Formation of the Japan Sea basin: Reassessment from Ar–Ar ages and Nd–Sr isotopic data of basement basalts of the Japan Sea and adjacent regions

Many studies have examined the Japan Sea basalts recovered during Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg127/128. Of these, the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating undertaken is important in constraining the timing of the formation of the Japan Sea; however, the implications of their results do not appear to be fully appreciated by the geological community. In this paper, I reassess the ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age data of the basalts with reference to Nd–Sr isotopic data. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar dating was performed on basalts somewhat enriched in large-ion lithophile elements and recovered from ODP Sites 794, 795 and the lower part of 797, yielding the plateau ages of 21.2–17.7 Ma. These basalts show the Nd–Sr isotopic signature of a moderately depleted mantle source (ε_Nd: 0.6–6.9). In contrast, the basalts from the upper part of Site 797 have yet to be dated due to their low K content, although their Nd isotopic compositions are similar to that of MORB (ε_Nd: 8.4–10.4). By analogy to the secular Nd–Sr isotopic trends reported for Sikhote-Alin and northeast Japan, the age of the upper basalts at Site 797 may be inferred to be younger than the lower basalts, probably around 16 Ma. The Nd–Sr isotopic compositions of the Japan Sea basalts have been interpreted in terms of eastward asthenospheric flow, as have the lavas of the Sikhote-Alin and northeastern Japan. The timing of volcanic activity in the Japan Sea region (i.e., from 21.2 to 14.86 Ma) is consistent with the timing of rotational crustal movements inferred from paleomagnetic studies of the Japanese Islands (i.e., 14.8–4.2 Ma for southwest Japan and 16.5–14.4 Ma for northeast Japan).     

The Nature of the “Voice of the Sea”

Strong vibrations of the Earth’s crust in the frequency range of 7–9 Hz, referred to as the “voice of the sea,” have been recorded in the course of processing synchronous experimental data obtained during recording of variations in the deformation of the Earth’s crust using a shore laser strainmeter, atmosphere pressure variations using a laser nanobarograph, and hydrosphere pressure variations using a laser meter for hydrospheric pressure and wind velocity variations. The nature of these vibrations and their transformation to adjacent geospheres have been discussed.     

Major ion composition and carbonate equilibrium in the sediment pore water of the Razdol’naya River estuary of Amur Bay,the Sea of Japan

The complex study of the river water and pore solutions from the bottom sediments in the lower reaches of the Razdol’naya River was conducted in February 2010. The major ion composition of the waters indicates the submarine origin of the near-bottom and pore waters in the lower reaches of the Razdol’naya River in the winter. The river estuary extends upstream for more than 20 km. It was established that the studied sediments are reduced oozes containing pyrite, hydrotroilite, and iron monosulfide, which is direct evidence for sulfate-reduction in the sediments. The diagenesis of organic matter is the main reason for the considerable decrease in the amount of sulfates and the increase in the alkalinity of the sediment pore water. The sedimentary pore water sampled from the deep river pits is characterized by excess alkalinity that cannot be explained by sulfate-reduction and methane genesis. It was suggested that the chemical weathering of silicate minerals and the bacterial mineralization of salts of organic acids could result in the excess alkalinity of the sediment pore water.     

Finding the Location of Generation Zones of “Voice of the Sea” Microseisms

Doklady Earth Sciences - The generation zones of “voice of the sea” microseisms of three typhoons were determined from the field data using a two-coordinate laser strainmeter. From...     

Structural–Geodynamic Systems of the Basement of the Black Sea–Caspian Sea Region: Evolution in the Late Paleozoic‒Cenozoic

Geotectonics - Structural-cartographic geological and geophysical materials were analyzed in order to construct a series of models of structural–geodynamic systems of the basement of the...     

Oxygen Isotope Records of Core 8KL of the South China Sea and Sea - level Change

Based on a comparison between the oxygen isotope records of benthic and plank tonic foraminifers from core 8KL of the South China Sea and sea-level change records derived from the Huon Peninsula, New Guinea, it is found that both records are very similar from 72 K a B.P. to the present, especially for the benthic oxygen isotope record. The linear regression shows that δ18O changes (0.9995‰ for benthic foraminifers and 1.022‰ for planktonic foraminifers) are equal to 100 m in sea-level fluctuation. After making temperature correction in the δ18O record of benthic foraminifers from 72 to 120 Ka B.P., the curve of sea-level oscillation of the South China Sea since 186 Ka B.P. has been reconstructed. The lowermost sea - level that occurred in the last glacial maximum and oxygen isotope stage 6 is approximately - 130 m.     

