Wave-formed rippled sediment beds are extremely important to the processes that act on or across the sediment-water interface. Ripples increase the exchange of materials between the sediment and the water column, enhance sediment transport rates, and act to increase the dissipation of waves by increasing the hydraulic roughness of the seafloor. Previous research has, however, failed to take into account the substantial spatial and temporal variation rippled beds display when formed under real sea conditions. Based on a set of laboratory experiments a spectral method to predict and model rippled beds has been developed. Through the use of the rippled surface's spectral density function the spatial and temporal variability of the rippled surface can be taken into account with greater efficiency. A prediction method for the equilibrium ripple spectrum was developed based on a nondimensional spectral form, which utilised the peak orbital excursion diameter and the 50th percentile grain size diameter of the sediment bed. The method provided an effective technique to predict ripple parameters with the same degree of accuracy achievable at small scale as more accepted ripple prediction methods. A new method was derived to model the changes a rippled bed undergoes as it actively evolves between two given equilibrium states due to a change in surface wave conditions. The evolution of a rippled bed can be described mathematically in exactly the same way as a rippled bed growing from a flat bed condition. The method allows any bed to be modelled through time if the flow conditions and sediment properties are known. There is little advantage in using the spectral method to predict rippled beds when they are in equilibrium with the flow conditions. The main benefit of the spectral method comes when attempting to model rippled beds evolving under changed flow conditions. In the same way as the parameterisation of surface waves in terms of their spectral density function has increased the ability to model wind generated wave fields, studies of rippled beds would benefit from the increased detail and ease the spectral method brings. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 2005.

The "Mystery Interval" (17.5-14.5 ka) is an unusual time period of abrupt global climate change during the late glacial between Heinrich event 1 and the Bølling-Allerød warm period (~17.5-14.5 ka). This period was characterized by extreme cooling in the North Atlantic region, warming in Antarctica, the rise of atmospheric greenhouse gases, and a variety of hydrologic changes around the globe, all of which may have stemmed from Heinrich event 1 and the possible collapse of the Atlantic?s meridional overturning circulation. A distinctive and unique gray clay layer was deposited in Cariaco Basin, Venezuela, within this time period, which has no apparent counterpart in the basin?s sediment record for at least the last full glacial-interglacial cycle. One hypothesis for the origin of the gray layer is that the initial pulse of deglacial sea level rise over the shallow Unare Platform, south of the basin, caused remobilization and rapid emplacement of previously deposited shelf sediments. However, analysis of the timing and extent of sea level rise as well as evidence from radiocarbon ages and a comparison of the organic content of gray layer sediments and known turbidites in the basin does not support this hypothesis. The alternative hypothesis, that the gray layer is related to increased fluvial discharge from local rivers as a result of elevated regional rainfall, is supported by a number of lines of evidence. The bulk sediment elemental content measured by scanning X-ray fluorescence (XRF) (this study) and clay mineralogy (Yu, 1996) support input of local river sediments. Coccolith abundances (Mertens et al., 2009), sea surface salinity (SSS) estimates and foraminiferal Ba/Ca analysis (this study) are also consistent with freshening of surface waters caused by elevated river runoff. This implies increased rainfall in the region which is corroborated by elemental and mineralogical ratios that point to increased precipitation and chemical weathering. Average terrigenous grain size and terrigenous fluxes are also in line with modern rainy season data. Despite prior suggestions that the Cariaco Basin region should be dry due to a southward-shifted Inter-tropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) during cool periods in the North Atlantic, such as the Mystery Interval, data presented in this thesis suggest elevated rainfall and fluvial input related to deposition of the gray layer. Multiple lines of proxy evidence indicate that Cariaco Basin may have been characterized by a drier climate in the first part of the Mystery Interval but then shifted to a wetter climate in the second part, after ~16.5 ka, which might resolve this apparent conflict. The change to wetter conditions is most likely due to a northward shift in the position of the ITCZ, possibly due to warming tropical North Atlantic sea surface temperatures (SSTs) and/or extreme North Atlantic seasonality. Comparison of the Cariaco Basin climate records to climate observations from around the globe reveal a similar shift in climatic conditions around the same time, suggesting that the Mystery Interval may actually have been a two-phase event. Although many of the climatic observations from around the world can be explained by a shift from a southerly position of the ITCZ within the first part of the Mystery Interval to a more northerly position during the later part of the interval, many regions are not directly affected by the ITCZ and other complicating factors may play a role in the rapid climate changes observed globally.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of North Carolina at Wilmington, 2006. / Includes Appendixes. Includes bibliographical references (leaves: [54]-56)

