Salt Diapirs, Salt Brine Seeps, Pockmarks and Surficial Sediment Creep and Slides in the Canary Channel off NW Africa

Circular to elliptical mounds in the Canary Channel with reliefs of 75 to 375 m and diameters of 4 to 8 km partially surrounded by moats with reliefs of 25 to 75 m, were formed by piercement of the seafloor by Mesozoic evaporites. Several long gullies, < 1km wide, with abrupt terminations and pockmarks associated with these mounds were probably eroded by dense brine and hydrocarbon seeps. The salt brines that eroded the gullies were formed where salt diapirs intersect the seafloor, or in the subsurface by circulating ground water heated by igneous activity along the Canary Ridge. If the brines originated in the subsurface they reached the seafloor along faults. Displacement of the surficial sediments by sliding and creep is probably the result of the expulsion of hydrocarbons and/or vertical motion of the Mesozoic evaporites. Microtopographic features along or near the east flank of the Canary Ridge are the creation of uplift of the ridge, hydrothermal activity, mass wasting processes and turbidity currents.     

OSL chronology of Quaternary terraced deposits outcropping between Mt. Etna volcano and the Catania Plain (Sicily,southern Italy)

In this paper we tested the applicability of the Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) technique through Single-Aliquot Regenerative-dose (SAR) protocol, on single grain quartz extracted from alluvial–coastal sediments. Five samples were collected from deposits belonging to a flight of seven orders of coastal–alluvial terraces outcropping in the area between Mt. Etna volcano and the Catania Plain (Sicily, southern Italy), at the front of the Sicilian fold and thrust system. After various performance tests, we obtained OSL ages ranging between 240 ± 12 and 80 ± 4 ka, consistent with the normal evolutionary model of a terraced sequence, moving from the highest to the lowest elevation. Obtained data allowed us to determine a mean uplift rate of 1.2 mm/year during the last 240 ka, mostly related to regional uplift processes coupled with sea-level changes. Moreover, terraces belonging to the two highest orders are folded, forming a large anticline. According to our results, the frontal thrust of the Sicilian chain was active between 236 and 197 ka ago, even though seismological and geodetic data suggest current activity to the back.     

Application of multi-seismic attributes analysis in the study of distributary channels

During the exploration of stratigraphic reservoirs, the key to locating these reservoirs is to identify the sandstone distribution. Seismic data can be used to recognize large-scale distributary-channel sedimentary bodies; however, depiction of sedimentary bodies in small distributary channels using traditional interpretation data from seismic profiles is extremely difficult. In the Upper Cretaceous first sandstone bed of the third member of the Nenjiang Formation (called the Nen 3 member for simplicity) in the XB area of the southern Songliao basin, distributary channels are the main sedimentary facies. The distributary channels migrate frequently; therefore, it is difficult to precisely depict the morphology of the channel and the distribution of sandstone. In this study, we investigated the deposition of distributary channels using equal-scale formation plane seismic attributes such as post-stack amplitude, instantaneous amplitude and seismic waveform classification, analyzed well logging data from target formations, and mapped the distribution of distributary channels. This study shows that seismic sedimentological study and stacking multiple attribute analysis can identify the distribution of distributary channels precisely and effectively. The attributes of equal-scale strata slices are evidently superior to those of time and horizon slices; Attribute extraction and selection of equal-scale formation slices is an essential step. The comprehensive selection of seismic attributes that show a good correlation to a single-well can be used to clearly depict channel bodies. The overlap of the 40-Hz single-frequency energy and the RMS amplitude depicts the sedimentary characteristics and shapes of sandstone bodies in main channels as well as small-scale distributary channels more clearly than a single attribute. These attributes show that the first sandstone bed of the Nen 3 member was from distributary channels with complex shapes. The distributary channels cut across each other vertically and laterally. It indicates that, during the deposition of the Nen 3 member in XB area, the direction of the main channel is from north to south, and the provenance could be from north and east. The method of this paper may provide some helpful suggestions to the geologist using seismic attributes to undertake research on sedimentary environment at other places in the world.     

