Distribution and abundance of the Weddell seal in the western Ross Sea,Antarctica

The distribution and abundance of the Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddelli Lesson) in the fast ice and pack ice of the western Ross Sea, Antarctica, were investigated during 1967 and 1968 from icebreakers and accompanying helicopters. It was estimated that there were about 50,000 Weddell seals in the western Ross Sea between Cape Adare and McMurdo Sound. Weddell seals appear to breed mainly in the fast ice along the Victoria Land coast and less frequently in some nearby areas of pack ice. Fast ice is preferred to pack ice. Most Weddell seals in the pack ice were adults. General observations on the distribution of crabeater, leopard, and Ross seals are included.     

Circulation and hydrology under the seasonal ice in McMurdo Sound,Antarctica

Results are presented here of measurements of current velocity, temperature and salinity made at seven positions in McMurdo Sound (77° 50’ S, 166° 30’ E): four near the seasonal ice/fast ice boundary, two along the seasonal ice/sea boundary, and one in a channel in the sea ice. Current velocities were strongly influenced by tides with speeds greatest during periods of high tidal range. Current velocities changed rapidly in the upper 100 m and current speeds generally increased with depth to within 200 m of the bottom. In the lower 200 m current speed decreased towards the bottom. The mean circulation near the seasonal ice/fast ice boundary, found by eliminating the tidal variation, appears to consist of an inflow of water towards the fast ice at positions further than a mile (1.3 km) from Ross Island and a nett outflow from under the fast ice at positions closer than a mile (1.3 km) from Ross Island.     

A chenier sequence at Broad Sound,Queensland, and evidence against a Holocene high sea level

A prograding chenier plain on the west side of Broad Sound is up to 5 km wide and individual beach ridges (cheniers) are up to 5 km long. The cheniers are believed to have formed during periods of low sediment supply, leading to the erosion of mangrove deposits and the attendant development of a beach ridge. Radiocarbon dating of two sequences, revealed that cheniers formed at about 5000, 4500, 3550, 2500, 1600 and 700 years B.P. There is no significant change in the elevation of the cheniers during this 5000 year interval and it would seem from the Broad Sound evidence that sea level stabilized at about the present level approximately 5000 years B.P. Since that time mean sea level has varied by no more than ± 1 m.     

On the occurrence of fossil microspores,pollen grains,and microplankton in bottom sediments of the Ross Sea,Antarctica

Palynomorphs from off‐shore glacial sediments provide information on the nature and age of strata buried beneath the Antarctic ice. Four mud samples, collected between 530 and 1,300 m, from widely separated areas of the Ross Sea floor contain palynomorphs of Lower Tertiary and Permo‐Triassic ages. The Lower Tertiary species, which include both marine and non‐marine taxa, can be correlated directly with similar forms occurring in Tertiary erratics in moraines in the McMurdo Sound region. This could indicate a widespread occurrence of Tertiary rocks beneath the Ross Sea, Ross Ice Shelf, and adjacent ice‐covered areas. The Permo‐Triassic species show considerable variation in degree of carbonisation. They do not include marine forms and have probably been derived, either directly or indirectly, from various horizons and facies of the Beacon Group.     

McMurdo sound hydrological observations, 1972–73

Hydrological data, including current observations, from a line of five stations across seasonal ice in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, are presented. The observations, which were made during the 1972–73 summer, gave evidence for a net flux of approximately 0.4 × 10⁶m³.s^‐1 flowing towards the south to pass under the Ross Ice Shelf. There was a small northward flux (0.04 × 10⁶m³.s^‐1) on the western side of the sound, but over most of the width the flow was to the south.

Diurnal tidal currents, which were analysed in terms of K1, P1, and O1 components, were superposed on the drift currents.

Temperature and salinity measurements revealed signs of surface water dilution and warming down to 200 m in the region of southerly drift. Temperatures associated with the northerly drift on the western side of the section were close to freezing at all depths. This water can be identified as coming from under the Ross Ice Shelf.     

Physical oceanographic observations in Marlborough Sounds

Results of temperature and salinity observations with depth, current drogue measurements in Pelorus and Queen Charlotte Sounds, and a current meter record from Pelorus Sound are discussed. The circulation in both Sounds is mainly tidal. Salinities in Pelorus Sound were found to be lower than in Queen Charlotte Sound; there was a rapid decrease in salinity near the head of Pelorus Sound where the Pelorus and Kaituna rivers enter it. Residence time of water in Pelorus Sound was estimated to be about 21 days.     

