How do carbonate factories influence carbonate platform morphology? Exploring production−transport interactions with numerical forward modelling

Understanding how carbonate factories influence platform evolution is either based on qualitative conceptual models or quantitative numerical stratigraphic forward models. This study establishes new production depth profiles for four Cenozoic carbonate factories and uses two-dimensional stratigraphic forward models to explore how interactions between sediment production and transport within carbonate systems influence carbonate platform development. Newly established production/depth profiles are used to model photozoan and heterozoan carbonate grain associations, and the associated carbonate producing factories, and results are compared with well-studied outcrop successions. Sediment production from photozoan and heterozoan grain associations is also equalized, so that the total sediment production is the same but the depth/production profiles retain their distinctly different form. Thus, the effect of the different production profiles can be assessed. Ramps form when sediment diffusional transport rates are high relative to production rates and flat-top steep-margin platforms form when sediment diffusional transport rates are low relative to production rates, whether they are photozoan or heterozoan grain associations. The control exerted by sediment production and transport is expressed as a sediment transport–production ratio where transport ratio is a diffusional sediment transport in two-dimensions and production ratio is the total sediment production rate which is the product of a production profile that varies in depth and laterally. The transport–production ratio is a key control on the evolution and geometry of carbonate platforms. This is the case with different production profiles (both euphotic and oligophotic) and in mixed grain-size and mixed transport-rate systems. Carbonate producing factories significantly influence the rate of sediment production, the depth distribution of sediment production (production profiles), as well as the type of grain sizes produced (influencing resistance to erosion). Thus, different types of carbonate grain associations, and the associated carbonate producing factories, can produce the critical differences between carbonate platform geometries.     

西太平洋Y3海山对营养盐的影响及其生态环境效应

作为大洋典型地貌特征的海山,其邻近的海洋生境并不被人熟知。依据2014年冬季对热带西太平洋Y3海山及其邻近海域的综合调查,首次探讨了该海山区海水中营养盐的分布特征及其与生态环境的耦合关系。结果表明Y3海山区是典型的热带寡营养海域。在50~125 m的深度,温跃层和高盐区双重作用对底部高浓度营养盐向上输送的阻碍,是导致真光层上部营养盐浓度较低的重要原因;同时,浮游植物和异养细菌的消耗也加剧了该区域营养盐的缺乏。Y3海山突出的地形地貌对营养盐的分布产生重要的影响,海山对流经的海流产生阻碍,形成上升流,使底部高浓度的营养盐突破温跃层和高盐区的阻碍向上输送,从而使海山周围营养盐的平均浓度高于远离海山的海域。相关性分析显示,Y3海山区真光层中营养盐浓度与温度、盐度、叶绿素a浓度和异养细菌丰度分别呈负相关、正相关、负相关(除NO₂-N外)和负相关关系。海山区特殊的营养盐分布及其与生态环境的耦合是其成为一种独特的大洋生态系统的重要因素。     

末次盛冰期以来印度尼西亚穿越流对东印度洋上部水体结构的影响

海洋上部水体垂向结构变化对于理解热带海区在全球气候变化中的作用有着重要意义。通过分析印度尼西亚穿越流(ITF)出口处东印度洋帝汶海区SO18480-3孔中的浮游有孔虫表层种Globigerinoides ruber和温跃层种Pulleniatina obliquiloculata壳体氧碳同位素,并借助12个AMS¹⁴C测年数据重建了末次盛冰期(LGM)以来该区温跃层深度和营养盐水平的演化序列。壳体氧同位素(δ¹⁸O)记录表明温跃层古海洋学特征的变化幅度要大于表层海水,其差值(Δδ¹⁸O_(P-G))有效地反映了温跃层深度的变化,即冰消期和晚全新世温跃层较浅,LGM和早中全新世温跃层较深;并揭示出与全新世相比,LGM期间ITF总流量未显著减小,ITF对该区上部水体结构的影响受到了东西太平洋之间不对称性的调节。碳同位素(δ¹³C)记录则表明该区的古海洋学变化在不同程度上受到了南大洋的影响,并受本区上部水体垂向结构的控制,其差值(Δδ¹³_(G-P))在一定程度上反映了该区上部水体营养盐水平的变化。     

