渤海南部表层沉积的相特征

通过海上调查及实验室分析,查明渤海南部表层沉积物在结构类型、矿物组合、生物组分及沉积构造等相特征方面具有明显的分区性。渤海南部存在五种沉积相:黄河水下三角洲相、陆架盆地相、海湾相、潮流浅滩相及古滨岸相。黄河水下三角洲相从河口延至水深15—20米处,沉积速率很高,沉积物富含碎屑云母及CaCo_3。陆架盆地相的沉积为粉砂质粘土,具有生物扰动构造。     

Tidally incised valleys on tropical carbonate shelves: An example from the northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia

The formation of incised valleys on continental shelves is generally attributed to fluvial erosion under low sea level conditions. However, there are exceptions. A multibeam sonar survey at the northern end of Australia's Great Barrier Reef, adjacent to the southern edge of the Gulf of Papua, mapped a shelf valley system up to 220 m deep that extends for more than 90 km across the continental shelf. This is the deepest shelf valley yet found in the Great Barrier Reef and is well below the maximum depth of fluvial incision that could have occurred under a − 120 m, eustatic sea level low-stand, as what occurred on this margin during the last ice age. These valleys appear to have formed by a combination of reef growth and tidal current scour, probably in relation to a sea level at around 30–50 m below its present position.

Tidally incised depressions in the valley floor exhibit closed bathymetric contours at both ends. Valley floor sediments are mainly calcareous muddy, gravelly sand on the middle shelf, giving way to well-sorted, gravely sand containing a large relict fraction on the outer shelf. The valley extends between broad platform reefs and framework coral growth, which accumulated through the late Quaternary, coincides with tidal current scour to produce steep-sided (locally vertical) valley walls. The deepest segments of the valley were probably the sites of lakes during the last ice age, when Torres Strait formed an emergent land-bridge between Australia and Papua New Guinea. Numerical modeling predicts that the strongest tidal currents occur over the deepest, outer-shelf segment of the valley when sea level is about 40–50 m below its present position. These results are consistent with a Pleistocene age and relict origin of the valley.

Based on these observations, we propose a new conceptual model for the formation of tidally incised shelf valleys. Tidal erosion on meso- to macro-tidal, rimmed carbonate shelves is enhanced during sea level rise and fall when a tidal, hydraulic pressure gradient is established between the shelf-lagoon and the adjacent ocean basin. Tidal flows attain a maximum, and channel incision is greatest, when a large hydraulic pressure gradient coincides with small channel cross sections. Our tidal-incision model may explain the observation of other workers, that sediment is exported from the Great Barrier Reef shelf to the adjacent ocean basins during intermediate (rather than last glacial maximum) low-stand, sea level positions. The model may apply to other rimmed shelves, both modern and ancient.     

末次盛冰期以来渤、黄、东海陆架底质分布演变过程模拟研究

渤、黄、东海陆架底质的形成分布与末次盛冰期之后的海侵密切相关。末次盛冰期结束、海侵开始以来 ,潮流是渤、黄、东海陆架上的永久性主导作用应力。为从长期沉积动力演变过程的角度 ,探讨渤、黄、东海陆架底质形成分布的有关成因问题 ,利用数值模拟手段 ,再现了末次盛冰期以来 6个时期渤、黄、东海陆架潮流作用下海底的冲淤格局及底质分布。结果表明 ,扬子浅滩南侧东海外陆架的砂质沉积基本上是自 - 80 m海面以来形成的。扬子浅滩形成于 -5 2 m海面之后 ,至 - 3 0 m海面时已有一定规模 ,全新世最大海侵之后 ,逐渐形成现在规模的扬子浅滩。南黄海中部泥自 - 5 2 m海面时就已开始形成 ,- 3 0 m海面时范围很大 ,侵入北黄海 ,全新世最大海侵以来 ,逐渐调整到现在的范围。渤海中央泥、北黄海西部泥、浙闽岸外泥、辽东半岛西侧与北侧的砂质沉积、西朝鲜湾与江华湾中的砂质沉积以及苏北浅滩是自全新世最大海侵以来逐渐形成的。海州湾中砂质沉积形成的盛期在公元 8世纪之后。济洲岛西南泥、南黄海东部泥很可能分别形成于 - 3 0 m海面、- 5 2 m海面以来。全新世渤、黄、东海陆架底质分布的演变过程大致分为 2个阶段 :全新世最大海侵之前为渤、黄、东海陆架底质分布宏观格局的形成阶段 ;全新世最大海侵至今为渤     

Late Holocene estuarine–inner shelf interactions; is there evidence of an estuarine retreat path for Tampa Bay, Florida?

