Okinawa Trough Sediments Research Articles

Molybdenum isotopic evidence for linked changes in North Pacific Intermediate Water and subtropical Northwest Pacific redox conditions over the last 200 k.y

Through biological productivity and ocean-atmosphere CO2 exchange, North Pacific mid-depth ventilation has the potential to regulate regional climate over glacial timescales. Nevertheless, the subtropical Northwest Pacific currently lacks continuous long redox records that would enable us to evaluate this process. In this instance, we present δ98/95Mo and redox-sensitive trace element data derived from Okinawa Trough sediments to reconstruct redox conditions and assess their possible significance in regulating atmospheric CO2 in the subtropical Northwest Pacific over the last 200 k.y. Enhanced oxic conditions induced by a strengthened Kuroshio Current during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 1 suggest the presence of enhanced deep water ventilation and upwelling in the Okinawa Trough, which likely contributed to high atmospheric CO2 concentrations during interglacial periods. The Okinawa Trough may have been oxic and served as a regional net carbon sink during MIS2 and MIS6, due to glacial North Pacific Intermediate Water (GNPIW) and a weak Kuroshio Current. During interglacials, high productivity brought on by the stronger East Asian Summer Monsoon (EASM) leads to an increase in organic matter burial and oxygen consumption. This substantial positive excursion in δ98/95Mo values during MIS4 and early MIS3 can be linked to the anaerobic oxidation of methane (AOM) and the release of methane-rich fluids from methane hydrate decomposition. Our findings highlight potential links between higher upwelling, GNPIW expansion, and the underlying processes regulating the atmospheric CO2 budget in the subtropical North Pacific during the late Quaternary.

Potential coupling of microbial methane, nitrogen, and sulphur cycling in the Okinawa Trough cold seep sediments.

The Okinawa Trough (OT) is a back-arc basin with a wide distribution of active cold seep systems. However, our understanding of the metabolic function of microbial communities in the cold seep sediments of the OT remains limited. In this study, we investigated the vertical profiles of functional genes involved in methane, nitrogen, and sulphur cycling in the cold seep sediments of the OT. Furthermore, we explored the possible coupling mechanisms between these biogeochemical cycles. The study revealed that the majority of genes associated with the nitrogen and sulphur cycles were most abundant in the surface sediment layers. However, only the key genes responsible for sulphur disproportionation (sor), nitrogen fixation (nifDKH), and methane metabolism (mcrABG) were more prevalent within sulfate-methane transition zone (SMTZ). Significant positive correlations (P < 0.05) were observed between functional genes involved in sulphur oxidation, thiosulphate disproportionation with denitrification, and dissimilatory nitrate reduction to ammonium (DNRA), as well as between AOM/methanogenesis and nitrogen fixation, and between sulphur disproportionation and AOM. A genome of Filomicrobium (class Alphaproteobacteria) has demonstrated potential in chemoautotrophic activities, particularly in coupling DNRA and denitrification with sulphur oxidation. Additionally, the characterized sulfate reducers such as Syntrophobacterales have been found to be capable of utilizing nitrate as an electron acceptor. The predominant methanogenic/methanotrophic groups in the OT sediments were identified as H2-dependent methylotrophic methanogens (Methanomassiliicoccales and Methanofastidiosales) and ANME-1a. This study offered a thorough understanding of microbial ecosystems in the OT cold seep sediments, emphasizing their contribution to nutrient cycling.IMPORTANCEThe Okinawa Trough (OT) is a back-arc basin formed by extension within the continental lithosphere behind the Ryukyu Trench arc system. Cold seeps are widespread in the OT. While some studies have explored microbial communities in OT cold seep sediments, their metabolic potential remains largely unknown. In this study, we used metagenomic analysis to enhance comprehension of the microbial community's role in nutrient cycling and proposed hypotheses on the coupling process and mechanisms involved in biogeochemical cycles. It was revealed that multiple metabolic pathways can be performed by a single organism or microbes that interact with each other to carry out various biogeochemical cycling. This data set provided a genomic road map on microbial nutrient cycling in OT sediment microbial communities.