Study of evaporation and recharge in desert soil using environmental tracers, New Mexico, USA

 The purpose of this study is to investigate the rates and mechanisms of recharge and evaporation in soils of a desert environment using two environmental tracers (chloride and oxygen-18). The profiles of chloride concentration and oxygen-18 enrichment in soil-water, together with the depth distribution of water content in soil, reveal information about long-term recharge and instantaneous evaporation processes without needing to know the physical properties of the soil. Three holes were hand-augured, in different desert settings in southeastern New Mexico. The chloride concentration profiles were used, with the chloride mass balance method, to estimate long-term recharge rates in these three holes as 0.5, 0.8, and 2.4 mm yr^–1. Analysis using a bimodal flow and transport model shows that possibly 85% of the recharge occurs via movement of water through preferred pathways in the root zone. Preferential flow was evident in all three sampling sites. Clay layers have a noticeable effect on the development of water content distribution and thus on oxygen-18 enrichment and chloride concentration profiles. The spatial variation in clay layering partly explains the variation in recharge rate estimates. Received: 13 October 1995 · Accepted: 15 November 1995     

Role of Hydrology in the Formation of Co-rich Mn Crusts from the Equatorial N Pacific,Equatorial S Indian Ocean and the NE Atlantic Ocean

Co-rich Mn crusts from four different locations of the world ocean have been studied to understand the role of dissolved oxygen of the ambient seawater in the formation of Co-rich Mn crusts. WOCE (World Ocean Circulation Experiment) oxygen profiles of modern seawater in the Equatorial North Pacific Ocean, Equatorial South Indian Ocean and the North East Atlantic Ocean have been evaluated with respect to the occurrence of Co-rich Mn crusts at depths ranging from 1500 to 3200 m. The oxygen content at these depths varied from ∼90–240 µmol/kg. The oxygen minimum zone (OMZ), with oxygen contents in the range ∼45–100 µmol/kg, is located in the depth range 800–900 m in these regions. The age of the ocean crust on which seamounts formed is in the range 80.3–180 Ma. Profiles of the oxygen contents of seawater with depth in the oceans are shown to be extremely useful in establishing the optimum conditions for the formation of Co-rich Mn crusts. The use of WOCE oxygen profiles to study geochemical processes in the oceans is highly recommended.     

Diffusion and viscosity of Mg2SiO4 liquid at high pressure from first-principles simulations

We investigate two key transport properties, self-diffusion and viscosity, of Mg₂SiO₄ liquid as a function of temperature and pressure using density functional theory-based molecular dynamics method. Liquid dynamics in a 224-atom supercell was captured in equilibrium simulations of relatively long durations (50-300 ps) to obtain an acceptable convergence. Our results show that Mg and Si are, respectively, the most and least mobile species at most conditions studied and all diffusivities become similar at high pressure. With increasing temperature from 2200 to 6000 K at ambient pressure, the self-diffusivities increase by factors of 25 (Mg), 80 (Si) and 65 (O), and the viscosity decreases by a factor of 30. The predicted temperature variations of all transport coefficients closely follow the Arrhenian law. However, their pressure variations show a significant non-Arrhenian behavior and also are sensitive to temperature. At 3000 K, the diffusivity (viscosity) decreases (increases) by more than one order of magnitude between 0 and 50 GPa with their activation volumes increasing on compression. Over the entire mantle pressure range, the variations at 4000 K are of two orders of magnitude with nearly constant activation volumes whereas the variations at 6000 K are within one order of magnitude with decreasing activation volumes. The predicted complex dynamical behavior of Mg₂SiO₄ liquid can be associated with the structural changes occurring on compression. We also estimate the diffusivity and viscosity profiles along a magma ocean isentrope, which suggest that the melt transport properties vary modestly over the relevant magma ocean depth ranges.     

