Sediment facies of the Indian-Pakistan continental margin, Indian Ocean Expedition

The studies described here base mainly on sedimentary material collected during the "Indian Ocean Expedition" of the German research vessel "Meteor" in the region of the Indian-Pakistan continental margin in February and March 1965. Moreover,samples from the mouth of the Indus-River were available, which were collected by the Pakistan fishing vessel "Machhera" in March 1965. Altogether, the following quantities of sedimentary material were collected: 59.73 m piston cores. 54.52 m gravity cores. 33 box grab samples. 68 bottom grab samples Component analyses of the coarse fraction were made of these samples and the sedimentary fabric was examined. Moreover, the CaCO3 and Corg contents were discussed. From these investigations the following history of sedimentation can be derived: Recent sedimentation on the shelf is mainly characterized by hydrodynamic processes and terrigenous supply of material. In the shallow water wave action and currents running parallel to the coast, imply a repeated reworking which induces a sorting of the grains and layering of the sediments as well as a lack of bioturbation. The sedimentation rate is very high here. From the coast-line down to appr. 50 m the sediment becomes progressively finer, the conditions of deposition become less turbulent. On the outer shelf the sediment is again considerably coarser. It contains many relicts of planktonic organisms and it shows traces of burrowing. Indications for redeposition are nearly missing, a considerable part of the fine fraction of the sediments is, however, whirled up and carried away. In wide areas of the outer shelf this stirring has gained such a degree that recent deposits are nearly completely missing. Here, coarse relict sands rich in ooids are exposed, which were formed in very shallow stirred water during the time when the sea reached its lowest level, i.e. at the turn of the Pleistocene to the Holocene. Below the relict sand white, very fine-grained aragonite mud was found at one location (core 228). This aragonite mud was obviously deposited in very calm water of some greater depth, possibly behind a reef barrier. Biochemic carbonate precipitation played an important part in the formation of relict sands and aragonite muds. In postglacial times the relict sands were exposed for long periods to violent wave action and to areal erosion. In the present days they are gradually covered by recent sediments proceeding from the sides. On the continental margin beyond the shelf edge the distribution of the sediments is to a considerable extent determined by the morphology of the sea bottom. The material originating from the continent and/or the shelf, is less transported by action of the water than by the force of gravity. Within the range of the uppermost part of the continental slope recent sedimentation reaches its maximum. Here the fine material is deposited which has been whirled up in the zone of the relict sands. A laminated fine-grained sediment is formed here due to the very high sedimentation rate as well as to the extremely low O2-content in the bottom water, which prevents life on the bottom of the sea and impedes thus also bioturbation. The lamination probaly reflects annual variation in deposition and can be attributed to the rhythm of the monsoon with its effects on the water and the weather conditions. In the lower part of the upper continental slope sediments are to be found which show in varying intensity, intercalations of fine material (silt) from the shelf, in large sections of the core. These fine intercalations of allochthonous material are closely related to the autochthonous normal sediment, so that a great number of small individual depositional processes can be inferred. In general the intercalations are missing in the uppermost part of the cores; in the lower part they can be met in different quantities, and they reach their maximum frequency in the upper part of the lower core section. The depositions described here were designated as turbid layer sediments, since they get their material from turbid layers, which transport components to the continental slope which have been whirled up from the shelf. Turbidites are missing in this zone. Since the whole upper continental slope shows a low oxygen-content of the bottom water the structure of the turbid layer sediments is more or less preserved. The lenticular-phacoidal fine structure does, however, not reflect annual rhythms, but sporadic individual events, as e.g. tsunamis. At the lower part of the continental slope and on the continental rise the majority of turbidites was deposited, which, during glacial times and particularly at the beginning of the post-glacial period, transported material from the zone of relict sands. The Laccadive Ridge represented a natural obstacle for the transport of suspended