ALBERT

Description: A total of 324 specimens of the ommastrephid squid Todaropsis eblanae, collected from bottom trawl surveys in the North Sea was examined. Information on seasonal length frequency distributions and relationships of beak size to mantle length and wet body mass from the northernmost distribution of the species is supplied. The overall male: female ratio was 1: 0.78. Maturing males and females were found in winter and summer, while fully mature animals were observed only in summer. Sexual maturity in females occurred in bigger sizes than in males. Specimens were caught in water depths between 56 and 170 m throughout the whole investigated area except from the German Bight. This paper presents the first biological data on T. eblanae in the North Sea derived from scientific surveys.

Description: Alfred Wegeners Notizbuch "Kontinental-Verschiebungen" : eine Einführung / von Reinhard Krause und Jörn Thiede: 2005 jährt sich der Geburtstag Alfred-Wegeners zum 125. Mal (geboren 1. November 1880). Bei den Vorbereitungen auf dieses Jubiläum und auf die Feier des 25- jährigen Bestehens der Stiftung Alfred-Wegener-Institut für Polar- und Meeresforschung sind die Unterlagen, die auf Alfred Wegener persönlich zurückgehen, sorgfältig durchgesehen worden. Bei seinem Enkel Dr. Günther Schönharting in Eichhofen / Bayern wurden zwei wichtige Dokumente aufgefunden, nämlich ein umfangreiches Notizbuch mit dem Wort „Kontinental-Verschiebungen“ beschriftet und die erste Auflage seines Buches „Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane“ (erschienen im Jahr 1915), das mit Leerseiten durchschossen gebunden war, und in dem sich zahlreiche schriftliche Verbesserungen befanden, die in die Gestaltung späterer Auflagen eingingen. Da das Notizbuch „Kontinental-Verschiebungen“ mit seinen zahlreichen Exzerpten und Vermerken ein wertvolles Dokument darstellt, ohne das die wissenschaftliche Auseinandersetzung Alfred Wegeners mit seiner eigenen Hypothese nur schwierig nachzuvollziehen ist, haben wir uns entschieden, dieses Notizbuch zu transkribieren und gemeinsam mit seinem Faksimile in diesem Heft zu veröffentlichen. Möge diese Veröffentlichung eine anregende Quelle für wissenschaftsgeschichtlich interessierte Forscher darstellen!

Description: The results of seismic studies in the near-shore, shallow waters of the south-western Kara Sea - at the Shpindler, Kharsavey and Mare-Sale sites - showed the presence of a seismic interface which can be interpreted as a submarine permafrost table. The proposed permafiost exhibits a continuous distribution and a strongly dissected top surface overlain by unfrozen sediments. The permafrost table is located at a depth of 4-6 m and 5-10 m below the sea floor at the Shpindler and Mare-Sale sites, respectively. Three dimensional modeling of the permafrost table suggests the presence of relict buried thermodenudational depressions (up to 2 km across) at a minimum sea depth of 40-45 m at the Shpindler and Mare-Sale sites. The depressions may be considered as paragenetic to thermocirques found in cliffs at the Shpindler site. At the Kharasavey site, the permafrost table has an elongated depression parallel to the modern shoreline. The maximum depression depth is 20 m below the seafloor. At present, the relict therrnocirques (Shpindler and Mare-Sale) and the elongated depression (Kharasavey) are completely filled in with sediment and are not evident in modern bottom topography.

Description: During the last decade detailed coastal studies along the Arctic Seas have been conducted within the frame of the Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) Program. The results indicate that shore dynamics play an important role in the balance of sediment and organic carbon in the Arctic basin. Arctic coastal sediment flux exceeds river sediment discharge and other terrestrial sediment sources. Based on newly obtained data, this presentation evaluates average coastal erosion rates as well as sediment and organic fluxes within the Siberian Arctic coastal Zone. The Siberian Arctic sector includes four seas: the Kara, Laptev, East Sibesian and Chukchi Seas. The total length of the Siberian Arctic coastline, including the islands, is about 29,500 km. Most parts of this coast are characterized by very active coastal erosion processes. A considerable proportion of the Siberian Arctic coasts (especially for the Laptev and East Siberian Seas) consists of ice-rich permafrost deposits, which are rapidly reworked by sea erosion. It has been found that the coastal sediment flux into the seas listed above plays a dominant role in their sediment budget. Based on the amount of coastal sediment released to the sea and the average organic carbon contents of the key types of coastal deposits, the total organic carbon (TOC) supplied to the Siberian Arctic Seas (SAS) has been estimated. The assessment of these lithologic-dynamic Parameters is based On unified methods, which involve detailed coastal segmentation and GIS-analyses. The calculated values of the sediment and TOC fluxes are considerably different from previously published data. Our results suggest that both coastal sediment flux (158 million tons per year) and coastal TOC flux (4.6 million tons per year) to the SAS significantly contribute to the Arctic Ocean sediment and carbon budget. This study was supported by the INTAS (grant 01 - 2329).

Description: Under the framework of the Arctic Coastal Dynamics (ACD) program two projects of the International Association for the Promotion of Co-operation with Scientists from the New Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (INTAS) focused on ACD related topics. The objectives of the first project "Arctic coastal dynamics of Eurasia: classification, modern state and prediction of its development based on GIS technology" (2002-2004) had been to develop a coastal classification and to generate GIS based map products for the coastal Zone of the Eurasian Arctic. The Russian Part of the circum-Arctic ACD classification and segmentation has been completed within this project. The overall objective of the second project "Arctic coasts of Eurasia: dynamics, sediment budget and carbon flux in connection with permafrost degradation" (2002-2005) is to quantify the material flux through coastal erosion in order to improve our understanding of the Arctic sediment and organic carbon budget. This presentation summarizes the main results of the two projects and provides an overview of more specific results which are shown in a series of Posters.