Eocene oil shales from Jordan – Paleoenvironmental implications from reworked microfossils

Reworked microfossils, common in Paleogene sediments in Jordan, are here used to reconstruct the depositional environment. The reworked taxa, which include both calcareous nannofossils and foraminifera of Cretaceous and Paleocene age, were found in Eocene oil shales. The potential provenance of the reworked material and the underlying processes of the reworking are discussed. We differentiate between a subaerial erosion of exposed hinterland strata and a submarine abrasion of sediments.A total of 73 smear slides have been prepared to identify calcareous nannofossils, another fifteen samples were analyzed for foraminifera. The allochthonous calcareous nannofossil and foraminifera taxa can be linked to a lithified source, which was eroded and transported with both calcitic lithic fragments and organic matter. Multiple factors controlling the transport of the reworked taxa during the time of deposition have been investigated for the Jordanian oil shales. Climate changes are thought to be the cause for changes in the abundance patterns and in the composition of the reworked taxa. The input of common autochthonous components during arid phases and more allochthonous sediment particles during humid periods filled the Eocene sink. A fall in relative sea level, perhaps in combination with increased storm activity, caused a transport of reworked material to deeper parts of the Azraq Hamza Sub-basin. The relative sea level changes in turn were related to syndepositional movements, redefining the shape of the Azraq Hamza Sub-basin and its internal fault-block architecture.     

Population structure of Haliotis rubra from South Australia inferred from nuclear and mtDNA analyses

1Introduction ThemajorityofAustralia’sabalonefisheryex ports(5.135kt,worth＄216millionin2002～2003,ABARE2004)consistofblacklipabalone(HaliotisrubraLeach,1814).AssuchH.rubrais consideredasanimportantmarineresourcewithin Australia.Likemanyabalonespecieswor…     

Back-scattering from rough sea surface with foams

INTRODUCTION Eleetromagnetie baek一seattering from randomly rough surfaee driven by wind,and funetion-al dePendenee on wind sPeed and direetion,and the eharaeteristie Parameters of sea surfaee havebeen interested in the ocean remote sensing.One of the approaehes to eleetromagnetie seatteringfrom randomly rough surfaee 15 the Kirehhoff approximation(KA),and the geometrie opties 50-lution in high frequeney 15 used by the stationary phase method(Bass and Fueks,1979) .TheKA solution 15 val…     

Coral reef productivity and diversity—Contributions from enhanced photosynthesis via demand for carbohydrate from the host

Coral reefs’ high productivity has been attributed mainly to photosymbioses between the coral animal and algae of the family Symbiodiniaceae, with recognition that the host can increase algal photosynthesis by concentrating nutrients and enhancing the efficiency of light absorption. Here, we propose that an additional effect, consumption of carbohydrate by the host, may also enhance algal photosynthesis. We examine evidence from symbiosis between terrestrial plants and root fungi that indicates a link between carbohydrate consumption by the symbiotic partner and photosynthetic upregulation in the plant system. In addition, we review evidence from free-living algae manipulated to exude carbohydrate into the external medium, which was associated with strong upregulation of photosynthetic capacity. We offer suggestions on how host-induced carbohydrate release may increase photosynthesis rates in the symbionts in the intact photosymbiosis and how this relationship evolved.     

Pristine or altered: low-Mg calcite shells survived from massive dolomitization? A case study from Miocene carbonates

Low-Mg calcite shells have been widely used to reconstruct the chemistry of ancient seawater. There is always a question: are the shells chemically pristine? This paper presents the isotope and elemental geochemistry of low-Mg calcite bivalve shells in late Miocene platform carbonates, SE Spain. The platform carbonates were extensively dolomitized, and limestone is restricted to older stratal units, and to units mainly in topographically higher and more landward strata. Low-Mg calcite oyster shells were completely dissolved out in the basinward dolomite, but are well preserved in the limestone. These shells appear to retain the original growth microstructures, based on hand samples. Under the microscope, however, dissolution and recrystallization, as well as pristine growth lines are all present. Sr isotopes in these shells range from that of normal Miocene seawater to radiogenic values. δ¹⁸O and δ¹³C values, and Mg, Sr, and Na concentrations in these shells are rather variable. The high end members are consistent with the typical values of modern/late Miocene normal-seawater low-Mg calcite shells, whereas the low end members are close to those of diagenetic calcite cements, which have low δ¹⁸O, δ¹³C, Sr and Na values, and radiogenic Sr. The Nijar shells were altered physically and chemically to different degrees by diagenesis, although these shells are consistent with some “criteria” of unalteration. The isotopic and trace-element data collected in altered and pristine (or less altered) portions coexisting in the same shells are clearly differentiable. Quantitative simulation of covariations of geochemical pairs indicates that solid mixing of unaltered and altered portions by sampling is consistent with the variations in isotopic and elemental data recorded in the Nijar shells. The geological significance of this study is that ancient fabric-retentive calcite shells may have been altered geochemically although they may appear pristine. Calcite shells that underwent intensive diagenesis should be examined rigorously under the microscope, coupled with investigations of multiple geochemical proxies to assess chemical alteration. Only the data of unaltered shells can be used to reconstruct the chemistry of ancient seawater.     

