ALBERT

Beschreibung: Consisting of more than 150 articles written by leading experts, this authoritative reference encompasses the entire field of solid-earth geophysics. It describes in detail the state of current knowledge, including advanced instrumentation and techniques, and focuses on important areas of exploration geophysics. It also offers clear and complete coverage of seismology, geodesy, gravimetry, magnetotellurics and related areas in the adjacent disciplines of physics, geology, oceanography and space science.

Beschreibung: A collection of cephalopods from the British Antarctic Survey’s Offshore Biological Programme is described and the cephalopod prey of vertebrate predators at South Georgia is reviewed. Comparison of these data indicates that predators catch larger specimens and a greater diversity of species than nets. There are also differences between samples from different types of net. The RMT 25, the largest research net used to date, has caught most of the species thought to occur in the Scotia Sea but specimens are generally smaller than those taken by predators. Cephalopods which are thought to have potential commercial value are Martialia hyadesi, Kondakovia longimana, Moroteuthis ingens, M. knipovitchi, M. robsoni and Gonatus antarcticus. Other possibilities include species of brachioteuthid, psychroteuthid and neoteuthid. It is likely that Antarctic stocks will be sensitive to exploitation and liable to dramatic fluctuations if overfished. The possible consequences of commercial exploitation of cephalopods for the reproductive success of the vertebrate predators, which prey on cephalopods in the Scotia Sea, are examined.

Beschreibung: Antarctic petrels (Thalassoica antarctica) brooding young chicks at Scullin Monolith (67°7′S, 66°42′E), Antarctica, fed fish and crustaceans (87% and 13%, respectively, on a mass basis) to their young. Amounts of solids fed were equivalent to 6.6% of the body mass of adult birds with an empty stomach. The prey comprised species known to occur in the surface layers of the Antarctic ocean in the east wind drift, such as Pleuragramma antarcticum, Notolepis coatsi and Euphausia superba, consistent with the surface feeding habits of Antarctic petrels.

Beschreibung: The investigation on the geology of the Sierra Leone Rise contains seismic, petrographic and sedimentological data from the Soviet expedition of R/V »Professor Shtokman«. New results on bottom relief and structure of the Sierra Leone Rise (SLR) are documented in Figs. 1–7. Detailled descriptions of dredge samples of trachyandesites, trachytes, trachyte tuffs, trachybasalts and their tuffs and their chemical composition (Tab. 2) together with the seismic structure of the SLR allow some assumptions on the age and origin of the Rise. The SLR is part of the equatorial Atlantic oceanic crust, that formed in the initial phase of break-up of Gondwana (110–80×106y). During the period 80–90×106 years, when volcanic eruptions were highly intensified in the area, major parts of the SLR have been formed. Some of the volcanic seamounts appeared as islands above sea-level in the Late Cretaceous/Paleocene: the magmatic rocks are more similar to ocean island basalt than to normal oceanic crust. Cenozoic sediments of the SLR reveal continuous sedimentation, which was controlled by surface water productivity, carbonate dissolution and terrigenous matter supply. The Eocene chert sedimentation phase was followed by a period of cyclic carbonate sedimentation. In the Neogene tectonic activity lead to vertical displacements. On several peaked seamounts coral reefs grew. The reef phase was followed by a sinking of the area. At the end of the Neogene the SLR became aseismic. The Late Quaternary sediment cover is studied by means of grab samples and sediment cores from various water depths. The main finding is varying CaCO3 content with depth and with time, controlled mainly by dissolution.

Beschreibung: The Quaternary Herchenberg composite tephra cone (East Eifel, FR Germany) with an original bulk volume of 1.17·107 m3 (DRE of 8.2·106 m3) and dimensions of ca. 900·600·90 m (length·width·height) erupted in three main stages: (a) Initial eruptions along a NW-trending, 500-m-long fissure were dominantly Vulcanian in the northwest and Strombolian in the southeast. Removal of the unstable, underlying 20-m-thick Tertiary clays resulted in major collapse and repeated lateral caving of the crater. The northwestern Lower Cone 1 (LC1) was constructed by alternating Vulcanian and Strombolian eruptions. (b) Cone-building, mainly Strombolian eruptions resulted in two major scoria cones beginning initially in the northwest (Cone 1) and terminating in the southeast (Cones 2 and 3) following a period of simultaneous activity of cones 1 and 2. Lapilli deposits are subdivided by thin phreatomagmatic marker beds rich in Tertiary clays in the early stages and Devonian clasts in the later stages. Three dikes intruded radially into the flanks of cone 1. (c) The eruption and deposition of fine-grained uppermost layers (phreatomagmatic tuffs, accretionary lapilli, and Strombolian fallout lapilli) presumably from the northwestern center (cone 1) terminated the activity of Herchenberg volcano. The Herchenberg volcano is distinguished from most Strombolian scoria cones in the Eifel by (1) small volume of agglutinates in central craters, (2) scarcity of scoria bomb breccias, (3) well-bedded tephra deposits even in the proximal facies, (4) moderate fragmentation of tephra (small proportions of both ash and coarse lapilli/bomb-size fraction), (5) abundance of dense ellipsoidal juvenile lapilli, and (6) characteristic depositional cycles in the early eruptive stages beginning with laterally emplaced, fine-grained, xenolith-rich tephra and ending with fallout scoria lapilli. Herchenberg tephra is distinguished from maar deposits by (1) paucity of xenoliths, (2) higher depositional temperatures, (3) coarser grain size and thicker bedding, (4) absence of glassy quenched clasts except in the initial stages and late phreatomagmatic marker beds, and (5) predominance of Strombolian, cone-building activity. The characteristics of Herchenberg deposits are interpreted as due to a high proportion of magmatic volatiles (dominantly CO2) relative to low-viscosity magma during most of the eruptive activity.

