Water colour index of the Guinean sector of the Atlantic Ocean

The distribution of the colour index is considered in the region bounded by 8–11°N and 13°30–18°30W based on the results of measurements made on board vessels of the Marine Hydrophysical Institute of the Ukrainian SSR Academy of Sciences (MHI) in 1977–1985. Mean values and statistical characteristics are calculated for the colour index variability over one-degree squares. A map of its multi-yearly average distribution is plotted.Translated by M. M. Trufanov.     

Fluid forces on a small cylinder in the presence of a large cylinder in relative oscillatory flow

The present brief paper is intended to show that the fluid forces on a small cylinder can be considerably magnified when it is in the flow field of a larger cylinder. Two cylinders of unequal diameter are oscillated in a tank of fluid, and the lift and in-line forces on the smaller cylinder are measured when the pair of cylinders is placed at various orientations and spacings.     

A note on the seafloor coupling characteristics of the new ONR ocean-bottom seismometer

A series of transient tests were conducted to determine the seafloor coupling characteristics of a new ocean-bottom seismometer (OBS) developed for the United States Office of Naval Research (ONR). The OBS comprises a large recording package and a separate sensor package that is deployed from the recording package. In addition to the coupling characteristics of both the sensor and the recording packages, the seismic energy radiated from the main recording package as a result of motion of the recording package was measured. The observed vertical coupling resonances of both the recording package and the sensor package are in good agreement with those predicted by a simple model of soil-structure interaction. The most important result of this study is that significant energy is radiated from the recording package in response to horizontal motions of the recording package. When the sensor package is 1 m from the recording package, the amplitude of the recorded signal is similar to that recorded in the recording package. In the field, this effect will result in distortion of seismic signals and increased background noise recorded by the sensor package if the recording package is disturbed by seafloor currents or biological activity. The amplitude of this signal attenuates by approximately a factor of two as sensor/recorder separation is increased from 1 to 6 m, suggesting that an improved response can be achieved by increasing the separation between the recording package and the sensors. This effect is much less severe for vertical disturbances of the recording package.     

Tephrostratigraphy and paleo-environmental implications of Late Quaternary sediments and interstitial water in the western Ulleung Basin, East/Japan Sea

Two piston cores, collected from the western Ulleung Basin of the East/Japan Sea, were used to investigate the Late Quaternary tephrostratigraphy, lithology, and mineralogy of the sediments, as well as the elemental composition of both sediments and interstitial water, and their paleo-environmental implications. The cores show two lapilli tephra layers and one rhyolitic ash layer at the boundaries between sedimentary lithofacies units I, II, and III. These layers can be correlated with the well-known Ulleung-Oki (ca. 9.3 ka; boundary of units I/II), Ulleung-Yamato (ca. 25–33 ka), and Aira-Tanzawa (ca. 25.1 ka; boundary of units II/III) layers, respectively. These data suggest that the cores cover the period from the middle stage of marine isotope stage (MIS) 3 to the Holocene. In each core, a so-called dark laminated mud (DLM) layer in unit II commonly has high contents of Si and Al, suggesting that the DLM layer generally contains significant amounts of fine-grained silicates and/or aluminosilicates. In addition, these DLM layers are enriched in Fe relative to Mn, iron being predominantly bound in framboidal pyrite. The size distribution of pyrite in the DLM layers suggests that these have formed under anoxic (euxinic) conditions at times of reduced water circulation in the basin during sea-level lowstand (euxinic environment). The C/N ratios [5–12] suggest that sedimentary organic matter in the cores is predominantly of marine origin. Total organic carbon (TOC) contents increased shortly before Termination I. This could have been caused by an increased flux of marine organic matter in association with sea-level rise. The C and S values of units II and III (Late Pleistocene sediments; C: <2.0%; S: 0.5–2.1%) suggest a more euxinic environment than that of unit I (Holocene sediments; C: 1.0–3.5%; S: <1.0%). Concentrations of SO₄^2– in the interstitial water decrease with increasing burial depth, whereas CH₄ concentrations show the reverse trend. Therefore, it seems that sulfate reduction, probably related to microbial activity, predominates in the upper core sections (<5 m), shifting to methanogenesis in the lower core sections.     

Changing anthropogenic influence on the Santa Monica Bay watershed

Santa Monica Bay is an open coastal embayment located directly seaward of Los Angeles, California. The Bay provides vital economic value through its water-dependent activities, such as swimming, diving, boating, and fishing. An increase from 100,000 residents in 1900 to 10 million in 2000 has imposed numerous environmental stressors on the Bay, including urbanization of the watershed. Pollutant discharges into the Bay increased throughout the early part of the century, but declined following passage of the Clean Water Act in 1972. Since that time, the predominant source of pollutant inputs has changed from point sources to non-point urban runoff. To assess how present-day and historical pollution interact to affect the environmental quality of Santa Monica Bay, three organizations collaborated on a multi-disciplinary study in 1997, towards which this volume is focused. This paper details the temporal patterns of anthropogenic influence on Santa Monica Bay to provide context for the papers that follow.     

Observations of resuspended diatoms in the turbid tidal edge

Observations of resuspended diatoms in the shallow waters (<60 cm) of the turbid tidal edge are described for single sites on two tidal flats–the Molenplaat in the Westerschelde estuary, and the Hond in the Ems-Dollard estuary, The Netherlands. High concentrations of chlorophyll-a (chl-a) were observed in the trailing edge of the ebbing tide in water depths of <20 cm, after which concentrations decreased markedly. Peak mean values were 19 μg chl-a l⁻¹ in 10 cm of water at the Molenplaat, and 45 μg chl-a l⁻¹ in 5 cm of water at the Hond. Similar trends were observed on the flooding tide, although peak values were far less pronounced (6 and 30 μg chl-a l⁻¹ respectively). Microscopic examination of the diatom community within the turbid tidal edge at the Molenplaat revealed that peaks in biomass were caused by suspended benthic diatoms, as well as the large centric diatom Coscinodiscus sp., particularly on the ebb tide. Planktonic diatoms other than Coscinodiscus sp. were more randomly distributed and did not appear to follow any particular trend. It would seem that as the tide recedes, resuspended benthic diatoms and large Coscinodiscus sp. cells become concentrated in the shallow water. However, the virtual absence of Coscinodiscus sp. from the leading edge of the flooding tide suggests that most of the resuspended cells do not settle to the seabed, but are washed away into the channels. The small peak of benthic diatoms at the leading edge of the flood tide is most likely resuspended locally from the sediment, along with large numbers of diatom frustules.