摘要:

The Indian Deepsea Environment Experiment (INDEX) was conducted in the Central Indian Ocean Basin, to assess the effects of a simulated disturbance on the marine ecosystem and to collect data to predict the effects of large-scale mining. To select the Test and Reference areas for benthic disturbance, detailed studies were carried out for a better understanding of the topgraphic undulations and nodule distribution in five preselected areas of 10 × 10 nautical miles each. Flat topography was one of the important considerations for selection of the areas, because this would allow further dispersion of sediment plume and offer easier maneuverability of the benthic disturber. Relatively low nodule abundances were also preferred, to prevent clogging of the suction device used for resus-pension of sediment. On the basis of morphological analysis and nodule distribution, two areas, T1 and A1, were selected as the best suited pair for the disturbance and monitoring experiment.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353786

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The granulometry of 21 box core sediments from five selected sites in the Central Indian Basin (CIB) have been studied to understand the sediment size characteristics in the Pioneer area before the benthic disturbance experiment. The sediments are predominantly clayey silt. Statistical parameters were determined to understand the control and variations in the grain size. The mean grain size (Mzφ) ranged from 7.0 to 8.6 for the surface and from 6.6 to 8.6 for the subsurface sediments, indicating deposition of very fine fractions during the Neogene period. The sediments were poorly sorted as revealed from the higher ρ1values (2.7 to 2.9). Higher and negative values of skewness (SK1) indicated a winnowing action of prevailing currents in the area. Average kurtosis (KG) values for the surface (0.4 to 0.8) and subsurface (0.5 to 1.2) showed that sediments were very platykurtic and leptokurtic. Clay mineralogical studies showed that smectite had a wider range (from 6% to 55%) and decreased southward because of its terrigenous origin. The terrigenous influence of the sediments could be documented as far as 12°S. Smectite and kaolinite increased eastward and chlorite decreased southward. This observation positively correlated with the mean current direction in the area. However, the influence of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) in the area could be predicted from the southward increase in chlorite content.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353787

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

During the first stage of the project work on the Indian Deep-Sea Environment Experiment (INDEX), the abundance and distribution of deep-sea benthos were surveyed in the Central Indian Basin for the collection of baseline data. The deep-sea community of the sediment was characterized by a moderately high standing crop and diverse fauna. The macrofaunal component was dominated by polychaetes (100% prevalence) and peracarid crustaceans, whereas the meiofauna was dominated by nematodes and harpacticoid cope-pods. The results of this study conform to the general distribution reported elsewhere. The macrofaunal abundance showed an inverse relation to the abundance of polymetallic nodules. However, the relation between meiofaunal vertical distribution and the vertical profile of the total organic matter and total labile matter was positive.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353788

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

As a part of the Environmental Impact Assessment studies for nodule mining, a long-term program has been initiated in the Central Indian Basin. Multidisciplinary studies on geological, biological, physical, and chemical parameters were carried out in an area selected on the basis of baseline data collected in the first phase of the program. A benthic disturbance was simulated with a hydraulic device also used in the previous experiments in the Pacific Ocean. A site of 3,000 × 200 m was repeatedly disturbed by a combination of fluidizing pump and suction pump to dislodge and discharge sediment from the seafloor into the water column 5 m above the seafloor. During 9 days of operation, 26 tows were carried out for 47 h of disturbance, resuspending about 6,000 m3of sediment along an 88-km line. Data for postdisturbance impact assessment were collected with sediment traps, deep-towed cameras, seafloor samples, and conductivity-temperature depth sensor (CTD)-rosette observations. Seafloor data, sediment samples, and water column studies were aimed at evaluating the impact of benthic disturbance, on the basis of pre- and post-disturbance data collected during the experiment. Observations show that vertical mixing of sediment as well as its lateral movement and resedimentation because of plume migration alters various parameters and leads to changes in the environment around the area.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353789

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Particle fluxes were measured 7 m above the sea bottom during the predisturbance, disturbance, and postdisturbance periods by using time series sediment traps attached to seven deep-sea moorings deployed in the INDEX experiment site in the Central Indian Basin. The predisturbance particle fluxes varied between 22.3 to 55.1 mg m−2day−1. Increased and variable particle fluxes were recorded by the sediment traps during the disturbance period. The increase observed was 0.5 to 4 times more than the background predisturbance fluxes. The increases in particle fluxes (∼4 times) recorded by the sediment trap located in the southwestern direction (DMS-1) were the greatest, which could be the result of preferential movement of resuspended particles generated during the deep-sea benthic disturbance along the general current direction prevailing in this area during the experimental period. Also, the traps located closer to the disturbance area recorded greater fluxes than did the traps far away, across the Deep Sea Sediment Resuspension System path. This variability in recorded particle fluxes by the traps around the disturbance area clearly indicates that physical characteristics such as grain size and density of the resuspended particles produced during the disturbance had an important effect on particle movement. The postdisturbance measurements during ∼5 days showed a reduction in particle fluxes of ∼50%, indicating rapid particle settlement.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353790

