Rare earth elements and yttrium in ferromanganese deposits from the South China Sea: distribution, composition and resource considerations

Ferromanganese nodules and crusts contain relatively high concentration of rare earth elements(REE) and yttrium(REY),with a growing interest in exploitation as an alternative to land-based REY resources.On the basis of comprehensive geochemical approach,the abundance and distribution of REY in the ferromanganese nodules from the South China Sea are analyzed.The results indicate that the REY contents in ferromanganese deposits show a clear geographic regularity.Total REY contents range from 69.1×10~(–6) to 2 919.4×10~(–6),with an average value of 1 459.5×10~(–6).Especially,the enrichment rate of Ce content is high,accounting for almost 60% of the total REY.This REE enrichment is controlled mainly by the sorption of ferromanganese oxides and clay minerals in the nodules and crusts.Moreover,the total REY are higher in ferromanganese deposits of hydrogenous origin than of diagenetic origin.Finally,Light REE(LREE) and heavy REE(HREE) oxides of the ferromanganese deposits in the study area can be classified into four grades: non-enriched type,weakly enriched type,enriched type,and extremely enriched type.According to the classification criteria of rare earth resources,the Xisha and Zhongsha platform-central deep basin areas show a great potential for these rare earth metals.     

南海神狐海域沉积物自生黄铁矿和石膏S同位素特征及对甲烷渗漏强度的示踪

The northern slope of the South China Sea is a gas-hydrate-bearing region related to a high deposition rate of organic-rich sediments co-occurring with intense methanogenesis in subseafloor environments.Anaerobic oxidation of methane(AOM) coupled with bacterial sulfate reduction results in the precipitation of solid phase minerals in seepage sediment,including pyrite and gypsum.Abundant aggregates of pyrites and gypsums are observed between the depth of 667 and 850 cm below the seafloor(cmbsf) in the entire core sediment of HS328 from the northern South China Sea.Most pyrites are tubes consisting of framboidal cores and outer crusts.Gypsum aggregates occur as rosettes and spheroids consisting of plates.Some of them grow over pyrite,indicating that gypsum precipitation postdates pyrite formation.The sulfur isotopic values(δ~(34) S) of pyrite vary greatly(from –46.6‰ to –12.3‰ V-CDT) and increase with depth.Thus,the pyrite in the shallow sediments resulted from organoclastic sulfate reduction(OSR) and is influenced by AOM with depth.The relative high abundance and δ~(34) S values of pyrite in sediments at depths from 580 to 810 cmbsf indicate that this interval is the location of a paleo-sulfate methane transition zone(SMTZ).The sulfur isotopic composition of gypsum(from–25‰ to –20.7‰) is much lower than that of the seawater sulfate,indicating the existence of a 34 S-depletion source of sulfur species that most likely are products of the oxidation of pyrites formed in OSR.Pyrite oxidation is controlled by ambient electron acceptors such as MnO_2,iron(Ⅲ) and oxygen driven by the SMTZ location shift to great depths.The δ~(34) S values of gypsum at greater depth are lower than those of the associated pyrite,revealing downward diffusion of 34 S-depleted sulfate from the mixture of oxidation of pyrite derived by OSR and the seawater sulfate.These sulfates also lead to an increase of calcium ions from the dissolution of calcium carbonate mineral,which will be favor to the formation of gypsum.Overall,the mineralogy and sulfur isotopic composition of the pyrite and gypsum suggest variable redox conditions caused by reduced seepage intensities,and the pyrite and gypsum can be a recorder of the intensity evolution of methane seepage.     

