WorldWideScience

Sample records for opened postglacial marine

  1. 75 FR 23587 - Annual Seattle Yacht Club's “Opening Day” Marine Parade

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-04

    ... Seattle Yacht Club's ``Opening Day'' Marine Parade AGENCY: Coast Guard, DHS. ACTION: Notice of enforcement..., Portage Cut (Montlake Cut), and Union Bay, WA during the Annual Seattle Yacht Club's ``Opening Day... Special Local Regulation for the annual Seattle Yacht Club's ``Opening Day'' Marine Parade in 33 CFR 100...

  2. 33 CFR 100.1304 - Annual Seattle Yacht Club's “Opening Day” Marine Parade.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 33 Navigation and Navigable Waters 1 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Annual Seattle Yacht Club's âOpening Dayâ Marine Parade. 100.1304 Section 100.1304 Navigation and Navigable Waters COAST GUARD... Annual Seattle Yacht Club's “Opening Day” Marine Parade. (a) Regulated area. All of Portage Bay, with the...

  3. Post-glacial faulting in the Lansjaerv area, Northern Sweden. Comments from the expert group on a field visit at the Molberget post-glacial fault area, 1991

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stanfors, R.; Ericsson, L.O.

    1993-05-01

    Post-glacial faults have been recognized in the northern Baltic shield for several decades. It is important to evaluate whether such neotectonic movements can lead to new fracturing or decisively alter the geohydrological or geohydrochemical situation around a final repository for spent nuclear fuel. The post-glacial Lansjaerv fault was chosen for an interdisciplinary study because of its relative accessibility. The goals of the study were to assess the mechanisms that caused present day scraps, to clarify the extent of any recent fracturing and to clarify the extent of any ongoing movements. All these objectives were reasonably met through a series of studies, which have been performed by SKB during 1986-1992 in two phases. This report gives a summary of the first phase of the Lansjaerv study (1986-1989) and describes achievements that have been gained during the second phase of the study. As a final of the field-work in the Lansjaerv area a meeting combined with a field excursion was arranged by SKB in June 1991 for a group of international experts. Comments from the expert group on the excursion and the overall Lansjaerv project are presented. One of the major conclusions is that the Lansjaerv post-glacial fault reactivated pre-existing old structures and that the causes of the post-glacial movements is a combination of plate tectonics and deglaciation

  4. Post-glacial landform evolution in the middle Satluj River valley, India

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    incision. Climatically, the event corresponds to the post-glacial strengthened Indian summer monsoon. (ISM). ... middle Satluj valley extreme events shape the land- scape besides ...... District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Kinnaur,.

  5. Postglacial migration supplements climate in determining plant species ranges in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Normand, Signe; Ricklefs, Robert E.; Skov, Flemming; Bladt, Jesper; Tackenberg, Oliver; Svenning, Jens-Christian

    2011-01-01

    The influence of dispersal limitation on species ranges remains controversial. Considering the dramatic impacts of the last glaciation in Europe, species might not have tracked climate changes through time and, as a consequence, their present-day ranges might be in disequilibrium with current climate. For 1016 European plant species, we assessed the relative importance of current climate and limited postglacial migration in determining species ranges using regression modelling and explanatory variables representing climate, and a novel species-specific hind-casting-based measure of accessibility to postglacial colonization. Climate was important for all species, while postglacial colonization also constrained the ranges of more than 50 per cent of the species. On average, climate explained five times more variation in species ranges than accessibility, but accessibility was the strongest determinant for one-sixth of the species. Accessibility was particularly important for species with limited long-distance dispersal ability, with southern glacial ranges, seed plants compared with ferns, and small-range species in southern Europe. In addition, accessibility explained one-third of the variation in species' disequilibrium with climate as measured by the realized/potential range size ratio computed with niche modelling. In conclusion, we show that although climate is the dominant broad-scale determinant of European plant species ranges, constrained dispersal plays an important supplementary role. PMID:21543356

  6. Postglacial development of the eastern Gulf of Finland: from Pleistocene glacial lake basins to Holocene lagoon systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ryabchuk, Daria; Sergeev, Alexander; Kotilainen, Aarno; Hyttinen, Outi; Grigoriev, Andrey; Gerasimov, Dmitry; Anisimov, Mikhail; Gusentsova, Tatiana; Zhamoida, Vladimir; Amantov, Aleksey; Budanov, Leonid

    2016-04-01

    Despite significant amount of data, there are still lots of debatable questions and unsolved problems concerning postglacial geological history of the Eastern Gulf of Finland, the Baltic Sea. Among these problems are: 1) locations of the end moraine and glacio-fluvial deposits; 2) time and genesis of the large accretion forms (spits, bars, dunes); 3) basinwide correlations of trangression/regression culminations with the other parts of the Baltic Sea basin; 4) study of salinity, timing, frequency and intensity of Holocene saline water inflows and their links of sedimentation processes associated with climate change. Aiming to receive new data about regional postglacial development, the GIS analyses of bottom relief and available geological and geophysical data was undertaken, the maps of preQuaternary relief, moraine and Late Pleistocene surfaces, glacial moraine and Holocene sediments thicknesses were compiled. High-resolution sediment proxy study of several cores, taken from eastern Gulf of Finland bottom, allows to study grain-size distribution and geochemical features of glacial lake and Holocene sediments, to reveal sedimentation rates and paleoenvironment features of postglacial basins. Interdisciplinary geoarcheological approaches offer new opportunities for studying the region's geological history and paleogeography. Based on proxy marine geological and coastal geoarcheological studies (e.g. off-shore acoustic survey, side-scan profiling and sediment sampling, on-shore ground-penetrating radar (GPR SIR 2000), leveling, drilling, grain-size analyses and radiocarbon dating and archeological research) detailed paleogeographical reconstruction for three micro-regions - Sestroretsky and Lahta Lowlands, Narva-Luga Klint Bay and Southern Ladoga - were compiled. As a result, new high resolution models of Holocene geological development of the Eastern Gulf of Finland were received. Model calibration and verification used results from proxy geoarcheological research

  7. Postglacial Rebound from VLBI Geodesy: On Establishing Vertical Reference

    Science.gov (United States)

    Argus, Donald F.

    1996-01-01

    Difficulty in establishing a reference frame fixed to the earth's interior complicates the measurement of the vertical (radial) motions of the surface. I propose that a useful reference frame for vertical motions is that found by minimizing differences between vertical motions observed with VLBI [Ma and Ryan] and predictions from postglacial rebound predictions [Peltier]. The optimal translation of the geocenter is 1.7mm/year toward 36degN, 111degE when determined from the motions of 10 VLBI sites. This translation gives a better fit of observations to predictions than does the VLBI reference frame used by Ma and Ryan, but the improvement is statistically insignificant. The root mean square of differences decreases 20% to 0.73 mm/yr and the correlation coefficient increases from 0.76 to 0.87. Postglacial rebound is evident in the uplift of points in Sweden and Ontario that were beneath the ancient ice sheets of Fennoscandia and Canada, and in the subsidence of points in the northeastern U.S., Germany, and Alaska that were around the periphery of the ancient ice sheets.

  8. A preliminary structural analysis of the pattern of post-glacial faults in Northern Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Talbot, C.

    1986-10-01

    The post-glacial kinematics inferred from the structures suggest horizontal NW or WNW compression with lateral relief to the NE at depth below surficial upward relief. These kinematics are sufficiently similar to the kinematics throughout Europe north of the Alps to suspect the neotectonic motion of the Eurasian lithospheric plate over the last 38 or even 58 (+/- 2)Ma as the causative force. Large displacements appear to have occurred within a hundred years or so of the last ice retreating from any particular part of northern Scandinavia. This suggests a sudden relief during glacial unloading (and melting of ground water) of plate tectonic forces accumulated during glacial loading. Recent earthquakes in the region display similar kinematics to the post-glacial fractures on a regional scale but indications of ground movement along the forested fault scarps in the lifetime of the trees is observed at only a few localities. Only geodetic strain measurements or small-earthquake monitoring will resolve whether current ductile or seismic motion is occuring along the most obvious post-glacial scarps. Such investigations are under way. (orig./DG)

  9. International symposium on marine pollution. Opening statement, Monaco, 5 October 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ElBaradei, M.

    1998-01-01

    The document reproduces the text of the speech given by the Director General of the IAEA at 5 October 1998 in Monaco, at the opening of the International Symposium on Marine pollution organized by the IAEA and co-sponsored by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO, and the International Maritime Organization (IMO), in co-operation with the International Commission for Scientific Exploration of the Mediterranean Sea. The focus of the conference was on the role of the IAEA, mainly through its Marine Environment Laboratory, in the protection of the oceans from the harmful effects of human activity

  10. On the lateglacial and postglacial vegetation of South Limburg (Netherlands)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Janssen, C.R.

    1960-01-01

    The present study deals with the late-glacial and post-glacial development of the vegetation in the loess region of South Limburg (Netherlands). In the lateglacial time the continental element in the vegetation (Artemisia) is very pronounced, probably due to the particular soil conditions in South

  11. The impact of water loading on postglacial decay times in Hudson Bay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Han, Holly Kyeore; Gomez, Natalya

    2018-05-01

    Ongoing glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) due to surface loading (ice and water) variations during the last glacial cycle has been contributing to sea-level changes globally throughout the Holocene, especially in regions like Canada that were heavily glaciated during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). The spatial and temporal distribution of GIA, as manifested in relative sea-level (RSL) change, are sensitive to the ice history and the rheological structure of the solid Earth, both of which are uncertain. It has been shown that RSL curves near the center of previously glaciated regions with no ongoing surface loading follow an exponential-like form, with the postglacial decay times associated with that form having a weak sensitivity to the details of the ice loading history. Postglacial decay time estimates thus provide a powerful datum for constraining the Earth's viscous structure and improving GIA predictions. We explore spatial patterns of postglacial decay time predictions in Hudson Bay by decomposing numerically modeled RSL changes into contributions from water and ice loading effects, and computing their relative impact on the decay times. We demonstrate that ice loading can contribute a strong geographic trend on the decay time estimates if the time window used to compute decay times includes periods that are temporally close to (i.e. contemporaneous with, or soon after) periods of active loading. This variability can be avoided by choosing a suitable starting point for the decay time window. However, more surprisingly, we show that across any adopted time window, water loading effects associated with inundation into, and postglacial flux out of, Hudson Bay and James Bay will impart significant geographic variability onto decay time estimates. We emphasize this issue by considering both maps of predicted decay times across the region and site-specific estimates, and we conclude that variability in observed decay times (whether based on existing or future data

  12. Lagrangian analysis of multi-satellite data in support of open ocean Marine Protected Area design

    Science.gov (United States)

    Della Penna, Alice; Koubbi, Philippe; Cotté, Cedric; Bon, Cécile; Bost, Charles-André; d'Ovidio, Francesco

    2017-06-01

    Compared to ecosystem conservation in territorial seas, protecting the open ocean has peculiar geopolitical, economic and scientific challenges. One of the major obstacle is defining the boundary of an open ocean Marine Protected Area (MPA). In contrast to coastal ecosystems, which are mostly constrained by topographic structures fixed in time, the life of marine organisms in the open ocean is entrained by fluid dynamical structures like eddies and fronts, whose lifetime occurs on ecologically-relevant timescales. The position of these highly dynamical structures can vary interannually by hundreds of km, and so too will regions identified as ecologically relevant such as the foraging areas of marine predators. Thus, the expected foraging locations suggested from tracking data cannot be directly extrapolated beyond the year in which the data were collected. Here we explore the potential of Lagrangian methods applied to multisatellite data as a support tool for a MPA proposal by focusing on the Crozet archipelago oceanic area (Indian Sector of the Southern Ocean). By combining remote sensing with biologging information from a key marine top predator (Eudyptes chrysolophus, or Macaroni penguin) of the Southern Ocean foodweb, we identify a highly dynamic branch of the Subantarctic front as a foraging hotspot. By tracking this feature in historical satellite data (1993-2012) we are able to extrapolate the position of this foraging ground beyond the years in which tracking data are available and study its spatial variability.

  13. Numerical investigation of the recruitment process in open marine population models

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Angulo, O; López-Marcos, J C; López-Marcos, M A; Martínez-Rodríguez, J

    2011-01-01

    The changes in the dynamics, produced by the recruitment process in an open marine population model, are investigated from a numerical point of view. The numerical method considered, based on the representation of the solution along the characteristic lines, approximates properly the steady states of the model, and is used to analyze the asymptotic behavior of the solutions of the model

  14. Postglacial seismic activity along the Isovaara-Riikonkumpu fault complex

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ojala, Antti E. K.; Mattila, Jussi; Ruskeeniemi, Timo; Palmu, Jukka-Pekka; Lindberg, Antero; Hänninen, Pekka; Sutinen, Raimo

    2017-10-01

    Analysis of airborne LiDAR-based digital elevation models (DEMs), trenching of Quaternary deposits, and diamond drilling through faulted bedrock was conducted to characterize the geological structure and full slip profiles of the Isovaara-Riikonkumpu postglacial fault (PGF) complex in northern Finland. The PGF systems are recognized from LiDAR DEMs as a complex of surface ruptures striking SW-NE, cutting through late-Weichselian till, and associated with several postglacial landslides within 10 km. Evidence from the terrain rupture characteristics, the deformed and folded structure of late-Weichselian till, and the 14C age of 11,300 cal BP from buried organic matter underneath the Sotka landslide indicates a postglacial origin of the Riikonkumpu fault (PGF). The fracture frequency and lithology of drill cores and fault geometry in the trench log indicate that the Riikonkumpu PGF dips to WNW with a dip angle of 40-45° at the Riikonkumpu site and close to 60° at the Riikonvaara site. A fault length of 19 km and the mean and maximum cumulative vertical displacement of 1.3 m and 4.1 m, respectively, of the Riikonkumpu PGF system indicate that the fault potentially hosted an earthquake with a moment magnitude MW ≈ 6.7-7.3 assuming that slip was accumulated in one seismic event. Our interpretation further suggests that the Riikonkumpu PGF system is linked to the Isovaara PGF system and that, together, they form a larger Isovaara-Riikonkumpu fault complex. Relationships between the 38-km-long rupture of the Isovaara-Riikonkumpu complex and the fault offset parameters, with cumulative displacement of 1.5 and 8.3 m, respectively, indicate that the earthquake(s) contributing to the PGF complex potentially had a moment magnitude of MW ≈ 6.9-7.5. In order to adequately sample the uncertainty space, the moment magnitude was also estimated for each major segment within the Isovaara-Riikonkumpu PGF complex. These estimates vary roughly between MW ≈ 5-8 for the individual

  15. Advancing global marine biogeography research with open-source GIS software and cloud-computing

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fujioka, Ei; Vanden Berghe, Edward; Donnelly, Ben; Castillo, Julio; Cleary, Jesse; Holmes, Chris; McKnight, Sean; Halpin, patrick

    2012-01-01

    Across many scientific domains, the ability to aggregate disparate datasets enables more meaningful global analyses. Within marine biology, the Census of Marine Life served as the catalyst for such a global data aggregation effort. Under the Census framework, the Ocean Biogeographic Information System was established to coordinate an unprecedented aggregation of global marine biogeography data. The OBIS data system now contains 31.3 million observations, freely accessible through a geospatial portal. The challenges of storing, querying, disseminating, and mapping a global data collection of this complexity and magnitude are significant. In the face of declining performance and expanding feature requests, a redevelopment of the OBIS data system was undertaken. Following an Open Source philosophy, the OBIS technology stack was rebuilt using PostgreSQL, PostGIS, GeoServer and OpenLayers. This approach has markedly improved the performance and online user experience while maintaining a standards-compliant and interoperable framework. Due to the distributed nature of the project and increasing needs for storage, scalability and deployment flexibility, the entire hardware and software stack was built on a Cloud Computing environment. The flexibility of the platform, combined with the power of the application stack, enabled rapid re-development of the OBIS infrastructure, and ensured complete standards-compliance.

  16. Marine environmental assessment of the Black Sea region ministerial meeting. Opening statement, Monaco, 5 October 1998

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    ElBaradei, M.

    1998-01-01

    The document reproduces the text of the Opening Statement of the Director General of the IAEA at the Ministerial Meeting on Marine Environmental Assessment of the Black Sea Region, held in Monaco, on 5 October 1998. The Director General emphasized the contribution of the IAEA, mainly through its Technical Co-operation Programme, in strengthening the international co-operation in marine environmental assessment of the Black Sea region

  17. 78 FR 33700 - Special Local Regulations for Marine Events, Pleasantville Aquatics 15th Annual 5K Open Water...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-05

    ...-AA08 Special Local Regulations for Marine Events, Pleasantville Aquatics 15th Annual 5K Open Water Swim... Waterway for the Pleasantville Aquatics 15th Annual 5K Open Water Swim. The Captain of the Port, Sector..., Pleasantville Aquatics 15th Annual 5K Open Water Swim, Intracoastal Waterway; Atlantic City, NJ. (a) Location...

  18. Post-glacial flooding of the Bering Land Bridge dated to 11 cal ka BP based on new geophysical and sediment records

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M. Jakobsson

    2017-08-01

    Full Text Available The Bering Strait connects the Arctic and Pacific oceans and separates the North American and Asian landmasses. The presently shallow ( ∼  53 m strait was exposed during the sea level lowstand of the last glacial period, which permitted human migration across a land bridge today referred to as the Bering Land Bridge. Proxy studies (stable isotope composition of foraminifera, whale migration into the Arctic Ocean, mollusc and insect fossils and paleobotanical data have suggested a range of ages for the Bering Strait reopening, mainly falling within the Younger Dryas stadial (12.9–11.7 cal ka BP. Here we provide new information on the deglacial and post-glacial evolution of the Arctic–Pacific connection through the Bering Strait based on analyses of geological and geophysical data from Herald Canyon, located north of the Bering Strait on the Chukchi Sea shelf region in the western Arctic Ocean. Our results suggest an initial opening at about 11 cal ka BP in the earliest Holocene, which is later than in several previous studies. Our key evidence is based on a well-dated core from Herald Canyon, in which a shift from a near-shore environment to a Pacific-influenced open marine setting at around 11 cal ka BP is observed. The shift corresponds to meltwater pulse 1b (MWP1b and is interpreted to signify relatively rapid breaching of the Bering Strait and the submergence of the large Bering Land Bridge. Although the precise rates of sea level rise cannot be quantified, our new results suggest that the late deglacial sea level rise was rapid and occurred after the end of the Younger Dryas stadial.

