Microbial Biomass and Organic Nutrients in the Deep-Sea Sediments of the Central Indian Ocean Basin

In order to assess the impact of deep-sea mining on the in situ benthic life, we measured the microbial standing stock and concentration of organic nutrients in the deep-sea sediments of the Central Indian Ocean Basin in the Indian pioneer area. Sediments were collected using box core and grab samples during September 1996. The total bacterial numbers ranged from 10 10 -10 11 cells per g -1 dry weight sediment. There was a marginal decrease in the number of bacteria from surface to 30 cm depth, though the subsurface section registered a higher number than did the surface. The highest numbers were encountered at depths of 4-8 cm. The retrievable number of bacteria were two orders less in comparison with the direct total counts of bacteria. An almost homogeneous distribution of bacteria, total organic carbon, living biomass, and lipids throughout the depth of cores indicates active microbial and benthic processes in the deep sea sediments. On the other hand, a uniform distribution of total counts of bacteria, carbohydrates, and total organic carbon in all the cores indicates their stable nature and suggests that they can serve as useful parameters for long-term monitoring of the area after the benthic disturbance. Further studies on temporal variability in this region would not only verify the observed norms of distribution of these variables but would also help to understand restabilization processes after the simulated benthic disturbance.     

海上大直径钢管桩打桩过程中桩周土强度弱化研究

海上大直径钢管桩打桩过程中,桩周土体受到强烈扰动而发生强度弱化,掌握桩周土体强度弱化规律对于准确预测打桩过程、保证工程安全具有重要意义。为研究土体强度弱化规律,开展了环剪试验模拟打桩对桩周土体的扰动,测试土体强度随剪切速率的变化规律,建立了描述土体强度弱化规律的拟合公式,引入到打桩分析软件中。研究结果表明：土体的强度折减程度不仅与土体本身的性质有关还受到土体的埋深和剪切速率的影响,埋深越深土体强度折减程度越低,剪切速率越高土体强度折减越高,在打桩分析中可采用这里推荐的线性折减方法来模拟不同深度处土体强度的折减规律。     

Geoacoustic Inversion via Genetic Algorithm and Its Application to Manganese Sediment Identification

An acoustic inversion method using a wide-band signal and two near field receivers is proposed and applied to multiple layered seabed models including a manganese sediment. The inversion problem can be formulated into a probabilistic model comprised of signals, a forward model, and additive noise. The forward model simulates wide-band signals, such as chirp signals, and is chosen to be the source-waveletconvolution plane wave modeling method. The wavelet matching technique, using weighted least-squares fitting, estimates the sediment sound-speed and thickness on which determination of the possible numerical ranges for a priori uniform distribution is based. The genetic algorithm is applied to a global optimization problem to find a maximum a posteriori solution for determined a priori search space. Here the object function is defined by an L 2 norm of the difference between measured and modeled signals. Not only the marginal pdf but also its statistics are calculated by numerical evaluation of integrals using the samples selected during importance sampling process of the genetic algorithm.     

Deep-Sea Sediment Compression Curves: Some Controlling Factors, Spurious Overconsolidation, Predictions, and Geophysical Reproduction

Oedometer tests have been carried out on 70 undisturbed surficial clays (at approximately 250 mm below the mudline), mostly collected by free-fall corers from sites widely scattered throughout the deep-sea North Atlantic. Acoustic measurements were also made, initially on contiguous samples and ultimately on the same sample using a geophysically instrumented oedometer which also collected electrical resistivity data. Apart from those quiescent areas below the carbonate compensation depth, such as north of the West Indies where very fine clays exist, most of the samples are silty clays whose geotechnical-geophysical properties are dependent on the type of clay minerals present (and their ability to take in moisture), the sand-size fraction, and the quantity of carbonate present. Thus the pure clays have high compressibilities which decrease on the addition of coarse particles, while the converse is true for the acoustic parameters, these increasing with the sand fraction. Using the notion of the intrinsic compression line for all samples, and comparison to it of the measured compression curves, it is clear that, contrary to some previously held ideas, most deep-sea clays are normally consolidated; the addition of carbonate has the effect of creating an open, stronger sediment skeleton. Interestingly, where information is available, the variation with depth of a sample's acoustic velocity follows the void ratio pressure relationship of the compression curve. This allows the construction of an in-situ sediment compression curve using the in-situ geophysical observations.     

