Current methods for obtaining,logging and splitting marine sediment cores

The main types of deep-sea sediment coring devices are described and their relative merits and drawbacks are discussed. These devices include box corers, gravity corers, piston corers, giant piston corers and vibrocorers. Recent utilisations of kevlar and polyester coring warps are also discussed, since these are the only warps capable of handling the large weights associated with the larger devices. Recent developments in wholecore logging, including P wave, density and magnetic susceptibility, are described as are methods of subcoring and core splitting to obtain the maximum amount of detail on the split surfaces. The wholecore logs together with a good colour photograph of the recently split sediment surface provide a lasting unambiguous record of the core.     

Heave compensation and formation strength evaluation from downhole acceleration measurements while coring

In order to evaluate the efficiency of heave compensation in the Ocean Drilling Program, we developed a device measuring the acceleration of the core barrels. First results show that heave compensation limits bit motion to 10% of the surface heave. We also use the acceleration data to characterize the formation. On rotary corers, acceleration amplitudes decrease with increasing hardness of the formation. Comparison with geophysical logs shows that this relationship can resolve cm-scale features. On piston corers, the maximum acceleration is characteristic of the sediment shear strength. Easy and fast to deploy, this tool allows to characterize formations before any sample analysis.     

新型全封闭刀口联合式管口封的设计及应用

重力活塞取样器是海洋地质调查不可缺少的调查设备，而管口封又是重力活塞取样器的重要部件。管口封的好坏不但影响到取样器的贯入深度和取芯丰，还影响到所取岩芯的质量．介绍了一种最近研制成功的新型全封闭刀口联合式管口封。海上实验在特定海区成功的获取了17．11m的长岩芯，取样率达91．3％，创造了我国海洋地质调查用重力活塞取样器获取岩心的最长记录。该设计已通过国家知识产权局批准授予实用新型专利。     

Analysis of loads,motions and cavity dynamics during freefall wedges vertically entering the water surface

In this paper, theoretical models are developed and numerical methods are used to analyze the loads, motions and cavity dynamics for freefall wedges with different deadrise angles vertically entering the water surface at Froude numbers: 1 ≤ Fn < 9. The time evolutions of the penetration depth, the velocity and the acceleration are analyzed and expressed explicitly. The maximum and average accelerations are predicted. The theoretical results are compared with numerical data obtained through a single-fluid BEM model with globally satisfactory agreement. The evolution of the pressures on the impact side is investigated. Before flow separation, gravity and the acceleration of the wedge have negligible influence on the pressure on the impact side for large Froude numbers or small deadrise angles; with increasing the deadrise angle or decreasing Froude number, the effects of gravity and the acceleration of the wedge tend to become more important. Global loads, with the main emphasis on the drag coefficient, are also studied. It is found that for the light wedge, the transient drag coefficient has slow variation in the first half of the collapse stage and rapid variation in the last half of the collapse stage. For the heavy wedge, the transient drag coefficients vary slowly during the whole collapse stage and can be treated as constant. The characteristics of the transient cavity during its formation are investigated. The non-dimensional pinch-off time, pinch-off depth and submergence depth at pinch-off scale roughly linearly as the Froude number.     

Estimation of Residual Undrained Shear Strength from Gravity Corer Penetration Data

Residual undrained shear strength, s _{u_res} , is an important parameter for analyzing the response of structures buried within potentially unstable soil mass. A framework for estimating s _{u_res} of fine grained sediments from gravity corer penetration has been developed considering viscous drag during free fall of the corer through seawater and cohesive energy loss during sediment penetration. The procedure was used to estimate s _{u_res} using data from a submarine geotechnical investigation in western Canada. Comparison of the results with alternative estimates of s _{u_res} from miniature torvane tests on the gravity core samples and CPTs performed nearby reveals a reasonable agreement.     

Effect of biogeochemical diagenesis on sediment fabric in shallow marine carbonate sediments near the Dry Tortugas, Florida

 Shallow marine carbonate sediments near the Dry Tortugas undergo extensive biogeochemical diagenesis upon deposition, resulting in postdepositional fabric comprised of micritic aggregates of clay-sized particles, a matrix of peloidal mud, and intraparticular cementation. Freshly deposited primary skeletons, mostly Halimeda fragments, yield micritic aggregates of clay-sized particles, which then form peloidal mud fabric upon compaction. The cryptocrystalline particles produced by micritization are later replaced by high magnesian calcite. Cementation is observed in the intra-particular microenvironment. However, no inter-particular, grain-binding cement was detected throughout the gravity core samples investigated.     

