塔里木盆地晚泥盆世东河塘组河口湾相遗迹化石

河口湾具有特定的环境条件和沉积组成,其遗迹化石具有半咸水沉积的遗迹群落特征。描述和分析塔里木盆地塔中4井区上泥盆统东河塘组河口湾沉积中的遗迹化石和生物扰动构造后,发现3类遗迹组构,其中Ophiomorpha遗迹组构发育在纯净砂岩中,与河口湾潮汐砂坝有关;Skolithos遗迹组构发育在薄层砂岩中,与河口湾砂坪有关;Palaeophycus遗迹组构发育在泥岩中,与河口湾泥坪、砂泥坪有关。     

Living foraminifera and total populations in salt marsh peat cores: Kelsey Marsh (Clinton, CT) and the Great Marshes (Barnstable, MA)

Common species of intertidal agglutinated benthic foraminifera in salt marshes in Massachusetts and Connecticut live predominantly at the marsh surface and in the topmost sediment (0–2.5 cm), but a considerable part of the fauna lives at depths of 2.5–15 cm. Few specimens are alive at depths of 15–25 cm, with rare individuals alive between 25–50 cm in the sediments. Specimens living between the sediment surface and 25 cm deep occur in all marsh settings, whereas specimens living deeper than 25 cm are restricted to cores from the lower and middle marsh, and have an irregular distribution-with-depth. Lower and middle marsh areas are bioturbated by metazoa, suggesting that living specimens reach these depths at least in part by bioturbation. High-marsh sediments in New England consist of very dense mats of Spartina patents or Distichlis spicata roots and are not bioturbated by metazoa. In this marsh region bioturbation by plant roots and vertical fluid motion may play a role in moving the foraminifera into the sediment. The depth-distribution of living specimens varies with species: living specimens of Trochammina inflata consistently occur at the deepest levels. This suggests that species have differential rates of survival in the sediment, possibly because of differential adaptation to severe dysoxia to anoxia, or because of differing food preferences. There is no simple correlation between depth-in-core and faunal diversity, absolute abundance, and species composition of the assemblages. It is therefore possible to derive a signal of faunal changes and thus the environmental changes that may have caused them from the complex faunal signal of fossil assemblages.     

The effects of chemical pollution on the bioturbation potential of estuarine intertidal mudflats

Bioturbation by benthic infauna has important implications for the fate of contaminants as well as for changes to the sediment structure, chemistry and transport characteristics. There is an extensive literature dealing with the influence of sedimentary variables on the structure and function of infaunal marine and estuarine organisms but less is known of the converse, the influence of biota on sedimentary structure. Although some work has been carried out regarding spatial and temporal patterns of bioturbation, little attention has been given to the effects of pollution. The paper gives a framework of animal sediment relationships in an intertidal environment and discusses the general role of macrofauna in structuring and modifying sedimentary features. A brief outline of the various techniques used for quantifying the degree of bioturbation is given and some of these techniques have then been used to demonstrate the effect of a petrochemical discharge on the bioturbation potential of intertidal communities in the Humber estuary, eastern England. These studies indicate an increase in bioturbation with increasing distance from the source of pollution, not only because of differences in abundance, animal size and depth of activity but also because of the difference in species composition between the communities. As a means of interpreting the responses, the species present have been broadly classified in terms of their feeding strategy and sediment modification potential. The paper concludes by discussing the potential impact, in terms of effect on sediment transport, of selectively removing the different guilds (by pollution). Received: 8 February 1999 / Received in revised form: 10 May 1999 / Accepted: 14 May 1999     

Oxygen-related facies in Lake Pannon deposits (Upper Miocene) at Budapest-Köbánya

Oxygen availability is considered to have been a major factor in shaping the sedimentary facies and biofacies of a Late Miocene (8–8.5 Ma old) Lake Pannon sequence studied in the Kozma-street outcrop in Budapest-Köbánya. The sequence contains blue clays deposited in low-oxygen conditions between the storm and the fair-weather wave bases and thin intercalations of laminated fine sand interpreted as tempestites. The storms caused temporary oxygenation of the bottom and thus promoted bioturbation, as indicated by the presence of trace fossils belonging to the Arenicolites ichnofacies or a lacustrine equivalent of the marine Skolithos ichnofacies. Fully bioturbated sand layers with the infaunal Dreissenomya and other littoral molluscs indicate longer periods of bottom ventilation. The blue clays immediately above these sand layers also contain abundant and diverse mollusc fauna. Oxygen deficiency on the “shelf” of Lake Pannon was a local phenomenon probably caused by a high organic loading and/or a salinity-induced stratification.     

