Sulfur speciation in bottom sediments from deep-sea basins of the Atlantic Ocean

Distribution of reduced sulfur forms in vertical sediment sections in deep-sea basins of the Atlantic Ocean is under study. Presence of weak sulfate reduction process resulted from low concentrations of reactive organic matter and differing by characteristic features of the initial stage of development. Interpretation of results is given on the base of consideration of dynamic redox equilibrium in the system: reduced sulfur - dissolved oxygen.

K-Ar age and chemical composition of volcanites from the Sea of Okhotsk

Volcanogenic rocks from the Sea of Okhotsk are divided into seven age complexes: Late Jurassic, Early Cretaceous, Late Cretaceous, Eocene, Late Oligocene, Late Miocene, and Pliocene-Pleistocene. All these complexes are united into two groups - Late Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Each group reflects a certain stage of development of the Sea of Okhotsk region. Late Mesozoic volcanites build the geological basement of the Sea of Okhotsk, and their petrochemical features are similar to those of the volcanic rocks from the Okhotsk-Chukotka Volcanogen. Pliocene-Pleistocene volcanites reflect stages of tectono-magmatic activity; the latter destroyed the continental margin and produced riftogenic troughs. Geochemical features of volcanites from the Sea of Okhotsk indicate influence of the sialic crust on magma formation and testify formation of the Okhotsk Sea Basin on the destructive margin of the Asian continent.

Chemical and mineral compositions of basalts from the Pacific Ocean, DSDP data

Mineral and chemical alterations of basalts were studied in the upper part of the ocean crust using data of deep-sea drilling from D/S Glomar Challenger in the main structures of the Pacific floor. Extraction of majority of chemical elements (including heavy metals) from basalts results mainly from their interaction with heated sea water. As a result mineralized hydrothermal solutions are formed. On entering the ocean they influence greatly on ocean sedimentation and ore formation.

Composition of bottom sediments from Core SO201-2-101, Shirshov Ridge, Bering Sea

Analysis of lithology, grain-size composition, clay minerals, and geochemistry of Upper Pleistocene bottom sediments from the submarine Shirshov Ridge (Bering Sea) showed that the Yukon-Tanana terrane of the Central Alaska was main source area of the sediments. Sedimentary material was transported by the Yukon River through Beringia up to the shelf break, where they were entrained by a strong north-west sea current. Lithological data revealed several pulses of ice-rafted debris deposition roughly synchronous with Heinrich events and periods of weaker bottom current intensity. Based on geochemical results we distinguished intervals of an increase in paleoproductivity and extension of the oxygen minimum zone. Our results suggest that there were three stages of deposition driven by glacioeustatic sea-level fluctuations and glacial cycles in Alaska.

Sediments in Arctic sea ice

Despite the Arctic sea ice cover's recognized sensitivity to environmental change, the role of sediment inclusions in lowering ice albedo and affecting ice ablation is poorly understood. Sea ice sediment inclusions were studied in the central Arctic Ocean during the Arctic 91 expedition and in the Laptev Sea (East Siberian Arctic Region Expedition 1992). Results from these investigations are here combined with previous studies performed in major areas of ice ablation and the southern central Arctic Ocean. This study documents the regional distribution and composition of particle-laden ice, investigates and evaluates processes by which sediment is incorporated into the ice cover, and identifies transport paths and probable depositional centers for the released sediment. In April 1992, sea ice in the Laptev Sea was relatively clean. The sediment occasionally observed was distributed diffusely over the entire ice column, forming turbid ice. Observations indicate that frazil and anchor ice formation occurring in a large coastal polynya provide a main mechanism for sediment entrainment. In the central Arctic Ocean sediments are concentrated in layers within or at the surface of ice floes due to melting and refreezing processes. The surface sediment accumulation in central Arctic multi-year sea ice exceeds by far the amounts observed in first-year ice from the Laptev Sea in April 1992. Sea ice sediments are generally fine grained, although coarse sediments and stones up to 5 cm in diameter are observed. Component analysis indicates that quartz and clay minerals are the main terrigenous sediment particles. The biogenous components, namely shells of pelecypods and benthic foraminiferal tests, point to a shallow, benthic, marine source area. Apparently, sediment inclusions were resuspended from shelf areas before and incorporated into the sea ice by suspension freezing. Clay mineralogy of ice-rafted sediments provides information on potential source areas. A smectite maximum in sea ice sediment samples repeatedly occurred between 81°N and 83°N along the Arctic 91 transect, indicating a rather stable and narrow smectite rich ice drift stream of the Transpolar Drift. The smectite concentrations are comparable to those found in both Laptev Sea shelf sediments and anchor ice sediments, pointing to this sea as a potential source area for sea ice sediments. In the central Arctic Ocean sea ice clay mineralogy is significantly different from deep-sea clay mineral distribution patterns. The contribution of sea ice sediments to the deep sea is apparently diluted by sedimentary material provided by other transport mechanisms.

