ALBERT

Description: The kinetics of methane hydrate decomposition was studied using a semibatch stirred-tank reactor. The decomposition was accomplished by reducing the pressure on a hydrate slurry in water to a value below the three-phase equilibrium pressure at the reactor temperature. The data were obtained at temperatures from 274 to 283 K and pressures from 0.17 to 6.97 MPa. The stirring rates were high enough to eliminate mass-transfer effects. Analysis of the data indicated that the decomposition rate was proportional to the particle surface area and to the difference in the fugacity of methane at the equilibrium pressure and the decomposition pressure. The proportionality constant showed an Arrhenius temperature dependence. An estimate of the hydrate particle diameters in the experiments permitted the development of an intrinsic model for the kinetics of hydrate decomposition.

Description: 1. Effects of noradrenaline and the related compounds adrenaline, dopamine, octopamine, tryamine, clonidine and isoprenaline were studied in isolated heart preparations from the cuttlefish Sepia officinalis L. 2. All analogues produced a positive inotropic affect, with noradrenaline being the most potent substance. The chronotropic effects of the tested compounds differed widely. 3. The action of substances of the phenylethanolamine group were not antagonized by propanolol but were partly antagonized by phentolamine. 4. Serotonin and its analogues also produced cardio-excitation. These effects were blocked by cyproheptadine but not by methysergide. 5. These results indicate the presence of two different receptors in the Sepia myocardium: one type reacting with noradrenaline most effectively and a second type being stimulated by serotonin.

Description: The octopus Eledone cirrhosa (Lamarck 1798), enclosed in a small chamber of flowing sea water, was tested for responses to water-borne chemicals. Incidence of body movements and change in ventilation rate were recorded by a non-invasive technique- At concentrations no more than 1x10 -4M at the animal, the octopuses responded to betaine, proline, alanine, lactic acid, and serine (order of decreasing sensitivity)- Glutamic acid and trimethylamine oxide were considerably less stimulatory, arginine and taurine were hardly more effective than sea-water controls.

Description: Pore fluids extracted from near-surface sediments of the deformation front along the Oregon subduction zone have, in general, the dissolved nutrient pattern characteristic of bacterial sulfate reduction. However, in certain locations there are peculiar ammonium distributions and anomalously 13C-depleted dissolved ΣCO2. These carbon isotope and nutrient patterns are attributed to the concurrent microbially-mediated oxidation of sedimentary organic matter (POC) and methane (CH4) originating from depth. In contrast to the oxidation of sedimentary organic matter in the sulfate zone, utilization of methane as the carbon source by sulfate-reducing bacteria would generate only half as much total carbon dioxide for each mole of sulfate consumed and would not generate any dissolved ammonium. The isotopically light ΣCO2 released from methane oxidation depletes the total metabolic carbon dioxide pool. Therefore, NH4+, ΣCO2 and δ13C of interstitial carbon dioxide in these pore fluids distintcly reflect the combined contributions of each of the two carbon substrates undergoing mineralization; i.e. methane and sedimentary organic matter. By appropriately partitioning the nutrient and substrate relationships, we calculate that in the area of the marginal ridge of the Oregon subduction zone as much as 30% of the ΣCO2 in pore fluids may result from methane oxidation. The calculation also predicts that the carbon isotope signature of the carbon dioxide derived from methane is between −35‰ and −63‰ PDB. Such an isotopically light gas generated from within the accretionary complex could be the residue of a biogenic methane pool. Fluid advection is required to carry such methane from depth to the present near-surface sediments. This mechanism is consistent with large-scale, tectonically-induced fluid transport envisioned for accreted sediments of the world's convergent plate boundaries.

Description: The potential vorticity profile in the seasonal pycnocline can be predicted from the surface buoyancy and momentum fluxes by means of the Lagrangian correlation of seasonally varying mixed-layer depth and density. Water flows geostrophically from the seasonal pycnocline into the permanent pycnocline, through the sloping surface of depth D defined by the annual maximum depth of the mixed layer. Potential vorticity flows into the permanent pycnocline where U(D)· ∇D ≤W(D) and vice versa. A theory is given for the regional variation of D, and methods of determining D from hydrographic data are reviewed. This physical understanding of potential vorticity sources and sinks makes it possible to reformulate ventilated thermocline models in terms of flux rather than density boundary conditions, and guides the design of coupled models of ocean—atmosphere circulation. It leads to formulae for water-mass formation and the nutrient balance in the seasonal boundary layer.

