Intertidal sand‐dwelling Peracarid fauna of North Island,New Zealand

Abstract

Substrate and infauna samples were taken at four tidal levels (mean high water springs, high mid beach, low mid beach, and mean low water neaps) with a 0.0625 m² quadrat at 14 North Island beaches in New Zealand. The distributions of Peracarida (Crustacea) were correlated with sediment type, tidal height, and degree of exposure; sampling began in March 1972 and was completed in November 1973.

Substrate samples were sieved and median diameter of the particles ranged from very coarse sand of — 0.60? to very fine sand of + 3.259?. Substrates were variously sorted: ? quartile deviation ranged from 0.14? to 0.66?, skewness from ‐ 0.08? to + 0.07?.

Peracarid fauna was moderately abundant; the maximum value was 720 animals per square metre on a fully exposed beach. Highest average abundance (303 per square metre) for the 14 beaches was recorded from the mean low water neap station. Amphipoda was the dominant group (54% of all Peracarida recorded), followed by Isopoda (33%) and Cumacea (13%). Frequency of occurrence at the 56 stations was headed by Amphipoda (64%), followed by Isopoda (46%), and Cumacea (20%).

The results are compared with data from Stewart Island beaches, and the biogeographical distributions of recorded Peracarida are discussed. An unexpectedly high degree of endemism exists for a warm‐temperate region, caused by the isolation of New Zealand, which has no direct shallow water contact with tropical or cold temperate regions.     

Impact of dynamic feedbacks between sedimentation,sea-level rise,and biomass production on near-surface marsh stratigraphy and carbon accumulation

Salt marshes accrete both organic and inorganic sediments. Here we present analytical and numerical models of salt marsh sedimentation that, in addition to capturing inorganic processes, explicitly account for above- and belowground organic processes including root growth and decay of organic carbon. The analytical model is used to examine the bias introduced by organic processes into proxy records of sedimentation, namely ¹³⁷Cs and ²¹⁰Pb. We find that accretion rates estimated using ²¹⁰Pb will be less than accretion rates estimated using the ¹³⁷Cs peak in steadily accreting marshes if (1) carbon decay is significant and (2) data for ²¹⁰Pb extend below the ¹³⁷Cs peak. The numerical model expands upon the analytical model by including belowground processes such as compaction and root growth, and by explicitly tracking the evolution of aboveground biomass and its effect on sedimentation rates. Using the numerical model we explore how marsh stratigraphy responds to sediment supply and the rate of sea-level rise. It is calibrated and tested using an extensive data set of both marsh stratigraphy and measurements of vegetation dynamics in a Spartina alterniflora marsh in South Carolina, USA. We find that carbon accumulation in marshes is nonlinearly related to both the supply of inorganic sediment and the rate of sea-level rise; carbon accumulation increases with sea-level rise until sea-level rise reaches a critical rate that drowns the marsh vegetation and halts carbon accumulation. The model predicts that changes in carbon storage resulting from changing sediment supply or sea-level rise are strongly dependent on the background sediment supply: if inorganic sediment supply is reduced in an already sediment poor marsh the storage of organic carbon will increase to a far greater extent than in a sediment-rich marsh, provided that the rate of sea-level rise does not exceed a threshold. These results imply that altering sediment supply to estuaries (e.g., by damming upstream rivers or altering littoral sediment transport) could lead to significant changes in the carbon budgets of coastal salt marshes.     

Effect of strong magnetic field on chemical potential and electron capture in magnetar

The chemical potential of electrons in a strong magnetic field is investigated. It is shown that the magnetic field has only a slight effect on electron chemical potential when B<10¹¹ T, but electron chemical potential will decrease greatly when B>10¹¹ T. The effects of a strong magnetic field on electron capture rates for ⁶⁰Fe are discussed, and the result shows that the electron capture sharply decreases because of the strong magnetic field.     

