Numerical study of enhanced energy dissipation near a seamount

Using a two-dimensional primitive equation model, we examine nonlinear responses of a semidiurnal tidal flow impinging on a seamount with a background Garrett-Munk-like (GM-like) internal wavefield. It is found that horizontally elongated pancake-like structures of high vertical wavenumber near-inertial current shear are created both in the near-field (the region over the slope of the seamount) and far-field (the region over the flat bottom of the ocean). An important distinction is that the high vertical wavenumber near-inertial current shear is amplified only at mid-latitudes in the far-field (owing to a parametric subharmonic instability (PSI)), whereas it is amplified both at mid-and high-latitudes (above the latitude where PSI can occur) in the near-field. In order to clarify the generating mechanism for the strong shear in the near-field, additional numerical experiments are carried out with the GM-like background internal waves removed. The experiments show that the strong shear is also created, indicating that it is not caused by the interaction between the background GM-like internal waves and the semidiurnal internal tides. One possible explanation is proposed for the amplification of high vertical wavenumber near-inertial current shear in the near-field where tide residual flow resulting from tide-topography interaction plays an important role in transferring energy from high-mode internal tides to near-inertial internal waves.     

DENDROGEOMORPHOLOGICAL ANALYSES ON EXPOSED ROOTS ALONG TWO MOUNTAIN HIKING TRAILS IN THE CENTRAL ITALIAN ALPS

ABSTRACT. Mountain landscapes show rapid evolution, especially at high altitudes, in response to current climate changes. In addition, the greater number of routes and trails made available and the increase in tourism have caused some impacts on mountain areas. Gradual soil erosion has been observed along some hiking trails, with the latter tending to deepen, and with stronger erosion where the trail cuts the slope. Where trails cross forested areas, trees can suffer root damage from foot trampling as roots become exposed. A dendrogeomorphological study was conducted on trees along two hiking trails in upper Valtellina (Italian Alps). On the first trail, in Valle dei Forni, European larches and stone pines, mostly with exposed roots, were sampled. A mean erosion rate of 2.7 mm/a, related to deepening of the footpath, was obtained, and various degrees of root growth disturbance along the trail were observed. In particular, the growth of many sampled roots shows an increase in ring width corresponding with the moment when root exposure occurred, followed, after 3–5 years, by rapid growth suppression. The exposure of many roots has taken place since the 1980s. No significant variations in stem growth were observed, even when there were exposed and damaged roots. Along the second trail, in Valle Alpisella, exposed roots of mountain pines were analysed. A mean erosion rate of 3.2–3.7 mm/a, related to the escarpments bordering the footpath, was obtained, while no significant changes were detected in root growth.     

洋岛,海山碳酸盐岩的沉积特征及其古地理意义

高出水面的洋岛和潜伏水下的海山普遍存在于现代地球表面的各大洋中，地质历史中存在的古洋岛和古海山也逐渐为人们所认识。笔者从地形特征，沉积学特征，成岩作用和生物学特征几个方面对洋岛，海山进行了分析，洋岛，海山通常具有洋岛型火山岩基底和碳酸盐盖层的双层式地层结构，具有低分异度，探讨了古洋岛，古海山的鉴别对于再造古海洋，古地理格局的现实意义。     

变斑晶晶内显微构造特征及其成因综述

变斑晶晶内包体径迹的成因研究是当代变质岩岩石学研究的一个重大方向。变斑晶是联系变质的变形的重要媒介，对研究造山过程及机制、ｐ－Ｔ－ｔ轨迹，褶皱作用机制，变质过程，变形过程、物质运移机制等起着关键性的作用，晶内包体径迹按几何形态分为９大类，综合当前的模拟结果，观察事实，分别对其成因问题作了探讨。     

Limited differences among habitats in deep‐sea macro‐infaunal communities off New Zealand: implications for their vulnerability to anthropogenic disturbance

The spread of human activities into the deep sea may pose a high risk to benthic communities and affect ecosystem integrity. The deep sea is characterized by physical and biological heterogeneity and different habitat types are likely to differ in their vulnerability to anthropogenic impacts. However, across‐habitat comparisons are rare, and no comprehensive ecological risk assessment has yet been developed. To address this gap in our knowledge, we compared macro‐infaunal community structure in four habitats (slope, canyons, seamounts and methane seeps) at depths between 700 and 1500 m in the Hikurangi Margin and Bay of Plenty regions off New Zealand. The most striking contrast in community structure was between the two study regions, due to an order of magnitude difference in macro‐infaunal abundance that we believe was caused by differences in surface productivity and food availability at the sea bed. We found differences in structural and functional attributes of macro‐infaunal communities among some habitats in the Hikurangi Margin (slope, canyon and seep), but not in the Bay of Plenty. We posit that differences between canyon and slope communities on the Hikurangi Margin are due to enhanced food availability inside canyons compared with adjacent slope habitats. Seep communities were characterized by elevated abundance of both symbiont‐bearing and heterotrophic taxa, and were the most distinct, and variable, among the habitats that we considered on the Hikurangi Margin. Communities of seamounts were not distinct from slope or canyon communities on the Hikurangi Margin, probably reflecting similar environmental conditions in these habitats. The communities of deep‐sea canyon and seep habitats on the Hikurangi Margin were sufficiently dissimilar from each other and from slope habitats to warrant separate management consideration. By contrast, the low dissimilarity between communities of canyon and slope habitats in the Bay of Plenty suggests that habitat‐based management is not required in this region, for macro‐infauna at least. Although the two study regions share similar species pools, populations of the Hikurangi Margin region may be less vulnerable than the sparser populations of the Bay of Plenty due to the higher availability of potential colonizers and faster population growth. Thus regions, and habitats in some regions, should be subject to separate ecological risk assessment to help identify the key risks and consequences of human activities, and to inform options for reducing or mitigating impacts.     

