生物硅的测定及其生物地球化学意义

生物硅（BSi）指用化学方法测定的沉积物中的无定形硅含量。生物硅的含量与水体中初级生产息息相关。硅藻、放射虫、海绵骨针和硅鞭毛虫产生的生物硅是地球化学和古海洋学研究的重要参数。重点讨论了目前生物硅测定方法中的化学提取法，评述了提取过程中存在的一些问题，并对BSi测定的生物地球化学意义进行了讨论。     

Processes controlling solubility of biogenic silica and pore water build-up of silicic acid in marine sediments

Dissolution experiments in batch and flow-through reactors were combined with data on sediment composition and pore water silicic acid profiles to identify processes controlling the solubility of biogenic silica and the build-up of silicic acid in marine sediments. The variability of experimentally determined biogenic silica solubilities is due, in part, to variations in specific surface area and Al content of biosiliceous materials. Preferential dissolution of delicate skeletal structures and frustules with high surface areas leads to a progressive decrease of the specific surface area. This may cause a reduction of the solubility of deposited biosiliceous debris by 10–15%, relative to fresh planktonic assemblages. Dissolution of lithogenic (detrital) minerals in sediments releases dissolved aluminum to the pore waters. This aluminum becomes structurally incorporated into deposited biogenic silica, further decreasing its solubility. Compared to Al-free biogenic silica, the solubility of diatom frustules is lowered by as much as 25% when one out of every 70 Si atoms is substituted by an Al(III) ion.The build-up of silicic acid in pore waters of sediments with variable proportions of detrital matter and biogenic silica was simulated in batch experiments using kaolinite and basalt as model detrital constituents. The steady-state silicic acid concentrations measured in the experiments decreased with increasing detrital-to-opal ratios of the mixtures. This trend is similar to the observed inverse relationship between asymptotic pore water silicic acid concentrations and detrital-to-opal ratios in Southern Ocean sediments. Flow-through reactor experiments further showed that in detrital-rich sediments, precipitation of authigenic alumino-silicates may prevent the pore waters from reaching equilibrium with the dissolving biogenic silica. This agrees with data from Southern Ocean sediments where, at sites containing more than 30 wt.% detrital material, the pore waters remain undersaturated with respect to the experimentally determined in situ solubility of biogenic silica.The results of the study show that interactions between deposited biogenic silica and detrital material cause large variations in the asymptotic silicic acid concentration of marine sediments. The production of Al(III) by the dissolution of detrital minerals affects the build-up of silicic acid by reducing the apparent silica solubility and dissolution kinetics of biosiliceous materials, and by inducing precipitation of authigenic alumino-silicate minerals.     

Ocean manganese nodules as stromatolite with a fractal like-signature

Deep-sea manganese (Mn) nodules are problematic in terms of factors such as their characteristic form and genesis. There are many reports of bacterial species from manganese nodules. However, the genesis of these nodules has not been fully confirmed. Samples, mainly from the Clarion Clipperton Fracture zone in the Pacific Ocean, were examined by mineralogical methods and X-ray CT. Thin sections of these samples showed columnar stromatolite structures with rhythmic bands. Mineralized bacteria were observed by SEM and TEM. Surface morphology could be described as having a fractal-like nature. The fractal characteristics of spherical to dome-like forms were fundamentally composed of at least four ranks. The 4th order form corresponds to the stromatolite dome top shapes. Similar granular domain units and porous characteristics in manganese nodules were clearly observed by X-ray CT sections. Mathematical simulation based on fractal models reproduced similar morphological characteristics to the natural samples. So, we arrived at the concluding hypothesis that manganese nodules are aggregated stromatolite with fractal-like characteristics. Furthermore, we discussed the possibility that the nature of the layer manganese oxide minerals as the major component of the nodule and associated Fe-oxyhydroxide minerals may become an absorber/scavenger of strategic heavy metals and also toxic metals in the environments.     