Sexing red‐billed gulls from standard measurements

The standard body measurements of 165 freshly killed adult Red‐billed Gulls (Larus novaehollandiae scopulinus) from breeding colonies on the Kaikoura Peninsula are presented. A discriminant function, calculated from bill length and depth at gonys measurements of sexed specimens, applied to captured gulls can correctly sex 90.1% of the gulls which fall within the range of overlap of male and female measurements.     

Vibration and Acoustic Radiation from Submerged Spherical Double-Shell

1 .IntroductionSphericalshellsandcircularcylindricalshellshavebecomethemajorstructuralformsfornaviga tiondevicesunderwater,suchassubmarine ,torpedo ,andsoon .Theintegratedsphericalshellsareoftenusedascommunicationandtransportationtools,andserveasworkroomsforexternalexaminationandrepairoflargenavigationdevicesunderwatertoo .Especiallyforthesphericaldouble shell,itisveryusefulforthedeepmarineworks .Inthesphericaldouble shell,severalinternalringplatesareusuallydesignedtoconnecttheinnerandoutersph…     

Prediction of Extreme Significant Wave Height from Daily Maxima

For prediction of the extreme significant wave height in the ocean areas where long term wave data are not available, the empirical method of extrapolating short term data (1-3 years) is used in design practice. In this paper two methods are proposed to predict extreme significant wave height based on short-term daily maxima. According to the da-a recorded by the Oceanographic Station of Liaodong Bay at the Bohai Sea, it is supposed that daily maximum wave heights are statistically independent. The data show that daily maximum wave heights obey log-normal distribution, and that the numbers of daily maxima vary from year to year, obeying binomial distribution. Based on these statistical characteristics, the binomial-log-normal compound extremum distribution is derived for prediction of extreme significant wave heights (50-100 years). For examination of its accuracy and validity, the prediction of extreme wave heights is based on 12 years' data at this station, and based on each 3 years' data respectively     

Studies on Genus Cryptomonas from China seas

ＩＮＴＲＯＤＵＣＴＩＯＮＣｒｙｐｔｏｍｏｎａｓｉｓｕｎｉｃｅｌｌｕｌａｒｂｉｆｌａｇｅｌｌａｔｅｗｈｉｃｈｉｓａｃｏｍｍｏｎｇｅｎｕｓｏｆＣｒｙｐｔｏｐｈｙｔａ .Ｔｈｅｃｅｌｌｓａｒｅｕｓｕａｌｌｙｓｔｒｏｎｇｌｙｃｏｍｐｒｅｓｓｅｄｌａｔｅｒａｌｌｙ .ＴｈｅｒｅａｒｅｏｎｅｏｒｔｗｏｌａｒｇｅＣｈｌｏｒｏｐｌａｓｔｓｔｈａｔｃｏｎｔａｉｎｃｈｌｏｒｏｐｈｙｌｌａ ,ｃ ,ｓｏｍｅｃｈａｒａｃｔｅｒｉｓｔｉｃｃａｒｏｔｅｎｏｉｄｓａｎｄｐｈｙｃｏｂｉｌｉｎｐｉｇｍｅｎｔｓ (Ｈｕｅｔａｌ.,1 997;Ｗｅｉ…     

Preliminary experiments from a nonsteady atmosphere-earth surface coupled anomaly model

In this paper, a nonsteady atmosphere-earth surface coupled anomaly model is used to conduct both comparative experiments on the physical processes of model and monthly forecasting experiments for anomaly fields. It is shown that after further improvement it is hopeful for the anomaly model with two-hour time step to do monthly forecasting of anomaly fields by taking long period time integration. The comparative experiments show that the interaction between the atmosphere and the surface has significant influence on the long range variation for both atmospheric geopotential anomalies and surface temperature anomalies, and transient eddy transport has also certain effects on the variation of anomaly fields.     

Ecosystem benefits from coastal habitats—A three-country choice experiment

Coastal habitats provide a variety of benefits for citizens living in littoral countries. The economic value of changes in coastal habitats in the context of the implementation of the Baltic Sea Action Plan, targeting good ecological status by 2021, in two coastal sites was estimated using the choice experiment method. The selected aspects of marine ecosystem were described in conjunction with ecological changes modeled within the Finnish–Swedish archipelago and the Lithuanian coast. The benefits for Finns, Swedes, and Lithuanians for changes in the adjacent coastal site were estimated with the conditional logit and random parameters logit models accounting for preference heterogeneity. The willingness to pay estimates for healthy perennial vegetation, protection of currently pristine areas, and size of fish stocks differed significantly between populations. The transfer errors ranging from 40%, when transferring the estimates for the same coastal site between populations, to 400%, when transferring between both sites and populations, underline careful consideration in value transfers.     