Beschreibung: The challenges of collecting, transporting, and maintaining healthy wild squids have been nearly as formidable as those of determining the structure and function of ion channels in squid giant axons. The differences are a matter of scale, not complexity. Careful perusal of the literature indicates clearly that failures have been the rule, especially with squids of the genus Loligo. It is an unfortunate fact that the vast majority of biomedical research on Loligo has been done on animals that were moribund when they were prepared for experiments. This was due in most cases to skin damage incurred during capture and transport from the field to the laboratory, and to the secondary infections that invariably followed immediately. Furthermore, the availability of live squids for research is limited seasonally because of the migratory behavior of these fast-swimming invertebrates. Thus any improvements in maintenance, rearing or culture will lead not only to greater availability to meet the demand from researchers, but hopefully to the provision of healthy squids for a wide range of experimentation.

Beschreibung: Because of the implications of shallow gas accumulations to drilling and the integrity of platform foundations, it is important to determine whether gas accumulations can be considered as effectively static, unchanging for the duration of offshore operations, or dynamic. Shallow gas is frequently seen in association with seabed features, such as mud lumps, gas domes and pockmarks. These are considered to have been caused by the escape of gas through the seabed, consequently it can be implied that gas has migrated to, and through, the seabed. This indicates that shallow gas is not static, but it does not suggest a time-scale over which migration occurs. Is shallow gas mobile on a geological or a human time-scale?

Beschreibung: Rates of protein synthesis in the whole body and tissues ofOctopus vulgaris collected in September 1985 and 1986 from the Bay of Naples were measured following a flooding dose injection of3H phenylalanine. There were stable phenylalanine free pool-specific radioactivities and linear incorporation of radiolabel into arm-tip protein from 10 to 30 min after the injection. In starved individuals there were no significant differences between the fractional rates of protein synthesis of the following tissues: ventricle, brain, branchial heart, arm tip, gill, stomach, arm, renal appendage and mantle. The mean value (± SE) for all the tissues was 3.02 ± 0.17% d−1. In individuals fed varying amounts of crab, resulting in differing growth rates, there was a linear increase in fractional rates of whole-body protein synthesis with growth rate. A standard 148 g octopus growing at 3.0% d−1 synthesised 0.54 g of protein, with 0.43 g of this protein retained as growth. The proportion of the total protein synthesis which was retained as growth increased with increasing growth rate; at a maximum growth rate of 6% d−1, over 90% of the protein synthesised was retained as growth. The ventricle, arm tip, gill, arm and mantle also showed similar patterns of a linear increase in fractional rates of protein synthesis with increased growth rates. The RNA concentrations in the whole body and tissues increased with increasing growth rates, but the major change was an increase in the efficiency of translation. It is concluded that rapid growth rates inO. vulgaris are brought about by high rates of protein synthesis and high efficiencies of retention of synthesised protein and, therefore, little protein degradation.

Beschreibung: Facies patterns within the Pleistocene reef terraces along the Red Sea coast exhibit lateral changes over short distances. These changes reflect either transitions within the depositional environment or they are related to minor or major sea level fluctuations. On the basis of quantitative distributions of biota in the field as well as in thin section it is possible to establish and map these lateral patterns. Important biota are framebuilders and secondary reef encrusters (foraminifers, coralline algae). Frequency distributions of sessile foraminifera and scleractinians are strikingly similar to those of the recent environment within diagenetically unaltered terraces. The marine reef terraces occur in different elevated levels above the present sea level. Morphological steps are caused by onlap during different sea levels, by tectonics, or by erosion during transgression. Although several morphological steps exist which obscure the terrace stratigraphy, only three reef units can be distinguished. Each unit exhibits a lateral facies development, which begins at the shore, covering the whole lagoonal facies and ends at the upper reef slope. Besides this lateral facies pattern vertical patterns occur as well, showing a transgressive sequence in the youngest (lower) and oldest (upper) unit and a regressive one in the middle unit. In top quality outcrops, like wadi sections, it is possible to differentiate within the youngest reef unit between three onlaping reef cycles. Such cycles, however, can not be seen in the middle and oldest formations. The three reef cycles within the youngest unit and the three units as well, exhibit different degrees of diagenetic alterations, which are strongly reflected by a gradual reduction in the number of biota. This reduction may be best described as a process of “sieving”. Where these differences in diagenesis are recorded, they correspond to the age of the reef units. U/Th datations of the investigated terraces reveal an age for the youngest unit between 86,000 and 118,000 years B.P.. During this time three major sea level high stands have occurred, which explain the existence of the three reef cycles. The age of the middle formation is around 205,000 years, while the age for the oldest formation can only be assumed to fit in the time span between 290,000 and 340,000 years B.P.. All these data correspond to other published datations along the Red Sea coast.