涠洲岛潮滩表层沉积物中重金属的空间分布及其环境质量评价

根据2006年4月对涠洲岛潮滩表层沉积物的调查资料,分析了表层沉积物中重金属元素Hg、Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Cr、As的含量水平及空间分布特征,运用单因子评价法对其环境质量进行了评估,并通过相关性分析、因子分析探讨了几种重金属元素的物源.结果表明:涠洲岛潮滩环境质量状况良好,各元素均未达到污染水平,多数地区存在Cu的玷污,个别地区存在As的玷污;各分析元素较多的累积在人为活动相对频繁的XKZ、W05断面附近区域;Hg、Cu、Zn、Cr显著正相关,以环境背景来源为主,Pb、As较多的受到人为因素的影响.     

Benthic nitrate biogeochemistry affected by tidal modulation of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD) through a sandy beach face, Ria Formosa, Southwestern Iberia

To investigate both the role of tides on the timing and magnitude of Submarine Groundwater Discharge (SGD), and the effect on benthic nitrogen biogeochemistry of nitrate-enriched brackish water percolating upwards at the seepage face, we conducted a study of SGD rates measured simultaneously with seepage meters and mini-piezometers, combined with sets (n = 39) of high resolution in-situ porewater profiles describing NH₄⁺, NO₃⁻, Si(OH)₄ and salinity distribution with depth (0–20 cm). Sampling took place during two consecutive spring tidal cycles in four different months (November 2005, March, April and August 2006) at a backbarrier beach face in the Ria Formosa lagoon, southern Portugal. Our results show that the tide is one of the major agents controlling the timing and magnitude of SGD into the Ria Formosa. Intermittent pumping of brackish, nitrate-bearing water at the beach face through surface sediments changed both the magnitudes and depth distributions of porewater NH₄⁺ and NO₃⁻ concentrations. The most significant changes in nitrate and ammonium concentrations were observed in near-surface sediment horizons coinciding with increased fraction of N in benthic organic matter, as shown by the organic C:N ratio. On the basis of mass balance calculations executed on available benthic profiles, providing ratios of net Ammonium Production Rate (APR) to Nitrate Reduction Rate (NRR), coupled to stoichiometric calculations based on the composition of organic matter, potential pathways of nitrogen transformation were speculated upon. Although the seepage face occasionally contributes to reduce the groundwater-borne DIN loading of the lagoon, mass balance analysis suggests that a relatively high proportion of the SGD-borne nitrogen flowing into the lagoon may be enhanced by nitrification at the shallow (1–3 cm) subsurface and modulated by dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA).     

威海市褚岛北部海域CDOM和COD分布特征遥感分析

根据2017年7月和9月在山东威海褚岛北部海域现场测量的COD_(Mn)(Chemical oxygen demand)值和水体表观光学量,结合COMS(Communication,OceanMeteorological Satellite)上搭载的传感器GOCI(Geostationary Ocean Color Imager)所提供的有色可溶性有机物(Chromophoric dissolved organic matter,CDOM)产品,利用星地同步观测数据对现有的基于遥感反射比反演CDOM的模式进行验证,确定适合该海域的CDOM浓度遥感反演模式;通过对测试海域化学需氧量与遥感反演的水体CDOM浓度相关性分析,建立利用CDOM反演COD_(Mn)的遥感模式,并将该模式应用于测试海域LANDSAT 8/OLI(Operational Land Imager)遥感图像上,获取该海域COD_(Mn)浓度专题图,基于这些专题图分析了测试海域COD_(Mn)时空分布特征。结果表明:(1)基于GOCI产品的CDOM浓度值随时间和站点动态变化大,离岸越近数值越高,同一地点水体前后相差近1 h的数值变化也较大;(2)基于LANDSAT 8/OLI遥感数据反演的COD_(Mn)浓度时间动态变化大,总体来看褚岛附近水体的COD_(Mn)含量相对较低,褚岛以北海域水体COD_(Mn)含量有所增加,褚岛西侧水体的COD_(Mn)含量较东侧水体COD_(Mn)含量来说整体偏高。     

