Near-equatorial eddies off South America

A considerable amount of the Amazon River water that is discharged into the equatorial Atlantic is then advected northward along the shelf by the strong North Brazil Current (NBC). Being relatively fresh, this water remains in the near-surface layer and can serve as an excellent tracer for the complex and variable flow of the offshore mesoscale eddies. Both surface salinity observations and CZCS (Coastal Zone Color Scanner) imagery can be mapped to estimate the circulation patterns of the eddies. Presented here are two sets of XBT (expendable bathythermograph) sections that give the thermal structure of eddies off the Demerara Rise (6–9°N). They were occupied nearly contemporaneously with CZCS imagery obtained during October 1980 and November 1981. Several studies have shown from ship drift data, from CZCS observations, and from Geosat altimetry that, particularly during late summer and fall, the NBC is found to retroflect offshore to the east, supplying the North Equatorial Counter Current (NECC) and is associated with eddies along the coast. Good agreement is shown between the CZCS and a NAVOCEANO AXBT (airborne bathythermograph) survey during this period as well as observations of surface phytoplankton and geopotential anomaly from an earlier 1964 survey. Estimates of volume transport within the eddy structure indicate that at times the offshore retroflection during spring as well as autumn can amount to 10 × 10⁶ m³ s^–1. The pronounced eddy variability off South America is shown by comparing a number of past hydrographic surveys. These suggest that considerable spatial variability can occur as can seasonal changes in volume transport of the NBC and the associated eddy circulation.     

Effects of deep-sea eddies on the northern KwaZulu-Natal shelf,South Africa

This paper describes the westward movement of a cyclonic eddy across the Mozambique Channel and the subsequent south-westward propagation of the eddy along the east coast of South Africa and its interaction with the shelf. A hydrographic survey on 13 September 2006 off Nine-mile Reef (NMR), Sodwana Bay, showed a well-developed Agulhas Current along the continental shelf inshore of a cyclonic eddy flanked by two anti-cyclonic eddies, further offshore. A satellite-tracked drifter and complementary altimetry data confirmed the dimensions of the eddy and tracked its movement towards the coast. Shelf-edge upwelling was measured at NMR by an underwater temperature recorder (UTR) when the cyclonic eddy first came into contact with the shelf and again when the cyclonic eddy interacted with the leading edge of the anti-cyclonic eddy moving onto the shelf. Further shelf–eddy interactions off Aliwal Shoal, south of Durban, and consequent upwelling were similarly caused by the same cyclonic eddy as it progressed south-westward along the east coast. Analysis of UTR data between 2004 and 2006 indicated that between two and five cyclonic eddies impact the shelf off NMR per year.     

Dynamics and role of the Durban cyclonic eddy in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight ecosystem

The semi-permanent Durban Eddy is a mesoscale, lee-trapped, cold-core cyclonic circulation that occurs off the east coast of South Africa between Durban in the north and Sezela, some 70 km to the south. When present, strong north-eastward countercurrents reaching 100 cm s^–1 are found inshore. It is hypothesised that the cyclone is driven by the strong south-westward flowing Agulhas Current offshore of the regressing shelf edge near Durban. Analysis of ADCP data and satellite imagery shows the eddy to be present off Durban approximately 55% of the time, with an average lifespan of 8.6 days, and inter-eddy periods of 4 to 8 days. After spin-up the eddy breaks loose from its lee position and propagates downstream on the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current. The eddy is highly variable in occurrence, strength and downstream propagation speeds. There is no detectable seasonal cycle in eddy occurrence, with the Natal Pulse causing more variability than any seasonal signal. A thermistor array deployed in the eddy centre, together with ship CTD data, indicates upward doming of the thermal structure in the eddy core associated with cooler water and nutrients being moved higher in the water column, stimulating primary production. Together with the use of satellite imagery, our findings indicate a second mechanism of upwelling, viz. divergent upwelling in the northern limb of the eddy. Satellite-tracked surface drifters released in the eddy demonstrated the potential for nutrient-rich eddy water to be transported northwards along the inshore regions of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Bight, thus contributing to the functioning of the bight ecosystem, as well as southwards along the KZN and Transkei coasts – both by the eddy migrating downstream and by eddy water being recirculated into the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current itself.     

