Reproductive patterns of the abyssal asteroid Styracaster elongatus from the N.E. Atlantic Ocean

We analysed the reproductive biology of the asteroid species Styracaster elongatus based on time-series samples from a 5000-m-deep site on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (N.E. Atlantic). The ratio of males to females, the gonadosomatic index (GI), and pyloric caecum index (PCI) were determined and the results were corroborated by histological examination of the gonads. Fecundity and oocyte-size distribution were determined by histological and image analyses. Styracaster elongatus is a gonochoric asteroid and the ratio of males to females was not significantly different throughout the year. Oogenesis was asynchronous. The previtellogenic oocytes grew to a size of ～230 μm before undergoing vitellogenesis. Maximum oocyte size was ～620 μm. The ovary volume was mainly occupied by small previtellogenic oocytes (100–150 μm) at any one time. Mean GI was 6.38±3.30 for females and 9.04±4.1 for males. Mean PCI was 7.44±1.66 for females and 7.66±1.46 for males. Mean fecundity was 16,373±5988 oocites per female. There were no seasonal variations in GI and fecundity. There was evidence of a pyiloric caecum seasonal development for females and males. For S. elongatus there is no direct relationship among seasonal primary production at the surface and production of vitellogenic oocytes. Nevertheless, this species takes advantage of the pulse of phytodetritus to the seabed by increasing the storage of nutrients in the pyloric caecum in order to maintain a constant production of eggs and sperm.     

Clumped isotope analysis of lacustrine endogenic carbonates and implications for paleo-temperature reconstruction: A case study from Dali Lake

Carbonate clumped isotope(Δ47)is a new and reliable geothermometer.Endogenic carbonates in lake sediments are good archives to reconstruct lake water temperature using clumped isotope thermometry.However,applications of carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to lacustrine carbonates are still scarce because the existed organic and/or sulfur contaminants in such samples interfere with clumped isotope analysis and cause notable temperature biases.Therefore,exploring an effective way to remove contamination is a prerequisite to widely applying carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to lake sediments.By pretreating fine-grained endogenic carbonates from Dali lake sediments with hydrogen peroxide of different concentrations for different lengths of time,we conducted a series of conditional experiments to seek the optimal pretreatment condition for clumped isotope analysis.Δ47,Δ48 offset and 49 parameter were obtained from clumped isotope measurements to assess the effect of contamination removal.Results showed that untreated samples("0%-0")had a very high 49 parameter.After the treatment with hydrogen peroxide,the 49 parameter was significantly reduced while theΔ48 offset evidently increased.TheΔ47,Δ48 offset and 49 parameter of samples pretreated under different conditions showed significant variability,even though the measuredΔ47 temperatures changed within a relatively narrow range(i.e.,from 17.0±1.3 to 22.8±1.6°C).Among various treated samples,the sample"3%-8"yielded a smallerΔ48 offset and 49 parameter,and lowerΔ47 temperature of 17.0±1.3°C.Therefore,"reacting with 3%hydrogen peroxide for 8 h"was suggested to be the optimal condition for removing contaminants from lacustrine endogenic carbonates prior to clumped isotope analysis.At the time when the pretreatment condition was too intense(i.e.,H2O2 concentration>3%and/or reaction time>8 h),secondary contaminants might have been generated in the closed reaction system,whose ultimately transformed state may interfere with masses 47,48.Using the optimal pretreatment procedure,we obtained reasonableΔ47 temperature changes during the last deglaciation and found a temperature decrease of about 6°C in Northern China during the Younger Dryas period.Our study demonstrates a great potential of applying carbonate clumped isotope thermometry to lacustrine carbonates for paleo-temperature and paleo-elevation reconstructions in the future.     

First microbialites associated to organic-rich facies of the Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 (Northern Tunisia,Cenomanian–Turonian transition)

From northern Tunisia, small-scale well-preserved microbialites, contemporaneous to the global oceanic anoxic event 2 (OAE 2) are first reported on the southern Tethyan Margin. These microbialites are encased within the pelagic organic-rich black shales of the Bahloul Formation (Cenomanian–Turonian transition). Biostratigraphic, petrographic, and geochemical investigations carried out to constrain their biogenicity and genesis character led to consider them as thrombolites and stromatolites occurring in lenticular bioherms/biostromes and columnar bodies co-relatable to the global ‘filament event’ of the authors, close to the base of the Watinoceras ammonite zone. Abundant clotted micrite, cyanobacterial filaments, and algal tissues point to the key process of microbial carbonate precipitation and to a major role played by microbes in the stabilisation and subsequent lithification, which in turn favoured the preservation of the original structure of the microbialites. These microbially induced carbonate formations are considered as favoured by chemosynthetic fauna of bivalve molluscs and lithistid sponges which were able to host symbiotic microbial communities. The latter contributed to the precipitation of authigenic calcite and non-carbonate minerals (e.g. pyrite) fuelled by microbial activity under sulphate-reducing conditions. The carbonate body onset is considered to be initiated by seafloor instability due to syndepositional fault acting that induced the appraisal of uplifted tilted blocks within oxygenated waters but near the anoxic water masses. Generated depressions allowed the development of chemosynthetic-based communities. Deep faults related to Triassic salt domes acted as conducts for hydrocarbon and salt brine expulsion to the seafloor and the microbialite growth was enhanced by an abrupt uprising sea level under warmer conditions.     

