The impact of salt water inflows on the distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the deep water of the Baltic Sea

Salt-water inflows into the Baltic Sea are important events for renewing the deep and bottom waters of the deep basins of the Baltic Sea. These events occur only at irregular intervals. The last strong event was in January 1993 followed by minor inflows in winter 1993/1994. As a result of these inflows, the deep water of the central Baltic basins was completely renewed.Based on extensive observations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in water, fluffy layer material and surface sediments between 1992 and 1998, the transformation of PAHs and the modification of their distribution in the Baltic deep water is discussed in connection with the spreading of the inflowing highly saline and oxygen-rich water along its pathway from the sills into the central basins. In the course of the inflows in 1993/1994, the PAH concentration in the deep water of the different basins increased significantly. The concentrations were elevated, at least by a factor of 2 and as much as seven to eight times (for the four-ring PAHs) compared to the previous and the following years. Two hypotheses for the causes were discussed: the inflowing salt water may have entrained more highly polluted surface water in the western Baltic Sea, or it may have entrained contaminated fluffy layer material or sediment particles along the route of transport.     

Trends in the solubility of iron,aluminium, manganese and phosphorus in aerosol collected over the Atlantic Ocean

The solubility of iron, aluminium, manganese and phosphorus has been determined in aerosol samples collected between 49°N and 52°S during three cruises conducted in the Atlantic Ocean as part of the European Union funded IRONAGES programme. Solubilities (defined at pH 4.7) determined for Fe and Al in samples of Saharan dust were significantly lower (medians 1.7% and 3.0%, respectively) than the solubilities of these metals in aerosols from other source regions (whole dataset medians 5.2% and 9.0%, respectively). Mn solubility also varied with aerosol source, but the median solubility of Mn in Saharan dust was very similar to the median for the dataset as a whole (55% and 56%, respectively). The observed solubility of aerosol P was ∼ 32%, with P solubility in Saharan aerosol perhaps as low as 10%. Laboratory studies have indicated that aerosol Fe solubility is enhanced by acid processing. No relationship could be found between Fe solubility and the concentrations of acid species (non-seasalt SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻) nor the net acidity of the aerosol, so we are unable to confirm that this process is significant in the atmosphere. In terms of the supply of soluble Fe to oceanic ecosystems on a global scale, the observed higher solubility for Fe in non-Saharan aerosols is probably not significant because the Sahara is easily the dominant source of Fe to the Atlantic. On a smaller scale however, higher solubility for aerosol Fe may alter our understanding of Fe cycling in regions such as the remote Southern Ocean.     

Molecular formulae of marine and terrigenous dissolved organic matter detected by electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry

The chemical structure of refractory marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is still largely unknown. Electrospray ionization Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (ESI FT-ICR-MS) was used to resolve the complex mixtures of DOM and provide valuable information on elemental compositions on a molecular scale. We characterized and compared DOM from two sharply contrasting aquatic environments, algal-derived DOM from the Weddell Sea (Antarctica) and terrigenous DOM from pore water of a tropical mangrove area in northern Brazil. Several thousand molecular formulas in the mass range of 300-600 Da were identified and reproduced in element ratio plots. On the basis of molecular elemental composition and double-bond equivalents (DBE) we calculated an average composition for marine DOM. O/C ratios in the marine samples were lower (0.36 ± 0.01) than in the mangrove pore-water sample (0.42). A small proportion of chemical formulas with higher molecular mass in the marine samples were characterized by very low O/C and H/C ratios probably reflecting amphiphilic properties. The average number of unsaturations in the marine samples was surprisingly high (DBE = 9.9; mangrove pore water: DBE = 9.4) most likely due to a significant contribution of carbonyl carbon. There was no significant difference in elemental composition between surface and deep-water DOM in the Weddell Sea. Although there were some molecules with unique marine elemental composition, there was a conspicuous degree of similarity between the terrigenous and algal-derived end members. Approximately one third of the molecular formulas were present in all marine as well as in the mangrove samples. We infer that different forms of microbial degradation ultimately lead to similar structural features that are intrinsically refractory, independent of the source of the organic matter and the environmental conditions where degradation took place.     

