ALBERT

Description: Males of Eledone cirrhosa grow to a size little over 600 g and normally have well-developed, and presumably active, reproductive organs from about 200 g upwards. Total weight of the genital bag is well correlated with total body weight (r= 0·906). Growth of the testis precedes that of the spermatophoric sac, and the size of neither of these reproductive components is predictable from body weight. The sizes of these organs and the estimated number and length of stored spermatophores are given for 100 g intervals of total body weight. No evidence was obtained for a seasonal trend in male maturity.

Description: We present chemical data on magmatically heterogeneous pyroclastic deposits of late Quaternary age erupted from zoned magma systems underlying Tenerife (Canary Islands), Sao Miguel and Faial (Azores), and Vesuvius. The most fractionated magmas present at each centre are respectively Na-rich phonolite, trachyte, and K-rich phonolite. Within any one deposit, chemical variation is either accompanied by changes in the phenocryst assemblage (petrographic zonation) or is largely manifested in trace element abundances, unaccompanied by any petrographic change (occult zonation). Zoning is analogous to that in calc-alkaline systems where the most fractionated products are high-silica rhyolites. When a range of magma types are considered, a correlation emerges between roofward depletion of trace elements (especially REE) in the zoned system and compatability of those same trace elements in the accessory phenocryst phases present. Thus, allanite- or chevkinite-bearing rhyolitic systems are light-REE depleted roofwards, the sphene-bearing Tenerife system is middle-REE depleted roofwards, the melanite-bearing Vesuvius system is heavy-REE depleted roofwards, while the Azores systems, which lack these phases, display roofward REE enrichment. Therefore, the behaviour of trace elements may in each case be explained by fractionation of observed phenocryst assemblages. The resemblance between features of zoned magma systems and published work on the dynamic consequences of cooling saturated aqueous solutions prompts us to suggest that sidewall crystallization and consequent boundary-layer uprise to form a capping layer at top of the system may be a plausible mechanism for the generation of both petrographic and occult zonation. Reverse zoning occurs among the first-erupted tephra of some deposits, demonstrating that the most highly differentiated magma available is not always the first to be tapped during an eruption from a zoned system.

Description: Female Eledone cirrhosa held in aquarium conditions for periods of time of five daysand over show relatively enlarged ovary sizes. Values for ovary index considerably exceed thoseof freshly caught animals and the incidence of the final stage of maturity, in which eggs pack the oviducts, is greater. A comparison of maturity indices for fresh and aquarium males was inconclusive. The range of factors associated with aquarium conditions is briefly reviewed and it is concluded that studies of cephalopod reproductive maturation must distinguish fresh and aquarium animals. Introduction External factors effective in inducing sexual maturation in cephalopods have been suggested several times. The influence of the absence of light has been implicated since the experiments of Wells & Wells (1959) showed that blinded Octopus vulgar is matured precociously. An effect of short day length in stimulating the optic glands of Sepia has been found by Defretin & Richard (1967) and Richard (1967) but this is not clearly the case for Octopus (Buckley, 1977). Octopuses kept in aquarium conditions for lengthy periods are said to have larger relative gonad sizes than those fresh from the sea (Wells & Wells, 1975). One of the factors associated with aquarium conditions is often a degree of starvation, and this circumstance alone is held to be a factor in inducing precocious sexual maturation in Eledone (Mangold & Boucher-Rodoni, 1973). In the course of recent studies on the growth and reproduction of Eledone cirrhosa from the North Sea (Boyle & Knobloch, 1982,1983,1984) animals which had remained in aquarium conditions for 5 days or over were separated from the analysis.

Description: A new species of a monogenean Isancistrum subulatae (Gyrodactylidae) has been discovered on the arms and tentacles of the cephalopod mollusc Alloteuthis subulata at Plymouth and I. loliginis, on the gills of the same host, has been re-discovered for the first time since its original description in 1912. I. subulatae, like other gyrodactylids, is viviparous, and has been shown by experiments to transfer to new hosts by contagion. In nature such transfers probably take place during copulation of the hosts and since the parasite may occur in numbers of several thousands per host, it may thereby constitute a venereal disease.

