Book review

The Control of the Sea‐bed: A New International Issue by Evan Luard. Taplinger Publishing Co., Inc., New York, 1974. 309 pp. $14.95.     

三大洋深海沉积物样品可培养真菌多样性研究

深海真菌是深海微生物的重要组成之一,在深海环境生态系统中起着非常重要的作用,但目前人们对于深海沉积物中的真菌群落多样性关注较少.本研究对来自东太平洋、南大西洋和西南印度洋(三大洋)的15个沉积物样品进行真菌的分离培养,共获得175株真菌,包括93株酵母菌和82株丝状真菌.基于形态学观察和ITS序列的系统发育分析显示,93株酵母分别属于红冬孢酵母属(Rhodosporidium)和胶红酵母属(Rhodotorula)的两个种[海洋红酵母(Rhodosporidium paludigenum)和胶红酵母(Rhodotorula mucilaginosa)].82株丝状真菌分别属于曲霉属(Aspergillus)、枝孢属(Cladosporium)、青霉属(Penicillium)、链格孢属(Alternaria)、镰刀菌(Fusarium)、支顶孢属(Acremonium)、茎点霉属(Phoma)、麦轴梗霉属(Tritirachium)、毛壳菌属(Chaetomium)、外瓶霉属(Exophiala)、侧齿霉属(Engyodontium)、肉片齿菌属(Sistotrema)、裂褶菌属(Schizophyllum)、腥掷抱菌属(Tilletiopsis)和Hormonema.其中曲霉属为丝状真菌中的优势属,占总菌株的47.6%.上述研究结果表明大洋深海沉积物中存在着较为丰富的真菌资源,有助于加深我们对于不同大洋区域深海环境中真菌群落结构的认识.     

楚科奇海与白令海表层沉积中的钙质和硅质微体化石研究

通过对北冰洋楚科奇海和令海41个表层沉积样品中的有孔虫、介形类等钙质微体化石和硅藻、放射虫、海绵骨针等硅质微体化石的定量分析,发现表层沉积中浮游有孔虫几乎缺失,这可能与该区表层生产力相对低、碳酸盐溶解作用较强有关,而底栖有孔虫和硅质微体化石的丰度分布则明显受表层沉积物类型、表层初级生物生产力和碳酸盐溶解作用所控制。其中,北冰洋楚科奇海陆架区有孔虫丰度和分异度低,含少量浅水介形类,放射虫在陆架浅水区缺失,但含有较多硅藻和海绵骨针等其它硅质微体化石,反映该区由于海冰、表层海水温度较冷而导致表歧初级生产力相对低。白令海陆坡区底栖有孔虫丰度比较科奇海高一个数量级,底栖有孔虫分异度也相对高,硅藻、放射虫、海绵骨针等硅质微体化石的丰度与钙质化石一样,其丰度比楚科奇海明显高,反映表层初级生产力相对高。根据白令海陆坡区底栖有孔虫和硅质微体化石丰度、底栖有孔虫胶结质壳比值的水深变化,推测该区碳酸盐溶跃层和补偿深度（CCD）相对浅,分别位于水深2000m和3800m处。     

Geotechnical characteristics of deep-sea sediments from the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans

Geotechnical properties from a series of deep-sea sites in the North Atlantic and North Pacific oceans are examined to evaluate overall trends and to compare with similar fine-grained soils found on land. The study areas encompass a range of sedimentary environments dominated by combinations of turbidite and pelagic deposits. Carbonate content in excess of 20% is seen to result in a decrease in liquid limit and compressibility. Vertical profiles of geotechnical properties in the North Pacific show broader changes in down-core geotechnical properties compared to the North Atlantic and reflect the effects of long-term climatic changes and seafloor spreading. Sediments in the North Atlantic indicate significant differences depending on location, which is attributed to variability in turbidite deposition, water depth, distance from sediment sources, and the effects of bottom currents. Compared to equivalent fine-grained soils on land, deep-sea sediments are generally softer, more compressible and have higher friction angles at comparable Atterberg limits. Deeper and older sediments in the North Pacific are characterized by unusually large plastic limits, which are attributed to the presence of volcanic fractions. Empirical relationships for compression index and friction angle are discussed for sediments from both oceans.     

Beach sediment temperature variations through depth and time

Data obtained from a site at mean tide level on Belfast Lough, Northern Ireland, show temperature fluctuations on various timescales. Hourly means differ markedly from month to month but are similar for different depths during the same month. The short-term temperature fluctuations recorded at the surface are largely dissipated at a sediment depth of 20 cm with the proportion of total flux occurring at any depth remaining similar irrespective of the absolute temperature range. It is suggested that temperature flux ratios may provide an objective in situ assessment of beach exposure and/or water flow through sediments. A plea for a standardized methodology is made.     

