Evolution and variation of the Tsushima warm current during the late Quaternary: Evidence from planktonic foraminifera, oxygen and carbon isotopes

The evolution and variation history of the Tsushima warm current during the late Quaternary was reconstructed based on the quantitative census data of planktonic foraminiferal fauna, together with oxygen and carbon isotope records of mixed layer dweller G. ruber and thermocline dweller N. dutertrei in piston core CSH1 and core DGKS9603 collected separately from the Tsushima warm current and the Kuroshio dominated area. The result showed that the Tsushima warm current vanished in the lowstand period during 40―24 cal ka BP, while the Kuroshio still flowed across the Okinawa Trough, arousing strong upwelling in the northern Trough. Meanwhile, the influence of freshwater greatly increased in the northern Okinawa Trough, as the broad East China Sea continental shelf emerged. The freshwater reached its maximum during the last glacial maximum (LGM), when the upwelling obviously weakened for the lowest sea-level and the depression of the Kuroshio. The modern Tsushima warm current began its development since 16 cal ka BP, and the impact of the Kuroshio increased in the middle and north- ern Okinawa Trough synchronously during the deglaciation and gradually evolved as the main water source of the Tsushima current. The modern Tsushima current finally formed at about 8.5 cal ka BP, since then the circulation structure has been relatively stable. The water of the modern Tsushima cur- rent primarily came from the Kuroshio axis. A short-term wiggle of the current occurred at about 3 cal ka BP, probably for the influences from the enhancement of the winter monsoon and the depression of the Kuroshio. The cold water masses greatly strengthened during the wiggle.     

Variations in late Quaternary upper ocean structure of Okinawa Trough: A nannofossil approach

The relative abundance ofFlorisphueru profunda, a calcareous nannofossil species in lower euphotic zone, affords an opportunity to study variations in upper ocean structure such as thickness of mixed layer. As revealed by the nannofossil analysis in sediments since 20 ka B. P. from three Okinawa Trough cores, the percentage ofF. profunda increased significantly from glacial to Holocene, with a declining event ca 4 ka B. P. in its southern part. Its downcore trend is similar to that ofPulleniatina obliquiloculuta, a tropical planktonic foraminifera1 species which lives in subsurface water below thermocline in the modern ocean. Their similar variations imply an eastward shift of the Kuroshio Current, a reduction in thickness of the mixed layer, a shallowing of thermocline and a possible increase of turbidity in the upper ocean during the glaciation. The eastward shift of the Kuroshio might be repeated again about 4 ka B.P. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 49776289 and 49406067)     

Terrigenous transportation to the Okinawa Trough and the influence of typhoons on suspended sediment concentration

The source and transport mechanisms of land-derived Okinawa Trough sediments were studied using the field data of temperature, salinity and turbidity in the East China Seas. The results suggest that there are two primary sediments sources from the Chinese Mainland to the Okinawa Trough: one is the Old Huanghe River submarine delta, and the other is the Changjiang River sediments, which are distributed at the Changjiang River estuary and the off-coast of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. It is difficult for the Huanghe River suspended sediments to arrive in the Okinawa Trough via the new estuary. Although the Taiwan warm current blocks the seaward terrigenous transportation to a certain extent, part of the coastal suspended sediments are transported to the outer shelf. Suspended particulate matter is unable to get through the barrier of the Kuroshio Current under normal conditions. However, episodic events, such as winter storms, internal-tidal waves and turbidity flows, are capable of transporting suspended particulate matter into the Okinawa Trough. The super typhoon “Ewiniar” induced strong waves and influenced the thermocline depth and suspended sediment concentration of the East China Seas. The typhoon-induced waves pushed the thermocline depth down to around 40 m and caused the resuspension of large volumes of sediments in its path. In the other East China Seas regions, the typhoon-induced swells deepened the thermocline depth by about 5 m and increased suspended sediment concentrations. The typhoon effect on suspended sediment concentration of the East China Seas disappeared within 2 weeks.     