Beschreibung: This paper presents an analysis of zooplankton net sampling surveys carried out during four expeditions to the Antarctic Peninsula region. Cluster analysis documented two to three site groupings for the epipelagic zone and one mesopelagic site cluster below 200 to 300 m depth. Analysis of species dominance, constancy, diversity and evenness indices did not allow clear designation and separation of communities in terms of these parameters. Computation of a rank correlation matrix for each season allowed the characterization of species groups. There were no perfect indicator species in the very strict sense. The main differences in the composition of the zooplankton between the site clusters were due mainly to changes in abundance rather than to presence or absence of particular species. However, the interpretation of the complex species and site groupings led to the conclusion that we can define three distinct communities: an oceanic, a neritic, and a mesopelagic community beneath 200 to 300 m. A so-called transitional cluster represents a mixing zone created by frequent occurrence of species from both the oceanic and neritic community. The location of the described oceanic and neritic community sites seem to be relatively stable with minor latitudinal changes during the seasons, while occurrence and abundance of most species changes with the time of the year. The usefulness of particular species (e.g. Euphausia superba) as indicator species also change during the year

Beschreibung: Sediment samples from the Mid-Atlantic Reykjanes Ridge (59°N) were taken to get information about sediment genesis and to identify different sources during the late Quaternary. Samples were investigated by X-ray diffraction and grain-size analyses. The clay mineral assemblages in sediments of the Reykjanes Ridge reflect paleoceanographic changes during the late Quaternary. Holocene sediments are characterized by high contents of smectite, mainly of less developed crystallinity. In the spatial distribution of clay minerals high smectite concentrations on the eastern flank and slightly decreasing concentrations on the western flank of the Reykjanes Ridge indicate the action of bottom-water transport. The smectite originates mainly from the volcanogenous Icelandic shelf and reflects the influence of Iceland-Scotland Overflow Water (ISOW). Stratigraphic variability in the clay mineral composition reflects predominantly the influence of different sources, resulting from oceanographic and glacial transport processes. During glacial time sediment transport is due mainly to input by icebergs. Increasing amounts of illite, chlorite, and kaolinite characterize ice-rafted sediments of the “Heinrich layers”. In these sediments smectite crystallinity is well developed. In contrast, several other ice-rafted layers contain smectite with low crystallographic order, similar to smectites of Holocene age. The icelandic source was proved by distinct amounts of basaltic glass in the coarse-grained sediment. At approximately 55 ka increasing amounts of chlorite and kaolinite suggest an enhanced influx of warm North Atlantic surface waters. This hypothesis is supported by a high carbonate shell production at this time. Relative low concentrations and the well-developed crystallinity of smectite minerals characterize the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 18–16 ka), indicating a reduced supply of fine icelandic material. Shortly after the LGM, at the beginning of termination IA, a distinct increase in fine-grained quartz (〈2µm) and smectite are visible, which are proposed to reflect a supply of fine-grained ice-rafted material. At 13 ka linear increasing smectite concentrations of lower crystallographic order indicate increasing supply of fine-grained material from Iceland, linked to reinitiation of bottom currents of the ISOW. Full reinitiation is indicated at around 10 ka, where a strong increase in smectite of low crystallographic order is detected.

Beschreibung: Seismic profiles from a venting area on the western margin of Paramushir Island (Sea of Okhotsk) reveal a local complex structure and an interesting, unusual pattern of the bottom simulating reflector (BSR). The BSR is gradual rising towards the venting area. The geothermal gradient and the bottom temperature confirmed the methane hydrate. The temperature appears to be the most important factor controlling the hydrate stability. A locally higher heat flow caused the upward migration of the hydrate stability field and the subsequent degradation of the hydrated sediments, causing gas vent formation and the flux of methane gas into the water column.

Beschreibung: Picritic units of the Miocene shield volcanics on Gran Canaria, Canary Islands, contain olivine and clinopyroxene phenocrysts with abundant primary melt, crystal and fluid inclusions. Composition and crystallization conditions of primary magmas in equilibrium with olivine Fo90-92 were inferred from high-temperature microthermometric quench experiments, low-temperature microthermometry of fluid inclusions and simulation of the reverse path of olivine fractional crystallization based on major element composition of melt inclusions. Primary magmas parental for the Miocene shield basalts range from transitional to alkaline picrites (14.7–19.3 wt% MgO, 43.2–45.7 wt% SiO2). Crystallization of these primary magmas is believed to have occurred over the temperature range 1490–1150° C at pressures ≈5 kbar producing olivine of Fo80.6-90.2, high-Ti chrome spinel [Mg/ (Mg+Fe2+)=0.32–0.56, Cr/(Cr+Al)=0.50–0.78, 2.52–8.58 wt% TiO2], and clinopyroxene [Mg/(Mg+Fe)=0.79–0.88, Wo44.1-45.3, En43.9-48.0, Fs6.8-11.0] which appeared on the liquidus together with olivine≈Fo86. Redox conditions evolved from intermediate between the QFM and WM buffers to late-stage conditions of NNO+1 to NNO+2. The primary magmas crystallized in the presence of an essentially pure CO2 fluid. The primary magmas originated at pressures 〉30 kbar and temperatures of 1500–1600° C, assuming equilibrium with mantle peridotite. This implies melting of the mantle source at a depth of ≈100 km within the garnet stability field followed by migration of melts into magma reservoirs located at the boundary between the upper mantle and lower crust. The temperatures and pressures of primary magma generation suggest that the Canarian plume originated in the lower mantle at depth ≈900 km that supports the plume concept of origin of the Canary Islands.

