Flux and dispersion of gases from the “Drachenschlund” hydrothermal vent at 8°18' S, 13°30' W on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge     

Robin S. Keir  Oliver Schmale  Maren Walter  Jürgen Sültenfuß  Richard Seifert  Monika Rhein 《Earth and Planetary Science Letters》2008,270(3-4):338-348

Hydrothermal emission of mantle helium appears to be directly related to magma production rate, but other processes can generate methane and hydrogen on mid-ocean ridges. In an on-going effort to characterize these processes in the South Atlantic, the flux and distribution of these gases were investigated in the vicinity of a powerful black smoker recently discovered at 8°17.9' S, 13°30.4' W. The vent lies on the shoulder of an oblique offset in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and discharges high concentrations of methane and hydrogen. Measurements during expeditions in 2004 and 2006 show that the ratio of CH₄ to ³He in the neutrally buoyant plume is quite high, 4 × 10⁸. The CTD stations were accompanied by velocity measurements with lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCP), and from these data we estimate the methane transport to have been 0.5 mol s^− 1 in a WSW-trending plume that seems to develop during the ebb tidal phase. This transport is an order of magnitude greater than the source of CH₄ calculated from its concentration in the vent fluid and the rise height of the plume. From this range of methane fluxes, the source of ³He is estimated to be between 0.14 and 1.2 nmol s^− 1. In either case, the ³He source is significantly lower than expected from the spreading rate of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From the inventory of methane in the rift valley adjacent to the vent, it appears that the average specific rate of oxidation is 2.6 to 23 yr^− 1, corresponding to a turnover time between 140 and 16 days. Vertical profiles of methane in the surrounding region often exhibited Gaussian-like distributions, and the variances appear to increase with distance from the vent. Using a Gaussian plume model, we obtained a range of vertical eddy diffusivities between 0.009 and 0.08 m²m² s^− 1. These high values may be due to tidally driven internal waves across the promontory on which the vent is located.  相似文献   

Comparison of hypoxia among four river-dominated ocean margins: The Changjiang (Yangtze), Mississippi,Pearl, and Rhône rivers     

C. Rabouille  D.J. Conley  M.H. Dai  W.-J. Cai  C.T.A. Chen  B. Lansard  R. Green  K. Yin  P.J. Harrison  M. Dagg  B. McKee 《Continental Shelf Research》2008

We examined the occurrence of seasonal hypoxia (O₂<2 mg l⁻¹) in the bottom waters of four river-dominated ocean margins (off the Changjiang, Mississippi, Pearl and Rhône Rivers) and compared the processes leading to the depletion of oxygen. Consumption of oxygen in bottom waters is linked to biological oxygen demand fueled by organic matter from primary production in the nutrient-rich river plume and perhaps terrigenous inputs. Hypoxia occurs when this consumption exceeds replenishment by diffusion, turbulent mixing or lateral advection of oxygenated water. The margins off the Mississippi and Changjiang are affected the most by summer hypoxia, while the margins off the Rhône and the Pearl rivers systems are less affected, although nutrient concentrations in the river water are very similar in the four systems. Spring and summer primary production is high overall for the shelves adjacent to the Mississippi, Changjiang and Pearl (1–10 g C m⁻² d⁻¹), and lower off the Rhône River (<1 g C m⁻² d⁻¹), which could be one of the reasons of the absence of hypoxia on the Rhône shelf. The residence time of the bottom water is also related to the occurrence of hypoxia, with the Mississippi margin showing a long residence time and frequent occurrences of hypoxia during summer over very large spatial scales, whereas the East China Sea (ECS)/Changjiang displays hypoxia less regularly due to a shorter residence time of the bottom water. Physical stratification plays an important role with both the Changjiang and Mississippi shelf showing strong thermohaline stratification during summer over extended periods of time, whereas summer stratification is less prominent for the Pearl and Rhône partly due to the wind effect on mixing. The shape of the shelf is the last important factor since hypoxia occurs at intermediate depths (between 5 and 50 m) on broad shelves (Gulf of Mexico and ECS). Shallow estuaries with low residence time such as the Pearl River estuary during the summer wet season when mixing and flushing are dominant features, or deeper shelves, such as the Gulf of Lion off the Rhône show little or no hypoxia.  相似文献   

Patos Lagoon outflow within the Río de la Plata plume using an airborne salinity mapper: Observing an embedded plume     

Derek Burrage  Joel Wesson  Carlos Martinez  Tabare Pérez  Osmar Möller Jr.  Alberto Piola 《Continental Shelf Research》2008