  19. Post-glacial flooding of the Bering Land Bridge dated to 11 cal ka BP based on new geophysical and sediment records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jakobsson, Martin; Pearce, Christof; Cronin, Thomas M.; Backman, Jan; Anderson, Leif G.; Barrientos, Natalia; Bjork, Goran; Coxhall, Helen; de Boer, Agatha; Mayer, Larry; Morth, Carl-Magnus; Nilsson, Johan; Rattray, Jayne; Sranne, Christian; Semiletov, Igor; O'Regan, Matt

    2017-01-01

    The Bering Strait connects the Arctic and Pacific oceans and separates the North American and Asian landmasses. The presently shallow ( ∼  53 m) strait was exposed during the sea level lowstand of the last glacial period, which permitted human migration across a land bridge today referred to as the Bering Land Bridge. Proxy studies (stable isotope composition of foraminifera, whale migration into the Arctic Ocean, mollusc and insect fossils and paleobotanical data) have suggested a range of ages for the Bering Strait reopening, mainly falling within the Younger Dryas stadial (12.9–11.7 cal ka BP). Here we provide new information on the deglacial and post-glacial evolution of the Arctic–Pacific connection through the Bering Strait based on analyses of geological and geophysical data from Herald Canyon, located north of the Bering Strait on the Chukchi Sea shelf region in the western Arctic Ocean. Our results suggest an initial opening at about 11 cal ka BP in the earliest Holocene, which is later than in several previous studies. Our key evidence is based on a well-dated core from Herald Canyon, in which a shift from a near-shore environment to a Pacific-influenced open marine setting at around 11 cal ka BP is observed. The shift corresponds to meltwater pulse 1b (MWP1b) and is interpreted to signify relatively rapid breaching of the Bering Strait and the submergence of the large Bering Land Bridge. Although the precise rates of sea level rise cannot be quantified, our new results suggest that the late deglacial sea level rise was rapid and occurred after the end of the Younger Dryas stadial.

  20. Postglacial floodings of the Marmara Sea: molluscs and sediments tell the story

    Science.gov (United States)

    Büyükmeriç, Yeşim

    2016-08-01

    The early Holocene marine flooding of the Black Sea has been the subject of intense scientific debate since the "Noah's Flood" hypothesis was proposed in the late 1990s. The chronology of the flooding is not straightforward because the connection between the Black Sea and the Mediterranean Sea involves the intermediate Marmara Sea Basin via two sills (Dardanelles and Bosphorus). This study explores the chronology of late Pleistocene-Holocene flooding by examining sedimentary facies and molluscs from 24 gravity cores spanning shelf to slope settings in the southern Marmara Sea Basin. A late Pleistocene Ponto-Caspian (Neoeuxinian) mollusc association is found in 12 of the cores, comprising 14 mollusc species and dominated by brackish (oligohaline-lower mesohaline) endemic taxa (dreissenids, hydrobiids). The Neoeuxinian association is replaced by a Turritella- Corbula association at the onset of the Holocene. The latter is dominated by marine species, several of which are known to thrive under dysoxic conditions in muddy bottoms. This association is common in early Holocene intervals as well as sapropel intervals in younger Holocene strata. It is an indicator of low-salinity outflows from the Black Sea into the Marmara Sea that drive stratification. A marine Mediterranean association (87 species) represents both soft bottom and hard substrate faunas that lived in well-ventilated conditions and upper mesohaline-polyhaline salinities (ca. 25 psu). Shallower areas were occupied by hard substrate taxa and phytopdetritic communities, whereas deeper areas had soft bottom faunas. The middle shelf part of the northern Gemlik Gulf has intervals with irregular and discontinuous sedimentary structures admixed with worn Neoeuxinian and euryhaline Mediterranean faunas. These intervals represent reworking events (slumping) likely related to seismic activity rooted in the North Anatolian Fault system. The core data and faunas indicate an oscillating postglacial sea-level rise and

  1. Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans

    KAUST Repository

    Sequeira, A. M. M.; Rodrí guez, J. P.; Eguí luz, V. M.; Harcourt, R.; Hindell, M.; Sims, D. W.; Duarte, C. M.; Costa, D. P.; Ferná ndez-Gracia, J.; Ferreira, L. C.; Hays, G. C.; Heupel, M. R.; Meekan, M. G.; Aven, A.; Bailleul, F.; Baylis, A. M. M.; Berumen, Michael L.; Braun, C. D.; Burns, J.; Caley, M. J.; Campbell, R.; Carmichael, R. H.; Clua, E.; Einoder, L. D.; Friedlaender, Ari; Goebel, M. E.; Goldsworthy, S. D.; Guinet, C.; Gunn, J.; Hamer, D.; Hammerschlag, N.; Hammill, M.; Hü ckstä dt, L. A.; Humphries, N. E.; Lea, M.-A.; Lowther, A.; Mackay, A.; McHuron, E.; McKenzie, J.; McLeay, L.; McMahon, C. R.; Mengersen, K.; Muelbert, M. M. C.; Pagano, A. M.; Page, B.; Queiroz, N.; Robinson, P. W.; Shaffer, S. A.; Shivji, M.; Skomal, G. B.; Thorrold, S. R.; Villegas-Amtmann, S.; Weise, M.; Wells, R.; Wetherbee, B.; Wiebkin, A.; Wienecke, B.; Thums, M.

    2018-01-01

    The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals' movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the relative importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic factors remains elusive. We analyze a global dataset of ∼2.8 million locations from >2,600 tracked individuals across 50 marine vertebrates evolutionarily separated by millions of years and using different locomotion modes (fly, swim, walk/paddle). Strikingly, movement patterns show a remarkable convergence, being strongly conserved across species and independent of body length and mass, despite these traits ranging over 10 orders of magnitude among the species studied. This represents a fundamental difference between marine and terrestrial vertebrates not previously identified, likely linked to the reduced costs of locomotion in water. Movement patterns were primarily explained by the interaction between species-specific traits and the habitat(s) they move through, resulting in complex movement patterns when moving close to coasts compared with more predictable patterns when moving in open oceans. This distinct difference may be associated with greater complexity within coastal microhabitats, highlighting a critical role of preferred habitat in shaping marine vertebrate global movements. Efforts to develop understanding of the characteristics of vertebrate movement should consider the habitat(s) through which they move to identify how movement patterns will alter with forecasted severe ocean changes, such as reduced Arctic sea ice cover, sea level rise, and declining oxygen content.

  2. Convergence of marine megafauna movement patterns in coastal and open oceans

    KAUST Repository

    Sequeira, A. M. M.

    2018-02-26

    The extent of increasing anthropogenic impacts on large marine vertebrates partly depends on the animals\\' movement patterns. Effective conservation requires identification of the key drivers of movement including intrinsic properties and extrinsic constraints associated with the dynamic nature of the environments the animals inhabit. However, the relative importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic factors remains elusive. We analyze a global dataset of ∼2.8 million locations from >2,600 tracked individuals across 50 marine vertebrates evolutionarily separated by millions of years and using different locomotion modes (fly, swim, walk/paddle). Strikingly, movement patterns show a remarkable convergence, being strongly conserved across species and independent of body length and mass, despite these traits ranging over 10 orders of magnitude among the species studied. This represents a fundamental difference between marine and terrestrial vertebrates not previously identified, likely linked to the reduced costs of locomotion in water. Movement patterns were primarily explained by the interaction between species-specific traits and the habitat(s) they move through, resulting in complex movement patterns when moving close to coasts compared with more predictable patterns when moving in open oceans. This distinct difference may be associated with greater complexity within coastal microhabitats, highlighting a critical role of preferred habitat in shaping marine vertebrate global movements. Efforts to develop understanding of the characteristics of vertebrate movement should consider the habitat(s) through which they move to identify how movement patterns will alter with forecasted severe ocean changes, such as reduced Arctic sea ice cover, sea level rise, and declining oxygen content.

  3. Molecular biogeography of Europe: Pleistocene cycles and postglacial trends

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Schmitt Thomas

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract The climatic cycles with subsequent glacial and intergalcial periods have had a great impact on the distribution and evolution of species. Using genetic analytical tools considerably increased our understanding of these processes. In this review I therefore give an overview of the molecular biogeography of Europe. For means of simplification, I distinguish between three major biogeographical entities: (i "Mediterranean" with Mediterranean differentiation and dispersal centres, (ii "Continental" with extra-Mediterranean centres and (iii "Alpine" and/or "Arctic" with recent alpine and/or arctic distribution patterns. These different molecular biogeographical patterns are presented using actual examples. Many "Mediterranean" species are differentiated into three major European genetic lineages, which are due to glacial isolation in the three major Mediterranean peninsulas. Postglacial expansion in this group of species is mostly influenced by the barriers of the Pyrenees and the Alps with four resulting main patterns of postglacial range expansions. However, some cases are known with less than one genetic lineage per Mediterranean peninsula on the one hand, and others with a considerable genetic substructure within each of the Mediterranean peninsulas, Asia Minor and the Maghreb. These structures within the Mediterranean sub-centres are often rather strong and in several cases even predate the Pleistocene. For the "Continental" species, it could be shown that the formerly supposed postglacial spread from eastern Palearctic expansion centres is mostly not applicable. Quite the contrary, most of these species apparently had extra-Mediterranean centres of survival in Europe with special importance of the perialpine regions, the Carpathian Basin and parts of the Balkan Peninsula. In the group of "Alpine" and/or "Arctic" species, several molecular biogeographical patterns have been found, which support and improve the postulates based on

  4. Deposition of calcium carbonate into postglacial reefs: a test on a 'coral reef hypothesis'. Kohyoki no sangosho eno tansan calcium taiseki sokudo

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kayanne, H [Geological Survey of Japan, Tsukuba (Japan)

    1993-06-15

    This paper describes the following matters on changes in rates of deposition of calcium carbonate into postglacial coral reefs: Estimation was made on change in CaCO3 deposition in four coral reefs the data of which relating to all cross sections down to reef base have been acquired by drilling; the main deposition periods in the coral reefs formed in the postglacial period were five to six thousand years ago; the maximum deposition rate is estimated to be 2.7 [times] 10[sup 14] gC per one thousand years under an assumption that the total deposition amount in postglacial coral reefs is 1.2 [times] 10[sup 18] gC (converted to carbon amount); the recent deposition rate is (1/7.5) that of the former rate; from information obtained on submerged coral reefs, deposition amounts in coral reefs before 10,000 years ago are judged to have been smaller than those thereafter; and the above knowledges do not support the 'coral reef hypothesis' by Berger et al. that deposition of calcium carbonate into postglacial coral reefs has occurred from 15,000 years ago to 10,000 years ago. 30 refs., 2 figs.

  5. The postglacial Stuoragurra Fault, North Norway - A textural and mineralogical study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roaldset, E.

    2012-04-01

    The postglacial Stuoragurra Fault, North Norway - A textural and mineralogical study Elen Roaldset(1), Mari Åm (2), and Oddleiv Olesen(3) 1) Natural History Museum, University of Oslo, P.O.Box 1172 Blindern, 0318 Oslo, Norway 2) Statoil R &D, P. O. Box 2470, 7005 Trondheim, Norway 3) Norwegian Geological Survey, P.O.Box 6315 Sluppen, 7491 Trondheim, Norway The Stuoragurra Fault is part of the Lapland province of postglacial faults and was identified in 1983 during a colloborative project between the Geological Surveys of Finland Norway and Sweden. The Stuoragurra Fault is an 80 km long fault zone which contains three main segments of eastward dipping faults (30-55 deg.) with up to 10 m of reverse displacement and a 7 m high escarpment. It cross-cuts glaciofluvial deposits and consequently being younger than 10.000 years. The postglacial fault segments follow to a large extent older fault zones represented by lithified breccias and diabases of Proterozoic age. In this paper we will present textural and mineralogical study of a 135 m continous core drilled across the fault zone. The investigation methods include quality assessments by rock quality designation methods (RQD and Q- methods), textural and petrological descriptions visually and by thin section microscopy, and mineralogical analysis by X-ray diffraction. Special attention is drawn to neoformed and/or degraded minerals like clay minerals and iron oxides/hydroxides. The quality assessments of the cored material reflect the degree of rock deformation and fragmentation and show the quality of the bedrock generally to be of very poor (about 60%) to poor quality" (25%) The main minerals in the fresh rock are quarts, feldspar, mica and iron oxides (magnetite and ilmenite). Throughout the cored borehole products of weathering have formed on fissures, fractures and in strongly deformed, gravelly, zones. The neoformed minerals include kaolinite, smectite, and vermiculite, as well as goethite. The mineralogical

  6. Evolución paleoambiental de la transición glacial-postglacial en la Formación Agua Colorada (Grupo Paganzo, Carbonífero, Sierra de Narváez, NO argentino Palaeoenvironmental evolution of the glacial-postglacial transition in the Agua Colorada Formation (Paganzo Group, Carboniferous, Sierra de Narváez, NW Argentina

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carlos O Limarino

    2010-01-01

    ón postglacial, entre el Sistema del Famatina, la Precordillera y las Sierras Pampeanas.The Carboniferous sequences (lower section of the Paganzo Group outcroping in the central part of the Sierra de Narváez (Las Angosturas area, northwestern Argentina are described in this paper. From the regional point of view, two major Carboniferous sequences have been identified. Firstly, diamictites, conglomerates, sandstones, carbonaceous mudstones and thin coal beds that were included in the Agua Colorada Formation. A second group comprises monotonous sequences of shales and interstratified mudstones and sandstones which were excluded from the Agua Colorada Formation and identified with the informal ñame of 'Marine Late Paleozoic rocks'. Sedimentological characteristics of the Agua Colorada Formation allow recognizing seven facies associations in the Angosturas area: 1. monomictic diamictites; 2. polymictic diamictites and conglomerates; 3. shale-sandstone cycles; 4. dark shales; 5. greenish monomictic conglomerates; 6. channelised polymictic conglomerates and 7. coarse-grained sandstones, shales and thin coal beds. Facies associations 1 and 2, including both massive and rese-dimented diamictites, are interpreted as related to the well known Namurian gondwanic glacial event in western basins of Argentina. Facies associations 3,4 and 5 record the evolution of a fjord environment formed as a consequence of the postglacial transgression (the so-called Namurian postglacial transgression that flooded glacial valleys in the major part of the Paganzo Basin. A regional relative sea level fall marked by a regional incisión surface occurred at the base of facies association 6, and the fjord environment was sharply replaced by fluvial sedimentation (facies associations 6 and 7. A regional correlation model, based on the postglacial transgression key level, among the Sistema del Famatina, Precordillera and Sierras Pampeanas is proposed.

  7. Spatial genetic structure in Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima and Beta macrocarpa reveals the effect of contrasting mating system, influence of marine currents, and footprints of postglacial recolonization routes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leys, Marie; Petit, Eric J; El-Bahloul, Yasmina; Liso, Camille; Fournet, Sylvain; Arnaud, Jean-François

    2014-05-01

    Understanding the factors that contribute to population genetic divergence across a species' range is a long-standing goal in evolutionary biology and ecological genetics. We examined the relative importance of historical and ecological features in shaping the present-day spatial patterns of genetic structure in two related plant species, Beta vulgaris subsp. maritima and Beta macrocarpa. Using nuclear and mitochondrial markers, we surveyed 93 populations from Brittany (France) to Morocco - the southern limit of their species' range distribution. Whereas B. macrocarpa showed a genotypic structure and a high level of genetic differentiation indicative of selfing, the population genetic structure of B. vulgaris subsp. maritima was consistent with an outcrossing mating system. We further showed (1) a strong geographic clustering in coastal B. vulgaris subsp. maritima populations that highlighted the influence of marine currents in shaping different lineages and (2) a peculiar genetic structure of inland B. vulgaris subsp. maritima populations that could indicate the admixture of distinct evolutionary lineages and recent expansions associated with anthropogenic disturbances. Spatial patterns of nuclear diversity and differentiation also supported a stepwise recolonization of Europe from Atlantic-Mediterranean refugia after the last glacial period, with leading-edge expansions. However, cytoplasmic diversity was not impacted by postglacial recolonization: stochastic long-distance seed dispersal mediated by major oceanic currents may mitigate the common patterns of reduced cytoplasmic diversity observed for edge populations. Overall, the patterns we documented here challenge the general view of reduced genetic diversity at the edge of a species' range distribution and provide clues for understanding how life-history and major geographic features interact to shape the distribution of genetic diversity.

  8. Postglacial Human resilience and susceptibility to abrupt climate change new insights from Star Carr

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blockley, Simon; Abrook, Ashley; Bayliss, Alex; Candy, Ian; Conneller, Chantal; Darvill, Chris; Deeprose, Laura; Kearney, Rebecca; Langdon, Pete; Langdon Langdon, Cath; Lincoln, Paul; Macleod, Alison; Matthews, Ian; Palmer, Adrian; Schreve, Danielle; Taylor, Barry; Milner, Nicky

    2017-04-01

    We know little about the lives of the early humans who lived during the early Postglacial period (the Lateglacial and Early Holocene), a time characterised by abrupt climate change after 16,000, which includes a series of abrupt climatic transitions linked to the reorganisation of the global environment after the glacial maximum and the last major global warming event at the onset of the Holocene. The hunter-gatherers who lived during the early Postglacial have been characterised as highly mobile, dispersed and living within small groups, and there is much debate as to how they adapted to climatic and environmental change: did they move in response to climatic transitions (and if so what was the climatic threshold), or instead adapt their lifeways to the new environmental conditions? A key area for examining these ideas is the British Isles as it sits on the Atlantic fringe of Northwest Europe with a climate that is highly responsive to the wider climate forcing experienced in the northern Hemisphere. Furthermore, in this period, Britain is directly linked to continental Europe due to lowered global sea levels allowing for the ease of human migration in and out of this region. In general the British record has been seen as being dominated by abandonment and reoccupation in the Postglacial during periods of climatic transition with hunter-gatherer mobility being closely linked to the prevailing environment. Recent discoveries at the Early Mesolithic site of Star Carr and surrounding area, linked to local and regional climate records, based on isotopic, chironomid and pollen proxy data and dated at high chronological resolution, offer a new picture. Postglacial human occupation of the area commences at the Pleistocene/Holocene transition but is short lived and appears to end close to the Pre-Boreal Oscillation, However, this is followed by a period where hunter-gatherers occupy Star Carr and settle and invest time and effort into building huts and large scale wooden

  9. Quantification and Postglacial evolution of an inner alpine sedimentary basin (Gradenmoos Basin, Hohe Tauern)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Götz, J.

