In situ velocity profiles in gassy sediments: Kiel Bay

Acoustic behavior of gas-bearing sediments is significantly different from that of gas-free sediments. In situ velocity profiles and acoustic signal characteristics in gas-bearing sediments of the upper several meters of the sea floor in Kiel Bay are presented in this study. Observed velocities in gas-bearing sediments are both higher and lower than those of the gas-free sediments. Small amounts of gas appear to cause signal reverberation without much attenuation. whereas large amounts of gas cause substantial attenuation.     

Variability of the O2−H2S zone structure in the Black Sea: ‘Dramatic’ or mesoscale?

This paper discusses the conclusion derived during a joint U.S—Turkey expedition on the R/VKrorr on the dramatic variations of the O₂–H₂S zone in the Black Sea observed over the last 20 years. This conclusion is shown to be invalid since it was based on a comparison of data obtained at two stations only (in 1969 and 1988) that was made in various regions and in different seasons. Examples are provided for the inter-seasonal and mesoscale variations of hydrophysical and hydrochemical characteristics in the O₂–H₂S zone which, as to their scales, are comparable to or even exceed the variations registered during the expedition ofKrorr.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Contaminant concentrations and toxicity of sea-surface microlayer near Los Angeles, California

Sea-surface microlayer samples were collected from six nearshore areas receiving different amounts of anthropogenic inputs. The samples were analyzed for selected trace metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. The relative toxicities of the samples were determined with fish embryo bioassays.Contaminant concentrations generally increased from offshore to the inshore stations. Contaminant concentrations were several orders of magnitude higher in microlayer samples from the highly industrialized Los Angeles and Long Beach harbors compared to samples from a site 15km offshore. Microlayer samples from the inshore stations were significantly more toxic, and induced significantly more developmental abnormalities and chromosome aberrations, than samples from the offshore stations.     

Serum biochemical and cellular responses to experimental cupric ion challenge in mussels

Our intent has been to develop rapid and sensitive bioassay procedures for laboratory and field applications based on hemolymph factors in animals such as the bay mussel, Mytilus edulis. We found that mussel hemolymph could be easily and repeatedly sampled from individual animals in sufficient amounts to allow analyses for lysozyme, proteolytic activity, total protein and hemocyte counts. In static tests there seemed to be graded responses indicating release of increasing amounts of the above factors into the hemolymph in roughly direct proportion to Cu²⁺ concentration at lethal and sublethal levels. We interpreted this to be evidence for increased lysosomal and cellular disruption as cupric ion exposure was increased or prolonged. At the same time, Cu²⁺ concentrations in the mussel hemolymph increased up to an order of magnitude above ambient in the range of 26 to 267 ppb. We felt that this was evidence for the release of Cu-binding proteins into the mussel hemolymph. Simultaneously with the above events the serum granulocytes increased in numbers above control values by factors of 3 or 4 in response to copper challenge while macrophage (terminology of Moore & Lowe, 1977) counts, including controls, declined precipitously.     

Feeding of benthic foraminifera on diatoms and sewage-derived organic matter: an experimental application of lipid biomarker techniques

Foraminiferal ecology at sewage outfalls has been investigated in numerous field studies over the last 30 years. Foraminifera have been frequently used as biomonitors of sewage pollution since they are both abundant and ubiquitous. Sewage outfalls have been demonstrated to have both positive and negative effects on adjacent foraminiferal populations, but it has never been shown conclusively why sewage affects foraminifera in these ways. Such information on the impact mechanisms of sewage pollution is essential if foraminifera are to be used as sewage pollution biomonitors, and also to understand the ecology of these important protists. One possible cause of a positive effect is the direct consumption of sewage-derived particulate organic matter (POM) by the foraminifera themselves. However this hypothesis has never been tested experimentally. Here, lipid (fatty acid and sterol) biomarker techniques were applied to study the ingestion of two potential food items by the foraminiferan Haynesina germanica in the laboratory. An experiment was conducted to confirm that the laboratory conditions were conducive to the survival and feeding of the foraminifera. In this experiment, foraminifera were provided with the pennate diatom Phaeodactylum tricornutum, which was considered to be a suitable food source. After 2 weeks, a four-fold increase in the levels of the diatom fatty acid biomarker, 20:5(n-3), in the foraminifera suggested that they had fed actively on the diatoms and survived under the experimental conditions. These experimental conditions were used in the main experiment, where foraminifera were fed the POM from sewage. Lipid biomarker analysis indicated that H. germanica did not consume secondary treated sewage-derived POM. Neither fatty acid profiles in the sewage nor coprostanol, the diagnostic human faecal sterol, were detected in foraminifera after exposure to the potential sewage food source. However, foraminifera may have consumed bacteria associated with the sewage in the experiment. The findings are discussed in terms of current EU legislation on sewage treatment that has affected the composition of sewage discharges, and therefore possibly reduced the nutritive value of sewage to the marine benthos.     

Mean current velocity measurement from a movable base

This paper discusses the possibility of measurement of the current velocity vector characteristics averaged over the time of continuous regular down-up probings from a moving carrier. The measurements can be carried out either from a moving vessel or from a helicopter, floating on or hovering above the sea surface. As an illustration for the suggested technique,in situ observations compiled by a free-component (±XYZ) VEGA-3 probe in the Guiana current region in March 1990 are provided. Comparison of the results with buoy data shows good agreement within the accuracy limits of the instruments employed.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Fine structure of the temperature field and the transfrontal exchange in the East Kamchatka current

CTD data are used to study the relationship between the temperature field fine structure and the location of the frontal zones and synoptic eddies in the region adjacent to the eastern coast of the Kamchatka peninsula. High levels of fine structure activity were observed in the frontal zone of the East Kamchatka current and in the peripheries of anticyclonic eddies. Estimates of the coefficient of the horizontal turbulent exchange and the transfrontal (lateral) heat flux are derived.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

A shipborne magnetic survey in Hudson Bay

A marine magnetic total-field survey of Hudson Bay was conducted from 1975 to 1978. Approximately 62 000 line-km of data, or 35 000 five-minute averages, were acquired. The data were corrected for secular variation by means of a polynomial in latitude, longitude, and time, first fitted to annual mean differences from nine observatories and then integrated over time. The data were corrected for diurnal and transient variations by means of a linear interpolation, over geomagnetic latitude, of running hourly mean values from two neighbouring magnetic stations (numbering seven in all). Crossover differences are analysed in terms of a mixture of normal distributions resulting from the intermittent transient variations, and indicate the effectiveness of the corrections. The variance of the data is reduced, as a result of the corrections, by 87% during quiet periods and by 53% during disturbed periods, the weighted variance being reduced by 66%. Navigational accuracy is estimated, from a novel method utilizing crossover differences and field gradients, to be approximately 300 m. Anomalies are presented in profile form, and discussed briefly.Contribution from the Earth Physics Branch No. 973.     

Remote determination of momentum-flux profiles in the lower atmospheric boundary layer

An acoustic locator—a sodar—is a unique instrument for getting the objective characteristics of the current state of the atmospheric boundary layer (ABL) owing to a combination of such properties as remoteness, mobility, resolution, and information content. This study demonstrates the capabilities of a sodar to obtain data on the second moments of the field of wind-velocity fluctuations, in particular, the profiles of momentum flux in the lower ABL, which are very important in practical applications. A corresponding method is described, and the results of its experimental verification and some examples of its application under the conditions of different ABL stratification are presented.