Ediacaran–Cambrian bioturbation did not extensively oxygenate sediments in shallow marine ecosystems

The radiation of bioturbation during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition has long been hypothesized to have oxygenated sediments, triggering an expansion of the habitable benthic zone and promoting increased infaunal tiering in early Paleozoic benthic communities. However, the effects of bioturbation on sediment oxygen are underexplored with respect to the importance of biomixing and bioirrigation, two bioturbation processes which can have opposite effects on sediment redox chemistry. We categorized trace fossils from the Ediacaran and Terreneuvian as biomixing or bioirrigation fossils and integrated sedimentological proxies for bioturbation intensity with biogeochemical modeling to simulate oxygen penetration depths through the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. Ultimately, we find that despite dramatic increases in ichnodiversity in the Terreneuvian, biomixing remains the dominant bioturbation behavior, and in contrast to traditional assumptions, Ediacaran–Cambrian bioturbation was unlikely to have resulted in extensive oxygenation of shallow marine sediments globally.     

Microscale oxygen distribution in various invertebrate burrow walls

Profiles of dissolved oxygen were measured in pore waters of unburrowed sediment and the burrow walls of seven invertebrate dwellings. Burrows studied include those of Corophium volutator, Heteromastus filiformis, Arenicola marina, Saccoglossus bromophenolosus, Clymenella sp., Hemigrapsus oregonensis and Cirriformia luxuriosa all from mudflats in Willapa Bay, Washington. These animals comprise a range of burrow architectures ranging from simple, unlined burrows to more complex, mucous lined burrows. Oxygen penetrated unburrowed sediment between depths of 0.4–2.6 mm, whereas oxygen penetrated the burrow walls from 0.3 mm to 2.3 mm. Three groups of burrows are recognized based on the oxygen diffusive properties relative to the unburrowed sediment including those that: (1) slightly impeded oxygen penetration, (2) clearly inhibited oxygen penetration, and (3) enhanced oxygen penetration. Differences in the diffusive properties of the burrow wall are related to the burrow microstructure and presumably the microbial communities living within the burrow microenvironment. The results of this study suggest that burrow shape and burrow‐wall architecture may play an important role in controlling the diffusion of oxygen, and possibly of other dissolved gases (i.e. CO₂, H₂S). The results further demonstrate that simplified assumptions (i.e. that bioturbation uniformly enhances oxygen diffusion into suboxic and anoxic sediments), while requisite for numerical modelling, are not necessarily representative of field data.     

A fan delta succession rich in water escape structures (Upper Turonian, Brandenberg, Austria): Possible record of paleoseismicity

Summary The Upper Turonian of Brandenberg (Austria) is based by a transgressive fan delta succession rich in water escape structures that, at least in part, may have formed in association with earthquakes. The investigated fan delta is among the oldest deposits of the Lower Gosau Subgroup (Upper Turonian to Lower Campanian), a terrestrial to neritic succession that unconformably overlies older carbonate rocks. In its subaerial part, the fan succession consists mainly of conglomerates deposited from mass flows, interlayered with red claystones to siltstones. Along the fringe of marine transgression, beachface/channel mouth conglomerates and bioturbated siltstones to fine sandstones accumulated. The marine part of the fan delta succession consists mainly of cross-laminated and hummocky cross-laminated arenites deposited in a wave/storm-domainated shoreface. Excellent preservation of sedimentary lamination throughout and near absence of bioturbation indicate (intermittently) rapid sediment accumulation. Intercalated shoreface conglomerates are present as compound channel-fills, and as thin sheets alongside and off channels. Offshore transport of gravels to cobbles into the shoreface may have been driven by river floods (in the most proximal positions) and by storm rip currents (farther seaward). Towards the top of the succession, conglomerate sheets disappear, and the arenites become bioturbated. In the succession of shore zone arenites, abundant water escape structures include distorted/convoluted lamination, short fluidization planes, tabular fissures (some associated with offset of beds), pods and lenses of internal breccias, pillow beds up to more than 1 m thick, and hitherto undescribed, cyclindrical structures (“onion structures”) built by concentrically arranged planes interpreted as water escape routes. The tabular fissures, internal breccias and the pillow beds are closely similar to water escape structures documented from historical earthquakes and from inferred paleo-earthquakes. Storm wave loading or wave-induced microseisms are considered less probable triggers of the larger dewatering structures. Water escape structures represent an hitherto unappreciated, although not strictly diagnostic, indicator of syndepositional tectonism in the Upper Cretaceous of the Eastern Alps.     

