Redox conditions in sediments and during sedimentation in the Ontong Java Plateau, west equatorial Pacific

Redox-sensitive elements in sediments, such as manganese (Mn), vanadium (V), molybdenum (Mo), and uranium (U), are promising indicators of past redox conditions during sedimentation and early diagenesis. However, in the Ontong Java Plateau, west equatorial Pacific, there are sparse datasets of redox-sensitive elements in sediment cores. Here, we present a 250 ka record of redox sensitive elements from a 460 cm gravity core at site WP7 (3°56′S, 156°E, water depth 1 800 m), which was recovered from the southwest Ontong Java Plateau during the 1993 cruise of R/V Science I of the Institute of Oceanology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (IOCAS). Relative to the Post-Archean Australian Shale (PAAS), authigenic Mn, cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), Mo, V, U, and cadmium (Cd) were found at constantly low levels except when peaks occurred at several depth intervals. Manganese, Co, Ni, and Mo concentrations were elevated at 25-35 cm due to Mn redox cycling. The core was divided into three distinct sections, the top 0-25 cm being oxic, a suboxic section at 25-35 cm and from 35-460 cm which was anoxic. Differential authigenic enrichments of Co, Ni, Mo, V, U, and Cd at the same depth intervals were observed indicating that the enrichments happened during sedimentation or diagenesis and suffered no post settlement redox changes. Therefore, no significant changes in redox conditions during sedimentation must have happened. The water at depth on the Ontong Java Plateau during past 250 ka must have been well oxygenated, possibly resulted from the more or less continuous presence of oxygen-rich deep water like the modern Antarctic Intermediate Water (AAIW) and Antarctic Circumpolar Water (ACW); while it’s slightly less oxygenated in glacial intervals, possibly due to ventilation weakening and/or the surface productivity increase.     

Cold event at 5 500 a BP recorded in mud sediments on the inner shelf of the East China Sea

A 700-year record (1.0–1.5 a resolution) of the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM), based on grain-size analysis and AMS¹⁴C dating of Core EC2005 from the inner-shelf mud wedge of the East China Sea (ECS), was compared with the Dongge stalagmite δ¹⁸O record during the mid-Holocene. The upper muddy section of Core EC2005 has been formed mainly by suspended sediments derived from the Changjiang (Yangtze) River mouth since 7.3 ka BP. High precipitation and a strengthened EAWM might have played key roles in the high sedimentation rate (1 324–1 986 cm/ka) between 5.9–5.2 ka BP. The EAWM strengthened when the Asian summer monsoon weakened, especially around 5 500 a BP, which corresponded to a worldwide cold event. The EAWM during the mid-Holocene shows statistically significant solar periodicities at 62 and 11 a. The 5 500 a BP cold event might be resulted from orbital forcing and changes in solar activity.     

Lipids in sediments from Beibu Gulf South China Sea and their geochemical significance

Examination of solvent-extractable lipids in sediments from Beibu Gulf, South China Sea by capillary gas chromatography (GC) and capillary gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) resulted in the first identifications of β, γ-carotanes and their C₁₉ to C₃₁ homologs in the modern sediments from the China Seas. Distributional features of these (mainly triterpenoid and steroid hydrocarbons) biomarkers are discussed and the possibility of using these compounds as indicators of source of materials, diagenesis and depositional conditions is explored. It was found that the biomarkers in this region are mixtures of allochthonous (terrigenous and/or crude oil leak or pollution) and antochthonous (marine) organic components. The biomarders have proved to be of value for understanding sedimentation. Contribution No. 1888 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica. This research is partially funded by the Organic Geochemistry Laboratory, Institute of Geochemistry. Academia Sinica.     

Distribution of borehole temperature at four high-altitude alpine glaciers in Central Asia

The distribution of borehole temperature at four high-altitude alpine glaciers was investigated. The result shows that the temperature ranges from -13.4℃ to -1.84℃, indicating the glaciers are cold throughout the boreholes. The negative gradient （i.e., the temperature decreasing with the increasing of depth） due to the advection of ice and climate warming, and the negative gradient moving downwards relates to climate warming, are probably responsible for the observed minimum temperature moving to lower depth in boreholes of the Gyabrag glacier and Miaoergou glacier compared to the previously investigated continental ice core borehole temperature in West China. The borehole temperature at 10m depth ranges from -8.0℃ in the Gyabrag glacier in the central Himalayas to -12.9℃ in the Tsabagarav glacier in the Altai range. The borehole temperature at 10 m depth is 3-4 degrees higher than the calculated mean annual air temperature on the surface of the glaciers and the higher 10 m depth temperature is mainly caused by the production of latent heat due to melt-water percolation and refreezing. The basal temperature is far below the melting point, indicating that the glaciers are frozen to bedrock. The very low temperature gradients near the bedrock suggest that the influence of geothermal flux and ice flow on basal temperature is very weak. The low temperature and small velocity of ice flow of glaciers are beneficial for preservation of the chemical and isotopic information in ice cores.     

