ALBERT

Description: A program of geophysical research was carried out as a preliminary stage of study of the Santorini volcanic group. This area is of remarkable geothermal and volcanological interest, and the definition of a volcanological structural model is the starting point for an understanding of the local geodynamic processes. Gravity, magnetic and geoelectrical data proved that: (i) the core of the volcanic edifice consists of a sedimentary-metamorphic basement; (ii) the basement is tectonically disturbed and a linear tectonic system produces a graben-type structure in the middle part of the area.

Description: The internal shell of the cuttlefish, which acts as a rigid buoyancy tank, is structured to combine high compressive strength — since it must withstand the external hydrostatic pressure — with minimum weighT. The micro-architecture of cuttlebone has been examined by electron microscopy and the relevance of the structure to the mechanical duties required of the shellin vivo are briefly discussed. The inorganic calcareous structure is associated with an organic component which may act as a template for mineralization.

Description: The main objectives of the Fladen Ground Experiment (FLEX) 1976 were an investigation of the dynamics of the mixed layer and the development of the spring plankton bloom. A quantitative consideration of individual chemical parameters (nutrients, particulate nitrogen and phosphorus) showed it to be advantageous to divide the water column into several layers which are separated from one another by measured temperature gradients. Measurements of particulate matter (phosphorus and nitrogen) revealed two plankton blooms at the central station. The first one (21.4.-14.5.76) was much more extensive than the second one, since the limiting thermocline was at a depth of about 60 m. Silicate was consumed most rapidly during this bloom and almost completely exhausted. The second bloom (19.-30.5.76) produced concentrations of particulate matter which were almost as high as the first one but were limited in only a few meters' water depth by a secondary thermocline, which prevented an influx of nutrients. Nitrate was completely exhausted during the second bloom. A high degree of nutrient depletion in the mixed layer from 24.4.-29.4. and from 22.5.-27.5.76 make these periods appear well-suited for determination of uptake rates. These periods are characterized. by a parallel course of concentration curves in the upper water layers for all nutrients except ammonium, and by the absence of !arge short-term fluctuations. Thus, disturbances due to hydrodynamic effects were minimal. The effects of tidal changes were minimized by using daily averages of the various concentrations. However, from 9.5.-13.5.7 6 in the upper layer a relatively strong and rapid increase was observed in the concentrations of all nutrients, which can probably only be explained by hydrodynamic influences. The nitrogen and phosphorus budgets can only be approximately balanced without considering dissolved organic matter. The strong decrease in dissolved inorganic nutrients during the first plankton bloom is almost comple,tely compensated by the increase in particulate matter. Not considering hydrodynamic influences, deficits after the plankton bloom could be explained by the fact that dissolved organic substances, as weil as sedimentaty matter and zooplankton, either were not considered at all, or at least not quantitatively. The time periods from 2.-7.4. and from 21.4.-14.5.76 show no strong short-term fluctuations in the nitrogen and phosphorus budgets and appear most suitable for calculations of mass fluxes, uptake and production rates, since biological-chemical processes seem to be dominant over hydrodynamic ones during these periods.