Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2017. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Seasonal fluxes of meltwater control ice-flow processes across the Greenland Ice Sheet ablation zone and subglacial discharge at marine-terminating outlet glaciers. With the increase in annual ice sheet meltwater production observed over recent decades and predicted into future decades, understanding mechanisms driving the hourly to decadal impact of meltwater on ice flow is critical for predicting Greenland Ice Sheet dynamic mass loss. This thesis investigates a wide range of meltwater-driven processes using empirical and theoretical methods for a region of the western margin of the Greenland Ice Sheet. I begin with an examination of the seasonal and annual ice flow record for the region using in situ observations of ice flow from a network of Global Positioning System (GPS) stations. Annual velocities decrease over the seven-year time-series at a rate consistent with the negative trend in annual velocities observed in neighboring regions. Using observations from the same GPS network, I next determine the trigger mechanism for rapid drainage of a supraglacial lake. In three consecutive years, I find precursory basal slip and uplift in the lake basin generates tensile stresses that promote hydrofracture beneath the lake. As these precursors are likely associated with the introduction of meltwater to the bed through neighboring moulin systems, our results imply that lakes may be less able to drain in the less crevassed, interior regions of the ice sheet. Expanding spatial scales to the full ablation zone, I then use a numerical model of subglacial hydrology to test whether model-derived effective pressures exhibit the theorized inverse relationship with melt-season ice sheet surface velocities. Finally, I pair near-ice fjord hydrographic observations with modeled and observed subglacial discharge for the Saqqardliup sermia-Sarqardleq Fjord system. I find evidence of two types of glacially modified waters whose distinct properties and locations in the fjord align with subglacial discharge from two prominent subcatchments beneath Saqqardliup sermia. Continued observational and theoretical work reaching across discipline boundaries is required to further narrow our gap in understanding the forcing mechanisms and magnitude of Greenland Ice Sheet dynamic mass loss. / by Laura A. Stevens. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 145-152). / by Sarah Alden Little. / Ph.D.

Thesis: S.M., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Mechanical Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references (pages 119-122). / The scattering of low-mode internal tides by ocean-floor topography is extensively studied through analytical models and field observations at the Line Islands Ridge (LIR). An existing Green function method is utilized to examine the generation of internal tides by idealized topographic shapes as well as realistic transects of the LIR. The method is also applied to examine the scattering of a mode-1 internal tide at these topographies to determine the relative high mode energy flux due to generated and scattered internal tides at the realistic transects. A method of determining the modal content of an internal wave field is advanced to account for arbitrary stratification and rotation. It is then adjusted to allow for image loss as is common to oceanographic studies. Its performance is compared to the existing regression method widely used by oceanographers to determine the modal content of internal tides. The results from this comparison are used to inform the analysis of the field observations. This thesis concludes by examining the modal content of the LIR as determined from measurements taken during the 150-day EXperiment on Internal Tide Scattering (EXITS) NSF field study. Motivated by satellite altimetry data and three-dimensional numerical model studies, the EXITS cruise sought to observe the internal tide scattering process in the ocean for the first time. The data from three moorings equipped with moored profilers, spanning total depths of 3000-5000 m is analyzed to determine the modal content of the southward propagating internal tide before and after it encounters the ridge for evidence of topographic scattering. / by Maha Niametullah Haji. / S.M.

Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2018. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / The biological carbon pump (BCP) helps to moderate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by bringing carbon to the deep ocean, where it can be sequestered on timescales of centuries to millennia. Climate change is predicted to decrease the efficiency of the global BCP, however, the magnitude and timescale of this shift is largely uncertain and will likely impact some areas of the global ocean more significantly than others. Therefore, it is imperative that we (1) accurately quantify surface export and remineralization of particulate organic carbon (POC) via the BCP over large regions of the global ocean, (2) examine the factors controlling these POC fluxes and their variability, which includes the cycling of biologically-relevant trace metals, and (3) establish if and how the BCP is changing over time. This thesis focuses on addressing various aspects of these objectives using the 234Th- 238U method across basin-scale GEOTRACES transects. First, the export and remineralization of POC were examined across large gradients in productivity, upwelling, community structure, and dissolved oxygen in the southeastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Although low oxygen zones are traditionally thought to have decreased POC flux attenuation relative to other regions of the global ocean and the low oxygen Pacific locations followed this pattern, regions that were functionally anoxic had enhanced attenuation in the upper 400 m. Second, trace metal export and remineralization were quantified across the Pacific transect. Because many trace metals are necessary for the metabolic functions of marine organisms and can co-limit marine productivity, the controls on the cycling of trace metals in the upper ocean were examined. Lastly, POC export was determined across two transects in the Western Arctic Ocean, where light and nutrient availability drive the biological pump. Upper ocean export estimates in the central basin did not reflect a substantial change in the biological pump compared to studies from the last three decades, however, an extensive maximum in 234Th relative to 238U deeper in the water column indicated that rapid vertical transport had occurred, which could suggest a more efficient biological pump in the Arctic Ocean. / by Erin E. Black. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences, and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2003. / Includes bibliographical references. / The presence of aqueous organic compounds derived from sedimentary organic matter has the potential to influence a range of chemical processes in hydrothermal vent environments. For example, hydrothermal alteration experiments indicate that alteration of organic-rich sediments leads to up to an order of magnitude more metals in solution than alteration of organic-poor basalt. This result is in contrast to traditional models for the evolution of vent fluids at sediment-covered mid-ocean ridge axis environments, and indicates the fundamental importance of including the effects of organic compounds in models of crustal alteration processes. However, in order to rigorously constrain their role in crustal alteration processes, quantitative information on the abundances and distributions of organic compounds in hydrothermal vent fluids is required. This thesis was undertaken to provide quantitative information on the distributions and stable carbon isotopic compositions of several low-molecular weight organic compounds (C1-C4 alkanes, C2-C3 alkenes, benzene and toluene) in fluids collected in July, 2000, at three sites on the northern Juan de Fuca Ridge: the Dead Dog and ODP Mound fields, which are located at Middle Valley, and the Main Endeavour Field, located on the Endeavour segment. At Middle Valley, the ridge axis is covered by up to 1.5 km of hemipelagic sediment containing up to 0.5 wt. % organic carbon. The Main Endeavour Field (MEF) is located approximately 70 km south of Middle Valley in a sediment-free ridge-crest environment, but previously measured high concentrations of NH3 and isotopically light CH4 relative to other bare-rock sites suggest that the chemical composition of these fluids is affected by sub-seafloor alteration of sedimentary material (LILLEY et al., 1993). / (cont.) Differences in the absolute and relative concentrations of NH3 and organic compounds and the stable carbon isotopic compositions of the C1-C3 organic compounds suggest that the three fields represent a continuum in terms of the extent of secondary alteration of the aqueous organic compounds, with the Dead Dog fluids the least altered, the MEF fluids the most altered and ODP Mound fluids in an intermediate state. At the two Middle Valley sites, the greater extent of alteration in the ODP Mound fluids as compared to the Dead Dog fluids is due either to higher temperatures in the subsurface reaction zone, or a greater residence time of the fluids at high temperatures. Higher reaction zone temperatures at the ODP Mound field than at the Dead Dog field are consistent with differences in endmember Cl concentrations between the two fields. The greater extent of alteration in the MEF fluids is caused by relatively oxidizing conditions in the subsurface reaction zone that promote faster reaction kinetics. Temperatures in the subsurface reaction zones calculated by assuming equilibrium among aqueous alkanes, alkenes and hydrogen are ... / by Anna M. Cruse. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1988. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 142-146). / This thesis is a study of the effect of geothermal sources on the deep circulation, temperature and salinity fields. In Chapter 1 background material is given on the strength and distribution of geothermal heating. In Chapter 2 evidence for the influence of a hydrothermal system in the rift valley of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge on nearby property fields and a model of the flow around such a heat source are presented, with an analysis of a larger-scale effect. Results of an analytical model for a heat source on a #-plane in Chapter 3 show how the response far from the source can have a structure different from the forcing because of its dependence on two parameters: a Peclet number (the ratio of horizontal advection and vertical diffusion), and a Froude-number-like parameter (the ratio of long wave phase speed to background flow speed) which control the relative amount of damping and advection of different vertical scales. The solutions emphasize the different behavior of a dynamical field like temperature compared to tracers introduced at the source. These ideas are useful for interpreting more complicated solutions from a numerical model presented in the final chapter. / by Kevin G. Speer. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2012. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / The Indian monsoon affects the livelihood of over one billion people. Despite the importance of climate to society, knowledge of long-term monsoon variability is limited. This thesis provides Holocene records of monsoon variability, using sediment cores from river-dominated margins of the Bay of Bengal (off the Godavari River) and the Arabian Sea (off the Indus River). Carbon isotopes of terrestrial plant leaf waxes ([delta]¹³Cwax) preserved in sediment provide integrated and regionally extensive records of flora for both sites. For the Godavari River basin the ([delta]¹³Cwax record shows a gradual increase in aridity-adapted vegetation from ~4,000 until 1,700 years ago followed by the persistence of aridity-adapted plants to the present. The oxygen isotopic composition of planktonic foraminifera from this site indicates drought-prone conditions began as early as -3,000 years BP. The aridity record also allowed examination of relationships between hydroclimate and terrestrial carbon discharge to the ocean. Comparison of radiocarbon measurements of sedimentary plant waxes with planktonic foraminifera reveal increasing age offsets starting -4,000 yrs BP, suggesting that increased aridity slows carbon cycling and/or transport rates. At the second site, a seismic survey of the Indus River subaqueous delta describes the morphology and Holocene sedimentation of the Pakistani shelf and identified suitable coring locations for paleoclimate reconstructions. The ([delta]¹³Cwax record shows a stable arid climate over the dry regions of the Indus plain and a terrestrial biome dominated by C₄ vegetation for the last 6,000 years. As the climate became more arid ~4,000 years, sedentary agriculture took hold in central and south India while the urban Harappan civilization collapsed in the already arid Indus basin. This thesis integrates marine and continental records to create regionally extensive paleoenvironmental reconstructions that have implications for landscape evolution, sedimentation, the terrestrial organic carbon cycle, and prehistoric human civilizations in the Indian subcontinent. / by Camilo Ponton. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2010. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / Volcanic accretion at the fast-spreading East Pacific Rise (EPR) occurs over a ~2-4 km wide neo-volcanic zone on either side of the axial summit trough (AST). Eruption ages are critical for understanding the distribution and timing of volcanic and magmatic activity. Uranium series nuclides are susceptible to fractionation by magmatic processes that occur beneath mid-ocean ridges, and the half-lives of 22 6Ra (1.6 kyrs) and 23Th (75 kyrs) make them ideally suited for determining eruption ages and placing constraints on eruption frequency and temporal changes in magma chemistry. Accordingly, major and trace element, and long-lived radiogenic and 2 8 U-2 Th-226Ra isotope compositions were measured in basalts from 9'-10 N EPR to determine eruption ages and to place temporal constraints on volcanic and magmatic processes. At 9030'N EPR, 238U-2 Th-2 26Ra compositions indicate that trace elementally and isotopically