Endmember analysis of heavy-metal pollution in surficial sediments from the Gulf of Gdansk and the southern Baltic Sea off Poland

Thirty one bulk (<2 mm) samples of surficial sediments from the Gulf of Gdansk and the Southern Baltic Sea off Poland were analyzed for 20 elements and the resulting compositional dataset was subjected to endmember analysis. The compositions of 4 endmember estimates were constructed and the abundances of these endmembers were calculated for each sample. Copper, Zn and Ag appear on one endmember and Cd and Pb on another. This suggests that Cu, Zn and Ag are introduced into the Gulf of Gdansk principally from the Vistula River whereas Cd and Pb are introduced as a result of atmospheric and riverine transport of these elements. The dual source of Cd and Pb into the Gulf of Gdansk may explain the complex interelement relationships displayoed by these elements in the sediments from this region.     

Mineralogy,chemistry, and grain size composition of recent sediments in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea: Contribution to the study of sediment transport and distribution

As a contribution to an environmental study on Tuscany's marine shelf, textural, mineralogical, and chemical characteristics of recent sediments in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea between Elba Island and Livorno have been analyzed. The data provide clear information on sediment sources and movement patterns. The main sediment source appears to be the Cecina River; very subordinate is the contribution of the Fine River. As to sediment movement patterns, the surveyed basin appears to be divided into two subbasins: (1) a greater, southern subbasin, bounded by Tuscany mainland, Elba Island and Elba Ridge, and Capraia Isle, and Vada Shoals; and (2) a smaller, northern subbasin, enclosed between Vada Shoals and Meloria Shoals (off Livorno port).In the former the coarse-grade Cecina River sediments are transported southward along most of the mainland coast by littoral drift and coastal current; a northward flowing countercurrent seems to be active only in the southernmost part. Silts and clays are distributed in concentric belts around basin's central part, being transported mainly by slow circular water movements. In the marginal western zone, very little terrigenous influx is coupled with a high biologic productivity, and biogenic debris sedimentation prevails there.In the northern subbasin the sediment contribution from Fine River is more appreciable. Here the environmental energies are very low and the coarse sediments are restricted to a few small pocket beaches where they are deposited by local creeks. Most of the subbasin area is occupied by sapropelitic muds, again distributed by slow small-scale gyres.     

REE Geochemistry of Surficial Sediments from the Yellow Sea of China

REE geochemical studies of surficial sediment samples from the Yellow Sea of China have shown:(1)The average content of RE2O3 in the Yellow Sea sediments is 175 ppm,close to that in the East China Sea sediments.The REE distribution patterns in the Yellow Sea sediments are also similar to anomalies.These REE characteristics are typical of the continental crust.(2)The contents of REE are controlled mainly by the sediment grain size,i.e.,REE contents increase gradually with decreasing sediment grain size.REE are present mainly in clay minerals.In addition,REE contents are controlled obviously by heavy minerals.REE abundances in heavy minerals are much greater than those in light minerals.(3)Correlation analysis shows that REE have a close relationship with siderophile elements,especially Ti,which has the largest correlation coefficient relative to REE.Terrigenous clastic materials subjected to weathering and transport are suggested to be the main source of REE in the Yellow Sea sediments.     

Trace metal and radionuclide pollution in marine sediments of the Aegean Sea (Izmir Bay and Didim)

To determine radioactivity and trace metal levels, surface sediments were collected from two important areas (?zmir Bay and Didim) in the Aegean Sea region of Turkey, and were analyzed for concentrations of ²¹⁰Po, ²¹⁰Pb and trace metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn). The average ²¹⁰Po and ²¹⁰Pb massic activities in sediments varied in the range of 24 ± 5 to 126 ± 6 Bq kg^?1 dry wt. and 18 ± 3 to 59 ± 4 Bq kg^?1 dry wt., respectively. Izmir Bay exhibited the highest polonium activities in sediments, likely due to specific sedimentation processes and other sediment characteristics. The trace metal results showed that the Izmir Bay is facing trace metal pollution. The metal concentrations in sediment samples are low compared to those from the other neighboring marine environments.     

