Some improved techniques for measuring radon and radium in marine sediments and in seawater

By careful sampling and sample processing, radon and radium may be determined in close-spaced sediment segments. These determinations permit estimation of the radon deficit in sea-floor sediments. Collecting radium on manganese-treated fiber greatly simplifies analysis of near-bottom waters. Some improved radon separation and counting techniques are described. With these methods a single operator can process four samples for radon in 140 min. Overall efficiency (extraction-transfer-counting) is 88%. Blanks are negligible. Reproducibilities of 2.6% and 3.8% are achieved for radium and radon, respectively.     

The diffusive fluxes of inorganic nitrogen across the intertidal sediment-water interface of the Changjiang Estuary in China

1IntroductionEstuaries are the main channels linking bothland and coastal seas,through which pass matterleached from land into rivers,together with anthro-pogenic matter discharged directly into the estuaries.During the past few decades,increasing concern…     

Unusual features of the distribution of Radon-222 in the bottom waters of the continental slope of the Mid-Atlantic Bight: Hydrodynamic implications

²²²Rn was measured in the near-bottom waters of the continental slope of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Separate measurements of the ²²²Rn supported by dissolved ²²⁶Ra allowed the excess ²²²Rn that is derived from the underlying sediments to be distinguished. Measurements of production of ²²²Rn by the sediments were used to calculate fluxes of ²²²Rn from sediments that would be expected as a result of molecular diffusion. On the upper slope and on the lower slope excess ²²²Rn standing crops were, respectively, greater than and consistent with fluxes of radon from sediments by molecular diffusion as are typical of most ocean environments. On the middle slope, however, observed excess ²²²Rn concentrations and standing crops were significantly lower than what would be expected from the calculated fluxes from the underlying sediments. This unusual feature of low radon concentrations on the middle slope is referred to as the low-radon zone (LRZ). This LRZ was always present over several years and seasons, but was variable in intensity (excess-radon concentration and standing crop) and in location on the slope. Low concentrations of suspended particulate matter and low current velocities observed by others in the same region are consistent with low mixing as a possible cause of the LRZ. Radon profile shapes and recent work by others on near bottom mixing due to interactions between topography and internal waves, however, suggest that high mixing due to internal waves is a more likely cause of the LRZ.     

用成岩模型计算沉积物-水界面营养盐的交换通量--以渤海为例

根据沉积物中营养盐的再生对水体中营养盐的收支循环动力学的作用.利用1998年秋季和1999年春季沉积物间隙水中营养盐的分析结果,建立了沉积物中营养盐的成岩模型,并由此计算了沉积物-水界面营养盐的交换通量.结果表明,硝化速率、反硝化速率、有机氮含量、硅质成分的溶解速率、生物扰动作用、孔隙率明显影响沉积物间隙水中营养盐的分布和沉积物-水界面的交换通量.对比了实验室培养法和扩散通量计算法测得沉积物-水界面营养盐的交换通量,表明2种方法所得NO3通量较一致,但NH4 ,PO43-,SiO32- 2种方法所得通量有一定差异,文中讨论了可能的原因.以渤海为例阐明了在用扩散通量法研究沉积物-水界面营养盐的交换通量时,表层沉积物分割厚度对界面交换通量影响显著,为了得到合理的与现场接近的结果表层沉积物的分割厚度以不超过1em为宜.     

