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.     

声波对海洋生物的影响与作用的研究

本文研究了声波对某些海洋生物的影响与作用。实验表明，适当的声波剂量对海洋生物的作用所产生的声学生物效应是积极的，可促使生物体向有利的方向产生变异，而强度过大的声波对海洋生物有效伤甚至致死的效应。     

Main Controlling Factors on Hydrocarbon Accumulation and Distribution in Marine Sedimentary Sequences in South China

Multiple source rock assemblages were deposited in the sedimentary provinces in South China in geologic history,and some of them were destructed by and some survived against multiple tectonic movements.Therefore,multiple sources,mixed sources,and uneven distribution of sources occurred in the marine sedimentary basins in South China during the late stage of hydrocarbon pooling.Epidiagenesis of the marine carbonate reservoirs and its modification to reservoir poroperm characteristics determined the formation and the scale of natural gas pools.The exploration practices show that the large to medium gas fields mainly occur in areas with high-quality reservoirs.Detailed study of the paleo-oil accumulations and typical oil and gas reservoirs reveals that the basins experienced multiphase superimposition and modification,leading to the distribution of the Paleozoic paleo-oil accumulations and bitumen in the peripheral areas.The phenomenon that oil and gas production concentrates in the Sichuan basin indicates that the overall sealing conditions of a basin determine the oil/gas potentials and the scale of oil and gas production.This is a critical factor controlling the accumulation and distribution of gas in the marine sequences in South China.The early oil and gas pools in the Yangtze platform left billions of bitumen in the peripheral areas due to the destruction of seals.Since the Himalayan,"late-generation and late-accumulation" gas pools represented by the gas pools in the Sichuan (四川) basin were formed in the marine sedimentary sequences in South China as a result of the change of the sealing conditions.Current gas discoveries appear to be "paleo-generation and paleo-accumulation" gas pools but actually are "late-generation and late-accumulation" gas pools.These patterns of hydrocarbon pooling clearly depict themselves in western Sichuan basin and Weiyuan (威远)gas field.It is revealed that the gas pools in the Sichuan basin were mainly formed as a result of hydrocarbon phase change (thermal cracking of oil to gas),miscible migration,and dynamic equilibration since the Himalayan.A large number of gas pools were formed in the Himalayan and the gas pools in the marine sequences are characterized by late pooling; this kind of gas fields/pools are controlled by:(1) effectiveness of modification and superimposition of the marine basins,(2) effectiveness of the source rocks,(3) effectiveness of the overall preservation conditions,and (4) effectiveness of plays.     

Seasonal variations of atmospheric sulfur dioxide and dimethylsulfide concentrations at Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean

Daily measurements of atmospheric sulfur dioxide (SO₂) concentrations were performed from March 1989 to January 1991 at Amsterdam Island (37°50 S–77°30 E), a remote site located in the southern Indian Ocean. Long-range transport of continental air masses was studied using Radon (²²²Rn) as continental tracer. Average monthly SO₂ concentrations range from less than 0.2 to 3.9 nmol m^-3 (annual average = 0.7 nmol m^-3) and present a seasonal cycle with a minimum in winter and a maximum in summer, similar to that described for atmospheric DMS concentrations measured during the same period. Clear diel correlation between atmospheric DMS and SO₂ concentrations is also observed during summer. A photochemical box model using measured atmospheric DMS concentrations as input data reproduces the seasonal variations in the measured atmospheric SO₂ concentrations within ±30%. Comparing between computed and measured SO₂ concentrations allowed us to estimate a yield of SO₂ from DMS oxidation of about 70%.     

Measurements of peroxyacetylnitrate in the marine boundary layer over the Atlantic

The atmospheric concentration of peroxyacetylnitrate (PAN) was measured during a cruise of the R.S. Polarstern from Bremerhaven (Germany) to Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) in September/ October 1988. The measurements were made in-situ by a combination of electron capture gaschromatography with a cryogenic preconcentration step. The theoretical lower limit of detection (3) was 0.4 ppt. The mixing ratios of PAN varied by more than three orders of magnitude from 2000 ppt in the English Channel to less than 0.4 ppt south of the Azores (38° N). South of 35° N, PAN levels were below the detection limit, except at 30–31° S off the eastern coast of South America. Here, PAN mixing ratios of 10 to 100 ppt were detected in continentally influenced air masses. Detectable levels of PAN were mostly observed in air masses of continental or high northern origin. Changes in the wind directions were usually associated with substantial changes in the PAN mixing ratios.     

