Biogenic Detritus Research Articles

Unexpected and Extraordinarily Shallow Coralligenous Banks at the Sinuessa Site, a Heritage of the Campania Coast (SW Italy, Mediterranean Sea)

Coralligenous bioconstructions are biogenic calcareous formations developing at low irradiance on littoral rocky cliffs or on the deeper sub-horizontal bottom in the Mediterranean Sea. Unusually shallow coralligenous banks on the sandy coast of Sinuessa (Mondragone City, Gulf of Gaeta, SW Italy) were investigated. Their communities and the surrounding biogenic detritus were characterized. Geophysical and acoustic data revealed the presence of coralligenous banks between 7.5 and 15 m depth, showing constant thickness and sub-horizontal geometry, incised by sub-perpendicular channels. Sediment deposits ranging from silty sands to bioclastic gravel occur in the area. The biogenic detritus of the soft bottom sampled around the coralligenous banks is highly heterogeneous. Through the thanatocoenosis analysis of macrozoobenthos, different biocenoses were detected, among which the coralligenous and photophilic habitats are mainly represented, followed by the well-calibrated fine sands and the relit sands. A total of 16 different species and 10 epimegabenthic morphological groups (MGs) were detected on the coralligenous banks, of which 4 are included in European regulation for threatened species. The density of epimegabenthic organisms has an average of 10.34 ± 5.46 individuals or colonies/100 m2. Cladocora caespitosa is the dominant species, with a height of 17 ± 5 cm. This and other structuring species (SS) were larger in size in the sampled sites than in the literature data. Overall, coralligenous had a “medium” health status, with 52% of the individuals or colonies in healthy conditions, compared to 47% with epibiosis phenomena and 1% with entanglement. Longlines were the most common anthropogenic litter, with a density of 2/100 m2. Ad hoc monitoring programs and conservation measures would be desirable to protect and guarantee the well-being of these sensitive and rare shallow bioconstructions.

The Red Coral Community in the Messina Strait: New Findings from the 1700s Lazzaro Spallanzani Collection

The precious red coral (Corallium rubrum L.) represents one of the most fascinating marine species of the Mediterranean Sea. Several samples, including red coral together with its accompanying species, were found in the zoological collection of the Italian pioneer biologist Lazzaro Spallanzani (1729–1799), collected in the Messina Strait during his voyage in Sicily (1788). The study of these samples allowed the inclusion of numerous additional species in the traditional red coral facies as the large oyster Neopycnodonte cochlear, the giant barnacle Pachylasma giganteum, the mesophotic scleractinian Caryophyllia (Caryophyllia) cyathus. These specimens proved to be very useful in describing the diversity of the paleo-community including red coral, shedding light on its formation processes. In particular, some specimens are composed of red coral rubble consolidated and cemented with other carbonatic remains Probably, these peculiar specimens have a similar origin to those of the Sciacca Banks already known from the Sicily Channel. In fact, the two areas are prone to intense seismic activity that periodically causes mass mortalities of red coral from nearby rocky reliefs and the formation of biogenic detritus, while the resulting chemical environment of the water and the sediments allows the consolidation of the carbonatic remains.

Experience of Stadial Analysis for Investigating Ultramicrocrystalline Rock (The Case of Structureless Phosphorites of the Okino-Hubsugul Basin)

Any sedimentary rock is a complex natural formation, which was formed under the influence of many processes. One of the aims of lithologists is the occurrence and study of these processes, which is necessary for targeted searches for mineral resources associated with sedimentary rock. Analysis of order of mineral crystallization (stadial analysis) is the most successful method to solve the problems. That analysis is a brunch in lithology science aimed at reconstructing the geological history of rock. The step-by-step analysis includes methods of prospecting, optical and electronic microscopy, and diagnostics of the material composition of minerals. However, the researcher receives basic information about the processes of rock formation through microscopic observations of the features of minerals: their shapes, sizes, composition, interrelations, as well as structural and textural features. In the course of such observations, “indicator components” of rock are established with obvious signs of duration and conditions of its formation: sedimentary “indicator components” (biogenic detritus, allothigenic fragments, tufogenic material), dia- and katagenetic (nodule concretions and other varieties), metagenetic “indicator components” (crystalloblasts etc.). Further analysis of the secondary alterations in the mentioned components and their minerals allows us to make series of consistent mineral formation and, thereby, reconstruct main stages and conditions of rock formation. This, in turn, provides the key to understanding the regional geological processes that took place in sedimentary basins.

