Widespread rocky reef occurrence in the central English Channel and the implications for predictive habitat mapping

Reefs are one of the marine habitats listed in Annex I of the European Union's Habitats Directive, which aims to establish a coherent European ecological network of Special Areas of Conservation. EU Member States are required to prepare and propose a national list of sites for evaluation under the scheme, but currently the occurrence of reefs in the United Kingdom's nearshore and offshore areas is not well documented. Here we report on our search for rocky reefs in the central English Channel, which unexpectedly revealed an extensive reef system covering an area of 1100 km². Prior to our work, it was generally perceived that the seabed in this area comprised mostly gravel, with a few isolated rock outcrops.Our approach to determining the location, extent and character of these reefs incorporated broad, medium and fine-scale analyses over a 3200 km² area of seabed, using single- and multi-beam acoustic data, ground-truthed by underwater video and stills imagery. A benthic terrain model was developed in ArcGIS to map topographic features at the broad and medium scales. Biotope assignments were made at the fine scale through detailed analysis of video footage obtained from 30 sampling stations. The study area has a complex geological history and lies at the centre of a major bedload-parting zone. Together, these strongly influence the seabed character and the distribution of biotopes. An integrated assessment of the physical and biological features was used to map the study area to level 4 of the EUNIS habitat classification system.Similar physical conditions exist in other areas of the UK continental shelf, raising the prospect of predicting where other rocky reef systems might occur. In the absence of a co-ordinated national seabed survey programme, such predictions, coupled with interpretation of existing single-beam bathymetry data, can help prioritise areas where limited survey resources could be most effectively deployed.     

The origin of major talc deposits in the Eastern Desert of Egypt: relict fragments of a metamorphosed carbonate horizon?

Detailed geochemical and mineralogical investigation of four talc deposits in the Eastern Desert of Egypt (Atshan, Abu Gurdi, Darhib and Kashira) suggests that the deposits form a distinct lithological unit within the Shadli metavolcanic rocks. The talc crystallized from the replacement of siliceous carbonate beds locally intercalated with clastic sediments. Th/Yb vs. Ta/Yb ratios of the rocks suggest that the sediments and the host volcanic rocks formed in an active continental margin (ACM) environment. Thus, the talc deposits may represent relict fragments of an ancient, regionally extensive carbonate horizon within the arc-related metavolcanics. The talc-rich rocks, which contain relict carbonate, serpentinized olivine and tremolite, have low (<3 wt%) Al₂O₃, Cr, Ni (<20 ppm), Co and Sc (<15 ppm) concentrations, precluding mafic or felsic igneous protoliths. The deposits were locally affected by contact metamorphism, giving rise to pyroxene-hornfels and granulite facies assemblages, and by regional metamorphism which produced greenschist-amphibolite grade assemblages. Disseminated sulfides commonly occur in the talc-tremolite-rich rocks (having low Al₂O₃ concentrations), suggesting that the metals were probably present in the original carbonate beds, but were remobilized and reconcentrated during the various metamorphic events.     

济源凹陷下第三系碎屑岩的成岩作用特征

根据砂岩铸体薄片、扫描电镜和Ｘ－衍射分析资料，研究了济源凹陷下第三系碎屑岩主要的成岩作用特征，并说明了压实作用、胶结作用和溶蚀作用是影响下第三系碎屑岩储集层孔隙结构的主要因素。     

末次冰消期以来渤、黄、东海陆架潮汐、潮流演变过程模拟研究

末次盛冰期结束、海侵开始后渤、黄、东海陆架潮汐、潮流的演变对该区泥沙的输运与沉积 ,以及海底地貌的形成、分布以及演变等具有深刻影响。文中数值模拟末次冰消期以来 4个特定时期 ,即比现在海面低 80 m、5 2 m、30 m海面以及全新世最大海侵时渤、黄、东海陆架的潮汐、潮流。根据不同时期的潮汐、潮流分布特征得出 ,末次冰消期以来渤、黄、东海陆架潮汐、潮流的演变过程大致以全新世最大海侵为界划分为两个阶段 :1全新世最大海侵前为渤、黄、东海陆架潮汐、潮流基本分布格局的形成阶段 ;2全新世最大海侵后 ,为基本分布格局的局部调整阶段。末次冰消期以来基本海岸轮廓的变迁是渤、黄、东海陆架区潮汐、潮流演变的主要控制因素     

近百年来渤、黄、东海陆架冲淤作用强度数值研究

数值模拟了渤，黄，东海陆架区潮流动力场作用下9种无黏性单粒径泥沙的冲淤作用强度，计算所得渤，黄，东海陆架近百年来的冲淤分布与实测底质类型的分布多数海区相一致，这表明渤，黄，东海陆架的潮流动力场在该区泥沙输运与淤积中起着主导作用，是该区近百年来冲淤作用强度分布格局的主要控制因素。     

