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1.
Seasonal and depth variations in alkenone flux and molecular and isotopic composition of sinking particles were examined using a 21-month time-series sediment trap experiment at a mooring station WCT-2 (39°N, 147°E) in the mid-latitude NW Pacific to assess the influences of seasonality, production depth, and degradation in the water column on the alkenone unsaturation index UK′37. Analysis of the underlying sediments was also conducted to evaluate the effects of alkenone degradation at the water–sediment interface on UK′37. Alkenone sinking flux and UK′37-based temperature showed strong seasonal variability. Alkenone fluxes were higher from spring to fall than they were from fall to spring. During periods of high alkenone flux, the UK′37-based temperatures were lower than the contemporary sea-surface temperatures (SSTs), suggesting alkenone production in a well-developed thermocline (shallower than 30 m). During low alkenone flux periods, the UK′37-based temperatures were nearly constant and were higher than the contemporary SSTs. The nearly constant carbon isotopic ratios of C37:2 and C38:2 alkenones suggest that alkenones produced in early fall were suspended in the surface water until sinking. The alkenone sinking flux decreased exponentially with increasing depth. The decreasing trend was enhanced during the periods of high alkenone flux, suggesting that fresh and labile particles sank from spring to fall, while old and stable particles sank from fall to spring. The UK′37-based temperature usually increased with increasing depth. The preservation efficiency of alkenones was ∼2.7–5.2% at the water–sediment interface. Despite the significant degradation of the alkenones, there was little difference in UK′37 levels between sinking particles and the surface sediment.  相似文献   

2.
C37–C39 alkenones were measured in time-series sediment trap samples collected from August 1998 to June 2000 at two depths in the seasonal sea ice region of the western Sea of Okhotsk, off Sakhalin, in order to investigate alkenone production and water-column processes in the region. Measurable export fluxes of alkenones are ranged from < 0.1 to 5.8 μg/m2/day and clearly showed that the alkenone production was restricted to autumn. In 1998, maximum export flux of alkenones occurred in September when surface water column was well stratified with low nutrients in the surface mixing layer. In the next year, the maximum flux is observed in October. Comparison between alkenone temperature and satellite based sea surface temperature (SST) shows that the estimated alkenone temperatures in August 1998 were found to be  10 °C lower than the temporal satellite SST, suggesting that alkenones are produced in surface to subsurface thermocline layers during the period. Annual mean flux of alkenones is lower in the lower traps than that of the upper traps, suggesting rapid degradation of alkenones in water column, but the UK37′ value is not significantly altered. This study indicates that UK37′ values preserved in the surface sediments off Sakhalin reflect the seasonal temperature signal of near surface water, rather than annual mean surface temperature.  相似文献   

3.
C37–39 alkenones and C36 alkenoates, biomarkers of haptophyte origin, were measured in a 10-month sediment trap times series from the Wilkinson Basin in the Gulf of Maine (GOM). Highest biomarker flux to the seabed was observed in summertime, the period when surface waters are stratified and a persistent, subsurface chlorophyll maximum (SCM) exists within the upper thermocline and at the base of the euphotic zone throughout the GOM. Comparison of biomarker content and composition of sediment trap particles and underlying surface sediments indicates significant loss (>50%) of signal due to the impact of early diagenesis. Despite such loss, however, C37 alkenone unsaturation patterns (U37K′) are not altered. Estimates of algal growth temperature made from analysis of U37K′ in these sedimentary materials correspond with water temperature measured at the SCM, identifying this biological oceanographic feature as a key site of alkenone export production to the GOM sediment record. Given the common occurrence of SCM in surface waters of the world ocean, particularly the expansive oligotrophic regions of the subtropical to temperate ocean, export of alkenones produced within such features is a potentially widespread biological oceanographic phenomenon which shapes the sediment record for these biomarkers.  相似文献   

