Inversion of Seabed Geotechnical Properties in the Arctic Chukchi Deep Sea Basin Based on Time Domain Adaptive Search Matching Algorithm

The chirp sub-bottom profiler,for its high resolution,easy accessibility and cost-effectiveness,has been widely used in acoustic detection.In this paper,the acoustic impedance and grain size compositions were obtained based on the chirp sub-bottom profiler data collected in the Chukchi Plateau area during the 11th Arctic Expedition of China.The time-domain adaptive search matching algorithm was used and validated on our established theoretical model.The misfit between the inversion result and the theoretical model is less than 0.067%.The grain size was calculated according to the empirical relationship between the acoustic impedance and the grain size of the sediment.The average acoustic impedance of sub-seafloor strata is 2.5026×10^(6) kg(s m^(2))^(-1)and the average grain size(θvalue)of the seafloor surface sediment is 7.1498,indicating the predominant occurrence of very fine silt sediment in the study area.Comparison of the inversion results and the laboratory measurements of nearby borehole samples shows that they are in general agreement.

A simplified model for extreme-wave kinematics in deep sea

Based on the fifth-order Stokes regular wave theory, a simplified model for extreme-wave kinematics in deep sea was developed. In this model, from the wave records the average of two neighboring wave periods for the extreme crest or trough was defined as the period of the Stokes wave by the up and down zero-crossing methods. Then the input wave amplitude was deduced by substituting the wave period and extreme crest or trough into the expression for the fifth-order Stokes wave elevation. Thus the corresponding formula for the wave velocity can be used to describe kinematics beneath the extreme wave. By comparison with the published numerical models and experimental data, the proposed model is validated to be able to calculate the extreme wave velocity rather easily and accurately.

Seismic stratigraphy of the Qiongdongnan deep sea channel system,northwest South China Sea

Based on more than 4000 km 2D seismic data and seismic stratigraphic analysis, we discussed the extent and formation mechanism of the Qiongdongnan deep sea channel. The Qiongdongnan deep sea channel is a large incised channel which extends from the east boundary of the Yinggehai Basin, through the whole Qiongdongnan and the Xisha trough, and terminates in the western part of the northwest subbasin of South China Sea. It is more than 570 km long and 4–8 km wide. The chaotic (or continuous) middle (or high) amplitude, middle (or high) continuity seismic facies of the channel reflect the different lithological distribution of the channel. The channel formed as a complex result of global sea level drop during early Pliocene, large scale of sediment supply to the Yinggehai Basin, inversion event of the Red River strike-slip fault, and tilted direction of the Qiongdongnan Basin. The large scale of sediment supply from Red River caused the shelf break of the Yinggehai Basin to move torwards the S and SE direction and developed large scale of prograding wedge from the Miocene, and the inversion of the Red River strike-slip fault induced the sediment slump which formed the Qiongdongnan deep sea channel.

Integration of Real-Time Chemical Sensors for Deep Sea Research

There is a great demand for in-situ real-time chemical sensors in the oceanographic research, to measure the chemical components under the deep sea. The ISE (Ion Selective Electrode) is commonly used as a detecting part of deep-sea electro-chemical sensors. The paper highlights the solidification and micromation of the working and reference electrodes. The sensors of pH and H 2S with a thermal probe are accomplished after the solution of configuration of electrodes and signal processing. The sensor system has been tested successfully in the cruise of DY105-12, 14 sponsored by China Ocean Mineral Research and Exploitation Association(COMRA).

