The oxidation state of manganese in surface sediments of the deep sea

Iodometric titration of deep sea sediment from cores at MANOP sites M and H indicate a particulate Mn oxidation state between 3.3 and 3.9 in the top 5 cm. Results from site H show a minimum in the Mn oxidation state at 1.5 cm depth indicating Mn reduction is occurring above the zone of pore water Mn oxidation. Using a simple box model, the rate of reduction is calculated to be 19 mg/cm² kyr ? 77 mg/cm² kyr, at least 5 times the flux of Mn to nodules in this region. Although no Mn oxidation state minimum is observed in site M sediments, oxic reduction is inferred from a particulate mass balance, indicating that a large fraction of the Mn rain to this site is not preserved in the sediments and must be remobilized. We suggest that the process of reduction in oxic or suboxic environments near the sediment-water interface may be an important mechanism controlling the concentration of Mn in sediments and provides a mechanism for supplying diagenetic Mn to the nodules at site H.     

Statistical properties of the atmospheric turbulent boundary layer over steep surface waves

A new method of digital optical anemometry (Particle Image Velocimetry, PIV) of turbulent flows is suggested and implemented in the laboratory; it is based on the use of continuous laser radiation and high-speed video photography, providing continuous statistical ensembles of flow velocity fields. Application of the method to the study of wind field over waves has allowed us to perform, for the first time, direct measurements of velocity fields, averaged over turbulent pulsations induced by waves in the air flow. The experiments demonstrated that the velocity fields, averaged over the turbulent pulsations, are nonseparated even in the case of steep and breaking waves, when separation of the flow from the wave crests in the instantaneous fields is observed. Based on comparison with the experimental data, it is shown that the average wind fields over waves are described well quantitatively in the framework of semiempirical closure models of turbulence.     

The importance of atmospheric input of terrestrial organic material to deep sea sediments

The concentrations of lipids were determined in atmospheric particle, gas and rain samples collected from the tropical North Pacific to assess lipid sources, transport mechanisms and fluxes to the ocean surface. Four lipid compound classes (aliphatic hydrocarbons, fatty alcohols, fatty acid esters, and salts) all unequivocally show a terrestrial vascular plant source. These aerosol lipids originate from wind erosion of Asian and American soils and direct emission from vegetation. The major fluxes result from rain rather than dry deposition. These fluxes are large enough to have a major potential impact on the inventory of terrestrially derived lipid material found in deep-sea sediments. This has been showm for n-alkanes, fatty alcohols, fatty acids, total lipids and for organic carbon. By comparing atmospheric and sediment trap fluxes with sediment accumulation rates, it is suggested that some biogenic terrestrial material is more protected from degradation than marine-derived material.     

Greenhouse gas deposits in the deep sea

Gas hydrates are the largest deposits of hydrocarbons in the world. They are distributed throughout marine sediments and their stability depends largely upon temperature and pressure. Typically, ～99 percent of these hydrocarbon deposits are composed of methane, which is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane release from gas hydrates has been implicated in mass extinction events. Present and future changes in ocean temperature have the potential to increase the rate of methane production from gas hydrates and thus to affect Earth's climate. Whilst the deep sea normally serves as a sink for greenhouse gases, the release of methane from gas hydrates could be a hugely significant source in the future and pose a real threat to our efforts to limit greenhouse gas emissions.     

The concentration function of the bottom fauna at the deep sea hydrothermal vent fields

Specific features of the concentration of a group of chemical elements in the dominant bottom organisms are analyzed. The studied organisms inhabit geochemically different hydrothermal fields: Menez-Gwen, Broken-Spur, and Rainbow on the Mid Atlantic Ridge (MAR), as well as 9°50′N and Guyamas on the East Pacific Rise (EPR). It was revealed for the first time that bottom organisms accumulate 10² to 10⁵ times less the macro-ions of marine water Na and K from the water of biotopes than heavy metals. The intensive concentration of chemical elements, especially of heavy metals, and the high biomasses of bottom organisms associated with hydrothermal vents suggest that this fauna serves as a powerful deepwater biofilter. The absence of pronounced differences between values of coefficients of accumulation for the same metals in the benthos of various MAR and EPR fields evidences the uniformity of the concentration function of the hydrothermal fauna.     

History of metalliferous sedimentation at deep sea drilling site 319 in the South Eastern Pacific

Marked variations in the chemical and mineralogical composition of sediments at Site 319 have occurred during the 15 M.y. history of sedimentation at this site. The change in composition through time parallels the variability observed in surface sediments from various parts of the Nazca Plate and can be related to variations in the proportion of hydrothermal, hydrogenous, detrital and biogenous phases reaching this site at different times. Metal accumulation rates at Site 319 reach a maximum near the basement for most elements, suggesting a strong hydrothermal contribution during the early history of this site. The hydrothermal contribution decreased rapidly as Site 319 moved away from the spreading center, although a subtle increase in this source is detectable about the time spreading began on the East Pacific Rise. The most recent sedimentation exhibits a strong detritalhydrogenous influence. Post-depositional diagenesis of amorphous phases has converted them to ironrich smectite and well-crystallized goethite without significantly altering the bulk composition of the sediment.     

