Patterns of biomass-size spectra from oligotrophic waters of the Northwest Atlantic

The study of the distribution of biomass by size provides an ataxonomic approach for analyzing the structure of the pelagic ecosystem. However, empirical data regarding planktonic size-structure in offshore areas are scarce. Here, we report the results of a study of the planktonic biomass size-distribution at several stations located within two regions (Sargasso Sea and New England Seamounts Area) of the Northwest Atlantic. The biomass size-spectra covered a body-size range from bacteria to mesozooplankton and a depth range from the surface to 400 m. It is shown that the slope of the normalized biomass size-spectrum (NBS-spectrum) varies depending on whether volume or carbon units are used. The transformation from volume to carbon units makes the slope of the NBS-spectrum approximately 0.15 units more negative. The distribution of normalized-biomass by size was linear (plotted on a log–log scale) at all stations. The slopes of the NBS-spectra (volume scale) ranged from −0.96 to −1.01. There were no significant differences among the slopes of the NBS-spectra within either of the two areas studied. In addition, no significant differences were detected between the stations in the Sargasso Sea and those located in the New England Seamounts area. Apart from a tendency towards a decrease in the intercept of the normalized-biomass axis of the size-spectra in deeper waters, the NBS-spectra were also very similar through depth. The slopes of the NBS-spectra in biovolume units are not significantly different from −1.0 (p<0.01), and therefore are in agreement with Sheldon’s Linear Biomass Hypothesis. By contrast, the slopes of the NBS-spectra in carbon units are significantly different (p<0.01) from −1.0 (range=–1.09 to –1.17; all stations TOGETHER=–1.14) and their numerical values are in close agreement with Platt and Denman’s model and with the findings of [Rodríguez and Mullin, 1986a]) for the North Pacific Central Gyre. The results of this study support the hypothesis that the planktonic size-structure of offshore oligotrophic systems is a conservative property.     

Horizontal and Vertical Structure of Geostrophic Currents in the Black Sea According to the Data of the Summer Survey Performed as a Part of the ComSBlack-92 Program

We describe the methodology and software developed for the numerical analysis of the characteristics of the horizontal and vertical structure of geostrophic currents. We present the results of computation of these characteristics according to the data of the summer survey of the Black Sea carried out as a part of the ComSBlack-92 program. The distinctive features of the space structure of geostrophic currents discovered as a result and the established parameters of their variability may supplement the existing data on the current field in the Black Sea.     

Analysis of solutions to the inverse problem on the retrieval of the microstructure of stratospheric aerosol from satellite measurements

A statistical ensemble of microphysical parameters of the background stratospheric aerosol at altitudes of 15 to 30 km is modeled on the basis of experimental data. The aerosol attenuation coefficients (AACs) in the wavelength range 0.38–16.3 μm are calculated for all realizations of the ensemble by algorithms of the Mie theory. Analysis of correlations between the AACs and the microphysical parameters indicate that the AAC correlates most strongly with the total volume V and area S of all particles. The errors of determining the microphysical parameters from AAC measurements are analyzed via the method of linear regression. It is shown that, if the AAC is measured with an error of 5%, the errors of determining both the particle size distribution (PSD) for particles with sizes of 0.4 to 4 μm and the parameter S are an order of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty, whereas the error of determining V is two orders of magnitude smaller than the prior uncertainty. Schemes of AAC measurements with the SAGE III, ISAMS, CLAES, HALOE instruments and an IR interferometer in the visible and IR regions are discussed. It is shown that combining the schemes makes it possible to extend the range of particle sizes for which the PSD is retrieved with a satisfactory accuracy and to increase the accuracy of determining S and V substantially and the accuracy of determining the total number of particles N _opt to a lesser extent. Examples of interpreting AAC measurements carried out simultaneously with the SAGE III and HALOE instruments within the same spatial region are presented. A systematic discrepancy between vertical profiles of S and V obtained from SAGE III and HALOE measurements is revealed.     

An evaluation of temperature scales for silica diagenesis in diatomaceous sequences including a new approach based on the Miocene Monterey Formation,California

Geologic relations indicate that silica phases transformed in the Monterey Formation in two zones that persist over a narrow depth/temperature range and do not stratigraphically overlap. The wide and overlapping range of reported temperatures of these transformations is mainly a result of the many uncertainties inherent in the different methods used to estimate temperature and does not indicate that phases transform throughout these ranges. Our approach to a reliable temperature scale for silica diagenesis combines as empirical zonation of silica phases with temperature calibration from a sequence at maximum temperature and depth of burial.     