Student Perceptions of a Recreation Trail Assignment as a Valuable Learning Experience for Geography Undergraduates

Charging undergraduate geography students with the task of designing a recreational trail in their local community offers an engaging experiential opportunity with potential to advance geographic learning in a real-world setting. This article presents an assignment in which students were asked to develop a recreational trail proposal for an undeveloped local conservation area and the results of a survey that asked the students to reflect and report upon the educational value of this experience one year later. Results of the survey validated the assignment's lasting value to the students across the cognitive, psychomotor, and affective learning domains.     

Geochemistry and Tectonic History of Seamount Remnants in the Xingshuwa Subduction Accretionary Complex of the Xar Moron Area,Eastern Margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt

This study focuses on the geology, geochemistry, zircon U-Pb geochronology and tectonic settings of the three types of seamount basalts from the Xingshuwa subduction accretionary complex in the Xar Moron area, eastern margin of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt(CAOB). The seamount remnants are composed of carbonate 'cap' sediments, large volumes of pillow and massive basalts, carbonate breccia slope facies and radiolarian cherts. Group 1 basalts are characterized by high contents of P2 O5 and TiO2 with alkaline affinity and LREE enrichment, indicating that they are derived from intraplate magma. Group 2 basalts display N-MORB LREE depletion patterns, indicating that they were formed at a mid-ocean ridge. Group 3 basalts have shown distinct Nb depletion and high Th/Yb ratios, indicating that they were generated in an island arc tectonic setting. The zircon U-Pb age of Group 1 basalt sample XWT18-131 is 576.4 ± 9.4 Ma, suggesting that the oceanic island seamount was the product of intraplate magmatism related to a mantle plume or 'hot spot' in the late Neoproterozoic. The zircon U-Pb age of Group 2 basalt sample XWT18-132 is 483 ± 22 Ma, indicating that the Paleo-Asian Ocean(PAO) was continuously expanding in the Early Ordovician. The zircon U-Pb age of Group 3 basalt sample XWT18-101 is 240.5 ± 8.2 Ma, suggesting that this area underwent the evolutionary path of ocean-continent transition, developing towards continentalization during the Middle Triassic. Thus, we believe that there was both mantle plume-related intraplate magmatism and intraoceanic subduction during the evolution of the PAO, the CAOB possibly being an evolutionary model of an intraoceanic subduction and mantle plume magmatism complex.     

Bathymetry,substrate and fishing areas of Southeast Atlantic high-seas seamounts

Most of the Southeast Atlantic Ocean is abyssal, and global bathymetries suggest that only ～3.2% of the areas beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ; also known as the high seas, as defined in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea [UNCLOS]) are shallower than 2 500 m. This study mapped bathymetry and characterised substrates in selected seamount summit areas, including several that have been or may become fishing areas. The southernmost location, the Schmitt-Ott Seamount, has exposed volcanic bedrock with surrounding flats covered by thin biogenic sediments and/or coral rubble that appears ancient. At Wüst, Vema, Valdivia and Ewing seamounts the basaltic base appears to be overlain by coral caps and other coral substrates (sheets, rubble). Adjacent summit plains have biogenic sediments of varying thickness. Vema has a flat, roughly circular summit, <100 m deep, with the shallowest point being a 22-m-deep summit knoll; the upper slopes have ancient coral framework, but the summit has a mixture of coralline and volcanic rock and coarse sediments, including extensive areas with coralline algae and kelp forests. Valdivia Bank is a 230-m-deep, flat, rocky area (～11 × 5 km), protruding steeply from the extensive multi-summit Valdivia subarea of the Walvis Ridge. The distribution of past fisheries in the Convention Area of the South East Atlantic Fisheries Organisation (SEAFO) was considered in relation to the new information on bathymetry and substrate.     

Archaeal community structure in sediments from a seamount in the Mariana Volcanic Arc

Seamounts are subsurface mountains in the ocean. Examination of the abundance and distribution of Archaea in seamount ecosystems may provide a better understanding of their ecological functions. Most studies of marine archaeal assemblages in seamount area have focused on hydrothermal vents or ferromanganese crusts. We investigated the archaeal communities from a seamount of the Mariana Volcanic Arc, in the tropical western Pacific Ocean by using high-throughput sequencing. Thaumarchaeota was dominant in the sediments of all sample stations. Community diversity and species richness were greatest at stations near the top of the seamount, and lowest at the deepest station. One sample station on the steep southeast slope that faced the Yap-Mariana trench had a unique composition of Archaea. In summary, depth has an important influence on archaeal community structure, and the geographic properties and sediment characteristics may explain the unique distribution patterns of Archaea in this seamount. This study provides a foundation for future research on Archaea in seamounts.     

海山铁锰结壳基岩岩石学特征及其生长关系

为了研究海山铁锰结壳基岩类型与结壳壳层生长的关系。对麦哲伦海山及中太平洋海山区取得的铁锰结壳及其基岩样品在电子显微镜下进行了观察和研究。结果表明，上述2个区域基岩岩石类型主要有玄武岩，火山熔岩，火山碎屑岩，硅质岩和碳酸盐岩，其中麦哲伦海山玄武岩为块状构造，中太平洋海山玄武岩则主要为气孔-杏仁状构造，多发生蚀变或完全蚀变，硅质岩颗粒物质主要是硅藻，碳酸盐岩则以晶质灰岩为主，结壳壳层厚度在各类基岩类型上都有变化，以在玄武岩和碳酸盐岩上变化最大。