Pore Water Nutrient Regeneration in Shallow Coastal Bohai Sea, China

The regeneration of pore water nutrients was studied and the contribution of benthic nutrient fluxes to the overlying water was evaluated on the basis of field specific observations conducted in September–October 1998 and April–May 1999 in the Bohai Sea. Nutrient concentrations in sediment pore waters were examined by incubating sediment core samples with overlying seawater in air and/or nitrogen conditions. Nutrient diffusion fluxes calculated by diagenetic equations were within a factor of 2 during incubations. The factors affecting nutrient diffusion across sediment/water interface include bioturbation, nitrification, denitrification, adsorption, and dissolution. The regeneration of nutrients from sediments will increase nutrient loads of the Bohai Sea and affect nutrient atomic ratios in this region. Among nutrient sources from riverine input, atmospheric deposition and sediment regeneration, ammonium and phosphate mainly came from atmospheric deposition (>50%); nitrate was mainly transported by riverine input into the Sea, silicate from sediment regeneration accounts up to 60%. This demonstrates that nutrient regeneration in sediments contributes more silicate than riverine input and atmospheric deposition together, but benthic flux contributes very much less phosphate and nitrate relative to riverine input and atmospheric deposition. The benthic fluxes of nutrients may lead to a decrease of the amount of nitrate, an increase of phosphate, ammonia and silicate in the water column. The release of silicate from sediments may compensate the decrease of silicate due to the reduction of riverine discharge. Nutrient regeneration in sediment may have an important influence on the eutrophic character of coastal waters in this region. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

盐度对镭同位素在海南红树林沉积物解吸行为的影响

天然放射性镭同位素在沉积物上的解吸行为是影响其在陆-海交换过程中的关键所在。采用沉积物室内解吸实验和现场采集间隙水测量224Ra含量两种方法,对水体盐度梯度控制镭在海南八门湾红树林沉积物的解吸行为进行了讨论。结果表明:沉积物上可交换态224Ra的最大量为0.44dpm/g,解吸比为35%。利用间隙水的224Ra含量确定镭的分配比Kd与水体盐度S呈反比例函数:Kd=8.4×102/S,与室内解吸实验的结果相比更能代表镭在沉积物上的真实解吸行为。在深度25—40cm内,湿地沉积物的224Ra处于与其母体228Th的平衡状态,但223Ra很可能处于相对其母体227Th亏损状态。     

Freshening of near-bottom waters in Lake Baikal triggered by the Mw6.2 Kultuk earthquake of August 2008

In September 2008, freshening of near-bottom water and an increase in concentration of suspended particles were observed in the western part of southern Lake Baikal. The reduction in the content of total dissolved solids was about 0.4–0.7?mg/kg (0.7?%), and average suspended particle concentration increased strongly to 6–9?mg/l, the background value being 0.2?mg/l. The spatial distribution of these waters was virtually identical to the focal area of the M_w6.2 Kultuk earthquake that occurred on 27 August 2008. It is suggested that there was a causal relationship between these two phenomena. Freshening of a significant amount (about 20?km³) of near-bottom waters was plausibly caused by an input of poorly mineralized pore waters from bottom sediments as a result of dissociation of methane gas hydrates suspected to occur in the area. The energy radiated by the earthquake source was four orders of magnitude smaller than that needed to explain the observed freshening of near-bottom waters. This points to other mechanisms leading to seismic-induced sediment failure and possible subsequent hydrate dissociation in the case of the Kultuk earthquake.     

Benthic Nutrient Recycling in Port Phillip Bay, Australia

Benthic chamber measurements of the reactants and products involved with biogenic matter remineralization (oxygen, ammonium, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate, TCO₂and alkalinity) were used to define solute exchange rates between the sediment and overlying water column of Port Phillip Bay, Australia. Measurements at various sites throughout the bay, conducted during the summers of 1994 and 1995, indicate that the variability in flux values within a site is comparable to year-to-year variability (±50%). Four regions of the bay were distinguished by sediment properties and the northern region was identified as having 3–30 times greater nutrient regeneration rates than the other regions. Benthic recycling accounted for 63 and 72% of the annualized N and P input, respectively, to the entire bay as determined by summing benthic, dissolved riverine, atmospheric and dissolved effluent sources. However, bay-wide sedimentary denitrification accounted for a loss of 63% of the potentially recyclable N. This fraction is higher than many other coastal regions with comparable carbon loading. Denitrification efficiency is apparently not enhanced by benthic productivity nor by bio-irrigation. The rate of bio-irrigation is negatively correlated with denitrification efficiency. Bio-irrigation was studied using radon-222 and CsCl spike injection chamber measurements. Radon fluxes from sediments in Port Phillip Bay were enhanced over the diffusive flux by 3–16 times. The modelled rate of loss of Cs from chamber water was positively correlated with radon flux enhancement results. Both methods identify regions within Port Phillip Bay that have particularly high rates of non-diffusive pore-water overlying water solute exchange.     