Ice surface-elevation change and velocity of Qingbingtan glacier No.72 in the Tomor region, Tianshan Mountains, central Asia

Glaciers in the Tomor region of Tianshan Mountains preserve vital water resources.However,these glaciers suffer from strong mass losses in the recent years because of global warming.From 2008 to 2009,a large-scale scientific expedition has been carried out in this region.As an individual reference glacier,the tongue area of Qingbingtan glacier No.72 was measured by the high precise Real Time Kinematic-Global Position System (RTK-GPS).In this paper,changes of the tongue area of Qingbingtan glacier No.72 has been studied based on topographic map,remote sensing image and the survey during 2008-2009 field campaign.Results indicated that the ice surface-elevation of the tongue area changed-0.22±0.14 m a-1 from 1964 to 2008.The estimated loss in ice volume was 0.014±0.009 km3,which represented a ～20 % decrease from the 1964 volume and was equivalent to average annual mass balance of-0.20±0.12 m water equivalent for the tongue area during 1964-2008.Terminus retreated by 1852 m,approximately 41 m a-1,with the area reduction of 1.533 km2 (0.034 km2 a-1) from 1964 to 2009.Furthermore,the annual velocity reached to ～70 m a-1.Comparing with the other monitored glaciers in the eastern Tianshan Mountains,Qingbingtan glacier No.72 experienced more intensive in shrinkage,which resulted from the combined effects of climate change and glacier dynamic,providing evidence of the response to climatic warming.     

海相沉积岩磁化率的影响因素

磁化率作为最基础的环境磁学参数,在地层对比划分、环境气候研究中发挥着重要作用。因此,弄清磁化率的影响因素,对保证研究成果的可靠性具有关键意义。沉积岩(物)中磁性矿物的来源复杂,主要分为碎屑来源和自生成因两种。气候变化、海平面波动、碳酸盐产率、火山作用、陨石撞击等影响碎屑来源的磁性矿物,而磁性矿物还原作用、热液流体活动、趋磁细菌生产等因素影响自生成因的磁性矿物,这些因素综合决定了沉积岩的磁化率。      

Red Clay Sediment in the Central Chinese Loess Plateau and Its Implication for the Uplift of the Tibetan Plateau

Introduction A set of reddish clay-silt-sized sediments named red clay underlying the Quaternary loess-paleosol sequence widely distribute in the Chinese Loess Plateau. The thickness of the red clay sediments ranges from decades of meters to over 100 m (Evan et al.1991,Mo and Derbyshire 1991, SUN et al. 1997&1998, DING et al. 1999, GUO et al. 2001, QIANG et al. 2001). Previous studies show that not only loess-paleosol (e.g.LIU et al.1985,AN et al.1990,DING et al.1992),but also red …     

Feeding ofAcanthocylops robustus on zooplankton

Feeding of freshwater cyclopoid copepodAcanthocyclops robustus on zooplankton was examined by a senes of feeding experiments during August–September of 1993. Study results showedA. robustus can capture and eat all type items provided from the Stary Haklovsky fishpond, a shallow eutrophic water body near Budějovice City, Czech Republic. Selection by the predator was determined largely by prey body-size and density, but was also affected by prey types. Variable but significant changes in feeding rates were found in various size distribution and concentration of prey types. Percentages of small (80–235μm) and large (445–610μm) prey consumed were 42.47 and 3.85%, respectively. Starvation did not cause statistically significant difference. The feeding onCeriodaphnia quadrangula showed significant difference between large and small prey. Feeding rate increased with increasing prey concentration.     

Short- and long-term sediment transport in western Bohai Bay and coastal areas

Sediment cores (∼40–100 cm) were collected at 12 locations in the western Bohai Bay, the Haihe River estuary, the Yongding River estuary and the Tianjin Harbor, China, during 24–26 July 2007, and analyzed for ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb activities. Due to localized hydrodynamic patterns and frequent disturbance from dredging activities, steady-state sedimentation features were not observed in this study. As demonstrated in the ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb profiles, the temporal and spatial variations of these radionuclides support a non-steady state depositional environment in the study area. By comparing ⁷Be and ²¹⁰Pb inventories in the sediments with those of the atmospheric source, we found that: 1) sediments dredged from the Tianjin Harbor or eroded from nearby estuarine and coastal areas are retained in the western Bohai Bay for relatively short intervals (several months), as reflected in the relatively high ⁷Be inventories in the western Bohai Bay; 2) over the long-term (years to decades), ²¹⁰Pb inventories in the sediments imply that there is a net on-shore transport of sediments, and the sediments are mass-balanced in the entire study area. Overall, our results suggest that the sediments are retained in the estuaries and the western Bohai Bay despite local variability in sediment dynamics and disturbance due to human activities.     

