Geochemical characteristics of hadal sediment in the northern Yap Trench

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Two sediment cores were retrieved in the hadal zone of the Yap Trench, and their concentrations of six major elements Mg, Al, Ca, Ti, Mn and Fe and nine trace...     

Water characteristics of abyssal and hadal zones in the southern Yap Trench observed with the submersible Jiaolong

Using observations in an applied cruise of the submersible Jiaolong, water characteristics, geostrophic transport, and turbulent mixing in abyssal and hadal zones of the southern Yap Trench were studied. The spatial structures of deep water show that the abyssal water is cold, saline, and oxygen rich. The hadal water has very small changes in potential temperature and potential density, and a little decrease in salinity and obvious decrease in oxygen. The isotherm, isopycnal, and isohaline are depressed in abyss over the central trench. The turbulent mixing is enhanced in the near-bottom zone and the hadal water on the trench slope, especially at the steep slope, the dissipation rate and diffusivity is strong, which weakens the stratification. The geostrophic flows move southward in the western region of the trench and northward in the eastern region, indicating cyclonic circulation. In the central region of the trench, the water transport is ~1.74 Sv southward. In the hadal zone, the northward and southward transports are balanced. Our analysis suggests that the abyssal water in the southern Yap Trench is from Lower Circumpolar Water (LCPW) and the hadal water seems to be of the isolated local water rather than LCPW.     

Magnetic properties indicate the sources of hadal sediments in the Yap Trench,northwest Pacific Ocean

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Magnetic minerals in marine sediments are often masked by the primary natural remanent magnetization and material source signals. In order to understand...     

Towards the understanding from sea surface to hadal zone—A multidisciplinary study of the Yap Trench

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology -     

Vertical variations of dissolved carbohydrates in the North Yap Trench

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - The concentrations of dissolved monosaccharides (MCHO), polysaccharides (PCHO), and total carbohydrates (TCHO) in the seawater samples collected from the north...     

Comparison of sedimentary organic carbon loading in the Yap Trench and other marine environments

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Knowledge about organic carbon loadings (ratio of sedimentary organic carbon (SOC) content to specific surface area (SSA)) and the fate of organic carbon (OC)...     

Positive selection analysis reveals the deep-sea adaptation of a hadal sea cucumber (Paelopatides sp.) to the Mariana Trench

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - The Mariana Trench, the deepest trench on the earth, is ideal for deep-sea adaptation research due to its unique characters, such as the highest hydrostatic...     

Vertical variations and composition of dissolved free amino acid in the seawater of the Yap Trench in the western Pacific Ocean

The composition and concentration of dissolved free amino acid (DFAA) of seawater samples collected in May 2016 from the surface to the hadal zone of the northern region of the Yap Trench were analyzed by pre-column derivatization of o-phthalaldehyde. Results show that the average concentration of DFAA in the study area was 0.47±0.36 µmol/L. In different sampling stations, the concentrations of DFAA with water depth showed complex variation patterns. At the sediment-seawater interface, the concentrations of DFAA in the western side of the trench were obviously higher than that in its eastern side. In the study area, there were no significant correlations between the concentrations of DFAA and the environmental parameters such as concentrations of chlorophyll a (Chl a), dissolved oxygen (DO), pH, and dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), indicating that the concentrations of DFAA in seawater of the trench are affected by many factors, such as photosynthesis, respiration, temperature, pressure, illumination, and circulation. The dominant DFAA are similar in different water layers of sampling stations, including aspartic acid (Asp), glutamic acid (Glu), glycine (Gly), and serine (Ser). The composition of different amino acids, and the relative abundance of acidic, basic, and neutral amino acids might be related to the sources and consumption of various amino acids. Nine pairs of amino acids in the DFAA showed significantly positive relationship by correlation matrix analysis, suggesting that they might share similar biogeochemical processes. The degradation index (DI) of the DFAA in seawater of the Yap Trench could reflect the degradation, source, and freshness of DFAA in the trench to some extents. This is a preliminary study of amino acids from sea surface to hadal zone in the ocean, more works shall be done in different trenches to reveal their biogeochemical characteristics in extreme marine environments.

