Uranium-series and AMS C studies of modern phosphatic pellets from Peru shelf muds

Recent sediments and separated phosphate pellets ( 125–500 μm in diameter) from the Peru shelf have been analyzed for uranium decay-series isotopes and ¹⁴C in order to determine age relationships and mineralization rates. Uranium-series ages of pellets separated from one box core are significantly higher than AMS radiocarbon ages determined for the same pellets. These differences appear to be a consequence of mixing of an older generation of pellets with ones which are more recently formed. Postdepositional adsorption of reactive elements such as thorium and protactinium onto pellet surfaces may also contribute to the observed discordancy with radiocarbon ages.

Sediment radiocarbon and ²¹⁰Pb sediment results, as well as some trends in the uranium-series data, suggest that high concentrations of phosphate pellets have accumulated in some Peru shelf sediments without extensive reworking. Individual pellets apparently form very quickly, on time scales of a few years. Estimated authigenic uptake rates of phosphorus into pellets ranges from 0.5 to 9.40 μmol-P cm^{− 2} yr^{− 1}, somewhat higher than rates measured for nodules from the same area. This is consistent with observations that pelletal morphologies predominate over nodular forms within ancient phosphorite deposits.     

Burial rates of organic matter along the eastern Canadian margin and stable isotope constraints on its origin and diagenetic evolution

Organic carbon (OC) and nitrogen (N) contents and δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N values in total organic matter (OM) were measured in sub-surface sediments (0–30 cm sub-bottom) from 21 cores raised from the Laurentian Channel of the Gulf of St. Lawrence and the Labrador Sea, to document OM fluxes and storage along the eastern Canadian margin. Storage rates as high as 2.5 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ for OC and 0.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ for N are observed in the Laurentian Channel, suggesting that the shelf plays a significant role in terms of OM storage (from 1 to 2% of the primary production). Based on the isotopic composition of the essentially marine OM of the Labrador Sea (δ¹³C/V-PDB=−21.9±0.4‰; δ¹⁵N/AIR=7.6±0.6‰; n=12), there is no isotopic evidence for a significant relative input of terrestrial OM along the Laurentian Channel (δ¹³C/V-PDB=−21.9±0.4‰; δ¹⁵N/AIR=8.0±0.9‰; n=10), either due to high relative fluxes of marine OM and/or to the trapping of continental OM in the estuary and upstream. High storage rates of OM are also observed on the continental rise of the Labrador Sea (as high as 1.1 g C m⁻² yr⁻¹ and 0.09 g N m⁻² yr⁻¹). They contrast with one order of magnitude lower rates on the slope, due to low sedimentation rates (SR) and sediment winnowing by the Western Boundary Undercurrent (WBUC). Reduced early diagenetic alteration of OM is observed, particularly in the Laurentian Channel. It results in discrete (i) losses of OC and N, (ii) shifts in C/N ratios, suggesting preferential removal of N-bearing OM also highlighted by losses in total hydrolysable amino acids (HAA). In the Labrador Sea slope records, due to low SR, OM concentration changes linked to long term temporal variations may superimpose on these diagenetic trends, and some influence of the WBUC is noticeable.     

A contemporary sediment and organic carbon budget for the Kara Sea shelf (Siberia)

It has recently been realized that the Arctic undergoes drastic changes, probably resulting from global change induced processes. This acts on the cycling of matter and on biogenic elements in the Arctic Ocean having feedback mechanisms with the global climate, for example by interacting with atmospheric trace gas concentration. A contemporary budget for biogenic elements as well as suspended matter for the Arctic Ocean as a baseline for comparison with effects of further global change is, thus, needed. Available budgets are based on the late Holocene sedimentary record and are therefore quiet different from the present which has already been affected by the intense anthropogenic activity of the last centuries.

