Molybdenum isotope composition of the upper mantle and its origin:insight from mid-ocean ridge basalt

The molybdenum(Mo)isotope system is pivotal in reconstructing marine redox changes throughout Earth’s history and has emerged as a promising tracer for igneous and metamorphic processes.Understanding its composition and variation across major geochemical reservoirs is essential for its application in investigating high-temperature processes.However,there is debate regarding theδ^(98/95)Mo value of the Earth’s mantle,with estimates ranging from sub-chondritic to super-chondritic values.Recent analyses of global mid-ocean ridge basalt(MORB)glasses revealed significantδ^(98/95)Mo variations attributed to mantle heterogeneity,proposing a two-component mixing model to explain the observed variation.Complementary studies confirmed the sub-chondriticδ^(98/95)Mo of the depleted upper mantle,suggesting remixing of subduction-modified oceanic crust as a plausible mechanism.These findings underscore the role of Mo isotopes as effective tracers for understanding dynamic processes associated with mantle-crustal recycling.

A Brief Analysis of the Applicability of the Archipelago Waters System in China

The archipelagic waters system is stipulated in the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. It is closely related to China＇s marine legislation and maritime law enforcement. It is not only related to the integrity of our country＇s national sovereignty, but also to the maintenance of our maritime rights and interests. However, there is no comprehensive fundamental law governing the overall situation of marine development in our country, also no relevant legal code on the archipelagic waters system. Therefore, we should learn from the world＇s marine legislation and practice which the archipelagic waters system was written into China＇s marine legislation.

Post-Rifting Magmatism and the Drowned Reefs in the Xisha Archipelago Domain

Fourteen isolated drowned reefs have been identified around the Xisha Uplift by multibeam and seismic data. The drowning processes of these reefs can be divided into three different stages, which correspond to three different accelerated tectonic subsidence periods. The drowning of the Xisha reefs is the result of the combined action of tectonic subsidence and sea level fluctuations, and the tectonic subsidence rate had to remain above 0.2 mm yr^(-1 )for a long time. Three abrupt accelerated tectonic subsidence events that occurred in the late Miocene, Pliocene and early Quaternary in the Xisha Uplift were closely related to the thermal subsidence processes after three stages of post-rifting magmatism. The magmatism of the middle Miocene and the following thermal subsidence resulted in the drowning of reefs in the northwestern Xisha uplift(Zone A). During the early Pliocene, massive magmatic intrusions and volcanic eruptions occurred in the Xisha Uplift. Then, the subsequent thermal subsidence started the drowning process of reefs in the northeastern and western regions of the Xisha Uplift(Zone B and C). During the early Quaternary, large-scale magmatism also occurred in the Xisha Uplift. The subsequent thermal subsidence resulted in a new rapid tectonic subsidence, which caused the reefs in the southern and southeastern regions of the Xisha Uplift to drown(Zone D and E).

Summertime community structure of intertidal macrobenthos in Changdao Archipelago,Shandong Province,China

The community structure of intertidal macrobenthos in Changdao Archipelago(north of Shandong Peninsula,between Bohai Bay and the northern Yellow Sea) was examined based on samples collected from 14 stations in five transects in June 2007.Three stations corresponding to high,medium and low tidal areas were set up for each transect.A total of 68 macrobenthic species were found in the research region,most of which belonged to Mollusca and Crustacea.The average abundance and biomass of the macrobenthos was 1 383 ind./m2 and 372.41 g/m2,respectively.The use of an arbitrary similarity level of 20% resulted in identification of five groups among the 14 stations in the research region.There were remarkable differences in the biomass,abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of the different sediments.Specifically,the order of biomass was rocky shores > gravel > mud-sand > coarse sand > stiff mud,while the order of abundance was rocky shores > coarse sand > mud-sand > gravel > stiff mud,and that of the diversity index was mud-sand > gravel > stiff mud > rocky shores > coarse sand.The above results revealed that the sediment type was the most important factor affecting the structure of the macrobenthic community of the intertidal zone.

Suspended Sediment Transport and Deposition in the Zhoushan Archipelago Sea Area

The transport mechanism and settlement characteristics of suspended sediments are analyzed in this article on the basis of measured data. Results indicate that the concentration and flux of suspended sediments decrease sharply from Hangzhou Bay to the offshore area. Suspended sediment transport is mainly controlled by advection transport and gravitational circulation transport. The settling velocity of suspended sediments gradually decreases from Hangzhou Bay to the offshore area. The settlement of suspended sediments mainly takes place during the turning phase of the tidal currents.