Effect of varied atmospheric stability on sea surface drag in shallow seas and its impact on wind-wave growth

This work reports an efficient bulk formulation of sea surface drag that incorporates effect of dynamic stability under varied atmospheric forcing. The proposed formulation exhibits a polynomial dependence of wind speed on air–sea temperature difference based on statistical analysis. Quality checked meteorological and oceanographic data from four shallow water buoys located off Korean seas having measurements at an interval of every 1 h were used for this study. The analyses of in situ records for this region suggest stability ranging from highly stable to very unstable conditions. Importance of this proposed formulation is better reflected during unstable condition where other popular bulk formulations fail. In addition, importance and impact of such a study on wind-wave growth using the state-of-art wave model was also investigated. Finally, we advocate a new drag formulation, which accounts for varied atmospheric stability and suggest that this should be considered as an essential pre-requisite for ocean modeling studies.     

Wave processes of temperature changes at the surface of the Black Sea

Based on the conception of the cyclic (wave) nature of the changes in the circulation of the atmosphere of the Atlantic-European sector (index of the North Atlantic oscillations) and surface temperature of the Black Sea on scales smaller or equal to the century scale, anomalies of the winter surface temperature are analyzed. It is shown that in the phase of the maximum of the presumably 60-year cycle of changes in the NAO index a negative anomaly of surface temperature forms and in the phase of minimum of this scale of changes of NAO, there is a positive anomaly. Estimates of the possible thermal state of the surface of the Black Sea during the phase of the expected minimum in 2011–2020 of the 60-year cycle (60-year wave) of the NAO index are made. The possibility of a phase shift between changes in solar activity, the NAO index, and anomalies of temperature of the Black Sea on the scales of cyclic (wave) processes larger than 100 years is considered.     

Carbon and nitrogen diagenesis in deep sea sediments

The sections penetrated on Leg 58 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project represent periods of geologic time during which depositional conditions apparently remained quite constant, thus offering an unusual opportunity to study the effects of diagenesis on organic material.Organic carbon and nitrogen contents decrease monotonically with increasing depth of burial before levelling off at minimum values of about 0.05-0.10 and 0.01%, respectively. The depths at which minima are reached vary from site to site, but the ages of the sediments at the minima are all about 2–5 Myr.These data indicate that diagenetic transformations are responsible for the gradual depletion of organic carbon and nitrogen. If diagenesis is at least partly the result of microbial activity, then the role of bacterial ecosystems in deep water sediments is much greater than has previously been thought.     

Alteration of volcanic matter in deep sea sediments: evidence from the chemical composition of interstitial waters from deep sea drilling cores

Six Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Sites (252, 285, 315, 317, 336, 386) were examined for the chemical composition of the dissolved salts in interstitial waters, the oxygen isotopic composition of the interstitial waters, and the major ion composition of the bulk solid sediments. An examination of the concentration-depth profiles of dissolved calcium, magnesium, potassium, and H₂¹⁸O in conjunction with oxygen isotope mass balance calculations confirms the hypothesis that in DSDP pelagic drill sites concentration gradients in Ca. Mg. K, and H₂¹⁸O are largely due to alteration reactions occurring in the basalts of Layer 2 and to alteration reactions involving volcanic matter dispersed in the sediment column. Oxygen isotope mass balance calculations require substantial alteration of Layer 2 (up to 25% of the upper 1000 m). but only minor exchange of Ca, Mg, and K occurs with the overlying ocean. This implies that alteration reactions in Layer 2 are almost isochemical.     

Persistent sea surface temperature and declined sea surface salinity in the northwestern tropical Pacific over the past 7500 years

