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1.
The distribution of americium in surface intertidal sediments from a coastal environment near the Windscale nuclear fuel reprocessing plant has been investigated. The study includes data on the broadscale distribution of 241Am in Northwest England, but focuses on the sediments of the Ravenglass estuary 10 km south of Windscale. The results indicate that americium concentrations in the inner estuary sediments are up to seven times higher than those from the Irish Sea itself. Americium distribution on silt banks is rather constant on a small scale, but varies considerably between adjacent silt bank and salt marsh areas.  相似文献   

2.
A high-resolution three-dimensional model of the Clyde Sea and the adjacent North Channel of the Irish Sea is used to compute the major diurnal and semidiurnal tides in the region, the associated energy fluxes and thickness of the bottom boundary layer. Initially, the accuracy of the model is assessed by performing a detailed comparison of computed tidal elevations and currents in the region, against an extensive database that exists for the M2, S2, N2, K1 and O1 tides. Subsequently, the model is used to compute the tidal energy flux vectors in the region. These show that the major energy flux is confined to the North Channel region, with little energy flux into the Clyde Sea. Comparison with the observed energy flux in the North Channel shows that its across-channel distribution and its magnitude are particularly sensitive to the phase difference between elevation and current. Consequently, small changes in the computed values of these parameters due to slight changes of the order of the uncertainty in the open-boundary values to the model, can significantly influence the computed energy flux. The thickness of the bottom boundary layer in the region is computed using a number of formulations. Depending upon the definition adopted, the empirical coefficient C used to determine its thickness varies over the range 0.1 to 0.3, in good agreement with values found in the literature. In the North Channel, the boundary layer thickness occupies the whole water depth, and hence tidal turbulence produced at the sea bed keeps the region well mixed. In the Clyde Sea, the boundary layer thickness is a small fraction of the depth, and hence the region stratifies.Responsible Editor: Phil Dyke  相似文献   

3.
There is a lack of information on deep water or bottom drift in the Firth of Clyde. Dust spillage from the iron ore unloading terminal at Hunterston in the inner Firth offers an opportunity for tracing bottom water movements by determination of ferric oxide levels in the sediments.  相似文献   

4.
The occurrence of plutonium isotopes derived from the Windscale reprocessing facility discharges and weapons test fallout in intertidal sediments of the Wyre estuary, northwest England, is reported. Windscale plutonium appears to be slowly transported to the estuary in association with sedimentary material, and its distribution in surface and buried sediments is controlled by the variations in organic matter content of the sediments and/or their grain size characteristics. Results from chemical leaching experiments suggest that very little plutonium is ion exchangeable or in humic substances, but it is in other organic and Fe/Mn hydrous oxide fractions of the sediments. Plutonium shows a similar depositional behaviour to mercury which enters the Wyre directly in local industrial discharges.  相似文献   

5.
The safe discharge of wastes into the sea depends upon achieving adequate dilution of the effluent, otherwise inshore biological reserves may be damaged. Water in the north-east Irish Sea can be identified because of its content of radioactive caesium emanating from the Windscale nuclear fuel processing plant. A survey shows how closely this water hugs the coasts as it travels across the Irish Sea and along the west and north coasts of Scotland. Inshore waters receive almost all our effluents and this report suggests that the dilution capacity of the sea may be far less than is supposed.  相似文献   

6.
The cosmopolitan radiolarian Cycladophora davisiana usually comprises less than 5% of the radiolarian fauna in Holocene sediments. In recent sediments from the Sea of Okhotsk, however, this species frequently represents more than 20% of the radiolarian assemblage. At times during the late Pleistocene, abundances of this species in excess of 40% are recorded in marine sediments from high-latitude oceans (> 40°) of both hemispheres. The Sea of Okhotsk apparently represents a modern analogue of climatic and oceanographic conditions that existed throughout large portions of high-latitude oceans at times during the late Pleistocene.The near-surface water structure of the Sea of Okhotsk is characterized by a low-salinity surface layer with a strong temperature minimum near its base. The low surface salinities are responsible for maintaining near-freezing subsurface temperatures as well as establishing relatively stable temperatures and salinities at depths below the temperature minimum. This water structure is produced, at least in part, by intense freezing of sea ice in winter with subsequent summer melting. The physical characteristics of the upper water column affect the abundance and activity of shallow-dwelling flora and fauna, while providing a stable subsurface environment for deeper-dwelling fauna.  相似文献   