Beschreibung: Tectonics and climate are both directly and indirectly related. The direct connection is between uplift, atmospheric circulation, and the hydrologic cycle. The indirect links are via subduction, volcanism, the introduction of gasses into the atmosphere, and through erosion and consumption of atmospheric gases by chemical weathering. Rifting of continental blocks involves broad upwarping followed by subsidence of a central valley and uplift of marginal shoulders. The result is an evolving regional climate which has been repeated many times in the Phanerozoic: first a vapor-trapping arch, followed by a rift valley with fresh-water lakes, culminating in an arid rift bordered by mountains intercepting incoming precipitation. Convergence tectonics affects climate on a larger scale. A mountain range is a barrier to atmospheric circulation, especially if perpendicular to the circulation. It also traps water vapor converting latent to sensible heat. Broad uplift results in a shorter path for both incoming and outgoing radiation resulting in seasonal climate extremes with reversals of atmospheric pressure and enhanced monsoonal circulation. Volcanism affects climate by introducing ash and aerosols into the atmosphere, but unless these are injected into the stratosphere, they have little effect. Stratospheric injection is most likely to occur at high latitudes, where the thickness of the troposphere is minimal. Volcanoes introduce CO2, a greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere. Geochemical effects of tectonic uplift and unroofing relate to the weathering of silicate rocks, the means by which CO2 is removed from the atmosphere-ocean system on long-term time scales.

Beschreibung: High-resolution records of the natural radionuclide230Th were measured in sediments from the eastern Atlantic sector of the Antarctic circumpolar current to obtain a detailed reconstruction of the sedimentation history of this key area for global climate change during the late Quaternary. High-resolution dating rests on the assumption that the230Thex flux to the sediments is constant. Short periods of drastically increased sediment accumulation rates (up to a factor of 8) were determined in the sediments of the Antarctic zone during the climate optima at the beginning of the Holocene and the isotope stage 5e. By comparing expected and measured accumulation rate of230Thex, lateral sediment redistribution was quantified and vertical particle rain rates originating from the surface water above were calculated. We show that lateral contributions locally were up to 6.5 times higher than the vertical particle rain rates. At other locations only 15% of the expected vertical particle rain rate were deposited.

Beschreibung: Hydrographic data along 11°S occupied in 1983 by the R.V. OCEANUS are used together with various wind climatologies to estimate the annual average transport of heat at this latitude. Some motivation for expecting fairly well-defined estimates at this latitude compared to others comes from the absence of a strong western boundary current. Results include flow in four layers representing the thermocline, Antarctic Intermediate Water, North Atlantic Deep Water, and Antarctic Bottom Water, using zero velocity reference level choices based on property distributions. The annual average heat transport is estimated to be 0.6 ± 0.17 x 1015 W. Previous estimates of the transport at 8–16°S range from 0.2 PW to greater than 1 PW. Interannual variability from the wind field alone leads to interannual heat transport variability of about 0.05 PW. Comparisons with other recent studies at 45–30°S and 11°N are made.

Beschreibung: The data from six zonal sections in the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE) in the tropical and southem Atlantic are used to describe the distribution of water masses. Due to the high spatial resolution, the structure oftemperature, salinity, oxygen, silicate and nitrate displays details related to transport and mixing in this region. Temperature-salinity diagrams are also presented which indicate the effects ofbranching and recirculation loops in the water mass flow.

Beschreibung: During the past quarter century the study of air-sea interaction has evolved from a small branch of marine climatology to play a key role in the modelling of the coupled system of ocean and atmosphere. Knowledge of air- sea fluxes has grown, based on Monin-Obukhov similarity theory for surface boundary layers and on direct and indirect techniques of measuring the fluxes. This has been the basis for providing boundary conditions needed to couple atmospheric and oceanic circulation models that are used to forecast weather and climate. An overview of current understanding is followed by a discussion of parameterisation schemes and a chronicle of some of the experimental work that has tested theories and quantified their conclusions.

Beschreibung: The Deep Basin Experiment (DBE), a part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE), is presently underway in the Brazil Basin of the South Atlantic. The program objectives and design philosophy are reviewed and early results are presented. Observations from a moored array along the southern boundary and neutrally buoyant float trajectories in the North Atlantic Deep Water and Antarctic Bottom Water are described with emphasis on their relationship to the recent flow schemes offered by Reid (1989). Also discussed are the process of cross isotherm mixing within the intense flow regime of the Verna Channel and observations of long period warming of the bottom water.

Beschreibung: This is a selected account of recent developments in plankton ecology. The examples have been chosen for their degree of innovation during the past two decades and for their general ecological importance. They range from plankton autecology over interactions between populations to community ecology. The autecology of plankton is represented by the hydromechanics of plankton (the problem of life in a viscous environment) and by the nutritional ecology of phyto- and zooplankton. Population level studies are represented by competition, herbivory (grazing), and zooplankton responses to predation. Community ecology is represented by the debate about bottom- up vs. top-down control of community organization, by the PEG model of seasonal plankton succession, and by the recent discovery of the microbial food web.

