Amino acid racemization in mono-specific foraminifera from Quaternary deep-sea sediments

The deep-sea environment is among the most stable on Earth, making it well suited for amino acid geochronology. Foraminifera with calcareous tests are distributed across the World Ocean and are often recovered in sufficient abundance from sediment cores to derive robust mean amino acid D/L values of multiple replicates from each stratigraphic level. The extent of racemization (D/L) can be compared with independent age control, which in most cases is based on correlation with global marine oxygen-isotope stages and radiocarbon ages from the same stratigraphic levels. In this study, we report the results of amino acid racemization analysis of multiple foraminifera species from well-dated sediment cores taken from the Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic oceans. The composite of results analyzed to date (179 samples, each composed of an average of 8.6 subsamples = 1531 analyses) show that D/L values generally increase systematically down core, and are similar for samples of comparable ages from different deep-sea sites. Previously published equations that relate D/L values of aspartic and glutamic acids to post-depositional temperature and sample age for Pulleniatina obliquiloculata generally conform to the D/L trends for species analyzed in this study. Laboratory heating experiments were used to quantify the difference in the rate of racemization between P. obliquiloculata and other taxa. For example, aspartic acid in P. obliquiloculata racemizes an average of 12–16% faster than in the common high-latitude species, Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (s). Apparently, the unexpectedly high D/L values previously reported for N. pachyderma (s) older than 35 ka from the Arctic Ocean cannot be attributed to taxonomic effects.     

The flux of226Ra from deep-sea sediments

The flux of²²⁶Ra from bottom sediments has been determined from patterns of²²⁶Ra/²³⁰Th disequilibrium in ten deep-sea cores from the world oceans. Values range from ? 0.0015 dpm/cm² yr (in the Atlantic) to 0.21 dpm/cm² yr (in the north equatorial Pacific). The flux is poorly related to sediment type, but is inversely correlated in a non-linear fashion with sediment accumulation rate. There is a direct relationship between the production rate of²²⁶Ra near the sediment-water interface (i.e. the integrated²³⁰Th activity in the biologically mixed zone) and the²²⁶Ra flux. The²²⁶Ra concentration in near-bottom water follows the geographic variation in the²²⁶Ra flux. The high flux from north equatorial Pacific sediments especially is reflected in the high bottom water²²⁶Ra concentrations in that area. The data suggest that both rate of circulation and the magnitude of the radium flux influence the near-bottom²²⁶Ra concentration.     

Low-temperature opal-CT precipitation in Antarctic deep-sea sediments: evidence from oxygen isotopes

Porcellanite has been found in Antarctic deep-sea sediments of shallow burial depth at four different sites in host sediments younger than 4 Ma. Oxygen isotope analysis shows that the opal-CT samples are extremely rich in¹⁸O (δ¹⁸O= 41.2to44.7‰ rel. SMOW). According to the quartz/water fractionation the calculated isotopic opal-CT formation temperature is in the range of 0 to 4°C. This agrees well with sediment temperature measurements. The low opal-CT precipitation temperature contrasts with current ideas about later diagenetic formation of opal-CT at higher temperatures of 18 to 56°C.     

Paleomagnetic excursion recorded in latest Pleistocene deep-sea sediments,Gulf of Mexico

Paleomagnetic and/or micropaleontological studies have been carried out on approximately 28 sedimentary cores of latest Pleistocene age from the Gulf of Mexico. Sedimentation rates range from 9 cm to 20 cm/1000 yr. A distinct excursion in the earth's magnetic field occurs in the upper parts of 8 of 15 cores for which paleomagnetic studies were conducted and is independently correlated with planktonic foraminiferal zones. An inclination change to zero or negative inclination is often associated with a declination change. The age of the excursion was determined by extrapolation of sedimentation rates from the Z-Y paleontological boundary which is dated at 11,000 B.P. The magnetic excursion occurred between 12,500 and 17,000 yr ago within the upper part of zone Y. This falls within the age range of the Laschamp Event as originally defined.     

14C age and vertical mixing of deep-sea sediments

Vertical mixing models applied to the radiocarbon age stratigraphy of sediments have to make allowance for the presumably non-vanishing zero-age of the sedimentary particulates freshly arriving at the sediment surface. The appropriate modifications of the simple box model recently presented by Berger and Johnson are outlined. For seven deep-sea cores, zero-age values are found varying between 0.1 and 1.4 kyr. A high zero-age is likely to be indicative for redistribution processes occurring at the sea floor. The box model has been extended to make allowance for a change of sedimentation rate in the depositional interval under study.     

