Meio-epifaunal wood colonization in the vicinity of methane seeps

In deep-sea environments, plant remains of several origins are found, including branches, twigs, leaves, and wood pieces, among others. As most of the deep-sea bottoms are oligotrophic and nutrient-limited, plant remains provide an oasis of localized organic enrichment and a substrate for colonization. Sunken wood was suggested to play an important evolutionary role in the diversification of chemosynthetic ecosystems, possibly representing stepping stones for the colonization between vent and seep ecosystems. In order to understand colonization processes of the Pacific Costa Rican meio-epifaunal assemblages associated with sunken wood, a field experiment was conducted on Mound 12 (8°55.778′N, 84°18.730′W) at ~1,000 m water depth. Woodblocks were placed in four different habitats (Mussel beds, tube worms, near mussel beds, rubble bottoms), and different local environmental conditions (seepage-active and seepage-inactive sites). Seven experimental Douglas fir woodblocks (each 1,047 cm² in surface area) were deployed from the R/V Atlantis using the manned submersible Alvin in February 2009 and recovered after 10.5 months in January 2010. Sample processing and analyses led to a data set of abundance (total 9,951 individuals) and spatial distribution of nine meio-epifaunal higher taxa/groups. Meio-epifaunal densities on individual woodblocks ranged from 3 to 26 ind.10 cm². Copepods accounted for the highest abundances (75.1%), followed by nauplii larvae (11.7%) and nematodes (9.8%). The maximum number of individuals (26.3 ind.10 cm⁻²) was found in blocks placed in seepage-inactive areas (near active mussel beds) in contrast to 2.9 ind.10 cm⁻² in active areas (within a mussel bed). A hierarchical cluster analysis grouped blocks according to seepage activity and not to habitat, but tests of similarity showed no significant differences in higher taxon composition and abundances, probably owing either to substrate homogeneity or low sample size. Copepods were the most abundant representatives, suggesting that this group is one of the most successful in colonizing in the early stage of succession, in this case while hardwood substrates are not yet decomposed or bored by bivalves.     

The potential of contribution of mangrove-derived organic matter in intertidal sediments as a proxy of mangrove development in the northern Beibu Gulf

Located between terrestrial and marine ecosystems, mangrove forests are sensitive to changes in climate. The responses of mangrove ecosystems to climate change in the future can be understood by reconstructing past mangrove dynamics using proxies preserved in the intertidal sediments. Considering the complexity of the proxies commonly used, it is necessary to develop a relatively simple, inexpensive proxy. In this study, available chemical tracers (δ13C_org and C:N) of the four cores (YLW02, YLW03, O18, and Q37) from the intertidal zone of the northern Beibu Gulf (NBG) and a three-end-member (mangrove, sea grass, and suspended particulate matter) model was utilized to determine the contribution of mangrove-derived organic matter (CMOM) in carbonate-free sediments. Compared with the summed concentration of mangrove pollen (SCMP), a significant positive correlation between CMOM and SCMP is displayed. The calculated CMOM for an additional 210Pb-dated sediment core from the Yingluo Bay, NBG (YLW01) clearly indicates a mangrove development going through degradation, flourishing, relative degradation, and relative flourishing, which are separately in correspondence with the lowest, highest, lower, and higher air temperature and rainfall in the time intervals of 1890–1918 AD, 1919–1956 AD, 1957–1990 AD, and 1991–2010 AD. This suggests that CMOM preserved in intertidal sediments has a potential to reconstruct historical mangrove development in high resolution, at the very least, along the coasts of the NBG.     

