Chemical composition of Aegean Sea sediments

The partial composition of 241 sediment samples from the Aegean Sea, determined for Ca, Mg, Al, Ti, Fe, Mn, Ni, Cr, Pb, Cu, and Zn, can be largely explained by admixture of terrigenous components of variable composition and biogenic components poor in minor elements. Cr and Pb appear to be enriched owing to the occurrence of mafic rocks and minor Pb mineralisation onshore. Variations in elemental abundances within the Aegean Sea can generally be accounted for by differences in depositional environment, except at Sounion where anomalous concentrations of Pb and Zn are probably associated with onshore mining activity.     

Succession patterns of polychaetes on algal‐dominated rocky cliffs (Aegean Sea,Eastern Mediterranean)

Ecological succession has been scarcely investigated on sublittoral rocky cliffs. The few relevant studies deal with the structure of the developing community and are limited to higher taxa or sessile forms. The objective of the present study was to examine succession patterns on algal‐dominated rocky cliffs both at the structural (species composition) and functional (feeding guild composition) level, using Polychaeta, a dominant taxon in this marine habitat, as a reference group. Cement panels were seasonally installed on the rocky substratum (25–30 m depth) and sampled every 3 months over a 1‐year period. Twenty‐nine polychaete species were recorded, previously reported from the surrounding benthic community, and classified into eight feeding guilds. Most species were assigned as sessile filter‐feeders; this guild dominated in abundance and biomass. A strong effect of the length of immersion and of the seasonal onset of succession on the developed communities was assessed: species composition analyses suggested convergence into a similar organization as succession proceeds, whereas the impact of starting season on succession was stronger when analysing feeding guilds. In both cases succession was faster on panels installed in winter. The main emerging patterns were in agreement with relevant surveys of the entire benthic fauna, thus supporting the efficacy of polychaetes as a surrogate group for studying ecological succession in the benthic marine environment.     

Character of active faulting in the North Aegean Sea

A re-evaluation of the reprocessed seismic reflection data was made for the investigation of the presumed western continuation of the North Anatolian Fault (NAF) in the Aegean and mapping geometries of active faults in the Aegean Sea. Seismic data collected and processed by various national and international companies were selected from the data archives and they were reprocessed after stacking to bring them to the same processing and signal-to-noise ratio standards. The total length of the selected lines is 8000 km. We investigated the character of active faulting in the North Aegean Sea using seismic reflection data. Moreover, the relations of active faults with earthquakes were examined using earthquake fault plane solutions (FPS). We show that the active faults are dominantly normal in character in the NNE Aegean where FPS for earthquakes with M>5 indicate strike-slip movements along these faults. We propose a simple mechanism that potentially explains this inconsistency. Active normal faults are oriented in a NE–SW direction in alignment with the SW escape motion of the Anatolian block in this region and this orientation facilitates instantaneously strike-slip movements along these otherwise normal faults.     

Water masses in Thermaicos Gulf,north-western Aegean Sea

Physical oceanographic data were collected during September 1975 at stations in the shallow water (max. depth 45 m) embayments of Salonica Bay and Thermaicos Gulf, and comparisons are made with data collected during other seasons. The distribution of temperature and salinity in the water column indicated the following features: fresh surface water predominantly related to river discharge; an intermediate water mass, apparently formed by mixing between the fresh and open sea waters; a thermocline, and deep bottom water open sea characteristics. The summer distribution of density in the surface and bottom waters, and the seasonal variation in the pattern of surface salinity, suggested an anti-clockwise water circulation throughout the embayments.     

Midlittoral Soft Substratum Macrofaunal Assemblages in the North Aegean Sea

Abstract. The soft substratum macrobenthic assemblages of the midlittoral zone, along the atidal shores of the upper Thermaikos (polluted) and Strymonikos (unpolluted) Gulfs in the North Aegean Sea, arc qualitatively and quantitatively described. The composition of each of the seven assemblages found (four in Thermaikos and three in Strymonikos Gulf) is statistically tested and discussed in relation to abiotic factors. One of the four Thermaikos Gulf assemblages is located on a silt to fine sand substrate in brackish waters and is characterized by the dominance of the polychactc Hedisie diversicolor and the amphipod Corophium orientate. The other three assemblages arc located on coarse substrates and characterized by the very high dominance of the bivalve Donacillu corneu and the polychactc Ophelia bicornis (both of which are exclusive inhabitants of the midlittoral zone); the First is additionally characterized by the very high dominance of the polychactc Nerine cirratulus , both the second and the third by the dominance of turbellarians due to the pollution of the Gulf (stations located near sewage discharge, high organic carbon, low oxygen). In Strymonikos Gulf, one of the three assemblages is dominated by H. diversicolor and C. orientate; it is similar to the corresponding assemblage found in Thermaikos Gulf, although located on a relatively coarSér sediment. The second is dominated by D. cornea and O. bicornis and is also similar to that of Thermaikos Gulf. The third assemblage does not have a corresponding one in Thermaikos Gulf, is located on a substrate consisting of granules to pebbles, arid is characterized by the high dominance of the amphipods Allorchestes aquilinus and Echinogammarus olivii and the isopod Sphaeroma Sérratum. The corresponding assemblages of the two gulfs are compared. The results of the data analysis are discussed and compared with the literature.     