Phylogenetic diversity and phenotypic characterization of cultivable bacterioplankton isolated from polar oceans

A set of 27 marine planktonic bacteria isolated from the polar regions was characterized by 16S rDNA sequencing and physiological and biochemical testing. More than half of these bacteria were positive for caseinase, gelatinase and 13-glucosidase, and could utilize glucose, maltose or malic acid as carbon source for cell growth. Twelve isolates expressed nitrate reduction activities. Except for one antarctic isolate BSwlO175 belonging to Actinobacteria phylum, these isolates were classified as γ-Proteobacteria, suggesting that γ-Proteobacteria dominated in cultivable marine bacterioplankton at both poles. Genus Pseudoalteromonas was the predominant group in the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea, and genus ShewaneUa dominated in cultivable bacterioplankton in the Prydz Bay. With sequence similarities above 97%, genus Psychrobacter was found at both poles. These 27 isolates were psychrotolerant, and significant 16S rDNA sequence similarities were found not only between arctic and antarctic marine bacteria （ 〉 99% ）, but also between polar marine bacteria and bacteria from other aquatic environments （ ≥ 98.8% ）, including temperate ocean, deep sea, pond and lake, suggesting that in the polar oceans less temperature-sensitive bacteria may be cosmopolitan and have a bipolar, even global, distribution at the species level.     

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

<正>Acta Oceanologica Sinica(AOS)is a comprehensive academic journal edited by the Editorial Committee of Acta Oceanologica Sinica and is designed to provide a forum for important research papers of the marine scientific community which reflect the information on a worldwide basis.The journal publishes scholarly papers on marine science and technology,including physics,chemistry,biology,     

Evaluation of the Risk of Marine Slope Instability: A Pseudo-3D Approach for Application to Large Areas

This article presents a methodology developed to evaluate the instability of submarine slopes that extend over a large area. Special attention was paid to (1) the complex geometry (bathymetry) and the expanse of the slope, (2) the heterogeneity of the sediment, and (3) the distribution of the pore pressure. The safety factor was considered as a spatially varying quantity. The General Formulation (GLE, Fredlund and Krahn 1977), which fully satisfies equilibrium conditions, was used for evaluating the stability of the marine slope. The submarine slope failure, which occurred on 16 October 1979 during the construction of the new Nice airport, was studied in order to test the developed model. Geotechnical parameters were taken from experimental tests carried out by IFREMER on 19 cores extracted at different depths (from 27 m to 1300 m) (Cochonat, Bourillet, and Savoye, 1993; Mulder et al., 1994). Many scenarios were proposed in order to explain the cause of the Nice slope failure (Habib, 1994). In this article, two of those scenarios were tested. Simulation results are presented and discussed.     

Estimation of Sediment Properties during Benthic Impact Experiments

Sediment properties, such as water content and density, have been used to estimate the dry and wet weights, as well as the volume of sediment recovered and discharged, during benthic impact experiments conducted in the Pacific and Indian Oceans. The estimates show that the weights of dry (355-1332 t) and wet sediment (1651-4888 t) recovered during the experiments, are not only a function of the total duration and distance covered during the experiment, but also depend on water content and density of the sediment. Estimation of dry sediment and its volumetric ratio in the discharge, are key parameters for calculating the discharged volume. The estimated volume of wet sediment recovered (1427-4049 m 3 ) as well as discharged (2693-6951 m 3 ) during the experiments, provide important inputs to evaluate the sediment resettlement and migration. Using these estimates, the average depth of excavation on the seafloor, can also been calculated. However, the stages of sediment recovery and discharge are expressed differently in some of the experiments. In order to standardize these, different stages have been identified, and definitions of certain terms have been suggested, for use in the future. The methods of calculating different properties, as well as weight and volume of discharged sediment are described in the paper for use in other applications concerning deep-sea discharges.     

A Tidal Flow Model for the Gulf of Kachchh, India

A vertically integrated model has been used to study the tidal circulation and currents in the Gulf of Kachchh along the west coast of India. The model is fully nonlinear and uses a semiexplicit finite difference scheme to solve the basic hydrodynamic equations on a staggered grid. The model is forced by prescribing the tides along the open boundary of the model domain. The flow is simulated both with and without the presence of the proposed tidal barrage across the Hansthal Creek in the Gulf of Kachchh. The results show a considerable change in the behavior of the tidal flow in the presence of the barrage.     

