Physical controls on mixing and transport within rising submarine hydrothermal plumes: A numerical simulation study

A computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was developed to simulate the turbulent flow and species transport of deep-sea high temperature hydrothermal plumes. The model solves numerically the density weighted unsteady Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations and energy equation and the species transport equation. Turbulent entrainment and mixing is modeled by a k–ε turbulence closure model. The CFD model explicitly considers realistic vent chimney geometry, vent exit fluid temperature and velocity, and background stratification. The model uses field measurements as model inputs and has been validated by field data. These measurements and data, including vent temperature and plume physical structure, were made in the ABE hydrothermal field of the Eastern Lau Spreading Center. A parametric sensitivity study based on this CFD model was conducted to determine the relative importance of vent exit velocity, background stratification, and chimney height on the mixing of vent fluid and seawater. The CFD model was also used to derive several important scalings that are relevant to understanding plume impact on the ocean. These scalings include maximum plume rise height, neutrally buoyant plume height, maximum plume induced turbulent diffusivity, and total plume vertically transported water mass flux. These scaling relationships can be used for constructing simplified 1-dimensional models of geochemistry and microbial activity in hydrothermal plumes. Simulation results show that the classical entrainment assumptions, typically invoked to describe hydrothermal plume transport, only apply up to the vertical level of ~0.6 times the maximum plume rise height. Below that level, the entrainment coefficient remains relatively constant (~0.15). Above that level, the plume flow consists of a pronounced lateral spreading flow, two branches of inward flow immediately above and below the lateral spreading, and recirculation flanking the plume cap region. Both turbulent kinetic energy and turbulence dissipation rate reach their maximum near the vent; however, turbulent viscosity attains its maximum near the plume top, indicating strong turbulent mixing in that region. The parametric study shows that near vent physical conditions, including chimney height and fluid exit velocity, influence plume mixing from the vent orifice to a distance of ~10 times the vent orifice diameter. Thus, physical parameters place a strong kinetic constraint on the chemical reactions occurring in the initial particle-forming zone of hydrothermal plumes.     

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in hydrothermal plumes from the East Pacific Rise, 9°50′N

Chemoautotrophic production in seafloor hydrothermal systems has the potential to provide an important source of organic carbon that is exported to the surrounding deep-ocean. While hydrothermal plumes may export carbon, entrained from chimney walls and biologically rich diffuse flow areas, away from sites of venting they also have the potential to provide an environment for in-situ carbon fixation. In this study, we have followed the fate of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) as it is dispersed through and settles beneath a hydrothermal plume system at 9°50′N on the East Pacific Rise. Concentrations of both DOC and POC are elevated in buoyant plume samples that were collected directly above sites of active venting using both DSV Alvin and a CTD-rosette. Similar levels of POC enrichment are also observed in the dispersing non-buoyant plume, ∼500 m downstream from the vent-site. Further, sediment-trap samples collected beneath the same dispersing plume system, show evidence for a close coupling between organic carbon and Fe oxyhydroxide fluxes. We propose, therefore, a process that concentrates POC into hydrothermal plumes as they disperse through the deep-ocean. This is most probably the result of some combination of preferential adsorption of organic carbon onto Fe-oxyhydroxides and/or microbial activity that preferentially concentrates organic carbon in association with Fe-oxyhydroxides (e.g. through the microbial oxidation of Fe(II) and Fe sulfides). This potential for biological production and consumption within hydrothermal plumes highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the role of the carbon cycle in deep-sea hydrothermal systems as well as the role that hydrothermal systems may play in regulating global deep-ocean carbon budgets.     

我国海底热液活动研究的阶段性进展与展望

海底热液活动调查研究是深海进入、深海探测和深海开发的切入点之一。近十年来,中国在西太平洋弧后盆地、东太平洋海隆、大西洋洋中脊和印度洋脊,发现了一批新的海底热液活动区,围绕着热液活动区的硫化物、流体、热液柱、生物等热液产物开展了调查研究,构建了海底热液地质学,提出了热液活动、冷泉及天然气水合物的同源异汇假说,出版了《海底热液地质学》、《现代海底热液硫化物成矿地质学》、《现代海底热液活动》、《东太平洋海隆热液地质》专著,获得了一批调查研究成果。未来,聚焦海底热液活动的深部过程及其资源环境效应关键问题,发展海底热液活动探测技术,拓展极地海底热液活动调查研究新领域,围绕烟囱体、热液柱、含金属沉积物、流体以及热液区生物等热液产物,开展深入、系统的调查研究工作,无疑将推动海底热液地质学取得新的进展。     