Impact of depositional and biogeochemical processes on small scale variations in nodule abundance in the Clarion‐Clipperton Fracture Zone

Manganese nodules of the Clarion–Clipperton Fracture Zone (CCFZ) in the NE Pacific Ocean are highly enriched in Ni, Cu, Co, Mo and rare-earth elements, and thus may be the subject of future mining operations. Elucidating the depositional and biogeochemical processes that contribute to nodule formation, as well as the respective redox environment, in both water column and sediment, supports our ability to locate future nodule deposits and to evaluate the potential ecological and environmental effects of future deep-sea mining. For these purposes we studied the local hydrodynamics and pore-water geochemistry with respect to the nodule coverage at four sites in the eastern CCFZ. Furthermore, we carried out selective leaching experiments at these sites in order to assess the potential mobility of Mn in the solid phase, and compared them with the spatial variations in sedimentation rates. We found that the oxygen penetration depth is 180–300 cm at all four sites, while reduction of Mn and NO₃⁻ is only significant below the oxygen penetration depth at sites with small or no nodules on the sediment surface. At the site without nodules, potential microbial respiration rates, determined by incubation experiments using ¹⁴C-labeled acetate, are slightly higher than at sites with nodules. Leaching experiments showed that surface sediments covered with big or medium-sized nodules are enriched in mobilizable Mn. Our deep oxygen measurements and pore-water data suggest that hydrogenetic and oxic-diagenetic processes control the present-day nodule growth at these sites, since free manganese from deeper sediments is unable to reach the sediment surface. We propose that the observed strong lateral contrasts in nodule size and abundance are sensitive to sedimentation rates, which in turn, are controlled by small-scale variations in seafloor topography and bottom-water current intensity.     

辽河口沉积物中参与主要生物地化循环的微生物功能基因分析

辽河口区域丰富的生物多样性在生物地球化学循环和维持生态系统功能等方面发挥着极其重要的作用.研究辽河口表层沉积物中参与常见地球化学循环的功能基因及其关键影响因子,对揭示和预测辽河口沉积物微生物的功能代谢潜力和受环境变化的影响具有重要意义.应用功能基因芯片(GeoChip 4.0)技术开展微生物功能基因多样性研究.结果 表...     

Strength Behavior of Marine Sands at Elevated Confining Stresses

A testing program was initiated to determine the stress-strain and strength behavior of two very different marine sands (a calcareous sediment from South Australia and a siliceous sediment from the United Kingdom) at elevated confining pressures. The testing matrix consisted of a series of isotropically consolidated, undrained (CIU) and drained (CID), triaxial compression tests on samples of naturally deposited calcareous and siliceous sediment and remolded calcareous sediment. It was found that the calcareous samples displayed little cemented behavior during shear. For tests conducted at pressures up to 1.5 MPa, a significant amount of particle crushing occurred in the calcareous samples but not in the siliceous samples. Particle degradation and reorientation facilitates transitions from dilative to contractive behavior with increases in confining stress. The calcareous sediment exhibited contractive behavior at confining pressures above approximately 500 kPa and the siliceous sediment remained dilative at stresses up to 1 MPa during undrained loading. Comparison with data collected by the University of Sydney (CID tests with confining pressures up to 60 MPa) showed that most of the variations in strength behavior occurred within the low stress range (up to 2 MPa) tests conducted at URI. This was evident in the friction angle data and in the reloading Young's modulus data.     

掺杂黏土矿物对沉积物吸持磷能力的影响

通过研究黏土矿物及掺杂黏土矿物后湖泊沉积物磷的吸附/解吸特性,分析了高岭土、膨润土和沸石掺杂于湖泊沉积物后对磷稳定固定化的可行性。试验结果表明:掺杂膨润土稳定固化磷的效果最优,其次是高岭土,但掺杂沸石减小了沉积物对磷的吸附能力。具体结果是,按5%和10%比例掺杂高岭土时,沉积物吸附磷的能力增加,最大吸附量增加17.33%;按20%和40%掺杂时,沉积物吸附磷的能力减小,最大减小了43.31%。掺杂比例小时,高岭土与沉积物之间的阳离子交换过程扩大了空隙,增大了吸附量。达到平衡后,继续掺杂高岭土,引起空隙堵塞,减小了吸附量。掺杂膨润土的比例越大,沉积物吸持磷能力越强,按40%掺杂时,最终吸持率高达81.82%。这与膨润土表面积大、活性成分多有关。沸石由于孔道内被水分子和其他阳离子占据,有效吸附面积减小,对磷稳定化不起作用。     