Estimating the Sampling Uncertainty for the Analysis of Solid Refused Fuel

Uncertainty assessment of the parameters used for the reporting in the emissions trading system (ETS) to characterize fuels includes not only the processes in a laboratory but has to be expanded for inclusion of sampling and sample preparation. Analysis of variance was used to allocate the contributing uncertainties to the steps described. Apart from some specific results for sampling methods, it was observed that the uncertainty of sampling was in the same order of magnitude than the analytical and the sample preparation error. Several measures to enhance quality assurance in sampling and sample preparation could be derived from specific results. The results were used in the European Monitoring and Reporting Regulation, which set out the requirements for ETS. Sampling and sample preparation have to be included in uncertainty assessment as well as sampling procedures and sampling plans (including quality assurance) have to be agreed upon by the laboratories, carrying out the analytics of those samples.     

Twentieth century eutrophication of the St. Croix River (Minnesota–Wisconsin,USA) reconstructed from the sediments of its natural impoundment

Evaluation of land-use effects on coastal and marine ecosystems requires better understanding of the role of rivers in regulating mass transport from terrestrial to oceanic environments. Here we take advantage of the presence of a riverine lake to use paleoecological techniques to quantify impacts of logging, European-style agriculture, urbanization and continued terrestrial disturbance on mass transport and water quality in the northern drainage of the Mississippi River. Two 2-m sediment-cores recovered in 1999 from Lake St. Croix, a natural impoundment of the St. Croix River, were dated using ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs, and analyzed for historical changes (c. 1840–present) in sediment magnetic susceptibility, inorganic and organic matter content, biogenic silica, fossil pigments, and diatom microfossils. Inorganic sediment accumulation increased threefold between the mid-1800s and present, whereas clear signs of eutrophication were only evident after the mid-twentieth century when biogenic silica accumulation increased sixfold, diatom accumulation rates increased 20- to 50- fold, and the diatom community shifted from predominantly benthic species to assemblages composed mainly of planktonic taxa. Similarly, fossil pigment concentrations increased during the 1960s, and diatom-inferred total phosphorus (DI-TP) increased from ~30 μg TP l⁻¹ c. 1910 to ~60 μg l⁻¹ since 1990, similar to historical records since 1980. Together, these patterns demonstrate that initial land clearance did not result in substantive declines in water quality or nutrient mass transport, instead, substantial degradation of downstream environments was restricted to the latter half of the twentieth century. This is one of eight papers dedicated to the “Recent Environmental History of the Upper Mississippi River” published in this special issue of the Journal of Paleolimnology. D. R. Engstrom served as guest editor of the special issue.     

Ecological variations in diatom assemblages in the Paleo-Kathmandu Lake linked with global and Indian monsoon climate changes for the last 600,000 years

Variations in fossil diatom assemblages and their relationship with global and Indian monsoon climate changes for the last 600,000 yr were investigated using a core of ancient lake (Paleo-Kathmandu Lake) sediments drilled at the Kathmandu Basin, Nepal Himalaya. Chronological scales of the core were constructed by tuning pollen wet and dry index records to the SPECMAP δ¹⁸O stack record. Examinations of biogenic silica contents and fossil diatom assemblages revealed that variations in productivity and compositions of diatom assemblages were closely linked with global and Indian monsoon climate changes on glacial and interglacial time scales. When summer monsoonal rainfall increased during interglacials (interstadials), diatom productivity increased because of increased inputs of terrestrial nutrients into the lake. When summer monsoonal rainfall reduced and/or winter monsoonal aridification enhanced during glacials (stadials), productivity of the diatoms decreased and lake-level falling brought about changes in compositions of diatom assemblages. Monospecific assemblages by unique Cyclotella kathmanduensis and Puncticulata versiformis appeared during about 590 to 390 ka. This might be attributed to evolutionary fine-tuning of diatom assemblages to specific lake environmental conditions. Additionally, low-amplitude precessional variations in monsoon climate and less lake-level changes may have also allowed both species to dominate over the long periods.     

Intrabasinal conditions promoting the development of a biogenic carbonate sedimentary facies associated with the seagrass Posidonia oceanica

This paper aims to elucidate the spatial relationships between the distribution and growth dynamics of Posidonia oceanica, the sedimentary depositional facies (carbonate vs. siliciclastic), and the hydrodynamic features of the Gulf of Oristano (Western Sardinia, Mediterranean sea), a complex depositional system characterized by multiple sources of sediments and a marked hydrodynamic gradient.     