Beschreibung: U-series ages measured by thermal ionisation mass spectrometry (TIMS) are reported for a Last Interglacial (LI) fossil coral core from the Turtle Bay, Houtman Abrolhos islands, western Australia. The core is 33.4 m long the top of which is approximately 5 m a.p.s.l. (above present sea level). From the232Th concentrations and the reliability of the U-series ages, two sections in the core can be distinguished. Calculated U/Th ages in core section I (3.3 m a.p.s.l to 11 m b.p.s.l) vary between 124±1.7 ka BP (3.3 m a.p.s.l.) and 132.5±1.8 ka (4 m b.p.s.l., i.e. below present sea level), and those of section II (11–23 m b.p.s.l.) between 140±3 and 214±5 ka BP, respectively. The ages of core section I are in almost perfect chronological order, whereas for section II no clear age-depth relationship of the samples can be recognised. Further assessments based on the ϖ234U(T) criteria reveal that none of the samples of core section II give reliable ages, whereas for core section I several samples can be considered to be moderately reliable within 2 ka. The data of the Turtle Bay core complement and extend our previous work from the Houtman Abrolhos showing that the sea level reached a height of approximately 4 m b.p.s.l at approximately 134 ka BP and a sea level highstand of at least 3.3 m a.p.s.l. at approximately 124 ka BP. Sea level dropped below its present position at approximately 116 ka BP. Although the new data are in general accord with the Milankovitch theory of climate change, a detailed comparison reveals considerable differences between the Holocene and LI sea level rise as monitored relative to the Houtman Abrolhos islands. These observation apparently add further evidence to the growing set of data that the LI sea level rise started earlier than recognised by SPECMAP chronology. A reconciliation of these contradictionary observations following the line of arguments presented by Crowley (1994) are discussed with respect to the Milankovitch theory.

Beschreibung: Polysyncraton lacazei is a colonial tunicate (family didemnidae) living in the NW-mediterranean rocky sublitoral. A thorough scanning of numerous colonies revealed that in spite of an apparently heavy local fouling pressure only one fouling species — a kamptozoan — is encountered with some regularity on Polysyncraton. We try to define the epibiotic situation of sessile marine organisms as composed of four epibiotic parameters: longevity or exposure time (A), epibiont load (E), colonizer pool (CP) and fouling-period (FP). Subsequently, these factors are combined to propose an “Antifouling Potential” index: AFP=(1−E/CP)×A/(FP+A). This index is intended to permit evaluating the relative antifouling defense potency to be expected in a given organism in a given epibiotic situation and to compare different cases of epibiosis and fouling.

Beschreibung: Valley-fill ignimbrites of the Middle Laacher See Tephra (MLST) in the proximal depositional fan south of Laacher See volcano are laterally continuous with fine-grained overbank-facies deposits, 0.5–1.5 m thick, covering higher elevations and interfluves between the paleovalleys. The overbank deposits consist of up to 12 ash layers, each 4–10 cm thick, which show internal structures typical of ash-flow transport, such as poor sorting, reverse size-grading of pumice, local normal grading of coarse ash-sized lithics above a fine-grained basal layer, cross-stratification behind obstacles, and erosional unconformities. Thickness, median grain-size, and number of individual layers decrease systematically with distance from the vent. Overbank ash layers thicken at the valley slopes and form discrete valley-fill ignimbrite flow units in the paleochannels with median grain size increasing from ≤63 μm to ≤350 μm. Toward the center of paleochannels, however, the well-defined overbank facies is obscured by mutual erosion of individual flow units. Overlapping data fields in ternary grain-size variation diagrams indicate the overbank facies to have evolved from ash flows chiefly through depletion of lapilli and coarse ash. Overbank-facies ash layers do not represent dust layers resulting from elutriation clouds of ash flows (co-ignimbrite ash) or surge deposits developed on higher ground due to low concentration of solids. They are similar in some parameters to Taupo-type ignimbrite veneer deposits, but are interpreted differently. The thin, fine-grained, Laacher See ash layers are thought to have been deposited from diluted portions of the flow proceeding directly from the eruption column while the main pyroclastic flows were confined to the paleovalleys radiating away from the eruptive center. The wide distribution of the thin ash layers is attributed to the balance of deposition from various flow parts and turbulent entraining and heating of ambient air that sustained sufficient mobility of the diluted flows to spread across hills and level ground.

Beschreibung: The sea floor of Fram Strait, the over 2500 m deep passage between the Arctic Ocean and the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, is part of a complex transform zone between the Knipovich mid-oceanic ridge of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea and the Nansen-Gakkel Ridge of the Arctic Ocean. Because linear magnetic anomalies formed by sea-floor spreading have not been found, the precise location of the boundary between the Eurasian and the North American plate is unknown in this region. Systematic surveying of Fram Strait with SEABEAM and high resolution seismic profiling began in 1984 and continued in 1985 and 1987, providing detailed morphology of the Fram Strait sea floor and permitting better definition of its morphotectonics. The 1984 survey presented in this paper provided a complete set of bathymetric data from the southernmost section of the Svalbard Transform, including the Molloy Fracture Zone, connecting the Knipovich Ridge to the Molloy Ridge; and the Molloy Deep, a nodal basin formed at the intersection of the Molloy Transform Fault and the Molloy Ridge. This nodal basin has a revised maximum depth of 5607 m water depth at 79°8.5′N and 2°47′E.