Geochemistry of iron and sulfur in the Holocene marine sediments under contrasting depositional settings, with caveats for applications of paleoredox proxies

Cycling and fates of iron (Fe) and sulfur (S) in marine sediments are influenced by depositional settings to differential extents. The information is crucial for addressing the responses of their benthic diagenesis to changing climates and environments and also for reconstructing paleo-depositional conditions, but has not been well constrained. Detailed chemical speciation was utilized to characterize geochemistry of Fe and S, and then to reveal the impacts of depositional settings on their diagenesis at three locations, representing contrasting depositional environments: (i) highly dynamic Yangtze River estuary (YRE), (ii) the depocenter of South Yellow Sea (SYS), which is only remotely impacted by large river, and (iii) the middle Okinawa trough (OT), a back-arc deep basin along the outer edge of the East China Sea (ECS) slope. Results show that the YRE sediments favor accumulation of total highly reactive Fe (FeHR), while the SYS sediments are poor in FeHR due to low FeHR in their source material and/or preferential trapping of FeHR during sediment transport through the semi-enclosed Bohai Sea. Ferruginous sediment regimes in the highly dynamic YRE system facilitate Fe(III) reduction and burial of unsulfidized Fe(II), while the SYS and OT sediments favor sulfate reduction and pyritization of Fe(II). Pyrite is always the main sink of reduced S that escapes reoxidation in the entire continental margin, regardless of depositional environments. Abundant reactive Fe(III) but low total reduced inorganic sulfide (TRIS) contents in the three sites suggest that TRIS burial is largely controlled by the availability of degradable OC and/or dynamic regimes of sediments. The applicability of two widely used Fe- and S-based proxies to distinguish bottom-water conditions, that is, OC/TRIS ratio and FeHR to total Fe (FeHR/FeT) ratio, were examined in the three contrasting environments, and caveats were given for future applications of the two proxies.

Phylogenetic diversity and bioactivity of culturable deep-sea-derived fungi from Okinawa Trough

Deep-sea sediments are now recognized as a home for rich and largely microbial community. Recently, it has been believed in an increasing number of studies that bacteria could be abundant in deep-sea sediments of many types; however, fungi in deep-sea sediments remain relatively unknown. The phylogenetic diversity and bioactivity of culturable deep-sea-derived fungi from Okinawa Trough sediments were investigated in traditional method combined with fungal identification of molecular biology in this study. A total of 76 isolates belonged to 15 fungal taxa were recovered in a harsh condition of low nutrient and low temperature, indicating that the fungal communities in deep-sea sediments from Okinawa Trough were relatively abundant and diversified. Aspergillus, Cladosporium, and Penicillium were the dominant fungal genera, while Mycosphaerella, Purpureocillium, and Schizophyllum were relatively rare in the deep-sea sediments from Okinawa Trough. Among the six genera recovered, Mycosphaerella was firstly recovered from deep-sea sediments in this study. Moreover, about 75% of the extracts from the 15 fungal representative isolates displayed distinct bioactivity against at least one indicator bacterium or marine macrofouler, emphasizing the potentials of these deep-sea-derived fungi from Okinawa Trough as producers of bioactive metabolites. Notably, isolates Cladosporium oxysporum SCSIO z001 and Penicillium citrinum SCSIO z049 displayed a wide spectrum of bioactivities, isolates Cladosporium cladosporioides SCSIO z015, Cladosporium sphaerospermum SCSIO z030, and Penicillium verruculosum SCSIO z007 exhibited a strong anti-bacterial-growth activity, and isolate Penicillium chrysogenum SCSIO z062 displayed a strong anti-larval-settlement activity. These results suggest that these isolates deserved further study as potential sources of novel bioactive metabolites.

The evolution and control of detrital sediment provenance in the middle and northern Okinawa Trough since the last deglaciation: Evidence from Sr and Nd isotopes

The Okinawa Trough (OT) is a large sink of sediments supplied by the East Asian continent. Identifying the provenance of the OT sediments is key to reconstructing the temporal and spatial variations of the terrigenous supply to this area and is important for understanding the impact of paleoclimatic and paleoceanographic variability on the sediment supply to this marginal sea over the late Quaternary. In this contribution, we show that radiogenic strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes allow to efficiently distinguish Yellow and Yangtze/Taiwan River detrital sediments, and can be used to reconstruct distinct changes in the provenance of the detrital fraction of marine sediments from the middle and northern OT since the last deglaciation. The Sr and Nd isotope signatures are compared to those of the potential sediment sources, namely the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, the Taiwan orogen, and volcanic material from the OT and nearby islands, and the relative contributions of these sources are reconstructed. The Sr and Nd isotope compositions of the detrital fraction in the two sediment cores recovered from the middle and northern OT show that the sediments mainly originated from the Yangtze River between 18 and 10.5 ka, which was caused by low sea level and a widely developed channel system on the continental shelf. During the period between 10.5 and 7.0 ka, the rising sea level resulted in elevated Yangtze and Yellow Rivers sediment input into the OT. Simultaneously, large-scale volcanic activity also contributed significant amounts of material to the OT. During the last 7.0 ka, besides important contributions from the Yellow River, the intensification of the Kuroshio Current resulted in increased delivery of sediment from Taiwan to the OT.

