Plate boundaries and evolution of the Solomon Sea region

The Solomon Sea Plate was widely developed during late Oligocene, separating the proto-West Melanesian Arc from the proto-Trobriand Arc. Spreading in the Bismarck Sea and in the Woodlark Basin resulted from interaction between the Pacific and Australian Plates, specifically from the collision of the proto-West Melanesian Arc with north New Guinea, which occurred after arc reversal. This model explains the extensive Miocene, Pliocene, and Quaternary volcanism of the Papua New Guinea mainland as it related to southward subduction of the Trobriand Trough. Our interpreted plate motions are concordant with the geological evidence onshore and also with complex tectonic features in the Solomon Sea Basin Region.     

Theoretical aspects of cap-rock and fault seals for single- and two-phase hydrocarbon columns

Cap-rock seals can be divided genetically into those that fail by capillary leakage (membrane seals) and those whose capillary entry pressures are so high that seal failure preferentially occurs by fracturing and/or wedging open of faults (hydraulic seals). A given membrane seal can trap a larger oil column than gas column at shallow depths, but below a critical depth (interval), gas is more easily sealed than oil. This critical depth increases with lower API gravity, lower oil GOR and overpressured conditions (for the gas phase). These observations arise from a series of modelling studies of membrane sealing and can be conveniently represented using pressure/ depth (P/D) profiles through sealed hydrocarbon columns. P/D diagrams have been applied to the more complex situation of the membrane sealing of a gas cap underlain by an oil rim; at seal capacity, such a two-phase column will be always greater than if only oil or gas occurs below the seal.These conclusions contrast with those for hydraulic seals where the seal capacity to oil always exceeds that for gas. Moreover, a trapped two-phase column, at hydraulic seal capacity will be less than the maximum-allowed oil-only column, but more than the maximum gas-only column. Unlike membrane seals, hydraulic seal capacity should be directly related to cap-rock thickness, in addition to the magnitude of the minimum effective stress in the sealing layer and the degree of overpressure development in the sequence as a whole.Fault-related seals are effectively analogous to membrane cap-rocks which have been tilted to the angle of the fault plane. Consequently, all of the above conclusions derived for membrane cap-rocks apply to both sealing faults sensu stricto (fault plane itself seals) and juxtaposition faults (hydrocarbon trapped laterally against a juxtaposed sealing unit). The maximum-allowed two-phase column trapped by a sealing fault is greater than for equivalent oil-only and gas-only columns, but less than that predicted for a horizontal membrane cap-rock under similar conditions. Where a two-phase column is present on both sides of a sealing fault (which is at two-phase seal capacity), a deeper oil/water contact (OWC) in one fault block is associated with a deeper gas/oil contact (GOC) compared with the adjacent fault block. If the fault seal is discontinuous in the gas leg, however, the deeper OWC is accompanied by a shallower GOC, whereas a break in the fault seal in the oil leg results in a common OWC in both fault blocks, even though separate GOC's exist. Schematic P/D profiles are provided for each of the above situations from which a series of fundamental equations governing single- and two-phase cap-rock and fault seal capacities can be derived. These relationships may have significant implications for exploration prospect appraisal exercises where more meaningful estimates of differential seal capacities can be made.The membrane sealing theory developed herein assumes that all reservoirs and seals are water-wet and no hydrodynamic flow exists. The conclusions on membrane seal capacity place constraints on the migration efficiency of gas along low-permeabiligy paths at depth where fracturing, wedging open of faults and/or diffusion process may be more important. Contrary to previous assertions, it is speculated that leakage of hydrocarbons through membrane seals occurs in distinct pulses such that the seal is at or near the theoretically calculated seal capacity, once this has been initially attained.Finally, the developed seal theory and P/D profile concepts are applied to a series of development geological problems including the effects of differential depletion, and degree of aquifer support, on sealing fault leakage, and the evaluation of barriers to vertical cross-flow using RFT profiles through depleted reservoirs. It is shown that imbibition processes and dynamic effects related to active cross-flow across such barriers often preclude quantitative analysis and solution of these problems for which simulation studies are usually required.     

Interference fringes on GLORIA side-scan sonar images from the Bering Sea and their implications

GLORIA side-scan sonographs from the Bering Sea Basin show a complex pattern of interference fringes sub-parallel to the ship's track. Surveys along the same trackline made in 1986 and 1987 show nearly identical patterns. It is concluded from this that the interference patterns are caused by features in the shallow subsurface rather than in the water column. The fringes are interpreted as a thin-layer interference effect that occurs when some of the sound reaching the seafloor passes through it and is reflected off a subsurface layer. The backscattered sound interferes (constructively or desctructively) with the reflected sound. Constructive/destructive interference occurs when the difference in the length of the two soundpaths is a whole/half multiple of GLORIA's 25 cm wavelength. Thus as range from the ship increases, sound moves in and out of phase causing bands of greater and lesser intensity on the GLORIA sonograph. Fluctuations (or wiggles) of the fringes on the GLORIA sonographs relate to changes in layer thickness. In principle, a simple three dimensional image of the subsurface layer may be obtained using GLORIA and bathymetric data from adjacent (parallel) ship's tracks. These patterns have also been identified in images from two other systems; SeaMARC II (12 kHz) long-range sonar, and TOBI (30 kHz) deep-towed sonar. In these, and other cases world-wide, the fringes do not appear with the same persistence as those seen in the Bering Sea.     

