Thermogenic Gases In Near-Surface Sediments Of Norton Sound, Alaska

Abstract. We report on a rare observation of a mini-fracture in near-surface sediments (30 cm below the seafloor) visualized using rotational scanning X-ray of a core recovered from the Lomvi pockmark, Vestnesa Ridge west of Svalbard (1200 m water depth). Porewater geochemistry and lipid biomarker signatures revealed clear differences in the geochemical and biogeochemical regimes of this core compared with two additional ones recovered from pockmarks sites at Vestnesa Ridge, which we attribute to differential methane transport mechanisms. In the sediments core featuring the shallow mini-fracture at pockmark Lomvi, we observed high concentrations of both methane and sulfate throughout the core in tandem with moderately elevated values for total alkalinity, 13C-depleted dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), and 13C-depleted lipid biomarkers (diagnostic for the slow-growing microbial communities mediating the anaerobic oxidation of methane with sulfate – AOM). In another core recovered from the same pockmark about 80 m away from the fractured core, we observed complete sulfate depletion in the top centimeters of the sediment and much more pronounced signatures of AOM than in the fractured core. Our data indicate a gas advection-dominated transport mode in both cores facilitating methane migration into sulfate-rich surface sediments. However, the more moderate expression of AOM signals suggest a rather recent onset of gas migration at the site of the fractured core, while the geochemical evidence for a well-established AOM community at the second coring site at the Lomvi pockmark suggest that gas migration has been going on for a longer period of time. A third core recovered from Lunde pockmark was dominated by diffusive transport with only weak geochemical and biogeochemical evidence for AOM. Our study highlights that advective fluid and gas transport supported by mini-fractures can be important in modulating methane dynamics in surface sediments.

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Geochemistry and related studies of Clyde Estuary sediments

Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh ◽

10.1017/s1755691018000348 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 108 (2-3) ◽

pp. 269-288 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

David G. Jones ◽

Christopher H. Vane ◽

Solveigh Lass-Evans ◽

Simon Chenery ◽

Bob Lister ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Seismic Data ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Sidescan Sonar ◽

Near Surface ◽

Glacial Sediments ◽

Shallow Seismic ◽

Limited Success ◽

Shallow Layer ◽

Quaternary History ◽

Different Sources

ABSTRACTGeochemical and related studies have been made of near-surface sediments from the River Clyde estuary and adjoining areas, extending from Glasgow to the N, and W as far as the Holy Loch on the W coast of Scotland, UK. Multibeam echosounder, sidescan sonar and shallow seismic data, taken with core information, indicate that a shallow layer of modern sediment, often less than a metre thick, rests on earlier glacial and post-glacial sediments. The offshore Quaternary history can be aligned with onshore sequences, with the recognition of buried drumlins, settlement of muds from quieter water, probably behind an ice dam, and later tidal delta deposits. The geochemistry of contaminants within the cores also indicates shallow contaminated sediments, often resting on pristine pre-industrial deposits at depths less than 1m. The distribution of different contaminants with depth in the sediment, such as Pb (and Pb isotopes), organics and radionuclides, allow chronologies of contamination from different sources to be suggested. Dating was also attempted using microfossils, radiocarbon and 210Pb, but with limited success. Some of the spatial distribution of contaminants in the surface sediments can be related to grain-size variations. Contaminants are highest, both in absolute terms and in enrichment relative to the natural background, in the urban and inner estuary and in the Holy Loch, reflecting the concentration of industrial activity.

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Direct determination of resonant properties of near-surface sediments using microtremor

Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering ◽

10.1016/j.soildyn.2019.105739 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 125 ◽

pp. 105739 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Yury I. Kolesnikov ◽

Кonstantin V. Fedin ◽

Luckymore Ngomayezwe

Keyword(s):

Surface Sediments ◽

Direct Determination ◽

Near Surface

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Shear-Wave Velocity and Seismic Response of Near-Surface Sediments in Charleston, South Carolina

Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America ◽

10.1785/0120050144 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 96 (5) ◽

pp. 1897-1914 ◽

Cited By ~ 19

Author(s):

R. D. Andrus ◽

C. D. Fairbanks ◽

J. Zhang ◽

W. M. Camp ◽

T. J. Casey ◽

...