The use of pyrolysis and barium distributions to assess the areal extent of drilling fluids in surficial marine sediments

The influence of drilling fluid dispersion on the chemistry of surficial sediments was determined by an integrated study of organic and inorganic parameters. Pyrolysis characteristics and barium, organic carbon, and carbonate content were determined for sediments associated with six drilling sites in coastal Gulf of Mexico waters. The areal extent and magnitude of influence of dispersed fluids were related to water depth, prevailing currents, density of the dispersed material, history of the drill site and platform-induced biological activity. The potential use of pyrolysis techniques for defining the impact area and the various types of inputs derived from off-shore drilling operations was demonstrated.     

Sedimentological characteristics of the surficial sediments of the Kuwaiti marine environment, northern Arabian Gulf

The textural characteristics, carbonate content and the coarse fraction components of the Recent bottom sediments of the marine environment off Kuwait are described and the faunal-sediment associations discussed. The sediments were subdivided into seven textural classes, namely sand, silty sand, muddy sand, sandy silt, sandy mud, silt and mud. Most of the study area is covered with muddy sediments whereas sandy deposits are restricted to the rocky bottoms near the southern flat of Kuwait Bay, the southern coast of Kuwait and around the islands and bathymetric highs. The textural classes, carbonate contents and faunal types of the coarse fraction were used to construct a biolithofacies map of the marine bottom sediments off Kuwait, in which nine facies are identified. The sedimentological characteristics of the Recent marine bottom sediments off Kuwait reflect the interaction between autochthonous calcareous fragments mostly of biogenic origin, lime rock fragments derived from beachrocks and submerged reef flats, and allochthonous terrigenous detritus transported to the area mainly by dust storms. The Kuwaiti offshore area is generally a low energy depositional environment with little sediment transport.     

Rare earth element studies of surficial sediments from the southwestern Carlsberg Ridge,Indian Ocean

The rare earth element (REE) contents of sixteen surficial calcareous sediments from the southwestern Carlsberg Ridge, Indian Ocean, have been determined. The total REE vary from 35 ppm to 126 ppm and are inversely related to the calcium carbonate content. REEs show a strong positive correlation with Al + Fe + K + Mg + Na (r ²= 0.98) and Mn + Fe + Cu + Ni (r ²= 0.86) suggesting that the REE is associated with a combined phase of clays (mainly illite) and Mn-Fe oxyhydroxides. The aeolian input into these sediments is suggested from the weak positive Eu/Eu* anomaly. Shale-normalized (NASC) pattern along with La_(n)/Yb_(n) ratio suggest enrichment of heavy REE (HREE) relative to the light REE (LREE) with a negative Ce/Ce* anomaly implying retention of a bottom water REE pattern. An erratum to this article is available at .     