黄河口减沙与流路稳定

黄河口的减沙与水资源利用是稳定黄河流路的重要措施。入海流路的选择是确保油田开发、港口建设和防灾的重要工作。加强河口港湾和河口治理工程的研究是解决黄河口治理的关键工程。     

地震作用对琼州海峡海缆路由区海底稳定性影向的分析

以琼州海峡的北海—临高段海缆路由为例,利用计算对比的方法,分析了地震作用下,路由区3m以浅海底土液化或滑移的可能性,评价了路由区海底的稳定性。结果发现,在地震烈度为Ⅶ度的地震作用下,砂性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(0.86kPa,1.72kPa和2.57kPa)小于砂性土的液化剪应力(1.60kPa,3.20kPa和4.81kPa);粘性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(1.25kPa,2.49kPa和3.74kPa)小于粘性土的抗滑剪应力平均值(4.07kPa,4.61kPa和4.49kPa),路由区海底稳定性良好;在地震烈度为Ⅷ度的地震作用下,砂性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(1.73kPa,3.45kPa和5.12kPa)大于砂性土的液化剪应力;粘性土海底的地震剪应力平均值(2.49kPa,4.98kPa和7.47kPa)除表层外,大于粘性土的抗滑剪应力,路由区海底会发生失稳破坏。     

长江口水域多光谱遥感水深反演模型研究

利用Landsat-7 ETM 遥感影像反射率和实测水深值之间的相关性可以探测水深。该文介绍单波段、双波段比值和多波段3种线性回归模型以及动量BP人工神经网络水深反演模型。选择长江口北港河道上段作为研究区,利用上述模型,分两种情况进行水深反演:一是以河道全部历史样本建模;二是将河道按自然水深划分为浅水区和深水区分别建模。结果表明:神经网络模型预测精度高于线性回归模型;水深分区后线性回归和神经网络模型预测误差均有所减小。     

Comparison between zooplankton data collected by the Continuous Plankton Recorder survey in the English Channel and by WP-2 nets at station L4, Plymouth (UK)

Zooplankton sampling has been carried out by the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey since the 1930s enabling the study of long-term changes in plankton populations, the elucidation of seasonal patterns of abundance, and more recently providing zooplankton biomass estimates for ecosystem models. Data for zooplankton abundance collected by CPR tows in the Western English Channel (between 1988 and 1998) were compared to vertically integrated samples collected from station L4 off Plymouth, UK. Comparisons were made for locally abundant copepods (including Acartia, Calanus, Para/Pseudocalanus, Centropages, Oithona and Temora) collected by CPR and WP-2 nets. All dominant species recorded at L4 were also common to the CPR data. However, the position of the taxa in the two datasets was not equivalent. Seasonal cycles revealed by CPR data were significantly similar to those recorded throughout the water column at L4 for most taxa. However, absolute levels of abundance differed for the two datasets: abundances were underestimated by CPR samples when compared to those of vertically integrated samples by a factor of between 2 and 35, with the exception of Centropages. The differing mesh sizes (200 and 270 μm) of the WP-2 net and CPR mesh could only partially explain these differences in abundance, implying that the behaviour of individual taxa and their depth in the water column also influenced the abundance recorded.     

