Criteria for recognizing shelf-slope clinoforms in outcrop; Jurassic Lajas and Los Molles formations,S. Neuquén Basin,Argentina

Seismic-reflection data show that most deepwater (>200 m water depth) basins are filled by sand and mud dispersed across clinoformal geometries characterized by gently dipping topsets, steeper foresets and gently dipping bottomsets. However, the entire geometry of these ubiquitous clinoforms is not always recognized in outcrops. Sometimes the infill is erroneously interpreted as “layer cake” or “ramp” stratigraphy because the topset-foreset-bottomset clinoforms are not well exposed. Regional 2-D seismic lines show clinoforms in the Lower to Middle Jurassic Challaco, Lajas, and Los Molles formations in S. Neuquén Basin in Argentina. Time equivalent shelf, slope and basin-floor segments of clinoforms are exposed, and can be walked out in hundreds of metres thick and kilometres-wide outcrops. The studied margin-scale clinoforms are not representing a continental-margin but a deepwater shelf margin that built out in a back-arc basin. Lajas-Los Molles clinoforms have been outcrop-mapped by tracing mudstones interpreted as flooding surfaces on the shelf and abandonment surfaces (low sedimentation rate) in the deepwater basin. The downslope and lateral facies variability in the outcrops is also consistent with a clinoform interpretation. The Lajas topset (shelf) is dominated by fluvial and tidal deposits. The shelf-edge rollover zone is occasionally occupied by a 40–50-m-thick coarse-grained shelf-edge delta, sometimes incising into the underlying slope mudstones, producing oblique clinoforms expressing toplap erosion on seismic. A muddy transgressive phase capping the shelf-edge deltas contains tidal sandbodies. Shelf-edge deltas transition downslope into turbidite- and debris flow-filled channels that penetrate down the mud-prone Los Molles slope. At the base-of-slope, some 300m below the shelf edge, there are basin-floor fan deposits (>200 m thick) composed of sandy submarine-fan lobes separated by muddy abandonment intervals. The large-scale outcrop correlation between topset–foreset–bottomset allows facies and depositional interpretation and sets outcrop criteria recognition for each clinoform segment.     

Specific oceanographic characteristics and phytoplankton responses influencing the primary production around the Ulleung Basin area in spring

The East Sea(Sea of Japan)is a marginal,semi-closed sea in the northwestern Pacific.The Ulleung Basin area,which is located near the subpolar front of the East Sea,is known to have high primary production and good fisheries in spring season.After episodic wind-driven events during the spring of 2017,horizontal and vertical profiles of physical chemical biological factors were investigated at 29 stations located in the Ulleung Basin area.In addition,growth responses of phytoplankton communities to nutrient additions were evaluated by bioassay experiments to understand the fluctuation of phytoplankton biomass.Because of strong northwestern wind,phytoplankton biomass was scattered and upwelling phenomenon might be suppressed in this season.The phytoplankton abundances in the coastal stations were significantly higher than offshore and island stations.In contrast,the nutrient and chlorophyll a(Chl a)concentrations and the phytoplankton biomass were quite low in all locations.Bacillariophyceae was dominated group(>75.1%for coastal,40.0%for offshore and 43.6%for island stations).In the algal bioassays,the phytoplankton production was stimulated by N availability.The in vivo Chl a values in the+N and+NP treatments were significantly higher than the values in the control and the+P treatments.Based on the field survey,the higher nutrients in coastal waters affected the growth of diatom assemblages,however,little prosperity of phytoplankton was observed in the offshore waters despite the injection of sufficient nutrients in bioassay experiments.The growth of phytoplankton depended on the initial cell density.All of results indicated that a dominant northwestern wind led to a limited nutrients condition at euphotic layers,and the low level of biomass supply from the coasts resulted in low primary production.Both supplying nutrients and introducing phytoplankton through the currents are critical to maintain the high productivity in the Ulleung Basin area of the East Sea.     

Effects of Temperature and Salinity on the Egg Development and Larval Settlement of Ciona robusta (Ascidiacea,Phlebobranchia, Cionidae)

Ocean Science Journal - Ascidians are marine benthic organisms, which attach to the surfaces of both natural and artificial substrates from shallow to deep waters around the world. Invasive...     

Bearing Capacity of a Model Scale Footing on Crude Oil-Contaminated Sand

Onshore and offshore oil spills contaminate soil. In addition to environmental concerns for ground water pollution and other possible effects, the geotechnical properties of the contaminated soil such as the shear strength and the hydraulic conductivity are also altered. This note is a report of research in progress to evaluate the variation of the shear strength of a sand contaminated by a crude oil and thus the ultimate bearing capacity of shallow foundations. The limited results of the tests reported here relate to only one type of sand and one crude oil. The oil content was varied from zero to 4.2%. Results of direct shear tests for determining the soil friction angle are given. Along with these, laboratory model test results for the ultimate bearing capacity of a surface strip foundation supported by crude oil-contaminated sand are also presented. Based on these test results, the effect of oil contamination in drastically reducing the bearing capacity is discussed.     