New evidence for Kuroshio inflow and deepwater circulation in the Okinawa Trough, East China Sea: Sedimentary mercury variations over the last 20 kyr

AbstractThe evolution of the Kuroshio Current (KC) in the Okinawa Trough (OT) has long been of paleoceanographic interest and has been the focus of many investigations because of its large impacts on both the ocean environment and the climate in East Asia. Here we present a new high‐resolution mercury (Hg) record from the OT sediments that provides robust evidence for the glacial‐interglacial variabilities of KC inflow. The Hg levels are anomalously high in the Holocene deposits, which feature a large and abrupt Hg increase at ~9.6 ka and a significant drop at 4.5–3.2 ka. Our observations show that most Hg was derived from seafloor hydrothermal plumes via active lateral transportation. Thus, the generally high Hg levels since ~9.6 ka are associated with enhanced basin‐wide deepwater circulation triggered by the KC inflow. This driving mechanism for the deposition and widespread of Hg is also evidenced by an abrupt drop in Hg levels during the late Holocene neoglacial cold period (~5–3 ka) when the KC inflow was temporarily interrupted and deepwater circulation was consequently weak or even absent in the OT. The changes in sedimentary Hg appear to be synchronous with those in other geochemical proxies that suggest that bottom water conditions switched from anoxic to oxic due to increased upwelling from the bottom in tandem with the strengthening KC and reduced freshwater effect since ~9.6 ka. This study shows that the hydrothermal Hg is a sensitive and independent tool for the reconstruction of paleodynamics of KC in the OT.

Constraining the transport time of lithogenic sediments to the Okinawa Trough (East China Sea)

The transport time of siliciclastic sediments from their continental sites of formation to their final location of deposition on the seafloor is an important parameter bearing on land–sea interactions, climate variability and understanding of marine sediment record. 234U/238U activity ratios of the lithogenic fraction from late Quaternary sediment deposited in the Okinawa Trough, East China Sea, were reported in this study. On basis of 234U/238U activity ratios, the comminution ages and transport times were calculated using recoil loss factors (fα) derived from different equations based on grain size distribution. The transport times were longer (approximately 200±100kyr) for the Okinawa Trough sediments deposited between 27 and 14ka, decreased gradually between 14 and 7ka, and stayed relatively short (<100kyr) thereafter. Mineralogical, geochemical and isotopic evidences indicate that changes in sediment transport time correspond well with the shift of sediment provenance predominantly from Asia's interior prior to 14ka to Taiwan Island after 7ka. This study offers the first and robust constraint on time scale of sediment transport process in East Asia marginal sea, which is constrained by unique sediment source-to-sink transport pattern. The result illustrates the potential of this approach to decipher climate-related changes in the mode of supply of lithogenic sediment to marginal seas. It also highlights current difficulties in obtaining quantitative estimates of comminution age, mostly because of uncertainties in estimating the recoil loss factor.

Provenance weathering and erosion records in southern Okinawa Trough sediments since 28 ka: Geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic evidences

Geochemical and Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic compositions of the detrital sediments from ODP Hole 1202B and Taiwan rivers were measured in this study, aiming to reveal changes in sediment provenance in the southern Okinawa Trough (SOT) since 28ka, and to examine the weathering and sediment transport processes in response to monsoon climate variability. Large variations in Sr–Nd–Pb isotopic ratios at 11–9ka suggest changes in detrital sediment provenance in the SOT from a dominance of the paleo-Changjiang (Yangtze River) and/or continental shelf sediment during the late deglaciation and to west Taiwan rivers since 9.5ka. Volcanic rocks and eastern Taiwan sediments have not significantly contributed to the SOT. The large shift in sediment provenance during the early Holocene marks a major change in oceanic circulation, mainly caused by the intrusion of the Kuroshio Current into the trough. Clay mineral and geochemical proxies suggest that the Taiwan-derived sediments accumulated during the early-mid “Holocene climate optimum” (ca. 9.5–4ka) might be tightly related to the reworking of older altered sediments from terraces and floodplains, rather than having experienced more intense silicate weathering than in the late Holocene (~4–0ka). Overall, silicate weathering in Taiwan was greatly inhibited by accelerating sediment production and transfer from land to ocean caused by monsoon intensification in Holocene. Our study illustrates that the radiogenic isotopic and geochemical compositions of fine-grained detrital sediments are sensitive tools for fingerprinting sediment sources and for reconstructing changes in oceanic currents and monsoon climate in river-dominated East Asian continental margin.