Glacial–interglacial records of the reflectance of sediments from the Norwegian–Greenland–Iceland Sea (Nordic seas)

 The reflectance of sediments (gray level) were measured on 11 sediment cores from the Norwegian–Greenland–Iceland Sea (Nordic seas). The analyzed time interval covers the past five glacial–interglacial cycles. Although the results demonstrate that the gray-level method has a potential for stratigraphic purposes, it is indicated that gray-level changes in the Nordic seas are not necessarily driven by variations in the content of biogenic calcite. A detailed comparison of gray-level values with contents of total CaCO₃ (carbonate) and total organic carbon (TOC) reveals no overall causal link between these proxies. However, specific glacial core sections with layers containing organic-rich sediment clasts as a consequence of iceberg-rafting seem to correlate well with law gray-level values. Of those cores which show relatively high and comparable carbonate values in the last three main interglacial intervals (stages 11, 5.5, and 1), stage 11 is always marked by the highest gray-level values. A close inspection of the surface structure of the foraminiferal tests as well as the conduction of reflectance measurements on these tests leads to the conclusion that enhanced carbonate corrosion occurred during stage 11. The test corrosion not only affected the reflectance of the tests by making them appear whiter, it also seems responsible for the comparatively high gray-level values of the total sediment in stage 11. In contrast, the relatively low gray-level values found in stages 5.5, and 1 are not associated with enhanced test corrosion. This observation implies that variable degrees of carbonate corrosion can have a profound effect on total sediment reflectance. Received: 6 September 1998 / Accepted: 4 April 1999     

An Overview Of The Origin Of Life: The Case For Biological Prospecting On Mars

Studies of the Earth's earliest biosphere have suggested a close coupling between the evolution of early life forms and the physical and chemical evolution of the planetary surface. From a biological perspective there were many similarities between early Earth and early Mars. This has led to the idea that an origin of life event may have occurred on Mars, leading to the development of microbial life. Various theories have been advanced to explain the origin of life on Earth, and these are reviewed with relevance to Mars. If traces of past or present biogenic activity are to be found on Mars, then the most likely place to prospect is several kilometers below the surface where liquid water might be stable. Such prospecting may best lend itself to human exploration. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The role of shoreland development and commercial cranberry farming in a lake in Wisconsin,USA

Musky Bay in Lac Courte Oreilles, Wisconsin, USA, is currently eutrophic. This large, shallow bay of an oligotrophic lake possesses the densest aquatic plant growth and a floating algal mat. Paleoecological reconstructions encompassing the last 130 years, were based on multiproxy analyses of sediment cores from three coring sites, two within the bay and one in the lake itself. These data were compared to historical records of the construction and expansion of two commercial cranberry bogs and shoreline residential homes to identify temporal and causal relations of eutrophication. The proxies investigated included: minor and trace elements; biogenic silica; and the diatom community. Post-depositional diagenesis of organic carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus in the upper 30 cm of the core obscured records of historical ambient nutrient concentrations in the bay obviating their usefulness for this purpose. In contrast, calcium, magnesium, and potassium concentration profiles appeared to reflect runoff of soil amendments applied to the cranberry bogs and aerial fertilizer spraying over the eastern bog adjacent to Musky Bay. The increase in aluminum content since about 1930 coincided with the historical trend in shoreland development and construction of the original commercial cranberry farm. The biogenic silica profile recorded a steady increase of nutrients to Musky Bay over the last several decades. Stratigraphic changes in the diatom community indicated that nutrient input began to increase in the 1940s and accelerated in the mid-1990s with the onset of a noxious floating algal mat. The diatom community indicates the bay has possessed a significant macrophyte community for at least the last 200 years, but increased nutrient input was manifested by a change in the composition, and an increase in the density of the epiphytic diatom community. Cranberry farming appeared to be the major source of nutrients because the diatom community changes occurred prior to the significant increase in residential housing.