Particulate organic carbon fluxes to the ocean interior and factors controlling the biological pump: A synthesis of global sediment trap programs since 1983

Particulate organic carbon (POC) is vertically transported to the oceanic interior by aggregates and their ballasts, mainly CaCO₃ and biogenic opal, with a smaller role for lithogenic aerosols through the mesopelagic zone. Diel migrating zooplankton communities effect vertical transport and remineralization of POC in the upper layers of the ocean. Below 1.5 km, the presence of zooplankton is reduced and thus the aggregates travel mainly by gravitational transport. We normalized the fluxes of POC, CaCO₃, and biogenic opal from data published on samples collected at 134 globally distributed, bottom-tethered, time-series sediment trap (TS-trap) stations to annual mole fluxes at the mesopelagic/bathypelagic boundary (m/b) at 2 km and defined them as F_m/bC_org, F_m/bC_inorg, and F_m/bSi_bio. Using this global data set, we investigated (1) the geographic contrasts of POC export at m/b and (2) the supply rate of ∑CO₂ to the world mesopelagic water column. F_m/bC_org varies from 25 (Pacific Warm Pool) to 605 (divergent Arabian Sea) mmolC m⁻² yr⁻¹; F_m/bC_inorg varies from >8 (high latitude Polar Oceans) or 15 (Pacific Warm Pool) to 459 (divergent Arabian Sea) mmolC m⁻² yr⁻¹; and F_m/bSi_bio, the most spatially/temporally variable flux, ranges from 6 (North Atlantic Drift) to 1118 (Pacific Subarctic Gyre) mmolSi m⁻² yr⁻¹. The oceanic region exhibiting the highest POC flux over a significantly large region is the area of the North Pacific Boreal Gyres where the average F_m/bC_org = 213, F_m/bC_inorg = 126, and F_m/bSi_bio = 578 mmol m⁻² yr⁻¹. F_m/bC_org and F_m/bC_inorg are particularly high in large upwelling margins, including the divergent Arabian Sea and off Cape Verde. One of the data sets showing the lowest flux over a significant region/basin is F_m/bC_org = 39, F_m/bC_inorg = 69, and F_m/bSi_bio = 22 mmol m⁻² yr⁻¹ in the North Pacific subtropical/tropical gyres; Pan-Atlantic average fluxes are similar except F_m/bSi_bio fluxes are even lower. Where C_org/C_inorg and Si_bio/C_inorg are <1 defines the “Carbonate Ocean”, and where these ratios are ?1 defines the “Silica Ocean”. The Carbonate Ocean occupies about 80% of the present world pelagic ocean between the two major oceanographic fronts, the North Pacific Polar Front and the Antarctic Polar Front, and the Silica Ocean is found on the polar sides of these fronts. The total global annual fluxes of F_m/bC_org, F_m/bC_inorg, and F_m/bSi_bio at m/b calculated by parameterizations of the export flux data from 134 stations are surprisingly similar; 36.2, 33.8, and 34.6 teramol yr⁻¹ (120, 112, and 114 mmol m⁻² yr⁻¹), respectively, resulting in a near uniform binary ratio between the above three elements of about one. The global ternary % ratios estimated from 152 TS-trap samples of the three elements are 35:32:33. From our global F_m/bC_org and a published model estimate of the global export production, we estimate the regeneration rate of CO₂ through the mesopelagic zone by the biological pump is 441 teramolC yr⁻¹. Based on our global F_m/bC_inorg and recently estimated global primary production of PIC, 36-86 teramolC yr⁻¹ of PIC is assumed to be dissolved within the upper 2 km of the water column.     