Modeling estuarine nutrient geochemistry in a simple system

We present a model of estuarine mixing, removal, and input for dissolved constituents, and apply the model to 39 nutrient (P, N, Si) profiles collected over a 14-month period in a pristine river/ estuary: Ochlockonee Bay, Florida. Each profile is deconvolved into three component functions: linear mixing (conservative) first-order removal (biological productivity), and parabolic input (regeneration). After correction for temporal variations in the fluvial end-members, the model provides quantitative estimates of total estuarine primary production, net regeneration, and subsequent fluxes to the ocean over a year-long period. The modeled data set is internally self-consistent: virtually perfect mass balances are obtained for P and Si. All biological P-uptake is regenerated within the estuary so that virtually 100% of the fluvial reactive-P enters the ocean. One-third of the fluvial reactive-P enters the estuary as particles whose phosphate is released after deposition in estuarine sediments. About 20% of the dissolved fluvial silica flux is removed biologically; all of this biogenic silica dissolves in the estuary and enters the ocean. N cannot be mass balanced, probably because it enters and escapes the bay in unmeasured forms (as NH₄ or via denitrification to N₂ and N₂O). In the Ochlockonee, biological productivity removes nutrients in the ratios N:P ? 9:1 and Si:P ? 20:1.     

Radiative transfer code: Application to the calculation of PAR

The production of carbon in the ocean, the so-called primary production, depends on various physicobiological parameters: the biomass and nutrient amounts in oceans, the salinity and temperature of the water and the light available in the water column. We focus on the visible spectrum of the solar radiation defined as the Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR). We developed a model (Chamiet al. 1997) to simulate the behavior of the solar beam in the atmosphere and the ocean. We first describe the theoretical basis of the code and the method we used to solve the radiative transfer equation (RTE): the successive orders of scattering (SO). The second part deals with a sensitivity study of the PAR just above and below the sea surface for various atmospheric conditions. In a cloudy sky, we computed a ratio between vector fluxes just above the sea surface and spherical fluxes just beneath the sea surface. When the optical thickness of the cloud increases this ratio remains constant and around 1.29. This parameter is convenient to convert vector flux at the sea surface as retrieved from satellite to PAR. Subsequently, we show how solar radiation as vector flux rather than P A R leads to an underestimate of the primary production up to 40% for extreme cases.     

Tidal pumping drives nutrient and dissolved organic matter dynamics in a Gulf of Mexico subterranean estuary

We hypothesize that nutrient cycling in a Gulf of Mexico subterranean estuary (STE) is fueled by oxygen and labile organic matter supplied by tidal pumping of seawater into the coastal aquifer. We estimate nutrient production rates using the standard estuarine model and a non-steady-state box model, separate nutrient fluxes associated with fresh and saline submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), and estimate offshore fluxes from radium isotope distributions. The results indicate a large variability in nutrient concentrations over tidal and seasonal time scales. At high tide, nutrient concentrations in shallow beach groundwater were low as a result of dilution caused by seawater recirculation. During ebb tide, the concentrations increased until they reached a maximum just before the next high tide. The dominant form of nitrogen was dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in freshwater, nitrate in brackish waters, and ammonium in saline waters. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) production was two-fold higher in the summer than in the winter, while nitrate and DON production were one order of magnitude higher. Oxic remineralization and denitrification most likely explain these patterns. Even though fresh SGD accounted for only ∼5% of total volumetric additions, it was an important pathway of nutrients as a result of biogeochemical inputs in the mixing zone. Fresh SGD transported ∼25% of DOC and ∼50% of total dissolved nitrogen inputs into the coastal ocean, with the remainder associated with a one-dimensional vertical seawater exchange process. While SGD volumetric inputs are similar seasonally, changes in the biogeochemical conditions of this coastal plain STE led to higher summertime SGD nutrient fluxes (40% higher for DOC and 60% higher for nitrogen in the summer compared to the winter). We suggest that coastal primary production and nutrient dynamics in the STE are linked.     

