Seasonal observations of surface waters in two Gulf of Maine estuary-plume systems: Relationships between watershed attributes,optical measurements and surface pCO2

The partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO₂) in estuary-plume systems is related to the internal processes of net organic metabolism and physical mixing, but is also strongly influenced by biogeochemical inputs from the land and ocean. Surface layer pCO₂, stimulated fluorescence of chlorophyll (f-chl) and colored organic matter (f-com), and beam attenuation at 660 nm (c-660) were measured during three seasonal surveys of the Kennebec (ME) and Merrimack (MA) estuary-plume systems. These estuaries are both supplied by large New England Rivers and separated by less than 150 km, but significant differences were often observed in the distributions of surface pCO₂ and optical variables. High pCO₂ concentrations were generally associated with high f-com, while lower pCO₂ concentrations were associated with high f-chl and c-660. Using simple regression models, optical measurements were used to estimate chlorophyll and total organic carbon concentrations. Results suggest that labile riverine carbon is responsible for sustaining supersaturated pCO₂ conditions and that phytoplankton productivity, likely driven by inputs of riverine dissolved inorganic nitrogen, is responsible for pCO₂ undersaturation. Although optical variables are often related to surface pCO₂, the results suggest that efforts to retrieve pCO₂ in complex waters using optical data may be enhanced using a site-specific, multivariate approach.     

0-D-Modelling of Carbonaceous Aerosols over Greater Paris Focusing on the Organic Particle Formation

To improve our understanding of aerosol formation and ageing in urban atmospheres, we have tested the ORISAM 0-D aerosol module (ORganic and Inorganic Spectral Aerosol Model). This module accounts for both types of primary carbonaceous particles (black carbon BC and primary organic carbon OC_p) and also simulates the formation of secondary inorganic and organic particles (sulfates, nitrates, ammonium, water and secondary organic carbon particles OC_sec) by attachment of gas precursors to pre-existing carbonaceous particles. Simulations were performed for surface aerosols over Greater Paris area during the ESQUIF summer 1998 and winter 2000 experiments. Results show that OC_sec formation is highly dependent on temperature and insolation with more intense secondary formation in summer than in winter. Moreover in Summer, when atmospheric conditions shift from warm and humid to hot and dry, the model indicates a decreasing formation of secondary organic aerosols OC_sec as shown by an increase of the OC_p/(OC_p+OC_sec) ratio from 42 to 56%. These results satisfactorily compare with the few experimental available data for BC/(OC_p+OC_sec) ratios increasing from 24 to 37% against modelled values in the range 21–32%. ORISAM module sensitivity to initial size distributions, background concentrations and emissions of gases and primary carbonaceous particles was documented too. One main result is that the formation of secondary organic particles with ORISAM is very sensitive to the concentrations of gaseous precursors. At the present stage of ORISAM development, OC_sec build up appears to be however less sensitive to particulate background concentrations.     

Fate of three major rivers in the Bohai Sea: A model study

Huanghe (Yellow River), Haihe and Liaohe are three major rivers flowing into the Bohai Sea and account for more than 80% of the freshwater and land-drained material inputs annually. The fate of three rivers in the seawaters correlates with the transport and distribution of the riverine sediments and nutrients, and further exerts a profound influence on the local marine ecosystem dynamics. Therefore, the evolution of the river plumes under the influence of the freshwater buoyancy, the tidal forcing and the wind stress are examined using a three-dimensional primitive equation ocean circulation model, independently and jointly. It is found that both tide and wind stirring can deteriorate the stabilization of the water column caused by the freshwater buoyancy; however, the processes are different. The tide stirring originates from the seafloor due to the bottom friction as the tidal wave propagates into the shallow waters, and then the turbulent kinetic energy dissipates upward. On the other hand, the wind stirring proceeds in the up-down direction. The influences of different winds on the evolution of the river plumes are also examined. Since the situation of each river mouth is different, the wind influence is also distinct. At last, the fate of three major rivers driven by the combined tidal forcing and climatology winds is reproduced, and the simulated salinity distribution shows a reasonable agreement with that observed, meaning that the river plume evolution plays a crucial role in shaping the salinity distribution in BS.     

