Palaeo-carbonate seep structures above an oil reservoir, Gryphon Field, Tertiary, North Sea

Petrographic and geochemical analyses performed on a North Sea core from the Gryphon Field reveal the presence of palaeo-degassing features surrounded by injected sandstones in the Eocene interval. The injected sandstones are oil-stained and poorly cemented by carbonate and quartz. ¹⁸O isotope analyses indicate that carbonate cementation occurred during shallow burial (likely less than about 300 m). Depleted ¹³C (around –30 V-PDB) carbonate cement suggests that bicarbonate was derived from the microbial oxidation of oil and gas. Late quartz overgrowths enclose oil present in the injected units. The tubular degassing conduits are composed of zoned cements and have ¹⁸O and ¹³C isotope values similar to the injected sandstones, indicating that oil and gas seepage induced the precipitation of authigenic carbonate in the shallow subsurface. Oil inclusions in inter- and intra-crystal cement sites in both injected sandstones and degassing conduits indicate that oil seepage was an ongoing feature at shallow burial. A proposed model involves oil and gas seepage and the formation of the degassing conduits, followed by a sand injection phase. It seems likely that oil and gas continued to leak towards the seabed by exploiting the network of permeable injected sandstones and the horizons of porous degassing features.     

Ecotone or Ecocline: Ecological Boundaries in Estuaries

Two main ecological boundaries, ecotone and ecocline, have been defined in landscape ecology. At this scale, the estuary represents a boundary between rivers and the sea, but there has been no attempt to fit empirical data for estuaries to these boundary models. An extensive data set from the Thames estuary was analysed using multivariate techniques and species-range analysis, in order to investigate whether the ecocline or the ecotone model was most relevant to this estuary. Data for periods of high and low freshwater flow allowed the impact of large-scale fluctuations implicit in both models to be determined.A continuum of assemblages existed along the salinity gradient from freshwater river to the North Sea, with shifts in the ranges of organisms apparent in response to changes in freshwater flow. This pattern closely fits an ecocline model. However, the estuary differs from previously defined ecoclines in having two overlapping gradients in the major stressor: from river to mid-estuary for freshwater species and from sea to mid-estuary for marine species. We propose, therefore, that the estuary represents a two-ecocline model, with fauna inhabiting the mid-estuary being either freshwater or marine species at the edge of their range, rather than ‘ true estuarine organisms ’. This allows a redefinition of the Remane diagram, with estuarine species removed, and supports previous arguments that brackish-water species do not exist. Such two-ecocline models may also exist in other marine systems, such as rocky shores.     

New seismic data in the Mozambique Channel

This paper presents seismic reflection and refraction data from the Mozambique Channel, collected between 1971 and 1973. A deep sedimentary basin (up to 5 km of sediments) opens southwards to the Mozambique Basin, and is bounded to the east by the Davie Ridge and beyond by the marginal plateau of Malagasy. A continuous reflector (C), possibly of Cretaceous age, is identified between layers having seismic interval velocities of 2.4–2.8 km/s and 3.1–3.4 km/s. The deepest sediments have velocities of 4.5–4.9 km/s and overlie a layer with velocity 5.5 km/s, which may be volcanic in the north-east of the Channel.The crust occupying most of the Channel is probably pre-Cretaceous in age, and may be largely continental in nature. This is supported by subdued magnetic anomalies and the possibility of a continuous Karroo sedimentary section across the northern Channel. The oceanic crust of the Mozambique Basin may extend as far north as 24°S, into the western Channel only. The problem of the origin of the Mozambique Channel remains unresolved, although a long sedimentary history indicates that Malagasy may have separated from Mainland Africa prior to Karroo times. The Davie Ridge may possibly represent a relict strike-slip fault, which permitted movement along a north-south line.     

Statistical analysis of a global photochemical model of the atmosphere

This is a study of the sensitivity of model results (atmospheric content of main gas constituents and radiative characteristics of the atmosphere) to errors in emissions of a number of atmospheric gaseous pollutants. Groups of the model variables most dependent on these errors are selected. Two variants of emissions are considered: one without their evolution and the other with their variation according to the IPCC scenario. The estimates are made on the basis of standard statistical methods for the results obtained with the detailed onedimensional radiative—photochemical model of the Main Geophysical Observatory (MGO). Some approaches to such estimations with models of higher complexity and to the solution of the inverse problem (i.e., the estimation of the necessary accuracy of external model parameters for obtaining the given accuracy of model results) are outlined.     

Well log interpretation and seismic character of the cenozoic sequence in the northern Alboran Sea

Seismic stratigraphic and main lithological features of the sedimentary cover overlying the basement of the Alboran Sea were established via the analysis of commercial multichannel seismic surveys, geophysical well logs, and well data. Six seismic stratigraphics units (VI to I), bounded by unconformities, form the marine sediments that range in age from early Miocene to Quaternary. They are dated by extrapolation of commercial drilling results from the northern Alboran Sea. Volcanic activity is recorded within sedimentary sequences of units V to II. Undercompaction features are detected in the two basal units.     