Isotopic feature and uranium dating of the volcanic rocks in the Okinawa Trough

1 Introduction The Okinawa Trough(OT) extends for ~1200 km between Taiwan and Kyushu, and is an incipient back-arc basin bounded by the Ryukyu Arc to the south and east, and by Diaoyudao Uplift Belt[1,2] (Tai- wan-Sinzi Belt[3]) to the north and west. Drastic faults and volcanic activities are the typical features in the OT. Generally, the OT is divided into three segments (north, middle and south) by the Tokara Strait and Kerama Gap[4]. The geological features, such as tec- tonics, m…     

The evolution of the Kuroshio Current over the last 5 million years since the Pliocene: Evidence from planktonic foraminiferal faunas

Meridional heat transport of the western Pacific boundary current (the Kuroshio Current) is one of the key factors in global climate change. This current is important because it controls the temperature gradient between low latitudes and the North Pacific and so significantly influences mid-latitude atmosphere-ocean interactions. Here we reconstruct changes in hydrological conditions within the mid-latitude mainstream of the Kuroshio Current based on faunal analysis of planktonic foraminifera in core DSDP 296 from the Northwest Pacific Ocean. This approach enabled us to deduce evolutionary processes within the Kuroshio Current since the Pliocene. A total of 57 species in the coarser section (>150 µim) were identified; results indicate that planktonic foraminiferal faunal evolution has mainly been characterized by three major stages, the first of which comprised mixed-layer warm-water species of Globigerinoides ruber which first appeared between 3.5 and 2.7 Ma and then gradually increased in content. Percentages of another warm-water species of G. conglobatus also gradually increased in number over this interval. Variations in warm-water species indicate a gradual rise in sea surface temperature (SST) and imply initiation of Kuroshio Current impact on the Northwest Pacific Ocean since at least 3.5 Ma. Secondly, over the period between 2.7 and 2.0 Ma, thermocline species of Globigerina calida, Neogloboquadrina humersa, Neogloboquadrina dutertrei, and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata started to appear in the section. This fauna was dominated by G. ruber as well as increasing G. conglobatus contents. These features imply a further rise in SST and its gradually enhanced influence on thermocline water, suggesting strengthening of the Kuroshio Current since 2.7 Ma. Thirdly, between 2.0 Ma and present, increasing contents of thermocline species (i.e., G. calida, N. dutertrei and P. obliquiloculata) indicate a gradual rise in seawater temperature at this depth and also imply more intensive Kuroshio Current during this period. On the basis of comparative records from cores ODP 806 and DSDP 292 from the low latitude Western Pacific, we propose that initiation of the impact of the Kuroshio Current in the Northwest Pacific and it subsequent stepwise intensifications since 3.5 Ma can be closely related to the closure and restriction of the Indonesian and Central American seaways as well as variations in the Western Pacific Warm Pool (WPWP) and equatorial Pacific region.

     

中国东部海域岩石圈结构面波层析成像

本文通过面波层析成像得到了中国东部海域及邻近地区的地壳上地幔S波速度图像,给出了主要构造单元的区划及其结构特征,并讨论了速度结构与现今构造活动及构造演化历史的关系.研究区内中下地壳的平均速度与地震活动存在比较显著的关系,强震基本都发生在低速区内或高低速过渡区.太行山以东地壳内存在几条北西向低速带,其中张家口—渤海地震带下方的低速带最为显著.东部海域划分成北黄海、南黄海、东海、和冲绳海槽等4个构造块体.北黄海具有较薄较高速的岩石圈,与南华北盆地类似,推测是中生代特提斯洋向北俯冲造成岩石圈减薄的遗迹.北华北地区具有低速的地壳和较厚的岩石圈,岩石圈地幔速度偏低且上下比较均匀,可能反映中生代沿北方缝合带持续碰撞作用的特点.南黄海具有相对较厚的岩石圈,较多地保存了下扬子克拉通的特征.在下扬子与华北地块的拼合过程中,洋壳俯冲可能是北黄海和苏皖地区上地幔低速特征的成因.在125°E以东的朝鲜半岛地区未发现这一拼合过程的遗迹.有可能整个朝鲜半岛都是华北地块的一部分;但也有可能是太平洋俯冲和日本海张开的作用完全改造了朝鲜半岛的岩石圈上地幔,抹去了以往构造运动的痕迹.东海地区的地壳厚度,特别是岩石圈厚度向冲绳海槽方向减小,反映出菲律宾海板块俯冲在弧后广大地区都有影响.冲绳海槽地区可见俯冲的菲律宾海板片以及板片上方显著低速的地壳和上地幔,为冲绳海槽的弧后扩张机制提供了证据.     