苏北新洋港潮滩柱状沉积物粒度分布特征

通过对江苏省新洋港柱状样的粒度参数及典型粒度频率曲线分析,结合柱样剖面颜色变化情况,对柱状样进行不同演化阶段粒度信息的提取,运用粒径-标准偏差进行环境敏感性分析,以了解影响潮滩沉积物分布的动力特征.结果显示,光滩柱样呈现了由光滩-大米草滩-光滩逐渐演化的粒度变化信息,而互花米草滩、盐蒿滩和盐蒿互花米草混合滩柱样分别记录了大米草滩-互花米草滩、盐蒿滩-大米草滩-盐蒿滩,以及盐蒿滩-大米草滩-盐蒿互花米草混合滩演化的粒度信息,水动力条件的差异与变化导致沉积物水平方向上自光滩-互花米草滩-盐蒿滩逐渐变细,芦苇滩成为独立的系统,基本不受到潮水动力作用的影响,沉积结构十分稳定,植被的引种加剧了潮滩沉积物水平分布的变化,光滩、互花米草滩、盐蒿互花米草混合滩、盐蒿滩的沉积速率分别为2.34、≥3.09、2.45和2.09 cm/a.     

Microbial photosynthesis in coral reef sediments (Heron Reef, Australia)

We investigated microphytobenthic photosynthesis at four stations in the coral reef sediments at Heron Reef, Australia. The microphytobenthos was dominated by diatoms, dinoflagellates and cyanobacteria, as indicated by biomarker pigment analysis. Conspicuous algae firmly attached to the sand grains (ca. 100 μm in diameter, surrounded by a hard transparent wall) were rich in peridinin, a marker pigment for dinoflagellates, but also showed a high diversity based on cyanobacterial 16S rDNA gene sequence analysis. Specimens of these algae that were buried below the photic zone exhibited an unexpected stimulation of respiration by light, resulting in an increase of local oxygen concentrations upon darkening. Net photosynthesis of the sediments varied between 1.9 and 8.5 mmol O₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ and was strongly correlated with Chl a content, which lay between 31 and 84 mg m⁻². An estimate based on our spatially limited dataset indicates that the microphytobenthic production for the entire reef is in the order of magnitude of the production estimated for corals. Photosynthesis stimulated calcification at all investigated sites (0.2–1.0 mmol Ca²⁺ m⁻² h⁻¹). The sediments of at least three stations were net calcifying. Sedimentary N₂-fixation rates (measured by acetylene reduction assays at two sites) ranged between 0.9 to 3.9 mmol N₂ m⁻² h⁻¹ and were highest in the light, indicating the importance of heterocystous cyanobacteria. In coral fingers no N₂-fixation was measurable, which stresses the importance of the sediment compartment for reef nitrogen cycling.     

Hydrogeochemical models locating sulfate-methane transition zone in marine sediments overlying black shales: A new tool to locate biogenic methane?

Precise hydrogeochemical modeling of early diagenesis is a key in the reconstruction of sedimentary basin models. This determines the mineralogical evolution of the sediment and consequently the porosity of the rock. During early diagenesis also part of the initial organic matter is converted into biogenic gas: CH₄ CO₂, and H₂S. These processes are part of complex reaction chains during sedimentation, and biogeochemical reactions leave different signals that can be observed today. In this work, we reproduce the early diagenetic processes as integrated signals over geological times in sediments of the Demerara Rise by applying chemical thermodynamics using the PHREEQC (version 2) computer code. The investigated sediments are characterized by the presence of black shales in 410–490 mbsf and by a diagenetic barite layer above in 300–350 mbsf at depth of sulfate-methane transition (SMT). We determine the parameters that influence the location of diagenetic barite peaks in sediments overlying black shales by means of a novel modeling approach. Crucial parameters are the amount of bacterial organic matter mineralization, sedimentation rates and bottom water sulfate concentrations. All parameters are intertwining and influence the sulfate-methane cycle. They affect the location of the SMT visualized by diagenetic barite peaks. However, our model approach opens a wide field in exploring early diagenetic reactions, processes and products (such as biogenic methane) over geological times mirrored by diagenetic minerals and pore water concentration profiles that can be detected in present-day sediments.