Interference fringes on GLORIA side-scan sonar images from the Bering Sea and their implications

GLORIA side-scan sonographs from the Bering Sea Basin show a complex pattern of interference fringes sub-parallel to the ship's track. Surveys along the same trackline made in 1986 and 1987 show nearly identical patterns. It is concluded from this that the interference patterns are caused by features in the shallow subsurface rather than in the water column. The fringes are interpreted as a thin-layer interference effect that occurs when some of the sound reaching the seafloor passes through it and is reflected off a subsurface layer. The backscattered sound interferes (constructively or desctructively) with the reflected sound. Constructive/destructive interference occurs when the difference in the length of the two soundpaths is a whole/half multiple of GLORIA's 25 cm wavelength. Thus as range from the ship increases, sound moves in and out of phase causing bands of greater and lesser intensity on the GLORIA sonograph. Fluctuations (or wiggles) of the fringes on the GLORIA sonographs relate to changes in layer thickness. In principle, a simple three dimensional image of the subsurface layer may be obtained using GLORIA and bathymetric data from adjacent (parallel) ship's tracks. These patterns have also been identified in images from two other systems; SeaMARC II (12 kHz) long-range sonar, and TOBI (30 kHz) deep-towed sonar. In these, and other cases world-wide, the fringes do not appear with the same persistence as those seen in the Bering Sea.     

黄河三角洲沿岸及邻近海区细粒沉积物中的碳酸盐

本文用X-射线衍射法直接计算了来自黄河三角洲沿岸及邻近海区80个沉积样的细粒组分(<2μm)中的碳酸盐含量。计算结果与全样的容量法分析结果基本一致。研究结果表明,本区细粒沉积物中碳酸盐含量变化受沉积物来源、海区水动力作用、海底地貌特征和碳酸盐的地球化学行为等因素所影响。     

Submarine canyon development in the Izu-Bonin forearc: A SeaMARC II and seismic survey of Aoga Shima Canyon

SeaMARC II sidescan (imagery and bathymetry) and seismic data reveal the morphology, sedimentary processes, and structural controls on submarine canyon development in the central Izu-Bonin forearc, south of Japan. Canyons extend up to 150 km across the forearc from the trench-slope break to the active volcanic arc. The canyons are most deeply incised (1200–1700 m) into the gentle gradients (1–2°) upslope on the outer arc high (OAH) and lose bathymetric expression on the steep (6–18°) inner trench-slope. The drainage patterns indicate that canyons are formed by both headward erosion and downcutting. Headward erosion proceeds on two scales. Initially, pervasive small-scale mass wasting creates curvilinear channels and pinnate drainage patterns. Large-scale slumping, evidenced by abundant crescent-shaped scarps along the walls and tributaries of Aoga Shima Canyon, occurs only after a channel is present, and provides a mechanism for canyon branching. The largest slump has removed >16 km³ of sediment from an 85 km² area of seafloor bounded by scarps more than 200 m high and may be in the initial stages of forming a new canyon branch. The northern branch of Aoga Shima Canyon has eroded upslope to the flanks of the arc volcanoes allowing direct tapping of this volcaniclastic sediment source. Headward erosion of the southern branch is not as advanced but the canyon may capture sediments supplied by unconfined (non-channelized) mass flows.Oligocene forearc sedimentary processes were dominated by unconfined mass flows that created sub-parallel and continuous sedimentary sequences. Pervasive channel cut-and-fill is limited to the Neogene forearc sedimentary sequences which are characterized by migrating and unconformable seismic sequences. Extensive canyon formation permitting sediment bypassing of the forearc by canyon-confined mass flows began in the early Miocene after the basin was filled to the spill points of the OAH. Structural lows in the OAH determined the initial locus of canyon formation, and outcropping basement rocks have prevented canyon incision on the lower slope. A major jog in the canyon axis, linear tributaries, and a prominent sidescan lineament all trend NW-NNW, reflecting OAH basement influence on canyon morphology. This erosional fabric may reflect joint/fracture patterns in the sedimentary strata that follow the basement trends. Once the canyons have eroded down to more erosion-resistant levels, channel downcutting slows relative to lateral erosion of the canyon walls. This accounts for the change from a narrow canyon axis in the thickly sedimented forearc basin to a wider, more rugged canyon morphology near the OAH. About 9500 km³ of sediment has been eroded from the central, 200 km long, segment of the Izu-Bonin forearc by the formation of Aoga Shima, Myojin Sho and Sumisu Jima canyons. The volume of sediment presently residing in the adjacent trench, accretionary wedge, and lower slope terrace basin accounts for <25% of that eroded from the canyons alone. This implies that a large volume (>3500 km³ per 100 km of trench, ignoring sediments input via forearc bypassing) has been subducted beneath the toe of the trench slope and the small accretionary prism. Unless this sediment has been underplated beneath the forearc, it has recycled arc material into the mantle, possibly influencing the composition of arc volcanism.     

