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1.
Manganese nodule distribution is primarily influenced by seafloor topography. Nodule distribution at 479 locations vis‐à‐vis seabed topography is studied by superimposing sampling location on the topographic profile and assigning appropriate domain (hilltop, valley, slope, or plain) for the sampling location. Highest mean abundance is observed at the valleys (6.94 kg /m2), followed by hilltops, slopes, and least on plains. Frequency distributions are regular (Gaussian) on plains, whereas on valleys and hilltops they are irregular (Rayleigh type). Fe and Co content is highest in nodules from hilltops and lowest in those from plains. Conversely, Mn, Cu, and Ni content is highest on plains and least on valleys. Fe: Mn and Co: Mn are negatively correlated in all the domains. Mn and total metal content (Ni + Cu + Co) show direct relationship in all the domains. An inverse relation between nodule abundance and composition is found. Cluster analysis on chemical and abundance data shows two distinct groups in all domains. Abundance and Fe and Co content typically form one group, while all other elements form another group. Genesis of nodules depends on the availability of supply of transition elements to the abyssal environment, maintenance of nodules in the sediment‐water interface, and sedimentation rates.  相似文献   

2.
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.  相似文献   

3.
Three years of temperature data along two transects extending to 90 m depth, at Palau, Micronesia, show twice-a-day thermocline vertical displacements of commonly 50–100 m, and on one occasion 270 m. The internal wave occurred at a number of frequencies. There were a number of spectral peaks at diurnal and semi-diurnal frequencies, as well as intermediate and sub-inertial frequencies, less so at the inertial frequency. At Palau the waves generally did not travel around the island because there was no coherence between internal waves on either side of the island. The internal waves at a site 30 km offshore were out-of-phase with those on the island slopes, suggesting that the waves were generated on the island slope and then radiated away. Palau Island was thus a source of internal wave energy for the surrounding ocean. A numerical model suggests that the tidal and low-frequency currents flowing around the island form internal waves with maximum wave amplitude on the island slope and that these waves radiate away from the island. The model also suggests that the headland at the southern tip of Palau prevents the internal waves to rotate around the island. The large temperature fluctuations (commonly daily fluctuations ≈10 °C, peaking at 20 °C) appear responsible for generating a thermal stress responsible for a biologically depauperate biological community on the island slopes at depths between 60 and 120 m depth.  相似文献   

4.
Polychaete abundance and diversity patterns from the Madeira Abyssal Plain (MAP) were studied together with data from three other sites on the northeastern Atlantic abyssal plains. Polychaete abundance at MAP was significantly lower than at any of the other sites, including those lying under comparable productivity regimes. Analysis of diversity, using rarefaction and species counts per unit area, suggests that MAP is extremely species poor and shows dominance by a few common species. The MAP site is characterised by a superficial layer of turbidite sediment, and the hypothesis is put forward that the unusual sediment characteristics at MAP have affected macrofaunal abundance over a vast area (>2000 km2). Analysis of species composition indicates that the MAP site is not faunistically unique; rather it contains a high proportion of widespread, abundant, cosmopolitan species. We suggest that these are the opportunists of the abyssal benthic habitat. Differences in abundance between the other abyssal sites are the result of both productivity and local environmental conditions. Equitability at the other north Atlantic sites is not affected by productivity, although the actual number of species per unit area is affected, showing a south–north gradient.  相似文献   

5.
A sampling expedition has shown that largely hydrogenetic marine ferromanganese deposits occur in the Christmas Island region south of Java (~10°S), as small nodules on seamount slopes and abyssal plains (red clay), and as thick crusts on volcanic ridges and seamounts. Vernadite is dominant, with birnessite, jacobsite and todorokite common. Nodules were recovered in 25% of free-fall grab stations in water 4600-5900 m deep, and are not abundant where present. The nodules average 9.6% Fe, 19.7% Mn, 0.51% Ni, 0.49% Cu, and 0.12% Co. Crusts are common in water 1450-3700 m deep, with average deposition rates of 1-1.5 mm / m.y. The crusts average 13.9% Fe, 16.2% Mn, 0.35% Ni, 0.11% Cu, and 0.44% Co. Cobalt grades are higher (~0.8%) in shallower water ( < 2500 m), so future exploration should concentrate on depths of 500-1500 m near the oxygen minimum zone.  相似文献   