The behaviour of a Cu(II) ion selective electrode in seawater; copper consumption capacity and copper determinations

Determinations of copper consumption capacity (CuCs.C) and labile copper concentrations in surface coastal seawater, using a copper ion selective electrode (Cu-ISE) potentiometric method under predominantly diffusive conditions, are reported. For evaluation of the copper concentrations, the points of the endpoint contiguity zone of the CuCs.C titration curve were treated by an ISE multiple standard addition technique. The results were compared with those obtained by means of a Chelex-100 (calcic form) ‘batch’ procedure-potentiometric stripping analysis.The labile copper of the sample was determined at concentrations down to 10.70 nM with an average RSD of 12%, independent of the Cu-ISE employed. For adjacent subsamples, the mean CuCs.C values obtained for El Way seawater were equivalent to 81.05 and 48.00 nM copper, with an RSD of 4 and 7%, and for Isla Santa Maria seawater the value was equivalent to 70.27 nM copper, with an RSD of 7%. The theoretical approach of the electrode diffusive mechanism proposed, which would depend, fundamentally, on the adsorptive, complexing and reducing properties of the dissolved organic matter in the seawater sample, allows simultaneous analytical determination of CuCs.C and labile copper concentration in seawater.     

The Crust–Mantle Carbon Cycle and Origin of Abiogenic Hydrocarbons

Oceanology - Abstract—The paper studies carbon transformation and transfer processes in the crust and mantle. Sediments dragged into subduction zones are dewatered, broken down, and altered...     

Using Models of the Deep Structure of the Earth’s Crust and Upper Mantle Based on GOCE Gravity Data in Metallogenic Analysis

Izvestiya, Atmospheric and Oceanic Physics - Gravimetric data obtained by the GOCE spacecraft contributes to the development of global models of the deep structure of the Earth’s crust and...     

Incorporating Māori values into land management decision tools

ABSTRACT

Environmental sustainability and the long-term wellbeing of Māori (the indigenous people of New Zealand) are interdependent and degradation of landscapes risks the progressive degradation of Māori wellbeing. The present study developed an analysis framework based on Ki Uta Ki Tai (holistic-mountains to the sea- management philosophy advocated by Ngāi Tahu) for exploring relationships between landcover and Māori values to enable predictions of cultural values through space and time. We used this framework to predict how two Māori values (Overall Health and Cultural Land Use) have been altered as a result of landcover change between 2001–2012 in three Canterbury catchments. The area of native vegetation declined while exotic pasture increased between 2001–2012, and there were corresponding declines in both cultural health scores. These results suggest that the change in landcover has reduced the ability of the landscape to support Māori values. This framework for assessing changes in Māori values with respect to changing environmental conditions may identify opportunities for Māori to better engage in land use management decisions.     

微量元素锰对底栖甲藻热带库里亚藻(Coolia tropicalis)生长及叶绿素荧光特性的影响

以热带库里亚藻(Coolia tropicalis)为研究对象, 在不同锰浓度(0、1、5、10、50μmol·L ^-1)的人工海水培养15d, 利用叶绿素荧光动力学技术研究了其生长和光合作用对不同锰环境的响应。结果表明: 1)比生长速率(μ)和最大相对电子传递速率(rETR_max)与锰浓度均呈指数关系且对锰胁迫具有相同程度的响应; 2)锰浓度至少大于1μmol·L ^-1才能维持热带库里亚藻正常的光合作用活性, 当锰浓度低于该浓度时, 光合作用活性(F_v/F_m)在6d后开始下降, 而单位反应中心吸收光能(ABS/RC)和热能耗散(DI₀/RC)升高; 两个反应中心之间的电子传递(φ_E0)及生长并未受影响, 表明此阶段锰缺乏只影响活性光反应中心数量并提高热耗散途径; 当锰缺乏延长至15d时, 胁迫作用显现(F₀上升)并且电子传递(φ_E0)和生长受到抑制, 这阶段锰缺乏使光反应中心关闭且电子传递受阻; 3)锰缺乏的修复损伤比(r/k)并未降低, 表明锰缺乏并未影响热带库里亚藻的光保护能力。     

The effect of currents on the generation of internal waves by a barotropic tide near an underwater ridge

In the frame of the linear theory for long waves, the paper studies long waves generated by a barotropic tide running at an arbitrary angle over a bottom ridge. The ocean is assumed to be two-layered. In the area of a ridge with a rectangular cross section, geostrophic flows are considered, coupled with the inclinations of the free surface and interface. Wave amplitudes are shown to depend on the angle of an onrunning tide and this allows us to reach a conclusion about the influence of a geostrophic current on the generation of internal waves. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Geoacoustic and physical properties of carbonate sediments of the Lower Florida Keys

 Near-surface sediment geoacoustic and physical properties were measured from a variety of unconsolidated carbonate sediments in the Lower Florida Keys. Surficial values of compressional and shear speed correlate with sediment physical properties and near-surface acoustic reflectivity. Highest speeds (shear 125–150 m s^-1; compressional 1670–1725 m s^-1) are from sandy sediments near Rebecca Shoal and lowest speeds (shear 40–65 m s^-1; compressional 1520–1570 m s^-1) are found in soft, silty sediments which collect in sediment ponds in the Southeast Channel of the Dry Tortugas. High compressional wave attenuation is attributed to scattering of acoustic waves from heterogeneity caused by accumulation of abundant shell material and other impedance discontinuities rather than high intrinsic attenuation. Compared to siliciclastic sediments, carbonate sediment shear wave speed is high for comparable values of sediment physical properties. Sediment fabric, rather than changes due to the effects of biogeochemical processes, is responsible for these differences.