Delivery of chemical elements with atmospheric precipitations to the coastal regions of the Crimea in 2004–2008

We study the space-and-time variations of the delivery of fluxes of 26 elements (Na, K, Rb, Cs, Cu, Ag, Au, Ca, Sr, Ba, Zn, Cd, Hg, Hf, Ta, As, Sb, Cr, Se, Mo, W, Mn, Br, Fe, Co and Ni) with atmospheric precipitations to the sea surface in the regions of Sevastopol and the South Coast of Crimea. It is established A series of general regularities of the delivery of the sum of these elements and their soluble and insoluble forms. We also give the characteristics of their space-time variability.     

Effect of skewness and kurtosis of sea-surface elevations on the accuracy of altimetry surface level measurements

We assess the influence of changes in the skewness and kurtosis of the distribution of elevations on a rough sea surface that were observed in field conditions on the accuracy of the recovery of the sea-surface level along the satellite trace. For different values of a significant height of surface waves, we obtain numerical estimates for the bias in relief recovery due to the simultaneous variation in skewness and kurtosis. It is shown that, with a decrease in kurtosis, the effect of skewness changes on the accuracy of altimetry measurements of the level increases. We note the limitations of the Gram-Charlier model in simulating the radar waveforms return from the sea surface.     

Thermal Stratification in Saldanha Bay (South Africa) and Subtidal, Density-driven Exchange with the Coastal Waters of the Benguela Upwelling System

A study was conducted to understand the mechanisms driving observed subtidal variability in the stratification of Saldanha Bay, located in the southern Benguela system. It was found that the 6–8 day period variability in bay stratification was caused by the inflow and outflow of cold upwelled water driven by changing baroclinic pressure gradients between the coastal and bay domains. The direction and magnitude of the pressure gradients were governed by coastal upwelling activity and a lag in the response of the bay to changes in density structure in the coastal ocean. When the pressure gradients were bayward and cold water was being driven into the bay the cycle was termed to be in an ‘ active phase ’ and the reverse was termed the ‘ relaxation phase ’. The upwelling-favourable equatorward wind stress impacted the bay stratification in two ways: on the regional scale, wind drives upwelling and governs the inflow–outflow of cold upwelled bottom water, which strengthens stratification; conversely, on the local bay scale, wind drives vertical mixing, which weakens stratification. A four-phase model is used to describe the observed variability in stratification in the bay. The associated density-driven exchange flows are capable of flushing the bay in 6–8 days, about one-third of the time for tidal exchange alone (c. 25 days). These inflows of cold bottom water are ecologically critical as they supply nutrients to the bay and thus impose a control on new production within the bay environment. Further ecological implications of this bay–ocean exchange include export of phytoplankton new production to the coast, limitation of the risk of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and the division of the system into two distinct ecosystems (bay and lagoon).     

Measuring the benefits and costs of community education and outreach in marine protected areas

Conservation organizations often invest considerable resources in education and outreach activities in and around marine protected areas (MPAs). The expectation is that such efforts will change local knowledge, attitudes and ultimately behavior. This is one of the first studies to assess the efficacy of using education and outreach activities to improve community knowledge and attitudes about an MPA. Random sample surveys in 2005 and 2010 (n=1213) before and after education and outreach activities are compared. Program budgets for the same period give the investment levels. With an investment level averaging US$24 per capita/year, the result was an average increase of 33% in “yes” responses across 15 indicators of knowledge and attitudes towards marine conservation. The increase in knowledge and positive attitudes was associated with a large decrease in “not sure” responses, suggesting that community members with fewer initial preconceptions are the most effective target for education and outreach activities. This study demonstrates that investments in MPA education and outreach can generate increases in local knowledge and positive attitudes, and changing knowledge and attitudes is expected to contribute to the long-term compliance with MPA regulations.     

Late Devonian rifting in the central North Sea: Evidence from altered felsic volcanic rocks in the Embla oil field

In the Embla oil field on the northern flank of the Mid North Sea High, the central North Sea, multiple quartz porphyric volcanic beds at ca. 4600 m depth form part of a volcano-sedimentary interval above the Caledonian basement as interpreted from seismic data. Zircon U–Pb laser ablation ICPMS date one bed to 374 ± 3 Ma, indicating that the volcanic rocks and interbedded sediments are early Famennian and correlate to the Buchan Formation. The volcanic rocks have been extensively clay and carbonate altered in a near-surface environment, but high field strength element data show that the protoliths were alkali rhyolites, yielding intra-plate signatures in tectonic discrimination diagrams. Famennian quartz porphyric volcanic rocks have also been reported from well A17-1 on the southern flank of the Mid North Sea High. The Famennian volcanism on the northern and southern flanks testify to an active magmatic environment in the central North Sea in the early Famennian, supporting the existence of a late Devonian proto-Central Graben rift extending northwards into the central North Sea. The rift is likely an early example of strain localisation to a zone of reduced crustal strength along the Caledonian suture between Avalonia and Baltica.     