Elevated carbon flux in deep waters of the South China Sea

We measured particulate organic carbon (POC) fluxes from the euphotic zone into the twilight zone and deep waters (>1000 m) that occurred between the shelf and the basin in the South China Sea (SCS) and at the SouthEast Asia Time Series Station (SEATS) using floating sediment trap arrays. Additionally, selected sinking particles were imaged by scanning electron microscope (SEM) to reveal particle morphology and composition. Results showed large variations in POC fluxes with elevated values (32–104 mg-C m−2 d−1) below the euphotic zone and a trend towards lower values in the deep SCS. Vertical POC fluxes measured in deep waters between the shelf and the SCS basin were much higher than those estimated by Martin’s attenuation equation. These elevated POC fluxes in deep waters were attributed to lateral particle transport as opposed to enhanced settling out of the euphotic zone. SEM images of sinking particles at 150 m show abundant marine biogenic detritus, while those in deep waters contained a higher proportion of lithogenic material. A great deal of the spatial variability in POC fluxes across the twilight zone and deep waters of the SCS cannot be represented by current biogeochemical models.

Geochemical Investigations of Fe-Si-Mn Oxyhydroxides Deposits in Wocan Hydrothermal Field on the Slow-Spreading Carlsberg Ridge, Indian Ocean: Constraints on Their Types and Origin

We have studied morphology, mineralogy and geochemical characteristics of Fe-oxyhydroxide deposits from metal-enriched sediments of the active (Wocan-1) and inactive (Wocan-2) hydrothermal sites (Carlsberg Ridge, Northwest Indian Ocean). Fe-oxyhydroxide deposits on the Wocan-1 site are reddish-brownish, amorphous and subangular. They occur in association with sulfides (e.g., pyrite, chalcopyrite and sphalerite) and sulfate minerals (e.g., gypsum and barite). The geochemical composition shows enrichment in transition metals (Ʃ (Cu + Co + Zn + Ni) = ~1.19 wt. %) and low (<0.4 wt. %) values of Al/(Al + Fe + Mn) ratio. The Wocan-2 samples show poorly crystallized reddish brown and yellowish Fe-oxyhydroxide, with minor peaks of goethite and manganese oxide minerals. The mineral assemblage includes sulfide and sulfate phases. The geochemical compositions show two distinct types (type-1 and type-2). The type-1 Fe-oxyhydroxides are enriched in transition metals (up to ~1.23 wt. %), with low values of Fe/Ti vs. Al/(Al + Fe + Mn) ratio similar to the Wocan-1 Fe-oxyhydroxides. The type-2 Fe-oxyhydroxides are depleted in transition metals, with Al/(Al + Fe + Mn) ratio of 0.003–0.58 (mean value, 0.04). The ridge flank oxyhydroxides exhibit an extremely low (mean value ~ 0.01) Fe/Mn ratio and a depleted concentration of transition metals. Our results revealed that the Wocan-1 Fe-oxyhydroxides and type-1 Fe-oxyhydroxides of the Wocan-2 site are in the range of Fe-oxyhydroxides deposits that are precipitated by mass wasting and corrosion of pre-existing sulfides. The type-2 Fe-oxyhydroxides are precipitated from sulfide alteration by seawater in an oxygenated environment relative to type-1. The association of biogenic detritus with the oxyhydroxides of the ridge flanks and the low Fe/Mn ratio suggests hydrogenous/biogenic processes of formation and masked hydrothermal signatures with distance away from the Wocan hydrothermal field.

New Aspects of the Role of Organisms and Detritus in the Detoxification System of the Biosphere

The review covers new aspects of the participation of organisms in the detoxification system of the biosphere. Problems of detoxification of toxic environmental pollutants are analyzed. New author’s experimental data in combination with a large amount of information in the scientific literature gave rise to a new concept of the role of biogenic detritus and related nutrients in environmental detoxification (ex-living matter concept). This may be useful for the development of new technologies for remediation and decontamination of the environment.

