Cadmium and phosphate in coastal Antarctic seawater: Implications for Southern Ocean nutrient cycling

Cadmium is a biologically important trace metal that co-varies with phosphate (PO₄³⁻ or Dissolved Inorganic Phosphate, DIP) in seawater. However, the exact nature of Cd uptake mechanisms and the relationship with phosphate and other nutrients in global oceans remain elusive. Here, we present a time series study of Cd and PO₄³⁻ from coastal Antarctic seawater, showing that Cd co-varies with macronutrients during times of high biological activity even under nutrient and trace metal replete conditions. Our data imply that Cd/PO₄³⁻ in coastal surface Antarctic seawater is higher than open ocean areas. Furthermore, the sinking of some proportion of this high Cd/PO₄³⁻ water into Antarctic Bottom Water, followed by mixing into Circumpolar Deep Water, impacts Southern Ocean preformed nutrient and trace metal composition. A simple model of endmember water mass mixing with a particle fractionation of Cd/P (α_Cd–P) determined by the local environment can be used to account for the Cd/PO₄³⁻ relationship in different parts of the ocean. The high Cd/PO₄³⁻ of the coastal water is a consequence of two factors: the high input from terrestrial and continental shelf sediments and changes in biological fractionation with respect to P during uptake of Cd in regions of high Fe and Zn. This implies that the Cd/PO₄³⁻ ratio of the Southern Ocean will vary on glacial–interglacial timescales as the proportion of deep water originating on the continental shelves of the Weddell Sea is reduced during glaciations because the ice shelf is pinned at the edge of the continental shelf. There could also be variations in biological fractionation of Cd/P in the surface waters of the Southern Ocean on these timescales as a result of changes in atmospheric inputs of trace metals. Further variations in the relationship between Cd and PO₄³⁻ in seawater arise from changes in population structure and community requirements for macro- and micronutrients.     

Measurements of sheet flow transport in acceleration-skewed oscillatory flow and comparison with practical formulations

Near-bed oscillatory flows with acceleration skewness are characteristic of steep and breaking waves in shallow water. In order to isolate the effects of acceleration skewness on sheet flow sand transport, new experiments are carried out in the Aberdeen Oscillatory Flow Tunnel. The experiments have produced a dataset of net transport rates for full-scale oscillatory flows with varying degrees of acceleration skewness and three sand sizes. The new data confirm previous research that net transport in acceleration-skewed flow is non-zero, is always in the direction of the largest acceleration and increases with increasing acceleration skewness. Large transport rates for the fine sand conditions suggest that phase lag effects play an important role in augmenting positive net transport. A comparison of the new experimental data with a number of practical sand transport formulations that incorporate acceleration skewness shows that none of the formulations performs well in predicting the measured net transport rates for both the fine and the coarser sands. The new experimental data can be used to further develop practical sand transport formulations to better account for acceleration skewness.     

Idealised flow models to predict alluvial sandstone body distribution in the Middle Jurassic Yorkshire Basin

Prediction of the subsurface position of alluvial channel sandstones is of great importance in the search for potential hydrocarbon reservoirs. For maximum production at minimum expense, wells need to be sited where there is abundant sandstone and, for enhanced oil recovery, detailed knowledge of sandstone-body geometry and connectivity is desirable. Attempts to predict the position of sandstone-bodies in the subsurface have included theoretical computer simulation and detailed empirical modelling of alluvial architecture (three-dimensional rock type distributions). Up to now, no reliable predictive method has been developed and any improvement is of significance.The method presented here combines the theoretical approach to tectonic control of alluvial architecture with the available geological data to predict subsurface concentrations and orientations of alluvial sandstone bodies.     

The Trænadjupet Slide: a large slope failure affecting the continental margin of Norway 4,000 years ago

¹⁴C AMS-dated gravity cores reveal that the Trænadjupet Slide offshore Norway occurred about 4,000 ¹⁴C years B.P. (ca. 4,000 cal. years ago). From 4,000 to 3,000 years B.P., minor areas of the newly formed slide scar were probably eroded, the result of smaller episodes of mass wasting caused by delayed collapse of part of the western, upper sidewall or by bottom currents. From about 3,000 years B.P. to the present, sediments were derived from alongslope-flowing, north-eastward-oriented ocean currents carrying sediments in suspension. These results demonstrate that large-scale mass wasting during sea-level highstand is rather common on passive continental margins.     

