粤东陆架区夏季的上升流

本文根据水温、盐度和溶解氧含量等要素的历史资料分析了南海北部粤东陆架区夏季的上升流现象。结果表明,上升运动的深层高盐、低温冷水使该海区夏季中、下层及近岸水温下降,盐度上升,溶解氧含量相对减少。上升流中心位于广东汕头外海,中心附近上升流明显强化,本海域上升流存在空间上的不一致性和明显的年度间变化。     

Mass wasting along the Labrador shelf margin: Submersible observations

A dissected valley system along the central portion of the Labrador upper slope has been investigated using geophysical and submersible observations. The complex slope is a result of mass wasting on a steep slope gradient which appears to be independent of processes on the bank top. Small scale slumping and creep, a result of biological activity and iceberg rafting, and large-scale debris flows occur presently below 750 m water depth. A recent debris flow in the valley was examined in detail. Degraded iceberg scour marks are the principal sea bed feature above 750 m water depth.     

南海北部陆架区夏季上升流数值研究

采用三维斜压非线性数值模式并结合卫星遥感资料分析,对南海北部陆架区夏季上升流进行了初步研究.研究结果表明,上升流是南海北部陆架区6-9月的一个规律性现象,而不是个别年份的特殊现象;海南岛东部沿岸及雷州半岛以东广州湾东南部一带海域(琼东上升流区)、汕头沿岸直至福建沿岸南日群岛附近海域(粤东上升流区)夏季表层及次表层海水均表现出明显的低温、高盐、高密等陆架上升流特征;上升流中心主要位于海南岛以东清澜湾至七洲列岛之间111°10'E、19°45'N附近,陵水湾至陵水沿岸110°15'E、18°25'N附近,粤东汕头沿岸116°45'E、22°50'N附近及澎湖列岛以西118°E、23°40'N附近.同时通过对模拟结果与QuikSCAT风场的比较分析发现,沿岸上升流与局地风场有着密切的关系,夏季西南风及风应力旋度对琼东沿岸上升流的形成有着非常积极的作用;而粤东沿岸风应力旋度较小,但夏季西南风仍是诱生粤东沿岸上升流的重要因素之一.     

Coastal upwelling in the Gelendzhik area of the Black Sea: Effect of wind and dynamics

Long series data of a thermistor chain in the Black Sea coastal zone near Gelendzhik were analyzed. A thermistor chain installed 1 km offshore and at a depth of 22 m. There are full and incomplete upwelling events observed. The study of upwelling genesis based on: wind speed data from the NCEP/CFSR reanalysis and Gelendzhik weather station, velocity and direction of coastal currents measured by ADCP profiler moored on the bottom near the thermistor chain. Over the whole observation period (warm seasons of 2013–2015), more than 40 events of upwelling were registered four of them were full upwellings, when presence of under-thermocline water was observed near the sea surface. For every upwelling event, conditions prior to the changes in thermic structure, were analyzed. It is found that full upwelling generally occur under synergistic wind and current forcing. Fairly strong forcing of one of these factors is sufficient for partial upwelling to occur.     

Gas-hydrate stability thickness map along the Indian continental margin

The gas-hydrate stability thickness (GHST) map along the Indian continental margin is prepared from available bathymetry, sea-bottom temperature and geothermal gradient data. The bottom-simulating reflector (BSR) often marks the base of gas-hydrate stability zone. The prior information about the stability thickness in a particular area will help in identifying BSR on seismic data. The map is also useful to the exploration scientists to set a depth window within which proxies for gas-hydrate can be looked into. A GHST map was initially prepared in 1998 based on the-then available data. A lot of new data has been generated by various organizations under the Indian National Gas Hydrate Programs for the advancement of exploration and exploitation activities. By incorporating the new data from the published and available documents, we have modified the GHST map along the Indian margin. Besides filling the data gap, the new map shows the gas-hydrate stability zone in the Andaman offshore. In addition, we show maps of sea-bottom temperature, sediment thickness, geothermal gradient and heat flow to provide a bird’s eye view of these parameters along the continental margin of India.     

Sediment accumulation rates along the inner eastern Brazilian continental shelf

Box cores were collected close to river mouths along the eastern Brazilian shelf at water depths of 10–30 m. One core was taken from more than 1000 m depth at the shelf slope. ²¹⁰Pb and ²²⁶Ra activities were measured to establish sediment accumulation rates. Seven of the 10 cores exhibited an exponential decrease with depth of excess ²¹⁰Pb activities. The sediments from the sheltered Sudeste Channel off Caravelas revealed the highest sediment accumulation rate of 0.81 cm yr⁻¹. The sediments at the shelf slope seaward of the Rio Doce revealed the lowest accumulation rate of 0.13 cm yr⁻¹. Sediment accumulation rates increased towards the Caravelas Bank. Current patterns and the morphology of the seabed favor sediment deposition in this area.     