川中-川南地区上三叠统滨浅湖沉积中的遗迹化石

川中-川南地区上三叠统滨浅湖沉积中产有丰富的动物遗迹化石,识别为3大类6属8种,包括Sko-lithos linearis,S.verticalis,Ophiomorpha nodosa,Planolites beverleyensis,P.montanus,Palaeophycus tubularis,Taenidiumsatanassi和Cochlichnus anguineus,另外,逃逸构造也很发育。这些遗迹化石主要是无脊椎动物的居住迹、进食迹和觅食迹,大多为全浮痕和上浮痕保存。根据遗迹化石的组合特征及其沉积环境,可识别出3个遗迹组合:1)Skolithos linearis遗迹组合,主要由长的垂直或高角度倾斜的悬食居住潜穴构成,反映高能的砂质滨湖环境;2)Cochlichnus-Planolites遗迹组合,主要由进食迹和牧食迹组成,形成于低能的滨湖沼泽环境;3)Skolithos-Planol-ites遗迹组合,以居住潜穴和进食潜穴为主,遗迹化石的丰度较高,代表潮湿气候条件下的浅湖环境。根据生物扰动的分布及扰动强度,浅湖中可识别出两类扰动类型,即1)砂泥边界扰动,扰动主要发育于砂泥交界处,代表了浅湖下部环境;2)薄砂层扰动,扰动主要发育于薄砂层中,主要出现于浅湖中下部沉积中。     

The effects of bioturbation on particle redistribution in Mediterranean coastal sediment. Preliminary results

In order to quantify bioturbation processes in a coastal Mediterranean ecosystem, experiments were performed to determine sediment mixing rates resulting from macrobenthos activity. Particle flux was measured in situ for 22 days using luminophores, which are colored sediment particles with sizes ranging from 10 to 200 µm.In sediment depths from 0–5 cm, particle mixing was intensive due to high macrobenthos abundance. A small quantity of luminophores was transported down to a depth of 14 ± 2 cm, where the macrofauna was represented principally by Polychetes. In a control experimental structure — without benthic fauna — no transfer of luminophores into the sediment was recorded.Sediment particle mixing measured in the ecosystem studied is intensive, and is the result of high macrobenthos activity. Different mixing modes occur with scales and rates depending on the organisms present. The luminophore profile resulting from bioturbation processes is explained by an intensive bioadvection sediment mixing added to a biodiffusive mixing with an order of magnitude of 10^–6 cm² s^–1. Tracer accumulations between 1 and 2 ± 1 cm and between 4 and 5 ± 1 cm are attributed to bioadvection activity of two or more distinct populations. Studies over a larger time scale have been undertaken to monitor developments in the observed subsurface maxima.     