sediments into the deep sea. Core SIC-181 from the Arabian Basin shows some intercalations of turbidites; their material, however, does not originate from the Indian Shelf, but from the Laccadive Ridge. Within the range of the Indus Cone it is surprising that distinct turbidites are nearly completely missing; on the other hand, turbid layer sediments are to be found. The bottom of the sea is showing still a slight slope here, so that the turbidites funneled through the Canyon of the Swatch probably rush down to greater water depths. Due to the particularly large supply of suspended material by theIndus River the turbid layer sediments show farther extension than in other regions. In general the terrigenous components are concentrated on the Indus Cone. It is within the range of the lower continental slope that the only discovery of a sliding mass (core 186) has been located. It can be assumed that this was set in motion during the Holocene. During the period of time discussed here the following development of kind and intensity of the deposition of allochthonous material can be observed on the Indian-Pakistan continental margin: At the time of the lowest sea level the shelf was only very narrow, and the zone in which bottom currents were able to stir up material by oscillating motion, was considerably confined. The rivers flowed into the sea near to the edge of the shelf. For this reason the percentage of terrigenous material, quartz and mica is higher in the lower part of many cores (e.g. cores 210 and 219) than in the upper part. The transition from glacial to postglacial times caused a series of environmental changes. Among them the rise of the sea level (in the area of investigation appr. 150 m) had the most important influence on the sedimentation process. In connection with this event many river valleys became canyons, which sucked sedimentary material away from the shelf and transported it in form of turbidites into the deep sea. During the rise of the sea level a situation can be expected with a maximum area of the comparatively plane shelf being exposed to wave action. During this time the process of stirring up of sediments and formation of turbid layers will reach a maximum. Accordingly, the formation of turbidites and turbid layer sediments are most frequent at the same time. This happened in general in the older polstglacial period. The present day high water level results in a reduced supply of sediments into the canyons. The stirring up of sediments from the shelf by wave action is restricted to the finest material. The missing of shelf material in the uppermost core sections can thus be explained. The laminated muds reflect these calm sedimentation conditions as well. In the southwestern part of the area of investigation fine volcanic glass was blown in during the Pleistocene, probably from the southeast. It has thus become possible to correlate the cores 181, 182, 202. Eolian dust from the Indian subcontinent represents probably an important component of the deep sea sediments. The chemism of the bottom as well as of the pore water has a considerable influence on the development of the sediments. Of particular importance in this connection is a layer with a minimum content of oxygen in the sea water (200-1500 m), which today touches the upper part of the continental slope. Above and beyond this oxygen minimum layer somewhat higher O2-values are to be observed at the sea bottom. During the Pleistocene the oxygen minimum layer has obviously been locatedin greater depth as is indicated by the facies of laminated mud occuring in the lower part of core 219. The type of bioturbation is mainly determined by the chemism. Moreover, the chemism is responsible for a considerable selective dissolution, either complete or partial, of the sedimentary components. Within the range of the oxygen minimum layer an alkaline milieu is developed at the bottom. This causes a complete or partial dissolution of the siliceous organisms. Here, bioturbation is in general completely missing; sometimes small pyrite-filled burrowing racks are found. In the areas rich in O2 high pH-values result in a partial dissolution of the calcareous shells. Large, non-pyritized burrowing tracks characterize the type of bioturbation in this environment. A study of the "lebensspuren" in the cores supports the assumption that, particularly within the region of the Laccadive Basin, the oxygen content in the bottom sediments was lower than during the Holocene. This may be attributed to a high sedimentation rate and to a lower O2-content of the bottom water. The composition of the allochthonous sedimentary components, detritus and/or volcanic glass may locally change the chemism to a considerable extent for a certain time; under such special circumstances the type of bioturbation and the state of preservation of the components may be different from those of the normal sediment.