Early Eocene sea floor spreading and continent-ocean boundary between Jan Mayen and Senja fracture zones in the Norwegian-Greenland Sea

Sea floor spreading anomalies in the Lofoten-Greenland basins reveal an unstable plate boundary characterized by several small-offset transforms for a period of 4 m.y. after opening. North of the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone, integrated analysis of magnetic and seismic data also document a distinct, persistent magnetic anomaly associated with the continent-ocean boundary and a locally, robust anomaly along the inner boundary of the break-up lavas. These results provide improved constraints on early opening plate reconstructions, which include a new anomaly 23-to-opening pole of rotation yielding more northerly relative motion vectors than previously recognized; and a solution of the enigmatic, azimuthal difference between the conjugate Eocene parts of the Greenland-Senja Fracture Zone if the Greenland Ridge is considered a continental sliver. The results confirm high, 2.36–2.40 cm yr^–1, early opening spreading rates, and are consistent with the start of sea floor spreading during Chron 24r. The potential field data along the landward prolongations of the Bivrost Fracture Zone suggest that its location is determined by a Mesozoic transfer system which has acted as a first-order, across-margin tectono-magmatic boundary between the regional Jan Mayen and Greenland-Senja Fracture Zone systems, greatly influencing the pre-, syn- and post-breakup margin development.     

Stoneley waves,Lopez Island noise,and deep sea noise from 1 to 5 Hz

The Lopez Island OBS Intercomparison Experiment provided a data set of sufficient spatial density to allow study of the propagation of shot-generated Stoneley waves as well as ambient background noise. The Stoneley waves were observed propagating at velocities of 20 to 50 m s^-1, Phase velocities were determined by fitting peaks in the frequency wave number spectrum. Group velocities were calculated by narrowly filtering the data and determining the arrival time of the peak in the frequency packet. Particle displacement plots illustrate the surface wave character of these waves. The analysis of the ambient background noise failed to produce a clearly defined dispersion curve yet it did allow bounds to be placed on the phase velocities (20 to 50 m s^-1). The data were modeled using eleven layers overlying a half-space. The results indicated that the top 7 m of the sediment column at Lopez Island is best approximated by two zones. In the upper zone there is a fairly rapid change of shear velocity with depth. This zone overlies a region in which the shear velocity gradient is much lower. Deep ocean background noise recorded by University of Washington ocean bottom seismometers was also examined. Although insufficient data precluded any velocity analysis, definite similarities exist between these data and noise data observed at Lopez Island.Hawaii Institute of Geophysics Contribution No. 1174.     

Biochemical and physiological disturbances in fish inhabiting coastal waters polluted with bleached kraft mill effluents

An extensive trial to examine physiological and biochemical changes in perch (Perca fluviatilis) inhabiting coastal waters polluted by bleached kraft mill effluents has been carried out. The results from this investigation show profound effects of bleached kraft mill effluents on several fundamental biochemical and physiological functions on four different sampling occasions. Typical symptoms in perch from the polluted areas were reduced gonad growth, enlarged liver, and very strong induction of certain cytochrome P-450-dependent activities. Elevated content of ascorbic acid in liver tissue and strongly affected carbohydrate metabolism show that the effluent causes metabolic disorders. Marked effects on the white blood cell pattern indicate a suppressed immune defence. Alterations in the red blood cell status and the ion balance suggest an impaired gill function. This extensive symptom picture is strengthened by the relatively good agreement with the effects previously observed in fish exposed to bleached kraft mill effluents (BKME) in the laboratory.^1–3     

Absolute Calibration of Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon Altimeters in Corsica

The double geodetic Corsica site, which includes Ajaccio-Aspretto and Cape Senetosa (40 km south Ajaccio) in the western Mediterranean area, has been chosen to permit the absolute calibration of radar altimeters. It has been developed since 1998 at Cape Senetosa and, in addition to the use of classical tide gauges, a GPS buoy is deployed every 10 days under the satellites ground track (10 km off shore) since 2000. The 2002 absolute calibration campaign made from January to September in Corsica revealed the necessity of deploying different geodetic techniques on a dedicated site to reach an accuracy level of a few mm: in particular, the French Transportable Laser Ranging System (FTLRS) for accurate orbit determination, and various geodetic equipment as well as a local marine geoid, for monitoring the local sea level and mean sea level. TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter calibration has been performed from cycle 208 to 365 using M-GDR products, whereas Jason-1 altimeter calibration used cycles from 1 to 45 using I-GDR products. For Jason-1, improved estimates of sea-state bias and columnar atmospheric wet path delay as well as the most precise orbits available have been used. The goal of this article is to give synthetic results of the analysis of the different error sources for the tandem phase and for the whole studied period, as geophysical corrections, orbits and reference frame, sea level, and finally altimeter biases. Results are at the millimeter level when considering one year of continuous monitoring; they show a great consistency between both satellites with biases of 6 ± 3 mm (ALT-B) and 120 ± 7 mm, respectively, for TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1.     

Evolution des hydrocarbures dans des sédiments côtiers méditerranéens prélevés à proximité d'un emissaire d'une raffinerie de pétrole

Coastal Mediterranean sediments highly polluted by refinery effluents have been studied for their hydrocarbon content and bacterial activity. The study has taken into account both the distance from the refinery and depth of sampling. Very high hydrocarbon concentrations have been found (1–250 g/kg dry sediment). Micro-organisms in the sediments have a high bacterial activity and a good correlation exists between hydrocarbon concentrations and bacteria able to use these substrates as a carbon and energy source.