Coupled transport-reaction pathways and distribution patterns between siliciclastic-carbonate sediments at the Ria de Vigo

This paper examines the linkages between the space-distribution of grain sizes and the relative percentage of the amount of mineral species that result from the mixing process of siliciclastic and carbonate sediments at the Ria de Vigo (NW of Spain).The space-distribution of minerals was initially determined, starting from a detailed mineralogical study based on XRD-Rietveld analysis of the superficial sediments. Correlations between the maps obtained for grain sizes, average fractions of either siliciclastic or carbonates, as well as for individual-minerals, were further stabilised. From this analysis, spatially organized patterns were found between carbonates and several minerals involved in the siliciclastic fraction. In particular, a coupled behaviour is observed between plagioclases and carbonates, in terms of their relative percentage amounts and the grain size distribution.In order to explain these results a conceptual model is proposed, based on the interplay between chemical processes at the seawater–sediment interface and hydrodynamical factors. This model suggests the existence of chemical control mechanisms that, by selective processes of dissolution-crystallization, constrain the mixed environment's long-term evolution, inducing the formation of self-organized sedimentary patterns.     

Pb and Pu in the Northeast Water Polynya, Greenland: particle dynamics and sediment mixing rates

Distributions of the radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ^239,240Pu in sediment cores from the Northeast Water Polynya, Greenland, showed that these nuclides reached depths of 5–15 cm by particle mixing and sediment accumulation. End-member average values of the particle mixing coefficient and sediment accumulation rate were 0.13 cm² y⁻¹ and 0.06 cm y⁻¹, obtained from the ²¹⁰Pb profiles by assuming that each process is dominant relative to the other. Both ²¹⁰Pb and ^239,240Pu were measured on four cores; using the Pu data to constrain mixing rates produced corrected sediment accumulation rates that were 20–80% of the values calculated by neglecting mixing. Organic carbon burial in the polynya sediments was ≤0.4 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹, based on measured POC values at depth in the sediments and sediment accumulation rates corrected for mixing. This value is about 1% of the independently measured POC flux leaving the euphotic zone and compares with benthic carbon remineralization rates of 7% calculated by others from O₂ uptake in the sediments.The inventories of excess ²¹⁰Pb in the sediments ranged from 6 to 28 dpm cm⁻². Relative to the atmospheric input of ²¹⁰Pb and in situ production from decay of ²²⁶Ra, approximately 5 dpm cm⁻² of ²¹⁰Pb was being removed from the water column. The difference between the removal from the water column and sediment inventories suggests a net import of ²¹⁰Pb to the polynya. This may occur by input of dissolved ²¹⁰Pb from offshore waters or by input of ²¹⁰Pb carried by sea ice. Particulate matter in land-derived fast ice adjacent to the polynya contained 330 ± 14 dpm of excess ²¹⁰Pb g⁻¹. If particles transported in sea ice are comparable to those extracted from fast ice, then sea ice transport into the polynya followed by melting may be an important source of excess ²¹⁰Pb to the area. Fast ice also may contribute ²¹⁰Pb if portions break off and melt within the polynya, as occurred in 1993.     

我国加入压载水公约的前景分析和对策

本文介绍了船舶压载水的由来及相关国际公约,就压载水公约产生的影响进行分析,对各领域的前景作了合理的预测。对照公约要求,结合我国实际,从国际与区域管理、国家管理和港口管理三个层面,日常管理和应急管理两个方面,提出应采取的对策措施。     

Microphytobenthos biomass at Kerguelen's Land (Subantarctic Indian Ocean): repartition and variability during austral summers