Modeling bed-load transport of coarse sediments in the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire

Current, sea level and bed-load transport are investigated in the Lower Piscataqua River section of the Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire, USA—a well-mixed and geometrically complex system with low freshwater input, having main channel tidal currents ranging between 0.5 and 2 m s⁻¹. Current and sea level forced by the M₂M₄M₆ tides at the estuarine mouth are simulated by a vertically averaged, non-linear, time-stepping finite element model. The hydrodynamic model uses a fixed boundary computational domain and accounts for flooding–drying of tidal flats by making use of a groundwater component. Inertia terms are neglected in comparison with pressure gradient and bottom friction terms, which is consistent with the observed principal dynamic balance for this section of the system. The accuracy of hydrodynamic predictions in the study area is demonstrated by comparison with four tidal elevation stations and two cross-section averaged current measurements. Simulated current is then used to model bed-load transport in the vicinity of a rapidly growing shoal located in the main channel of the lower system. Consisting of coarse sand and gravel, the shoal must be dredged every five to eight years. Two approaches are taken—an Eulerian parametric method in which nodal bed-load flux vectors are averaged over the tidal cycle and a Lagrangian particle tracking approach in which a finite number of sediment particles are released and tracked. Both methods yield pathways and accumulations in agreement with the observed shoal formation and the long-term rate of sediment accumulation in the shoal area.     

对虾养殖生态系中有机碳的初步研究本研究由

对于围隔养殖对虾生态系中有机碳的变动进行了研究 ,结果表明 :溶解有机碳 (DOC)含量波动在 5 .2 99～ 13.39mg/ L之间 ,平均为 8.5 3mg/ L± 2 .2 5 mg/ L;颗粒有机碳 (POC)含量波动在0 .6 5～ 6 .6 3mg/ L之间 ,平均为 3.2 5 mg/ L± 1.76 mg/ L;总有机碳 (TOC)含量波动在 6 .92～ 2 0 .0 2mg/ L之间 ,平均为 11.78mg/ L± 3.82 mg/ L ;其中 DOC∶ POC∶ TOC为 0 .72∶ 0 .2 8∶ 1。各种有机碳组分的含量明显高于自然海水中各种有机碳的含量 ;各种有机碳组分的含量在养殖期间总体上呈上升的趋势 ;其变化与 DCOD的变化呈显著线性正相关的关系。     

Rheological Properties and Incipient Motion of Cohesive Sediment in the Haihe Estuary of China

The Haihe cohesive sediment, which is typical in China, is studied systematically for its basic physical and incipientmotion properties. Following the requirements of dredging works in the Haihe Estuary, cohesive sediment samples weretaken from three locations. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the rheological properties of these sam-ples and to examine the incipient motion of the cohesive sediment. It is found that the cohesive sediment has an obviousyield stress τb, which increases with the mud density in a manner of an exponential function, and so does the viscosityparameter η. The cohesive sediment behaves like a Bingham fluid when its density is below 1.38 ～ 1.40 g/cm3, andwhen denser than these values, it may become a power-law fluid. The incipient motion experiment also revealed that theincipient velocity of the cohesive sediment increases with the density in an exponential manner. Therefore, the incipientmotion is primarily related to the density, which is different from the case for non-cohesive sediment in which the incipi-ent motion is correlated with the diameter of sand particles instead. The incipient motion occurs in two different ways de-pending on the concentration of mud in the bottom. For sufficiently fine particles and a concentration lower than1.20 g/cm3, the cohesive sediment appears as fluidized mud, and the incipient motion is in the form of instability of aninternal wave. For a higher concentration, the cohesive sediment appears as general quasi-solid-mud, and the incipientmotion can be described by a series of extended Shields curves each with a different porosity for newly deposited alluvial mud.     

