Microbial and hydrothermal aspects of ferric oxyhydroxides and ferrosic hydroxides: the example of Franklin Seamount, Western Woodlark Basin, Papua New Guinea

Deposits of Fe-Si-Mn oxyhydroxides are commonly found on the seafloor on seamounts and mid-ocean spreading centers. At Franklin Seamount located near the western extremity of Woodlark Basin, Papua New Guinea, Fe-Si-Mn oxyhydroxides are being precipitated as chimneys and mounds upon a substrate of mafic lava. Previous studies have shown that the vent fluids have a low temperature (20–30°C) and are characterized by a total dissolved iron concentration of 0.038 mM kg^-1, neutral pH (6.26) and no measurable H₂S. The chimneys have a yellowish appearance with mottled red–orange patches when observed in situ from a submersible, but collected samples become redder within a few hours of being removed from the sea. The amorphous iron oxyhydroxides, obtained from active and inactive vents, commonly possess filamentous textures similar in appearance to sheaths and stalks excreted by the iron-oxidizing bacteria Leptothrix and Gallionella; however, formless agglomerates are also common. Textural relationships between apparent bacterial and non-bacterial iron suggest that the filaments are coeval with and/or growing outwards from the agglomerates. The amorphous iron oxyhydroxides are suggested to precipitate hydrothermally as ferrosic hydroxide, a mixed-valence (Fe²⁺-Fe³⁺) green–yellow iron hydroxide compound. Consideration of the thermodynamics and kinetics of iron in the vent fluid, suggest that the precipitation is largely pH controlled and that large amounts of amorphous iron oxyhydroxides are capable of being precipitated by a combination of abiotic hydrothermal processes. Some biologically induced precipitation of primary ferric oxyhydroxides (two-XRD-line ferrihydrite) may have occurred directly from the fluid, but most of the filamentous iron micro-textures in the samples appear to have a diagenetic origin. They may have formed as a result of the interaction between the iron-oxidizing bacteria and the initially precipitated ferrosic hydroxide that provided a source of ferrous iron needed for their growth. The processes described at Franklin Seamount provide insight into the formation of other seafloor oxyhydroxide deposits and ancient oxide-facies iron formation.     

Some experience in unraveling geochemical earthquake precursors

The discrimination of significant earthquake precursors from background noise is treated as a multistep problem of pattern recognition. Statistical characteristics of helium-content recorded in short time intervals are used as informative parameters. The set of calculated characteristics includes estimations of the mean, the variance, and the results of spectral analysis of the investigated time series. The selection of significant parameters and the rigorous estimations of time shifts between geochemical and seismic series are carried out by analyzing their cross-covariance function. It is established that the most informative characteristics of a hydrothermal system are related to the dynamic fluctuations of the geochemical parameters. The final phase of prediction is based on the application of a method of statistical discovery of images. A method of earthquake-time prediction is suggested. By using this method, we may determine the 10-day interval during which an earthquake may occur two months in advance. The prediction may be improved by increasing the frequency of sampling and by improving the precision of analytical measurements, both of which can be achieved by automation of monitoring devices. Deployment of uniform monitoring networks is needed in regions designated for special prediction tasks.     

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987115000663

Mantle xenocrysts from early Triassic kimberlite pipes from Kharamai,Ary-Mastakh and Kuranakh fields in the Anabar shield of Siberia revealing similar compositional trends were studied to estimate the superplume influence on the subcratonic lithosphere mantle(SCLM).Pressure-temperature(PT) reconstructions using monomineral thermobarometry for 5 phases show division of the SCLM beneath the Kharamai field into 6 units:pyroxenitic Fe-rich(1-2 GPa) and Mg-rich(2-3 GPa) layers;middle with two levels of Gar-Sp pyroxenites at ~3 and 4-5 GPa;Gar-dunite-harzburgites ~4.5-6.5 GPa subjected to Ilm-Px vein metasomatism;and a Mg-rich dunite lower part.In the Anabar shield(Ary-Mastakh,Dyuken and Kuranakh fields) mantle lithosphere is composed of three large units divided into two parts:upper part with amphiboles and phlogopite;two levels of pyroxenites and eclogites at 3 and 4 GPa,and a lower part composed of refertilized dunites.Diagrams showing P-Fe~#Gar clusters for garnets and omphacites illustrate the differences between SCLM of these localities.Differences of Triassic SCLM from Devonian SCLM are in simple layering;abundance of Na-Cr-amphiboles and metasomatism in the upper SCLM part,thick pyroxenite-eclogite layer and lower part depletion,heated from SCLM base to 5.0 GPa.Kharamai mantle clinopyroxenes represent three geochemical types:(1) harzburgitic with inclined linear REE,HFSE troughs and elevated Th,U;(2) lherzolitic or pyroxenitic with round TRE patterns and decreasing incompatible elements;(3) eclogitic with Eu troughs,Pb peak and high LILE content.Calculated parental melts for garnets with humped REE patterns suggest dissolution of former Cpx and depression means Cpx and garnets extraction.Clinopyroxenes from Ary-Mastakh fields show less inclined REE patterns with HMREE troughs and an increase of incompatible elements.Clinopyroxenes from Kuranakh field show flatter spoon-like REE patterns and peaks in Ba,U,Pb and Sr,similar to those in ophiolitic harzburgites.The PT diagrams for the mantle sections show high temperature gradients in the uppermost SCLM accompanied by an increase of P-Fe~#Ol upward and slightly reduced thickness of the mantle keel of the Siberian craton,resulting from the influence of the Permian-Triassic superplume,but with no signs of delamination.     