Tracing fluid sources and formation conditions of Miocene hydrocarbon-seep carbonates in the central Western Foothills, Central Taiwan

Hydrocarbon-seep carbonates were discovered to be hosted within Miocene marine mudstone in the central Western Foothills near the Kuohsing area, Central Taiwan. Here, we present field observations, petrography, mineralogy, stable carbon isotope data, as well as rare earth element compositions. We evaluate the role of diagenetic alteration on the Kuohsing seep carbonates and constrain their fluid sources and formation conditions. Four main morphologies in the field were observed, including cylindrical columns, massive forms, lenticular nodules, and stratiform bodies. Petrographically, the carbonates are predominantly composed of partially recrystallized calcite and dolomite, with abundant amounts of biogenic detritus, pyrite aggregations and unidentified filaments. Isotopic analyses show that carbon isotope values inversely vary with oxygen isotope values, indicating substantial modification of the carbon isotope compositions of the carbonates by diagenetic processes. Extremely negative δ13C values as low as −47.6‰ recognized as a near-primary isotopic signature recorded in the carbonates, an end member of the trend, reveals that methane was incorporated during the carbonate precipitation. On the other hand, the carbonates have well preserved primary REE compositions, exhibiting MREE enrichment, no La and Ce anomalies, and supra-chondritic Y/Ho ratios. These REE patterns suggest that the Kuohsing authigenic carbonates were precipitated from reducing seep fluids with limited admixture of seawater.

Elevated trace metal content of prokaryotic communities associated with marine oxygen deficient zones

AbstractLittle is known about the trace metal content of marine prokaryotes, in part due to their co‐occurrence with more abundant particulate phases in the upper ocean, such as phytoplankton and biogenic detritus, lithogenic minerals, and authigenic Mn and Fe oxyhydroxides. We attempt to isolate these biomass signals in particulate data from the US GEOTRACES Eastern Pacific Zonal Transect (cruise GP16) in the Eastern Tropical South Pacific (ETSP), which exhibited consistent maxima in P and other bioactive trace metals, and minima in particulate Mn, in the oxygen deficient zones (ODZs) of 13 stations. Nitrite maxima and nitrate deficits indicated the presence of denitrifying prokaryotic biomass within ETSP ODZs, and deep secondary fluorescence maxima at the upper ODZ boundaries of 10 stations also suggested the presence of low‐light, autotrophic communities. ODZs were observed as far west as 99°W, more than 2300 km from the South American coast, where eolian lithogenic and lateral/resuspended sedimentary inputs were negligible, presenting a unique opportunity to examine prokaryotic metal stoichiometries. ODZ particulate P maxima can rival gyre mixed layer biomass concentrations, are highly sensitive to oxygen, and are in excess of amounts scavengable by local Fe oxyhydroxides and acid–volatile sulfides. Even after correction for lithogenic and ferruginous–scavenged metals, ODZ P‐maxima are often enriched in Cd, Co, Cu, Ni, V, and Zn, exhibiting particulate trace metal ratios to P that exceed mixed layer biomass ratios by factors of 2–9. ODZ prokaryotic communities may be largely hidden, TM–rich pools involved in the marine cycles of these bioactive trace metals.

The first geological record of a palaeotsunami on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, Poland

Tsunami deposits were unknown along the southern coast of the Baltic Sea for a long time. The results of present research provided evidence of high-energy event layers. They occur on the bottom of two hemispherical hollows that are cut into glaciolimnic silt and glaciofluvial sand and gravel from the Late Weichselian Age. The event deposits are represented by poorly sorted marine sand with admixtures of pebbles and allochthonous detritus of biogenic origin: marine, brackish and occasionally freshwater shells and shell debris of molluscs and snails, plant macrofossils from the marine nearshore zone, shreds and lumps of peaty material, gyttja and organogenic silt, lumps of charcoal, wood pieces and tree branches and trunks. All these features are commonly considered indicative of tsunamis. The age of the biogenic detritus found in the tsunami layer ranges from 10 390 to 6 630 cal. yr BP, whereas the oldest gyttja covering the event layers is 6 600 cal. yr BP old. This means that the tsunami occurred between 6 630 and 6 600 cal. yr BP. Various causes of tsunami event have been taken into consideration, including the impact of meteorites within the coastal plain and the littoral zone of the southern Baltic Sea.