4.
Sinking particles collected from year-long time-series sediment traps at 1674, 4180, 5687 and 8688 m depths, the underlying bottom sediment at 9200 m depth, and suspended particles from surface and subsurface waters in the northwestern North Pacific off Japan were analyzed for long-chain alkenones and alkyl alkenoates (A&A) which are derived mainly from Gephyrocapsacean algae, especially Emiliania huxleyi and Gephyrocapsa oceanica. Alkenone temperature records in sediment trap samples at 1674 m were almost similar to observed sea surface temperatures (SST) with a time delay of one half to one full month. However, alkenone temperatures in trap samples were about slightly lower than measured SST in late spring to early fall. The lowering might be caused by formation of the seasonal thermocline. Nevertheless, these temperature drops observed in trap samples were smaller than those actually observed in a subsurface layer off central Japan. Vertical profiles of A&A concentrations and alkenone temperatures in suspended particles collected from the subsurface waters in early fall indicated that these compounds were produced mostly in a surface mixed layer above the depth of the chlorophyll maximum even in warm seasons. These results suggested that alkenone temperatures strongly reflected SST rather than the temperatures of thermocline waters in these study areas even in such a warm season. Pronounced maxima in A&A fluxes found in sediment trap samples at 1674 m in late spring to summer showed that A&A productions were highest during the periods of spring bloom, according to a time delay between alkenone temperatures and observed SST. Seasonal patterns of alkenone records in trap samples at 4180 and 5687 m could also preserve SST signals well, suggesting that A&A in deep sea waters were mainly derived from primary products in the surface layer. A&A fluxes tended to decrease with water depth, and the ratios of A&A to particulate organic carbon (POC) rapidly decreased in underlying bottom sediment. This clearly indicates that A&A were decomposed and diluted by other refractory organic materials in either the water column or the sediment–water interface. However, A&A compositions were consistently uniform between the trap samples and the underlying bottom sediments, so that A&A could not qualitatively alter during early diagenetic processes.  相似文献   

5.
Alkenone unsaturation indices (UK37 and UK′37) have long been used as proxies for surface water temperature in the open ocean. Recent studies have suggested that in other marine environments, variables other than temperature may affect both the production of alkenones and the values of the indices. Here, we present the results of a reconnaissance field study in which alkenones were extracted from particulate matter filtered from the water column in Chesapeake Bay during 2000 and 2001. A multivariate analysis shows a strong positive correlation between UK37 (and UK′37) values and temperature, and a significant negative correlation between UK37 (and UK′37) values and nitrate concentrations. However, temperature and nitrate concentrations also co-vary significantly. The temperature vs. UK37 relationships (UK37=0.018 (T)−0.162, R2=0.84, UK′37=0.013 (T)−0.04, R2=0.80) have lower slopes than the open-ocean equations of Prahl et al. [1988. Further evaluation of long-chain alkenones as indicators of paleoceanographic conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52, 2303–2310] and Müller et al. [1998. Calibration of the alkenone paleotemperature index UK′37 based on core-tops from the eastern South Atlantic and the global ocean (60°N–60°S). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, 1757–1772], but are similar to the relationships found in controlled studies with elevated nutrient levels and higher nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratios. This implies that high nutrient levels in Chesapeake Bay have either lowered the UK37 vs. temperature slope, or nutrient levels are the main controller of the UK37 index. In addition, particularly high abundances (>5% of total C37 alkenones) of the tetra-unsaturated ketone, C37:4, were found when water temperatures reached 25 °C or higher, thus posing further questions about the controls on alkenone production as well as the biochemical roles of alkenones.  相似文献   

6.
We investigated the spatial distribution of glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs), alkenones, and polyunsaturated fatty acids in particulate organic matter collected at four sites along a depth transect from the continental shelf to the Okinawa Trough in the East China Sea during the spring bloom in 2008. The maximum alkenone concentration appeared in the top 25?m at all sites and the $ U_{37}^{{{\text{K}}'}} $ values were consistent with in situ water temperatures in the depth interval, suggesting that the alkenones were produced mainly in surface water. At the slope and shelf sites, GDGTs in the water column showed a concentration maximum at 74?C99?m depth, and the $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{H}} $ agreed with in situ water temperatures, suggesting the in situ production of GDGTs in the depth interval. The low-salinity surface water above 20?m depth was characterized by low GDGT concentrations and low $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{L}} $ -based temperatures, suggesting either the production of GDGTs in winter season or the lateral advection of GDGTs by an eastward current. At the slope and Okinawa Trough sites, TEX86-based temperatures were nearly constant in the water column deeper than 300?m and corresponded to temperatures at the surface and near-surface waters rather than in situ temperatures. This observation is consistent with a hypothesis that Thaumarchaeota cells produced in surface waters are delivered to deeper water and also indicates that the residence time of suspended GDGTs in the deep-water column is large enough to mix the GDGTs produced in different seasons.  相似文献   

