The bottom currents in the area of abyssal hills in the north-east tropical Pacific Ocean

The results of simultaneous measurements of the bottom (6.25 and 35 m above the bottom) currents, deep currents, and surface currents made at three points in the north-east tropical Pacific Ocean are given. The bottom intensification of the current velocity is revealed in a layer of 35–25 m above the bottom. The estimation of the thickness of the bottom boundary layer (BBL) indicates that the velocity intensification is observed over the boundary layer upper border. A 10-day long benthic storm with a maximum measured velocity of 13 cm/s was revealed 6 m above the bottom. As was found, the origin of the benthic storm is associated with the penetration of an anticyclonic eddy down to the bottom.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Evidence of NW extension of the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Marmara Sea: a new interpretation of the Marmara Sea (Izmit) earthquake on 17 August 1999

Active faults aligning in NW–SE direction and forming flower structures of strike-slip faults were observed in shallow seismic data from the shelf offshore of Avcılar in the northern Marmara Sea. By following the parallel drainage pattern and scarps, these faults were traced as NW–SE-directed lineaments in the morphology of the northern onshore sector of the Marmara Sea (eastern Thrace Peninsula). Right-lateral displacements in two watersheds of drainage and on the coast of the Marmara Sea and Black Sea are associated with these lineaments. This right-lateral displacement along the course of these faults suggests a new, active strike-slip fault zone located at the NW extension of the northern boundary fault of the ?ınarcık Basin in the Marmara Sea. This new fault zone is interpreted as the NW extension of the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), extending from the ?ınarcık Basin of the Marmara Sea to the Black Sea coast of the Thrace Peninsula, and passing through B üy ük ?ekmece and K ü ? ük ?ekmece lagoons. These data suggest that the rupture of the 17 August 1999 earthquake in the NAFZ may have extended through Avcılar. Indeed, Avcılar and İzmit, both located on the Marmara Sea coast along the rupture route, were strongly struck by the earthquake whereas the settlements between Avcılar and İzmit were much less affected. Therefore, this interpretation can explain the extraordinary damage in Avcılar, based on the newly discovered rupture of the NAFZ in the Marmara Sea. However, this suggestion needs to be confirmed by further seismological studies.     

Implications from a field study regarding the relationship between polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and glutathione S-transferase activity in mussels

An aluminium smelter on the west coast of Scotland discharges an aqueous effluent containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) at the head of Loch Leven. The loch also supports two mussel (Mytilus edulis) farms. Data are presented on burdens of PAHs in the soft tissues of mussels and the effect of these contaminants on glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity in mussel hepatopancreas. GST activity is shown to be correlated with total PAH burden and also with the concentrations of certain individual PAHs. These field data show that high molecular weight PAHs are closely correlated to GST activity, whereas low molecular weight PAHs are not. This suggests that 5- and 6-ring PAHs have a more pronounced role than 2- to 4-ring compounds in inducing GST activity in mussels from Loch Leven. It is proposed that it may be more appropriate to link GST activity with 5- and 6-ring compounds only, rather than with the total PAH burden.     

Modelling of the ecosystem of the Black-Sea shelf zone near the estuary of the Danube

We analyze the results of numerical calculations performed according to the three-dimensional interdisciplinary model of an ecological system of the Black-Sea shelf zone near the estuary of the Danube. The complete system of equations of hydrothermodynamics is solved together with transport equations of the advection-diffusion-reaction type used to describe the transformation of a substance (nitrogen) between the components of the characteristic vectors of the ecosystem: plankton, detritus, and biogenic elements (nitrates). We describe the distinctive features of the circumcontinental distribution of components obtained as a result of numerical experiments and present arguments for the conclusion that the ecosystem of the Danube estuary water area plays the role of a buffer zone between the press of the Danubian biogenic pollutions and the neighbouring areas of the shelf zone and open sea. Translated by Peter V. Malyshev and Dmitry V. Malyshev     

Microbial assemblages associated with sinking particles in the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (NE Atlantic Ocean)