     

Decomposition of algal lipids in clay-enriched marine sediment under oxic and anoxic conditions

A series of laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to examine the decomposition of algal organic matter in clay-enriched marine sediment under oxic and anoxic conditions. During the 245-day incubation period, changes in the concentrations of TOC, major algal fatty acid components (14:0, 16:0, 16:1, 18:1 and 20:5), and n-alkanes (C₁₆–C₂₃) were quantified in the samples. Our results indicate that the organic matters were degraded more rapidly in oxic than anoxic conditions. Adsorption of fatty acids onto clay minerals was a rapid and reversible process. Using a simple G model, we calculated the decomposition rate constants for TOC, n-alkanes and fatty acids which ranged from 0.017–0.024 d⁻¹, 0.049–0.103 d⁻¹ and 0.011 to 0.069 d⁻¹, respectively. Algal organic matter degraded in two stages characterized by a fast and a slow degradation processes. The addition of clay minerals montmorillonite and kaolinite to the sediments showed significant influence affecting the decomposition processes of algal TOC and fatty acids by adsorption and incorporation of the compounds with clay particles. Adsorption/association of fatty acids by clay minerals was rapid but appeared to be a slow reversible process. In addition to the sediment redox and clay influence, the structure of the compounds also played important roles in affecting their degradation dynamic in sediments.     

Decomposition of algal lipids in clay-enriched marine sediment under oxic and anoxic conditions

A series of laboratory incubation experiments were conducted to examine the decomposition of algal organic matter in clay-enriched marine sediment under oxic and anoxic conditions.During the 245-day incubation period,changes in the concentrations of TOC,major algal fatty acid components (14:0,16:0,16:1,18:1 and 20:5),and n-alkanes (C16-C23) were quantified in the samples.Our results indicate that the organic matters were degraded more rapidly in oxic than anoxic conditions.Adsorption of fatty acids onto cla...     

Distribution of sediment chloroplastic pigments in the Southern Yellow Sea,China

The distribution of sediment chloroplastic pigments (Chl-a, i.e. chlorophyll a and Pha-a, i.e. phaeophorbide a) in the Southern Yellow Sea of China was studied. Samples were collected from four cruises in January and June 2003, and January and June 2004. The results show that the vertical distribution of Chl-a and Pha-a in the sediment layers 0-2cm, 2-5cm and 5-8cm, follows a stable ratio, 5:3:2. The average ratio of Pha-a to Chl-a in sediment is 2.83. Spearman 2-tailed rank correlation analysis shows that Chl-a and Pha-a contents in each sediment layer have a highly significant correlation. The average contents of Chl-a and Pha-a in the sediment of the 0-8cm layer in the investigated area are 0.31 -0.47μgg-1 and 1.28-1.40 μgg-1 sediment (dry weight), respectively. The average Chl-a and Pha-a contents in sediment are higher in summer than in winter. ANOVA analysis shows that there is a highly significant variation among the Chl-a contents (P = 0.002 <0.01) of the four cruies, but this is not true for the case of Pha-a content (P = 0.766>0.05). The average Chl-a and Pha-a contents in the 2 sediment layers (0-2cm and 2-5cm) have significant or highly significant correlations with organic matter (OM), median diameter (Mdφ), silt plus clay percentage in the January 2003 cruise. In the June 2003 cruise, the average Chl-a content in the 3 sediment layers (0-2cm, 2-5cm, and 5-8cm) has a significant correlation with meiofauna biomass, and Pha-a content has highly significant correlations with water depth, bottom water temperature, OM and Mdφ The contents of Chl-a and Pha-a are lower than those in estuaries and intertidal areas, but close to those in the same area studied previously.     