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Joint Program in Applied Ocean Sciences (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Ocean Engineering; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2002. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 161-170).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--College of William and Mary. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references. Also available online.

In the Sergipe-Alagoas Basin, along the northeast coast of Brazil, the lacustrine, middle rift sequence is composed of the Lower Cretaceous Morro do Chaves and Coqueiro Seco Formations. Subsurface analysis permitted recognition and mapping of four principal types of depositional systems that infilled the basin with more than 3,000 meters of clastic-carbonate sediments: Morro do Chaves carbonate platform, Coqueiro Seco fluvial-deltaic, Coqueiro Seco fan delta, and Coqueiro Seco slope systems. The generally poor quality of seismic profiles in this rift sequence precludes conventional seismic stratigraphic approaches. Morro do Chaves lacustrine carbonate platform sediments were deposited on shallow positive areas flanking the principal point sources (rivers), and are composed of massively bedded, high energy limestones. Contemporaneous with shallow-water sedimentation, deepwater euxinic and bituminous lacustrine shales were deposited under starved basin conditions. Sublacustrine canyon excavation attested to the presence of a destructional slope episode. Coqueiro Seco fluvial-deltaic, fan delta, and slope sediments are principally terrigenous. Fluvialdeltaic and fan delta facies display high sand/shale ratios and blocky to massive E-log patterns; slope facies display serrate to digitate E-log patterns and are less sandy. Delta plain channel-fill facies and coarse-grained meanderbelt fluvial facies are dominant in fluvial-deltaic systems, and proximal to medial conglomerates and coarse conglomeratic sandstones are dominant facies in fan delta systems. Slope facies are composed of sublacustrine fans composed of fine-to medium-grained sandstones enveloped by thick, subbituminous shales, and thin, marly, lacustrine limestones. Coqueiro Seco clastic systems prograded across the basin and buried Morro do Chaves carbonate platforms in response to tectonic pulses related to rift development. Cyclic sedimentation occurred in the highly unstable Alagoas Sub-basin where fluvial-deltaic and slope systems are dominant, but fan delta and slope systems in the less complex Rio São Francisco Sub-basin do not exhibit cyclicity. Coqueiro Seco fluvial-deltaic, fan delta and slope sedimentation terminated because of continued basin subsidence and diminishing sediment supply as source areas were leveled. Consequently, the basin became the site of lacustrine shale deposition represented by the Ponta Verde Formation in the Alagoas Sub-basin. The rift sequence is truncated by a pre-Aptian unconformity in the Rio São Francisco Sub-basin. Evaluation of petroleum occurrences in relationship to defined depositional systems permitted recognition of several types of plays characterized by unique structural and stratigraphic relationships exhibited by reservoirs, source beds and structure. The Coqueiro Seco slope play, formed by updip pinchout of turbidite fans, is judged the most promising in the sequence. / text

published_or_final_version / Environmental Management / Master / Master of Science in Environmental Management