We calculated a contemporary suspended matter and organic carbon budget for the Kara Sea utilizing the numerous available data from the recent literature as well as our own data from Russian-German SIRRO (Siberian River Run-off) expeditions. For calculation of the budgets we used a multi-box model to simplify the Kara Sea shelf and estuary system: input was assumed to comprise riverine and eolian input as well as coastal erosion, output was assumed to consist of sedimentation and export to the Arctic Ocean. Exchange with the adjacent seas was considered in our budget, and primary production as well as recycling of organic material was taken into account. According to our calculations, about 18.5 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 of sediments and 0.37 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 of organic carbon are buried in the estuaries, whereas 20.9 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 sediment and 0.31 × 10⁶ t yr^− 1 organic carbon are buried on the shelf. Most sources and sinks of our organic carbon budget of the Kara Sea are in the same order of magnitude, making it a region very sensitive to further changes.     

Dynamics of sedimentation in a tide-dominated backbarrier salt marsh, Norfolk, UK

Progressive burial of artificial markers over a 5-year period is used to determine the rate and pattern of vertical accretion within a large backbarrier salt marsh on the UK east coast. Over this period, annual accretion varies spatially from 1 to 8 mm yr⁻¹. The arithmetic mean rate for the whole marsh is 3.9 mm yr⁻¹. Spatial variability in accretion is a joint function of (1) elevation-dependent inundation frequency and (2) progressive sediment removal from water masses advected across channel margins. Accretion is, therefore, inadequately represented by simple averaging of point measurements. Numerical integration of the ‘accretion surface’ results in a spatial average rate of around 3 mm yr⁻¹, well below the arithmetic mean rate.

Short-term sediment trap deployments show that local and long-range meteorological effects, and remobilisation of sediment deposited within tidal creeks, often mask the expected link between tidal height and sedimentation rate. Retention of sediment on plant surfaces is minimal, with direct settling accounting for approximately 95% of total deposition.

Time-extrapolation of weekly sediment trap data, and comparison with the 5-year marker horizon burial, shows that processes associated with ordinary tides can account for long-term accretion over most of the marsh. However, the highest surfaces receive appreciable sediment input only during aperiodic storm events.     

Development of a foraminifera-based transfer function in the Basque marshes, N. Spain: Implications for sea-level studies in the Bay of Biscay

In order to reconstruct former sea level we have developed a foraminifera-based transfer function using three models based on a modern dataset of 59 samples and 23 species obtained from four Basque marshes in Northern Spain. The relationship between observed and foraminifera-predicted elevation illustrated the strong performance of the transfer function (r²_jack ranges from 0.74 to 0.81). These results indicated that precise reconstructions of former sea levels are possible (error ranges from 0.11 to 0.19 m). The transfer function was used to calibrate the foraminiferal assemblages collected from a 50 cm salt marsh core. We placed the foraminifera-based reconstructions into a temporal framework using ¹³⁷Cs, Pb concentrations, and ²¹⁰Pb-derived sediment accumulation rates. The resulting relative sea-level curve is in good agreement with regional tide-gauge data. Both instrumental data and microfossil records suggest a rate of relative sea-level rise of approximately 2 mm yr^− 1 for the 20th century.     

Evolution of late Quaternary mud deposits and recent sediment budget in the southeastern Yellow Sea

Analysis of high-resolution seismic reflection profiles and sediment samples has revealed the evolution and sediment budget of the southeastern Yellow Sea mud belt (SEYSM) along the southwestern Korean Peninsula. The SEYSM, up to 50 m thick, over 250 km long and 20–55 km wide, can be divided into three stratigraphic units (A1, A2, and B, from oldest to youngest). Unit A1, overlying the acoustic basement, comprises the northern part of the SEYSM. Unit A2 comprises the southern part of the SEYSM; much of unit A2 is exposed at the seafloor. Unit B completely covers unit A1 and pinches out southward.

¹⁴C data suggest that evolution of each unit is closely related to the postglacial sea-level changes. Unit A1 consists of estuarine/deltaic or shallow-water muds deposited during the early to middle stage of postglacial sea-level rise (ca. 14,000–7000 yr B.P.). Unit A2 corresponds to relict muds deposited during the last, deceleration stage of sea-level rise (ca. 7000–3.500 yr B.P.). Unit B consists of shelf muds deposited during the recent sea-level highstand (ca. <3500 yr B.P.).

