in the Menilite Shales. One organic facies has a high clastic sediment input and contains Type-II kerogen. The other organic facies has a lower clastic sediment input and contains Type-IIS kerogen. Representative samples of both organic facies were used to determine kinetic parameters for immiscible oil generation by isothermal hydrous pyrolysis and S₂ generation by non-isothermal open-system pyrolysis. The derived kinetic parameters showed that timing of S₂ generation was not as different between the Type-IIS and -II kerogen based on open-system pyrolysis as compared with immiscible oil generation based on hydrous pyrolysis. Applying these kinetic parameters to a burial history in the Skole unit showed that some expelled oil would have been generated from the organic facies with Type-IIS kerogen before major thrusting with the hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters but not with the open-system pyrolysis kinetic parameters. The inability of open-system pyrolysis to determine earlier petroleum generation from Type-IIS kerogen is attributed to the large polar-rich bitumen component in S₂ generation, rapid loss of sulfur free-radical initiators in the open system, and diminished radical selectivity and rate constant differences at higher temperatures. Hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters are determined in the presence of water at lower temperatures in a closed system, which allows differentiation of bitumen and oil generation, interaction of free-radical initiators, greater radical selectivity, and more distinguishable rate constants as would occur during natural maturation. Kinetic parameters derived from hydrous pyrolysis show good correlations with one another (compensation effect) and kerogen organic-sulfur contents. These correlations allow for indirect determination of hydrous-pyrolysis kinetic parameters on the basis of the organic-sulfur mole fraction of an immature Type-II or -IIS kerogen.     

T -distributed Random Fields: A Parametric Model for Heavy-tailedWell-log Data1

Histograms of observations from spatial phenomena are often found to be more heavy-tailed than Gaussian distributions, which makes the Gaussian random field model unsuited. A T-distributed random field model with heavy-tailed marginal probability density functions is defined. The model is a generalization of the familiar Student-T distribution, and it may be given a Bayesian interpretation. The increased variability appears cross-realizations, contrary to in-realizations, since all realizations are Gaussian-like with varying variance between realizations. The T-distributed random field model is analytically tractable and the conditional model is developed, which provides algorithms for conditional simulation and prediction, so-called T-kriging. The model compares favourably with most previously defined random field models. The Gaussian random field model appears as a special, limiting case of the T-distributed random field model. The model is particularly useful whenever multiple, sparsely sampled realizations of the random field are available, and is clearly favourable to the Gaussian model in this case. The properties of the T-distributed random field model is demonstrated on well log observations from the Gullfaks field in the North Sea. The predictions correspond to traditional kriging predictions, while the associated prediction variances are more representative, as they are layer specific and include uncertainty caused by using variance estimates.