Deep-water macrofaunal diversity in the Faroe-Shetland region (NE Atlantic): a margin subject to an unusual thermal regime

The Faroe-Shetland Channel, situated in the NE Atlantic, encompasses a number of different sediment types (habitats) as well as being subject to an unusual thermal regime. Our main objective was to assess variations in macrofaunal generic diversity and composition along two transects to gauge the relative influence of regional hydrography and local habitat heterogeneity. We found that generic richness and diversity on a West of Shetland (WoS) transect correlated most strongly with temperature range, whilst along a North of Shetland (NoS) transect, richness and diversity correlated negatively with sedimentary variables, notably total organic carbon. Macrofaunal composition at WoS is also strongly influenced by water temperature with specific genera ( e.g. Galathowenia positively associated with the temperature eigenvectors), whereas at NoS it is a combination of temperature, silt + clay fraction and total organic carbon that has an impact on composition ( e.g. Proclea and Pseudosphyrapus , showing a negative relationship with the temperature eigenvectors). Although the temperature regime exerts a strong control on regional ecology, local habitat heterogeneity remains a significant factor.     

Feeding strategies of deep-sea sub-Arctic macrofauna of the Faroe-Shetland Channel: Combining natural stable isotopes and enrichment techniques

The response of a sub-arctic, deep-sea macrofaunal community to a simulated food sedimentation event was studied by means of a stable isotope “pulse-chase” experiment. A food pulse was simulated by adding 500 mg C m⁻² of ¹³C-labelled diatoms, Chaetoceros radicans, to sediment cores retrieved from 1080 m in the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Carbon uptake by specific macrofaunal groups was quantified after 3 and 6 days of incubation. The carbon uptake of the dominant taxon (Polychaeta) was quantified at the genus-, and where possible, species-level, representing a data resolution that is rare in deep-sea tracer studies. The macrofaunal community reacted rapidly to the diatom addition, with 47% and 70% of the animals illustrating ¹³C-enrichment after 3 and 6 days, respectively. Approximately 95% of C uptake was located in the upper 2 cm due to the particularly shallow vertical distribution of the macrofaunal community and the nonexistent tracer subduction by burrowing species. Polychaetes of the families Ampharetidae and Cirratulidae were among the most heavily labelled with above background enrichment reaching 1300‰. Approximately 0.8 and 2.0 mg C m⁻² were processed by the macrofauna after 3 and 6 days, representing 0.2% and 0.4% of the added carbon, respectively. It was not possible to differentiate sub-surface deposit-feeding polychaetes from predator/scavenger- and omnivorous polychaetes using their natural ??¹⁵N signatures. However, the combination of natural abundance ??¹⁵N data and ¹³C-labelling experiments proved to be useful for elucidating trophic relations in deep-sea food webs. This study confirms that macrofauna play an active role in the short-term carbon cycling at bathyal depths even at sub-zero temperatures and highlights the need for detailed knowledge of the community structure in understanding carbon processing patterns and early diagenesis of organic matter in marine sediments.     

地震作用对琼州海峡海缆路由区海底稳定性影向的分析

以琼州海峡的北海—临高段海缆路由为例,利用计算对比的方法,分析了地震作用下,路由区3m以浅海底土液化或滑移的可能性,评价了路由区海底的稳定性。结果发现,在地震烈度为Ⅶ度的地震作用下,砂性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(0.86kPa,1.72kPa和2.57kPa)小于砂性土的液化剪应力(1.60kPa,3.20kPa和4.81kPa);粘性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(1.25kPa,2.49kPa和3.74kPa)小于粘性土的抗滑剪应力平均值(4.07kPa,4.61kPa和4.49kPa),路由区海底稳定性良好;在地震烈度为Ⅷ度的地震作用下,砂性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(1.73kPa,3.45kPa和5.12kPa)大于砂性土的液化剪应力;粘性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(2.49kPa,4.98kPa和7.47kPa)除表层外,大于粘性土的抗滑剪应力,路由区海底会发生失稳破坏。     