洋中脊热液羽状流的分布特征及其在多金属硫化物找矿中的指示作用

热液羽状流是海底热液活动的重要标志,海底多金属硫化物是热液活动的产物。现阶段洋中脊多金属硫化物勘探工作的第一步是开展热液羽状流的近底探测;综合各类异常信息,实现从发现热液活动喷口到发现矿床的突破。本文以热液羽状流为研究对象,从羽状流的近底探测、扩散机制和分布特征3个方面,概述了最新的研究进展和有待完善的方面,阐述了羽状流在洋中脊多金属硫化物找矿中的指示作用,最后总结性地指出时空连续性、参数多元化将是热液探测的发展趋势,有助于提升对热液羽状流分布特征的认识,将为热液区分布模式的研究提供更加精细的探测资料。     

深海采矿细颗粒羽状流数值模拟研究

深海采矿尾矿排放产生的细颗粒羽状流会对海底生态环境造成影响,预测尾矿排放羽状流行为及其对环境影响具有工程意义。基于欧拉多相流方法,采用欧拉双流体模型对深海采矿细颗粒羽状流开展数值模拟研究,分析近海底排放的羽状流演化和发展过程,探究羽状流初始排放质量浓度、排放速度对羽状流扩散过程的影响。结果表明：初始排放条件对羽状流演化性质有重要影响。主射流区被稀释的程度随着初始入射速度的增大而减小,随着入射质量浓度的增大而增大;初始羽状流入射速度和质量浓度越大,撞击海底后的水平方向流动速度越快,影响区域越广;水平速度的峰值随着初始入射速度的增大呈对数增长;当初始质量浓度和速度高于50 g/L和 0.5 m/s 时可能会导致颗粒在海底撞击点附近堆积成坡状,影响底流的后续发展。研究结果可以为深海采矿尾矿排放参数选择提供参考。     

A suspended-particle rosette multi-sampler for discrete biogeochemical sampling in low-particle-density waters

To enable detailed investigations of early stage hydrothermal plume formation and abiotic and biotic plume processes we developed a new oceanographic tool. The Suspended Particulate Rosette sampling system has been designed to collect geochemical and microbial samples from the rising portion of deep-sea hydrothermal plumes. It can be deployed on a remotely operated vehicle for sampling rising plumes, on a wire-deployed water rosette for spatially discrete sampling of non-buoyant hydrothermal plumes, or on a fixed mooring in a hydrothermal vent field for time series sampling. It has performed successfully during both its first mooring deployment at the East Pacific Rise and its first remotely-operated vehicle deployments along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. It is currently capable of rapidly filtering 24 discrete large-water-volume samples (30–100 L per sample) for suspended particles during a single deployment (e.g. >90 L per sample at 4–7 L per minute through 1 μm pore diameter polycarbonate filters). The Suspended Particulate Rosette sampler has been designed with a long-term goal of seafloor observatory deployments, where it can be used to collect samples in response to tectonic or other events. It is compatible with in situ optical sensors, such as laser Raman or visible reflectance spectroscopy systems, enabling in situ particle analysis immediately after sample collection and before the particles alter or degrade.     

Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) as a component of hydrothermal plume particle dynamics

Transparent exopolymer particles (TEP) have recently been recognized as a class of sticky particles that often stimulate macroaggregate formation. Until now, TEP studies were focused on surface waters, particularly in association with diatom blooms. This is the first report of TEP concentrations in an open ocean deep-sea hydrothermal plume environment. The occurrence of TEP in deep water demonstrates its existence in an environment that is devoid of growing phytoplankton, the organisms generally regarded as TEP's primary source. The main objective of this study was to investigate the presence and potential abundance of TEP within hydrothermal plumes over the Juan de Fuca Ridge. Samples for TEP and bacteria were collected from CTD-rosette casts through hydrothermal plumes over the Juan de Fuca Ridge during the summers of 1999 and 2000. Concentrations of TEP and bacteria within the hydrothermal plumes were significantly greater than in background seawater. TEP number and volume concentrations reported here are low compared to reported values for shallow environments, but are substantially higher than published reports of TEP in other deep water environments. Ratios of TEP anomalies to temperature anomalies (a conservative hydrothermal tracer) increased with distance from the apparent plume source, suggesting that TEP are produced within the aging hydrothermal plumes. Potential TEP sources associated with hydrothermal plumes are discussed. TEP in hydrothermal plumes could stimulate in situ aggregate formation, support populations of attached bacteria, and serve as a potential food source to zooplankton.     

