Silicon limitation on primary production and its destiny in Jiaozhou Bay, China——Ⅳ：Study on cross-bay transect from estuary to ocean

The authors analyzed the data collected in the Ecological Station Jiaozhou Bay from May 1991 to November 1994, including 12 seasonal investigations, to determine the characteristics, dynamic cycles and variation trends of the silicate in the bay. The results indicated that the rivers around Jiaozhou Bay provided abundant supply of silicate to the bay. The silicate concentration there depended on river flow variation. The horizontal variation of silicate concentration on the transect showed that the silicate concentration decreased with distance from shorelines. The vertical variation of it showed that silicate sank and deposited on the sea bottom by phytoplankton uptake and death, and zooplankton excretion. In this way, silicon would endlessly be transferred from terrestrial sources to the sea bottom. The silicon took up by phytoplankton and by other biogeochemical processes led to insufficient silicon supply for phytoplankton growth. In this paper, a 2D dynamic model of river flow versus silicate concentration was established by which silicate concentrations of 0.028–0.062 μmol/L in seawater was yielded by inputting certain seasonal unit river flows (m³/s), or in other words, the silicate supply rate; and when the unit river flow was set to zero, meaning no river input, the silicate concentrations were between 0.05–0.69 μmol/L in the bay. In terms of the silicate supply rate, Jiaozhou Bay was divided into three parts. The division shows a given river flow could generate several different silicon levels in corresponding regions, so as to the silicon-limitation levels to the phytoplankton in these regions. Another dynamic model of river flow versus primary production was set up by which the phytoplankton primary production of 5.21–15.55 (mgC/m²·d)/(m³/s) were obtained in our case at unit river flow values via silicate concentration or primary production conversion rate. Similarly, the values of primary production of 121.98–195.33 (mgC/m²·d) were achieved at zero unit river flow condition. A primary production conversion rate reflects the sensitivity to silicon depletion so as to different phytoplankton primary production and silicon requirements by different phytoplankton assemblages in different marine areas. In addition, the authors differentiated two equations (Eqs. 1 and 2) in the models to obtain the river flow variation that determines the silicate concentration variation, and in turn, the variation of primary production. These results proved further that nutrient silicon is a limiting factor for phytoplankton growth. This study was funded by NSFC (No. 40036010), and the Director's Fund of the Beihai Sea Monitoring Center, the State Oceanic Administration.     

Biogenic silicate accumulation in sediments, Jiaozhou Bay

1 INTRODUCTION Silicate, or silicic acid (H4SiO4), is a very im- portant nutrient in the ocean. Unlike other major nu- trients such as phosphate and nitrate or ammonium, which are needed by almost all marine plankton, silicate is an essential chemical req…     

Spatial Patterns in Nutrient and In Vivo Fluorescence Distributions in the Marginal Ice Zone and the Seasonally Open Oceanic Zone in the Indian Sector of the Antarctic Ocean, in Austral Summer

Surface temperature, salinity, concentrations of silicate (Si) and nitrate + nitrite (N), and in vivo fluorescence (Fluor) were investigated in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) and the seasonally open oceanic zone (SOOZ) (32–40°E, 64–69°S) from February 23 to 28 1992. In the MIZ the mean Si and N were 67.8 ± 2.2 M and 32.5 ± 1.7 M, respectively. There was a trend that low N values coincided with high Fluor values. Observation conducted at one point (64°S, 38°E) revealed a diel variation pattern in Fluor. Applying this pattern of deviation from noon value, all Fluor data were normalized to value at local noon. In the MIZ a significant negative correlation was observed between the normalized Fluor and N but not Si. On the other hand, Si decreased continuously from south to north in the SOOZ and was negatively correlated with the normalized Fluor. Difference in Si concentration was about 30 M between the sea around 64°S and the MIZ, while the difference in N concentration was estimated as less than 10 M. If diatoms take up silicate and nitrogen at an approximate ratio of 1:1, additional nitrogenous nutrients other than nitrate and nitrite (e.g. ammonia, urea etc.) would be required. In this case, an f-ratio of lower than 33% is obtained. It is suggested that in the MIZ abundance of phytoplankton community dominated by non-diatom increases utilizing nitrate while in the SOOZ abundance of phytoplankton community dominated by diatoms increases consuming Si and regenerated nitrogen.     

