Biological structures as a source of habitat heterogeneity and biodiversity on the deep ocean margins

Biological structures exert a major influence on species diversity at both local and regional scales on deep continental margins. Some organisms use other species as substrates for attachment, shelter, feeding or parasitism, but there may also be mutual benefits from the association. Here, we highlight the structural attributes and biotic effects of the habitats that corals, sea pens, sponges and xenophyophores offer other organisms. The environmental setting of the biological structures influences their species composition. The importance of benthic species as substrates seems to increase with depth as the complexity of the surrounding geological substrate and food supply decline. There are marked differences in the degree of mutualistic relationships between habitat-forming taxa. This is especially evident for scleractinian corals, which have high numbers of facultative associates (commensals) and few obligate associates (mutualists), and gorgonians, with their few commensals and many obligate associates. Size, flexibility and architectural complexity of the habitat-forming organism are positively related to species diversity for both sessile and mobile species. This is mainly evident for commensal species sharing a facultative relationship with their host. Habitat complexity is enhanced by the architecture of biological structures, as well as by biological interactions. Colony morphology has a great influence on feeding efficiency for suspension feeders. Suspension feeding, habitat-forming organisms modify the environment to optimize their food uptake. This environmental advantage is also passed on to associated filter-feeding species. These effects are poorly understood but represent key points for understanding ecosystems and biodiversity on continental margins. In this paper we explore the contributions of organisms and the biotic structures they create (rather than physical modifications) to habitat heterogeneity and diversity on the deep continental margins.     

Seep mounds on the Southern Vøring Plateau (offshore Norway)

Multidisciplinary study of seep-related structures on Southern Vøring Plateau has been performed during several UNESCO/IOC TTR cruises on R/V Professor Logachev. High-resolution sidescan sonar and subbottom profiler data suggest that most of the studied fluid discharge structures have a positive relief at their central part surrounded by depression. Our data shows that the present day fluid activity is concentrated on the top of these “seep mounds”. Number of high hydrocarbon (HC) gas saturated sediment cores and 5 cores with gas hydrate presence have been recovered from these structures. δ¹³C of methane (between −68 and −94.6‰ VPDB) and dry composition of the gas points to its biogenic origin. The sulfate depletion generally occurs within the upper 30–200 cm bsf and usually coincides with an increase of methane concentration. Pore water δ¹⁸O ranges from 0.29 to 1.14‰ showing an overall gradual increase from bottom water values (δ¹⁸O ∼ 0.35‰). Although no obvious evidence of fluid seepage was observed during the TV surveys, coring data revealed a broad distribution of living Pogonophora and bacterial colonies on sea bottom inside seep structures. These evidences point to ongoing fluid activity (continuous seepage of methane) through these structures. From other side, considerable number and variety of chemosynthetic macro fauna with complete absence of living species suggest that present day level of fluid activity is significantly lower than it was in past. Dead and subfossil fauna recovered from various seep sites consist of solemyid (Acharax sp.), thyasirid and vesicomyid (cf. Calyptogena sp.) bivalves belonging to chemosymbiotic families. Significant variations in δ¹³C (−31.6‰ to −59.2‰) and δ¹⁸O (0.42‰ and 6.4‰) of methane-derived carbonates collected from these structures most probably related to changes in gas composition and bottom water temperature between periods of their precipitation. This led us to ideas that: (1) seep activity on the Southern Vøring Plateau was started with large input of the deep thermogenic gas and gradually decries in time with increasing of biogenic constituent; (2) authigenic carbonate precipitation started at the near normal deep sea environments with bottom water temperature around +5 °C and continues with gradual cooling up to negative temperatures recording at present time.     

Some statistical characteristics of large deepwater waves around the Korean Peninsula

The relationship between significant wave height and period, the variability of significant wave period, the spectral peak enhancement factor, and the directional spreading parameter of large deepwater waves around the Korean Peninsula have been investigated using various sources of wave measurement and hindcasting data. For very large waves comparable to design waves, it is recommended to use the average value of the empirical formulas proposed by Shore Protection Manual in 1977 and by Goda in 2003 for the relationship between significant wave height and period. The standard deviation of significant wave periods non-dimensionalized with respect to the mean value for a certain significant wave height varies between 0.04 and 0.21 with a typical value of 0.1 depending upon different regions and different ranges of significant wave heights. The probability density function of the peak enhancement factor is expressed as a lognormal distribution, with its mean value of 2.14, which is somewhat smaller than the value in the North Sea. For relatively large waves, the probability density function of the directional spreading parameter at peak frequency is also expressed as a lognormal distribution.     