To understand Holocene climate evolutions in low-latitude region of the western Pacific, paired δ¹⁸O and Mg/Ca records of planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides ruber (250–300 μm, sensu stricto, s.s.) from a marine core ORI715-21 (121.5°E, 22.7°N, water depth 760 m) underneath the Kuroshio Current (KC) off eastern Taiwan were analyzed. Over the past 7500 years, the geochemical proxy-inferred sea surface temperature (SST) hovered around 27–28 °C and seawater δ¹⁸O (δ¹⁸O_W) slowly decreased 0.2–0.4‰ for two KC sites at 22.7° and 25.3°N. Comparison with a published high-SST and high-salinity equatorial tropical Pacific record, MD98-2181 located at the Mindanao Current (MC) at 6.3°N, reveals an anomalous time interval at 3.5–1.5 kyr ago (before 1950 AD). SST gradient between the MC site and two KC site decrease from 1.5–2.0 °C to only 0–1 °C, and δ¹⁸O_W from 0.1–0.3‰ to 0‰ for this 2-kyr time window. The high SST and low gradient could result from a northward shift of the North Equatorial Current, which implies a weakened KC. The long-term descending δ¹⁸O_W and increasing precipitation in the entire low-latitude western Pacific and the gradually decreasing East Asian summer monsoonal rainfall during middle-to-late Holocene is likely caused by different land and ocean responses to solar insolation and/or enhanced moisture transportation from the Atlantic to Pacific associated with the southward movement of ITCZ.     

One-dimensional advective–dispersive transport into a deep layer having a variable surface concentration

Two analytic closed form solutions for the one-dimensional advection–dispersion equation are presented. These solutions take account of changes in surface concentration with time as mass is transported into the soil. The first solution is developed for the case of rapid landfill construction. The second solution considers a time-dependent mass input to the landfill. The use of these solutions is illustrated by a number of examples and it is shown that consideration of the finite mass of contaminant within the landfill can significantly affect the concentration profiles beneath the landfill.     

Total nitrogen content of deep sea basalts

Various models have been suggested concerning the origin and evolution of the earth's atmosphere. An estimate of the nitrogen content of the mantle could further constrain atmospheric models. Total nitrogen content was determined by thermal neutron activation analysis via ¹⁴N(n,p)¹⁴C. The ¹⁴C was converted to carbon dioxide and counted in miniature low level proportional counters. The total nitrogen content of U.S.G.S. standards BCR-1 and G-2 as determined by different laboratories is variable, probably due to atmospheric adsorption by the finely ground samples. Total nitrogen content was determined in deep sea basalt glasses from three regions: East Pacific Rise ($\text{15 ± 4, 18 ± 4}$, and $\text{7 ±}\text{ppm}\text{2 N}$), Mid-Atlantic Rift (FAMOUS Region:$\text{22 ± 5, 18 ± 3}$, and $\text{10 ± 2}\text{ppm}\text{N}$) and the Juan de Fuca Ridge ($\text{17 ± 4}\text{ppm}\text{N}$). Matrix material from the same samples as the glasses was available from the East Pacific Rise ($\text{37 ± 6, 26 ± 4}$, and $\text{34 ± 6}\text{ppm}\text{N}$) and the Mid-Atlantic Rift ($\text{39 ± 4}\text{ppm}\text{N}$) which are about 50 to 100% greater than the associated glasses. The increased matrix abundance may be due to incorporation of chemically bound nitrogen from sea water rather than dissolved molecular nitrogen. The nitrogen content of the FAMOUS samples are inconsistent with the model of Langmuir et al. (1977) for petrogenesis based on trace element data. Factors which can affect the observed nitrogen content in the basalts and the interpretation in terms of the mantle nitrogen abundance are discussed (e.g. partial melting and degassing of the basalts). A lower limit of about 2 ppm N in the mantle can be estimated.     

Stable isotope geochemistry of deep sea cherts

Seventy four samples of DSDP recovered cherts of Jurassic to Miocene age from varying locations, and 27 samples of on-land exposed cherts were analyzed for the isotopic composition of their oxygen and hydrogen. These studies were accompanied by mineralogical analyses and some isotopic analyses of the coexisting carbonates. δ¹⁸O of chert ranges between 27 and 39%. relative to SMOW, δ¹⁸O of porcellanite—between 30 and 42%.. The consistent enrichment of opal-CT in porcellanites in ¹⁸O with respect to coexisting microcrystalline quartz in chert is probably a reflection of a different temperature (depth) of diagenesis of the two phases.δ¹⁸O of deep sea cherts generally decrease with increasing age, indicating an overall cpoling of the ocean bottom during the last 150 m.y. A comparison of this trend with that recorded by benthonic foraminifera (Douglas and Savin, 1975) indicates the possibility of δ¹⁸O in deep sea cherts not being frozen in until several tens of millions of years after deposition. Cherts of any Age show a spread of δ¹⁸O values, increasing diagenesis being reflected in a lowering of δ¹⁸O. Drusy quartz has the lowest δ¹⁸O values.On-land exposed cherts are consistently depleted in ¹⁸O in comparison to their deep sea time equivalent cherts.Water extracted from deep sea cherts ranges between 0.5 and 1.4 wt %. δD of this water ranges between ?78 and ?95%. and is not a function of δ¹⁸O of the cherts (or the temperature of their formation).