基于计算机断层扫描技术重构三维生物扰动构造——以长江口现代沉积为例

生物扰动作用能够加速水层与底质的物质交换,对水层和底质的耦合作用有着重要的影响。受限于观测手段和观测方法,当前对于生物扰动构造的研究多停留在定性-半定量化的阶段。本文选取长江口现代沉积区的4个沉积物柱状样,利用计算机断层扫描技术对生物扰动构造进行三维重构,运用数字图像处理实现生物扰动强度的定量表征,对研究区域生物扰动构造发育的影响因素进行初步分析。结果表明：CT（computed tomography）值与沉积物粒级构成和含水率具有一定关系,能够较好地指示沉积物密度变化;该区出现挖掘构造、觅食虫孔构造、逃逸虫孔构造、生物遗迹构造等显性扰动构造类型,生物扰动强度介于0%-10%,扰动强度极大值出现在长江水下三角洲前三角洲和陆架过渡区,垂向上以及不同站位生物扰动构造差异显著;底质沉积物类型、上覆水团性质以及沉积速率是影响该区生物扰动构造发育的主要因素。     

Adsorption–desorption reactions and bioturbation transport of Ra in marine sediments: a one-dimensional model with applications

The distribution of trace metals in sediments and their exchange between sediments and overlying water is governed by multiple processes including molecular diffusion, bioturbation (porewater advection, porewater mixing, and particle mixing), chemical reactions and adsorption–desorption. To understand these processes and their relative contributions, a one-dimensional model was built, which includes bioturbation and adsorption–desorption processes, to describe the transport of ²²⁴Ra. Because ²²⁴Ra is adsorbed on MnO₂, ²²⁴Ra may serve as a proxy for trace metal transport. Three sites were sampled and both dissolved and adsorbed ²²⁴Ra were analyzed and modeled to understand the transport and exchange processes. It was found that particle transport of adsorbed ²²⁴Ra followed by desorption at the sediment/water interface typically represents the dominant flux. We have further been able to define conditions where the porewater transport for adsorption reactive metals like ²²⁴Ra (and other metals) may be out of the sediments whereas the active scavenging of ²²⁴Ra from the water column at the sediment water interface via adsorption reactions can result in a flux of ²²⁴Ra into the sediment. These processes are both predicted by the model and observed in sediment samples.     

Adsorption–desorption reactions and bioturbation transport of 224Ra in marine sediments: a one-dimensional model with applications

The distribution of trace metals in sediments and their exchange between sediments and overlying water is governed by multiple processes including molecular diffusion, bioturbation (porewater advection, porewater mixing, and particle mixing), chemical reactions and adsorption–desorption. To understand these processes and their relative contributions, a one-dimensional model was built, which includes bioturbation and adsorption–desorption processes, to describe the transport of ²²⁴Ra. Because ²²⁴Ra is adsorbed on MnO₂, ²²⁴Ra may serve as a proxy for trace metal transport. Three sites were sampled and both dissolved and adsorbed ²²⁴Ra were analyzed and modeled to understand the transport and exchange processes. It was found that particle transport of adsorbed ²²⁴Ra followed by desorption at the sediment/water interface typically represents the dominant flux. We have further been able to define conditions where the porewater transport for adsorption reactive metals like ²²⁴Ra (and other metals) may be out of the sediments whereas the active scavenging of ²²⁴Ra from the water column at the sediment water interface via adsorption reactions can result in a flux of ²²⁴Ra into the sediment. These processes are both predicted by the model and observed in sediment samples.     

