95 research outputs found

    B(OH)4- and CO32- do not compete for incorporation into aragonite in synthetic precipitations at pHtotal 8.20 and 8.41 but do compete at pHtotal 8.59

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    This work was supported by the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NE/S001417/1) to NA, KP, RK, MC and AF. We thank Gavin Peters, University of St Andrews, for assistance with BET analyses and Adam Kerrigan, University of York, for support with scanning electron microscopy.Coral skeletal B/Ca (effectively B/CO32–), in combination with boron isotopic composition (δ11B), has been used to reconstruct the dissolved inorganic carbon chemistry of coral calcification media and to explore the biomineralisation process and its response to ocean acidification. This approach assumes that B(OH)4−, the B species incorporated into aragonite, competes with dissolved inorganic carbon species for inclusion in the mineral lattice. In this study we precipitated aragonite from seawater in vitro under conditions that simulate the compositions of the calcification media used to build tropical coral skeletons. To deconvolve the effects of pH and [CO32–] on boron incorporation we conducted multiple experiments at constant [CO32–] but variable pH and at constant pH but variable [CO32–], both in the absence and presence of common coral skeletal amino acids. Large changes in solution [CO32–], from 1000 µmol kg−1, or in precipitation rate, have no significant effect on aragonite B/Ca at pHtotal of 8.20 and 8.41. A significant inverse relationship is observed between solution [CO32–] and aragonite B/Ca at pHtotal = 8.59. Aragonite B/Ca is positively correlated with seawater pH across precipitations conducted at multiple pH but this relationship is driven by the effect of pH on the abundance of B(OH)4– in seawater. Glutamic acid and glycine enhance the incorporation of B in aragonite but aspartic acid has no measurable effect. Normalising aragonite B/Ca to solution [B(OH)4–] creates KDB(OH)4− which do not vary significantly between pH treatments. This implies that B(OH)4– and CO32– do not compete with each other for inclusion in the aragonite lattice at pHtotal 8.20 and 8.41. Only at high pH (8.59), when [B(OH)4–] is high, do we observe evidence to suggest that the 2 anions compete to be incorporated into the lattice. These high pH conditions represent the uppermost limits reliably measured in the calcification media of tropical corals cultured under present day conditions, suggesting that skeletal B/Ca may not reflect the calcification media dissolved inorganic carbon chemistry in all modern day corals.Peer reviewe

    B(OH)4− and CO32− do not compete for incorporation into aragonite in synthetic precipitations at pHtotal 8.20 and 8.41 but do compete at pHtotal 8.59

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    Coral skeletal B/Ca (effectively B/CO32–), in combination with boron isotopic composition (δ11B), has been used to reconstruct the dissolved inorganic carbon chemistry of coral calcification media and to explore the biomineralisation process and its response to ocean acidification. This approach assumes that B(OH)4−, the B species incorporated into aragonite, competes with dissolved inorganic carbon species for inclusion in the mineral lattice. In this study we precipitated aragonite from seawater in vitro under conditions that simulate the compositions of the calcification media used to build tropical coral skeletons. To deconvolve the effects of pH and [CO32–] on boron incorporation we conducted multiple experiments at constant [CO32–] but variable pH and at constant pH but variable [CO32–], both in the absence and presence of common coral skeletal amino acids. Large changes in solution [CO32–], from 1000 µmol kg−1, or in precipitation rate, have no significant effect on aragonite B/Ca at pHtotal of 8.20 and 8.41. A significant inverse relationship is observed between solution [CO32–] and aragonite B/Ca at pHtotal = 8.59. Aragonite B/Ca is positively correlated with seawater pH across precipitations conducted at multiple pH but this relationship is driven by the effect of pH on the abundance of B(OH)4– in seawater. Glutamic acid and glycine enhance the incorporation of B in aragonite but aspartic acid has no measurable effect. Normalising aragonite B/Ca to solution [B(OH)4–] creates KDB(OH)4− which do not vary significantly between pH treatments. This implies that B(OH)4– and CO32– do not compete with each other for inclusion in the aragonite lattice at pHtotal 8.20 and 8.41. Only at high pH (8.59), when [B(OH)4–] is high, do we observe evidence to suggest that the 2 anions compete to be incorporated into the lattice. These high pH conditions represent the uppermost limits reliably measured in the calcification media of tropical corals cultured under present day conditions, suggesting that skeletal B/Ca may not reflect the calcification media dissolved inorganic carbon chemistry in all modern day corals