7.
《Continental Shelf Research》1999,19(14):1833-1848
A well-defined front in temperature and salinity separates the stratified Clyde Sea water from the vertically well mixed water of the North Channel. The detailed structure of the front was observed in autumn 1990 by a combination of, repeated crossings of the front using a ship-borne ADCP and a towed undulating CTD system, and the deployment of a fixed mooring system with temperature, salinity and velocity sensors for a period of 12 days. The results show that the front was situated on the Great Plateau near a contour of log10(H/U32)=2.7∼3.7 where H is the water depth and U2 the amplitude of M2 tidal velocity. The temperature structure in the Clyde Sea was inverted and the Clyde Sea surface temperature was lower than that of the vertically well mixed water in the North Channel. Since the salinity gradient was stronger than the temperature gradient with fresher water on the surface, the density structure was predominantly controlled by salinity. There were indications of warm and saline bottom water upwelling on the mixed side of the front during spring tides. This upwelling disappeared and the salinity and temperature structure at the front was more diffuse during the neap tide period. A jet-like along-front residual current was observed flowing to the northwest in the surface layer with a counter flow to the southeast in the bottom layer. The vertical difference in velocity was about 9 cm s−1 and was approximately consistent with the shear determined from the thermal wind relation. Both cross- and along-front components of the current observed at the mooring station varied in response to the advection of the front, although both components had large variations with periods of less than one day and several days. The front was advected past the mooring system by a mean flow from the North Channel to the inner basin, while oscillating 3–5 km back and forth with the tidal currents. From the velocity at a current meter mooring and CTD data, the front was estimated to have moved up to 20 km during the observational period and the cross frontal velocity was inferred to be 3–4 cm s−1.  相似文献   

8.
Organochlorine contaminants including 12 polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners and 18 insecticides were determined in water, pore water and sediments of the Jiulong River Estuary and Western Xiamen Sea, China. The results showed that the levels of the total PCBs ranged from non-detectable to 1500 ng l−1 in water, from 209 to 3870 ng l−1 in pore water, and from 2.78 to 14.8 ng g−1 dry weight in sediments. Total organochlorine insecticide concentrations were from below the limit of detection to 2480 ng l−1 in water, from 267 to 33400 ng l−1 in pore water, and from 4.22 to 46.3 ng g−1 dry weight in sediments. Concentrations of PCBs and insecticides in pore water were significantly higher than those in surface water, due to the high affinity of these hydrophobic compounds for sediment phase. The PCB congeners with the highest concentrations were CB153, CB180 and CB194, which together accounted for 68–87% of total PCBs in water, pore water and sediment. Among the hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) compounds, beta-HCH was found to be a major isomer. Analysis of 1,1,1-trichloro-2,2-bis-chlorophenyl-ethane (DDT) and its metabolites showed that 1,1-dichloro-2[o-chlorophenyl]-2[p-chlorophenyl]-ethylene (DDE) was dominant in the group. In comparison to a 1998 study in the Western Xiamen Sea, levels of organochlorines were enhanced due probably to recent inputs and changes in sediments.  相似文献   

