渤海湾晚更新世晚期以来古河道分布和三角洲发育及其古环境的演变

渤海湾及其沿岸是中国海洋地质与第四纪地质研究程度最高的地区之一。虽然研究成果众多,但仍有一些基础的地质问题亟待解决。比如,晚更新世晚期黄河是否流经渤海湾?全新世黄河在渤海湾及其沿岸形成的多期次三角洲叶瓣在海域如何展布?以上问题一直是中国海洋地质研究中备受关注的热点话题。借助2016-2017年在渤海湾获取的约2000 km的浅地层剖面数据、2个30 m左右的取芯钻孔（BXZK2017-1和BXZK2017-2孔）及相应的AMS ¹⁴C和OSL测年数据,同时结合前人的一些浅剖数据和钻孔的研究成果,将渤海湾中部晚更新世以来的地层自上而下划分出4个地震单元（SU1~SU4）和6个沉积单元（DU1-DU6）,分别对应前三角洲相、潮坪与浅海、泛滥平原、河道相、海陆交互相、湖沼相。在此基础上综合探讨渤海湾晚更新世晚期以来总体的地层框架和沉积演化特征。研究表明：黄河可能在21.8~9 cal ka BP,由近东西向流经渤海湾北部进入渤海中部盆地;全新世以来,渤海湾从西北侧至南侧,依次分布4期次的三角洲叶瓣,对应的发育时间可能分别是1400 AD~现在、11~1128 AD、700 BC~11 AD和1855~现在;渤海湾西侧最北两期次的水下三角洲可能主要与海河有关,而南侧其余2期次三角洲叶瓣则可能分别对应岐口超级叶瓣以及现代黄河三角洲超级叶瓣。加深了解渤海湾晚更新世晚期以来的地层序列演化、古河道发育以及全新世三角洲在渤海湾的展布情况,将有助于渤海湾海岸带开发、海底工程建设以及地质灾害防范等。     

Sequestration of metals through association with pyrite in subtidal sediments of the Nanpaishui Estuary on the Western Bank of the Bohai Sea, China

Measurements were made of the degree of trace metal pyritization (DTMP) and ancillary characteristics of four undisturbed sediment cores collected from the subtidal zone of the Nanpaishui Estuary on the Western Bank of the Bohai Sea, a seriously polluted inland sea in northeastern China. The remarkably low concentrations of organic carbon (<0.72%) in these sediments likely constrained sulfate reduction rates, and the low concentrations of acid volatile sulfide (AVS) (<12.5 μmol g⁻¹) limited the sequestration of metals through association with pyrite. The most consistent cause of inter-station differences and depth variations in the degree of pyritization was differences in pyrite metal concentrations rather than reactive metal concentrations. Reactive metal concentrations were in several cases negatively correlated with pore water concentrations, consistent with a dissolution/precipitation mechanism. The relationship between pore water metal concentrations and DTMPs was evidenced by a qualitative similarity of the inter-station variability of these same parameters.     

Ecosystem modelling in the southern Benguela: comparisons of Atlantis,Ecopath with Ecosim,and OSMOSE under fishing scenarios

Ecosystem-based management of marine fisheries requires the use of simulation modelling to investigate the system-level impact of candidate fisheries management strategies. However, testing of fundamental assumptions such as system structure or process formulations is rarely done. In this study, we compare the output of three different ecosystem models (Atlantis, Ecopath with Ecosim, and OSMOSE) applied to the same ecosystem (the southern Benguela), to explore which ecosystem effects of fishing are most sensitive to model uncertainty. We subjected the models to two contrasting fishing pressure scenarios, applying high fishing pressure to either small pelagic fish or to adult hake. We compared the resulting model behaviour at a system level, and also at the level of model groups. We analysed the outputs in terms of various commonly used ecosystem indicators, and found some similarities in the overall behaviour of the models, despite major differences in model formulation and assumptions. Direction of change in system-level indicators was consistent for all models under the hake pressure scenario, although discrepancies emerged under the small-pelagic-fish scenario. Studying biomass response of individual model groups was key to understanding more integrated system-level metrics. All three models are based on existing knowledge of the system, and the convergence of model results increases confidence in the robustness of the model outputs. Points of divergence in the model results suggest important areas of future study. The use of feeding guilds to provide indicators for fish species at an aggregated level was explored, and proved to be an interesting alternative to aggregation by trophic level.     

Circular plumes in Lake Pontchartrain estuary under wind straining

Circular shaped density plumes of low turbidity, low fecal indicator (Escherichia coli and enterococci) concentrations, and high salinity have been observed near the Industrial Canal in Lake Pontchartrain, north of the City of New Orleans. A conceptual model in polar coordinates and a numerical model are developed, together with data analysis, to illustrate the dense plume. It is demonstrated that the northward expansion of the plume occurs under northerly winds. The northward expansion of the plume occurs under northerly winds that drive downwind flow at the surface and upwind radial flow at the bottom. Northerly wind-induced straining, similar to tidal straining, promotes vertical stratification. As a result, the water becomes stratified near a thin bottom layer (<1 m), within which density currents are facilitated. The stability of the stratified plume suppresses wind-induced turbulent mixing inside the plume. The bottom water outside of the plume is more effectively stirred by the wind, the result being that the suspended sediment concentration outside of the plume area is much higher than inside. This contrast in mixing makes the plume visible from the surface by satellites even though the stratification is at the bottom. Laterally, wind stress produces a torque (vorticity) in areas of non-uniform depth such that upwind flow is developed in deep water and downwind flow in shallow water. The continuity requirement produces an upwind flow along the axis of the Industrial Canal (IC). The upwind flow is balanced by the downwind flow over the shallower peripheral areas along the coast.     

