Biokarst on Limestone Coasts, Morphogenesis and Sediment Production

Abstract. Biokarst-forms on limestone coasts are developed and arranged according to the bionomic zonation. The development of biokarst is the result of bioerosion, a synergistic effect of biological corrosion by endoliths and biological abrasion by grazers.
The cumulative effect of biogenic carbonate destruction leads to coastal destruction with a resulting highly profiled morphology on the limestone surfaces along the coastal profile. Under the influence of environmental factors a zonation of organisms develops which brings in turn a zonation of erosion rates (0.1-1.1 mm a^-1) resulting in biokarst-forms such as rock holes, rock pools and notches.
Products of bioerosion on limestone coasts are dissolved carbonate (by biological corrosion, 10–30% of the decomposed limestone) and particulate carbonate (by biological abrasion, 70–90% of the decomposed limestone) both of which contribute directly or indirectly to nearshore sedimentation. Size and shape of the bioerosional grains are determined by the boring pattern of the endoliths. The fine-grained sediments (maximum within the fraction 20–63 μm) contribute 3–25 % to the nearshore sediments.
Drastic changes in the biological zonation (like the mass invasion of the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus in the Northern Adriatic since 1972 which eliminated nearly the entire macrophyte zone) due to unknown factors or pollution can have a profound effect on the bioerosion rates, altering them by as much as a factor of ten.     

厦门潮间带表层沉积物天然放射系不平衡研究

用HPGeγ谱仪测定了厦门潮间带表层沉积物中的放射性核素,得到11种核素238U2、34Th2、26Ra2、22Rn2、10Pb2、28Ra2、28Ac2、28Th2、24Ra2、12Pb、40K的平均比活度分别为:40.2、82.7、32.4、28.9、94.2、69.3、57.1、71.6、64.0、71.4、692Bq/kg.结果表明潮间带沉积物中天然放射系不平衡,其中234Th相对于238U2、10Pb相对于226Ra过剩,222Rn相对于226Ra2、28Ac相对于228Ra2、24Ra相对于228Th亏损.     

Dinoflagellate cysts in recent marine sediment from Guangxi, China

Total of 33 species of dinoflagellate cysts were discovered from surface sediment in the searegion of Guangxi, among them 12 cyst types (Diplopsalopsis sp.1, D. sp. 2, D. sp. 3, Cochlodinium sp., Protoperidinium sp. 1, P. sp. 2, P. compressum , Scrippsiella sp. 1, S. sp. 2, Alexandrium sp. 1, A. sp. 2, A. sp. 3) were first reported from the South China Sea. And one cyst type (Cochlodinium sp.) was first reported in the world. Scrippsiella trochoidea is the dominant species in this area, accounting for 45% of all the cysts. There are 2 cysts of toxic dinoflagellate (Alexandrium tamarensis and Gymnodinium catenatum). But there is no relationship between cyst number and grain size distribution.     

海底沉积物颗粒因素在不同频率下对声衰减的影响

综合了多个沉积物声学测量的实验方案,提出适合研究柱状海底沉积物声衰减的实验方案。对黏土质粉砂的物理性质和声学性质作了相关处理,得到了在高、低两种测量频率下该类型沉积物的波形特性、频谱特性和与沉积颗粒因素有关的孔隙度对声衰减比的影响。进一步作了相应的回归分析,低频时方差为0.169—0.175,高频时方差为0.029—0.032,尝试总结出黏土质粉砂类型沉积物在两种频率下的声衰减趋势。     

A Numerical Model for Natural Backfill of Pipeline Trenches Subjected to Unidirectional／Oscillatory Flows