Major river systems discharging into continental shelf waters frequently form buoyant coastal currents that propagate along the continental shelf in the direction of coastal trapped wave propagation (with the coast on the right/left, in the northern/southern hemisphere). The combined flow of the Uruguay and Paraná Rivers, which discharges freshwater into the Río de la Plata estuary (Lat. ∼36°S), often gives rise to a buoyant coastal current (the ‘Plata plume’) that extends northward along the continental shelf off Uruguay and Southern Brazil. Depending upon the prevailing rainfall, wind and tidal conditions, the Patos/Mirim Lagoon complex (Lat. ∼32°S) may also produce a freshwater outflow plume that expands across the inner continental shelf. Under these circumstances the Patos outflow plume can be embedded in temperature, salinity and current fields that are strongly influenced by the larger Plata plume. The purpose of this paper is to present observations of such an embedded plume structure and to determine the dynamical characteristics of the ambient and embedded plumes.  相似文献   

Connectivity of the Apalachicola River flow variability and the physical and bio-optical oceanic properties of the northern West Florida Shelf     

Steven L. Morey  Dmitry S. DukhovskoyMark A. Bourassa 《Continental Shelf Research》2009

Maps of satellite-derived estimates of monthly averaged chlorophyll a concentration over the northern West Florida Shelf show interannual variations concentrated near the coastline, but also extending offshore over the shelf in a tongue-like pattern from the Apalachicola River during the late winter and early spring. These anomalies are significantly correlated with interannual variability in the flow rate of the Apalachicola River, which is linked to the precipitation anomalies over the watershed, over a region extending 150–200 km offshore out to roughly the 100 m isobath. This study examines the variability of the Apalachicola River and its impacts on the variability of water properties over the northern West Florida Shelf. A series of numerical model experiments show that episodic wind-driven offshore transport of the Apalachicola River plume is a likely physical mechanism for connecting the variability of the river discharge with oceanic variability over the middle and outer shelf.  相似文献   

Structure of hydrothermal plumes at the Logatchev vent field, 14°45′N, Mid-Atlantic Ridge: evidence from geochemical and geophysical data     

S. M. Sudarikov  A. B. Roumiantsev 《Journal of Volcanology and Geothermal Research》2000,101(3-4)

In the Seventh cruise of R/V “Professor Logatchev” anomalies of natural electric field (EF), Eh and pS were discovered using a towed instrument package (RIFT) at 14°45′N on the MAR (Logatchev hydrothermal field). The anomalous zone (AZ) is situated close (10–35 m) to two low-temperature venting areas of degrading sulphides and a black smoker (Irina-Microsmoke) forming a distinct buoyant plume. Over or close to the main area of high-temperature venting situated to the south-east from the AZ, no EF or Eh anomalies were observed. According to the results of Mir dives the highly mineralised solutions from smoking craters at the main mound mostly form non-buoyant plumes (reverse-plumes). The buoyant plume structure shows the differentiation of the electrical and Eh fields within the plume. Maxima of the EF, Eh and E_H2S anomalies were revealed in the lower part (15 m) of the plume. The negative redox potential plume coupled with a sulphide anomaly is more localized in comparison with the EF. This observation indicates a distinct change in the composition of buoyant plume water, which may be due to the formation and fallout of early formed Fe sulphide particles soon after venting.  相似文献   

胶西北金矿集中区亚热柱幔枝构造成矿研究          下载免费PDF全文

牛树银  孙爱群  张建珍  马宝军  王宝德  王铮  张福祥  陈超  武际春  赵荣欣  王善飞 《山东国土资源》2012,28(12)

胶西北是我国最大的黄金矿集区,不仅黄金储量巨大,而且成矿时间集中（115±5)Ma。研究认为燕山运动以来,华北东部地区进入了地幔热柱演化阶段;胶西北形成了莱阳地幔亚热柱及其外围郭家店、艾山、盘石店等幔枝构造体系。深源含矿流体通过地幔热柱→地幔亚热柱→幔枝构造→有利构造扩容带,迁移到幔枝构造的脆韧性韧脆性剪切带、侵入岩体的内、外接触带、密集的构造裂隙带、各种脉岩与围岩的接触带等有利部位集聚成矿,从而构成以幔枝构造为中心的金成矿密集区。该文以郭家店幔枝构造研究为例,分析了成矿作用,归纳了成矿模式。  相似文献   

