Nutrient budgets and trophic state in a hypersaline coastal lagoon: Lagoa de Araruama, Brazil

Lagoa de Araruama in the state of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is a hypersaline lagoon with salinity varying spatially from 45 to 56. We collected water samples during monthly cruises throughout the lagoon, and along the streams feeding the system, from April 1991 to March 1992. Nutrients and other water quality parameters exhibited great spatial and temporal variations. Mass balance calculations indicate large amounts of anthropogenic nutrient inputs. The data indicate that the lagoon currently is oligotrophic but is in a state of transition to become a mesotrophic system. Molar dissolved inorganic nitrogen:dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIN/DIP) varied between 2.2:1 and 659:1 with a volume-weighted average of 22:1. The high DIN/DIP ratio contrasts with that found in nearby lagoons, suggesting that phytoplankton primary production is limited by phosphorus in Lagoa de Araruama. The major loss of DIP is apparently driven by biological assimilation and diagenic reactions in the sediments. Calculations indicate that the lagoon is slightly net autotrophic at +0.9 mol C m⁻² yr⁻¹. This suggests that the biomass of the primary producers is restricted by phosphorus availability. Phosphorus retention in the sediment and the hypersaline state of the lagoon prevent changes in autotrophic communities and the formation of eutrophic conditions.     

Factors affecting spatial and temporal variability in material exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay (USA)

Physical and biological processes controlling spatial and temporal variations in material concentration and exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay were studied for 2.5 years in three of the five major creek systems draining the watershed. Daily total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) fluxes were measured for 2 years in Taylor River, and ten 10-day intensive studies were conducted in this creek to estimate the seasonal flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total organic carbon (TOC), and suspended matter. Four 10-day studies were conducted simultaneously in Taylor, McCormick, and Trout Creeks to study the spatial variation in concentration and flux. The annual fluxes of TOC, TN, and TP from the Southern Everglades were estimated from regression equations. The Southern Everglades watershed, a 460-km² area that includes Taylor Slough and the area south of the C-111 canal, exported 7.1 g C m⁻², 0.46 g N m⁻², and 0.007 g P m⁻², annually. Everglades P flux is three to four orders of magnitude lower than published flux estimates from wetlands influenced by terrigenous sedimentary inputs. These low P flux values reflect both the inherently low P content of Everglades surface water and the efficiency of Everglades carbonate sediments and biota in conserving and recycling this limiting nutrient. The seasonal variation of freshwater input to the watershed was responsible for major temporal variations in N, P, and C export to Florida Bay; approximately 99% of the export occurred during the rainy season. Wind-driven forcing was most important during the later stages of the dry season when low freshwater head coincided with southerly winds, resulting in a net import of water and materials into the wetlands. We also observed an east to west decrease in TN:TP ratio from 212:1 to 127:1. Major spatial gradients in N:P ratios and nutrient concentration and flux among the creek were consistent with the westward decrease in surface water runoff from the P-limited Everglades and increased advection of relatively P-rich Gulf of Mexico (GOM) waters into Florida Bay. Comparison of measured nutrient flux from Everglades surface water inputs from this study with published estimates of other sources of nutrients to Florida Bay (i.e. atmospheric deposition, anthropogenic inputs from the Florida Keys, advection from the GOM) show that Everglades runoff represents only 2% of N inputs and 0.5% of P input to Florida Bay.     

Code of Practice For Ocean Mining: An International Effort to Develop a Code For Environmental Management of Marine Mining

A code of practice for ocean mining has been developed by the International Marine Minerals Society. The code provides general guiding Principles for development of marine mineral resources and delineates Operating Guidelines for application, as appropriate, at specific mining sites. In total 11 operating guidelines are provided to serve as benchmarks for industry and targets for regulatory agencies and other stakeholders. They include the following commitments: •To sustainable development, •To environmentally responsible corporate ethics, •To the development of effective community partnership, •To implementation of environmental risk management, •To the integration of environmental management into all phases of development, •To the establishment of corporate environmental performance targets, •To timely environmental improvements and upgrading, •To responsible rehabilitation of operations sites and decommissioning of facilities, and •To accurate and timely, reporting and documentation, archiving, and performance review.     