A method for correcting the temperature effect on uCPT measurements in seabed sediments

Abstract

The zero load readings of cone resistance (q_c) and sleeve friction (f_s) measured by a piezocone (uCPT) shift with the ambient temperature. A method of correcting the effect of temperature on uCPT measurements in seabed sediments has been proposed for the case where there is no temperature sensor in the uCPT probe. This method is based on the assumption that the “actual” profile of f_s of soft shallow seabed sediments linearly increases with depth, and a rate of increase of α?=?0.2?kPa/m was obtained using measured ground temperatures and f_s values in seabed sediments in Isahaya Bay, Japan. An “actual” f_s profile can then be constructed using the measured f_s value at the shallow surface and the value of α. Using the differences between the measured and the estimated “actual” f_s profiles, the ground temperature profile can be obtained, and then the effect of temperature on the uCPT measurements can be corrected. The proposed method was used for temperature corrections on uCPT measurements in Isahaya Bay, Japan. The values of undrained shear strength (s_u) from the temperature-corrected uCPT measurements agree well with the laboratory measured values of s_u using the undisturbed soil samples.     

温度周期变化下分散型天然气水合物的沉积物电阻率测量

测量了在温度周期变化下的含天然气水合物沉积物的电阻率。在温度震荡过程中,电阻率测量能检测到水合物或冰的二次形成。实验证明,温度震荡能促进分散型水合物在沉积物孔隙中的形成。经过多次温度震荡后,孔隙水大部分能转为水合物,在1.2 ℃时,水合物最终饱和度为78.2%,其含水合物沉积物的电阻率为12.0 ohm·m。     

Nitrogen cycling in deep-sea sediments of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain, NE Atlantic

Rates of transformation, recycling and burial of nitrogen and their temporal and spatial variability were investigated in deep-sea sediments of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP), NE Atlantic during eight cruises from 1996 to 2000. Benthic fluxes of ammonium (NH₄) and nitrate (NO₃) were measured in situ using a benthic lander. Fluxes of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and denitrification rates were calculated from pore water profiles of DON and NO₃, respectively. Burial of nitrogen was calculated from down core profiles of nitrogen in the solid phase together with ¹⁴C-based sediment accumulation rates and dry bulk density. Average NH₄ and NO₃-effluxes were 7.4 ± 19 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ (n = 7) and 52 ± 30 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ (n = 14), respectively, during the period 1996–2000. During the same period, the DON-flux was 11 ± 5.6 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ (n = 5) and the denitrification rate was 5.1 ± 3.0 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹ (n = 22). Temporal and spatial variations were only found in the benthic NO₃ fluxes. The average burial rate was 4.6 ± 0.9 μmol m⁻² d⁻¹. On average over the sampling period, the recycling efficiency of the PON input to the sediment was 94% and the burial efficiency hence 6%. The DON flux constituted 14% of the nitrogen recycled, and it was of similar magnitude as the sum of burial and denitrification. By assuming the PAP is representative of all deep-sea areas, rates of denitrification, burial and DON efflux were extrapolated to the total area of the deep-sea floor (>2000 m) and integrated values of denitrification and burial of 8 ± 5 and 7 ± 1 Tg N year⁻¹, respectively, were obtained. This value of total deep-sea sediment denitrification corresponds to 3–12% of the global ocean benthic denitrification. Burial in deep-sea sediments makes up at least 25% of the global ocean nitrogen burial. The integrated DON flux from the deep-sea floor is comparable in magnitude to a reported global riverine input of DON suggesting that deep-sea sediments constitute an important source of DON to the world ocean.     

Assessment of copper,cadmium and zinc remobilization in Mediterranean marine coastal sediments

The remobilization of copper, cadmium and zinc in sediments of three selected coastal microenvironments of the Aegean Sea (Eastern Mediterranean) is assessed. Various analytical methods and techniques were employed providing concentrations, profiles and forms of metals and organic matter in sediments and pore waters.     