冲绳海槽南段与中、北段构造活动性对比的热模拟研究

受新生代太平洋板块弧后扩张剧烈活动的地缘特性影响,冲绳海槽构造特征复杂,南、中、北段在热液活动、断裂性质、火成岩特性、扩张时代等方面存在显著不同,因此认识该区各段构造活动性对查清其复杂地质特征具有重要意义.本文依据前人通过磁异常反演得到的居里面深度资料,利用热模拟的方法,对冲绳海槽各段深、浅构造活动性进行了探讨.模拟结果表明,南段软流层构造活动强度约为中、北段的6倍,而岩石圈浅层构造活动却相对较弱.该结论与前人所得到的地质地球物理资料相符,主要表现为:相对于中、北段,南段在海槽总体演化历程上裂陷较深;海底火成岩岩浆源区较深,结晶分异程度较弱,同化混染程度较强;切穿沉积基底的大型断裂较为发育,而沉积层内部的小型断裂分布相对稀疏;沉积层岩浆侵入活动较弱,海底所呈现出的热液活动区数量较少;现代地震活动较多,震源深度较大.根据模拟结果与实际资料的对比分析我们可以推测:(1)冲绳海槽北段可能还有一些热液区没有被探测到,也可能在历史演化进程中失去活力,或者被第四系沉积物覆盖;(2)南段存在孕育更多热液活动区的潜力.     

Benthic foraminifera and bottom water evolution in the middle-southern Okinawa Trough during the last 18 ka

Changes of the deep-water circulation and chemicalcompositions in related water masses in the oceanshave played a significant role in the evolution of theglobal climate system[1].Many studies have shownthat the characteristics of the deep-water during theglaciations were distinctly different from that of to-day[2,3].In the northern Pacific,Duplessy et al.[4]foundthat the ventilation of the deep-water(at water depthbetween700―2600m)during the last glaciation wasstronger than that of today,and …     

可可西里库赛湖揭示的青藏高原北部近4000年来的干湿变化

通过青藏高原北部可可西里库赛湖KS-2006孔(深637cm)沉积岩芯总有机碳、总氮含量及沉积物粒度变化的研究,恢复了该地区近4000年来的干湿变化历史.结果表明,该地区近4000年来经历了显著的干湿变化,干旱时段出现在3900-3590cal aBP、3320-2630cal aBP、1720-1420cal aBP及1100-840cal aBP期间:湿润时段出现在3590-3320cal aBP、2630-1720cal aBP、1420-1100cal aBP以及840cal aBP之后小冰期有效降水升高的相对湿润时期.区域对比分析表明库赛湖地区近4000年来的干湿变化受亚洲季风影响;同时,该地区存在明显的中世纪暖期及小冰期的三次降温事件记录.     