Bioavailability: the organism as sensor

The use of a system of continuous culture of phytoplankton at constant population density, the ‘cage-culture’ turbidostat, as a monitor of the bioavailability of pollutant materials, is illustrated. In the case of proposed dredge spoils from two polluted areas, it is shown that bulk analyses for scheduled materials cannot be equated with bioavailability. Monitoring for the effect of the whole pollutant mixture on a properly chosen test population could obviate the necessity for chemical analyses for each component.     

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.     

Grain-size distribution of quartz and feldspar extracts and implications for flocculation processes

Quartz and feldspar extracts, obtained by chemical dissolution of the clay minerals, provide insight into the inorganic flocculation and mineralogical influences upon the texture of fine-grained glaciomarine deposits. Glacial comminution in higher latitudes explains the relatively high contents of quartz and feldspars. Quartz and feldspar are better sorted and were apparently less influenced by flocculation than were phyllosilicates, except for particles less than approximately 16 μm, which are poorly sorted due to their inclusion in flocs. The 16-μm boundary is suggested to be useful for approximately separating fines that are usually involved in flocculation and coarse silt and larger grains that are less influenced.     

Seasonal course of theT,S-characteristics in the north-eastern Tropical Atlantic

The problem of the seasonal variations of temperature and salinity in the intermediate zone located between the West African and the Gulf of Guinea upwellings is considered. The vertical distribution of the phase-amplitude characteristics of the annual and semi-annual variations is examined in good detail and their parameters are defined from the monthly means using the least-squares fit technique. The contribution of isopycnic advection to the formation of seasonal thermohaline variations is studied.Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Native aluminium (spherules and particles) in the Central Indian Basin sediments: Implications on the occurrence of hydrothermal events

We have sampled particles of native aluminium (Al°) in two sediment cores from the Central Indian Basin (CIB). The cores are geographically separated but are located at the base of two seamounts. The native Al° particles occurring as grains and spherules, have an average Al content of  95% and are associated with volcanogenic–hydrothermal material. Morphologically and compositionally, the specimens are similar to those reported from the East Pacific Rise. After ruling out several processes for the presence of the native Al°, we hypothesize that during progressive melting of magma, a basaltic magma is produced which has high contents of reductants such as methane and hydrogen, and a low oxygen fugacity. During the upward migration of such magma, reduction to metallic aluminium and the formation of native Al° particles takes place.     

Detection of free gas and gas hydrate based on 3D seismic data and cone penetration testing: An example from the Nigerian Continental Slope

We present a new method to characterize free gas, gas hydrates and carbonate concretions occurrence which are considered as high-risk factors for sub-sea developments in the Niger delta. This method is based on the combination of 3D seismic data to the geotechnical site characterizations using piezocone CPTU tests (Cone Penetration Test with additional measurement of the pore water pressure). A special processing of the 3D seismic data has enabled the determination of the interval compressional velocity. Using the effective-medium theory, velocity anomalies (negative and positive) within the first 15 m were translated in gas hydrate and free gas distribution. The calibration of the P wave velocity anomalies was done thanks to in-situ geotechnical testing carried out during two oceanographic surveys (2003 and 2004). Comparison between in-situ testing, recovered cores and the prediction of the gas and the gas hydrate distribution based on the compressional wave velocity have shown that 3D seismic data is a valuable tool to identify heterogeneous areas but the use of the piezocone was essential to discriminate between gas hydrate occurrences and carbonate concretions' presence. Furthermore, in-situ compressional wave velocity (V_p) measurements have clearly demonstrated what it was suspected from the 3D seismic data, the co-existence in the study area between gas hydrate and free gas.