Description: The planktonic foraminifer Globigerinoides sacculifer (Brady) was cultured under two different light intensities and in continuous darkness. High light intensity (HLI = 4oo-soo einsteins/m2/s) resulted in a longer lifespan, a greater number of chambers formed, and a larger final shell size compared with individuals cultured under low light intensity (LLI = 20-50 einsteins/m2/s) or in continuous darkness. Shell growth rates were unaffected by increasing light intensity, but gametogenesis was delayed. Continuous darkness induced a rapid onset of gametogenesis in organisms with shell lengths larger than 250 m. Feeding frequency had a greater effect on growth and reproduction than light intensity under conditions of LLI and HLI, but continuous darkness had an overriding effect on growth and reproduction owing to the rapid onset of gametogenesis which terminated the life of the mother cell. Our previous data indicated that the longevity of G. sacculifer was dependent on feeding frequency, and that G. sacculifer cultured under LLI had a lifespan of approximately 2-4 weeks. Present results suggest that the lifespan can vary from a minimum of 8 days for organisms fed daily in continuous darkness to a maximum of 54 days for organisms fed once every 7 days and maintained in HLI. It is concluded that individual G. sacculifer attain a shell size greater than 6oo ,urn only if they maintain their position in the euphotic zone. Prolonged existence below the euphotic zone would result in premature death or gametogenesis following stunted shell growth.

Description: Symbiotic luminous bacteria have been described in, and cultured from, a number of species offish and cephalopod. Indeed only in these two groups are extracellular luminous bacteria believed to be utilized as a source of light (see Buchner (1965) and Herring (1978) for references). Despite several earlier investigations of such symbioses in cephalopods the bacteria in these animals have not been adequately identified, nor has the extent of their role been clarified. The ultrastructural relationships between bacteria and the tissues of the squid accessory nidamental gland have been investigated in the non-luminous species Loligo pealei (Lesueur) (Bloodgood, 1977) and Sepia officinalis L. (Van den Branden et al. 1979) but no comparative work on luminous species has been undertaken apart from that on Heteroteuthis dispar (Rüppell), whose photophore does not contain typical luminous bacteria (Dilly & Herring, 1978; cf. Leisman, Cohn & Nealson, 1980). The order Sepioidea contains five families, among which are the two families Sepiolidae and Spirulidae. Though the presence of luminous bacteria is known in some sepiolids (as well as in certain loliginids (order Teuthoidea)) some doubt remains about the source of light in the photophore of Spirula spirula Hoyle. The steady luminescence of this species has prompted speculation that bacteria may be involved (Harvey, 1952). In this paper we compare the anatomy and ultrastructure of the photophores of both Sepiola and Spirula in order to clarify some of these problems.

Description: Tracking a balloon with a single ship-based theodolite, is a method which has been used for a long time to determine the wind profile over the sea. There are two main sources of error: (a) the incorrect estimate of the height of the balloon and (b) the pitch and roll motions of the ship. In this paper the effects of both errors are investigated. The ship's motion is simulated with use of a transformation from a fixed (earth) to a moving (ship) coordinate system. Some examples are presented to illustrate the magnitude of these effects.

Description: During the 1971 "Meteor" survey of the Mediterranean Outflow, seven current meter moorings were deployed and several hydrographic stations executed. The time series data from almost all the current meters revealed a solitary increase in temperature with an amplitude of ≃ 1 °C and a duration of 2-4 days. The present analysis of the event shows that it was due to a thickening of the Mediterranean Outflow and an increase in the volume transport. The origin of the event is traced to the source of the Outflow from where it propagated with a speed of 16 cm s-1. Coinciding with the time at which the event passed the Strait of Gibraltar, the cross channel water level difference revealed an anomalous variation of about 8-cm amplitude and 3-day duration. Through conversion the magnitude of this fluctuation is now shown to simply a significant increase in the Outflow volume transport. An investigation of the reigning meteorological conditions indicates that, simultaneously, an impulse of water in the Alboran Sea was transported westwards by the wind. Through a qualitative and quantitative approach, the atmospheric forcing of the Western Mediterranean is thus linked to a large variation in the Outflow structure.