Marine vibrators: the new phase of seismic exploration

Marine seismic vibrators are generally considered to be less intrusive than airguns from an environmental perspective. This is because they emit their energy spread out in time, rather than in a single, high-intensity pulse. There are also significant geophysical benefits associated with marine vibrators, and they stem from the ability to specify in detail the output acoustic waveform. The phase can be specified independently at each frequency. Such detailed control cannot be achieved with conventional airgun sources, where the phase can only be modified using simple overall time delays. The vibrator phase can be employed in several different ways: it can be applied to the overall source phase in a sequence so that it varies from one source point to the next; it can be applied to the individual vibrators within the source array so the source directivity is changed; it can be applied to the overall source phase of each source in a simultaneous source acquisition. Carefully designed phase sequences can attenuate the residual source noise, and this in turn allows extra source points to be interleaved between the conventional ones. For these extra source points, the relative phase of the vibrators within the array can be chosen to create a transverse gradient source, which illuminates the earth predominantly in directions out of the plane of the sail line without left/right ambiguity. If seismic vibrator data are acquired using interleaved conventional and transverse gradient sweeps, more information is collected per kilometre of vessel travel than is the case in conventional acquisition. This richer data acquisition leads to the possibility of acquiring all the necessary seismic data in a shorter time. Three-dimensional reconstruction techniques are used to recover the same image quality that would have been obtained using the conventional, more time-consuming acquisition. For a marine vibrator to be suitable for these techniques it must, in general terms, have ‘high fidelity’. The precise device specifications are defined through realistic end-to-end simulations of the physical systems and the processing. The specifications are somewhat more onerous than for a conventional vibrator, but they are achievable. A prototype vibrator that satisfies these requirements has been built. In a simulated case study of a three-dimensional deep-water ocean bottom node survey, the seismic data could have been acquired using marine vibrators in one third of the time that it would have taken using airguns.     

Consistent fractionation of 13C in nature and in the laboratory: growth-rate effects in some haptophyte algae

The carbon isotopic fractionation accompanying formation of biomass by alkenone-producing algae in natural marine environments varies systematically with the concentration of dissolved phosphate. Specifically, if the fractionation is expressed by epsilon p approximately delta e - delta p, where delta e and delta p are the delta 13C values for dissolved CO2 and for algal biomass (determined by isotopic analysis of C37 alkadienones), respectively, and if Ce is the concentration of dissolved CO2, micromole kg-1, then b = 38 + 160*[PO4], where [PO4] is the concentration of dissolved phosphate, microM, and b = (25 - epsilon p)Ce. The correlation found between b and [PO4] is due to effects linking nutrient levels to growth rates and cellular carbon budgets for alkenone-containing algae, most likely by trace-metal limitations on algal growth. The relationship reported here is characteristic of 39 samples (r2 = 0.95) from the Santa Monica Basin (six different times during the annual cycle), the equatorial Pacific (boreal spring and fall cruises as well as during an iron-enrichment experiment), and the Peru upwelling zone. Points representative of samples from the Sargasso Sea ([PO4] < or = 0.1 microM) fall above the b = f[PO4] line. Analysis of correlations expected between mu (growth rate), epsilon p, and Ce shows that, for our entire data set, most variations in epsilon p result from variations in mu rather than Ce. Accordingly, before concentrations of dissolved CO2 can be estimated from isotopic fractionations, some means of accounting for variations in growth rate must be found, perhaps by drawing on relationships between [PO4] and Cd/Ca ratios in shells of planktonic foraminifera.     

The impact of sewage discharges at ocean outfalls on phytoplankton populations in waters surrounding the Hawaiian Islands

Primary production rates, chlorophyll a and nutrient concentrations, particulate carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, Secchi depths and submarine light levels were measured at stations within, and near, the zone of mixing of the Sand Island and Mokapu Point ocean sewage outfalls near the island of Oahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Multiyear averages of several parameters indicated that the Sand Island outfall had no adverse impact on phytoplankton communities or water quality. The major effect of the Mokapu Point outfall was a reduction in photosynthetic rates, probably due to the rapid uptake of nutrients introduced into the mixed layer with the secondarily treated sewage. The Sand Island outfall, which discharged coarsely screened raw sewage within the thermocline, had less of an impact because the inorganic nutrient concentrations in the sewage were lower and because the sewage rarely rose into the mixed layer. The results indicate that, under appropriate conditions, ocean outfalls may be preferable to estuarine or freshwater outfalls and that secondary treatment is not always necessary to reduce the impacts of ocean outfalls to an acceptable level.     

Sea surface shape derivation above the seismic streamer

The rough sea surface causes perturbations in the seismic data that can be significant for time‐lapse studies. The perturbations arise because the reflection response of the non‐flat sea perturbs the seismic wavelet. In order to remove these perturbations from the received seismic data, special deconvolution methods can be used, but these methods require, as input, the time varying wave elevation above each hydrophone in the streamer. In addition, the vertical displacement of the streamer itself must also be known at the position of each hydrophone and at all times. This information is not available in conventional seismic acquisition. However, it can be obtained from the hydrophone measurements provided that the hydrophones are recorded individually (not grouped), that the recording bandwidth is extended down to 0.05 Hz and that data are recorded without gaps between the shot records. The sea surface elevation, and also the wave‐induced vertical displacement of the streamer, can be determined from the time‐varying pressure that the sea waves cause in the hydrophone measurements. When this was done experimentally, using a single sensor seismic streamer without a conventional low cut filter, the wave induced pressure variations were easily detected. The inversion of these experimental data gives results for the sea surface elevation that are consistent with the weather and sea state at the time of acquisition. A high tension approximation allows a simplified solution of the equations that does not demand a knowledge of the streamer tension. However, best results at the tail end of the streamer are obtained using the general equation.