Authigenic Carbonate and Barite Mineralization in Sediments of the Deryugin Basin (Sea of Okhotsk)

Results of the analysis of mineralogy, geochemistry, and isotope parameters (¹³C, ³⁴S, ¹⁸O, and ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) of carbonates and barites from sediments of the Deryugin Basin in the Sea of Okhotsk are presented. The diagenetic nature of carbonates and barites, which are formed as a result of the prolonged activity of cold seeps acting along a fracture zone and supplying methane–and barium-saturated fluids, is determined. Any signs for hydrothermal activity were not observed.     

Manganese metalliferous sediments of the Deryugin Basin (Sea of Okhotsk): Chemical composition and geological setting

This paper reports the results of an investigation of the chemical composition and distribution of manganese-rich metalliferous sediments in the Deryugin Basin. They compose an upper sedimentary layer up to 30 cm thick within a strip up to 40 km wide and 180 km long in the central part of the basin along the East Deryugin suture zone bounding the Deryugin sedimentary basin to the east. The sediments are enriched relative to the regional background composition in Mn (by a factor of 35); Au; Ni; Zn; Co (by a factor of 3–5); and, locally, in Mo, V, Ba, Cu, Pb, and Hg. It was supposed that their formation was controlled by several processes: precipitation of Mn and some other trace elements from hydrothermal plumes of seawater that occasionally form above submarine hot vents in the northern part of the basin, precipitation from anoxic bottom waters at the eastern boundary of the Deryugin sedimentary basin, and early diagenetic migration of Mn into the surface sediments.     

Structural elements of the sedimentary cover in the Deryugin Basin of the Sea of Okhotsk

A map of the tectonic zoning of the sedimentary cover in the Deryugin Basin area was constructed based on the structural data. For this purpose, a structural-tectonic map of the sedimentary cover was compiled using CDP seismic reflection and gravimetry data. Depending on the size, spatial position, and orientation, the structural elements of different orders were grouped into tectonic systems. The latters were subdivided into structural zones consisting of higher order structural elements in the form of relative rises and troughs. The corresponding maps and schemes are also presented in this paper.     

Geochemical characteristics of the surface layer of bottom sediments from the Deryugin Basin, Sea of Okhotsk

This paper reports data, including new analyses, on the contents of Ni, Co, V, Mo, Fe, Mn, Zn, Ba, Sc, Y, Cd, Rb, Cs, and W in the sediments of the Deryugin Basin. The features of the distribution of chemical elements in the bottom area were identified, and the zones of maximum accumulation of the major and trace elements were allocated. A correlation between the elements was shown.     

Geological structure of the sedimentary cover and evaluation of the oil and gas potential of the Deryugin Basin (Sea of Okhotsk)

Results of interpretation of the seismic refraction survey in the southern part of the Deryugin Basin are presented. A geological-geophysical model was developed, and a scheme of the sedimentary cover evolution of the basin (Late Cretaceous-Pleistocene) is suggested. The data obtained indicate a high hydrocarbon potential comparable with that of the adjacent oil and gas-bearing shelf of northeastern Sakhalin.     

Distribution and accumulation rate of Hg in the upper quaternary sediments of the Deryugin Basin,Sea of Okhotsk

The Hg distribution and some mineralogical-geochemical features of bottom sediments up to a depth of 10 m in the Deryugin Basin showed that the high and anomalous Hg contents in the Holocene deposits are confined to a spreading riftogenic structure and separate fluid vents within it. The accumulations of Hg in the the sediments were caused by its fluxes from gas and low-temperature hydrothermal vents under favorable oceanological conditions in the Holocene. The two mainly responsible for the high and anomalous Hg contents are infiltration (fluxes of hydrothermal or gas fluids from the sedimentary cover) and plume (Hg precipitation from water plumes with certain hydrochemical conditions forming above endogenous sources). The infiltration anomalies of Hg were revealed in the following environments: (1) near gas vents on the northeastern Sakhalin slope, where high Hg contents are associated only with Se and were caused by the accumulation of gases ascending from beneath the gas hydrate layer; (2) in the area of inferred occasionally operating low-temperature hydrothermal seeps in the central part of the Deryugin Basin, in which massive barite chimneys, hydrothermal Fe-Mn crusts, and anomalous contents of Mn, Ba, Zn, and Ni in sediments develop.     