Organic chemistry of sediments from the Tyrrhenian Sea

Thirty sediment samples from Tortonian to Pleistocene age of five ODP locations (Holes 650A, 651A, and 652A, and Sites 654 and 655) in the Marsili Basin, Vavilov Basin, and Sardinia Margin (Tyrrhenian Sea) were studied by organic geochemical methods including total organic carbon determination, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, bitumen extraction, pyrolysis-gas chromatography, and organic petrography. Six organic facies, including open ocean anoxia with variable terrestrial input, oxic open ocean, oxic tidal flat, mildly oxic lagoon, and anoxic lacustrine algal-bacterial mat environments, have been recognized in these sediments. The sediments below 500 m in Sardinia Margin are mature for significant hydrocarbon generation. Possible mature source-rock (Type I and IIB/III kerogen) and migrated bitumen occur in the deeper part of the section in Vavilov Basin and Sardinia Margin sediments. Sporadic sapropel formation observed in the studied Pliocene-Pleistocene sediment section is probably controlled by organic productivity due to nutrient supply by the rivers and terrestrial input associated with open ocean anoxia or anoxia caused by the material balance between rate of organic matter supplied by turbidites and organic matter consumption. Pliocene and Pleistocene sapropels are mostly immature and lie within Type II-III (precisely as IIA-IIB and IIB source rocks) kerogen maturation path.

Age determinations and analyses of organic matter of sediments from the Argentine Basin

The first radiocarbon chronology for sediments of the Argentine basin has been determined using accelerator mass spectrometer (AMS) analyses of 54 total organic carbon samples from four box and two piston cores collected from the downstream and upstream sides of two central Argentine Basin mudwaves. Throughout the Holocene, sediment from the geomorphically defined upstream side of each wave accumulated at rates of 30 to 105 cm/1000 years. Sediments from the downstream side of each wave accumulated at rates of 2 to 10 cm/1000 years in the late and early Holocene, while the mid Holocene is characterized by sedimentation rates less than 1.0 cm/1000 years. During the mid-Holocene, increased aridity reduced chemical weathering and the flow of the rivers draining to the continental shelf, causing a concomitant decrease in fine-grained terrigenous input to the basin as evidenced by decreased sedimentation rates, lower N/C ratios, and depleted delta13Corg values. It is estimated that all of the organic carbon deposited in the central basin during the mid-Holocene was of a marine origin. During the late and early Holocene, however, approximately 35% of the organic carbon deposited was of terrestrial origin. Bottom water flow speeds in the late Holocene were estimated using a lee-wave model and found to average 14 cm/s. This estimate is comparable to 10 cm/s mean and 15-20 cm/s maximum flow speeds measured by current meters deployed within the basin. Flow speeds in the Argentine Basin were 10% higher than today from 8000 to 2000 B.P., and are consistent with a general invigoration of thermohaline circulation that began between 9000 and 8000 B.P. It is proposed that the introduction of warm, salty Indian Ocean water into the northern North Atlantic at 9000 B.P. was the mechanism that provided the excess salt needed to stabilize the North Atlantic Deep Water thermohaline circulation system in its present mode.

Dissolved organic carbon investigations from the Kara Sea

Based on observations during four scientific expeditions to the Kara Sea and the Siberian rivers Ob and Yenisei we determined the discharge, distribution and characteristics of dissolved organic matter (DOM). Surface concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) ranged from 151 IlM C in the northern Kara Sea to 939 IlM C in the river Ob. The estimated annual mean DOC concentration in the Yenisei (681 IlM C) was slightly higher than in the Ob (640 IlM C). Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations typically varied between 5 and 15 IlM N with higher values in the rivers. Freshwater discharge and DOC concentrations experienced pronounced seasonal variations strongly affecting the spatial and temporal distribution of DOM in the Kara Sea. The largely conservative distribution of DOC and DON along the salinity gradient indicated the predominantly refractory character of riverine DOM. This observation was consistent with laboratory experiments, which showed only minor losses due to flocculation processes and bacterial consumption. Optical properties and relatively high C/N ratios (19 to 51) of DO M suggest that a large fraction of river DOM is of terrestrial origin and that phytoplankton contributed little to DOM on the Kara Sea shelf during the sampling periods. Together, the rivers Ob and Yenisei discharge about 8 Tg DOC yr- I into the Kara Sea. Due to the absence of efficient removal mechanisms in these estuaries the majority of riverine DOM appears to pass the estuarine mixing zone and is transported towards the Arctic Ocean.