REE Geochemistry of Surficial Sediments from the Yellow Sea of China

REE geochemical studies of surficial sediment samples from the Yellow Sea of China have shown:(1)The average content of RE2O3 in the Yellow Sea sediments is 175 ppm,close to that in the East China Sea sediments.The REE distribution patterns in the Yellow Sea sediments are also similar to anomalies.These REE characteristics are typical of the continental crust.(2)The contents of REE are controlled mainly by the sediment grain size,i.e.,REE contents increase gradually with decreasing sediment grain size.REE are present mainly in clay minerals.In addition,REE contents are controlled obviously by heavy minerals.REE abundances in heavy minerals are much greater than those in light minerals.(3)Correlation analysis shows that REE have a close relationship with siderophile elements,especially Ti,which has the largest correlation coefficient relative to REE.Terrigenous clastic materials subjected to weathering and transport are suggested to be the main source of REE in the Yellow Sea sediments.     

Lower Boundary of the Marine Pleistocene in Northern Shelf of the South China Sea

A marine stratigraphic sequence across the Pliocene / Pleistocene boundary has been found in the north-ern continental shelf of the South China Sea. The marine Quaternary deposits in the Yinggehai Basin may ex-ceed 2,000 m in thickness, probably providing the best section for studying the lower boundary of the marinePleistocene in South China. The vertical succession with planktonic foraminifers and nannofossils revealed inboreholes in the basin has been well correlated with that in the international stratotype section of thePliocene / Pleistocene boundary at Vrica, Italy, resulting in the acquirement of a biostratigraphic boundary at1.64 Ma. This boundary, however, does not coincide with any prominent lithological palaeoenvironmentalchanges in the study area and can hardly be used in geological practice. There are, in contrast, significantchanges at the level of LAD of Globorotalia multicamerata sensu lato located below the above-mentionedboundary. The percentage of planktonic foraminifers in the total population and preservation of foraminiferaltests display great changes at this level corresponding to a clear onlap on the seismic profiles and indicating adepositional hiatus at ca. 2.0-2.5 Ma. Since the level can be widely traced in the Pearl River Mouth Basin andthe Beibu Gulf Basin and well corresponds with the marked depositional environmental changes recorded inthe west Pacific and other regions, it is recommended that the Plio / Pleistocene boundary be drawn at the levelof Gr. multicamerata sensu lato LAD, roughly concurrent with the Gauss / Matuyama turn.     

Manganese Abnormity in Holocene Sediments of the Bohai Sea

Manganese abnormity has been observed in the Holocene sediments of the mud area of Bohai Sea. On the basis of grain size, chemical composition, heavy mineral content and accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) 14C dating of foraminifer, relationships between manganese abnormity and sedimentation rates, material source, hydrodynamic conditions are probed. Manganese abnormity occurred during the Middle Holocene when sea level and sedimentation rates were higher than those at present. Sedimentary hiatus was not observed when material sources and hydrodynamic conditions were quite similar. Compared with the former period, the latter period showed a decrease in reduction environment and an inclination toward oxidation environment with high manganese content, whereas provenance and hydrodynamic conditions showed only a slight change. From the above observations, it can be concluded that correlation among manganese abnormity, material source, and hydrodynamic conditions is not obvious. Redox environment seems to be the key factor for manganese enrichment, which is mainly related to marine authigenic process.     

Transport process of radionuclides in the East China Sea

Settling particles were collected from six stations at the Okinawa Trough and the East China Sea continental margin. Activities of U, Th, Pu isotopes and ^210Pb were determined for the particles to elucidate their transport processes. Surface sediment samples were also analyzed for their isotopes. There was a tendency for ^210Pb activities to increase almost linearly with depth from 72 m on the continental shelf edge to 1019 m in the Okinawa Trough. Increasing ^210Pb activities in settling particles with depth on the continental margin may be attributable to enhanced ^210Pb scavenging by particles and removal near the front. There also was a clear tendency for total mass fluxes and the radionuclide fluxes to increase with depth, with an especially large increase near the bottom. The ratio of the observed ^210Pb flux to the ^210Pb deficiency flux in the near-bottom traps ranged between 8.9 and 46. These high values show a strong ^210Pb excess which would be attributable to large advective import to the near-bottom and resuspended particles that have settled through the water column but have not been incorporated into the sediments. High variability of radionuclide fluxes occurred in very short time periods. Activities of ^238U, ^232Th, ^230Th, ^228Th, ^210Pb and ^239Pu＋^240Pu in settling particles were significantly higher than those in the underlying surface sediments.     