2016下半年安达曼海潮、余流观测分析

The characteristics of currents and tidal currents in the Andaman Sea(AS) are studied during the second half of2016 using observed data from a moored acoustic Doppler current profiler(ADCP) deployed at 8.6°N, 95.6°E.During the observation period, the mean flow is 5–10 cm/s and largely southward. The root mean square and kinetic energies of the low and high frequency flows, which are divided by a cutoff period of 5 d, are at the same level, indicating their identical importance to the total current. A power spectrum analysis shows that intraseasonal oscillations, a tidal-related semilunar month signal, a semidiurnal tidal signal and periods of 3–4 d are prominent. The barocliny of an eddy kinetic energy is stronger than the mean kinetic energy, both of which are the strongest on the bottom and the weakest at 70 m depth. Residual currents are largely southward(northward) during the summer(winter) monsoon season. Two striking peaks of the southward flow cause the 80 d period of meridional currents. The first peak is part of a large-scale circulation, which enters the AS through the northern channel and exits through the southern channel, and the second peak is part of a local vortex. The 40 d oscillation of the zonal current is forced by geostrophic variations attributed to local and equatorial remote forcing. The tidal current is dominated by semidiurnal constituents, and among these, M2 and N2 are the top two largest major axes. Moreover, astronomical tidal constituents MM and MSF are also significant. Diurnal constituents are weak and shallow water tides are ignorable. The aims are to introduce the new current data observed in the AS and to provide initial insights for the tidal and residual currents in the Andaman Sea.     

威海沿岸海域潮汐特征分析

文章主要选取国家海洋局成山头海洋环境监测站1996—2016年的潮位、潮差月值资料,利用线性回归法,对威海沿岸海域近21年来的潮汐特征进行分析。结果表明:威海沿岸海域近21年的平均潮位、最高潮位、最低潮位、平均潮差、最大潮差整体上均呈上升的变化趋势,但气候倾向率各不相同,分别是2.57cm/(10a)、5.872cm/(10a)、4.137cm/(10a)、1.017cm/(10a)、2.604cm/(10a)。     

乌干达Albert湖凹陷陡坡带成藏模式

乌干达Albert湖凹陷是世界上最年轻的生烃凹陷,至今仍处于断陷伸展阶段,特殊的地质背景使其具有独特油气富集特征。为了预测Albert湖西部陡坡带的勘探潜力,利用地震、钻井等资料开展了凹陷构造特征研究,系统分析了陡坡带石油地质条件和成藏模式。研究表明,板式陡坡带油气侧向运移,成藏条件优越;台阶式陡坡带以垂向运移为主,侧向运移为辅,成藏条件一般。运移和保存是Albert湖陡坡带油气富集的主控因素,西部陡坡带一台阶是有利勘探区带,资源潜力较大。此研究对非洲陆内裂谷油气勘探具有重要的指导作用。     

东海陆架盆地南部区域地震速度分析

在利用速度谱资料进行速度研究的可行性基础上,使用多种方法对速度谱资料进行甄别、筛选,对有效的速度谱资料进行统计、分析,计算出瓯江、闽江、基隆、晋江4个区域及全区的平均速度趋势,阐明了制作各反射层位平均速度分布图的方法,为本区时深转换提供基础资料。同时,分析了地震地质构造与速度趋势的相关性和一致性,对盆地内构造活动不强的区域等速度线与地层分布趋势及密度的关系进行了探讨,指出其对研究重力资料有一定的指导作用。     

南海芋螺科一新记录种(软体动物门, 腹足纲, 新腹足目)

在对中国科学院南海海洋生物标本馆馆藏芋螺科 Conidae 标本, 以及近年来在南海补充采集的标本进行整理的过程中, 通过形态分类学方法鉴定发现隶属于芋螺属 Conus 的中国海新记录种1种: 锈色芋螺 Conus ferrugineus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792, 标本采自西沙群岛。文章描述了该种的外部形态, 查明了其生活习性和地理分布特点, 并与相似种犊纹芋螺 Conus vitulinus Hwass in Bruguière, 1792 进行了比较, 通过壳口内面前沟部位的颜色可将两者区分开: 锈色芋螺呈白色, 而犊纹芋螺呈紫 (褐) 色; 同时对这两个相似种的其他区别特征进行了总结。     