Cold plumes trigger contamination of oceanic mantle wedges with continental crust-derived sediments: Evidence from chromitite zircon grains of eastern Cuban ophiolites

The origin of zircon grains, and other exotic minerals of typical crustal origin, in mantle-hosted ophiolitic chromitites are hotly debated. We report a population of zircon grains with ages ranging from Cretaceous (99 Ma) to Neoarchean (2750 Ma), separated from massive chromitite bodies hosted in the mantle section of the supra-subduction (SSZ)-type Mayarí-Baracoa Ophiolitic Belt in eastern Cuba. Most analyzed zircon grains (n = 20, 287 ± 3 Ma to 2750 ± 60 Ma) are older than the early Cretaceous age of the ophiolite body, show negative ε_Hf(t) (−26 to −0.6) and occasional inclusions of quartz, K-feldspar, biotite, and apatite that indicate derivation from a granitic continental crust. In contrast, 5 mainly rounded zircon grains (297 ± 5 Ma to 2126 ± 27 Ma) show positive ε_Hf(t) (+0.7 to +13.5) and occasional apatite inclusions, suggesting their possible crystallization from melts derived from juvenile (mantle) sources. Interestingly, younger zircon grains are mainly euhedral to subhedral crystals, whereas older zircon grains are predominantly rounded grains. A comparison of the ages and Hf isotopic compositions of the zircon grains with those of nearby exposed crustal terranes suggest that chromitite zircon grains are similar to those reported from terranes of Mexico and northern South America. Hence, chromitite zircon grains are interpreted as sedimentary-derived xenocrystic grains that were delivered into the mantle wedge beneath the Greater Antilles intra-oceanic volcanic arc by metasomatic fluids/melts during subduction processes. Thus, continental crust recycling by subduction could explain all populations of old xenocrystic zircon in Cretaceous mantle-hosted chromitites from eastern Cuba ophiolite. We integrate the results of this study with petrological-thermomechanical modeling and existing geodynamic models to propose that ancient zircon xenocrysts, with a wide spectrum of ages and Hf isotopic compositions, can be transferred to the mantle wedge above subducting slabs by cold plumes.     

On the dynamics of 3-D single thermal plumes at various Prandtl numbers and Rayleigh numbers

Three-dimensional (3-D) numerical simulations of single turbulent thermal plumes in the Boussinesq approximation are used to understand more deeply the interaction of a plume with itself and its environment. In order to do so, we varied the Rayleigh and Prandtl numbers from Ra?～?10⁵ to Ra?～?10⁸ and from Pr?～?0.025 to Pr?～?70. We found that thermal dissipation takes place mostly on the border of the plume. Moreover, the rate of energy dissipation per unit mass ε _T has a critical point around Pr?～?0.7. The reason is that at Pr greater than ～0.7, buoyancy dominates inertia and thermal advection dominates wave formation whereas this trend is reversed at Pr less than ～0.7. We also found that for large enough Prandtl number (Pr?～?70), the velocity field is mostly poloidal although this result was known for Rayleigh–Bénard convection (see Schmalzl et al. [On the validity of two-dimensional numerical approaches to time-dependent thermal convection. Europhys. Lett. 2004, 67, 390--396]). On the other hand, at small Prandtl numbers, the plume has a large helicity at large scale and a non-negligible toroidal part. Finally, as observed recently in details in weakly compressible turbulent thermal plume at Pr?=?0.7 (see Plourde et al. [Direct numerical simulations of a rapidly expanding thermal plume: structure and entrainment interaction. J. Fluid Mech. 2008, 604, 99--123]), we also noticed a two-time cycle in which there is entrainment of some of the external fluid to the plume, this process being most pronounced at the base of the plume. We explain this as a consequence of calculated Richardson number being unity at Pr?=?0.7 when buoyancy balance inertia.     

Passive-margin prolonged volcanism,East Australian Plate: outbursts,progressions, plate controls and suggested causes

Prolonged intraplate volcanism along the 4000 km-long East Australian margin for ca 100 Ma raises many genetic questions. Studies of the age-progressive pulses embedded in general basaltic activity have spawned a host of models. Zircon U–Pb dating of inland Queensland central volcanoes gives a stronger database to consider the structure and origin of Australian age-progressive volcanic chains. This assists appraisal of this volcanism in relation to plate motion and plate margin tectonic models. Inland Queensland central volcanoes progressed south-southeast from 34 to 31 Ma (～5.4 cm/yr) until a surge in activity led to irregular southerly progression 31 to 28 Ma. A new inland southeastern Queensland central volcano line (25 to 22 Ma), from Bunya Mountains to North Main Range, followed 3 Ma behind the adjacent coastal progression. The Australian and Tasman Sea age-progressive chains are compared against recent plate motion modelling (Indian Ocean hotspots). The chain lines differ from general vector traces owing to west-facing swells and cessations in activity. Tectonic processes on the eastern plate margin may regulate these irregularities. These include subduction, rapid roll-back and progressive detachment of the Loyalty slab (43 to 15 Ma). West-flowing Pacific-type asthenosphere, related to perturbed mantle convection, may explain the west-facing volcanic surges. Such westward Pacific flow for over 28 Ma is known at the Australian–Antarctic Discordance, southeast of the present Australian plume sites under Bass Strait–West Tasman Sea. Most basaltic activity along eastern Australia marks asthenospheric melt injections into Tasman rift zone mantle and not lithospheric plate speed. The young (post-10 Ma) fields (Queensland, Victoria–South Australia) reflect new plate couplings, which altered mantle convection and stress regimes. These areas receive asthenospheric inputs from deep thermal zones off northeast Queensland and under Bass Strait.     