南海表层沉积物的稀土和微量元素的丰度及其空间变化

对南海表层沉积物中稀土元素、微量元素丰度和分布特征的研究结果表明,在空间分布上,∑REE与Nb、,Th、Ta、Rb、Ti、Zr、Hf、Cs、Ga、Li等相似,呈显著正相关,反映出这些元素在风化、搬运和沉积过程中地球化学行为非常相似;元素Sr几乎与所有元素都呈负相关,指示其来源或存在形式不同于其他元素,主要来源于生物作用,而在粗粒级的钙质生物贝壳和碎屑中富集.∑REE与Nb、Th、Ta、Rb、Ti、Zr、Hf、Cs、Ga、Li在陆架区具有沿陆分带特点,北部陆架区、中南半岛中东部和加里曼丹岛西北部沿大陆区域富集,与该区陆源河流物质输入及海流的分选作用,造成某些富含稀土和微量元素的重砂矿的富集有关;西南部巽他陆架和东南部岛礁区以及中、西沙附近区域含量较低,与该区域的生源碳酸盐的稀释作用,使粘土矿物相对减少和火山物质对其产生的"稀释"作用有关.南海各海区沉积物和全海区表层沉积物平均值的球粒陨石标准化稀土元素分布模式,总体上与中国大陆沉积物和浅海沉积物相似,而与大洋玄武岩完全不同,反映了南海沉积物与中国浅海沉积物及中国大陆沉积物的物源大致相同,主要来自陆源.南海各海区沉积物稀土元素的球粒陨石标准化配分曲线仍表现出了一定差异,陆架区轻稀土比重稀土明显富集,存在比较明显的Eu负异常,与陆架区相比较,陆坡区和海盆区则轻稀土含量相对降低,重稀土含量有所上升,LREE/HREE从陆架区、陆坡区到海盆区逐渐降低,显示陆架区主要为陆源,而陆坡和海盆沉积物中则有幔源物质加入.稀土元素的大陆壳标准化配分模式大部分较为平坦,少数样品呈轻稀土弱富集型或重稀土弱富集型.说明南海海表层沉积物主要来源于周边大陆.从各海区沉积物稀土元素的大陆壳标准化配分曲线对比来看,陆架区表现为轻稀土富集、重稀土亏损,具一定的铕负异常,深部海盆区则出现明显的中稀土和重稀土的富集,铕异常变弱,与深部海盆区有基性火山物质的加入的地质事实相吻合.南海表层沉积物稀土元素和微量元素总体上呈现出以陆源沉积为主的特征.其元素平均丰度和各参数值都比较接近陆源河流和中国浅海沉积物,而与深海沉积物和大洋玄武岩差别显著,显示南海沉积物虽然受到火山沉积和生物沉积的混合作用的影响,但其物质源仍然主要来自于周缘大陆.     

Controls on Holocene deep‐water sedimentation in the northern Gioia Basin,Tyrrhenian Sea

The northern Gioia Basin of the south‐east Tyrrhenian Sea is a slope basin, ～ 20 km wide and ～ 50 km long, with a bathymetry of ≤ 1300 m, bounded by the Calabro‐Sicilian landmass and the Aeolian Island Arc. Coarse sediment is supplied from the Calabrian margin, where the shelf is very narrow to non‐existent, whereas the wider shelf on the Sicilian margin prevents supply by storing river‐fed sediments. The basin is dominated by the Gioia–Mesima canyon/channel system paralleled by a tongue‐shaped depositional lobe. Multibeam bathymetric surveys, sea floor reflectivity data and airgun seismic profiles reveal the recent evolution of the submarine system. Slope canyons and basin‐floor levéed channels formed where major rivers built deltas at the shelfless Calabrian margin and strong hyperpycnal flows predominated. The channels are a few hundred metres wide and a few tens of metres deep, with a downslope change from a straight to meandering pattern where the slope gradient decreases from 3·2% to 1·7%. The Mesima Channel has its lower segment abandoned because of avulsion and crevasse‐splay formation at an upslope bend. The adjacent Gioia Channel has had its upper segment straightened and lower segment entrenched because of erosional deepening of the Stromboli Valley into which it debouches and which acts as the local base level. Overbank features include levées, coalescent splays and ‘yazoo’ channels; their nature and surface characteristics depend upon the magnitude and sediment grain‐size of spill‐over flows. On an adjoining narrow shelf sliver of the Calabrian margin, in contrast, the coalescing plumes of sediment suspension supplied by an array of smaller coastal streams were apparently spilling over the shelf edge, scouring a funnel‐shaped bypass depression with chutes and forming an elongate, non‐channellized depositional lobe at the slope base. The study demonstrates the impact of sediment source type, shelf width, basin‐floor gradient and base‐level change on the style of deep‐water sedimentation.     