6.
This contribution to this special volume represents the first attempt to comprehensively describe regional contourite (along-slope) processes and their sedimentary impacts around the Iberian margin, combining numerically simulated bottom currents with existing knowledge of contourite depositional and erosional features. The circulation of water masses is correlated with major contourite depositional systems (CDSs), and potential areas where new CDSs could be found are identified. Water-mass circulation leads to the development of along-slope currents which, in turn, generate contourite features comprising individual contourite drifts and erosional elements forming extensive, complex CDSs of considerable thickness in various geological settings. The regionally simulated bottom-current velocities reveal the strong impact of these water masses on the seafloor, especially in two principal areas: (1) the continental slopes of the Alboran Sea and the Atlantic Iberian margins, and (2) the abyssal plains in the Western Mediterranean and eastern Atlantic. Contourite processes at this scale are associated mainly with the Western Mediterranean Deep Water and the Levantine Intermediate Water in the Alboran Sea, and with both the Mediterranean Outflow Water and the Lower Deep Water in the Atlantic. Deep gateways are essential in controlling water-mass exchange between the abyssal plains, and thereby bottom-current velocities and pathways. Seamounts represent important obstacles for water-mass circulation, and high bottom-current velocities are predicted around their flanks, too. Based on these findings and those of a selected literature review, including less easily accessible ??grey literature?? such as theses and internal reports, it is clear that the role of bottom currents in shaping continental margins and abyssal plains has to date been generally underestimated, and that many may harbour contourite systems which still remain unexplored today. CDSs incorporate valuable sedimentary records of Iberian margin geological evolution, and further study seems promising in terms of not only stratigraphic, sedimentological, palaeoceanographic and palaeoclimatological research but also possible deep marine geohabitats and/or mineral and energy resources.  相似文献   

7.
Several anomalous phenomena related to the measurement of storm microseisms in northwestern Europe and on Greenland have been considered. It has been indicated that these phenomena can be explained by analyzing the microseism propagation in oceanic waveguides in the regions of abyssal plains and transformation on continental slopes of different steepness. A model of the oceanic waveguide with an inclined elastic bottom has been presented. An analysis of the family of dispersion dependences for such a model makes it possible to find an explanation for the specific features of microseism field transformation at the ocean-continent boundary into Rayleigh waves propagating on the land.  相似文献   

8.
The Gulf of Cadiz lies astride the complex plate boundary between Africa and Eurasia west of the Betic-Rif mountain belt. We report on the results of recent bathymetric swathmapping and multi-channel seismic surveys carried out here. The seafloor is marked by contrasting morphological provinces, spanning the SW Iberian and NW Moroccan continental margins, abyssal plains and an elongate, arcuate, accretionary wedge. A wide variety of tectonic and gravitational processes appear to have shaped these structures. Active compressional deformation of the wedge is suggested by folding and thrusting of the frontal sedimentary layers as well as basal duplexing in deeper internal units. There is evidence for simultaneous gravitational spreading occurring upslope. The very shallow mean surface and basal slopes of the accretionary wedge (1° each) indicate a very weak decollement layer, geometrically similar to the Mediterranean Ridge accretionary complex. Locally steep slopes (up to 10°) indicate strongly focused, active deformation and potential gravitational instabilities. The unusual surface morphology of the upper accretionary wedge includes “raft-tectonics” type fissures and abundant sub-circular depressions. Dissolution and/or diapiric processes are proposed to be involved in the formation of these depressions.  相似文献   

9.
The floor of the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean can be divided into several distinct provinces based on detailed characteristics of the bottom echos recorded with short-ping (< msec.) 3.5 and 12 kHz sound sources. Two major types of echos are recorded: (I) distinct echos; and (II) indistinct echos.Indistinct echos can be further sub-divided into (A) continuous prolonged echos; and (B) hyperbolic echos. Each class of echos contains two or more unique echo types. The regional distributions of the various echo types recorded from the continental rise, Amazon Cone, and abyssal plains reveal much information about sedimentary processes.In the western equatorial Atlantic, hyperbolic echos are recorded only from small, isolated portions of the continental rise. This contrasts with the continental rise of the western North Atlantic where previous investigators have shown that hyperbolic echos parallel bathymetric contours along the entire rise and thus reflect shaping of the rise by geostrophic contour currents (Heezen et al., 1966; Hollister, 1967). The fact that regions of hyperbolic echos show little or no relationship to bathymetric contours of the continental rise of the western equatorial Atlantic suggests that contour currents have been unimportant in shaping the rise in this region.The three most widespread echo types recorded from the continental rise, Amazon Cone, and abyssal plains reveal much information about terrigenous sediment dispersal and deposition in the western equatorial Atlantic. Comparison of the thicknesses and frequencies of coarse (silt- to gravel-size), bedded, terrigenous sediment in piston cores with the echo type recorded at each coring site shows a correlation between echo type and the relative amount of coarse, bedded sediment within the upper few meters of the sea floor. The regional distributions of these three echo types indicate that dispersal of coarse terrigenous sediment has been downslope across the continental rise and Amazon Cone to the abyssal plains via gravity-controlled sediment flows. The Amazon River is the major sediment source and most coarse sediment is deposited on the lower Amazon Cone and proximal portions of the Demerara abyssal plain.  相似文献   