Regional characteristics of sea ice thickness in Canadian shelf and Arctic Archipelago measured by Ground Penetrating Radar

Ground Penetrating Radar （GPR） measurements of sea ice thickness including undeformed ice and ridged ice were carried out in the central north Canadian Archipelago in spring 2010. Results have shown a significant spatial heterogeneity of sea ice thickness across the shelf. The undeformed multi-year fast ice of （2.05±0.09） m thick was investigated southern inshore zone of Borden island located at middle of the observational section, which was the observed maximum thickness in the field work. The less thick sea ice was sampled across a flaw lead with the thicknesses of （1.05±0.11） m for the pack ice and （1.24±0.13） m for the fast ice. At the northernmost spot of the section, the undeformed multi-year pack ice was （1.54±0.22） m thick with a ridged ice of 2.5 to 3 m, comparing to the multi-year fast ice with the thickness of （1.67±0.16） m at the southernmost station in the Prince Gustaf Adolf Sea.

A model to assess fundamental and realized carrying capacities of island ecosystem:A case study in the southern Miaodao Archipelago of China

Research on carrying capacity, aiming at maintaining the limited ability of the Earth＇s life supporting system to sustain human development, requires a comprehensive and ecosystem-based approach to monitor and assess the localized sustainability of coupled social and ecological systems. A definition termed the ecosystem-based carrying capacity of island（EBCCI） was developed in this paper of which the indices of fundamental and realized carrying capacities of island（FCCI and RCCI） were highlighted to emphasize the inter-dependencies between social systems and ecological systems. In order to avoid the difficulties and uncertainties of direct assessment, the related assessment model was established on the basis of synthetic evaluation of inherent and external factors affecting the EBCCI. The southern Miaodao Archipelago（SMA） located in the intersection of the Bohai Sea and the Yellow Sea, China, was taken as a typical example to acquire integrated recognition of the island ecosystem and its carrying capacity so as to discuss its sustainable development. The index scores of FCCI and RCCI in the SMA were 0.818 5 and 0.712 9 out of 1.0, respectively, with acceptable uncertainties. The results showed a relatively well capacity to sustain progress and relatively well realization of the carrying capacity of island ecosystem, owing to a well capacity of ecologically regulating, general performance of both ecologically supporting and resource provisioning, and a relatively high level of social supporting system. The study implied that it was critical to optimize the inter-dependencies and to sustain the relative balance between social systems and ecological systems so as to improve the RCCI and further facilitate the sustainability of SMA. The approach proposed in this paper provides a powerful tool which is well applicative to the regional level of an oceanic island or archipelago to study the sustainable development and can be further popularized to the coastal zone.

Spatiotemporal heterogeneity of phytoplankton diversity and its relation to water environmental factors in the southern waters of Miaodao Archipelago,China

To study the water quality influenced by the anthropogenic activities and its impact on the phytoplankton diversity in the surface waters of Miaodao Archipelago, the spatiotemporal variations in phytoplankton communities and the environmental properties of the surface waters surrounding the Five Southern Islands of Miaodao Archipelago were investigated, based on seasonal field survey conducted from November 2012 to August 2013. During the survey, a total of 109 phytoplankton species from 3 groups were identified in the southern waters of Miaodao Archipelago, of which 77 were diatoms, 29 were dinoflagellates, and 3 were chrysophytes. Species number was higher in winter（73）, moderate in autumn（70）, but lower in summer（31） and spring（27）. The species richness index in autumn（5.92） and winter（4.28） was higher than that in summer（2.83） and spring（1.41）.The Shannon-Wiener diversity index was high in autumn（2.82）, followed by winter（1.99） and summer（1.92）, and low in spring（0.07）. The species evenness index in autumn（0.46） and summer（0.39） was higher than that in winter（0.32） and spring（0.02）. On the basis of principal component analysis（PCA） and redundancy analysis（RDA）, we found that dissolved inorganic nitrogen（DIN） and chemical oxygen demand（COD） in spring, COD in summer, p H in autumn, and salinity and oil pollutant in winter, respectively, showed the strongest association with the distribution of phytoplankton diversity. The spatial heterogeneity of the southern waters of Miaodao Archipelago was quite obvious, and three zones, i.e., northeastern, southwestern and inter-island water area, were identified by cluster analysis（CA） based on key environmental variables.