The Pleistocene Glaciation in the KarakoramMountains： Reconstruction of Past Glacier Extensions and Ice Thicknesses

Geomorphological and Quaternarygeological field- and laboratory data (Fig.1) are introduced and interpreted with regard to the maximum Ice Age (LGM) glaciation of the Central and South Karakoram in the Braldu-, Basna-, Shigar and Indus valley system as well as on the Deosai plateau between the Skardu Basin and the Astor valley (Fig.2). These data result from two research expeditions in the years 1997 and 2000. They show that between c. 6o and 2o Ka the Central Karakorum and its south slope were covered by a continuous c. 125000 km^2 sized ice stream network. This ice stream network flowed together to a joint parent glacier, the Indus glacier. The tongue end of the Indus glacier reached down to 850 ～ 800m a.s.l. In its centre the surface of this Indus ice stream network reached a height of a good 6ooo m. Its most important ice thicknesses amounted to c. 2400 ～ 2900 m.     

A 3600 years paleoclimatic change inferred from organic δ13C and TOC/TN of the Gucheng Lake sediments, southeast China

A 6.2 m thick core of Gucheng Lake sediment provided a 3600 years record of climate change. The contents of the TOC in the core changed from 2.63% to 8.48%, and the δ¹³C values of organic matter were from −21.54% to −27.3%. The TOC/TN ratios indicated that the organic materials in sediments were from lake plankton and land-derived plants. The 2.9–22 m core interval with high TOC/TN ratios, low δ¹³C values and low contents of TOC indicated a cold climate stage. The 6.2–5.5 m and 0.4–0.1 m intervals were characterized by low TOC/TN ratios, high δ¹³C values and high contents of TOC, and reflected temperate climate stages. Project 49372129 supported by NSFC.     

Integrated Indicators-based Gradation of Cultivated Land Quality in Mountainous Region of Southwestern China

1 Introduction The gradation of cultivated land is to assess the suitability of cultivated land for agricultural production in terms of natural and economic prop-erties of land (Feng et al. 2004). It can be used to evaluate sustainability of land use and …     

Features of Sand-dust Deposits in Harbin City, China

1 Introduction The sand-dust storm weather, induced by special at- mospheric circulation in specifically geologic and geo- graphic environment, is disastrous one with little prob- ability and excessive harm. In China, the sand-dust storm frequency of every 10 years had increased from 4 times in the 1950s to 23 times in the 1990s (Zhuang et al., 2001). The sand-dust weather occurring in a large area of the northern China in the spring of 2002 had attracted much attention. People are gradually…     

Pigment characterization for the 2011 bloom in Qinhuangdao implicated "brown tide" events in China

A large-scale bloom occurred from May to June in 2011 in sea area near Qinhuangdao of the Bohai Sea, leading to huge damage of the scallop culture industry. Similar blooms have been observed in this region for three years. The causative species of the bloom, which dominated the phytoplankton community with the maximum cell density around 109 cell/L, could not be identified with morphological features due to the small cell size (~2 mm). A pigment analytical method was then adopted to analyze the pigment profile of the phytoplankton samples collected from the blooming sea area. It was found that pico-sized (<2 mm), nano-sized (2-20 mm), and bulk phytoplankton samples had similar pigment profile, representing the pigment signature of the bloom-causative species. The major pigments detected included 19-butanoyloxyfucoxanthin (But-fuco), fucoxanthin (Fuco), diadinoxanthin (Diad) and chlorophyll a (Chl a), and high content of But-fuco was the most significant characteristics of the phytoplankton samples. Based on the pigment composition and content, the bloom-causative species could be tentatively identified as pelagophyte, "type 8" group of haptophyte, or silicoflagellate. Some unique features of the bloom, such as the extremely high cell density, small-sized and But-fuco containing cells, occurring in early summer, and the feeding-cessation effects on scallops, suggest it be a "brown tide" event similar to those reported in the east coast of the United States of America. The recurrent "brown tide" events and their dramatic impacts on the shellfish mariculture industry in Qinhuangdao need close attention in the coming years.     