Pore-water distribution and quantification of diffusive benthic fluxes of nutrients in the Huanghai and East China Seas sediments

1 Indroduction The coastal zone and continental shelf area is an important region in the global biogeochemical cycle of nutrients in the ocean. This portion of the global ocean interacts closely with the continents, atmosphere and the open ocean in a comp…     

New perspectives on radium behavior within a subterranean estuary

Over the past decade, radium isotopes have been frequently applied as tracers of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD). The unique radium signature of SGD is acquired within the subterranean estuary, a mixing zone between fresh groundwater and seawater in coastal aquifers, yet little is known about what controls Ra cycling in this system. The focus of this study was to examine controls on sediment and groundwater radium activities within permeable aquifer sands (Waquoit Bay, MA, USA) through a combination of field and laboratory studies. In the field, a series of sediment cores and corresponding groundwater profiles were collected for analysis of the four radium isotopes, as well as dissolved and sediment associated manganese, iron, and barium. We found that in addition to greater desorption at increasing salinity, radium was also closely tied to manganese and iron redox cycling within these sediments. A series of laboratory adsorption/desorption experiments helped elucidate the importance of 1) contact time between sediment and water, 2) salinity of water in contact with sediment, 3) redox conditions of water in contact with sediment, and 4) the chemical characteristics of sediment on radium adsorption/desorption. We found that these reactions are rapid (on the order of hours), desorption increases with increasing salinity and decreasing pH, and the presence of Fe and Mn (hydr)oxides on the sediment inhibit the release of radium. These sediments have a large capacity to sorb radium from fresh water. Combined with these experimental results, we present evidence from time series groundwater sampling that within this subterranean estuary there are cyclic periods of Ra accumulation and release controlled by changing salinity and redox conditions.     

Infaunal burrow ventilation and pore-water transport in muddy sediments

The ventilation of burrows by tube-dwelling benthos is understood to be important in determining rates of exchange of solutes between the sediment and overlying water. However, few models have attempted to link the burrow ventilation behavior of tube-dwelling organisms with their geochemical consequences. The classic cylinder model of bioirrigation in muddy sediments (Aller, R.C., 1980. Quantifying solute distributions in the bioturbated zone of marine sediments by defining an average microenvironment. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 44, 1955–1965) links pore-water processes and burrow sizes and distributions in the sediment by assuming that burrows are fully flushed. The equivalence between the cylinder model and the more commonly used one-dimensional non-local exchange model depends upon this assumption. However, this assumption has seldom been tested in the field. We have extended the cylinder model of bioirrigation to include burrow ventilation activities of organisms. Burrow ventilation is modeled as a simple non-local exchange of burrow water with overlying water. Model simulations indicate that burrow ventilation has a large effect on vertical profiles and fluxes of solute tracers. We collected data on burrow geometry in the field by CT-scanning freshly collected sediment cores. At the same study sites, we measured activity profiles of ²²²Rn, a naturally occurring radionuclide tracer of pore-water transport. With model geometry independently constrained, we tested the model by comparing our model-predicted profiles with measured profiles. Our results demonstrate that burrows in the field are not fully flushed. Our estimated burrow ventilation rates compare favorably with previous laboratory measurements. The inclusion of realistic burrow ventilation in this pore-water transport model strongly affects modeled solute profiles and fluxes. We demonstrate how model parameters can be determined from field samples and present a model that more realistically simulates pore-water transport processes in muddy sediments.     

太平洋CC区多金属结核成矿元素迁移规律的界面地球化学研究

本文通过对太平洋 Ｃ Ｃ 区东区上覆水、间隙水、沉积物、结核中的环境参数、元素含量进行分析,研究了成矿元素在界面间（上覆水沉积物、间隙水沉积物、上覆水间隙水、沉积物结核）的迁移变化规律,为了解和揭示大洋多金属结核成因及成矿规律提供了依据。     

Ammonia Nitrogen at the Water–Sediment Interface in Puck Bay (Baltic Sea)

The magnitude of the exchange flux at the water–sediment interface was determined on the basis of the ammonia concentration gradient at the near-bottom water–interstitial interface and Fick's first law. It was established that in Puck Bay, ammonia almost always passes from the sediment to water. Ammonia flux varied from 5 to 1434 μmol NH₄-N m⁻² day⁻¹. In total,c. 138·2 tonneammonia year⁻¹pass from sediments of Internal Puck Bay to near-bottom water, the equivalent value for External Puck Bay being 686·9 tonne year⁻¹. In total, about 825 tonne ammonia year⁻¹passes from the sediment to near-bottom water of Puck Bay. In interstitial waters, ammonia occurred in concentrations varying over a wide range (3–1084 μmol NH₄-N dm⁻³).The basic factors affecting the magnitude of ammonia concentration in interstitial waters included: oxidation of organic matter, type of sediment, and inflow of fresh underground waters to the region examined.This paper involves preliminary studies only and constitutes a continuation of the studies on ionic macrocomponents and phosphorus in interstitial waters of Puck Bay undertaken previously.     