A numerical study of the South China Sea deep circulation and its relation to the Luzon Strait transport

A fine-resolution MOM code is used to study the South China Sea basin-scale circulationand its relation to the mass transport through the Luzon Strait. The model domain includes the South China Sea, part of the East China Sea, and part of the Philippine Sea so that the currents in the vicinity of the Luzon Strait are free to evolve. In addition, all channels between the South China Sea and the Indonesian seas are closed so that the focus is on the Luzon Strait transport. The model is driven by specified Philippine Sea currents and by surface heat and salt flux conditions. For simplicity, no wind-stress is applied at the surface.The simulated Luzon Strait transport and the South China Sea circulation feature a sandwich vertical structure from the surface to the bottom. The Philippine Sea water is simulated to enter the South China Sea at the surface and in the deep ocean and is carried to the southern basin by western boundary currents. At the intermediate depth, the net Luzon Strait transport is out of the South China Sea and is fed by a western boundary current flowing to the north at the base of the thermocline. Corresponding to the western boundary currents, the basin circulation of the South China Sea is cyclonic gyres at the surface and in the abyss but an anti-cyclonic gyre at the intermediate depth. The vorticity balance of the gyre circulation is between the vortex stretching and the meridional change of the planetary vorticity. Based on these facts, it is hypothesized that the Luzon Strait transports are determined by the diapycnal mixing inside the entire South China Sea. The South China Sea plays the role of a 'mixing mill' that mixes the surface and deep waters to return them to the Luzon Strait at the intermediate depth. The gyre structures are consistent with the Stommel and Arons theory (1960), which suggests that the mixing-induced circulation inside the South China Sea should be cyclonic gyres at the surface and at the bottom but an anti-cyclonic gyre at the intermediate depth. The simulated gyre circulation at the intermediate depth has been confirmed by the dynamic height calculation based on the Levitus hydrography data. The sandwich transports in the Luzon Strait are consistent with recent hydrographical observations.Model results suggest that the Kuroshio tends to form a loop current in the northeastern South China Sea. The simulated Kuroshio Loop Current is generated by the pressure head at the Pacific side of the Luzon Strait and is enhanced by the β-plane effects. The β - plane appears to be of paramount importance to the South China Sea circulation and to the Luzon Strait transports. Without the β-plane, theLuzon Strait transports would be greatly reduced and the South China Sea circulation would be complete-ly different.

Nonlinear Contact Between Inner Walls of Deep Sea Pipelines in Buckling Process

In order to study buckling propagation mechanism in deep sea pipelines, the contact between pipeline's inner walls in buckling process was studied. A two-dimensional ring model was used to represent the pipeline and a nonlinear spring model was adopted to simulate the contact between inner walls. Based on the elastoplastic constitutive relationship and the principle of virtual work theory, the coupling effect of pipeline's nonlinear large deformation and wall contact was included in the theoretical analysis with the aid of MATLAB, and the application scope of the theoretical model was also discussed. The calculated results show that during the loading process, the change in external pressure is closely related to the distribution of section stress, and once the walls are contacting each other, the external pressure increases and then remains stable after it reaches a specific value. Without fracture, the pipeline section will stop showing deformation. The results of theoretical calculations agree well with those of numerical simulations. Finally, in order to ensure reliability and accuracy of the theoretical results, the collapse pressure and propagation pressure were both verified by numerical simulations and experiments. Therefore, the theoretical model can be used to analyze pipeline's buckling deformation and contact between pipeline's inner walls, which forms the basis for further research on three-dimensional buckling propagation.

Study on low-temperature lipase of psychrophilic bacterium 2-5-10-1 isolated from deep sea of Southern Ocean

A strain of psychrophilic bacterium, 2-5-10-1, which produces low-temperature lipase, is isolated from the deep sea of Prydz Bay in Southern Ocean. The highest lipase secretion of this strain is observed at 5 degreesC and this temperature is also for optimal growth. Tween 80 and olive oil enhance secretion of lipase. The optimal temperature and pH for lipase activity are 35 degreesC and 7.5 degreesC respectively. At 0degreesC, the lipase still has 37% relative enzyme activity. The lipase shows high thermolability, more than 50% activity lost after incubation at 60 degreesC for 15 min. EDTA has no effect on lipase activity, indicating the lipase activity is independent of divalent cation. In contrast, the lipase activity is inhibited drastically by Cu2+ and Zn2+.

