海洋激流的观测实验及分析讨论

海洋中存在着冲击力极强的海洋激流,这已是不争的事实.从20世纪70年代起,一些国家就开始对大洋海底激流进行现场观测.据报道,他们所观测到的异常的底层流速的最大值仅为0.4m/s,却被视之为海底激流加以分析研究[1～5].     

海洋激流的若干观测结果

最早指出海洋中存在激流的是美国WoodsHole海洋研究所海洋地质学家Hollister.他早年在分析大洋海底岩芯时发现有波状结构,认为这种波状结构是由于在远古时代的高速海水流动的作用所致,于是提出了一个大胆的假说,认为大洋海底存在着海底激流(又称海底风暴),并于1963年在美国旧金山召开的IUGG会议上提出了这个假说.遗憾的是在这次会议上这个假说并未引起人们的注意,甚至被指责是“一派胡言”.     

浅说海底风暴及其成因

海洋是风雨的故乡,海面上流急浪涌、飓风台风已为众所周知,但海洋底部很不平静的事实则少为人知。类似飓风的激流却一年到头都在海底爆发着,这些激流能推动着海水以每秒高达50厘米的速度流动.犹如强大的龙卷风旋转着横扫海底。它们不仅冲垮科学仪器,毁坏海底通信电缆,甚至危及石油钻井平台、某些神秘的水下世界。海洋学家把这些激流称为海底风暴。在某些海底区域中,每年爆发的海底风暴达5～10次。     

东北太平洋热液活动模式初探

继大洋多金属结核被发现之后,海底热液矿床又成为重要的大洋多金属矿产之一海底热液活动向大洋输送物质的通量及海洋物质收支平衡的研究成为当前海底热液活动研究的热点.东北太平洋是大洋多金属结核的主要分布区.     

我国大洋科学考察的重要成果——《中国大洋海底地理实体名录(2016)》

正《中国大洋海底地理实体名录(2016)》一书于近日由海洋出版社出版发行。本《名录》由国家海洋局大洋办组织编写,大洋办李波副主任担任编写组组长,国家海洋局第一海洋研究所、第二海洋研究所、信息中心,广州海洋地质调查局和北京大学等多位专家作为编写组成员,编写过程历时5年,是目前我国第一部大洋海底地理实体名录,不仅填补了我国在国际海域海底命名工作的空白,更直接体现了我国作为负责任的大国在海洋科学领域对全球的重大贡献。     

三十年河东 三十年河西

三十卷的《海洋地质与第四纪地质》如同年轮,记录了我国改革开放三十年来海洋地质科学的成长史.如今中国的海洋科学,已经开始进入世界大洋,活跃在世界海洋科学的前沿.新的发现证明,深海海底是地球表层和深部系统之间的通道,深海的认识已经成为地球系统科学的瓶颈.与此同时,海洋科学正在从“考察”向“观测”过渡,海底观测网正在成为观测...     

太平洋中部海域表层沉积物中有孔虫组合的初步研究

有孔虫壳体既是大洋沉积物的重要组成部分,又是海洋沉积环境的灵敏标志.在海洋地质工作中,无论是海底地层年代、古气候、古海洋学、洋底扩张还是碳酸盐溶解旋回的研究,都需要依靠有孔虫分析的成果.近二十年来,我国对于陆架海区的有孔虫区系和分布规律,已经进行了不少工作,然而对大洋有孔虫的研究却未进行.国家海洋局于1978年在太平洋中部海域进行海洋调查,取得了许多洋底沉积样品,为研究太平洋有孔虫提供了丰富的材料.     

北冰洋中脊海底热水活动研究及展望

海底热水活动是当前海洋地质研究的热点,北极是全球变化研究的理想地区,发生在北极地区的海底热水活动不仅对大洋矿产资源研究有着现实意义,而且对全球变化研究也有重要意义。在介绍北冰洋中脊的地质背景和北冰洋Gakkel海岭的海底热水活动特征的基础上,从地球物理、海洋矿产、海洋化学、海洋热结构、海洋生物研究等角度提出了一些研究展望,认为北极地区热水活动的发现和研究必将提升对海底热水活动研究的认识,而且对北冰洋乃至全球的热结构、气候变化以及极端环境下的生命活动的研究起到重要作用。     

海洋4号船再赴东北太平洋

据报道,5月19日下午3时,广州海洋地质调查局海洋4号远洋科学考察船驶离广州,奔赴东北太平洋国际海底区域的中国多金属结核资源开辟区,执行中国大洋协会下达的为期6个月的DY95－9航次勘探任务。我国自80年代起开始进行大洋多金属结核的调查和勘探,且990年经国务院批准成立了中国大洋协会,从事我国在国际海底区域的勘探、开发工作。1991年3月,联合国批准了中国大洋协会为国际海底先驱投资者,并获准了位于东北太平洋国际海底区域的15万kmZ为中国多金属结核资源开辟区。按照《联合国海洋法公约》的有关规定,我国必须在1999年3月前放…     

海底热液硫化物——深海采矿前沿探索

结合深海采矿的现状,以海底热液硫化物这一潜在开采对象为基础,对国内外的相关研究与开发动态情况进行了介绍,分析了海底热液硫化开采远景,在剖析海底热液硫化物开采研究现实意义的基础上,提出海底热液硫化物是我国海洋采矿发展的新契机.并建议相关部门结合大洋战略逐步完善我国深海基础机电产品及工程装备研发体系.结合海底热液硫化物探测技术的发展,同步开展开采系统的前期研究工作,从而引导并推进我国深海采矿及海洋工程技术的发展.     