海洋可控源电磁法空气波研究现状及展望

海洋可控源电磁法是钻前储层评价的有效手段,它可作为海洋地震重要辅助手段识别海底构造的储油/储水特征,从而减少盲钻率和勘探成本。然而,当使用水平电偶极作为发射源在浅水区测量时,沿空气-海水分界面传播的空气波会完全掩盖从高阻储油层返回的有用信号。由于空气波不含海底储油层的任何信息,空气波的存在严重影响海洋电磁的应用。因此,如何在浅水区观测数据中去除空气波影响以取得好的反演结果成为当前海洋电磁法的研究热点之一。首先基于Weidelt的空气波理论并采用对TE谱核直接求导的方法推导出空气波的主导项,然后根据空气波的物理成因及影响特征阐述了海洋电磁数据解释之前必须去除空气波的原因,最后将目前处理空气波问题的方法分成3类：1)根据空气波在频率域和时间域的特性去除或压制空气波,2)采用无空气波的测量方式,3)直接对含空气波的电磁数据进行反演解释。通过比较各种方法的效果,发现所有方法都有自己的应用条件和局限性。为有效地压制和去除空气波,各种方法的组合也许有更好的应用效果。     

吐哈盆地二叠系暗色泥页岩矿物组合特征及其地质意义

吐哈盆地是我国重要的含油气盆地之一,对于常规油气前人做了大量工作。然而对非常规页岩气的研究才刚刚起步。页岩气以吸附或游离的形式存在于泥页岩及其夹层中,而泥页岩的矿物组分研究为页岩气的吸附储存以及泥页岩的裂缝评价、渗流运移、压裂造缝等的研究提供了必要的基础。本文在野外露头及钻井岩心观察的基础上,通过显微薄片分析和 X-衍射分析,结合有机地化及镜质体反射率测试结果,对吐哈盆地周边二叠系8个剖面及两口取心井的暗色泥页岩样品进行了系统分析,结果表明：1）吐哈盆地二叠系暗色泥页岩分布广、厚度大、有机质丰度高;暗色泥页岩主要形成于微蒸发、微咸水的浅湖—半深湖—深湖环境,主要由粘土矿物和石英组成,粘土矿物主要为伊 /蒙混层、绿泥石和高岭石组合;2）暗色泥页岩矿物组合分布具有一定规律性,反映了盆内“多凸多凹,凸凹相间”的特点;粘土矿物组合反映了中二叠世晚期干旱—潮湿频繁交替的气候条件,且风化程度中等;3）暗色泥页岩总体处于中 ?晚成岩作用阶段,成熟度高,达到了成熟—高成熟阶段,有利于页岩气藏的形成;4）脆性矿物含量大于40%,有利于页岩气的压裂开发。     

银额盆地及周缘石炭系和二叠系沉积之后构造改造初探

通过银额盆地周缘野外地质调查,结合岩石薄片显微构造、磷灰石裂变径迹研究,以及盆地内部综合物化探与地震剖面、钻井等资料,对银额盆地及周缘晚古生代与中新生代地层构造变形及改造进行了分析,并对石炭系与二叠系后期构造改造期次及动力学机制进行了初步探讨。就石炭系和二叠系构造变形而言,露头区构造变形强于盆地内部,北山地区变形程度强于洪格尔山地区。石炭系与二叠系主要遭受了华力西末期、早中燕山期、燕山晚期、喜马拉雅期构造改造作用。第一期变形强烈,以差异隆升为主;第二期区域上变形最强烈,主要表现为区域抬升及大规模的逆冲推覆构造;第三、四期主要为轻微的差异升降作用,分别受控于太平洋板块向华北地块俯冲和印度板块向欧亚大陆俯冲的远程效应。石炭系与二叠系多套烃源岩于早白垩世末期达到最大埋深,进入主要生烃期,早白垩世以来受后期构造改造较弱,形成的大面积河湖相沉积可作为有效的储层与盖层,为银额盆地油气成藏提供了良好的生储盖条件。     

Examining the rainfall–topography relationship using non-stationary modelling technique in semi-arid Aseer region,Saudi Arabia

The mountainous region of Aseer, corresponding to the Afromontane phytogeographic region, is an eco-sensitive zone and has complex relationship between topography and rainfall. The region is located inland of the red sea escarpment edge in the west. Therefore, rainfall can occur during any month of the year in the mountain of the high Aseer region when moist air forces up the escarpment from the red sea. Monitoring the rainfall data and its topographical elevation variable in Aseer region is an essential requirement for feasible and accurate rainfall-based data for different applications, such as hydrological and ecological resource management in rugged terrain and remote areas. The relationship of elevation and rainfall are spatially non-stationary, non-linear, scale dependent, and often modelled by conventional regression models. Therefore, a local modelling technique, geographically weighted regression (GWR), was applied to deal with non-stationary, non-linear, scale-dependent problems. The GWR using topoclimatic data (elevation and rainfall) to analyse the cumulative rainfall data for rainy months (March to June) of the 4 years estimated from CHIRPS (Climate Hazards Group InfraRed Precipitation with Stations) product for Aseer region. The bandwidth (scale-size) of the Aseer region rainfall–elevation relationship has stabilised at round off 12 km. By selecting the suitable bandwidth, the spatial pattern of the rainfall–elevation relationship was significantly enhanced by using the GWR than the traditional ordinary least squares (OLS) regression model. GWR local modelling techniques estimated well in terms of accuracy, predictive power and decreased residual autocorrelation. Additionally, GWR assesses the significance of local statistic at each location and identified the location of spatial clusters with local regression coefficients significantly improved as compared with global OLS model, thereby highlighting local variations. Therefore, the GWR, local modelling approach managed to produce more accurate estimates by taking into account local characteristics.