An ocean-bottom hydrophone recorder for seismic refraction experiments

A new and inexpensive pop-up ocean-bottom hydrophone recorder has been developed for use in seismic refraction experiments. It is capable of operating in water depths of up to 4000 m and in very rugged topography, and uses an acoustic command system built by the U.K. Institute of Oceanographic Sciences for recovery. The instrument is mounted in an inexpensive cylindrical pressure case based on commercially available extruded aluminium alloy tubing, and uses glass spheres and syntactic foam for buoyancy. Hydrophone and clock signals are frequency modulated and recorded on tape cassettes, with a recording duration of three hours allowing up to 18 programmed shot windows. The prototype has made seven free descents on the Mid-Atlantic ridge and in the Gulf of Oman, and successfully recorded shots under operational conditions for the first time in September 1979. The total component cost of the prototype was £2740 (1979 prices).(Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge Contribution No. ES135).     

Fate and effects of a heavy fuel oil spill on a Georgia salt marsh

Addition of a heavy oil to a Spartina salt marsh in the autumn resulted in high concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in sediment and benthic animals. The highest concentrations of phenanthrene, chrysene and fluoranthene in the sediment were 112, 105 and 75 ng/g sediment, respectively. These concentrations rapidly decreased during the 20 week period following the spill. The times for these hydrocarbons to decrease to 50% of their highest values, i.e. half-life, were approximately 100, 70 and 30 days in sediment, mussels and oysters, respectively. Benthic macrofauna species showed three responses to oil addition which included no change, an increase, or a decrease in the population. No changes were noted in populations of fiddler crabs (Uca pugnax), oysters (Crassostrea virginica), and mussels (Modiolus demissus). Mud snails (Nassarius obsoleta) increased in density after the spill due to immigration of adult snails from untreated areas to scavenge on animals killed by the oil. Many of the adult periwinkles (Littorina irrorata) were killed by the oil. In the spring, juvenile periwinkles recolonised to oiled areas as a result of larvae settling.     

Carbon dioxide partial pressures in North Pacific surface waters — Time variations

Observations were made of time variations of the carbon dioxide partial pressures (Pco₂) of the atmosphere and surface sea waters in the Pacific subarctic region. Data were obtained on a cruise of the USC & GSSSURVEYOR in October, 1968 and on the TRANSPAC expedition of the CNAVENDEAVOUR in March–April, 1969. A rise in surface water Pco₂ of 18×10^–6 atm occurred in a period of 30–45 days in March–April due principally to spring warming of surface waters. An average increase of 60×10^–6 atm occurred between October, 1968 and March, 1969 as a result mainly of cessation of summer phytoplankton production and the onset of winter-storm-driven vertical mixing. Because the air-sea Pco₂ gradient not only changed appreciably in magnitude but also changed sign, there are important implications for calculations of air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide on the ocean wide scale.Data contained in this paper comprise part of a dissertation to be submitted by Louis I. Gordon in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Ph. D. at Oregon State University.     

Effect of agricultural activity on levels of organochlorine pesticides in hard corals, fish and molluscs from the Great Barrier Reef

An organochlorine baseline study of selected corals, fish and molluscs has established that lindane is the only consistently detectable persistent pesticide in Great Barrier Reef organisms sampled. Samples taken during 1976–1977 from twenty reefs between Heron Island and Lizard Island provide evidence from the distribution of lindane that the contamination is related to agricultural usage in the coastal sugar cane growing regions. Consideration is given to the possible mode of transport of lindane to the reef environment. No polychlorinated biphenyls were detected in any of the samples and only scattered samples contained levels of residues other than lindane. Inner marginal shelf reefs of the Great Barrier Reef may be the most pristine environment yet reported for organochlorine pollutants.     

Solubility of hydrous ferric oxide and iron speciation in seawater

Iron solubility equilibria were investigated in seawater at 36.22‰ salinity and 25°C using several filtration and dialysis techniques. In simple filtration experiments with 0.05 μm filters and Millipore ultra-filters, ferric chlorides fluorides, sulfates, and FeOH²⁺ species were found to be insignificant relative to Fe(OH)₂⁺ at p[H⁺] = ?log [H⁺] greater than 6.0. Hydrous ferric oxide freshly precipitated from seawater yielded a solubility product of ${}^1\text{K}{}_{\mathrm{<mtext>so</mtext>}}\text{=}\text{[Fe}{}^{\mathrm{3+}}\text{][H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{]}{}^{\mathrm{?3}}\text{= 4.7 · 10}{}^5$. Solubility studies based on the rates of dialysis of various seawater solutions and on the filtration of acidified seawater solutions indicated the existence of the Fe(OH)₃⁰ species. The formation constant for this species can be calculated as ${}^1\text{β}{}_3\text{=}\text{[Fe(OH)}{}_3{}^0\text{] [H}{}^{\mathrm{+}}\text{]}{}^3\text{/[Fe}{}^{\mathrm{3+}}\text{] = 2.4 · 10}{}^{\mathrm{?14}}$. The Fe(OH)₄^? species is present at concentrations which are negligible compared to Fe(OH)₂⁺ and Fe(OH)₃⁰ in the normal pH range of seawater. However, there is at least one other significant ferric complex in seawater above p[H⁺] = 8.0 (possibly with bicarbonate, carbonate, or borate ions) in addition to the Fe(OH)₂⁺ and Fe(OH)₃⁰ species.     

