Chemical leaching and specific surface area measurements of marine sediments in the evaluation of mercury contamination near cinnabar deposits

This paper investigates mercury contamination in recent marine sediment of the Tyrrhenian continental shelf near the mouths of three rivers draining an area with cinnabar deposits (M. Amiata, Italy). By means of chemical leaching, two fractions of the total mercury were distinguished: a ‘non-leachable’ fraction, consisting of mercury held in relatively stable forms and a ‘leachable’ fraction, composed of forms that are more weakly bound to the sediments. The two Hg fractions are correlated to the organic matter content, the distribution of which is strictly dependent on the sediment surface area.In order to eliminate the effects of grain size variations among the samples, the Hg concentrations were normalized to the unit of surface area (ng/m²). Following this procedure, the ‘non-leachable’ Hg was found to be concentrated mostly in a belt along the coast, while the ‘leachable’ Hg fraction was shown to accumulate largely in the zones with high depositional dynamics near the mouths of the rivers.Hypotheses to account for the discrepancy between the low concentrations of ‘leachable’ Hg in the sediment of the outer continental shelf and the high concentrations in the fauna of the same area, reported in previous papers, are presented.     

Cytochrome P450 differences in normal and imposex-affected female whelk Buccinum undatum from the open North Sea

Normal and imposex-affected female Buccinum undatum were sampled from the open North Sea at three locations, one with low, and two with high shipping densities. Cytochrome P450 components and P450 aromatase activity were determined in the microsomal fractions isolated from pooled digestive gland/gonads. Cytochrome P450 aromatase activity was significantly higher (P < 0.05) in normal females collected in the low shipping density area (1,325 +/- 295 fmol/h/mg protein) than levels from imposex animals from a high shipping density area (620 +/- 287 fmol/h/mg protein). A negative correlation was found between aromatase activity and organotin body burden (r = -0.99). Levels of CYP450, cytochrome b5 and NADPH cytochrome c reductase activity did not show differences among groups. This is the first field evidence of depressed aromatase activity in imposex affected females, although additional research under laboratory controlled conditions is required to fully understand the mechanisms underlying the development of imposex in this species.     

Power from the people: a documentation of non-governmental organizations' experience in community-based coastal resource management in the Philippines

Community-based coastal resource management projects facilitated by non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Philippines have explored approaches to decrease poverty-driven over-exploitation of coastal resources. There has been little reporting and analysis of such activities until recently. Nine case studies have recently been published and this paper presents a brief summary of these, along with an analysis of the trends and themes identified. Though diverse and covering the Philippines from Mindanao to Luzon, the case studies highlight the value of community commitment and participation in decisions regarding, and in the implementation of, resource management in ways that consider not only the bio-physical aspects of resource management but the social, economic and legal implications. Experience in working with local government has been both successful and limited. Successful projects raise hopes for further progress through education and organization of communities to improve livelihoods and protect coastal resources.     

Dynamic response of the leg of a tension leg platform subjected to an axial, suddenly applied load at one end

This paper deals with the solution of the problem of the dynamic response of the leg of a tension leg platform subjected to an axial, suddenly applied load at one end, considering a highly simplified model but taking into account several complicating factors. The problem is solved by means of a non-harmonic Fourier expansion in terms of eigenfunctions obtained from a non-regular Sturm-Liouville system.     

Mapping sediment acoustic impedance using remote sensing acoustic techniques in a shallow-water carbonate environment

 Real-time trackline plots of surficial sediment acoustic impedance delineate several sedimentary facies off Garden Key in the Dry Tortugas. The sea floor within a 6×6 km surveyed area consists of carbonate muds (silts), sands and shell, rock, and live corals. The 4-kHz acoustic data supports this finding by providing a pictographic representation of the distribution and structure of several sediment facies types. Plotting the gridded acoustic data with commercial mapping software (Surfer) provides a three-dimensional (3D) perspective of the bottom topography with a color contour map of surficial sediment impedance (upper 0.4 m) draped over the 3D surface.     

On the vertical structure of temperature anomalies in the North Atlantic

The expansion of the temperature anomaly field in the North Atlantic is considered using natural orthogonal functions of depth. It is shown that the first few components of this expansion describe the field both at the surface and in the upper 1000 m layer accurately enough. The relation between the water temperature anomaly at some levels and the above components is estimated for various regions of the ocean.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Seasonal changes in coccolithophore densities in the Southern California Bight during 1991–1992

Seasonal changes in coccolithophore cell densities in the San Pedro Basin, Southern California Bight, were investigated for the period October 1991 to September 1992. Coccolitho phore cell densities ranged from 6.3 × 10⁴ coccospheres per liter in March 1992 to 0 cells per liter in November 1991. High coccolithophore concentrations occurred in late winter and spring, and low densities occurred in the summer and fall. The high coccolithophore densities during spring 1992 were associated with unusually low surface nutrient concentrations and a lack of upwelling, suggesting that the high densities were not part of a typical spring phytoplankton bloom in this region. We propose that the suppression of upwelling during spring 1992 may have been related to the prevailing ENSO conditions. Emiliania huxleyi type A dominated the total coccolithophore population throughout the year, Umbilicosphaera sibogae var. sibogae being the second most important contributor to the coccolithophore assemblages.     

Sediment-starved sand ridges on a mixed carbonate/siliciclastic inner shelf off west-central Florida

High-resolution side-scan mosaics, sediment analyses, and physical process data have revealed that the mixed carbonate/siliciclastic, inner shelf of west-central Florida supports a highly complex field of active sand ridges mantled by a hierarchy of bedforms. The sand ridges, mostly oriented obliquely to the shoreline trend, extend from 2 km to over 25 km offshore. They show many similarities to their well-known counterparts situated along the US Atlantic margin in that both increase in relief with increasing water depth, both are oriented obliquely to the coast, and both respond to modern shelf dynamics. There are significant differences in that the sand ridges on the west-central Florida shelf are smaller in all dimensions, have a relatively high carbonate content, and are separated by exposed rock surfaces. They are also shoreface-detached and are sediment-starved, thus stunting their development. Morphological details are highly distinctive and apparent in side-scan imagery due to the high acoustic contrast. The seafloor is active and not a relict system as indicated by: (1) relatively young AMS ¹⁴C dates (<1600 yr BP) from forams in the shallow subsurface (1.6 meters below seafloor), (2) apparent shifts in sharply distinctive grayscale boundaries seen in time-series side-scan mosaics, (3) maintenance of these sharp acoustic boundaries and development of small bedforms in an area of constant and extensive bioturbation, (4) sediment textural asymmetry indicative of selective transport across bedform topography, (5) morphological asymmetry of sand ridges and 2D dunes, and (6) current-meter data indicating that the critical threshold velocity for sediment transport is frequently exceeded. Although larger sand ridges are found along other portions of the west-central Florida inner shelf, these smaller sand ridges are best developed seaward of a major coastal headland, suggesting some genetic relationship. The headland may focus and accelerate the N–S reversing currents. An elevated rock terrace extending from the headland supports these ridges in a shallower water environment than the surrounding shelf, allowing them to be more easily influenced by currents and surface gravity waves. Tidal currents, storm-generated flows, and seasonally developed flows are shore-parallel and oriented obliquely to the NW–SE trending ridges, indicating that they have developed as described by the Huthnance model. Although inner shelf sand ridges have been extensively examined elsewhere, this study is the first to describe them in a low-energy, sediment-starved, dominantly mixed siliciclastic/carbonate sedimentary environment situated on a former limestone platform.