A clay mineral investigation of six cores from the Gulf of Mexico

Samples were studied from each color change along six gravity cores from nearshore to deep-sea areas in the Gulf of Mexico. Analytical methods and techniques used to characterize the sediments were X-ray diffraction, differential thermal analysis, cation exchange capacity, particle size distribution and fractionation of the clay-size material with the supercentrifuge.     

Geoacoustic and physical properties of carbonate sediments of the Lower Florida Keys

 Near-surface sediment geoacoustic and physical properties were measured from a variety of unconsolidated carbonate sediments in the Lower Florida Keys. Surficial values of compressional and shear speed correlate with sediment physical properties and near-surface acoustic reflectivity. Highest speeds (shear 125–150 m s^-1; compressional 1670–1725 m s^-1) are from sandy sediments near Rebecca Shoal and lowest speeds (shear 40–65 m s^-1; compressional 1520–1570 m s^-1) are found in soft, silty sediments which collect in sediment ponds in the Southeast Channel of the Dry Tortugas. High compressional wave attenuation is attributed to scattering of acoustic waves from heterogeneity caused by accumulation of abundant shell material and other impedance discontinuities rather than high intrinsic attenuation. Compared to siliciclastic sediments, carbonate sediment shear wave speed is high for comparable values of sediment physical properties. Sediment fabric, rather than changes due to the effects of biogeochemical processes, is responsible for these differences.     

Source regions for recruitment of Calanus finmarchicus to Georges Bank: evidence from molecular population genetic analysis of mtDNA

Molecular population genetic analysis has provided evidence that the copepod, Calanus finmarchicus, of the Labrador Current, Gulf of St Lawrence, Scotian Shelf, Gulf of Maine, and Georges Bank constitute a single, interbreeding population. The DNA sequence of a 350 base pair portion of the mitochondrial large subunit (16S) ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene was determined for a total of 72 individuals collected in 1992, and 110 individuals collected in 1993 from these regions. There was significant heterogeneity in haplotype frequencies among the samples collected in 1992, but this heterogeneity did not resolve into regional patterns. The only regional differences seen were between pooled samples of the western N. Atlantic and those of the Norwegian Sea. There were no significant differences in haplotype frequencies among the samples collected in 1993, and fewer haplotypes were observed in these samples. Intraspecific molecular variation was typical of other marine species: there were 29 haplotypes among the 182 individuals sequenced. The frequency distribution of the haplotypes was highly skewed: 128 individuals shared one haplotype and 19 individuals were unique. There were 24 variable sites among the 350 bases sequenced; estimated nucleotide diversity was 0.0042. The genetic character of C. finmarchicus populations in the western N. Atlantic was stable over time in that three of the haplotypes (including the most abundant) occurred in both 1992 and 1993. However, haplotype frequencies differed significantly between the two years. The lack of regional structure in the 1992 samples and the genetic homogeneity of samples collected in 1993 across the domain from the Labrador Current to the Gulf of St Lawrence to Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine indicated that there is significant gene flow across this region. The persistent genetic pattern suggests that the Gulf of St Lawrence may be an important source region for recruitment of C. finmarchicus to Georges Bank. Determination of zooplankton dispersal patterns within high gene flow species will provide information that may not be determined by conventional oceanographic analyses.     

Observation of clouds and solar radiation over the Pacific Ocean as relation to global climate

ＯｂｓｅｒｖａｔｉｏｎｏｆｃｌｏｕｄｓａｎｄｓｏｌａｒｒａｄｉａｔｉｏｎｏｖｅｒｔｈｅＰａｃｉｆｉｃＯｃｅａｎａｓｒｅｌａｔｉｏｎｔｏｇｌｏｂａｌｃｌｉｍａｔｅ￥ＦａｒｎＰａｒｕｎｇｏ；ＣｌａｒｅｎｃｅＮａｇａｍｏｔｏ；ＣｅｃｉｌｉａＭ．Ｉ．Ｒ．Ｇｉ...     

