An early Miocene reefal platform in the Rama Ridge (Banda Sea, Indonesia)

 In December 1995 we dredged early Miocene coral-reef carbonates and early/middle Pliocene slope carbonates outcropping on the submerged Rama Ridge. This indicates that some of the Banda Sea Ridges were present during early Miocene times. Subsequent major tectonic subsidence occurred between middle Miocene and early Pliocene times. These results concur with the hypothesis of a relatively recent age for the North Banda Sea basement. Received: 5 March 1997 / Revision received: 23 October 1997     

Factors governing abundance of hydrolyzable amino acids in the sediments from the N.W. European Continental Margin (47–50°N)

Fifty-six samples representing 6 sediment cores taken along the N.W. European Continental Margin from the shelf, slope and abyssal plain of the Goban Spur and Meriadzek Terrace were quantitatively analysed for total hydrolyzable amino acids (THAA) and clay minerals. In descending order, the five most abundant amino acids making up more than 70% of the total were: aspartic acid, glycine, serine, alanine and glutamic acid. Clay mineral proportions were typical for the N.E. Atlantic, in order of descending abundance: illite, kaolinite, chlorite, smectite and mixed layers.The Meriadzek Terrace area is characterised by fine grain suspension sedimentation with a low pelagic carbonate input and the lowest content of THAA. In contrast, the Goban Spur transect is characterised by much higher carbonate inputs and more vigorous hydrodynamics as judged from granulometry and the high abundance of minerals of shelf and continental origin and a generally higher THAA content. The pelagic portion of THAA deposited at the sea floor is more readily mineralised during early diagenesis than the more ‘refractory', clay mineral-associated continental portion. Along this margin the average mineralization of THAA down to 25 cm in the sediment is about 54%. There is a significant affinity between chlorites and amino acids which we suggest may involve the formation of ionic bonds between the octahedral layers of the clay and the amino acids.     

A new look at the alkalinity of the Sea of Japan

The most important feature of the distribution of the alkalinity and calcium in the Sea of Japan—the increase in the potential alkalinity with depth under the conditions when the waters are supersaturated in relation to calcium carbonate—is considered. It is demonstrated that this fact cannot be accounted for by the reaction of the formation-dissolution of calcium carbonate. A new concept explaining the alkalinity distribution in the sea is proposed. According to it, the biological pump is the basic process responsible for the alkalinity transport from the euphotic layer into the interior of the sea. Photosynthesis is the driving force for this process. The role of the active element transporting the alkalinity is not calcium carbonate, as has been claimed elsewhere, but extracellular polysaccharides (EPSs) produced by phytoplankton. EPSs bind to calcium and other cations to form transparent exopolymer particles (TEPs). The proposed conception makes it possible to explain the following: (a) the vertical flux of calcium carbonate that is independent of the super-saturation—undersaturation state of the ambient water regarding calcium carbonate; (b) the existence of the calcium carbonate flux regardless of the nature of the plankton skeletons; (c) the nonstoichiometric ratio between the alkalinity and calcium fluxes.     

Metallothionein-like proteins induced by cadmium stress in the scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis

Organisms have evolved a cellular response called stress protein response that increases their tolerance in adverse environmental conditions. Well known stress proteins that bind essential and toxic metals are metallothionein (MT). The scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis is the most interesting organism because it is able to accumulate toxic cadmium in its digestive gland. However, in the tissue of the digestive gland of Mizuhopecten yessoensis MT (metallothioneins) have not been found. Eastern scallops, Mizuhopecten yessoensis, were collected from two locations ?? one clean and one polluted site. The concentrations of cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were measured in the digestive gland. There was a significant increase in Cd concentrations in this studied tissue. We found that in the presence of cadmium Mizuhopecten yessoensis can induce high molecular proteins. The results of experiments have shown that Cd-binding ligands have a number of properties similar to MT: acetone and temperature stability; the ability to bind some metals, including Cd, Cu and Zn. Protein chromatography (FPLC, Superosa 12) from the digestive gland of scallop M. yessoensis has shown that cadmium is associated with high molecular weight Cd-binding proteins (72 kDa and 43 kDa). The major cadmium-binding protein 72 kDa is glycoprotein. In experiments we have demonstrated that Cd-binding proteins can be induced when there is cadmium exposure. The results of this study strongly suggest that the far eastern scallop Mizuhopecten yessoensis has a unique and well-developed system for the detoxification of heavy metals and it allows for biochemical systems to be maintained in a relatively stable manner in the presence of heavy metals.     

Mapping Baltic Sea shallow water environments with airborne remote sensing

It is known that the structure of benthic macrophyte and invertebrate habitats indicate the quality of coastal water. Thus, a large-scale analysis of the spatial patterns of coastal marine habitats makes it possible to adequately estimate the status of valuable coastal marine habitats, provide better evidence for environmental changes, and describe the processes behind the changes. Knowing the spatial distribution of benthic habitats is also important from the coastal management point of view. Our previous results clearly demonstrated that remote sensing methods can be used to map water depth and distribution of taxonomic groups of benthic algae (e.g., red, green, and brown algae) in the optically complex coastal waters of the Baltic Sea. We have as well shown that benthic habitat mapping should be done at high spatial resolution owing to the small-scale heterogeneity of such habitats in Estonian coastal waters. Here we tested the capability of high spatial resolution hyperspectral airborne image in its application for mapping benthic habitats. A big challenge is to define appropriate mapping classes that are also meaningful from the ecological point of view. In this study two benthic habitat classification schemes??broader level and finer level??were defined for the study area. The broader level classes were relatively well classified, but discrimination among the units of the finer classification scheme posed a considerable challenge and required a careful approach. Benthic habitat classification provided the highest accuracy in the case of the Spectral Angle Mapper classification method applied to a radiometrically corrected image. Further processing levels, such as spatial filtering and glint correction, decreased the classification accuracy.     