Description: Of about 20,000 modern fish species, only about 200 are found south of the Antarctic Convergence. The ichthyofauna is dominated by small species up to 40 cm long. The majority are bottom dwelling forms which belong mostly to the suborder Notothenioidei. Antarctic pelagic fishes are descendants from several faunal groups of different origins: bathypelagic and mesopelagic species, and species originating from demersal families which are secondarily adapted to temporary or permanent midwater life. More than 30 species of squid are so far known from the Southern Ocean. The majority are obviously meso-and bathy-pelagic dwellers. Several adaptations, including stenothermy, freezing resistance, aglomerular kidneys, and neutral buoyancy, enable Antarctic coastal fish to live successfully in the harsh environment. Growth rates of coastal fish are comparable to those found in Newfoundland cod. Most coastal fish do not spawn until they are 5 year old. Three reproductive strategies occur in coastal fish: autumn/early winter spawners with few, but yolky, eggs of 3–6 mm diameter; late winter/spring spawners with many, but smaller, eggs of 1.5–2 mm diameter; and species which guard their nests. Based on their food spectra, fish species can roughly be divided into three groups: fish and krill feeders, plankton feeders, and benthos feeders. Krill consumption by coastal fish around South Georgia and in West Antarctic waters was probably in the order of 5–6 × 106 tonnes before the onset of exploitation. Overall euphausiid consumption may have been about 20 × 106 tonnes. Fish, particularly mesopelagic fish, appear to be more important krill predators than squid. The role of squid as krill predators may have been overestimated in the past. Squid seem to be more important as a food resource for top level predators, particularly sperm whales and birds, than fish appear to be. All estimates of food consumption—krill as well as fish—are still subject to many uncertainties, and so it can be expected that increasing knowledge in the future may alter the given figures quite substantially. Exploitation of Antarctic finfish started at the end of the 1960s. The main fishing grounds are South Georgia and Kerguelen Islands. So far about 2.3 × 106 tonnes have been harvested from the Southern Ocean and the stocks particularly around South Georgia are heavily depleted. Conservation measures adopted by the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in 1984 and 1985 are probably not sufficient to support the recovery of the stocks.

Description: The cuttlefish ingests much skeleton from the crustaceans and fish it preys upon. The skeletal pieces are relatively large and their dimensions bear a close relationship to the length of the buccal mass and diameter of the oesophagus. The structures of the buccal mass are instrumental in the breakdown of prey and orientation of long pieces of skeleton to ensure their entry into the oesophagus. Many pieces of skeletal material present in the stomach contents still have attached muscles, showing that there is little, or no, external digestion. Skeletal material may be important for long-term maintenance of young Sepia in captivity.

Description: The diet of the king penguin Aptenodytes patagonicus at Marion Island was examined throughout the year by analysis of stomach samples. Fish accounted for 87% by wet mass, 75% by numbers and 69% by reconstituted mass. Their proportional importance by wet mass increased from 68% during winter to almost 100% in summer and probably reflects a real increase in their local availability. Squid comprised most of the remainder with crustaceans forming less than 1% of the diet by numbers. Prey items were generally small, the most abundant being three species of myctophid fish, Krefftichthys anderssoni, Protomyctophum tenisonì and Electrona carlsbergi, and a squid Kondakovia longimana. King penguins took both juvenile and adult Krefftichthys anderssoni and P. tenisoni, but only adult E. carlshergi. The juvenile and adult modal size classes of K. anderssoni and P. tenisoni increased from March through to February and the proportion of juvenile to adult fish increased in winter. The increase in the modal size class of the K. anderssoni/P. tenisoni complex during the year probably reflects growth of the fish, rather than movement of different populations in and out of the area exploited by king penguins. All squid consumed were probably juveniles. The modal size class of Kondakovia longimana increased from March to August, but in September to October smaller squid again formed a large proportion of the squid component of the diet. Numbers of measurable squid beaks recovered from November to February were low. This is the first time that mesopelagic myctophid fish have been shown to comprise a major component of the diet of a vertebrate predator in the Southern Ocean.

Description: In the animal kingdom evolutionary size changes involved increasing, decreasing and stationary patterns. Planktic and benthic Foraminifera chiefly increased their size during evolution. This increase, however, did not always occur gradually, but could be interrupted by periods when the animals maintained or even decreased in size. The rate of the size increase is different for the various species examined, some benthic forms grew only 10% during the Oligocene-Pleistocene interval, while for others this figure was up to 96%. Some benthic species increased in size in certain areas, but not in others. It is not improbable that some phylogenetic trends of planktic Foraminifera representing, according to stratigraphers, the evolution of one species into another, represent in reality, from the biological point of view, specimens of the same species which changed their size and in addition some minor morphological traits which are encompassed by the normal span of intraspecific variability. A comprehensive understanding and explanation of the size change of Foraminifera needs much additional research.