    2012-01-01

    The overall objective of this thesis is the quantification of sediment storage and the reconstruction of postglacial landscape evolution within the glacially overdeepened Gradenmoos Basin (subcatchment size: 4.1 km 2 ; basin floor elevation: 1920 m) in the central Gradenbach catchment (Schober Range, Hohe Tauern, Austrian Alps). Following the approach of denudation-accumulation-systems, most reliable results are obtained (1) if sediment output of a system can be neglected for an established period of time, (2) if sediment storage can be assessed with a high level of accuracy, (3) if the onset of sedimentation and amounts of initially stored sediments are known, and (4) if sediment contributing areas can be clearly delimited. Due to spatial scale and topographic characteristics, all mentioned aspects are fulfilled to a high degree within the studied basin. Applied methods include surface, subsurface and temporal investigations. Digital elevation data is derived from terrestrial laserscanning and geomorphologic mapping. The quantification of sediment storage is based on core drillings, geophysical methods (DC resistivity, refraction seismic, and ground penetrating radar), as well as GIS and 3D modelling. Radiocarbon dating and palynological analyses are additionally used to reconstruct the postglacial infilling progress of the basin. The study reveals that a continuous postglacial stratigraphic record is archived in the basin. As proposed by Lieb (1987) timing of basin deglaciation could be verified to late-Egesen times by means of radiocarbon ages (oldest sample just above basal till: 10.4 ka cal. BP) and first palynologic results. Lateglacial oscillations seem to have effectively scoured the basin, leaving only a shallow layer of basal till. The analysis of postglacial sedimentation in the basin is further improved by the existence of a former lake in the basin lasting for up to 7500 years until approx. 3.7 ka cal. BP. Both, the stratigraphic (fine, partly

  10. The relationship between genus richness and geographic area in Late Cretaceous marine biotas: epicontinental sea versus open-ocean-facing settings.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anne J Lagomarcino

    Full Text Available For present-day biotas, close relationships have been documented between the number of species in a given region and the area of the region. To date, however, there have been only limited studies of these relationships in the geologic record, particularly for ancient marine biotas. The recent development of large-scale marine paleontological databases, in conjunction with enhanced geographical mapping tools, now allow for their investigation. At the same time, there has been renewed interest in comparing the environmental and paleobiological properties of two broad-scale marine settings: epicontinental seas, broad expanses of shallow water covering continental areas, and open-ocean-facing settings, shallow shelves and coastlines that rim ocean basins. Recent studies indicate that spatial distributions of taxa and the kinetics of taxon origination and extinction may have differed in these two settings. Against this backdrop, we analyze regional Genus-Area Relationships (GARs of Late Cretaceous marine invertebrates in epicontinental sea and open-ocean settings using data from the Paleobiology Database. We present a new method for assessing GARs that is particularly appropriate for fossil data when the geographic distribution of these data is patchy and uneven. Results demonstrate clear relationships between genus richness and area for regions worldwide, but indicate that as area increases, genus richness increases more per unit area in epicontinental seas than in open-ocean settings. This difference implies a greater degree of compositional heterogeneity as a function of geographic area in epicontinental sea settings, a finding that is consistent with the emerging understanding of physical differences in the nature of water masses between the two marine settings.

  11. An Investigation of Trace Elements in Marine and Lacustrine Deposits by Means of a Neutron Activation Method

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Landstroem, O; Samsahl, K; Wenner, C G

    1967-10-15

    A neutron activation method for multi-elemental analysis was applied to argillaceous deposits from the Viskan Valley on the Swedish West Coast, an area in which transgressions and regressions of the sea have occurred during the postglacial time. These changes between fresh-water and marine stages are well known from earlier geologic investigations. Analysis could therefore be performed of samples of known marine (brackish) and lacustrine origin. In a preliminary test on four samples, taken from two marine layers and two lacustrine layers, altogether 30 elements were quantitatively determined, namely As, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Ga, Hf, Hg, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, U, W, Yb, Zn and Zr. Several elements showed a difference in concentration between the marine and the fresh-water layers. Br, Hg, Mn, Se, As and Sb were more thoroughly investigated in three boreholes from different sections of the valley. Br and Se had high means in the most pronounced marine samples of the fiord deposits. Moreover, Mn showed a fourfold increase just in the transition stage between the older sea fiord and the older lage stage.

  12. An Investigation of Trace Elements in Marine and Lacustrine Deposits by Means of a Neutron Activation Method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Landstroem, O.; Samsahl, K.; Wenner, C.G.

    1967-10-01

    A neutron activation method for multi-elemental analysis was applied to argillaceous deposits from the Viskan Valley on the Swedish West Coast, an area in which transgressions and regressions of the sea have occurred during the postglacial time. These changes between fresh-water and marine stages are well known from earlier geologic investigations. Analysis could therefore be performed of samples of known marine (brackish) and lacustrine origin. In a preliminary test on four samples, taken from two marine layers and two lacustrine layers, altogether 30 elements were quantitatively determined, namely As, Br, Ca, Ce, Co, Cr, Cs, Eu, Fe, Ga, Hf, Hg, La, Lu, Mn, Na, Rb, Sb, Sc, Se, Sm, Sr, Ta, Tb, Th, U, W, Yb, Zn and Zr. Several elements showed a difference in concentration between the marine and the fresh-water layers. Br, Hg, Mn, Se, As and Sb were more thoroughly investigated in three boreholes from different sections of the valley. Br and Se had high means in the most pronounced marine samples of the fiord deposits. Moreover, Mn showed a fourfold increase just in the transition stage between the older sea fiord and the older lage stage

  13. Marine mammal distribution in the open ocean: a comparison of ocean color data products and levant time scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohern, J.

    2016-02-01

    Marine mammals are generally located in areas of enhanced surface primary productivity, though they may forage much deeper within the water column and higher on the food chain. Numerous studies over the past several decades have utilized ocean color data from remote sensing instruments (CZCS, MODIS, and others) to asses both the quantity and time scales over which surface primary productivity relates to marine mammal distribution. In areas of sustained upwelling, primary productivity may essentially grow in the secondary levels of productivity (the zooplankton and nektonic species on which marine mammals forage). However, in many open ocean habitats a simple trophic cascade does not explain relatively short time lags between enhanced surface productivity and marine mammal presence. Other dynamic features that entrain prey or attract marine mammals may be responsible for the correlations between marine mammals and ocean color. In order to investigate these features, two MODIS (moderate imaging spectroradiometer) data products, the concentration as well as the standard deviation of surface chlorophyll were used in conjunction with marine mammal sightings collected within Ecuadorian waters. Time lags between enhanced surface chlorophyll and marine mammal presence were on the order of 2-4 weeks, however correlations were much stronger when the standard deviation of spatially binned images was used, rather than the chlorophyll concentrations. Time lags also varied between Balaenopterid and Odontocete cetaceans. Overall, the standard deviation of surface chlorophyll proved a useful tool for assessing potential relationships between marine mammal sightings and surface chlorophyll.

  14. Post-glacial climate forcing of surface processes in the Ganges-Brahmaputra river basin and implications for carbon sequestration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hein, Christopher J.; Galy, Valier; Galy, Albert; France-Lanord, Christian; Kudrass, Hermann; Schwenk, Tilmann

    2017-11-01

    Climate has been proposed to control both the rate of terrestrial silicate weathering and the export rate of associated sediments and terrestrial organic carbon to river-dominated margins - and thus the rate of sequestration of atmospheric CO2 in the coastal ocean - over glacial-interglacial timescales. Focused on the Ganges-Brahmaputra rivers, this study presents records of post-glacial changes in basin-scale Indian summer monsoon intensity and vegetation composition based on stable hydrogen (δD) and carbon (δ13C) isotopic compositions of terrestrial plant wax compounds preserved in the channel-levee system of the Bengal Fan. It then explores the role of these changes in controlling the provenance and degree of chemical weathering of sediments exported by these rivers, and the potential climate feedbacks through organic-carbon burial in the Bengal Fan. An observed 40‰ shift in δD and a 3-4‰ shift in both bulk organic-carbon and plant-wax δ13C values between the late glacial and mid-Holocene, followed by a return to more intermediate values during the late Holocene, correlates well with regional post-glacial paleoclimate records. Sediment provenance proxies (Sr, Nd isotopic compositions) reveal that these changes likely coincided with a subtle focusing of erosion on the southern flank of the Himalayan range during periods of greater monsoon strength and enhanced sediment discharge. However, grain-size-normalized organic-carbon concentrations in the Bengal Fan remained constant through time, despite order-of-magnitude level changes in catchment-scale monsoon precipitation and enhanced chemical weathering (recorded as a gradual increase in K/Si* and detrital carbonate content, and decrease in H2O+/Si*, proxies) throughout the study period. These findings demonstrate a partial decoupling of climate change and silicate weathering during the Holocene and that marine organic-carbon sequestration rates primary reflect rates of physical erosion and sediment export

  15. 29 CFR 1917.21 - Open fires.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... 29 Labor 7 2010-07-01 2010-07-01 false Open fires. 1917.21 Section 1917.21 Labor Regulations Relating to Labor (Continued) OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF LABOR (CONTINUED) MARINE TERMINALS Marine Terminal Operations § 1917.21 Open fires. Open fires and fires in drums or...

  16. Post-glacial phylogeography and evolution of a wide-ranging highly-exploited keystone forest tree, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus) in North America: single refugium, multiple routes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zinck, John W R; Rajora, Om P

    2016-03-02

    Knowledge of the historical distribution and postglacial phylogeography and evolution of a species is important to better understand its current distribution and population structure and potential fate in the future, especially under climate change conditions, and conservation of its genetic resources. We have addressed this issue in a wide-ranging and heavily exploited keystone forest tree species of eastern North America, eastern white pine (Pinus strobus). We examined the range-wide population genetic structure, tested various hypothetical population history and evolutionary scenarios and inferred the location of glacial refugium and post-glacial recolonization routes. Our hypothesis was that eastern white pine survived in a single glacial refugium and expanded through multiple post-glacial recolonization routes. We studied the range-wide genetic diversity and population structure of 33 eastern white pine populations using 12 nuclear and 3 chloroplast microsatellite DNA markers. We used Approximate Bayesian Computation approach to test various evolutionary scenarios. We observed high levels of genetic diversity, and significant genetic differentiation (F ST = 0.104) and population structure among eastern white pine populations across its range. A south to north trend of declining genetic diversity existed, consistent with repeated founder effects during post-glaciation migration northwards. We observed broad consensus from nuclear and chloroplast genetic markers supporting the presence of two main post-glacial recolonization routes that originated from a single southern refugium in the mid-Atlantic plain. One route gave rise to populations at the western margin of the species' range in Minnesota and western Ontario. The second route gave rise to central-eastern populations, which branched into two subgroups: central and eastern. We observed minimal sharing of chloroplast haplotypes between recolonization routes but there was evidence of admixture between the

  17. Long-term archives reveal shifting extinction selectivity in China's postglacial mammal fauna

    Science.gov (United States)

    Crees, Jennifer J.; Li, Zhipeng; Bielby, Jon; Yuan, Jing

    2017-01-01

    Ecosystems have been modified by human activities for millennia, and insights about ecology and extinction risk based only on recent data are likely to be both incomplete and biased. We synthesize multiple long-term archives (over 250 archaeological and palaeontological sites dating from the early Holocene to the Ming Dynasty and over 4400 historical records) to reconstruct the spatio-temporal dynamics of Holocene–modern range change across China, a megadiverse country experiencing extensive current-day biodiversity loss, for 34 mammal species over three successive postglacial time intervals. Our combined zooarchaeological, palaeontological, historical and current-day datasets reveal that both phylogenetic and spatial patterns of extinction selectivity have varied through time in China, probably in response both to cumulative anthropogenic impacts (an ‘extinction filter’ associated with vulnerable species and accessible landscapes being affected earlier by human activities) and also to quantitative and qualitative changes in regional pressures. China has experienced few postglacial global species-level mammal extinctions, and most species retain over 50% of their maximum estimated Holocene range despite millennia of increasing regional human pressures, suggesting that the potential still exists for successful species conservation and ecosystem restoration. Data from long-term archives also demonstrate that herbivores have experienced more historical extinctions in China, and carnivores have until recently displayed greater resilience. Accurate assessment of patterns of biodiversity loss and the likely predictive power of current-day correlates of faunal vulnerability and resilience is dependent upon novel perspectives provided by long-term archives. PMID:29167363

  18. Sequence stratigraphic and sedimentologic significance of biogenic structures from a late Paleozoic marginal- to open-marine reservoir, Morrow Sandstone, subsurface of southwest Kansas, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buatois, L.A.; Mangano, M.G.; Alissa, A.; Carr, T.R.

    2002-01-01

    Integrated ichnologic, sedimentologic, and stratigraphic studies of cores and well logs from Lower Pennsylvanian oil and gas reservoirs (lower Morrow Sandstone, southwest Kansas) allow distinction between fluvio-estuarine and open marine deposits in the Gentzler and Arroyo fields. The fluvio-estuarine facies assemblage is composed of both interfluve and valley-fill deposits, encompassing a variety of depositional environments such as fluvial channel, interfluve paleosol, bay head delta, estuary bay, restricted tidal flat, intertidal channel, and estuary mouth. Deposition in a brackish-water estuarine valley is supported by the presence of a low diversity, opportunistic, impoverished marine ichnofaunal assemblage dominated by infaunal structures, representing an example of a mixed, depauperate Cruziana and Skolithos ichnofacies. Overall distribution of ichnofossils along the estuarine valley was mainly controlled by the salinity gradient, with other parameters, such as oxygenation, substrate and energy, acting at a more local scale. The lower Morrow estuarine system displays the classical tripartite division of wave-dominated estuaries (i.e. seaward-marine sand plug, fine-grained central bay, and sandy landward zone), but tidal action is also recorded. The estuarine valley displays a northwest-southeast trend, draining to the open sea in the southeast. Recognition of valley-fill sandstones in the lower Morrow has implications for reservoir characterization. While the open marine model predicts a "layer-cake" style of facies distribution as a consequence of strandline shoreline progradation, identification of valley-fill sequences points to more compartmentalized reservoirs, due to the heterogeneity created by valley incision and subsequent infill. The open-marine facies assemblage comprises upper, middle, and lower shoreface; offshore transition; offshore; and shelf deposits. In contrast to the estuarine assemblage, open marine ichnofaunas are characterized by a

  19. A New Open Access Journal of Marine Science and Engineering

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anthony S. Clare

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available The oceans cover approximately 71% of the Earth’s surface and contain more than 97% of the planet’s water, representing over 100 times more liveable volume than the terrestrial habitat. Approximately fifty percent of the species on the planet occupy this ocean biome, much of which remains unexplored. The health and sustainability of the oceans are threatened by a combination of pressures associated with climate change and the ever-increasing demands we place on them for food, recreation, trade, energy and minerals. The biggest threat, however, is the pace of change to the oceans, e.g., ocean acidification, which is unprecedented in human history. Consequently, there has never been a greater need for the rapid and widespread dissemination of the outcomes of research aimed at improving our understanding of how the oceans work and solutions to their sustainable use. It is our hope that this new online, open-access Journal of Marine Science and Engineering will go some way to fulfilling this need. [...

  20. The Vale of Pickering in the Mesolithic: uncovering the early post-glacial landscape

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tim Schadla-Hall

    2000-10-01

    Full Text Available Since 1954, when Grahame Clark published the results of his excavations at Star Carr in northeast Yorkshire, the site has been recognized as a key to understanding early Mesolithic huntergatherer settlement and subsistence in northwest Europe. In 1976, archaeological and palaeoenvironmental research in the area was resumed - since 1986 under the auspices of the Vale of Pickering Research Trust - and it is now possible to set Star Carr and nearby Mesolithic sites in the wider context of the early postglacial landscape.

  1. Postglacial recolonization in a cold climate specialist in western Europe: patterns of genetic diversity in the adder (Vipera berus) support the central-marginal hypothesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ursenbacher, Sylvain; Guillon, Michaël; Cubizolle, Hervé; Dupoué, Andréaz; Blouin-Demers, Gabriel; Lourdais, Olivier

    2015-07-01

    Understanding the impact of postglacial recolonization on genetic diversity is essential in explaining current patterns of genetic variation. The central-marginal hypothesis (CMH) predicts a reduction in genetic diversity from the core of the distribution to peripheral populations, as well as reduced connectivity between peripheral populations. While the CMH has received considerable empirical support, its broad applicability is still debated and alternative hypotheses predict different spatial patterns of genetic diversity. Using microsatellite markers, we analysed the genetic diversity of the adder (Vipera berus) in western Europe to reconstruct postglacial recolonization. Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) analyses suggested a postglacial recolonization from two routes: a western route from the Atlantic Coast up to Belgium and a central route from the Massif Central to the Alps. This cold-adapted species likely used two isolated glacial refugia in southern France, in permafrost-free areas during the last glacial maximum. Adder populations further from putative glacial refugia had lower genetic diversity and reduced connectivity; therefore, our results support the predictions of the CMH. Our study also illustrates the utility of highly variable nuclear markers, such as microsatellites, and ABC to test competing recolonization hypotheses. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  2. Operational use of open satellite data for marine water quality monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Symeonidis, Panagiotis; Vakkas, Theodoros

    2017-09-01

    The purpose of this study was to develop an operational platform for marine water quality monitoring using near real time satellite data. The developed platform utilizes free and open satellite data available from different data sources like COPERNICUS, the European Earth Observation Initiative, or NASA, from different satellites and instruments. The quality of the marine environment is operationally evaluated using parameters like chlorophyll-a concentration, water color and Sea Surface Temperature (SST). For each parameter, there are more than one dataset available, from different data sources or satellites, to allow users to select the most appropriate dataset for their area or time of interest. The above datasets are automatically downloaded from the data provider's services and ingested to the central, spatial engine. The spatial data platform uses the Postgresql database with the PostGIS extension for spatial data storage and Geoserver for the provision of the spatial data services. The system provides daily, 10 days and monthly maps and time series of the above parameters. The information is provided using a web client which is based on the GET SDI PORTAL, an easy to use and feature rich geospatial visualization and analysis platform. The users can examine the temporal variation of the parameters using a simple time animation tool. In addition, with just one click on the map, the system provides an interactive time series chart for any of the parameters of the available datasets. The platform can be offered as Software as a Service (SaaS) to any area in the Mediterranean region.

  3. Composite faults in the Swiss Alps formed by the interplay of tectonics, gravitation and postglacial rebound: an integrated field and modelling study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ustaszewski, M. E.; Pfiffner, A.; Hampel, A.; Ustaszewski, M. E.

    2008-01-01

    Along the flanks of several valleys in the Swiss Alps, well-preserved fault scarps occur between 1900 and 2400 m altitude, which reveal uplift of the valley-side block relative to the mountain-side block. The height of these uphill-facing scarps varies between 0.5 m and more than 10 m along strike of the fault traces, which usually trend parallel to the valley axes. The formation of the scarps is generally attributed either to tectonic movements or gravitational slope instabilities. Here we combine field data and numerical experiments to show that the scarps may be of composite origin, i.e. that tectonic and gravitational processes as well as postglacial differential uplift may have contributed to their formation. Tectonic displacement may occur as the fault scarps run parallel to older tectonic faults. The tectonic component seems, however, to be minor as the studied valleys lack seismic activity. A large gravitational component, which is feasible owing to the steep dip of the schistosity and lithologic boundaries in the studied valleys, is indicated by the uneven morphology of the scarps, which is typical of slope movements. Postglacial differential uplift of the valley floor with respect to the summits provides a third feasible mechanism for scarp formation, as the scarps are postglacial in age and occur on the flanks of valleys that were filled with ice during the last glacial maximum. Finite-element experiments show that postglacial unloading and rebound can initiate slip on steeply dipping pre-existing weak zones and explain part of the observed scarp height. From our field and modelling results we conclude that the formation of uphill-facing scarps is primarily promoted by a steeply dipping schistosity striking parallel to the valley axes and, in addition, by mechanically weaker rocks in the valley with respect to the summits. Our findings imply that the identification of surface expressions related to active faults can be hindered by similar morphologic

  4. Marine radioactivity studies in the World Oceans (MARS)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Povinec, P.P.; Togawa, O.

