科学与技术并进——近20年来海底峡谷浊流观测的成就和挑战

自1993年至今,美国地质调查局的科学家及其合作伙伴在美国西海岸的Monterey海底峡谷进行了针对现代浊流过程的一系列基础性研究,并成功地在世界上首次实地测量到高精度浊流流速及粒度参数.近20年来的数据和知识积累为解释海底峡谷内沉积物和其他颗粒物质输运的机理,以及浊流在维持深海峡谷中生机勃勃的生态系统所起的重要作用提供了直接依据.通过展示把海底观测应用于海洋沉积动力学研究过程中的成果、经验、教训,以及介绍目前还在讨论中的研究计划,以期达到以下宏观论点:在海洋科学里,只有科学与技术不脱节的科研团队才有希望获得成果和突破.

Accomplishments and Challenges in Measuring Turbidity Currents in Submarine Canyons

Since 1993, researchers from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) and its partners conducted a series of field experiments in the Monterey Submarine Canyon, California, to study the hydrodynamics and sediment transport of modern day turbidity currents. For the first time ever, high resolution velocity profiles and sediment properties within live turbidity currents were successfully recorded. The state of the art data and knowledge accumulated during the past 20 years contributed substantially to interpreting the mechanism of transporting sediments and other particles through submarine canyons, as well as to understanding the important roles of turbidity currents in sustaining the vibrant ecosystem in submarine canyons. None of these would have been possible without the technological advances in oceanographic and geological instrumentations.