Spratlies Archipelago as the Australasian Tektite Impact Crater, Details of Formation &Richard Muller’s Dust Cloud Explanation for the Mid-Pleistocene Ice Age Cycle Transition

Several significant events of a geological nature occurred approximately 800 ka before the present: (1) Australasian tektite fall (AA), (2) Brunhes-Matuyama geomagnetic reversal (BMR), (3) mid-Pleistocene changes in ice age cycles. Add to these the undated fault system (4) in the South-West (SW) of the South China Sea (SCS). Here we offer a unified cause for all four of these in (5), an impact in the SCS of a large, massive cosmic object, likely a comet, obliquely coming from the SW at an extremely shallow angle, striking the Sunda shelf yet unexploded with the shock of its compressed air bow wave, and causing the continual shelf and slope to collapse, resulting in the fault system (4), then traveling almost tangentially to the surface, exploding at impact with the sea surface, ejecting the tektites (1), creating the formation underlying the later atolls of Spratlies Archipelago (6), Nansha Islands in Chinese, & causing the BMR (2). An explanation of event (3) was Richard Muller’s hypothesis of planet Earth passing through an interplanetary dust cloud periodically due to ecliptic precession. Here we hypothesize this cloud actually is a belt of Australasian tektites ejected into space at super-orbital velocities that Earth encounters about every 100 ka.

Sustainable development of marine tourism economy in Zhoushan Archipelago New District

Based on the general and concrete principles of index system of marine economy and the choices of the evaluation index, this paper analyzes the index importance by means of AHP and establishes a set of the evaluation index system of marine economy in the Zhoushan Archipelago New District, to which an overall analysis and appraisal is given. The main factors that have limited the sustainable development of marine economy, in combination with the factors that influence its development, are put forward in accordance with its connotation of sustainable development of marine economy and sustainable development strategy based on marine tourism development.

Landscape changes and their ecological eff ects of Miaodao Archipelago with human disturbances and under natural conditions in the past 30 years

The modern landscape patterns of islands usually show obvious spatial heterogeneity and complex ecological effects due to the vulnerability of ecosystems with natural characteristics under increasing human activities.In this work,we studied the variation in landscape pattern of the Miaodao Archipelago in Bohai Sea,North China,from 1990 to 2019,and an evaluation index system was established to explore the impacts of natural conditions and human disturbances on the ecological effects in the pressure-state-response(PSR)framework.Empirical analysis was conducted on the natural conditions,human disturbances,and ecological effects.The results show that forest was the main component of the landscape pattern in the archipelago.Both of the areas offorest and construction land were increasing,and the areas of cropland and grassland were declining.Other landscape types changed slightly,and the landscape fragmentation was increasing.The natural condition exhibited positive effects while human disturbance showed negative effects on the local ecology.Human disturbances come mainly from shoreline use while the natural conditions were mainly from the elevation change.The ecological effects were resulted mainly from the net primary productivity and water yield.

Calcium isotopic signatures of depleted mid-ocean ridge basalts from the northeastern Pacific

A number of high-temperature processes(e.g.,melt-rock reactions,metasomatism,partial melting)can produce signifi cant Ca isotopic fractionation and heterogeneity in the mantle,but the mechanism for such fractionation remains obscure.To investigate the eff ect of mantle partial melting on Ca isotopic fractionation,we reported high-precision Ca isotopic compositions of depleted mid-ocean ridge basalts(MORBs)from the East Pacifi c Rise and Ecuador Rift in the northeastern Pacifi c.Theδ44/40 Ca of these MORB samples exhibit a narrow variation from 0.84‰to 0.88‰with an average of 0.85‰±0.03‰,which are similar to those of reported MORBs(0.83‰±0.11‰)and back-arc basin basalts(BABBs,0.80‰±0.08‰)in literature,but are lower than the estimate value for the bulk silicate Earth(BSE,0.94‰±0.05‰).The lowδ44/40 Ca signatures of MORB samples in this study cannot be caused by fractional crystallization,since intermediate-mafi c diff erentiation has been demonstrated having only limited eff ects on Ca isotopic fractionation.Instead,the off set ofδ44/40 Ca between MORBs and the BSE is most likely produced by mantle partial melting.During this process,the light Ca isotopes are preferentially transferred to the melt,while the heavy ones tend to stay in the residue,which is consistent with the fact thatδ44/40 Ca of melt-depleted peridotites increases with partial melting in literature.The behavior of Ca isotopes during mantle partial melting is closely related to the inter-mineral(Cpx and Opx)Ca isotopic fractionation and melting mineral modes.Mantle partial melting is one of the common processes that can induce lowerδ44/40 Ca values in basalts and Ca isotopic heterogeneity in Earth’s mantle.