地震海啸在东海大陆架上传播过程的数值模拟研究

在东海潜在震源区冲绳海槽假定了五个震源点,根据Steven地震海啸地震参数经验值作为初始条件,分别考虑6.5、7.0、7.5、8.0、8.5、9.0级地震条件下的30个震例,采用数值模拟的方法,对海啸在东海传播过程进行情境分析,特别是对上海沿岸地区可能会遭受的海啸灾害做了较为精细的研究.结果发现:小于8.0级的震例对上海地区几乎不会造成影响;8.0级震例只有最北端震源点震例会对上海地区有明显影响;8.5级以及9.0级震级基本上均会对上海沿岸地区造成较大的影响.特别是冲绳海槽北段9.0级震例可能会对上海沿岸局部地区造成危害,最大波高可达3.9m.     

东海冲绳海槽陆坡天然气水合物的地震学研究

本文通过对东海973 航次在冲绳海槽取得的多道地震数据进行有针对性的特殊处理,形成一套针对天然气水合物地震学研究行之有效的处理思路,提高速度分析的精度和分辨能力,压制浅层多次波,资料在保持一定信噪比的基础上尽可能的提高分辨率,相对振幅处理以及用于AVO分析的预处理等.在此基础上对天然气水合物进行识别和预测,我们发现在冲绳海槽南部西侧槽坡附近以及海槽内部发育有一系列泥底辟构造,在这些底辟构造的顶部明显存在与天然气水合物赋存相关的地球物理特征,如似海底反射层（BSR）、与海底反射同相轴极性相反,BSR上方的振幅空白区以及BSR上下的速度异常.从该区域的地质背景资料分析,冲绳海槽不仅具有很高的沉积速率并且海槽西侧的断层活跃,提供了富含有机质的物源以及用于天然气运移的通道,有利于天然气水合物的形成.     

冲绳海槽南部基底构造特征

利用最新的重磁数据对冲绳海槽南部的基底构造进行了推断解释,研究表明,在冲绳海槽南部,莫霍面构造为一南北两端高,中间低的鞍状构造,地壳厚度在15.5~21 km之间变化.基底深度一般在4~6 km之间变化,表现为南段深度大,北段深度小,在北西向断裂系的作用下,基底局部构造大都成北西向展布,说明冲绳海槽早期的北东向带状构造受到了后期的北西向构造活动的强烈改造作用.在冲绳海槽南部发育有两条沿北北东向展布的火成岩带,一条分布在冲绳海槽扩张轴以东及琉球岛弧西侧下坡;另一条分布在冲绳海槽与琉球岛弧隆褶带的结合部位,火成岩主要是由北东向构造活动产生的,而与北西向断裂关系不密切.     

Structural control of the Gagua "Wedge" Zone east of Taiwan Island on the southern Okinawa Trough

Based on compositive analysis and interpretation of the observed and historical data, the geophysical field characters and structural properties of the Gagua "Wedge" Zone of the sea area east of Taiwan Island and the primary tectonic stress direction and its variabilities of backarc spreading in the southern Okinawa Trough are studied. It is concluded from the study results that the Gagua "Wedge" Zone is structurally consistent with the Gagua ridge and two fault basins on both sides of the Gagua ridge, and adjusts the moving direction and distance of the western Philippine Sea plate to make the northwestward motion of the plate on its east side change to the northward subduction of the plate on its west side so that the primary tectonic stress direction of the Okinawa Trough changed from NW-SE to nearly N-S, which provided the stress source for the Okinawa Trough to enter the second spreading stage.     

冲绳海槽弧后张裂构造及其动力机制讨论

在总结、讨论冲绳海槽弧后张裂构造的地形地貌、地球物理场和动力背景特征的基础上,归纳出海槽北、中、南三段之间的差异,以及它们在陆坡、槽底、岛坡上的不同表现特征.槽底雁行排列的地堑及断层斜切入陆坡,伴随的断块隆眷作用往南加强,使得钓鱼岛一赤尾屿隆起带区别于其北边的陆架外缘隆起带,吕宋岛向台湾的碰撞挤压引起的旋张活动加强了海槽南段的地壳拉张,从北往南岛坡侧都可以追踪出双列岛孤特性.海槽内部构造现象不能为笼统的构造动力背景所能完全解释,需要对各个典型中央地堑的具体深入探测研究.鉴于地堑、地垒、断层以及它们所界定的构造单元和它们内部发生的岩浆作用各有特点,最后讨论了各个地段中央地堑的构造属性、动力要素的差异及变化规律,以期为海槽构造动力的进一步深入研究提供借鉴参考.     

