A pockmark field in the Patras Gulf (Greece) and its activation during the 14/7/93 seismic event

During a recent oceanographical-geophysical survey carried out in the southeastern part of the Gulf of Patras in Western Greece for the construction of an outfall, an active pockmark field was found. The pockmark field was formed in soft layered Holocene silts. The pockmarks are associated with acoustic anomalies attributed to gas-charged sediments. The pockmarks vary in size and shape from 25 to 250 m in diameter and from 0.5 to 15 m in depth and are among the largest and deepest observed in the world.

On July 14th, 1993, during the survey, a major earthquake of magnitude 5.4 on the Richter scale occurred in the area. During the 24 hour period prior to the earthquake the bottom water temperature anomalously increased on three occasions, whilst for a few days after the earthquake it was noted that the majority of the pockmarks were venting gas bublles.

It is considered that the three abrupt sea-water temperature increases were probably the result of upward migrating high-temperature gas bubbles in the water column. It is further suggested that the earthquake was the triggering mechanism and that the gas expulsion was caused by the reduction in the pore volume in the sediments resulting from changes in the stress regime prior to the earthquake. Therefore, it can be suggested that in seismic areas adjacent to pockmark fields, earthquake prediction may be achieved by monitoring the water temperature and/or the rate of gas venting in the pockmark field.

Our analysis indicates that the pockmark field in the Patras Gulf has formed slowly during the Holocene by continuous gas venting, which is periodically being interrupted by short-duration events of enhanced gas seepage triggered by earthquakes.     

Geomorphology and sedimentology of the continental shelf adjacent to Mac. Robertson Land,East Antarctica: A scalped shelf

During the Quaternary, the Mac. Robertson shelf of East Antarctica was deeply eroded by glaciers and currents exposing the underlying basement, resulting in a scalped shelf. Major geomorphic zones are: (1) high-relief, ridge and valley topography (200–1400 m); (2) smooth sea floors associated with low-energy, depositional shelf valleys and basins (400–800 m); (3) low-relief, planated banktops (100–200 m); and (4) iceberg gouged and current reworked seaward-bank margins and upper slope (200 to < 630 m). About 90% of the shelf's surface has net erosional conditions and about 10% is net depositional. The sedimentary processes and deposits may be common to large areas of the East Antarctic margin.     

Transverse vibrations of a rectangular cantilever plate with thickness varying in a discontinuous fashion

A numerical solution is obtained for the title problem by means of the popular finite element method. An experimental investigation of the problem is also presented for plates of square planform. The agreement between theoretical and experimental values is very good in the case of the fundamental frequency, and reasonably good when the second and third normal modes of transverse vibration are considered. It is concluded that beneficial effects are obtained in the sense that one generates a lighter structural element with higher fundamental frequency of transverse vibration. Hence, dynamic stiffening is achieved.     

Experimental investigation of the combustive sound source

In this paper, we describe a unique low frequency underwater sound source called the combustive sound source (CSS). In this device, a combustible gas mixture is captured in a combustion chamber and ignited with a spark. The ensuing combustion produces expanding gases which in turn produce high intensity, low frequency acoustic pulses. With high-speed motion pictures of the CSS event, we relate the motion of the bubble to the acoustic waveform. We also compare the measured first bubble period in the CSS pressure signature with the predictions of the Rayleigh-Willis equation, including the dependence of the radiated acoustic waveform on the volume and depth of the bubble. Measurements of the first bubble period agree with Rayleigh-Willis theory in trend, but not in absolute value. In addition, we discuss the variation of the acoustic output with the fuel/oxygen mixture. Finally, several other factors that affect the acoustic output of CSS are discussed. These include the shape of the CSS combustion chamber, the type of oxidizer and fuel, and the ignition source     

Joint Soviet-Turkish expedition in the Black Sea

The hydrological and hydrochemical structures of the upper 300 m water column of the Black Sea in autumn 1988 have been studied. Regularities in the distribution of the physico-chemical characteristics in the zone of interaction between aerobic and anaerobic waters as well as the topography of the H₂S zone boundary and its connection with a certain density gradient have been found.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

烟威及石岛近海春季水团分析

本文使用1960—1980年春季的水文资料,以温度和盐度作为主要指标,根据聚类分析逼近温盐图解,结合对该海域地理环境特征的分析,对烟台、威海及石岛近海春季的水团结构演变及其和渔场、渔期的关系进行综合分析。结果表明,北黄海及青岛外海的冷水团,以及黄海暖水团的强度与位置的变动,对春季渔期的早迟以及渔场位置的变动,都有很大的影响。     

Hypothesis for a submarine landslide and cohesionless sediment flows resulting from a 17th century earthquake-triggered landslide in Quebec,Canada

Textural isotopic and microfossil data from two gravity cores obtained in Saguenay Fjord, Quebec, suggest that a distinctive sandy clay bed was deposited as the result of a major landslide in the Saguenay River basin. Pb-210 dating of the cores indicate that the bed is of similar age to the magnitude 7 earthquake of February 5, 1663. The slide involved sensitive marine clays and may have occurred in two stages. Slide sediments carried into the Saguenay River channel were probably reworked and subsequently transported down the Fjord basin as two distinct cohesionless mass flows. Fine clay laminae that overlie the older mass flow bed record the modulation of depositional processes by tidal currents for several weeks after this event.     

Facies recognition of some Tertiary coals applied to prediction of oil source rock occurrence

Coals are oil source rocks in many of the Tertiary basins of Southeast Asia. The precursors of these hydrogen rich and oxygen poor coals are coastal plain peats which have mainly developed in an everwet and tropical climate. In these environments water flow and reworking can concentrate liptinitic kerogen in preference to vitrinitic kerogen. The distribution, petrography and chemistry of the coaly Miocene source rocks present in the Kutai Basin are described. The recognition of environmental controls on the accumulation of potentially oil-prone coals and coaly shales in deltaic environments is an aid to predictive source bed recognition in petroleum exploration. Comments on the environment of deposition of coaly sediments in the basins of the Norwegian Sea are discussed with reference to their possible oil and/or gas sourcing potential. The Triassic - Jurassic coals of the Haltenbanken area may become more oil-prone towards the delta margins, and facies mapping could aid oil exploration in this area.     

Chlorinated hydrocarbons and hatching success in Baltic herring spring spawners

Eggs from 69 females of spring spawning herring from the German Baltic coast (Travemünde, April 1979) were incubated in clean sea water (20‰ S, temperature 8°C) under standard conditions. Sixty-one trials could be used for the evaluation of hatching success. Viable hatch was taken as a measure to evaluate the effects of chlorinated hydrocarbons accumulated in gonads, liver and muscle of parental fish.PCB levels in running ripe females ranged on a wet weight basis between 19 and 241 ng g^?1 (gonad), 20 and 377 ng g^?1 (liver) and 11 and 1820 ng g^?1 (muscle). Concentrations of other chlorinated hydrocarbons (DDD, DDE, γ-HCH, etc.) were in the same range as reported by other authors for Baltic herring (Huschenbeth, 1973, 1977). Viable hatch was significantly affected at ovary DDE concentrations higher than 18 ng g^?1 (wet wt) and PCB concentrations of more than 120 ng g^?1 (wet wt).Results are compared with data obtained during earlier investigations with flounder eggs.