利用中国GF-3卫星SAR和HY-2A卫星微波散射计的首次台风联合定量观测

<正>The typhoon,as a mature tropical cyclone that develops in the western part of the North Pacific Ocean with high wind speed and heavy rainfall,is one of the most lethal and costly of natural disasters for the densely populated countries of East Asia.It can be easily detected by space-borne sensors operated at microwave,visible or infrared bands(Liu et al.,2014).Synthetic Aperture Radar(SAR)is     

Increased Particle Fluxes at the INDEX Site Attributable to Simulated Benthic Disturbance

Particle fluxes were measured 7 m above the sea bottom during the predisturbance, disturbance, and postdisturbance periods by using time series sediment traps attached to seven deep-sea moorings deployed in the INDEX experiment site in the Central Indian Basin. The predisturbance particle fluxes varied between 22.3 to 55.1 mg m -2 day -1 . Increased and variable particle fluxes were recorded by the sediment traps during the disturbance period. The increase observed was 0.5 to 4 times more than the background predisturbance fluxes. The increases in particle fluxes (~4 times) recorded by the sediment trap located in the southwestern direction (DMS-1) were the greatest, which could be the result of preferential movement of resuspended particles generated during the deep-sea benthic disturbance along the general current direction prevailing in this area during the experimental period. Also, the traps located closer to the disturbance area recorded greater fluxes than did the traps far away, across the Deep Sea Sediment Resuspension System path. This variability in recorded particle fluxes by the traps around the disturbance area clearly indicates that physical characteristics such as grain size and density of the resuspended particles produced during the disturbance had an important effect on particle movement. The postdisturbance measurements during ~5 days showed a reduction in particle fluxes of ~50%, indicating rapid particle settlement.     

A Review of Some Environmental Issues Affecting Marine Mining

This article reviews information recently available from existing marine and coastal mining for responses to environmental issues affecting marine mining at different depths. It is particularly but not exclusively concerned with those issues affecting seabed biodiversity impact and recovery. Much information has been gathered in the past 10 years from shallow mining operations for construction aggregate, diamonds, and gold, from coastal mines discharging tailings to shallow and deep water, and from experimental deep mining tests. The responses to issues identified are summarized in a series of eight tables intended to facilitate site-specific consideration. Since impacts can spread widely in the surface mixing layer SML, and can affect the biologically productive euphotic zone, the main issues considered arise from the depth of mining relative to the SML of the sea. Where mining is below the SML, the issue is whether it is environmentally better to bring the extraction products to the surface vessel for processing (and waste discharge), or to process the extraction products as much as possible on the seabed. Responses to the issues need to be sitespecific, and dependent on adequate preoperational environmental impact and recovery prediction. For deep tailings disposal from a surface vessel, there are four important environmental unknowns: (1) the possible growth of "marine snow" (bacterial flocs) utilizing the enormous quantities of fine tailings particles (hundreds or thousands of metric tons per day) as nuclei for growth, (2) the possibility that local keystone plankton and nekton species may migrate diurnally down to and beyond the depth of deep discharge and hence be subjected to tailings impact at depth, (3) the burrow-up capability of deep benthos and their ability to survive high rates of tailings deposition, and (4) the pattern and rate of dispersion of a tailings density current through the deep water column from discharge point to seabed. Actions to obtain relevant information in general and site-specifically are suggested.     

离子交换—原子吸收光谱法测定海水中痕量铜、铅、锌、镉、铁、锰

本文介绍了用国产D401型螯合树脂分离富集海水中铜、铅、锌、镉、铁、锰等痕量元素,并用原子吸收光谱仪测定其含量的方法。讨论了各元素的分离条件选择及干扰元素的影响,并与溶剂萃取法的结果作了比较。各元素检测的定量下限为:铜0.5μg/L、铅0.1μg/L、锌1.0μg/L、镉0.01μg/L、铁2.0μg/L、锰2.0μg/L。方法精密度在4—8％之间,回收率为90—102％。     

Biogeochemistry of Mangrove Soil Organic Matter: a Comparison BetweenRhizophoraandAvicenniaSoils in South-eastern Brazil

Soil core samples fromRhizophora mangleL. andAvicennia schauerianaStapf & Leech forests from south-eastern Brazil were analysed for their total organic matter content and their sugars, amino acid and amino sugars composition. Organic carbon and nitrogen contents were higher inAvicenniathan inRhizophorasoils. The contribution of sugars and amino acids to the total organic carbon pool was constant with depth inRhizophorasoils whereas inAvicenniasoils it increased. Spectral distribution of sugars and amino acids showed a dominance of Ca-affine monomers, particularly acidic amino acids, and the sugar arabinose. Biogeochemical indicators derived from ratios of individual sugar and amino acid monomers confirm previous studies which showed that organic matter in both soils is mainly of mangrove origin. The results further suggest accumulation of organic matter inRhizophorasoils and a continuing degradation of organic matter inAvicenniasoils. The latter may thus release more nutrients to adjacent ecosystems thanRhizophorasoils.     