Using Mesoproterozoic sedimentary geochemistry to reconstruct basin tectonic geography and link organic carbon productivity to nutrient flux from a Northern Australian large igneous Province

The Beetaloo Sub-basin, northern Australia, is considered the main depocentre of the 1,000-km scale Mesoproterozoic Wilton package of the greater McArthur Basin – the host to one of the oldest hydrocarbon global resources. The ca. 1.40–1.31 Ga upper Roper Group and the latest Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic unnamed group of the Beetaloo Sub-basin, together, record ca. 500 million years of depositional history within the North Australia Craton. Whole-rock shale Sm–Nd and Pb isotope data from these sediments reveal sedimentary provenance and their evolution from ca. 1.35 to 0.85 Ga. Furthermore, these data, together with shale major/trace elements data from this study and pyrolysis data from previous publications, are used to develop a dynamic tectonic geography model that links the organic carbon production and burial to an enhanced weathering of nutrients from a large igneous province. The ca. 1.35–1.31 Ga Kyalla Formation of the upper Roper Group is composed of isotopically evolved sedimentary detritus that passes up, into more isotopically juvenile Pb values towards the top of the formation. The increase in juvenile compositions coincides with elevated total organic carbon (TOC) contents of these sediments. The coherently enriched juvenile compositions and TOC the upper portions of the Kyalla Formation are interpreted to reflect an increase in nutrient supply associated with the weathering of basaltic sources (e.g. phosphorous). Possible, relatively juvenile, basaltic sources include the Wankanki Supersuite in the western Musgraves and the Derim Derim–Galiwinku large igneous province (LIP). The transition into juvenile, basaltic sources directly before a supersequence-bounding unconformity is here interpreted to reflect uplift and erosion of the Derim Derim–Galiwinku LIP, rather than an influx of southern Musgrave sources. A new baddeleyite crystallisation age of 1,312.9 ± 0.7 Ma provides both a tight constraint on the age of this LIP, along with its associated magmatic uplift, as well as providing a minimum age constraint for Roper Group deposition. The unconformably overlying lower and upper Jamison sandstones are at least 300 million years younger than the Kyalla Formation and were sourced from the Musgrave Province. An up-section increase in isotopically juvenile compositions seen in these rocks is interpreted to document the progressive exhumation of the western Musgrave Province. The overlying Hayfield mudstone received detritus from both the Musgrave and Arunta regions, and its isotopic geochemistry reveals affinities with other early Neoproterozoic basins (e.g. Amadeus, Victoria and Officer basins), indicating the potential for inter-basin correlations.     

Regional soil organic carbon prediction model based on a discrete wavelet analysis of hyperspectral satellite data

Most studies have the achieved rapid and accurate determination of soil organic carbon (SOC) using laboratory spectroscopy; however, it remains difficult to map the spatial distribution of SOC. To predict and map SOC at a regional scale, we obtained fourteen hyperspectral images from the Gaofen-5 (GF-5) satellite and decomposed and reconstructed the original reflectance (OR) and the first derivative reflectance (FDR) using discrete wavelet transform (DWT) at different scales. At these different scales, as inputs, we selected the 3 optimal bands with the highest weight coefficient using principal component analysis and chose the normalized difference index (NDI), ratio index (RI) and difference index (DI) with the strongest correlation with the SOC content using a contour map method. These inputs were then used to build regional-scale SOC prediction models using random forest (RF), support vector machine (SVM) and back-propagation neural network (BPNN) algorithms. The results indicated that: 1) at a low decomposition scale, DWT can effectively eliminate the noise in satellite hyperspectral data, and the FDR combined with DWT can improve the SOC prediction accuracy significantly; 2) the method of selecting inputs using principal component analysis and a contour map can eliminate the redundancy of hyperspectral data while retaining the physical meaning of the inputs. For the model with the highest prediction accuracy, the inputs were all derived from the wavelength range of SOC variations; 3) the differences in prediction accuracy among the different prediction models are small; and 4) the SOC prediction accuracy using hyperspectral satellite data is greatly improved compared with that of previous SOC prediction studies using multispectral satellite data. This study provides a highly robust and accurate method for predicting and mapping regional SOC contents.     