Fish communities as indicators of biological conditions of rivers: methods for reference conditions

Fish communities are a key element in fluvial ecosystems Their position in the top of the food chain and their sensitivity to a whole range of impacts make them a clear objective for ecosystem conservation and a sound indicator of biological integrity. The UE Water Framework Directive includes fish community composition, abundance and structure as relevant elements for the evaluation os biological condition. Several approaches have been proposed for the evaluation of the condition of fish communities, from the bio-indicator concept to the IBI (Index of biotic integrity) proposals. However, the complexity of fish communities and their ecological responses make this evaluation difficult, and we must avoid both oversimplified and extreme analytical procedures. In this work we present a new proposal to define reference conditions in fish communities, discussing them from an ecological viewpoint. This method is a synthetic approach called SYNTHETIC OPEN METHODOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK (SOMF) that has been applied to the rivers of Navarra. As a result, it is recommended the integration of all the available information from spatial, modelling, historical and expert sources, providing the better approach to fish reference conditions, keeping the highest level of information and meeting the legal requirements of the WFD.

Susquehanna and Delaware Rivers headwaters, New York, 1790 (Raster Image)

This layer is a georeferenced raster image of the historic paper map entitled: Map of the head waters of the rivers Susquehanna & Delaware embracing the early patents on the south side of the Mohawk River : from the original, drawn about the year 1790, by Simeon DeWitt, Esq. ... ; with the date of each patent now appended from the rec. in surveyr. genls. office, by E.B. O'C. It was published by Weed, Parsons & Co. in 1849. Scale [ca. 1:260,000]. Covers portion of Central New York including Oneida, Herkimer, Montgomery, Schenectady, Schoharie, Otsego, Delaware, and Greene Counties. The image inside the map neatline is georeferenced to the surface of the earth and fit to the Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 18N NAD83 projection. All map collar and inset information is also available as part of the raster image, including any inset maps, profiles, statistical tables, directories, text, illustrations, index maps, legends, or other information associated with the principal map. This is a cadastral map showing property boundaries, names of property owners, dates of patent, drainage, and more. Includes ill. This layer is part of a selection of digitally scanned and georeferenced historic maps from The Harvard Map Collection as part of the Imaging the Urban Environment project. Maps selected for this project represent major urban areas and cities of the world, at various time periods. These maps typically portray both natural and manmade features at a large scale. The selection represents a range of regions, originators, ground condition dates, scales, and purposes.

Zooplankton abundance and vertical fluxes of sedimentary matter and chemical elements in the White Sea from 15 to 24 June, 2000

A multidisciplinary oceanographic survey of the White Sea was carried out in the Gorlo Straight, Basin, and Kandalaksha Bay regions including estuaries of Niva, Kolvitza and Knyazhaya rivers. Hydrophysical study in the northern part of the Basin revealed long-lived step-like structures and inversions in vertical profiles of temperature and salinity, which formed due to tidal mixing of saline and cold Barents Sea waters and warmer White Sea waters in the Gorlo Straight. Biological studies revealed the main features of spatial distribution, as well as qualitative and quantitative composition of phyto- and zooplankton in all studied areas; tolerance of main zooplankton species to fresh water influence in estuaries was shown. Study of suspended matter in estuaries clearly demonstrated physicochemical transformations of material supplied by the rivers. Data on vertical particle flux in the deep part of the Kandalaksha Bay showed difference between the upper and near-bottom layers, which could result from sinking of spring phytoplankton bloom products and supply of terrigenic suspended matter from the nepheloid layer formed by tidal currents.

Meanderings '95 : rivers of Illinois.

A collection of writings by high school students whose teachers and school participated in the Rivers Curriculum Project from September 1994 until June 1995.

Steep trails; California, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, the Grand Canon.

"The papers brought together in this volume have, in a general way, been arranged in chronological sequence. They span a period of twenty-nine years of Muir's life, during which they appeared as letters and articles, for the most part in publications of limited and local circulation."--Editor's note.

