Measurement of the signal to noise ratio in seismic profiling

The measurement of the signal to noise ratio in continuous seismic profiling systems is carried out by means of a small general purpose digital computer equipped with an analog to digital converter. The computer is programmed to compute and compare the power spectrum of a sample of noise to the power spectrum of a sample of noise plus an echo. Power spectra of some twenty to fifty shots are averaged to yield reliable estimates of the signal to noise ratio as a function of frequency. The observed spectra agree well with spectra calculated from signals measured near to an air-gun. This measurement of signal to noise ratio as a function of frequency provides unambiguous information for the adjustment of the necessary band-pass filter thus improving the operation of a continuous seismic profiler.     

Effect of Sea Level Variation on Tidal Characteristic Values for the East China Sea

1 .IntroductionTheglobalairtemperatureroseabout 0 .5～ 0 .6°Coverthepast 2 0thcentury ,andtheglobalmeansealevelincreasedbyabout2 0cmduringtheperiod .Theregionalmeansealevelriseswiththerisingglobalmeansealevel.Zuoetal.( 1 997)indicatedthatthemeanrisingrateofabsolutemeansealevelalongtheChinacoastontheassumptionofunifiedisostaticdatumis 2mm a .Woodworth( 1 999)analyzedsealevelspanning 1 76 8tothepresentinLiverpool,andobtainedaseculartrendforheperiodupto 1 880of0 .39± 0 .1 7mm a ,andatrendfort…     

Mid-Holocene evolution and paleoenvironments of the shoreface–offshore transition, north-eastern Argentina: New evidence based on benthic microfauna

A sedimentary record spanning 5792–5511 cal yr BP and 3188–2854 cal yr BP was recovered at 36° 45′ 43″ S–56 ° 37′ 13″ W, south-west South Atlantic. The sedimentological features and micropaleontological (benthic foraminifera and ostracoda) content were analyzed in order to reconstruct paleoenvironmental conditions. Considerable environmental fluctuations are indicated by all these proxies. Five different stages were distinguished: Stage 1 (ca. 5800–5000 cal yr BP) consists of muddy sand with abundant microfossils. In this interval, species typical for inner marine shelf environments maintained a high abundance. Stage 2 consists of plastic light greenish grey clays barren of microfossils, and probably represents fluvial input from the de la Plata River to the shelf contemporaneous of a lowering of sea level. Stage 3 is composed of brownish yellow sandy silts, and represents increasing marine conditions in the area as reflected by higher faunal diversity and typical foraminifera of inner shelf environments. Stage 4 is made of homogeneous mud, barren of microfossil, which represents a new pulse of fluvial input to the shelf in consequence of a new fall in sea level. The final part of the core (Stage 5) is a coarsening upward sequence, grading from greeny brown clayey sandy silts to coarse shelly sands and represents the modern sedimentation in the area. This interpretation strengthens the stepped model of late-Holocene sea-level fall between 5511–5792 cal yr BP and 2854–3188 cal yr BP in Buenos Aires coast, and agrees with the relative sea-level history previously proposed by some authors from western South Atlantic coasts.     

Plankton distribution and vertical flux of biogenic matter during high summer stratification in the Krka estuary (Eastern Adriatic)

The aim of this study was to investigate phytoplankton abundance, composition and vertical export in the highly stratified Krka estuary, Croatia. The estuary is stratified throughout the year, and an interface between fresh- and brackish water plays an important role in production and degradation of biogenic matter. Vertical export of particulate organic carbon (POC), phytoplankton carbon (PPC) and faecal pellet carbon (FPC) was studied by deploying sediment traps in the middle and lower reach of the estuary and in the adjacent coastal zone. Zooplankton faecal pellet (FP) production experiments were conducted to provide additional information on the potential contribution of FP to the total carbon flux. High suspended concentrations of POC, chlorophyll a and phytoplankton was found in the lower reaches of the Krka estuary, adjacent to a source of anthropogenic eutrophication. The fraction of organic detritus to the total POC flux was 61–69% inside the estuary but only 7% at the marine station. This indicates that the primary producers in the surface layer of the Krka estuary are decomposed in and below the interface and then settle as detritus to the bottom. Low sedimentation rates in the coastal zone outside the estuary revealed that the eutrophication does not spread out of the estuary. Mesozooplankton played a modest role in vertical flux regulation, due to their low abundance and dominance of smaller forms as well as low faecal pellet production rates. It is concluded that processes taking place at the freshwater-seawater interface are of major importance for the vertical carbon flux in the investigated area.     