Dynamics and role of the Durban cyclonic eddy in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight ecosystem

The semi-permanent Durban Eddy is a mesoscale, lee-trapped, cold-core cyclonic circulation that occurs off the east coast of South Africa between Durban in the north and Sezela, some 70 km to the south. When present, strong north-eastward countercurrents reaching 100 cm s^–1 are found inshore. It is hypothesised that the cyclone is driven by the strong south-westward flowing Agulhas Current offshore of the regressing shelf edge near Durban. Analysis of ADCP data and satellite imagery shows the eddy to be present off Durban approximately 55% of the time, with an average lifespan of 8.6 days, and inter-eddy periods of 4 to 8 days. After spin-up the eddy breaks loose from its lee position and propagates downstream on the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current. The eddy is highly variable in occurrence, strength and downstream propagation speeds. There is no detectable seasonal cycle in eddy occurrence, with the Natal Pulse causing more variability than any seasonal signal. A thermistor array deployed in the eddy centre, together with ship CTD data, indicates upward doming of the thermal structure in the eddy core associated with cooler water and nutrients being moved higher in the water column, stimulating primary production. Together with the use of satellite imagery, our findings indicate a second mechanism of upwelling, viz. divergent upwelling in the northern limb of the eddy. Satellite-tracked surface drifters released in the eddy demonstrated the potential for nutrient-rich eddy water to be transported northwards along the inshore regions of the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Bight, thus contributing to the functioning of the bight ecosystem, as well as southwards along the KZN and Transkei coasts – both by the eddy migrating downstream and by eddy water being recirculated into the inshore boundary of the Agulhas Current itself.     

Sharks caught in the KwaZulu-Natal bather protection programme,South Africa. 14. The smooth hammerhead shark Sphyrna zygaena (Linnaeus)

The current study provides long-term catch-rate, biological and feeding data for smooth hammerhead sharks, Sphyrna zygaena, caught in South Africa’s KwaZulu-Natal bather protection programme. In total, 2 512 S. zygaena were caught in net installations between 1978 and 2014, and 72 S. zygaena were caught on drumlines between 2007 and 2014. There was no significant log-linear year trend in the net catch rate over time (slope = 0.0054, t = 1.808, p = 0.07). However, there was a significant temporal increase in mean size of the captured sharks (slope = 0.0012, t = 3.502, p < 0.001). A quasi-Poisson generalised additive mixed model showed that increasing latitude, winter months, colder sea temperatures and the deployment of drumlines all had a significant positive effect on the catch rate of sharks in nets. The size frequency of the catch was unimodal, with significantly more females caught in the nets and more males on the drumlines. The majority (93.1%) of all sharks caught were immature and measured between 80 and 120 cm precaudal length. Teleosts and cephalopods dominated the sharks’ diet in terms of all dietary indices. The prey species consumed indicate that immature S. zygaena are feeding primarily within the pelagic zone of shallow coastal habitats.     

A measurement of the O2 ultra-violet nightglow emission

New measurements of the Herzberg I emission height profile in the night airglow are reported and indicate a peak emission height near 96 km in agreement with previous measurements. Using an atomic oxygen concentration profile determined from the oxygen green line profile measured on the same rocket it is concluded that the O₂(A³Σ_u⁺) state is not excited in the direct three body recombination of atomic oxygen. It is suggested that the excitation mechanism is a two step process, similar to the Barth mechanism for the atomic oxygen green lineand that the excited intermediate state is C³Δ_u.     

Diet and gill morphology of the East Coast redeye round herring Etrumeus wongratanai off KwaZulu-Natal,South Africa