enriched mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) collected off-axis erupted >8 ka and that E-MORB magmatism is interspersed with normal, depleted MORB magmatism. Lava ages are consistent with eruption from the AST and flow down the ridge flanks, which is in contrast to previous studies that suggested E-MORB erupted from off-axis vents. At 9'50'N EPR, discrete eruptive units are distinguished by high precision 238U, 32 Th, and 226Ra sample concentrations, but because the resolution of the "2 Th-226Ra model age dating technique is ~±1 kyrs, the surprisingly young ages of these lavas prohibit the construction of an explicit, time-constrained lava stratigraphy. Nonetheless, seven different flows identified within 0.8-2.0 km west of the AST imply greater frequency of flows to these distances than previously recognized. Model age dating of ferrobasalts, basaltic andesites, andesites, and dacites sampled from the east limb of the overlapping spreading center at 9'03'N EPR is difficult due to uncertainties in magma residence times. However, (22 6Ra/23 Th) disequilibria indicate recent basaltic volcanism (<<8 ka) up to -4 km off-axis. The axial graben at the rise crest sources the most recent volcanic activity and is the dominant location for eruption of high-silica magmas. Major element, trace element, 87Sr/86Sr, and (3 4U/238U) isotope compositions are consistent with the formation of dacite magmas by extensive crystallization, and 238U-2Fh-226 Ra systematics imply crustal residence times of -8 kyrs. / by Christopher L. Waters. / Ph.D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1986. / Vita. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 208-215). / A study of the remineralization of organic carbon was conducted in the organic-rich sediments of Buzzards Bay, MA. Major processes affecting the carbon chemistry in sediments are reflected by changes in the stable carbon isotope ratios of dissolved inorganic carbon (XCO2) in sediment pore water. Six cores were collected seasonally over a period of two years. The following species were measured in the pore waters: JC02, &'3 C-2CO2, P04, JH 2S, Alk, DOC, and Ca. Measurements of pore water collected seasonally show large gradients with depth, which are larger in summer than in winter. The 613C (PDB) of IC02 varies from 1.3 o/oo in the bottom water to approximately -10 o/oo at 30 cm. During all seasons, there was a trend towards more negative values with depth in the upper 8 cm due to the remineralization of organic matter. There was a trend toward more positive values below 8 cm, most likely due to biological irrigation of sediments with bottom water. Below 16-20 cm, a negative gradient was re-established which indicates a return to remineralization as the main process affecting pore water chemistry. Using the XC02 depth profile, it was estimated that 67-85 gC/m 2 are oxidized annually and 5 gC/m 2-yr are buried. The amount of carbon oxidized represented remineralization occurring within the sediments. This estimate indicated that approximately 20% of the annual primary productivity reached the sediments. The calculated remineralization rates varied seasonally with the high of 7.5 x 10-' mol/L-sec observed in August 84 and the low (0.6 x 10-) in December 83. The calculated remineralization rates were dependent on the amount of irrigation in the sediments; if the irrigation parameter is known to ±20%, then the remineralization rates are known to this certainty also. The amount of irrigation in the sediments was estimated using the results of a seasonal study of 2 2 2Rn/ 22 'Ra disequilibria at the same study site (Martin, 1985). Estimates of the annual remineralization in the sediments using solid-phase data indicated that the solid-phase profiles were not at steady-state concentrations. The isotopic signature of 2C02 was used as an indicator of the processes affecting IC02 in pore water. During every month, the oxidation of organic carbon to C02 provided over half of the carbon added to the IC02 pool. However, in every month, the 6'"C of XCO2 added to the pore water in the surface sediments was greater than -15 o/oo, significantly greater than the 613C of solid-phase organic carbon in the sediments (-20.6 o/oo). The 613C of IC02 added to the pore water in the sediments deeper than 7 cm was between -20 and -21 o/oo, similar to the organic carbon in the sediments. Possible explanations of the 1 3C-enrichment observed in the surface sediments were: a) significant dissolution of CaC0 3 (613C = +1.7 o/oo) b) the addition of significant amounts of carbonate ion from bottom water to pore water c) an isotopic difference between the carbon oxidized in the sediments and that remaining in the sediments. The effect of CaC0 3 dissolution was quantified using measured dissolved Ca profiles and was not large enough to explain the observed isotopic enrichment. An additional source of 13C-enriched carbon was bottom water carbonate ion. In every month studied, there was a net flux of 2C0 2 from pore water to bottom water. The flux of pore water 2C02 to