    1999-01-01

    The International Atomic Energy Agency's Marine Environment Laboratory is carrying out from 1996 a project with international participation 'Marine Radioactivity Studies in the World Oceans (MARS)'. The main objectives of the project are to provide new data on marine radioactivity and to develop a better understanding of the present radionuclide distribution in the open ocean. Within the framework of the project, various research activities are being carried out to fulfill the objectives: Coordinated Research Programme (CRP), scientific expeditions to the open ocean, development of a database for marine radioactivity, evaluation of radionuclide distributions and dose assessments. (author)

  5. Marine turtles use geomagnetic cues during open-sea homing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luschi, Paolo; Benhamou, Simon; Girard, Charlotte; Ciccione, Stephane; Roos, David; Sudre, Joël; Benvenuti, Silvano

    2007-01-23

    Marine turtles are renowned long-distance navigators, able to reach remote targets in the oceanic environment; yet the sensory cues and navigational mechanisms they employ remain unclear [1, 3]. Recent arena experiments indicated an involvement of magnetic cues in juvenile turtles' homing ability after simulated displacements [4, 5], but the actual role of geomagnetic information in guiding turtles navigating in their natural environment has remained beyond the reach of experimental investigations. In the present experiment, twenty satellite-tracked green turtles (Chelonia mydas) were transported to four open-sea release sites 100-120 km from their nesting beach on Mayotte island in the Mozambique Channel; 13 of them had magnets attached to their head either during the outward journey or during the homing trip. All but one turtle safely returned to Mayotte to complete their egg-laying cycle, albeit with indirect routes, and showed a general inability to take into account the deflecting action of ocean currents as estimated through remote-sensing oceanographic measurements [7]. Magnetically treated turtles displayed a significant lengthening of their homing paths with respect to controls, either when treated during transportation or when treated during homing. These findings represent the first field evidence for the involvement of geomagnetic cues in sea-turtle navigation.

  6. Postglacial recolonization patterns and genetic relationships among whitefish ( Coregonus sp.) populations in Denmark, inferred from mitochondrial DNA and microsatellite markers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hansen, Michael Møller; Mensberg, Karen-Lise Dons; Berg, Søren

    1999-01-01

    . The implications of these results for the conservation status of North Sea houting are discussed in the light of current definitions of evolutionary significant units. Both mtDNA and microsatellite data indicated that postglacial recolonization by C. lavaretus in Denmark was less likely to have taken place from...

  7. Strengthened enforcement enhances marine sanctuary performance

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Brendan P. Kelaher

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available Marine sanctuaries are areas where the extraction of biota is not permitted. Although most marine sanctuaries have a positive influence on biotic communities, not all sanctuaries are meeting their conservation objectives. Amidst possible explanations (e.g., size, age and isolation, insufficient enforcement is often speculated to be a key driver of marine sanctuary underperformance. Despite this, there are few studies directly linking quantitative enforcement data to changes in biotic communities within marine sanctuaries. Here, we used an asymmetrical-BACI experimental design from 2006–2012 to test whether new enforcement initiatives enhanced abundances of target fishes and threatened species in an existing large sub-tropical marine sanctuary relative to areas open to fishing. Implementation of the new enforcement initiatives in 2010 was associated with a 201% increase in annual fine rate and a significant increase in target fish and elasmobranch abundance, as well as sightings of a critically-endangered shark, in the marine sanctuary relative to areas open to fishing. Overall, these results demonstrate that strengthening enforcement can have a rapid positive influence on target fish and perhaps threatened species in a subtropical marine sanctuary. From this, we contend that increased enforcement guided by risk-based compliance planning and operations may be a useful first step for improving underperforming marine sanctuaries.

  8. Open Data, Jupyter Notebooks and Geospatial Data Standards Combined - Opening up large volumes of marine and climate data to other communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clements, O.; Siemen, S.; Wagemann, J.

    2017-12-01

    The EU-funded Earthserver-2 project aims to offer on-demand access to large volumes of environmental data (Earth Observation, Marine, Climate data and Planetary data) via the interface standard Web Coverage Service defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium. Providing access to data via OGC web services (e.g. WCS and WMS) has the potential to open up services to a wider audience, especially to users outside the respective communities. Especially WCS 2.0 with its processing extension Web Coverage Processing Service (WCPS) is highly beneficial to make large volumes accessible to non-expert communities. Users do not have to deal with custom community data formats, such as GRIB for the meteorological community, but can directly access the data in a format they are more familiar with, such as NetCDF, JSON or CSV. Data requests can further directly be integrated into custom processing routines and users are not required to download Gigabytes of data anymore. WCS supports trim (reduction of data extent) and slice (reduction of data dimension) operations on multi-dimensional data, providing users a very flexible on-demand access to the data. WCPS allows the user to craft queries to run on the data using a text-based query language, similar to SQL. These queries can be very powerful, e.g. condensing a three-dimensional data cube into its two-dimensional mean. However, the more processing-intensive the more complex the query. As part of the EarthServer-2 project, we developed a python library that helps users to generate complex WCPS queries with Python, a programming language they are more familiar with. The interactive presentation aims to give practical examples how users can benefit from two specific WCS services from the Marine and Climate community. Use-cases from the two communities will show different approaches to take advantage of a Web Coverage (Processing) Service. The entire content is available with Jupyter Notebooks, as they prove to be a highly beneficial tool

  9. Geoengineering impact of open ocean dissolution of olivine on atmospheric CO2, surface ocean pH and marine biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Köhler, Peter; Abrams, Jesse F; Völker, Christoph; Hauck, Judith; Wolf-Gladrow, Dieter A

    2013-01-01

    Ongoing global warming induced by anthropogenic emissions has opened the debate as to whether geoengineering is a ‘quick fix’ option. Here we analyse the intended and unintended effects of one specific geoengineering approach, which is enhanced weathering via the open ocean dissolution of the silicate-containing mineral olivine. This approach would not only reduce atmospheric CO 2 and oppose surface ocean acidification, but would also impact on marine biology. If dissolved in the surface ocean, olivine sequesters 0.28 g carbon per g of olivine dissolved, similar to land-based enhanced weathering. Silicic acid input, a byproduct of the olivine dissolution, alters marine biology because silicate is in certain areas the limiting nutrient for diatoms. As a consequence, our model predicts a shift in phytoplankton species composition towards diatoms, altering the biological carbon pumps. Enhanced olivine dissolution, both on land and in the ocean, therefore needs to be considered as ocean fertilization. From dissolution kinetics we calculate that only olivine particles with a grain size of the order of 1 μm sink slowly enough to enable a nearly complete dissolution. The energy consumption for grinding to this small size might reduce the carbon sequestration efficiency by ∼30%. (letter)

  10. A mistletoe tale: postglacial invasion of Psittacanthus schiedeanus (Loranthaceae) to Mesoamerican cloud forests revealed by molecular data and species distribution modeling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ornelas, Juan Francisco; Gándara, Etelvina; Vásquez-Aguilar, Antonio Acini; Ramírez-Barahona, Santiago; Ortiz-Rodriguez, Andrés Ernesto; González, Clementina; Mejía Saules, María Teresa; Ruiz-Sanchez, Eduardo

    2016-04-12

    Ecological adaptation to host taxa is thought to result in mistletoe speciation via race formation. However, historical and ecological factors could also contribute to explain genetic structuring particularly when mistletoe host races are distributed allopatrically. Using sequence data from nuclear (ITS) and chloroplast (trnL-F) DNA, we investigate the genetic differentiation of 31 Psittacanthus schiedeanus (Loranthaceae) populations across the Mesoamerican species range. We conducted phylogenetic, population and spatial genetic analyses on 274 individuals of P. schiedeanus to gain insight of the evolutionary history of these populations. Species distribution modeling, isolation with migration and Bayesian inference methods were used to infer the evolutionary transition of mistletoe invasion, in which evolutionary scenarios were compared through posterior probabilities. Our analyses revealed shallow levels of population structure with three genetic groups present across the sample area. Nine haplotypes were identified after sequencing the trnL-F intergenic spacer. These haplotypes showed phylogeographic structure, with three groups with restricted gene flow corresponding to the distribution of individuals/populations separated by habitat (cloud forest localities from San Luis Potosí to northwestern Oaxaca and Chiapas, localities with xeric vegetation in central Oaxaca, and localities with tropical deciduous forests in Chiapas), with post-glacial population expansions and potentially corresponding to post-glacial invasion types. Similarly, 44 ITS ribotypes suggest phylogeographic structure, despite the fact that most frequent ribotypes are widespread indicating effective nuclear gene flow via pollen. Gene flow estimates, a significant genetic signal of demographic expansion, and range shifts under past climatic conditions predicted by species distribution modeling suggest post-glacial invasion of P. schiedeanus mistletoes to cloud forests. However, Approximate

  11. Postglacial relative sea level change at Fildes Peninsula, King George Island (West Antarctic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    K. V. Polishchuk

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Analysis and integration of data obtained in our field and laboratory investigations of 2008–2012 together with results of previous paleogeographic studies were conducted to reveal parameters and factors of the post-glacial changes in the relative sea-level on the Fildes Peninsula and the King George Island. Results of dating of organic material taken from cross-sections of Quaternary deposits, data on morphology of marine landforms as well as on bottom sediments in lakes were used to construct a curve of changes in the relative sea-level.Our research has shown that the rapid rise of relative sea level in the area (since the beginning of the Holocene decelerated about 8000 years BP, achieving its maximum about 7000 years BP. This was followed by the fall of relative sea-level (the land elevation by 18–20  m in total, and it was characterized by relatively high rate of fall during periods of 6000– 5000 years BP, 4000–2500 years BP, and during the last 1500 years; the rate decreased in 5000–4000 years BP and 2500– 1600 years BP. The changes in relative sea level in this region were determined by the following factors: the eustatic component of the global changes in sea-level and, possibly, oscillations in the global sea level of another nature; local parameters of the Last glacial maximum; a course of the Peninsula deglaciation; regional physical characteristics of the Earth's crust and the mantle substances; local tectonic processes, including the isostatic rebound. Since the beginning of the Holocene up to about 7000 years BP, the main contribution to changes of the relative sea-level in this area was made by the global eustatic factor. The subsequent fall of the relative sea-level (elevation of the Peninsula surface proceeded under condition of reduced role of the eustatic factor and predominance of other factors.

  12. Open Circuit Potential Study of Stainless Steel in Environment Containing Marine Sulphate-Reducing Bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fathul Karim Sahrani; Madzlan Abd. Aziz; Zaharah Ibrahim; Adibah Yahya

    2008-01-01

    The corrosion potential of AISI 304 stainless steel coupons influenced by sulphate-reducing bacteria (SRB) has been studied. Pure colony of SRB was isolated from the Malaysia Marine and Heavy Engineering, Pasir Gudang, Johor. Open circuit potential measurements were carried out in variable types of culturing solutions with SRB1, SRB2, combination of SRB1 and SRB2 and without SRBs inoculated. Results showed that the corrosion potential, E oc increased in the presence of SRBs (in pure and mixed culture) compared to that of control. EDS analysis showed the strong peak of sulphur in coupon containing SRB cultures compared to the control. ESEM data showed that the high density cell of SRBs were associated with corroding sections of surface steel comparing with non-corroding sections for coupons immersed in VMNI medium containing SRBs. (author)

  13. Interdisciplinary study of post-glacial faulting in the Lansjaerv area, Northern Sweden 1986-1988

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baeckblom, G.; Stanfors, R.

    1989-12-01

    Post-glacial faults have been recognized in the northern Baltic shield for several decades. It is important to evaluate whether such neotectonic movements can lead to new fracturing or decisively alter the geohydrological or geohydrochemical situation around a final repository for spent nuclear fuel. The post-glacial Lansjaerv fault was chosen for interdisciplinary study because of its relative accessibility. The goals of the study were to assess the mechanisms that caused present day scarps, to clarify the extent of any recent fracturing and to clarify the extent of any ongoing movements. All these objectives were reasonable met through a series of studies. This report describes achievements that have been gained since the study was initiated by SKB 1986. Analysis of geology and geophysics over a 150x200 km region supplemented with seismic networks and field studies at outcrops and trenches set a framework for a cored borehole down to depth of 500 m at the fault. The core has been studied in detail with respect to fracture-infillings in order to analyse mineralogical and geochemical alteration. The borehole has been logged for geophysics, stress, hydraulic conductivity, groundwater pressure and the chemical constituents of the groundwater. Numerical modelling has been undertaken in order to understand the effects of glaciation on the behaviour of a blocky rock mass. Several general conclusions have been made by the interdisciplinary research group. One of the major conclusions is that pre-existing old structures were reactivated by tectonic movements, possibly triggered by deglaciation. In spite of a major earthquake that may have occurred during the deglaciation, and in spite of the anomalous tectonic setting compared to study-sites within SKB:s site investigation programme, the hydraulic conductivity and groundwater chemistry are comparable with results from those sites. (83 figs., 15 tabs., 150 refs.)

  14. Phylogeographical analysis of mtDNA data indicates postglacial expansion from multiple glacial refugia in woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cornelya F C Klütsch

    Full Text Available Glacial refugia considerably shaped the phylogeographical structure of species and may influence intra-specific morphological, genetic, and adaptive differentiation. However, the impact of the Quaternary ice ages on the phylogeographical structure of North American temperate mammalian species is not well-studied. Here, we surveyed ~1600 individuals of the widely distributed woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou using mtDNA control region sequences to investigate if glacial refugia contributed to the phylogeographical structure in this subspecies. Phylogenetic tree reconstruction, a median-joining network, and mismatch distributions supported postglacial expansions of woodland caribou from three glacial refugia dating back to 13544-22005 years. These three lineages consisted almost exclusively of woodland caribou mtDNA haplotypes, indicating that phylogeographical structure was mainly shaped by postglacial expansions. The putative centres of these lineages are geographically separated; indicating disconnected glacial refugia in the Rocky Mountains, east of the Mississippi, and the Appalachian Mountains. This is in congruence with the fossil record that caribou were distributed in these areas during the Pleistocene. Our results suggest that the last glacial maximum substantially shaped the phylogeographical structure of this large mammalian North American species that will be affected by climatic change. Therefore, the presented results will be essential for future conservation planning in woodland caribou.

  15. Postglacial Rebound and Current Ice Loss Estimates from Space Geodesy: The New ICE-6G (VM5a) Global Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Peltier, W. R.; Argus, D.; Drummond, R.; Moore, A. W.

    2012-12-01

    We compare, on a global basis, estimates of site velocity against predictions of the newly constructed postglacial rebound model ICE-6G (VM5a). This model is fit to observations of North American postglacial rebound thereby demonstrating that the ice sheet at last glacial maximum must have been, relative to ICE-5G,thinner in southern Manitoba, thinner near Yellowknife (northwest Territories), thicker in eastern and southern Quebec, and thicker along the British Columbia-Alberta border. The GPS based estimates of site velocity that we employ are more accurate than were previously available because they are based on GPS estimates of position as a function of time determined by incorporating satellite phase center variations [Desai et al. 2011]. These GPS estimates are constraining postglacial rebound in North America and Europe more tightly than ever before. In particular, given the high density of GPS sites in North America, and the fact that the velocity of the mass center (CM) of Earth is also more tightly constrained, the new model much more strongly constrains both the lateral extent of the proglacial forebulge and the rate at which this peripheral bulge (that was emplaced peripheral to the late Pleistocence Laurentia ice sheet) is presently collapsing. This fact proves to be important to the more accurate inference of the current rate of ice loss from both Greenland and Alaska based upon the time dependent gravity observations being provided by the GRACE satellite system. In West Antarctica we have also been able to significantly revise the previously prevalent ICE-5G deglaciation history so as to enable its predictions to be optimally consistent with GPS site velocities determined by connecting campaign WAGN measurements to those provided by observations from the permanent ANET sites. Ellsworth Land (south of the Antarctic peninsula), is observed to be rising at 6 ±3 mm/yr according to our latest analyses; the Ellsworth mountains themselves are observed to be

  16. Effects of post-glacial phylogeny and genetic diversity on the growth variability and climate sensitivity of European silver fir

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Bošela, M.; Popa, I.; Gömöry, D.; Longauer, R.; Tobin, B.; Kyncl, J.; Kyncl, T.; Nechita, C.; Petras, R.; Sidor, C. G.; Šebeň, V.; Büntgen, Ulf

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 104, č. 3 (2016), s. 716-724 ISSN 0022-0477 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) EE2.3.20.0248 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : abies-alba mill. * western carpathians * time-series * mitochondrial-dna * glacial refugia * forest decline * air-pollution * consequences * quaternary * drought * air pollution * dendroecology * drought * ecology * global warming * plant-climate interactions * post-glacial migration * radial growth * tree decline Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 5.813, year: 2016

  17. Postglacial colonization of Europe by the barbastelle bat: agreement between molecular data and past predictive modelling.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rebelo, Hugo; Froufe, Elsa; Brito, José C; Russo, Danilo; Cistrone, Luca; Ferrand, Nuno; Jones, Gareth

    2012-06-01

    The barbastelle (Barbastella barbastellus) is a rare forest bat with a wide distribution in Europe. Here, we combine results from the analysis of two mtDNA fragments with species distribution modelling to determine glacial refugia and postglacial colonization routes. We also investigated whether niche conservatism occurs in this species. Glacial refugia were identified in the three southern European peninsulas: Iberia, Italy and the Balkans. These latter two refugia played a major role in the postglacial colonization process, with their populations expanding to England and central Europe, respectively. Palaeo-distribution models predicted that suitable climatic conditions existed in the inferred refugia during the last glacial maximum (LGM). Nevertheless, the overlap between the current and the LGM distributions was almost inexistent in Italy and in the Balkans, meaning that B. barbastellus populations were forced to shift range between glacial and interglacial periods, a process that probably caused some local extinctions. In contrast, Iberian populations showed a 'refugia within refugium' pattern, with two unconnected areas containing stable populations (populations that subsisted during both glacial and interglacial phases). Moreover, the match between LGM models and the refugial areas determined by molecular analysis supported the hypothesis of niche conservatism in B. barbastellus. We argue that geographic patterns of genetic structuring, altogether with the modelling results, indicate the existence of four management units for conservation: Morocco, Iberia, Italy and UK, and Balkans and central Europe. In addition, all countries sampled possessed unique gene pools, thus stressing the need for the conservation of local populations. © 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  18. Glacial and postglacial geology near Lake Tennyson, Clarence River, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    McCalpin, J.P.

    1992-01-01

    Otiran valley glaciers extended 15 km down the upper Clarence Valley in central Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand. A massive Otiran terminal moraine complex, composed of moraines of three glacial advances, impounds Lake Tennyson. The moraines are early and middle Otiran, and possibly late Otiran-early Aranuian in age, based on relative position and differences in moraine morphology, weathering rinds, and soils. Radiocarbon ages from a tributary (Serpentine Creek) suggest the latest major episode of aggradation in the Clarence Valley was in progress by 11.3 ka, and had ended by 9.2 ka. Postglacial history was dominated by incision of glacial outwash, deposition of small alluvial fans, and landsliding near the trace of the Awatere Fault. Fault scarps of the Awatere Fault and of unnamed parallel splays displace early Otiran moraines up to 19 m and early Holocene terraces up to 2.6 m. (author). 25 refs., 10 figs., 3 tabs

  19. 78 FR 67338 - Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-11-12

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Protected Areas... the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (Committee). The web conference calls are open..., MPA FAC, National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305 East West Highway, Silver Spring, Maryland 20910...

