Recent transfer of coastal sediments to the Laurentian Channel,Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (Eastern Canada), through submarine canyon and fan systems

Multibeam sonar data, acoustic sub-bottom profiles and box cores were used to study the activity of submarine canyons and fans near the city of Les Escoumins, on the North Shore of the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary (Eastern Canada). The multibeam data were used to generate a high-resolution digital terrain model that reveals the presence of a large number of canyons and fans along the northern slopes of the Laurentian Channel. This paper focuses on two of the larger canyons, and their associated submarine fans. The sub-bottom profiles on the fans reveal high-amplitude reflections at the sediment/water interface and near the seafloor surface, indicating the occurrence of layers of coarse material. A turbidite was observed in a box core sampled in one of the fans, confirming the nature of the coarse layer. Geophysical and sedimentological data indicate that the canyons and fans play an important role in transferring coastal sandy sediments to the deeper marine environments by longshore drift-initiated turbidity flows, and thereby contribute to the negative sediment budget along the coast. The morphology of the canyons indicates that they were produced by a combination of erosive turbidity flows and retrogressive failures. The two box cores sampled on the fans reveal a recent (~last 60 years) quasi-exponential increase in sand content near the surface of the cores, possibly reflecting recent deforestation and/or increased coastal erosion.     

The effect of a layer of varying density on high-frequencyreflection, forward loss, and backscatter [seafloor acoustics]

This paper examines the impact that a thin layer of varying density would have on high-frequency reflection, forward loss, and backscattering of acoustic plane waves from the seafloor. A functional form for density stratification was found by examination of several high-resolution density profiles obtained from X-ray computed tomography (CT) scans of seafloor cores. A solution based on these general profiles was used to estimate the reflection coefficient. The influence of the density profile on reflection loss and backscatter was then calculated using the estimated reflection coefficient. Parameter values used in simulations were obtained from the literature or from the CT scans of cores. It was found that inclusion of a density profile adds a strong frequency dependence to estimates of the reflection coefficient and forward loss. The largest effect on total scattering strength is near normal incidence where returns are dominated by interface scattering. The effect of the density profile on the strength of acoustic returns suggests that care should be taken when using high-frequency systems for measuring sediment properties, especially near normal incidence     

Clay mineral composition in shallow water sediment samples near the Antarctic Peninsula and in deep-sea core samples from the pacific and the Indian-Antarctic Basins

Clay minerals in seven shallow water (100 to 600 m deep) dredged samples and in two deep-sea (3,000 to 5,000 m deep) core samples near West Antarctica were investigated by X-ray diffraction analyses. Variation of montmorillonite concentration appears to be closely related to volcanic activity. Chlorite is the most dominant constituent in most of the dredged samples, though it is not a principal component in core samples. Illite concentration is negatively correlated to that of montmorillonite. Kaolinite is found in four out of seven dredged samples near and around the Antarctic Peninsula while the content of kaolinite in two deep-sea cores from the Pacific-Antarctic Basin and the Indian-Antarctic Basin is more abundant than in the dredged samples. The clay mineral composition in the latter two basins may be closely related to volcanic activity and mechanical weathering products near and on Antarctica.     

High rates of hydrothermal activity at the west rift of the Easter Microplate deduced from metalliferous sediment composition

Based on the mineralogy and composition of sediment cores from three locations along the East Pacific Rise, sediments from 12°58’ N are shown to contain about 34% metalliferous sediment (on a carbonate‐ and salt‐free basis) whereas those from 23°50’ S and 27°24’ S each contain about 73% metalliferous sediment. The latter two cores are situated near the West Rift of the Easter Microplate. The metalliferous contents of the sediments at 23°50’ S and 27°24’ S are among the highest recorded on the East Pacific Rise. The distribution of elements with depth in these cores indicates that the hydrothermal activity has lasted more than 100,000 years. These data suggest that the West Rift of the Easter Microplate is a highly prospective site for submarine hydrothermal minerals. This is in accord with the high rate of ocean spreading (15–16 cm/yr) and the complex processes of plate extension and rotation there.     

