Sedimentation of Reduced Sulfur in the Black Sea

该奖项侧重于还原硫化合物在黑海的沉积过程，特别强调确定颗粒还原硫和铁化合物是否在当今的缺氧水柱中发生了显著的通量。这幅作品是1987年黑海巡航的一部分。目标如下：1)比较不同颗粒还原硫化合物（如黄铁矿、单硫化铁和单质硫）“储集层”的相对大小；2)确定黑海中不同硫相的位置——在缺氧-缺氧界面、缺氧水柱、沉积物-水界面和底部沉积物中；3)将硫通量和铁通量的时空变化与其他沉积通量组分的时空变化进行比较；4)确定在粘土或细胞物质等颗粒上是否发生金属吸附，在缺氧区这些颗粒上是否形成硫化物，它们对通量的贡献是否显著；5)寻找在缺氧水中可能形成的其他微量金属或金属硫化物。这项工作将涉及对沉积物捕集器材料、沉积物岩心和来自水样的悬浮颗粒物进行分析，使用已开发的技术来确定存在的还原硫和铁化合物的种类和数量，并确定这些化合物是否与其他颗粒材料的通量有关。本研究结果将有助于了解缺氧环境下金属硫化物的形成、运移和沉积过程。

This award focuses on the processes of sedimentation of reduced sulfur compounds in the Black Sea, with particular emphasis on determining whether a significant flux of particulate reduced sulfur and iron compounds is occurring in the present-day anoxic water column. This work is part of the 1987 Black Sea Cruise. The objectives are as follows: 1) Compare the relative sizes of the "reservoirs" of different particulate reduced-sulfur compounds such as pyrite, iron monosulfides, and elemental sulfur; 2) Determine where different sulfur phases occur in the Black Sea--at the oxic- anoxic interface, in the anoxic water column, the sediment- water interface, and in bottom sediments; 3) Compare spatial and temporal changes in sulfur and iron flux to such variation in other sedimentary flux components; 4) Determine whether metal adsorption onto particles such as clays or cellular matter occurs, whether sulfides form on such particles in the anoxic zone, and whether their contribution to the flux is significant; 5) Search for other trace metals or metal sulfides which may form in anoxic water. This work will involve analyses of sediment trap material, sediment cores, and suspended particulate matter from water samples, using techniques developed for determining the kinds and amounts of reduced sulfur and iron compounds present, as well as determining whether these are associated with fluxes of other particulate materials. The results of this study will contribute to understanding the processes of metal sulfide formation, transport and sedimentation in anoxic environments.