Tectonic provinces of the Atlantic Ocean

The tectonic structure of the floor of the Atlantic Ocean beyond the continental margins is insufficiently studied. This is also true of its tectonic demarcation. The segmentation of the floor into regional-scale tectonic provinces of several orders proposed in this paper is primarily based on structural and historical geological features. It is shown that deep oceanic basins and fault tectonics are of particular importance in this respect. Tectonic provinces of two orders are distinguished by a set of attributes. The first-order provinces are the North, Central, South, and Antarctic domains of the Atlantic Ocean. They are separated by wide demarcation fracture zones into Transatlantic (transverse) second-order tectonic provinces. Ten such provinces are recognized (from the north southward): Greenland-Lofoten, Greenland-Scandinavia, Greenland-Ireland, Newfoundland-European, North American-African, Antilles-African, Angola-Brazil, Cape-Argentine, North Antarctic, and South Antarctic. This subdivision demonstrates significant differentiation in the geodynamic state of the oceanic lithosphere that determines nonuniform ocean formation and the tectonic features of the ocean floor. The latitudinal orientation of the second-order provinces inherits the past tectonic pattern, though newly formed structural units cannot be ruled out. The Earth rotation exerts a crucial effect on the crust and the mantle.     

Temporal and spatial variability of sediment flux into the sea from the three largest rivers in China

The Yellow, Yangtze and Pearl Rivers supply over 90% of the sediment flux from China to the western Pacific Ocean. Trends and abrupt changes in the water discharge and sediment load of the three rivers were examined and compared based on data updated to the year 2011 at the seasonal and annual scales. The total water discharge from the three rivers shows a statistically insignificant decreasing trend with a rate of 0.62 × 10⁹ m³/a, and the total sediment load shows a statistically significant decreasing trend at a rate of 31.12 × 10⁶ t/a from the 1950s to 2011. The water discharge of the entire Yellow River and the upstream portion of the Yangtze River shows significant decreasing trends, and that of the mid-lower stream of Yangtze River and the entire Pearl River shows insignificant trends. The sediment loads in the three river basins all show significant decreasing trends at the annual and seasonal scales, and a dramatic decrease in the 2000s resulted in a more obvious decreasing trend over the studied period. From the 1950s to the 2000s, the contribution of sediment flux from the Yellow River to the ocean decreased from 71.8% to 37.0%, and the contributions of the Yangtze and Pearl Rivers increased from 24.2% and 4.0% to 53.0% and 10.0%, respectively. Inter-annual variations in water discharge and sediment load were affected by climate oscillations, such as the El Niño/Southern Oscillation, and the long-term decreasing trend in sediment load was primarily caused by human activities. Dam constructions and soil conservation projects were the major causes of sediment reduction. From the 1970s to the 2000s, the decrease in total sediment load from the three rivers caused by climate change and human activities was 2.24 × 10⁸ t/a (23.0%) and 7.5 × 10⁸ t/a (77.0%), respectively. In the coming decades, the sediment flux from the three rivers into the sea will decrease further with intensifying human activities, resulting in many challenges for the management of river basins and river deltas.     

Sterols in the western North Atlantic Ocean

The sterol concentrations in fourteen surface and nine deep water samples collected from the continental shelf and slope waters of the western North Atlantic and Sargasso Sea ranged from 0.1 to 1.3μ/l seawater. Isolation and structural elucidation by gas chromatography and combined gas chromatography-mass spectrometry show that cholesterol and β-sitosterol (or clionasterol) are the major free sterols in both the surface and deep water. Fucosterol, brassicasterol, 22-dehydrocholesterol, campesterol (or 22,23-dihydrobrassicasterol), 22-methylenecholesterol, norcholestadienol, and stigmasterol (or poriferasterol) are found in lower concentrations at the surface and in the deep sea. Cholesterol is the major sterol ester in both the surface and deep water, while very low concentrations of other sterol esters were found. The ratio of total free sterols to total esterified sterols is approximately two in both the surface and deep water.Marine sources of sterols in seawater include phytoplankton, yeasts, and marine animals such as Crustacea and molluscs. Terrestrial plants also may contribute. Sterol transport to the deep sea may occur by convective overturn and vertical diffusion or from vertical fluxes of large particles from the surface.     

Pericontinental petroliferous basins of the South Atlantic Ocean

Sedimentary basins located at Atlantic margins of South America and Africa (Brazil, Congo, and Angola) are composed of thick Cretaceous-Pleistocene rocks (7–9 km). The principal oil-bearing complexes of both regions are dominated by terrigenous rocks. Their accumulation took place at the rifting stage, ended with precipitation of evaporites in the Aptian at the oceanic stage of evolution. Starting with Coniacian and Campanian, the accumulation of terrigenous clastic formations in the Santos and Campos basins was governed by main phases of orogenesis in the Peruvian Andes. In the Angola and Lower Congo basins, the sedimentation was governed by movements related to the development of the East African Rift System. The formation of carbonate and carbonate-clayey sediments prevailed here at early (Albian-Late Eocene) stages of the South Atlantic opening.     