Legal Consequences of the Separation of the Chagos Archipelago from Mauritius in 1965

The Court finds that the process of decolonization of Mauritius was not lawfully completed when that country acceded to independence and that the United Kingdom is under an obligation to bring to an end its administration of the Chagos Archipelago as rapidly as possible THE HAGUE, 25 February 2019.

Three Australian leg-flagged Roseate Terns found at Caiyu Archipelago of SE Fujian, China

In undertaking regular surveys on those waterbirds appearing on Fujian coast and on offshore islands,people of Xiamen Bird-watching Society had observed,for five times during 2007-2009,three marked individuals of the Roseate Tern (Sterna dougallii) on Caiyu Archipelago of south Fujian offshore; it is now quite certain that the leg-flags were marked on birds by people of the Australasian Wader Studies Group (AWSG) and at least one of those leg-flagged terns is already over six or seven years old by the time of re-sighting; this record might be useful and helpful for further estimating the life circle as well as the length of generation of those gulls and terns appearing and breeding along the SE Chinese coast,such as the Black-tailed Gull (Larus crassirostris),the Great Crested Tern (Sterna bergii),the Chinese Crested Tern (S.bernsteini),etc.

Essential metal Zn in sponge <i>Callyspongia aerizusa</i>from Spermonde Archipelago

Spermonde Archipelago has been found to have a high sponge biodiversity. Sponges that have feeding behavior as filter feeder can be exposed to heavy metals, including Zn metal. Zn is an essential metal that is physiologically needed by sponge to catalyze chemical reactions and generally operates on enzymes. A study on Zn pollution level in Spermonde Archipelago from zone I to Zone IV was conducted by analyzing Zn concentration in sponges, sediments, and seawater. Physicochemical parameters measurement in Spermonde Archipelago indicates that Spermonde Archipelago meets the requirements for sponge growth. Callyspongia aerizusa can be used as metal pollution indicator because this sponge can accumulate heavy metal Zn in high level (99.30 mg/kg dry weight). This sponge was derived from Kondingareng Lompo island at zone III. In addition, Kodingareng Lompo island waters had the highest Zn concentration compared to other islands. Sediments from Lae-Lae island at zone I had the highest Zn metal concentration. Lae-Lae island is the nearest island to Makassar coastal line.

Responses of macrobenthic communities to patchy distributions of heavy metals and petroleum hydrocarbons in sediments:A study in China's Zhoushan Archipelago

This study conducted four cruises during 2014–2017 to investigate relationships between macrobenthic communities and sediment contaminations in sea area around the Zhoushan Archipelago.Fourteen sites were categorized into three groups:high total heavy metal contamination content(HHMC),high total petroleum hydrocarbon content(HTPH),and low content ratio of heavy metal contamination content to total petroleum hydrocarbon content(HMC/TPH)areas.Four main taxa of macrofauna(polychaetes,bivalves,gastropods,and crustaceans)were determined to respond to environmental factors differently.While tolerant polychaetes being the minimal impact by environmental factors,bivalves were threated by heavy metal pollutions in sediment.Additionally,body size distribution frequency demonstrated that macrofauna in the low HMC/TPH areas were less disturbed by contamination than those in the HHMC and HTPH areas.The result represented the presentation of sensitive species while tolerant species are usually considered as small size organisms.Overall,this study confirmed the hypothesis that the contamination levels of small-scale patches is indicated by the condition of macrobenthic communities.

On the Live Coloration and Partial Mitochondrial DNA Sequences in the Topotypic Population of Goniurosaurus kuroiwae orientalis(Squamata: Eublepharidae), with Description of a New Subspecies from Tokashikijima Island, Ryukyu Archipelago, Japan

Careful investigations of live coloration and other characters in the eublepharid gecko Goniurosaurus kuroiwae orientalis from Tonakijima Island, the type locality of the subspecies in the Central Ryukyus, Japan, revealed its slight but consistent external differences from the consubspecific Tokashikijima population, whose phylogenetically divergent status against the former had been strongly suggested in a previous molecular study. A new subspecies, Goniurosaurus kuroiwae sengokui subsp. nov., is thus described for the Tokashikijima population. In life, Goniurosaurus k. sengokui subsp. nov. can be discriminated from G. k. orientalis in showing tint of reddish or pinkish, instead of yellowish, coloration in dorsal body pattern, and also usually darker and more or less reddish, instead of yellowish or grayish, iris in both adults and juveniles. Recalculation of sequence data at hand with relevant Gen Bank data confirmed substantial sequence divergences of G. k. sengokui from all other congeneric taxa of the Ryukyus described so far.