Changes of planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages in upper quaternary sediments of the Deryugin Basin, Sea of Okhotsk

The analysis of foraminiferal assemblages in sediments that were deposited during the last 30 kyr revealed similar patterns in their distribution in the central and marginal parts of the Deryugin Basin. The similar composition of foraminifers through the entire basin implies similarity in natural environments within its limits. The absence of benthic foraminifers or extreme impoverishment of the assemblages during the maximum of the last glaciation could result from a combination of several factors: drastic decrease in bioproductivity due to general cooling, development of bottom anoxia, and presumably unfavorable influence of seeps on geochemical parameters of bottom waters. The weak activity of barite-methane seeps in the central part of the basin during the Holocene is evident from some variations in the structure of benthic foraminiferal assemblages against the background of their similar taxonomic compositions.     

Distribution and accumulation rate of ore elements in Holocene and Late Glacial Sediments of the Deryugin Basin,Sea of Okhotsk

Results of the study of contents and accumulation rates of Fe, Mn, and a number of trace elements in Upper Quaternary sediments of the Deryugin Basin are presented. Maps of the average contents and accumulation rates of excess Fe, Mn, Zn, Ba, Ni, Pb, Cu, and Mo in sediments of the first oxygen isotope stage (OIS) have been plotted. Anomalous contents and accumulation rates are confined to peripheral zones of the Deryugin sedimentary basin and large fracture zones. Different mechanisms of the influence of fluid-dynamic processes on the rate of hydrogenic and biogenic accumulation of ore elements are assumed.Translated from Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, No. 2, 2005, pp. 115–132.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Astakhov, Gorbarenko, Bakhareva, Gretskaya, Sattarova.     

Evidence for compressionally induced high subsidence rates in the Kurile Basin (Okhotsk Sea)

A combined volcanological, geochemical, paleo-oceanological, geochronological and geophysical study was undertaken on the Kurile Basin, in order to constrain the origin and evolution of this basin. Very high rates of subsidence were determined for the northeastern floor and margin of the Kurile Basin. Dredged volcanic samples from the Geophysicist Seamount, which were formed under subaerial or shallow water conditions but are presently located at depths in excess of 2300 m, were dated at 0.84±0.06 and 1.07±0.04 Ma with the laser ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar single crystal method, yielding a minimum average subsidence rate of 1.6 mm/year for the northeast basin floor in the Quaternary. Trace element and Sr–Nd–Pb isotope data from the volcanic rocks show evidence for contamination within lower continental crust and/or the subcontinental lithospheric mantle, indicating that the basement presently at 6-km depth is likely to represent thinned continental crust. Average subsidence rates of 0.5–2.0 mm/year were estimated for the northeastern slope of the Kurile Basin during the Pliocene and Quaternary through the determination of the age and paleo-environment (depth) of formation of sediments from a canyon wall. Taken together, the data from the northeastern part of the Kurile Basin indicate that subsidence began in or prior to the Early Pliocene and that subsidence rates have increased in the Quaternary. Similar rates of subsidence have been obtained from published studies on the Sakhalin Shelf and Slope and from volcanoes in the rear of the Kurile Arc. The recent stress field of the Kurile Basin is inferred from the analysis of seismic activity, focal mechanism solutions and from the structure of the sedimentary cover and of the Alaid back-arc volcano. Integration of these results suggests that compression is responsible for the rapid subsidence of the Kurile Basin and that subsidence may be an important step in the transition from basin formation to its destruction. The compression of the Kurile Basin results from squeezing of the Okhotsk Plate between four major plates: the Pacific, North American, Eurasian and Amur. We predict that continued compression could lead to subduction of the Kurile Basin floor beneath Hokkaido and the Kurile Arc in the future and thus to basin closure.     

Geological structure of the Kashevarov Trough (central Sea of Okhotsk)

This paper reports the composition and age of rocks dredged from the Kashevarov Trough (central Sea of Okhotsk) during cruise 41 of the R/V Akademik M.A. Lavrentyev in 2006. It was found that the Late Cretaceous and Eocene volcanics from the Kashevarov Trough and Okhotsk-Chukotka volcanic belt, structures of which are traceable in the Sea of Okhotsk, have similar petrographic and geochemical features. The Cenozoic sedimentary cover consists of three different-age complexes: (1) the late Oligocene (∼28.2–24.0 Ma); (2) the terminal late Oligocene-early Miocene (24.0–20.3 Ma); (3) the terminal late Pliocene-early Pleistocene (2.0–1.0 Ma). The upper Oligocene-lower Miocene sediments were deposited in relatively shallow-water settings, whereas the late Pliocene-early Pleistocene complex was formed in deeper environments, which was probably determined by tectonic processes. The geological data indicate that the Kashevarov Trough and the surrounding underwater rises represented in the Oligocene-early Miocene a single shelf zone of the Sea of Okhotsk, which is underlain by a structurally integral Mesozoic basement and is now subsided to depths of 800–1000 m.     