1961-2010年西北干旱区极端降水指数的时空变化分析

结合绝对阈值和百分位法定义极端降水事件的优点,提出了一种更灵敏的检测极端降水事件的方法. 该方法不仅能检测出常用降水指数无法检测到的降水量稀少地区尤其干旱区的极端降水事件,同时也能过滤掉其检测到的降水量丰富地区的虚假极端降水事件. 此方法首次被应用于统计1961年1月至2010年2月西北干旱区72个气象站点的年和季节的极端降水指数（大降水和强降水指数）,并分析了极端降水指数的时间变化趋势及其空间分布特征. 结果表明：西北干旱区春（3-5月）、秋（9-11月）、冬（12月至次年2月）三季极端降水指数无显著（P>0.05）变化趋势,夏季（6-8月）大降水的频率和降水量以及大降水降水量占总降水量的比重都显著增加;新疆地区极端降水指数为增加趋势的区域基本都分布在海拔较高（约海拔1 000 m以上）的地区;西北干旱区东部极端降水指数变化趋势的空间分布有明显的季节差异,表现为夏、秋季大部分地区为增加趋势,冬、春季大部分地区为减小趋势.     

Temporal and spatial variability of trace metals in suspended matter of the Mandovi estuary,central west coast of India

Studies on the suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the Mandovi estuary, western India indicate that during the monsoon and pre-monsoon, the SPM increases, and the major and trace metals decrease from stations in the upstream to downstream of the estuary. SPM is consistently low at all stations during the post-monsoon. Trace metals (Cu, Ni, Zn, Cr, and Pb) show strong inter-relationships. They correlate well with Fe and Mn only during the monsoon. The concentrations of Cr, Cu, and Pb are high during the post-monsoon. Enrichment factors and I _geo values of metals indicate that Mn shows significant to strong pollution in all seasons, while Cr, Ni, and Zn during monsoon, and Cr during the post-monsoon show moderate pollution. SPM is controlled by the turbidity maximum, while major and trace metals are governed seasonally by a combination of river discharge, resuspension, spillage of Fe–Mn particulates, and anthropogenic contamination. Incursion of saline waters deep into the river channel during the dry season facilitates aggregation and settling of particulate-borne pollutants close to the discharge area, thereby keeping the estuarine waters free from major contamination.     

Temporal and spatial variability of cross-fault groundwater-level differences: the impact of fault-induced permeability reduction,precipitation and evapotranspiration

Hydrogeology Journal - Faults in the Roer Valley Rift System (Netherlands, Belgium, and Germany) act as barriers to lateral groundwater flow in unconsolidated sedimentary aquifers. This causes a...     

Quantitative parameters of Pleistocene pelagic sedimentation in the Atlantic Ocean

Lithological–facies maps of Eopleistocene and Neopleistocene sediments (with 10 and 20 m isopachs) are compiled for the pelagic part of the Atlantic Ocean based on materials recovered by 283 ocean drilling sites. Data for both maps were calculated using A.B. Ronov’s volumetric method. The calculated results include such quantitative sedimentation parameters of major sediment types as the areas covered by these sediments, their volumes, masses of the dry sedimentary material, and masses of sedimentary material deposited per specified time unit. These parameters are compared for both Eopleistocene and Neopleistocene time, and the data are utilized to separately interpret the results for terrigenous, carbonate, and siliceous sediments. The supply of terrigenous material is proved to have been enhanced in the Pleistocene as a result of both tectonic uplift of continents and climatic changes, including intensification of continental glaciation at high latitudes in both hemispheres. The growth in the productivity of carbonate plankton was overridden by growing generation of bottom and deep water masses and ensuing intensification of the dissolution of pelagic carbonates. The productivity of siliceous plankton practically did not change, perhaps, because of a favorable combination of the supply of dissolved silica and other nutrients from both West and East Antarctica.     

Geothermal asymmetry in transform faults of the equatorial Atlantic Ocean

Doklady Earth Sciences - Statistical analysis of heat flow values measured in transform faults of the equatorial part of the Atlantic Ocean has been performed. Owing to the calculation using the...     

Mineralogy and chemistry of ferromanganese crusts from the Atlantic Ocean

The mineral and chemical compositions of a set of crust samples collected from the North, Central and South Atlantic were examined by means of analytical electron microscopy and ICP-MS, chemical, and microchemical elemental analysis. The dominant mineral phases of the crusts are vernadite, asbolane, and goethite, with minor ferrihydrite, and rare hematite and feroxyhyte. The samples show wide variability in major and trace elements; however, their characteristic geochemical signatures indicate hydrogenetic origin. A comparison between the compositions of oceanic hydrogenetic and hydrothermal crusts and metalliferous hydrothermal sediments from different ocean areas suggests that the geochemical approach may be insufficient in some cases and fail to identify a hydrothermal input in ferromanganese crusts of a mixed composition.     