New perspective of Miocene marine hydrocarbon source rocks in deep-water area in Qiongdongnan Basin of northern South China Sea

Drilling wells reveal that the organic matter abundance of Miocene marine source rocks in shallow water area of the Qiongdongnan Basin is relatively low with poor hydrocarbon generation poten- tial. However, in some drilling wells of deep water area close to the central depression belt, Miocene marine source rocks with better organic matter abundance and hydrocarbon generation have been found, which have achieved better source rock standard based on the analysis of geochemical charac- teristics. Although there are no exploratory wells in deep water area of the research region, through the comparative analysis of geochemical data of several typical exploratory wells respectively from shallow water area in the basin, central depression belt margin in deep-water area of the basin and Site 1148 of deep sea drilling in the South China Sea Basin, it reveals that the tendency of the quality of source rocks becomes positive gradually from delta to bathyal environment, which then becomes negative as in deep oceanic environment. Owing to the lack of terrestrial organic matter input, the important controlling factors of Miocene marine source rocks in the Qiongdongnan Basin are ocean productivity and preservation conditions of organic matter. The element geochemistry data indicate that the tendency of the paleoproductivity and the preservation conditions of organic matter become positive as water depth increase from shallow area to bathyal area close to central depression belt. So it is speculated that there must exist high quality source rocks in the central depression area where the preservation conditions of organic matter are much better. Besides, in theory, in oxygen-poor zone of oceanic environment at the water depth 400–1 000 m, the preservation conditions of organic matter are well thus forming high-quality marine source rocks. The result- ing speculation, it is reasonable to consider that there are high hydrocarbon generation potential source rocks in bathyal environment of the Qiongdongnan Basin, especially at the water depth 400– 1 000 m.

Influence of simulating deep-sea environmental factors on cathodic performance of seawater battery

A metal-dissolved oxygen seawater battery(SWB)uses metal and dissolved oxygen as the reactants,and it is ideal for use as a long-time low-power distributed power supply in deep sea,due to its advantages of open structure in service without electrolyte.However,several simulating deep-sea environmental factors,such as flow rate,dissolved oxygen concentration,and temperature of seawater may af fect the oxygen reduction reaction(ORR)rate and the stability of electrochemically modified polyacrylonitrile-based carbon fiber brush(MPAN-CFB)cathode,which was studied by steady-state polarization and galvanostatic discharge methods.In addition,the scales formed on MPAN-CFB surface were characterized by SEM and XRD.Results show that the ORR rate increased quickly with the increase of the seawater flow rate up to 3 cm/s,and then gradually stabilized.Moreover,the ORR rate was largely af fected by dissolved oxygen concentration,and the concentration of>3 mg/L was favorable.Compared with surface layer temperature of 15℃,the low temperature of deep sea(4℃)has a negligible ef fect on ORR rate.When the working current is too high,it will lead to the formation of CaCO_3 scales(aragonite)of at the cathodic surface,resulting in the decrease of ORR rate,and consequently the damage to the long-time stability of MPAN-CFB.

Secondary Metabolites of a Deep Sea Derived Fungus Aspergillus versicolor CXCTD-06-6a and Their Bioactivity

In order to obtain novel secondary metabolites, a deep sea inhabiting fungus Aspergillus versicolor CXCTD-06-6a was investigated. One new diketopiperazine brevianamide W(1a), as well as five known diketopiperazine alkaloids, diketopiperazine V(1b), brevianamide Q(2), brevianamide R(3), brevianamide K(4), and brevianamide E(5), were isolated from the Et OAc extract of the fermentation broth. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopy techniques(NMR, MS). The six compounds exhibited moderate radical scavenging activity against DPPH with clearance ratio of 55.0%(1a and 1b), 53.7%(2), 46.2%(3), 61.4%(4) and 19.3%(5) at a concentration of 13.9 μmol L-1, respectively; while the positive control ascorbic acid showed a ratio of 70.3% at the concentration of 28.4 μmol L-1.