Millennial-scale alkenone sea surface temperature changes in the northern South China Sea during the past 45,000 years (MD972146)

Millennial-scale climate changes are well-expressed in Greenland ice core and North Atlantic marine records. The timing and the amplitude of the millennial-scale changes outside Greenland and the North Atlantic are poorly known, mainly due to the lack of high quality climatic archives with precise constraints of numerical dating. Here, we report a new, high-resolution AMS 14C dated alkenone sea surface temperature (SST) record of the last 45,000 years from a marine sediment core (MD972146) retrieved from the northern South China Sea (SCS). The SST record shows millennial-scale oscillations during the intervals of since the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM, ∼21,000 BP) to the present, and ∼34–45 ka, that are nearly in-phase with those from the Northern Hemisphere (NH). SST oscillations during ∼21–34 ka do not match well with the NH patterns, implying that a dominance of “non-NH” mechanisms may have governed the SST changes outside the NH high latitudes during the particular time interval. The “non-NH” climatic pattern during ∼21–34 ka has been only reported from a SST record from the Okinawa Trough sediments (MD012404) and a grain size record from Chinese loess sequences (Gulang), but not from the other SCS records which had been investigated using lower resolution sampling and age dating.

Terrigenous transportation to the Okinawa Trough and the influence of typhoons on suspended sediment concentration

The source and transport mechanisms of land-derived Okinawa Trough sediments were studied using the field data of temperature, salinity and turbidity in the East China Seas. The results suggest that there are two primary sediments sources from the Chinese Mainland to the Okinawa Trough: one is the Old Huanghe River submarine delta, and the other is the Changjiang River sediments, which are distributed at the Changjiang River estuary and the off-coast of Zhejiang and Fujian provinces. It is difficult for the Huanghe River suspended sediments to arrive in the Okinawa Trough via the new estuary. Although the Taiwan warm current blocks the seaward terrigenous transportation to a certain extent, part of the coastal suspended sediments are transported to the outer shelf. Suspended particulate matter is unable to get through the barrier of the Kuroshio Current under normal conditions. However, episodic events, such as winter storms, internal-tidal waves and turbidity flows, are capable of transporting suspended particulate matter into the Okinawa Trough. The super typhoon “Ewiniar” induced strong waves and influenced the thermocline depth and suspended sediment concentration of the East China Seas. The typhoon-induced waves pushed the thermocline depth down to around 40 m and caused the resuspension of large volumes of sediments in its path. In the other East China Seas regions, the typhoon-induced swells deepened the thermocline depth by about 5 m and increased suspended sediment concentrations. The typhoon effect on suspended sediment concentration of the East China Seas disappeared within 2 weeks.

Precipitation of authigenic uranium in suboxic continental margin sediments from the Okinawa Trough

Concentrations of U and Th isotopes in Okinawa Trough and East China Sea sediment cores were determined by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ID-ICP-MS) to investigate the behavior of redox sensitive uranium in suboxic hemipelagic sediments and determine their significance in oceanic uranium balance. 238U concentrations and 238U/ 232Th activity ratios in the East China Sea sediments showed no remarkable variation with depth. However, 238U and 238U/ 232Th ratios in the Okinawa Trough sediments were low in the surface oxidizing layer but increased where the suboxic condition was encountered. The distribution profiles of 230Th and 232Th concentrations were relatively constant with depth in both the Okinawa Trough and East China Sea sediment cores. These results suggested that there has been post-depositional precipitation of authigenic uranium within the suboxic Okinawa Trough sediment column. The post-depositional precipitation rates of authigenic uranium were estimated to be 47 ± 5 to >62 ± 8 ng cm −2 yr −1; these rates were comparable to those previously reported for several anoxic sediments. A mechanism controlling precipitation of uranium may be the downward diffusion of uranium U(VI), reduction to U(IV) and finally precipitation onto the solid phase. The accumulation rate of uranium for the Okinawa Trough sediments was approximately eight times higher than the world average rate reported for suboxic sediments. This removal of uranium in the oceanic budget increases the importance of the suboxic sediment sink.