Water clarity records from twenty‐two New Zealand lakes

Water clarity values from 22 New Zealand lakes show that the largest and deepest have the highest values, except those affected by glacial silt or humic coloration. Smaller and shallower lakes have lower water clarity values.     

Imaging of long‐range reverberation from ocean basin topography

A technique is currently under development a the Naval Research Laboratory for imaging of backscatterec acoustic returns from ocean basin topography. The method is straightforward. An explosive sound source is detonated near the center of an ocean basin and the round‐trip travel time from source to reflectors and return is measured. Distance to back‐scattering topography is assumed to be proportional to round‐trip time, with a proportionality constant equal to half the sound speed. A multielement receiving array is used to determine the azimuthal directions to topographic features. Reverberation data are output to an imaging system to study the spatial distribution of sea bottom reverberation. The images are in the form of two‐dimensional maps of backscattered acoustic energy. Typical maps are larger than 2,000 km x 2,000 km (or area coverage greater than 4 x 10⁶ km²). After correction of maps from individual shot detonations for range‐dependent propagation losses, we average ("integrate") maps together on a pixel by pixel basis for a clear picture of major basin reverberators.     

Identification of biomarkers of cores from the South China Sea

ＩｄｅｎｔｉｆｉｃａｔｉｏｎｏｆｂｉｏｍａｒｋｅｒｓｏｆｃｏｒｅｓｆｒｏｍｔｈｅＳｏｕｔｈＣｈｉｎａＳｅａ￥ＴａｎｇＹｕｎｑｉａｎａｎｄＬｉｕＫｅｗｅｎ（ＲｅｃｅｉｖｅｄＡＭ１０，１９９４；ａｃｃｅｐｔｅｄＪｕｌｙ５，１９９４）（ＳｅｃｏｎｄＩｎｓｔ...     

Metabolites from mangrove endophytic fungus Dothiorella sp.

Mangroves are special woody plant communities in the intertidal zone of tropical and subtropical coasts. They prove to be a natural microorganisms and new metabolites storage. In the study of mangrove endophytic fungi metabolites, four new compounds, Compounds 1, 2, 3 and 4, as well as a known octaketide, cytosporone B (5), are isolated from an endophytic fungus, Dothiorella sp., HTF3. They all show cytotoxic activities. The elucidation of these structures is mainly based on 1D/2D NMR and ESI-MS spectral analyses.     

Dinoflagellate cysts in recent marine sediment from Guangxi, China

Total of 33 species of dinoflagellate cysts were discovered from surface sediment in the searegion of Guangxi, among them 12 cyst types (Diplopsalopsis sp.1, D. sp. 2, D. sp. 3, Cochlodinium sp., Protoperidinium sp. 1, P. sp. 2, P. compressum , Scrippsiella sp. 1, S. sp. 2, Alexandrium sp. 1, A. sp. 2, A. sp. 3) were first reported from the South China Sea. And one cyst type (Cochlodinium sp.) was first reported in the world. Scrippsiella trochoidea is the dominant species in this area, accounting for 45% of all the cysts. There are 2 cysts of toxic dinoflagellate (Alexandrium tamarensis and Gymnodinium catenatum). But there is no relationship between cyst number and grain size distribution.     

Insights into zooplankton‐cyanobacteria interactions derived from enclosure studies

Few workers have used enclosures specifically to study interactions between zoo‐plankton and cyanobacteria. Differences among studies in enclosure size, nutrient level, plankton abundance and species composition, presence or absence of fish, and length of experiments make generalisations difficult. Zooplankton had no direct effect on the growth of ungrazed cyanobacteria (Anabaena flos‐aquae, Aphanizomenon flos‐aquae, large Microcystis colonies) in short‐term (<5 days) and long‐term (> 1 month) enclosure studies. When large cyanobacteria were abundant, some Daphnia spp. snowed reduced reproduction and development. When large grazers were abundant they suppressed the growth of edible, colonial cyanobacteria (Aphanizomenon elenkinii, small Microcystis colonies). By altering the ambient light and nutrient environment, large zooplankton may suppress cyanobacteria; evidence for the importance of grazers in promoting cyanobacterial dominance by removing competing phytoplankton species is equivocal. Zooplankton may suppress nitrogen fixation by cyanobacteria through ammonia excretion and may promote a change in dominance from diatoms to cyanobacteria through recycling phosphorus but not silicon.     

POC fluxes from euphotic zone estimated from 234Th deficiency in winter in the northwestern North Pacific Ocean

1IntroductionThefluxesofcarbon,nutrients,andassoci-atedelementsinvolvedinthebiogeochemicalcyclesoutoftheeuphoticzoneareimportantinthestudyofglobalCO2 change.Someworkershaveproposedthatatthesteadystatethefluxofparticulateorganiccarbonoutoftheeuphoticzoneequalsthenewproduction(EppleyandPe-terson,1979;Eppley,1989).Generallytwometh-odscanbeemployedtoobtainthefluxdata.Oneistousesedimenttrapsintheupperocean(<200m)orfloatingsedimenttraps.Thoughthesedimenttraptechnologyhasshowntobeuse-fulfortimeser…