French marine technology policy : Industrializing ocean depths

This paper outlines the structure of the institutions involved in scientific and technological development in France. It points to new trends in French marine policy, and gives details of the country's offshore petroleum technology and nodule mining.     

Transverse vibrations of a rectangular cantilever plate with thickness varying in a discontinuous fashion

A numerical solution is obtained for the title problem by means of the popular finite element method. An experimental investigation of the problem is also presented for plates of square planform. The agreement between theoretical and experimental values is very good in the case of the fundamental frequency, and reasonably good when the second and third normal modes of transverse vibration are considered. It is concluded that beneficial effects are obtained in the sense that one generates a lighter structural element with higher fundamental frequency of transverse vibration. Hence, dynamic stiffening is achieved.     

The thermohaline fields and currents measured in the sub-arctic frontal zone of the Pacific Ocean

Based on the MEGAPOLYGON data, it is shown that the large-scale elements of the thermohaline structure and the fields of currents in the baroclinic layer (down to 1200 m) are well coordinated. The circulation has a two-layer structure with a transitory layer at a depth of 1200 m. The topography of the isopycnic surface of the layer's core is formed under the influence of small-scale and mesoscale processes which realize the trans-frontal exchange.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

The environmental management of shipping

The environmental management of shipping requires systematic consideration of the geography of shipping routes, ship types and cargoes, and environments which can form the basis of a classificatory approach to Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA). Beyond this, effective environmental management depends in the first instance upon sound information management including monitoring of the environment, surveillance of shipping and information technology, followed by information assessment including, in particular, risk and environmental impact. The general management dimension includes co-ordination of technical management and organisational aspects related to shipping. It is suggested that effective environmental management of shipping may depend upon a regionalisation of the marine environment for EIA purposes akin to that found in the loadline rules, together with rationalisation of the increasing number of special areas in existence or proposed for this purpose. EIA will have to become an integral part of the overall management system in the shipping industry.     

The study of intermittent hydrophysical fields in the vicinity of the frontal zone

CTD data provided by the MGI-4204 and MARK-III probes are used to study the quasistationary subpolar front structure in the north-western Sea of Japan. In order to provide further insights into the intermittent scalar hydrophysical fields, the method of inhomogeneity identification using temperature pulsations calculated by the moving interval is suggested. The experimentally-derived inhomogeneity distribution is satisfactorily approximated by the exponential law.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

Submersible observations of an iceberg pit and scour on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland

An elongated sea bed depression (pit), 80 by 125 m and 10 m deep located on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland was identified on high resolution surficial geophysical survey lines and investigated using a manned submersible. The pit occurs at the termination of a long (greater than 3 km) iceberg scour, 1.5 m deep, and 80 m wide in 91 m of water. It is similar to other depressions in the region that indent the sea bed up to seven times deeper than the surrounding deepest iceberg furrows. The pit is interpreted to be the sea bed response to impact and loading by a rolling and grounding iceberg. The iceberg scour and pit appear to be of recent origin.     

Interactions of cadmium with the reproductive cycle of Mytilus edulis L.

Sublethal effects of cadmium on reproduction can have detrimental consequences for the long-term survival, even of species with high LC₅₀ values. The sea mussel, Mytilus edulis, is well-known for its use in biomonitoring work due to its relatively low sensitivity towards many toxicants, including cadmium.¹ Because little is known on sublethal effects of this metal in invertebrates,^2–6 we have studied these effects, with emphasis on reproduction, by exposing mussels to 100 ppb cadmium in sea water. This concentration significantly inhibits follicle development in both male and female gonads, but has subsequently a stimulating effect on the spawning frequency. Due to these opposite effects the consequences of cadmium stress for gamete production are expected to be small, as the average number of gametes released by spawning animals was not significantly changed.