Vorwort

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Phosphate regeneration from sediments of the Peru continental margin by dissolution of fish debris

Generally, oxidative regeneration of phosphate from anoxic sediments is by microbially mediated sulfate reduction processes. Stoichiometric modelling of such reactions takes into consideration varying proportions of ‘decomposable’ organically bound P to account for the ratios among nutrients in depth-concentration profiles of near-surface sediments. New results of interstitial water composition from sediments underlying the water masses influenced by coastal upwelling of the eastern boundary current system off Peru indicate that dissolution of phosphatic fish debris represents a mechanism for remineralization of phosphate comparable to or larger in magnitude than that by oxidative regeneration of organically bound P.Dissolved interstitial phosphate from fish debris is revealed by an excess amount of phosphate over that predicted from a simple stoichiometric oxidative regeneration model and by anomalously high dissolved interstitial fluoride concentrations. Phosphate flux estimates based on diffusion from the sediment suggest that this mechanism may generate up to 10% of the nutrient pool in the waters of the Peru undercurrent. Partitioning of P among the two sources reveals further that fish debris phosphate is about four times more important than organically bound P in nutrient generation from sediments of the Peru continental margin. Not only does this mechanism of regeneration affect the nutrient cycling but may also control widespread phosphorite formation in this area.     

Determination of consolidation parameters based on the excess pore water pressure measurement using a newly developed U-oedometer

In this study, the U-oedometer, a novel modified oedometer cell equipped with tailor-made needle probes, is developed to easily and accurately measure the excess pore water pressure (\(\Delta u\)) during 1D consolidation tests and to determine the coefficient of consolidation (\(c_{\text{v}}\)). The 3D printing technique is applied to make simple yet robust modifications to the conventional oedometer cell for facilitating the installation of the needle probes. The tailor-made needle probes are designed in such a way that the volumetric compliance is lowered to avoid measurement bias. Subsequently, the \(\Delta u\)-based method is proposed to determine \(c_{\text{v}}\), with the target of avoiding the intervention of human judgement and therefore minimizing the degree of subjectivity. The experimental results demonstrate that the measured \(\Delta u\) matches the theoretical values of the Terzaghi 1D consolidation theory, showing that the estimated \(c_{\text{v}}\) is sufficiently reliable. In addition to the determination of \(c_{\text{v}}\), the U-oedometer allows additional measurements of other soil properties during consolidation, including the coefficient of permeability (\(k\)) and the coefficient of earth pressure at rest (\(K_{0}\)). It is observed that k decreases with the reduction in void volume, due to the increase in the effective vertical stress (\(\sigma_{\text{v}}^{'}\)). Further, the secondary compression seems to be a continuation of the primary consolidation, where the soil sample continues to deform at a relatively slower rate, associated with the slight decrease in \(k\). A constant value of \(K_{0}\) is observed at any value of \(\sigma_{\text{v}}^{'}\) in the loading path, while during secondary compression, \(K_{0}\) slightly increases with time.

     

Deep Drilling Campaign in the Western Qaidam Basin,NE Tibetan Plateau and their Revealed Global Temperature Forcing of Salt Formation in the Late Miocene-Quaternary

正The Qaidam Basin in the NE Tibetan Plateau has contributed the largest amount of potash in China.However,how the potash was formed has long been a subject of debate.Here we carried out a deep drilling