A numerical model for the self-burial of a pipeline trench is developed. Morphological evolutions of a pipeline trench under steady-current or oscillatory-flow conditions are simulated with/without a pipeline inside the trench. The oscillatory flow in this study represents the action of waves. The two-dimensional Reynolds-averaged continuity and Navier-Stokes equations with the standard k-e turbulence closure, as well as the sediment transport equations, are solved with the finite difference method in a eurvilirrear coordinate system. Both bed and suspended loads of sediment transport are included in the morphological model. Because of the lack of experimental data on the backfilling of pipeline trenches, the numericalmodel is firstly verified against three closely-relevant experiments available in literature. A detailed measurement of the channel migration phenomenon under steady currents is employed for the assessment of the integral performance of themodel. The two experimental results from U-tube tests are used to validate the model‘s ability in predicting oscillatory flows. Different time-marching schemes are employed for the morphological computation under unidirectional and oscillatory conditions. It is found that vortex motions within the trench play an important role in the trench development.     

Patterns and controls of surface sediment distribution: west-central Florida inner shelf

The west-central Florida inner shelf represents a transition between the quartz-dominated barrier-island system and the carbonate-dominated mid-outer shelf. Surface sediments exhibit a complex distribution pattern that can be attributed to multiple sediment sources and the ineffectiveness of physical processes for large-scale sediment redistribution. The west Florida shelf is the submerged extension of the Florida carbonate platform, consisting of a limestone karst surface veneered with a thin unconsolidated sediment cover. A total of 498 surface sediment samples were collected on the inner shelf and analyzed for texture and composition. Results show that sediment consists of a combination of fine quartz sand and coarse, biogenic carbonate sand and gravel, with variable but subordinate amounts of black, phosphorite-rich sand. The carbonate component consists primarily of molluskan fragments. The distribution is patchy and discontinuous with no discernible pattern, and the transition between sediment types is generally abrupt. Quartz-rich sediment dominates the inner 15 km north of the entrance into Tampa Bay, but south of the Bay is common only along the inner 3 km. Elsewhere, carbonate-rich sediment is the predominate sediment type, except where there is little sediment cover, in which cases black, phosphorite-rich sand dominates. Sediment sources are likely within, or around the periphery of the basin. Fine quartz sand is likely reworked from coastal units deposited during Pleistocene sea-level high stands. Carbonate sand and gravel is produced by marine organisms within the depositional basin. The black, phosphorite-rich sand likely originates from the bioerosion and reworking of the underlying strata that irregularly crop out within the study area. The distribution pattern contains elements of both storm- and tide-dominated siliciclastic shelves, but it is dictated primarily by the sediment source, similar to some carbonate systems. Other systems with similar sediment attributes include cool-water carbonate, sediment-starved, and mixed carbonate/siliciclastic systems. This study suggests a possible genetic link among the three systems.     

南海表层沉积物中钙质超微化石分布特征

为系统描述钙质超微化石在南海表层沉积中的分布特征,对遍布南海的175个样品进行了实验分析。发现不同地区钙质超微化石绝对丰度相差很大,从0—3.8×1010个.g-1不等。平面上将钙质超微化石丰度分为3个区。共鉴定出钙质超微化石21属28种,以Emiliania huxleyi、Florisphaera profunda和Gephyrocapsa oceanica为优势种,其中Florisphaera profunda占据绝对优势。南海钙质超微化石分布具有两个明显特征:一是14°N线南北两边钙质超微化石的分布存在差异;二是南海钙质超微化石丰度以南沙群岛和西沙群岛两片海域为最高,并有东北-西南走向的分布趋势。对影响钙质超微化石分布的水深、上升流与营养盐、陆源物质稀释作用、碳酸盐溶解作用等因素作了讨论,并根据钙质超微化石随水深的变化推测南海碳酸盐补偿深度应在4 000m左右。     