Glacial-interglacial productivity contrasts along the eastern Arabian Sea: Dominance of convective mixing over upwelling

The western continental margin of India is one of the highly productive regions in the global ocean. Primary productivity is induced by upwelling and convective mixing during the southwest and northeast monsoons respectively. Realizing the importance of high primary productivity, a sediment core was collected below the current oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) from the southwestern continental margin of India. This was dated by AMS radiocarbon and as many as 60 paleoclimate/paceoceanographic proxies, such as particle size, biogenic components, major, trace and rare earth elements (REEs) which were measured for the first time to determine sources of sediment, biogeochemical processes operating in the water column and their variations since the last glacial cycle. R-mode factor analysis of comprehensive data indicates that the dominant regulator of paleoproductivity is the southwest monsoon wind induced upwelling. Other paleoproductivity related factors identified are the marine biogenic component and biogenic detritus (as an exported component from the water column added to the bottom sediment). All paleoproductivity components increased significantly during the marine isotope stage-1 (MIS-1) compared to those accumulated from MIS-4 to MIS-2. The second group of factors identified are the terrigenous sediments with heavy minerals like zircon and ilmenite. The terrigenous sediment, in particular, increased during MIS-2 when the sea-level was lower; however, the heavy mineral component fluctuated over time implying pulsed inputs of sediment. The diagenetic fraction and reducing component are the third group of factors identified which varied with time with increased accumulation during the MIS transitions.The primary productivity along the southwestern continental margin of India seems to have been controlled principally by the upwelling during the southwest monsoon season that was weaker from MIS-4 to MIS-2, as relative to that during the MIS-1. In contrast, increased glacial productivity noticed in sediments deposited below the current oxygen minimum zone (OMZ) along the north of the study area that can be linked to entrainment of nutrients through the intensified convective mixing of surface water during the northeast monsoon. The sequestration of greenhouse gases by the western continental margin of India was higher during glacial than interglacial cycles.

Hydrothermal, Biogenic, and Seawater Components in Metalliferous Black Shales of the Brooks Range, Alaska: Synsedimentary Metal Enrichment in a Carbonate Ramp Setting

Trace element and Os isotope data for Lisburne Group metalliferous black shales of Middle Mississippian (early Chesterian) age in the Brooks Range of northern Alaska suggest that metals were sourced chiefly from local seawater (including biogenic detritus) but also from externally derived hydrothermal fluids. These black shales are interbedded with phosphorites and limestones in sequences 3 to 35 m thick; deposition occurred mainly on a carbonate ramp during intermittent upwelling under varying redox conditions, from suboxic to anoxic to sulfidic. Deposition of the black shales at ~335 Ma was broadly contemporaneous with sulfide mineralization in the Red Dog and Drenchwater Zn-Pb-Ag deposits, which formed in a distal marginal basin. Relative to the composition of average black shale, the metalliferous black shales ( n = 29) display large average enrichment factors (>10) for Zn (10.1), Cd (11.0), and Ag (20.1). Small enrichments (>2–<10) are shown by V, Cr, Ni, Cu, Mo, Pd, Pt, U, Se, Y, and all rare earth elements except Ce, Nd, and Sm. A detailed stratigraphic profile over 23 m in the Skimo Creek area (central Brooks Range) indicates that samples from at and near the top of the section, which accumulated during a period of major upwelling and is broadly correlative with the stratigraphic levels of the Red Dog and Drenchwater Zn-Pb-Ag deposits, have the highest Zn/TOC (total organic carbon), Cu/TOC, and Tl/TOC ratios for calculated marine fractions (no detrital component) of these three metals. Average authigenic (detrital-free) contents of Mo, V, U, Ni, Cu, Cd, Pb, Ge, Re, Se, As, Sb, Tl, Pd, and Au show enrichment factors of 4.3 × 103 to 1.2 × 106 relative to modern seawater. Such moderate enrichments, which are common in other metalliferous black shales, suggest wholly marine sources (seawater and biogenic material) for these metals, given similar trends for enrichment factors in organic-rich sediments of modern upwelling zones on the Namibian, Peruvian, and Chilean shelves. The largest enrichment factors for Zn and Ag are much higher (1.4 × 107 and 2.9 × 107, respectively), consistent with an appreciable hydrothermal component. Other metals such as Cu, Pb, and Tl that are concentrated in several black shale samples, and are locally abundant in the Red Dog and Drenchwater Zn-Pb-Ag deposits, may have a partly hydrothermal origin but this cannot be fully established with the available data. Enrichments in Cr (up to 7.8 × 106) are attributed to marine and not hydrothermal processes. The presence in some samples of large enrichments in Eu (up to 6.1 × 107) relative to modern seawater and of small positive Eu anomalies (Eu/Eu* up to 1.12) are considered unrelated to hydrothermal activity, instead being linked to early diagenetic processes within sulfidic pore fluids. Initial Os isotope ratios (187Os/188Os) calculated for a paleontologically based depositional age of 335 Ma reveal moderately unradiogenic values of 0.24 to 0.88 for four samples of metalliferous black shale. A proxy for the ratio of coeval early Chesterian seawater is provided by initial (187Os/188Os)335 Ma ratios of four unaltered black shales of the coeval Kuna Formation that average 1.08, nearly identical to the initial ratio of 1.06 for modern seawater. Evaluation of possible sources of unradiogenic Os in the metalliferous black shales suggests that the most likely source was mafic igneous rocks that were leached by externally derived hydrothermal fluids. This unradiogenic Os is interpreted to have been leached by deeply circulating hydrothermal fluids in the Kuna basin, followed by venting of the fluids into overlying seawater. We propose that metal-bearing hydrothermal fluids that formed Zn-Pb-Ag deposits such as Red Dog or Drenchwater vented into seawater in a marginal basin, were carried by upwelling currents onto the margins of a shallow-water carbonate platform, and were then deposited in organic-rich muds, together with seawater- and biogenically derived components, by syngenetic sedimentary processes. Metal concentration in the black shales was promoted by high biologic productivity, sorption onto organic matter, diffusion across redox boundaries, a low sedimentation rate, and availability of H2S in bottom waters and pore fluids.