南海中北部表层沉积硅藻的高分辨空间分布及其与现代环境因子的关系

本文通过对南海中北部1 266个站位19种硅藻的生物地理分布格局及其对环境因子偏好的研究,查清了南海中北部沉积硅藻高分辨的空间展布特征,并探讨了硅藻分布与海洋环境因子的关系。南海北部陆架和西部陆架表层沉积硅藻以广温的半咸水潮间带种或沿岸种和咸水-半咸水浅海种为主,珠江口以东的粤东北部陆架Paralia sulcata呈集中分布,粤西北部陆架多样性最佳,Cyclotella stylorum相对富集,西部陆架则以Cyclotella striata占显著优势。北部陆坡和西部陆坡以热带浮游远洋种为主,其中Azpeitia nodulifera和Nitzschia marina分别在琼东南陆坡、西部陆坡和东北部陆坡占优势地位,Chaetoceros messanensis、Fragilariopsis doliolus集中分布于北部陆坡。深海盆以热带浮游远洋种为主,A.nodulifera最具优势,其次为N.marina,Thalassionema nitzschioides和Thalassiosira eccentrica在吕宋海峡入口、深海盆东部和东南部礼乐岛坡集中分布。硅藻种和环境因子的Pearson相关性分析和冗余分析表明,热带远洋种与表层海水温度显著正相关,广温广布种与温度和盐度呈一定正相关,多数沿岸种和浅海种与盐度显著负相关。硅藻组合与海洋流系控制下的环境因子关系密切。可分为6个硅藻组合,其中陆架区3个组合主要受到盐度和营养盐(NO₃,PO₄,SiO₄)浓度的影响,陆坡区2个组合主要受表层海水温度、盐度和营养盐(PO₄)浓度的影响,而深海盆硅藻组合主要受温度的影响。对比前人研究,本文提高了对南海沉积硅藻空间分布认识的分辨率,充实了研究相对薄弱的西部陆架和深海盆的最新资料,佐证并修正了前人基于少量数据而得出的硅藻组合分区认识,消弭了前人观点的分歧。生物因素和沉积过程会使沉积硅藻对环境因子变化的响应关系更为复杂。     

Trace element distribution in waters of the northern catchment area of Lake Linneret,northern Israel

Waters of the northern watershed of Lake Kineret, sampled during the period 1978–1983, were analyzed for their major and trace element contents. The trace element concentrations of the major water sources of the watershed (the Dan and Banias springs) represent background values. After emergence, the waters are subjected to human activity. In crossing the populated and cultivated Hula Basin in man-made canals, the major and trace element contents increase. In comparison to the trace element concentrations, those of the major elements have narrow ranges and small temporal fluctuations. Trace element concentrations varied by 3 orders of magnitude, and temporal variations were large but not neccessarily seasonal. Point sources of trace elements were urban effluents, fish pond wastes, and peat soil drainage. The trace element concentrations decrease in the waters of the last segment of the Jordan River. All measured trace elements were below the criteria levels established by regulatory agencies. Several, however, were of the same order of magnitude. Addition of wastes from enhanced recycling, and morphologic modification of the final course of the Jordan River could result in increase in the trace element concentrations in the water.     

刘家峡水库表层沉积物微量元素地球化学特征

采用多元统计的方法对刘家峡水库表层沉积物中25种微量元素的含量、相关性、来源及控制因素进行了分析。结果显示:研究区表层沉积物中Sr、Zn、Zr和Ba的含量平均值超过了170 μg/g,Cd、Mo和Tl的含量平均值都在1 μg/g以下,其它元素含量平均值则在2.01~104.34 μg/g。元素Cu、V、Co、Cr、Ni、Rb、Li、Cd、Be、Pb、Sc、As、Ga、Nb、Sn、Cs、Tl、Th和Al₂O₃等存在较为明显的相关性,且它们分布规律基本相似。因子分析表明,水库中微量元素分为3个主要来源,第一组分的元素分布受控于矿物岩石的自然风化剥蚀,其贡献率为63.20%;第二组分的Zr和Ba主要受河流沉积物中元素的迁移和转化的影响,其贡献率为12.51%;第三组分的Sr则主要受控于生物成因,其贡献率为9.76%。另外,研究区重金属元素中,Zn和As含量远超过了全球页岩平均值,值得进一步的深入研究。     

