An optimized method for automated analysis of algal pigments by HPLC

A recent development in algal pigment analysis by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) is the application of automation. An optimization of a complete sampling and analysis protocol applied specifically in automation has not yet been performed. In this paper we show that automation can only be successful if the various methodological aspects of the sampling and analysis protocol are considered in coherence. We introduce an optimized protocol that involves freeze-drying of the sample, subsequent extraction in 90% acetone and the application of water-packing during analysis. The method was evaluated on both natural plankton populations and a broad spectrum of microalgal cultures: Thalassiosira weisflogii (Bacillariophyceae), Emiliania huxleyi (Prymnesiophyceae), Phaeocystis globosa and Phaeocystis antarctica (Prymnesiophyceae) and Pyramimonas sp. (Prasinophyceae). Whereas pigment extracts were unstable in methanol, with recorded chlorophyll a losses from 10% to 60% per day, pigment degradation rates in acetone were generally less than 1% over 18 h storage in the autosampler (4 °C). In addition, it was found that the extraction efficiency of acetone significantly increased upon freeze-drying prior to extraction. Increases as high as 50–60% were measured in P. antarctica. The application of water-packing of the sample during injection resulted in improved peak shape and peak separation, without diluting the pigment concentrations. Automation is especially beneficial for application in the field, when mixed algal assemblages and low biomass put a high demand on the sensitivity as well as reproducibility of the method.     

Imaging of Buried Archaeological Materials: The Reflection Properties of Archaeological Wood

Effective marine archaeological site management demands detailed information on not only the spatial distribution of artefacts but also the degradation state of the materials present. Although sonar methods have frequently been used in an attempt to detect buried wooden shipwrecks they are currently unable to indicate their degradation state. To assess the sensitivity of acoustic measurements to changes in the degradation state of such material, and hence the potential for sonars to quantify degradation, laboratory measurements of compressional wave velocity, as well as bulk density for oak and pine samples, in varying states of decay, were undertaken. These data enabled the calculation of theoretical reflection coefficients for such materials buried in various marine sediments. As wood degrades, the reflection coefficients become more negative, resulting in the hypothesis that the more degraded wood becomes, the easier it should be to detect. Typical reflection coefficients of the order of −0.43 and −0.52 for the most degraded oak and pine samples in sand are predicted. Conversely, for wood exposed to seawater the predicted reflection coefficients are large and positive for undegraded material (0.35 for oak, 0.18 for pine) and decrease to zero or slightly below for the most degraded samples. This indicates that exposed timbers, when heavily degraded, can be acoustically transparent and so undetectable by acoustic methods. Corroboration of these experimental results was provided through comparison with high resolution seismic reflection data that has been acquired over two shipwrecks.     

Multi-decadal synthesis of benthic–pelagic coupling in the western arctic: Role of cross-shelf advective processes

Using geographic information systems (GIS) software and geostatistical techniques, we utilized three decades of water-column chlorophyll a data to examine the relative importance of autochthonous versus allochthonous sources of reduced carbon to benthic communities that occur from the northern Bering to the eastern Beaufort Sea shelf. Spatial trend analyses revealed areas of high benthic biomass (>300 g m⁻²) and chlorophyll (>150 mg m⁻²) on both the southern and northern Chukchi shelf; both areas are known as depositional centers for reduced organic matter that originates on the Bering Sea shelf and is advected northward in Anadyr and Bering shelf water masses. We found a significant correlation between biomass and chlorophyll a in the Chukchi Sea, reflective of the strong benthic–pelagic coupling in a system that is utilized heavily by benthic-feeding marine mammals. In contrast, there was no significant correlation between biomass and chlorophyll in the Beaufort Sea, which by comparison, is considerably less productive (biomass and chlorophyll, <75 g m⁻² and <50 mg m⁻², respectively). One notable exception is an area of relatively high biomass (50–100 g m⁻²) and chlorophyll (80 mg m⁻²) near Barter Island in the eastern Beaufort Sea. Compared to other adjacent areas in the Beaufort Sea, the chlorophyll values in the vicinity of Barter Island were considerably higher and likely reflect a long-hypothesized upwelling in that area and close coupling between the benthos and autochthonous production. In the Bering Sea, a drop in benthic biomass in 1994 compared with previous measurements (1974–1993) may support earlier observations that document a decline in biomass that began between the 1980s and 1990s in the Chirikov Basin and south of St. Lawrence Island. The results of this study indicate that the benthos is an excellent long-term indicator of both local and physical advective processes. In addition, this work provides further evidence that secondary production on arctic shelves can be significantly augmented by reduced carbon advected from highly productive adjacent shelves.     