Stomach content analyses and measurements of gillraker morphology were used to assess the diet and feeding ecology of the East Coast redeye round herring Etrumeus wongratanai and provide data for comparisons with other small pelagic fishes off South Africa. Samples were collected by jigging from a kayak off Scottburgh, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), over the period July 2013–May 2014. In total, 66 stomachs (containing 4 407 prey items) and 66 gill arches were examined. Stomach content analyses indicated that East Coast redeye round herring, at the time of sampling, fed on large (1 500–2 500?µm) particles, with ～2 500?µm particles making the greatest contribution to dietary carbon. The species feeds on larger particles than do anchovy Engraulis encrasicolus and sardine Sardinops sagax, but on particles of a similar size to those consumed by West Coast redeye round herring Etrumeus whiteheadi. There were significant differences in mean gillraker gaps between East Coast redeye round herring and both sardine and anchovy, but not between East Coast and West Coast redeye round herring. The differences in gillraker gaps between East Coast redeye round herring, sardine and anchovy are indicative of resource partitioning through differential feeding, based on zooplankton size. The data suggest that there is no resource partitioning between East and West coast redeye round herring, indicating that competition is likely to occur between them. However, such competition is minimised by limited spatial overlap between these two species.     

The influence of central black holes on gravitational lenses

Recent observations indicate that many if not all galaxies host massive central black holes. In this paper we explore the influence of black holes on the lensing properties. We model the lens as an isothermal ellipsoid with a finite core radius plus a central black hole. We show that the presence of the black hole substantially changes the critical curves and caustics. If the black hole mass is above a critical value, then it will completely suppress the central images for all source positions. Realistic central black holes are likely to have masses below this critical value. Even in such subcritical cases, the black hole can suppress the central image when the source is inside a zone of influence, which depends on the core radius and black hole mass. In the subcritical cases, an additional image may be created by the black hole in some regions, which for some radio lenses may be detectable with high-resolution and large dynamic range VLBI maps. The presence of central black holes should also be taken into account when one constrains the core radius from the lack of central images in gravitational lenses.     

Quantification of Long-Range Persistence in Geophysical Time Series: Conventional and Benchmark-Based Improvement Techniques

Time series in the Earth Sciences are often characterized as self-affine long-range persistent, where the power spectral density, S, exhibits a power-law dependence on frequency, f, S(f) ~ f ^?β , with β the persistence strength. For modelling purposes, it is important to determine the strength of self-affine long-range persistence β as precisely as possible and to quantify the uncertainty of this estimate. After an extensive review and discussion of asymptotic and the more specific case of self-affine long-range persistence, we compare four common analysis techniques for quantifying self-affine long-range persistence: (a) rescaled range (R/S) analysis, (b) semivariogram analysis, (c) detrended fluctuation analysis, and (d) power spectral analysis. To evaluate these methods, we construct ensembles of synthetic self-affine noises and motions with different (1) time series lengths N = 64, 128, 256, …, 131,072, (2) modelled persistence strengths β _model = ?1.0, ?0.8, ?0.6, …, 4.0, and (3) one-point probability distributions (Gaussian, log-normal: coefficient of variation c _v = 0.0 to 2.0, Levy: tail parameter a = 1.0 to 2.0) and evaluate the four techniques by statistically comparing their performance. Over 17,000 sets of parameters are produced, each characterizing a given process; for each process type, 100 realizations are created. The four techniques give the following results in terms of systematic error (bias = average performance test results for β over 100 realizations minus modelled β) and random error (standard deviation of measured β over 100 realizations): (1) Hurst rescaled range (R/S) analysis is not recommended to use due to large systematic errors. (2) Semivariogram analysis shows no systematic errors but large random errors for self-affine noises with 1.2 ≤ β ≤ 2.8. (3) Detrended fluctuation analysis is well suited for time series with thin-tailed probability distributions and for persistence strengths of β ≥ 0.0. (4) Spectral techniques perform the best of all four techniques: for self-affine noises with positive persistence (β ≥ 0.0) and symmetric one-point distributions, they have no systematic errors and, compared to the other three techniques, small random errors; for anti-persistent self-affine noises (β < 0.0) and asymmetric one-point probability distributions, spectral techniques have small systematic and random errors. For quantifying the strength of long-range persistence of a time series, benchmark-based improvements to the estimator predicated on the performance for self-affine noises with the same time series length and one-point probability distribution are proposed. This scheme adjusts for the systematic errors of the considered technique and results in realistic 95 % confidence intervals for the estimated strength of persistence. We finish this paper by quantifying long-range persistence (and corresponding uncertainties) of three geophysical time series—palaeotemperature, river discharge, and Auroral electrojet index—with the three representing three different types of probability distribution—Gaussian, log-normal, and Levy, respectively.