Very low background activities of ²¹⁰Pb of the surface sediment of unit A2 suggest that the present-day sediment accumulation is negligible in the southern SEYSM. On the other hand, ²¹⁰Pb excess activity profiles in unit B yield an average sediment accumulation rate of 3.9 mm/yr, indicating active sediment accumulation in the northern SEYSM. The annual sink (3.0×10⁷ tons/yr) of fine-grained sediment in unit B is about an order of magnitude greater than can be explained by the sediment input from the Korean rivers alone. We propose that reworking of unit A2 has provided large volumes of muds to unit B, resulting in excessive sediment accumulation in the northern SEYSM. Much of unit A2, in turn, is likely to have originated from erosion of unit A1 in the north. This rather unique erosional/depositional regime of the SEYSM is probably owing to the tidal and regional currents characteristic in the southeastern Yellow Sea.     

Downward particle fluxes in the Guadiaro submarine canyon depositional system (north-western Alboran Sea), a river flood dominated system

Three moorings equipped with sediment traps were deployed in the north-western Alboran continental margin to study downward particle fluxes in the Guadiaro submarine canyon depositional system. This area is located close to the Strait of Gibraltar and is influenced by the upwelling induced by the Atlantic Jet and by episodic flood events from the Guadiaro River. Sediment traps were installed in the Guadiaro Canyon, in the Guadiaro Channel and in the adjacent continental slope. The overall duration of the deployment was 12 months (from November 1997 to October 1998). Time-series of downward particle fluxes, major constituents (organic carbon, nitrogen, biogenic opal, calcium carbonate and lithogenics) and ²¹⁰Pb were determined near the surface at mid-depths and near the bottom. Total mass fluxes (TMF) in this area fluctuated more than two orders of magnitude and showed an important seasonal variability with higher fluxes in winter. Increases in TMF and lithogenics together with decreases in ²¹⁰Pb, organic carbon and opal were recorded in all traps coinciding with river floods, indicating a direct response of the system to these events and a rapid offshore transport of suspended matter affecting the entire water column. The channel site received similar particle fluxes to the western open slope site, indicating that this channel did not act as a preferential sediment conduit during the deployment period. In the Guadiaro Canyon, TMF were more than one order of magnitude higher, ²¹⁰Pb concentration was lower (one half) and organic matter was more degraded than at the channel site during spring and summer, as a consequence of receiving particles resuspended by internal waves and occasionally by trawling activities. These particles were mainly retained in the canyon, which works as a trap. Also, during spring and summer, the opal and organic carbon percentages increased in all traps both in magnitude and variability, and peaks seem to be associated with biological blooms.     

Bioturbation depths, rates and processes in Massachusetts Bay sediments inferred from modeling of Pb and Pu profiles

Profiles of ²¹⁰Pb and ^{239 + 240}Pu from sediment cores collected throughout Massachusetts Bay (water depths of 36–192 m) are interpreted with the aid of a numerical sediment-mixing model to infer bioturbation depths, rates and processes. The nuclide data suggest extensive bioturbation to depths of 25–35 cm. Roughly half the cores have ²¹⁰Pb and ^{239 + 240}Pu profiles that decrease monotonically from the surface and are consistent with biodiffusive mixing. Bioturbation rates are reasonably well constrained by these profiles and vary from 0.7 to 40 cm² yr⁻¹. As a result of this extensive reworking, however, sediment ages cannot be accurately determined from these radionuclides and only upper limits on sedimentation rates (of 0.3 cm yr⁻¹) can be inferred. The other half of the radionuclide profiles are characterized by subsurface maxima in each nuclide, which cannot be reproduced by biodiffusive mixing models. A numerical model is used to demonstrate that mixing caused by organisms that feed at the sediment surface and defecate below the surface can cause the subsurface maxima, as suggested by previous work. The deep penetration depths of excess ²¹⁰Pb and ^{239 + 240}Pu suggest either that the organisms release material over a range of >15 cm depth or that biodiffusive mixing mediated by other organisms is occurring at depth. Additional constraints from surficial sediment ²³⁴Th data suggest that in this half of the cores, the vast majority of the present-day flux of recent, nuclide-bearing material to these core sites is transported over a timescale of a month or more to a depth of a few centimeters below the sediment surface. As a consequence of the complex mixing processes, surface sediments include material spanning a range of ages and will not accurately record recent changes in contaminant deposition.     

