大洋富钴结壳的基本框架——超微生物建构的锰质叠层石柱体

大洋富钴结壳和锰结核一样是潜在的海底矿产资源,对其成因的研究将有助于指导找矿和资源评价。通过大型反光显微镜、透射电子显微镜和其他测试手段,系统研究了结壳的结构构造、物质组成以及叠层石纹层与超微生物的关系。发现结壳与光滑型锰结核的叠层石类型及超微生物种极其相似,它们都以微小叠层石和中华微放线菌为主要特征,具有相同的生物成因机制。认为超微生物建构的锰质叠层石柱体是大洋富钴结壳的基本框架,从而对结壳矿体的形成提出了新的见解。     

Nutrient flux into an intense deep chlorophyll layer in a mode-water eddy

An intense deep chlorophyll layer in the Sargasso Sea was reported near the center of an anticyclonic mode-water eddy by McGillicuddy et al. [2007. Eddy–wind interactions stimulate extraordinary mid-ocean plankton blooms, Science, accepted]. The high chlorophyll was associated with anomalously high concentrations of diatoms and with a maximum in the vertical profile of ¹⁴C primary productivity. Here we report tracer measurements of the vertical advection and turbulent diffusion of deep-water nutrients into this chlorophyll layer. Tracer released in the chlorophyll layer revealed upward motion relative to isopycnal surfaces of about 0.4 m/d, due to solar heating and mixing. The density surfaces themselves shoaled by about 0.1 m/d. The upward flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, averaged over 36 days, was approximately 0.6 mmol/m²/d due to both upwelling and mixing. This flux is about 40% of the basin wide, annually averaged, nitrogen flux required to drive the annual new production in the Sargasso Sea, estimated from the oxygen cycle in the euphotic zone, the oxygen demand below the euphotic zone, and from the ³He excess in the mixed layer. The observed upwelling of the fluid was consistent with theoretical models [Dewar, W.K., Flierl, G.R., 1987. Some effects of wind on rings. Journal of Physical Oceanography 17, 1653–1667; Martin, A.P., Richards, K.J., 2001. Mechanisms for vertical nutrient transport within a North Atlantic mesoscale eddy. Deep-Sea Research II 48, 757–773] in which eddy surface currents cause spatial variations in surface stress. The diapycnal diffusivity at the base of the euphotic zone was 3.5±0.5×10⁻⁵ m²/s. Diapycnal mixing was probably enhanced over more typical values by the series of storms passing over the eddy during the experiment and may have been enhanced further by the trapping of near-inertial waves generated within the eddy.     

Dimethylsulfide production in Sargasso Sea eddies

Lagrangian time series of dimethylsulfide (DMS) concentrations from a cyclonic and an anticyclonic eddy in the Sargasso Sea were used in conjunction with measured DMS loss rates and a model of vertical mixing to estimate gross DMS production in the upper 60 m during summer 2004. Loss terms included biological consumption, photolysis, and ventilation to the atmosphere. The time- and depth (0–60 m)-averaged gross DMS production was estimated to be 0.73±0.09 nM d⁻¹ in the cyclonic eddy and 0.90±0.15 nM d⁻¹ in the anticyclonic eddy, with respective DMS replacement times of 5±1 and 6±1 d. The higher estimated rate of gross production and lower measured loss rate constants in the anticyclonic eddy were equally responsible for this eddy's 50% higher DMS inventory (0–60 m). When normalized to chlorophyll and total dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP), estimated gross production in the anticyclonic eddy was about twice that in the cyclonic eddy, consistent with the greater fraction of phytoplankton that were DMSP producers in the anticyclonic eddy. Higher rates of gross production were estimated below the mixed layer, contributing to the subsurface DMS maximum found in both eddies. In both eddies, gas exchange, microbial consumption, and photolysis were roughly equal DMS loss terms in the surface mixed layer (0.2–0.4 nM d⁻¹). Vertical mixing was a substantial source of DMS to the surface mixed layer in both eddies (0.2–0.3 nM d⁻¹) owing to the relatively high DMS concentrations below the mixed layer. Estimated net biological DMS production rates (gross production minus microbial consumption) in the mixed layer were substantially lower (by almost a factor of 3) than those estimated in a previous study of the Sargasso Sea, which may explain the relatively low mixed-layer DMS concentrations found here during July 2004 (3 nM) compared to previous summers (4–6 nM).     