Dynamics of fatty acids in newly biosynthesized phytoplankton cells and seston during a spring bloom off the west coast of Hokkaido Island, Japan

¹³C uptake experiments were carried out at a station off the west coast of Hokkaido Island, Japan, during the period between late winter and spring bloom in 1997. The composition of newly biosynthesized particulate fatty acids was determined using a ¹³C tracer and gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (¹³C GC/MS), and compared with that of particulate matter (seston). Two fatty acid compositional ratios revealed that diatoms biomass (16:1(n−7)/16:0, ∑C₁₆/∑C₁₈) were strikingly high in new cells compared with seston on 17 April, coinciding with the dominance of fucoxanthin. In this study, the Polyunsaturation Index (a measure of the percentage of C₁₆ fatty acids that are polyunsaturated) in new cells is generally close to that in seston, while there was a notable discrepancy between new cells and seston in surface (10 m) waters on 17 April. This large difference between new cells and seston is ascribed to: (1) an increase of newly synthesized storage lipids (mainly 16:0 and 16:1) induced by nitrogen limitation in the top 10 m of the water column; (2) an addition of earlier synthesized phytoplankton cells (high Polyunsaturation Index at logarithmic growth stage) and non-phytoplankton components (detritus and bacteria and zooplankton) into seston. The highest Polyunsaturation Index of C₁₆ fatty acids in seston (33%) occurred at 100 m water depth. This may be caused by “settling planktonic aggregates” or “diatom resting spores”. In the present study, it is reasonable to suggest that the Polyunsaturation Index of C₁₆ fatty acids can be a useful indicator for the ecophysiological state of marine diatom populations.     

Technical issues in modeling surface-drifter behavior on the East China Sea shelf

To investigate technical issues associated with the particle-tracking numerical models frequently used to reproduce the behavior of objects drifting in the actual ocean, the trajectories of satellite-tracked drifters released in 2003, 2004, and 2007 were reproduced using a numerical model. In particular, the wind stress driving the surface currents which carried the drifters has been computed using satellite-observed QuikSCAT/Seawinds data provided twice daily in conjunction with in-situ Ieodo-station wind data. Although it is difficult to reproduce the trajectory of a single drifter using numerical models because of the uncertainty induced by random-walk processes, the similarity between the modeled particle and observed buoy trajectories is statistically significant, except for the experiment in 2007. In general, the satellite-derived wind field modified using in situ data is likely to be able to reproduce observed drifter motion. However, it is found that the model is unable to reproduce drifter trajectories in windy 2007. The numerical modeling result demonstrates that wind-induced leeway drift prevails in drifter motion in 2007, in spite of the wind-resistant drogue attached to the drifters, and that this drift shows non-negligible spatiotemporal variability, suggesting that leeway drift is not simply proportional to wind speeds, as in previous studies have maintained.     

Feeding selectivity of calanoid copepods on phytoplankton in Jangmok Bay,south coast of Korea

Grazing impacts of calanoid copepods on size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass [chlorophyll (Chl)-a] were measured in Jangmok Bay, Geoje Island, Korea, monthly from November 2004 to October 2005. The ingestion rate of calanoid copepods on total phytoplankton biomass ranged between 1 and 215 ng Chl-a copepod^?1 day^?1 during bottle incubations. Results indicated that microphytoplankton (> 20 μm) was the primary food source for calanoid copepods in grazing experiments on 3 phytoplankton size categories (< 3 μm, 3–20 μm, and > 20 μm). The ingestion rate on microphytoplankton showed a significant increase (r = 0.93, p < 0.01) with Chl-a concentration. Nanophytoplankton (3–20 μm) showed a negative ingestion rate from June 2005 to October 2005, but the reason is not completely understood. Calanoid copepods were unable to feed efficiently on picophytoplankton (< 3 μm) due to unfavorable size. Calanoid copepods removed between 0.1% and 27.7% (average, 3.6 ± 15.8%) of the phytoplankton biomass daily during grazing experiments. Grazing pressure was high in winter and early spring (January–March: 15.6–27.7%), while low in summer (June–August: ?33.1–0.0%) and autumn (September–November: ?1.4–5.1%). Results suggest that calanoid copepods play an important role in controlling the biomass and size structure of phytoplankton in winter and early spring.     

Hydraulic analysis of a radial collector well for riverbank filtration near Nakdong River, South Korea

A radial collector well is used for the extraction of a large amount of groundwater without causing a deep drawdown at the well??s center, and it is appropriate for the supply of municipal water through riverbank filtration (RBF). Flow path changes caused by water extraction through a radial collector well were simulated to estimate the amount of river water induction at a RBF site associated with Nakdong River in South Korea. The structure of the screened horizontal arms of a radial collector well was examined with respect to effective riverbank filtration. The relative ratio of the river water induced to the radial collector well compared to the total groundwater extraction was estimated to be 27?C52%. The amount of induced river water varies with the distance of a horizontal arm from the river, indicating that the location and structure of the collector well is significant for RBF. In all simulation cases, the maximum drawdown of the groundwater level near the collector well was 2.1?m, which is not significant considering the substantial pumping rate at the study site. It was concluded that RBF radial collector wells can be used at the study site for a sustainable water supply.