Beschreibung: The systematics of the genus Sepia is not yet clear. Morphological evidence has led to S. officinalis Linnaeus, 1758 being considered as belonging to the subgenus Sepia sensu stricto, and S. obignyana Férusac, 1826 and S. elegans Blainville, 1827 as belonging to the subgenus Rhombosepion. Samples of 30 individuals ocenographic boundary off the north-west Iberian Peninsula, and a sample of S. elegans from the northern side, were collected in 1993-1994. Allozyme electrophoresis for 32 presumptive loci revealed low levels of genetic variability for the three Sepia species (mean expected heterozygosity estimates were 〈0.052). No significant differences in allozyme frequencies were detected among populations of either S. officinalis and S. orbignyana (I=0.12) and of S. elegans (I=0.13) were significantly different from that of S. orbignyana and S. elegans (I=0.49). The former are typical of values for confamiliar genera, and a new generic status is proposed for the latter two species, which become Rhombosepion orbignyana (Férussac, 1826) and R. elegans (Blainville, 1827).

Beschreibung: To investigate the role of sea ice cover on penguin populations we used principal component analysis to compare population variables of Adélie (Pygoscelis adeliae) and chinstrap (Pygoscelis antarctica) penguins breeding on Signy Island, South Orkney Islands with local (from direct observations) and regional (from remote sensing data) sea ice variables. Throughout the study period, the Adélie penguin population size remained stable, whereas that of chinstrap penguins decreased slightly. For neither species were there significant relationships between population size and breeding success, except for an apparent inverse density-dependent relationship between the number of Adélie breeding pairs and the number of eggs hatching. For both species, no general relationship was found between either population size or breeding success and the local sea ice conditions. However, the regional sea ice extent at a particular time prior to the start of the breeding season was related to the number of birds that arrived to breed. For both species, this period occurred before the sea ice reached its maximum extent and was slightly earlier for Adélie than for chinstrap penguins. These results suggest that sea ice conditions outside the breeding season may play an important role in penguin population processes.

Beschreibung: Major outer membrane proteins with porin activity were isolated from cell envelopes of the halophilic strains Ectothiorhodospira shaposhnikovii N1 and Ectothiorhodospira vacuolataβ1. The porins were obtained as oligomers. They dissociated into monomers by heat or EDTA treatment. The molecular masses of the monomers were determined by mass spectrometry to be 39,285 and 37,160 Da for E. shaposhnikovii N1 and E. vacuolataβ1, respectively. Both were shown by analytical ultracentrifugation to be trimers of about 112,000 Da. Circular dichroism spectra indicated predominantly β-sheet structure. The 18 N-terminal amino acid sequences of the two porins were identical except for the amino acids in positions 12 and 14. No sequence similarity with the primary structure of known porins was found. In reconstitution experiments with lipid bilayers, the porins of E. shaposhnikovii N1 and E. vacuolataβ1 formed channels with a single-channel conductance of 1.5 and 0.7 nS, respectively, in 1 M KCl. The single-channel conductance saturated with increasing salt concentration, indicating a putative binding-site for anions in the channel since both porins exhibited anion-selectivity. For the porin of E. vacuolataβ1, but not for that of E. shaposhnikovii N1, an influence of detergent concentration on the single-channel conductance was observed.

Beschreibung: Direct measurements of magnitude of the northward flow of the Malvinas (Falkland) Current have recently been made with two types of Lagrangian platforms: ALACE floats which cycled between 750-m depth and the sea surface, and 100-m drogued surface drifters. Each data set clearly delineates the path of the Malvinas Current, and the vertical shears inferred from them are commensurate with historical geostrophic shears. Velocities from the surface drifters are used here to adjust geostrophic shears from historical measurements, and the results confirm a large transport of the current, as previously implied by numerical models and a regional inverse calculation. At 42°S, the northward transport of the Malvinas Current in the upper 3000 m appears to be about 70 Sv, several times larger than estimates obtained by adjusting geostrophic shears to assumed levels of no motion. This large barotropie component may have significance in the cross-frontal transfer of intermediate and deep waters from the circumpolar current to the adjacent flow regimes in the South Atlantic, and thus on the inter-basin exchange of water masses.