不同海域沉积物对尿素吸附的实验模拟研究

本文对采自渤海、黄海和东海3个典型海域的沉积物进行了尿素吸附/解吸的实验室模拟研究,用Freundlich吸附模型和Henry吸附模型分析了不同沉积物对尿素吸附的热力学特性,并研究了温度、沉积物粒径、有机质含量等因素对尿素在沉积物表面吸附的影响。结果表明,沉积物对尿素的吸附/解吸过程总体呈现3个阶段:快速吸附阶段（0~5 h）—慢速吸附阶段（5~12 h）—平衡阶段（12 h之后）。当水体中的尿素浓度较低时,沉积物解吸释放尿素,随着上覆水中尿素浓度逐渐增加,沉积物对上覆水中的尿素产生吸附行为,各海区沉积物对尿素的吸附能力由强至弱依次为渤海、东海、黄海,这可能与沉积物的类型有关。Freundlich方程和Henry方程均可模拟沉积物对尿素的吸附,温度、粒径以及沉积物中有机质含量等因素均对尿素在沉积物上的吸附产生影响,随着温度升高,尿素在沉积物上的吸附量变小,沉积物粒径越小,有机质含量越高,吸附尿素的能力越强,因此,揭示尿素在沉积物表面的环境行为时,必须考虑以上因素的影响。     

新型深海地温梯度测量设备（FY2）研发

随着海底地热学研究的不断深入,对海底地热测量仪器的技术指标提出了更高要求。基于前期自主研发的FY1自容式微型温度测量记录仪,经过大量实践数据与经验积累,研制出新型的FY2自容式微型温度测量记录仪。为验证FY2的性能,在实验室恒温水槽和南海北部陆坡深水海域对FY1和FY2进行了仪器校验和比测,结果显示FY2的测量分辨率优于0.0001 ℃,测量准确度优于±0.0015 ℃,比测点的海底热流值为78 mW/m2。实验结果证实FY2探针不仅具有高分辨率、高精度、性能稳定的特点,而且测量效率高,可为海底热流探测与研究提供新一代可靠的技术支持。     

Residence times in a hypersaline lagoon: Using salinity as a tracer

Generally the waters of the Ria Formosa Lagoon, Portugal have a short residence time, in the order of 0.5 days (Tett, P., Gilpin, L., Svendsen, H., Erlandsson, C.P., Larsson, U., Kratzer, S., Fouilland, E., Janzen, C., Lee, J., Grenz, C., Newton, A., Ferreira, J.G., Fernandes, T., Scory, S., 2003. Eutrophication and some European waters of restricted exchange. Continental Shelf Research 23, 1635–1671). This estimation is based on the measurements of currents and the modelling of water exchange at the outlets to the ocean. However, observations of the temperature and salinity in the inner channels imply that residence time is greater in these regions of the lagoon. To resolve this apparent contradiction, spatial measurements of the temperature and salinity were made with a meter for conductivity, temperature and depth along the principal channels of the western portion of the lagoon, with a sampling frequency of two per second. Evaporation rates of 5.4 mm day⁻¹ were measured in a salt extraction pond adjacent to the lagoon and used to determine the residence time through salinity differences with the incoming seawater. In June 2004, the water flooding in from the ocean had an average salinity of 36.07 which contrasted with a maximum of 37.82 at mid ebb on a spring tide, corresponding to a residence time of >7 days; the mean residence time was 2.4 days. As the tide flooded into the channels, the existing water was advected back into the lagoon. Although there was a small amount of mixing with water from another inlet, the water body from the inner lagoon essentially remained distinct with respect to temperature and salinity characteristics. The residence time of the water was further prolonged at the junction between the main channels, where distinct boundaries were observed between the different water masses. As the water ebbed out, the shallow Western Channel was essentially isolated from the rest of the outer lagoon, and the water from this channel was forced down the Ramalhete Channel, from where it was unable to exit the lagoon in one tidal cycle due to the extensive path length of ∼14 km to the sea.     

Radiocaesium and 210Pb in Clyde sea loch sediments

Analysis of ²¹⁰Pb, ²²⁶Ra, ¹³⁷Cs and ¹³⁴Cs in short sediment cores provide first estimates of deposition rates in some Clyde sea lochs. The radio-caesium nuclides originate mainly in the liquid effluent released at distance from the Clyde by the Windscale nuclear fuel reprocessing plant and their concentrations in Clyde sediments provide information on (a) enrichment factors onto particulate matter, (b) surficial mixing coefficients and (c) sedimentation rates. A radiocaesium residence time in coastal waters of ca. 10³ years reflects the importance of scavenging by the high nearshore particulate flux. ²¹⁰Pb levels in sediments are controlled, in the unsupported fraction, by a major input sorbed on catchment particulates and, in the supported component, by ²²⁶Ra activities occasionally perturbed by unusually high surface values probably of planktonic origin. In one loch, detectable levels of ¹³⁴Cs and ⁶⁰Co are attributed to their discharge by nuclear submarines.