Microtektites in the Middle Pleistocene deep-sea sediments of the South China Sea*

This is a preliminary study on the microtektites that were found in large numbers from the interval between 7.80 and 8.10 m depth of core S095-17957-2 (10°53.9’N, 115°18.3’E, water depth 2 195 m), northern Nansha area of the South China Sea. The microtektites vary in shape, with spherules predominating, and are commonly less than 1 mm in diameter, transparent or semitransparent, brownish in color, with bubbles inside. Based on coarse fraction stratigraphy and foraminifera/nanofossil biostratigraphical events the microtektite layer was assigned to nearly the Bm-hes/Matuyama magnetic reversal boundary (some 0.78 MaBP). Obviously, the present microtektites, and those found from the middle Pleistocene of the Indian Ocean, Australia and loess of northern China, were products of the same impact event and therefore, are useful as a reliable mark in Quaternary stratigraphy, as well as in paleoclimatic studies. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 49676287, 49732060).     

Magnetization of Jurassic red deep-sea sediments in the Atlantic (DSDP site 105)

Measurement of the remanent magnetization of samples of Jurassic oceanic red sediments recovered in the western Atlantic on Leg 11, site 105 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project yields quite different results, depending on the demagnetization processes used. Both the Jurassic section and the Berriasian-Valanginian part of the Lower Cretaceous were measured, but with less satisfactory results for the Lower Cretaceous. The natural remanent magnetization of the Jurassic section is almost entirely normal, with 44.6° inclinations (standard deviation = 13.9°) and is not changed by 1000 Oe alternating field (AF) demagnetization. Thermal demagnetization to temperatures of 630°C brings the inclination and polarity sequence in line with that expected for Oxfordian through Tithonian time at this site. The average inclination after thermal demagnetization is 22.1°, standard deviation = 12.1°, and the polarity pattern is one of frequently alternating polarity, much more similar to published reversal patterns for this time than the all normal results of AF demagnetization. The polarity pattern is not identical to the published ones as a result of insufficiently detailed sampling. Thermomagnetic and X-ray analyses were ambiguous, but suggest the presence of titanomagnetite, hematite, and possibly titanomaghemite and pyrrhotite. The primary remanence is carried by hematite.     

Temporary and definitive fixation of atmospheric lead in deep-sea sediments of the Western Mediterranean Sea

Most lead brought to the Mediterranean Sea has an anthropogenic origin and is mainly transported through the atmosphere. Atmospheric Pb was continuously collected at Cap Ferrat in 1986 and 1987. From this study, the estimation of the anthropogenic Pb flux on the whole Western Mediterranean was, averaged on 1986 and 1987 data, 4080 t. Assuming that the atmospheric anthropogenic Pb input varied in this course of time similarly to the consumption of Pb added to gasolines in France, the mean annual flux could be calculated: 3.95 kg km⁻² yr⁻¹, that is an annual input of 3360 t yr⁻¹. Reaching the sea, this metal seems to become rapidly bound to phytoplankton. Grazing by zooplankton leads to the production of faecal pellets which frequently contain rather high metal concentrations. The sinking rate of pellets of various zooplankton species is high; within a few days pellets may reach deep-sea sediments. After deposition, Pb is released from this organic-rich material during early diagenesis. In most cases, it, therefore, returns to the overlaying water body by ascending diffusion. But, in a deep-sea area of approximately 80 000 km² where Mn oxide precipitation occurs in surficial sediments, Pb seems to remain stored by coprecipitation processes. By considering the lead stored in ‘excess’ in the surficial sediment of the deep-sea area, we estimate that a mean annual anthropogenic Pb amount ranging from 800 up to 1080 t was stored every year from 1950. On the same area, taking into account the Pb loss at the straits, the ‘direct’ atmospheric input to the sea bottom is, on average, 184 t yr⁻¹. The remaining part, that is (800–1080)−184=(616–896) t yr⁻¹, corresponds to an additional ‘indirect’ Pb flux in water due to Pb released from sediments of the surrounding areas where it does not remain stored.     