Thickness of the mixed bottom layer in the Northern Atlantic

The thickness of the mixed bottom boundary layer (BBL) has been analyzed based on the CTD data at transoceanic sections in abyssal waters of the Northern Atlantic. The measurements were carried out at two transoceanic sections approximately along 48° N (ASV-99) and 5° N (AI-2000) in 1999 and 2000. These data, and the WOCE data obtained at four zonal sections (AR7E and AR12 along 57° N, AR01 along 24.5° S, and A06 along 7.5° N), were used for the calculation of the statistical characteristics of the BBL??s thickness H _B . The probability distribution function F(H _B ) was close to lognormal. The mean value ??H _B ?? at different latitudes was in the range from 30 to 60 m. The averaged BBL thickness = 46.1 m. The BBL??s thickness was about 1% of the ocean??s depth D; the ratio H _B /D was the minimum (0.8%) near the equator and increased up to 1.6% in the polar latitudes.     

Seasonal dynamics and Trophic interactions of phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Vistula Lagoon of the Baltic Sea

The trophic relationships of the phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Vistula Lagoon in 2008?C2010 were investigated. In the current period, the lagoon is an eutrophic water body with summer blooms of blue-green algae. The trophic level of the Vistula Lagoon influences both the composition and quantitative characteristics of the communities of phytoplankton and zooplankton and the trophic relationships between them. In the analyzed period, the consumption of phytoplankton by the zooplankton on the average in the growing season was 28%, which is 1.5 times higher than in the late 1970s. The high grazing pressure of the zooplankton on the phytoplankton reduces its biomass, production, and the intensity of the blooming by the blue-green algae in the Vistula Lagoon.     

Change in biochemical and morphological characteristics of Lonicera caerulea in tectonically active zone of the Dzhazator River Valley (Altai Mountains)

Local geophysical and geochemical anomalies affect the polymorphism of taste variations, berry shape, and content of some biologically active substances in Lonicera caerulea leaves in the tectonically active Altai Mountains (Dzhazator River basin).     

Authigenic iron oxide formation in the estuarine mixing zone of the Yangtze River

Estuaries are elementary geochemical fronts where river water and seawater mix. Within this mixing zone, iron and other non-conservative elements can undergo complex reactions to form new solid phases. In order to understand authigenic iron oxide formation in the Yangtze River Estuary, two onsite water-mixing sets of experiments were conducted, one by mixing variable amounts of unfiltered Yangtze River water with filtered East China Sea water of different salinity (set 1), the other by mixing variable amounts of filtered Yangtze River water with filtered East China Sea water of different salinity (set 2). In set 2, the minerals newly formed in the course of mixing were investigated by means of a scanning electron microscope fitted with an energy-dispersive X-ray analytical system. It was found that ferrihydrite and lepidocrocite were formed in these mixing experiments, coexisting in nearly equal amounts. These iron oxides appear as aggregated particles with a large grain-size range of several microns to more than 100 μm. The electrolytic properties of seawater played an important role in the formation of these authigenic iron oxides. Kaolinite and organic aggregates were also found in the experimentally mixed pre-filtered waters. Amounts of newly formed suspended matter (set 2) were one to three orders of magnitude lower than those of total suspended matter (TSM) (set 1). This implies that newly formed minerals represent only a very small proportion of TSM in the estuarine mixing zone of the Yangtze River.     

Development of means and methods of drifter technology applied to the problem of the Black Sea research

During the last ten years, autonomous drifting platforms for data collection (drifters) equipped with Argos satellite communication devices have become one of the main components for the observation system in the upper layer of the ocean and surface atmosphere. This article presents the results of the Black Sea drifter monitoring in 2002–2006 within a number of international programs and projects. During this period, about 70 drifters manufactured by NPF Marlin-Yug Ltd. (Sevastopol, Ukraine) were deployed in the western part of the Black Sea. The drifters were mainly standard barometric Lagrangian tracers and a part of them were principally new temperature profiling buoys. Unique long-term data were obtained about the circulation of the surface currents and the dynamics of the temperature stratification within the seasonal thermocline and the cold intermediate layer.