Precise positioning for near-bottom equipment using a relay transponder

The Marine Physical Laboratory of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography has developed an acoustic relay transponder for precise relative positioning of near-bottom instruments and geologic sampling devices. Although specifically designed to position equipment lowered on standard wire ropes without a need to maintain direct electrical contact with the surface ship, the relay transponder may be used to track free vehicles, such as deep submersibles, from the surface. The relay transponder is positioned relative to an array of bottom-anchored acoustic transponders. It is interrogated acoustically from the surface ship; it then sequentially interrogates the bottom transponders which, in turn, reply to the ship. From the measurement of the total travel time (ship to relay transponder to bottom transponder to ship) and assuming, or knowing, the sound velocity of the water, we obtain a relayed range measurement. These relayed ranges, used in conjunction with ship to bottom-transponder ranges, allow us to calculate the position of the relay transponder. A recent application of this technique is described in which several gravity core samples from the crest of the Horizon Guyot were positioned with respect to the detailed bathymetry and the geology within the area. The estimated error in positioning the samples is less than 20 m inside a navigational net extending over 100 km².Contribution of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, new series.     

Atmospheric forcing of fine-sand transport on a low-energy inner shelf: south-central Louisiana,USA

Hydrodynamic and sediment transport measurements from instrumentation deployed during a 54-day winter period at two sites on the Louisiana inner shelf are presented. Strong extratropical storms, with wind speeds of 7.8 to 15.1 m s^-1, were the dominant forcing mechanism during the study. These typically caused mean oscillatory flows and shear velocities about 33% higher than fair weather (averaging 12.3 and 3.2 cm s^-1 at the landward site, and 11.4 and 2.7 cm s^-1 at the seaward site, respectively). These responses were coupled with mean near-bottom currents more than twice as strong as during fair weather (10.3 and 7.5 cm s^-1 at the landward and seaward sites, respectively). These flowed in approximately the same direction as the veering wind, causing a net offshore transport of fine sand. Weak storms were responsible for little sediment transport whereas during fair weather, onshore sand transport of approximately 25-75% of the storm values appears to have occurred. This contradicts previous predictions of negligible fair-weather sediment movement on this inner shelf.     

Geomorphology of unique reefs on the western Canadian shelf: sponge reefs mapped by multibeam bathymetry

Multibeam imagery of siliceous sponge reefs (Hexactinellida, Hexactinosida) reveals the setting, form, and organization of five reef complexes on the western Canadian continental shelf. The reefs are built by framework skeleton sponges which trap clay-rich sediments resulting in a distinctive pattern of low intensity backscatter from the reefs that colonize more reflective glacial sediments of higher backscatter intensity. Bathymetry and backscatter maps show the distribution and form of reefs in two large complexes in the Queen Charlotte Basin (QCB) covering hundreds of km², and three smaller reef complexes in the Georgia Basin (GB). Ridges up to 7 km long and 21 m in height, together with diversely shaped, coalescing bioherms and biostromes form the principal reef shape in the QCB whereas chains of wave-form, streamlined mounds up to 14 m in height have developed in the GB. Reef initiation is dependent on the distribution of high backscatter-intensity relict glacial surfaces, and the variation in reef complex morphology is probably the result of tidally driven, near seabed currents.     

Double-diffusive convection with a non-linear equation of state: Part I. The accurate conservation of properties in a two-layer system

If the equation of state is nonlinear, a given flux of heat across a double diffusive interface causes different buoyancy fluxes in the upper and lower layers. This results in different convective activity in the two layers and can lead to preferential entrainment across the interface in one direction (i.e. a migration of the interface). In this paper we derive the conservation equations for properties (e.g. heat and a solute) across a double diffusive interface between two well-mixed layers. A nondimensional measure of the entrainment across an interface and the most suitable choice for the buoyancy flux ratio are presented. Some surprising facts emerge. First, even for a linear equation of state and in the absence of direct entrainment across the interface, the flux of water across a finger interface is shown to be important. Second, for the heat-solute system, the heat balance equations for each well-mixed layer contain terms proportional to the heat of solution of the solute and the partial specific enthalpy of pure water in a seawater solution. Third, the rate of change of gravitational potential energy of the two-layer system is shown to have several extra terms in addition to the two commonly quoted major terms.     

Design of a tri-axial thrust anemometer for measurement of atmospheric turbulence over water

The BIO Mark 8 thrust anemometer measures the drag of the wind on a perforated table tennis ball mounted on a vertical beam. The tri-axial displacement of the beam is sensed by eddy current proximity sensors. This anemometer has a flat frequency response from 0 to 10 Hz and can measure wind from 0 to 28 m s⁻¹ at temperature from − 19 to + 28°C. It is designed for remote operation for extended periods of time such as on stable towers at sea.