Reduced magnetization produced by increased methane flux at a gas hydrate vent

Magnetic susceptibility measurements on near-surface sediment cores from the North Cascadia accretionary sedimentary prism show that seismic blanking or wipe-out zones in the upper few hundred metres of sediments are associated with a prominent low magnetic susceptibility signature. Seismic blanking and low magnetization are both attributed to high upward methane flux within a vent zone, as evidenced by the presence of massive gas hydrate within the cores. Sedimentological analysis of these cores also reveals the presence of authigenic pyrite within the areas of magnetic susceptibility lows. This phenomenon is suspected to be produced by the reducing environment associated with the high upward methane flux and increased bacterial activity within the topmost sediments, resulting in diagenesis of highly magnetic detrital minerals such as magnetite into nearly non-magnetic pyrite. These low magnetic susceptibility zones may produce magnetic anomalies with a magnitude of 10–35 nT near the seafloor. Such anomalies might be detected using high-resolution near-bottom magnetometers to provide a means of mapping zones of methane venting.     

The El Arraiche mud volcano field at the Moroccan Atlantic slope,Gulf of Cadiz

The El Arraiche field is a new mud volcano field discovered near the Moroccan shelf edge in the Gulf of Cadiz that consists of 8 mud volcanoes in water depths from 200 to 700 m. The largest mud volcano in the field (Al Idrissi mud volcano) is 255 m high and 5.4 km wide. The cluster was discovered during a survey with the RV Belgica and studied further during Leg 2 of the TTR 12 survey onboard the R/V Prof Logachev. The 2002 surveys yielded detailed multibeam bathymetry over a 700 km² study area, dense grids of high-resolution seismic data, deep-tow sub bottom profiles, sidescan sonar mosaics over the major structures. Selected video imagery lines, video guided grab samples, dredge samples, gravity cores, and box cores were collected for groundtruthing purposes. Eight mud volcanoes in water depths from 200 to 700 m cluster around two, sub-parallel anticlines and associated active extensional faults. Rock clasts and regional seismic data locate the El Arraiche field over a Late Miocene–Pliocene extensional basin. The onset of mud volcanic activity is estimated at about 2.4 Ma and probably roots in the Cretaceous–Miocene accretionary wedge. Stacked outflows are visible up to a depth of about 500 m below the sea floor. The occurrence of long-lived mud volcanoes bear witness to continued overpressure generation at depth, either by in situ oil and gas generation or by focussed flow and accumulation in the area. Geochemical analyses of pore water from cores demonstrate the presence of thermogenic hydrocarbon processes. The activity of the mud volcanoes is indicated by the thickness of hemi-pelagic sediments covering extruded mud breccia, the occurrence of seep-typical fauna, the degree of mixing between thermogenic and biogenic hydrocarbon processes, or the depth to the base of the sulphate reduction zone. Given its structural setting and the evidence of thermogenic and biogenic hydrocarbons, the area has promising hydrocarbon potential but remains untested.     

Accumulation of sediment,organic matter and trace metals with space and time,in a creek along Mumbai coast,India

Two core sediment samples; one from inner part (ManI) and the other closer to the mouth (ManII); were collected from the intertidal regions of Manori, a tidally influenced creek near Mumbai, India. Both the cores were subjected to various geochemical analyses to determine parameters such as pH, sediment components, total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus and selected metals viz., Fe, Mn, Cu, Pb, Co, Ni, Zn, Cr, Al, Ca and V. Analysis of ²¹⁰Pb activity was employed to assess the sediment deposition trend of the area. The data was further processed using factor and cluster analyses. The results indicate that the sediments from site ManI, had finer sediment composition, higher porosity, organic matter and metal contents but exhibited an erratic decline in ²¹⁰Pb activity downcore. Also ManI showed higher C:N ratio and enrichment factor values as compared to site ManII. The inner area (ManI) probably received a greater input of organic matter from the erosion of terrestrial matter as well as domestic and industrial discharge. Sediments from site ManII had typical marine organic matter composition (lower C:N ratio). The concentration of metals at this site was also low indicating the contents were getting diluted by freshwater and seawater mixing.     