10.
The continental margin of Western Australia is a rifted or “Atlantic”-type margin, with a complex physiography. The margin comprises a shelf, an upper and lower continental slope, marginal plateaus, a continental rise, and rise or lower slope foothills. Notches or terraces on the shelf reflect pre-Holocene deposition of prograded sediment, whose seaward limit was determined by variations in relative sea level, wave energy, and sediment size and volume. The upper continental slope has four physiographic forms: convex, due to sediment outbuilding (progradation) over a subsiding marginal plateau; scarped, due to erosion of convex slopes; stepped, due to deposition at the base of a scarped slope; and smooth, due to progradation of an upper slope in the absence of a marginal plateau. Lying at the same level as the upper/lower slope boundary are two extensive marginal plateaus: Exmouth and Scott. They represent continental crust which subsided after continental rupture by sea-floor spreading. Differential subsidence, probably along faults, gave rise to the various physiographic features of the plateaus. The deep lower continental slope is broken into straight northeasterly-trending segments, that parallel the Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous rift axis, and northwesterly-trending segments that parallel the transform direction. The trends of the slope foothills are subparallel to the rift direction. The four abyssal plains of the region (Perth, Cuvier, Gascoyne and Argo) indicate a long history of subsidence and sedimentation on Upper Jurassic/Lower Cretaceous oceanic crust.  相似文献   

11.
南海是西太平洋边缘海,有陆架、陆坡、岛礁、深海平原、海山、冷泉等多种生境,近10年来南海逐渐成为世界深海研究的热点。南海是中国海洋生物多样性最高的区域,与作为海洋生物多样性中心的印太珊瑚大三角区具有一定的环境与生物连通性,对南海的深海生物探测研究可丰富对西太平洋及印太交汇区生物多样性及地理分布格局的认知。目前有关南海的生物多样性研究主要集中在北部陆架浅海及岛礁,对于深海生物多样性认知明显不足。本研究梳理了全球深海生物多样性的主要国际战略布局,并对南海深海生物多样性SCIE论文发表情况进行了综合分析,探讨了南海深海生物多样性研究态势,对未来南海深海生物多样性调查与研究提出了研究展望和建议。  相似文献   

12.
Researchers at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa have been working for the past several years to develop the necessary techniques for finding and quantitatively characterizing offshore unconsolidated carbonate deposits with potential for beach nourishment and use in construction aggregates for tropical island communities. This article examines particular results of this research, with special attention given to the area offshore from Waikiki Beach. Acoustic surveying, water‐jet probing to measure the thickness of unconsolidated material and three different sampling methods were used in this study. Two separate seismic systems were used for the subbottom profiling survey, a Datasonics Bubble‐Pulser® system and a broad‐band, frequency‐modulated ("chirp") prototype system.

The following conclusions were reached. (1) Many different types of sediment underlie tropical island carbonate sand deposits and serve as refusing horizons to jet probing. Examples include consolidated or unconsolidated reef debris, beach rock, cemented sand, and various types of conglomerates formed from rhodoliths (coralline algae) or reef detritus. (2) Massive coral growth over clastic deposits is not a common offshore feature in this area, though it does occur in some areas off the Reef Runway. (3) Matrices of the coral Porites compressa, in‐filled with sand, may have acoustic properties similar to those of the sand bodies. Such deposits may be difficult to distinguish from unconsolidated deposits from seismic records alone. (4) Significant new prospects for offshore aggregates were found in the insular shelf offshore from Southern O'ahu. A total of 5,100,000 m3 were mapped off Waikiki. The Makua Shelf deposits in this area presently appear to be the best prospects for commercial development.  相似文献   