7.
Sterol and alkenone compositions in suspended particle and surface sediment samples collected in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea during the MEDFLUX program were used to evaluate the relative importance of biotic and abiotic degradation processes on marine organic matter. Alkenone concentrations decreased much more rapidly (~ 500 fold) between 5 and 800 m than Δ5-sterols (~ 100-fold) or POC (~ 100-fold). The diverse functional groups attached to the stable tetracyclic carbon skeleton of Δ5-sterols appeared to be useful for estimating the relative effects of biotic vs. abiotic (photooxidation and autoxidation) degradation. Products of abiotic degradation predominated over products of biotic degradation in suspended particles in the NW Mediterranean. For alkenones, the U37K′ index increased from 0.43 to 0.55 with increasing water depth, and a good correlation between variations of U37K′ and concentrations of specific Δ5-sterol autoxidation products points to selective autoxidation of alkenones in suspended particles. Stereomutated alkenones (with cis double bonds) were detected in the surface sediment, allowing us to estimate that stereomutation resulted in a + 0.05 increase in U37K′. Therefore, abiotic degradation may be another factor effect on alkenone-derived paleothermometry.  相似文献   

8.
Laboratory incubation of alkenone mixtures with tert-butyl hydroperoxide and di-tert-butyl nitroxide (radical initiator) in hexane, as a means to simulate alkenone autoxidation processes, rapidly led to the formation of allylic hydroperoxides, whose presence was recently demonstrated in Emiliania huxleyi cells. After incubation in seawater and subsequent reduction with NaBH4 (to reduce residual hydroperoxides before analysis), these reaction products quickly disappeared and were replaced by complex mixtures of n-alcohols, fatty acids, alkyldiols and hydroxyacids. Methyl alkenones produced saturated n-alkan-1-ols and fatty acids ranging from C13 to C16 and two series of C13−C16 (ω-1)-hydroxyacids and (1,ω-1)-diols. Ethyl alkenones also afforded C13−C16 saturated n-alkan-1-ols and fatty acids, accompanied by the production of C14−C17 (ω-2)-hydroxyacids and (1,ω-2)-diols. Deuterium labelling allowed us to show that most of the n-alkan-1-ols, hydroxyacids and alkyldiols resulted from the reduction during the NaBH4 treatment of the corresponding aldehydes, ketoxyacids and ketoxyaldehydes formed from heterolytic or homolytic cleavages of allylic hydroperoxyl groups resulting from the oxidation of the double bonds of di- and triunsaturated alkenones. Amongst these products, the (ω-1)- and (ω-2)-hydroxyacids formed after NaBH4 reduction of the (ω-1)- and (ω-2)-ketoxyacids were selected as potential biomarkers for alkenone autoxidation. Re-examination of lipid extracts of post-bloom seawater particulate matter samples from the DYFAMED station in the Ligurian Sea (where strong autoxidative alteration of the lipid distributions had previously been detected) showed the presence of significant amounts of 12-hydroxytetradecanoic, 13-hydroxytetradecanoic, 14-hydroxyhexadecanoic and 15-hydroxyhexadecanoic acids thus providing good evidence that these autoxidative processes occur in natural samples.  相似文献   

9.
Recent studies have revealed that lateral transport and focusing of particles strongly influences the depositional patterns of organic matter in marine sediments. Transport can occur in the water column prior to initial deposition or following sediment re-suspension. In both cases, fine-grained particles and organic-rich aggregates are more susceptible to lateral transport than coarse-grained particles (e.g., foraminiferal tests) because of the slower sinking velocities of the former. This may lead to spatial and, in the case of redistribution of re-suspended sediments, temporal decoupling of organic matter from coarser sediment constituents. Prior studies from the Argentine Basin have yielded evidence that suspended particles are displaced significant distances (100–1000 km) northward and downslope by strong surface and/or bottom currents. These transport processes result in anomalously cold alkenone-derived sea-surface temperature (SST) estimates (up to 6 °C colder than measured SST) and in the presence of frustules of Antarctic diatom species in surface sediments from this area. Here we examine advective transport processes through combined measurements of compound-specific radiocarbon ages of marine phytoplankton-derived biomarkers (alkenones) from core tops and excess 230Th (230Thxs)-derived focusing factors for late Holocene sediments from the Argentine Basin. On the continental slope, we observe 230Thxs-based focusing factors of 1.4–3.2 at sites where alkenone-based SST estimates were 4–6 °C colder than measured values. In contrast, alkenone radiocarbon data suggest coeval deposition of marine biomarkers and planktic foraminifera, as alkenones in core tops were younger than, or similar in age to, foraminifera. We therefore infer that the transport processes leading to the lateral displacement of these sediment components are rapid, and hence probably occur in the upper water column (<1500 m).  相似文献   