Beschreibung: Mohns Ridge lavas between 71 and 72°30′N (∼360 km) have heterogeneous compositions varying between alkali basalts and incompatible-element-depleted tholeiites. On a large scale there is a continuity of incompatible element and isotopic compositions between the alkali basalts from the island Jan Mayen and Mohns Ridge tholeiites. The variation in isotopes suggests a heterogeneous mantle which appears to be tapped preferentially by low degree melts (∼5%) close to Jan Mayen but also shows its signature much further north on Mohns Ridge. Three lava types with different incompatible element compositions [e.g. chondrite-normalized (La/Sm)N〈1 to 〉2] occur in the area at 72°N and were generated from this heterogeneous mantle. The relatively depleted tholeiitic melts were mixed with a small degree melt from an enriched source. The elements Ba, Rb and K of the enriched melt were probably buffered in the mantle by residual amphibole or phlogopite. That such a residual phase is stable in this region of oceanic mantle suggests both high water contents and low mantle temperatures, at odds with a hotspot origin for Jan Mayen. Instead we suggest that the melting may be induced by the lowered solidus temperature of a “wet” mantle. Mohns MORB (mid ocean ridge basalt) and Jan Mayen area alkali basalts have high contents of Ba and Rb compared to other incompatible elements (e.g. Ba/La 〉10). These ratios reflect the signature of the mantle source. Ratios of Ce/Pb and Rb/Cs are normal MORB mantle ratios of 25 and 80, respectively, thus the enrichments of Ba and Rb are not indicative of a sedimentary component added to the mantle source but were probably generated by the influence of a metasomatizing fluid, as supported by the presence of hydrous phases during the petrogenesis of the alkali basalts. Geophysical and petrological models suggest that Jan Mayen is not the product of hotspot activity above a mantle plume, and suggest instead that it owes its existence to the unique juxtaposition of a continental fragment, a fracture zone and a spreading axis in this part of the North Atlantic.

Beschreibung: In February 1992, 34 faecal samples from non-breeding male Antarctic fur seals, Arctophalus gazella, were collected at Stranger Point, King George Island, South Shetlands. Fish constituted an important part of the diet, occuring in 90% of those scats containing prey remains. From 1162 otoliths found in the Myctophids and nototheniids represented together almost 90% of the fish eaten. The dominant species were Gymnoscopelus nicholsi, Pleuragramma antarcticum and Electrona antarctica, contributing 33.3%, 30.8% and 12.0% of the otoliths respectively. The standard length of these three species was estimated from otoliths with little or no signs of erosion. This study showed that fur seals fed mainly on pelagic fish species that are often associated with krill. These findings are corroborated by fur seal diving patterns.

Beschreibung: The diet of lactating female Antarctic fur seals Arctocephalus gazella at South Georgia was investigated during the pup-rearing period (January/March) of 1991-1994. Antarctic krill Euphausia superba was the main prey item, occuring in 88% of all scats (n=497), whereas fish occured in 47% and squid in 5% of all scats. There was a considerable intra- and inter-annual variation in the characteristics of krill taken by fur seals. The distribution of krill sizes takes suggests that fur seals are not actively selecting particular sizes of krill available around South Georgia. The absence of group 3 krill (44-48mm in length) in the South Georgia area, as indicated by their absence in the diet of seals, is suggested as a possible reason for low availability of krill and the subsequent reproductive failure among krill predators. The frequency of occurence of fish was much higher than in previous studies; the pattern of fish consumption showed a consistent seasonal pattern in 3 of the 4 years studied. Of the total number of the myctophid Protomyctophum choriodon, the most numerous fish taxon, 98% were taken between early February and the middle of March. Champsocephalus gunnari and Lepidonothen larseni agg., which both feed on krill, dominated the fish component of diet outsided this period and together constituted 94% of the total estimated biomass of fish consumed. The intra- and inter-annual variability in the diet of Antarctic fur seals emphasise the need for diet studies to be conducted during the entire pup-rearing periods of several years.

Beschreibung: The diet of king penguins, Aptendonytes patagonicus, rearing chicks was studied during three consecutive austral winters (1990, 1991 and 1992) at Crozet Islands. The mean stomach content mass of the 47 samples was 503g. Percentages of wet and reconstituted masses showed that both fishes (66 and 36% respectively) and squid (34 and 64%) are important components of the winter diet. Juveniles of the demersal onychoteuthid squid Moroteuthis ingens from the bulk of the cephalopod diet, and this was the main species of mycophids eaten in summer by king penguins were either very rare in winter (Electrona carlsbergi) or accounted for a smaller proportion of the diet (Krefftichthys anderssoni = 1.5% by mass and Protomyctophum tenisoni = 4.6%). Five other myctophids, which are rarely consumed in summer, contributed 24% of the diet by mass in winter (Gymnoscopelus piabilis = 18.1%, Lampichthys procerus = 2.4%, G. nicholsi = 1.3%, and Metelectrona ventralis and Electrona subaspera = 1.0%). The greater diversity of prey in winter suggests a more opportunistic feefing behaviour at a time probably marked by a change in prey availability. Both the known ecology of the fish and squid prey and the barely digested state of some items suggest that in winter breeding adults forage in the outer shelf, upper slope and oceanic areas in the close vicinity of the Crozet Islands to feed their chicks. Finally, using kind penguins as biological samplers, the present work provides novel data on the previously unstudied mesopelagic/epibenthic marine community in waters surrounding the Crozet Islands. Seventeen myctophid fish have been identified to species level. These include several poorly known species in the southern Indian Ocean. The occurence of small, nearly intact, cephalopods in the diet of king penguins suggests that spwaning grounds of four squid species may be located near the Crozet Islands. Seventeen myctophid fish have been identified to species level. These include several poorly known species in the southern Indian Ocean. The occurence of small, nearly intact, cephalopods in the diet of king penguins suggest that spawning ground for four squid species may be located near the Crozet Archipelago.