Discussion: a critique of “Modeling suspended sediment distribution in continental shelf upwelling/downwelling settings”

A recent one-dimensional numerical model, the so-called GJ model, neglected horizontal advection and diffusion terms and used vague physical definition for its boundary conditions. An alternative two-dimensional numerical model, which corrects the GJ model’s deficiencies, is proposed to evaluate the physical effects of upwelling/downwelling on suspended sediment concentration (SSC) on continental shelves. The general SSC patterns derived from the two models are similar. However, in the case where settling velocity is larger than the maximum upwelling/downwelling velocity, the GJ model shows a homogeneous distribution of SSC, whereas the two-dimensional model identifies a distinct maximum SSC in the middle of the water column in combined upwelling and downwelling systems, and a SSC gradient in upwelling settings. Furthermore, when the maximum upwelling velocity is larger than the settling velocity, the GJ model shows a maximum SSC at the water surface, whereas the SSC is lower at the water surface when using the two-dimensional model.     

Formation of glauconie in foraminiferal shells on the continental shelf off Norway

Glauconie inside shells of foraminifers, assumed to be formed during the timespan from the Last Glaciation to the present, is reported. The process is thought to take place at water temperatures of 6–7°C. The nature of the infilling process is suggested to be neoformation of clay minerals rather than transformation of pre-infilled clay.     

Response of the suspended sediment transport system to continental shelf dynamics

Surface currents influenced by a wind-driven upwelling event in San Pedro Bay moved total suspended matter (TSM) confined to the inner shelf on 19 April 1978 seaward, so that by 27 April surface TSM had increased over the outer shelf. Near-bottom concentrations of TSM also increased across the shelf during this time. This is explained by sediment resuspended by large surface waves being advected from the inner shelf seaward by the mean flow after this flow had turned from southeasterly to southerly when upwelling ceased on 26 April. These complex shelf dynamics contribute to the off-shelf transport of mud to the slope and deep basins.     

Fine-scale analysis of shelf–slope physiography across the western continental margin of India

We attempt here to quantify and model physiographic features off the central west coast of India in terms of power spectral exponent, amplitude parameter. We demonstrate that statistical analysis of multi-beam echo-sounder grid bathymetry data is able to characterise the outer shelf, upper slope, shelf margin basin and several structural rises in the region. A scatter diagram analysis shows that the seafloor data can be grouped into two distinct clusters. Distinctly different clustering patterns are observed over the structural rises, compared to the shelf, slope and basinal areas. This suggests different modes of formation for the members of these two clusters. In fact, the steep structural rises appear to be part of the NW–SE-trending coast-parallel Mid-Shelf Basement and Prathap ridges. These ridges are rift-induced volcanic emplacements on a stretched and thinned continental crust which probably formed during mid-Cretaceous times.     

Sediment dynamics on the narrow,canyon-incised and current-swept shelf of the northern KwaZulu-Natal continental shelf,South Africa

Side-scan sonar, multibeam bathymetry, Shipek^TM grab, and high- to moderate-resolution sub-bottom data for the northern KwaZulu-Natal continental shelf reveal further insights into the interactions between sediment dynamics, strong western boundary currents and submarine canyon topography. Unlike previously recognised mechanisms for bedload parting on current-swept shelves, bedload partings here are the result of complex interactions between the western boundary poleward-flowing Agulhas Current and submarine canyon topography. This has resulted in bedforms orientated orthogonally to the canyon axis, with sediments entrained equator-wards into the canyon heads before resuming their dominant southerly migration. It is in these zones of parting where the most prominent bedforms occur; these bedform fields are formed by positive feedback in the boundary layer between an increasingly undulatory Agulhas Current and a seafloor incised by regularly spaced submarine canyons. Bedform morphometrics such as wavelength–height, depth–height and distance from thalweg–height relationships show no distinct patterns, indicating that the bedforms are heavily reworked and appear to be out of equilibrium with the inherent oceanographic conditions.     

Sedimentary and structural patterns on the Iberian continental margin: an alternative view of continental margin sedimentation

A long-range side-scan sonar (GLORIA) survey of the entire West Iberian slope and rise has provided the first overview of the interrelationship between structure and sedimentation patterns on a continental margin. The results emphasize the importance of slope-following contour currents as a depositional mechanism in fashioning this continental rise. Terrigenous sediments transported down-canyon by-pass the rise which does not consist of a series of coalescing fans. The sedimentation patterns identified on the sonographs can be interpreted in terms of facies models and caution must be exercised against over-emphasis of downslope processes in models for the construction of lower slopes and rises.     