Determination of In Situ Sediment Shear Strength from Advanced Piston Corer Pullout Forces

The advanced piston corer (APC) has been used by the Ocean Drilling Program since 1985 for recovering soft sediments from the ocean floor. The pullout force measured on extracting the core barrel from the sediment is shown to correlate with the average shear strength of the sediment core measured in the ship's laboratory. A simple rule of thumb is derived relating the shear strength of the sediment to the pullout force. Multiple APC holes at individual sites allow the consistency of the pullout measurements to be assessed. The effects of different operational procedures during APC coring are also explored. Although generally applicable, the correlation between pullout force and laboratory measurements of shear strength breaks down for some APC holes, possibly because of the disturbance of some sediment types during the APC coring process. A better understanding of the physical process of APC coring, and its effect on the properties of the sediment both inside and immediately outside the core barrel, would indicate what confidence can be put on the measurement of pullout force as a way of evaluating the in situ shear strength of deep sea sediments.     

A review of orange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus fisheries,estimation methods,biology and stock structure

Orange roughy Hoplostethus atlanticus are unusual fish. They form dense aggregations that have fuelled lucrative fisheries at great depths (600–1 400 m), especially off Namibia, New Zealand and Australia. They are thought to be very long-lived (>100 years, maturity at 22 – 40 years), and to have exceptionally low natural mortality (M = 0.045–0.064 year^?1) and slow growth rates (K = 0.055–0.070 year^?1). In addition, they spawn large eggs and have low fecundity. These factors combine to make orange roughy highly susceptible to overfishing; most stocks are below 30% of pristine levels. Assessments are obtained from indices of catch rate and trawl, acoustic and egg surveys. Acoustic estimates are the most direct, but are confounded by the species' low target strength (?50 to ?53 dB)–attributable to the wax-filled swim bladder. Extracellular wax esters are stored in abundance and comprise mostly mono-unsaturated fatty acids, with low concentrations of the ω-3 fatty acid family. This unusual composition (resultant from the species' diet) ensures neutral buoyancy. Stock separation has been inferred mainly from biological studies, but genetic studies have also found differences among stocks within New Zealand and Australia. Deep-water habitat may be damaged by trawling operations and may take many years to recover, so in some quarters there is a call for a portion of suitable habitat to be set aside for preservation. Although Namibian orange roughy are shallower, smaller and younger than those in other stocks, the Namibian fishery sustained high catches for only a few years before quotas were reduced, from 12 000 to 1 875 tons. Three management lessons are suggested for developing orange roughy fisheries based on the Namibian experience: (1) imposition of catch limits during exploratory fishing; (2) starting the acoustic surveys earlier in the fishery, if possible; (3) greater reliance on trends in catch rate until a survey series has been established.     

Effects of tributyltin at environmental levels on monooxygenase system of digestive gland in hard clam Meretrix meretrix

The effects on ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase （EROD）, NADPH-cytochrome c reductase and NADH cytochrorne b5 reductase activities of digestive gland in Meretrix meretrix exposed to tributyltin （TBT） at environmental levels （0.1,1.0,10.0 ng/dm as stannum concentration）,in experimental condition, were evaluated. The EROD, NADH cytochrorne b5 reductase activities were significantly inhibited after exposure to 10.0 ng/dm^3 TBT for 8 and 20 d, the NADPH cytochrorne c reductase activities were significantly inhibited after exposure to 0.1,1.0 and 10.0 ng/dm TBT for 8 d and to 1.0 and 10.0 ng/dm for 20 d, as compared with the matched control, while NADH cytochrorne b5 reductases and NADPH cytochrome c reductase activities were induced after exposure to 10.0 ng/dm^3 TBT for 2 d. The EROD activity in the 10 ng/dm^3 group,and the NADH cytochrome b5 reductases activities in 1.0 and 10.0 ng/dm groups, were significantly induced when transferred to clean recovery tanks for 7 d. The three enzymic activities in the clams exposed to TBT were recovered to the level corresponding to that of the control group after transfer to clean recovery tanks for 20 d. NADPH cytochrome c reductase activity in Meretrix meretrix seems to be more sensitive to exposure of TBT than that of the EROD and NADH cytochrome b5 reductases. The results suggest that induction and inhibition by TBT to the monooxygenase system enzymic activity in Meretrix meretrix would simultaneously exist. The enzymic activities were inhibited by exposure for a long time. The results suggest that inhibition of the monooxygenase system should be an indication of the exposure to environmentally relevant concentrations of TBT for a long time.