Response of Cenozoic turbidite system to tectonic activity and sea-level change off the Zambezi Delta

Submarine fans and turbidite systems are important and sensitive features located offshore from river deltas that archive tectonic events, regional climate, sea level variations and erosional process. Very little is known about the sedimentary structure of the 1800 km long and 400 km wide Mozambique Fan, which is fed by the Zambezi and spreads out into the Mozambique Channel. New multichannel seismic profiles in the Mozambique Basin reveal multiple feeder systems of the upper fan that have been active concurrently or consecutively since Late Cretaceous. We identify two buried, ancient turbidite systems off Mozambique in addition to the previously known Zambezi-Channel system and another hypothesized active system. The oldest part of the upper fan, located north of the present-day mouth of the Zambezi, was active from Late Cretaceous to Eocene times. Regional uplift caused an increased sediment flux that continued until Eocene times, allowing the fan to migrate southwards under the influence of bottom currents. Following the mid-Oligocene marine regression, the Beira High Channel-levee complex fed the Mozambique Fan from the southwest until Miocene times, reworking sediments from the shelf and continental slope into the distal abyssal fan. Since the Miocene, sediments have bypassed the shelf and upper fan region through the Zambezi Valley system directly into the Zambezi Channel. The morphology of the turbidite system off Mozambique is strongly linked to onshore tectonic events and the variations in sea level and sediment flux.     

青岛─石岛近海反气旋中尺度涡旋存在证据及数值模拟

系统整理的历史实测海流和温盐资料显示出青岛─石岛近海水域全年都存在着中尺度反气旋式涡旋运动．利用二维数值模式,首次模拟出该涡旋的存在,并对这一涡旋的形成机制进行了探讨,数值模拟结果和实测吻合良好．数值计算表明：在冬季盛行风的作用下,山东半岛南岸出现减水,迫使北上的黄海暖流中的一部分向西北方向延伸,在到达山东半岛近海后向右转向,形成东北向沿岸流,这样,与绕过山东半岛大约沿40～50m等深线南下的黄海沿岸流作用,在青岛─石岛近海形成一个中尺度反气旋涡旋．夏季由于偏南风的作用,致使山东半岛南部近海浅水区域海水都向东北方向流动,与沿黄海冷水团锋面南下的黄海沿岸流相作用,由于流速切变也形成了上述涡旋．     

冬季青岛-石岛近海中尺度涡旋数值模拟

利用二维全流水动力方程组,在考虑了海面风应力,潮余流和一开边界入流等条件下,首次模拟出了石了石岛附近的中尺度反旋式涡旋海水运动,并对南黄海西部冬季环流的特征作了初步探讨。数值模拟结果和实测吻合良好,数值模拟表明：冬季南黄海西部环流形式主要决定因子是海面风应力、潮余流及从开边界的流入该海域的黄海暖流及黄海沿岸流。黄海暖流在偏北风作用下沿西北方向可直达山东半岛近岸,后分为两支：一支向南汇入黄海沿岸流流     