Elevated biomass of mesozooplankton and enhanced fecal pellet flux in cyclonic and mode-water eddies in the Sargasso Sea

Accumulating evidence points to the importance of mesoscale eddies in supplying nutrients to surface waters in oligotrophic gyres. However, the nature of the biological response and its evolution over time has yet to be elucidated. Changes in mesozooplankton community composition due to eddy perturbation also could affect biogeochemical cycling. Over the course of two summers we sampled seven eddies in the Sargasso Sea. We focused on and followed a post-phytoplankton bloom cyclonic eddy (C1) in 2004 and a blooming mode-water anticyclonic eddy (A4) in 2005. We collected zooplankton in all eddies using a Multiple Opening and Closing Net Environmental Sampling System (MOCNESS) and quantified biomass (>0.15 mm, in five size fractions) from 0 to 700 m over nine discrete depth intervals. Zooplankton biomass (>0.5 mm) in the upper 150 m was similarly enhanced at night for the periphery of C1 and the center of A4 at 0.514 g m⁻² and 0.533 g m⁻², respectively, compared to outside (0.183 g m⁻² outside C1 and 0.197 g m⁻² outside A4). Despite minimal chlorophyll a enhancement and dominance by picoplankton in C1, zooplankton biomass increased most for the largest size class (>5 mm). Gut fluorescence for euphausiids and large copepods was also elevated on the C1 periphery. In A4, peak biomass occurred at eddy center coincident with peak primary production, but was highly variable (changing by >3-fold) over time, perhaps resulting from the dense, but patchy distribution of diatom chains in this region. Shifts in zooplankton community composition and abundance were reflected in enhancement of fecal pellet production and active transport by diel vertical migration in eddies. Inside C1 the flux of zooplankton fecal pellets at 150 m in June 2004 was 1.5-fold higher than outside the eddy, accounting for 9% of total particulate organic carbon (POC) flux. The flux of fecal pellets (mostly from copepods) increased through the summer in eddy A4, matching concurrent increases in zooplankton <2 mm in length, and accounting for up to 12% of total POC flux. Active carbon transport by vertically migrating zooplankton was 37% higher on the periphery of C1 and 74% higher at the center of A4 compared to the summer mean at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station. Despite contrasting responses by the phytoplankton community to cyclonic and mode-water eddies, mesozooplankton biomass was similarly enhanced, possibly due to differential physical and biological aggregation mechanisms, and resulted in important zooplankton-mediated changes in mesoscale biogeochemistry.     

The mesoscale variability in the Caribbean Sea. Part I: Simulations and characteristics with an embedded model

The variability in the Caribbean Sea is investigated using high resolution (1/15°) general circulation model experiments. For the first time in this region, simulations were carried out with a 2-way nested configuration of the NEMO primitive equation model. A coarse North Atlantic grid (1/3°) reproduces the main features of the North Atlantic and Equatorial circulation capable of influencing ocean dynamics in the Caribbean Sea. This numerical study highlights strong dynamical differences among basins and modifies the view that dynamics are homogeneous over the whole Caribbean Basin. The Caribbean mean flow is shown to organize in two intense jets flowing westward along the northern and southern boundaries of the Venezuela Basin, which merge in the center of the Colombia Basin. Diagnostics of model outputs show that width, depth and strength of baroclinic eddies increase westward from the Lesser Antilles to the Colombia Basin. The widening and strengthening to the west is consistent with altimetry data and drifter observations. Although influenced by the circulation in the Colombia Basin, the variability in the Cayman Basin (which also presents a westward growth from the Chibcha Channel) is deeper and less energetic than the variability in the Colombia/Venezuela Basins. Main frequency peaks for the mesoscale variability present a westward shift, from roughly 50 days near the Lesser Antilles to 100 days in the Cayman Basin, which is associated with growth and merging of eddies.     

遵化新太古代豆荚状铬铁矿变形特征、变形机制及其大洋地幔扩张运移的指示意义

豆荚状铬铁矿是蛇绿岩套地幔构造岩中特征的矿产,其矿石发育丰富的岩浆活动-高温变形结构构造类型,豆荚状铬铁矿高温下仍具有稳定的物理化学特性,对认识大洋上地幔扩张、横向运移具有重要指示意义。在对遵化新太古代豆荚状铬铁矿显微构造的深入研究基础上,通过对比分析豆荚状铬铁矿结构构造特征(岩浆活动、低温变形),提出高温变形结构及其特征(拉长网孔结构、条带状、糜棱状结构等)。借鉴现代洋中脊及弧后盆地扩张的构造模型,提出华北新太古代豆荚状铬铁矿扩张中心形成后的显微构造演化序列,豆荚状铬铁矿变形机制的研究,可以提供认识早期大洋上地幔动力学过程的新线索。     