9.
Modelling travel and residence times in the eastern Irish Sea   总被引:2,自引:0,他引:2  
The Irish Sea, which lies between 51 degrees N-56 degrees N and 2 degrees 50'W-7 degrees W, provides a sheltered environment to exploit valuable fisheries resource. Anthropogenic activity is a real threat to its water quality. The majority of freshwater input down rivers flows into the eastern Irish Sea. The structure of the water circulation was not well understood during the planning of Sellafield nuclear plant outfall site in the eastern Irish Sea. A three-dimensional primitive equation numerical model was applied to the Irish Sea to simulate both barotropic and baroclinic circulation within the region. High accuracy was achieved with regard to the prediction of both tidal circulation and surface and nearbed water temperatures across the region. The model properly represented the Western Irish Sea Gyre, induced by thermal stratification and not known during planning Sellafield. Passive tracer simulations based on the developed hydrodynamic model were used to deliver residence times of the eastern Irish Sea region for various times of the year as well as travel times from the Sellafield outfall site to various locations within the Irish Sea. The results indicate a strong seasonal variability of travel times from Sellafield to the examined locations. Travel time to the Clyde Sea is the shortest for the autumnal tracer release (90 days); it takes almost a year for the tracer to arrive at the same location if it is released in January. Travel times from Sellafield to Dublin Bay fall within the range of 180-360 days. The average residence time of the entire eastern Irish Sea is around 7 months. The areas surrounding the Isle of Man are initially flushed due to a predominant northward flow; a backwater is formed in Liverpool Bay. Thus, elevated tracer concentrations are predicted in Liverpool Bay in the case of accidental spills at the Sellafield outfall site.  相似文献   

10.
The low-level radioactive liquid wastes which arise at the U.K. nuclear fuel reprocessing plant at Windscale on the Cumbria coast are discharged into the Irish Sea. These wastes are initially dispersed but they can also become reconcentrated in marine organisms. The present work discusses the concentrations of 137Cs relative to those of potassium in the various stages of marine food chains and shows that discrimination occurs in favour of 137Cs over potassium during the transfer between the different trophic levels.  相似文献   

11.
The distributions of dissolved and of particulate iron in the Dead Sea during the period which preceeded its overturn and thereafter (1977–1980) are reported. During 1977–1978, the vertical profiles of the iron phases revealed facets of the mixing pattern: the progressive deepening of the pycnocline, restricted mixing within the upper water mass and penetration of surface waters into the deepest layer. The inventories of particulate iron suggest resuspension of bottom sediments in November 1978 and after the overturn the gradual disappearance from the water column of iron sulfides and iron oxy-hydroxides. Fluxes of iron from and to the lake in the undisturbed meromictic Dead Sea have been estimated: it appears that diffusion of divalent iron from bottom sediments was the major source for the standing crop of iron in the lower water mass. Low settling velocities of solid particles in the dense and viscous Dead Sea is one of the causes for the relatively large concentrations of particulate iron. The rate constant for oxidation of divalent iron in Dead Sea sediment interstitial waters is larger by two orders of magnitude than in other natural waters.  相似文献   

12.
Concentrations of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) were determined in nearshore marine surficial sediments from three locations in Trinidad. Sediments were sampled at Sea Lots on the west coast, in south Port-of-Spain Harbor, south of Sea Lots at Caroni Lagoon National Park, and on Trinidad’s east coast at Manzanilla. Total PCB concentrations in Sea Lots sediments ranged from 62 to 601 ng/g (dry weight {dw}), which was higher than at Caroni and Manzanilla, 13 and 8 ng/g dw, respectively. Total OCP concentrations at Sea Lots were ranged from 44.5 to 145 ng/g dw, compared with 13.1 and 23.8 n/g (dw), for Caroni and Manzanilla respectively. The concentrations of PCBs and of some OCPs in sediments from Sea Lots were above the Canadian interim sediment quality guidelines. To date, this data is the first report on the levels of PCBs and other organochlorine compounds from Trinidad and Tobago.  相似文献   

13.
Summary From a study of the variations in potential gradient at Eskdalemuir, Scotland, it is shown that the radioactivity there has roughly doubled during the past six years; in other words, a radioactive contamination equal in activity to the natural background has occurred. Calculations indicate that only some 2% of this contamination can be ascribed to world-wide fall-out following thermonuclear explosions; the remainder must have been generated locally. The obvious sources are the atomic stations — notably Windscale — in Cumberland, and it is considered that, apart from the accident in October 1957, Windscale has leaked radioactive material ever since it first came into operation. The resultant contamination is very considerable and its relation to danger levels is discussed.  相似文献   

