The influence of hydrography on the distribution of phytoplankton in the southern Taiwan Strait

During the period August 1985 to May 1986, phytoplankton in the southern Taiwan Strait was collected and studied for distributional variability in relation to hydrography. The results indicated that maximum standing crops of phytoplankton occurred in October and May due to the outgrowth of certain species of diatoms and blue-green algae. The majority of phytoplankton appeared in the water in the top 25 m and occurred in distinct clusters under the influence of water movement. Multivariate analysis indicated that hydrographic parameters, which accounted for the variability of phytoplankton distribution, varied seasonally. Vertical, spatial and temporal variabilities were also apparent. The close relationship between hydrography and algal distribution justifies the use of variations in the phytoplankton population as a useful tracer of water movement.     

A Preliminary Study of Oceanic Bomb Radiocarbon Inventory in the North Pacific during the Last Two Decades

Radiocarbon and total carbonate data were obtained near the 1973 GEOSECS stations in the North Pacific along 30°N and along 175°E between 1993 and 1994. In these stations, we estimated radiocarbon originating from atomic bomb tests using tritium, trichlorofluoromethane and silicate contents. The average penetration depth of bomb radiocarbon during the two decades has deepened from 900 m to 1300 m. Bomb radiocarbon inventories above the average value for the whole North Pacific were found widely in the western subtropical region around 30°N both in the 1970s and 1990s, and its area in the 1990s was broader than that in the 1970s. In most of the North Pacific, while the bomb radiocarbon has decreased above 25.4, the bomb radiocarbon flux below 25.4 was over 1 × 10¹² atom m^-2yr^-1 in the subtropical region around 30°N. In the tropical area south of 20°N, the bomb radiocarbon inventory below 25.4 increased from zero to over 10 × 10¹² atom m^-2 during the last three decades. These distributions suggest that the bomb radiocarbon removed from the surface is currently accumulated with bomb ¹⁴C flux of over 1 × 10¹² atom m^-2yr^-1 below 25.4 in the subtropical region, mainly by advection from the higher latitude, and that part of the accumulated bomb ¹⁴C gradually spread southward with about 30 years.     

Seasonal variations in the speciation of dissolved iodine in the Chesapeake Bay

The speciation of dissolved iodine and the distributions of the iodine species in the deep Chesapeake Bay underwent seasonal variations in response to changes in the prevailing redox condition. In the deep water, the ratios of iodate to iodide and iodate to inorganic iodine decreased progressively from the Winter through the Summer as the deep water became more poorly oxygenated before they rebounded in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated again. The composition of the surface water followed the same trend. However, in this case, the higher biological activities in the Spring and the Summer could also have enhanced the biologically mediated reduction of iodate to iodide by phytoplankton and contributed to the lower ratios found during those seasons. Superimposed on this redox cycle was a cycle of input and removal of dissolved iodine probably as a result of the interactions between the water column and the underlying sediments. Iodine was added to the Bay during the Summer when the deep water was more reducing and removed from the Bay in the Fall when the deep water became re-oxygenated. A third cycle was the inter-conversion between inorganic iodine and ‘dissolved organic iodine’, or ‘‘DOI’’. The conversion of inorganic iodine to ‘DOI’ was more prevalent in the Spring. As a result of these biogeochemical reactions in the Bay, during exchanges between the Bay and the North Atlantic, iodate-rich and ‘DOI’-poor water was imported into the Bay while iodide- and ‘DOI’-rich water was exported to the Atlantic. The export of iodide from these geochemically reactive systems along the land margins contributes to the enrichment of iodide in the surface open oceans.     