Observation of corer penetration and sample entry during gravity coring

Gravity core samples provide the basic data source for a wide range of geological, geotechnical and geochemical studies. However, the length of the core recovered is often less than the penetration achieved by the corer, such cores being described as shortened. If the penetration of the corer has been measured, and it is assumed that no dropout of the core occurs as the barrel is withdrawn from the seabed, it is present practice to reconstruct in situ dimensions using an overall correction factor based on this penetration and the length of core recovered. However, measurements, reported here, have been made of corer penetration and sample entry and these show that the entry deficit (penetration minus sample entry) develops in some instances continuously, and in others intermittently. These results indicate that an overall correction factor is unlikely to be appropriate to any given section of the core.     

Physical modelling of chemical compaction,overpressure development,hydraulic fracturing and thrust detachments in organic-rich source rock

Geological evidence for overpressure is common worldwide, especially in petroleum-rich sedimentary basins. As a result of an increasing emphasis on unconventional resources, new data are becoming available for source rocks. Abnormally high values of pore fluid pressure are especially common within mature source rock, probably as a result of chemical compaction and increases in volume during hydrocarbon generation. To investigate processes of chemical compaction, overpressure development and hydraulic fracturing, we have developed new techniques of physical modelling in a closed system. During the early stages of our work, we built and deformed models in a small rectangular box (40 × 40 × 10 cm), which rested on an electric flatbed heater; but more recently, in order to accommodate large amounts of horizontal shortening, we used a wider box (77 × 75 × 10 cm). Models consisted of horizontal layers of two materials: (1) a mixture of equal initial volumes of silica powder and beeswax micro-spheres, representing source rock, and (2) pure silica powder, representing overburden. By submerging these materials in water, we avoided the high surface tensions, which otherwise develop within pores containing both air and liquids. Also we were able to measure pore fluid pressure in a model well. During heating, the basal temperature of the model surpassed the melting point of beeswax (∼62 °C), reaching a maximum of 90 °C. To investigate tectonic contexts of compression or extension, we used a piston to apply horizontal displacements.In experiments where the piston was static, rapid melting led to vertical compaction of the source layer, under the weight of overburden, and to high fluid overpressure (lithostatic or greater). Cross-sections of the models, after cooling, revealed that molten wax had migrated through pore space and into open hydraulic fractures (sills). Most of these sills were horizontal and their roofs bulged upwards, as far as the free surface, presumably in response to internal overpressure and loss of strength of the mixture. We also found that sills were less numerous towards the sides of the box, presumably as a result of boundary effects. In other experiments, in which the piston moved inward, causing compression of the model, sills also formed. However, these were thicker than in static models and some of them were subject to folding or faulting. For experiments, in which we imposed some horizontal shortening, before the wax had started to melt, fore-thrusts and back-thrusts developed across all of the layers near the piston, producing a high-angle prism. In contrast, as soon as the wax melted, overpressure developed within the source layer and a basal detachment appeared beneath it. As a result, thin-skinned thrusts propagated further into the model, producing a low-angle prism. In some experiments, bodies of wax formed imbricate zones within the source layer.Thus, in these experiments, it was the transformation, from solid wax to liquid wax, which led to chemical compaction, overpressure development and hydraulic fracturing, all within a closed system. According to the measurements of overpressure, load transfer was the main mechanism, but volume changes also contributed, producing supra-lithostatic overpressure and therefore tensile failure of the mixture.     

A locking-compass for in situ sample orientation

A mechanically-actuated locking-compass was designed for mounting on corers to record equipment orientation during the sampling process, thereby providing magnetic orientation data on the recovered deep-sea core. Locking occurs upon impact by the corer with the sea-floor; after retrieval, the device is easily unlocked and reset for another station. Compass construction makes use of commercially available parts, requires no welding and little machining, and thus allows inexpensive and easy assembly at sea.     