An Analytic Model For A Mantle Plume Fed By A Boundary Layer     

Norman H. Sleep 《Geophysical Journal International》1987,90(1):119-128

Summary. An approximate analytical solution for flow in a mantle plume of constant radius, viscosity, and density contrast is obtained in cylindrical coordinates. the differential equations for vertical velocity of the mantle surrounding the plume and for topography are homologous to the equation for flexure of an elastic plate. Although the model is too simple to be fully applicable to the Earth, one can conclude that the vertical velocity in the mantle changes significantly away from plumes, that the viscosity of the plume is important for controlling flow rate, and that the long-wavelength geoid anomalies are sensitive to the viscosity of the surrounding mantle. the first induced upwelling away from a plume is quite weak and unlikely to control the spacing of plumes.  相似文献   

Increased benthic grazing: An alternative explanation for low phytoplankton biomass in northern San Francisco Bay during the 1976–1977 drought     

Frederic H. Nichols 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》1985,21(3):379-388

Among the consequences of extremely low river flow into northern San Francisco Bay during a two-year drought were (1) a gradual increase in salinity, (2) an unusual decline in chlorophyll a concentration, and (3) the upstream migration of estuarine benthic invertebrates to the normally brackish area of the bay. Total abundance in the benthos at a shallow monitoring site increased from a normal 2000 to greater than 20 000 individuals m^?2 during the summer of 1977, presumably in response to the increased salinity. Estimated filtration rates derived from equations in the literature for one of the species, the suspended-feeding bivalve Mya arenaria ranged from 1 to 4 m³ m^?2 day^?1 during 1977 depending on abundance and mean size on sampling dates. Because water depth at this site is less than 2 m, Mya could have filtered all of the particles (including diatoms) from the water column on the order of once per day. Several other immigrant species undoubtedly contributed to the removal of particles from the near-bottom water as well. Increased benthic grazing, therefore, could have accounted for the anomalously low phytoplankton biomass observed during the drought. These results suggest that during periods of prolonged low river flow and increased salinity benthic food webs could become more important than planktonic food webs in the upper part of the estuary.  相似文献   

Holocene millennial/centennial‐scale multiproxy cyclicity in temperate eastern Australian estuary sediments     

C. Gregory Skilbeck  Timothy C. Rolph  Natalie Hill  Jonathan Woods  Roy H. Wilkens 《第四纪科学杂志》2005,20(4):327-347

We have undertaken a comparative study of down‐core variation in multiproxy palaeoclimate data (magnetic susceptibility, calcium carbonate content and total organic carbon) from two coastal water bodies (Myall and Tuggerah Lakes) in temperate eastern Australia to identify local, regional and global‐forcing factors within Holocene estuarine sediments. The two lakes lie within the same temperate climate zone adjacent to the Tasman Sea, but are not part of the same catchment and drain different geological provinces. One is essentially a freshwater coastal lake whereas the other is a brackish back‐barrier lagoon. Despite these differences, data from two sites in each of the two lakes have allowed us to investigate and compare cyclicity in otherwise uniform, single facies sediments within the frequency range of 200–2000 years, limited by the sedimentation rate within the lakes and our sample requirements. We have auto‐ and cross‐correlated strong periodicities at ～360 years, ～500–530 years, ～270–290 years, 420–450 years and ～210 years, and subordinate periods of ～650 years, 1200–1400 years and ～1800 years. Our thesis is that climate is the only regionally available mechanism available to control common millennial and centennial scale cyclicity in these sediments, given the geographical and other differences. However, regional climate may not be the dominant effect at any single time and either location. Within the range of frequency spectral peaks we have identified, several fall within known long‐term periodical fluctuations of sun spot activity; however, feedback loops associated with short‐term orbital variation, such as Dansgaard–Oeschger cycles, and the relationship between these and palaeo‐ENSO variation, are also possible contributors. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.  相似文献   

Particulate matter exchange across a Rjord sill     

J.C. Therriault  R. de Ladurantaye  R.G. Ingram 《Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science》1984,18(1):51-64

Recent studies have indicated the existence of a considerably higher planktonic biomass in the deep waters of the Saguenay Fjord as compared to corresponding depths in the adjacent St Lawrence Estuary on the other side of a shallow sill. The hypothesis that has been put forward to explain this phenomenon is related to the advection of near surface estuarine waters, at times very rich in particulate matter, over the entrance sill into the deeper waters of the fjord. Mixing processes associated with the development of a density flow, the presence of a hydraulic jump or other mechanisms are assumed to be responsible for the common occurrence of lower density subsurface water within the basin as compared to that penetrating over the sill.The exchange processes between the estuary and the fjord are described and an estimate made of the estuarine water volume that penetrates into the lower layer of the fjord over a semidiurnal tide cycle. From these calculations, the replacement time for the outer basin was estimated to range between one and four days. The biological characteristics of this water were used to establish a budget for particulate matter exchange which showed, in early August, a typical net input of ? 188 t of particulate organic carbon into the deep waters of the fjord over one tide cycle.  相似文献