Change in biochemical and morphological characteristics of Lonicera caerulea in tectonically active zone of the Dzhazator River Valley (Altai Mountains)

Local geophysical and geochemical anomalies affect the polymorphism of taste variations, berry shape, and content of some biologically active substances in Lonicera caerulea leaves in the tectonically active Altai Mountains (Dzhazator River basin).     

Impact of grazing by benthic eukaryotic organisms on the nitrogen sediment–water exchange in the North Sea

The metabolic inhibitor cycloheximide was used to estimate the influence of primarily unicellular eukaryotes (heterotrophic protozoa) on nutrient recycling in different types of sediments in the North Sea. Fluxes of dissolved inorganic nitrogen across the sediment–water interface were measured in undisturbed sediment cores (controls) and compared to fluxes in sediment cores with cycloheximide added. If eukaryotes play an important role in nutrient recycling, one would expect to find lower nitrogen sediment–water effluxes in cores with cycloheximide due to the inactivation of eukaryotes. This important role hypothesised for eukaryotes was not generally observed: Only at four of the nineteen stations were ammonium effluxes significantly higher in controls than in cores with cycloheximide, and at five stations nitrate effluxes were significantly higher in the controls than in the cores with cycloheximide. Eukaryotic activity apparently contributed to the sediment–water exchange of ammonium through mineralisation of organic matter, nitrification and the subsequent release of ammonium and nitrate at these stations. At most other stations no differences were obtained between controls and cores with cycloheximide. This suggests that bacteria were the most important nutrient mineralisers at these stations at the time of the cruises.     

Spatial and diurnal distribution of invertebrate and fish fauna of a Zostera marina bed and nearby unvegetated sediments in Damariscotta River, Maine (USA)

Fish, epibenthos and macroinfauna were collected in a Zostera marina bed and nearby unvegetated sediments in the estuary of the Damariscotta River, on the mid-coast of Maine. Samples of epibenthic fauna and fish were collected at low tides both during day and night, and samples of infauna at low tides during the day. The mean density of Zostera shoots in the study area was 335 m⁻². Abundance and species number of fish were greater at night than during the day and greater in eelgrass beds (Z. marina) than in unvegetated habitats. Daytime fish collections were dominated by Atlantic silversides (Medinia medinia), while juvenile winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) dominated night collections. Also Zostera-associated epifaunal abundances and number of species were significantly higher at night than during the day. Mysis stenolepis, Idotea balthica and Littorina obtusata were dominant species in the epifauna samples. Of the total of 37 invertebrate species encountered, only five occurred both in the infaunal and epifaunal samples. Nineteen different taxa were collected from the benthic core samples. The most abundant invertebrate infaunal taxa were sipunculids, the polychaete Nereis virens, and oligochaetes. Infaunal invertebrate abundances and species diversity were significantly higher in eelgrass beds than in unvegetated sediments. The abundance and number of species of benthic invertebrates were also positively correlated to seagrass biomass. Community diversity values (H′) were relatively low but fit well in the general pattern of decreasing diversity towards northern latitudes.     

Thermal Stratification in Saldanha Bay (South Africa) and Subtidal, Density-driven Exchange with the Coastal Waters of the Benguela Upwelling System

A study was conducted to understand the mechanisms driving observed subtidal variability in the stratification of Saldanha Bay, located in the southern Benguela system. It was found that the 6–8 day period variability in bay stratification was caused by the inflow and outflow of cold upwelled water driven by changing baroclinic pressure gradients between the coastal and bay domains. The direction and magnitude of the pressure gradients were governed by coastal upwelling activity and a lag in the response of the bay to changes in density structure in the coastal ocean. When the pressure gradients were bayward and cold water was being driven into the bay the cycle was termed to be in an ‘ active phase ’ and the reverse was termed the ‘ relaxation phase ’. The upwelling-favourable equatorward wind stress impacted the bay stratification in two ways: on the regional scale, wind drives upwelling and governs the inflow–outflow of cold upwelled bottom water, which strengthens stratification; conversely, on the local bay scale, wind drives vertical mixing, which weakens stratification. A four-phase model is used to describe the observed variability in stratification in the bay. The associated density-driven exchange flows are capable of flushing the bay in 6–8 days, about one-third of the time for tidal exchange alone (c. 25 days). These inflows of cold bottom water are ecologically critical as they supply nutrients to the bay and thus impose a control on new production within the bay environment. Further ecological implications of this bay–ocean exchange include export of phytoplankton new production to the coast, limitation of the risk of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the division of the system into two distinct ecosystems (bay and lagoon).