Mediterranean outflow through the Strait of Gibraltar since 18,000 Years B.P.: Mineralogical and geochemical arguments

Data obtained from mineralogical and geochemical analyses of piston and gravity cores, recovered from an area off Lisbon (Portugal) to the Alboran Sea (Mediterranean), serve as a basis for better understanding the past 18,000 years of hydrological exchanges at Gibraltar. Tracers used in this study are smectite, kaolinite, Ta, Th, La. One of the primary sources of particles both into and out of the Mediterranean is the Guadalquivir River. These particles are transported back into the Atlantic in the Mediterranean outflow water, and deposited along the Iberian slope. No evidence for reversal of this outflow current was found in those cores, since 18,000 years B.P.     

The Continuous Plankton Recorder: concepts and history, from Plankton Indicator to undulating recorders

Alister Hardy conceived the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey in the 1920s as a means of mapping near-surface plankton in space and time, interpreting the changing fortunes of the fisheries and relating plankton changes to hydrometeorology and climatic change. The seed he planted has grown to become the most extensive long-term survey of marine organisms in the world and the breadth of his vision becomes ever more apparent. The survey has now run for over 70 years and its value increases with every passing decade. Operating from ‘ships of opportunity’ the machines used are robust, reliable and easy to handle. Wherever possible, all the sampling and analytical methods have not been changed to maintain the consistency of the time series. Computerisation and the development of new statistical approaches have increased our ability to handle the large quantities of information generated and enhance the sensitivity of the data analyses. This overview, based on almost 900 papers, recounts the various phases in the history of the survey. It starts with the Indicator Survey (1921–1934), the deployment of the first CPR on the Discovery Expedition (1924–1927) and the early CPR survey in the North Sea (1931–1939). The survey reopened in 1946 after the Second World War and expanded across the North Atlantic to North America from 1959. Taxonomic studies were initiated and an emphasis was placed on patterns of distribution, which were seen to reflect the varying oceanographic conditions. The years 1968–1976 saw further expansion with operations even in the American Great Lakes, publication of a Plankton Atlas and initial evidence for a downward trend in plankton biomass. At about this time electronic instrumentation was attached to CPRs to make additional measurements and work was started on the development of a new generation of undulating Continuous Plankton and Environmental Recorders (CPERs). In 1976 the survey moved to Plymouth. Scientific priorities in the UK changed in the subsequent decade and funding became more difficult to secure even though some of the CPR papers being published at the time are now regarded as classics in plankton ecology. In 1988 the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) decided to close the survey. An international rescue operation led to the creation of the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) in 1990, which has continued with consortium funding from a number of countries, and from 1999 again included NERC. The scientific rationale of the survey has gained credibility as concern over climate change and other anthropogenic effects has grown and as the key role that plankton plays as an indicator of large-scale environmental conditions becomes ever more apparent. Recently, the survey became an integral component of the Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS) and expanded into the North Pacific. It plays a complementary role in many large international and multidisciplinary projects and is providing inspiration, advice and support to daughter surveys elsewhere in the world. At the start of a new millennium, Hardy’s vision from the 1920s is a powerful driving force not just in international biological oceanography, but in global environmental science.     

Exchange flow of oil and sea-water in a ruptured submarine pipeline

The rupture of a submarine oil pipeline starts various mechanisms leading to an oil spill. Among these mechanisms the leakage of oil driven by the difference in specific gravities of oil and sea-water is difficult to estimate. A simple mathematical model has been developed and laboratory experiments have been carried out to obtain an insight into the density-driven exchange flow and to determine the leak rate. The mathematical model is predictive and takes account of the effects of friction, inclination of the pipeline, and inertia of the fluid. The experiments were done in a horizontal model pipeline. Theoretical and experimental results are in satisfactory agreement.     

3,4-benzopyrene and perylene in mussels, Mytilus sp., from the Laguna Veneta,North-East Italy

From July, 1975 to November, 1976 mussels from the Laguna Veneta, north-east Italy, and the adjacent Adriatic Sea were collected bimonthly at ten stations and analysed for 3,4-benzopyrene (BaP) and perylene (Pe) content. Mean concentrations were in the range 12·0–135·1 μg/kg dry weight for BaP and 1·5–16·9 μg/kg for Pe, but values as high as 327 μg/kg for BaP and 71 μg/kg for Pe have been measured. The distribution of BaP and Pe closely matches previous results on petroleum hydrocarbon contamination in mussels from this area and indicates that the major portion of BaP and Pe in these bivalves is due principally to human activities.     

Studies on the determination of inorganic iodine in seawater

Existing methods for the determination of the various forms of iodine present in seawater are laborious or unwieldy in use. This paper describes modified forms of the iodate and total iodine methods described by Barkley and Thompson (1960), a spectrophotometric procedure for iodate determination derived from Johannesson's (1958) work, and an automatic method for total iodine determination. Procedures for iodate and total-iodine determination which are suitable for use aboard ship, are recommended. Both procedures for iodate determination returned a standard deviation close to 0.5 μg/l when several replicate samples of a seawater containing approximately 30 μg/l of iodate-iodine were analysed. The automatic method for total iodine determination yielded a standard deviation of 0.8 μg/l by the repeated analysis of a seawater containing a total of approximately 50 μg/l of iodine. Suitable methods for the filtration and storage of seawater are also described.     

Kinetic studies of the rate of dissolution of silica and diatom tests in sea water

Kinetic studies have been carried out on the dissolution of 10μm beads of silica and of the siliceous tests of two species of diatoms (Thalassiosira fluviatus andSkeletonema costatum) in sea water at 10–50°C and over the pH range 6–9. At all temperatures dissolution of the biogenous silica occurred most rapidly at pH 8 and most slowly at pH 6. First order kinetics were closely followed when the silica was present in a considerable excess over that required for saturation, the rate being proportional to the area of the silica. Apparent deviation from this type of kinetics occurred when there was insufficient silica to bring about saturation. This was undoubtedly due to the progressive decrease in the surface area which takes place as the particle dissolves. Application of the rather simplistic model developed by Kamataniet al. (1980), which makes allowance for this decrease, gave a close correspondence with the data until ∼ 90% of the silica had dissolved.