白垩纪大洋缺氧事件研究进展

系统总结了白垩纪OAEs的研究进展,重点讨论了OAE1a、OAE1b和OAE2时期的有机碳(TOC)含量、碳同位素、古温度和锶同位素特征及其古环境指示意义,综合分析了白垩纪OAEs的成因机制。结果表明白垩纪OAEs的发生可能与该时期海底大规模的火山活动以及由其引起的气温升高、碳水化合物大量分解、水文循环加快和海洋生物生产力提高等一系列变化有关。对于白垩纪OAEs演化特征和成因机制的深入研究具有重要借鉴意义。通过对白垩纪OAEs的综合分析发现,当前的研究区域主要集中在大西洋/特提斯盆地及其周边陆地,而对南半球高纬度地区的研究报道迄今未见,从而无法对白垩纪OAEs进行全球性对比和系统性研究。今后我们将重点围绕南半球高纬度地区白垩纪OAEs的演化特征、成因机制及其古气候环境效应等进行深入研究。     

Influence of Mesoscale Eddies on Variations of the Kuroshio Path South of Japan

The influences of mesoscale eddies on variations of the Kuroshio path south of Japan have been investigated using time series of the Kuroshio axis location and altimeter-derived sea surface height maps for a period of seven years from 1993 to 1999, when the Kuroshio followed its non-large meander path. It was found that both the cyclonic and anticyclonic eddies may interact with the Kuroshio and trigger short-term meanders of the Kuroshio path, although not all eddies that approached or collided with the Kuroshio formed meanders. An anticyclonic eddy that revolves clockwise in a region south of Shikoku and Cape Shionomisaki with a period of about 5–6 months was found to propagate westward along about 30°N and collide with the Kuroshio in the east of Kyushu or south of Shikoku. This collision sometimes triggers meanders which propagate over the whole region south of Japan. The eddy was advected downstream, generating a meander on the downstream side to the east of Cape Shionomisaki. After the eddy passed Cape Shionomisaki, it detached from the Kuroshio and started to move westward again. Sometimes the eddy merges with other anticyclonic eddies traveling from the east. Coalescence of cyclonic eddies, which are also generated in the Kuroshio Extension region and propagate westward in the Kuroshio recirculation region south of Japan, into the Kuroshio in the east of Kyushu, also triggers meanders which mainly propagate only in a region west of Cape Shionomisaki. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

冬季南海北部中尺度涡旋的数值研究

南海环流的一个主要特征是上层海洋环流具有多涡结构,海洋中尺度涡旋的演变(时间上的生消和空间上的迁移)是南海环流季节调整的可能方式。文中依据卫星遥感海面高度资料和实际海洋观测所揭示的南海北部存在中尺度涡旋体系的基本事实,采用一个改进了涡分辨(eddy-resolving)普林斯顿海洋模式(POM),对冬季处于强盛的东北季风强迫以及黑潮在巴士海峡入侵的共同作用下的南海北部环流的中尺度涡旋体系进行了数值研究,初步再现了冬季南海北部中尺度涡的生命史。计算结果表明,在实际的气候冬季风应力驱动下,具有的实际侧边界地形的南海北部呈现有强烈的中尺度涡旋。文中探讨了中尺度涡的垂直结构、温盐场的配置以及大尺度水平辐合辐散、海洋垂直运动与之相关的时空结构。由此可以得知,在冬季南海北部中尺度涡旋生命史的不同阶段,上述动力学因子的重要性是相对的。不同的敏感性试验表明,斜压调整是形成冬季南海中尺度涡旋体系的决定性因子;边界的入流和风应力驱动是影响中尺度涡旋运动的主要因素。     

Distribution of large-scale detachment faults on mid-ocean ridges in relation to spreading rates

Large-scale detachment faults on mid-ocean ridges （MORs） provide a window into the deeper earth. They have megamullion on their corrugated surfaces, with exposed lower crustal and upper mantle rocks, rela- tively high residual Bouguer gravity anomaly and P-wave velocity, and are commonly associated with ocean- ic core complex. According to 30 detachment faults identified on MORs, we found that their distances to the axis mostly range from 5 to 50 km, half-spreading rates range from 6.8 to 17 mm/a, and activity time ranges from recent to 3 Ma. Most of the detachment faults are developed on the slow spreading Mid-Atlantic Ridge （MAR） and ultra-slow spreading Southwest Indian Ridge （SWIRl, with the dominant half-spreading rates of 7-13 mm/a, especially 10-13 mm/a. Furthermore, they mostly occur at the inside corner of one segment end and result in an asymmetric seafloor spreading. The detachment faults on MORs are mainly controlled by the tectonism and influenced by the magmatism. Long-lived detachment faults tend to be formed where the ridge magma supply is at a moderate level, although the tectonism is a first-order controlling factor. At the slow spreading ridges, detachment faults tend to occur where local magma supply is relatively low, whilst at the ultra-slow spreading ridges, they normally occur where local magma supply is relatively high. These faults are accompanied by hydrothermal activities, with their relationships being useful in the study of hydrothermal polymetallic sulfides and their origin.