Description: On a cruise from the eastern into the western Mediterranean Sea in November/December 1978 a total of 126 samples were collected from 8 vertical profiles and 7 coastal stations for trace metal analysis. The sampling, processing and analysis was performed under strict "clean room" conditions. The concentration of the open-sea samples are close to oceanic results gathered under similar conditions. The grand averages from all profiles ( ± st. dev. of the individual samples) of 0.40 ± 0.16 µg l-1 Zn, 17.4 ± 7.4 ng l-1 Cd, 0.21 ± 0.07 µg l-1 Cu, 0.21 ± 0.13 µg l-1 Mn and 0.25 ± 0.09 μg l-1 Fe indicate that a "metal problem" does not exist in the open Mediterranean. A biologically mediated depletion in surface waters or correlation with nutrients have not been observed under the conditions established on this cruise. This is probably due to low primary production and seasonal advection processes prevailing in this sea. The data for manganese show generally higher values in the surface layer (0-75 m) than in deep waters. This could evidently proved in the nearshore profile indicating a terrigenous source for manganese.

Description: In general the natural aerosol reacts very sensitively to the change of relative humidity. This behaviour could be observed from August to September during the Atlantic "Meteor" -Expedition 1965, but not during the periods January to May 1969 and July to August 1974. There are some reasons for the assumption that this is an effect of organic material in the surfaces of the particles. But we do not know if this is an effect of different seasons or of increasing pollution of the atmospheric aerosol.

Description: From 27 Janua1y to 23 June 1979 R. V. "Meteor" surveyed the central equatorial Atlantic on a section along 22° W from 3° N to 2° S. During the observation period, a hydrographic section down to 600 m was repeated ten times with a continuous "Howaldt-Bathysonde" CTD and a rosette sampler. The station distance was 10 to 15 nm. The water samples were used to recalibrate salinity and to determine oxygen, nutrients and chlorophyll a. An undulating CTD system ("Delphin") was towed on 11 sections. A profiling distance of one to two nautical miles and a profile depth of 90 m was obtained. Five current meter arrays were moored along 22° W between 3° N and 1° S from January to March 1979. In May and June two moorings were installed at 2° N and at the equator. On the buoys measurements of wind speed and direction were obtained. At 43 stations a wire-guided Aanderaa profiling current meter was successfully lowered. Drifting buoy experiments were repeated three times with clusters of 5 to 10 buoys. A fourth experiment took place in 1978 in the Gulf of Guinea. On the way from and to port XBT sections were carried out. The data sets obtained by these instruments are presented in this data report.

Description: Five reflection seismic profiles from the borderland between Messina Abyssal Plain and Malta Ridge (= Medina Rise), recorded during "Meteor" cruise no. 50 in 1978, are described. The subbottom/bottom structures are interpreted as a pattern of broad grabens and intercalated SW-NE striking narrow horsts. Within the grabens great thicknesses of Messinian evaporites as well as of Quaternary turbiditic sediments, depending on the respective differential sinking, were accumulated. Some of the horsts rise above the surrounding seafloor. Ontop of the horsts, being mainly composed of pre-Messinian series, only little or no evaporites at all were deposited. The cover of Quaternary sediments depends on the position of the horst with respect to the seafloor. The thickness of Pliocene sediments is constant within the whole studied area. The authors conclude from the observations that the pattern of horsts and grabens acted already during Messinian time producing the variable thickness of the evaporite layer. The relative movements between grabens and horsts as well as a general sinking of the whole area must have acted also in Pliocene and Quaternary time.