南海北部陆坡沉积物中硫酸盐浓度变化模型与硫酸盐甲烷界面(SMI)的计算

硫酸盐作为电子受体,在有机质早期成岩作用中扮演着十分重要的角色,且较浅的硫酸盐甲烷作用带往往预示着下部有较大的甲烷逸散,或下部暗含天然气水合物藏(或天然气藏)。南海北部作为天然气水合物赋存区,了解赋存区沉积物中硫酸盐浓度变化对我们研究沉积物早期成岩作用和水合物的赋存是有重要帮助的。本文在分析了南海北部陆坡多个站位的沉积物柱状剖面中硫酸盐浓度变化特征之后,提出了南海北部硫酸盐变化模型及SMI界面深度计算方法。根据南海北部硫酸盐变化特征由浅至深可依次划分为有机质氧化驱动硫酸盐还原带、中层过渡带及下部甲烷厌氧氧化还原硫酸盐带。其中部分站位下部甲烷厌氧氧化硫酸盐还原带可分为上、下两层,两者硫酸盐还原速率以及硫酸盐梯度具有明显差异。有机质氧化带与甲烷厌氧氧化还原硫酸盐带在区内各处广泛发育,中层过渡带的存在与否取决于下部甲烷通量,在通量较大的地区中层过渡带消失。表层硫酸盐浓度增大是由有机硫氧化产生硫酸盐引起的。还应该注意的是,在计算SMI界面深度时,应剔除上部有机质氧化消耗硫酸盐的相关数据后进行计算,若下部甲烷厌氧氧化层根据硫酸盐还原速率可以划分成不同的两层,则应该使用下层数据进行拟合,计算SMI界面深度。     

Coexisting tectonic settings: the example of the southern Tyrrhenian Sea

We performed geodetic strain rate analyses in southern Italy, using new GPS velocities. Two-dimensional strain and rotation rate fields were estimated and results show that most of the shortening is distributed in the northern Sicily offshore. Extension becomes more evident and comparable with shortening on the eastern side of the same margin, and greater in the eastern Sicily offshore. Principal shortening and extension rate axes are consistent with long-term geological features: seismic reflection profiles show both active compressive and extensional faults affecting Pleistocene strata. We show evidence for contemporaneous extension and transtension in the Cefalù Basin. Combining geodetic data and geological features point to the coexistence of independent geodynamic processes, i.e., the active E–W backarc spreading in the hangingwall of the Apennines subduction zone and shortening along the southern margin of the Tyrrhenian backarc basin operated by the NNW-motion of Africa relative to Eurasia.     

Trace element cycling in a subterranean estuary: Part 1. Geochemistry of the permeable sediments

