The Feni Drift: The importance and meaning of slump deposits on the eastern slope of the Rockall Bank

Sedimentary facies of cores from the eastern side of the Rockall Bank and the Feni Drift (55°–58°N) have been studied. They confirm the existence of slumping which contributes only in small part to drift build-up.

These slumps occurred at different episodes during last Glacial and early Post-Glacial periods. They are sandwiched in between more important turbidites, and are found in places where the drift lies against the slope and so is acted upon by continental-rise sedimentary processes. The sea level rise periods with ice melting seems to favour gravity flow release.     

Bedrock morphology and structures within overlying sediments,Start Bay,Southwest England,determined by continuous seismic profiling,side-scan sonar,and core sampling

The bedrock morphology of Start Bay, Southwest England, and the Structures within overlying sediments have been determined by a combined geophysical and geological survey. It has been established that the Skerries Bank consists of a drape of possibly coarse, unconsolidated material (bank deposits) overlying medium- to fine-grained silty sand (bay deposits). A break of slope in the bedrock surface, traced along the entire length of the Bay, and a step profile in the southern part of the Bay, may be either a legacy of submerged topography produced by vigorous tidal action, or alternatively the product of subaerial and marine processes. Other significant geological features in the Bay include infilled valleys, and “terraces” possibly pertaining to relict barrier beaches.     

Immunological characterization of metallothionein in marine and freshwater fish

Metallothionein (MT) is a low-molecular-weight, cysteine-rich, metalbinding protein found in all vertebrates. The primary structure of the protein is evolutionary conserved, especially the location of cysteine-residues. There are nonetheless significant differences between MTs from different vertebrate classes, notably in major antigenic epitopes. Previous work has shown that MT from different fish species also differ. The objective of the present work was to characterize MT from temperate, sub-tropical and tropical fish species by their relative reactivities with two anti-fish MT antisera. One or both antisera cross-reacted with MT from all fish species investigated. Surprisingly, the relative reactivities of the two antisera with MT from species belonging to different taxonomic groups appeared to reflect differences at the level of family rather than differences between major phylogenetic lineages.     

Zinc concentration effect at the organismal,cellular and subcellular levels in the eastern oyster

The purpose of this research was to demonstrate a concentration effect of zinc exposure at organismal, cellular and sub-cellular levels in the eastern oyster and to find associated protein expression signatures (PES) for each concentration of zinc. Oysters were exposed to six concentrations of zinc for 48 h in a controlled environment. At the organismal level, fecal material was observed as a measure of physiological health during metal exposures. At the cellular level, lysosomal destabilization was measured using hemolymph. This cellular response was significant only at the highest concentration, when the fecal index was lowest. Protein responses were monitored in the oyster following exposure to zinc. Gill tissue was excised and homogenized, and then analyzed using two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (2D-PAGE) and digital image analysis. Protein expression signatures were found to be specific to each concentration. The protein responses were linked to the other biological parameters measured, each of which followed a concentration gradient of zinc.     

A general method for calculating three-dimensional laminar and turbulent boundary layers on ship hulls

A general method for representing the flow properties in the three-dimensional boundary layers around ship hulls of arbitrary shape is described. It makes use of an efficient two-point finite-diffirence schem to solve the boundary-layer equations and includes an algebraic eddy-viscosity representaion of the Reynolds-stress ternsor. The numericzal method contains novel and desirable features and allows the calculation of flows in which the circumferential velocity component contains regions of flow reversal across the boundary layer. The inviscid pressure distribution is determined with the Douglas-Neumann method which, if necessary, can conveniently allow for the boundary-layer displacement surface. To allow its application to ships, and particularly to those with double-elliptic and flat-bottomed hulls, a non-orthogonal coordinate system has been developed and is shown to be economical, precise and comparatively easy to use. Present calculations relate to zero Froude number but they can be extended to include the effects of a water wave and local regions of flow separation which may stem from bulbous-bow geometries.