Hydrocarbon geochemistry of the Puget Sound region—III. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediments

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) distributions and sources are characterized in 96 sediment samples from 24 ²¹⁰Pb-dated cores collected at locations in the greater Puget Sound. The highest PAH concentrations are found within a few kilometers of several sources including industrial facilities in northern Puget Sound, urban areas in central Puget Sound, and river systems draining coal-bearing strata. Regional patterns of combustion-derived PAH in surficial sediments indicate little atmospheric or waterborne exchange of PAH between different regions of the Sound. Significant subsurface maxima in combustion-derived PAH concentrations (²¹⁰Pb dated at the 1950s) occur only in sediment cores collected near urban centers. Perylene apparently derives from erosion of a terrestrial source with little or no evidence of in situ production at depth in sediment cores. Coal fragments are carriers of a characteristic suite of alkylated phenanthrene, chrysene, and picene derivatives concentrated near river mouths in central and southern Puget Sound.     

Studies on the Adelie penguin at cape Royds 1964–65 and 1965–66

The adult population of the colony, egg sizes, incubation watches, and egg and chick mortality are considered for the 1964–65 and 1965–66 breeding seasons. In 1964–65 1,051 breeding pairs were recorded and 1,467 chicks survived to leave the colony: this represents 67.5% of eggs laid. In 1965–66 1,186 breeding pairs successfully reared 1,390 chicks: 57.0% of eggs laid. Egg and chick mortality over four breeding seasons is considered, with special reference to ice conditions in McMurdo Sound. Dimensions of 349 eggs are given, including those for clutches produced by 33 known females in successive seasons. Breeding success of known pairs of birds is discussed. Birds breeding for the first time appear to lay a single, small egg and to be unsuccessful; experienced breeders which change their mate are usually unsuccessful. Observations are made on chick plumage and panting. A prone sleeping posture in which the bill is directed towards the axilla is described and illustrated. Some observations on the South Polar Skua are recorded.     

A nested numerical tidal model of the southern New England Bight

A nested, barotropic numerical tidal model has been applied to the southern New England Bight to include Long Island Sound (LIS), Block Island Sound (BIS), Rhode Island Sound (RIS), Buzzards Bay (BB) and a portion of the southern New England shelf. An explicit finite difference representation of the two-dimensional vertically averaged equations of motion and continuity, employing forward time and centered spatial differences with the bottom friction term being evaluated at both time levels, is applied to the study area to predict tidal circulation dynamics. Horizontal friction and advective terms have been neglected. Tidal height data along the open boundaries is specified from available data. Model predictions of corange and high and low cophase lines agree with available data and show the strongly co-oscillatory behavior of LIS. Tidal current ellipses agree reasonably well with available data showing rectilinear motion in LIS, BIS and BB and rotary motion in RIS.     

A high-resolution,multi-channel,over-sea-ice seismic reflection survey over the Mackay Sea Valley,Granite Harbor,Antarctica

In the austral summer of 2007, 20.5 km of high-resolution over-sea-ice seismic reflection data were collected in the Granite Harbor region of southern McMurdo Sound over the Mackay Sea Valley. The goal of the survey was to image thin pelagic sediment deposited in the Mackay Sea Valley after the Last Glacial Maximum. A generator–injector air gun was lowered beneath the sea ice through holes drilled by an auger drill system. The recording system was a 60 channel snow streamer with vertically oriented gimbaled geophones spaced 25 m apart. Unique problems in the over-sea-ice seismic reflection survey—noise from the ice column flexing and timing delays caused by trapped air at previous shot points—were overcome to improve the quality of the seismic data. The Mackay Sea Valley survey produced seismic data with a vertical resolution of 6.3 m. The processed seismic data show pelagic sediment thickness of up to 50 m within the Mackay Sea Valley with some locations showing possible older sediments beneath the pelagic sediment layer.     

Tidally averaged circulation in Puget Sound sub-basins: Comparison of historical data,analytical model,and numerical model

Through extensive field data collection and analysis efforts conducted since the 1950s, researchers have established an understanding of the characteristic features of circulation in Puget Sound. The pattern ranges from the classic fjordal behavior in some basins, with shallow brackish outflow and compensating inflow immediately below, to the typical two-layer flow observed in many partially mixed estuaries with saline inflow at depth. An attempt at reproducing this behavior by fitting an analytical formulation to past data is presented, followed by the application of a three-dimensional circulation and transport numerical model. The analytical treatment helped identify key physical processes and parameters, but quickly reconfirmed that response is complex and would require site-specific parameterization to include effects of sills and interconnected basins. The numerical model of Puget Sound, developed using unstructured-grid finite volume method, allowed resolution of the sub-basin geometric features, including presence of major islands, and site-specific strong advective vertical mixing created by bathymetry and multiple sills. The model was calibrated using available recent short-term oceanographic time series data sets from different parts of the Puget Sound basin. The results are compared against 1) recent velocity and salinity data collected in Puget Sound from 2006 and 2) a composite data set from previously analyzed historical records, mostly from the 1970s. The results highlight the ability of the model to reproduce velocity and salinity profile characteristics, their variations among Puget Sound sub-basins, and tidally averaged circulation. Sensitivity of residual circulation to variations in freshwater inflow and resulting salinity gradient in fjordal sub-basins of Puget Sound is examined.     