Chemical and mineral compositions of basalts and volcanic glasses from DSDP Sites 65-483 and 65-485

Major and rare earth element (REE) data for basalts from Holes 483, 483B, and 485A of DSDP Leg 65, East Pacific Rise, mouth of the Gulf of California, support a simple fractional crystallization model for the genesis of rocks from this suite. The petrography and mineral chemistry (presented in detail elsewhere) provide no evidence for magma mixing, but rather a simple multistage cooling process. Based on its lowest TiO2 content (0.88%), FeO*/MgO ratio (0.95 with total Fe as FeO), and Mg# (100 Mg/Mg + Fe" = 70), sample 483-17-2-(78-83) has been selected as the most primitive primary magma of the samples analyzed. This is supported by the REE data which show this sample has the lowest total REE content, a La/Sm_cn (chondrite-normalized) = 0.36, and Eu/Sm_cn = 1.05. Because other samples analyzed have higher SiO2, lower Mg#, and a negative Eu anomaly (Eu/Sm_cn as low as 0.89), they are most likely derivative magmas. Wright-Doherty and trace element modelling support fractional crystallization of 14.1% plagioclase (An88), 6.7% olivine (Fo86), and 4.7% clinopyroxene (Wo41En49Fs10) from 483-17-2-(78-83) to form the least differentiated sample with Mg# = 63. The La/Sm_cn of this derivative magma is almost identical to the parent magma (0.35 to 0.36), but the other samples have higher La/Sm_cn (0.45 to 0.51), more total REE, and lower Mg# (60 to 56). Both Wright-Doherty and trace element modelling indicate that the primary magma chosen cannot produce these more evolved samples. For the major elements, the TiO2 and P2O5 are too low in the calculated versus the observed (1.38 to 1.90; 0.11 to 0.17, respectively, for example). Rayleigh fractionation calculates a lower La/Sm_cn and requires about 60% crystal removal versus 40% for the Wright-Doherty. These more evolved samples must be derived from a parent magma different from the one selected here and, unfortunately, not sampled in this study. A magma formed by a smaller degree of partial melting with slightly more residual clinopyroxene left in the mantle than for sample 483-17-2-(78-83) is required.

Magnetic properties of light and dark sediment layers from the Japan Sea

Rock magnetic/paleoclimatic/diagenetic relationships of sediments spanning the last 0.78 Ma have been investigated using samples collected from light and dark layers recovered at ODP Sites 794 (Yamato Basin) and 795 (Japan Basin). Rock-magnetic parameters (K, Kfd, ARM, SIRM, S-ratio) are shown to reflect diagenetic processes and climate-related variations in the concentration, mineralogy and grain-size of the magnetic minerals contained within the sediments. The magnetic mineralogy is dominated by ferrimagnetic (magnetite-type) minerals with a small contribution made by hematite and iron sulphides such as pyrrhotite and/or greigite. Magnetic mineral concentration and grain size vary between light and dark layers with the former characterized by a higher magnetic content and a finer magnetic grain size. Magnetite dissolution, related to sulfate reduction due to bacterial degradation of organic matter, is the process responsible for the magnetic characteristics observed in the dark layers, testifying to the reducing conditions in the basin. Variations in the rock magnetic properties of the sediments are strongly correlated with global oxygen isotope fluctuations, with glacial stages characterized by a lower magnetic mineral content and a coarser magnetic grain size relative to interglacial stages. Major downcore changes in the magnetic properties observed at Site 794 can be related to changes in the oceanographic conditions of the basin associated with the flow of the warm Tsushima Current into the Japan Sea at about 0.35-0.40 Ma ago.