The purpose of this study was to determine if and how a large, modern estuarine system, situated in the middle of an ancient carbonate platform, has affected its adjacent inner shelf both in the past during the last, post-glacial sea-level rise and during the present. An additional purpose was to determine if and how this inner shelf seaward of a major estuary differed from the inner shelves located just to the north and south but seaward of barrier-island shorelines. Through side-scan sonar mosaicking, bathymetric studies, and ground-truthing using surface grab samples as well as diver observations, two large submarine sand plains were mapped – one being the modern ebb-tidal delta and the other interpreted to be a relict ebb-tidal delta formed earlier in the Holocene. The most seaward portion of the inner shelf studied consists of a field of lobate, bathymetrically elevated, fine-sand accumulations, which were interpreted to be sediment-starved 3D dunes surrounded by small 2D dunes composed of coarse molluscan shell gravel. Additionally, exposed limestone hardbottoms supporting living benthic communities were found as well. This modern shelf sedimentary environment is situated on a large, buried shelf valley, which extends eastward beneath the modern Tampa Bay estuary. These observations plus the absence of an incised shelf valley having surficial bathymetric expression, and the absence of sand bodies normally associated with back-tracking estuarine systems indicate that there was no cross-shelf estuarine retreat path formed during the last rise in sea level. Instead, the modern Tampa Bay formed within a mid-platform, low-relief depression, which was flooded by rising marine waters late in the Holocene. With continued sea-level rise in the late Holocene, this early embayment was translated eastward or landward to its present position, whereby a larger ebb-tidal delta prograded out onto the inner shelf. Extensive linear sand ridges, common to the inner shelves to the north and south, did not form in this shelf province because it was a low-energy, open embayment lacking the wave climate and nearshore zone necessary to create such sand bodies. The distribution of bedforms on the inner shelf and the absence of seaward-oriented 2D dunes on the modern ebb-tidal delta indicate that the modern estuarine system has had little effect on its adjacent inner shelf.     

Optical water type discrimination and tuning remote sensing band-ratio algorithms: Application to retrieval of chlorophyll and Kd(490) in the Irish and Celtic Seas

This paper assesses the feasibility of applying remote sensing algorithms based on blue/green reflectance ratios to Case 2 waters. Two algorithms from the SeaDAS (NASA) image processing package, OC4v4 for surface chlorophyll concentration, Chl, and K(490) for the attenuation coefficient for downward irradiance at 490 nm, K_d(490), were investigated using an extensive set of observations from the Irish and Celtic Seas. In situ data from a profiling radiometer were used as inputs for the algorithms to avoid uncertainties in atmospheric correction procedures, and direct measurements of Chl and K_d490 and were used for validation purposes. The standard versions of the algorithms performed poorly: OC4v4 generally overestimated Chl (with a very low coefficient of determination), and K(490) progressively underestimated K_d490 for values greater than 0.3 m⁻¹. A two-step procedure for level 2 product generation was therefore devised in which the numerical coefficients of OC4v4 and K(490) were tuned for the two optical water types known to occur most frequently in this region (McKee, D., Cunningham, A., 2006. Identification and characterisation of two optical water types in the Irish Sea from in situ inherent optical properties and seawater constituents. Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science 68, 305–316) by statistical regression on a data set of 102 stations from the Irish and Celtic Seas. The water types were distinguished by the magnitude of their normalised water leaving radiance signals at 665 nm, nL_w(665), and appropriate versions of the tuned algorithms applied to each water type. When this procedure was tested on an independent data set of 19 stations from the Bristol Channel, Chl values were recovered with an RMS error of 0.36 mg m⁻³ and K_d(490) values with an RMS error of 0.095 m⁻¹. The identification of water types from water-leaving radiance signals, and the application of band-ratio algorithms tuned for specific water types, may therefore provide a simple means of improving the quality of remote sensing products in optically complex shelf seas.     