水下溢油数值模拟研究

基于Lagrange积分法和Lagrange粒子追踪法建立了一个水下溢油数值模型。该溢油模型由两个子模型组成:羽流动力模型和对流扩散模型,其中羽流动力模型用以模拟溢油的喷发阶段和浮力羽流阶段;对流扩散模型用以模拟溢油的对流扩散阶段。通过数值实验,结合实验室水槽实验和水下溢油现场实验的观测资料进行模型验证。实验结果表明,模拟结果与观测资料一致性较好,从而验证了本文溢油模型的合理性和准确性;羽流动力模型为对流扩散模型提供源,海流、海水的垂向密度结构和油滴的直径分布是影响溢油在对流扩散阶段运动和分布的主要因素。     

热液柱的形态研究

热液柱是海底热液系统将其自身的能量输入海水的一种重要形式，是进行热液活动环境效应研究的主要物理对象。给出了描述热液柱形成与演化的运动方程、连续性方程和能量方程，并给出了问题的近似解。通过解的分析指出，热液流体从海底喷口喷出以后，由于初速度和浮力的存在将沿一个通道上升，随离海底距离的增大上升的速度迅速低，同时，热液流体的上升通道在侧向上将随这扩展，到达中性浮力面后不再上升，而仅在一个层面上扩展。在不考虑底层流的情况下，热液柱由热液颈和热液透镜组成。热液颈上粗下细，下部与热液喷口连接，上部与热液透镜连接；热液透镜呈宽扁的透镜状。     

A data processing method for MAPR hydrothermal plume turbidity data and its application in the Precious Stone Mountain hydrothermal field

Hydrothermal plume is an important constituent of seabed hydrothermal circulation and is also one of the characteristics of active hydrothermal vents. Portable Miniature Autonomous Plume Recorders （MAPR） attached to a towed deep-sea instrument was used to search for hydrothermal plumes and hydrothermal vents. We introduced the basic principle of MAPR based on deep towing technology to detect plumes, then analyzed the factors affecting the quality of the MAPR data and presented a data correction method for MAPR, including instrument location correction, noise reduction processing, system error elimination and seawater background reduction. Finally we applied the method to analyze MAPR data obtained during the Chinese DY115-21 cruise on R/VDayang Iin the “Precious Stone Mountain” hydrothermal field on the Gala-pagos Microplate. The results provided a better understanding of the distribution of the hydrothermal activ-ity in this field, indicating the presence of a new hydrothermal vent.     

深海多金属硫化物瞬变电磁激电效应初探

瞬变电磁法是深海多金属硫化物勘探的有效手段。海底多金属硫化物中高品位的金属组分会引起极强的激电效应,且对瞬变电磁响应产生显著影响。本文通过实验室测量和数值模拟对深海多金属硫化物的激电效应进行了探讨和分析。首先对西南印度洋中脊热液区的岩矿石样品进行了较为系统的电性测试,典型硫化物的复电阻率在频率域有最大达160 mrad相位移动,时间域与频率域的测量结果表明,极化率参数可以很好地区分硫化矿物与围岩。利用Cole-Cole模型对实测复电阻率进行解释,得到复电阻率的特征参数,分析各参数与块状硫化物组分和结构的关系,并根据极化率参数对典型硫化物进行了分类。将典型硫化物的激电参数用于计算层状介质的瞬变电磁响应,计算结果表明,在海底多金属硫化物矿床瞬变电磁法响应的最佳观测时窗内可同时观测到激电效应的影响。虽然在采集时窗晚期瞬变响应发生畸变,但在信号接收早期,激电效应能有效增强瞬变电磁法对深海多金属硫化物的探测能力,为瞬变电磁实测数据提供解释依据。     

潜水器在深海生物多样性研究中的应用进展

简要介绍了世界主要海洋国家潜水器的建设情况,并重点分析了潜水器在深海不同生境生物多样性研究中的应用,包括热液系统、冷泉、海山、峡谷和海沟等,以及深海生物多样性保护等几个方面。旨在为我国深海生物多样性研究提供参考,并推动我国潜水器在深海科学考察中的应用。     

Bathymetric influence on dissolved methane in hydrothermal plumes revealed by concentration and stable carbon isotope measurements at newly discovered venting sites on the Central Indian Ridge (11–13°S)