基于海床基观测资料的辽东湾东部海流特征研究

基于海床基观测平台,对2010年秋季辽东湾东部海域的海流开展连续观测,并运用谱分析和调和分析方法对该海域的潮流和余流特征进行研究。结果表明:辽东湾东北部潮流属于规则半日潮流;而中东部和东南部两站潮流属于不规则半日潮流。三个站位优势分潮流均为M2分潮,并呈往复流特征;其最大流速介于38~55 cm/s之间,流向为东北-西南,最大流速发生时刻随深度增加而提前。最大可能潮流流速介于91~142 cm/s,流向与岸线走向大致平行。秋季辽东湾东部沿岸余流整体较弱,流向以西南向为主,从北往南三站余流流速分别约为3~5 cm/s,3 cm/s和2~5.5 cm/s。     

海南儋州人工岛建设对海床冲淤影响数值模拟(英文)

海南儋州海花岛填海规模较大,工程实施引起洋浦海域水动力环境改变,进而影响海床冲淤演变的变化。本文利用Delft3D数值模式建立了洋浦海域二维嵌套水沙数学模型,在对模型进行了验证基础上,模拟了海花岛实施前后海床冲淤演变和潮流变化。由于洋浦海域含沙量较低,附近沙源少,海花岛实施后附近海域海床淤积幅度较小。由于小铲礁南侧水流动力增加,小铲礁南侧和洋浦航道局部为冲刷。     

海南儋州人工岛建设对海床冲淤影响数值模拟

利用Delft3D数值模式建立了洋浦海域二维嵌套水沙数学模型,在对模型进行了验证基础上,模拟了海花岛实施前后海床冲淤演变和潮流变化。由于洋浦海域含沙量较低,附近沙源少,海花岛实施后附近海域海床淤积幅度较小。由于小铲礁南侧水流动力增加,小铲礁南侧和洋浦航道局部为冲刷。     

Geological information from telecommunications cable route surveys of the continental shelf

Several burial assessment surveys using a seabed plough have been carried out along routes on the United Kingdom continental shelf to assess their potential for cable burial. Detailed information on sediment thicknesses and characteristics within the top meter of the seabed was collected using a survey tool called the Plough Surveyor. Geophysical surveys along these routes have enabled correlation with the plough data. Results include the range of tensions, tension trace characteristics, and typical penetration, and these have been correlated with seabed types and thickness of sediment.     

基于高分辨率浅剖与钻孔信息对比的金州湾海底声速的统计特征

声波在海底沉积物中的传播速度是一个重要参数,弄清海底沉积物中声速的变化规律具有极其重要的意义。以渤海金州湾海域为例,在进行畸变校正的基础上,基于高分辨率浅地层剖面与钻孔数据的对比分析,实现了全新世沉积层和基岩界面以上沉积层声速的准确反演,并采用统计学方法分析讨论了研究区内的声速特征和变化规律,结果表明,全新世沉积层平均声速的95%置信区间为1 449.60～1 655.72 m/s,平均值为1 560.34 m/s;基岩界面以上沉积层平均声速的95%置信区间为1 657.96～1 970.80 m/s,平均值为1 765.63 m/s;研究区内海底地层的声速与埋藏深度之间呈现明显的正线性相关关系,声速梯度为4.18 s⁻¹。     

Phase-reversed seabed reflections in seismic data: examples related to mud volcanoes from the South Caspian Sea

The sediment–water interface is usually marked by an increase in acoustic impedance and is therefore displayed in a seismic section as a positive polarity reflection. Here, we use the term “seabed phase reversal” to describe areas of seafloor which are instead expressed as a negative polarity reflection in seismic data. We describe in detail a number of examples of seafloor phase reversals and use a simple one-dimensional geophysical model to test the hypothesis that they are the result of the presence of gas within the seafloor sediment. Our examples are all related to seismically imaged mud volcanoes located within the South Caspian Sea. Sections of phase-reversed seafloor at the summit area of these volcanoes have been mapped to reveal the existence of seafloor mud pools (salses) and recently erupted mud flows which show a strong similarity to smaller-scale features at onshore volcanoes in Azerbaijan. Synthetic geophysical modelling indicates that under the physical conditions likely to occur when the seabed sediment is gas-bearing, the seafloor will be expressed as a strong negative polarity reflection. Unlike other indicators of seafloor gas, such as pockmarks, which merely record the transient expulsion of fluids from sedimentary basins, seafloor phase reversals indicate the presence of gas in marine sediment at the time of survey acquisition. They therefore are of significance to engineering and site survey operations as well as the identification of biological communities and gas flux calculations.     