Seasonal deposition and reworking at the sediment-water interface on the northwestern Iberian margin

Seabed distributions of ²³⁴Th excess (Th_xs) were determined in the upper centimetres of 38 sediment cores from the north-western Iberian Margin, sampled from 41–44°N and from 9–12°E during five OMEX II cruises. Three main areas, a northern, and at 42°38 and 42°N, were investigated during representative seasons (winter, spring and summer). Low ²³⁴Th_xs activities in summer 1998 (18–252 Bq per kg) were similar to those measured in summer 1997. In winter ²³⁴Th also showed moderate excess. The highest values were observed in spring with surface ²³⁴Th_xs values up to 402 Bq kg⁻¹. Maximum penetration depths of ²³⁴Th_xs ranged from a few mm to 3 cm. ²³⁴Th_xs activities always showed a smooth decrease with depth, without any evidence of non-local mixing. Thus particle mixing on a short time scale can be described as an eddy diffusive process, and bioturbation rates, calculated on this basis, range from 0.02 to 3.07 cm² per year. Data (activities, inventories, bioturbation rates) are discussed in order to relate the observed surface and down-core variations to spatial and seasonal trends. Using ²³⁴Th_xs data in sediment as a substitute for sediment trap estimates, particle fluxes were calculated from ²³⁴Th_xs inventories. The range of ²³⁴Th-derived particle fluxes for the north-western Iberian Margin is 16–1418 mg.m⁻².d⁻¹. Mean values indicate a gradual decrease of mass fluxes from the shelf to the open ocean. On a 100-day scale, the northern area (43–44°N) represents a low sedimentation regime. Further south, around 42°–43°N, particle inputs are more important. On the middle slope, around 1000 to 2000 m depth, high inventories and bioturbation rates indicate enhanced, and probably organic-rich, particle fluxes to the seafloor, particularly in spring.     

Waves, currents, sediment flux and morphological response in a barred nearshore system

A shore-normal array of seven, bi-directional electromagnetic flowmeters and nine surface piercing, continuous resistance wave staffs were deployed across a multiple barred nearshore at Wendake Beach, Georgian Bay, Canada, and monitored for a complete storm cycle. Time-integrated estimates of total (ITVF) and net (INVF) sediment volume flux together with bed elevation changes were determined using depth-of-activity rods.

The three bars, ranging in height from 0.10 to 0.40 m accreted during the storm (0.03 m), and the troughs were scoured (0.05 m). Sediment reactivation depths reached 0.14 m and 12% of the nearshore control volume was mobilized. However, the INVF value for the storm was less than 1% of the control volume revealing a near balance in sediment volume in the bar system. Landward migration of the inner, crescentic and second, sinuous bars occurred in association with an alongshore migration of the bar form itself; the outermost, straight, shore-parallel bar remained fixed in location.

The surf zone was highly dissipative throughout the storm (ε = 3.8 × 10²–192 × 10²) and the wave spectrum was dominated by energy at the incident frequency. Spectral peaks at frequencies of the first harmonic and at one quarter that of the incident wave were associated with secondary wave generation just prior to breaking and a standing edge wave, respectively. The former spectral peak was within the 95% confidence band for the spectrum while the latter contributed not more than 10% to the total energy in the surface elevation spectrum even near the shoreline.

During the storm wave height exceeded 2 m (H_s) and periods reached 5 s (T_{p k}): orbital velocities exceeded 0.5 m s⁻¹ (u_{rm s}) and were above the threshold of motion for the medium-to-fine sands throughout the storm. Shore-parallel flows in excess of 0.4 m s⁻¹ were recorded with maxima in the troughs and minima just landward of the bar crest.