Bioturbation in a declining oxygen environment, in situ observations from Wormcam

Bioturbation, the displacement and mixing of sediment particles by fauna or flora, facilitates life supporting processes by increasing the quality of marine sediments. In the marine environment bioturbation is primarily mediated by infaunal organisms, which are susceptible to perturbations in their surrounding environment due to their sedentary life history traits. Of particular concern is hypoxia, dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations ≤2.8 mg l(-1), a prevalent and persistent problem that affects both pelagic and benthic fauna. A benthic observing system (Wormcam) consisting of a buoy, telemetering electronics, sediment profile camera, and water quality datasonde was developed and deployed in the Rappahannock River, VA, USA, in an area known to experience seasonal hypoxia from early spring to late fall. Wormcam transmitted a time series of in situ images and water quality data, to a website via wireless internet modem, for 5 months spanning normoxic and hypoxic periods. Hypoxia was found to significantly reduce bioturbation through reductions in burrow lengths, burrow production, and burrowing depth. Although infaunal activity was greatly reduced during hypoxic and near anoxic conditions, some individuals remained active. Low concentrations of DO in the water column limited bioturbation by infaunal burrowers and likely reduced redox cycling between aerobic and anaerobic states. This study emphasizes the importance of in situ observations for understanding how components of an ecosystem respond to hypoxia.     

生物扰动对沉积物中污染物环境行为的影响研究进展

生物扰动由于显著改变沉积物结构和性质,进而影响沉积物中污染物的环境行为。综述生物扰动对沉积物中氮、磷、重金属和疏水性有机污染物环境行为的影响。生物扰动促进这些污染物从沉积物向水体释放。生物扰动还对不同的污染物产生其它不同的影响。对于氮,生物扰动还影响其硝化与反硝化作用;对于磷,生物扰动不仅改变其化学形态,还提高有机磷降解。对于重金属,生物扰动还能改变其在沉积物中的分布及化学形态。对于疏水性有机污染物,生物扰动主要增强生物富集和代谢,以及提高生物降解。     

Influence of the mode of macrofauna-mediated bioturbation on the vertical distribution of living benthic foraminifera: First insight from axial tomodensitometry

We investigated the influence of bioturbation by macrofauna on the vertical distribution of living (stained) benthic foraminifera in marine intertidal sediments. We investigated the links between macrofaunal bioturbation and foraminiferal distribution, by sampling from stations situated on a gradient of perturbation by oyster-farming, which has a major effect on benthic faunal assemblages. Sediment cores were collected on the French Atlantic coast, from three intertidal stations: an oyster farm, an area without oysters but affected by oyster biodeposits, and a control station. Axial tomodensitometry (CT-scan) was used for three-dimensional visualization and two-dimensional analysis of the cores. Biogenic structure volumes were quantified and compared between cores. We collected the macrofauna, living foraminifera, shells and gravel from the cores after scanning, to validate image analysis. We did not investigate differences in the biogenic structure volume between cores. However, biogenic structure volume is not necessarily proportional to the extent of bioturbation in a core, given that many biodiffusive activities cannot be detected on CT-scans. Biodiffusors and larger gallery-diffusors were abundant in macrofaunal assemblage at the control station. By contrast, macrofaunal assemblages consisted principally of downward-conveyors at the two stations affected by oyster farming. At the control station, the vertical distribution of biogenic structures mainly built by the biodiffusor Scorbicularia plana and the large gallery-diffusor Hediste diversicolor was significantly correlated with the vertical profiles of living foraminifera in the sediment, whereas vertical distributions of foraminifera and downward-conveyors were not correlated at the station affected by oyster farming. This relationship was probably responsible for the collection of foraminifera in deep sediment layers (> 6 cm below the sediment surface) at the control station. As previously suggested for other species, oxygen diffusion may occur via the burrows built by S. plana and H. diversicolor, potentially increasing oxygen penetration and providing a favorable microhabitat for foraminifera in terms of oxygen levels. By contrast, the absence of living foraminifera below 6 cm at the stations affected by oyster farming was probably associated with a lack of biodiffusor and large gallery-diffusor bioturbation. Our findings suggest that the effect of macrofaunal bioturbation on the vertical distribution of foraminiferal assemblages in sediments depends on the effects of the macrofauna on bioirrigation and sediment oxidation, as deduced by Eh values, rather than on the biogenic structure volume produced by macrofauna. The loss of bioturbator functional diversity due to oyster farming may thus indirectly affect infaunal communities by suppressing favorable microhabitats produced by bioturbation.     