济州岛南部海域海底声呐图像分析与声学底质分类

东海北部外陆架靠近济州岛南部海域,是黄海槽向冲绳海槽延伸的部分,属于黑潮分支黄海暖流的通道入口,分布着脊槽相间的海底底形,对其海底声呐图像的处理分析及声学底质分类的分析研究,有助于了解该通道海底底形表层纹理特征及沉积物分布规律。基于在济州岛南部海域获取的多波束声呐数据,应用图像处理技术和方法,对数据进行了处理,获得了海底声呐影像图,并对其表层纹理特征进行了描述和分析;同时,基于多波束反向散射强度数据,结合19组海底地质取样数据,建立研究区海底反向散射强度与沉积物粒度特征之间的统计关系模型,并以改进的学习向量量化神经网络方法,实现对海底粉砂质砂、黏土质砂以及砂-粉砂-黏土3种底质类型的快速自动分类识别。     

Removing derelict fishing gear from the deep seabed of the East Sea

The East Sea, with an average depth of 1700 m, has long been subject to heavy fishing pressure, resulting in derelict fishing gear. Most derelict fishing gears, such as fishing nets, fishing ropes, and crab pots, sink to the seabed and do not degrade. This gear results in “ghost fishing,” which has adverse impacts on deep benthic habitats. Recently, the Korean government has started to remove derelict fishing gears from the deep seabed of the East Sea by bottom trawling with heavy hooks (50–80 kg) and ropes. A total of 207.8 and 252.2 tons of marine debris in 2009 and 2010, respectively, were removed from the seabed, most of which were derelict fishing gears. Contrary to monitoring surveys and clean-up in shallow waters, removal of marine debris from remote deep habitats is much more difficult and dangerous for removal crews.     

Ice-sheet dynamics through the Quaternary on the mid-Norwegian continental margin inferred from 3D seismic data

Reconstructing the evolution of ice sheets is critical to our understanding of the global environmental system, but most detailed palaeo-glaciological reconstructions have hitherto focused on the very recent history of ice sheets. Here, we present a three-dimensional (3D) reconstruction of the changing nature of ice-sheet derived sedimentary architecture through the Quaternary Ice Age of almost 3 Ma. An extensive geophysical record documents a marine-terminating, calving Fennoscandian Ice Sheet (FIS) margin present periodically on the mid-Norwegian shelf since the beginning of the Quaternary. Spatial and temporal variability of the FIS is illustrated by the gradual development of fast-flowing ice streams and associated intensification of focused glacial erosion and sedimentation since that time. Buried subglacial landforms reveal a complex and dynamic ice sheet, with converging palaeo-ice streams and several flow-switching events that may reflect major changes in topography and basal thermal regime. Lack of major subglacial meltwater channels suggests a largely distributed drainage system beneath the marine-terminating part of the FIS. This palaeo-environmental examination of the FIS provides a useful framework for ice-sheet modelling and shows that fragmentary preservation of buried surfaces and variability of ice-sheet dynamics should be taken into account when reconstructing glacial history from spatially limited datasets.     

深水锚在海床中复杂动力行为的分析模型

深水锚是深水系泊系统的核心组成,随着新概念和新技术在深水系泊领域的不断涌现和发展,深水锚在海床中的动力行为变得更为复杂,这给既有的分析方法带来极大的挑战。将深水锚的复杂动力行为视为拔出、旋转、嵌入三种典型行为的组合,分别给出明确定义并建立力学模型。提出最小力准则以确定锚的拔出、嵌入方向和旋转中心,该准则同时可作为拔出、旋转、嵌入行为是否发生的判定条件,从而建立起可以描述深水锚在海床中复杂动力行为的分析模型。为检验所提出的分析模型,将其应用于预测拖曳锚在海床中的嵌入运动轨迹,并与已有分析方法和离心机试验结果进行对比,验证了该分析模型的有效性。     

Southern Segment of the European Geotraverse — a wide-angle seismic refraction experiment in the Sardinia Channel

The Sardinia Channel dataset was collected as part of the European Geotraverse (EGT)—a 4000 km seismic refraction line running from Northern Norway to the Sahara, designed to investigate the structure of the lithosphere beneath Europe. Wideangle seismic data recorded by ocean bottom seismometers deployed in the Sardinia Channel as part of the Southern Segment of the EGT, together with gravity data, were used to constrain the final crustal model. In the centre of the Channel the crust is identified as thinned continental in nature, with a crystalline thickness of 10 km overlain by 4 km of sediments and 2.5 km of water in the most extended region. High velocities in the lower crust in the central region are thought to represent an area of underplating or intrusion by igneous material caused by extension related to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The crust overlies an anomalously low velocity upper mantle.     

