A giant three-stage submarine slide off Norway

One of the largest submarine slides known, The Storegga Slide, is located on the Norwegian continental margin. The slide is up to 450 m thick and has a total volume of about 5,600 km3. The headwall of the slide scar is 290 km long and the total run-out distance is about 800 km. The slide involved sediments of Quaternary to Early Tertiary age and occurred in three stages. Earthquakes combined with decomposition of gas hydrates are believed to be the main triggering agents for the slides. The first slide event is tentatively dated to be about 30,000 to 50,000 years B.P. and the two last major events are dated to be at 6,000 to 8,000 years B.P.     

Detection of the water-soluble fraction of crude oil by the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus

The ability of the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, to detect petroleum hydrocarbons was measured with behavioural techniques. When presented with a water-soluble fraction of Prudhoe Bay crude oil, blue crabs abruptly changed antennular orientation, began rhythmic beating of the maxillipedal flagellae, and increased antennular flicking rate. The threshold concentration at which 50% of the crabs detected the water-soluble fraction was 2 × 10^?6 mg/litre. The blue crab apparently can readily detect petroleum hydrocarbons at concentrations found in chronically polluted areas as well as oil spill situations.     

Semisubmersible response to transient ice forces

The paper presents an analytical and experimental study on the transient response of semisubmersibles to bergybit impact and the strength of bergybit ice to high strain-rate loadings. Two approaches have been proposed for the solution of the semisubmersible-bergybit interaction problem, one using the energy approach and the other using the conventional structural dynamics approach with initial velocity conditions. In addition the local behaviour of the impacted regions have been analysed for deformation and failure. Numerical results have been given for local behaviour of an impacted column and global behaviour of semisubmersible-bergybit system. Experimental study has been reported on the impact strength of iceberg ice at strain rates of 10⁻³, 10⁻² and 10⁻¹; the indentation impact strength of ice is found to be 3–4 times the unaixial compressive strength, at the same strain rate.     

In-line response of a cylinder in oscillatory flow

The most widely used mathematical model to represent flow-induced in-line forces on structures is based on the Morison¹ equation. The present paper investigates the validity of using an extension of Morison's equation for non-stationary structures, by comparing predictions with results from a simple laboratory experiment. An elastically-mounted circular cylinder is placed in the sinusoidal flow of a U-tube, and responds in-line with the flow. Cylinder forces and responses are recorded over a range of Keulegan Carpenter numbers up to 35. An equation of motion is solved simply by using relative coordinates and by employing equivalent linearisation. The linear results are compared over a wide variation of parameters with solutions using the full nonlinear equation. Thereafter experimental results are compared with linear predictions.     

Analysis of seawater for dissolved cadmium, copper and lead: An intercomparison of voltammetric and atomic absorption methods

An intercomparison study of voltammetric and atomic absorption spectrometric methods for determining cadmium, lead and copper in seawater samples was conducted. The voltammetric approach utilizes differential pulse anodic stripping voltammetry using a rotating, glassy carbon, mercury film electrode under conditions developed to minimize contamination sources and to enhance sensitivity for seawater matrices. The atomic absorption approach involves a concentration step using either an organic solvent extraction of metal dithiocarbamate chelates or a Chelex-100 column with detection by graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Similar and consistent results were obtained using both methods for the three trace metals studied on a wide range of natural seawater samples. Both methods are comparable in sensitivity for cadmium and copper, however the voltammetric method is better suited for the analysis of lead in seawater because of its enhanced sensitivity and low blank. An advantage of the voltammetric approach is its amenability towards real-time shipboard analysis.     

Bioerosion by chemosynthetic biological communities on Holocene submarine slide scars

Geomorphic, stratigraphic, and faunal observations of submarine slide scars that occur along the flanks of Monterey Canyon in 2.0–2.5 km water depths were made to identify the processes that continue to alter the surface of a submarine landslide scar after the initial slope failure. Deep-sea chemosynthetic biological communities and small caves are common on the sediment-free surfaces of the slide scars, especially along the headwall. The chemosynthetic organisms observed on slide scars in Monterey Canyon undergo a faunal succession based in part on their ability to maintain their access to the redox boundaries in the sediment on which they depend on as an energy source. By burrowing into the seafloor, these organisms are able to follow the retreating redox boundaries as geochemical re-equilibration occurs on the sole of the slide. As these organisms dig into the seafloor on the footwall, they often generate small caves and weaken the remaining seafloor. While chemosynthetic biological communities are typically used as indicators of fluid flow, these communities may be supported by methane and hydrogen sulfide that are diffusing out of the fresh seafloor exposed at the sole of the slide by the slope failure event. If so, these chemosynthetic biological communities may simply mark sites of recent seafloor exhumation, and are not reliable fluid seepage indicators.     

Seagrass landscape-scale changes in response to disturbance created by the dynamics of barrier-islands: A case study from Ria Formosa (Southern Portugal)

This study documents long-term changes of a Zostera noltii landscape induced by a natural cyclic event in a coastal lagoon. The barrier-islands forming this system are very dynamic with drifting movements controlling ecological patterns and processes occurring in this area. Changes in the areal extent of the Z. noltii meadows were assessed using historical aerial photographs from 1940, 1980, 1989, 1996 and 1998. Landscape indices such as total patch area (TA), mean patch size (MPS), number of patches (NP), mean shape coefficient of variation (CV) and landscape fractal dimension (D) were calculated for each year and related to an index of disturbance intensity. The spatial distribution of the Z. noltii meadows varied greatly during the studied period and changes observed were related to the disturbance created by the barrier-islands' spatial dynamics. After an artificial inlet relocation the Z. noltii area, number of patches, patch mean size and coefficient of variation decreased. The fractal dimension of the Z. noltii landscape increased by 50% showing that besides a decrease in total area, number of patches, and patch mean area, patch fragmentation was an important consequence of this anthropogenic disturbance.Seagrass natural distribution patterns changed in response to natural and human-induced activities. This study emphasizes the importance of the landscape approach and the historical perspective when studying seagrass changes and the importance of taking into consideration long-term changes in seagrass landscapes to avoid confusion between man-induced effects with natural cyclic events.     

Hotspots in ambient noise caused by ice-edge eddies in the Greenland and Barents Seas

Mesoscale eddies are frequently observed in the Greenland and Barents Seas' marginal ice zone (MIZ). The objective of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that acoustic hotspots along the ice-edge region are due to mesoscale eddy currents interacting with the broken-up ice floes in the MIZ. To test this hypothesis, ambient-noise case studies were carried out during the MIZEX 85-87 and SIZEX 89 field experiments. In each experiment, ice-edge eddies were localized visually from aircraft and by use of satellite remote-sensing data obtained in near real time. Sonobuoys were, thereafter, deployed by fix-wing aircraft and helicopters in selected eddy areas. Ambient-noise data, recorded over several hours by aircraft, were analyzed estimating averaged ambient-noise levels at four selected frequencies: 40, 100, 315, and 1000 Hz. The analysis showed high mean levels and large gradients in ambient noise near ice-edge eddies and during strong wind and wave forcing against the ice edge. The conclusion of this study is that mapping of the ice edge and localization of mesoscale ocean processes using remote sensing from space will provide important input to ambient-noise prediction in the MIZ.