Sedimentation of lithogenic particles in the deep ocean

Investigation of lithogenic particles collected by sediment traps in open-ocean stations revealed that the sediment flux increased linearly with depth in the water column. This rate of increase decreased with distance of the station from the continent; it was largest at the Panama Basin station and almost negligible at the E. Hawaii Abyssal Plain station. At the Panama Basin station, smectite flux increased with depth. We suggest that smectite resuspended from bottom sediments of the continental slope west of the sediment-trap station is advected by easterly deep currents, and the suspended particles are then possibly entrapped by large settling particles. On the other hand, the flux of hemipelagic clay particles, kaolinite and chlorite, was nearly constant at all depths; this can be explained by incorporation of these particles in fecal pellets which then settle from the surface water. At the Demerara Abyssal Basin Station, flux of illite and chlorite particles increased with depth and the flux of smectite was constant. A sudden increase of the flux of illite and chlorite was observed near the bottom traps at the Söhm Abyssal Plain station. The flux of quartz and feldspar was 10 to 15% of the clay flux.     

Millennial‐scale stratigraphy of a tide‐dominated incised valley during the last 14 kyr: Spatial and quantitative reconstruction in the Tokyo Lowland,central Japan

Spatial and quantitative analysis of infilling processes of the tide‐dominated incised valleys beneath the Tokyo Lowland during the last 14 kyr was undertaken by using data from 18 sediment cores, 467 radiocarbon dates and 6100 borehole logs. The post‐Last Glacial Maximum valley fills consist of braided river, meandering river, estuary, spit and delta systems in ascending order. The boundary between the estuary and delta systems is regarded as the maximum flooding surface. The maximum flooding surface beneath the Tokyo Lowland is dated at 8 ka in the Arakawa Valley and 7 ka in the Nakagawa Valley. This age difference is due to the migration of the Tone River from the Arakawa Valley to the Nakagawa Valley at 5 ka, and suggests that the widely held view that the global initiation of deltas coincided with the abrupt rise of sea‐level at 9 to 8 ka is true only where there has been steady sediment supply from major rivers. The meandering river system is dominated by sheet‐like sands that were deposited during lateral migration of channels during the Younger Dryas and isolated vertical sands within muds that reflect vertical aggradation of channels before and after the Younger Dryas. The transition between these channel geometries is controlled by a threshold sea‐level rise of 4 to 7 mm yr^?1. Before migration of the Tone River at 5 ka, the tide‐dominated bay in the Nakagawa Valley was filled by upward‐fining laterally accreting muds. The muds accreted from the margin to the axis of the bay. Such lateral accretion of suspended particles derived from outside the bay has been documented in other tide‐dominated coastal environments and is probably common in other similar settings. After the migration of the Tone River, the bay was filled by upward‐coarsening deltaic sediments.     

Synthesis and crystal structure of a triple chain silicate,Na2Mg4Si6O16(OH)2

In the system Na₂CO₃-MgO-SiO₂-H₂O a new sodium magnesium silicate was synthesized under hydrothermal conditions; 450–600 ° C and 300–1000 Kg/cm₂. The structure of the specimen was determined by X-ray powder methods, and its properties were studied by chemical, infrared and TG analyses. The specimen has a triple chain structure (space group, C2/c) with the ideal chemical composition, 4 (Na₂Mg₄Si₆O₁₆(OH)₂) and lattice parameters, a= 10.152(2), b=27.137(4), c=5.276(1) Å, and = 106.97(3) °.The essential feature of the structure is shown by the presence of SiO₄ tetrahedra linked to form chains which have three times the width of those in pyroxene. These triple chains have a periodicity, 5.27 Å, along their lengths, and are bonded to each other laterally by the brucite layer made up by eight Mg cations and sandwiched between two inward pointing bands of tetrahedra. These units are linked back to back by cations (Mg or Na) in the Na(2) site and by a large cation (Na) at the Na(1) site.     

Evidence from the Rb‐Sr system for 4.4 Ga alteration of chondrules in the Allende (CV3) parent body