Seasonal variations in methane concentrations and diffusive fluxes in the Curonian and Vistula lagoons,Baltic Sea

Expected seasonal variations in methane concentrations and diffusive fluxes from surficial sediments into near-bottom waters were investigated in autumn 2012 and winter 2013 in the Curonian and Vistula lagoons of the Baltic Sea, expanding on earlier findings for summer 2011. Methane concentrations in bottom sediments (upper ca. 2 cm) generally ranged from ca. 1 to 1,000 μmol/dm³, and in near-bottom waters from ca. 0 to 1 μmol/l. Highest concentrations were found in the Curonian Lagoon, plausibly explained by the influence of freshwater conditions and finer-grained, organic-rich sediments. Vistula Lagoon methane concentrations and fluxes are dampened by periodic saline water inflow from the open sea, intensifying sulphate reduction. Calculated diffusive methane fluxes from the upper sediment layer (usually 0–5 cm, i.e. excluding any fluffy layer) into near-bottom waters were highest—2.48 mmol/(m² day)—in clayey silts of the Curonian Lagoon in autumn (September) 2012, contrasting strongly with the minimum value of 0.002 mmol/(m² day) observed there in February 2013 under ice-covered conditions. Seasonal and even weekly variations in methane dynamics can be largely explained by two main drivers, i.e. wind and temperature, operating at various spatiotemporal scales via, for example, wind wave-induced resuspension of bottom sediments, and involving regional weather patterns including autumnal low-pressure zones over the Gulf of Gdansk.     

The transport of bacteria in the sediments of a temperate marsh

The number of bacteria in sediments, interstitial water and overlying tidal water of an oligohaline marsh system are about 10⁹, 10⁶ and 10⁶ cells cm^?3, respectively. Average cell size in the overlying water (about 0·06 μm³), is much smaller than that in sediments and interstitial water (about 0·18 μm³). Most bacterial cells in sediments are bound to sediment particles and less than 1% of the cells were displaced by percolating water through sediment columns. Concentration of bacteria in flooding tidal waters is generally higher than that in ebbing waters. Movement of bacterial biomass does not appear to be a significant mechanism of particulate organic transport in marsh sediments and marsh sediments do not appear to be a source of suspended bacteria for estuaries.     

Composition of fluids expelled during compaction of Mississippi delta sediments

Fluids discharged from subaerial springs along faults on a sediment diapir near the mouth of the Mississippi River are derived from buried marine pore waters which have been extensively altered chemically by processes of bacterial respiration, mineral precipitation and, possibly, by fractionation due to the presence of clays of high exchange capacity. Vertical mass transport of dissolved components in many shallow marine sediments is controlled by long-term compaction, diffusion and bioturbation. In areas of rapid sediment deposition, however, these processes can be overwhelmed by catastrophic episodes of sediment failure, vertical mixing and upward discharge of water, gas and dissolved species.     

悬沙组分对再悬浮过程响应的初步研究——以长江口南槽口门为例

根据2011年5月31日至6月3日在长江口南槽口门附近海域投放三角架观测系统获取的沉积动力观测数据以及现场采集的水样和底质样品,进行底部边界层参数、悬沙粒度及悬沙组分分析,以探讨研究区近底部边界层特征和沉积物再悬浮过程。结果表明,研究区海域的悬沙以粉砂组分为主,潮周期内近底部流速与相应层位的悬沙浓度变化呈正相关,存在显著的再悬浮作用。分析发现,随着水体中悬沙砂组分的增加,再悬浮通量随之显著增加;砂组分减小,则再悬浮通量亦减小。因此,悬沙砂组分是对再悬浮过程响应的敏感组分,在一定程度上可指示和"示踪"再悬浮效应。