Latitudinal variation of measured O3 photolysis frequencies J(O1D) and primary OH production rates over the Atlantic Ocean between 50° N and 30° S

The latitudinal variation of the photolysis frequency of ozone to O(¹D) atoms, J(O¹D), was measured using a filter radiometer during the cruise ANT VII/1 of the research vessel Polarstern in September/October 1988. The J(O¹D) noon values exhibited a maximum of 3.6×10^-5 s^-1 (2 sr) at the equator and decreased strongly towards higher latitudes. J(O¹D) reached highest values for clean marine background air with low aerosol load and almost cloudless sky. The J(O¹D) data, measured under these conditions and a temperature of 295 K, can be expressed by: % MathType!MTEF!2!1!+-% feaafiart1ev1aaatCvAUfeBSjuyZL2yd9gzLbvyNv2CaerbuLwBLn% hiov2DGi1BTfMBaeXatLxBI9gBaerbd9wDYLwzYbItLDharqqtubsr% 4rNCHbGeaGqiVu0Je9sqqrpepC0xbbL8F4rqqrFfpeea0xe9Lq-Jc9% vqaqpepm0xbba9pwe9Q8fs0-yqaqpepae9pg0FirpepeKkFr0xfr-x% fr-xb9adbaqaaeGaciGaaiaabeqaamaabaabaaGcbaGaamOsaiaacI% cacaqGpbWaaWbaaSqabeaaiiaacqWF8baFaaGccaqGebGaaeykaiaa% bccacqWF9aqpcaqGGaGaaeyzaiaabIhacaqGWbGaaeiiaiaabUhacq% GHsislcaaI4aGaaiOlaiaaicdacaaIYaGaeyOeI0IaaGioaiaac6ca% caaI4aGaaiiEaiaaigdacaaIWaWaaWbaaSqabeaacqGHsislcaaIZa% aaaOGaaeiiaiaabIhacaqGGaGaam4uaiabgUcaRiaaiodacaGGUaGa% aGinaiaacIhacaaIXaGaaGimamaaCaaaleqabaGaeyOeI0IaaGOnaa% aakiaadofadaahaaWcbeqaaiaaikdaaaGccaGG9bGaaeikaiaaboha% daahaaWcbeqaaiabgkHiTiaaigdaaaGccaGGPaaaaa!5EE9!\[J({\text{O}}^| {\text{D) }} = {\text{ exp \{ }} - 8.02 - 8.8x10^{ - 3} {\text{ x }}S + 3.4x10^{ - 6} S^2 \} {\text{(s}}^{ - 1} )\] where S represents the product of the overhead ozone column (DU) and the secant of the solar zenith angle. The meridional profile of the primary OH radical production rate P(OH) was calculated from the J(O¹D) measurements and simultaneously recorded O₃ and H₂O mixing ratios. While the latitudinal distribution of J(O¹D) and water vapour was nearly symmetric to the equator, high tropospheric ozone levels up to 40 ppb were observed in the Southern Hemisphere, SH, resulting in higher P(OH) in the SH.     

Seasonal variation of atmospheric dimethylsulfide at Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean

Daily measurements of atmospheric concentrations of dimethylsulfide (DMS) were carried out for two years in a marine site at remote area: the Amsterdam Island (37°50S–77°31E) located in the southern Indian Ocean. DMS concentrations were also measured in seawater. A seasonal variation is observed for both DMS in the atmosphere and in the sea-surface. The monthly averages of DMS concentrations in the surface coastal seawater and in the atmosphere ranged, respectively, from 0.3 to 2.0 nmol l^-1 and from 1.4 to 11.3 nmol m^-3 (34 to 274 pptv), with the highest values in summer. The monthly variation of sea-to-air flux of DMS from the southern Indian Ocean ranges from 0.7 to 4.4 mol m^-2 d^-1. A factor of 2.3 is observed between summer and winter with mean DMS fluxes of 3.0 and 1.3 mol m^-2 d^-1, respectively.     