14.
分析了天然气水合物分解引起海底斜坡不稳定性的原因,探讨了水合物分解引起沉积物层孔隙压力变化规律.以南海北部神狐海域水合物样品钻获区为研究对象,应用极限平衡法探讨了海底无限斜坡的稳定性问题,计算了设定的不同滑动面的安全系数,建立了目标不稳定区相关参数条件下的水合物分解与海底斜坡不稳定的模式图,模拟计算了不同程度的水合物分解对海底斜坡失稳的影响作用.结果表明:在假设条件下,南海神狐海域当水深为1200 m,沉积物层厚度为200 m,对于20°的较大坡角,沉积物层中5%水合物分解将引起海底斜坡失稳;斜坡坡角为5°时,沉积物层中15%水合物分解后,将会引起海底斜坡失稳;当斜坡坡角为3°或更小时,沉积物层中25%水合物分解后,将会引起海底斜坡失稳.  相似文献   

15.
226Ra profiles have been measured in the western Indian Ocean as part of the 1977–1978 Indian Ocean GEOSECS program. These profiles show a general increase in deep and bottom water Ra concentration from the Circumpolar region to the Arabian Sea. A deep Ra maximum which originates in the Arabian Sea and in the Somali basin at about 3000 m depth spreads southward into the Mascarene basin and remains discernible in the Madagascar and Crozet basins. In the western Indian Ocean, the cold Antarctic Bottom Water spreads northward under the possibly southward-flowing deep water, forming a clear benthic front along the Crozet basin across the Southwest Indian Ridge into the Madagascar and Mascarene basins. The Antarctic Bottom Water continues to spread farther north to the Somali basin through the Amirante Passage at 10°S as a western boundary current. The benthic front and other characteristic features in the western Indian Ocean are quite similar to those observed in the western Pacific where the benthic front as a distinctive feature was first described by Craig et al. [15]. Across the Mid-Indian Ridge toward the Ceylon abyssal plain near the triple junction, Ra profiles display a layered structure, reflecting the topographic effect of the mid-ocean ridge system on the mixing and circulation of the deep and bottom waters. Both Ra and Si show a deep maximum north of the Madagascar basin. Linear relationships between these two elements are observed in the deep and bottom water with slopes increasing northward. This suggests a preferential input of Ra over Si from the bottom sediments of the Arabian Sea and also from the flank sediments of the Somali basin.  相似文献   

16.
The Dead Sea is the lowest spot on Earth. It is a closed saline lake located in the middle of the Jordan Rift Valley between Lake Tiberias and the Red Sea. Its major tributaries are the Jordan River itself and the Dead Sea side wadis. The Dead Sea has a unique ecosystem and its water has curative, industrial and recreational significance. The level of the Dead Sea has been continuously falling since the early 1930s at an average rate of 0·7 m per year. The water level, as of February 1998, is about 410·9 m below mean sea level. In this paper, a water balance model is developed for the Dead Sea by considering different hydrological components of this water balance, including precipitation, runoff, evaporation and groundwater flow. This model is calibrated based on historical levels of the Dead Sea. Different scenarios are investigated, including the proposed Dead Sea–Red Sea Canal. This project is supposed to halt the shrinking of the Dead Sea and restore it to pre‐1950 levels in the next century. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

17.
The distribution of 137Cs from the Sellafield (Windscale) nuclear fuel reprocessing plant has been examined in detail in the surface intertidal sediments of the inner Solway Firth by means of a hovercraft-borne radiometric survey. With the exception of a belt of relatively active sands to the south of Silloth, caesium distribution is generally consistent with that of fine-grained sediment such that the highest concentrations occur in mud flat and salt marsh sediments which are most extensive in sheltered coastal embayments. 137Cs activities in July 1980 were typically 2–30 pCi g?1 but locally exceeded 50 pCi g?1. These levels are considerably lower than those recorded in locations, such as the outer Solway and Ravenglass estuary, which are closer to the Sellafield outfall.  相似文献   