基于原位观测的胶州湾沉积物侵蚀再悬浮过程研究

海洋动力作用下,河口海岸地区海床通常处于动态变化之中。作为地质环境的控制因素,海床沉积物侵蚀再悬浮过程的研究具有重要意义。为阐明胶州湾海域水动力条件对海床侵蚀再悬浮的作用,本文利用海底原位观测三脚架进行了现场观测。观测结果显示：通常条件下,潮流导致的最大海床剪应力可达0.35 N/m²,高于波浪引起的剪应力。涨潮期间,海床发生侵蚀;退潮期间,海床发生淤积。风速达到5 m/s时,波浪引起的剪应力近似等于流致剪应力。风速达到7 m/s时,有效波高为26 cm,波浪对海床侵蚀再悬浮过程起主要作用;此时也会导致海水浊度显著上升,高于通常条件下的2-8倍。分析表明：通常条件下,周期性海流影响海床侵蚀再悬浮过程;而大幅度沉积物再悬浮过程由偶发的波浪事件控制。针对胶州湾沉积物动力学机制的深入研究仍待进一步开展。     

波浪作用下黄河三角洲海底粉土液化特征对比研究

作为一种常见的近海海底灾害地质现象,波致海床液化严重威胁着黄河三角洲地区海底工程设施的安全。粉质海床液化后,海底粉土的结构、物理和力学性质均发生了改变,研究该变化规律尤其是评估液化后海底粉土再次发生液化的可能性具有重要的理论意义和应用价值。本文利用室内动三轴仪对取自黄河三角洲已液化和未液化海底粉土开展了液化试验对比研究,讨论了已液化和未液化海底粉土在孔压增长模式和轴向动应变发展趋势方面的异同,对比分析了二者的液化势。研究结果表明：应变标准比孔压标准更适用于评估黄河三角洲地区海底粉土的液化势;孔压和动应变发展模式均表明与未液化粉土相比,已液化海底粉土再次发生液化的抗力有所提高;已液化和未液化海底粉土归一化孔压比u_d/σ₃与循环加载次数比N/N_f间相关关系可采用双曲线或指数函数模型进行定量化描述;未液化海底粉土的波致液化临界循环应力比约为0.20,已液化海底粉土的临界循环应力比约为0.35。研究成果有助于加深对海底粉土波致液化特性的认识,亦可为循环应力历史影响下的土体力学性质研究提供参考。     

海上三维双方位融合处理技术在番禺4洼的应用

番禺4洼新近系NWW—SEE向正断层非常发育,这些断层上升盘的构造圈闭是重要的勘探目标。但由于一次三维地震资料采集方向与断层平行,断层附近阴影现象非常严重,表现为信噪比低、同相轴不合理的“下拉”和扭曲畸变的“假象”,严重影响断层上升盘的精细构造落实。为此,实施了垂直于断层方向的二次三维地震采集,使得断层阴影带成像比一次三维有较大改善。为了更好地解决断层阴影带成像难题,针对方位各向异性,对2次采集的三维资料进行了以双方位各向异性叠前深度偏移（PSDM）为核心的双方位融合处理。2个方位各自处理成果和双方位融合处理结果对比表明：对于断层阴影带成像,垂直断层方向采集的三维明显优于平行断层方向采集的三维;而结合2次采集的双方位融合处理资料效果最好：既能有效的消除断层阴影带成像畸变,又能提高信噪比。经研究区油田评价井在断层阴影带的钻探结果证实了双方位融合处理结果的可靠性,同时,可为类似地区解决断层阴影带成像难题提供采集设计和处理技术等方面的借鉴。