Zircon U–Pb ages of Miocene granitic rocks in the Koshikijima Islands: Implications for Neogene tectonics in the Kyushu region,southwest Japan

The opening of the Japan Sea separated southwest Japan from the Eurasian continent during the Early to Middle Miocene. Since then, diverse igneous activities have occurred in relation to the subduction of the Philippine Sea Plate beneath southwest Japan. The Okinawa Trough formed in the back-arc region of the Ryukyu Arc since the Late Miocene. In the Koshikijima Islands, off the west coast of Kyushu and near the northern end of the Okinawa Trough, felsic to intermediate igneous rocks with Middle to Late Miocene radiometric ages occur as granitic intrusions and dikes. We obtained zircon U–Pb ages and whole-rock major- and trace-element compositions of Koshikijima granitic rocks to elucidate their magmagenesis. The U–Pb ages of granitic rocks in Kamikoshikijima and Shimokoshikijima and a dacite dike are about 10 Ma, suggesting that most magmatism on the Koshikijima Islands was coeval with early rifting in the Okinawa Trough. We infer that magmagenesis occurred via melting of lower crustal mafic rocks related to rifting in the Okinawa Trough based on the arc-like trace-element compositions of these I-type granites. Andesitic dikes preceded felsic igneous activity on the Koshikijima Islands, and their ages and petrochemistry will help elucidate the magmatism and tectonics in this area throughout the Miocene.     

Structural control of the Gagua “Wedge” Zone east of Taiwan Island on the southern Okinawa Trough

The sea area east of Taiwan Island is a unique ac-tive arc-continental collision margin in China and even in the world with the NE-nearly EW extending Ryu-kyu trench-arc-backarc basin system on the east and the nearly N-S extending Manila trough and Luzon arc on the west. The sea area east of Taiwan Island differs from the Ryukyu trench-arc-basin system in structural property, but there is a certain genetic relation between the two (Fig. 1)[1-3]. Since the 1990s, many investigations and …     

Identification of best predictors for forecasting seasonal rainfall and runoff in Australia

The first step towards developing a reliable seasonal runoff forecast is identifying the key predictors that drive rainfall and runoff. This paper investigates the lag relationships between rainfall across Australia and runoff across southeast Australia versus 12 atmospheric‐oceanic predictors, and how the relationships change over time. The analysis of rainfall data indicates that the relationship is greatest in spring and summer in northeast Australia and in spring in southeast Australia. The best predictors for spring rainfall in eastern Australia are NINO4 [sea surface temperature (SST) in western Pacific] and thermocline (20 °C isotherm of the Pacific) and those for summer rainfall in northeast Australia are NINO4 and Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) (pressure difference between Tahiti and Darwin). The relationship in northern Australia is greatest in spring and autumn with NINO4 being the best predictor. In western Australia, the relationship is significant in summer, where SST2 (SST over the Indian Ocean) and II (SST over the Indonesian region) is the best predictor in the southwest and northwest, respectively. The analysis of runoff across southeast Australia indicates that the runoff predictability in the southern parts is greatest in winter and spring, with antecedent runoff being the best predictor. The relationship between spring runoff and NINO4, thermocline and SOI is also relatively high and can be used together with antecedent runoff to forecast spring runoff. In the northern parts of southeast Australia, the atmospheric‐oceanic variables are better predictors of runoff than antecedent runoff, and have significant correlation with winter, spring and summer runoff. For longer lead times, the runoff serial correlation is reduced, especially over the northern parts, and the atmospheric‐oceanic variables are likely to be better predictors for forecasting runoff. The correlations between runoff versus the predictors vary with time, and this has implications for the development of forecast relationship that assumes stationarity in the historical data. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Rifting of Kyushu, Japan, based on the fault-controlled concurrent eruption of oceanic island basalt-type and island arc-type lavas