Phytoremediation of small-scale oil spills in fresh marsh environments: a mesocosm simulation

Research was conducted to assess the impact of oiling on fresh-marsh plant communities and to test the efficacy of techniques that may be used to enhance the bioremediation of crude oil spills in these environments while minimizing secondary anthropogenic impacts. To emulate field conditions, a mesocosm facility was used that houses 120 mesocosm vessels, each of 200-1 capacity. A five-way factorial treatment arrangement was used that included two substrates (inorganic, organic), two nutrient regimes (fertilized, not fertilized), two aeration levels (substrate aeration, no aeration), three oiling concentrations (0-, 5-, 10-1 m(-2) of South Louisiana Sweet Crude oil), and four vascular plant species (Alternanthera philoxeroides, Panicum hemitomon, Phragmites australis, Sagittaria lancifolia, and an unplanted control). Under the 5- and 10-1 m(-2) oiling concentrations, S. lancifolia displayed a short-term response of increased productivity, whereas P. hemitomon had the highest biomass production and photosynthetic rates at the end of the 18-month experiment. Overall plant growth and productivity, as well as oil degradation, were significantly higher in the inorganic substrate, indicating that biodegradation of oil spills in organic substrates may require a longer time period. Time-released fertilizer also stimulated plant productivity and resulted in higher soil respiratory quotients, suggestive of greater microbial activity, particularly in aerated mesocosms. The amount of oil remaining after 18 months was lowest in aerated and fertilized mesocosms containing either P. hemitomon or S. lancifolia and a substrate of low organic matter content.     

Mechanisms of enrichment of the rarer elements in marine manganese nodules

The rare-earth distribution has been determined in five manganese nodules from a range of marine environments. Manganese nodules from Loch Fyne, Scotland, and the Gulf of Aden are characterized by a low absolute abundance of the rare-earth elements and a low Ce/La ratio compared with deep-sea nodules. This difference is interpreted in terms of the diagenetic remobilization of manganese in the high sedimentation regimes leading to the effective fractionation of manganese from the rare-earth elements and the resultant depletion of the rare earths in nodules from these environments. The mechanism of incorporation of the rare-earth elements into manganese nodules is thought to be either the direct adsorption of these elements from seawater or the scavenging of the elements by colloidal iron oxide prior to their incorporation into the authigenic phase of nodules. There appears to be no evidence for the surface transfer of these elements from inorganic detritus into the authigenic phase of nodules as suggested by previous authors. The distribution of U and Th in the nodules is controlled by factors similar to those controlling the rare-earth abundance in nodules. The higher U/Th ratios in nodules from Loch Fyne and the Gulf of Aden is considered to be due to the preferential reduction of UO₂(CO₃)₃^4? to some lower-valency uranium species such as U₃O₈ in nodules from less oxidizing environments.     

Topography and a magnetic analysis of an area south-east of the Azores (36°N, 23°W)

A detailed survey of a 1°×1°-square of seafloor 100 miles south-east of the Azores shows a strong correlation between directions of regional topographic and magnetic lineations. The area is dissected by the East Azores Fracture Zone at 36°55N, identified as the active Eurasian-African plate boundary, and by another large, non-active fracture zone at 36°10N. Both fracture zones strike 265° and are accompanied by large amplitude magnetic anomalies. The general strike in the area in between is 000°–015°. The skewing effect at this magnetic latitude is very sensitive to variations in strike of the magnetic contrasts. This effect was eliminated by a non-linear transformation which also gives the positions of magnetic contrasts. Some N-S contrasts were identified as sea floor spreading polarity contrasts (anomalies 31 and 32). Weak contrasts could be identified as topographic effects and gave a magnetization intensity of 5 A m^-1. The identified sea floor spreading anomalies to both sides of the fracture zone at 36°10N agree very well, also quantatively, with a three-dimensional model for the fracture zone anomalies. This model describes the non-linear anomalies as end effects of the magnetic layer which is divided in blocks of alternating polarity.     

Sand ridges on the inner Atlantic shelf of North America: Morphometric comparisons with Huthnance stability model

Sand ridge fields on the inner shelf of the Middle Atlantic Bight are generally thought to have formed in response to northeasterly storm flows as the shoreface underwent erosional retreat with postglacial sea-level rise. However, the hydrodynamic mechanism is poorly unerstood. Coastal boundary models see the ridges as responses of the seafloor to distortions in the flow induced by the coastal boundary. Stability models propose that an irregular initial topography will evolve toward an ordered array of bedforms in response to repeated flow events. The two classes of models are not mutually exclusive, nor are members within each class mutually exclusive. Results of measurements of ridge spacing on the inner Atlantic shelf of North America agree with the predictions of stability models.