Sampling epifauna, a necessity for a better assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning: an example of the epibenthic aggregated species Ophiothrix fragilis from the Bay of Seine

Sampling the sea bottom surface remains difficult because of the surface hydraulic shock due to water flowing through the gear (i.e., the bow wave effect) and the loss of epifauna organisms due to the gear’s closing mechanism. Slow-moving mobile epifauna, such as the ophiuroid Ophiothrix fragilis, form high-density patches in the English Channel, not only on pebbles like in the Dover Strait or offshore Brittany but also on gravel in the Bay of Seine (>5000 ind m⁻²). Such populations form high biomasses and control the water transfer from the water column to the sediment. Estimating their real density and biomass is essential for the assessment of benthic ecosystem functioning using trophic web modelling. In this paper, we present and discuss the patch patterns and sampling efficiency of the different methods for collecting in the dense beds of O. fragilis in the Bay of Seine. The large Hamon grab (0.25 m⁻²) highly under-estimated the ophiuroid density, while the Smith McIntyre appeared adequate among the tested sampling grabs. Nowadays, diving sampling, underwater photography and videos with remote operated vehicle appear to be the recommended alternatives to estimate the real density of such dense slow-moving mobile epifauna.     

阿尔金山东段河道陡峭指数对区域隆升差异的响应

阿尔金山东段是青藏高原北部边界带的重要组成部分,其构造活动特征及隆升信息是研究青藏高原隆升机制的重要内容。随着地貌学的深入研究,河道陡峭指数作为一种地貌参数可以对区域构造隆升有较好反映。本文提取了阿尔金山东段地区自西向东5个亚区域（A、B、C、D和E）的16条河道陡峭指数剖面,并利用数理统计学方法对其进行统计分析,揭示该区域的构造活动特征。研究表明,这5个亚区域区内的河道陡峭指数均值分别为70.93、139.03、108.85、134.44和165.39,整体表现出河道陡峭指数从西到东逐渐增大趋势;通过对区内地层、降雨量及河道负载程度、基岩隆升等因素的分析,认为区内河道陡峭指数主要受到基岩隆升影响,而上述其他因素影响有限。各亚区域间河道陡峭指数的变化反映了区域内隆升活动性的差异性：阿尔金山东段隆升活动性整体为北高南低、东高西低特征,山脉北部主要承接来自青藏高原内部挤压应力,而东西方向上存在阿尔金构造带与祁连构造带衔接部位,断层性质由近东西向水平走滑逐渐转换为北东向的挤压逆冲,存在明显应力调整与转换。

     

Feeding strategies of deep-sea sub-Arctic macrofauna of the Faroe-Shetland Channel: Combining natural stable isotopes and enrichment techniques

The response of a sub-arctic, deep-sea macrofaunal community to a simulated food sedimentation event was studied by means of a stable isotope “pulse-chase” experiment. A food pulse was simulated by adding 500 mg C m⁻² of ¹³C-labelled diatoms, Chaetoceros radicans, to sediment cores retrieved from 1080 m in the Faroe-Shetland Channel. Carbon uptake by specific macrofaunal groups was quantified after 3 and 6 days of incubation. The carbon uptake of the dominant taxon (Polychaeta) was quantified at the genus-, and where possible, species-level, representing a data resolution that is rare in deep-sea tracer studies. The macrofaunal community reacted rapidly to the diatom addition, with 47% and 70% of the animals illustrating ¹³C-enrichment after 3 and 6 days, respectively. Approximately 95% of C uptake was located in the upper 2 cm due to the particularly shallow vertical distribution of the macrofaunal community and the nonexistent tracer subduction by burrowing species. Polychaetes of the families Ampharetidae and Cirratulidae were among the most heavily labelled with above background enrichment reaching 1300‰. Approximately 0.8 and 2.0 mg C m⁻² were processed by the macrofauna after 3 and 6 days, representing 0.2% and 0.4% of the added carbon, respectively. It was not possible to differentiate sub-surface deposit-feeding polychaetes from predator/scavenger- and omnivorous polychaetes using their natural ??¹⁵N signatures. However, the combination of natural abundance ??¹⁵N data and ¹³C-labelling experiments proved to be useful for elucidating trophic relations in deep-sea food webs. This study confirms that macrofauna play an active role in the short-term carbon cycling at bathyal depths even at sub-zero temperatures and highlights the need for detailed knowledge of the community structure in understanding carbon processing patterns and early diagenesis of organic matter in marine sediments.