Morphology and microhabitat preferences of benthic foraminifera from the northwest Atlantic Ocean

The distribution of Rose Bengal stained calcareous benthic foraminifera was determined in six ☐ cores raised from water depths between 200 and 3000 m on the Nova Scotian continental margin and Gulf of Maine. The taxa can be separated into four microhabitats within the surficial sediments. Epifaunal taxa are generally found in the top cm, intermediate infaunal taxa are found from about 1 to 4 cm and deep infaunal taxa are found at > 4 cm sediment depth in at least one ☐ core. A fourth group, shallow infaunal taxa, is found in the top 2 cm and is inferred to be infaunal based on wall porosity characteristics and test shapes similar to infaunal taxa. The epifaunal, shallow infaunal and intermediate infaunal taxa maintain their positions within the sediments from core to core, whereas the deep infaunal taxa are found at progressively shallower sediment depths in cores within increasing organic carbon contents from shallower water depths.Each microhabitat category has distinct morphological characteristics. Epifaunal taxa have plano-covex or biconvex cross sections, trochospiral coiling and large pores absent or found on only one side. Shallow infaunal taxa have uniserial, triserial, or planispiral coiling, with surface ornamentation present on a number of taxa. The intermediate infaunal taxa have rounded peripheries, pores over the entire test and planispiral coiling, with the exception ofCibicidoides bradyi which has trochospiral coiling. The deep infaunal taxa have, in general, planispiral or triserial coiling with cylindrical or ovate shaped tests.     

The effect of bioturbation by polychaetes (Opheliidae) on benthic foraminiferal assemblages and test preservation

Biological activity such as burrowing can alter benthic foraminiferal shell preservation and may also modify benthic foraminiferal assemblages by vertical mixing, inducing sediment homogenization. Here, we analyse benthic foraminiferal assemblages and taphonomy of upper Miocene marine deposits from Conil de la Frontera (Cádiz, south‐western Spain). The deposits consist of marls displaying a pervasive alternation of intensively bioturbated beds dominated by Macaronichnus segregatis traces (ichnofabric index 4–5) and non‐bioturbated beds. Benthic foraminiferal assemblages are dominated by Cibicidoides mundulus and Cibicides refulgens, indicating that the marls were deposited on an oligotrophic, well‐oxygenated upper slope. The impact of burrowing on the preservation of benthic foraminiferal tests was tested using Q‐mode cluster analysis, which found two well‐differentiated groups of samples, one including the non‐bioturbated beds and the other encompassing the bioturbated ones. Fragmentation and recrystallization account for the differentiation of these groups, both being higher in the bioturbated sediments. Aggressive chemical digestion by the Macaronichnus trace‐makers, assumed to be a polychaete worm of the family Opheliidae, etched the microfossil shells, making them more vulnerable to fragmentation. Intense bioturbation favoured the circulation of pore fluids, encouraging recrystallization. Pervasive burrowing resulted in significant vertical reworking of microfossils. As a consequence, benthic foraminiferal assemblages in the bioturbated beds were homogenized in the mixed layer; that is, the uppermost layer of the substrate totally burrowed. The alternation of bioturbated and non‐bioturbated beds reflects episodic transfer of food particles down slope from shallower parts of the shelf as well as from the continent due to storms under otherwise homogeneous oligotrophic marine conditions.     

The microbial landscape in bioturbated mangrove sediment: A resource for promoting nature-based solutions for mangroves

Globally, soils and sediments are affected by the bioturbation activities of benthic species. The consequences of these activities are particularly impactful in intertidal sediment, which is generally anoxic and nutrient-poor. Mangrove intertidal sediments are of particular interest because, as the most productive forests and one of the most important stores of blue carbon, they provide global-scale ecosystem services. The mangrove sediment microbiome is fundamental for ecosystem functioning, influencing the efficiency of nutrient cycling and the abundance and distribution of key biological elements. Redox reactions in bioturbated sediment can be extremely complex, with one reaction creating a cascade effect on the succession of respiration pathways. This facilitates the overlap of different respiratory metabolisms important in the element cycles of the mangrove sediment, including carbon, nitrogen, sulphur and iron cycles, among others. Considering that all ecological functions and services provided by mangrove environments involve microorganisms, this work reviews the microbial roles in nutrient cycling in relation to bioturbation by animals and plants, the main mangrove ecosystem engineers. We highlight the diversity of bioturbating organisms and explore the diversity, dynamics and functions of the sediment microbiome, considering both the impacts of bioturbation. Finally, we review the growing evidence that bioturbation, through altering the sediment microbiome and environment, determining a ‘halo effect’, can ameliorate conditions for plant growth, highlighting the potential of the mangrove microbiome as a nature-based solution to sustain mangrove development and support the role of this ecosystem to deliver essential ecological services.     