The rate and direction of sediment flux is best explained by the interaction of antecedent bed slopes with spatial gradients in the mean and asymmetry of the shore-normal velocity field. These hydrodynamic parameters represent “steady” flows superimposed on the dominantly oscillatory motion and assumed a characteristic spatial pattern from the storm peak through the decay period. Increases spatially in the magnitudes of both the mean flows and flow asymmetries cause an increasing net transport potential (erosion); decreases in these values spatially cause a decreasing net transport potential and thus deposition. These transport potentials are increased or decreased through the gravity potential induced by the local bed slope. Shore-parallel flow was important in explaining sediment flux and morphological change where orbital velocities, mean flows and flow asymmetries were at a minimum.     

独流减河盐沼210Pbexc和137Cs剖面记录的现代洪水事件沉积

在独流减河入海口附近河道之间的盐沼采用人工探坑侧壁连续取样,获得2个站位的沉积物样品。通过²¹⁰Pb和¹³⁷Cs定年法建立年代框架,结合粒度分析、有孔虫鉴定和水文数据,探讨了该区的现代洪水事件沉积。结果表明,该区沉积物的²¹⁰Pb_exc比活度-深度剖面中存在2处明显的低值沉积层,分别在3~6 cm和10~14 cm深度,这2个沉积层分别对应¹³⁷Cs曲线的次峰和主峰。这两层与上下相邻层位相比呈现粒径较粗、分选较差,有孔虫丰度较低、破损百分比较高的特征。²¹⁰Pb测年结果显示,¹³⁷Cs曲线下部的主峰对应的年龄为1963年,与全球性的最大峰值形成时间相对应,而上部的次峰对应的并非1986年切尔诺贝利核泄漏事故形成的次峰。区内水文数据显示,在1963和1996年分别发生了2次较大的洪水事件。因此,推断S4和S5站位剖面中2个特殊的沉积层是由洪水事件造成的。本研究说明高分辨率沉积特征的多指标研究可以较为准确地揭示洪水等灾害性事件发生的年代和频率,这有利于系统地揭露海陆过渡带地区地质历史时期灾害和气候事件的频率和强度,为灾害预防和未来规划提供科学依据。     

Sources of sediment to the Neuse River estuary, North Carolina

The Neuse River estuary is part of the large Albemarle/Pamlico estuarine/lagoonal system (APES) of North Carolina. Exchange between the APES and the open ocean is restricted to inlets in the Outer Banks barrier islands. Freshwater discharge of the Neuse River is low in relation to the size of its estuary, so that the estuary is normally brackish over most of the area which accumulates fine-grained sediments. Mud (silt + clay) accumulation rates are low ( 6 mm year⁻¹).From the mud distribution and the dynamics of suspended sediment in the estuary it has been inferred that the Neuse retains fines efficiently, with probable episodic (high discharge) losses seaward, to Pamlico Sound.As part of a study of particle transport, deposition, and accumulation in the Neuse estuary, we have collected radiochemical data (10 cores) and chemical data (seven cores) on sediment cores from the main channel of the estuary between New Bern, North Carolina and the estuary mouth. K/Al increases in the lower estuary, consistent with earlier reports of increasing illite in the clay fraction. Landward transport of sediment from Pamlico Sound is the most plausible explanation for the increasing K/Al (illite). A marine sediment source may, therefore, be important for the lower estuary.The distribution of sediment inventories (quantities per cm² of sediment column) of particle-reactive radionuclides is consistent with the hypothesis of landward sediment transport. Inventories of excess ²¹⁰Pb, ¹³⁷Cs, and ^239,240Pu are coherent through the estuary and show the effects of particle redistribution processes on regionally uniform inputs. To obtain excess (anthropogenic) Zn and Cu, we use metal/Al normalization to estimate natural backgrounds. Anthropogenic metal inputs are concentrated at the head of the estuary, and sediment inventories of excess Zn and Cu generally decrease seaward. Normalization of the excess Zn and excess Cu inventories to excess ²¹⁰Pb inventories corrects the raw metal inventories for effects of lithology and sediment redistribution. The normalized excess Zn inventory decreases smoothly seaward, while the normalized excess Cu inventory shows an unexplained mid-estuary maximum. Low normalized inventories of anthropogenic metals at the estuary mouth indicate that little modern riverine sediment is stored there.Increasing K/Al (illite) and decreasing anthropogenic Zn and Cu in the lower estuary are thus both consistent with a predominantly marine sediment source. We conclude that landward transport of muds from Pamlico Sound has contributed significantly to the sediment balance of the lower Neuse estuary.     