Selenium in sediments, pore waters and benthic infauna of Lake Macquarie, New South Wales, Australia

Measurements of selenium in sediments and benthic infauna of Lake Macquarie, an estuary on the east coast of Australia, indicate that sediments are a significant source of selenium in the lake's food web. Analysis of surficial sediment samples indicated higher selenium concentrations near what are believed to be the main industrial sources of selenium to the lake: a smelter and a power station. Sediment cores taken from sediments in Mannering Bay, near a power station at Vales Point, contained an average of 12 times more selenium in surficial sections than sediment cores from Nord's Wharf, a part of the lake remote from direct inputs of selenium. The highest selenium concentration found in Mannering Bay sediments (17.2 μg/g) was 69 times the apparent background concentration at Nord's Wharf (0.25 μg/g). Pore water concentrations in Mannering Bay were also high, up to 5 μg/l compared to those at Nord's Wharf which were below detection limits (0.2 μg/l). Selenium concentrations in muscle tissues of three benthic-feeding fish species (Mugil cephalus, Platycephalus fuscus, Acanthopagrus australis) were significantly correlated (p<0.05) with surficial sediment selenium concentration. Selenium concentrations in polychaetes and molluscs of Mannering Bay were up to 58 times higher than those from Nord's Wharf. Two benthic organisms, the eunicid polychaete Marphysa sanguinea and the bivalve mollusc Spisula trigonella, were maintained at different densities in selenium-spiked sediments. Both animals accumulated selenium from the spiked sediment, confirming that bioaccumulation from contaminated sediments occurs. Collectively, these data suggest that benthic food webs are important sources of selenium to the fish of Lake Macquarie.     

The mineralogy and provenance of deep-sea sediments recovered by gravity corer off Sierra Leone,West Africa

The mineralogy of eight gravity cores recovered between Sierra Leone and 25°W longitude has been examined in an investigation of the provenance of the recent sediments in the eastern Equatorial Atlantic. X-ray analyses show that the principal mineral components are calcite, quartz, feldspar, kaolinite, illite and montmorillonite. One core taken from the upper continental slope off Freetown also contains gibbsite, a product of intense tropical weathering. Biogenic material forms the dominant component of most sections of the cores but it is clear from the abundance of quartz, kaolinite and freshwater diatoms that an aeolian supply of continental detritus has been important in the formation of the recent sediment cover. A significant contribution from volcanic sources can be recognised to the west of the Sierra Leone Rise. The occurrence of calcareous turbidites in two cores from the St. Paul's Fracture Zone and from the basin west of the Sierra Leone Rise appears to be a reflection of recent tectonic activity.     

The glacimarine sedimentary environment of Expedition Fiord, Canadian High Arctic

Expedition Fiord is a small, shallow inlet on the west coast of Axel Heiberg Island near 80°N latitude. It receives runoff and sediment at its head from a 1079 km² drainage basin, 72% of which is glacier-covered. Subbottom acoustic survey and cores from the fiord floor were used to assess the sedimentary environment. Most of the sediment is deposited within 3 km of the inflow from suspension in the overflowing cap and by gravity flows on the foreset beds of the delta. Occasionally, weak turbidity currents reach the mid fiord where they deposit fine-grained sediments. Icebergs from a large calving glacier in an adjacent fiord raft additional sediment, especially to the outer part of the fiord. They also scour the seafloor, although the persistent ice cover and slow currents in the fiord restrict this process. Except near the inflow, the total sediment accumulation since deglaciation is less than 20 m, and the rates of 0.5–1 mm/yr have not varied significantly to the present. A thicker deposit in the outer fiord is probably related to an early Holocene glacier margin near that location.     

Paleomagnetic data on the sedimentation rate near the Mendeleev Rise (Arctic Ocean)

Seven cores of bottom sediments were collected during the cruise of R/V Akademik Fedorov in 2000 along the latitudinal profile crossing the Mendeleev Rise near 82° N, and then studied. The length of cores varies from 240 to 334 cm. In all cores, the boundary of the changing remanent magnetization vector corresponding to the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary was established reliably. In five cores, this boundary is at a depth of 86–102 cm; in two cores, collected to the west of the Mendeleev Rise, at depth levels of 188 and 208 cm. The correlation of paleomagnetic and lithological data demonstrates that the upper boundary of a bench of speckled pelites, overlapped by a bench of variegated pelites, is confined to the Olduvai episode or horizons lying slightly below. The average sedimentation rate of sediments from the Mendeleev Rise during the last 2–2.5 Ma have not exceeded 1–1.3 mm/ka, increasing towards the shelf seas of northeast Russia.     

