Evald Rudolfovich Mustel

In Memoriam

Evald Rudolfovich Mustel1911–1988     

Marine sand and gravel production in areas off the northeast coast of the United States

Agencies responsible for issuing permits authorizing excavation of marine sands and gravels have provided information on the amounts of aggregates removed from coastal waters off the New England and Middle Atlantic states. This information is reported herein. Major increases in marine mining are projected. The significance to fisheries of mining marine aggregates is discussed.     

Summer and winter differences in zooplankton biomass,distribution and size composition in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight,South Africa

Zooplankton biomass and distribution in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight were investigated in relation to environmental parameters during summer (January–February 2010) and winter (July–August 2010). Mean zooplankton biomass was significantly higher in winter (17.1 mg dry weight [DW] m^–3) than in summer (9.5 mg DW m^?3). In summer, total biomass was evenly distributed within the central bight, low off the Thukela River mouth and peaked near Durban. In winter, highest biomass was found offshore between Richards Bay and Cape St Lucia. Zooplankton biomass in each size class was significantly, negatively related to sea surface temperature and integrated nitrate, but positively related to surface chlorophyll a and dissolved oxygen. Zooplankton biomass was significantly related to bottom depth, with greatest total biomass located inshore (<50 m). Distribution across the shelf varied with zooplankton size. Seasonal differences in copepod size composition suggest that a smaller, younger community occupied the cool, chlorophyll-rich waters offshore from the St Lucia upwelling cell in winter, and a larger, older community occurred within the relatively warm and chlorophyll-poor central bight in summer. Nutrient enrichment from quasi-permanent upwelling off Durban and Richards Bay appears to have a greater influence on zooplankton biomass and distribution in the bight than the strongly seasonal nutrient input from the Thukela River.     

Do predatory fish of benthic crustaceans vary between kelp and barren reef habitats in northeastern New Zealand?

Fish assemblages that included known predators of benthic crustaceans were compared between kelp and barren habitats in northeastern New Zealand using baited underwater video census methods. The benthic-feeding fish were observed in winter, spring/summer and autumn, as well as during night-time in spring/summer. Overall, the fish assemblages varied between barren and kelp habitat, being most marked in winter. Individual benthic-feeding species, such as grey mao mao (Scorpis lineolatus) and leatherjacket (Meuschenia scaber) were associated with barren habitat, while the spotted wrasse (Notolabrus celidotus) was more strongly associated with kelp habitat. The results suggest that changes in habitats on coastal reefs affect populations of species that are benthic predators, which may in turn influence the distribution and abundance of their prey species, such as juvenile spiny lobsters.     

The Aspen–Amsterdam void finder comparison project

Despite a history that dates back at least a quarter of a century, studies of voids in the large-scale structure of the Universe are bedevilled by a major problem: there exist a large number of quite different void-finding algorithms, a fact that has so far got in the way of groups comparing their results without worrying about whether such a comparison in fact makes sense. Because of the recent increased interest in voids, both in very large galaxy surveys and in detailed simulations of cosmic structure formation, this situation is very unfortunate. We here present the first systematic comparison study of 13 different void finders constructed using particles, haloes, and semi-analytical model galaxies extracted from a subvolume of the Millennium simulation. This study includes many groups that have studied voids over the past decade. We show their results and discuss their differences and agreements. As it turns out, the basic results of the various methods agree very well with each other in that they all locate a major void near the centre of our volume. Voids have very underdense centres, reaching below 10 per cent of the mean cosmic density. In addition, those void finders that allow for void galaxies show that those galaxies follow similar trends. For example, the overdensity of void galaxies brighter than   m _B =−20  is found to be smaller than about −0.8 by all our void finding algorithms.     

Structure and dynamics of demersal fish assemblages over three decades (1985–2012) of increasing fishing pressure in Guinea

In a context of growing fishing pressures and recommendations for an ecosystem approach to fisheries, there is a need to monitor changes in fish communities over time. In this study, we analysed data from scientific trawl surveys carried out on the continental shelf off Guinea between 1985 and 2012. We performed factorial analyses and calculated biodiversity indices to characterise the changes in the structure and composition of fish communities that occurred over the 28-year period in this area, particularly given intensive fishing activities. We show that, over the study period, fish communities on the Guinean shelf were structured primarily according to spatial factors, with temporal changes being less pronounced than expected. However, a temporal analysis of biodiversity indices and species dominance showed that the intensification of fishing had significant effects on the general ecological features of the fish assemblages under study. There was a decrease in fish density and in mean trophic level. In addition, there were changes in species dominance, whereby large, slow-growing species with high commercial value were gradually replaced by smaller, fast-growing species of lesser commercial interest. These results from field observations are in line with some conclusions from previous modelling studies in the same geographical area, and provide further support for the hypothesis of a progressive ‘ecosystem effect of fishing’ occurring in Guinean waters.     

Estimating the diffuse attenuation coefficient from optically active constituents in UK marine waters

We report a study of the attenuation of submarine Photosynthetically Active Radiation (PAR) in relation to the concentrations of Optically Active Constituents (OACs) in a range of water types around the United Kingdom. 408 locations were visited between August 2004 and December 2005. The diffuse attenuation coefficient (K_d) was estimated from profiles of downwelling PAR. Concentrations of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) were measured gravimetrically and concentrations of phytoplankton chlorophyll (chl) were measured by fluorometrically. Chromophoric Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) was measured either by fluorescence or as its proxy, salinity.     

The magnetic properties and morphology of metallic iron produced by subsolidus reduction of synthetic Apollo 11 composition glasses

Metallic iron has been precipitated from a synthetic high-iron, high-titanium Apollo 11 composition glass powder in a furnace with the oxygen fugacity controlled by gas mixing techniques. Measurable quantities of iron, as determined with a vibrating sample magnetometer capable of detecting 0.01 wt% iron in the absence of ferromagnetic minerals, were produced in experiments at temperatures between 700°C and 1045°C, with run times between 3 hr and 95 hr, and oxygen fugacities between 1 and 2 orders of magnitude below the iron-wustite (IW) buffer curve. Such conditions of ?_O2 and T are probably not greatly different from those occurring in a large lunar ejecta blanket. The oxygen fugacity determines the amount of iron produced for a given time and temperature, with about 1% produced if log ?_O2 is 1.4 units below the IW buffer curve and about 3.5% produced if log ?_O2 is 1.7 units below at 990°C. Above 950°C essentially all the iron is multidomain (>300Å) while below 950°C as much as 15% is single domain (150Å–300Å) and an appreciable quantity remains even smaller. Compaction of the sample slows the rate of reduction but does not influence the grain size of metal. The quantities and size distribution of the reduced iron in a number of the experimental runs are strongly analogous to certain lunar soils and breccias and indicate that reduction in an ejected blanket could partly account for the excess iron of lunar soils and breccias relative to the igneous rocks.