Neotectonics and geodynamics of the Kuznetsk Basin

This work describes the peculiarities of neotectonics and geodynamic development of the Kuznetsk Basin since the Oligocene. The complex of studies included structural-geomorphological analysis with interpretation, satellite image data processing, and field observations. The studies we carried out allowed us to reveal that the modern dislocations in the Kuznetsk Basin are characterized by an arched-block style of tectonic movement. The modern structural pattern of the Kuznetsk Basin is a combination of wide uplifts separated by narrow depressions and weak zones (fault zones, fracture zones, and zones of rock disintegration) of northwestern, northeastern, submeridional, and sublatitudinal strike. As a result of these studies, the relationships between modern and ancient tectonic structures and the geodynamic features of the development of modern dislocations that depend on the degree of activization of tectonic structures have been revealed. Statistical analysis of the results of the interpretation allowed us to reveal areas of high permeability and higher dislocation density in the geological setting with a higher concentration of methane.     

Fe-Mn crusts from underwater rises of the Kashevarov Trough (Sea of Okhotsk)

Dredging on nonvolcanic underwater rises in the Kashevarov Trough area (Sea of Okhotsk) carried out during Cruise 178 of R/V “Sonne” yielded sedimentary (conglomerates), metamorphic (biotite hornfels, tectonic breccia with inclusions of biotite hornfels), and igneous (granodiorite) rocks as well as Fe-Mn crusts up to 15 cm thick. The study of the structural-textural properties and the thorough analysis of the mineral and chemical compositions of these crusts, including the REE and Y distribution, show that the ore sediments are hydrogenic in nature.     

A model of productive Miocene deposits,Odoptu area,Sea of Okhotsk

The efficiency and abilities of the sequence-stratigraphic approach to the integrated interpretation of seismic and well data are considered based on the example of the Lower Nutovo subhorizon of the Odoptu area. The results of this study were used to build a sequence stratigraphic model, a curve of the relative sealevel changes, and a regional chronostratigraphic chart tied to the geochronologic timescale.     

Holocene Siliceous Sediments in the Sea of Okhotsk

The mineral and chemical compositions and physical properties of diatomaceous clayey–siliceous sediments in the Sea of Okhotsk are studied. Absolute masses of silica accumulation are determined. Their compositional model based on the silica content is similar to that of Late Jurassic and Olenekian–middle Anisian cherts of the Sikhote Alin region. The thickness of the Holocene siliceous unit and the absolute mass of siliceous deposits depended on bioproductivity in the upper water column and the seafloor topography. Absolute masses of SiO₂ am (0.05–5.7 g cm^–2 ka^–1) and SiO₂ fr (0.5–11.6 g cm^–2 ka^–1) are minimal on seamounts and maximal in depressions near foothills. These values match absolute masses of SiO₂ fr accumulations in Triassic and Late Jurassic basins of the Sikhote Alin region (0.33–3 g cm^–2 ka^–1). Comparison of the composition and absolute masses of silica shows that Triassic and Late Jurassic siliceous sequences of Sikhote Alin could be accumulated in the marginal marine basin near a continent.     

Excitation of Under-Ice Seiches of a Sea Port of the Sea of Okhotsk

Doklady Earth Sciences - Multiannual observations (2009–2017) by means of autonomous seiche recorders have been conducted for marine seiches with one second discreteness in the boot basin for...     

Bubbled lava from the floor of the Sea of Okhotsk

A sample of bubbled lava raised from a submarine volcano in the Sea of Okhotsk was analyzed by means of electron microscopy and the ICP-MS technique. The outside of the sample is flecked with rounded micro- and macrocavities, and the inner part is characterized by a liquation structure. Along with this, the unstructured mass of the rock contains globular particles of nearly the same diameters as the cavities. The lava is close to andesites and volcanic ashes of Kamchatka Peninsula in the macro- and microelemental composition but different in the somewhat increased content of barium, strontium, lithium, niobium, tungsten, uranium, and thorium. It is suggested that the cavities were formed during the eruption of the submarine volcano owing to contact of the boiling gas-saturated lava with seawater accompanied by the ejection of ash, which was spread by marine currents over long distances.