Age determination of marine sediments in the western North Pacific by as partic acid chronology

The ages of fossil planktonic foraminifera,Pulleniatina obliquiloculata, in sediments (core 3bPC) from the western North Pacific were determined by aspartic acid chronology, which uses the racemization reaction rate constant of aspartic acid (k_Asp). Aspartic acid racemization-based ages (Asp ages) ranged from 7,600 yrBP at the surface, to 307,000 yrBP at a depth of 352.9 cm in the sediments. This sediment core was also dated by the glacial-interglacial fluctuation of δ¹⁸O chronology, and the ages determined by both chronologies were compared. The ages derived from aspartic acid chronology and δ¹⁸O stratigraphy were more or less consistent, but there appeared to be some differences in age estimates between these two dating methods at some depths within the core. In the core top sediments, the likely cause for the age discrepancy could be the loss of the surface sediment during sampling of the core. At depths of 66.3 and 139 cm within the core, Asp ages indicated reduced sedimentation rates duringca. 60,000-80,000 yrBP andca. 140,000–190,000 yrBP. The maximum age differences in both chronologies are 33,000 yr and 46,600 yr during each of these periods. These anomalous reductions in sedimentation rates occurring during these periods could possibly be related to some geological events, such as an increased dissolution effect of the calcium carbonate in the western North Pacific. Another possible reason for these age differences could be the unreliability in δ¹⁸O ages of core 3bPC as they were estimated by δ¹⁸O ages of another core, 3aPC.     

南海东北部晚更新世以来沉积环境演变的矿物-地球化学记录

对南海东北部69柱(20°07.10'N,118°49.0'E)沉积物岩心进行碎屑矿物-地球化学特征研究,结果表明,以孔深165cm为界可划分出晚更新世末次冰期沉积和全新世冰后期沉积,这一地层划分结果与根据浮游有孔虫氧、碳同位素分析得出的结果是一致的.末次冰期时自生黄铁矿和硫元素高度富集,钠与铝、镁与铝和钠与钾的比值均较高,重矿物和SiO₂含量较高,CaCO₃含量较低,反映当时是一种相对闭塞的缺氧环境,气候干寒,化学风化作用较弱,以机械风化作用为主;研究区主要接受粒径较粗的硅质沉积;陆源物质的稀释作用可能是造成碳酸盐含量相对较低的主要原因.冰后期褐铁矿出现高含量,钠与铝、镁与铝和钠与钾的比值均降低,Al₂O₃和CaCO₃含量增高,反映沉积环境渐变为开放的氧化环境,气候转变为化学风化作用较强的湿热气候;研究区以接受较细粒的铝硅酸盐沉积为主,冰消期时还出现了碳酸盐保存高峰事件.     

Latitudinal trends in morphological characteristics of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Neogloboquadrina pachyderma</Emphasis> (Ehrenberg) along a north–south transect in the south-western Indian Ocean

A total of 25 surficial sediment samples (Peterson grab, gravity and piston cores), collected during the Pilot Expedition to Southern Ocean (PESO) 2004 cruises 199C and 200 onboard the ORV Sagar Kanya along a N–S transect between 9.69°N and 55.01°S, and 80 and 40°E in the Indian Ocean sector of the Southern Ocean (SW Indian Ocean), have been investigated for various morphological features—test size, mean proloculus size and coiling direction (dextral/sinistral forms)—of the planktic indicator species Neogloboquadrina pachyderma (Ehrenberg). The results show that the coiling directions co-vary with temperature and salinity, the abundances of sinistrally coiled forms increasing towards higher latitudes (south of 40°S), whereas dextrally coiled forms show a reverse trend. Similarly, overall test and proloculus sizes depend largely on the physicochemical properties (salinity, temperature, nutrients, calcium saturation) of the ambient water masses. These observations suggest that, particularly at the boundaries between different water masses, variations in morphological features of N. pachyderma can meaningfully be used to reconstruct paleoceanographic conditions from Indian Ocean sediments.     

