Characterization of interface roughness of rippled sand off Fort Walton Beach, Florida

As part of the environmental characterization to model acoustic bottom scattering during the high-frequency sediment acoustics experiment (SAX99), fine-scale sediment roughness of a medium sand was successfully measured within a 600 /spl times/ 600-m area by two methods: stereo photography and a technique using a conductivity system. Areal coverage of the two methods, representing approximately 0.16 m/sup 2/ of the sea floor, was comparable, resulting in the depiction and quantification of half-meter wavelength sand ripples. Photogrammetric results were restricted to profiles digitized at 1-mm intervals; sediment conductivity results generated gridded micro-bathymetric measurements with 1- to 2-cm node spacing. Roughness power spectra give similar results in the low-spatial-frequency domains where the spectra estimated from both approaches overlap. However, spectra derived from higher resolution photogrammetric results appear to exhibit a multiple-power-law fit. Roughness measurements also indicate that spectrum changes as a function of time. Application of statistical confidence bounds on the power spectra indicates that roughness measurements separated by only 1-2 m may be spatially nonstationary.     

The effects of oil exploration and production in the northern North Sea: Part 2—microbial biodegradation of hydrocarbons in water and sediments, 1978–1981

The potential of heterotrophs to degrade aromatic hydrocarbons derived from oil in water and sediments in the northern North Sea around the Brent, Beryl, Forties and Murchison oilfields and at a number of stations, from the Forties field to the Firth of Forth, was estimated using 1-¹⁴C naphthalene and 7, 10-¹⁴C benzo(a)pyrene. The degradation of uniformly labelled ¹⁴C mixed 1-amino acids was used as a measure of total heterotrophic activity. Results showed that microorganisms have the potential to degrade the smaller aromatic hydrocarbon molecules rapidly in the water column and in surface sediments. Close to the Beryl platform, where diesel-washed drill cuttings have been continuously dumped, the rate of input of hydrocarbons to the sediment has exceeded the rate of degradation. Mineralization of benzo(a)pyrene, estimated in the sediments only, was minimal. Close to production platforms the biodegradation rate of mixed 1-amino acids showed no increase comparable with that found for naphthalene, suggesting that existing microbial populations had not increased but adapted to degrade oil in water and sediments.     

Methodical series tests for fuller ship hull forms

In recent years many fuller ship hull forms have been designed and constructed in various shipbuilding countries, but the data available for the development of the fuller forms are inadequate from the point of view of preliminary ship design. In this paper the authors describe how they have systematically tested vessel forms of block coefficients ranging from 0.80 to 0.90. The analysis and presentation of the test results have been made in such a manner that designers can produce hull forms like those of tankers and other bulk carriers quickly and reliably.     

A low level supplementary heating system for free divers

A simple and effective method of heating divers in extreme cold water has been developed. The local heating concept utilizes a uniformly distributed granular mixture of magnesium and iron particles packed in small sachets. Upon activation by sea water, the two metal mixture behaves as a multitude of short-circuited electrolytic cells, producing thermal energy rather than electrical energy. The 45 mm-square sachets may be placed where heating is required on the diver's body, thus giving rise to the term “local heating”, obviously, the heating system requires no pumping device, or distribution network. Heating rate and duration of output of the sachets are controlled by particle size, and mixture ratio of the constituent Mg and Fe particles.This paper described the development, testing and performance of the heating sachets. Results of live tests in different dive situations are also presented and discussed.     

Susceptibility to genetic damage and cell types in Mediterranean mussels

Micronucleus (MN) frequency is generally accepted as a marker of chromosomal damage and has been studied in a variety of cells and species. In previous work, we detected significant dose-related MN increases in the epithelial-like gill cells and agranular haemocytes of Mytilus galloprovincialis treated with benzo[a]pyrene, a well-known mutagenic pollutant. In addition, we have studied micronuclei and other nuclear abnormalities in mussels collected from the Venice lagoon (Italy). Frequency changes, possibly related to genotoxic/toxic stress, in both granular and micronucleated cells from gills and haemolymph, were detected. Environmental data suggest the effect of genotoxic pollutants and the importance of cell replication in the interpretation of micronucleus frequencies.     

Variability in oceanographic and ecological processes in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago

This paper brings together unpublished historical data sets and published literature to review the role of climatic, oceanographic and ecological processes in the marine ecosystem of the eastern Canadian Archipelago. Physical data include characteristics of the water masses, circulation patterns, sea ice conditions, and climatic records from 1950s onward. Biological data include unpublished data sets on nutrients, primary and secondary production, and sedimentation, which were collected during the 1980–1990s in the eastern Canadian Archipelago. These results show high year-to-year variability in nutrient inventories and ratios, the magnitude of the ice algae and phytoplankton bloom, the timing of ice algae sedimentation in the spring, and the composition of the zooplankton community. The significance of this high interannual variability and its effect on pelagic–benthic coupling processes is discussed in the context of climatic and oceanographic forcing, with emphasis on recent (past decade) Arctic changes. An estimate of total primary production in the Archipelago is also presented, along with published production estimates for other Arctic shelves, showing that the Archipelago may support up to 32% of the total primary production of Arctic shelves. The high year-to-year variability in production and carbon transfer pathways (e.g. pelagic versus benthic) in the Archipelago suggest that the system might be resilient to the increased variability in climatic conditions occurring in the past decade. However, this increased variability combined with directional change in climatic and oceanographic conditions might also modify the existing balance of ecological processes. For example, shifts in the timing of events appear to have already occurred in the past decade, with potential cascading effects throughout the ecosystem.     

Abundance of the introduced seastar, Asterias amurensis, and spatial variability in soft sediment assemblages in SE Tasmania: Clear correlations but complex interpretation

The northern Pacific seastar, Asterias amurensis, was first collected in southeast Tasmania in 1986. Mistaken for the endemic asteroid Uniophora granifera, its true identity was not realised until 1992. It is now a conspicuous predator in soft sediment habitats in this region, and is considered a major threat to native assemblages and commercial species. We examined the structure of soft sediment assemblages at different spatial scales in southeast Tasmania, and correlated spatial variation in community composition with seastar abundances. We found that the structure of soft sediment assemblages is highly variable at a range of spatial scales from metres to tens of kilometres. Clear differences in the composition of assemblages and abundances of major taxa were detected between areas with and without seastars and between areas with low and high seastar densities. However, the nature of these patterns suggests that they are more likely due to differences in sediment characteristics than due to impacts of the seastar. Thus, spatial differences in soft sediment assemblages might have been erroneously attributed to seastars without detailed information on important physical factors such as sediment characteristics. A second survey, using larger sampling units (1 m²) but across a more limited spatial extent, targeted bivalves and heart urchins that were identified as important prey of the seastar in observations of feeding and in experimental studies. Large-scale patterns of abundance and size structure were consistent with seastar effects anticipated from small-scale experimental and feeding studies for some, but not all, species. While the field survey ultimately provided evidence about the presence or absence of seastar impacts at large-scales, the identification of key ecological variables in experimental and feeding studies proved crucial to both the design and interpretation of patterns observed in the large-scale surveys. Overall, this work highlighted the necessity to consider multiple lines of evidence rather than relying on a single ‘inferential’ test, in the absence of pre-impact data.