Eurasian Arctic shelf hydrography: Exchange and residence time of southern Laptev Sea waters

The hydrography of the Laptev Sea is significantly influenced by river water and sea-ice processes, which are highly variable over the annual cycle. Despite of an estuarine structure the inner and outer shelf regions are decoupled at times as documented by the stability of a warm intermediate layer formed during summer below the Lena River plume. We demonstrate that a remnant of this warm layer is preserved below the fast ice until the end of winter, while only slightly farther to the north, offshore of the landfast ice in the polynya region, the pycnocline is eroded and no signature of this layer is found. The warm intermediate layer (WIL) formed during summer can be used as tracer for Laptev Sea shelf waters throughout the winter. Thereby, residence times of southern Laptev Sea waters can be estimated to be at least from summer to the end of winter/spring of the following year.     

Sediment recycling and adjustment of deposition during deglacial drowning of a low-accumulation shelf (NW Iberia)

Based on a well-established stratigraphic framework and 47 AMS-¹⁴C dated sediment cores, the distribution of facies types on the NW Iberian margin is analysed in response to the last deglacial sea-level rise, thus providing a case study on the sedimentary evolution of a high-energy, low-accumulation shelf system.     

Invertebrate communities associated with hard bottom habitats in the South Atlantic Bight

Epibenthic invertebrates associated with nine hard bottom areas in the South Atlantic Bight between South Carolina and northern Florida were collected with dredge, trawl, suction and grab samplers to evaluate species composition, biomass, abundance, diversity, spatial distributions, and seasonality (winter and summer). Species composition changed noticeably with depth and season. Inner and outer shelf stations were least similar in species composition. Middle shelf areas were transitional and contained taxa characteristic of both inner and outer sites. Bryozoa (88 taxa), Cnidaria (85 taxa), Porifera (67 taxa), Annelida (261 taxa) and Mollusca (203 taxa) represented the richest taxonomic groups of the 1175 taxa collected. Both diversity (1175 total taxa) and biomass (1995 kg total) of invertebrates from hard bottom areas exceeded those reported in the literature for sand bottom communities. Sponges accounted for >60% of the total invertebrate biomass collected by dredge and trawl during both seasons. High diversity values were attributed primarily to habitat complexity and did not exhibit any discernible pattern with depth or latitude.     

Continental shelf benthos off Otago Peninsula,New Zealand

Benthic macrofauna of the continental shelf off Otago Peninsula, south-eastern New Zealand (45°51′S, 170°52′E) was surveyed by dredge sampling during 1973–1975. Numerical classification (Canberra metric coefficient and flexible sorting) was used to produce site groups and species groups, and three major benthic communities were recognised: a shallow-water (14–25 m) fauna inhabiting well-sorted fine sand, a mid-shelf fauna (concentrated in the depth range 50–76 m) associated with sediments containing the greatest proportions of gravel and siltclay, and a predominantly sand-bottom fauna occurring mainly on the outer shelf (87–150 m). All station groups were dominated numerically by polychaetes (mean of 36·6–56% of individuals) with Mollusca (13·8–25%) or Crustacea (12·1–19·4%) the next most abundant group.The inshore sand fauna was the most distinct, characteristic elements being the trochid gastropod Antisolarium egenum, an amphipod of the genus Hippomedon and dense patches of the spionid polychaete Spiophanes bombyx. Diagnostic species of the mid-shelf mixed sediments were Lepidonotus jacksoni, Psammolyce antipoda, Lumbrineris brevicirra and Phyllamphicteis foliata (Polychaeta), Terenochiton otagoensis, Micrelenchus caelatus caelatus, Maoricolpus roseus roseus and Zegalerus tenuis (Mollusca), Ampelisca chiltoni (Amphipoda) and Amphipholis squamata (Ophiuroidea). Outer shelf sand stations were faunally less distinct, but among the more characteristic species were Euthalenessa fimbriata, Sigalion sp. and Euchone sp. (Polychaeta) and Gari stangeri (Bivalvia). Several abundant species were widely distributed among station groups, notably Nephtys macroura, Lumbrineris magalhaensis, Phyllochaetopterus socialis and Owenia fusiformis (Polychaeta) and Nucula nitidula and Tawera spissa (Bivalvia).Free-living lunulitiform Bryozoa of the genus Otionella were a characteristic component of inner and outer shelf sand faunas, and their inshore penetration probably marks the outer limit of a turbulent zone.Species diversity (Margalef's d) varied markedly across the shelf and appeared to be related primarily to the degree of sediment heterogeneity. Mixed sediments of the middle shelf were particularly rich in species.