SPI-ing on the seafloor: characterising benthic systems with traditional and in situ observations

This work aimed to show that the sea bed of two environmentally-different regions of the North Sea varies both spatially and temporally with respect to their biological communities and bioturbation characteristics. The two contrasting sites studied were north of the Dogger Bank (ND) (85 m) and the Oyster Grounds (OG) (45 m). The physical environment varied between and within sites, mainly influenced by sediment chlorophyll a content and water temperature. Our data revealed that the depth of the apparent Redox Potential Discontinuity (aRPD) layer at OG varied between 2.2 cm in February and 6.5 cm in October; evidence of bioturbation activity (e.g., feeding voids) was observed within the sediment profile. In contrast, at the ND site the aRPD values ranged from 1.7 cm in February to 2.5 cm in May and feeding voids and infaunal burrows were restricted to sediment depths far shallower than those observed at OG. Communities at ND were dominated by a number of surficial-sediment dwelling polychaete species (e.g., Notomastus latericeus, capitellids) while those of OG were dominated by the brittlestar Amphiura filiformis, together with significant numbers of deeper-dwelling taxa such as the ghost shrimp Callianassa subterranea and the bivalve mollusc Corbula gibba. Our data imply that regions of the North Sea which experience dissimilar environmental conditions not only possess different infaunal communities but also contrasting seasonal fluctuations and bioturbation capacities. The ecological implications of these findings, including inferences for carbon and nutrient cycling, are discussed in relation to the wider North Sea ecosystem.     

The importance of Planolites in the Cambrian substrate revolution

Early Cambrian subtidal shelf substrates were characterized by low water content and steep chemical gradients, conditions likely facilitated by the presence of microbial mats as reflected by an abundance of microbially-mediated sedimentary structures in Lower Cambrian strata. Such substrate conditions would have been unfavourable for burrowing by benthic metazoans. A combination of environmental restrictions and a lack of adaptations to vertical burrowing likely prevented most benthic metazoans from burrowing infaunally in Early Cambrian subtidal shelf substrates. The eventual acquisition of burrowing adaptations by benthic metazoans later in the Cambrian promoted an increase in the depth and intensity of bioturbation and initiated a transition toward well-hydrated substrates in which extensive infaunal activity was possible.Siliciclastic units of the Lower Cambrian succession in the White–Inyo Mountains, eastern California, contain abundant horizontal bioturbation on bedding planes, as documented by bedding plane bioturbation indices, but little vertical bioturbation, as shown by ichnofabric indices and x-radiography. Planolites, a simple horizontal trace fossil, represents the dominant type of bioturbation in these units. Planolites is found in a range of diameters, indicating that more than one species of tracemaker likely produced this type of trace. Although these Planolites do not have a vertical component, their abundance on bedding planes indicates that the activities of Planolites tracemakers had a significant impact on subtidal shelf substrates, represented by Lower Cambrian units in the White–Inyo Mountains, early in the Cambrian substrate revolution.     

Firm evidence for a post-extinction ichnofauna: earliest Carboniferous Cruziana reticulata assemblage from the Anti-Atlas of Morocco