10.
11.
本文研究了南海北部31孔岩芯样的长链烯酮化合物的分布与微体古生物(钙质超微化石和浮游有孔虫)的关系。烯酮化合物主要来自定鞭金藻的赫胥黎艾氏石Emilianisahuxleyi,其中C37∶2Me含量在31%~70%。应用C37的不饱和比值(U37k)计算了南海31孔柱状样的海水古温度,波动幅度在23.2~28.3℃之间,平均为25.3℃,低于该海域海水实测年平均温度(28.1℃)。U37k值的变化与浮游有孔虫壳体的氧同位素值分期有着对应的关系,亦可相应分成5期。  相似文献   

12.
The \textU\textK37 {\text{U}}^{{{\text{K}}\prime}}_{{37}} index has been widely applied for sea surface temperature (SST) reconstruction in open ocean environments, but has inherently limited applications at smaller, regional scales including some marginal seas where both historical and reconstructed SST records are urgently needed for understanding regional climate evolution. We determined the spatial distribution of alkenone contents in surface sediments from the southern Yellow Sea to assess the regional \textU37\textK {\text{U}}_{{{37}}}^{{{\text{K'}}}} —SST relationship for paleo-SST reconstructions. C37:2 and C37:3 alkenones were detected at all 36 sites covering most of the southern Yellow Sea. Alkenone content ranges from 17 to 1,063 ng/g, with high values (ca. 400 to 1,000 ng/g) at deep water sites and a decreasing trend shoreward. For six samples at shallower depths near the coast and further offshore, the values were too low for statistical evaluation. This spatial pattern of alkenone contents is consistent with existing knowledge on the spatial distribution and productivity of alkenone-producing coccolithophorid species in the region. There is a significant positive relationship ( \textU37\textK = 0.059\textSST - 0.350 {\text{U}}_{{{37}}}^{{{\text{K'}}}} = 0.059{\text{SST}} - 0.350 , R = 0.912, n = 30) between the \textU37\textK {\text{U}}_{{{37}}}^{{{\text{K'}}}} values and satellite-derived annual mean SSTs (0 m) for the last 27 years, providing support for the application of a region-specific \textU37\textK {\text{U}}_{{{37}}}^{{{\text{K'}}}} index as paleothermometer in the southern Yellow Sea. However, the slope of the southern Yellow Sea calibration (0.059) is considerably larger than that of the well-known global core-top calibration (0.033). This implies that global SST trends may not adequately encompass regional SST patterns and/or that environmental factors other than temperature may gain importance in explaining coccolithophore dynamics in marginal seas.  相似文献   

13.
长链烯酮及U37k值在北极海洋古温度的应用研究   总被引:1,自引:1,他引:1  
在北极楚科奇海和白令海表层沉积物中检出长链烯酮化合物,研究结果表明楚科奇海和白令海沉积物中长链烯酮以C37:3甲基酮占优势,C37~C39不饱和烯酮丰度变化顺序为C37>C38>C39.根据∑C37/∑C38比值,所检出的长链烯酮母质生物主要是颗石藻(Emiliania huxleyi).应用U37k和U37k'标准校正关系式估算了表层海水古温度,其中U37k'估算值为4.147~5.706℃(平均为5.092℃).  相似文献   

14.
We analysed the alkenone unsaturation ratio (UK′37) in 87 surface sediment samples from the western South Atlantic (5°N–50°S) in order to evaluate its applicability as a paleotemperature tool for this part of the ocean. The measured UK′37 ratios were converted into temperature using the global core-top calibration of Müller et al. (1998) and compared with annual mean atlas sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) of overlying surface waters. The results reveal a close correspondence (<1.5°C) between atlas and alkenone temperatures for the Western Tropical Atlantic and the Brazil Current region north of 32°S, but deviating low alkenone temperatures by −2° to −6°C are found in the regions of the Brazil–Malvinas Confluence (35–39°S) and the Malvinas Current (41–48°S). From the oceanographic evidence these low UK′37 values cannot be explained by preferential alkenone production below the mixed layer or during the cold season. Higher nutrient availability and algal growth rates are also unlikely causes. Instead, our results imply that lateral displacement of suspended particles and sediments, caused by strong surface and bottom currents, benthic storms, and downslope processes is responsible for the deviating UK′37 temperatures. In this way, particles and sediments carrying a cold water UK′37 signal of coastal or southern origin are transported northward and offshore into areas with warmer surface waters. In the northern Argentine Basin the depth between displaced and unaffected sediments appears to coincide with the boundary between the northward flowing Lower Circumpolar Deep Water (LCDW) and the southward flowing North Atlantic Deep Water (NADW) at about 4000 m.  相似文献   