海洋沉积样品~(14)C测年差异来源及其结果解释

~(14)C测年已为海洋研究工作广泛应用,但由于时有不合理取样或在运用数据时没有充分考虑各种海洋环境和动力因素,因而产生无法使用数据作合理解释的现象。本文试从海洋样品本身和海洋各种营力作用分析各种数据差异的来源,认为海洋环境特别是海岸带环境的复杂性是造成海洋样品~(14)C测年数据差异的主要原因,它可能影响样品的代表性或使数据解释时得出错误结论.并指出在运用年代结果时一定要充分考虑地质地理和各种营力作用因素。     

Numerical Study on Instantaneous Discharge of Unsorted Particle Cloud in Cross Flow

The mixing characteristics of particles such as dredged sediment of variable size discharged into cross flow are studied by a 3D numerical model, which is developed to model the particle-fluid two-phase flow. The Eulerian method with the modified k-ε parameterization of turbulence for the fluid phase is used to solve fluid phase, while a Lagrangian method for the solid phase (particles), both the processes are coupled through the momentum sources. In the model the wake turbulence induced by particles has been included as additional source term in the k-ε model; and the variable drift velocities of the particles are treated efficiently by the Lagrangian method in which the particles are tracked explicitly and the diffusion process is approximated by a random walk model. The hydrodynamic behavior of dumping a cloud of particles is governed by the total buoyancy of the cloud, the drag force on each particle and the velocity of cross-flow. The computed results show a roughly linear relationship between the displacement of the frontal position and the longitudinal width of the particle cloud. The particle size in the cloud and the velocity of cross flow dominate the flow behavior. The computed results are compared with the results of laboratory experiments and satisfactory agreement is obtained.     

Ensuring confidence in radionuclide-based sediment chronologies and bioturbation rates

Sedimentary records of naturally occurring and fallout-derived radionuclides are widely used as tools for estimating both the ages of recent sediments and rates of sedimentation and bioturbation. Developing these records to the point of data interpretation requires careful sample collection, processing, analysis and data modeling. In this work, we document a number of potential pitfalls that can impact sediment core records and their interpretation. This paper is not intended as an exhaustive treatment of these potential problems. Rather, the emphasis is on potential problems that are not well documented in the literature, as follows: (1) the mere sampling of sediment cores at a resolution that is too coarse can result in an apparent diffusive mixing of the sedimentary record at rates comparable to diffusive bioturbation rates observed in many locations; (2) ²¹⁰Pb profiles in slowly accumulating sediments can easily be misinterpreted to be driven by sedimentation, when in fact bioturbation is the dominant control. Multiple isotopes of different half lives and/or origin may help to distinguish between these two possible interpretations; (3) apparent mixing can occur due simply to numerical artifacts inherent in the finite difference approximations of the advection diffusion equation used to model sedimentation and bioturbation. Model users need to be aware of this potential problem. Solutions to each of these potential pitfalls are offered to ensure the best possible sediment age estimates and/or sedimentation and bioturbation rates can be obtained.     

High-resolution sediment echosounding off Peru: Late Quaternary depositional sequences and sedimentary structures of a current-dominated shelf

About 6000 km of both bathymetric and high-resolution acoustic profiles were acquired on the shelf and upper slope offshore Peru between 9° S and 14° S. Two new sediment echosounder systems – SEL-96 and SES-2000DS – provided details of the sedimentary structures of the Quaternary sequences within the Sechura-Salaverry, Huacho and Pisco Basins. To a great extent, the poleward undercurrent determines the distribution of sediments. The undercurrent has generated numerous erosional unconformities, it has winnowed hardgrounds and has created mudwaves common between 250 m and 400 m water depth. Distinct subbottom reflectors within sedimentary units represent hiatuses due to periods of intensified winnowing or non-deposition. Erosional unconformities usually marked by pronounced reflectors suggest shifts of the undercurrent system related to climatic changes and eustatic variations of sea level. On a larger scale, the stacked prograding depositional sequences reflect the sea-level cycles of the Middle Pleistocene to the Holocene. Based on the stratigraphy of our piston cores and that of Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Site 680, the depositional sequences limited by extended unconformities were assigned to oxygen isotope stages 1 to 7. Other sedimentary structures are small straight channels that were conduits for downslope sediment transport. Deformed sediments associated with synsedimentary normal faults result from creep movements indicating beginning slope failure.