  20. Evolution of the climatic tolerance and postglacial range changes of the most primitive orchids (Apostasioideae) within Sundaland, Wallacea and Sahul

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kolanowska, Marta; Mystkowska, K.; Kras, M.; Dudek, M.; Konowalik, K.

    2016-01-01

    Roč. 4, aug (2016), č. článku e2384. ISSN 2167-8359 R&D Projects: GA ČR GB14-36098G Institutional support: RVO:86652079 Keywords : phylogenetic analysis * niche models * diversification * asia * distributions * improve * guinea * origin * areas * Ecology * Orchids * Species distribution modeling * Climatic tolerance * Postglacial migration Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Environmental sciences (social aspects to be 5.7) Impact factor: 2.177, year: 2016

  1. Influence of marine current on vertical migration of Pb in marine bay

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Chen; Hong, Ai; Danfeng, Yang; Huijuan, Zhao; Dongfang, Yang

    2018-02-01

    This paper analyzed that vertical migration of Pb contents waters in Jiaozhou Bay, and revealed the influence of marine current on vertical migration process. Results showed that Pb contents in bottom waters of Jiaozhou Bay in April and July 1988 were 1.49-18.53 μg L-1 and 12.68/-27.64 μg L-1, respectively. The pollution level of Pb in bottom waters was moderate to heavy, and were showing temporal variations and spatial heterogeneity. The vertical migration process of Pb in April 1988 included a drifting process from the southwest to the north by means of the marine current was rapid in this region. The vertical migration process of Pb in July 1988 in the open waters included no drifting process since the flow rate of marine current was relative low in this region. The vertical migration process of Pb was jointly determined by vertical water’s effect, source input and water exchange, and the influence of marine current on the vertical migration of Pb in marine bay was significant.

  2. 75 FR 63443 - Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Protected Areas... CONTACT: Kara Schwenke, Designated Federal Officer, MPA FAC, National Marine Protected Areas Center, 1305.... ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Marine Protected...

  3. Open Science: a first step towards Science Communication

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grigorov, Ivo; Tuddenham, Peter

    2015-04-01

    As Earth Science communicators gear up to adopt the new tools and captivating approaches to engage citizen scientists, budding entrepreneurs, policy makers and the public in general, researchers have the responsibility, and opportunity, to fully adopt Open Science principles and capitalize on its full societal impact and engagement. Open Science is about removing all barriers to basic research, whatever its formats, so that it can be freely used, re-used and re-hashed, thus fueling discourse and accelerating generation of innovative ideas. The concept is central to EU's Responsible Research and Innovation philosophy, and removing barriers to basic research measurably contributes to engaging citizen scientists into the research process, it sets the scene for co-creation of solutions to societal challenges, and raises the general science literacy level of the public. Despite this potential, only 50% of today's basic research is freely available. Open Science can be the first passive step of communicating marine research outside academia. Full and unrestricted access to our knowledge including data, software code and scientific publications is not just an ethical obligation, but also gives solid credibility to a more sophisticated communication strategy on engaging society. The presentation will demonstrate how Open Science perfectly compliments a coherent communication strategy for placing Marine Research in societal context, and how it underpin an effective integration of Ocean & Earth Literacy principles in standard educational, as well mobilizing citizen marine scientists, thus making marine science Open Science.

  4. 77 FR 47424 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-08

    ... various issues related to the training and fitness of merchant marine personnel. This meeting will be open..., documentation, and fitness standards. The Committee will advise, consult with, and make [[Page 47425... Criteria) which can be used to assess mariner competencies listed in the International Convention on...

  5. Inland post-glacial dispersal in East Asia revealed by mitochondrial haplogroup M9a'b

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Wang Wen-Zhi

    2011-01-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Archaeological studies have revealed a series of cultural changes around the Last Glacial Maximum in East Asia; whether these changes left any signatures in the gene pool of East Asians remains poorly indicated. To achieve deeper insights into the demographic history of modern humans in East Asia around the Last Glacial Maximum, we extensively analyzed mitochondrial DNA haplogroup M9a'b, a specific haplogroup that was suggested to have some potential for tracing the migration around the Last Glacial Maximum in East Eurasia. Results A total of 837 M9a'b mitochondrial DNAs (583 from the literature, while the remaining 254 were newly collected in this study pinpointed from over 28,000 subjects residing across East Eurasia were studied here. Fifty-nine representative samples were further selected for total mitochondrial DNA sequencing so we could better understand the phylogeny within M9a'b. Based on the updated phylogeny, an extensive phylogeographic analysis was carried out to reveal the differentiation of haplogroup M9a'b and to reconstruct the dispersal histories. Conclusions Our results indicated that southern China and/or Southeast Asia likely served as the source of some post-Last Glacial Maximum dispersal(s. The detailed dissection of haplogroup M9a'b revealed the existence of an inland dispersal in mainland East Asia during the post-glacial period. It was this dispersal that expanded not only to western China but also to northeast India and the south Himalaya region. A similar phylogeographic distribution pattern was also observed for haplogroup F1c, thus substantiating our proposition. This inland post-glacial dispersal was in agreement with the spread of the Mesolithic culture originating in South China and northern Vietnam.

  6. Holocene glacier variations and sea level change in Wahlenbergfjorden, Nordaustlandet, Svalbard

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schomacker, A.; Farnsworth, W. R.; Ingolfsson, O.; Allaart, L.; Håkansson, L.; Retelle, M.

    2017-12-01

    Here we present preliminary results on the Holocene glacier variations in Wahlenbergfjorden on Nordaustlandet, Svalbard. The reconstructions are based on lake sediment records from Lake Kl\\overbladvatna covering the last 9500 years. This lake captures meltwater from the Etonbreen glacier, a main outlet of the Austfonna ice cap, when the glacier extends further than present. Additionally, Kl\\overbladvatna is an isolation basin capturing the postglacial isolation from the marine to lacustrine environment due to glacioisostatic rebound. The chronology is based on radiocarbon dating of terrestrial and marine macrofossils. The lake sediment record also reveals that glacial meltwater exceeded the threshold into Lake Kl\\overbladvatna during the Little Ice Age as witnessed by glacial meltwater clay in the upper part of the sediment cores. In periods of less advanced glaciers, the lake sediment record is dominated by laminated clayey gyttja. Based on radiocarbon datings of driftwood, whalebone, and marine mollusc shells in raised beaches and marine deposits in Pallanderbukta, south Wahlenbergfjorden, we also present a new postglacial sea level curve from this region.

  7. 78 FR 73112 - Boundary Expansion of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-12-05

    .... 130403324-3376-01] RIN 0648-BC94 Boundary Expansion of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... boundary of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary. This document re-opens the public comment period...

  8. Lateral plate evolution in the threespine stickleback: getting nowhere fast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, M A

    2001-01-01

    Gasterosteus aculeatus is a small Holarctic fish with marine, anadromous, and freshwater populations. Marine and anadromous populations apparently have changed little in the past 10 million years and exhibit limited geographical variation. In contrast, freshwater isolates have been founded repeatedly by marine and anadromous populations, and post-glacial isolates have undergone extraordinary adaptive radiation. Stickleback traits that have diversified during post-glacial radiation, including the 'lateral plates' (LP), can evolve substantially within decades after colonization of fresh water or when the environment (particularly predation regime) changes. Although highly divergent freshwater isolates of G. aculeatus have existed for at least 10 million years, they have rarely experienced sustained evolutionary divergence leading to formation of widespread, phenotypically distinct species. The paradox of rapid LP evolution without sustained divergence has resulted from selective extinction of highly divergent populations, because they are specialized for conditions in small, isolated habitats that tend to dry up within limited periods. Biological species of G. aculeatus may also evolve within decades, and are also prone to extinction because they are endemic to and specialized for small, ephemeral habitats. The high rate of evolution observed in contemporary threespine stickleback populations may not be unique to this species complex and has important implications for use of post-glacial populations in comparative studies, speciation rate, and discrimination of sympatric and allopatric speciation.

  9. 78 FR 64186 - Boundary Expansion of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-10-28

    .... 130403324-3 376-01 RIN 0648-BC94] Boundary Expansion of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Ocean Service (NOS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... boundary of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (78 FR 35776). On August 15, NOAA re-opened the...

  10. The Nigerian Marine Department contribution to British colonial ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    The paper examines the contributions of the Marine Department to the development of the colonial economy and its impact on the maritime development of ... paper finds out that the activities of the Marine Department opened up the littoral routes through the dredging of Nigeria's maritime environment for trade between the ...

  11. Seasonal variation of marine organic aerosols in the North Pacific Ocean

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fu, P.; Kawamura, K.

    2017-12-01

    Atmospheric aerosols were collected in the marine boundary layer during five marine cruises in the northern Pacific Ocean from October 1996 to July 1997. Organic molecular compositions of the marine aerosols were measured using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Higher concentrations of levoglucosan and its isomers, the biomass-burning tracers, were observed in the coastal regions than those in the central north Pacific. Seasonal trends of biomass burning tracers were found to be higher in fall-winter-spring than in summer, suggesting an enhanced influence of continental aerosols to the marine atmosphere during cold seasons when the westerlies prevail. However, the atmospheric levels of secondary organic aerosol (SOA) tracers from the photooxidation of isoprene and monoterpenes were higher in warm seasons than cold seasons, which are in accordance with the enhanced emissions of biogenic volatile organic compounds (BVOCs) in summer. Stable C isotope ratios of total carbon (δ13CTC) in the marine aerosols ranged from -28.5‰ to -23.6‰ (mean -26.4‰), suggesting an important input of terrestrial/continental aerosol particles. Stable N isotope ratios (2.6‰ to 12.9‰, mean 7.1‰) were found to be higher in the coastal regions than those in the open oceans, suggesting an enhanced emission of marine aerosols in the open oceans. The fluorescence properties of the water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC) in the marine aerosols conform the importance of marine emitted organics in the open ocean, especially during the high biological activity periods.

  12. Naval open systems architecture

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guertin, Nick; Womble, Brian; Haskell, Virginia

    2013-05-01

    For the past 8 years, the Navy has been working on transforming the acquisition practices of the Navy and Marine Corps toward Open Systems Architectures to open up our business, gain competitive advantage, improve warfighter performance, speed innovation to the fleet and deliver superior capability to the warfighter within a shrinking budget1. Why should Industry care? They should care because we in Government want the best Industry has to offer. Industry is in the business of pushing technology to greater and greater capabilities through innovation. Examples of innovations are on full display at this conference, such as exploring the impact of difficult environmental conditions on technical performance. Industry is creating the tools which will continue to give the Navy and Marine Corps important tactical advantages over our adversaries.

  13. "Conserving Marine Biodiversity in the Global Marine Commons: Co-evolution and Interaction with the Law of the Sea"

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robin Margaret Warner

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available As global shipping intensifies and technological advances provide more opportunities to access the resources of the high seas and the deep seabed beyond national jurisdiction (ABNJ, the catalogue of threats to the marine environment and its biodiversity increase commensurately. Beyond these threats, new and emerging uses of ABNJ including more intrusive marine scientific research, bio-prospecting, deep seabed mining and environmental modification activities to mitigate the effects of climate change have the potential to harm the highly interconnected and sensitive ecosystems of the open ocean and the deep seabed if not sustainably managed now and into the future. Modern conservation norms such as environmental impact assessment, marine protected areas, marine spatial planning and development mechanisms such as technology transfer and capacity building are under developed in the legal and institutional framework for ABNJ. This article examines key normative features of the legal and institutional framework for ABNJ and their applicability to conservation of marine biodiversity, gaps and disconnects in that framework and ongoing global initiatives to develop more effective governance structures. It discusses some of the options being considered in the UN Ad Hoc Informal Open-ended Working Group to study issues related to the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ Working Group to evolve the legal and institutional framework for conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ and their current and future relevance for the law of the sea. It concludes that the discussions in the BBNJ Working Group and related initiatives in the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD and at regional level have demonstrated that a more integrated legal and institutional structure is needed to address growing threats to marine biodiversity in ABNJ.

  14. A coupled regolith-lake development model applied to the Forsmark site

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Brydsten, Lars; Stroemgren, Maarten (Umeaa Univ., Umeaa (Sweden))

    2010-11-15

    The Quaternary geology at the Forsmark site has been characterized using both a map of Quaternary deposits and a regolith depth model (RDM) that show the stratigraphy and thickness of different deposits. Regolith refers to all the unconsolidated deposits overlying the bedrock. The surface geology and regolith depth are important parameters for hydrogeological and geochemical modelling and for the overall understanding of the area. The safety assessment analysis should focus on processes involved during a period of 120,000 years, which includes a full glacial cycle; however, the investigations within the site description model do not cover the temporal change of the regolith, a limitation that does not fulfil the requirements for the safety assessment. To this end, this study constructs a model that can predict the surface geology, stratigraphy, and thickness of different strata at any time during a glacial cycle and applies this model to the Forsmark site. The Weichselian ice sheet covered the study area until around 9500 BC. The deglaciation revealed a marine landscape with bedrock, till and glacial clay. For the safety assessment, the most important unconsolidated strata are clay or silt: these small grains can bind nuclear elements more easily than coarser sediment particles. Thick layers of clay can be found where post-glacial clay settled on top of glacial clay, especially where the middle-aged erosion of postglacial clay is missing and where there is an uninterrupted sequence of accumulation of finegrained particles. Such areas could be found in deep marine basins that later become lakes when raised into a supra-marine position. The coupled regolith-lake development model (RLDM) predicts the course of events described above during an interglacial, especially the dynamics of the clay and silt particles. The RLDM is divided into two modules: a marine module that predicts the sediment dynamics caused by wind waves and a lake module that predicts the lake infill

  15. A coupled regolith-lake development model applied to the Forsmark site

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brydsten, Lars; Stroemgren, Maarten

    2010-11-01

    The Quaternary geology at the Forsmark site has been characterized using both a map of Quaternary deposits and a regolith depth model (RDM) that show the stratigraphy and thickness of different deposits. Regolith refers to all the unconsolidated deposits overlying the bedrock. The surface geology and regolith depth are important parameters for hydrogeological and geochemical modelling and for the overall understanding of the area. The safety assessment analysis should focus on processes involved during a period of 120,000 years, which includes a full glacial cycle; however, the investigations within the site description model do not cover the temporal change of the regolith, a limitation that does not fulfil the requirements for the safety assessment. To this end, this study constructs a model that can predict the surface geology, stratigraphy, and thickness of different strata at any time during a glacial cycle and applies this model to the Forsmark site. The Weichselian ice sheet covered the study area until around 9500 BC. The deglaciation revealed a marine landscape with bedrock, till and glacial clay. For the safety assessment, the most important unconsolidated strata are clay or silt: these small grains can bind nuclear elements more easily than coarser sediment particles. Thick layers of clay can be found where post-glacial clay settled on top of glacial clay, especially where the middle-aged erosion of postglacial clay is missing and where there is an uninterrupted sequence of accumulation of finegrained particles. Such areas could be found in deep marine basins that later become lakes when raised into a supra-marine position. The coupled regolith-lake development model (RLDM) predicts the course of events described above during an interglacial, especially the dynamics of the clay and silt particles. The RLDM is divided into two modules: a marine module that predicts the sediment dynamics caused by wind waves and a lake module that predicts the lake infill

  16. Floating cultivation of marine cyanobacteria using coal fly ash

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Matsumoto, M.; Yoshida, E.; Takeyama, H.; Matsunaga, T. [Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Tokyo (Japan). Dept. of Biotetechnology

    2000-07-01

    The aim was to develop improved methodologies for bulk culturing of biotechnologically useful marine cyanobacteria in the open ocean. The viability of using coal fly ash (CFA) blocks as the support medium in a novel floating culture system for marine microalgae was investigated. The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. NKBC 040607 was found to adhere to floating CFA blocks in liquid culture medium. The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. NKBG 042902 weakly adhered to floating CFA blocks in BG-11 medium. Increasing the concentration of calcium ion in the culture medium enhanced adherence to CFA blocks.

  17. The postglacial recolonization of Northern Europe by Rana arvalis as revealed by microsatellite and mitochondrial DNA analyses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knopp, T; Merilä, J

    2009-02-01

    The postglacial history of the moor frog (Rana arvalis) in Northern Europe was investigated with the aid of eight variable microsatellite loci and a 661 bp sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. A division between eastern and western mitochondrial lineages was discovered, supporting two recolonization routes to Fennoscandia since the last glacial maximum. This result was corroborated by the microsatellite data, which revealed a contact zone between the two lineages in Northern Sweden. These findings add to the increasing evidence that an intraspecific genetic biodiversity founded on the existence of eastern and western clades is a common element in Fennoscandian fauna and flora.

  18. Long-distance dispersal or postglacial contraction? Insights into disjunction between Himalaya-Hengduan Mountains and Taiwan in a cold-adapted herbaceous genus, Triplostegia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Niu, Yan-Ting; Ye, Jian-Fei; Zhang, Jin-Long; Wan, Ji-Zhong; Yang, Tuo; Wei, Xiao-Xin; Lu, Li-Min; Li, Jian-Hua; Chen, Zhi-Duan

    2018-01-01

    Current disjunct patterns can result from long-distance dispersal or postglacial contraction. We herein investigate the evolutionary history of Triplostegia to elucidate the disjunction between the Himalaya-Hengduan Mountain region (HHM) and Taiwan (TW). Genetic structure of Triplostegia was investigated for 48 populations using sequences from five chloroplast loci and the ribosomal nuclear internal transcribed spacer. Divergence time estimation, ancestral area reconstruction, and species distribution modeling (SDM) were employed to examine the biogeographic history of Triplostegia . Substantial genetic differentiation among populations from southwestern China (SW), Central China (CC), and TW was detected. Triplostegia was inferred to have originated in SW, and diversification began during the late Miocene; CC was colonized in the mid-Pliocene, and TW was finally colonized in the early Pleistocene. SDM suggested an expansion of climatically suitable areas during the Last Glacial Maximum and range contraction during the Last interglacial in Triplostegia . Disjunction between HHM and TW in Triplostegia is most likely the consequence of topographic isolation and postglacial contraction. The potential climatic suitability areas for Triplostegia by 2070s (2061-2080) are predicted to slightly shrink and move northward. With continued global warming and human-induced deforestation, extinction risk may increase for the cold-adapted species, and appropriate strategies should be employed for ecosystem conservation.

  19. The kelp highway hypothesis: marine ecology, the coastal migration theory, and the peopling of the Americas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erlandson, Jon M.; Graham, Michael H.; Bourque, Bruce J.; Corbett, Debra; Estes, James A.; Steneck, Robert S.