Modelling the equilibrium speciation of nickel in the Tweed Estuary, UK: Voltammetric determinations and simulations using WHAM

The complexation of dissolved Ni has been evaluated in a rapidly-flushed, rural estuary (Tweed, UK) by ligand exchange-adsorptive cathodic stripping voltammetry. Results suggest the presence of strongly binding ligands, L, throughout, with average stability constants of about 10¹⁹ and which are saturated by ambient Ni concentrations. Equilibrium speciation calculations incorporating these constants in WHAM, version 6, predict an increase in Ni complexation (as NiL) from about 50% of total dissolved Ni in fresh water to over 90% in sea water. Equivalent calculations using the default-mode fulvic and humic substances (FS and HS, respectively) encoded in the WHAM database predict a reduction in complexation (as NiFS + NiHS) from about 20% in fresh water to less than 1% in sea water. Discrepancies arising from the two approaches are largely attributed to the different analytical detection windows employed. Thus, a better representation of Ni complexation is derived from including both types of complexant in the speciation calculations, resulting in estimates of net complexation in excess of 60% of total dissolved Ni throughout the estuary. The uncertainties and assumptions inherent in all computations illustrate the difficulty in measuring or predicting metal complexation in estuaries.     

The Three Results of Sound Velocity Variance in Sediments During Controlled Stress-strain Testing from the South China Sea

Sound velocity in each type of seafloor sediment from the South China Sea varies with the development of strain in the controlled stress-strain course. Experiments show that there may exist three cases for the maximum sound velocity: (1) it appears at the stress peak; (2) it appears in the phase of no load; and (3) it appears at the end of the strain course. These results are related to physical-mechanical properties and structure of sediments.     

The Three Results of Sound Velocity Variance in Sediments During Controlled Stress-strain Testing from the South China Sea

Sound velocity in each type of seafloor sediment from the South China Sea varies with the development of strain in the controlled stress-strain course. Experiments show that there may exist three cases for the maximum sound velocity: (1) it appears at the stress peak; (2) it appears in the phase of no load; and (3) it appears at the end of the strain course. These results are related to physical-mechanical properties and structure of sediments.     

多波束测深系统最优声速公式的确定

本文对现有的7种声速经验公式，根据其不同的适用范围，不同的水文环境，计算出各自不同的声速和声速变率，并对这些数据进行统计分析，得出了适合不同水层的最优声速公式，该结论在浅水区被验证是正确的。     

Dispersal of Benthic Meiofauna by Wave and Current Action in Bogue Sound, North Carolina, USA

Abstract. Results from sediment trap experiments in Bogue Sound, North Carolina, indicate that meiofauna from a wide variety of taxa and benthic habitats are regularly suspended in the subtidal water column. Interstitial species are estimated to account for 10–30 % of the suspended meiofauna. Measurements of suspended nematode concentrations, when compared with wind and current velocity records, suggest that in Bogue Sound, shoaling and breaking waves are more important than tidal currents in controlling meiofauna erosion and deposition. Linear regression analysis indicates that 80% (r = 0.907) of the variation in suspended nematode density is correlated with changes in the mean onshore-offshore component of local wind velocity. Nematode turnover associated with spring and summer coastal wind patterns is estimated to be several hundred animals per m²per day. Once suspended, meiofauna may be carried up to 10 km per day by residual currents in the Sound. Although erosion, transport and deposition of benthic nematodes by wave and current action appears to provide an effective means of dispersal along continental coastlines, the high settling velocity of nematodes suspended in Bogue Sound (on the order of 10^-4m s^-1) suggests that net downward flux in shelf and slope waters probably prevents their dispersal across ocean basins by surface currents.     