On the monitoring of the thermal state of the upper ocean

This paper discusses some problems related to the development of systems of global monitoring of the sea surface temperature (SST). The characteristics of the operational SST data are considered and estimations of their accuracy are given. The applications of varoous models to the computation of SST in relation to the development of an oceanographic data assimilation system are reviewed briefly.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Quaternary geology of the Amazonian Lowland

The Quaternary history of the Amazon lowlands is characterized by deposition of sediments of Andean provenance and by the influences of changing sea levels. Areas well above the present water tables were not reached by Pleistocene high-water stages. These areas have been intensively weathered since the Tertiary, forming hard lateritic weathering horizons. These weathering horizons are best explained by the relatively constant, humid tropical climate throughout the Quaternary. In the western Amazonian Lowland, flood plains corresponding to the different Pleistocene sea-level heights were formed. During low sea level, erosion in the drainage areas increased and the water levels of the central Amazon River system were lowered. Valleys drowned and lakes formed in the lower reaches of rivers and creeks during high sea-level stages. These lakes (ria lakes) remained in the valleys with rivers having a low sediment load. Seismic profiling (3.5 kHz) in some of these lakes clearly showed deposits of the three last periods of Quaternary high sea-level stages.     

A quantitative analysis on the Egyptian Mediterranean waters

ＡｑｕａｎｔｉｔａｔｉｖｅａｎａｌｙｓｉｓｏｎｔｈｅＥｇｙｐｔｉａｎＭｅｄｉｔｅｒｒａｎｅａｎｗａｔｅｒｓ￥Ｍ．Ａ．ＳａｉｄａｎｄＦ．Ｍ．Ｅｉｄ（ＲｅｃｅｉｖｅｄＳｅｐｔｅｍｂｅｒ２１，１９９３１ａｃｃｆｅｐｔｅｄＪａｎｕａｒｙ１５，１９９４）Ａｂｓ...     

Interference fringes on GLORIA side-scan sonar images from the Bering Sea and their implications

GLORIA side-scan sonographs from the Bering Sea Basin show a complex pattern of interference fringes sub-parallel to the ship's track. Surveys along the same trackline made in 1986 and 1987 show nearly identical patterns. It is concluded from this that the interference patterns are caused by features in the shallow subsurface rather than in the water column. The fringes are interpreted as a thin-layer interference effect that occurs when some of the sound reaching the seafloor passes through it and is reflected off a subsurface layer. The backscattered sound interferes (constructively or desctructively) with the reflected sound. Constructive/destructive interference occurs when the difference in the length of the two soundpaths is a whole/half multiple of GLORIA's 25 cm wavelength. Thus as range from the ship increases, sound moves in and out of phase causing bands of greater and lesser intensity on the GLORIA sonograph. Fluctuations (or wiggles) of the fringes on the GLORIA sonographs relate to changes in layer thickness. In principle, a simple three dimensional image of the subsurface layer may be obtained using GLORIA and bathymetric data from adjacent (parallel) ship's tracks. These patterns have also been identified in images from two other systems; SeaMARC II (12 kHz) long-range sonar, and TOBI (30 kHz) deep-towed sonar. In these, and other cases world-wide, the fringes do not appear with the same persistence as those seen in the Bering Sea.     

Radioelement distribution in river,beach, and offshore areas and their significance to Chavara placer deposit,Southern Kerala Coast of India

The radioelement and heavy mineral distribution in river, beach and innershelf areas of the southern Kerala coast is related to placer mineral concentration on the beaches at Chavara. Southern Kerala rivers—Neyyar, Karamana and Vamanapuram—transport higher amounts of radioactive elements than the larger Kallada River due to higher radioactive minerals in the hinterland rocks. Coastal configurations and the seasonal longshore current pattern seems to control along-shore distribution of minerals. The proposed model for placer concentration suggests that the energy difference and seasonal current direction along this coast is important.     

A calibration of the Bagnold beach equation

A simple sand trap is used to measure swash and backwash bedload transport rates on intertidal profiles. Data from sixty-eight beach experiments are used to calculate a mean value of 12.78 kg m^?4s^?2 for the calibration coefficient in the Bagnold beach equation.