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Observations on seafloor features from subbottom profiling and seabed photography data show that the undisturbed and natural conditions before the benthic disturbance undergo a substantial change after operation of the disturber. The effects can be seen in the form of deep trenches and grooves, formed by the action of the sleds and the pumping of the sediment along its path, as well as sediment piles on either side of the track. Biological traces such as fecal coils, casts, tubes, burrows, and trails get obliterated in the areas of disturbance and resedimentation. The smooth, uniform nature of the seafloor observed in pre-disturbance phase shows microtopographic changes in and around the disturbed area as a result of sediment excavation and resettlement. Vertical mixing as well as lateral transport of sediment alter the geological, biological, physical, and chemical conditions on the seafloor, which need to be monitored over time to assess the process and the time taken for restoration of environmental conditions.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353791

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

As a part of the environmental impact assessment studies, geotechnical properties of sediments were determined in the Central Indian Basin. The undrained shear strength and index properties of the siliceous sediments were determined on 20 box cores of uniform dimension collected from various locations in five preselected sites. The maximum core length encountered was 41 cm and most of the sediments were siliceous oozes consisting of radiolarian or diatomaceous tests. The shear strength measurements revealed that surface sediments deposited in recent times (0–10 cm) have a shear strength of 0–1 kPa; this value increases with depth, reaching 10 kPa at 40 cm deep. Older sediments have greater strength because of compaction. Water content varies in the wide range of 312–577% and decreases with depth. The clay minerals such as smectite and illite are dominant and show some control over water content. Wet density, specific gravity, and porosity do not indicate any notable variation with depth, thereby indicating a uniform, slow rate of sedimentation. The average porosity of sediments is 90.2%, specific gravity 2.18, and wet bulk density 1.12 g/cm3. Sediments exhibit medium to high plasticity characteristics, with the average plasticity index varying between 105% and 136%. Preliminary studies on postdisturbance samples showed an increase in natural water content and a decrease in undrained shear strength of sediments in the top 10- to 15-cm layer.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353792

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Radiolarian fossil study in the sediment cores collected during the pre- and postdisturbance cruises of the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Indian Ocean Experiment (INDEX) program of deep sea mining in the Central Indian Ocean Basin suggests a pronounced directional deposition of fossil radiolarians exhumed during the deep sea benthic disturbance experiment. The relative occurrences of theStylatractus universusspecies that became extinct ∼0.425 million years before present were mostly confined to the older and deeper strata of the sediment of the disturbance tract in the southwestern direction. This pattern is remarkable and suggests that the disturbance plume has been preferentially redeposited in the southwestern direction. This observation is in concurrence with the prevailing southwestern abyssal current during the disturbance experiment in the Central Indian Basin.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353793

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

Twenty-four stations (12 each, during pre- and postdisturbance studies) 5300 to 5330 m deep between 10°01' and 10°03'S latitude and between 75°59' and 76°02'E longitude were sampled to study the effect of benthic disturbance on the distribution of meiofauna in the Central Indian Ocean. Bottom-sampling was conducted with a box corer. Total meiofauna density ranged from 35 to 45 organisms per 10 cm2of bottom area during the predisturbance period and 21 to 32 organisms per 10 cm2during the postdisturbance period in the test and reference sites. Differences between pre- and postdisturbance study results were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Nematoda was the most abundant meta-zoan group, on an average representing >55% of the meiofaunal population. The abundance of nematodes and harpacticoid copepods as well as total meiofauna showed marked decreases during postdisturbance sampling. Vertical distribution of meiofauna in the sediment cores revealed that 75% to 90% of the metazoan population was confined to the top 2-cm layer of the sediment. Recolonization experiments suggest that harpacticoid copepods may take more time for recolonization than the nematodes and are more sensitive to the physical disturbance. These findings suggest that nematodes and harpacticoid copepods can be used as indicator organisms in recolonization experiments.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353794

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor

摘要:

The response of sediment bacteria and biochemical variables to benthic disturbance was investigated in the Central Indian Ocean Basin from cores at nine stations. Generally, bacterial density and biochemical variables declined vertically with depth in the upper layers of the cores. Mechanical disturbance caused by a hydraulic disturber brought about a substantial decrease in total bacterial numbers. However, the numbers of retrievable bacteria increased by two orders of magnitude. The biochemical parameters decreased in quantity with a shift in the linear relationship. The data suggest that abiotic artifacts will directly affect the biomass and biochemistry of the sediment.

ISSN:1064-119X    

DOI:10.1080/10641190009353795

出版商:Taylor & Francis Group    

年代:2000

数据来源: Taylor