Toxicity of Santa Barbara seep oil to starfish embryos: Part 1—hydrocarbon composition of test solutions and field samples

The composition and concentration of the water-soluble fraction (WSF) of four oils (Prudhoe Bay Crude, Holly Monterey Crude, Holly Rincon Crude and Isla Vista Seep Oil) are described. Changes in concentration and composition with exposure time in our bioassay chambers are described. Rapid concentration decreases and an unusual compositional relationship point to the importance of performing chemical analyses in conjunction with bioassay experiments.Comparison of the chemical composition of dissolved hydrocarbons in seawater at the Isla Vista Seep Oil site with the WSF of the seep oil shows many similarities, although the concentration is lower than the WSF by approximately 1000-fold.     

Community structure and nutrition of deep methane-seep macrobenthos from the North Pacific (Aleutian) Margin and the Gulf of Mexico (Florida Escarpment)

Methane seeps occur at depths extending to over 7000 m along the world's continental margins, but there is little information about the infaunal communities inhabiting sediments of seeps deeper than 3000 m. Biological sampling was carried out off Unimak Island (3200–3300 m) and Kodiak Island (4500 m) on the Aleutian margin, Pacific Ocean and along the Florida Escarpment (3300 m) in the Gulf of Mexico to investigate the community structure and nutrition of macrofauna at these sites. We addressed whether there are characteristic infaunal communities common to the deep‐water seeps or to the specific habitats (clam beds, pogonophoran fields, and microbial mats) studied here, and ask how these differ from background communities or from shallow‐seep settings sampled previously. We also investigated, using stable isotopic signatures, the utilization of chemosynthetically fixed and methane‐derived organic matter by macrofauna from different regions and habitats. Within seep sites, macrofaunal densities were the greatest in the Florida microbial mats (20,961 ± 11,618 ind·m⁻²), the lowest in the Florida pogonophoran fields (926 ± 132 ind·m⁻²), and intermediate in the Unimak and Kodiak seep habitats. Seep macrofaunal densities differed from those in nearby non‐seep sediments only in Florida mat habitats, where a single, abundant species of hesionid polychaete comprised 70% of the macrofauna. Annelids were the dominant taxon (>60%) at all sites and habitats except in Florida background sediments (33%) and Unimak pogonophoran fields (27%). Macrofaunal diversity (H′) was lower at the Florida than the Alaska seeps, with a trend toward reduced richness in clam bed relative to pogonophoran field or non‐seep sediments. Community composition differences between seep and non‐seep sediments were evident in each region except for the Unimak margin, but pogonophoran and clam bed macrofaunal communities did not differ from one another in Alaska. Seep δ¹³C and δ¹⁵N signatures were lighter for seep than non‐seep macrofauna in all regions, indicating use of chemosynthetically derived carbon. The lightest δ¹³C values (average of species’ means) were observed at the Florida escarpment (−42.8‰). We estimated that on average animal tissues had up to 55% methane‐derived carbon in Florida mats, 31–44% in Florida clam beds and Kodiak clam beds and pogonophoran fields, and 9–23% in Unimak seep habitats. However, some taxa such as hesionid and capitellid polychaetes exhibited tremendous intraspecific δ¹³C variation (>30‰) between patch types. Overall we found few characteristic communities or features common to the three deep‐water seeps (>3000 m), but common properties across habitats (mat, clam bed, pogonophorans), independent of location or water depth. In general, macrofaunal densities were lower (except at Florida microbial mats), community structure was similar, and reliance on chemosynthesis was greater than observed in shallower seeps off California and Oregon.     

cDNA cloning,sequencing, and differential expression of a heart-type fatty acid-binding protein in the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus)

A heart fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP) cDNA was isolated from the liver of the mummichog (Fundulus heteroclitus) and the complete cDNA sequence and predicted amino acid sequence was determined. This cDNA binds to a mRNA product of 0.95 kb with the highest level of RNA expression in the male liver, gills, and gonads. Exposure of mummichogs to the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) pyrene significantly down-regulated H-FABP expression at the highest concentration. This study provides evidence that environmentally relevant toxicants can modulate H-FABP expression.     

Fine scale study of a small overlapping spreading center system at 12°54′ N on the East Pacific Rise

Overlapping spreading centers (OSCs) are a type of ridge axis discontinuity found along intermediate and fast spreading centers. The ridges at these locations overlap and curve towards each other. and are separated by an elongate overlap basin. A high resolution Deep-Tow survey was conducted over the 12°54 N OSC (offset 1.6 km) on the East Pacific Rise in order to study the structure of a small OSC on a fine scale. A detailed tectonic study and Deep-Tow 3-D magnetic inversion were performed on the data. Towards the tips of both limbs, the apparent age of lava flows increases, the density of exposed faults and fissures increases, and the axial graben loses definition and disappears. No active hydrothermal vents were detected in the area. These observations suggest that the magmatic budget steadily decreases along axis approaching and OSC, even where the offset is small. In contrast with OSCs which have a large offset (>5 km), the 3-D magnetic inversion solution for this OSC produced no evidence for highly magnetized areas near the tip of either spreading center.     