The transition zone of the Canary Current upwelling region

Like all the major upwelling regions, the Canary Current is characterised by intense mesoscale structure in the transition zone between the cool, nutrient-rich waters of the coastal upwelling regime and the warmer, oligotrophic waters of the open ocean. The Canary Island archipelago, which straddles the transition, introduces a second source of variability by perturbing the general southwestward flow of both ocean currents and Trade winds. The combined effects of the flow disturbance and the eddying and meandering of the boundary between upwelled and oceanic waters produce a complex pattern of regional variability. On the basis of historical data and a series of interdisciplinary field studies, the principal features of the region are described. These include a prominent upwelling filament originating near 28°N off the African coast, cyclonic and anti-cyclonic eddies downstream of the archipelago, and warm wake regions protected from the Trade winds by the high volcanic peaks of the islands. The filament is shown to be a recurrent feature, apparently arising from the interaction of a topographically trapped cyclonic eddy with the outer edge of the coastal upwelling zone. Its role in the transport and exchange of biogenic material, including fish larvae, is considered. Strong cyclonic eddies, observed throughout the year, drift slowly southwestward from Gran Canaria. One sampled in late summer was characterised by large vertical isopycnal displacements, apparent surface divergence and strong upwelling, producing a fourfold increase in chlorophyll concentrations over background values. Such intense eddies can be responsible for a major contribution to the vertical flux of nitrogen. The lee region of Gran Canaria is shown to be a location of strong pycnocline deformation resulting from Ekman pumping on the wind shear boundaries, which may contribute to the eddy formation process.     

The ‘suitcase hypothesis’: Can entrainment of meroplankton by eddies provide a pathway for gene flow between Madagascar and KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa?

Similarities in the marine fauna found off the coasts of southern Madagascar and KwaZulu-Natal Province (KZN), South Africa, led to the development of the ‘suitcase project,’ with the aim of establishing whether eddies that form off southern Madagascar may package and transport biological material across the Mozambique Channel, facilitating connectivity and gene flow. Meroplankton (larval stages of fishes and benthic invertebrates) were collected on the Madagascan shelf and along a transect through a cyclonic eddy in the Mozambique Channel. The samples were analysed using microscopy and DNA barcoding, seeking to identify species known to be common to both the southeast coast of Madagascar and the east coast of South Africa and thereby to reveal potential indicators of connectivity between these regions. The greatest zooplankton biovolume in the upper 200 m occurred on the shelf, followed by in the western part of the eddy and in the region outside the eddy to the west, and was lowest in the region outside the eddy to the east. The meroplankton were dominated by taxa of coastal origin and these were also most abundant on the shelf and in the western part of the eddy, with the lowest abundances in the region outside the eddy to the east. The findings show greater zooplankton biovolumes and larval abundances and the presence of reef-associated larval assemblages on the Madagascan shelf and along the transect through the cyclonic eddy, providing support for the suitcase hypothesis that planktonic organisms are entrained within eddies as they propagate south-westwards of the Madagascan shelf.     

The Middle Miocene to Recent Davis Strait Drift Complex: implications for Arctic�CAtlantic water exchange

A large-scale contourite drift complex has been recognised on multi-channel 2D reflection seismic data acquired in the south-eastern Davis Strait and adjacent Labrador Sea slope offshore West Greenland between 63°?C66°N. Based on well-tie data, the drift complex developed from the Middle Miocene to the Recent. It has been mapped in a wide variety of water depths ranging from about 700?m, at a NNW-ESE-elongated crest located above structural highs in the Davis Strait, to more than 2,000?m beyond the slope to the Labrador Sea. The overall drift geometry has been described by subdivision into two first-order seismic units, enabling the generation of time-isochore maps. The reflection patterns demonstrating current-related deposition are illustrated by seismic examples. The time-isochores of the two first-order seismic units show lateral changes in their depocentres: the lower unit is absent in a zone slightly displaced south-westwards of the present-day crest, indicating changes in the prevailing deepwater current system during the Early Pliocene. The observations can be explained by two alternative palaeoceanographic scenarios: (1) either the present-day oceanographic setting with Arctic?CAtlantic water exchange across the Davis Strait was largely established by the mid-Miocene, with only minor adjustments during the Early Pliocene caused by tectonic movements, or (2) it became established during the Early Pliocene as a consequence of enhanced northward flow across the Davis Strait due to lowering of the sill depth.     