Subterranean estuaries are characterized by the mixing of terrestrially derived groundwater and seawater in a coastal aquifer. Subterranean estuaries, like their river water-seawater counterparts on the surface of the earth, represent a major, but less visible, hydrological and geochemical interface between the continents and the ocean. This article is the first in a two-part series on the biogeochemistry of the subterranean estuary at the head of Waquoit Bay (Cape Cod, MA, USA). The pore-water distributions of salinity, Fe and Mn establish the salt and redox framework of this subterranean estuary. The biogeochemistry of Fe, Mn, P, Ba, U and Th will be addressed from the perspective of the sediment composition. A second article will focus on the groundwater and pore-water chemistries of Fe, Mn, U and Ba.Three sediment cores were collected from the head of Waquoit Bay where the coastal aquifer consists of permeable sandy sediment. A selective dissolution method was used to measure the concentrations of P, Ba, U and Th that are associated with “amorphous (hydr)oxides of iron and manganese” and “crystalline Fe and Mn (hydr)oxides.” The deeper sections of the cores are characterized by large amounts of iron (hydr)oxides that are precipitated onto organic C-poor quartz sand from high-salinity pore waters rich in dissolved ferrous iron. Unlike Fe (hydr)oxides, which increase with depth, the Mn (hydr)oxides display midcore maxima. This type of vertical stratification is consistent with redox-controlled diagenesis in which Mn (hydr)oxides are formed at shallower depths than iron (hydr)oxides. P and Th are enriched in the deep sections of the cores, consistent with their well-documented affinity for Fe (hydr)oxides. In contrast, the downcore distribution of Ba, especially in core 3, more closely tracks the concentration of Mn (hydr)oxides. Even though Mn (hydr)oxides are 200-300 times less abundant than Fe (hydr)oxides in the cores, Mn (hydr)oxides are known to have an affinity for Ba which is many orders of magnitude greater than iron (hydr)oxides. Hence, the downcore distribution of Ba in Fe (hydr)oxide rich sediments is most probably controlled by the presence of Mn (hydr)oxides. U is enriched in the upper zones of the cores, consistent with the formation of highly reducing near-surface sediments in the intertidal zone at the head of the Bay. Hence, the recirculation of seawater through this type of subterranean estuary, coupled with the abiotic and/or biotic reduction of soluble U(VI) to insoluble U(IV), leads to the sediments acting as a oceanic net sink of U. These results highlight the importance of permeable sediments as hosts to a wide range of biogeochemical reactions, which may be impacting geochemical budgets on scales ranging from coastal aquifers to the continental shelf.     

Trace metals in sediments from the inner continental shelf of the western Beaufort Sea

Increased development and changing climate have enhanced global interest in the Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas. Using a large, 3-yr data base, we have determined the distribution of trace metals in sediments from the inner shelf of the western Beaufort Sea. Metal concentrations in these sediments reflect pristine conditions, consistent with those for most coastal areas in the Arctic and with predictions based on average continental crust. Geographic variations in metal values are primarily related to sediment grainsize distribution. However, grain-size patterns are a complex function of several variables including source areas, ice and water movement, as well as physical and chemical weathering. Future identification of any metal contamination in Beaufort Sea sediments will be simplified by understanding the predictable natural patterns.     

The logratio approach to the classification of modern sediments and sedimentary environments in northern South China Sea

Grain-size measurements are a type of compositional data and thus subject to closure effects and nonnormality. The logratio transform of Aitchison successfully resolves these problems in compositional data analysis. An application to modern sediment data from the northern part of the South China Sea demonstrates that logratio principal components analysis provides a clear separation of data which cannot be obtained by ordinary principal components analysis, and that cluster analysis using logratio principal components gives a much better classification of sediments than does cluster analysis using raw data. The delineation of sedimentary environments on the basis of a logratio classification of sediment samples provides a better understanding of hydrodynamic conditions on the shelf.     

Structural evolution of the '41st parallel zone': Tyrrhenian Sea

The present study is based on the interpretation of more than 1300 km of 16 kJ sparker seismic profiles recorded in July 1990, during the Cruise T-41 of the Geological Institute of Urbino. The investigated area extends along the 41st parallel in the central Tyrrhenian Sea between the northern Sardinian margin to the west and the Latium–Campanian margin to the east. This zone, situated on continental crust, marks the boundary between the northern Tyrrhenian and the southern Tyrrhenian domains. A kinematic reconstruction is presented, based on the age-dating of the recognized structures (i.e. normal faults, reverse faults, anticline and flower structures). The evolution of the ‘41st parallel zone’ can be described in terms of polyphase tectonics characterized by different orientations of the stress field during time. The direction of the normal fault-trends, turned clockwise, striking NE–SW in the late Tortonian–Messinian, E–W in the early Pliocene, NNW–SSE in the late Pliocene and N–S during the Quaternary. The concurrence of compressional and strike-slip deformations suggests oblique shear motions across the 41st parallel. The occurrence of late Pliocene–Quaternary tectonic activity in the northern Tyrrhenian Sea, locally characterized by inversion tectonics, suggests active mechanisms (intraplate compression?) superimposed on the post-rift subsidence.