Design and Strength Analysis of A Spherical Connector for Lifting Subsystem in Deep Sea Mining System

A flexible connector of lifting pipes in a deep sea mining system is designed. The buttress thread （ based on API standard） is used and foreign experience in connector design is referred to. With this kind of connector, the lifting pipe wiU only bear the axial force, free of moment. The strength of the connector is analyzed in detail, including the connecting strength of the buttress thread, the dynamic load of the pipe system, pressures inside and outside of the pipe, the lateral stress of the pipe wall and so on. Especially, a geometric model is built for 3-D contact stress analysis. The distribution graph of contact stress is presented. It is indicated that the strength of the spherical connector meets the demand.

Comparison and Calibration of Elemental Measurements in Sediments Using X-Ray Fluorescence Core Scanning with ICP Methods: A Case Study of the South China Sea Deep Basin

The X-ray fluorescence(XRF)core scanning method is widely applied in studies of sedimentary paleoenvironments due to its convenient pretreatment,nondestructive characteristics,fast execution,continuous scanning,and high resolution.XRF core scanning for sediments is commonly used in the studies on the South China Sea.This study compares XRF-scanned intensities and measured inductively coupled plasma(ICP)elemental contents of core CS11 in the northeast South China Sea deep basin.The results show that the analyzed elements can be separated into three classes.Class I includes elements with high correlation coefficients,such as Ca,Sr,and Zr;Class II contains elements with average correlation coefficients,such as Fe,Mn,Ti,and Cu;and Class III comprises elements with low correlation coefficients,such as K,Ni,Zn,Rb,and Al.In the South China Sea deep basin,pore water,compaction,and grain size have weak effects on the elemental intensities and contents of short core sediments.Hence,for elements with high correlation coefficients,a linear relationship model can be established by the least-squares method,in which the converted XRF intensities are approximately equal to the measured ICP contents.Based on the established log-ratio calibration model,the resulting ln(K/Ca),ln(Ti/Ca),ln(Fe/Ca),and ln(Zr/Ca)values generally display the same variation trends as the measured curves.The elemental contents and ratios produced by the linear model via the least-squares method and the log-ratio calibration model are expected to provide high-resolution data support for future paleoenvironmental research on the South China Sea deep basin.

Deep Sea AUV Navigation Using Multiple Acoustic Beacons

Navigation is a critical requirement for the operation of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles（AUVs）.To estimate the vehicle position,we present an algorithm using an extended Kalman filter（EKF） to integrate dead-reckoning position with acoustic ranges from multiple beacons pre-deployed in the operating environment.Owing to high latency,variable sound speed multipath transmissions and unreliability in acoustic measurements,outlier recognition techniques are proposed as well.The navigation algorithm has been tested by the recorded data of deep sea AUV during field operations in a variety of environments.Our results show the improved performance over prior techniques based on position computation.

Analysis of the sealing performance of combined sealing structure under deep-sea high pressure environment

For the requirement of safe and stable operation,the combined sealing structure was used for reciprocating motion in the deep sea high-pressure environment,and the effects of different seawater depths and shaft movement speed on the sealing performance of the combined sealing structure were studied.The change rule of the sealing performance of the combined sealing structure of reciprocating motion under different working conditions is proved.The study shows that in the combined sealing structure of reciprocating movement,the Von Mises stress and the contact stress of the O-ring varies with the direction of the shaft movement.The Von Mises stress and contact stress of the O-ring,the Von Mises stress and the contact stress on each sealing lip of the slip ring gradually increase with the increasing of seawater depths.At the same time,the Von Mises stress of the O-ring which in the process of the shaft upward movement is greater than the shaft downward movement,making the shaft upward movement more likely to cause the O-ring relaxation and fatigue.The shaft movement speed has no significant influence on the Von Mises stress and contact stress of the O-ring.The research results provide theoretical guidance and technical support for the selection and optimization of the geometrical parameters of the combined sealing structure in the deep-sea high-pressure environment.