    Detailed monitoring reveals the nature of submarine turbidity currents

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    Seafloor sediment flows, called turbidity currents, form the largest sediment accumulations, deepest canyons, and longest channels on Earth. It was once thought that turbidity currents were impractical to measure in action, especially due to their ability to damage sensors in their path, but direct monitoring since the mid 2010s has measured them in detail. In this Review, we summarise knowledge of turbidity currents gleaned from this direct monitoring. Monitoring identifies triggering mechanisms from dilute river-plumes, and shows how rapid sediment accumulation can precondition slope failure, but the final triggers can be delayed and subtle. Turbidity currents are consistently more frequent than predicted by past sequence stratigraphic models, including at sites >300 km from any coast. Faster (>~1.5 m s–1) flows are driven by a dense near-bed layer at their front, whereas slower flows are entirely dilute. This frontal layer sometimes erodes large (>2.5 km3) volumes of sediment, yet maintains a near-uniform speed, leading to a travelling wave model. Monitoring shows that flows sculpt canyons and channels through fast-moving knickpoints, and how deposits originate. Emerging technologies with reduced cost and risk can lead to widespread monitoring of turbidity currents, so their sediment and carbon fluxes can be compared with other major global transport processes

    Global monitoring data shows grain size controls turbidity current structure

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    The first detailed measurements from active turbidity currents have been made in the last few years, at multiple sites worldwide. These data allow us to investigate the factors that control the structure of these flows. By analyzing the temporal evolution of the maximum velocity of turbidity currents at different sites, we aim to understand whether there are distinct types of flow, or if a continuum exists between end-members; and to investigate the physical controls on the different types of observed flow. Our results show that the evolution of the maximum velocity of turbidity currents falls between two end-members. Either the events show a rapid peak in velocity followed by an exponential decay or, flows continue at a plateau-like, near constant velocity. Our analysis suggests that rather than triggers or system input type, flow structure is primarily governed by the grain size of the sediment available for incorporation into the flow

    Time-lapse surveys reveal patterns and processes of erosion by exceptionally powerful turbidity currents that flush submarine canyons: A case study of the Congo Canyon

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    The largest canyons on Earth occur on the seafloor, and seabed sediment flows called turbidity currents play a key role in carving these submarine canyons. However, the processes by which turbidity currents erode submarine canyons are very poorly documented and understood. Here we analyse the first detailed time-lapse bathymetric surveys of a large submarine canyon, and its continuation as a less-deeply incised channel. These are also the most comprehensive time-lapse surveys before and after a major canyon-channel flushing turbidity current. These unique field data come from the Congo Submarine Fan offshore West Africa, where canyon flushing turbidity currents between 2019 and 2020 eroded ~2.65 km3 of seabed sediment, as they travelled for over 1100 km at speeds of 5–8 m/s. This eroded sediment volume is equivalent to ~19–33 % of global sediment flux from all rivers to the oceans. The time-lapse surveys cover 40 % of the 1100 km long submarine canyon-channel. They show that erosion was predominantly (94 %) along the canyon-channel axis, with only 6 % from failures along canyon or channel flanks. However, erosion along the canyon-channel floor was very patchy; some areas were eroded to depths of 10–20 m, whilst intervening areas showed no significant change. Knickpoints with up-slope migrating headscarps account for 22 % of the total eroded volume. One knickpoint in the deep-sea channel migrated by 21 km in one year, making it the fastest moving submarine knickpoint yet documented. Most (62 %) eroded sediment was in zones extending across the canyon or channel floor, without distinct headscarps as is the case for knickpoints. Erosion restricted to outer bends only comprised 10 % of the total, suggesting processes of erosion differ significantly from meandering rivers in which outer bend erosion is more important. Patchy seabed erosion appears to be mainly due to flow-bed processes (e.g. knickpoints), but spatial variations in seabed sediment properties may also play a role. The irregular seabed erosion occurs despite near-uniform flow speeds observed between moorings and submarine cable breaks with spacing of tens to hundreds of kilometers. Patchy and localised erosion has important implications for assessing hazards to seabed telecommunication cables, which are more likely to break in areas of deep erosion, and for creating appropriate numerical models of seabed erosion and turbidity current behaviour, or how to interpretate ancient submarine canyons and channels in rock outcrops