13.
Sediment delivery to the abyssal regions of the oceans is an integral process in the source to sink cycle of material derived from adjacent continents and islands. The Zambezi River, the largest in southern Africa, delivers vast amounts of material to the inner continental shelf of central Mozambique. The aim of this contribution is to better constrain sediment transport pathways to the abyssal plains using the latest, regional, high-resolution multibeam bathymetry data available, taking into account the effects of bottom water circulation, antecedent basin morphology and sea-level change. Results show that sediment transport and delivery to the abyssal plains is partitioned into three distinct domains; southern, central and northern. Sediment partitioning is primarily controlled by changes in continental shelf and shelf-break morphology under the influence of a clockwise rotating shelf circulation system. However, changes in sea-level have an overarching control on sediment delivery to particular domains. During highstand conditions, such as today, limited sediment delivery to the submarine Zambezi Valley and Channel is proposed, with increased sediment delivery to the deepwater basin being envisaged during regression and lowstand conditions. However, there is a pronounced along-strike variation in sediment transport during the sea-level cycle due to changes in the width, depth and orientation of the shelf. This combination of features outlines a sequence stratigraphic concept not generally considered in the strike-aligned shelf-slope-abyssal continuum.  相似文献   

14.
Passive margins such as the Gulf of Mexico are characterized by two distinct styles of faulting. Homogenous sand/shale packages in offshore Texas mostly display basinward-dipping listric normal faults with associated rollover structures cut by synthetic and antithetic faults. The fault traces are generally long and show a linear trend. Stratigraphic packages with a ductile substratum (salt) in offshore Louisiana are characterized by basinward and landward-dipping, short arcuate faults detaching within the salt. The structures consist of a series of half-grabens, with the movement of salt from the front to the back of each fault block. Clay experimental models are used to study the controls of fault geometries in the two structural styles and their interaction to form complex transfer zones. The surface of the clay cake is laser-scanned to enable 3D visualization and accurate measurements of structures. The results suggest that within homogeneous sand-shale packages, the dips of the faults and their locations are primarily dependent on the direction of the drop down of the basal detachment along pre-existing discontinuities, with the slope of the basal discontinuity and the direction of extension providing secondary controls. On the other hand, the dips of fault systems in packages underlain by a ductile substratum are primarily controlled by the slope of the basal detachment. Therefore, the more common regional Roho systems typically form above salt sheets with initial basinward slopes, whereas counter-regional fault systems form above salt sheets with initial landward slopes. The direction of extension and the presence of small pre-existing discontinuities impart only secondary controls when ductile basal units are involved. The faults initiate at the head of ductile layer and propagate downslope. Complex transfer zones develop at the boundary of the ductile substratum due to interference between the two fault styles.  相似文献   

15.
This paper focuses on the analyses of the clastic sedimentary infill of the Coastal Plain of Eastern Mexico, which initiated synchronously with the Laramide orogeny in the vicinity of the Golden Lane. Results of these analyses are used as boundary conditions for calibrating/interpreting seismic profiles across more distal depocenters in the offshore of the Gulf of Mexico, from the sea shore and continental slope in the west to the abyssal plain in the east. The objective of the study is to better predict the reservoir distribution in the Deep offshore Basin of the Gulf of Mexico (DBGM), in order to explore for petroleum.  相似文献   

16.
A 250 km2 area of abyssal hills in the vicinity of 14°N, 126°W (between the Clarion and Clipperton Fracture Zones in the Equatorial Pacific) was surveyed in detail using an instrument package towed close to the deep sea floor, the MPL Deep Tow device. Both topography and near bottom magnetic field are lineated perpendicular to the major fracture zones. Except for a few localized depressions, the sediment surface is generally smooth and of low relief with maximum elevation differences of 200 m and slopes of six degrees. Several small graben-like troughs and depressions were observed, most of them near the crest of one abyssal hill. The largest trough is two kilometers long, 250 m wide and 50 m deep with steep sides (>30°). These troughs are tentatively interpreted as the result of tensional separation at the tops of the hills caused by down-slope creep and consolidation of the pelagic sediments.Contribution of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, new series.  相似文献   