Grain-scale imaging and compositional characterization of cryo-preserved India NGHP 01 gas-hydrate-bearing cores

We report on grain-scale characteristics and gas analyses of gas-hydrate-bearing samples retrieved by NGHP Expedition 01 as part of a large-scale effort to study gas hydrate occurrences off the eastern-Indian Peninsula and along the Andaman convergent margin. Using cryogenic scanning electron microscopy, X-ray spectroscopy, and gas chromatography, we investigated gas hydrate grain morphology and distribution within sediments, gas hydrate composition, and methane isotopic composition of samples from Krishna–Godavari (KG) basin and Andaman back-arc basin borehole sites from depths ranging 26 to 525 mbsf. Gas hydrate in KG-basin samples commonly occurs as nodules or coarse veins with typical hydrate grain size of 30–80 μm, as small pods or thin veins 50 to several hundred microns in width, or disseminated in sediment. Nodules contain abundant and commonly isolated macropores, in some places suggesting the original presence of a free gas phase. Gas hydrate also occurs as faceted crystals lining the interiors of cavities. While these vug-like structures constitute a relatively minor mode of gas hydrate occurrence, they were observed in near-seafloor KG-basin samples as well as in those of deeper origin (>100 mbsf) and may be original formation features. Other samples exhibit gas hydrate grains rimmed by NaCl-bearing material, presumably produced by salt exclusion during original hydrate formation. Well-preserved microfossil and other biogenic detritus are also found within several samples, most abundantly in Andaman core material where gas hydrate fills microfossil crevices. The range of gas hydrate modes of occurrence observed in the full suite of samples suggests a range of formation processes were involved, as influenced by local in situ conditions. The hydrate-forming gas is predominantly methane with trace quantities of higher molecular weight hydrocarbons of primarily microbial origin. The composition indicates the gas hydrate is Structure I.

Studying the biogenic and abiogenic parts of suspended particulate matter in the Volga delta during spring flood of May 2008

Multidisciplinary studies of the dispersed sedimentary matter (suspended particulate matter) were carried out in the Volga delta during spring flood in two areas of the Astrakhan State Biosphere Reserve (Obzhorovskii and Damchikskii), allowing the authors to reveal some regularities in sedimentation conditions. Considerable differences were found to exist in the supply of sedimentary material into the sea through the branches and arms of the eastern and western parts of the river delta. Typical of the eastern part are appreciably higher concentrations of suspended particulate matter, biogenic components, and phytopigments, as well as greater phytoplankton abundance and biomass, and sedimentary material fluxes. A relationship was found to exist between the concentration of suspended particulate matter and the phytopigments under consideration. In May, almost entire chlorophyll “a” in suspended particulate matter was concentrated in the cells of small diatom algae, where it was distributed in proportion to diatom biomass. Overall, the suspended matter of the delta is mostly represented by mineral detrital particles (quartz and carbonates) with a relatively small share of clay materials against the background of a huge amount of diatom cells and biogenic detritus.