Distribution, age and chemical composition of tephra layers in deep-sea sediments off western Indonesia

Tephra layers occur in deep-sea sediments of the northeastern Indian Ocean, adjacent to western Indonesian are. The layers range in age from Recent to Late Miocene. Relative abundance of light and heavy mineral species in all tephra layers have been determined, and pure glass shards from representative samples have been analyzed chemically for major oxides. On the basis of the chemical data, three distinct provinces can be recognized: (1) an extensive province of rhyolitic tephra layers, ranging in age back to Late Miocene, is found adjacent to Sumatra; (2) a more restricted province of dacitic layers, adjacent to Sunda Strait and western Java; and (3) a province of andesitic layers, found adjacent to eastern Java and the Lesser Sunda Islands. Chemical composition of tephra layers in each province remains constant with time. As an example, tephra layers from the rhyolitic province are characterized by a high and restricted range of SiO₂ (75–77%) when expressed on an H₂O-free basis.Tephra layers recovered from the study area were examined for chemical evidence of secondary alteration. The analyses revealed that H₂O is the only major oxide in the glass shards which increases progressively with the age of the tephra layers regardless of the bulk composition. H₂O, however, reaches a “saturation point” of 4–5% in the layers 250–400 thousands of years old and remains constant to the oldest recovered tephra layer (7.5 m.y. old).The decrease in silica content in deep-sea tephra layers eastward along the Indonesian volcanic arc coincides with a similar eastward decrease in average silica content in Indonesian lavas. A relatively high silica content in lavas from Sumatra, with associated ignimbrites and their deep-sea ash-fall equivalents is closely linked to thick pre-Cenozoic crust. In the portion of the arc to the east of Sumatra, the crust is Cenozoic and thin. Difference in silica content of both the lavas and deep-sea tephras along the Indonesian arc is considered in regard to the hypothesis of “magma filtering” which is based on the contrasting density gradients of ascending magma and the upper crust.     

Ionospheric Effects of the Lipetsk Meteoroid

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - The time variations in the Doppler spectra at frequencies of 3.2 and 4.2 MHz on the day of fall of the Lipetsk meteoroid (near Lipetsk town, Russia) on June 21, 2018,...     

Magnetic and Ionospheric Effects of a Meteoroid Plume

This paper is concerned with the study of the possibility of products of a meteoroid explosion in the atmosphere (meteoroid plume) to reach ionospheric altitudes. It has been shown that, in the case of meter-sized or larger space bodies entering the atmosphere, the plume is able to reach the lower ionosphere. The plume can be one of the sources of the formation of nacreous and noctilucent clouds. The aerosols ejected by the plume to lower ionospheric altitudes can lead to the formation of dust plasma, significantly changing the electrodynamic properties of the medium. The motion of the plume with a velocity of ~1 km/s is accompanied by the generation of a ballistic shock with a radius of 1–10 km. The relative excess pressure in the shock front can cause relative disturbances in the electron content at the altitudes of D, E, and F1 layers by ~10–100%. The geomagnetic effect of the plume and ballistic shock can reach ~1–10 nT.     

Assessing the footprint and volume of oil deposited in deep-sea sediments following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The lateral and vertical extents of Macondo oil in deep-sea sediments resulting from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill were determined using chemical forensics and geostatistical kriging of data from 2397 sediment samples from 875 cores collected in 2010/2011 and 2014. The total mass of Macondo-derived hopane on the seafloor in 2010/2011 was conservatively estimated between 2.00 and 2.26 metric tons, derived from 219,000 to 247,000 barrels of oil; or 6.9 to 7.7% of the 3.19 million barrels spilled. Macondo-derived hopane was deposited over 1030 to 1910 km² of the seafloor, mostly (> 97%) in surface (0–1 cm) and near-surface (1–3 cm) sediments, which is consistent with short-term oil deposition. Although Macondo oil was still present in surface sediments in 2014, the total mass of Macondo-derived hopane was significantly lower (~ 80 to 90%) than in 2010/2011, affirming an acute impact from the spill and not long-term deposition from natural seeps.     

Composition of widespread volcanic glass in deep-sea sediments of the Southern Pacific Ocean: an Antarctic source inferred

Widespread Plio-Pleistocene (2.43-0.06 Ma) tephra zones recognised in deep-sea cores from high latitudes (>60°) in the Southern Pacific Ocean were thought to have originated from calc-alkaline rhyolitic eruptions in New Zealand, some 5000 km distant. Electron microprobe analyses of the glasses reveal a wide diversity of alkalic felsic compositions, as well as minor components of basic and intermediate glasses, incompatible with a New Zealand Neogene source but similar to contemporaneous eruptives from the Antarctic region. Most tephra zones are trachytic; seven zones are peralkaline rhyolite. The rhyolitic zones represent a deep-sea record of widespread silicic eruptions from continental Antarctica, possibly Marie Byrd Land. The extent of these rhyolitic zones suggest a greater frequency of large explosive eruptions in Antarctica than previously documented. The coarse grain size of some of the shards (up to 3 mm), their great distance from the closest sources (>1600 km for some cores), and the presence of nonvolcanic ice-rafted debris indicate some of the glasses, especially the more basic compositions, may have been ice-rafted, contrary to previous suggestions of a fallout origin.     

