A detailed survey near Mount Eratosthenes Eastern Mediterranean

A detailed marine survey made to the South West of Mount Eratosthenes is described. The results show the existence of a narrow zone of WNW trending deformed sediment west of the mount surrounded by an evaporite sequence in different stages of deformation.This work was intended to settle the conflict between the results of three previous interpretations of the tectonic structure of this area. We see the area being characterised by five areas with different degrees of tectonic deformation yet showing little causal relationship to overburden of Nile Cone sediments. A fault controlled cliff coincides with the previously described salt wall and strike slip fault yet we see no evidence for its diapiric origin nor positive evidence for strike slip motion along it. We concur with the previously observed area of higher free-air gravity anomalies termed the Eratosthenes tectonic zone, although it is traversed by several boundaries between areas of different deformation. Our results thus show some agreements and some re-interpretations of the observations. This complicated region is not yet fully understood however.     

Adaptive balance of global development processes

We study the processes of global self-regulation of Earth’s biota (GAIA-theory) by applying the method of adaptive balance of causes proposed by the authors. By using, as an example, the Daisy World model constructed by this method, we reveal the phenomenon of preservation of the mean temperature of Earth’s surface due to the presence of the vegetation cover. We develop an integral model of global natural, social, and economic processes in which the World Ocean is one of the factors regulating the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The decrease in the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere caused by the GAIA-effects increases the number of hurricanes and floods on the Earth. As a result, the levels of ecological and social hazards for the mankind become much higher. To eliminate these threats, it is necessary to intensify the processes of self-organization of the society realized via the improvement of education, development of science, and global regulation of the competition for natural resources. We present the results of numerical experiments performed by using the model demonstrating possible scenarios of global development with regard for the processes of self-organization of the society. __________ Translated From Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 3, Pp. 62–80, May–June, 2007.     

The wadic project: A comprehensive field evaluation of directional wave instrumentation

The results of a comprehensive field trial of nearly all commercially available directional wave measurement systems at the Edda field in the North Sea during winter 1985-86 are presented. The results summarize the accuracy of the principal engineering wave parameters from each system and the dependence on sea state. Limiting factors on system performance and operational problems are also included in the assessment. Overall experience has been good with systems utilizing widely different measurement principles returning consistent results.     

Assessment of the effectiveness of POLYMODE data assimilation by a numerical barotropic model for synoptic motions

This paper considers the results of numerical experiments involving POLYMODE data assimilation by a barotropic model for synoptic ocean dynamics. The model's response the data assimilation for various space-time discretenesses of assimilation is studied. Results derived from the application of optimal interpolation algorithms and modified optimal filtration algorithms are compared. Qualitative similarity to the calculations carried out through the simulation modelling technique is noted. Optimal assimilation algorithms are determined, depending on the space-time discreteness used. An optimal sampling discreteness for the POLYMODE conditions is suggested.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

On the possibility of forecasting the long-term air temperature variability that determines the hydrophysical structure and ecology of the Black Sea waters

Periods and amplitudes of long-term temperature fluctuations were obtained using the methods of spectral analysis and filtration of secular time series of the air temperature at 13 hydrometeorological stations in the Black Sea region. The prognostic calculations of the long-term air temperature variability are based on the results of processing of time series. The calculations of the air temperature agree with the data of observations. The possibility of the long-term air temperature variability prediction is shown.     

A map series of the Southern East Pacific Rise and its flanks, 15° S to 19° S

Four large-scale bathymetric maps of the Southern East Pacific Rise and its flanks between 15° S and 19° S display many of the unique features of this superfast spreading environment including abundant seamounts (the Rano Rahi Field), axial discontinuities, discontinuity migration, and abyssal hill variation. Along with a summary of the regional geology, these maps will provide a valuable reference for other sea-going programs on-and off-axis in this area, including the Mantle ELectromagnetic and Tomography (MELT) experiment.     

Cloning of the major 3-MC inducible phase I and phase II detoxification enzymes of plaice liver

cDNA's coding for cytochrome P4501A1 (CYP1A1), phenol UDP-glucuronosyltransferase (UDPGT) and glutathione S-transferase (GST-A) were cloned and sequenced from an expression library prepared from the liver of a 3-methylcholanthrene (3-MC) induced plaice. Plaice CYP1A1 and Phenol UDPGT display a high degree of structural conservation with homologous mammalian isoforms and their mRNAs were shown to be highly induced in liver after 3-MC treatment of fish. Expression of plaice GST-A, which displays closer homology to GSTs from plants and invertebrates than those of mammals, is repressed after 3-MC treatment.     

Investigation of internal waves generated by a diurnal barotropic tide in the vicinity of an oceanic ridge

Internal waves occurring near an oceanic ridge as a result of impingement of a barotropic tide are scrutinized in terms of the long theory for long waves. The ocean is assumed to be double-layered, the relief continuously changing, and the tidal wave on-running at an arbitrary angle. The dependences of the wave amplitudes and horizontal velocities on the ridge's latitude, the angle of tide running, and the depth of the density jump layer are obtained. Similar investigations for the model bottom relief have been conducted in refs 1 and 3.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.