    Morphometric fingerprints and downslope evolution in bathymetric surveys: insights into morphodynamics of the Congo canyon-channel

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    Submarine canyons and channels are globally important pathways for sediment, organic carbon, nutrients and pollutants to the deep sea, and they form the largest sediment accumulations on Earth. However, studying these remote submarine systems comprehensively remains a challenge. In this study, we used the only complete-coverage and repeated bathymetric surveys yet for a very large submarine system, which is the Congo Fan off West Africa. Our aim is to understand channel-modifying features such as subaqueous landslides, meander-bend evolution, knickpoints and avulsions by analyzing their morphometric characteristics. We used a new approach to identify these channel-modifying features via morphometric fingerprints, which allows a systematic and efficient search in low-resolution bathymetry data. These observations have led us to identify three morphodynamic reaches within the Congo Canyon-Channel. The upper reach of the system is characterized by landslides that can locally block the channel, storing material for extended periods and re-excavating material through a new incised channel. The middle reach of the system is dominated by the sweep and swing of meander bends, although their importance depends on the channel’s age, and the time since the last up-channel avulsion. In the distal and youngest part of the system, an upstream migrating knickpoint is present, which causes multi-stage sediment transport and overspill through an underdeveloped channel with shallow depths. These findings complement previous less-detailed morphometric analyses of the Congo Canyon-Channel, offering a clearer understanding of how submarine canyon-channels can store sediment (due to channel-damming landslides, meander point bars, levee building due to overspill), re-excavate that sediment (via thalweg incision, meander propagation, knickpoint migration) and finally transport it to the deep sea. This improved understanding of the morphodynamics of the Congo Canyon-Channel may help to understand the evolution of other submarine canyon-channels, and assessment of hazards faced by seabed infrastructure such as telecommunication cables

    No detection of methane on Mars from early ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter observations

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    The detection of methane on Mars has been interpreted as indicating that geochemical or biotic activities could persist on Mars today. A number of different measurements of methane show evidence of transient, locally elevated methane concentrations and seasonal variations in background methane concentrations. These measurements, however, are difficult to reconcile with our current understanding of the chemistry and physics of the Martian atmosphere, which-given methane's lifetime of several centuries-predicts an even, well mixed distribution of methane. Here we report highly sensitive measurements of the atmosphere of Mars in an attempt to detect methane, using the ACS and NOMAD instruments onboard the ESA-Roscosmos ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter from April to August 2018. We did not detect any methane over a range of latitudes in both hemispheres, obtaining an upper limit for methane of about 0.05 parts per billion by volume, which is 10 to 100 times lower than previously reported positive detections. We suggest that reconciliation between the present findings and the background methane concentrations found in the Gale crater would require an unknown process that can rapidly remove or sequester methane from the lower atmosphere before it spreads globally

    Martian dust storm impact on atmospheric H<sub>2</sub>O and D/H observed by ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter

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    Global dust storms on Mars are rare but can affect the Martian atmosphere for several months. They can cause changes in atmospheric dynamics and inflation of the atmosphere, primarily owing to solar heating of the dust. In turn, changes in atmospheric dynamics can affect the distribution of atmospheric water vapour, with potential implications for the atmospheric photochemistry and climate on Mars. Recent observations of the water vapour abundance in the Martian atmosphere during dust storm conditions revealed a high-altitude increase in atmospheric water vapour that was more pronounced at high northern latitudes, as well as a decrease in the water column at low latitudes. Here we present concurrent, high-resolution measurements of dust, water and semiheavy water (HDO) at the onset of a global dust storm, obtained by the NOMAD and ACS instruments onboard the ExoMars Trace Gas Orbiter. We report the vertical distribution of the HDO/H O ratio (D/H) from the planetary boundary layer up to an altitude of 80 kilometres. Our findings suggest that before the onset of the dust storm, HDO abundances were reduced to levels below detectability at altitudes above 40 kilometres. This decrease in HDO coincided with the presence of water-ice clouds. During the storm, an increase in the abundance of H2O and HDO was observed at altitudes between 40 and 80 kilometres. We propose that these increased abundances may be the result of warmer temperatures during the dust storm causing stronger atmospheric circulation and preventing ice cloud formation, which may confine water vapour to lower altitudes through gravitational fall and subsequent sublimation of ice crystals. The observed changes in H2O and HDO abundance occurred within a few days during the development of the dust storm, suggesting a fast impact of dust storms on the Martian atmosphere
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