Circulation patterns in the Delagoa Bight,Mozambique, and the influence of deep ocean eddies

An investigation of the circulation patterns and thermohaline structures in the Delagoa Bight, Mozambique, was undertaken during May 2004, August 2004, April 2005, and April 2006, using hydrographic surveys, surface drifters and satellite imagery. Hydrographic and satellite data during May 2004 illustrated a cyclonic eddy centred at 26° S, 34.25° E in the Bight. A surface drifter remained trapped in this eddy for six weeks between 8 May and 20 June 2004 before moving southward in the Agulhas Current. During August 2004, the core of a cyclonic eddy was located south of the Bight, while no cyclonic eddy was observed during April 2005 or in April 2006. The Delagoa Bight eddy appeared to be more transient than previously thought. Important observations were the recurrent northward current (25–30 cm s^?1) occurring subsurface on the shelf, and the prominence of cooler upwelled water at various locations due to the interaction of passing eddies with the bottom topography of the Bight.     

An offshore eddy in the California current system Part IV: Plankton distributions

The distribution of plankton across a warm-core eddy system in the California Current 400 km off Point Conception, California was studied in January 1981. The eddy system, about 150 km in diameter at the 7°C isotherm, was made up of a 75 m thick surface layer, a cold-core region extending from 75 m to about 200 m, and a warm-core eddy below 200 m extending to at least 1450 m. Casts for the vertical distribution of chlorophyll/phaeophytin and integrating zooplankton net tows were taken at 37 stations located about 20 km apart on two orthogonal transects across the eddy system. Vertical distributions of microplankton were determined on one section from the eddy center to beyond the eastern edge. Integrated chlorophyll/phaeophytin values were highest to the north and east of the eddy system; across the system itself, there was only a small increase of values near the center. Asymmetrical distributions of maximum concen Current water was being entrained into the center of the eddy system from the northeast. Dinoflagellates were numerically the most important member of the microplankton, especially in the deep chlorophyll maximum. Zooplankton distributions indicated the intermingling of warm and cool water species throughout at least the upper 200 m of the eddy system. Some cold water species were as abundant inside the system as outside to the north and east; their numbers were much reduced in a band surrounding the system where warm water species were most abundant. The presence of species characteristic of different water types throughout the region of the eddy system provides an indication of the mixing that had occurred since the system originally formed. The biological data, together with the physical and chemical results, indicate the importance of frontal boundary processes and lateral entrainment of surrounding water into the eddy system in determining the character and productivity of such systems.     

青岛-石岛近海反气旋中尺度涡旋存在证据及数值模拟

系统整理的历史实测海流和温盐资料显示出青岛-石岛近海水域全年都存在着中尺度反气旋式涡旋运动.利用二维数值模式,首次模拟出该涡旋的存在,并对这一涡旋的形成机制进行了探讨,数值模拟结果和实测吻合良好.数值计算表明:在冬季盛行风的作用下,山东半岛南岸出现减水,迫使北上的黄海暖流中的一部分向西北方向延伸,在到达山东半岛近海后向右转向,形成东北向沿岸流,这样,与绕过山东半岛大约沿40～50m等深线南下的黄海沿岸流作用,在青岛-石岛近海形成一个中尺度反气旋涡旋.夏季由于偏南风的作用,致使山东半岛南部近海浅水区域海水都向东北方向流动,与沿黄海冷水团锋面南下的黄海沿岸流相作用,由于流速切变也形成了上述涡旋.     

The Iváň Canyon,a large Miocene canyon in the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep

During the latest Early Miocene a large drainage system developed in the Alpine-Carpathian Foreland transporting sediments through a prominent submarine canyon along the narrow corridor between the south-eastern Bohemian Massif and the Waschberg-Ždánice Unit. The canyon followed the Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep from Lower Austria towards the north and northeast into the Czech Republic. 3-D seismic data allow the mapping of this 600 m deep structure over a distance of 25 km and a width of 5 km. Despite its dimension, making it the largest submarine erosive and sedimentary structure of the Neogene Alpine-Carpathian Foredeep, this canyon has not been previously recognised. Herein, it is interpreted as shelf-indenting canyon that formed due to a combination of isostatic rebound along a terminating thrust front and sea-level change during the terminal Early Miocene.The canyon fill comprises reworked littoral deposits with a typical Early Miocene, tropical micro- and macrofauna. The exact timing of this refilling remains unclear. Smaller channel structures in surface outcrops, representing potential tributaries of the canyon, suggest a more or less synsedimentary filling soon after indention. Finally, the top part of the canyon was eroded around the Early/Middle Miocene boundary, probably related to a global 3rd order sea level drop, and caped by marine marls during the subsequent early Middle Miocene transgression. With the sudden onset of the subsidence of the Northern Vienna Basin during that time, the drainage system abruptly moved southward shedding its sediments into the newly opening Vienna Basin. This explains the rather abrupt abandonment of the huge canyon feature, whose fan deposits are unknown so far.     