Zircon M257 ‐ a Homogeneous Natural Reference Material for the Ion Microprobe U‐Pb Analysis of Zircon

We introduce and propose zircon M257 as a future reference material for the determination of zircon U‐Pb ages by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. This light brownish, flawless, cut gemstone specimen from Sri Lanka weighed 5.14 g (25.7 carats). Zircon M257 has TIMS‐determined, mean isotopic ratios (2s uncertainties) of 0.09100 ± 0.00003 for ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U and 0.7392 ± 0.0003 for ²⁰⁷pb/²³⁵U. Its ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U age is 561.3 ± 0.3 Ma (unweighted mean, uncertainty quoted at the 95% confidence level); the U‐Pb system is concordant within uncertainty of decay constants. Zircon M257 contains ～ 840 μg g^?1 U (Th/U ～ 0.27). The material exhibits remarkably low heterogeneity, with a virtual absence of any internal textures even in cathodoluminescence images. The uniform, moderate degree of radiation damage (estimated from the expansion of unit‐cell parameters, broadening of Raman spectral parameters and density) corresponds well, within the “Sri Lankan trends”, with actinide concentrations, U‐Pb age, and the calculated alpha fluence of 1.66 × 10¹⁸ g^?1. This, and a (U+Th)/He age of 419 ± 9 Ma (2s), enables us to exclude any unusual thermal history or heat treatment, which could potentially have affected the retention of radiogenic Pb. The oxygen isotope ratio of this zircon is 13.9%o VSMOW suggesting a metamorphic genesis in a marble or calc‐silicate skarn.     

Forests, climate, and silicate rock weathering

Over time periods of 10⁶ years and longer, atmospheric carbon dioxide content is largely controlled by a balance between silicate rock weathering and CO₂ sources (degassing from the Earth plus net organic carbon oxidation). Vegetation cover can affect silicate rock weathering rates by increasing soil CO₂ content, stabilizing soil cover, and producing organic acids. Forests absorb more solar radiation than most other ecosystems; this tends to warm Earth's climate, especially outside of the tropics; this warmth would tend to increase silicate rock weathering rates. Here, we develop preliminary parameterizations of this effect that could be incorporated into carbonate–silicate cycle models, based on the results of general circulation model simulations.     

铝对铬成矿地球化学的依存性和对抗性

基于岩浆铬矿床与超镁铁质岩石的关系，从元素亲合性和共生规律的角度揭示了铝对铬成矿制约的主导作用，分析了铝和铬亲石、亲氧的二重性及其晶体化学的依存关系。论证了超镁铁Ｓｉ－Ｏ体系中铝丰度过高或过低均不利于铬的成矿。揭示了制约元素分散富集的因素都是在一定条件下互为依存和转化的，是在动态中的矛盾的对立和统一。     

硅酸盐样品微波加热碱熔分解方法

本文研究了硅酸盐样品在常压下，用微波炉进行碱熔分解的熔样时间，试剂用量和滴加水量等情况对分解的影响，确定了最佳实验条件，将此法用于地球化学标准参考样品ＳｉＯ２的测定，取得了满意的结果。     

云南墨江金厂金矿床含铬层状硅酸盐矿物成分标型特征

含铬绢云母类矿物在云南墨江金厂金矿床中广泛出现于黄铁铬绢英岩、黄铁硅质岩、黄铁铬云母岩和石英脉中。含铬绿泥石类矿物主要出现在石英脉、硅质岩、黄铁铬绢英岩中。蒙脱石出现于蚀变围岩中，而高岭石出现于富金石英脉中。本文通过对72个上述矿物电子探针数据的分析，确定了与其成因产状对应的含铬绢云母、含铬伊利石、含铬绿泥石、含铬蒙脱石、高岭石矿物的系列成分标型。研究表明，具最高铬含量的上述矿物样品均位于近金厂岩体穿脉的最北端。在铬铝云母SiO2-Cr2O3关系图上可以看出，不同成矿背景的铬铝绢云母，其Cr、Si离子数有分区特点，而本矿床的铬铝云母成分标型反映其富硅富铬的特点，与金厂超基性岩体的变质热液有关。     

Precise/ Small Sample Size Determinations of Lithium Isotopic Compositions of Geological Reference Materials and Modern Seawater by MC-ICP-MS

The Li isotope ratios of four international rock reference materials, USGS BHVO-2, GSJ JB-2, JG-2, JA-1 and modern seawater (Mediterranean, Pacific and North Atlantic) were determined using multi-collector inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS). These reference materials of natural samples were chosen to span a considerable range in Li isotope ratios and cover several different matrices in order to provide a useful benchmark for future studies. Our new analytical technique achieves significantly higher precision and reproducibility (< ± O.3%o 2s) than previous methods, with the additional advantage of requiring very low sample masses of ca . 2 ng of Li.     

Geochemistry of Late Cretaceous （ 60 - 67 Ma） igneous activities in the Hebrides Terrace seamount （guyot） area, Scotland

Tholeiitic basalts in various stages of alteration were dredged from Late Cretaceous volcanic rocks (60 -67 Ma) in the Hebrides Terrace seamount area in the Atlantic Ocean. These rocks are extrusive olivine basalts, including high- and low-Al basalts. High-Al basalts are depleted in MgO, CaO, Cr,Sc, V, St, Zr and enriched in TiO2, Na2O, Nb, Rb as compared with low-A1 basalts. Petrography and bulk-rock composition (major, trace and rare-earth elements) data defined clear tholeiitic suites displaying possible liquid lines of descent related to different degrees of crystal fractionation and partial melting.Isotopic dating of dredged samples gave the guyot an age of 60 - 67 Ma, in support of the assumption that it was formed during the Late Cretaceous.