Elucidating the dynamics and mixing agents of a shallow fjord through age tracer modelling

The mixing agents and their role in the dynamics of a shallow fjord are elucidated through an Eulerian implementation of artificial tracers in a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The time scales of vertical mixing in this shallow estuary are short, and the artificial tracers are utilized in order to reveal information not detectable in the temperature or salinity fields. The fjord's response to external forcing is investigated through a series of model experiments in which we quantify vertical mixing, transport time scales of fresh water runoff and estuarine circulation in relation to external forcing.Using age tracers released at surface and bottom, we quantify the time scales of downward mixing of surface water and upward mixing of bottom water. Wind is shown to be the major agent for vertical mixing at nearly all depth levels in the fjord, whereas the tide or external sea level forcing is a minor agent and only occasionally more important just close to the bottom. The time scale of vertical mixing of surface water to the bottom or ventilation time scale of bottom water is estimated to be in the range 0.7 h to 9.0 days, with an average age of 2.7 days for the year 2004.The fjord receives fresh water from two streams entering the innermost part of the fjord, and the distribution and age of this water are studied using both ageing and conservative tracers. The salinity variations outside this fjord are large, and in contrast to the salinity, the artificial tracers provide a straight forward analysis of river water content. The ageing tracer is used to estimate transport time scales of river water (i.e. the time elapsed since the water left the river mouth). In May 2004, the typical age of river water leaving the fjord mouth is 5 days. As the major vertical mixing agent is wind, it controls the estuarine circulation and export of river water. When the wind stress is set to zero, the vertical mixing is reduced and the vertical salinity stratification is increased, and the river water can be effectively exported out of the fjord.We also analyse the river tracer fields and salinity field in relation to along estuary winds in order to detect signs of wind-induced straining of the along estuary density gradient. We find that events of down estuary winds are primarily associated with a reduced along estuary salinity gradient due to increased surface salinity in the innermost part of the fjord, and with an overall decrease in vertical stratification and river water content at the surface. Thus, our results show no apparent signs of wind-induced straining in this shallow fjord but instead they indicate increased levels of vertical mixing or upwelling during down estuary wind events.     

Elemental geochemical records of seafloor hydrothermal activities in the sediments from the Okinawa Trough

The major and minor element contents in the sediment core H9 from the hydrothermal fields of the Okinawa Trough show a sharp change at the depth of 80 cm. The elements enriched in the upper 80 cm core are those enriched in the hydrothermal deposits and in the surface sediments recovered from the hydrothermal fields in the trough, which indicates the input of hydrothermal materials. Comparing with other hydrothermal sediments from Mid-ocean Ridges or the Lau Basin, the degree of the enrichment of elements iron, copper,cobalt, and nickel is relatively low. However, the enrichment of elements manganese, lead, arsenic, antimony and mercury is remarkable. The average contents of these elements in the upper 80 cm core sediments are three to six times those in the lower section, and 3~12 times those in the surface sediments which are not influenced by hydrothermal activities. Hydrothermal activities have contributed significant manganese, lead, arsenic, antimony and mercury to the sediments, and these elements are distinct indicators for the hydrothermal activity in the Okinawa Trough. The significant enrichment of these elements in Core H9 upward from the depth 80 cm indicates the start or the significant enhancing of the hydrothermal activity in this area at about 5 740 aB.P. The average accumulation rate of manganese during this period is about 40 461 μg/(cm2·ka), which is similar to the hydrothermal sediments in the Lau Basin or the East Pacific Rise.     

Comparison of high spatial resolution trace metal distributions with model simulations for surface waters of the Gulf of Cadiz

A multidisciplinary study in the Gulf of Cadiz is revisited, using additional diagnostic modelling tools. The dissolved trace metal (Cu, Ni, Zn, Co) distributions in the Gulf of Cadiz are analysed using modelled tracer evolutions, field observations and the concept of tracer ages. This study shows that a significant part of the observed metal distributions can be explained by the metal inputs of three river systems (Guadiana, Rio Tinto and Odiel, Guadalquivir) discharging into the Gulf of Cadiz, while the remainder of the signal is most likely associated with the benthic metal remobilisation along the shelf of this coastal region.     