Paleogeography and paleobathymetry of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic North Atlantic Ocean

The history of the North Atlantic Ocean has been traced quantitatively back in time using age and subsidence of the oceanic crust in an attempt to reconstruct the vertical and horizontal elements of its physiographic evolution. Special emphasis has been paid to the history of the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge and of the epicontinental seas around this young basin. The implications of this evolution for changes in the hydrographic regime and for temporal as well as spatial contraints of the surface and bottom water circulation of the North Atlantic are enormous. During its early history this part of the world ocean was connected to the circum-equatorial Tethys Ocean (Late Jurassic to mid-Cretaceous). However, the formation of a deep water pathway to the South Atlantic towards the end of the Mesozoic and the opening of the Norwegian-Greenland Seas during the Early Cenozoic caused the North Atlantic to become part a longitudinal basin allowing an exchange between the Artic and Antarctic polar water masses.Dedicated to Professor Dr. E. Seibold, President of the German Research Society, on the occasion of his 60th birthday.     

Sedimentary infill in the equatorial Mid-Oceanic Canyon,Atlantic Ocean

Facts confirming the hypothesis of contourite sediment infill of the Equatorial Mid-Ocean Canyon (EMOC) are presented. We examined two cores recovered in Cruises 37 and 43 of the R/V Akademik Ioffe (2012, 2013). The cores recovered upper Quaternary miopelagic clays on the EMOC floor (AI-3149) and the adjacent abyssal plain (AI-2620). The study of these cores unraveled significant differences in their composition. In contrast to the lithologically homogeneous Core AI-2620, Core AI-3149 includes interlayers enriched in the biogenic CaCO₃, terrigenous silt, and authigenic ferromanganese micronodules. These peculiarities are attributed to activity of the Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) contour currents along the EMOC.     

Temporal variation of tropical cyclones in the North Atlantic Basin

A total of 269 tropical storms and hurricanes originated in the North Atlantic basin from 1960–1989. Of these, 76 made landfall on the continental United states. This study divides the 76 tropical storms into their month of formation. Seasonal shifts in the principal areas of tropical cyclone formation over the Atlantic basin have been recognized for many decades. The results of the study suggest that the early and late season tropical cyclones develop in areas which are first affected by the position of the sun, resulting in an increase in water temperatures. These cyclones normally make landfall along the Gulf Coast and usually are of low intensity. Formation areas shift eastward in mid-summer with a slight increase in intensity. By late August and early September, the formation areas have extended to the Cape Verde Islands. These storms tend to strike the east coast of the US and are normally more intense. By the end of the hurricane season, the primary formation area has shifted back to the Gulf of Mexico, with low intensity storms affecting the Gulf Coast.     

Temporal and spatial variations in estuarine sedimentation

Sedimentation in estuaries is normally viewed as a continuous process controlled by inputs of fluvial and marine materials, which migrate in response to tidal circulation. Short-term examination yields reproducible and measurable rates of sedimentation; measurement of annual cycles reveals that sediment may be eroded from a site normally subject to deposition. Likewise annual migration patterns of turbidity maximum zones permits deposition of fine sediments at different parts of the estuary according to season. Study of long-term variations in the positions of sand banks shows that advances of the tidal flat margins may occur suddenly in response to catastrophic events; events that result in mid-channel banks becoming attached to the outer margins of the tidal flat. An example is also given of a channel-margin sand bank known to have repeatedly migrated round an elliptical path, taking approximately 25 yr to regain its original position. Long-term migration of bay head beach bars driven into the Eden Estuary and moving slowly landward are shown to create areas of temporary shelter for salt marshes, which are then over-run as the bar continues toward the head of the estuary. Several examples of anthropogenic influences on estuarine sediments are noted, with major deposits of coarse gravels attributed to known shipping trade within the Tay Estuary. Finally attention is drawn to the effects of deposition of coal mine wastes on the Fife coast: the erosion and redeposition of the wastes to form coastal platforms, their removal once mining ceased (all within a period of 90 yr), and the associated mining-induced subsidence of the coastal cliffs.     

The fit of the continents around the North Atlantic Ocean

A new reassembly of the continents around the North Atlantic Ocean is presented. The first criterion used for this reassembly is the identification of the structural framework related to the opening which consists of marginal fracture zones generated by offsets of the Rift. The Africa—North America, Eurasia—Greenland, Greenland—North America and Eurasia—North America adjustments are successively discussed. It is argued that the adjustments are best made at the 3000-meters isobath between Africa and North America and at the 2000-meters isobath for the younger rifts. The difference is attributed to subsidence and modification of continental margins with time. The importance of the Late Paleozoic tectonic phase in determining the subsequent pattern of Mesozoic rifting is emphasized.     

Interannual variability of Pacific summer waters in the Arctic Ocean

This work is devoted to study of interannual variability of characteristics of Pacific summer waters (PSWs) supplied into the AO in summer. The distribution area, volume, and heat content of PSWs have been calculated for the first time for the entire Arctic Basin in the periods of 1950–1989 and 2008–2009 demonstrating the presence of substantial interannual variability. From 1953 until 1983 a negative trend and since 1984 a positive trend have been observed; the latter lasted until 2009, when the heat content, volume, and distribution area of PSWs reached their maximal values for the entire period considered. It has been shown that PSW quantity in the Arctic Basin, identified by temperature, rather depends on the intensity of heat flux through the Bering Strait, and the calculated value for PSW life in the Arctic Basin is seven years.