Ash layers in deep-sea sediments as tracers of arc volcanic activity: Japan and Central America as case studies

Abstract Arc volcanic activity on opposite sides of the Pacific Ocean (Japan and Central America) has been investigated by examining the number of volcanic ash layers recorded in Neogene and Quaternary deep-sea sediments. The data suggest that ash layers counted in deep-sea sediments may provide a reliable record of arc volcanism. The study is based on a quantitative analysis of arc volcanic activity using cores collected on DSDP (Deep-Sea Drilling Project) and ODP (Ocean Drilling Program) legs. Five distinct parameters which might affect ash distribution in marine sediments were reviewed: nature of the eruption, wind influence, settling conditions, diagenesis, and plate motion. Of these five, past atmospheric circulation was the most significant. The main constraint on the analysis is that temporal scattering of ash is not directly related to wind pattern variations. Results of this analysis are correlated with dating of terrestrial volcanic sequences. Although marine tephra records for individual regions reveal minor differences in the episodes of volcanic activity, a general correlation exists between activity of arc volcanism in Japan and in Central America. Two important pulses of arc volcanism occurred during Middle Miocene times (18–13 Ma) and Plio-Quaternary times (5–0 Ma). These episodes of intense volcanism are separated by a well recorded quiescent period during Late Miocene times. These correlating episodes of the volcanic record indicate a direct link between arc volcanism and the global tectonic evolution of the Pacific ocean margins.     

Magnetospheric Effects during the Approach of the Chelyabinsk Meteoroid

We have analyzed the observational results for variations in the main geomagnetic field and its fluctuations in the range of periods 1–1000 s that accompanied the approach of the Chelyabinsk space body to the magnetosphere and ionosphere of the Earth. The measurements were conducted with a magnetometerfluxmeter near the city of Kharkiv, as well as with the network of magnetometers located at the observatories of Novosibirsk, Kyiv, Lviv, Almaty, Khabarovsk, Arti, Borok, and Yakutsk. Variations in the main geomagnetic field and its fluctuations approximately 33–47 min prior to the explosion of the Chelyabinsk meteoroid have been discovered; they persisted for 25–35 min and were probably associated with meteoroid passage through the magnetosphere. The amplitude of variations reached 1–6 nT. We have proposed a model of the generation of aperiodic, quasi-periodic, and noise-like variations in the geomagnetic field induced by the approach of a space body.     

Effects of the Lipetsk Meteoroid in the Geomagnetic Field

Geomagnetism and Aeronomy - Observational data from the Kiev (Ukraine), Borok, St. Petersburg, Hel (Poland), Arti, Novosibirsk, Almaty (Kazakhstan), and Irkutsk magnetic observatories are used to...     

西北太平洋采薇海山表层沉积的岩石磁学特征及其对深海环境过程的指示

采薇海山位于西北太平洋麦哲伦海山区,是由中国发现、命名并负责资源勘探的重点调查区之一.本文利用大洋27航次在采薇海山北坡MABC-05站获得的箱式沉积物样品,开展了详细的岩石磁学研究.结果显示表层沉积物中的磁性矿物以颗粒较细的、矫顽力较低的磁铁矿为主;利用对数正态分布函数可以区分三个具有不同矫顽力值的磁性颗粒组分,并发现磁性颗粒的矫顽力值变化可以有效指示沉积物埋藏后的早期成岩特征.在参考现代物理海洋过程的基础上,我们推测南极底层水团的演化和太阳辐射的变化可能共同影响了采薇海山区海洋底层环境过程.这一结果为探讨南极气候状况对北太平洋的可能影响,评估海洋上层与底层的相互作用等重要科学问题提供了新途径.

     

Chlorinated hydrocarbons in sediments from southern Greece

Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) can be used as tracers of long-term integrated flow of comtaminants in the sea. They have been used to map the distribution of effluents from sewage outfalls on the southern Greek coast.