Dissolved iron anomaly in the deep tropical-subtropical Pacific: Evidence for long-range transport of hydrothermal iron

Dissolved iron profiles along a north-south transect along 158°W in the tropical Pacific show evidence of two deepwater anomalies. The first extends from Station ALOHA (22.78°N) to the equator at ∼1000-1500 m and lies below the maximum apparent oxygen utilization and nutrient (N, P) concentrations. The feature is not supported by vertical export processes, but instead corresponds with the lateral dilution field of δ³He derived from the Loihi seamount, Hawaii, though a sediment source associated with the Hawaiian Island Chain cannot be entirely ruled out. The second, deeper (2000-3000 m) anomaly occurs in tropical South Pacific waters (7°S) and also does not correlate with the depths of maximum nutrient concentrations or apparent oxygen utilization, but it does coincide closely with δ³He emanating from the East Pacific Rise, more than 5000 km to the east. We hypothesize that these anomalies represent the long-range (>2000 km) transport of hydrothermal iron residuals, stabilized against scavenging by complexation with excess organic ligands in the plume source regions. Such trace leakage of hydrothermal iron to distal plume regions would have been difficult to identify in most hydrothermal vent mapping studies because low analytical detection limits were not needed for the proximal plume regions. These findings suggest that hydrothermal activity may represent a major source of dissolved iron throughout the South Pacific deep basin today, as well as other regions having high mid-ocean spreading rates in the geologic past. In particular, we hypothesize that high spreading rates along the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean mid-oceanic ridges, combined with the upwelling ventilation of these distal hydrothermal plumes, may have increased ocean productivity and carbon export in the Southern Ocean. Assessing the magnitude and persistence of dissolved hydrothermal iron in basin scale deep waters will be important for understanding the marine biogeochemistry of iron and, potentially, on ocean productivity and climate change during the geologic past.     

Phytoplankton production and nutrient distributions in a subtropical estuary: Importance of freshwater flow

The relationships between phytoplankton productivity, nutrient distributions, and freshwater flow were examined in a seasonal study conducted in Escambia Bay, Florida, USA, located in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. Five sites oriented along the salinity gradient were sampled 24 times over the 28-mo period from 1999 to 2001. Water column profiles of temperature and salinity were measured along with surface chlorophyll and surface inorganic nutrient concentrations. Primary productivity was measured at 2 sites on 11 dates, and estimated for the remaining dates and sites using an empirical regression model relating phytoplankton net production to the product of chlorophyll, euphotic zone depth, and daily solar insolation. Freshwater flow into the system varied markedly over the study period with record low flow during 2000, a flood event in March 2001, and subsequent resumption of normal flow. Flushing times ranged from 1 d during the flood to 20 d during the drought. Freshwater input strongly affected surface salinity distributions, nutrient flux, chlorophyll, and primary productivity. The flood caused high turbidity and rapid flushing, severely reducing phytoplankton production and biomass accumulation. Following the flood, phytoplankton biomass and productivity sharply increased. Analysis of nutrient distributions suggested Escambia Bay phytoplankton alternated between phosphorus limitation during normal flow and nitrogen limitation during low flow periods. This study found that Escambia Bay is a moderately productive estuary, with an average annual integrated phytoplankton production rate of 290 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹.     

Carbonate systems along nutrient and temperature gradients: some sedimentological and geochemical constraints

Research over the past several decades has clearly demonstrated that changes in the ocean environment have had major impacts on carbonate systems. Changes in climate, ocean circulation and seafloor spreading rates have influenced temperature and seawater chemistry, including carbonate saturation state and nutrient availability, and thereby have determined boundary conditions for the biota that form carbonate platforms. In turn, the biota determine accumulation rates and facies zonations, thus controlling platform geometry and facies dynamics. In the first section of this paper, we examine how nutrient availability influences carbonate facies associations. We first discuss the role of temperature and nutrient gradients in the modern ocean and their influence on biotic associations. Then we discuss how carbonate sedimentation can be characterized along nutrient gradients. In the second section, we review proxies currently used to reconstruct paleoproductivity in open ocean environments and discuss their applicability to neritic carbonate systems. We highlight the variety of existing proxies and their limitations, and suggest that multiple lines of evidence are needed for valid interpretations. Our short review discusses sedimentological, biogenic, and geochemical proxies that can be used to reconstruct past nutrient fluxes and to constrain paleoceanographic controls over the distribution of carbonate associations. However, it also reveals that more data and case studies are needed that integrate shallow and deep water carbonate sequences and elucidate the links between temperature vs. nutrient supplies changes and facies in ancient carbonate sequences.