Microbial diversity in the sediments of the southern Mariana Trench

Microbial diversity in the abyssal sediments beneath the seafloor of 30, 94, and 151 cm near the southern end of the Mariana Trench was analyzed in the Illumina HiSeq 2500 platform. Results show that the microbial populations were dominated by bacteria but merely no archaea were identified at the three depths. In the bacterial community,Proteobacteria and Firmicutes dominated the total taxon tags, followed by Bacteroidetes, Actinobacteria, Planctomycetes, Cyanobacteria, and Chloroflexi, which together account for over 99% of the total population. Similar to that in the seawater in the trench, the operational taxonomic units(OTUs) belonging to Gammaproteobacteria from the sediment samples showed high abundance.However, common bacterial OTUs in the water of the trench including Nitrospirae and Marinimicrobia were hardly found in the sediments from the southern Mariana Trench or the hadal region. Therefore, this study documented for the first time the compositions of microbial diversity in the trench sediments, revealed the difference in microbial diversity in water and sediment of the trench and will enrich the knowledge on the microbial diversity in the abyssal areas.     

Distribution and pollution assessment of trace metals in seawater and sediment in Laizhou Bay

Selected trace metals(Pb, Cd, Cu, Hg) and arsenic in seawater and surface sediments of Laizhou Bay were determined, to evaluate their spatial distribution, pollution risk and potential ecological risk. Concentrations of the elements were 0.56–2.07, 0.14–0.38, 12.70–18.40, 0.014–0.094, and 1.13–2.37 μg/L in the seawater and 8.94–32.2, 0.18–0.67, 4.51–30.5, 0.006–0.058, and 5.75–15.3 mg/kg in sediments for Pb, Cd, Cu, Hg and As, respectively. High concentrations of the trace metals and arsenic in seawater and surface sediments were generally observed near the river estuary. The pollution risk result of the elements showed that Cu was the prominent trace metal pollutant in seawater, followed by Hg, Pb, Cd and As. The metal complex pollution index in seawater was at a medium level. The most important trace metal pollutant in sediments was Cd, followed by As, Cu, Pb, and Hg. Our pollution assessment suggests that trace metal pollution in Laizhou Bay sediments was at a low level. The potential ecological risk was also low in surface sediment.     

Distribution and characteristics of volcanic reservoirs in China

About forty productive oil/gas fields hosted in volcanic reservoirs have been found since 1957 in fourteen basins of China. They can be simply subdivided into two groups, the east and the west. Reservoir volcanic rocks of the east group are predominantly composed of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rhyolite and Tertiary basalt, preferred being considered as rift type volcanics developed in the circum-Pacific tectonic regime. Those of the west are Permo-Carboniferous intermediate/basic volcanic rocks, being island-arc type ones developed in paleo-Asian Ocean tectonic regime.     

Distribution and characteristics of volcanic reservoirs in China

About forty productive oil/gas fields hosted in volcanic reservoirs have been found since 1957 in fourteen basins of China. They can be simply subdivided into two groups, the east and the west. Reservoir volcanic rocks of the east group are predominantly composed of Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous rhyolite and Tertiary basalt, preferred being considered as rift type volcanics developed in the circum-Pacific tectonic regime. Those of the west are Permo-Carboniferous intermediate/basic volcanic rocks, being island-arc type ones developed in paleo-Asian Ocean tectonic regime.     

日本-千岛海沟转折处地震层析成像研究

根据P波走时地震数据,使用双差层析成像方法,获得较高分辨率的日本-千岛海沟转折处俯冲带200 km深度内的震源重定位及P波速度结构结果。将日本-千岛海沟转折处俯冲带分为北日本海沟俯冲带及南千岛海沟俯冲带,且200 km深度内太平洋俯冲板块是连续的。最后,结合水深地形数据、断裂特征资料,划分日本-千岛海沟转折处俯冲带的断裂级别。     

Simulation of the dynamic disturbance characteristics of the soft sediment in the Diexi ancient dammed lake,China

In an earlier study of the Diexi ancient dammed lake along the Minjiang River in Southwest China, 10 disturbed layers with envelope and flame structures were found in more than 240 m of lacustrine sediments. In this paper, the soft-sediment disturbances caused by earthquakes in the Diexi ancient dammed lake were studied based on field investigations and laboratory core observations. A two-to three-degree-of-freedom spring-type earthquake simulation vibration table was used to carry out disturbance tests on lacustrine sediments under different dynamic conditions. The results support the following conclusions:(1) The disturbance layers in the lacustrine sediments were caused by strong earthquakes in the region.(2) The characteristics of the disturbance layers are related to the seismic parameters and the degree of sediment consolidation.(3) The greater the earthquake intensity is, the greater the disturbance amplitude is; moreover, the lower the consolidation degree is, the greater the disturbance amplitude.(4) The simulation tests verify that the disturbance layers in the sediments of the Diexi ancient dammed lake correspond to strong earthquakes in the region. These results are valuable for ongoing palaeoseismic research in the region.     