Contrasting hydrography and phytoplankton distribution in the upper layers of cyclonic eddies in the Mozambique Basin and Mozambique Channel

Hydrographic data collected in cyclonic eddies in the Mozambique Channel and Basin revealed notable differences in temperature and salinity at a depth of 100 m, the upper mixed layer, the nitracline depths, and vertical distribution of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a). Differences in temperature and salinity did not show any consistent patterns. In contrast, the differences in the upper mixed layer, nitracline depths and the vertical Chl-a profile appeared to be driven by combined effects of eddy dynamics (i.e. shoaling of isopleths) and the seasonal variation in light availability and mixing conditions in the upper layers. Cyclonic eddies studied during austral spring and summer in the Mozambique Channel exhibited shallower upper mixed layers and nitracline depths, and deeper euphotic zones. Distinct subsurface Chl-a maxima (SCM) were associated with the stratified conditions in the upper layers of these eddies. In contrast, a cyclonic eddy studied during mid-austral winter in the Mozambique Basin had a shallower euphotic zone, deeper upper mixed layer and uniform Chl-a profiles. Another eddy sampled in the Mozambique Basin toward the end of winter showed a less pronounced SCM and roughly equal euphotic zone and upper mixed layer depths, suggestive of a transition from a well-mixed upper layer during winter to stratified conditions in summer.     

Shelf currents,lee-trapped and transient eddies on the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current,South Africa: their relevance to the KwaZulu-Natal sardine run

The existence and strength of the annual KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) sardine run has long been a conundrum to fishers and scientists alike ― particularly that the sardine Sardinops sagax migrate along the narrow Transkei shelf against the powerful, warm Agulhas Current. However, examination of ship-borne acoustic Doppler current profiler (S–ADCP) data collected during two research surveys in 2005 indicated that northward-flowing coastal countercurrents exist at times between the Agulhas Bank and the KZN Bight, near Port Alfred, East London, Port St Johns and Durban. The countercurrent near Port Alfred extended as far east as the Keiskamma River, within an upwelling zone known to exist there. An ADCP mooring at a depth of 32 m off Port Alfred indicated that the countercurrent typically lasted a few days, but at times remained in the same direction for as long as 10 days. Velocities ranged between 20 and 60 cm s^?1 with maximum values of ～80 cm s^?1. The S–ADCP data also highlighted the existence of cyclonic flow in the Port St Johns–Waterfall Bluff coastal inset, with a northward coastal current similarly ranging in velocity between 20 and 60 cm s^?1. CTD data indicated that this was associated with shelf-edge upwelling, with surface temperatures 2–4 °C cooler than the adjacent core temperature (24–26 °C) of the Agulhas Current. Vertical profiles of the S–ADCP data showed that the countercurrent, about 7 km wide, extends down the slope to at least 600 m, where it appeared to link with the deep Agulhas Undercurrent at 800 m. S–ADCP and sea surface temperature (SST) satellite data confirmed the existence of the semi-permanent, lee-trapped, cyclonic eddy off Durban, associated with a well-defined northward coastal current between Park Rynie and Balito Bay. Analysis of three months (May–July 2005) of satellite SST and ocean colour data showed the shoreward core-boundary of the Agulhas Current (24 °C isotherm) to commonly be close to the coast along the KZN south coast, as well as between the Kei and Mbhashe rivers on the Transkei shelf. The Port St Johns–Waterfall Bluff cyclonic eddy was also frequently visible in these satellite data. Transient cyclonic eddies, which spanned 150–200 km of shelf, appeared to move downstream in the shoreward boundary of the Agulhas Current at a frequency of about once a month. These seemed to be break-away Durban eddies. Data collected by ADCP moorings deployed off Port Edward in 2005 showed that these break-away eddies and the well-known Natal Pulse are associated with temporary northward countercurrents on the shelf, which can last up to six days. It is proposed that these countercurrents off Port Alfred, East London and Port St Johns assist sardine to swim northwards along the Transkei shelf against the Agulhas Current, but that their progress north of Waterfall Bluff is dependent on the arrival of a transient, southward-moving, break-away Durban cyclonic eddy, which apparently sheds every 4–6 weeks, or on the generation of a Natal Pulse. This passage control mechanism has been coined the ‘Waterfall Bluff gateway’ hypothesis. The sardine run survey in June–July 2005 was undertaken in the absence of a cyclonic eddy on the KZN south coast, i.e. when the ‘gate’ was closed.     