Marine administration and spatial data infrastructure

This paper reviews the emergence of the spatial dimension of marine and coastal zone administration, and examines several initiatives around the world that contribute to this idea. Spatial data have been recognised as an important resource to improve decision-making and resource management in both the land and marine environments in terms of sustainable development. Many countries are developing Spatial Data Infrastructures (SDIs) to improve access and sharing of spatial data, however, most of these initiatives stop at the coastline. Recently, global and regional activities such as the 3rd United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and the Sustainable Development Strategy for the Seas of East Asia (SDS-SEA) have brought to international attention the importance of effective administration of the marine and coastal environments.     

New constraints on the width of the zone of active faulting on the East Pacific Rise 8° 30′ N – 10° 00′ N from Sea Beam Bathymetry and SeaMARC II Side-scan Sonar

Sea Beam bathymetry and SeaMARC II side-scan sonar data are used to constrain the width of the zone of active faulting (plate boundary zone) to be 90 km (0.8 Ma) wide along the East Pacific Rise 8° 30N – 10° 00N. Fault scarps, identified on the basis of contoured, shaded relief and slope intensity maps of bathymetry, are measured. These scarp measurements, used in conjunction with data from a separate near-axis study, show that both inward- and outward-facing fault scarps increase in height away from the ridge axis, reaching average heights of 100 m at 0.8±0.2 Ma, 45±10 km from the ridge axis. Beyond this distance, there is no significant increase in scarp height. Earlier studies had suggested that the width of the zone of active faulting for outward-dipping faults might be significantly narrower than for inward-dipping faults. A lower crustal decoupling zone between brittle crust and strong upper mantle is predicted to exist out to 20–200 km from the ridge based on previously published lithospheric models. Such a decoupling zone may explain why outward-dipping faults continue to be active as far off-axis as inward-dipping faults. If the width of the zone of active faulting is controlled by the width of a lower crustal decoupling zone, our observations predict an 90 km wide decoupling zone in the lower oceanic crust at this location.     

Assessing the Validity of Seismo-Acoustic Predictor Equations for Obtaining Seabed and Sub-Surface Sediment Physical Properties

The interdependence between the seismo-acoustic properties of a marine sediment and its geotechnical/physical parameters has been known for many years, and it has been postulated that this should allow the extraction of geotechnical information from seismic data. Though in the literature many correlations have been published for the surficial layer, there is a lack of information for greater sediment depths. In this article, a desktop study on a synthetic seafloor model illustrates how the application of published near-surface prediction equations to subsurface sediments (up to several tens of meters burial depth) can lead to spurious predictions. To test this further, acoustic and geotechnical properties were measured on a number of sediment core samples, some of which were subjected to loading in acoustically-equipped consolidation cells (oedometers) to simulate greater burial depth conditions. For low effective pressures (representing small burial depths extending to around 10 meters subsurface), the general applicability of established relationships was confirmed: the prediction of porosity, bulk density, and mean grain size from acoustic velocity and impedance appears generally possible for the investigated sedimentary environments. As effective pressure increases through, the observed relationships deviate more and more from the established ones for the near-surface area. For the samples tested in this study, in some instances increasing pressure even resulted in decreasing velocities. There are several possible explanations for this abnormal behavior, including the presence of gas, overconsolidation, or bimodal grain size distribution. The results indicate that an appropriate depth correction must be introduced into the published prediction equations in order to obtain reliable estimates of physical sediment properties for greater subsurface depths.     

The measurement of marine geothermal heat flow by a multipenetration probe with digital acoustic telemetry and insitu thermal conductivity

The design and use of a marine heat probe with capability for measuring thermal conductivity insitu with high accuracy, and providing digital acoustic transmission of data to the ship, is described. The instrument employs the violin bow strength member and parallel sensor string configuration suggested by C. R. B. Lister. Several hundred measurements have been made in the deep ocean on multipenetration or pogostick profiles using a 3 m probe and in deep inlets of western Canada using a 7 m probe. The insitu thermal conductivity technique using a calibrated heat pulse has been studied in detail through laboratory calibration of the probe in materials of known conductivity, through numerical models, and through comparison of insitu measurements with needle probe measurements on sediment cores taken from the same sites. The insitu technique permits a conductivity accuracy of better than ±5% with a recording time of 7 minutes following 7 minutes in the bottom to establish the geothermal gradient. The pulse heating is also more energy efficient than the conventional continuous heating technique.Contribution from the Earth Physics Branch No. 807.     

Geologic development and morphodynamics of Egmont Key, Florida

Egmont Key is a small, elongate island located on the huge ebb-tidal delta at the mouth of Tampa Bay, FL, USA. The multiple sets of intersecting beach/dune ridges that comprise the low-lying island indicate several periods of growth spaced between periods of erosion. The island has experienced considerable expansion and erosion during recorded history. The oldest of these ridges represents accumulation that took place about 1000 years before the present. Over the past century of well-documented change, there has been a general reduction in the area of the island as the result of extended periods of erosion punctuated by short accretion periods. The net change during this period has been a loss of approximately 40% of the area of the island. A 1-year, time-series monitoring of the Egmont shoreline during 1996–1997 showed sediment loss of 26 500 m³, while the annual average over the period of 1877–1996 was only 3360 m³. A single storm is responsible for most of this loss leading to the conclusion that the island is storm-dominated. Inferences from time intervals during which hurricanes took place support this conclusion. This island provides a major contrast in its coastal location, development and stratigraphy as compared to typical barrier islands. There is no underlying sediment deposited in shallow, paralic environments. The development of the island was lateral rather than having a vertical component through time, partly because of its relatively young age but also because of its position on a thick, ebb-tidal delta sand body.