全球大洋潮汐模式在北印度洋潮汐预报准确性的评估

为评估DTU10、TPXO8、GOT00.2和NAO.99b 4个全球大洋潮汐模式对北印度洋潮汐的预报能力,采用英国海洋资料中心提供的海区中部和沿岸站潮汐调和常数资料,检验了这些模式4个主要分潮(M_2、S_2、K_1、O_1)的准确度。它们的各分潮调和常数资料准确度都比较高,振幅绝均差的最大值仅5.61 cm,迟角绝均差的最大值仅9.13°。这些模式的调和常数给出潮波传播特征差别不大。基于这些模式提供的调和常数,分别建立了北印度洋4、8和16分潮潮汐预报模型,将预报结果与中国海事服务网提供的沿岸24个站潮汐表资料进行对比。各模式的8分潮(M_2、S_2、N_2、K_2、K_1、O_1、P_1、Q_1)潮汐预报模型均优于4分潮(M_2、S_2、K_1、O_1)潮汐预报模型,NAO.99b模式可以提供16分潮(M_2、S_2、N_2、K_2、K_1、O_1、P_1、Q_1、MU_2、NU_2、T_2、L_2、2N_2、J_1、M1、OO_1)潮汐预报模型,但是对预报结果改善不明显;在各模式中,GOT00.2模式的8分潮潮汐预报模型对北印度洋沿岸的预报效果最好,平均绝均差为14.97 cm。     

The sea-surface microlayer of puget sound: Part I. Toxic effects on fish eggs and larvae

The sea surface is an important habitat for the developmental stages (eggs and larvae) of many fish and invertebrates; it is also a concentration point for anthropogenic contaminants entering the sea. Studies were conducted to determine the extent to which the sea surface of Puget Sound was toxic to the early life history stages of fish. Three urban bays with suspected contamination, a rural reference bay, and a Central Sound site were compared. Surface-dwelling eggs and organisms (zooneuston) were collected with a surface-skimming neuston net and their densities enumerated. Sand sole (Psettichthys melanostictus) embryos were exposed in the field and laboratory to the sea-surface microlayer. To develop a useful year-round approach to monitoring sea-surface toxicity, larval development of anchovies, kelp bass, and sea urchins was also evaluated as an indication of sea-surface microlayer toxicity.During the spawning season (February and March), urban boys in Puget Sound had lower concentrations of sand sole eggs and neustonic organisms on the sea surface than did the rural bayor Central Sound reference sites. Compared to the reference sites, laboratory exposure to surface microlayer samples collected from urban bay sites generally resulted in more chromsomal aberrations in developing sole embryos, reduced hatching success of sole larvae, and reduced growth in trout cell cultures. In situ hatching success of sole eggs was reduced by half or more in urban bays compared to reference sites.Toxicity was associated with visible surface slicks and, in urban bays, increased with increasing surface pressure (dynes cm⁻¹). Results to be reported separately (Part II) indicate that toxicity is strongly correlated with the presence of high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and metals in the sea-surface microlayer. The toxicity of SMIC samples was similar when evaluated by sole, anchovy, kelp bass, or sea urchin tests. A sea-surface monitoring program could use sea urchin embryos to evaluate site-specific sea-surface toxicity throughout the year.     

Multimegameter-range acoustic data obtained by bottom-mountedhydrophone arrays for measurement of ocean temperature

Acoustic signals transmitted from the ATOC source on Pioneer Seamount off the coast of California have been received at various sites around the Pacific Basin since January 1996. We describe data obtained using bottom-mounted receivers, including US Navy Sound Surveillance System arrays, at ranges up to 5 Mm from the Pioneer Seamount source. Stable identifiable ray arrivals are observed in several cases, but some receiving arrays are not well suited to detecting the direct ray arrivals. At 5-Mm range, travel-time variations at tidal frequencies (about 50 ms peak to peak) agree well with predicted values, providing verification of the acoustic measurements as well as the tidal model. On the longest and northernmost acoustic paths, the time series of resolved ray travel times show an annual cycle peak-to-peak variation of about 1 s and other fluctuations caused by natural oceanic variability. An annual cycle is not evident in travel times from shorter acoustic paths in the eastern Pacific, though only one realization of the annual cycle is available. The low-pass-filtered travel times are estimated to an accuracy of about 10 ms. This travel-time uncertainty corresponds to errors in range- and depth-averaged temperature of only a few millidegrees, while the annual peak-to-peak variation in temperature averaged horizontally over the acoustic path and vertically over the upper 1 km of ocean is up to 0.5°C     

Some oceanographic observations in the New Zealand fjords

Four New Zealand fjords were surveyed in March and April 1980. In Milford Sound, unusually low dissolved oxygen levels in Stirling Basin suggests that intermittent stagnation events occur, while in Deep Water Basin the bottom water was virtually anoxic. Near the entrance to Milford Sound aperiodic currents up to 38 cm s^?1 were recorded. In Isthmus Sound and Long Sound, in Preservation Inlet, contrasting circulation and mixing regimes were found and tidal currents up to 60 cm s^?1 over the entrance sill to Long Sound are important for deep water renewal.