Downward fluxes of microbial assemblages associated with sinking particles sampled in sediment traps deployed at nominal depths of 1000 m (trap A), 3000 m (trap B) and 4700 m (trap C) were measured between October 1995 and August 1998 on the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP, NE Atlantic). The goal of the study was to provide detailed information on the microbial contributions to the particulate organic carbon and DNA fluxes. Bacterial fluxes associated with settling particles in the PAP area were generally low and significantly lower than bacterial fluxes reported from the same area during 1989–90. Marked seasonal pulses in the microbial assemblages were observed in all years that were associated with particle flux maxima in April–June. No significant differences were found in microbial fluxes between 1000 and 4700 m depth, but both the bacterial biomass flux and the frequency of dividing bacteria increased with depth, suggesting that organic matter turnover and conversion into bacterial biomass increased in the deeper traps. The structure of microbial assemblages displayed clear changes with increasing depth; the ratios of bacteria to both flagellates and cyanobacteria increased up to 4-fold between 1000 and 4700 m, showing a marked increase in bacterial dominance in the deeper layers of the water column. A parallel increase of the bacterial contribution to particulate organic carbon (POC) and DNA fluxes was observed. Total microbial contribution to the POC flux in the PAP area was about 2%, whereas the contribution of cyanobacteria was negligible. Fluxes of microbial assemblages were significantly correlated with DNA fluxes and on average the bacteria accounted for 5% of DNA fluxes. Data reported here confirm that the “rain” of particulate bacterial DNA may represent an important source of nucleotides for deep-sea bacteria, but also suggests that a much larger pool of detrital DNA is potentially available to deep-sea micro-organisms.     

Dynamics of a moored barge under regular and random waves

Developments in the study of wave forces and construction techniques in deep water by the offshore oil industry have increased the use of marine terminals at deep water locations. A thorough understanding of moored ship dynamics when subjected to waves, wind and current combined with the use of flexible mooring lines would help to design berthing terminals for exposed areas. In this paper, the three dimensional problem of wave interactions with a barge moored to a single point is dealt with, based on the finite element method. The effect of flexibility of the mooring line and the point of mooring on the response of the barge as well as the mooring line tension is investigated. The paper compares the numerical results with model tests carried out on a barge moored to a fixed support under regular and random waves in head sea. The effect of stiffness of the mooring line on the barge response for different mooring points is discussed, which would be useful for the designers. The effect of viscous damping is also considered. The analytical results are in good agreement with the experimental results in both regular and random waves.     

A unified, polynomial approach for the approximate solution of thermoelastic problems in rectangular plates

The present paper, of a tutorial nature, solves two different thermoelastic problems using a unified approach: (a) thermoelastic stresses and deflections in thin, rectangular plates with edges elastically restrained against rotation when small-deflection theory is used and stress resultants in the middle plane of the plates are neglected; and (b) thermoelastic plane stress situations in rectangular plates with stress-free edges subjected to a two-dimensional temperature distribution.The first problem is attacked using polynomial coordinate functions which identically satisfy the governing boundary conditions, and the Ritz method is used to determine the plate response. When the flexibility coefficients approach zero (clamped edge conditions) the calculated results practically coincide with the exact solution for the test case treated in this paper. On the other hand this degenerate solution turns out to be a very convenient approximation for obtaining a solution to Airy's problem described in the second place and which is also solved in a straightforward manner using a variational approach.     

About the relationship between acoustic fields and hydrological fields in the area of a mesoscale eddy in the Black Sea

This paper discusses the application of acoustic sounding with the purpose of identifying vortical features in the sea. Analysis of the results of a multidisciplinary acoustic/hydrological experiment conducted in the Black Sea has revealed a stable recurrent correlation between the amplitudinal variance of echo signals, on the one hand, and the peculiarities of water temperature fields, on the other. Given these characteristics, the peripheral and the central areas of a mesoscale eddy essentially differed. This allows us to apply acoustic sounding to identify mesoscale eddies in the sea. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.