广西土壤有机质空间变异特征及其影响因素研究

基于广西第二次土壤普查的270个土壤剖面资料,结合1∶50万数字化土壤类型图、土地利用类型图和气象监测数据等资料,利用地统计学和逐步回归分析等方法对广西表层土壤有机质空间变异特征及其影响因素进行了探究。结果表明：广西表层土壤有机质平均含量为3.11±2.19%,变异系数为70.72%,空间分布呈北高南低的趋势。广西表层土壤有机质空间分布受到自然和人为因素的共同影响,土壤类型、成土母质、海拔、土地利用、气候和坡度6个环境因子对全区土壤有机质含量变异的综合解释能力为47.9%。其中,土壤类型是最重要的影响因素,能独立解释其变异的36.0%,海拔和成土母质分别能独立解释28.5%和15.8%。气温对广西土壤有机质空间分布的影响比降水量更加显著,从而造成了广西土壤有机质整体呈南低北高的趋势。同时,土壤有机质对气温的敏感性在一定程度上受到降雨量的制约。此外,研究区农业耕作管理等因素对土壤有机质的影响也不容忽视。     

Trace metal composition of colloidal organic material in marine environments

Marine colloidal material (1 kDa–0.2 μm) was isolated by cross-flow ultrafiltration followed by diafiltration and freeze-drying from surface waters of the Gulf of Mexico and the Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB), as well as from estuarine waters of Galveston Bay. Elemental characterization of isolated colloidal material included organic carbon (OC) and selected trace metal (Cu, Pb, Zn, Cd, Co, Ni, Cr, Be, Fe, Al, Mn, V, Ba, and Ti) determinations. It was found that levels of these metals in marine colloids ranged from <0.1 to 50 μg/g colloidal matter, except for Fe which generally had a concentration >120 μg/g. Most metals (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Al, Mn, V, and Ti) had an average concentration >1 μg/g while concentrations of Cd, Co and Be were usually <1 μg/g. Metal concentrations (μg/g) in isolated colloids were, in general, higher in Galveston Bay than in the Gulf of Mexico, suggesting either high abundance of trace metals in estuarine waters or differences in organic matter composition. Higher colloidal metal concentrations in the MAB than in the Gulf of Mexico might be due to higher terrestrial inputs in the MAB. Colloidal metal concentrations (μg/g) were generally lower than those in average soils, continental crust and suspended particles. However, metal/aluminum ratios (Me/Al) in isolated marine colloids were significantly higher than those for average soils and continental crust. Most importantly, colloids had a metal composition and metal/OC ratio (Me/C) similar to humic substances and marine plankton, suggesting that marine colloids largely originate from planktonic sources and are composed of predominately organic components. The Me/C ratios of Galveston Bay colloids followed the sequence of Cu>Ni, Cr, Zn>Mn>Co>Pb, Cd, which is similar to the Irving–Williams order except for Mn, suggesting that the interaction of metals with marine colloids is determined by the affinity of metals for specific organic ligands.     

海三棱藨草(Scirpus mariqueter)根系低分子量有机酸对根际沉积物重金属生物有效性的影响

应用等离子光谱仪(ICP)与高效液相色谱仪(HPLC)分别对海三棱藨草根际沉积物中重金属(Cu、Pb、Zn和Cd)不同化学形态含量和植物根系分泌物中常见低分子量有机酸进行了季节跟踪测定,分析了有机酸(柠檬酸、草酸、酒石酸、苹果酸、甲酸和乳酸)含量与重金属化学形态(可交换态、碳酸盐结合态、铁锰氧化物结合态、有机结合态和残渣态)的季节相关性。结果表明,柠檬酸、草酸和苹果酸含量与Cu和Pb的除残渣态外的其它4种形态含量呈正相关性,表明其能提高Cu和Pb生物有效性,与Zn的所有形态含量呈负相关性,降低了生物有效性;酒石酸、甲酸和乳酸含量与Cu和Pb的可交换态含量呈负相关性,而与其它形态含量相关性不明显,降低了生物有效性。与Zn的除残渣态外的其它4种形态含量呈正相关性,提高其生物有效性。而上述所有有机酸与Cd的各种化学形态相关性不明显。表明其对Cd的生物有效性影响不大。     