bottom water ranged from a minimum of 10 x 10-12 mol/cm 2 -sec in December 83 to a maximum of 50 x 10-12 mol/cm2-sec in August 84. However, because the pH of bottom water was about 8 while that of the pore water was less than or equal to 7, the relative proportion of the different species of inorganic carbon (H2CO, HCO-, C0~) was very different in bottom water and pore water. Thus, while there was a net flux of IC0 2 from pore water to bottom water, there was a flux of carbonate ion from bottom water to pore water. Because bottom water JC02 was more 13C-enriched than pore water JC0 2, the transfer of bottom water carbonate ion to pore water was a source of 13C-enriched carbon to the pore water. If the &'3C of CO2 added to the pore water from the oxidation of organic carbon was -20.6 o/oo, then the flux of C3% from bottom water to pore water must have been 10-30% of the total flux of 2C02 from pore water to bottom water. This is consistent with the amount calculated from the observed gradient in carbonate ion. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine whether the 613C of C02 produced from the oxidation of organic carbon (613C-OCOX) was different from the 613C of organic carbon in the sediments (613C-SOC). In the laboratory experiments, mud from the sampling site was incubated at a constant temperature. Three depths were studied (0-3, 10-15, and 20-25 cm). For the first study (IEl), sediment was stirred to homogenize it before packing into centrifuge tubes for incubation. For the second study (IE2), sediment was introduced directly into glass incubation tubes by subcoring. The second procedure greatly reduced disturbance to the sediment. Rates of C02 production were calculated from the concentrations of 2C02 measured over up to 46 days. In both studies, the values of Re in the deeper intervals were about 10% of the surface values. This was consistent with the field results, although the rates decreased more rapidly in the field. In all cases, the remineralization rates during the beginning of IEl were much greater than those at the beginning of IE2. The sediment for IEl was collected in February 84. The measured value of Rc in the surface sediment of the laboratory experiment (24 x 10- mol/L-sec) was much greater than the value of Rc observed in the field in another winter month, December 83 (.62 x 10~9). The sediment for IE2 was collected in August 85. The measured values of Re in the surface sediment (6.6-12 x 10~9 mol/L-sec) were consistent with the field values from August 84 (7.5 x 10-9). The XC02 results indicated that IE2 reproduced field conditions more accurately than IEl did. The isotopic results from the experiments strongly suggested that 613C-OCOX in the surface sediments (-17.8 o/oo ± 1.9 o/oo) was greater than 6'3C-SOC (-20.6 ± 0.2 o/oo). The magnitude of the observed fractionation was small enough that the observed values of 613C-C02 in the pore waters could be explained by fractionated oxidation coupled with the diffusion of carbonate ion from bottom water to pore water. The observed fractionation was most likely due to the multiple sources of organic carbon to coastal sediments. A study of the natural levels of radiocarbon in these sediments indicated that the carbon preserved in the sediments is approximately 30% terrestrial while the rest is from phytoplankton. / by Ann P. McNichol. / Ph.D.

Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2015. / Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. / Includes bibliographical references. / This thesis investigates lithospheric dynamics of Earth's subduction zones and Martian tectonic provinces on multiple time scales ranging from short-term earthquake deformation to long-term tectonic loading. In Chapter 2, I use geodetic observations to constrain the postseismic viscoelastic deformation following the 1960 M9.5 Valdivia, Chile earthquake and quantify its stress loading on the rupture zone of the 2010 M8.8 Maule, Chile earthquake. Results of analysis reveal that the post-1960 viscoelastic process might have contributed to the triggering of the 2010 earthquake. Chapter 3 presents numerical experiments to investigate elastoplastic deformation and faulting in the overriding plates of subduction zones caused by the movement of subducted seamounts. Numerical simulations show that a group of normal faults would first appear on the seaward side of a subducted seamount, followed by a group of thrust faults on the landward side of the seamount. In Chapter 4, I use the most recent Martian gravity and topography data to constrain spatial variations in lithospheric flexural deformation for various tectonic regions on Mars. The effective lithospheric thickness is estimated to be relatively small for the plain regions in the southern highland, but relatively large for the impact basins in the northern lowland as well as for volcanic montes in the Tharis province. The regional variations in the estimated effective lithospheric thickness might reflect both spatial and temporal changes in the thermal state of Mars. / by Min Ding. / Ph. D.