Structural evolution of the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin interpreted from cross-section restoration

The northern East China Sea Shelf Basin consists of three depressions (the Domi, Jeju, and Socotra Depressions), separated by basement highs or rises. Reconstruction of depth-converted seismic reflection profiles from these depressions reveals that the northern East China Sea Shelf Basin experienced two phases of rifting, followed by regional subsidence. Initial rifting in the Late Cretaceous was driven by the NW?CSE crustal stretching of the Eurasian plate, caused by the subduction of the Pacific plate beneath the plate margin. Major extension (~15 km) took place during the early phase of basin formation. The initial rifting was terminated by regional uplift in the Late Eocene-Early Oligocene, which was probably due to reorganization of plate boundaries. Rifting resumed in the Early Oligocene; the magnitude of extension was mild (<1 km) during this period. A second phase of uplift in the Early Miocene terminated the rifting, marking the transition to the postrift phase of regional subsidence. Up to 2,600 m of sediments and basement rock were removed by erosion during and after the second phase of uplift. An inversion in the Late Miocene interrupted the postrift subsidence, resulting in an extensive thrust-fold belt in the eastern part of the area. Subsequent erosion removed about 900 m of sediments. The regional subsidence has dominated the area since the Late Miocene.     

琼东南盆地物源和沉积环境变化的重矿物证据

基于11口钻井岩心样品的重矿物数据,结合古生物学、元素地球化学和地震资料,对琼东南盆地的物源及沉积环境演变进行了分析.结果表明,盆地基底沉积以陆相沉积为主,自渐新世起,盆地逐渐接受海侵,大致经历了海陆过渡→滨浅海→浅海→半深海的沉积环境演变过程,水深总体呈逐渐增大的趋势且在同一时期南部区域水深整体上大于北部.随着沉积环境的变化,各地层(崖城组至莺歌海组)物源呈现出多源性特征,经历了原地→近源→远源的演变过程.在渐新世早期,物源以近源玄武质火山碎屑和邻区陆源碎屑为主,之后演变为远源的陆壳碎屑,物源区包括北部海南岛、南部永乐隆起、东北部神狐隆起、西部红河、西南部中南半岛乃至更广的区域.海南岛物源自早渐新世便开始发育,至中中新世成为盆地最主要的物源,并持续至现今;永乐隆起和神狐隆起物源在晚渐新世至早中新世期间最为发育,于中中新世逐渐消退;红河物源于晚中新世大规模加入,为中央峡谷的主要沉积物源,影响至上新世结束;中南半岛莺西物源自上新世发育,影响至更新世时期.此外,自生组分对盆地(尤其是南部区域)的沉积贡献也不容忽视.     