含沙量对草地坡面径流泥沙沉积和水力特性的影响

通过室内模拟试验,在坡度为3°和9°、流量为20和60L/min条件下研究了不同浓度(0～350kg/m3)含沙水流流经草地的泥沙沉积过程及其水力学特性。结果表明,坡面泥沙沉积量随含沙量的增加而增大,3°时泥沙沉积率与含沙量呈正相关,而9°时沉积率与含沙量呈反势。坡度对泥沙沉积影响显著,而在相同坡度条件下,两种流量试验的泥沙沉积量无明显差异。相同坡面坡上部位流速小于坡下部位,且含沙量对坡面流速影响较小。在相同坡度和流量条件下,水流雷诺数随含沙量的增大而减小。3°时水流阻力系数和曼宁糙率均随含沙量的增加而增大,而9°时含沙量对阻力影响不明显,因此在土壤侵蚀较严重地区进行坡面水文过程演算时需考虑含沙量对缓坡糙率的影响。     

Characteristics of Clay Minerals in the Northern South China Sea and Its Implications for Evolution of East Asian Monsoon since Miocene

Clay mineral assemblages, crystallinity, chemistry, and micromorphology of clay particles in sediments from ODP Site 1146 in the northern South China Sea (SCS) were analyzed, and used to trace sediment sources and obtain proxy records of the past changes in the East Asian monsoon climate since the Miocene, based on a multi-approach, including X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy combined with energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry (SEM-EDS). Clay minerals consist mainly of illite and smectite, with associated chlorite and kaolinite. The illite at ODP Site 1146 has very well-to-well crystallinity, and smectite has moderate-to-poor crystallinity. In SEM the smectite particles at ODP Site 1146 often appear cauliflower-like, a typical micromorphology of volcanic smecites. The smectite at ODP Site 1146 is relatively rich in Si element, but poor in Fe, very similar to the smectite from the West Philippine Sea. In contrast, the chemical composition of illite at ODP Site 1146 has no obvious differences from those of the Loess plateau, Yellow River, Yangtze River, and Pearl River. A further study on sediment source indicates that smectite originates mainly from Luzon, kaolinite from the Pearl River, and illite and chlorite from the Pearl River, Taiwan and/or the Yangtze River. The clay mineral assemblages at ODP Site 1146 were not only controlled by continental eathering regimes surrounding the SCS, but also by the changing strength of the transport processes. The ratios of (illite+chlorite)/smectite at ODP Site 1146 were adopted as proxies for the East Asian monsoon evolution. Relatively higher ratios reflect strongly intensified winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, in contrast, lower ratios indicate a strengthened summer monsoon relative to winter monsoon. The consistent variation of this clay proxy from those of Loess plateau, eolian deposition in the North Pacific, planktonic, benthic foraminifera, and black carbon in the SCS since 20 Ma shows that three profound shifts of the East Asian winter monsoon intensity, and aridity in the Asian inland and the intensity of winter monsoon relative to summer monsoon, occurred at about 15 Ma, 8 Ma, and the younger at about 3 Ma. The phased uplift of the Himalaya-Tibetan plateau may have played a significant role in strengthening the Asian monsoon at 15 Ma, 8 Ma, and 3 Ma.     

鄂尔多斯坳陷湖盆缓坡型三角洲前缘沉积微相分带及成因分析——以定边-安边地区延长组长6油组为例

运用沉积相分析理论对鄂尔多斯盆地定边-安边地区晚三叠世延长组坳陷湖盆缓坡型三角洲前缘沉积微相组合进行系统研究,共识别出其组合形式有:水下分流河道叠加组合、河口坝叠加组合、水下分流河道与河口坝叠加组合以及河口坝与远砂坝、席状砂的叠加组合等4大类9种类型。并深入研究三角洲前缘沉积微相组合的时空分布规律,以三角洲前缘坡折带为界,将三角洲前缘分为"台型前缘"、"坡型前缘"和"盆型前缘"三部分,各部分有独特的沉积微相组合形式。高分辨率层序地层学的基准面旋回原理和沉积物体积分配原理表明:短期基准面的规律性变化影响着储层砂体的成因类型、叠加组合形式和空间分布规律,据此建立坳陷湖盆三角洲前缘不同沉积微相组合的成因分布模式。