A comparison of sedimentary aliphatic hydrocarbon distribution between the southern Okinawa Trough and a nearby river with high sediment discharge

Twelve surface sediments from the southern Okinawa Trough (OT) and nine surface sediments from a nearby river, the Lanyang River (LR), with high sediment discharge were analyzed for comparison of their aliphatic hydrocarbon distributions. Performing cluster analysis on all hydrocarbon data of LR and OT sediments showed that the two areas had a similarity level of only 0.15, meaning that they were quite dissimilar. The average ratio of terrigenous to aquatic n-alkanes was 0.99 for LR sediments and 9.64 for OT sediments, indicating that the concentrations of n-alkanes in LR and OT sediments were quite different. Furthermore, the mean pristane/phytane ratios for LR and OT sediments were 1.01 and 2.57, respectively; the difference between them was significant (Student's t test, at the 99% significance level). The carbon preference index (CPI) of C 25–C 33 n-alkanes averaged 3.26 (range 2.16–4.59) for LR sediments and 2.92 (range 2.35–5.24) for OT sediments; no significant difference was found between the two CPI averages (Student's t test, at the 99% confidence level). However, higher plant n-alkanes generally maximized at C 29 for LR sediments, but maximized at C 31 for all OT sediments, strongly indicating significant differences in the origins of the hydrocarbons in these two areas. All present results appear to suggest that LR sediments are not a major hydrocarbon source for OT sediments. In addition, there was no positive, linear correlation between diploptene (hop-22(29)-ene) and terrestrial higher plant n-alkanes for LR and OT sediments.

Plutonium activities and 240Pu/ 239Pu atom ratios in sediment cores from the east China sea and Okinawa Trough: Sources and inventories

Plutonium concentrations and 240Pu/ 239Pu atom ratios in the East China Sea and Okinawa Trough sediment cores were determined by isotope dilution inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry after separation using ion-exchange chromatography. The results showed that 240Pu/ 239Pu atom ratios in the East China Sea and Okinawa Trough sediments, ranging from 0.21 to 0.33, were much higher than the reported value of global fallout (0.18). The highest 240Pu/ 239Pu ratios (0.32–0.33) were observed in the deepest Okinawa Trough sediment samples. These ratios suggested the US nuclear weapons tests in the early 1950s at the Pacific Proving Grounds in the Marshall Islands were a major source of plutonium in the East China Sea and Okinawa Trough sediments, in addition to the global fallout source. It was proposed that close-in fallout plutonium was delivered from the Pacific Proving Grounds test sites via early direct tropospheric fallout and transportation by the North Pacific Equatorial Circulation system and Kuroshio Current into the Okinawa Trough and East China Sea. The total 239 + 240 Pu inventories in the cores were about 150–200% of that expected from direct global fallout; about 46–67% of the total inventories were delivered from the Pacific Proving Grounds. Much higher 239 + 240 Pu inventories were observed in the East China Sea sediments than in sediments of the Okinawa Trough, because in the open oceans, part of the 239 + 240 Pu was still retained in the water column, and continued Pu scavenging was higher over the margin than the trough. According to the vertical distributions of 239 + 240 Pu activities and 240Pu/ 239Pu atom ratios in these cores, it was concluded that sediment mixing was the dominant process in controlling profiles of plutonium in this area. Faster mixing in the coastal samples has homogenized the entire 240Pu/ 239Pu ratio record today; slightly slower mixing and less scavenging in the Okinawa Trough have left the surface sediment ratios closer to the modern North Pacific water end member and higher ratios (0.30–0.34) at the bottom of the cores.

Sources and Distribution of Heavy Metals in East China Sea Surface Sediments

Box cores and surficial sediments collected from the shelf, slope and Okinawa Trough of the East China Sea were analyzed for loss on ignition, and concentration and speciation of Al, Fe, Mn, Pb, Cd, Cu and Zn. in general, concentrations of these metals are higher in the inner shelf and lower in the midshelf, but the highest LOI, Cd and Mn levels are found in the Okinawa Trough. Spatial distributions of these metals in surficial sediments indicate that the Yangtze River is the major source for materials deposited in the inner shelf. the results of a six-stage sequential leaching experiment indicate that the fluvial input includes natural (e.g., Al and Fe) and anthropogenic (e.g., Pb) materials. the depletion concentration of these metals in the midshelf sediments reflects the dominance (∼ 70%) of coarse, relict sand, while the enrichments in the inner shelf and the Okinawa Trough sediments are due to the fine grained, organic-rich sediments. the speciation of Mn in the sediments of the Okinawa Trough indicates that its distribution is diagentically or hydrothermally controlled.