Pollen transport and deposition in riverine and marine environments within the humid tropics of northeastern Australia

Mechanisms of pollen transport in the humid tropics region of northeastern Australia were investigated to support the interpretation of a long Quaternary pollen record from ODP Site 820 located on the adjacent continental slope. Pollen analysis of surface sediment samples from the channels of two major river catchments demonstrated internal consistency in pollen spectra and little fluvial pollen sorting in relation to sediment variation. Differences in modem pollen spectra between catchments reflect existing variation in vegetation cover that, in turn, reflects climatic differences between catchments. Recent pollen spectra from top samples of the ODP core have sufficient in common with the riverine samples to suggest that the rivers are contributing a major pollen component to the offshore sediments, but these have been size sorted by marine action. Recent pollen samples from core tops taken from the Grafton Passage on the continental shelf that was thought to be the major passage for pollen transport to ODP Site 820 show significant differences to both riverine and ODP samples and suggest that pollen are dispersed across the continental shelf and through the outer Great Barrier Reef system in a more complex way than anticipated. (c) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Using Optical Properties to Quantify Fringe Mangrove Inputs to the Dissolved Organic Matter (DOM) Pool in a Subtropical Estuary

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) concentration and dissolved organic matter (DOM) optical properties were analyzed along two estuarine river transects during the wet and dry seasons to better understand DOM dynamics and quantify mangrove inputs. A tidal study was performed to assess the impacts of tidal pumping on DOM transport. DOM in the estuaries showed non-conservative mixing indicative of mangrove-derived inputs. Similarly, fluorescence data suggest that some terrestrial humic-like components showed non-conservative behavior. An Everglades freshwater-derived fluorescent component, which is associated with soil inputs from the Northern Everglades, behaved conservatively. During the dry season, a protein-like component behaved conservatively until the mid-salinity range when non-conservative behavior due to degradation and/or loss was observed. The tidal study data suggests mangrove porewater inputs to the rivers following low tide. The differences in quantity of DOM exported by the Shark and Harney Rivers imply that geomorphology and tidal hydrology may be a dominant factor controlling the amount of DOM exported from the mangrove ecotone, where up to 21 % of the DOC is mangrove-derived. Additionally, nutrient concentrations and other temporal factors may control DOM export from the mangroves, particularly for the microbially derived fluorescent components, contributing to the seasonal differences. The wet and dry season fluxes of mangrove DOM from the Shark River is estimated as 0.27 × 109 mg C d−1 and 0.075 × 109 mg C d−1, respectively, and the Harney River is estimated as 1.9 × 109 mg C d−1 and 0.20 × 109 mg C d−1.

The impact of solid and liquid wastes from a rural town on the Chorobamba River Oxapampa, Peruvian Amazon

The goal of this study was to determine the instantaneous vs. integrated effects of waste on the water quality of the Chorobamba River. I sampled 9 stations upstream and downstream of the Town of Oxapampa, Peru during the dry season (June-August) of 2004. I measured in-situ parameters such as pH, DO, temperature, etc. as well as vegetation, riverbank erosion, nutrients (N03, NH4, P04), coliform bacteria and macroinvertebrate communities to determine the current conditions of the river, as well as the integrated effects of pollution. Although water quality conditions remained stable, high fecal coliform concentrations and macroinvertebrate communities indicate deterioration in river health over a longer period of time. If riparian areas along the Chorobamba continue to decrease and if inputs of sewage into the rivers continue to increase, as a function of population, then, conditions will continue to deteriorate in the coming years.

Mineralogy of northern Indian Ocean surface sediments and of suspended sediments of Indian rivers (Table 2 and 5)

The solid phases from surface sediments, atmospheric dusts, and rivers of the Indian Ocean environment have been analyzed for their clay minerals and quartz. Such data have been used to delimit the transport paths and sources of the detrital minerals in the oceanic deposits. Diagnostic in distinguishing fluvial and eolian inputs to the northern Indian Ocean is a combination of the clay mineral assemblages and of their geographic distributions. River borne solids are the primary components of the Bay of Bengal deposits. The eastern part receives its continental input through the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, while drainage of the Indian Peninsula by rivers introduces solids to the western part. The former materials are characterized by high illite and chlorite in the clay mineral assemblages; the latter by montmorillonite. The winds over the Bay bear distinctive dust burdens based upon their directions. However, their contributions to the sediments are insignificant. The eastern sector of the Arabian Sea receives major contributions of continental debris from the rivers and the high montmorillonite levels clearly indicate a source in the Indian Peninsula. The rest of the Sea appears to receive most of its land-derived materials from the north, perhaps the desert regions of northern India and West Pakistan, and they are wind-borne. These materials are also transported to the equatorial regions of the Indian Ocean. A gradient in attapulgite, just north of the equator, may indicate an eolian contribution to the Arabian Sea from the African continent. The halogenated hydrocarbon pesticides were assayed in the southwest monsoon winds and enter the Bay of Bengal at levels of a half ton per month, an amount comparable to those introduced by other wind and river systems to the marine environment.