Seasonal variations of alkenones and U37 in the Chesapeake Bay water column

Alkenone unsaturation indices (U^K₃₇ and U^K′₃₇) have long been used as proxies for surface water temperature in the open ocean. Recent studies have suggested that in other marine environments, variables other than temperature may affect both the production of alkenones and the values of the indices. Here, we present the results of a reconnaissance field study in which alkenones were extracted from particulate matter filtered from the water column in Chesapeake Bay during 2000 and 2001. A multivariate analysis shows a strong positive correlation between U^K₃₇ (and U^K′₃₇) values and temperature, and a significant negative correlation between U^K₃₇ (and U^K′₃₇) values and nitrate concentrations. However, temperature and nitrate concentrations also co-vary significantly. The temperature vs. U^K₃₇ relationships (U^K₃₇=0.018 (T)−0.162, R²=0.84, U^K′₃₇=0.013 (T)−0.04, R²=0.80) have lower slopes than the open-ocean equations of Prahl et al. [1988. Further evaluation of long-chain alkenones as indicators of paleoceanographic conditions. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 52, 2303–2310] and Müller et al. [1998. Calibration of the alkenone paleotemperature index U^K′₃₇ based on core-tops from the eastern South Atlantic and the global ocean (60°N–60°S). Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 62, 1757–1772], but are similar to the relationships found in controlled studies with elevated nutrient levels and higher nitrate:phosphate (N:P) ratios. This implies that high nutrient levels in Chesapeake Bay have either lowered the U^K₃₇ vs. temperature slope, or nutrient levels are the main controller of the U^K₃₇ index. In addition, particularly high abundances (>5% of total C₃₇ alkenones) of the tetra-unsaturated ketone, C_37:4, were found when water temperatures reached 25 °C or higher, thus posing further questions about the controls on alkenone production as well as the biochemical roles of alkenones.     

A new form of generalized Boussinesq equations for varying water depth

A new set of equations of motion for wave propagation in water with varying depth is derived in this study. The equations expressed by the velocity potentials and the wave surface elevations include first-order non-linearity of waves and have the same dispersion characteristic to the extended Boussinesq equations. Compared to the extended Boussinesq equations, the equations have only two unknown scalars and do not contain spatial derivatives with an order higher than 2. The wave equations are solved by a finite element method. Fourth-order predictor–corrector method is applied in the time integration and a damping layer is applied at the open boundary for absorbing the outgoing waves. The model is applied to several examples of wave propagation in variable water depth. The computational results are compared with experimental data and other numerical results available in literature. The comparison demonstrates that the new form of the equations is capable of calculating wave transformation from relative deep water to shallow water.     

Towards a more detailed seismic picture of the oceanic crust and mantle

A review is presented of current interpretation techniques in marine refraction seismology with particular emphasis on those features which are most useful in structural studies using ocean bottom seismometers. Travel time analysis techniques are discussed for both refraction and variable angle reflection profiles and are compared with systematic travel time inversion methods. Amplitude and waveform analysis techniques allow a more detailed velocity depth profile to be determined, and are illustrated for both surface and bottom receivers. The study of anisotropy and lateral variations in crustal structure may be usefully combined using delay time function methods but a detailed structural model also requires velocity-depth information. Signal processing techniques which are particularly useful for shear wave and long range propagation studies are also metioned. Structural studies using OBS' should lead to detailed knowledge of the oceanic crust and the P wave velocity distribution in the upper mantle.     