The tectonic environment of Kyushu, Japan is affected both by the subduction of the Philippine Sea plate and by the extensional tectonics related to rifting of Okinawa Trough at the eastern margin of the Eurasia Plate. We found that the Sendai fault zone acts as a channel for concurrent eruption of oceanic island basalt (OIB)-type and island arc (IA)-type basaltic rocks, propagating west to east in the Sendai region of southern Kyushu. The location of the Sendai fault zone is likely to correspond to the left-lateral shear zone in southern Kyushu as inferred by GPS Earth Observation Network. A similar magmatic association is present in the Beppu–Shimabara (BS) graben system in central Kyushu. The associate magmas of OIB-type rocks in Kyushu can be classified into typical, EM II-like and their intermediate OIB-type magmas in addition to MORB-like OIB-type magma in ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr–Nb/Y systematics. Typical OIB-type and intermediate OIB-type magmas are erupted within the Sendai fault zone and BS graben system, respectively. The former is characterized by highest Nb/Y but low ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr similar to MORB-like OIB-type magma erupted in northern Kyushu and the latter has intermediate Nb/Y and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr between typical and EM II-like OIB-type magmas. Almost all the IA-type rocks within the Sendai fault zone are generated from parental IA-type magma in Kyushu and characterized by weak crustal assimilation, having the lowest ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr similar to typical OIB-type magma but the highest ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd of arc magmas in Kyushu. The ages of both types of basaltic rocks within the Sendai fault zone range from 1.6 to <0.01?Ma clearly younger than those of andesitic rocks on northern and southern outsides of the fault zone and become younger from west to east. Initial formation of the fault zone has been induced by the counterclockwise rotation of southern Kyushu during the last 2?Ma as well as the BS graben system. Kyushu has continued to be split into three parts by the Sendai fault zone and BS graben during the Quaternary; northern, central, and southern zones. Their initial formation ages are likely to be linked to the initial rifting age of the middle Okinawa Trough back-arc basin.     

Detecting surface geostrophic currents using wavelet filter from satellite geodesy

According to the features of spatial spectrum of the dynamic ocean topography (DOT),wavelet filter is proposed to reduce short-wavelength and noise signals in DOT. The surface geostrophic currents calculated from the DOT models filtered by wavelet filter in global and Kuroshio regions show more detailed information than those from the DOT models filtered by Gaussian filter. Based on a satellite gravity field model (CG01C) and a gravity field model (EGM96),combining an altimetry-derived mean sea surface height model (KMSS04),two mean DOT models are estimated. The short-wavelength and noise signals of these two DOT models are removed by using wavelet filter,and the DOT models asso-ciated global mean surface geostrophic current fields are calculated separately. Comparison of the surface geostrophic currents from CG01C and EGM96 model in global,Kuroshio and equatorial Pacific regions with that from oceanography,and comparison of influences of the two gravity models errors on the precision of the surface geostrophic currents velocity show that the accuracy of CG01C model has been greatly improved over pre-existing models at long wavelengths. At large and middle scale,the surface geostrophic current from satellite gravity and satellite altimetry agrees well with that from oceanography,which indicates that ocean currents detected by satellite measurement have reached relatively high precision.     

Planktonic foraminifera and sea surface temperature (SST) of the Xisha Trough, South China Sea since Last Glaciation

South China Sea is the largest marginal sea of the Western Pacific between the Pacific Ocean and Asia Continent. It has been influenced by both the Pacific Ocean and continental climate. Its continental margins are broad in north and south, narrow in west. There are many islands in east. A large amount of siliciclastic sediments derived from peri-continents and islands were trans-ported into the sea[1], in which significant information of paleoceanography and paleoclimate and paleoenvironm…