渤、黄海生态环境模拟的参数敏感度空间差异分析

随着海洋生态系统模型的发展,生态变量增多,众多生物过程参数量值的确定成为制约生态环境模拟的瓶颈问题,生态系统结构区域性要求模型中的生态参数具有区域差异。为探究不同海区的关键参数及参数敏感度的空间差异,本研究在渤、黄海建立了ROMS-CoSiNE物理–生物耦合的高分辨率生态系统模型,并对13种生态参数的敏感度空间分布进行分析。结果表明:南黄海中部与渤海及近岸海域的敏感度差异较大。渤海敏感度最大的参数为决定光合速率的浮游植物P-I曲线初始斜率,其次为浮游动物捕食半饱和常数和浮游动物最大捕食率。而南黄海中部敏感度最大的参数为浮游动物最大捕食率,其次为浮游植物死亡率和浮游植物P-I曲线初始斜率。结合敏感度分布及浮游植物生物量收支得出,渤海水体透明度较南黄海偏低、浮游植物生长光限制较强,是引起浮游植物P-I曲线初始斜率敏感度在渤海高于黄海的主要原因。浮游动物最大捕食率及浮游植物死亡率的敏感度空间差异,受渤、黄海浮游植物生物量差异的影响,与生态系统中的高度非线性特征有关。     

渤海夏季环流的高分辨率海浪-潮汐-环流耦合模式研究

The Bohai Sea is a shallow semi-enclosed inner sea with an average depth of 18 m and is located at the west of the northern Yellow Sea. The climatological circulation pattern in summer of the Bohai Sea is studied by using a wave-tide-circulation coupled model. The simulated temperature and the circulation agree with the observation well. The result shows that the circulation pattern of the Bohai Sea is jointly influenced by the tidal residual current, wind and baroclinic current. There exists an obvious density current along the temperature front from the west part of the Liaodong Bay to the offshore area of the Huanghe Estuary. In the Liaodong Bay there exists a clockwise gyre in the area north to the 40°N. While in the area south to the 40°N the circulation shows a two-gyre structure, the flow from the offshore area of the Huanghe Estuary to the Liaodong Bay splits into two branches in the area between 39°N and 40°N. The west branch turns into north-west and forms an anti-clockwise gyre with the south-westward density current off the west of the Liaodong Bay. The east branch turns to the east and forms a clockwise gyre with the flow along the east coast of the Liaodong Bay. The forming mechanism of the circulation is also discussed in this paper.     

印尼贯穿流源区马鲁古海与哈马黑拉海水团来源的季节和年际变化

So far, large uncertainties of the Indonesian throughflow(ITF) reside in the eastern Indonesian seas, such as the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea. In this study, the water sources of the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea are diagnosed at seasonal and interannual timescales and at different vertical layers, using the state-of-the-art simulations of the Ocean General Circulation Model(OGCM) for Earth Simulator(OFES). Asian monsoon leaves clear seasonal footprints on the eastern Indonesian seas. Consequently, the subsurface waters(around 24.5σ_θ and at ～150 m) in both the Maluku Sea and the Halmahera Sea stem from the South Pacific(SP) during winter monsoon, but during summer monsoon the Maluku Sea is from the North Pacific(NP), and the Halmahera Sea is a mixture of waters originating from the NP and the SP. The monsoon impact decreases with depth, so that in the Maluku Sea, the intermediate water(around 26.8σ_θ and at ～480 m) is always from the northern Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea water is mainly from the SP in winter and the Banda Sea in summer. The deep waters(around27.2σ_θ and at ～1 040 m) in both seas are from the SP, with weak seasonal variability. At the interannual timescale,the subsurface water in the Maluku Sea originates from the NP/SP during El Ni?o/La Ni?a, while the subsurface water in the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. Similar to the seasonal variability, the intermediate water in Maluku Sea mainly comes from the Banda Sea and the Halmahera Sea always originates from the SP. The deep waters in both seas are from the SP. Our findings are helpful for drawing a comprehensive picture of the water properties in the Indonesian seas and will contribute to a better understanding of the ocean-atmosphere interaction over the maritime continent.