A Study on the Forming Conditions of Basalts in Seamounts of the South China Sea

Volcanic rocks in seamounts of the South China Sea consist mainly of alkali basalt, tholeiitic basalt, trachyandesitic pumice, dacite, etc. Inclusions in the minerals of the volcanic rocks are mainly amorphous melt inclusions, which reflects that the volcanic rocks are characterized by submarine eruption and rapid cooling on the seafloor. Furthermore, fluid-melt inclusions have been discovered for the first time in alkali basalts and mantle-derived xenoliths. indicating a process of differentiation between magma and fluid in the course of mantle partial melting. Alkali basalts and inclusions may have been formed in this nonhomogeneous system. Rock-forming temperatures of four seamounts were estimated as follows: the Zhongnan seamount alkali basalt 1155 ∼ 1185 °C; the Xianbei seamount alkali basalt 960 ∼ 1200 °C; tholeiitic basalt 1040 ∼ 1230 °C; the Daimao seamount tholeiitic basalt 1245 ∼ 1280 °C; and the Jianfeng seamount trachyandestic pumice 880 ∼ 1140 °C. Equilibrium pressures of alkali basalts in the Zhongnan and Xianbei seamounts are 13.57 and 8.8 × 10⁸ Pa, respectively. Pyroxene equilibrium temperatures of mantle xenoliths from the Xianbei seamount were estimated at 1073 ∼ 1121 °C, and pressures at (15.58 ∼ 22.47)×10⁸Pa, suggesting a deep-source (e.g. the asthenosphere) for the alkali basalts. This project was financially supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China and Guangzhou Marine Geology Survey.     

Monitoring the Spatiotemporal Evolution of Sea Ice in the Bohai Sea in the 2009–2010 Winter Combining MODIS and Meteorological Data

The spatiotemporal evolution of sea ice of Bohai Sea in the 2009–2010 winter was studied by time-series remote sensing data, and real-time meteorological data in combination with cumulative freezing degree days (CFDD). Sea ice acreage was determined using a ratio-threshold segmentation together with visual interpretation of daily MODIS 250 m imagery. We found the sea ice acreage soared to 31,849 km² on January 23, covering 40.8% of the Bohai Sea. But on February 12, it reached 26,700 km² in Liaodong Bay only, covering almost 90.0% of Liaodong Bay. The rapid formation and expansion of sea ice was caused by continuous cold snaps superimposed on a background of anomalously cold weather. CFDD calculated from surrounding cities highly correlated with sea ice acreage in Liaodong Bay (R ² = 0.72) suggesting CFDD is one of the significant controlling factors. Sea ice expansion showed 7 days lag with respect to the lowest temperature from surrounding coastal cities, and it mainly occurred close to land, along the coastline, and gradually expanded from the shore outwards.     

Tertiary Calcareous Nannofossil Biostratigraphy in the North Part of the South China Sea

The marine Tertiary sequence in the north part of the South China Sea may be divided into 18 LateOligocene to Pliocene calcareous nannofossil zones and one unnamed Eocene assemblage based on an analysisof calcareous nannofossils from 40 offshore boreholes. The unnamed Eocene assemblage has been found onlyon the northeast margin of the Zhujiangkou basin. The 18 cakareous nannofossil zones of the Late Oligoceneto Pliocene were deposited in succession, but their development degrees are different. Among the 18 calcareousnannofossil zones, those corresponding to Martini's (1971) NN4- NN5 zones, NN11 zone and NN13-NN15zones are well developed, relatively persistent laterally and also widely distributed. They are the importantmarkers for the stratigraphical subdivision and correlation of the Upper Tertiary between the various basins inthe north part of the South China Sea. Based on the calcareous nannofossils and the sedimentsry features coup-led with the foraminifer zonation in certain basins, the present paper discusses the sedimentary characteristicsof the marine Tertiary and as well as the distribution and development of the sedimentary hiatus in the region.The calcareous nannofossil markers for the Upper / Lower Tertiary and the Quaternary / Tertiary boundaries,and the characteristics and geological significance of the reworked calcareous nannofossils are also discussed inthe paper.     