Pockmarks off Big Sur, California

A pockmark field was discovered during EM-300 multi-beam bathymetric surveys on the lower continental slope off the Big Sur coast of California. The field contains ∼1500 pockmarks which are between 130 and 260 m in diameter, and typically are 8-12 m deep located within a 560 km² area. To investigate the origin of these features, piston cores were collected from both the interior and the flanks of the pockmarks, and remotely operated vehicle observation (ROV) video and sampling transects were conducted which passed through 19 of the pockmarks. The water column within and above the pockmarks was sampled for methane concentration. Piston cores and ROV collected push cores show that the pockmark field is composed of monotonous fine silts and clays and the cores within the pockmarks are indistinguishable from those outside the pockmarks. No evidence for either sediment winnowing or diagenetic alteration suggestive of fluid venting was obtained. ¹⁴C measurements of the organic carbon in the sediments indicate continuous sedimentation throughout the time resolution of the radiocarbon technique (∼45?000 yr BP), with a sedimentation rate of ∼10 cm per 1000 yr both within and between the pockmarks. Concentrations of methane, dissolved inorganic carbon, sulfate, chloride, and ammonium in pore water extracted from within the cores are generally similar in composition to seawater and show little change with depth, suggesting low biogeochemical activity. These pore water chemical gradients indicate that neither significant accumulations of gas are likely to exist in the shallow subsurface (∼100 m) nor is active fluid advection occurring within the sampled sediments. Taken together the data indicate that these pockmarks are more than 45?000 yr old, are presently inactive, and contain no indications of earlier fluid or gas venting events.     

Influence of the hydrothermal vents on the distribution of benthic foraminifera from the Guaymas Basin,Mexico

The distribution and composition of four benthic foraminifera assemblages from the Guaymas Basin are depicted through Q- and R-mode Factor Analysis. One of these assemblages is distributed near hydrothermal vents,* another developed away from the influence of the vents, and the other two assemblages are found in the subbottom sediments.Biostratigraphic analysis of five cores collected within the hydrothermal region suggest that the foraminiferal remains have been affected by aselective dissolution process. Only small species, such asBulimina spinosa andBolivina sp 2, have been preserved in the subbottom sediments which have been influenced by the hydrothermal activity.     

Formation of saddle dolomites in Upper Cambrian carbonates, western Tarim Basin (northwest China): Implications for fault-related fluid flow

The saddle dolomites occur more intensely in cores closely to fault than that in cores far away from the fault in Upper Cambrian carbonate of western Tarim basin, suggesting that formation of the saddle dolomites is likely related to fault-controlled fluid flow. They partially fill in fractures and vugs of replacement dolomite. The saddle dolomites exhibit complex internal textures, commonly consisting of core and cortex. In comparison with the matrix dolomites, the saddle dolomites show lower Sr-content and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, higher Fe- and Mn-content, and more negative δ¹⁸O values. Combined with high Th (100–130 °C) of primary fluid inclusions, it is suggested that the saddle dolomites precipitated from hydrothermal fluid derived from the deep evaporite-bearing Middle Cambrian strata, and the magnesium source may be due to dissolution of host dolomite during hydrothermal fluid migration. Fault activity resulted in petrographic and geochemical difference of the core and cortex of the saddle dolomites. The cores precipitated from the formation water mixed by deep brines at the early stage of fault activity, and the cortexes precipitated from the deep fluid with higher temperatures through the Middle Cambrian later. In summary, the formation of the saddle dolomites implies a hydrothermal fluid event related to fault activity, which also resulted in high porosity in Upper Cambrian carbonate in western Tarim Basin.     

The North-West European Shelf seas: The sea bed and the sea in motion. II. Physical and chemical oceanography,and physical resources: Edited by F. T. Banner,M. B. Collins and K. S. MassieElsevier Scientific Publishing Co., Amsterdam, 1980, xii+338 pp., £46·73

Total, chemical and biological oxygen demand of intertidal sediment cores from 12 stations in a mangrove swamp in southern Africa were measured under mean temperature and salinity conditions. In addition to measuring oxygen removed from water overlying cores, the uptake of oxygen from air overlying sealed cores was also determined. Total oxygen consumption ranged from 2·9 to 37·0 ml O₂ m^?2 h^?1 in water and from 22·1 to 81·6 ml O₂ m^?2 h^?1 in air. Chemical oxygen demand usually equalled or exceeded the total, underlining problems in the measurement of this parameter. Since oxygen is not present below a few millimeters in the sediment, it is concluded that oxygen diffusing from the overlying water or air is rapidly utilized at the surface and its uptake rate does not give any measure of metabolic activity deeper down. The oxygen content of the overlying water present during high tide may drop to relatively low levels due to this demand.     