Beschreibung: Confusion abounds regarding the relative generic status of many member species of the squid family Loliginidae. A taxonomic reorganisation within the family has been proposed in which Loligo species from the Indo-Pacific possessing photophores on the ink sac, including Loligo edulis and Loligo chinensis, are removed to the newly created genus Photololigo. This system of classification has not however gauined general acceptance, and some authors have continued to refer to these species as Loligo. Here biochemical genetic data gathererd using allozyme electrophoresis are presented supporting the assertion that L. edulis and L. chinensis should indeed be positioned in a genus distinct from that characterised by the type species Loligo vulgaris vulgaris. Cluster analysis of allele frequency data from 22 putative enzyme-coding loci suggests that L. edulis and L. vulgaris vulgaris as are members of the confamilial genera Alloteuthis, Uroteuthis and Sepioteuthis, and as such warrant separate generic status. We conclude that the genus Photololigo is valid.

Beschreibung: Paralarval behaviour of eight species of the family Gonatidae (Teuthodiea, Cephalopoda) was examined in small 3-1 aquaria on board ship during planktonic surveys, which were carried out above and off the continental slope of the western part of the Bering Sea. Undisturbed paralarvae moved in aquaria with an average frequency of 15-20 mantle contractions per minute. In response to a sudden disturbance (flash of light, impact to the aquarium wall) squids exhibited a defensive body posture, relaxing the mantle and pulling the head with tentacles and arms into the mantle cavity, thereby becoming similar in appearance, size and colour to small jellyfishes Aglantha digitalis (Hydromedusae)

Beschreibung: Cephalopod remains were collected, at regular intervals throughout the fledging period, from the stomach contents of chicks of the grey-headed albatrossDiomedea chrysostoma at Bird Island, South Georgia, in 1984 and 1986 and from regurgitations of adults at the nest in 1986. The 1984 sample was taken during a season characterised by abnormal local oceanographic conditions in which the breeding success was very low; in 1986 conditions were normal and breeding success was high. Cephalopod beaks (289 from adults; 5 651 from chicks) were identified, and allometric equations were used to estimate the biomass represented. Five cephalopod species belonging to five families (Gonatidae, Onychoteuthidae, Psychroteuthidae, Ommastrephidae and Cranchiidae) contributed 98% by number and 97% of the biomass fed to chicks. The most important species was the ommastrephid Martialia hyadesi, contributing 68.9 to 77.4% by number and 72.5 to 79.3% of the total biomass fed to chicks. The relative proportions of cephalopod species in the chicks' diet were similar between 1984 and 1986, but the total number and biomass was significantly less in 1984. There is evidence of growth ofM. hyadesi between January and June.

Beschreibung: Beak length analysis was undertaken for the arrow squid Nototodarus sloanii in the New Zealand sector of the Southern Ocean between Stewart Island and the Auckland Islands. N. sloanii has a restricted range and is endemic to the waters around New Zealand and its associated southern islands, where it supports a fishery and is preyed upon by a number of fishes, marine mammals and birds. Lower rostral length (LRL) and upper rostral length (URL) were analysed to see how these beak measurements related to both mantle lentgh (ML) and wet weight (W). Both lower and upper rostral lengths could be used as useful predictors of ML and W in N. sloanii, as relationships had limited scatter and high correlation coefficients. The relationships between LRL and ML, and URL and ML were only linear after regressing log-transformed values of beak length against ML. However, the relationships between LRL and W, and URL and W were linear without transforming either the x or y values. These results are different from previously published beak length analysis of Nototodarus in New Zealand waters.

Beschreibung: Thorium- and uranium isotopes were measured in a diagenetic manganese nodule from the Peru basin applying alpha- and thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS). Alpha-counting of 62 samples was carried out with a depth resolution of 0.4 mm to gain a high-resolution230Thexcess profile. In addition, 17 samples were measured with TIMS to obtain precise isotope concentrations and isotope ratios. We got values of 0.06–0.59 ppb (230Th), 0.43–1.40 ppm (232Th), 0.09–0.49 ppb (234U) and 1.66–8.24 ppm (238U). The uranium activity ratio in the uppermost samples (1–6 mm) and in two further sections in the nodule at 12.5±1.0 mm and 27.3–33.5 mm comes close to the present ocean water value of 1.144±0.004. In two other sections of the nodule, this ratio is significantly higher, probably reflecting incorporation of diagenetic uranium. The upper 25 mm section of the Mn nodule shows a relatively smooth exponential decrease in the230Thexcess concentration (TIMS). The slope of the best fit yields a growth rate of 110 mm/Ma up to 24.5 mm depth. The section from 25 to 30.3 mm depth shows constant230Thexcess concentrations probably due to growth rates even faster than those in the top section of the nodule. From 33 to 50 mm depth, the growth rate is approximately 60 mm/Ma. Two layers in the nodule with distinct laminations (11–15 and 28–33 mm depth) probably formed during the transition from isotopic stage 8 to 7 and in stage 5e, respectively. The Mn/Fe ratio shows higher values during interglacials 5 and 7, and lower ones during glacials 4 and 6. A comparison of our data with data from adjacent sediment cores suggests (a) a variable supply of hydrothermal Mn to sediments and Mn nodules of the Peru basin or (b) suboxic conditions at the water sediment interface during periods with lower Mn/Fe ratios.