Description: Three sediment cores from the continental shelf and slope off NW Africa (Banc d'Arguin; 52 m, 665 m, and 973 m water depth) have been investigated by means of a coarse fraction analysis. The two shallower cores have been deposited during less than 10,000 years, the deeper one during the last 36,000 years. The Holocene sedimentation (〈 4000 years) in the deeper part of core 79 from the edge of the Banc d'Arguin is strongly influenced by reworking of Late Glacial dune sands and biogenic particles from shallower water (〈 40 m), as well as eroding current influence. A decrease in grain size of silicate material and a decrease in lateral supply, correlated to a doubling of accumulation rates in the upper part of the core, indicates a more autochthonous sedimentation with less sorting influence in the youngest Holocene. In core 86 from 665 m water depth a turbidite consisting mainly of silicate sand and silt separates two layers of autochthonous Holocene sediments. This turbidite shows a complete bioturbational mixing, only at its bottom the original bedding can be detected. Gradational changes in sediment composition indicate the decreasing admixture of allochthonous material from the bottom of the turbidite in 300 cm to about 140 (100) cm core depth. The depth of provenance of the allochthonous material can be assumed in 100-300 m water depth as indicated by various biogenous particles. Small amounts of shallow water particles in the autochthonous layers indicate a supply from shallow water, which probably occurred by the mechanism of "particle by particle supply". None of the three cores indicates upwelling influence, although oceanographers found intense upwelling in the area of the Banc d'Arguin. The Holocene climate in that area probably has been arid, small variations in terrigenous matter composition and grain size in the Early Holocene might be due to decreased wind strength or to an increase in rain fall. The Peak Glacial section (14,000-22,000 y.B.P.) of the deepest core 88 indicates a very much intensified eolian silt supply and an additional bottom supply of quartz sand. In the interval 22,000-36,000 y.B.P. wind strength decreased, but probably no increase in humidity occurred. So this area in about 19° 40' N had an arid climate in the Late Holocene and in the Peak Glacial. The fragmentation of planktonic foraminifers and the abundance of aragonitic tests of pteropods in core 88 indicate an Early Holocene (8330 y.B.P.) preservation spike. Two minima in fragmentation correlated to maxima in pteropod content at about 15,700 and 21,000 y.B.P. are correlated to maxima in shallow water supply and thus do not reflect preservation conditions, but only lateral supply from the carbonate dissolution minimum zone in about 300 m water depth.

Description: 86 sediment cores retrieved from water depths greater than 500 m off NW Africa between 12° and 28° N, were investigated by means of X-ray radiographs. Biogenic sedimentary structures occupy more than 90% of the examined area of sediment sections with the remaining 2% being turbidites and 8% slump masses. More than 20 types of lebensspuren can be distinguished. Most of them correspond to ichnogenera known from the fossil record: Chondrites, Corophioides, Helminthopsis, Lophoctenium, Planolites, Scolicia, Skolithos) Teichichnus) Thalassinoides) Trichichnus and Zoophycos. The observations are "uniformitarian" with respect to the lebensspuren encountered. Nevertheless, fossil counterparts to our sediments are not known, because (i) similar sedimentation processes at present are restricted to small areas, (ii) all of them are situated on passive continental margins, which are rarely preserved in the fossil record, and (iii) biogenic structures in silty marlstones are normally not very conspicuous in the fossil state. The sediments are highly bioturbated; in most cases biogenic reworking occurs repeatedly. The behaviour of the infaunal organisms and thus the formation of lebensspuren depends from the nutrient supply: In sediments with Corg greater than 2% only biodeformational structures are observed, while with Corg lower than 2% lebensspuren predominate. The lebensspuren inventory was found to be systematically arranged in a number of "bioturbation levels" below the sediment surface. With increasing sediment depth, a higher specialisation in the behaviour of the fauna is observed. Moreover, in each group of lebensspuren, the diameter decreases. The following levels are established: i. Level with biologically homogenized sediment, ii. Scolicia level (tubes, 2-4 cm diameter), iii. Planolites level tubes, 1 cm diameter), iv. level with small burrows of Chondrites) Helminthopsis (tube systems, 1-3 mm diameter) and spreiten burrows of Corophioides) Lophoctenium) and Teichichnus, v. Zoophycos level (spreiten burrows). With increasing water depth, the thickness of the bioturbated sediment decreases from 80 cm at 500 m to 40-60 cm at 2000 m and 15-25 cm at 4750 m. Based on the levels, biogenic sedimentary structures are grouped into "associations" having ecological significance. The following associations are established: (1) biodeformational association dominating in sediments with Corg greater than 2% ; (2) Scolicia association, (3) Planolites association [(2) and (3) depend on the sediment grain size: (2) in sediments with high content of silicate particles 〉 20 μm, (3) in sediments with clay content 〉 50%] ; ( 4) Vertical spreiten association, (5) Chondrites association, (6) Zoophycos association [( 4) through ( 6) predominate in glacial sediments, (4) in water depth about 1000 m, (5) below 1000 m, and (6) between 2000 and 4000 m]. The formation of different biogenic sedimentary structures and thus the distribution of lebensspuren associations depends on the environmental conditions. Generally, the diversity of lebensspuren is higher in glacial than interglacial sediments. This phenomenon is attributed to a higher rate of Corg accumulation and preservation in glacial sediments, possibly because of changes in the circulation of water masses. The sediments become mixed in different style by different lebensspuren types. Because biogenic reworking is - as a rule - repeated several times, the vertical mixing effect is considerable, though difficult to estimate. Stratigraphic resolution is optimal in core sections with Scolicia, where vertical mixing is restricted. Here stratigraphic resolution reaches an accuracy of about 200-300 years where the sedimentation rate is 10-20 cm/1000 years.