Microbial Biomass and Organic Nutrients in the Deep-Sea Sediments of the Central Indian Ocean Basin

In order to assess the impact of deep-sea mining on the in situ benthic life, we measured the microbial standing stock and concentration of organic nutrients in the deep-sea sediments of the Central Indian Ocean Basin in the Indian pioneer area. Sediments were collected using box core and grab samples during September 1996. The total bacterial numbers ranged from 10 10 -10 11 cells per g -1 dry weight sediment. There was a marginal decrease in the number of bacteria from surface to 30 cm depth, though the subsurface section registered a higher number than did the surface. The highest numbers were encountered at depths of 4-8 cm. The retrievable number of bacteria were two orders less in comparison with the direct total counts of bacteria. An almost homogeneous distribution of bacteria, total organic carbon, living biomass, and lipids throughout the depth of cores indicates active microbial and benthic processes in the deep sea sediments. On the other hand, a uniform distribution of total counts of bacteria, carbohydrates, and total organic carbon in all the cores indicates their stable nature and suggests that they can serve as useful parameters for long-term monitoring of the area after the benthic disturbance. Further studies on temporal variability in this region would not only verify the observed norms of distribution of these variables but would also help to understand restabilization processes after the simulated benthic disturbance.     

海上大直径钢管桩打桩过程中桩周土强度弱化研究

海上大直径钢管桩打桩过程中,桩周土体受到强烈扰动而发生强度弱化,掌握桩周土体强度弱化规律对于准确预测打桩过程、保证工程安全具有重要意义。为研究土体强度弱化规律,开展了环剪试验模拟打桩对桩周土体的扰动,测试土体强度随剪切速率的变化规律,建立了描述土体强度弱化规律的拟合公式,引入到打桩分析软件中。研究结果表明：土体的强度折减程度不仅与土体本身的性质有关还受到土体的埋深和剪切速率的影响,埋深越深土体强度折减程度越低,剪切速率越高土体强度折减越高,在打桩分析中可采用这里推荐的线性折减方法来模拟不同深度处土体强度的折减规律。     

Geoacoustic Inversion via Genetic Algorithm and Its Application to Manganese Sediment Identification

An acoustic inversion method using a wide-band signal and two near field receivers is proposed and applied to multiple layered seabed models including a manganese sediment. The inversion problem can be formulated into a probabilistic model comprised of signals, a forward model, and additive noise. The forward model simulates wide-band signals, such as chirp signals, and is chosen to be the source-waveletconvolution plane wave modeling method. The wavelet matching technique, using weighted least-squares fitting, estimates the sediment sound-speed and thickness on which determination of the possible numerical ranges for a priori uniform distribution is based. The genetic algorithm is applied to a global optimization problem to find a maximum a posteriori solution for determined a priori search space. Here the object function is defined by an L 2 norm of the difference between measured and modeled signals. Not only the marginal pdf but also its statistics are calculated by numerical evaluation of integrals using the samples selected during importance sampling process of the genetic algorithm.     

A Review of Some Environmental Issues Affecting Marine Mining

This article reviews information recently available from existing marine and coastal mining for responses to environmental issues affecting marine mining at different depths. It is particularly but not exclusively concerned with those issues affecting seabed biodiversity impact and recovery. Much information has been gathered in the past 10 years from shallow mining operations for construction aggregate, diamonds, and gold, from coastal mines discharging tailings to shallow and deep water, and from experimental deep mining tests. The responses to issues identified are summarized in a series of eight tables intended to facilitate site-specific consideration. Since impacts can spread widely in the surface mixing layer SML, and can affect the biologically productive euphotic zone, the main issues considered arise from the depth of mining relative to the SML of the sea. Where mining is below the SML, the issue is whether it is environmentally better to bring the extraction products to the surface vessel for processing (and waste discharge), or to process the extraction products as much as possible on the seabed. Responses to the issues need to be sitespecific, and dependent on adequate preoperational environmental impact and recovery prediction. For deep tailings disposal from a surface vessel, there are four important environmental unknowns: (1) the possible growth of "marine snow" (bacterial flocs) utilizing the enormous quantities of fine tailings particles (hundreds or thousands of metric tons per day) as nuclei for growth, (2) the possibility that local keystone plankton and nekton species may migrate diurnally down to and beyond the depth of deep discharge and hence be subjected to tailings impact at depth, (3) the burrow-up capability of deep benthos and their ability to survive high rates of tailings deposition, and (4) the pattern and rate of dispersion of a tailings density current through the deep water column from discharge point to seabed. Actions to obtain relevant information in general and site-specifically are suggested.     