    2007-01-01

    In this article, a collaborative effort between archaeologists and marine ecologists, we discuss the role kelp forest ecosystems may have played in facilitating the movement of maritime peoples from Asia to the Americas near the end of the Pleistocene. Growing in cool nearshore waters along rocky coastlines, kelp forests offer some of the most productive habitats on earth, with high primary productivity, magnified secondary productivity, and three-dimensional habitat supporting a diverse array of marine organisms. Today, extensive kelp forests are found around the North Pacific from Japan to Baja California. After a break in the tropicswhere nearshore mangrove forests and coral reefs are highly productivekelp forests are also found along the Andean Coast of South America. These Pacific Rim kelp forests support or shelter a wealth of shellfish, fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and seaweeds, resources heavily used historically by coastal peoples. By about 16,000 years ago, the North Pacific Coast offered a linear migration route, essentially unobstructed and entirely at sea level, from northeast Asia into the Americas. Recent reconstructions suggest that rising sea levels early in the postglacial created a highly convoluted and island-rich coast along Beringia's southern shore, conditions highly favorable to maritime hunter-gatherers. Along with the terrestrial resources available in adjacent landscapes, kelp forests and other nearshore habitats sheltered similar suites of food resources that required minimal adaptive adjustments for migrating coastal peoples. With reduced wave energy, holdfasts for boats, and productive fishing, these linear kelp forest ecosystems may have provided a kind of kelp highway for early maritime peoples colonizing the New World.

  20. Postglacial faulting and paleoseismicity in the Landsjaerv area, northern Sweden

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lagerbaeck, R.

    1988-10-01

    Post-glacial fault scarps, up to about 20 m in height and forming a 50 km long fault set with a SSW-NNE orientation, occur in the Lansjaerv area in northern Sweden. By trenching across the fault scarps it has been possible to date fault movement relative to the Quaternary stratigraphy. It is concluded that the fault scarps generally developed as single event movements shortly after the deglaciation about 9000 years ago. At one location there are indications that minor fault movements may have occurred earlier during a previous glaciation but this is uncertain. The fault scarps are, at least partially, developed in strongly fractured and chemically weathered zones of presumed pre-Quaternary age. To judge from the appearance of the bedrock fault scarps, and the deformation of the Quaternary deposits, the faults are reverse and have dips between some 40-50 0 and the vertical. The faulting was co-seismic and earthquakes in the order of M 6.5-7.0, or higher, are inferred from fault dimensions and the distribution of seismically triggered landslides in a wider region. Distortions in different types of sediment, interpreted as caused by the influence of seismic shock, occur frequently in the area. Examples of these are briefly described. (orig.)

  1. The resilience of postglacial hunter-gatherers to abrupt climate change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blockley, Simon; Candy, Ian; Matthews, Ian; Langdon, Pete; Langdon, Cath; Palmer, Adrian; Lincoln, Paul; Abrook, Ashley; Taylor, Barry; Conneller, Chantal; Bayliss, Alex; MacLeod, Alison; Deeprose, Laura; Darvill, Chris; Kearney, Rebecca; Beavan, Nancy; Staff, Richard; Bamforth, Michael; Taylor, Maisie; Milner, Nicky

    2018-05-01

    Understanding the resilience of early societies to climate change is an essential part of exploring the environmental sensitivity of human populations. There is significant interest in the role of abrupt climate events as a driver of early Holocene human activity, but there are very few well-dated records directly compared with local climate archives. Here, we present evidence from the internationally important Mesolithic site of Star Carr showing occupation during the early Holocene, which is directly compared with a high-resolution palaeoclimate record from neighbouring lake beds. We show that-once established-there was intensive human activity at the site for several hundred years when the community was subject to multiple, severe, abrupt climate events that impacted air temperatures, the landscape and the ecosystem of the region. However, these results show that occupation and activity at the site persisted regardless of the environmental stresses experienced by this society. The Star Carr population displayed a high level of resilience to climate change, suggesting that postglacial populations were not necessarily held hostage to the flickering switch of climate change. Instead, we show that local, intrinsic changes in the wetland environment were more significant in determining human activity than the large-scale abrupt early Holocene climate events.

  2. A marine meteorological data acquisition system

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Desai, R.G.P.; Desa, E.; Vithayathil, G.

    A marine meteorological data acquisition system has been developed for long term unattended measurements at remote coastal sites, ocean surface platforms and for use on board research vessels. The system has an open and modular configuration...

  3. Marine bird and mammal data integration

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Office of National Marine Sanctuary Program (ONMS) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the...

  4. Does terrestrial epidemiology apply to marine systems?

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCallum, Hamish I.; Kuris, Armand M.; Harvell, C. Drew; Lafferty, Kevin D.; Smith, Garriet W.; Porter, James

    2004-01-01

    Most of epidemiological theory has been developed for terrestrial systems, but the significance of disease in the ocean is now being recognized. However, the extent to which terrestrial epidemiology can be directly transferred to marine systems is uncertain. Many broad types of disease-causing organism occur both on land and in the sea, and it is clear that some emergent disease problems in marine environments are caused by pathogens moving from terrestrial to marine systems. However, marine systems are qualitatively different from terrestrial environments, and these differences affect the application of modelling and management approaches that have been developed for terrestrial systems. Phyla and body plans are more diverse in marine environments and marine organisms have different life histories and probably different disease transmission modes than many of their terrestrial counterparts. Marine populations are typically more open than terrestrial ones, with the potential for long-distance dispersal of larvae. Potentially, this might enable unusually rapid propagation of epidemics in marine systems, and there are several examples of this. Taken together, these differences will require the development of new approaches to modelling and control of infectious disease in the ocean.

  5. 77 FR 29316 - Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee; Public Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-17

    ... DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Protected Areas.... ACTION: Notice of open meeting. SUMMARY: Notice is hereby given of a meeting of the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee (Committee) in Silver Spring, Maryland. DATES: The meeting will be held...

  6. Fire-climate-human interactions during the postglacial period at Sunrise Ridge, Mount Rainier National Park, Washington (USA)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, Megan K.; Lukens, Michael L.; McCutcheon, Patrick T.; Burtchard, Greg C.

    2017-12-01

    With the creation of Mount Rainier National Park (MORA) in 1899 came the active management of the park's landscapes and a heavy emphasis on fire suppression. Today, managers at MORA seek to better manage current fire activity; however, this requires an improved understanding of past fire activity on the mountain. In this study high-resolution macroscopic charcoal analysis and pollen analysis of lake sediment records was used to reconstruct the postglacial fire and vegetation history for the Sunrise Ridge area of MORA. Fire activity was lowest during the Late Glacial when vegetation was sparse and climate was cool and dry. Fire activity increased during the early Holocene as the regional climate warmed and dried, and burnable biomass became more abundant. Fire activity continued to increase into the middle Holocene (until ca. 6600 cal yr BP) even as the regional climate became wetter and eventually cooler; the modern-day mesic forest and subalpine meadow landscapes of the park established at this time. Fire activity was generally highest and mean fire return intervals were lowest on Sunrise Ridge during the late Holocene, and are consistent with tree-ring based estimates of fire frequency. The similarity between the Sunrise Ridge and other paleofire records in the Pacific Northwest suggests that broad-scale climatic shifts, such as the retreat of the Cordilleran ice sheet and changes in annual insolation, as well as increased interannual climate variability (i.e., drought) particularly in the middle to late Holocene, were responsible for changes in fire activity during the postglacial period. However, abundant and increasing archaeological evidence from Sunrise Ridge during the middle to late Holocene suggests that humans may have also influenced the landscape at this time. It is likely that fires will continue to increase at MORA as drought becomes a more frequent occurrence in the Pacific Northwest.

  7. Developing a postglacial rockfall chronology in the mountainous fjord landscape of western Norway

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laute, Katja; Beylich, Achim A.; Winkler, Stefan

    2015-04-01

    Large areas of glacially sculpted mountain landscapes worldwide exhibit a high spatial density of postglacial rockfalls and rock-slope failures. However, the temporal patterns of rock-slope failure frequencies after Deglaciation are still fairly unknown. The mountainous fjord landscape in western Norway represents a suitable study area as it exhibits a high number of rockfalls and rock-slope failures within a region with a well known Deglaciation history. Two steep, parabolic-shaped and glacier-connected neighbouring drainage basins, Erdalen (79.5 km2) and Bødalen (60.1 km2), located on the western side of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap in western Norway are selected as study areas. The focus of this study is on (i) the temporal reconstruction of rockfalls and rock-slope failures within the two defined and nearly lithologically homogenous study areas and (ii) the identification and explanation of possible triggering and controlling factors of the investigated rock-slope failures. First investigations have started by applying Schmidt-hammer exposure-age dating (SHD) at seven larger rockfall deposits as well as at five moraines of known age within both study areas. During the sampling 50 to 100 impacts using a mechanical Proceq N-type instrument were taken from the surface of 5 to 50 single rockfall boulders located at the outer margin of the rockfall deposits. In order to avoid sampling of more recent rockfalls or redistributed debris material the sampling strategy selected preferred a larger number of individual boulders sampled with few impacts over sampling just a small number of boulders with a high number of multiple impacts. First results show that the mean rebound (R-) values measured at the seven rockfall deposits fall into recognizably different age categories. Based on the SHD measurements obtained from the moraines of known age, the determined rockfall age categories are situated between the Preboral and Little Ice Age period. The chronology and possible

  8. A New Global Open Source Marine Hydrocarbon Emission Site Database

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onyia, E., Jr.; Wood, W. T.; Barnard, A.; Dada, T.; Qazzaz, M.; Lee, T. R.; Herrera, E.; Sager, W.

    2017-12-01

    Hydrocarbon emission sites (e.g. seeps) discharge large volumes of fluids and gases into the oceans that are not only important for biogeochemical budgets, but also support abundant chemosynthetic communities. Documenting the locations of modern emissions is a first step towards understanding and monitoring how they affect the global state of the seafloor and oceans. Currently, no global open source (i.e. non-proprietry) detailed maps of emissions sites are available. As a solution, we have created a database that is housed within an Excel spreadsheet and use the latest versions of Earthpoint and Google Earth for position coordinate conversions and data mapping, respectively. To date, approximately 1,000 data points have been collected from referenceable sources across the globe, and we are continualy expanding the dataset. Due to the variety of spatial extents encountered, to identify each site we used two different methods: 1) point (x, y, z) locations for individual sites and; 2) delineation of areas where sites are clustered. Certain well-known areas, such as the Gulf of Mexico and the Mediterranean Sea, have a greater abundance of information; whereas significantly less information is available in other regions due to the absence of emission sites, lack of data, or because the existing data is proprietary. Although the geographical extent of the data is currently restricted to regions where the most data is publicly available, as the database matures, we expect to have more complete coverage of the world's oceans. This database is an information resource that consolidates and organizes the existing literature on hydrocarbons released into the marine environment, thereby providing a comprehensive reference for future work. We expect that the availability of seafloor hydrocarbon emission maps will benefit scientific understanding of hydrocarbon rich areas as well as potentially aiding hydrocarbon exploration and environmental impact assessements.

  9. OpenEarth : Using Google Earth as outreach for NCK's data

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    de Boer, G.J.; Baart, F.; Bruens, A.; Damsma, T.; van Geer, P.; Grasmeijer, B.; den Heijer, C.; van Koningsveld, M.; Santinelli, G.

    2012-01-01

    In 2003 various projects at Deltares and the TU-Delft merged their toolboxes for marine and coastal science and engineering into one toolbox, culminating in 2008 in an open source release, known as OpenEarthTools (OET). OpenEarth adopts the wikipedia approach to growth: web 2.0 crowd sourcing. All

  10. Sediment storage quantification and postglacial evolution of an inner-alpine sedimentary basin (Gradenmoos, Schober Mountains, Austria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Götz, J.; Buckel, J.; Otto, J. C.; Schrott, L.

    2012-04-01

    Knickpoints in longitudinal valley profiles of alpine headwater catchments can be frequently assigned to the lithological and tectonical setting, to damming effects through large (rockfall) deposits, or to the impact of Pleistocene glaciations causing overdeepened basins. As a consequence various sedimentary sinks developed, which frequently interrupt sediment flux in alpine drainage basins. Today these locations may represent landscape archives documenting a sedimentary history of great value for the understanding of alpine landscape evolution. The glacially overdeepened Gradenmoos basin at 1920 m a.s.l. (an alpine lake mire with adjacent floodplain deposits and surrounding slope storage landforms; approx. 4.1 km2) is the most pronounced sink in the studied Gradenbach catchment (32.5 km2). The basin is completely filled up with sediments delivered by mainly fluvial processes, debris flows, and rock falls, it is assumed to be deglaciated since Egesen times and it is expected to archive a continuous stratigraphy of postglacial sedimentation. As the analysis of denudation-accumulation-systems is generally based on back-calculation of stored sediment volumes to a specific sediment delivering area, most reliable results will be consequently obtained (1) if sediment output of the system can be neglected for the investigated period of time, (2) if - due to spatial scale - sediment storage can be assessed quantitatively with a high level of accuracy, and (3) if the sediment contributing area can be clearly delimited. All three aspects are considered to be fulfilled to a high degree within the Gradenmoos basin. Sediment storage is quantified using geophysical methods, core drillings and GIS modelling whereas postglacial reconstruction is based on radiocarbon dating and palynological analyses. Subject to variable subsurface conditions, different geophysical methods were applied to detect bedrock depth. Electrical resistivity surveying (2D/3D) was used most extensively as it

  11. Floating cultivation of marine cyanobacteria using coal fly ash.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Matsumoto, M; Yoshida, E; Takeyama, H; Matsunaga, T

    2000-01-01

    The aim of this study was to develop improved methodologies for bulk culturing of biotechnologically useful marine cyanobacteria in the open ocean. We have investigated the viability of using coal fly ash (CFA) blocks as the support medium in a novel floating culture system for marine micro-algae. The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. NKBG 040607 was found to adhere to floating CFA blocks in liquid culture medium. Maximum density of attached cells of 2.0 x 10(8) cells/cm2 was achieved using seawater. The marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus sp. NKBG 042902 weakly adhered to floating CFA blocks in BG-11 medium. Increasing the concentration of calcium ion in the culture medium enhanced adherence to CFA blocks.

  12. Eelgrass Zostera marina populations in northern Norwegian fjords are genetically isolated and diverse

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Olsen, Jeanine L.; Coyer, James A.; Stam, Wytze T.; Moy, Frithjof E.; Christie, Hartvig; Jorgensen, Nina Mari

    2013-01-01

    Populations along the northern boundary of a marine species' distributional range in the NE Atlantic are expected to harbor lower standing genetic variation as a consequence of post-glacial expansion following the last glacial maximum. Founder events and marginal habitat availability may render the

  13. Comparing marine and terrestrial ecosystems: Implications for the design of coastal marine reserves

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carr, M.H.; Neigel, J.E.; Estes, J.A.; Andelman, S.; Warner, R.R.; Largier, J. L.

    2003-01-01

    Concepts and theory for the design and application of terrestrial reserves is based on our understanding of environmental, ecological, and evolutionary processes responsible for biological diversity and sustainability of terrestrial ecosystems and how humans have influenced these processes. How well this terrestrial-based theory can be applied toward the design and application of reserves in the coastal marine environment depends, in part, on the degree of similarity between these systems. Several marked differences in ecological and evolutionary processes exist between marine and terrestrial ecosystems as ramifications of fundamental differences in their physical environments (i.e., the relative prevalence of air and water) and contemporary patterns of human impacts. Most notably, the great extent and rate of dispersal of nutrients, materials, holoplanktonic organisms, and reproductive propagules of benthic organisms expand scales of connectivity among near-shore communities and ecosystems. Consequently, the "openness" of marine populations, communities, and ecosystems probably has marked influences on their spatial, genetic, and trophic structures and dynamics in ways experienced by only some terrestrial species. Such differences appear to be particularly significant for the kinds of organisms most exploited and targeted for protection in coastal marine ecosystems (fishes and macroinvertebrates). These and other differences imply some unique design criteria and application of reserves in the marine environment. In explaining the implications of these differences for marine reserve design and application, we identify many of the environmental and ecological processes and design criteria necessary for consideration in the development of the analytical approaches developed elsewhere in this Special Issue.

  14. Marine fog: a review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Koračin, Darko; Dorman, Clive E.; Lewis, John M.; Hudson, James G.; Wilcox, Eric M.; Torregrosa, Alicia

    2014-01-01

    The objective of this review is to discuss physical processes over a wide range of spatial scales that govern the formation, evolution, and dissipation of marine fog. We consider marine fog as the collective combination of fog over the open sea along with coastal sea fog and coastal land fog. The review includes a history of sea fog research, field programs, forecasting methods, and detection of sea fog via satellite observations where similarity in radiative properties of fog top and the underlying sea induce further complexity. The main thrust of the study is to provide insight into causality of fog including its initiation, maintenance, and destruction. The interplay between the various physical processes behind the several stages of marine fog is among the most challenging aspects of the problem. An effort is made to identify this interplay between processes that include the microphysics of fog formation and maintenance, the influence of large-scale circulation and precipitation/clouds, radiation, turbulence (air-sea interaction), and advection. The environmental impact of marine fog is also addressed. The study concludes with an assessment of our current knowledge of the phenomenon, our principal areas of ignorance, and future lines of research that hold promise for advances in our understanding.

  15. Snowball Earth termination by destabilization of equatorial permafrost methane clathrate.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kennedy, Martin; Mrofka, David; von der Borch, Chris

    2008-05-29

    The start of the Ediacaran period is defined by one of the most severe climate change events recorded in Earth history--the recovery from the Marinoan 'snowball' ice age, approximately 635 Myr ago (ref. 1). Marinoan glacial-marine deposits occur at equatorial palaeolatitudes, and are sharply overlain by a thin interval of carbonate that preserves marine carbon and sulphur isotopic excursions of about -5 and +15 parts per thousand, respectively; these deposits are thought to record widespread oceanic carbonate precipitation during postglacial sea level rise. This abrupt transition records a climate system in profound disequilibrium and contrasts sharply with the cyclical stratigraphic signal imparted by the balanced feedbacks modulating Phanerozoic deglaciation. Hypotheses accounting for the abruptness of deglaciation include ice albedo feedback, deep-ocean out-gassing during post-glacial oceanic overturn or methane hydrate destabilization. Here we report the broadest range of oxygen isotope values yet measured in marine sediments (-25 per thousand to +12 per thousand) in methane seeps in Marinoan deglacial sediments underlying the cap carbonate. This range of values is likely to be the result of mixing between ice-sheet-derived meteoric waters and clathrate-derived fluids during the flushing and destabilization of a clathrate field by glacial meltwater. The equatorial palaeolatitude implies a highly volatile shelf permafrost pool that is an order of magnitude larger than that of the present day. A pool of this size could have provided a massive biogeochemical feedback capable of triggering deglaciation and accounting for the global postglacial marine carbon and sulphur isotopic excursions, abrupt unidirectional warming, cap carbonate deposition, and a marine oxygen crisis. Our findings suggest that methane released from low-latitude permafrost clathrates therefore acted as a trigger and/or strong positive feedback for deglaciation and warming. Methane hydrate

  16. 50 CFR Figure 13 to Part 223 - Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Single Grid Hard TED Escape Opening 13 Figure 13 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS THREATENED MARINE AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES Pt. 223, Fig. 13 Figure 13 to Part 223—Singl...