Description: The terrigenous sediment proportion of the deep-sea sediments from off Northwest Africa has been studied in order to distinguish between the aeolian and the fluvial sediment supply. The present and fossil Saharan dust trajectories were recognized from the distribution patterns of the aeolian sediment. The following time slices have been investigated: Present, 6,000, 12,000 and 18,000 y.B.P. Futhermore, the quantity of dust deposited off the Saharan coast has been estimated. For this purpose, 80 surface sediment samples and 34 sediment cores have been analysed. The stratigraphy of the cores has been achieved from oxygen isotopic curves, 14 C-dating, foraminiferal transfer temperatures, and carbonate contents. Silt sized biogenic opal generally accounts for less than 2% of the total insoluble sediment proportion. Only under productive upwelling waters and off river mouths, the opal proportion exceeds 2% significantly. The modern terrigenous sediment from off the Saharan coast is generally characterized by intensely stained quartz grains. They indicate an origin from southern Saharan and Sahelian laterites, and a zonal aeolian transport in midtropospheric levels, between 1.5 and 5.5 km, by "Harmattan" Winds. The dust particles follow large outbreaks of Saharan air across the African coast between 15° and 21° N. Their trajectories are centered at about 18° N and continue further into a clockwise gyre situated south of the Canary Islands. This course is indicated by a sickle-shaped tongue of coarser grain sizes in the deep-sea sediment. Such loess-sized terrigenous particles only settle within a zone extending to 700 km offshore. Fine silt and clay sized particles, with grain sizes smaller than 10-15 μm, drift still further west and can be traced up to more than 4,000 km distance from their source areas. Additional terrigenous silt which is poor in stained quartz occurs within a narrow zone off the western Sahara between 20° and 27° N only. It depicts the present dust supply by the trade winds close to the surface. The dust load originates from the northwestern Sahara, the Atlas Mountains and coastal areas, which contain a particularly low amount of stained quartz. The distribution pattern of these pale quartz sediments reveals a SSW-dispersal of dust being consistent with the present trade wind direction from the NNE. In comparison to the sediments from off the Sahara and the deeper subtropical Atlantic, the sediments off river mouths, in particular off the Senegal river, are characterized by an additional input of fine grained terrigenous particles (〈 6 μm). This is due to fluvial suspension load. The fluvial discharge leads to a relative excess of fine grained particles and is observed in a correlation diagram of the modal grain sizes of terrigenous silt with the proportion of fine fraction (〈 6 μm). The aeolian sediment contribution by the Harmattan Winds strongly decreased during the Climatic Optimum at 6,000 y.B.P. The dust discharge of the trade winds is hardly detectable in the deep-sea sediments. This probably indicates a weakened atmospheric circulation. In contrast, the fluvial sediment supply reached a maximum, and can be traced to beyond Cape Blanc. Thus, the Saharan climate was more humid at 6,000 y.B.P. A latitudinal shift of the Harmattan driven dust outbreaks cannot be observed. Also during the Glacial, 18,000 y.B.P., Harmattan dust transport crossed the African coast at latitudes of 15°-20° N. Its sediment load increased intensively, and markedly coarser grains spread further into the Atlantic Ocean. An expanded zone of pale-quartz sediments indicates an enhanced dust supply by the trade winds blowing from the NE. No synglacial fluvial sediment contribution can be recognized between 12° and 30° N. This indicates a dry glacial climate and a strengthened atmospheric circulation over the Sahelian and Saharan region. The climatic transition phase, at 12,000 y.B.P., between the last Glacial and the Interglacial, which is comparable to the Allernd in Europe, is characterized by an intermediate supply of terrigenous particles. The Harmattan dust transport was weaker than during the Glacial. The northeasterly trade winds were still intensive. River supply reached a first postglacial maximum seaward of the Senegal river mouth. This indicates increasing humidity over the southern Sahara and a weaker atmospheric circulation as compared to the Glacial. The accumulation rates of the terrigenous silt proportion (〉 6 μm) decrease exponentially with increasing distance from the Saharan coast. Those of the terrigenous fine fraction (〈 6 μm) follow the same trend and show almost similar gradients. Accordingly, also the terrigenous fine fraction is believed to result predominantly from aeolian transport. In the Atlantic deep-sea sediments, the annual terrigenous sediment accumulation has fluctuated, from about 60 million tons p.a. during the Late Glacial (13,500-18,000 y.B.P., aeolian supply only) to about 33 million tons p.a. during the Holocene Climatic Optimum (6,000-9,000 y.B.P., mainly fluvial supply), when the river supply has reached a maximum, and to about 45 million tons p.a. during the last 4,000 years B.P. (fluvial supply only south of 18° N).