Deep-Water Circulation in the Hunter Channel (Southwest Atlantic) in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene Based on Benthic Foraminifera

Oceanology - Based on benthic foraminifera from three sediment cores, the deep-water circulation near the Hunter Channel (Southwest Atlantic) in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene has been...     

The ODP color digital imaging system: Color logs of quaternary sediments from the Santa Barbara basin,site 893

Digital color logs of cores from leg 146, holes 893A and 893B, have been taken from images captured during January 1993, within days after the cores were split and described. The images were captured and color analyses performed on the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) color digital imaging system, which was assembled from relatively inexpensive, off‐the‐shelf components. The images were used to calculate sedimentation rates by fitting chronological data from hole 893A to void‐corrected depths determined by eliminating all voids mapped from the images as >1 cm in length measured downcore. Color measurements were made at intervals between 0.22 and 1.0 mm in length, and then Commission Internationale de l'Eclairage (CIE) 1931 chromaticity values were computed. Results plotted within CIE chro‐maticity space lie in close proximity to the Munsell 5Y hue plane, confirming that the instrumental color analysis technique has produced results consistent with those of the human observers who described colors visually. Significant periodicities occurring at 12, 17, 31, and 90 years correlate with sunspot activity cycles, suggesting that color variations may reflect global climatic forcing functions. Linear correlation between color data sets from holes 893A and 893B suggests that as much as 1.2 m of material present at or near the top of hole 893B may not have been recovered from hole 893A, and that there is a 70‐cm depth discrepancy in the opposite direction at 51.5 m below seafloor (mbsf). The article recommends that the 1931 CIE chromaticity system be used routinely for describing colors of geological materials because it readily accommodates the mathematical manipulations required for statistical and time‐series analyses and avoids the subjectivity and other weaknesses inherent in the Munsell Color System.     

Hydrocarbon geochemistry of the Puget Sound region—III. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) distributions and sources are characterized in 96 sediment samples from 24 ²¹⁰Pb-dated cores collected at locations in the greater Puget Sound. The highest PAH concentrations are found within a few kilometers of several sources including industrial facilities in northern Puget Sound, urban areas in central Puget Sound, and river systems draining coal-bearing strata. Regional patterns of combustion-derived PAH in surficial sediments indicate little atmospheric or waterborne exchange of PAH between different regions of the Sound. Significant subsurface maxima in combustion-derived PAH concentrations (²¹⁰Pb dated at the 1950s) occur only in sediment cores collected near urban centers. Perylene apparently derives from erosion of a terrestrial source with little or no evidence of in situ production at depth in sediment cores. Coal fragments are carriers of a characteristic suite of alkylated phenanthrene, chrysene, and picene derivatives concentrated near river mouths in central and southern Puget Sound.     

末次盛冰期长江南京段古河槽特征

根据南京长江大桥、三桥、四桥的地质钻孔资料,绘制南京段长江古河槽地质剖面示意图,对拟建南京长江四桥附近的4个钻孔进行了采样分析,从钻孔沉积物样品的14C年代及阶地形成时间可以判断,南京段约-60~-90 m的深槽为末次盛冰期时的长江河槽,钻孔揭示,南京段长江古河槽狭窄陡峭,呈V型,在南京长江大桥附近形成局部深切。     

渤海现代沉积的研究

根据测定的１２个箱式和１１个柱状岩芯的＾２１０Ｐｂ放射性强度，首次系统地介绍了渤同代沉积速率（１００ａ时间尺度）。从＾２１０Ｐｂ的垂直分布特征和确切的地层年龄着手，结合有关资料，探讨了渤海近百年的沉积环境和沉积格局，利用放射性同位素＾２１０Ｐｂ不仅对研究所形成地层的沉积作用和混合作用过程具有重要意义，而且对海洋油气开发地质工程的调查与评价提供科学依据。