Microphytobenthos biomass has been measured at several coastal sites on the SE of the main island of the Kerguelen Archipelago (Indian Ocean), during several austral summers (1985–1992), using a conventional fluorometric method. Heterogeneity tests, conducted on two different intertidal sites (Port-Aux-Français, PAF; and Port-Raymond, PRA), showed low standard deviations, whereas the mean concentrations were highly different. Pigment concentrations showed a high variability related to the characteristics of the sediments: from low biomass in coarse intertidal sand, submitted to intense scouring (0.32±0.31 μg Chl a g⁻¹ dw, 0.29±0.14 μg Phaeo g⁻¹ dw) to high biomass in intertidal muddy sand in sheltered areas, particularly along estuaries (54 μg Chl a, 15 μg Phaeo g⁻¹ dw at Korrigan). The subtidal muddy sediments under a Macrocystis pyrifera (Linné) and Durvillaea antarctica (Chamisso in Choris) belt exhibited high concentrations in phaeopigment (Phaeo) (up to 136±83 μg g⁻¹ dw; PRA), while the concentration of chlorophyll a (Chl a) was relatively low. The dense macroalgal canopy supports an important epiphytic diatom biomass (mainly the genera Cocconeis Ehrenberg and Grammatophora Ehrenberg), which is sedimenting after degradation and is in part responsible of the high levels of Phaeo in all sediments. Macroalgal debris were observed, but diatom frustules were dominant in most surficial subtidal sediments. A circatidal mud, in the Morbihan Bay, made of a sponge spicule mat (50 m deep; 4.96 μg Chl a g⁻¹ dw), showed a very low Chl a/Phaeo ratio (0.1), while it reached up to 6 in intertidal sand. Surprisingly, a penguin rookery beach, at the east side of Courbet Peninsula, was characterized by a very low biomass (0.07±0.04 μg Chl a g⁻¹ dw), while it was nutrient enriched, particularly with nitrates.In comparison with the data at the similar latitude, but in temperate regions from the Northern Hemisphere, the microphytobenthos biomass, recorded at Kerguelen's Land, exhibited relatively high pigment concentrations, particularly the Phaeo, and supported a dense and diversified subtidal macrofauna composed of polychaetes (particularly Thelepus extensus Hutchings and Glasby), sea urchins, mytillids and gammarids. The exuberant macroalgal canopy, coastal indentations and low tidal amplitude must be in part responsible of these large benthic primary and secondary biomasses.     

Biochemical composition of marine sediment from the eastern Weddell Sea (Antarctica): High nutritive value in a high benthic-biomass environment

Within the SCAR's international EASIZ programme, as part of the benthic–pelagic coupling experiment, grain size and organic matter contents in marine surface sediment were measured. Samples were taken during the austral autumn of 2000 from 3 regions in the eastern Weddell Sea: Kapp Norvegia, Four Seasons Bank, and Austasen.In general, sediments were fine sand with a grain size fraction < 200 μm representing more than 40% of the total weight. The sediments from Four Seasons Bank (64 to 107 m depth) were coarser than those from Austasen and Kapp Norvegia (209 to 480 m depth), presumably due to winnowing of fine sediment at shallow depths. Organic carbon (OC) content ranged from 0.25% to 1.2% and constituted 10% to 97% of the total carbon. The samples from Kapp Norvegia presented the highest OC values. Overall, protein (PRT), lipid (LPD), and carbohydrate (CHO) contents were similar to those in sediment from cold regions (e.g., the North Atlantic and the Ross Sea) but higher than those in sediment from other Antarctic and more septentrional regions (e.g., the Ross Sea and the Mediterranean). The difference within the Antarctic is explained through the local conditions in Terra Nova Bay and Kapp Norvegia. In the Antarctic, PRT and LPD carbon were the main contributors to the biopolymeric carbon (BPC). In the eastern Weddell Sea shelf, the BPC accounted for more than 90% of the OC in most of the samples. More than 82% of the total PRT, LPD, and CHO were present in the fraction < 200 μm. This work remarks the existence of sediments with a high nutritional value persistent several weeks after the spring–summer pulse of fresh organic matter. It is also highlighted the high potential availability of these sediments (due to its grain size) for the benthic communities inhabiting this high-latitude continental shelf.     