Description: Along the Sierra Leone continental shelf edge, bedded rocks, presumably mostly calcareous sandstone, calcarenites and siltstones form exposures up to 10 km long in water depths ranging from 80 to 110 m. These outcrops are found in a 6 km broad zone along the shelf edge; landward they get covered by recent shelf sands. Their apparent strike direction parallds the shelf edge indicating nearly horizontal bedding which locally is interrupted by faulting. On the middle shelf, a terrace is well developed at a water depth of 56 m. Ripples, megaripples, pockmarks 1-5 m in diameter, and canyon-heads form other significant features of the shelf.

Description: The sediments of a 10.67 m long piston core recovered from the Sierra Leone Rise ("Meteor" Core 13519) have been analysed for their paleomagnetic properties. Using detailed demagnetization techniques, the geomagnetic Brunhes/Matuyama boundary could be identified between 9.81 and 9.89 m sub-bottom. This is in excellent agreement with the oxygen isotope stratigraphy by SARNTHEIN et al., this volume. Down to this level, therefore, the average apparent accumulation rate amounts to 13.5 m/m.y. assuming an age of 0.73 m.y. for the reversal boundary (BERGGREN et al. 1983). A second transition in magnetization polarity was recognized between 10.51 and 10.54 m sub-bottom. According to its magnetic signature it was tentatively correlated to the beginning of the Jaramillo event (0.98 m.y.). This would imply that in the lowermost part of the core the apparent accumulation rate decreases to less than 20% of that found in the upper sequences. However, as obviously only a small portion of the Jaramillo event is recorded in the sediment column, a more plausible solution is to keep the overall sedimentation rate about constant by introducing a hiatus of some 2·105 years shortly after the lower Jaramillo/Matuyama reversal boundary. Alternative interpretations are also discussed.