15.
Seasonal depth stratified plankton tows, sediment traps and core tops taken from the same stations along a transect at 29°N off NW Africa are used to describe the seasonal succession, the depth habitats and the oxygen isotope ratios (δ18Oshell) of five planktic foraminiferal species. Both the δ18Oshell and shell concentration profiles show variations in seasonal depth habitats of individual species. None of the species maintain a specific habitat depth exclusively within the surface mixed layer (SML), within the thermocline, or beneath the thermocline. Globigerinoides ruber (white) and (pink) occur with moderate abundance throughout the year along the transect, with highest abundances in the winter and summer/fall season, respectively. The average δ18Oshell of G. ruber (w) from surface sediments is similar to the δ18Oshell values measured from the sediment-trap samples during winter. However, the δ18Oshell of G. ruber (w) underestimates sea surface temperature (SST) by 2 °C in winter and by 4 °C during summer/fall indicating an extension of the calcification/depth habitat into colder thermocline waters. Globigerinoides ruber (p) continues to calcify below the SML as well, particularly in summer/fall when the chlorophyll maximum is found within the thermocline. Its vertical distribution results in δ18Oshell values that underestimate SST by 2 °C. Shell fluxes of Globigerina bulloides are highest in summer/fall, where it lives and calcifies in association with the deep chlorophyll maximum found within the thermocline. Pulleniatina obliquiloculata and Globorotalia truncatulinoides, dwelling and calcifying a part of their lives in the winter SML, record winter thermocline (~180 m) and deep surface water (~350 m) temperatures, respectively. Our observations define the seasonal and vertical distribution of multiple species of foraminifera and the acquisition of their δ18Oshell.  相似文献   

16.
Isoprenoid glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (GDGTs) and alkenones were analyzed in sediment samples retrieved from Ocean Drilling Program Site 1241 covering the last 150000 years to understand the hydrological evolution of the eastern Pacific warm pool (EPWP). GDGT and alkenone concentrations showed higher values in marine isotope stage (MIS)-2 and MIS-6, which suggests the enhancement of primary production at glacial maxima. $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{H}} $ - and $ U_{ 3 7^\prime }^{\text{K}} $ -derived temperature depicted different temperature evolutions. $ U_{ 3 7^\prime }^{\text{K}} $ -derived temperature was marked by small variation during the glacial–interglacial cycles, whereas $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{H}} $ -derived temperature showed pronounced glacial–interglacial variation that was similar to Mg/Ca-derived temperature records from nearby cores in the EPWP. Given that enhanced primary production during glacial maxima suggests nutricline shoaling, unchanged $ U_{ 3 7^\prime }^{\text{K}} $ over glacial–interglacial cycles can be interpreted as the shift of alkenone production depth. $ {\text{TEX}}_{86}^{\text{H}} $ seems not to be influenced by glacial–interglacial changes in nutricline depths, recording an integrated temperature in surface and thermocline water. The shallow nutricline in the EPWP during glacial maxima most likely reflected the intense formation of Antarctic intermediate water.  相似文献   

17.
为研究中国唯一已知、全球最深海洋蓝洞的形成、发育和演化机制,应用LISST-100X现场激光粒度仪、CTD温盐仪等搭载工作级水下机器人,于2017年5月在三沙永乐龙洞进行了悬浮体、温盐剖面测量,获得了全洞深的悬浮体体积浓度、温盐和溶解氧等数据,并进行了悬浮体垂向分布特征研究。研究结果表明,洞内90 m以下水体为无氧环境,悬浮体浓度呈现5个变化旋回,温度、盐度均存在3个跃层,并且它们之间有着较好的对应关系。龙洞内水体表层悬浮体总浓度约为20 μL/L,悬浮体平均浓度值为5.93 μL/L。悬浮体旋回层Ⅰ位于5 m以浅水层;旋回层Ⅱ位于10~43 m之间,与第一个温盐跃层(深度10~20 m)部分对应;旋回层Ⅲ位于70~110 m之间,与第二个温盐跃层(深度70~110 m)完全对应;旋回层Ⅳ位于130~150 m之间,与第三个温盐跃层(深度130~150 m)完全对应;旋回层Ⅴ位于260 m以深至洞底300 m。龙洞表层悬浮体浓度较高,主要是受到洞外周边珊瑚礁松散沉积物输入的影响。洞内悬浮体垂直分布特征主要受到水动力、洞体形态、温盐跃层、溶解氧含量以及浮游生物等的控制和影响。  相似文献   