ON THE BEHAVIORS OF OCEAN BOTTOM EDDY

On the basis of scaling analysis,this paper presents a frontal geostrophic dynamic system which canbe used to describe the dynamics of an isolated bottom eddy and shows that five possible dynamicsubregimes are included in the system.A particle-in-cell method is used to investigate the behavior of the eddy in the two dynamic subregimes,with 1)nonlinear effect(ε)relevant to the sloping bottom-inducedbeta effect(β_1)and 2)seamount-induced beta effect(β_2)dominant.In the dynamic subregime of β_1～ ε～10~(-2)and β_2=0,the eddy can keep as a whole for a long time and migrates for a long distance.Inthe dynamic subregime where the seamount-induced beta effect (β_2～10~(-1))is dominant,the seamounttraps the water particles,causing the eddy to break up into a discrete set of eddies moving around the seamount.     

The relationship of current fluctuations on the Southeast United States shelf to fluctuations of the wind and gulf stream and the East China Sea analog

Sub-tidal (1.04–25 day) current fluctuations during winter/spring on the continental shelf off Savannah, Georgia (32°N) and off St. Augustine, Florida (30°N) were compared with records of local wind stress components and GulfStream position. (Acoustic travel time and bottom pressure measurements at stations on the continental slope were combined to determine main, thermocline depth, as an indicator of Gulf Stream displacement). Relative wind influences increased towards the coast. GulfStream influence increased towards the shelf-break and towards the surface. Off Savannah, the Gulf Stream influence was predominately at 12 day period and was negligible at the 45 m isobath. Off St. Augustine, its influence was predominately at 4 day period and was appreciable at the 40 m isobath (but negligeable at the 28 m isobath). Linear predictions of currents from wind and Gulf Stream account for ∼80% of the observed variance. Similar methods of studying and predicting the wind—and Kuroshio-influenced currents on the East China Shelf are proposed.     

Heavy mineral stratigraphy of sediments from the southern outer shelf of the East China Sea since the last glaciation using fuzzy C-means cluster method

Correspondence analysis and fuzzy C-means cluster methods were used to divide the stratigraphy of heavy mineral assemblages,and the sediment sources and depositional dynamics of the environment reconstructed.The assemblages were taken from marine sediments from the late Pleistocene to the Holocene in Core Q43 situated on the outer shelf of the East China Sea.Based on the variable boundaries of the mineral assemblage at 63 and 228 cmbsf (cm below sea floor),the core might have previously been divided into th...     

Black carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments of China’s marginal seas

This study investigates the distribution of black carbon (BC) and its correlation with total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (ΣPAH) in the surface sediments of China’s marginal seas. BC content ranges from <0.10 to 2.45 mg/g dw (grams dry weight) in the sediments studied, and varied among the different coastal regions. The Bohai Bay sediments had the highest BC contents (average 2.18 mg/g dw), which comprises a significant fraction (27%–41%) of the total organic carbon (TOC) preserved in the sediments. In ...     

TRANSFERABLE PHOSPHORUS IN SEDIMENTS OF THE HUANGHE RIVER ESTUARY ＇S ADJACENT WATERS

Based on a new idea for research on cycling of marine biogenic elements, this study showed that only the leachable form phosphorus in natural grain sizes manne sediments constitutes the transferable phosphorous in the sediments. The transferable phosphorus content in the natural grain sizes surface sediments in the Huanghe River estuary adjacent waters ranges from 58.5-69.8 μg/g, accounting for only 9.1%-11.0% of the total phosphorus content, whereas the leachable form (“transferable” )phosphorus content in the sediment after it was totally ground into powder was found to be 454.8-529.2μg/g, accounting for 73.4%-89.1% of the total phosphorus. Analysis of the correlation between thebill,ass of benthos and the leachable form (“transferable” ) phosphorus showed that most of the leachableform (“transferable”) phosphorus in the totally ground sediment did not participate in the marine biogeo chemical cycling. Furthermore, a synchronous survey on benthos showed that the biornass of meio-and maero-benthos exhibited good positive correlation with the leachable form of phosphorus in the naturalgrain sizes sediment, but peorer correlation with the leachable form (“transferable”) phosphorus in the totally ground sediment, indicating that transferable phosphorus in marine sediment is the leachable form of phosphorus in the natural grain sizes sediments, and is not the previously known leachable form(“transferable”) phosphorus obtained from the totally ground sediment.     

甘肃通渭县黄土堆积区全新世环境变迁

通过对甘肃通渭县四家庙全新世黄土剖面的粒度和磁化率分析。并依据前人研究成果对年均气温和年均降水量的相应恢复，揭示了该区全新世期间气候演化的特点和规律。分析认为，研究区全新世以来的环境变化是不稳定的，无论古土壤发育期还是黄土堆积期，气候都具有频繁的次级波动。尤其在全新世中期。两层古土壤间的黄土夹层，反映该区在全新世大暖期经历过一次历时千年之久的气候显著恶化事件。