舟山海域陆源溶解有机质变化及其对近岸羽状流的响应

2007年夏季在东海舟山海域河口锋区开展了陆源溶解有机质的调查研究。测定了有色溶解有机质(CDOM)在激发波长370 nm/发射波长460 nm处的荧光强度和在λ=355 nm处的吸收系数,用于代表陆源CDOM浓度,并测定了荧光指数以指示CDOM来源。结果表明,CDOM的荧光值和紫外吸收系数之间呈显著正相关性,陆源CDOM浓度大体有向海方向降低的趋势,但是纵向上存在一些"突跃"现象。在舟山海域东北角不时观测到表层水体含有高浓度的CDOM,但变异性很大,推测可能该海区受到长江口羽状流的影响。在连续观测站发现陆源CDOM浓度在低平潮时往往比高平潮时要高。河海水在混合过程中CDOM浓度与盐度呈显著的线性负相关关系。在低盐度的悬沙锋区(S<24)CDOM浓度明显低于理论稀释值,而在较高盐度的羽状锋区,CDOM浓度接近于理论稀释值。在盐度为24~31范围内,大部分水样的荧光指数在1.50上下波动,表明其中CDOM来源以陆地来源为主;在较低盐度(S<24)的水样中荧光指数在1.70至1.90以上,表明CDOM以海洋来源为主,这与其陆源组分在高浊度的低盐度区存在显著的去除过程有关。研究表明,舟山海域水质存在着显著的变异性,与近岸羽状流密切相关,陆源溶解有机质的分布特征对此有较好的响应。     

北极孔斯峡湾表层沉积物中溶解有机质的来源与转化历史

在北极地区孔斯峡湾采集28个表层沉积物样品,测定了其中水溶性有机质(也称溶解有机质,DOM)的分子量分布、紫外/可见吸收光谱和三维荧光光谱特征,并利用平行因子分析(PARAFAC)模型对DOM的荧光组分和来源进行了解析。结果表明:孔斯峡湾表层沉积物中有色溶解有机质(CDOM)及其中的荧光溶解有机质(FDOM)含量均从内湾向外湾方向呈逐渐累积的趋势,但CDOM中的FDOM所占比例逐渐减小,与DOM趋于老龄化密切相关。沉积作用减弱以及长期的光化学降解和微生物降解作用对此起主要贡献,并导致腐殖质和小分子组分在沉积物DOM中所占的比例呈逐渐递增的趋势。沉积物DOM包含陆源类腐殖质、自生源类腐殖质和类蛋白等三个荧光组分,但是其组成比例空间差异很大。吸收光谱斜率比(S_R)随自生源所占百分比增加而减小,随DOM腐殖质组分中陆源与自生源的比值增加而增加;腐殖化指数(HIX)随类腐殖质与类蛋白质比值和水深的增加而增加,生物源指数(BIX)随自生源比例增加而增加。峡湾沉积物DOM的组成和来源存在着高度的空间差异,在冰川湾区由水体颗粒有机质(POM)的近期转化和迁移而来,而在峡湾中央及口门附近以较老的腐殖质为优势,主要源于水体DOM长期迁移和转化。研究表明,FDOM/CDOM,S_R,HIX和BIX等构成的CDOM光谱指纹信息可以作为揭露沉积物溶解有机质来源及迁移转化历史的工具,对探索海洋与冰川相互作用影响下的峡湾环境演变有着重要意义。     

胶州湾沉积物中有机硫来源及成因机制的研究

有机硫是海洋沉积物中重要的硫形态,其中成岩有机硫对有机质保存和微量元素形态具有重要影响。利用化学提取及硫稳定同位素研究了胶州湾沉积物中碱可提取的腐殖酸硫(HA-S)、富里酸硫(FA-S)以及铬不可还原有机硫(non-CROS)的垂直分布、来源及形成机制。结果表明,non-CROS、HA-S以及FA-S的含量范围分别为19.1~52.6、3.35~7.82和27.3~38.6μmol/g,均处于其他许多近海沉积物中含量的低值区,且3者均为海洋生物有机硫和成岩有机硫的混合物。HA-S和nonCROS以海洋生物有机硫为主,其份数分别为65%~68%和67%~77%,而FA-S则以成岩有机硫为主(54%~73%)。相对于生物有机硫,成岩有机硫更易被碱和酸性Cr(Ⅱ)溶液提取,因此腐殖质硫和non-CROS都不能全面反映沉积物中有机硫的组成和来源。黄铁矿和腐殖质中成岩有机硫含量随深度的同步增加表明黄铁矿形成并未明显地竞争性抑制有机质硫化。