SeaBeam 3030多波束系统在南海冷泉调查中的应用

在冷泉调查研究中,多波束系统因其快速高效、成本较低的特点被广泛应用.本文靶定南海北部陆坡琼东南盆地冷泉发育区,介绍了SeaBeam 3030多波束系统在冷泉发育区中的调查应用实例.通过分析多波束水深数据和水体数据,确定了调查区海底地形地貌以及水体羽状流特征,同时对该冷泉区开展综合调查的必要性进行了初步分析.研究表明,调...     

腾冲温泉中Li-U-Au异常富集特征及其成因浅析

综合滇西腾冲1974年以来的调查研究文献资料发现,该区正在发育国内外罕见的现代热泉型铀、金、砷、锑、稀土、锂、汞、钨、氢等元素的异常富集系统。为总结温泉中锂、铀、金战略性金属元素异常富集特征,探索其共生富集机制,本文统计了腾冲57个温泉近50年报道的320个地球化学数据,初次系统梳理出温泉中锂、铀、金元素具以下典型特征：（1）3种金属元素集中在部分泉水中异常富集。锂、金主要富集于大滚锅,铀主要富集于珍珠泉和叠水河碳酸泉,温泉中锂和铀含量高于全省绝大多数温泉。（2）锂元素含量稳定、富集效率高、资源潜力大。热海地区温泉锂含量变异系数均低于30%,指示半个世纪来锂含量波动幅度小,锂“流而不衰”;有学者初步测算出全区温泉年溢出锂金属量达532.9吨,20年流失量即可超过一个小型锂矿。此外,381砂岩型铀矿床还存在铀“采而不尽”的现象,可能与泉水中新生铀的持续补给有关。在前人研究成果基础之上,新提出温泉中锂、铀、金的共生富集可能主要是在地核或其局部富集的此类元素沿“腾冲现代地幔柱”自下往上迁移,在地表温泉及其沉积物中不断聚集的结果,即“核源—地幔柱”成因。

     

超大陆聚散的环境效应

超大陆（Supercontinent）是在地球演化某一阶段所形成的几乎包含当时所有陆块的一个大陆。超大陆的聚合是通过全球性碰撞造山事件来完成的，而超大陆的裂解往往是超级地幔柱作用的结果。因此，超大陆的聚合与裂解事件势必对地球的水圈、大气圈和生物圈产生重要影响，进而影响地球的宜居环境。在超大陆聚合过程中，大陆深俯冲会导致大陆总体面积的减少和大洋面积的增加，从而导致全球海平面的下降；另一方面，在超大陆的聚合期间，地幔岩浆喷发至地表的机会明显减少，通过火山射气进入大气圈中的CO2含量会急剧降低，从而形成极端寒冷干燥的冰室（Icehouse）气候，冰碛岩在低纬度地区广泛出现，不利于生物生存，或导致生物大量灭绝。相反，在超大陆裂解期间，大陆地壳会遭受拉伸减薄，大陆面积相对增加，大洋面积减少，海平面上升；另外，导致超大陆裂解的超级地幔柱所喷发的巨量玄武岩会导致洋壳加厚，也会导致海平面的上升；此外，超级地幔柱巨量玄武质岩浆的喷发会导致大气中CO2浓度的增加，形成温暖潮湿性的气候（Greenhouse），有利于生命复苏或大爆发。然而，目前有关超大陆聚散的环境效应研究还处于初步阶段，而且主要局限于Pangea超大陆聚散对水圈、大气圈和生物圈的影响研究，一些研究结论的可靠性也有待于通过对Rodinia和Columbia/Nuna等更古老的超大陆聚散的研究结果加以证实。