Metabolism of perylene by monooxygenases of the skin and liver of Ambystoma tigrinum

The prevalence of dermal neoplasia among neotenic tiger salamanders (Ambystoma tigrinum) collected from the Reese Air Force Base sewage lagoon far exceeded that among salamanders from nearby uncontaminated lagoons. Perylene was the predominant pglycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon contaminant in this lagoon. Perylene was shown to be a substrate for monooxygenases in skin and liver homogenates and formed DNA-binding metabolites. Perylene exposure appeared to augment subsequent perylene metabolism by dermal enzymes but it was not a strong inducer of hepatic monooxygenases. Aroclor 1254 induced benzo(a)pyrene and perylene metabolism by both skin and liver enzymes. However, perylene apparently was not activated by salamander enzymes, as suggested by its lack of in vitro mutagenicity and failure to induce tumors.     

Deep tow studies of the Tamayo transform fault

The Tamayo transform fault occurs at the north end of the East Pacific Rise where it enters the Gulf of California. The two deep-tow surveys reported here show that the transform fault zone changes significantly as a function of distance from the spreading center intersections. At site 1, near the intersection, one side of the fault is young and the fault zone is narrow and well-defined. Strike slip occurs in a zone approximately 1-km wide suggesting a correspondingly narrow zone of decoupling between the Pacific and North American plates. On the young side of the strike-slip zone, normal faults occur along shear zones which are 45°–50° oblique to the transform strike. They occur parallel to the short axis of the strain ellipse for transform fault strain here, i.e., perpendicular to the least compressive stress. The transform walls are formed by normal faulting as has been pointed out in previous detailed surveys. Here, however, the age contrast of 2.5 m.y. across the transform valley is apparent in the morphology of the normal fault scarps. While the scarps are steep and well-defined on the young side, the scarps on the older side have gradual 10°–30° slopes and appear to be primarily talus ramps. Apparently, the scarps have been tectonically eroded by continued strike slip activity after the initial stages of normal faulting. Thus, transform valleys should be quite asymmetric in cross-section where there is a significant age contrast and one side is less than approximately 0.5 m.y. old. Also, along older sections of the transform valley walls, normal faulting may not be at all obvious due to degradation of the scarps by tectonic erosion. This phenomenon makes the likelihood of transform faults providing windows into the oceanic crust most unlikely except in special cases.The picture of transform deformation is more complex at site 2 in the central portion of the fault where both sides of the fault are greater than 1 m.y. old. Here the transform valley is wider (25–30 km as opposed to 2–5 km). There is no clear simple zone of strike slip tectonics. In fact, the only clear evidence for deformation is the intrusion of magmatic or serpentinite diapirs through the sediments of the transform valley floor. The diapirs have deformed the turbidite layers flooring the valley and in one carefully studied case the turbidite sequence has been uplifted, perched atop the diapir. The pattern of deformation on this outcropping diapir shows radial and concentric fractures which can be modeled by a vertical intrusion circular in plan view. Magnetic studies limit the possible composition to basalt or serpentinite. A 60-km-long median ridge is also likely to be the product of intrusion along the transform fault. The survey at site 2 pointed out the importance of vertical tectonics in the transform valley floor and in particular the importance of diapiric intrusions of either basaltic or serpentinite composition.Based on initial boundary conditions and present tectonic elements in the Tamayo fault zone, a possible history of the mouth of the Gulf of California is outlined. The median ridge was emplaced starting approximately 0.8 m.y. ago by regional extension across the transform fault, the result of leaky transform faulting. The diapirs occur along a possible relay zone of extension midway along the fault which began approximately 0.15 m.y. ago. The extension in this case is parallel to the trend of the transform fault, is still occurring at present, and may evolve into a true spreading center.Contribution of the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, new series.     

Comparison of oscillatory and stationary flow through porous media

Experiments were conducted in an oscillatory water tunnel to investigate what effects temporal inertia has on the resistance of a granular medium. The flow law governing stationary porous media flow is reasonably well accepted and understood but the effects of unsteady flow have commonly been neglected. The present research was designed to assess the magnitude of the acceleration effects on media of uniformly packed spheres of equal diameter and on one sample of randomly placed stone.Oscillatory flow tests were made in a large oscillatory flume tunnel with periods varying from 3 to 12 seconds. The influence of properties of the medium (grain size and porosity) were tested by using spheres with two different diameters and packing each size sphere in different geometric arrangements. Tests made on a stone sample provided a qualitative assessment of the effects of more random material properties.For the experiments described in this paper, the Forchheimer unsteady-stationary flow law described the oscillatory measurements well when velocities and energy losses were maximum. Empirical coefficients determined from steady-stationary flow were generally found to apply to the unsteady flow, however some evidence of dependency on the period of oscillation was noted.     

Vibrations of a simply supported plate carrying an elastically mounted concentrated mass

A large number of papers and technical reports are available on the technically important problem of structural elements executing transverse vibrations and carrying concentrated masses. In general it is assumed that the attachment is perfectly rigid. On the other hand, a rather limited amount of published work is available when the mass is elastically connected to the structure. The system then exhibits a more complex behavior than in the case of rigid attachment. The present study deals with the solution of the title problem using the well-known normal mode, sinusoidal eigenfunction expansions.