Transport of radionuclides by sea-ice and dense-water formed in western Kara Sea flaw leads

A transport assessment of particle-bound and dissolved artificial radionuclides (¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu) by sea-ice and dense-water formed in western Kara Sea flaw leads close to the Novaya Zemlya dumping sites is presented in this study. We both performed a “best estimate” based on available data, and a “maximum assessment” relying on simulated constant releases of 1 TBq ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu from individual dumping bays. The estimates are based on a combination of (i) the content of particulate matter in sea-ice; (ii) analytical data and numerical simulations of radionuclide concentrations in shelf surface deposits, suspended particulate matter (SPM), and the dissolved phase; and (iii) estimates of lead-ice and dense-water formation rates as well as modeling results of local ice drift pathways. In the “best estimate” case, 2.90 GBq ¹³⁷Cs and 0.51 GBq ^239,240Pu attached to sea-ice sediments can be exported from the lead areas toward the central Arctic basin. The radionuclide burden of the annually formed dense lead water in the “best estimate” amounts to 4.68 TBq ¹³⁷Cs and 0.014 TBq ^239,240Pu. In the “maximum assessment”, potential export-rates of ice-particle bound ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu toward the central Arctic would amount to 0.64 and 0.16 TBq, respectively. As much as ≈900 TBq ¹³⁷Cs and ≈6.75 TBq ^239,240Pu could be annually taken up by 34.75 dense-water rejected in the lead area. Assuming the (unlikely) instantaneous release of the total ¹³⁷Cs and ^239,240Pu inventories (≈1 PBq and 10 TBq, respectively) from the Novaya Zemlya dumping sites into the dissolved phase, the dense lead water locally formed during one winter season could take up ≈90% of the Cs and ≈68% of the Pu released.     

Sediment physical properties of the DYNAS study area

Physical properties of the deposits in the DYNAS study area, the Mecklenburg Bay, were investigated using sediment echosounders and laboratory analysis were carried out on undisturbed short sediment cores. Wet bulk densities of about 1.2 g/cm³ for mud and up to 1.9 g/cm³ for silty sand were found in surface sediments of the Mecklenburg Bay. Sediment density–depth functions were approximated by logarithmic regression functions at different depth intervals. Sediment consolidation was studied by both (i) consolidation tests of sediment samples and (ii) from the void ratio–overburden pressure relation in natural sediments. Low shear strength values of 9–71 Pa were measured at the mud surface. Downcore, a depth gradient of about 14.5 Pa/cm was calculated. Sediments with high silt and sand contents are characterized by shear strength values of up to 3000 Pa. Published formulas derived from erosion studies were used to calculate the critical shear stress using wet bulk density and shear strength. The obtained results demonstrate clearly, that there is still a wide gap in knowledge about the relationships between erosion parameters and sediment physical properties.     

黄河三角洲滩海油田岸滩防护方案探索

针对飞雁滩油田的岸滩侵蚀情况提出几种岸滩防护设想并确定防护方案.该方案充分利用自然力,通过人为干扰促使防护区外泥沙起动,借助海上潮流使高含沙海水流经防护区,实现岸滩蚀退的快速防护.     

葛洲坝枢纽对下游港口影响的研究

本文对近年来一些研究课题进行了总结,内容包括葛洲坝大江、三江下航道的通航水流条件分析及治理措施;葛洲坝建坝后对宜昌港、枝城港和沙市港的影响;初步预估三峡工程建成后可能产生的变化;并对今后的工作重点提出了初步建议。     

Residual circulation and sediment distribution in the Ria de Aveiro lagoon, Portugal

A two-dimensional hydrodynamic and sediment transport models have been developed and applied to the Ria de Aveiro lagoon, Portugal. The application consisted in the study of the residual circulation, the residence time as well as the sediment dynamics in the lagoon. High residence time for particles situated at the far end of the main channels points out that they are retained for a long time and tend to remain there, with high probability of being deposited into the bed. Low residence time for the central areas implies that the particles are flushed out more rapidly toward the lagoon mouth, revealing that the water and the particles exchange are very effective there. Although the residual circulation due to the rivers induces an overall transport toward the lagoon mouth, the residual circulations due to the winds induce particular circulation patterns (clockwise or counter-clockwise eddies) at some locations of the lagoon, depending on the wind direction. It was found that the suspended sediment concentrations along the main channels are induced by tidal asymmetries (resulting in areas of ebb and flood dominance), as well as by the wind stress and rivers runoff effects. They contribute, in general, to increase the sediment export toward the ocean, although the wind stress may induce currents and circulations in the opposite direction of the tidal currents. High turbid zones are observed for strong tidal currents, associated with tidal asymmetries, as well as with high rivers runoff. The erosion–deposition budget indicates a tendency for sediment accumulation at important areas of the lagoon, namely the shallow ones.