Preliminary attempt to characterize the rotation of seafloor in the Pito Deep area of the Easter Microplate using a submersible magnetometer

Several mechanisms have been proposed to account for the rotation of the nearly north-south abyssal hill fabric formed on the East Pacific Rise north of the Easter Microplate to the nearly east-west trends in the northern microplate interior. Proposed mechanisms include rigid microplate rotation, transform fault – parallel shear, and bookshelf faulting during the transfer of lithosphere from the Nazca Plate to the microplate. We used a submersible magnetometer on a NAUTILE dive program to measure the magnetic vector rotation of a pillow basalt and dike spur near Pito Deep, the present location of the tip of the propagating rift system that created the microplate. Our results, although too limited to draw strong conclusions from, suggest clockwise rotations of the seafloor magnetic vectors inconsistent with the transform-parallel shear model, and larger than can be explained solely by rigid microplate rotation.     

Invertebrates in the trophic webs of the white sea near-shore ecosystem (using the example of Gryaznaya Inlet)

In the food clods of the mass species of macrobenthos of the Gryaznaya Inlet, nonstructured matter plays a great role. We identify this matter as derivates from plant tissues, which are the products of their external metabolism and degradation, with associated microorganisms. This way, the near-shore community considered is supported by a detrital trophic web. This feature distinguishes it from the similar community of the near-Atlantic waters that is based on a pasture web, at least as far as the bivalve mass species are concerned. The groups of the near-shore species of Gryaznaya Inlet separated by a cluster analysis are identified as consortia, combined by the biogeochemical conditions (edifice factor), which can hardly be analyzed at present.     

Problems with biogenic silica measurement in marginal seas

Surface sediment samples from the Bohai, Yellow Sea, and the Pacific were used to assess biogenic silica (BSi) content and to study uncertainties in BSi measurements. The contents of BSi in the Bohai and Yellow Sea are all less than 1%. The dissolution of BSi in sediments from the Bohai and Yellow Sea is very important to maintain high levels of silicate in the water column. The non-biogenic silica from clay minerals has an obvious effect on BSi of sediment samples in the Bohai and Yellow Sea with low BSi and high clay minerals. The solid to solution ratio was found to have a great influence on BSi measurement, which can induce uncertainties up to 75%. The effect of loss by sorption and centrifugation is negligible. Interlaboratory comparison of techniques for BSi measurement by the wet alkaline extraction technique of Mortlock and Froelich [Deep-Sea Res. 36 (1989) 1415-1426] with clay correction was suggested to give no significant differences. However, differences in sediment compositions and reagent to sample ratio may limit the application of the wet alkaline extraction method.     

The Equatorial Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel: An Ultra High-Resolution Image of Its Burial History Based on TOPAS Profiles

Multibeam bathymetric and ultra high-resolution seismic data reveal that the distal course of the Equatorial Atlantic Mid-Ocean Channel (EAMOC) extends further east and south than was previously known, and is controlled by the presence of morphologic highs related to the Fernando de Noronha Fracture Zone. Distal course of the EAMOC is buried by sediments, and does not have bathymetric expression on the seafloor. The channel fill consists of three seismic sequences, suggesting that the recent geological evolution of the channel is composed of successive phases of decreasing sedimentary activity that finally resulted in its complete burial. Tectonic and volcanic activity related to the Fernando de Noronha Fracture Zone and Ridge, together with the effect of strong pulses of the Antarctic bottom water current during the upper Pliocene are suggested to have contributed to the progressive burial and the final abandonment of the EAMOC.     

A Unified Variational Principle of Fluid Mechanics and Application on Solitary Subdomain or Point

-According to basic equations of fluid mechanics, this paper presents a unified variational principle of fluid mechanics (UVPFM) by using the optimization method of weighted residuals (OMWR). The advantages are as follows, the establishment of the functional and the variational principle is easy, it can change various problems of fluid mechanics derived by basic equations into a unified optimization problem, and the solution is the optimum one in some sense. According to the OMWR for the solitary subdomain, this paper uses UVPFM onto any solitary subdomain and gives the solution of the hydrodynamics equation which is suitable only for that solitary subdomain. According to the OMWR for solitary point, this paper uses UVPFM to any solitary point and gives the solution of the hydrodynamics equation (point solution) which is suitable only for that solitary point. As the solution for the solitary subdomain or solitary point is developed independently, the compatibility with other subdomain or other points, do     