A new eyeless species of Nicon(Annelida:Nereididae)from the deep Northwest Pacific Ocean

A new species of the nereidid annelid,genus Nicon Kinberg,1866,from KIOST Seamount,Northwest Pacific deep water is described.Nicon is a genus characterized by lacking paragnaths or papillae on the pharynx and composed of nine species worldwide,distributed from shallow water to deep sea.Nicon ablepsia sp.nov.here described is characterized by the lack of eyes on the prostomium,prolonged tentacular cirri reaching to chaetiger6,notochaetae homogomph spinigers,neurochaetae homogomph spinigers and heterogomph falcigers.Phylogenetic relationships of Nicon remain undetermined based on molecular data.In this study,we constructed molecular Maximum-Likelihood phylogenetic tree from 29 nereidid species based on four marker genes:mitochondrial 16 S rRNA gene and cytochrome c oxidase subunit I(COI)gene;nuclear 18 S rRNA gene and 28 S rRNA gene.Our analysis suggest the Nicon is clustered within Nereidinae,and nereidinae is not recovered as monophyletic.A key to species of Nicon is provided.

Bacterial and archaeal communities in deep sea waters near the Ninetyeast Ridge in Indian Ocean

Depth-dependent distribution patterns of bacterial and archaeal communities in deep sea water column around the Ninetyeast Ridge in the Indian Ocean were investigated using 16S rRNA gene profiling.Sampling was conducted at the northern Ninetyeast Ridge(1°59.89′N–9°59.70′S,87°58.90′E–88°00.03′E)from September to November 2016 where samples were collected from the bathyal(1000 m)to bathypelagic depths(>4000 m)in four different stations.A total of 1565405 clean data falling into 6712 bacterial OTUs and 1452727 clean data falling into 806 archaeal OTUs based on 97%similarity level were analyzed.Most of the bacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences were affiliated with Gammaproteobacteria,followed by Alphaproteobacteria and Bacteroidia.The archaeal 16S rRNA gene sequences mostly affiliated to Nitrososphaeria(Thaumarchaeota)dominated with relative abundances ranging from 52.68%to 97.2%,followed by Thermoplasmata(Euryarchaeota).Vertical partitioning of bacterial and archaeal communities among different water layers was observed.Canonical correspondence analysis(CCA)and Spearman’s correlations revealed that depth(P=0.003),dissolved oxygen(P=0.019),and nitrite(P=0.033)were the main environmental factors affecting bacterial community structure at genus level in the Ninetyeast Ridge.On the other hand,the first two CCA axes accounted for 74.4%of the explained total variance,it seems that the archaeal communities at genus level were heavily influenced by the environmental variables including depth,dissolved oxygen(DO),nitrite,salinity,phosphate,ammonia,nitrate,and silicate,but none of them exhibited any significant correlation on the structuring(P>0.1).

Design of Low-Power Data Logger of Deep Sea for Long-Term Field Observation

This paper describes the implementation of a data logger for the real-time in-situ monitoring of hydrothermal systems. A compact mechanical structure ensures the security and reliability of data logger when used under deep sea. The data logger is a battery powered instrument, which can connect chemical sensors （pH electrode, H2S electrode, H2 electrode） and temperature sensors. In order to achieve major energy savings, dynamic power management is implemented in hardware design and software design. The working current of the data logger in idle mode and active mode is 15 μA and 1.44 mA respectively, which greatly extends the working time of battery. The data logger has been successftdly tested in the first Sino-American Cooperative Deep Submergence Project from August 13 to September 3, 2005.