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Deciphering As and Cu cycling in sediment pore waters in a large marina (Port Camargue,southern France) using a multi-tracer (Fe,Mn, U,Mo) approach

The sediments of the Port Camargue marina (South of France) are highly polluted by Cu and As (Briant et al., 2013). The dynamics of these pollutants in pore waters was investigated using redox tracers (sulfides, Fe, Mn, U, Mo) to better constrain the redox conditions.In summer, pore water profiles showed a steep redox gradient in the top 24 cm with the reduction of Fe and Mn oxy-hydroxides at the sediment water interface (SWI) and of sulfate immediately below. Below a depth of 24 cm, the Fe, Mn, Mo and U profiles in pore waters reflected Fe and Mn reducing conditions and, unlike in the overlying levels, sulfidic conditions were not observed. This unusual redox zonation was attributed to the occurrence of two distinct sediment layers: an upper layer comprising muddy organic-rich sediments underlain by a layer of relatively sandy and organic-poor sediments. The sandy sediments were in place before the building of the marina, whereas the muddy layer was deposited later. In the muddy layer, large quantities of Fe and Mo were removed in summer linked to the formation of insoluble sulfide phases. Mn, which can adsorb on Fe-sulfides or precipitate with carbonates, was also removed from pore waters. Uranium was removed probably through reduction and adsorption onto particles. In winter, in the absence of detectable pore water sulfides, removal of Mo was moderate compared to summer.Cu was released into solution at the sediment water interface but was efficiently trapped by the muddy layer, probably by precipitation with sulfides. Due to efficient trapping, today the Cu sediment profile reflects the increase in its use as a biocide in antifouling paints over the last 40 years.In the sandy layer, Fe, Mn, Mo and As were released into solution and diffused toward the top of the profile. They precipitated at the boundary between the muddy and sandy layers. This precipitation accounts for the high (75 μg g⁻¹) As concentrations measured in the sediments at a depth of 24 cm.     

Sedimentation and continental slope processes in the vicinity of an ocean waste‐disposal site,southeastern Tasmania

Digital echo sounding, SeaBeam swath bathymetry data and sediment cores were collected on the continental slope (1500–3700 m water depth) off southeastern Tasmania in order to study sedimentary processes in the vicinity of an ocean disposal site. The new bathymetry data show that the shallower limits of the disposal site are positioned on the seaward edge of a gently dipping (3°) mid‐slope shoulder, between 1200 and 2100 m water depth. The slope below the disposal site is relatively steep (6.5°) and is cut by submarine canyons which lead into the adjacent East Tasman Saddle. The SeaBeam bathymetry data show a small submarine canyon traversing the slope in 2400 m water depth directly downslope from the disposal site, with local slopes of up to 22°. The canyon feeds into a perched basin at 2450 m, which could be acting as a local sediment trap. Short (<90 cm) gravity cores indicate that indurated erosional surfaces characterise the slope environment. The cores contain Upper Cretaceous (upper Campanian) sandstones and siltstones, which in places crop out on the sea floor where they are locally draped by a thin (0–30 cm), modern layer of hemipelagic calcareous ooze. Five cores collected from the vicinity of the disposal site had lead and zinc concentrations in the surface 1 cm of 10.3 ± 5.0 and 39.5 ± 19.6 mg/kg, respectively, significantly greater than the background values (2.9 ± 1.4 for lead and 21.2 ± 5.4 for zinc) which characterise the underlying unit that is composed of the same hemipelagic calcareous ooze. Lead and zinc are constituents of the dumped material, jarosite, which, after mixing with slope sediments, can be used as sediment tracers. One core contains a fining‐upwards bed which is also elevated in lead and zinc. This is interpreted as evidence for dispersal of the jarosite from the disposal site downslope to depths >3000 m via turbidity flows sometime during the past 24 years. Current meter data collected from 30 m above the sea floor over one year at the disposal site show that bottom currents attain speeds of up to 0.46 m/s. The current events are attributed to eddies shed by the East Australia Current. The measured bottom currents are capable of transporting fine‐grained hemipelagic muds and could provide a trigger mechanism for turbidity flows.     