Stratigraphy and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of a Quaternary sequence along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam

The pre-Holocene Cenozoic sequence outcrops in the terrestrial part of the eastern margin of the Mekong Basin. However, the stratigraphy of the sequence is still unclear. Its detailed stratigraphy and chronology were therefore studied along the Dong Nai River, southern Vietnam, and the lithofacies and the relations among the formations were investigated from the outcrops. The ages of the deposits were determined by using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating.The Ba Mieu Formation was deposited about 176±52 ka during marine isotope stage (MIS) 7–6. The Thu Duc Formation was deposited about 97±27 ka during MIS 5. Both the Ba Mieu and Thu Duc formations are composed of fluvial and tidally influenced coastal deposits. The newly proposed Nhon Trach Formation was originally an eolian (blanket) deposit, but it has been partly reworked by fluvial processes. The Nhon Trach Formation was deposited about 10.9±4.7 ka, in the last part of the Pleistocene to the beginning of the Holocene. The OSL ages for the Ba Mieu, Thu Duc, and Nhon Trach formations are younger than the ages previously assigned to these formations.     

Ophiomorpha irregulaire, rare trace fossil in shallow marine sandstones, Cretaceous Atane Formation, West Greenland

Ophiomorpha irregulaire is a large and extremely rare trace fossil. The type section is in the Book Cliffs, Utah, USA. A second on-shore locality is reported here, in the Nuussuaq Basin of West Greenland. Both occurrences date from the Late Cretaceous. Other reports of O. irregulaire are restricted to two-dimensional sections in well cores and are mostly Jurassic in age. The West Greenland occurrence is in the Atane Formation in shallow marine clean sandstone. The two on-shore localities lie in the same biogeographical region, in connection with the Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway of North America. O. irregulaire is characterized by a sinuous, branched meander maze lying mostly within a single horizontal plane, probably not far beneath the seafloor. The burrow lining has remarkably elongate pellets that probably were emplaced by the burrower. In some cases, diagenetic compression may have deformed the lining pellets to produce their elongated shape. The muddy sediment comprising the lining is almost unrepresented in the clean sands of the substrate, and it was probably trapped from suspension during suspension-feeding activity.     

The sequence of sediment behaviour during wave-induced liquefaction

This paper presents the results of an experimental investigation of the complete sequence of sediment behaviour beneath progressive waves. The sediment was silty with d ₅₀ = 0.060 mm. Two kinds of measurements were carried out: pore-water pressure measurements (across the sediment depth), and water-surface elevation measurements. The process of liquefaction/compaction was videotaped from the side simultaneously with the pressure and water-surface elevation measurements. The video records were then analysed to measure: (i) the time development of the mudline, (ii) the time development of liquefaction and compaction fronts in the sediment and (iii) the characteristics of the orbital motion of the liquefied sediment including the motion of the interface between the water body and the sediment. The ranges of the various quantities in the tests were: wave height, H  = 9–17 cm, wave period, T  = 1.6 sec, water depth = 42 cm, and the Shields parameter = 0.34–0.59. The experiments reveal that, with the introduction of waves, excess pore pressure builds up, which is followed by liquefaction during which internal waves are experienced at the interface of the water body and the liquefied sediment, the sequence of processes known from a previous investigation. This sequence of processes is followed by dissipation of the accumulated excess pore pressure and compaction of the sediment which is followed by the formation of bed ripples. The present results regarding the dissipation and compaction appear to be in agreement with recent centrifuge wave-tank experiments. As for the final stage of the sequence of processes (formation of ripples), the ripple steepness (normalized with the angle of repose) for sediment with liquefaction history is found to be the same as that in sediment with no liquefaction history.