Gas hydrates and active mud volcanism on the South Shetland continental margin, Antarctic Peninsula

During the Antarctic summer of 2003–2004, new geophysical data were acquired from aboard the R/V OGS Explora in the BSR-rich area discovered in 1996–1997 along the South Shetland continental margin off the Antarctic Peninsula. The objective of the research program, supported by the Italian National Antarctic Program (PNRA), was to verify the existence of a potential gas hydrate reservoir and to reconstruct the tectonic setting of the margin, which probably controls the extent and character of the diffused and discontinuous bottom simulating reflections. The new dataset, i.e. multibeam bathymetry, seismic profiles (airgun and chirp), and two gravity cores analysed by computer-aided tomography as well as for gas composition and content, clearly shows active mud volcanism sustained by hydrocarbon venting in the region: several vents, located mainly close to mud volcanoes, were imaged during the cruise and their occurrence identified in the sediment samples. Mud volcanoes, vents and recent slides border the gas hydrate reservoir discovered in 1996–1997. The cores are composed of stiff silty mud. In core GC01, collected in the proximity of a mud volcano ridge, the following gases were identified (maximum contents in brackets): methane (46 μg/kg), pentane (45), ethane (35), propane (34), hexane (29) and butane (28). In core GC02, collected on the flank of the Vualt mud volcano, the corresponding data are methane (0 μg/kg), pentane (45), ethane (22), propane (0), hexane (27) and butane (25).     

Estimation of Residual Undrained Shear Strength from Gravity Corer Penetration Data

Residual undrained shear strength, s_{u_res}, is an important parameter for analyzing the response of structures buried within potentially unstable soil mass. A framework for estimating s_{u_res} of fine grained sediments from gravity corer penetration has been developed considering viscous drag during free fall of the corer through seawater and cohesive energy loss during sediment penetration. The procedure was used to estimate s_{u_res} using data from a submarine geotechnical investigation in western Canada. Comparison of the results with alternative estimates of s_{u_res} from miniature torvane tests on the gravity core samples and CPTs performed nearby reveals a reasonable agreement.     

Numerical Analysis of Gravity Coring Using Coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian Method and a New Corer

The shortcomings of gravity corers in sampling marine sediments have been observed extensively in various field tests. In order to optimize the coring, this article provides an alternative numerical way to model the gravity coring and analyze the sampling effect. Based on this analysis, a new hydraulic hammer corer is devised. A coupled Eulerian-Lagrangian method with capability of simulating the problem involving extreme deformation, penetration is used to simulate the coring process. The results show that the hydrostatic pressure and deviator stress increase and reach their peak when the pile tip is slightly above or at the level of the observation point and then drop rapidly when the pile tip slides below the observation point. In addition, the stress path indicates that the soil element sustains plastic compression before yielding and then expands until recovering to the original state. The obvious “under-sampling” phenomenon is also well-captured by the finite element model.     

重力活塞取样器贯入深度研究

重力活塞取样器是一种重要的海底连续沉积物采集仪器,贯入深度和样品质量对海洋地质研究有着重要影响。通过对重力活塞取样器贯入过程建立能量守恒方程,得出贯入深度控制方程。已知取样器参数和土质类型条件,可计算取样管贯入深度,深度受取样器重量、体积、形状、取样管直径和沉积物类型等因素共同影响。已知取样器参数和贯入深度,可推测海底沉积物类型。     

Sewage-induced polychaete reefs in a SW Atlantic shore: rapid response to small-scale disturbance

The intertidal zone around Mar del Plata’s sewage discharge (38° S, 57° W) is characterized by the presence of the non-indigenous spionid polychaete Boccardia proboscidea. This species has been classified as tolerant to moderate and high levels of organic contamination. During early stages of colonization this species can reach very high densities without suffering from interspecific competition, building biogenic structures such as reef. The aim of this work was evaluate the recovery time of the reef to a small-scale experimental physical disturbance. Five independent rocks with B. proboscidea reefs on them were selected randomly and a small-scale disturbance was generated by corers (16 cm²). At the beginning of the experiment, six corers were collected in each reef to produce the disturbance. The original density of B. proboscidea in each reef was determined in these corers. The reefs with disturbed corer were sampled on successive days to assess the reef recovery time. The number of larvae, juveniles and adults was quantified. Polychaete reefs had very high densities before the disturbance (mean density: 1,021,250 ind m⁻²). Boccardia proboscidea reefs had a fast recovery rate after small-scale disturbance. Four days after disturbance the density reached about 50% of the original density and after 5 days the disturbed reefs could not be differentiated from the undisturbed reef. The initial recolonization of disturbed patches occurs as a result of migration which appears to be driven by larvae and juveniles. These reefs can not be seen as biodiversity hotspots and the presence of the species demonstrates great environmental deterioration.     