Possible triggering relationship of six Mw > 6 earthquakes in 2018–2019 at Philippine archipelago

Philippine archipelago (PA) has strong background seismicity,but there is no systematic study of earthquake triggering in this region. There are six earthquakes (M_(w) > 6) occurred between 2018/12/29 and 2019/09/29 in PA,which provides an excellent opportunity to investigate the triggering relationship among these events. We calculate the static Coulomb stress changes of the first five events,and find that the local seismicity after the 2018/12/29 M_(w) 7.0 earthquake is mostly associated with positive Coulomb stress changes,including the 2019/05/31 M_(w) 6.1 event,suggesting a possible triggering relationship. However,we cannot rule out the dynamic triggering mechanism,due to increased microseismicity in both positive and negative stress change regions,and an incomplete local catalog,especially right after the first M_(w) 7.0 mainshock. The dynamic stresses from these M_(w) > 6 events are large enough (from 5 kPa to 3532 kPa) to trigger subsequent events,but a lack of seismicity and waveform evidence does not support delayed dynamic triggering among these events,even the shortest time interval is less than 24 hours. In the past 45 years,the released seismic energy shows certain peaks every 5–10 years. However,earthquakes with M_(w) > 6.0 were relatively infrequent between 2004 and 2018 at PA. Hence,it is possible that several regions are relatively late in their earthquake cycles,which would enhance their susceptibility of being triggered by earthquakes at nearby and regional distances.

Magma Dynamics of Axial Melt Lens at Fast-Spreading Mid-Ocean Ridges

Multichannel seismic studies performed at fastspreading mid-ocean ridges revealed the presence of a thin(tens to hundreds of meters high), narrow(< 1-2 km wide) axial melt lens(AML) in the mid-crust, which is underlain by crystal/melt mush that is in turn laterally surrounded by a transition zone of mostly solidified material. In order to shed light on the complexity of magmatic and metamorphic processes ongoing within and at the roof of axial melt lenses, we have focused on the petrological and geochemical record provided by fossilized AMLs. Of particular significance is Hole 1256D in the equatorial Pacific drilled by the International Ocean Discovery Program(IODP), where for the first time, the transition between sheeted dikes and gabbros in intact fast-spreading crust was penetrated, providing a drill core with a more or less continuous record of the upper part of an AML(Teagle et al., 2006;Koepke et al., 2008). This can be regarded as rosetta stone to answer longstanding questions on the complex magmatic evolution within an AML, as well as on metamorphic and anatectic processes ongoing at the roof of a dynamic AML, rising upward in the midcrust as a consequence of a replenishment event. The plutonic rocks drilled from Hole 1256D consist of quartz-bearing gabbros, diorites and tonalites, which might represent the upper part of a fossilized AML. The gabbros and diorites are consistent with modeled products of MORB fractional crystallization, composed of mixed melt and cumulate in varying ratios. Modeled trace elements support a model in which the tonalites originated from low-degree partial melting of the sheeted dikes overlying the AML, rather than extreme fractional crystallization(Erdmann et al., 2015;Zhang et al., 2017a). Therefore, the upper part of AML, largely composed of low density and high-viscosity felsic magmas, may serve as a barrier to eruptible MORB melts in the lower part of AML. Zoning of apatites from three different lithologies, tonalites, diorites, and gabbros, is common and shows a consistent evolution trend with depletion in Cl and REEs from core to rim. The cores are usually homogenous in composition and interpreted as magmatic origin, whereas zones with lower Cl and REEs are disseminated with heterogeneous concentrations, indicating exchanges with hydrothermal fluids. The high-Cl apatite core indicates assimilation of high-Cl brines at a magmatic stage, which is interpreted as immiscibility product from cycling seawater-derived fluids at a high temperature(Zhang et al., 2017b). The variation of F/Cl and Br/Cl ratios of bull rocks may reflect the mixing between MORB magmas and seawater-derived fluids, crystallization of apatite and amphibole, and/or extraction of magmatic fluids(Zhang et al., 2017c).

Model Forming of Mesoarchean Gridino Mafic Dyke Swarm during Subduction "Mid-Ocean Ridge – Continent"

The high-pressure metamorphosed Gridino dyke swarm comprises a major group of Mesoarchean 2.87-2.82 Ga mafic dykes intruded within the Mesoarchean continental crust of the Kola craton(the Belomorian tectonic province