First record of the Eocene pteropodHeliconoides nitens(Gastropoda: Thecosomata: Limacinidae) from the Pacific Basin

Fossils of a single pteropod species were found in an isolated carbonate deposit within middle Eocene deep-water strata of the Humptulips Formation in western Washington State, U.S.A. The carbonate formed at a cold seep where fluids containing high concentrations of hydrocarbons, principally methane, emanated from the seafloor. Anaerobic oxidation of the methane by prokaryotes caused localized and rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate that encased biogenic detritus including wood fragments and mollusk shells; in this case even the minute and delicate aragonitic shells of the pteropod Heliconoides nitens (Lea, 1833), the first certain record of this taxon for the Pacific Basin. The presence of H. nitens in the Humptulips Formation allows us to recalibrate the age of the formation as late Lutetian or early Bartonian, up to 8 million years younger than previously thought. Heliconoides nitens has been found in temporally equivalent strata elsewhere in the world, and this is another example of some fossil pteropods having utility for long distance biostratigraphic correlations. Pteropod shells rapidly dissolve in deep-water environments, thus cold seep deposits may be a source of pteropod fossils in deep-water strata where they otherwise would not occur.

Scavenging and retention of bismuth by marine plankton and biogenic particles

We did radiotracer experiments using 207Bi to quantify the bioavailability, accumulation, and retention of bismuth in marine plankton and biogenic detritus. The accumulation of 207Bi by two species of phytoplankton (Dunaliella tertiolecta and Emiliana huxleyi) was very rapid, approaching steady state after ~1 d. Emiliana cells without coccoliths reached a volume concentration factor (VCF) roughly twice that attained by cells with coccoliths. VCFs were 5 × 105 for Dunaliella and (4–9) × 106 for Emiliana after exposure for approximately 5 d. The radioactivity associated with Dunaliella was released with a biological half‐time of 3–5 d. Copepods (Anomalocera patersoni and Acartia species) grazing radiolabeled Dunaliella assimilated ~4% of the ingested 207Bi. Unassimilated radioactivity, voided in fecal pellets, was lost from pellets relatively slowly (half‐times of 26 d for Anomalocera and 58 d for Acartia). These release rates were similar to copepod fecal pellets that had scavenged 207Bi directly from water. Scavenging of bismuth from water by fecal pellets was considerable and extremely rapid, and uptake rates were similar to those of various size fractions of marine snow collected in a sediment trap. Release of scavenged 207Bi from the fresh fecal pellets was relatively slow, and very little release of radionuclide from the different size fractions of marine snow was observed. The biogeochemical behavior of bismuth in the marine environment closely resembles that of other particle‐reactive uranium‐thorium (U–Th) series and transuranic elements.

Использование нейтронно-активационного анализа для детектирования редких и рассеянных элементов в некоторых компонентах водных экосистем (на примере Au)

In the conditions of laboratory aquatic microcosms it was the first time when data on Au and some other elements concentrations in detritus formed by widely spread aquatic organism species (shellfish Viviparus viviparus, Unio pictorum and macrophytes Ceratophyllum demersum) have been obtained. Measurements have been done by the method of neutron-activating analysis. These experiments have demonstrated once again a significant role of biogenic detritus in conjugation of hydro/biological and geo/chemical processes in aquatic systems. New results add to the previous data on chemical elements content in ecosystems components including aquatic ecosystems. The obtained data can be used in development of the monitoring scientific grounds as well remediation, rehabilitation and restoration of water bodies.