Distribution of general aerobic heterotrophic bacteria in sediment core taken from the Canadian basin and the Chukchi Sea

The occurrence percentage and abundance of General Aerobic Hetero- trophic Bacteria （GAB） were determined by using the method of MPN for 182 sub- samples from 10 sediment cores taken from the Canadian basin and the Chukchi Sea at two different culturing temperatures. The results showed that the general occurrence percentage of GAB was quite high, average abundanees of GAB at cultured temperatares of 4℃ and 25℃ were 4.46 ×10^7 and 5.47×10^7 cells·g^-1（wt）, respectively. The highest abundance of GAB occurred at 20 -22 cm section in the sediment. GAB abundances changed among the section of sediments, but there is a trend ： the a-bundances at the middle or lower sections were lower than those at upper section. Cultivation at 25℃ could improve the occurrence percentage and abundances of GAB, which suggests that the increasing of temperature may change the living circum-stances of GAB. The differences of GAB among the latitudes areas indicated that occurrence percentage and abundances of GAB in middle latitude areas were higher than those in the higher or lower latitude areas, and were more obvious at 4℃ than those at 25℃. The GAB abundances in sediment under the shallower water seemed to be low- er than those in sediments under the deeper water and this status was more obvious at 25℃ than that at 4℃.     

The sediment and hydrographic characteristics of three horseshoe crab nursery beaches in hong kong

1　Introduction　Thelifecycleofhorseshoecrabsislengthywhencom paredtoothermarinearthropodssuchasbluecrabsandshrimpspecies (Sekiguchietal.,1988) .Thetwospecies,TachypleustridentatusandCarcinoscorpiusrotundicauda,knowntooccurinHongKongrequire ,respectively ,betweenthirteentofourteenandtentoelevenyearstomaturebeforedepartingtheirnurserybeachesfordeeperwaters (ChiuandMorton ,1999a ;Sekiguchietal.,1988) .Thelivingenvironmentofthenurserybeacheswheretheeggsarelaidandincu bated ,andfromwhichtheyoun…     

Geochemical characteristics of heavy metals in riparian sediment pore water of Songhua River,Northeast China

This study reports the geochemical characteristics of zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), mercury (Hg), iron (Fe), and manganese (Mn) in the riparian sediment pore water of the Songhua River, Northeast China. In total, 36 pore water samples and 18 surface water samples from three typical sections were collected and analyzed in June 2009. Cluster analysis of heavy metals was performed to analyze the pollution sources of the metals. Results showed that Hg concentrations in the pore water were greater than those in the surface water, indicating a potential ability of Hg release from riparian sediment system to river water. However, concentrations of Fe and Mn in the surface water were greater than those in the pore water, demonstrating that the microenvironments of riparian and riverbed sediment systems were quite different. Variations of Zn, Cu, Pb and Ni between the surface and the pore water were different in each section. Most metals had similar horizontal and profile distribution characteristics in the three sections except for Zn and Ni. Hg, Fe and Mn concentrations in the pore water increased gradually with the increase in horizontal distance from water body, in contrast to this, Cu decreased, and Pb presented a fluctuating trend. With the increase in depth, Pb and Fe, Cu and Mn showed the same trends, and Hg showed a variable trend. The above distribution characteristics could mainly be attributed to the properties and the interactions of metals, pH and oxidation-reduction conditions, and the complex pollution sources and hydrologic regime in history. The probable sources of metals include the historical and ongoing discharge of industrial wastewater, mining activities, sewage irrigation for agricultural production, and atmospheric deposition from coal-fired plants.