Experiment and Simulation for Articulated Lifting Subsystem of 1000 m Deep Sea Mining System

The experiment system of 1000 m deep sea mining system is built up with the similarity theory. Sine mechanism is used to simulate mining ship to generate lateral shock excitation by ocean wave. Simulation and experiment of spherical joint connecting deep sea mining system has been done in band six marine conditions. The results indicate that the moment of spherical joint connecting deep sea mining is smaller than that of the thread connected ones, the lifting pipe of sphelical joint is ＂flexible pipe＂. The flexural torque of the articulated lifting pipe system in pump and buffer is generally periodic variation with some irregularity, the value is stable on 60 N·S, and it is obviously smaller than that of the fixed lifting pipe system; The total displacement exhibits cyclic variation pattern, and the periodicity of them is longer than that of sea current. The results of experiment and simulation are basically consistent. And the analysis in the paper offers theoretical foundation of 1000 m deep sea mining system in China.

The first complete mitogenome of Acharax sp.(Protobranchia,Solemyida,Solemyidae):comparisons with other Solemyidae bivalves and deep-sea adaptive characteristics

Solemyidae is an ancient group of protobranch bivalves,and most solemyids are symbiotic with chemoautotrophic and gill-hosted bacteria,enabling them to survive in unusual habitats such as deepsea chemosynthetic environments.However,evolution of the mitogenomes in this family and their phylogenetic relationships remain poorly understood.The complete mitogenome of Acharax sp.was determined and compared with other available mitogenomes of solemyids.The mitogenome of Acharax sp.is 18970 bp in length and consists of 13 protein-coding genes,2 ribosomal RNA genes,and 22 transfer RNA genes.The gene arrangement was identical to those of other sequenced solemyids.For the present five mitogenomes of Solemyidae species,all protein-coding genes were initiated with the typical ATD(ATA,ATG,and ATT)codon and terminated with the TAA/TAG codon.Furthermore,the incomplete termination codon was detected.The Ka/Ks ratio analyses indicated that 13 protein-coding genes of five Solemyidae mitogenomes suffered strong purifying selection.Compared to 45 existing shallow water equivalents,the 18 available mitogenomes from the deep-sea,including the Acharax sp.in this study,show significantly more nonpolar amino acids in the 13 protein-coding genes,which indicates the adaptation to the deep-sea environment.The phylogenetic tree based on 48 Bivalvia complete mitogenomes provided further information to support the scientific classification of protobranchs.The relationships among Solemyidae were assessed based on 2 mitochondrial(16S rRNA and COX1)and 3 nuclear(18S rRNA,28S rRNA,and histone H3)gene sequences from 17 in-group species.The two genera Acharax and Solemya formed a monophyletic clade each,and Acharax sp.clustered with previously reported Acharax bivalves with high support values.

Numerical investigation of the South China Sea deep circulation

Based on a two-level nested model from the global ocean to the western Pacific and then to the South China Sea(SCS),the high-resolution SCS deep circulation is numerically investigated.The SCS deep circulation shows a basin-scale cyclonic structure with a strong southward western boundary current in summer(July),a northeast-southwest through-flow pattern across the deep basin without a western boundary current in winter(January),and a transitional pattern in spring and autumn.The sensitivity model experiments illustrate that the Luzon Strait deep overflow is the main factor controlling the seasonal variation in the SCS deep circulation.The SCS surface wind can significantly influence the SCS deep circulation in winter.The Luzon Strait deep overflow transport from the Pacific into the SCS ranges from 0.68×10^(6) m^(3)/s to 1.83×10^(6) m^(3)/s,reaching its maximum in summer(July,up to 1.83×10^(6) m^(3)/s),less in autumn and winter,and the minimum in spring(May,0.68×10^(6) m^(3)/s).In summer,the strong Luzon Strait deep overflow dominates the SCS deep circulation when the role of the SCS surface wind is small.In winter,the weaker Luzon Strait deep overflow and SCS surface wind jointly drive the SCS deep circulation into a northeast-southwest through-flow pattern.The potential vorticity(PV)dissipation in the SCS deep basin reaches its maximum(−0.122 m^(2)/s^(2))in May and its minimum(−0.380 m^(2)/s^(2))in July.