Characterization of hydrothermally generated oil from the Uzon caldera, Kamchatka

Abstract This paper reports the analyses of unusual oils that accumulate in the Uzon Caldera, situated in the central volcanic region of Kamchatka, Russia. Gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC–MS) was used to determine the primary constituents, and the 13 C and 14 C compositions provided information about the potential source and age of the oils. The 14 C ages determined are 1030 ± 40 a BP (measured) or 940 ± 40 a BP (conventional). The δ 13 C value is −30.6‰ versus the PDB standard, a value consistent with a biological origin. The nearly contemporary age of the C content indicates a geologically recent origin from biogenic detritus and not by synthesis from mantle C. The biogenic origin is supported by the presence of sterane and hopane biomarkers and the δ 13 C value of the bulk oil. The overall compositions of the oils indicate that they are derived from rapid hydrothermal alteration of algal/bacterial mat detritus buried by volcanic ashfall deposits of the Uzon Caldera. The oils represent the youngest hydrothermal petroleum reported to date.

Consistent relationship between global climate and surface nitrate utilization in the western subarctic Pacific throughout the last 500 ka

The open subarctic Pacific is, at present, a high nitrate low chlorophyll (HNLC) region, where nitrate is perennially abundant at the surface. Theoretically, the HNLC status of this region is subject to modification by ocean circulation and/or micronutrient supply, with implications for the effectiveness of the biological pump and hence carbon sequestration in the ocean interior. Records of biogenic detritus in sediments from throughout the subarctic Pacific indicate that export production was generally lower during glacial maxima, while nitrogen isotope measurements from the Bering Sea have shown that nitrate consumption there was more complete during the last glacial period than it is today. Here, nitrogen isotopic analyses of bulk sediments (δ15Nbulk) from three deep water sites in the open subarctic Pacific are evaluated in terms of regional nitrate isotopic composition and local relative nitrate utilization. The eastern subarctic Pacific δ15Nbulk record bears great similarity to δ15Nbulk records from the western margin of North America over the last glacial cycle, suggesting that variability in the isotopic composition of subeuphotic zone nitrate, the growth substrate, is reasonably coherent throughout the northeast Pacific and dominates at these sites. However, the two western subarctic Pacific records, which lie at the heart of the HNLC region, display a different pattern, implying that significant changes in local relative nitrate utilization overlie the regional background variability. After a novel correction intended to remove the background signal associated with denitrification in the eastern tropical North Pacific, these nitrate utilization records are correlated with a benthic oxygen isotope stack reflecting global deep ocean temperature and ice volume (r2 = 0.65). The correlation implies a strong link between global climate and subarctic Pacific nitrate utilization, with nearly complete nitrate consumption during glacial periods when export production was low.

Issue of the relationship between primary productivity of organic carbon in ocean and phosphate accumulation (Holocene-Late Jurassic)

By analogy with the present-day ocean, the primary productivity of paleoceans can be reconstructed using calculations based on the content of organic carbon in sediments and their accumulation rates. Results of calculations based on literature data show that the primary productivity of organic carbon, the mass of phosphorus involved in the process, and the content of phosphorus in oceanic waters were relatively stable in the Mesozoic and Late Mesozoic. Prior to precipitation on the seafloor together with the biogenic detritus, the dissolved phosphorus could repeatedly be involved in the biogeochemical cycle. Therefore, only less than 0.1% of phosphorus is retained in bottom sediments. The bulk phosphorus accumulation rate in oceanic sediments is partly consistent with the calculated primary productivity. Some epochs of phosphate accumulation also coincide with maximums of primary productivity and minimums of the fossilization coefficient of organic carbon. The latter fact can testify to episodes of the acceleration of organic matter mineralization and the release of phosphorus from sediments, leading to increase in the phosphorus reserve in paleoceans and phosphate accumulation in some places.

Dynamic model of integrated processes in the ecosystem of the northwest shelf of the Black Sea

For the ecosystem of the northwest shelf of the Black Sea studied as an example, we construct a dynamic model of the integrated processes of development of phyto-and zooplankton, larvae, and fish and the variations of the concentrations of biogenic elements and detritus. The data of many-year observations over these processes are generalized and the scheme of genetic relations between these processes is proposed. By the method of adaptive balance of causes, we establish the dynamic model equations of the ecosystem. It is proposed to use the method of analytic hierarchy process for the estimation of the coefficients of the model with regard for the degree of influence of external and internal factors on the dynamics of the ecosystem. Some examples of analysis of various scenarios of the development of integrated processes running in the ecosystem are presented and their comparison with the data of many-year observations in this region is performed.