Keyword(s):

South Carolina ◽

Seismic Response ◽

Shear Wave ◽

Wave Velocity ◽

Shear Wave Velocity ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Near Surface

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Complex disturbance‐driven reactivation of near‐surface sediments in the largest dunefield in North America during the last 200 years

Earth Surface Processes and Landforms ◽

10.1002/esp.4708 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 44 (14) ◽

pp. 2794-2809 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Catherine E. Buckland ◽

David S.G. Thomas ◽

Richard M. Bailey

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Near Surface

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Assessment of the Effect of Increasing Temperature On the Ecology and Assemblage Structure of Modern Planktic Foraminifers in the Caribbean and Surrounding Seas

The Journal of Foraminiferal Research ◽

10.2113/gsjfr.48.3.251 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 48 (3) ◽

pp. 251-272 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Anna Jentzen ◽

Joachim Schönfeld ◽

Ralf Schiebel

Keyword(s):

Surface Waters ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Seawater Temperature ◽

Chlorophyll Concentration ◽

Caribbean Sea ◽

Trophic Conditions ◽

Near Surface ◽

The Caribbean ◽

Standing Stocks ◽

The 1960S

Abstract Habitat patterns of subtropical and tropical planktic foraminifers in the Caribbean Sea were obtained from plankton samples collected in spring 2009 and 2013. The spatial distribution in surface waters (3.5 m water depth) and depth habitat patterns (surface to 400 m) of 33 species were compared with prevailing water-mass conditions (temperature, salinity, and chlorophyll-a concentration) and planktic foraminiferal test assemblages in surface sediments. Distribution patterns indicate a significant relationship with seawater temperature and trophic conditions. A reduction in standing stocks was observed close to the Orinoco River plume and in the Gulf of Paria, associated with high turbidity and concomitant low surface-water salinity. In contrast, a transient mesoscale patch of high chlorophyll concentration in the eastern Caribbean Sea was associated with higher standing stocks in near surface waters, including high abundances of Globigerinita glutinata and Neogloboquadrina dutertrei. Globorotalia truncatulinoides mainly lives close to the seasonal pycnocline and can be linked to winter conditions indicated by lower sea-surface temperatures (SSTs) of ∼20°C. Globigerinoides sacculifer and Globoturborotalita rubescens were associated with oligotrophic conditions in the pelagic Caribbean Sea during early spring and showed a synodic lunar reproduction cycle. The live assemblages in the water column from 2009 and 2013 were similar to those reported in earlier studies from the 1960s and 1990s and to assemblages of tests in the surface sediments. Minor differences in faunal proportions were attributed to seasonal variability and environmental differences at the local scale. An exception was the low relative abundance of Globigerinoides ruber in the Caribbean Sea in 2009 compared to surface sediment samples and plankton net samples collected in the 1960s and 1990s. Decreasing abundance of Gs. ruber white in the Caribbean Sea may be associated with increasing SSTs over past decades and changes in nutrient flux and primary production.

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GROUND AND AIRBORNE RESISTIVITY SURVEYS OF PERMAFROST NEAR FAIRBANKS, ALASKA

Geophysics ◽

10.1190/1.1440555 ◽

1975 ◽

Vol 40 (4) ◽

pp. 641-656 ◽

Cited By ~ 51

Author(s):

P. Hoekstra ◽

P. V. Sellmann ◽

A. Delaney

Keyword(s):

Surface Impedance ◽

Apparent Resistivity ◽

Surface Sediments ◽

Impedance Measurement ◽

Impedance Method ◽

Frozen Ground ◽

Near Surface ◽

Fine Grained ◽

Ground Conditions ◽

Geotechnical Information

In permafrost regions investigations for such geotechnical endeavors as route selection for roads and pipelines and site investigations for buildings and dam construction often require that a careful assessment be made of the presence or absence of frozen ground, of the ice content of frozen ground, and of the depth of frozen ground. In the vicinity of Fairbanks, Alaska, where the permafrost is discontinuous, ground and airborne methods of mapping electrical resistivity using radiowaves were tested as means of delineating permafrost. When the resistivity maps are compared with surficial geological data, the following conclusions are reached: (1) In areas of fine‐grained sediments, where the near surface sediments are relatively uniform, VLF resistivity delineates permafrost. (2) In areas where surface sediments vary widely (flood plains), VLF resistivity shows little information on permafrost conditions but can provide other important geotechnical information, such as, depth to bedrock, surface soil type, and layering. Comparison of the apparent resistivity derived from a surface impedance measurement at VLF on the ground with the apparent resistivity derived from an airborne measurement of wavetilt shows that the regional trends in the data agree, but the surface impedance measurements show much more local detail in ground conditions. When the surface layers are also frozen, the surface impedance method of measuring ground resistivity was found to have distinct advantages over conventional galvanic methods in terms of production and problems associated with probe contact resistance.

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