Methane is a useful tracer for studying hydrothermal discharge, especially where the source fluids are of low temperature and lack metal precipitates. However, the dual origins of deep-sea methane, both chemical and biological, complicate the interpretation of methane observations. Here, we use both the concentration and stable carbon isotopic composition (δ¹³C) of dissolved methane to trace hydrothermal plumes and identify the source and behavior of methane at two sites of newly discovered hydrothermal activity on the Central Indian Ridge (11–13°S). At both sites, methane and optical anomalies between 2500 and 3500 m at all stations indicate active hydrothermal discharge. We compared methane concentrations and δ¹³C at three stations, two (CTIR110136 and CTIR110208) with the most prominent anomalies at each site, and a third (CTIR110140) with near-background methane values. At stations CTIR110136 and CTIR110208, the concentration and δ¹³C of methane in distinct plumes ranged from 3.3 to 42.3 nmol kg⁻¹ and −30.0 to −15.4‰, respectively, compared to deep-water values of 0.5 to 1.2 nmol kg⁻¹ and −35.1 to −28.9‰ at the station with a near-background distal plume (CTIR110140). δ¹³C was highest in the center of the plumes at CTIR110136 (−15.4‰) and CTIR110208 (−17.8‰). From the plume values we estimate that the δ¹³C of methane in the hydrothermal fluids at these stations was approximately −19‰ and thus the methane was most likely derived from magmatic outgassing or the chemical synthesis of inorganic matter. We used the relationship between δ¹³C and methane concentration to examine the behavior of methane at the plume stations. In the CTIR110208 plume, simple physical mixing was likely the major process controlling the methane profile. In the CTIR110136 plume we interpret a more complicated relationship as resulting from microbial oxidation as well as physical mixing. We argue that this difference in methane behavior between the two areas stems from a distinct bathymetric dissimilarity between the two stations. The location of CTIR110208 on the open slope of a ridge allowed rapid plume dispersion and physical mixing, whereas the location of CTIR110136 in a small basin surrounded by wall structures inhibited physical mixing and enhanced microbial oxidation.     

Utilizing ~(234)Th/~(238)U disequilibrium to constrain particle dynamics in hydrothermal plumes in the Southwest Indian Ocean

Metal-enriched minerals have been widely observed near hydrothermal vent fields.However,the dynamics of particulate metals influenced by hydrothermal activities is poorly constrained.Here,radioactive ~(234)Th in both dissolved and particulate phases were used to examine the kinetics of particle-reactive metal adsorption,removal,and residence in a newly found hydrothermal plume over the Southwest Indian Ridge.The results showed a relatively low value on ~(234)Th/~(238)U ratios(i.e.,0.73-0.88) compared to the deep oceans,indicating an enhanced adsorption of particle-reactive metals onto particulate matter in the plume.Based on the ~(234)Th-~(238)U disequilibria,the adsorption and sinking rate constants of ~(234)Th averaged(0.009±0.001) d~(-1) and(0.113±0.024) d~(-1) in the hydrothermal plume,corresponding to the residence times of(115±19) d and(16±5) d for dissolved and particulate ~(234)Th,respectively.This timescale allows vent-discharged particle-reactive metals to disperse hundreds to thousands of miles away.Thus,hydrothermal activities might influence the metal distribution in deep ocean over a very large scope.Also,a high sinking flux of(36.2±5.4) B q/(m~2·d) for ~(234)Th was observed for the plume,suggesting an enrichment of metal in particles deposited close to the vent.The enhancement of particle sinking could also benefit the transport of organic carbon and nitrogen and fuel the benthic ecosystems under the plume regimes.Thus,hydrothermal plumes may have an impact on both the elemental geochemistry and/or ecosystem to the deep oceans interior than previous expectation.     

Ecological restoration in the deep sea: Desiderata

An era of expanding deep-ocean industrialization is before us, with policy makers establishing governance frameworks for sustainable management of deep-sea resources while scientists learn more about the ecological structure and functioning of the largest biome on the planet. Missing from discussion of the stewardship of the deep ocean is ecological restoration. If existing activities in the deep sea continue or are expanded and new deep-ocean industries are developed, there is need to consider what is required to minimize or repair resulting damages to the deep-sea environment. In addition, thought should be given as to how any past damage can be rectified. This paper develops the discourse on deep-sea restoration and offers guidance on planning and implementing ecological restoration projects for deep-sea ecosystems that are already, or are at threat of becoming, degraded, damaged or destroyed. Two deep-sea restoration case studies or scenarios are described (deep-sea stony corals on the Darwin Mounds off the west coast of Scotland, deep-sea hydrothermal vents in Manus Basin, Papua New Guinea) and are contrasted with on-going saltmarsh restoration in San Francisco Bay. For these case studies, a set of socio-economic, ecological, and technological decision parameters that might favor (or not) their restoration are examined. Costs for hypothetical restoration scenarios in the deep sea are estimated and first indications suggest they may be two to three orders of magnitude greater per hectare than costs for restoration efforts in shallow-water marine systems.     