基于精细温度观测的南海东北部陆坡-深海盆底层湍流混合*

南海是存在强湍流混合的边缘海之一, 但前人对南海湍流混合的研究更多关注的是中上层, 对底层则鲜有关注。本文基于高分辨率温度传感器于2019年5月在南海东北部22个站位海底上方0.5m处持续观测4.4d的温度数据, 分析了2216~3200m深度范围内底层海水温度的时间变化特征, 并探讨了地形粗糙度和内潮对底层湍流混合的影响。分析结果表明, 南海东北部各站位底层海水的温度变化量级约为10^-4~10^-3℃; 温度变化趋势与正压潮变化趋势不同, 温度能谱显示多数站位在全日和半日频带区间出现谱峰, 温度变化更多地受斜压潮影响, 全日、半日内潮起主要调制作用。陆坡-深海盆过渡区及深海盆底层的湍动能耗散率量级为10^-10~10^-9m²∙s^-3, 涡扩散系数量级为10^-4~10^-3m²∙s^-1。观测数据未能显示底层湍流混合与地形粗糙度存在明显的相关性。底层湍流混合的空间分布与过去观测到的南海北部深海盆内潮的南北不对称性分布一致。     

台风季节朱家尖岛砂、砾质岬湾海滩的不同沉积地貌动态变化

岬湾砂、砾质海岸是海岛、海岸带重要的旅游资源, 具有较高的社会经济和生态价值, 长期以来备受关注。本文以浙江朱家尖岛东岸的5个代表性岬湾海滩为例, 基于2019年台风季节早期、中期及晚期测量获得的海滩地形和沉积物数据, 结合海滩近岸的水动力数据, 分析了砂质海滩和砾石海滩这两种不同类型岬湾海滩的沉积地貌动态变化。结果表明, 朱家尖岛东岸5个海滩在台风季节出现了不同的体积变化, 大沙里、东沙、千沙、乌石塘和小乌石塘海滩的单宽体积变化分别为11.93m³·m^-1、-54.41m³·m^-1、-19.75m³·m^-1、2.19m³·m^-1和-1.96m³·m^-1。砾石滩较砂质海滩更为稳定, 无人类活动干扰的砂质海滩在台风季节侵蚀更少、变化更小。台风季节大沙里、东沙、千沙、乌石塘和小乌石塘海滩表层沉积物的平均粒径分别为2.47Փ、2.24Փ、2.64Փ、-5.96Փ和-6.03Փ, 粒径粗化和离岸输运是5个海滩表层沉积物在台风季节的主要表现, 砂质海滩的沉积物粒度特征变化比砾石海滩要大。沉积物粒径、台风强度及台风期间的主要波向与海滩走向之间的关系、海岸工程这3种因素都可能对海滩在台风季节的沉积地貌动态变化产生影响。本文研究结果可为台风季节的海滩管理提供参考。     

Age of settlement and accumulation rate of submarine “coralligène” (−10 to −60 m) of the northwestern Mediterranean Sea; relation to Holocene rise in sea level