Ever-growing discharges of various emerging chemical contaminants are imposing a great threat of pollution to the coastal environment. Adsorption by sediment plays an essential role in the transport and fate of pollutants in the aquatic system. The sorption of emerging contaminants onto sediment is believed to be largely dependent on the sediment organic matter (SOM). In the present study, laboratory experiments were carried out on the changes of the adsorption behavior of sediment during the sediment aging and diagenesis process. A few EDCs and antibiotics were selected as the model emerging compounds for the adsorption tests. The results demonstrated that both the quantity and the quality of the SOM affected the adsorption of the model pollutants, such as 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE2) and bisphenol A (BPA), onto the marine sediment collected from Victoria Harbour, Hong Kong. The adsorption isotherms can be well described by the linear partition model. Natural and artificial sediment with a high SOM content was incubated for 4-6 months to simulate the natural diagenesis process. The most rapid degradation of labile SOM occurred in the first 1 month or so and afterward, SOM reduction became slower. Microbial activity played an important role in SOM degradation and transformation. A rapid initial bacterial growth was observed in the sediment, followed by a slow endogenous decay. The dynamics of biomass growth and decay first transformed the labile SOM into biomass and microbial byproducts. After the exhaust of readily biodegradable SOM, the biomass decay produced humic-like substances, resulting in more refractory and condensed SOM residues in the sediment. More importantly, the degradation and transformation of SOM displayed a profound impact on the adsorption behavior of the sediment. For the selected EDCs and antibiotics, including BPA, EE2, nonylphenol (NP), phenanthrene (PHE) and tetracyclines (TCs), the adsorption capacity indicated by the partition coefficient, Kd, decreased at the beginning of SOM diagenesis. The Kd values for different chemicals recovered lately to different extents as the result of the SOM condensation and humification. All of the organic matter normalized partition coefficients, KOM, of the concerned pollutants increased considerably in the late phase of SOM diagenesis. Based on the experimental results, a general conceptual model was established to describe SOM diagenesis and its impact on chemical adsorption by the sediment. According to the model prediction, the SOM profile would become more dominated by the condensed and refractory fractions during sediment diagenesis with an increasing affinity and partition capacity for organic contaminants. Moreover, the release of adsorbed contaminants from marine sediment in the simulated digestive fluids was investigated. In general, the presence of gastric pepsin and bile salts helped the desorption of hydrophobic pollutants from the sediment into the digestive solutions. The influence of the SOM diagenetic status on chemical desorption from the sediment varied between EDCs of different chemical properties. It is apparent that aged sediment could bring more emerging pollutants into the digestive system of receiving organisms, imposing a potential risk to human health through the food chain. / published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy

A study of marine palaeo-landscape development through a sediment core in the western Hong Kong waters has been carried out in this project as the sedimentation record could reflect the environmental changes during the Holocene period. The objectives of this study was to reveal the influences of Holocene post-glacial sea-level fluctuations and the monsoonal freshwater discharge changes to the sedimentation processes in the mouth region of the Pearl River Estuary. These are the two important factors which shape the palaeo-landscape development. Data has been obtained from a ground-truthing vibrocore to 35m below the seafloor at the south of the Shek Pik Reservoir, south Lantau Island. The sediment core was subsampled for elemental analysis to study the sources of the organic carbon by use of stable carbon isotope ratio (Ϭ13C) and for particle size analysis to reveal the energy state of the sedimentary environment. Shell fragments were chosen for radiocarbon analysis to construct the core chronology and marine seismic profiles were obtained to present the sub-bottom geological layers. The data is presented in the form of graphs and tables in showing the sediment changes along the core in different period of time. The data has been interpreted in relation to the knowledge of post-glacial sea-level rise and the proposed model of the Pearl River Estuary evolution from previous studies. Comparison is also made with other sediment cores around the Lantau Island to reveal the regional palaeo-environmental changes in the Holocene period. It is concluded that the sediment core has revealed four major phases of environmental change which is in general agreement with the previous studies except this data set has also shown a few localized climatic events in the mid-Holocene period. The sea-level low stand in the late Pleistocene had incised a network of drainage system on the exposed continental shelf which is the north South China Sea in present time. The rapid rising sea-level by Melt Water Pulse 1B filled the palaeo-valleys with alluvium deposits from 10600 to 9000 cal. yr BP at high sedimentation rate and the East Asian Monsoon was strengthened from 8800 to 5500 cal. yr BP as shown by the freshwater organic carbon deposited in the marine environment. Unconfined deposition occurred when the sediments spilled out of the palaeo-valleys and slowly covered the basin in stable sea-level and low hydrodynamic conditions. / published_or_final_version / Applied Geosciences / Master / Master of Science

published_or_final_version / Earth Sciences / Master / Master of Philosophy