18.
We investigated marine and terrestrial environmental changes at the northern Japan margin in the northwestern Pacific during the last 23,000 years by analyzing biomarkers (alkenones, long-chain n-alkanes, long-chain n-fatty acids, and lignin-derived materials) in Core GH02-1030. The U 37K′-derived temperature in the last glacial maximum (LGM) centered at 21 ka was ∼10°C, which was 2°C lower than the core-top temperature (∼12°C). This small temperature drop does not agree with pollen evidence of a large air temperature drop (more than 4°C) in the Tokachi area. This disagreement might be attributed to a bias of U 37K′-derived temperature within 2.5°C by a seasonal shift in alkenone production. The U 37K′-derived temperature was significantly low during the last deglaciation. Because this cooling was significant in the Kuroshio-Oyashio transition zone, the temperature drops are attributable to the southward displacement of the Kuroshio-Oyashio boundary. Abundant lignin-derived materials, long-chain n-alkanes and long-chain n-fatty acids indicate a higher contribution of terrigenous organic matter from 17 to 12 ka. This phenomenon might have resulted from an enhanced coastal erosion of terrestrial soils due to marine transgression and/or an efficient inflow of higher plant debris to river waters from 17 to 12 ka.  相似文献   

19.
Using the hydroacoustic method with a 200 kHz scientific echo sounding system,the diel vertical migration(DVM) of the sound-scattering layer(SSL) in the Yellow Sea Bottom Cold Water(YSBCW) of the southeastern Yellow Sea was studied in April(spring) and August(summer) of 2010 and 2011.For each survey,13–27 hours of acoustic data were continuously collected at a stationary station.The acoustic volume scattering strength(Sv) data were analyzed with temperature profile data.In the spring of both 2010 and 2011,the SSL clearly showed the vertical migration throughout the entire water column,moving from the surface layer at night to near the bottom during the day.Conductivity,temperature,and depth data indicated that the entire water column was well mixed with low temperature of about 8 C.However,the SSL showed different patterns in the summers of 2010 and 2011.In the summer of 2010(28 C at the surface),the SSL migrated to near the bottom during the day,but there were two SSLs above and below the thermocline at depth of 10–30 m at night.In the summer of 2011(20 C at the surface),the SSL extended throughout the entire water column at night,possibly owing to an abrupt change in sea weather conditions caused by the passage of a Typhoon Muifa over the study area.It was concluded that the DVM patterns in summer in the YSBCW area may be greatly influenced by a strengthened or weakened thermocline.  相似文献   

20.
The dissolved methane (CH4) plume rising from the crater of the blowout well 22/4b in the Central North Sea was mapped during stratified water column conditions. Geochemical surveys were conducted close to the seafloor at 80.3 m water depth, below the thermocline (61.1 m), and in the mixed surface layer (13.2 m) using membrane inlet mass spectrometry (MIMS) in combination with a towed CTD. Seawater was continuously transferred from the respective depth levels of the CTD to the MIMS by using an inline submersible pump. Close to the seafloor a well-defined CH4 plume extended from the bubble release site ∼460 m towards the southwest. Along this distance CH4 concentrations decreased from a maximum of 7872 nmol l−1 to less than 250 nmol l−1. Below the thermocline the well-defined CH4 plume shape encountered at the seafloor was distorted and filaments were observed that extended towards the west and southwest in relation to current direction. Where the core of the bubble plume intersected this depth layer, footprints of high CH4 concentrations of up to 17,900 nmol l−1 were observed. In the mixed surface layer the CH4 distribution with a maximum of up to 3654 nmol l−1 was confined to a small patch of ∼60 m in diameter. The determination of the water column CH4 inventories revealed that CH4 transfer across the thermocline was strongly impeded as only ∼3% of the total water column inventory was located in the mixed surface layer. Best estimate of the CH4 seabed release from the blowout was 1751 tons yr−1. The fate of the trapped CH4 (∼97%) that does not immediately reach the atmosphere remains speculative. In wintertime, when the water column becomes well mixed as well as during storm events newly released CH4 and the trapped CH4 pool can be transported rapidly to the sea surface and emitted into the atmosphere.  相似文献   

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