Description: From a 10.7 m long gravity core from the Sierra Leone Rise (5° 39,5' N, 19° 51'W) a detailed oxygen and carbon isotope record of both planktonic and benthonic foraminifera species was obtained extending from the Recent to the Jaramillo event. The analysis yielded six major results. 1. Benthos oxygen isotopes varied by 1.8-2.2‰ from interglacial to glacial times and may indicate a synglacial cooling of North Atlantic Deep Water at 2800 m depth by 1-3° C. 2. Variable anomalies between the benthos and plankton δ18 O record indicate a cooling of sea-surface temperatures (SST) by up to 6° C during some glacial stages. 3. Southerly trade winds and equatorial upwelling may exert the primary control of SST variations, in particular of extreme values of cold and warm stages and of the abrupt character of climate transitions and their leads and lags, and finally, of variable sedimentation rates. 4. The benthos δ13C record correlates well with the flux and preservation of organic matter. 5. A new time scale, CARPOR, was established from the assumption that terrigenous sediment supply was ± constant but CaC03 varied considerably. When applied to the δ18O record, three major and numerous short-term variations of sedimentation rates (0.8 to 4.0 cm/kyr) can be distinguished. 6. The climatic record was modified by bioturbation much more strongly during cold than during warm stages.

Description: Planktonic foraminiferal tests of the spinose species Orbulina universa, of the non-spinose Globorotalia tumida-menardii complex, and of a mixed species assemblage (grain size fraction 200-400 μm) were isolated from Sierra Leone Rise core 13 519-2 and analyzed for free, total, and bound (by difference) amino acids to study the isoleucine epimerization mechanism in fossil foraminiferal tests and to define empirical calibration curves for dating deep-sea sediments over the past 900,000 years. Total isoleucine epimerization curves typically separate into three "linear" segments of decreasing apparent rates with increasing time and exhibit a pronounced "species effect". The degree of epimerization attained at time is considerably lower in 0. universa than in G. tumida-menardii while the mixed species results scatter between the limits delineated by the two monospecific curves. Total allo/iso ratios are closely related to the proportion of free to total isoleucine accumulating in the tests indicating that the rate of hydrolysis of matrix proteins and peptides controls the overall epimerization reaction. The results are consistent with experimental evidence (KRIAUSAKUL & M1TTERER 1978, 1980 a, b) whereupon isoleucine epimerizes at a rapid rate in terminal positions but at slow rates in interior positions as well as in the free state. Notwithstanding free isoleucine exhibits the highest degree of epimerization due to preferential hydrolysis of extensively epimerized terminal isoleucine. Species-specific hydrolysis and epimerization rates are maintained until about 50% of bound isoleucine have been hydrolyzed to the free state corresponding to a total allo/iso ratio of about 0.5. Remaining peptide units appear to be more resistent against hydrolysis and separate species then show the same apparent epimerization rate dominantly controlled by the slow conversion rate in the free state until equilibrium is achieved in Miocene samples under deep-ocean temperature conditions (KING & HARE 1972 a). The degree of epimerization attained at comparable time in separate species will, however, remain different due to different initial rates of hydrolysis. Selective leaching of free isoleucine from the tests results in a lowering of total allo/iso ratios and apparent rate constants when significant amounts have been generated by diagenetic hydrolysis. Comparison with results based on Pacific core V 28-238 (KING & NEVILLE 1977) indicates an inverse relationship between the intensity of surficial carbonate dissolution and post-depositional leaching. Tests deposited under less corrosive conditions (Atlantic core 13519-2) will more significantly deviate from a closed system during diagenesis than those deposited in more corrosive bottom waters (Pacific core V 28-238). Carbonate dissolution removes proteinaceous lamellae from more external shell structures, which otherwise - if preserved during deposition - will preferentially be subject to leaching of free amino acids during diagenesis. This effect may qualify the applicability of empirical epimerization calibration curves to different depositional environments although the general agreement of the epimerization curves obtained for both sites is promising for future research. Identical apparent epimerization rates in G. tumidamenardii tests younger than 120,000 years (when leaching is stiH insignificant) at both Atlantic and Pacific sites are not consistent with the presently different bottom water temperatures in these regions. It is concluded that glacial North Atlantic Deep Water was cooler than at the present at the Sierra Leone Rise.