  17. Connectivity of the habitat-forming kelp, Ecklonia radiata within and among estuaries and open coast.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Coleman, Melinda A

    2013-01-01

    With marine protected areas being established worldwide there is a pressing need to understand how the physical setting in which these areas are placed influences patterns of dispersal and connectivity of important marine organisms. This is particularly critical for dynamic and complex nearshore marine environments where patterns of genetic structure of organisms are often chaotic and uncoupled from broad scale physical processes. This study determines the influence of habitat heterogeneity (presence of estuaries) on patterns of genetic structure and connectivity of the common kelp, Ecklonia radiata. There was no genetic differentiation of kelp between estuaries and the open coast and the presence of estuaries did not increase genetic differentiation among open coast populations. Similarly, there were no differences in level of inbreeding or genetic diversity between estuarine and open coast populations. The presence of large estuaries along rocky coastlines does not appear to influence genetic structure of this kelp and factors other than physical heterogeneity of habitat are likely more important determinants of regional connectivity. Marine reserves are currently lacking in this bioregion and may be designated in the future. Knowledge of the factors that influence important habitat forming organisms such as kelp contribute to informed and effective marine protected area design and conservation initiatives to maintain resilience of important marine habitats.

  18. Nucleotide variation in the mitochondrial genome provides evidence for dual routes of postglacial recolonization and genetic recombination in the northeastern brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pilgrim, B L; Perry, R C; Barron, J L; Marshall, H D

    2012-09-26

    Levels and patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation were examined to investigate the population structure and possible routes of postglacial recolonization of the world's northernmost native populations of brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis), which are found in Labrador, Canada. We analyzed the sequence diversity of a 1960-bp portion of the mitochondrial genome (NADH dehydrogenase 1 gene and part of cytochrome oxidase 1) of 126 fish from 32 lakes distributed throughout seven regions of northeastern Canada. These populations were found to have low levels of mtDNA diversity, a characteristic trait of populations at northern extremes, with significant structuring at the level of the watershed. Upon comparison of northeastern brook trout sequences to the publicly available brook trout whole mitochondrial genome (GenBank AF154850), we infer that the GenBank sequence is from a fish whose mtDNA has recombined with that of Arctic charr (S. alpinus). The haplotype distribution provides evidence of two different postglacial founding groups contributing to present-day brook trout populations in the northernmost part of their range; the evolution of the majority of the haplotypes coincides with the timing of glacier retreat from Labrador. Our results exemplify the strong influence that historical processes such as glaciations have had on shaping the current genetic structure of northern species such as the brook trout.

  19. Remote Sensing Marine Ecology: Wind-driven algal blooms in the open oceans and their ecological impacts

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tang, DanLing

    2016-07-01

    Algal bloom not only can increase the primary production but also could result in negative ecological consequence, e.g., Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs). According to the classic theory for the formation of algal blooms "critical depth" and "eutrophication", oligotrophic sea area is usually difficult to form a large area of algal blooms, and actually the traditional observation is only sporadic capture to the existence of algal blooms. Taking full advantage of multiple data of satellite remote sensing, this study: 1), introduces "Wind-driven algal blooms in open oceans: observation and mechanisms" It explained except classic coastal Ekman transport, the wind through a variety of mechanisms affecting the formation of algal blooms. Proposed a conceptual model of "Strong wind -upwelling-nutrient-phytoplankton blooms" in Western South China Sea (SCS) to assess role of wind-induced advection transport in phytoplankton bloom formation. It illustrates the nutrient resources that support long-term offshore phytoplankton blooms in the western SCS; 2), Proposal of the theory that "typhoons cause vertical mixing, induce phytoplankton blooms", and quantify their important contribution to marine primary production; Proposal a new ecological index for typhoon. Proposed remote sensing inversion models. 3), Finding of the spatial and temporaldistributions pattern of harmful algal bloom (HAB)and species variations of HAB in the South Yellow Sea and East China Sea, and in the Pearl River estuary, and their oceanic dynamic mechanisms related with monsoon; The project developed new techniques and generated new knowledge, which significantly improved understanding of the formation mechanisms of algal blooms. 1), It proposed "wind-pump" mechanism integrates theoretical system combing "ocean dynamics, development of algal blooms, and impact on primary production", which will benefit fisheries management. 2), A new interdisciplinary subject "Remote Sensing Marine Ecology"(RSME) has been

  20. German-Russian project PLOT: new postglacial-glacial-preglacial pollen records from the Lakes Ladoga and Bol'shoe Shuch'e

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andreev, A.; Savelieva, L.; Shumilovskikh, L.; Gromig, R.; Wennrich, V.; Fedorov, G.; Wagner, B.; Melles, M.

    2017-12-01

    The German-Russian project PLOT (PaleolimnoLOgical Transect) investigates the Late Quaternary environmental history along the Northern Eurasia transect. Within the scope of a pilot phase of the project we have investigated Lake Ladoga, the largest lake in Europe. Although the postglacial history of the lake was studied over the last decades, the preglacial history remained unknown. It is assumed that during the Last Interglacial Lake Ladoga was part of a precursor of the Baltic Sea, which had a connection via Ladoga and Onega Lakes to the White Sea. Sediment coring at two sites in western Ladoga Lake in September 2013 has revealed sediment succession subdivided into 5 main lithological units. The sediments studied in a 22.7 m lake core were also palynologically investigated. Pollen assemblages indicate that the lowermost sediments with pollen of Betula, Alnus, Pinus, Carpinus, Quercus, Corylus, Ulmus, Tilia, remains of fresh-water Pediastrum and Botryococcus colonies as well as cysts of marine dinoflagellates and brackish water acritarchs) were accumulated during an interglacial with climate more favorable than in the Holocene. The OSL-dated samples show the late Eemian and post Eemian ages. Lake Bol'shoe Shuch'e (Polar Urals) was cored in April 2016. The thickness of the lacustrine sediments was 54 m. According to the previous studies, most of the study area has remained ice-free over the last 50-60 ka. However, the configuration and timing of the preceding glaciations has remained unclear, because of lack continuous, long-term paleoenvironmental records in the area. Preliminary studies show that the uppermost 9 m of the sediments were accumulated during the Holocene, between 11 and 9 m - in Younger Dryas, between 11 and 9 m - in Allerod, between 11 and 25 m - in MIS 2, between 25 and 54 m - in the MIS 3. We expect that the core will provide the most continuous sediment records from the whole region which can be used to reconstruct the environmental changes.

  1. The Australian Integrated Marine Observing System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proctor, R.; Meyers, G.; Roughan, M.; Operators, I.

    2008-12-01

    The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS) is a 92M project established with 50M from the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy (NCRIS) and co-investments from 10 operators including Universities and government agencies (see below). It is a nationally distributed set of equipment established and maintained at sea, oceanographic data and information services that collectively will contribute to meeting the needs of marine research in both open oceans and over the continental shelf around Australia. In particular, if sustained in the long term, it will permit identification and management of climate change in the marine environment, an area of research that is as yet almost a blank page, studies relevant to conservation of marine biodiversity and research on the role of the oceans in the climate system. While as an NCRIS project IMOS is intended to support research, the data streams are also useful for many societal, environmental and economic applications, such as management of offshore industries, safety at sea, management of marine ecosystems and fisheries and tourism. The infrastructure also contributes to Australia's commitments to international programs of ocean observing and international conventions, such as the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention that established the Australian Exclusive Economic Zone, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Global Ocean Observing System and the intergovernmental coordinating activity Global Earth Observation System of Systems. IMOS is made up of nine national facilities that collect data, using different components of infrastructure and instruments, and two facilities that manage and provide access to data and enhanced data products, one for in situ data and a second for remotely sensed satellite data. The observing facilities include three for the open (bluewater) ocean (Argo Australia, Enhanced Ships of Opportunity and Southern Ocean Time Series), three facilities for coastal

  2. Post-Glacial and Paleo-Environmental History of the West Coast of Vancouver Island

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dallimore, A.; Enkin, R. J.

    2005-12-01

    Annually laminated sediments in anoxic fjords are potentially ideal paleoclimate recorders, particularly once proxy measurements for atmospheric, oceanographic and sedimentological conditions have been calibrated. On the west coast of Canada, these sediments also record the changing environment as glaciers retreated from this area about 12 ka y BP. In Effingham Inlet, a 40 m core taken from the French ship the Marion Dufresne as part of the international IMAGES/PAGES program, gives evidence of an isolation basin at maximum glacial isostatic rebound and lowest paleo-sea level followed by eustatic sea level rise about 10 ka y BP. The Late Pleistocene record also marks dramatic changes in glacial sedimentary source and transport. Excellent chronological control is provided by complementary yet independent dating methods including radiocarbon dates on both plants and shells, identification of the Mazama Ash, varve counting and paleomagnetic, paleosecular variation correlations in the lower, pro-glacial section of the core which does not contain organic material. Paleoenvironmental evidence from this core provides information on immediate post-glacial conditions along the coast and rapid climatic changes throughout the Holocene, with implications for the possibility of early human migration routes and refugia.

  3. Climate Change and Genetic Structure of Leading Edge and Rear End Populations in a Northwards Shifting Marine Fish Species, the Corkwing Wrasse (Symphodus melops).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Knutsen, Halvor; Jorde, Per Erik; Gonzalez, Enrique Blanco; Robalo, Joana; Albretsen, Jon; Almada, Vitor

    2013-01-01

    One mechanism by which marine organisms may respond to climate shifts is range shifts. The corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops) is a temperate fish species, inhabiting the coasts of Europe, that show strong indications of current as well as historical (ice-age) range shifts towards the north. Nine neutral microsatellite DNA markers were screened to study genetic signatures and spatial population structure over the entire geographic and thermal gradient of the species from Portugal to Norway. A major genetic break (F ST  = 0.159 average among pairs) was identified between Scandinavian and more southern populations, with a marked reduction (30% or more) in levels of genetic variability in Scandinavia. The break is probably related to bottleneck(s) associated with post-glacial colonization of the Scandinavian coasts, and indicates a lack of present gene flow across the North Sea. The lack of gene flow can most likely be attributed to the species' need for rocky substrate for nesting and a relatively short pelagic larval phase, limiting dispersal by ocean currents. These findings demonstrate that long-distance dispersal may be severely limited in the corkwing wrasse, and that successful range-shifts following present climate change may be problematic for this and other species with limited dispersal abilities, even in the seemingly continuous marine environment.

  4. Radioecological studies in the marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Suzuki, Y.; Nakamura, K.; Nakamura, R.; Nakahara, M.; Ishii, T.; Matsuba, M.; Nagaya, Y.

    1992-01-01

    Man-made radionuclides released into the marine environment have been regarded as useful tracers in the study of natural geochemical and oceanographic processes occurring in the ocean. Quantitative collection of Cs-137 from surface seawater by copper ferrocyanide-anion exchange resin was examined and the same method was also applied to open ocean sea water. To get inherent bioconcentration coefficients of marine fish from the coastal seas of Japan, laboratory tracer experiments using some radioisotopes were carried out. Uptake, through both radioactive seawater and food, and excretion of radionuclides by marine fish were observed for about 8 weeks. The results showed that seawater and food equally contribute to accumulation of Cs-137 by fish. The adult rockfish and Japanese flounder seemed to take up Ru-103 mainly from seawater, while juvenile fish take it from seawater and food equally. Much information on concentrations, distributions and chemical forms of stable isotopes in marine organisms is important to predict the behaviour of radionuclides in the sea or to study metal metabolism in the body of marine organisms. Approximately 40 elements corresponding to important radionuclides in more than 300 species of marine organisms, collected off the coast of Japan, were analyzed with ICP-AES, ICP-MS and electron probe X-ray microanalysis. The concentrations of Mn and Zn in the dried granules of the kidney of a marine bivalve were 44,200 and 22,800 μg/g, respectively. The high accumulation of certain elements in the kidney resulted from the existence of metal containing granules. (author)

  5. Marine geochemistry ocean circulation, carbon cycle and climate change

    CERN Document Server

    Roy-Barman, Matthieu

    2016-01-01

    Marine geochemistry uses chemical elements and their isotopes to study how the ocean works. It brings quantitative answers to questions such as: What is the deep ocean mixing rate? How much atmospheric CO2 is pumped by the ocean? How fast are pollutants removed from the ocean? How do ecosystems react to the anthropogenic pressure? The book provides a simple introduction to the concepts (environmental chemistry, isotopes), the methods (field approach, remote sensing, modeling) and the applications (ocean circulation, carbon cycle, climate change) of marine geochemistry with a particular emphasis on isotopic tracers. Marine geochemistry is not an isolated discipline: numerous openings on physical oceanography, marine biology, climatology, geology, pollutions and ecology are proposed and provide a global vision of the ocean. It includes new topics based on ongoing research programs such as GEOTRACES, Global Carbon Project, Tara Ocean. It provides a complete outline for a course in marine geochemistry. To favor a...

  6. Human pathogens in marine mammal meat – a northern perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tryland, M; Nesbakken, T; Robertson, L; Grahek-Ogden, D; Lunestad, B T

    2014-09-01

    Only a few countries worldwide hunt seals and whales commercially. In Norway, hooded and harp seals and minke whales are commercially harvested, and coastal seals (harbour and grey seals) are hunted as game. Marine mammal meat is sold to the public and thus included in general microbiological meat control regulations. Slaughtering and dressing of marine mammals are performed in the open air on deck, and many factors on board sealing or whaling vessels may affect meat quality, such as the ice used for cooling whale meat and the seawater used for cleaning, storage of whale meat in the open air until ambient temperature is reached, and the hygienic conditions of equipment, decks, and other surfaces. Based on existing reports, it appears that meat of seal and whale does not usually represent a microbiological hazard to consumers in Norway, because human disease has not been associated with consumption of such foods. However, as hygienic control on marine mammal meat is ad hoc, mainly based on spot-testing, and addresses very few human pathogens, this conclusion may be premature. Additionally, few data from surveys or systematic quality control screenings have been published. This review examines the occurrence of potential human pathogens in marine mammals, as well as critical points for contamination of meat during the slaughter, dressing, cooling, storage and processing of meat. Some zoonotic agents are of particular relevance as foodborne pathogens, such as Trichinella spp., Toxoplasma gondii, Salmonella and Leptospira spp. In addition, Mycoplasma spp. parapoxvirus and Mycobacterium spp. constitute occupational risks during handling of marine mammals and marine mammal products. Adequate training in hygienic procedures is necessary to minimize the risk of contamination on board, and acquiring further data is essential for obtaining a realistic assessment of the microbiological risk to humans from consuming marine mammal meat.

  7. Life in the "plastisphere": microbial communities on plastic marine debris.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zettler, Erik R; Mincer, Tracy J; Amaral-Zettler, Linda A

    2013-07-02

    Plastics are the most abundant form of marine debris, with global production rising and documented impacts in some marine environments, but the influence of plastic on open ocean ecosystems is poorly understood, particularly for microbial communities. Plastic marine debris (PMD) collected at multiple locations in the North Atlantic was analyzed with scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and next-generation sequencing to characterize the attached microbial communities. We unveiled a diverse microbial community of heterotrophs, autotrophs, predators, and symbionts, a community we refer to as the "Plastisphere". Pits visualized in the PMD surface conformed to bacterial shapes suggesting active hydrolysis of the hydrocarbon polymer. Small-subunit rRNA gene surveys identified several hydrocarbon-degrading bacteria, supporting the possibility that microbes play a role in degrading PMD. Some Plastisphere members may be opportunistic pathogens (the authors, unpublished data) such as specific members of the genus Vibrio that dominated one of our plastic samples. Plastisphere communities are distinct from surrounding surface water, implying that plastic serves as a novel ecological habitat in the open ocean. Plastic has a longer half-life than most natural floating marine substrates, and a hydrophobic surface that promotes microbial colonization and biofilm formation, differing from autochthonous substrates in the upper layers of the ocean.

  8. 50 CFR Figure 12 to Part 223 - Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Escape Opening & Cover Dimensions for 71-inch TED 12 Figure 12 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS THREATENED MARINE AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES Pt. 223, Fig. 12 Figure 12 to...

  9. Indications of postglacial and recent bedrock movements in Finland and Russian Karelia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kuivamaeki, A.; Vuorela, P.; Paananen, M

    1998-12-31

    This report is mainly a summary report of the studies done 1986 - 1997 by the Geological Survey of Finland/Nuclear Waste Disposal Research on postglacial faulting (PG-faults) and recent bedrock movements. Most of the results have already been published in other YST-reports in Finnish. The first part of the report deals with the postglacial faults in Finland and in the second part the problems connected with the origin and age of paleoseismic dislocations found in Russian Karelia are described. The final part deals with the present vertical and horizontal movements of Finnish bedrock. The Pasmajaervi PG-fault is the most thoroughly studied PG-fault in Finland. Around the fault lineament interpretations and geophysical ground measurements have been done and the fault zone has been penetrated with two drill holes. Three levelling networks and one GPS-network have been established for revealing any recent movements of the PG-fault area. Other PG-faults studied, but not in the same detail, are Venejaervi, Ruostejaervi, Suasselkae and Vaalajaervi PG-faults. The PG-faults in Finland strike in the SW-NE direction and dip to the SE with the exception of the Vaalajaervi PG-fault. It strikes in the NW-SE direction. The dip direction is unknown. The length of the PG-faults is 4-36 km and the scarp height 0-12 m. PG-faults are reverse faults and they are located in old, reactivated fracture zones. The results of drillings and resistivity soundings in the Pasmajaervi PG-fault indicate, that the dip angle of 45 deg in the surface becomes more gentle with the increasing depth. This result may be important from a technical point of view when designing nuclear waste repositories. The strike directions of the PG-faults are perpendicular with the direction of prevailing horizontal maximum stress. The structure and location of the PG-faults is in accordance with the model presented by Muir Wood for the origin of PG-faults. The exceptional direction of the Vaalajaervi PG-fault is

  10. Indications of postglacial and recent bedrock movements in Finland and Russian Karelia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuivamaeki, A.; Vuorela, P.; Paananen, M.

    1998-01-01

    This report is mainly a summary report of the studies done 1986 - 1997 by the Geological Survey of Finland/Nuclear Waste Disposal Research on postglacial faulting (PG-faults) and recent bedrock movements. Most of the results have already been published in other YST-reports in Finnish. The first part of the report deals with the postglacial faults in Finland and in the second part the problems connected with the origin and age of paleoseismic dislocations found in Russian Karelia are described. The final part deals with the present vertical and horizontal movements of Finnish bedrock. The Pasmajaervi PG-fault is the most thoroughly studied PG-fault in Finland. Around the fault lineament interpretations and geophysical ground measurements have been done and the fault zone has been penetrated with two drill holes. Three levelling networks and one GPS-network have been established for revealing any recent movements of the PG-fault area. Other PG-faults studied, but not in the same detail, are Venejaervi, Ruostejaervi, Suasselkae and Vaalajaervi PG-faults. The PG-faults in Finland strike in the SW-NE direction and dip to the SE with the exception of the Vaalajaervi PG-fault. It strikes in the NW-SE direction. The dip direction is unknown. The length of the PG-faults is 4-36 km and the scarp height 0-12 m. PG-faults are reverse faults and they are located in old, reactivated fracture zones. The results of drillings and resistivity soundings in the Pasmajaervi PG-fault indicate, that the dip angle of 45 deg in the surface becomes more gentle with the increasing depth. This result may be important from a technical point of view when designing nuclear waste repositories. The strike directions of the PG-faults are perpendicular with the direction of prevailing horizontal maximum stress. The structure and location of the PG-faults is in accordance with the model presented by Muir Wood for the origin of PG-faults. The exceptional direction of the Vaalajaervi PG-fault is

  11. Are greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping a type of marine pollution?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shi, Yubing

    2016-12-15

    Whether greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are a type of marine pollution is a controversial issue and is currently open to debate. This article examines the current treaty definitions of marine pollution, and applies them to greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Based on the legal analysis of treaty definitions and relevant international and national regulation on this issue, this article asserts that greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are a type of 'conditional' marine pollution. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Cumulative and Synergistic Effects of Physical, Biological, and Acoustic Signals on Marine Mammal Habitat Use Physical Oceanography Component: Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can We Listen for Open Water?