Lignin as an indicator of the sedimentation conditions on the Arctic shelf

It is shown for the first time that the proportion of lignin in shelf deposits may range from 1/3 to the total concentration of organic carbon. The distribution of wood residues and lignin in the studied sedimentary formation is very uneven, which reflects the dynamic flux environment of sedimentation and OM supply. The calculated molecular indexes showed that most of the OM in deposits underwent insignificant diagenetic alterations.     

Contemporary condition of macrozoobenthos in ultrashallow zone of Taman Bay,Sea of Azov

The distribution of macrozoobenthic communities was studied in a vast ultrashallow (0–1.2 m deep) zone of northwestern Taman Bay (separated from the Kerch Strait by Chushka spit) in 2008–2009. Fifty-two species of benthic invertebrates were recorded. The species number, as well as Shannon and Pielou diversity indices, increased along Chushka spit from base to tip. The usual inhabitants of lagoons and estuaries of the Mediterranean Basin and the open Sea of Azov dominated in benthic communities: mollusks Abra segmentum and Hydrobia acuta and polychaetes Heteromastus filiformis and Hediste diversicolor (the latter only in summer). Changes in the community structure were largely determined by the seasonal dynamics of dominant species populations, which was similar to their dynamics in certainother transitional water bodies of the Mediterranean Basin. These changes indicate normal running of seasonal processes in the macrobenthic communities of Taman Bay in 2008 rather than the consequences of a catastrophic black oil spill in the Kerch Strait in November 2007.     

Impact on oceanic dynamics from assimilation of satellite surface height anomaly data into the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model Ocean Model (HYCOM) over the Atlantic Ocean

Observed along-track data of sea surface height anomalies (SSHAs) over the Atlantic Ocean from the Jason-1 and Jason-2 satellites were assimilated into the Hybrid-Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM) with the Ensemble Optimal Interpolation scheme (EnOI). The impact of assimilation of SSHA with focus on oceanic dynamics was investigated. Time series of analyzed and forecasted values were compared with a model free run with the same forcing but without assimilation. In addition, the results were compared with an independent run, the so-called HYCOM + NCODA analysis from the US Navy. The study shows that the assimilation technique with some modifications allowed substantial improvement in the 24 h ocean prediction by reducing the forecast errors in comparison with the free run. It is also shown that the analyzed sea surface fields contain mesoscale and synoptic variability, which are poorly seen in the free run.     

The Molecular Composition of Lignin as an Indicator of Subaqueous Permafrost Thawing

The concentration and molecular composition of phenols, lignin derivatives, were analyzed. The material for the study was sampled from bottom sediments and subaqueous perennial frozen rocks from a well drilled in the Buor-Khaya Gulf of the Laptev Sea. The analysis was undertaken on the basis of calculation of the molecular factor. The principal difference in the molecular composition of organic matter is shown. This difference is manifested in the decrease in the total concentration of the vanillic lignin derivatives in the thawed formations in comparison with the perennial frozen rocks. This phenomenon is explained by activation of the bacterial transformation of organic matter caused by thawing of the subaqueous permafrost. It was established that the weight percentage of lignin in the organic matter of the analyzed sediments is 17% C_org.

     

The organic carbon in the water,the particulate matter,and the upper layer of the bottom sediments of the west Kara Sea

In three sections in the Kara Sea, the contents of the dissolved and particulate organic carbon (the DOC and POC, respectively), as well as of the organic carbon of the bottom sediments (C_org) were determined. The contents of varied from 6.3 to 2400 μg/l for the DOC and from 0.84 to 12.2 mg of C/l for the POC. The average concentrations for all the samples tested amounted to 200 μg/l for the DOC (n = 78, σ = 368) and 2.7 mg/l for the POC (n = 92, σ = 2.7). The concentrations of Corg in the samples of the upper layer of the bottom sediments of the area treated varied from 0.13 to 2.10% of the dry substance at an average value of 0.9% (n = 21, σ= 0.49%). It is shown that the distribution of the different forms of organic matter (OM) is an indicator of the supply and spreading of the particulate matter in the Kara Sea and that the DOC and POC of the Kara Sea are formed under the impact of the runoff of the Ob and Yenisei river waters. It is found that the distribution of the OM of the bottom sediments in the surveyed area of the Kara Sea is closely related to their grain-size composition and to the structure of the currents in the area studied. The variations in the Corg content in the bottom sediment cores from the zone of riverine and marine water mixing represent the variability of the OM burial.     

Zooplankton in Bays of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago: Composition,Distribution, and Role in Phytoplankton Grazing and Biosedimentation

Oceanology - The zooplankton community in two bays of the eastern coast of the Novaya Zemlya archipelago (Blagopoluchiya Bay and Tsivolki Bay) has been studied for the first time. Copepods of the...