Measuring run-up on a natural beach

Field experiments have been performed to evaluate and intercompare two techniques for measuring run-up on natural beaches, resistance wires and films. Simultaneous deployment of wire sensors shows a low error (< 5%) in electronics gain, but a strong sensitivity to the elevation of the wires above the beach face. On a low slope (β ～ 0.02) beach, with incident wind waves of moderate height (H ～ 1 m), differences of only a few cm in the wire elevation cause variance differences as large as 25%, in otherwise identical sensors. Replicate digitizations of the same run-up film show variance differences as large as 20%, with an average deviation from the mean variance of 8%.Use of the film and resistance wire sensors on the same run-up field showed small differences in the mean swash elevation (i.e., set-up), but an 83% difference in swash variance. Much further work is needed to determine the dependence of sensor differences on beach slope, porosity, camera elevation and other factors.     

Winter-spring phytoplankton blooms in Dabob Bay, Washington

Scientific investigations in Dabob Bay, Washington State, USA, have been extensive since the early 1960s, but phytoplankton blooms have been studied mostly with regard to chlorophyll concentrations and little is known about the phytoplankton species themselves. Here we provide information on the species present, their abundances during blooms, their contribution to organic carbon concentrations and the ability of some phytoplankton species to produce toxic aldehydes that may impact metazoan grazers.Multiple blooms of phytoplankton, dominated by diatoms, occurred in the late winter-early spring period, with depth-integrated chlorophyll levels ranging from <20 to 230 mg m⁻² and peaks in February and April. The major bloom species included Skeletonema costatum, Thalassiosira spp. and Chaetoceros spp; Phaeocystis cf. pouchetii occurred in 2002 and 2004. Other taxa or groups of organisms that were sometimes abundant included unidentified small flagellates <10 μm in size and unidentified heterotrophic dinoflagellates. Large diatoms usually comprised most of the cell carbon, but a large, heterotrophic dinoflagellate, identified only as Gyrodinium “tear” because of its shape, was a major contributor to the microplankton carbon when present even in small numbers. Five Thalassiosira species and S. costatum were found to produce polyunsaturated aldehydes (PUA) that are known to affect copepod reproduction and hatching success. Our findings are similar to the few previous studies in the last four decades that included phytoplankton species and suggest long-term similarities and relative stability in the phytoplankton species present and their timing in Dabob Bay.     

Hydrothermal Vent Geology and Biology at Earth’s Fastest Spreading Rates

Earth’s fastest present seafloor spreading occurs along the East Pacific Rise near 31°–32° S. Two of the major hydrothermal plume areas discovered during a 1998 multidisciplinary geophysical/hydrothermal investigation of these mid-ocean ridge axes were explored during a 1999 Alvin expedition. Both occur in recently eruptive areas where shallow collapse structures mark the neovolcanic axis. The 31° S vent area occurs in a broad linear zone of collapses and fractures coalescing into an axial summit trough. The 32° S vent area has been volcanically repaved by a more recent eruption, with non-linear collapses that have not yet coalesced. Both sites occur in highly inflated areas, near local inflation peaks, which is the best segment-scale predictor of hydrothermal activity at these superfast spreading rates (150 mm/yr).     

Inhibition of coral fertilisation and larval metamorphosis by tributyltin and copper

Fertilisation and larval metamorphosis of reef-building corals are important life history events leading to recruitment of juvenile corals to reef populations. Little is known of the sensitivity of these early life phases to pollution, or their relative susceptibility to certain toxicants compared with established coral colonies. Inhibition of fertilisation and larval metamorphosis of the coral Acropora millepora (Ehrenberg, 1834) was assessed in response to solutions of the antifoulants tributyltin (TBT) and copper (Cu) using laboratory-based bioassays. Nominal concentrations that inhibited 50% fertilisation and metamorphosis (IC50) were calculated from 4 h fertilisation and 24 h metamorphosis assays and were based on introduced dose. Cu was most potent towards fertilisation with an IC50 of 17.4 micrograms/l. TBT however, proved more toxic to larval metamorphosis having an IC50 of 2.0 micrograms/l. Inert surfaces coated with either Cu- or TBT-based antifouling paint also inhibited fertilisation and metamorphosis. The degree of inhibition was correlated with surface area of the paint coating. These results indicate fertilisation and metamorphosis of coral can be sensitive to active components of antifouling paints.