Cenozoic tectonic and stratigraphic development of the Central Vietnamese continental margin

The East Vietnam Boundary Fault Zone (EVBFZ) forms the seaward extension of the Red River Shear Zone and interacted with the extensional rift systems in basins along the Central Vietnamese continental margin. The structural outline of the central Vietnamese margin and the timing of deformation are therefore fundamental to understanding the development of the South China Sea and its relation to Indochinese escape tectonism and the India-Eurasia collision. This study investigates the structural and stratigraphic evolution of the Central Vietnamese margin in a regional tectonic perspective based on new 2-D seismic and well data. The basin fill is divided into five major Oligocene to Recent sequences separated by unconformities. Deposition and the formation of unconformities were closely linked with transtension, rifting, the opening of the South China Sea and Late Neogene uplift and denudation of the eastern flank of Indochina. The structural outline of the Central Vietnamese margin favors a hybrid tectonic model involving both escape and slab-pull tectonics. Paleogene left-lateral transtension over the NNW-striking EVBFZ, occurred within the Song Hong Basin and the Quang Ngai Graben and over the Da Nang Shelf/western Phu Khanh Basin, related to the escape of Indochina. East of the EVBFZ, Paleogene NE-striking rifting prevailed in the outer Phu Khanh Basin and the Hoang Sa Graben fitting best with a prevailing stress derived from a coeval slab-pull from a subducting proto-South China Sea beneath the southwest Borneo – Palawan region. Major rifting terminated near the end of the Oligocene. However, late stage rifting lasted to the Early Miocene when continental break-up and seafloor spreading commenced along the edge of the outer Phu Khanh Basin. The resulting transgression promoted Lower and Middle Miocene carbonate platform growth on the Da Nang Shelf and the Tri Ton High whereas deeper marine conditions prevailed in the central part of the basins. Partial drowning and platform retreat occurred after the Middle Miocene due to increased siliciclastic input from the Vietnamese mainland. As a result, siliciclastic, marine deposition prevailed offshore Central Vietnam during the Pliocene and Pleistocene.     

Dissolved manganese and silicic acid in the Columbia River plume: A major source to the California current and coastal waters off Washington and Oregon

The spatial distributions of dissolved manganese and nutrients were examined in the Columbia River plume off Oregon and Washington during the summer of 2004 and 2005 as part of the River Influence on Shelf Ecosystems (RISE) program. Factors influencing the hydrochemical characteristics of the freshly formed and aged Columbia River plume were investigated. Hydrographic data and nutrient concentrations were used to delineate three distinct water sources for the Columbia River Plume: California Current surface water, coastal upwelled water, and Columbia River water. The warm, intermediate salinity, nutrient poor California Current water contains low levels of dissolved manganese (< 5 nM) and silicic acid (< 5 μM), and is depleted in nitrate. The cold, high salinity, nutrient rich, freshly upwelled water is highly variable (2–20 nM) in dissolved manganese and can be as high as  45 μM in silicic acid and  30 μM nitrate. The variable Columbia River has summer temperatures ranging from  13 to 24 °C, high silicic acid concentrations (ranging from  120 to 200 μM), and lower nitrate concentrations (ranging from  2 to 20 μM). During the summer, the concentrations of silicic acid and dissolved manganese can exceed 100 μM and 200 nM, respectively, in near-field Columbia River plumes. These values are markedly greater than those of surface coastal waters (even during upwelling conditions). As the plume advects and mixes, the concentrations of these two constituents remain relatively high within plume waters. The concentrations of dissolved manganese in the near-field plume vary with tidal amplitude, exhibiting much higher concentrations for a given salinity during spring tides than during neap tides. For example, the Columbia River plume at a salinity of 20 has a concentration of dissolved manganese of  240 nM during spring tides, as compared to only  60 nM during low amplitude tides. Silicic acid concentrations in the near-field plume remain relatively constant throughout the tidal month. Calculations indicate there is roughly an equivalent yearly delivery of dissolved manganese and silicic acid to the coastal waters off Oregon and Washington by upwelled waters and by the Columbia River plume.