18.
Tie-series sediment trap materials at different water depths and surface sediments in northern and central South China Sea (SCS) were analyzed for organic carbon, amino acids, amino sugars and carbohydrates. Results show that particulate organic carbon (POC) is mainly derived from marine plankton, only 1.4%–1.6% of primary production sinks into deep SCS water column and less than 0.22 % of primary production ultimately reaches the sediments. The ranineralization and dissolution of organic matter as well as the compositional alterations of organic matter mixtures may mainly take place in the upper few hundred meters of water column, deep carbonate (opal) lysocline zones, and interface layers between sediments and water column, rather than in mid-waters. The organic geochemical parameters such as (T aa +T sug )OC%, AA/AS, Gluam/Galam, Arom. AA/non-prot. AA, ASP/b-ALA, Glu/g-ABA decrease from living marine plankton (or planktonic shells), to settling particulate matter and to sediments suggesting that they appear to be gad early degraded indicators of organic matter. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 49776297). Cruises financially supported by State Oceanic Administration and German Federal Ministry of Research and Technology.  相似文献   

19.
Approximately 20% of the earth's heat loss (or 2 × 1012 cal/s) is released through 1% of the earth's surface area and takes the form of hydrothermal discharge from young (Pleistocene or younger) rocks adjacent to active seafloor-spreading centers and submarine volcanic areas. This amount is roughly equivalent to man's present gross energy consumption rate.A sub-seafloor geothermal reservoir, to be exploitable under future economic conditions, will have to be hot, porous, permeable, large, shallow, and near an energy-deficient, populated land mass. Furthermore, the energy must be recoverable using technology achievable at a competitive cost and numerous environmental, legal and institutional problems will have to be overcome.The highest-temperature reservoirs should be found adjacent to the zones of the seafloor extension or volcanism that are subject to high sedimentation rates. The relatively impermeable sediments reduce hydrothermal-discharge flow rates, forcing the heat to be either conducted away or released by high-temperature fluids, both of which lead to reservoir temperatures that can exceed 300°C. There is evidence that the oceanic crust is quite permeable and porous and that it was amenable to deep (3–5 km) penetration by seawater at least some time in the early stages of its evolution.Most of the heat escapes far from land, but there are notable exceptions. For example, in parts of the Gulf of California, thermal gradients in the bottom sediments exceed 1°C/m. In the coastal areas of the Gulf of California, where electricity and fresh water are at a premium, this potential resource lies in shallow water (< 200 m) and within sight of land. Other interesting areas include the Sea of Japan, the Sea of Okhotsk and the Andaman Sea along the margins of the western Pacific, the Tyrrhenian Sea west of Italy, and the southern California borderland and west flank of the Juan de Fuca Ridge off the west coast of the United States.Many questions remain to be answered about the physical and other characteristics of these systems before they can be considered a viable resource. Until several of the most promising areas are carefully defined and drilled, the problem will remain unresolved.  相似文献   

20.
Cyst beds in ships and ports in Finland have previously been unstudied. Therefore, sediments from ships' ballast water tanks and four Finnish ports were sampled for dinoflagellate cysts and other phytoplankton. Untreated sediments were incubated at 10 degrees C and 20 degrees C in the local 6 psu salinity for 1, 4 and 7 days, and vegetative cells were examined with light and scanning electron microscope. Sediments were inhabited by various dinoflagellates, diatoms, chlorophytes, cyanophytes and small flagellates. Germinated dinoflagellates were found in 90% of ballast tanks and in all ports. Gymnodiniales spp. and Heterocapsa rotundata formed a major proportion of the proliferating dinoflagellate cells. One species, Peridinium quinquecorne, not previously reported from the Baltic Sea, was identified with SEM. The study emphasises that ships are potential transport vehicles for dinoflagellate cysts even in the low salinity Finnish waters, and small-sized dinoflagellates should be focused upon in ballast water studies.  相似文献   

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