Mineral composition and experimental results from XRD analyses of sediments from ODP Leg 190 sites

X-ray diffraction analyses of the clay-sized fraction of sediments from the Nankai Trough and Shikoku Basin (Sites 1173, 1174, and 1177 of the Ocean Drilling Program) reveal spatial and temporal trends in clay minerals and diagenesis. More detrital smectite was transported into the Shikoku Basin during the early-middle Miocene than what we observe today, and smectite input decreased progressively through the late Miocene and Pliocene. Volcanic ash has been altered to dioctahedral smectite in the upper Shikoku Basin facies at Site 1173; the ash alteration front shifts upsection to the outer trench-wedge facies at Site 1174. At greater depths (lower Shikoku Basin facies), smectite alters to illite/smectite mixed-layer clay, but reaction progress is incomplete. Using ambient geothermal conditions, a kinetic model overpredicts the amount of illite in illite/smectite clays by 15%-20% at Site 1174. Numerical simulations come closer to observations if the concentration of potassium in pore water is reduced or the time of burial is shortened. Model results match X-ray diffraction results fairly well at Site 1173. The geothermal gradient at Site 1177 is substantially lower than at Sites 1173 and 1174; consequently, volcanic ash alters to smectite in lower Shikoku Basin deposits but smectite-illite diagenesis has not started. The absolute abundance of smectite in mudstones from Site 1177 is sufficient (30-60 wt%) to influence the strata's shear strength and hydrogeology as they subduct along the Ashizuri Transect.

Petrographic description and mineral composition of ODP Site 161-975 sediments

Ocean Drilling Program Site 975 is located near the base of the Menorca Rise in the South Balearic Basin of the western Mediterranean Sea. Coring at this site penetrated the Pliocene/Miocene boundary and recovered a sequence of sediments that represent the final stages of salt deposition and the transition from evaporitic to open marine conditions at the end of the Miocene (Messinian). Detailed petrographic observations and bulk mineralogical analyses by X-ray diffraction form the basis for preliminary interpretations of depositional environments for this section. Gypsum is thought to have been deposited in an evaporating basin below wave base. Cycles consisting of a clay layer overlain by gypsiferous chalk, laminated gypsum, and finally pinch-and-swell gypsum suggest upsection increases in salinity. The gypsum section is overlain by two exotic sand layers thought to mark events of fresher water (marine or meteoric) inflow to the basin. Gypsum deposition terminated and was replaced by inorganic precipitation of micritic calcite with periodic, variable dilution by fine-grained terrigenous sediment. The micritic sediments have fine, slightly wavy, laminations indicating either an algal/microbial mat origin, or varve-like fluctuations in deposition, perhaps in a deep basin. The Pliocene/Miocene boundary falls within an interval of banded micritic silty clays that reflect the final environmental fluctuations during the transition to the open marine conditions of the Pliocene.

Grain size percentiles and Mk values of coastal sediments from Schleswig Holstein, western Baltic Sea