Multidisciplinary investigations exploring indicators of gas hydrate occurrence in the Krishna–Godavari Basin offshore, east coast of India

We report some main results of multidisciplinary investigations carried out within the framework of the Indian National Gas Hydrate Program in 2002–2003 in the Krishna–Godavari Basin offshore sector, east coast of India, to explore indicators of likely gas hydrate occurrence suggested by preliminary multi-channel seismic reflection data and estimates of gas hydrate stability zone thickness. Swath bathymetry data reveal new evidence of three distinct geomorphic units representing (1) a delta front incised by several narrow valleys and mass flows, (2) a deep fan in the east and (3) a WNW–ESE-trending sedimentary ridge in the south. Deep-tow digital side-scan sonar, multi-frequency chirp sonar, and sub-bottom profiler records indicate several surface and subsurface gas-escape features with a highly resolved stratification within the upper 50 m sedimentary strata. Multi-channel seismic reflection data show the presence of bottom simulating reflections of continuous to discrete character. Textural analyses of 76 gravity cores indicate that the sediments are mostly silty clay. Geochemical analyses reveal decreasing downcore pore water sulphate (SO₄ ²⁻) concentrations (28.7 to <4 mM), increasing downcore methane (CH₄) concentrations (0–20 nM) and relatively high total organic carbon contents (1–2.5%), and microbial analyses a high abundance of microbes in top core sediments and a low abundance of sulphate-reducing bacteria in bottom core sediments. Methane-derived authigenic carbonates were identified in some cores. Combined with evidence of gas-escape features in association with bottom simulating reflections, the findings strongly suggest that the physicochemical conditions prevailing in the study area are highly conducive to methane generation and gas hydrate occurrence. Deep drilling from aboard the JOIDES Resolution during 2006 has indeed confirmed the presence of gas hydrate in the Krishna–Godavari Basin offshore.     

南图瓦卢礁群区重力资料的初步分析

1976年3月至1978年10月,国家海洋局“向阳红05”号海洋调查船(14,000吨)对太平洋中部海域先后进行了四次远洋综合科学调查,为研究该海域的自然环境提供了大量的地质-地球物理、水文、气象、生物、化学资料,并在南纬11°41'.2,西经178°20'.5处新发现了一个水深仅32米的珊瑚礁滩——“向阳礁”.四次远洋调查共完成的重力、水深测线总长为57,492公里.     

Photosynthesis-irradiance relationship of phytoplankton and primary production in the vicinity of Kuroshio warm core ring in spring

The light-saturated maximum value (P ^B _max) and initial slope (α) of the photosynthesis-irradiance (P-E) curve were examined in a warm streamer, a cold streamer and a warm core ring off the Sanriku area in the subarctic western North Pacific Ocean during an ADEOS/OCTS Sanriku field campaign in early May 1997. BothP ^B _max and α were within the ranges of temperate populations. A regional difference was apparent inP ^B _max: populations in the warm streamer tended to show higher value ranging between 1.92 and 4.74 mgC (mgChla)⁻¹h⁻¹ than those in the cold streamer and the warm core ring (1.35–2.87 mgC (mgChla)⁻¹h⁻¹). A depth variation was also observed in α in both the warm streamer and the warm core ring: shallow populations tended to have lower α than deep populations. The depth variations in bothP ^B _max and α resulted in a lower light intensity of the light saturation in a deeper population than that of a shallower one. These depth-related variations in the P-E parameters were likely a manifestation of “shade-adaptation” of photosynthesis. Photoinhibition was not observed over in situ surface light intensity varying below ca 1600 μmol photon m⁻²s⁻¹. Water-column primary productivity was biooptically estimated to be 233 to 949 mgC m⁻²d⁻¹ using vertical distributions of the P-E parameters, chlorophylla, phytoplankton light absorption and underwater irradiance. Applicability of surface data sets for estimation of water-column productivity is discussed.