Sources and Distribution of Heavy Metals in East China Sea Surface Sediments

Box cores and surficial sediments collected from the shelf, slope and Okinawa Trough of the East China Sea were analyzed for loss on ignition, and concentration and speciation of aluminium, iron, manganese, lead, cadmium, copper and zinc. in general, concentrations of these metals are higher in the inner shelf and lower in the midshelf, but the highest LOI, cadmium and manganese levels are found in the Okinawa Trough. Spatial distributions of these metals in surficial sediments indicate that the Yangtze River is the major source for materials deposited in the inner shelf. the results of a six-stage sequential leaching experiment indicate that the fluvial input includes natural (e.g., Al and Fe) and anthropogenic (e.g., Pb) materials. the depletion concentration of these metals in the midshelf sediments reflects the dominance (∼ 70%) of coarse, relict sand, while the enrichments in the inner shelf and the Okinawa Trough sediments are due to the fine grained, organic-rich sediments. the speciation of manganese in the sediments of the Okinawa Trough indicates that its distribution is diagentically or hydrothermally controlled.

Abundance of chemical elements in continental shelf sediment of China

For the first time, an element abundance table of China Shelf Sea sediments is published based on 286 samples from the continental shelf of China analyzed for 62 chemical elements. The shelf sediments result from the redistribution of sediments from China over the continental shelf. On the basis of comparison of element abundances among the China shelf samples, hemipelagic Okinawa Trough samples, and pelagic brown clay from the West Pacific, it is clear that each has its own elemental characteristics. Hg anomaly enrichment in Okinawa Trough sediments may be used as an indicator of hydrothermal activity.

Mercury anomaly in the Okinawa Trough sediments—An indicator of modern seafloor hydrothermal activity

The Okinawa Trough is located between the shelf-sea area of the East China Sea and the deep-sea area of western Pacific Ocean. More than 60 chemical elements in the sediments from the shelf area of the East China Sea, the Okinawa Trough and western Pacific Ocean were determined by advanced techniques including neutron activation analysis, X-ray fluorescence spectrometry, atomic fluorescence spectrometry and atomic absorption spectrometry. Quantitative comparisons of the element abundances of the sediments were made in terms of the enrichment coefficients (K) of the elements.K > 1.5 indicates enrichment (K = 1.5–2, weak enrichment; K = 2–4, strong enrichment) andK > 4, anomalous enrichment. The results show that the Okinawa Trough sediments are characterized by Hg anomaly and the enrichment of such elements as Au, Ag, Se, Te, Sb, Cd, Mn, Mo, etc. Detailed studies show that the excess Hg comes from hydrothermal solutions rather than from the continent, sea water, marine organisms, cosmic dust or volcanic rocks. Attributed to modern hydrothermal activities on the sea floor, Hg anomaly can be used as a geochemical indicator of modern seafloor hydrothermal activity.

Material Exchange Between the East China Sea and the Kuroshio Current

The water exchange rate between the continental shelf water of the East China Sea and the Kuroshio Current waters is estimated to be about 22000+9000 km^3/yr or 0.7±0.3 Sverdrups which is about 25 times the value of the major river runoffs in the region. The implication is that the chemistry of the continental shelf water is mostly influenced by the Kuroshio water inputs. Inputs of dissolved particle-reactive trace elements into the continental shelf water from the major rivers and the upwelled subsurface Kuroshio water are efficiently sequestered by suspended particles and subsequently removed to the bottom sediments. The Okinawa Trough sediments are important sites for receiving the dispersed fine suspended particles and associated particle-reactive trace elements from the continental shelf.

Monoterpinenes as terrigenous markers in Okinawa Trough sediments

Monoterpinenes were isolated from Okinawa Trough sediments at the 1000-m water depth by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and identified by gas chromatography (GC) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry-data system (GC-MS-DS). Identification has revealed cyclohexene, 1-methyl-5-(1-methylethenyl), cyclohexene, 1-methyl-3-(1-methylethenyl), and cyclohexane, 1-methyl-4-(1-methylethylidene). These monoterpinenes are believed to have been derived from terrigenous higher plant detritus, which may serve as new terrigenous markers.