On the adequacy of second-order models to predict abnormal waves

The paper is intended to extend the investigations about the nature of abnormal waves that have been reported in the work of Guedes Soares et al. (Characteristics of abnormal waves in North Sea states. Applied Ocean Research 25, [337–344]). The same dataset gathered at the oil platform North Alwyn in the North Sea during the November storm in 1997 is used along with the time series from the Draupner platform, in which an abnormal wave occurred. The data are reanalyzed from the viewpoint of the applicability of second-order models to fit large waves. The observed results confirm that the second-order approximation is not adequate to describe highly asymmetric and abnormal waves.     

Fishers' responses to management measures and their socio-economic effects

This session presented a wide range of papers on cooperativeresearch, design of alternative gears and fishing strategies,and new analyses to support management. The contributed papersreflected a real desire to explore different approaches andstrategies to fishery management. It is apparent that fishery policy has had a mixed record ofsuccess and failure at best. In most regions of the world, manystocks are still being overfished or have been severely overfishedin the past. Although rebuilding programmes for overfished stockshave been developed, nationally as well as internationally,only a few have been successful, many others are works in progressand, in too many cases, rebuilding     

A time-varying parameter model of a body oscillating in pitch

Among the assumptions upon which linear time-invariant models of floating bodies are based is that the body motions are so small that any change in the body’s angular position can be disregarded. However, it is often a major design requirement of a wave energy conversion device that the response amplitude is large, thereby invalidating one of the assumptions of the linear model. In particular, the immersed geometry of a body undergoes considerable variation when it is moved in pitch. With regard to this we investigate the difference in performance between a quasi-linear model in which the change of immersed surface is modelled by time-varying parameters and a basic linear model in which the immersed surface is time-invariant. The time-varying parameter model is realized by interpolation between the appropriate parameter values of a set of linear time-invariant (LTI) models derived for the different immersed surfaces that occur at discrete body displacements. It is shown that the responses predicted using the time-varying parameter model are closer to those measured experimentally than those of a standard frequency-domain model. Particular improvement occurs when the responses are large, such as at or near the resonance frequency. A problem which may limit the general use of the model is also discussed.     

Isotopic and Elemental Variations of Carbon and Nitrogen in a Mangrove Estuary

Variations in elemental and isotopic ratios of suspended particulate matter (SPM) were investigated in the Guayas River Estuary Ecosystem (GREE) that empties into the Gulf of Guayaquil, Ecuador. Detritus in the system was identified on the basis of extremely high carbon:chlorophyll aratios (>1000). This material had mean δ¹³C of −26·4±0·3, δ¹⁵N of +4·8±0·2, and (C:N)_atomicof 14·1±0·9. The isotopic data were comparable to measurements reported for fresh and degrading mangrove leaves, whereas the elemental ratio was comparatively enriched in nitrogen. Isotope measurements of SPM throughout the GREE were more similar to values for riverine material and detritus compared with that for the coastal end-member. Values indicative ofin situproduced algae, sewage and shrimp pond effluent were only found at selected sites. Bacterial bioassays, which were used to document potential sources of dissolved organic matter in the GREE, were isotopically similar to SPM. This correspondence coupled with the relatively low (C:N)_aof SPM could be explained by bacterial immobolization of nitrogen onto detritus. Finally, tidal variations of (C:N)_aand δ¹³C at a brackish mangrove site were similar in magnitude to spatial variations encountered throughout the GREE. Based on these results, the authors caution that care must be taken when samples are taken for food-web studies in these systems.     

Comparison of methods for computing hydrodynamic characteristics of arrays of wave power devices

A comparison of methods for the calculation of the hydrodynamic characteristics of arrays of wave power devices is presented. In particular, the plane-wave approximation and an exact multiple scattering formulation have been used to compute exciting wave forces, hydrodynamic coefficients and q factors for arrays of interacting wave power devices. The results obtained are compared with each other, and accuracy aspects of the computations are stressed and critically assessed.