Neogene sedimentation patterns in north-central peninsular Florida

Sea level fluctuations and shoreline migrations are responsible for commonly oriented ridges and hills of north-central Florida. Lake Wales Ridge is the principal geomorphic feature of the region, with younger ridges, including Trail Ridge, occurring to the north and east.Sand is the dominant sediment size of the deposits forming these ridges, but gravels and clay beds also occur. Cross-laminations and burrowing are prominent in certain horizons. Generalized sections resemble marine regressive patterns and a marine barrier environment. The deposits reflect a prograding shoreline and the subaerial evolution of the Florida peninsula.     

Interranual variability in horizontal patterns of larval fish assemblages in the northeastern Aegean Sea (eastern Mediterranean) during early summer

Larval fish community structure was studied in the northeastern Aegean Sea (NEA) over an area influenced by the advection of Black Sea water (BSW). Sampling was carried out in early summer during a period of 4 years (2003–2006). Taxonomic composition and abundance presented high variability in space that remained relatively constant among years. Tow depth and indicators of trophic conditions in the upper water column (i.e., zooplankton displacement volume, fluorescence) explained significantly the structure of larval assemblages during all surveys. The northern continental shelf (Thracian and Strymonikos shelf), where a large amount of enriched, low salinity BSW is retained, was dominated by larvae of epipelagic species, mainly anchovy (Engraulis encrasicolus). Interannual changes in horizontal extension of the BSW seemed to match closely observed changes in the distribution of anchovy larvae. Mesopelagic fish larvae were particularly abundant beyond the continental shelf (over the North Aegean Trough) where a strong frontal structure is created between the low salinity waters of BSW origin and the high salinity waters of the Aegean Sea. Larvae of certain mesopelagic species (e.g., Ceratoscopelus maderensis) may occasionally be transported inshore when the prevailing current meanders towards the coast or feeds anticyclonic gyres over the continental shelf.     

Geological evolution of the Gulf of Saros,NE Aegean Sea

 The Gulf of Saros is an Upper Miocene transtensional basin in NW Anatolia, formed by the interaction between the North Anatolian Fault and the N-S extensional tectonic régime of the Aegean. The present configuration of the basin evolved mainly during the Plio-Quaternary under the increased activity of the North Anatolian Fault. During the late Miocene-late Quaternary, no sedimentation took place on the shelves. After this long hiatus, an important change in tectonic style about 0.2 Ma BP allowed sedimentation to resume in the gulf. Received: 14 February 1997 / Revision received: 12 November 1997     

Microbial activities at the benthic boundary layer in the Aegean Sea

During the Aegean Sea component of the EU MTP-MATER project, benthic samples were acquired along a depth gradient from two continental margins in the Aegean Sea. Sampling was undertaken during spring and summer 1997 and the microbial metabolic activities measured (Vmax for aminopeptidase activity, ¹⁴C-glutamate respiration and assimilation) displayed seasonal variability even in deep-sea conditions. The metabolic rates encountered in the North Aegean (average depth 566±234 m), were approximately five-fold higher than in the deeper (1336±140 m) Southern part of the Aegean. The aminopeptidase rates, however, were the exception with higher values recorded in the more oligotrophic sediments of the Southern stations (1383±152 vs. 766±297 nmol MCA cm⁻² h⁻¹). A discrepancy in bacterial metabolism also appeared in the near bottom waters. In the Southern stations, 80% of the glutamate uptake was used for energy yielding processes and only 20% devoted to biomass production, while in the North Aegean, most of the used glutamate was incorporated into bacterial cells. During the early burial stages, bacterial mineralization rates estimated from ¹⁴C-glutamate respiration decreased drastically compared to the rates of biopolymer hydrolysis estimated by aminopeptidase assays. Thus, at the 2-cm depth layer, these rates were only 32 and up to 77% of the corresponding average values, respectively, in the superficial layer. Such a discrepancy between the evolution of these two metabolic activities is possibly due to the rapid removal of readily utilizable monomers in the surface deposits. The correlation between bacterial respiration and total organic carbon, or total organic nitrogen, is higher in the surficial sediment (0-2 and 2-4 cm) than in the underlying layer. Conversely, it is only at 4-cm depth layer that the hydrolysis rates appear correlated with organic carbon and nitrogen concentrations. This pattern confirms the drastic degradation of organic matter during the early burial stages.     

