• European Marine Science
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International audience; A unique late Glacial–Preboreal record of changes in sea-level and sediment fluxes originating from the Alps is recorded in the Rhône subaqueous delta in the Western Mediterranean Sea. The compilation of detailed bathymetric charts, together with high-resolution seismic profiles and long cores, reveals the detailed architecture of several sediment lobes, related to periods of decreased sea-level rise and/or increased sediment flux. They are situated along the retreat path of the Rhône distributaries, from the shelf edge and canyon heads up to the modern coastline. They form transgressive backstepping parasequences across the shelf, the late Holocene (highstand) deltas being confined to the inner shelf. The most prominent feature is an elongated paleo-shoreface/deltaic system, with an uppermost sandy fraction remolded into subaqueous dunes. A long piston core into the bottomsets of this prograding unit allows precise dating of this ancient deltaic system. In seismic data, it displays aggradation, starting at not, vert, similar 15 cal kyr BP, followed by progradation initiated during the first phase of the Younger Dryas, a period of reduced sea-level rise or stillstand. The delta kept pace with resumed sea-level rise during the Preboreal (which is estimated at about 1 cm/yr), as a result of increased sediment supply from the Alps (melting of glaciers and more humid climate “flushing” the sediment down to the sea). Abandonment of the delta occurred around 10,500 cal yr BP, that is to say about 1000 yr after the end of the Younger Dryas, probably because of decreased sediment flux.

Subduction of a narrow slab of oceanic lithosphere beneath a tightly curved orogenic arc requires the presence of at least one lithospheric scale tear fault. While the Calabrian subduction beneath southern Italy is considered to be the type example of this geodynamic setting, the geometry, kinematics and surface expression of the associated lateral, slab tear fault offshore eastern Sicily remain controversial. Results from a new marine geophysical survey conducted in the Ionian Sea, using high-resolution bathymetry and seismic profiling reveal active faulting at the seafloor within a 140 km long, two-branched fault system near Alfeo Seamount. The previously unidentified 60 km long NW trending North Alfeo Fault system shows primarily strike-slip kinematics as indicated by the morphology and steep-dipping transpressional and transtensional faults. Available earthquake focal mechanisms indicate dextral strike-slip motion along this fault segment. The 80 km long SSE trending South Alfeo fault system is expressed by one or two steeply dipping normal faults, bounding the western side of a 500+ m thick, 5 km wide, elongate, syntectonic Plio-Quaternary sedimentary basin. Both branches of the fault system are mechanically capable of generating magnitude 6–7 earthquakes like those that struck eastern Sicily in 1169, 1542, and 1693. peer-reviewed

International audience; Subduction mega-thrust earthquakes in the SW Ryukyu trench pose a seismic and tsunami hazard. One of the objectives of this study is to estimate the downdip width of the seismogenic zone using numerical modeling to determine the temperature distribution along the plate interface. However, this approach depends strongly on the thermal parameters of the subducting slab. While the Philippine Sea plate (PSP) subducting beneath the central and eastern Ryukyu arc is of Eocene age (35-50 Ma), its age west of the Gagua Ridge is uncertain, with proposed ages ranging from Lower Cretaceous (140 Ma) to Upper Eocene (35 Ma). Since the sparse available heat flow data are insufficient to resolve this debate, both end-member hypotheses are tested as input parameters. We examined two transects at 122.5°E and 123.5°E on either side of the N-S trending, 4-km high, Gagua Ridge. The shallow forearc geometry is obtained from wide-angle seismic data. The deep slab geometry was obtained from hypocenter distribution and tomography. For an Eocene slab age, we obtain a 100 km and 110 km wide seismogenic zone (between the 150 °C and 350 °C isotherms) west and east of Gagua Ridge, respectively. This is in good agreement with the observed distribution of hypocenters. Using a Cretaceous slab west of Gagua Ridge predicts a deep seismogenic zone (25 km-60 km depth), inconsistent with observed thrust earthquakes. Tomographic images at 122.5°E and 123.5°E show a similar slab thickness of 70-80 km suggesting that the oceanic lithosphere has a young (Eocene) thermal age. The westernmost PSP (Huatung Basin) may have been thermally rejuvenated by mantle convection near the slab corner. The tectonic history since 6 Ma (transition from subduction to collision beneath Taiwan) may have also perturbed the thermal structure.

This study aimed to analyze the role river floods play in triggering gravity flows and to investigate the role of submarine canyon systems as a conduit for terrigenous material to the deep sea. Two years of measurements in the Var canyon at depths ranging from 1200 m to 2350 m indicate that six floods of the Var River triggered hyperpycnal flows, an important mechanism for transporting particulate matter to the deep-sea floor. These sediment gravity flows were characterized by a sudden increase of current velocity that lasted 8 to 22 h and by downward particle fluxes that reached up to 600 g m(-2)d(-1) of particles and 3.1 g m(-2)d(-1) in terms of organic carbon. These large inputs of sediment and organic carbon may have a significant impact on deep-sea ecosystems and carbon storage in the Mediterranean Sea.

