| 1. |
- Glud, R. N., et al.
(författare)
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Distribution of oxygen in surface sediments from central Sagami Bay, Japan: In situ measurements by microelectrodes and planar optodes
- 2005
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Ingår i: Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers. - 0967-0637. ; 51:10, s. 1974-1987
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Distributions of oxygen in surface sediments from central Sagami Bay were quantified using an autonomous vehicle carrying both a profiling microelectrode instrument and a planar optode module. Measurements were performed at 16 sites (either by microelectrodes or optodes) along a 175 m long transect and in total 45 electrode microprofiles and 6 O2 images (each covering 6.9×5.1 cm of surface sediment) were obtained. The data revealed an extensive small-scale variation of the in situ O2 distribution. The diffusive O2 uptake (DOU) as derived from the microelectrode data varied by a factor >10 with an average value of 2.6±1.6 mmol m−2 d−1 (n=45) corresponding to 8% of the estimated average primary production for the area. There was no significant difference in the average O2 penetration depth as quantified from the microprofiles and the planar optode images (P<0.05). The O2 penetration depth of the combined dataset varied between 0.5 and 9.2 mm with an average value of 3.9±1.5 mm (n=347). Even though the organic carbon rich sediments of central Sagami Bay may exhibit higher horizontal heterogeneity than normally encountered in deep-sea sediments, the data document that extrapolation from a few in situ data points should be done with caution. A detailed statistical analysis of the spatial autocorrelation in the O2 penetration depth documented that measurements performed less than 2 cm apart were autocorrelated. This implies that the aerobic benthic activity at the investigated site varied in patches with a characteristic size of a few cm. The presented data represent a detailed in situ study on small-scale spatial variability in sediment O2 distribution and document that planar O2 optode images provide a tool to access spatial heterogeneity of natural sediments.
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| 2. |
- Sobek, Anna, et al.
(författare)
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Organic matter degradation causes enrichment of organic pollutants in hadal sediments
- 2023
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Ingår i: Nature Communications. - 2041-1723. ; 14
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Burial of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) such as polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in deep-sea sediments contributes to 60% of their historical emissions. Yet, empirical data on their occurrence in the deep-ocean is scarce. Estimates of the deep-ocean POP sink are therefore uncertain. Hadal trenches, representing the deepest part of the ocean, are hotspots for organic carbon burial and decomposition. POPs favorably partition to organic carbon, making trenches likely significant sinks for contaminants. Here we show that PCBs occur in both hadal (7720–8085 m) and non-hadal (2560–4050 m) sediment in the Atacama Trench. PCB concentrations normalized to sediment dry weight were similar across sites while those normalized to sediment organic carbon increased exponentially as the inert organic carbon fraction of the sediment increased in degraded hadal sediments. We suggest that the unique deposition dynamics and elevated turnover of organic carbon in hadal trenches increase POP concentrations in the deepest places on Earth.
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| 3. |
- Turnewitsch, Robert, et al.
(författare)
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Recent sediment dynamics in hadal trenches : Evidence for the influence of higher-frequency (tidal, near-inertial) fluid dynamics
- 2014
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Ingår i: Deep Sea Research Part I. - : Elsevier BV. - 0967-0637 .- 1879-0119. ; 90, s. 125-138
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In addition to high hydrostatic pressure, scarcity of food is viewed as a factor that limits the abundance and activity of heterotrophic organisms at great ocean depths, including hadal trenches. Supply of nutritious food largely relies on the flux of organic-rich particulate matter from the surface ocean. It has been speculated that the shape of hadal trenches helps to 'funnel' particulate matter into the deeper parts of the trench, leading to sediment 'focussing' and improved benthic food supply. Here we investigate for five Northwest Pacific trenches the efficiency of sediment focussing by evaluating ratios of measured (sediment-derived) and expected (water-column-derived) sedimentary inventories of the naturally occurring and radioactive particulate-matter tracer Pb-210(xs). The sites comprise a broad range of surface-ocean productivity and physical-oceanographic regimes. Across the five trench-axis settings the inventory ratio varies between 0.5 and 4.1, with four trench-axis settings having ratios > 1 (sediment focussing) and one trench-axis setting a ratio < 1 (sediment winnowing). Although the fluid- and sediment-dynamical forcing behind sediment focussing remains unclear, this study finds evidence for another mechanism that is superimposed on, and counteracts, the focussing mechanism. This superimposed mechanism is related to higher-frequency (tidal, near-inertial) fluid dynamics. In particular, there is evidence for a strong and negative relation between the intensity of propagating internal tides and the extent of sediment focussing in the trench-axis. The relation can be approximated by a power function and the most intense drop in sediment focussing already occurs at moderate internal-tide intensities. This suggests that propagating internal tides may have a subtle but significant influence on particulate-matter dynamics and food supply in hadal trenches in particular, but possibly also in the deep seas in general. A mechanism for the influence of internal tides on sediment dynamics is proposed.
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