Methane fluxes on the water–atmosphere boundary in the Sea of Okhotsk

Doklady Earth Sciences - High variability in methane fluxes at the water–atmosphere boundary was found for the first time for the period 1990–2016 using expeditionary data. Variability...     

Structural Evidence of Recent Activity of the Khatanga–Lomonosov Fault Zone in the Laptev Sea

Doklady Earth Sciences - New structural data obtained by a geophysical survey during Cruise 69 of the R/V Akademik Mstislav Keldysh in 2017 indicate that the Khatanga−Lomonosov fault zone is...     

Chemistry of Aerosols over Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea

The contents of elements in aerosols sampled during the First Chinese Arctic Research Expedition (CHINARE-1) show great differences from one element to another. Na, K,Ca, Mg, A1, F, and Cl are the major components in the aerosols, whose contents are larger than 30 ng/m^3. The chemical elements whose contents vary between 0.1 - 30 ng/m^3 are Br,Sr, Cr, Ni, and Zn. The chemical elements whose contents are close to or slightly higher than 0.1 ng/m^3 are Rb, Ba, Zr, Th, and Pb. The contents of As, Sb, W, Mo, Au, La, Ce, Nd,Sin, Eu, Tb, Yb, Lu, Sc, Co, Hf, Ta, and Cd are less than 0.1 ng/m^3. The mass concentration data for the same element, as observed during CHINARE-1, are almost accordant, but much lower than what is observed in the China‘ s seas or the coasts of China. The enrichment factor and electron microscopic analyses and lead isotope tracing were used to distinguish their sources.Four groups of sources can be classified as follows: anthropogenic: As, Sb, W, F, Mo, Au,Cu, Pb, Cd, V; crustal: La, Ce, Nd, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, Lu, Fe, Sc, Cr, Co, Ba, Zr, Hf,Ta, Cs, Mn, Th, U; oceanic:Na, K, Ca, and Mg; and mixing: Rb, Sr, Ca, and Mg.     

Deep Structure and Geodynamics of the Black Sea–Caspian Region

Geotectonics - New data on the crust structure of the Black Sea?Caspian region, including the Scythian and Anatolian plate margins, the Caucasus, Black Sea and Southern Caspian structures are...     

A Preliminary Study of the Gas Hydrate Stability Zone in the South China Sea

Based on the analysis of sea-bottom temperature and geothermal gradient, and by means of the phase boundary curve of gas hydrate and the sea-bottom temperature versus water depth curve in the South China Sea, this paper studies the temperature and pressure conditions for gas hydrate to keep stable. In a marine environment, methane hydrate keeps stable at water depths greater than 550 m in the South China Sea. Further, the thickness of the gas hydrate stability zone in the South China Sea was calculated by using the phase boundary curve and temperature-depth equations. The result shows that gas hydrate have a better perspective in the southeast of the Dongsha Islands, the northeast of the Xisha Islands and the north of the Nansha Islands for thicker stability zones.     

Study of the Early and Middle Triassic Lower Yangtze Sea Basin

The Early and Middle Triassic primary lower Yangtze sea basin was formed before the Yangtze and Sino. Korean blocks collided and were assembled. showing the characteristics of an open continental shelf.continental margin sea. In order to provide evidence useful for oil and gas exploration in the studied region, this paper centres on the features of the sediments and their facies framework in the basin and the sedimentation parameters such as the deposition rate, palaeotemperature, palaeosatinity, palaeodepth of water and palaeocurrents of the basin.     

Types and Distribution of Geological Hazards in the South China Sea

Various types of geological hazards exist in the South China Sea. In dynamics sense, they can be categorized into 5 principal genetic types related to effects of hydraulic dynamics, gaseous activity, soil mechanics, gravity and tectonism, respectively. Integrated analyses indicate that the geological hazards associated with volcanoes, earthquakes and fractures are mainly distributed in tectonically active regions, whereas those resulting from mudflows, landslides and diapirs are usually concentrated in the region of slope, that shallow gas, high pressure gas pockets and soft intercalations are major potential geological hazards in the inner shelf, and that strong hydraulic dynamics, especially storm tide, is one of the major causes of geological hazards in the littoral areas. The geological hazards that occurred in the South China Sea are also characterized by periodicity, succession and, to a certain extent, unpredictability in addition to regionalization.