Environmental tracers as indicators of karst conduits in groundwater in South Dakota,USA

Environmental tracers sampled from the carbonate Madison aquifer on the eastern flank of the Black Hills, South Dakota, USA indicated the approximate locations of four major karst conduits. Contamination issues are a major concern because these conduits are characterized by direct connections to sinking streams, high groundwater velocities, and proximity to public water supplies. Objectives of the study were to estimate approximate conduit locations and assess possible anthropogenic influences associated with conduits. Anomalies of young groundwater based on chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), tritium, and electrical conductivity (EC) indicated fast moving, focused flow and thus the likely presence of conduits. δ¹⁸O was useful for determining sources of recharge for each conduit, and nitrate was a useful tracer for assessing flow paths for anthropogenic influences. Two of the four conduits terminate at or near a large spring complex. CFC apparent ages ranged from 15 years near conduits to >50 years in other areas. Nitrate-N concentrations >0.4 mg/L in groundwater were associated with each of the four conduits compared with concentrations ranging from <0.1 to 0.4 mg/L in other areas. These higher nitrate-N concentrations probably do not result from sinking streams but rather from other areas of infiltration.     

Measurement of the total nitrogen in lake sediments： Comparison and its environmental significance

Nitrogen cycle is an important bio-geochemical process in the environment. Measurement of the total nitrogen （TN） is a routine experiment in agriculture, biology and environmental sciences. The Kjeldahl method （KM） and elemental analyzer method （EA） are both commonly used to determine TN. Total nitrogen by EA is the sum of nitrate （NO3）, nitrite （NO2）, organic nitrogen and ammonia. Total nitrogen by KM （TKN） is made up of both organic nitrogen and ammonia. A comparative study focused on the two methods is conducted by analysis of TN in 97 samples from the sediment sequence of Gouchi, a salt lake in North China. KM presents a higher degree of accuracy than EA with a standard deviation of 0.007 vs. 0.024. With the presence of nitrate and/or nitrite nitrogen, however, measurement by KM is considerably lower than that by EA. Therefore, for samples from lake sediment sequences or soils in North China, KM is inapplicable to determining TN because of usually high contents of nitrous salt. Despite the inconsistency, use of both methods to the same samples makes sense in reconstructions of climatic and environmental changes from lake sediments. In Lake Gouchi, the contents of nitrate and nitrite nitrogen vary from 1.40% in the lower part of the sequence to 14.77% in the uppermost part, suggesting a gradual evolution process from a fresh water lake to the present-day salt lake.     

基于PGNAA技术在线分析系统的应用

近年来,随着核探测与分析技术的日趋成熟,使复杂γ谱的获取、解析达到了在线测量的要求,从而使在线PGNAA(中子活化瞬发γ射线分析)技术获得了飞速的发展。它可对一些工业生产过程中的全物料进行在线测量,其分析精度、可靠性等皆能满足在线元素含量分析的需要,因而显示出巨大的发展潜力和广阔的市场前景。这里介绍了基于PGNAA技术的在线分析系统的基本原理、组成和发展,并概述了它在水泥、煤炭等行业的应用情况。     

ODP 1144站钻孔沉积物中微玻璃陨石的元素地球化学特征

利用电子探针和激光探针等离子体质谱方法分析了取自南海北部的ODP1144钻孔沉积物中的微玻璃陨石和取自邻近的广东省湛江和吴川玻璃陨石的主元素和微量元素组成。结果显示，这些微玻璃陨石属于亚洲-澳大利亚散落区的普通微玻璃陨石。从成分上看，这些微玻璃陨石存在两种不同的类型，其中的绝大部分Al2O3含量在19.0%以上，属于高Al类型，相应的难熔微量元素含量也比较高；个别微玻璃陨石Al2O3含量（13.0%)和难熔微量元素含量较低，微量元素含量和特征比值都与邻近的广东省湛江和吴川的玻璃陨石相近。元素地球化学特征意味着，这些微玻璃陨石来源于同一靶源区，但靶区的物质组成并不均一。