In einer Fülle sedimentpetrographischer Arbeiten wird versucht, aus der Korngrößenverteilung und der Mineralzusammensetzung von Sanden Schlüsse auf ihre Herkunft, ihre Transportrichtung oder ihr Ablagerungsmilieu abzuleiten, die für die Lösung geologischer und ebenso auch wasserbaulicher Probleme nötig sind. Diese Literatur steckt noch voller Widersprüche und Fehlschlüsse. In der vorliegenden Arbeit wird daher versucht, den Mechanismus des Sandtransports vom Grundsätzlichen her besser verständlich zu machen. Das geschieht anhand zweier ausgewählter und eingehend untersuchter Beispiele aus dem Küstenbereich der westlichen Ostsee unter Einbeziehung der Erfahrungen an vielen Vergleichsproben aus verschiedensten Sedimentationsräumen. Unentbehrlich für das Verständnis der transportbedingten Veränderungen an den Sanden ist das sog. 'Äquivalenzprinzip' (Abschnitt 2). Es stellt fest, daß es in einem von einer Strömung transportierten Sediment immer Körner zwar verschiedener Korngröße, aber auch entsprechend verschiedener Dichte und/oder Kornform gibt, die miteinander transportiert und abgelagert werden, weil unter den herrschenden hydraulischen Bedingungen diese Eigenschaften einander voll kompensieren. In Abschnitt 3 wird kurz die von Rittenhouse angegebene Methode geschildert, mit der man an natürlichen Sedimenten unter der sehr allgemein gehaltenen 'Äquivalenzbedingung' gleicher Transportierbarkeit bestimmen kann, welches Korngrößenverhältnis ein bestimmtes Verhältnis der Dichten kompensieren kann. Die von Rittenhouse am Beispiel von Flußsanden gefundene Funktion zwischen der Dichte der Körner und ihrem Äquivalenzverhältnis gegen Quarzkörner wird hier als erste Näherung auch für die Transportverhältnisse von Strandsanden zugrunde gelegt. In Abschnitt 6 wird gezeigt, daß das auch gerechtfertigt ist. In Abschnitt 4 wird eine allgemein brauchbare Methode abgeleitet, mit der man nicht nur unter stark vereinfachenden Annahmen, sondern auch an Sanden mit realen, stets komplexen Korn-größenverteilungen die Folgen des Äquivalenzprinzips für die Verteilung von Mineralen verschiedener Dichte berechnen kann. Für jede Serie von Sanden, deren Korngrößenverteilungen entlang des Transportweges eine bestimmte, von den Transportbedingungen abhängige Entwicklung durchmachen, ergibt sich damit eine Kurvenschar, die beschreibt, wie sich die Mengen von Mineralien mit verschiedenen Dichten in den einzelnen Korngrößenklassen dabei ändern müßten, vorausgesetzt, daß sie im gesamten Korngrößenbereich gleich verfügbar wären. Diese Kurvenschar ist die 'Charakteristik' des betreffenden Transportfalles. Durch den Vergleich zwischen den nach der Charakteristik in den einzelnen Klassen zu erwartenden Mineralmengen mit den in dem betrachteten Transportfall tatsächlich gefundenen läßt sich deren relative, d. h. auf die Menge des Quarzes bezogene 'Verfügbarkeit' berechnen. Sie wird durch die sog. 'hydraulischen Verhältnisse' (Rittenhouse) ausgedrückt, die im Gegensatz zu den 'Klassenverhältnissen' von der Korngrößensonderung beim Transport unabhängig und nur von der Zusammensetzung des Ausgangsmaterials bestimmt sind, solange beim Transport allein das Äquivalenzprinzip wirksam ist. In den untersuchten Fällen von Sandtransport an zwei Strandabschnitten der westlichen Ostsee (Abschnitt 5) zeigte dieser Vergleich (Abschnitt 6), daß die beobachtete Verteilung von Schwermineralen nicht allein durch Transportsonderung unter Gültigkeit des Äquivalenzprinzips erklärt werden kann, sondern daß dabei offenbar auch mechanische Zerkleinerung der Körner während des Transports mitgewirkt haben muß. Nur ein solcher, von der Transportsonderung unabhängiger Effekt kann als Transportrichtungs-Kriterium benutzt werden, wenn die Entwicklung der Korngrößenverteilungen allein keine Entscheidung erlaubt. Wie die Beispiele zeigen, läßt sich Klarheit über die bisher noch sehr umstrittene Frage nach dem Ausmaß der transportbedingten mechanischen Zerkleinerung von Sandkörnern nur gewannen, wenn in Zukunft versucht wird, bei der Bearbeitung natürlicher Beispiele den Einfluß der stets vorhandenen Transportsonderung auf Veränderungen des Mineralbestandes unter Anwendung des Äquivalenzprinzips rechnerisch auszuschalten. Über dieses wesentlichste Ergebnis hinaus erlauben die dargestellten Zusammenhänge auch eine kritische Stellungnahme zu den oben erwähnten allgemeinen Problemen und führen zu methodischen und sachlichen Verbesserungsvorschlägen für weitere Untersuchungen an klastischen Sedimenten.