The European coastal zone: characterization and first assessment of ecosystem metabolism

The geomorphic, oceanographic, terrestrial and anthropogenic attributes of the European coastal zone are described and published data on ecosystem function (primary production and respiration) are reviewed. Four regions are considered: the Baltic Sea, Mediterranean Sea, Black Sea and the European Atlantic coast including the North Sea. The metabolic database (194 papers) suffers from a non-homogeneous geographical coverage with no usable data for the Black Sea which was therefore excluded from this part of our study. Pelagic gross primary production in European open shelves is, by far, the most documented parameter with an estimated mean of 41 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, the lowest value is reported in the Mediterranean Sea (21 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹) and the highest one in the Atlantic/North Sea area (51 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Microphytobenthic primary production, mostly measured in shallow areas, is extrapolated to the entire 0–200 m depth range. Its contribution to total primary production is low in all regions (mean: 1.5 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹). Although macrophyte beds are very productive, a regional production estimate is not provided in this study because their geographical distribution along the European coastline remains unknown. Measurements of pelagic community respiration are clearly too sparse, especially below the euphotic zone, to yield an accurate picture of the fate of organic matter produced in the water column. With a mean value of 17 mmol C m⁻² d⁻¹, benthic community respiration consumes approximately 40% of the pelagic organic matter production. Estuaries generally exhibit high metabolic rates and a large range of variation in all parameters, except microphytobenthic primary production. Finally, the problem of eutrophication in Europe is discussed and the metabolic data obtained in the framework of the Land–Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zone (LOICZ) project are compared with available direct measurements of net ecosystem production.     

Seasonal variations in faunal distribution and activity across the continental slope of the goban spur area (NE Atlantic)

Density, biomass and community structure of macrofauna were estimated together with several sediment characteristics at seven stations ranging from 208 m to 4460 m water depth along the OMEX transect in the Goban Spur area (NE Atlantic) during three seasons (October 1993, May 1994, and August 1995). Median grain size decreased with increasing water depth and showed no differences between the seasons. The percentages of organic carbon and total nitrogen were highest at mid-slope depths (1000 to 1500 m), and were significantly higher in August at the upper part of the slope to a depth of 1500 m. The C:N ratio in the surface layer amounted to 7 to 8 in May, 10 to 12 in August and 14 to 17 in October at all stations (except the deepest at 4460 m, where it was 11 in May and August), indicating arrival of fresh phytodetritus in May, and therefore seasonality in food input to the benthos. Densities of macrofauna decreased exponentially with increasing water depth. Significantly higher densities of macrofauna were found in May at the upper part of the slope to a depth of 1500 m. These differences were mainly due to high numbers of postlarvae of echinoids at the shallowest station and ophiuroids at the deeper stations. Biomass values also decreased with increasing water depth, but biomass was relatively high at the 1000 m station and low at 1500 m, due to relatively high and low mean weights of the individual macrofaunal specimens. No significant differences in biomass were found between the seasons. Respiration was high (15 to 20 mgC·m⁻²·d⁻¹) in May at the upper part of the slope to a depth of 1000 m and low (1–3 mg C·m⁻²·d⁻¹) at the deeper part. At the shallowest stations to a depth of 1000 m respiration was highest in May, at the mid-slope stations (1400–2200 m) it was highest in August, whereas the deepest stations (3600 to 4500 m) did not show any differences in respiration rates. In conclusion; seasonal variation in organic input is reflected in denstiy, community structure and activity of the macrofauna along the continental slope in the NE Atlantic.     

Southern Segment of the European Geotraverse — a wide-angle seismic refraction experiment in the Sardinia Channel

The Sardinia Channel dataset was collected as part of the European Geotraverse (EGT)—a 4000 km seismic refraction line running from Northern Norway to the Sahara, designed to investigate the structure of the lithosphere beneath Europe. Wideangle seismic data recorded by ocean bottom seismometers deployed in the Sardinia Channel as part of the Southern Segment of the EGT, together with gravity data, were used to constrain the final crustal model. In the centre of the Channel the crust is identified as thinned continental in nature, with a crystalline thickness of 10 km overlain by 4 km of sediments and 2.5 km of water in the most extended region. High velocities in the lower crust in the central region are thought to represent an area of underplating or intrusion by igneous material caused by extension related to the opening of the Tyrrhenian Sea. The crust overlies an anomalously low velocity upper mantle.