Sediment distribution and transport across the continental shelf and slope under idealized wind forcing

Resuspension, transport, and deposition of sediments over the continental shelf and slope are complex processes and there is still a need to understand the underlying spatial and temporal dynamical scales. As a step towards this goal, a two-dimensional slice model (zero gradients in the alongshore direction) based on the primitive flow equations and a range of sediment classes has been developed. The circulation is forced from rest by upwelling or downwelling winds, which are spatially uniform. Results are presented for a range of wind speeds and sediment settling speeds. Upwelling flows carry fine sediments (low settling speeds) far offshore within the surface Ekman layer, and significant deposition eventually occurs beyond the shelf break. However, coarser sediments quickly settle out of the deeper onshore component of the circulation, which can lead to accumulation of bottom sediments within the coastal zone. Downwelling flows are more effective at transporting coarse sediments off the shelf. However, strong vertical mixing at the shelf break ensures that some material is also carried into the surface Ekman layer and returned onshore. The concentrations and settling fluxes of coarse sediments decrease offshore and increase with depth under both upwelling and downwelling conditions, consistent with trends observed in sediment trap data. However, finer sediments decrease with depth (upwelling) or reach a maximum around the depth of the shelf break (downwelling). It is shown that under uniform wind conditions, suspended sediment concentrations and settling fluxes decay offshore over a length scale of order τ_s/ρf|w_s|, where τ_s is the wind stress, ρ the water density, f the Coriolis parameter, and w_s is the sediment settling velocity. This scaling applies to both upwelling and downwelling conditions, provided offshore transport is dominated by wind-driven advection, rather than horizontal diffusion.     

Formation of placer mineral deposits in high energy environments: The Cyprus continental shelf

Geochemical, sedimentological, and mineralogical data suggest that local geological and oceanographic conditions favor the formation of Fe, Ti, and Cr placer deposits near the mouths of some of the rivers on the Cyprus continental shelf. Generally, the deposits are associated with finer and better sorted sands to the west of the river mouths. This is a reflection of the prevailing water movements. Metallic ore minerals of the deposits have their source in the mafic and ultramific rocks of the Troodos ophiolite complex. Although the Ezousas and Xeropotamos areas display sedimentological patterns similar to those prevailing at locations where placer deposits are found, the distance of these beaches from the source rocks accounts for the lack of economic placers at these two sites.     

Two fundamentally different types of submarine canyons along the continental margin of Equatorial Guinea

Most submarine canyons are erosive conduits cut deeply into the world’s continental shelves through which sediment is transported from areas of high coastal sediment supply onto large submarine fans. However, many submarine canyons in areas of low sediment supply do not have associated submarine fans and show significantly different morphologies and depositional processes from those of ‘classic’ canyons. Using three-dimensional seismic reflection and core data, this study contrasts these two types of submarine canyons and proposes a bipartite classification scheme.The continental margin of Equatorial Guinea, West Africa during the late Cretaceous was dominated by a classic, erosional, sand-rich, submarine canyon system. This system was abandoned during the Paleogene, but the relict topography was re-activated in the Miocene during tectonic uplift. A subsequent decrease in sediment supply resulted in a drastic transformation in canyon morphology and activity, initiating the ‘Benito’ canyon system. This non-typical canyon system is aggradational rather than erosional, does not indent the shelf edge and has no downslope sediment apron. Smooth, draping seismic reflections indicate that hemipelagic deposition is the chief depositional process aggrading the canyons. Intra-canyon lateral accretion deposits indicate that canyon concavity is maintained by thick (>150 m), dilute, turbidity currents. There is little evidence for erosion, mass-wasting, or sand-rich deposition in the Benito canyon system. When a canyon loses flow access, usually due to piracy, it is abandoned and eventually filled. During canyon abandonment, fluid escape causes the successive formation of ‘cross-canyon ridges’ and pockmark trains along buried canyon axes.Based on comparison of canyons in the study area, we recognize two main types of submarine canyons: ‘Type I’ canyons indent the shelf edge and are linked to areas of high coarse-grained sediment supply, generating erosive canyon morphologies, sand-rich fill, and large downslope submarine fans/aprons. ‘Type II’ canyons do not indent the shelf edge and exhibit smooth, highly aggradational morphologies, mud-rich fill, and a lack of downslope fans/aprons. Type I canyons are dominated by erosive, sandy turbidity currents and mass-wasting, whereas hemipelagic deposition and dilute, sluggish turbidity currents are the main depositional processes sculpting Type II canyons. This morphology-based classification scheme can be used to help predict depositional processes, grain size distributions, and petroleum prospectivity of any submarine canyon.