Biogeographic relationships among deep-sea hydrothermal vent faunas at global scale

The discovery of deep-sea hydrothermal vent fauna, kilometres deep in the oceans, is a great achievement of 20th-century marine biology. The deep-sea hydrothermal food web does not directly depend on the sun's energy. Vent communities rely primarily on trophic associations between chemoautotrophic bacteria and consumers. A small number of endemic taxa are adapted to the inhospitable vent environments that are distributed along ridge crests. Where these vent communities originated and how they dispersed are among the important questions ecologists must answer. Here, by statistical analysis of the most comprehensive database ever assembled about deep-sea hydrothermal fauna, we delineate six major hydrothermal provinces in the world ocean and identify seven possible dispersal pathways between adjacent provinces. Our model suggests that the East-Pacific Rise may have played a pivotal role as a centre of dispersal for the hydrothermal fauna. Our data-driven conclusion will have to be tested by phylogenetic studies and completed by surveys of less-explored fields.     

印度洋深海热液区贻贝足丝结构和性能特征研究

贻贝营半固着生活,依靠足丝将自己牢固地黏附在底物上.足丝的结构和性能对贻贝的正常生命活动至关重要.为研究热液区极端环境下深海贻贝足丝的结构和性能,采集了印度洋龙旂深海热液区的贻贝(Bathymodiolus marisindicus)足丝,对其力学特性、结构特征和组分进行了分析.力学性能测试发现与近海贻贝(Mytilu...     

Visual observations of the vertical distribution of plankton throughout the water column above Broken Spur vent field,Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Visual observations were made in September 1997 during the 39 cruise of R/V “Akademik Mstislav Keldysh” with 2 deep-sea manned submersibles “Mir” aboard. During 4 dives the following plankton countings were made: 3 vertical throughout the water column during the day, 2 vertical in the upper 1000 m at night, and 1 oblique in the plume area during the day. Biomass profiles are represented for each dive for all abundant animal groups: copepods, euphausiids+decapods+mysids, chaetognaths, medusae, ctenophores, siphonophores, cyclothones, myctophides, radiolarians, and the total zooplankton. Plankton distribution shows 2 aggregations, one within the main pycnocline and the other near the plume; Gelatinous animals and radiolarians dominate in both aggregations by biomass and make a significant contribution to the plankton biomass throughout the water column. Oblique counting indicates the presence of aggregations of animals near the upper and lower borders of the plume and biomass depletion within the plume core.     

Hydrothermal plume mapping as a prospecting tool for seafloor sulfide deposits: a case study at the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields in the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge

Seafloor hydrothermal polymetallic sulfide deposits are a new type of resource, with great potential economic value and good prospect development. This paper discusses turbidity, oxidation–reduction potential, and temperature anomalies of hydrothermal plumes from the Zouyu-1 and Zouyu-2 hydrothermal fields on the southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge. We use the known location of these vent fields and plume data collected in multiple years (2009, 2011, 2013) to demonstrate how real-time plume exploration can be used to locate active vent fields, and thus associated sulfide deposits. Turbidity anomalies can be detected 10 s of km from an active source, but the location precision is no better than a few kilometers because fine-grained particles are quasi-conservative over periods of many days. Temperature and oxidation–reduction potential anomalies provide location precision of a few hundred meters. Temperature anomalies are generally weak and difficult to reliably detect, except by chance encounters of a buoyant plume. Oxidation–reduction potential is highly sensitive (nmol concentrations of reduced hydrothermal chemicals) to discharges of all temperatures and responds immediately to a plume encounter. Real-time surveys using continuous tows of turbidity and oxidation–reduction potential sensors offer the most efficient and precise surface ship exploration presently possible.     

海底地形对洋中脊热液对流活动的影响研究

洋中脊热液活动多产生于不同扩张速率洋中脊的局部高地形区域,基于达西流体充填的孔隙?弹性热力学模型可以直观、有效地模拟出洋壳内部热液对流的形态、温度结构和喷发位置等信息。数值模拟结果和所得解析模型表明:不同规模的洋底地形起伏会对洋壳内部的热液对流形态产生不同程度的影响,高地形规模越大,起伏程度越大,下伏热液羽向地形高点的偏移就越明显。通过结合东太平洋海隆9°17′N热液区和大西洋洋中脊Lucky Strike热液区实际的跨轴水深分布,也可获得与二者实际喷发位置相吻合的模拟结果。地形起伏相关的洋中脊热液喷发模型揭示洋底低地形及其下伏渗透性洋壳表现为主要的海水充注区域,而高地形由于上覆压力的减小,使其成为汇集热液释放和喷发的主要区域。