Table 1: Station list with macrobenthos biomass results from the ocean floor

Among the Siberian shelf seas the Kara Sea is most strongly influenced by riverine runoff with nearly 1500 km fresh water discharge per year. This fresh water, discharged mainly by Ob and Yenisei, contains about 3.1 * 106 and 4.6 * 106 tons of total organic carbon per year, respectively (Gordeev et al. 1996). Little is known about the relevance of this organic material for biological communities, neither for the Kara Sea nor for the adjacent deep basins of the central Arctic Ocean. Aiming at elucidating the fate of fluvial matter transported from the rivers via estuaries into the central Arctic Ocean and the relative importance of marine organic matter being produced such information is crucial. Here we present calculations on the organic carbon demand of the Kara Sea macrozoobenthos based on measured biomass (total wet weight [ww] per 0.25 m ) from quantitative box corer samples and empirical relationships between biomass, annual production, annual respiration, and carbon remineralisation. This bottom-up approach may serve as a first estimate of the carbon remineralization potential of a given zoobenthos community (or area) as long as no data on in situ respiration rates are available. Our data basis comprises 54 stations sampled in summer seasons 1997, 1999 and 2000 in the Kara Sea at water depths between 10 and 68 m. The geographical area represented by stations analysed covers roughly 178 000 km**2, which is about one fifth of the total Kara Sea area. In this area, 290 species of invertebrate macrozoobenthos were identified with polychaeta, Crustacea, mollusca and echinodermata being the most abundant. For all stations analysed, mean biomass values ranged between 4.3 and 778.1 g ww/m**2 with organic carbon demands between 3.5 and 43.2 mg C/m**2/d. For the area of 178 000 km2 a preliminary total consumption of 1.4 * 10**6t Corg/y (equivalent to 21.5 mg C/m**2/d) was calculated for the macrozoobenthos. An extrapolation of our data would lead to an annual carbon demand of about 5-7 * 106 t for the whole Kara Sea macrozoobenthos (or 15.5-21.7 mg C/m2/d).

Radionuclides in sediment cores from the higher latitudes

In this thesis it is shown that the cosmogenic radionuclide 10Be proved to be a sensitive stratigraphic tool for sediment cores from the Arctic Ocean with low or negligible content of biogenic carbonate, impeding a reliable 0180 stratigraphy. 10Be enables a stratigraphy of Arctic sediments comparable to the d18O stratigraphy Imbrie et al. [1984] in that high concentration of 10Be are related to interglacial stages in contrast to lower values during glacial periods. To use the °Be profile as dating tool it is necessary to investigate the sources and sinks as well as the pathways of this radiotracer. 10Be is produced in the upper atmosphere and transfered to the earth's surface by dry and wet deposition. Besides the atmospheric component there is an important input of 10Be with the rivers to the Arctic Ocean. I determined depositional 10Be fluxes in the shelf area of the Laptev Sea, which is characterized by a huge input of river water, the continental slope of the Laptev Sea, the central Arctic Ocean and the Norwegian- and Greenland Sea. The depositional 10Be fluxes of (20 ± 5) x 10**6 atoms/cm**2/a in the shelf area of the Laptev Sea are by two orders of magnitude higher than the recent atmospheric input (0.2 - 0.5) x 10**6 atoms/cm**2/a in Greenland. while the fluxes in the central Arctic Ocean are in the same range. Further I developed a model to reconstruct the pathways of radionuclides 230Th, 231Pa and 10Be in high northern latitudes. The modelling results were compared with the measured concentrations in the water column and the recent depositional fluxes. These results show that the recent pathways of these nuclides can be rebuild by this model. Thus we can apply this model to earlier oxygen isotope stages to find out which predominate conditions lead to the determined depositional fluxes.