A review of eastern tropical Pacific oceanography: Summary

The collection of articles in this volume reviewing eastern tropical Pacific oceanography is briefly summarized, and updated references are given. The region is an unusual biological environment as a consequence of physical characteristics and patterns of forcing – including a strong and shallow thermocline, the ITCZ and coastal wind jets, equatorial upwelling, the Costa Rica Dome, eastern boundary and equatorial current systems, low iron input, inadequate ventilation of subthermocline waters, and dominance of ENSO-scale temporal variability. Remaining unanswered questions are presented.     

中国马尾藻属的研究Ⅲ.丛伞托序族

对中国马尾藻属，真马尾藻亚属，滑托组，丛伞托序族的种类进行系统研究。此族种类的主要特征是生殖托光滑，聚伞状排列在小校上，生殖托柄状部位都有生殖窝。多孢马尾藻是该族的非常特殊种类，它的分校和小分枝上密生刺和羽状分裂的藻叶。文中还报道了一个新种一长干马尾藻。模式标本产自广东省徐闻，还见于海丰。至今为止，丛伞托序族在中国共有两种。     

Tank wall effects on broadside current forces on barge models

Three different barge sizes were tested in uniform current in a tank of limited width. One of the barges was tested with and without bilge keels. Tests were conducted in both deep and shallow water. The barges were placed broadside to the current flow and the lateral forces on the barges were measured. The effect of the tank walls on these forces is clearly shown.     

Caught in the act: the 20 December 2001 gravity flow event in Monterey Canyon

A sediment gravity flow descended through the axis of Monterey Canyon on 20 December 2001 at 13:35 Pacific standard time. The timing of this event is documented by a current-meter package which recorded an 11.9-dbar pressure increase in less than 10 min and was found 550 m down-canyon from its deployment site, buried completely within a >70-cm-thick gravity flow deposit. This event is believed to have started in less than 290 m of water because an instrument at this location was also lost at the same time. A 178-cm core collected after the event from the axis of the canyon at 1,297-m water depth contained fresh, greenish, chlorophyll-rich organic material at 32-cm sub-bottom depth, suggesting the event extended to this water depth. The only trigger identified for this mass movement event appears to be moderate sea and surf conditions. Thus, gravity flow events of this magnitude do not require an exceptional triggering event.     

Caught in the act: the 20 December 2001 gravity flow event in Monterey Canyon

A sediment gravity flow descended through the axis of Monterey Canyon on 20 December 2001 at 13:35 Pacific standard time. The timing of this event is documented by a current-meter package which recorded an 11.9-dbar pressure increase in less than 10 min and was found 550 m down-canyon from its deployment site, buried completely within a >70-cm-thick gravity flow deposit. This event is believed to have started in less than 290 m of water because an instrument at this location was also lost at the same time. A 178-cm core collected after the event from the axis of the canyon at 1,297-m water depth contained fresh, greenish, chlorophyll-rich organic material at 32-cm sub-bottom depth, suggesting the event extended to this water depth. The only trigger identified for this mass movement event appears to be moderate sea and surf conditions. Thus, gravity flow events of this magnitude do not require an exceptional triggering event.     

The effects of light and nutrients on rates of ammonium transformation in a eutrophic river

Rates for nitrification, phytoplankton uptake of ammonium, and regeneration of ammonium were measured in the Delaware River as functions of irradiance and nutrient concentrations, using ¹⁵N labeling methods. Phytoplankton uptake increased and nitrification rates declined with increased light intensity. The irradiance level required for maximum uptake by phytoplankton was similar to that for maximal inhibition of nitrification (about 300μEm⁻² s⁻¹). Daily, water-column averaged rates, calculated by integration of the observed rate-intensity relationships, indicate that light plays a key role in regulating the balance between oxidation of NH₄⁺ by bacteria and assimilation by phytoplankton in the Delaware. The results show that uptake of ammonium by phytoplankton in the dark may exceed uptake in the light in optically thick systems.     

Biogeochemistry of organic matter in the Laurentian Trough, II. Bulk composition of the sediments and relative reactivity of major components during early diagenesis

The organic carbon of 280–320 m deep Laurentian Trough sediments at landward and seaward sites (13–24 mgN/g) consisted of carbohydrates (15–22%), hydrolysable amino acids (7–13%), lipids (1–5%), labile proteins (0.3–1%) and a non-characterized fraction (62–74%). Amino acids, proteins and uncharacterized compounds accounted for 21–43, 0.9–4 and 51–78%, respectively, of total nitrogen (1.2–2.2 mgN/g). A clear reactivity trend (pheopigments ? lipids > proteins > amino acids ≈ nitrogen > carbon > carbohydrates) was deduced from the concentration decreases between settling particles and surficial sediments. This was confirmed by one-year inventories in the top cm, burial rates at 35 cm depth, and one-G model calculations. Lipids were a dominant substrate near the sediment-water interface whereas carbohydrates and amino acids constituted the principal energy sources deeper in the sediment. In the porewaters, DOC levels were low (2–6 mg/l) in the top 4 cm, indicating rapid removal (i.e. consumption, irrigation, diffusion), and increased with depth (8–12 mg/l), reflecting the buildup of refractory products. There were also clear compositional changes of DOC with depth. Geographical differences in water column fluxes were recorded in the sediments. The organic contents and ratios were higher at the landward site due to higher rates of sedimentation, bioturbation and terrestrial and total organic inputs. At the seaward station, the lower rates of these processes and stronger marine influence resulted in lower ratios and a more complete decay of organic matter within the top 35 cm sediments.