Organic matter origin and distribution in suspended particulate materials and surficial sediments from the western Adriatic Sea (Italy)

In this study, organic carbon (OC), total nitrogen (TN), stable carbon isotopic (δ¹³C_OC) and CuO reaction product compositions were used to identify the sources of organic matter (OM) and to quantify the relative importance of allochthonous and autochthonous contributions to the western Adriatic Sea, Italy. Suspended particulate material (195 samples) and surficial sediments (0–1 cm, 70 samples) from shallow cross-shelf transects were collected in February and May 2003, respectively. Vertical water column profiles were acquired along the same transects. Data include depth, potential temperature, salinity, density and chlorophyll fluorimetry.Along the western Adriatic shelf in the near-shore region, the phytoplankton growth was influenced by dynamics of the buoyant plumes from the Po and Appennine rivers. A small amount of very fine terrigenous material remained suspended within the coastal current and was exported southward along the shelf to the slope. High variability in the bulk composition was detected in the Po prodelta surficial sediments, whereas the western Adriatic shelf, although a larger area, exhibited a narrower range of values.A significant decoupling was observed between suspended particles in the water column and surficial deposits. The organic material collected in the water column was compositionally heterogeneous, with contributions from marine phytoplankton, riverine–estuarine phytoplankton and soil-derived OM. Frequent physical reworking of surficial sediments likely leads to the efficient oxidation of marine OC, resulting in the observed accumulation and preservation of refractory soil-derived OC delivered by the Po and Appennine rivers.     

Veil over the nets (unravelling corporate liability for IUU fishing offences)

The illegal plundering of fishing stocks worldwide is masked behind a maze of corporate structures that makes discovery of the beneficiaries of such activity, difficult, if not impossible to identify. This paper outlines the problem of illegal fishing and then develops a multi-layered response to avert the veil of corporate entity being used as a means of preventing domestic States from answering the principal thematic question—who is the true beneficiary of this illegal behaviour, and who should be held responsible.     

Oceanographic influences on seabirds and cetaceans of the eastern tropical Pacific: A review

This paper is part of a comprehensive review of the oceanography of the eastern tropical Pacific, the oceanic region centered on the eastern Pacific warm pool, but also including the equatorial cold tongue and equatorial current system, and summarizes what is known about oceanographic influences on seabirds and cetaceans there. The eastern tropical Pacific supports on the order of 50 species of seabirds and 30 species of cetaceans as regular residents; these include four endemic species, the world’s largest populations for several others, three endemic sub-species, and a multi-species community that is relatively unique to this ecosystem. Three of the meso-scale physical features of the region are particularly significant to seabirds and cetaceans: the Costa Rica Dome for blue whales and short-beaked common dolphins, the Equatorial Front for planktivorous seabirds, and the countercurrent thermocline ridge for flocking seabirds that associate with mixed-species schools of spotted and spinner dolphins and yellowfin tuna. A few qualitative studies of meso- to macro-scale distribution patterns have indicated that some seabirds and cetaceans have species-specific preferences for surface currents. More common are associations with distinct water masses; these relationships have been quantified for a number of species using several different analytical methods. The mechanisms underlying tropical species–habitat relationships are not well understood, in contrast to a number of higher-latitude systems. This may be due to the fact that physical variables have been used as proxies for prey abundance and distribution in species–habitat research in the eastern tropical Pacific.Though seasonal and interannual patterns tend to be complex, species–habitat relationships appear to remain relatively stable over time, and distribution patterns co-vary with patterns of preferred habitat for a number of species. The interactions between seasonal and interannual variation in oceanographic conditions with seasonal patterns in the biology of seabirds and cetaceans may account for some of the complexity in species–habitat relationship patterns.Little work has been done to investigate effects of El Niño-Southern Oscillation cycles on cetaceans, and results of the few studies focusing on oceanic seabirds are complex and not easy to interpret. Although much has been made of the detrimental effects of El Niño events on apex predators, more research is needed to understand the magnitude, and even direction, of these effects on seabirds and cetaceans in space and time.