Increased Particle Fluxes at the INDEX Site Attributable to Simulated Benthic Disturbance

Particle fluxes were measured 7 m above the sea bottom during the predisturbance, disturbance, and postdisturbance periods by using time series sediment traps attached to seven deep-sea moorings deployed in the INDEX experiment site in the Central Indian Basin. The predisturbance particle fluxes varied between 22.3 to 55.1 mg m -2 day -1 . Increased and variable particle fluxes were recorded by the sediment traps during the disturbance period. The increase observed was 0.5 to 4 times more than the background predisturbance fluxes. The increases in particle fluxes (~4 times) recorded by the sediment trap located in the southwestern direction (DMS-1) were the greatest, which could be the result of preferential movement of resuspended particles generated during the deep-sea benthic disturbance along the general current direction prevailing in this area during the experimental period. Also, the traps located closer to the disturbance area recorded greater fluxes than did the traps far away, across the Deep Sea Sediment Resuspension System path. This variability in recorded particle fluxes by the traps around the disturbance area clearly indicates that physical characteristics such as grain size and density of the resuspended particles produced during the disturbance had an important effect on particle movement. The postdisturbance measurements during ~5 days showed a reduction in particle fluxes of ~50%, indicating rapid particle settlement.     

Determination of In Situ Sediment Shear Strength from Advanced Piston Corer Pullout Forces

The advanced piston corer (APC) has been used by the Ocean Drilling Program since 1985 for recovering soft sediments from the ocean floor. The pullout force measured on extracting the core barrel from the sediment is shown to correlate with the average shear strength of the sediment core measured in the ship's laboratory. A simple rule of thumb is derived relating the shear strength of the sediment to the pullout force. Multiple APC holes at individual sites allow the consistency of the pullout measurements to be assessed. The effects of different operational procedures during APC coring are also explored. Although generally applicable, the correlation between pullout force and laboratory measurements of shear strength breaks down for some APC holes, possibly because of the disturbance of some sediment types during the APC coring process. A better understanding of the physical process of APC coring, and its effect on the properties of the sediment both inside and immediately outside the core barrel, would indicate what confidence can be put on the measurement of pullout force as a way of evaluating the in situ shear strength of deep sea sediments.     

Deep-Sea Sediment Compression Curves: Some Controlling Factors, Spurious Overconsolidation, Predictions, and Geophysical Reproduction

Oedometer tests have been carried out on 70 undisturbed surficial clays (at approximately 250 mm below the mudline), mostly collected by free-fall corers from sites widely scattered throughout the deep-sea North Atlantic. Acoustic measurements were also made, initially on contiguous samples and ultimately on the same sample using a geophysically instrumented oedometer which also collected electrical resistivity data. Apart from those quiescent areas below the carbonate compensation depth, such as north of the West Indies where very fine clays exist, most of the samples are silty clays whose geotechnical-geophysical properties are dependent on the type of clay minerals present (and their ability to take in moisture), the sand-size fraction, and the quantity of carbonate present. Thus the pure clays have high compressibilities which decrease on the addition of coarse particles, while the converse is true for the acoustic parameters, these increasing with the sand fraction. Using the notion of the intrinsic compression line for all samples, and comparison to it of the measured compression curves, it is clear that, contrary to some previously held ideas, most deep-sea clays are normally consolidated; the addition of carbonate has the effect of creating an open, stronger sediment skeleton. Interestingly, where information is available, the variation with depth of a sample's acoustic velocity follows the void ratio pressure relationship of the compression curve. This allows the construction of an in-situ sediment compression curve using the in-situ geophysical observations.     

Phylogenetic diversity and phenotypic characterization of cultivable bacterioplankton isolated from polar oceans

A set of 27 marine planktonic bacteria isolated from the polar regions was characterized by 16S rDNA sequencing and physiological and biochemical testing. More than half of these bacteria were positive for caseinase, gelatinase and 13-glucosidase, and could utilize glucose, maltose or malic acid as carbon source for cell growth. Twelve isolates expressed nitrate reduction activities. Except for one antarctic isolate BSwlO175 belonging to Actinobacteria phylum, these isolates were classified as γ-Proteobacteria, suggesting that γ-Proteobacteria dominated in cultivable marine bacterioplankton at both poles. Genus Pseudoalteromonas was the predominant group in the Chukchi Sea and the Bering Sea, and genus ShewaneUa dominated in cultivable bacterioplankton in the Prydz Bay. With sequence similarities above 97%, genus Psychrobacter was found at both poles. These 27 isolates were psychrotolerant, and significant 16S rDNA sequence similarities were found not only between arctic and antarctic marine bacteria （ 〉 99% ）, but also between polar marine bacteria and bacteria from other aquatic environments （ ≥ 98.8% ）, including temperate ocean, deep sea, pond and lake, suggesting that in the polar oceans less temperature-sensitive bacteria may be cosmopolitan and have a bipolar, even global, distribution at the species level.