Cruziana reticulata is an arthropod-related ichnospecies that is characterized by a conspicuous net-like scratch pattern whose initial formation and later preservation require the presence of consolidated substrates in shallow marine fine-grained bottoms. There are two scenarios in which epifaunal to shallow infaunal benthic organisms may access firm siliciclastic substrates: first, by exposure of the compacted bottom after erosion of the upper, water-saturated and usually soft portion of sediment column; and, second, by primary fast substrate stabilization in the absence of biogenic sediment mixing. Whereas the first mode occurs throughout the Phanerozoic, the latter is only prevalent in marine bottoms during the Early Palaeozoic mainly as a consequence of poorly developed infaunal bioturbation. However, by eradicating burrowing organisms, mass extinctions are known (i.e. the end-Permian extinction) to ‘reset’ intensity of ecospace utilization, which entails the return to this anachronistic style of trace fossil preservation in younger times. An earliest Carboniferous ichno-assemblage dominated by Cruziana reticulata from Morocco attests the spread of firm substrates in the aftermath of the Hangenberg Event – a major extinction at the end of the Devonian period. Since evidence for erosion is lacking in accompanying sedimentary rocks and the ichno-assemblage shows characteristics of opportunistic exploitation of the nutritious muddy seabed, we favour the interpretation of this assemblage to represent a post-extinction ichnofauna. It shows that other taxonomically less severe mass extinctions may also exhibit transient but severe ecological effects in open marine ecosystems such as the collapse of vital sediment mixing. Such post-extinction effects may distort the perception of the stratigraphical record as a firmground ichno-assemblage often taken as evidence for submarine erosion and are crucial in highlighting sequence boundaries. We, thus, encourage appreciating macroevolutionary framework of respective ichnofaunas.     

Associating X-Ray Microtomography with Permeability Contrasts in Bioturbated Media

The use of X-ray microtomography (micro-CT) to evaluate the contrasts in permeability associated with bioturbation in two- and three-dimensions (2D and 3D) is investigated in this article. Core analysis, spot-permeametry measurements, and petrographic thin-sections of the six different datasets from Western Canada (Debolt Formation, Wabamun Group, and Medicine Hat Member) and offshore Norway (Ula Formation, Lysing Formation, and Nise Formation) show that the trace fossils commonly modify the permeability and porosity of the reservoir through sediment reworking and diagenesis of the sediment. In this study, micro-CT techniques are used to analyze the X-ray attenuation associated with bioturbation in siliciclastics and carbonates. Because X-ray attenuation represents the transmissivity or absorptivity of a sample to the incident X-rays, each of which is related to sediment composition and sediment densities, micro-CT images are integrated with sedimentological data and petrographic data to identify the trace fossils and matrix in 2D and 3D. Due to the difference in sediment grain size and sorting (i.e., porosity) within the burrows and matrix, analysis of the X-ray attenuations allows for their delineation in 2D cross-sectional images. When processed as 3D volumes, the micro-CT images show the complexity in burrow connectivity and burrow orientations within a sample. More importantly, the 3D volumes help show the distribution of porosity that can be linked to measured permeability values within a sample. Quantification of the heterogeneous burrow fabric on reservoir and resource quality is made from these processed micro-CT images.     

Sediment-water fluxes of nutrients in an Antarctic coastal environment: influence of bioturbation

Rates of exchanges of nitrate and ammonium across the sediment-water interface were measured in an inshore marine environment at Signy Island, South Orkney Islands, Antarctica, over 6 months from August 1991 to February 1992. The sediment was a source of ammonium to the water column but a sink of nitrate, although nitrate exchange rates were very variable. Concentration profiles of nitrate and ammonium in the sediment porewater corroborated the measured vertical exchanges. Bioturbation, by a largely amphipod benthic infauna which was confined to the top 2 cm of sediment, was investigated experimentally. Removal of bioturbation depressed sedimentary O₂ uptake by 33% and sedimentary release of NH₄ ⁺ by 50%. In contrast, in the absence of bioturbation, the removal of NO₃ ^– from the water column by the sediment increased in rate. The measured fluxes of ammonium and nitrate from the sediment did not match with the amount of nitrogen mineralised within the sediment, and urea may account for the difference. It is suggested that the export of nitrogen from the bottom sediment may be significant in sustaining primary production in the Antarctic inshore environment. Ammonium and urea are preferred to nitrate as a nitrogen source by phytoplankton. The nitrate concentrations in the sediment porewater were low, but a large pool of nitrate was identified in the top 0–2 cm layer, which was released by KCl extraction or by freezing of the sediment. This extractable pool of nitrate did not equilibrate with the soluble nitrate pool in the sediment, but seemed to be released from components of the benthic infauna, which were also largely confined to the top 0–2 cm. The physiological role of this nitrate is unknown.