Morphological and chronological studies have been carried out on coralline algal buildups (“coralligène”) situated between 10 and 60 m depth near Marseilles, and in Corsica (France). Despite the presence of occasionally sizeable quantities of iron hydroxide, these constructions prove to be a reliable material for radiocarbon dating. Ages obtained using this method range from 640±120 yrs B.P. (Corsica, Scandola Natural Reserve, −15 m) to 7760±80 yrs B.P. (Marseilles, Grand Congloue, −52 m). Internal erosion surfaces within the buildups give evidence of discontinuous development. The accumulation rate of the coralligène constructions is very low (0.006–0.83 mm yr⁻¹ according to the depth and time period). The higher values (0.53–0.83 mm yr⁻¹) were recorded for the deeper constructions. They correspond to a period between 8000 and 6000 yrs B.P. After 6000 yrs B.P., the only appreciable accumulation rates (0.11–0.42 mm yr⁻¹) were recorded for constructions situated between 10 and 35 m depth, whereas the accumulation rates of deep coralligène (> 50 m) appear to be low or zero. The age of the large constructions (overhang: 80 cm in width) is positively correlated with depth (r = 0.95; p < 0.005). Their development occurred during the Flandrian transgression. The oldest structures, today situated at 50 to 60 m depth, started to develop when water depth was probably no greater than 10 to 15 m. Apart from in strongly shaded fissures on rocky coasts and areas subjected to heavy sedimentation, the main framework building algal species was initially Mesophyllum lichenoides (Ellis) Lemoine, a high tolerant species to light, hydrodynamic energy and temperature. With the rise in sea level, the coralligène structure gradually became available to other less tolerant algal species (Lithophyllum, Lithothamnion), and the crustforming population diversified. Because of the good preservation of coralligène structures, the reliability of radiocarbon dating and the correlation between the age and bathymetric position of the large coralligène structures (except in areas of heavy sedimentation and fissures in shallow rocky coasts), these buildups are considered to be of use as biological indicators of variations in sea level.     

Control of pelagic sediment distribution by internal waves of tidal period: Possible interpretation of data from the southern East Pacific Rise

Sediment depositional patterns were observed on acoustic-reflection profiles at 36 and 42°S across the East Pacific Rise, near 100°W longitude. The sediment thickness as a function of distance from the crest shows a remarkable linearity on the east side of the rise, where the bottom topography is unusually subdued. The rate of sedimentation is 3.8 m/m.y at 42°S and 7.2 m/m.y. at 36°S. Disturbance to the even sedimentation appears to be correlated with topographic features more than 300 m high, and may therefore be associated with the interference between the barotropic tides and the topography. The group velocity of internal waves of semi-daily period is 15 cm sec⁻¹ in this area for a vertical wave number of 300 m⁻¹, and the characteristic slopes at 9° to the horizontal. The waves travel faster than the flow velocity of the tides and at an angle less than the slopes associated with the larger topographic features. Therefore a typical tidal velocity of 3 cm sec⁻¹ can be magnified substantially before the particle velocity approaches the group velocity and breaking occurs. Less magnification is possible near smaller topography because the group velocity is proportional to wavelength for internal waves of constant period. The tidal flow is magnified most near the boundary where the internal waves are reflected, and the higher velocities should cause settling sediment particles to remain in suspension locally. Thick boundary layers caused by breaking and mixing can shield the smaller-scale topography from the tidal motion.     

Hardbottom development and significance to the sediment-starved west-central Florida inner continental shelf

Hardbottoms are sequence boundaries and condensed sections that offer clues for the interpretation of the incomplete record of Tertiary continental shelf evolution. Seaward of 5 km, 50% of the inner west-central Florida shelf seafloor is flat hardbottom. These lithified surfaces are punctuated by shorefacing, scarped hardbottoms that trend shore-parallel (330°–0°) and vary in relief (up to 4 m). Scarped hardbottoms are the only natural relief on the inner shelf and support a diverse benthic community, the activities of which erode the outcrops, producing undercuts in excess of 1 m. Outcropping hardbottom strata are comprised of distinct, phosphate-rich, mixed carbonate–siliciclastic lithofacies, that range in age from Miocene to Quaternary. Miocene units are dolomite-rich and mark the upper surface of the inner shelf bedrock (Hawthorn Group). Dolomite within these beds (silt-sized, cloudy centered rhombs) fall into two age groups, correlating with highstands at 15 and 5 Ma. This lithofacies is consistent with models that indicate an increased flux of organic matter – resulting from topographically induced upwelling – promoting dolomitization during early burial diagenesis in the sulfate-reduction zone. Quaternary units are calcite-rich and perched atop the shelf bedrock. Samples of these units record a complex diagenetic history and multiple sea-level fluctuations. Based on evidence of primary marine cementation, they are interpreted to be hardground (non-deposition) surfaces, forming as a function of sediment starvation and minimal sediment movement. Decreased highstand magnitude or duration may have resulted in the absence of a significant organic component to Quaternary hardbottoms, which, in turn, may prevent subsequent dolomitization. These outcrops are a potential source for sediments to the inner shelf, not only as habitat for biological sediment production, but also through their destruction. The undercut, shorefacing, scarped hardbottom morphology displayed by west-central Florida hardbottoms is indicative of bio-erosion. Preliminary studies indicate a potential mass of 0.04 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ of siliciclastic sediment is released to the inner shelf.     