Abstract— The timing and processes of alteration in the CV parent body are investigated by the analysis of Sr isotopes, major and trace elements, and petrographic type and distribution of the secondary minerals (nepheline and sodalite) in 22 chondrules from the Allende (CV3) chondrite. The Sr isotopic compositions of the chondrules are scattered around the 4.0 Ga reference line on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr evolution diagram, indicating that the chondrules have been affected by late thermal alteration event(s) in the parent body. The degree of alteration, determined for individual chondrules based on the distribution of nepheline and sodalite, is unrelated to the disturbance of the Rb‐Sr system, suggesting that the alteration process that produced nepheline and sodalite is different from the thermal process that disturbed the Rb‐Sr system of the chondrules. Considering the geochemical behavior of Rb and Sr, the main host phase of Sr in chondrules is likely to be mesostasis, which could be most susceptible to late thermal alteration. As there is a poor connection between the alteration degree determined from abundances of nepheline and sodalite and the disturbance of Rb‐Sr isotopic system, we consider the mesostasis to provide a constraint on the late parent body alteration process. From this point of view, 23 mesostasis‐rich chondrules, including those from literature data, were selected. The selected chondrules are closely correlated on the ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr evolution diagram, with an inferred age of 4.36 ± 0.08 Ga. This correlation would represent an age of the final major Sr isotopic redistribution of the chondrules in the parent body.     

Formation of a third volcanic chain in Kamchatka: generation of unusual subduction-related magmas

The unusual development of three volcanic chains, all parallel to the trend of the subduction trench, is observed in Kamchatka at the northern edge of the Kurile arc. Elsewhere on the Earth volcanic arcs dominantly consist of only two such chains. In the Kurile arc, magmatism in the third volcanic chain, which is farthest from the trench, is also unusual in that lavas show concentrations of incompatible elements intermediate between those of the two trenchward chains. This observation can be explained by relatively shallow segregation of primary magmas and high degrees of partial melting of magmas in the third chain, compared to the conditions of magma separation expected from a simple application of the general acrossarc variation. Initial magmas in such an atypical third chain may be produced by melting of K-amphibolebearing peridotite in the down-dragged layer at the base of the mantle wedge under anomalously hightemperature conditions. Such an unusual melting event may be associated with the particular tectonic setting of the Kamchatka region, i.e. the presence of subductiontransform boundary. Such a mechanism is consistent with the across-arc variation in Rb/K ratios in the Kamchatka lavas: lowest in the third chain rocks and highest in the second chain rocks.     

APPLICATION OF MEM SPECTRAL ESTIMATION TO MU RADAR OBSERVATION

Preliminary results of the wind velocity estimation using the Maximum Entropy Method (MEM) to MUradar observation data sets are presented. The comparison of the results from the periodogram method and theMEM shows that the MEM estimation is reliable, and has higher accuracy, resolution and detectability than theestimation from periodogram method. The high accuracy power spectrum obtained by the MEM is veryuseful to studying the atmospheric turbulence structure. However. the MEM needs the longer computingtime for obtaining the high accuracy spectrum. Particularly, the estimation of MEM will bring serious devia-tion at lower signal-to-noise ratio.     

Effects of temperature on the vegetative cell liberation of seven species of red-tide algae from the bottom mud in Osaka Bay

Mud samples were collected from the eastern coast of Osaka Bay from April 1984 to August 1985 and were incubated atin situ mud temperatures to examine the effects of temperature on the liberation of seven species of red-tide algae. Skeletonema costatum appeared extensively over a wide temperature range of 9–25°C. The percentage of liberation of benthicHeterosigma akashiwo cells tended to decrease with decreasing temperature, but this species also showed high percentages of liberation (40–100 %) in April whenin situ mud temperatures were still low (9.5–10°C). Germination of benthicHeterocapsa triquetra cells was active at temperatures lower than 10°C but was inhibited to below 20% at temperatures higher than 21°C. This indicates that the supply of vegetativeHeterocapsa cells from bottom muds to seawaters becomes inactive from summer to early autumn. The optimum temperature range for the liberation of benthicChattonella sp. cells was 16–21°C. ForProrocentrum micans, Prorocentrum minimum, andProrocentrum triestinum, no vegetative cells were released from bottom mud at any of the temperatures examined (9–25°C).Field observations on the population dynamics of vegetative cells conducted from April to September 1984 revealed that a close link exists between liberation ofS. costatum andH. triquetra and their blooms in the waters of Osaka Bay. On the basis of these findings, the ecological role of benthic cells in initiating red tides in Osaka Bay is discussed.