Circalittoral Macrobenthic Assemblages of Strymonikos Gulf (North Aegean Sea)

Abstract. Six macrobenthic assemblages of the circalittoral zone found in Strymonikos Gulf, North Aegean Sea, are described and compared with the corresponding ones from other Mediterranean and Atlantic areas. For the delimination of these assemblages and the evaluation of the major environmental gradients governing their distribution, several numerical techniques were used.     

Paleogeographic sedimentation settings in the northern Baltic Sea

The grain-size and chemical composition of the bottom sediments and their diatom assemblages from the northern Baltic Sea is discussed. Characteristic layers are distinguished based on the lithostratgraphy and sediment core correlation, which reflect the transition from the lacustrine to marine sedimentation settings during the initial Holocene. Sediment cores demonstrate lateral variations in the sedimentation patterns during the marine (Yoldia Sea), the lacustrine (Ancylus Lake), and the subsequent marine (Littorina Sea) stages: first two stages were characterized by the clay deposition, while the latter one featured accumulation of silty-clayey and clayey muds in bottom depressions. Sea-level fluctuations and corresponding environmental changes are recorded in microlaminated sequences, in particular, sapropelic muds.     

Mineralogy of the surficial sediments of Kavala Bay,northern Aegean Sea

Sand and clay fraction mineralogy of surficial sediments from Kavala Bay have been determined microscopically and by X-ray diffraction analysis, respectively.The main minerals present in the sand fraction are quartz, feldspar, micas, amphiboles, and pyroxenes. Biogenic carbonate was also detected especially in the sands of the western part of the bay.Illite and smectite, are the major clay-mineral phases, with minor amounts of chlorite and kaolinite in all the samples analysed.Most of the sand appears to have been reworked from abandoned mouths of an adjacent river (the Nestos) and some has been eroded directly from adjacent land areas. Clay minerals originate from suspensates at the same river and, to a lesser extent, from local and seasonal rivers.Water circulation and size sorting by the near bottom currents are the mechanisms controlling the clay mineral dispersal within the bay.     

Turnover time of waters in a deep basin in the Aegean Sea

The Western Gulf is a basin in the Saronikos Gulf. Below about 100 m the water is almost stagnant, essentially isothermal (around 14°C) and it has practically uniform salinity. The level and the mechanism of enrichment in nutrients is discussed. The age of the water estimated from nutrient budget calculations is between one and eight years. The replacement time of water is similar to that found in the Santa Barbara basin, but different from those of the Cariaco Trench and the Black Sea.     

A late pleistocene-holocene sapropelic layer in the Northwest Aegean Sea,Eastern Mediterranean

Sedimentological, geochemical, and micropaleontological analyses of nine gravity and two piston cores from the northwest Aegean Sea, eastern Mediterranean, revealed the presence of five lithologies deposited during the last 18,000 years. These are a Continental Shelf Unit, a hemipelagic-turbiditic Upper Unit, a hemipelagic-turbiditic Middle Unit, a marine transgression Lower Unit, and within the Middle Unit, a Sapropelic layer. Deposition of the Sapropelic layer took place beneath a water column depleted in dissolved oxygen, and reduced in salinity and temperature compared to existing conditions today. The main input for the organic matter preserved was fluvial, issuing from the Greek mainland.     

Bionomy of the Amphipods in the Evros Delta (North Aegean Sea)

Abstract. The composition and distribution of the amphipod fauna in the area of Evros Delta (North Aegean Sea) have been investigated by means of quantitative sampling. On the basis of similarity in distribution among stations, 3 groups of species have been distinguished. The dependence of the distribution of these 3 groups, as well as of each species separately, on certain environmental factors is discussed.     

Short-period internal waves in the frontal zones of non-tidal seas (the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea)

This paper reports empirical data on short-period internal waves in the Black Sea and Aegean frontal zones, collected through the use of distributed temperature sensor arrays. Peculiar features of the behaviour and propagation of the internal waves in these zones are shown. It is shown that the wavefield is anisotropic and reduction of the wave lengths diminishes during the climb up a sloping pycnocline. The energy level of the spectra of internal wave oscillations in the frontal zones of non-tidal seas was found to be lower than that relating to oceanic frontal zones.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.