Turnover time of waters in a deep basin in the Aegean Sea

The Western Gulf is a basin in the Saronikos Gulf. Below about 100 m the water is almost stagnant, essentially isothermal (around 14°C) and it has practically uniform salinity. The level and the mechanism of enrichment in nutrients is discussed. The age of the water estimated from nutrient budget calculations is between one and eight years. The replacement time of water is similar to that found in the Santa Barbara basin, but different from those of the Cariaco Trench and the Black Sea.     

High-resolution methane profiles across anoxic brine–seawater boundaries in the Atlantis-II, Discovery, and Kebrit Deeps (Red Sea)

A decrease in temperature (ΔT up to 45.5 °C) and chloride concentration (ΔCl up to 4.65 mol/l) characterises the brine–seawater boundary in the Atlantis-II, Discovery, and Kebrit Deeps of the Red Sea, where redox conditions change from anoxic to oxic over a boundary layer several meters thick. High-resolution (100 cm) profiles of the methane concentration, stable carbon isotope ratio of methane, and redox-sensitive tracers (O₂, Mn⁴⁺/Mn²⁺, Fe³⁺/Fe²⁺, and SO₄²⁻) were measured across the brine–seawater boundary layer to investigate methane fluxes and secondary methane oxidation processes.

Substantial amounts of thermogenic hydrocarbons are found in the deep brines (mostly methane, with a maximum concentration up to 4.8×10⁵ nmol/l), and steep methane concentration gradients mainly controlled by diffusive flow characterize the brine–seawater boundary (maximum of 2×10⁵ nmol/l/m in Kebrit Deep). However, locally the actual methane concentration profiles deviate from theoretical diffusion-controlled concentration profiles and extremely positive δ¹³C–CH₄ values can be found (up to +49‰ PDB in the Discovery Deep). Both, the actual CH₄ concentration profiles and the carbon-13 enrichment in the residual CH₄ of the Atlantis-II and Discovery Deeps indicate consumption (oxidation) of ¹²C-rich CH₄ under suboxic conditions (probably utilizing readily available—up to 2000 μmol/l—Mn(IV)-oxihydroxides as electron acceptor). Thus, a combined diffusion–oxidation model was used to calculate methane fluxes of 0.3–393 kg/year across the brine–seawater boundary layer. Assuming steady-state conditions, this slow loss of methane from the brines into the Red Sea bottom water reflects a low thermogenic hydrocarbon input into the deep brines.     

华北地区大地水准面起伏及其构造意义

利用ＧＰＳ水准对几个重力场模型计算的大地水准面进行了检验。利用ＷＤＭ９４模型编制了华北地区不同阶次的大地水准面起伏图,讨论了大地水准面起伏和该地区构造横向不均匀性的关系。结果显示：华北地区大地水准面由东向西逐渐降低,总体形态和本区地壳厚度呈镜像关系,且具有明显的分区特征;大地水准面的梯度带和本区３种不同地形的分界带（华北平原,太行山区,鄂尔多斯块体）一致,其中１１５°（Ｅ）分界带和我国东部的主要地壳厚度梯度带一致;大地水准面零等值线的两侧是地震比较集中的地带。