Coastal-Zone Biogeochemical Dynamics under Global Warming

The coastal zone, consisting of the continental shelves to a depth of 200 meters, including bays, lagoons, estuaries, and near-shore banks, is an environment that is strongly affected by its biogeochemical and physical interactions with reservoirs in the adjacent domains of land, atmosphere, open ocean, and marine sediments. Because the coastal zone is smaller in volume and areal coverage relative to the open ocean, it traditionally has been studied as an integral part of the global oceans. In this paper, we show by numerical modeling that it is important to consider the coastal zone as an entity separate from the open ocean in any assessment of future Earth-system response under human perturbation. Model analyses for the early part of the 21st century suggest that the coastal zone plays a significant modifying role in the biogeochemical dynamics of the carbon cycle and the nutrient cycles coupled to it. This role is manifested in changes in primary production, storage, and/or export of organic matter, its remineralization, and calcium carbonate precipitation- all of which determine the state of the coastal zone with respect to exchange of CO₂ with the atmosphere. Under a scenario of future reduced or complete cessation of the thermohaline circulation (THC) of the global oceans, coastal waters become an important sink for atmospheric CO₂, as opposed to the conditions in the past and present, when coastal waters are believed to be a source of CO₂, to the atmosphere. Profound changes in coastal-zone primary productivity underscore the important role of phosphorus as a limiting nutrient. In addition, our calculations indicate that the saturation state of coastal waters with respect to carbonate minerals will decline by ～15% by the year 2030. Any future slowdown in the THC of the oceans will increase slightly the rate of decline in saturation state.     

Human perturbations on the global biogeochemical cycles of coupled Si–C and responses of terrestrial processes and the coastal ocean

We present a model of the global biogeochemical cycle of silicon (Si) that emphasizes its linkages to the carbon cycle and temperature. The Si cycle is a crucial part of global nutrient biogeochemistry regulating long-term atmospheric CO₂ concentrations due to silicate mineral weathering reactions involving the uptake of atmospheric CO₂ and production of riverine dissolved silica, cations and bicarbonate. In addition and importantly, the Si cycle is strongly coupled to the other nutrient cycles of N, P, and Fe; hence siliceous organisms represent a significant fraction of global primary productivity and biomass. Human perturbations involving land-use changes, burning of fossil fuel, and inorganic N and P fertilization have greatly altered the terrestrial Si cycle, changing the river discharge of Si and consequently impacting marine primary productivity primarily in coastal ocean waters.     

Decadal Changes in Water Quality and Net Productivity of a Shallow Danish Estuary Following Significant Nutrient Reductions

We utilized an extensive data set (1977–2013) from a water quality monitoring program to investigate the recovery of a Danish estuary following large reductions in total phosphorus (TP) and total nitrogen (TN) loading. Monthly rates of net transport and biogeochemical transformation of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) were computed in two basins of the estuary using a box model approach, and oxygen-based rates of net ecosystem production (NEP) were determined. Since 1990, nutrient loading was reduced by 58 % for nitrogen and 80 % for phosphorus, causing significant decreases in DIN (60 %) and DIP (85 %) concentrations. Reductions in nutrient loadings and concentrations reduced annual chlorophyll levels by 50 % in the inner estuary and improved Secchi depth by approximately 1 m during the same period, particularly in the summer period. In the outer, deeper region of the estuary trends in water quality was less evident. Improvements in the inner estuary were strongly coupled to declines in DIN. Thresholds of DIN and DIP concentrations limiting phytoplankton growth indicated that both regions of the estuary were nitrogen limited. NEP rates indicated the development of more net autotrophic conditions over time that were likely associated with higher benthic primary production stimulated by improved light conditions. Box model computations revealed a modest reduction in summer net production of DIP over time, despite the persistence of elevated fluxes for several years after external loads were reduced. Since the mid-1990s, nutrient loading and transformation were stable while nutrient concentrations continued to decline and water quality improved in the inner estuary. The oligotrophication trajectory involved an initial fast transformation and modest retention of nutrients followed by a gradual decline in the rate of improvement towards a new stable condition.     