Control of barrier island shape by inlet sediment bypassing: East Frisian Islands, West Germany

A study of the East Frisian Islands has shown that the plan form of these islands can be explained by processes of inlet sediment bypassing. This island chain is located on a high wave energy, high tide range shoreline where the average deep-water significant wave height exceeds 1.0 m and the spring tidal range varies from 2.7 m at Juist to 2.9 m at Wangerooge. An abundant sediment supply and a strong eastward component of wave power (4.4 × 10³ W m⁻¹) have caused a persistent eastward growth of the barrier islands. The eastward extension of the barriers has been accommodated more by inlet narrowing, than by inlet migration.

It is estimated from morphological evidence that a minimum of 2.7 × 10⁵ m³ of sand is delivered to the inlets each year via the easterly longshore transport system. Much of this sand ultimately bypasses the inlets in the form of large, migrating swash bars. The location where the swash bars attach to the beach is controlled by the amount of overlap of the ebb-tidal delta along the downdrift inlet shoreline. The configuration of the ebbtidal delta, in turn, is a function of inlet size and position of the main ebb channel. The swash bar welding process has caused preferential beach nourishment and historical shoreline progradation. Along the East Frisian Islands this process has produced barrier islands with humpbacked, bulbous updrift and bulbous downdrift shapes. The model of barrier island development presented in this paper not only explains well the configuration of the German barriers but also the morphology of barriers along many other mixed energy coasts.     

The generation and preservation of multiple hurricane beds in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Cores collected from Mississippi Sound and the inner shelf of the northeast Gulf of Mexico have been examined using ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs geochronology, X-radiography, granulometry, and a multi-sensor core logger. The results indicate that widespread event layers were probably produced by an unnamed hurricane in 1947 and by Hurricane Camille in 1969. Physical and biological post-depositional processes have reworked the event layers, producing regional discontinuities and localized truncation, and resulting in an imperfect and biased record of sedimentary processes during the storms. The oceanographic and sedimentological processes that produced these event beds have been simulated using a suite of numerical models: (1) a parametric cyclone wind model; (2) the SWAN third-generation wave model; (3) the ADCIRC 2D finite-element hydrodynamic model; (4) the Princeton Ocean Model; (5) a coupled wave–current bottom boundary layer-sedimentation model; and (6) a model for bed preservation potential as a function of burial rate and bioturbation rate. Simulated cores from the Mississippi Sound region are consistent with the observed stratigraphy and geochronology on both the landward and seaward sides of the barrier islands.     

红河断裂带不同构造区段的现今滑动速率与应变积累状况

利用中国地壳运动监测网络1999年—2015年GPS观测数据, 基于块体模型与弹性半空间下的螺旋位错模型, 反演红河断裂带不同区段的滑动速率与闭锁深度, 利用插值均匀网格法计算红河断裂带不同区段及周边地区应变积累状况。结果表明: 红河断裂带北段右旋走滑速率为4.76±0.78mm•a^-1, 闭锁深度约为10.9km; 中段右旋走滑速率为3.24±0.56mm•a^-1, 闭锁深度约为11.5km; 南段右旋走滑速率为2.83±0.34mm•a^-1, 闭锁深度约为12.6km。红河断裂带北段与中段拉张应变特征明显, 南段挤压应变特征明显, 北段拉张应变值为(20~40)×10^-9•a^-1, 南段挤压应变值为(30~50)×10^-9•a^-1, 中段最大剪应变积累较弱, 量值为(0~30)×10^-9•a^-1, 北段、南段最大剪应变积累较强, 量值为(40~80)×10^-9•a^-1。北段和南段元阳地区出现最大剪应变高值区, 地震危险性较大。