17.
Shelf-mounted Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) plants require installation of cold-water pipes (CWP) on slopes of40degto depths of 1000 m. In addition, tower platforms containing OTEC power systems may be located on lesser sloped terrain near shore and exposed to special environmental loading problems affecting foundation design. Shelf-mounted installations require careful attention to site selection and geotechnical considerations for foundation integrity on sloped surfaces. This paper primarily discusses research associated with cold-water pipe and foundation installations on steep slopes, although research continues on tower platforms located on the shelf. At least five nations are in various stages of development of OTEC systems for island applications. Each of their systems is either shelf mounted or land based and requires that a large diameter cold-water pipe be installed on a steep slope to provide cold water from 1000-m depths. In addition to the installation and deployment of the large cold-water pipe, the most significant problem is the design and installation of suitable foundations that will last for several decades. To date there is very little experience in the offshore industry for large installations on steep slopes. A major scale-model research project is underway on the slopes of the island of Hawaii. A section of pipe 2.4 m in diameter and 24 m long was installed using combination concrete foundations and joints. The pipe and foundations are fully instrumented to measure environmental loading forces due principally to currents and waves. Environmental measurements will also be taken in the test area. The measurement data will be used to validate available analytical models for subsequent use in aiding industry in providing more cost-effective designs for OTEC pipes and foundations.  相似文献   

18.
 Seine Abyssal Plain sediments consist of turbidites interbedded with pelagic oozes, marls, and clays. The pelagics produce a high-resolution integrated stratigraphy combining oxygen isotope, carbonate curves, palaeotemperature analyses, and nannofossil acme zone stratigraphy. Individual turbidites could then be correlated. Isogram and isopach maps of the turbidites maximum median grain size and thickness, respectively, were used to identify turbidity current pathways and study their depositional processes. Nannofossil fingerprints were used to study possible sedimentary links between the Seine and Madeira abyssal plains. Received: 8 February 1996 / Revision received: 9 May 1996  相似文献   

19.
The feasibility of construction of a pile-based offshore airport in open sea is considered. The concept of a pile-based airport relies on technology used to construct long concrete bridges, over sea arms and straits, during the last four decades. The features of four major bridges, in conjunction with prefabrication of prestressed structural elements, are described. The airport platform, which is set 16 m above sea level, obviates the need for protective embankments. The platform consists of modular units, supported by piers, which are based on foundations of steel piles. The modular units comprise tube girders, 35–60 m long, set on piers 15 m apart. Longer girder spans are expected to diminish the impact of the airport on the coast. Cost estimates are provided for a pile-based offshore airport serving medium haul aircraft, using 45×15 m2 and 60×15 m2 grids, and long haul aircraft, using 60×15 m2 grids. Cost comparison with a fill island airport is provided using two different geometries. It is shown that the pile-based airport is a viable option, both technologically and economically. This new concept provides advantages over the fill island option regarding the requirement of materials, technology of construction, the modular approach and the diminished environmental impact.  相似文献   

20.
Nisyros island is a volcano at the eastern edge of the Aegean volcanic arc within the Hellenic arc and trench system along the convergence zone of the Eurasian and African plates. Several fault zones have been mapped and analyzed on the island with fault displacements reaching 100?C150 m as deduced from the morphology and the offset of the stratigraphic formations of the volcano. Seismic activity during 1995?C1998 affected the island with damage along the western edge of the Mandraki town, related to the Mandraki fault. The geological, tectonic and morphological data on land show that the Mandraki fault throw is 80?C100 m and its length about 2 km. Its continuation northwards under the sea was studied within a systematic survey of the broader area of the Kos-Nisyros-Tilos islands; and the bathymetric and lithoseismic data showed the existence of some active tectonic structures. In the area of the Yali-Nisyros Channel the prolongation of the Mandraki fault has a 100 m high submarine scarp between the two sides of the fault. Morphological slopes along the fault are high between 20 and 50% in contrast to slopes of 1?C5% observed on top of the two adjacent tectonic blocks. The general structure both on land and offshore shows a westward tilt contemporaneous to the extension in the E-W direction observed in this area. Observations of the submarine fault during a dive with submersible Thetis showed spectacular landslides and loose rocks along the fault scarp and very abrupt linear topographic change along the strike of the fault. The synthesis of the onshore and offshore data on a digital topographic map shows that the Mandraki fault is a secondary structure of the major F3 fault zone of Nisyros which separates the neotectonic block/horst of Prophitis Ilias in the west from the Emborio/Nikia block in the east. The GPS data from the period 1997?C2001 show excellent agreement with the neotectonic block structure of Nisyros. The seismic hazard of the F3/Mandraki fault zone is discussed together with the volcanic hazard of Yali-Nisyros area with the general conclusion that the expected seismic magnitude of 6.1?C6.3 is significantly higher than that observed in 1995?C1998. The ascent of magma from a chamber 7.5?C8.5 km deep between the Yali and Nisyros islands may trigger tectonovolcanic activity similar to that observed at the end of the 19th century.  相似文献   

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