A joint distribution of significant wave height and characteristic surf parameter

The paper provides a joint distribution of significant wave height and characteristic surf parameter. The characteristic surf parameter is given by the ratio between the slope of a beach or a structure and the square root of the characteristic wave steepness in deep water defined in terms of the significant wave height and the spectral peak period. The characteristic surf parameter is used to characterize surf zone processes and is relevant for e.g. wave run-up on beaches and coastal structures. The paper presents statistical properties of the wave parameters as well as an example of results corresponding to typical field conditions.     

广东三水盆地西缘横江铅锌矿床的成矿时代及新生代找铜前景

近年来,在广东三水盆地及其西缘三洲盆地中,先后发现了长坑大型金矿床和富湾超大型银矿床及横江、茶山等铅锌矿床。为了查明横江铅锌矿床的成矿时代,文章采用了两种不同的方法,在两个不同的实验室内,分别测得该矿床中石英的形成年龄为35Ma(流体包裹体Rb_Sr等时线法)和36~39Ma(40Ar/39Ar快中子活化法),两者基本一致。这表明多金属成矿作用发生在渐新世,晚于长坑金矿床和富湾银矿床。最近,在横江铅锌矿床中发现铜的含量也很高。矿石中金属矿物主要是黄铜矿、辉铜矿、闪锌矿和方铅矿。因此,铜矿化的存在与富集,为三水盆地及其周边地区贵金属和有色金属的地质找矿提供了重要的新线索,同时也为在其他盆地区寻找有色金属矿床打开了新的思路。     

山东英格庄金矿床构造控矿特征及深部预测

英格庄金矿床位于山东牟乳金矿带巫山断裂的南缘,其围岩主要以古老变质岩与昆嵛山花岗岩为主,为含金石英脉型金矿。文章通过对英格庄金矿床控矿断裂发展史以及断面几何形态与金矿体赋存位置关系的研究,发现矿体在断层带中的分布具有规律性。深部地球化学原生晕研究表明,英格庄金矿床Bi与Hg关系非常密切,是金矿化的最佳指示元素,且在已知矿体下方出现前缘晕与尾晕相互叠加的现象。结合矿体在断裂中分布的规律以及原生晕特点,对英格庄矿床深部第二富集段进行了预测,并预测在-220m下有第二金富集段存在,且具有很大的经济价值。     

河西走廊西段花海断裂几何学、运动学及区域构造意义

花海断裂位于河西走廊西段花海盆地内,总体走向NNW-SSE,长约38 km,为一条隐伏断裂,研究其空间展布、运动性质和活动历史对于理解青藏高原北缘的构造变形和扩展方式有重要意义.基于卫片解译、野外实地和槽探,结合光释光测年和地球物理资料,发现沿双泉子、大泉至小泉一带,发育一段长约8 km的地形陡坎,代表断裂控制下褶皱作...     

长乐-东山构造-岩浆带中北段地质特征

从复杂的构造变形中甄别出岩浆岩的塑性流动变形,与韧性和脆-韧性变形区别,力争还原长乐—泉州沿海一带地质构造的真实面目,并探讨了该带的活动时间和构造属性。另外还对该带长期争论的澳角群进行了初步的分解,锆石SHRIMP测年数据也反映了平潭南务里一带变质岩的复杂性。     

Planform of convection with strongly temperature-dependent viscosity

Abstract

This paper experimentally investigates the convective planform near critical in a fluid layer whose temperature-dependent viscosity varies from top to bottom by up to a factor of 1500. Convection occurs in three different planforms: rolls, hexagons and squares. The square planform, which appears only for fluids with viscosity variation greater than about 50, replaces the hexagonal convection pattern as the Rayleigh number increases much above critical. The large amplitude of hexagonal convection with strong viscosity variation precludes studying the hexagon-square transition with perturbation methods of the type used to study the hexagon-roll transitions at smaller viscosity variations.