Thermal sensitivity analysis of emplacement of the magma chamber in Los Humeros caldera,Puebla, Mexico

We present results of our simulation study of the effects of the depth (top of the magma chamber at 5–10 km) and volume (1000–1400 km³) of the primary heat source beneath the Los Humeros caldera. The thermal gradient in the vicinity of the magma chamber calculated from the temperature excess (difference between the simulated and the initial temperatures prior to emplacement of the magma) is more sensitive to its depth of intrusion than to its volume. This relationship was quantified from multiple linear regression equations. The temperature excess at 2–3 km depth due to the emplacement of magma and its conductive cooling is also more dependent on the chamber depth than on its volume. Therefore, in the study of calderas, volcanoes, and geothermal fields, constraining the chamber depth is more important than its volume. Similarly, comparison of the thermal regime inferred along vertical and horizontal profiles shows the importance of solving the thermal transport equations in three dimensions instead of one or two dimensions.     

Long-Term Changes in Water Quality and Productivity in the Patuxent River Estuary: 1985 to 2003

We conducted a quantitative assessment of estuarine ecosystem responses to reduced phosphorus and nitrogen loading from sewage treatment facilities and to variability in freshwater flow and nonpoint nutrient inputs to the Patuxent River estuary. We analyzed a 19-year dataset of water quality conditions, nutrient loading, and climatic forcing for three estuarine regions and also computed monthly rates of net production of dissolved O₂ and physical transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN) and phosphorus (DIP) using a salt- and water-balance model. Point-source loading of DIN and DIP to the estuary declined by 40–60% following upgrades to sewage treatment plants and correlated with parallel decreases in DIN and DIP concentrations throughout the Patuxent. Reduced point-source nutrient loading and concentration resulted in declines in phytoplankton chlorophyll-a (chl-a) and light-saturated carbon fixation, as well as in bottom-layer O₂ consumption for upper regions of the estuary. Despite significant reductions in seaward N transport from the middle to lower estuary, chl-a, turbidity, and surface-layer net O₂ production increased in the lower estuary, especially during summer. This degradation of water quality in the lower estuary appears to be linked to a trend of increasing net inputs of DIN into the estuary from Chesapeake Bay and to above-average river flow during the mid-1990s. In addition, increased abundance of Mnemiopsis leidyi significantly reduced copepod abundance during summer from 1990 to 2002, which favored increases in chl-a and allowed a shift in total N partitioning from DIN to particulate organic nitrogen. These analyses illustrate (1) the value of long-term monitoring data, (2) the need for regional scale nutrient management that includes integrated estuarine systems, and (3) the potential water quality impacts of altered coastal food webs.     

南海北部神狐海域地质环境综合调查及科学意义

在南海北部神狐海域水合物活跃区域开展了一次综合的海洋地质、物理海洋和生态环境调查,10个站位分布在水深1 000~4 000 m范围内的陆坡和深水盆地区域,是南海北部油气活跃的重要区域和天然气水合物试采区域.航次主要对10个海底站位进行了表层沉积物箱式和重力活塞柱状取样.针对天然气水合物试采区域,开展了一台"海燕"水下滑翔机的海洋物理环境连续走航剖面观测.利用海底地震仪在两个站位开展了连续海底地震和微振动观测.进行了站位的分层水体和沉积物样品中微生物学实验研究.初步航次结果展示了沉积物为黏土和软泥.站位和水下滑翔机走航观测提供了水体内海洋物理环境参数变化特征.海底地震仪观测展示了研究区天然地震活动和可能与水合物活动有关的微震动和短持续事件记录.微生物学实验揭示了沉积物中的微生物细菌群落特征.