International audience; Since 2005, wind-driven 'sporadic' coastal upwelling events have been identified off the southwestern reef of New Caledonia. Several studies have described the main physical processes and induced surface patterns using 1D and 3D modelling, as well as in situ measurements. Previous models were applied at the mesoscale without taking into account the lagoon. Using a recently developed 3D coupled physical-biogeochemical model that considers the complex ocean-lagoon interface, we aim to understand better the impact of the upwelling on the lagoon. The model was found to be in good agreement with measured data reported in previous publications about two upwelling events. However, in general, levels of surface chlorophyll-a were overestimated by the model in the upwelling area when compared to ocean colour data and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the discrepancy. We then tracked rich upwelled water using a forward Lagrangian transport analysis. Upwelled waters from the upper nutricline were found to be able to reach the South West lagoon. An anti-cyclonic eddy was detected near the upwelling area, potentially responsible, in part, for the rich water intrusions into the lagoon.

AbstractThe ocean coastal‐shelf‐slope ecosystem west of the Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) is a biologically productive region that could potentially act as a large sink of atmospheric carbon dioxide. The duration of the sea‐ice season in the WAP shows large interannual variability. However, quantifying the mechanisms by which sea ice impacts biological productivity and surface dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) remains a challenge due to the lack of data early in the phytoplankton growth season. In this study, we implemented a circulation, sea‐ice, and biogeochemistry model (MITgcm‐REcoM2) to study the effect of sea ice on phytoplankton blooms and surface DIC. Results were compared with satellite sea‐ice and ocean color, and research ship surveys from the Palmer Long‐Term Ecological Research (LTER) program. The simulations suggest that the annual sea‐ice cycle has an important role in the seasonal DIC drawdown. In years of early sea‐ice retreat, there is a longer growth season leading to larger seasonally integrated net primary production (NPP). Part of the biological uptake of DIC by phytoplankton, however, is counteracted by increased oceanic uptake of atmospheric CO2. Despite lower seasonal NPP, years of late sea‐ice retreat show larger DIC drawdown, attributed to lower air‐sea CO2 fluxes and increased dilution by sea‐ice melt. The role of dissolved iron and iron limitation on WAP phytoplankton also remains a challenge due to the lack of data. The model results suggest sediments and glacial meltwater are the main sources in the coastal and shelf regions, with sediments being more influential in the northern coast.

We develop, calibrate and test a dataset intended to drive global ocean hindcasts simulations of the last five decades. This dataset provides surface meteorological variables needed to estimate air-sea fluxes and is built from 6-hourly surface atmospheric state variables of ERA40. We first compare the raw fields of ERA40 to the CORE.v1 clataset of Large and Yeager (2004). used here as a reference, and discuss our choice to use daily radiative fluxes and monthly precipitation products extracted from satellite data rather than their ERA40 counterparts. Both datasets lead to excessively high global imbalances of heat and freshwater fluxes when tested with a prescribed climatological sea surface temperature. After identifying unrealistic time discontinuities (induced by changes in the nature of assimilated observations) and obvious global and regional biases in ERA40 fields (by comparison to high quality observations), we propose a set of corrections. Tropical surface air humidity is decreased from 1979 onward, representation of Arctic surface air temperature is improved using recent observations and the wind is globally increased. These corrections lead to a significant decrease of the excessive positive global imbalance of heat. Radiation and precipitation fields are then submitted to a small adjustment (in zonal mean) that yields a near-zero global imbalance of heat and freshwater. A set of 47-year-long simulations is carried out with the coarse-resolution (2 degrees x 2 degrees) version of the NEMO OGCM to assess the sensitivity of the model to the proposed corrections. Model results show that each of the proposed correction contributes to improve the representation of central features of the global ocean circulation. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Due to high spatiotemporal variability of aquatic ecosystems, relationships between microplastic sources and sinks are highly complex and transportation pathways yet to be understood. Field data acquisitions are a necessary component for monitoring of microplastic contamination but alone cannot capture such complex relationships. Remote sensing is a key technology for environmental monitoring through which extrapolation of spatially limited field data to larger areas can be obtained. We tested whether microplastic distribution follows the same movement pattern as water constituents depictable from Landsat-8, Sentinel-2, and RapidEye satellite images, namely chlorophyll-a, suspended particulate matter, and colored dissolved organic matter, and if they can be utilized as proxies. As rivers are a major source for marine microplastic contamination, we sampled three example river systems: the lower courses and river mouths of the Trave and Elbe estuary in Germany and the Po delta in Italy. For a full quantitative analysis of microplastics (>300 µm), ATR- and FPA-based µFTIR spectroscopy and NIR imaging spectroscopy were utilized. A comparison of water constituents with in-situ data using regression analysis showed no consistent pattern. Only for the Trave river, a positive relationship between microplastics and water constituents was present. Differences in hydrodynamic conditions and spatiotemporal dynamics of water constituents and microplastic emissions among the rivers are possible explanations for the contrary results. The lower detection limit of 300 µm for microplastics could also have influenced relationships as microplastic abundance exponentially increases with decreasing size class. Further studies with improved sampling methods are necessary to assess our proposed method.