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-09-30

    Physical, Biological, and Acoustic Signals on Marine Mammal Habitat Use Physical Oceanography Component: Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can we listen for... Soundscapes Under Sea Ice: Can we listen for open water? 5a. CONTRACT NUMBER 5b. GRANT NUMBER 5c. PROGRAM ELEMENT NUMBER 6. AUTHOR(S) 5d...the source. These different sounds can be described as “ soundscapes ”, and graphically represented by comparing two or more features of the sound

  13. A method for separating Antarctic postglacial rebound and ice mass balance using future ICESat Geoscience Laser Altimeter System, Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment, and GPS satellite data

    OpenAIRE

    Velicogna, Isabella; Wahr, John

    2002-01-01

    Measurements of ice elevation from the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS) aboard the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite can be combined with time-variable geoid measurements from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite mission to learn about ongoing changes in polar ice mass and viscoelastic rebound of the lithosphere under the ice sheet. We estimate the accuracy in recovering the spatially varying ice mass trend and postglacial rebound signals for Antarctica...

  14. Are greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping a type of marine pollution?

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shi, Yubing

    2016-01-01

    Whether greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are a type of marine pollution is a controversial issue and is currently open to debate. This article examines the current treaty definitions of marine pollution, and applies them to greenhouse gas emissions from ships. Based on the legal analysis of treaty definitions and relevant international and national regulation on this issue, this article asserts that greenhouse gas emissions from international shipping are a type of ‘conditional’ marine pollution. - Highlights: • Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from international shipping are a type of ‘conditional’ marine pollution. • Shipping CO 2 may be treated as marine pollution under the 1972 London Dumping Convention. • Countries have adopted different legislation concerning the legal nature of GHG emissions from ships. • Regulating CO 2 emissions from ships as marine pollution may expedite global GHG emissions reduction.

  15. Differentiating littering, urban runoff and marine transport as sources of marine debris in coastal and estuarine environments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Willis, Kathryn; Denise Hardesty, Britta; Kriwoken, Lorne; Wilcox, Chris

    2017-03-01

    Marine debris is a burgeoning global issue with economic, ecological and aesthetic impacts. While there are many studies now addressing this topic, the influence of urbanisation factors such as local population density, stormwater drains and roads on the distribution of coastal litter remains poorly understood. To address this knowledge gap, we carried out standardized surveys at 224 transect surveys at 67 sites in two estuaries and along the open coast in Tasmania, Australia. We explored the relative support for three hypotheses regarding the sources of the debris; direct deposition by beachgoers, transport from surrounding areas via storm water drains and coastal runoff, and onshore transport from the marine system. We found strong support for all three mechanisms, however, onshore transport from the marine reservoir was the most important mechanism. Overall, the three models together explained 45.8 percent of the variation in our observations. Our results also suggest that most debris released into the marine environment is deposited locally, which may be the answer to where all the missing plastic is in the ocean. Furthermore, local interventions are likely to be most effective in reducing land-based inputs into the ocean.

  16. High migration rates shape the postglacial history of amphi-Atlantic bryophytes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Désamoré, Aurélie; Patiño, Jairo; Mardulyn, Patrick; Mcdaniel, Stuart F; Zanatta, Florian; Laenen, Benjamin; Vanderpoorten, Alain

    2016-11-01

    Paleontological evidence and current patterns of angiosperm species richness suggest that European biota experienced more severe bottlenecks than North American ones during the last glacial maximum. How well this pattern fits other plant species is less clear. Bryophytes offer a unique opportunity to contrast the impact of the last glacial maximum in North America and Europe because about 60% of the European bryoflora is shared with North America. Here, we use population genetic analyses based on approximate Bayesian computation on eight amphi-Atlantic species to test the hypothesis that North American populations were less impacted by the last glacial maximum, exhibiting higher levels of genetic diversity than European ones and ultimately serving as a refugium for the postglacial recolonization of Europe. In contrast with this hypothesis, the best-fit demographic model involved similar patterns of population size contractions, comparable levels of genetic diversity and balanced migration rates between European and North American populations. Our results thus suggest that bryophytes have experienced comparable demographic glacial histories on both sides of the Atlantic. Although a weak, but significant genetic structure was systematically recovered between European and North American populations, evidence for migration from and towards both continents suggests that amphi-Atlantic bryophyte population may function as a metapopulation network. Reconstructing the biogeographic history of either North American or European bryophyte populations therefore requires a large, trans-Atlantic geographic framework. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  17. Factors controlling the compositional variations among the marine and non-marine black shales from Egypt

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baioumy, Hassan M. [Central Metallurgical R and D Institute, PO Box 87 Helwan, Cairo (Egypt); Ismael, Ismael S. [Faculty of Science, Suez Canal University, Suez (Egypt)

    2010-07-01

    Index of Alteration (CIA) values in the non-marine black shales compared to the marine black shales suggest a prevailing of more intensive weathering conditions during the Jurassic time in Egypt compared to the Cretaceous. Higher weathering of non-marine shales is compatible with a higher zircon and TiO{sub 2} contents. The higher zircon may account for some of the differences on the contents and mode of occurrence of elements found between the marine and non-marine shales, such as the higher REEs, Nb, Y, and Hf. The higher C{sub org} and Ni/Co, V/Cr, and U/Al ratios in the Red Sea black shales are attributed to more reducing depositional environment of these shales. Marine organic matter seems to be responsible for the selective fixation of some trace elements such as Cr, V, and Zn. Sulfur isotopes from pyrite suggest a marine origin of this pyrite in all shales. However, variations in the {delta}{sup 34}S values reflect variations in the depositional settings. {delta}{sup 34}S data suggest a sulphate-replete (open) system for the pyrite in the Red Sea and lower member (Duwi Formation) of Abu Tartur black shales, sulphate-limited (closed) system in a brackish setting for the Maghara black shales, and coastal plain setting in the middle member of Abu Tartur area. The similarities among marine and non-marine black shales such as positive correlations between Zr and both Nb and Hf as well as between Fe{sub 2}O{sub 3} and Co might reflect the geochemical behaviors of such elements rather than variations in the provenances and/or depositional environments. (author)

  18. Report on the Marine Imaging Workshop 2017

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timm Schoening

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available Marine optical imaging has become a major assessment tool in science, policy and public understanding of our seas and oceans. Methodology in this field is developing rapidly, including hardware, software and the ways of their application. The aim of the Marine Imaging Workshop (MIW is to bring together academics, research scientists and engineers, as well as industrial partners to discuss these developments, along with applications, challenges and future directions. The first MIW was held in Southampton, UK in April 2014. The second MIW, held in Kiel, Germany, in 2017 involved more than 100 attendees, who shared the latest developments in marine imaging through a combination of traditional oral and poster presentations, interactive sessions and focused discussion sessions. This article summarises the topics addressed during the workshop, particularly the outcomes of these discussion sessions for future reference and to make the workshop results available to the open public.

  19. Radionuclides in the study of marine processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kershaw, P.J.; Woodhead, D.S.

    1991-01-01

    For many years, the radioactive properties of the naturally occurring radionuclides have been used to determine their distributions in the marine environment and, more generally, to gain an understanding of the dynamic processes which control their behaviour in attaining these distributions. More recently the inputs from human activities of both natural and artificial (i.e. man-made) radionuclides have provided additional opportunities for the study of marine processes on local, regional and global scales. The primary objective of the symposium is to provide a forum for an open discussion of the insights concerning processes in the marine environment which can be gained from studies of radionuclide behaviour. Papers have been grouped within the following principal themes; the uses of radionuclides as tracers of water transport; scavenging and particulate transport processes in the oceans as deduced from radionuclide behaviour; processes in the seabed and radionuclides in biological systems. (Author)

  20. Large recovery of fish biomass in a no-take marine reserve.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Octavio Aburto-Oropeza

    Full Text Available No-take marine reserves are effective management tools used to restore fish biomass and community structure in areas depleted by overfishing. Cabo Pulmo National Park (CPNP was created in 1995 and is the only well enforced no-take area in the Gulf of California, Mexico, mostly because of widespread support from the local community. In 1999, four years after the establishment of the reserve, there were no significant differences in fish biomass between CPNP (0.75 t ha(-1 on average and other marine protected areas or open access areas in the Gulf of California. By 2009, total fish biomass at CPNP had increased to 4.24 t ha(-1 (absolute biomass increase of 3.49 t ha(-1, or 463%, and the biomass of top predators and carnivores increased by 11 and 4 times, respectively. However, fish biomass did not change significantly in other marine protected areas or open access areas over the same time period. The absolute increase in fish biomass at CPNP within a decade is the largest measured in a marine reserve worldwide, and it is likely due to a combination of social (strong community leadership, social cohesion, effective enforcement and ecological factors. The recovery of fish biomass inside CPNP has resulted in significant economic benefits, indicating that community-managed marine reserves are a viable solution to unsustainable coastal development and fisheries collapse in the Gulf of California and elsewhere.

  1. Paleoclimatic implications of glacial and postglacial refugia for Pinus pumila in western Beringia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Anderson, P M; Lozhkin, A V; Solomatkina, T B; Brown, T A

    2010-02-05

    Palynological results from Julietta Lake currently provide the most direct evidence to support the existence of a glacial refugium for Pinus pumila in mountains of southwestern Beringia. Both percentages and accumulation rates indicate the evergreen shrub survived until at least {approx}19,000 14C yr B.P. in the Upper Kolyma region. Percentage data suggest numbers dwindled into the late glaciation, whereas pollen accumulation rates point towards a more rapid demise shortly after {approx}19,000 14C yr B.P. Pinus pumila did not re-establish in any great numbers until {approx}8100 14C yr B.P., despite the local presence {approx}9800 14C yr B.P. of Larix dahurica, which shares similar summer temperature requirements. The postglacial thermal maximum (in Beringia {approx}11,000-9000 14C yr B.P.) provided Pinus pumila shrubs with equally harsh albeit different conditions for survival than those present during the LGM. Regional records indicate that in this time of maximum warmth Pinus pumila likely sheltered in a second, lower-elevation refugium. Paleoclimatic models and modern ecology suggest that shifts in the nature of seasonal transitions and not only seasonal extremes have played important roles in the history of Pinus pumila over the last {approx}21,000 14C yr B.P.

  2. Hypoxia in the changing marine environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, J.; Cowie, G.; Naqvi, S. W. A.

    2013-03-01

    The predicted future of the global marine environment, as a combined result of forcing due to climate change (e.g. warming and acidification) and other anthropogenic perturbation (e.g. eutrophication), presents a challenge to the sustainability of ecosystems from tropics to high latitudes. Among the various associated phenomena of ecosystem deterioration, hypoxia can cause serious problems in coastal areas as well as oxygen minimum zones in the open ocean (Diaz and Rosenberg 2008 Science 321 926-9, Stramma et al 2008 Science 320 655-8). The negative impacts of hypoxia include changes in populations of marine organisms, such as large-scale mortality and behavioral responses, as well as variations of species distributions, biodiversity, physiological stress, and other sub-lethal effects (e.g. growth and reproduction). Social and economic activities that are related to services provided by the marine ecosystems, such as tourism and fisheries, can be negatively affected by the aesthetic outcomes as well as perceived or real impacts on seafood quality (STAP 2011 (Washington, DC: Global Environment Facility) p 88). Moreover, low oxygen concentration in marine waters can have considerable feedbacks to other compartments of the Earth system, like the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and can affect the global biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and trace elements. It is of critical importance to prediction and adaptation strategies that the key processes of hypoxia in marine environments be precisely determined and understood (cf Zhang et al 2010 Biogeosciences 7 1-24).

  3. OpenDrift - an open source framework for ocean trajectory modeling

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dagestad, Knut-Frode; Breivik, Øyvind; Ådlandsvik, Bjørn

    2016-04-01

    We will present a new, open source tool for modeling the trajectories and fate of particles or substances (Lagrangian Elements) drifting in the ocean, or even in the atmosphere. The software is named OpenDrift, and has been developed at Norwegian Meteorological Institute in cooperation with Institute of Marine Research. OpenDrift is a generic framework written in Python, and is openly available at https://github.com/knutfrode/opendrift/. The framework is modular with respect to three aspects: (1) obtaining input data, (2) the transport/morphological processes, and (3) exporting of results to file. Modularity is achieved through well defined interfaces between components, and use of a consistent vocabulary (CF conventions) for naming of variables. Modular input implies that it is not necessary to preprocess input data (e.g. currents, wind and waves from Eulerian models) to a particular file format. Instead "reader modules" can be written/used to obtain data directly from any original source, including files or through web based protocols (e.g. OPeNDAP/Thredds). Modularity of processes implies that a model developer may focus on the geophysical processes relevant for the application of interest, without needing to consider technical tasks such as reading, reprojecting, and colocating input data, rotation and scaling of vectors and model output. We will show a few example applications of using OpenDrift for predicting drifters, oil spills, and search and rescue objects.

  4. EMODnet Physics: open and free marine physical data for science and for society

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nolan, G.; Novellino, A.; Gorringe, P.; Manzella, G. M. R., Sr.; Schaap, D.; Pouliquen, S.; Richards, L.

    2016-02-01

    Europe is sustaining a long term strategy on Blue Growth, looking at seas and oceans as drivers for innovation and growth. A number of weaknesses have been identified, among which gaps in knowledge and data about the state of our oceans, seabed resources, marine life and risks to habitats and ecosystems. European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet) has been created to improve the usefulness to European users for scientific, regulatory and commercial purposes of observations and the resulting marine data collected and held by European public and private bodies. EMODNet Physics is providing access to archived and real time data catalog on the physical condition in Europe's seas and oceans. The overall objectives are to provide access to archived and near real-time data on physical conditions in Europe's seas and oceans by means of a dedicated portal and to determine how well the data meet the needs of users from industry, public authorities and scientists. EMODnet Physics is contributing to the broader initiative 'Marine Knowledge 2020', and in particular to the implementation of the European Copernicus programme, an EU-wide programme that aims to support policymakers, business, and citizens with improved environmental information. In the global context, Copernicus is an integral part of the Global Earth Observation System of Systems. Near real time data and metadata are populated by data owners, organized at EuroGOOS level according its regional operational systems (ROOSs) infrastructure and conventions and made available with the EMODnet Physics user interface. Latest 60 days are freely viewable and downloadable while the access to older data (monthly archives) request credentials. Archived data series and metadata are organized according and in collaboration with NODCs network (SeaDataNet). Access to data and metadata consider measurements on winds at the sea surface, waves, temperature and salinity, water velocities, light attenuation, sea level and ice

  5. Marine and giant viruses as indicators of a marine microbial community in a riverine system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dann, Lisa M; Rosales, Stephanie; McKerral, Jody; Paterson, James S; Smith, Renee J; Jeffries, Thomas C; Oliver, Rod L; Mitchell, James G

    2016-12-01

    Viral communities are important for ecosystem function as they are involved in critical biogeochemical cycles and controlling host abundance. This study investigates riverine viral communities around a small rural town that influences local water inputs. Myoviridae, Siphoviridae, Phycodnaviridae, Mimiviridae, Herpesviridae, and Podoviridae were the most abundant families. Viral species upstream and downstream of the town were similar, with Synechoccocus phage, salinus, Prochlorococcus phage, Mimivirus A, and Human herpes 6A virus most abundant, contributing to 4.9-38.2% of average abundance within the metagenomic profiles, with Synechococcus and Prochlorococcus present in metagenomes as the expected hosts for the phage. Overall, the majority of abundant viral species were or were most similar to those of marine origin. At over 60 km to the river mouth, the presence of marine communities provides some support for the Baas-Becking hypothesis "everything is everywhere, but, the environment selects." We conclude marine microbial species may occur more frequently in freshwater systems than previously assumed, and hence may play important roles in some freshwater ecosystems within tens to a hundred kilometers from the sea. © 2016 The Authors. MicrobiologyOpen published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  6. Monitoring Mediterranean marine pollution using remote sensing and hydrodynamic modelling

    Science.gov (United States)

    La Loggia, Goffredo; Capodici, Fulvio; Ciraolo, Giuseppe; Drago, Aldo; Maltese, Antonino

    2011-11-01

    Human activities contaminate both coastal areas and open seas, even though impacts are different in terms of pollutants, ecosystems and recovery time. In particular, Mediterranean offshore pollution is mainly related to maritime transport of oil, accounting for 25% of the global maritime traffic and, during the last 25 years, for nearly 7% of the world oil accidents, thus causing serious biological impacts on both open sea and coastal zone habitats. This paper provides a general review of maritime pollution monitoring using integrated approaches of remote sensing and hydrodynamic modeling; focusing on the main results of the MAPRES (Marine pollution monitoring and detection by aerial surveillance and satellite images) research project on the synergistic use of remote sensing, forecasting, cleanup measures and environmental consequences. The paper also investigates techniques of oil spill detection using SAR images, presenting the first results of "Monitoring of marine pollution due to oil slick", a COSMO-SkyMed funded research project where X-band SAR constellation images provided by the Italian Space Agency are used. Finally, the prospect of using real time observations of marine surface conditions is presented through CALYPSO project (CALYPSO-HF Radar Monitoring System and Response against Marine Oil Spills in the Malta Channel), partly financed by the EU under the Operational Programme Italia-Malta 2007-2013. The project concerns the setting up of a permanent and fully operational HF radar observing system, capable of recording surface currents (in real-time with hourly updates) in the stretch of sea between Malta and Sicily. A combined use of collected data and numerical models, aims to optimize intervention and response in the case of marine oil spills.

  7. Dynamics of radiation exposure to marine biota in the area of the Fukushima NPP in March–May 2011

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kryshev, I.I.; Kryshev, A.I.; Sazykina, T.G.

    2012-01-01

    Estimates of radiation dose rates are presented for marine biota in March–May 2011 in the coastal zone near Fukushima NPP, and in the open sea. Calculations of fish contamination were made using two methods: a concentration factor approach, and a dynamic model. For representative marine organisms (fish and molluscs) the radiation dose rates did not exceed the reference level of 10 mGy/day. At a distance 30 km from the NPP, in the open sea the radiation doses for marine biota were much lower than those in the coastal zone near the NPP. Comparative estimates are presented for radiation doses to aquatic organisms in the exclusion zones of the Eastern Urals Radioactive Trail, and the Chernobyl NPP.

  8. Matrilinear phylogeography of Atlantic salmon ( Salmo salar L.) in Europe and postglacial colonization of the Baltic Sea area

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nilsson, J.; Gross, R.; Asplund, T.

    2001-01-01

    was analysed by RFLP of ND3/4/5/6. Representative RFLP haplotypes from different parts of the distribution area were sequenced and the phylogeny of European haplotypes and their relations to the North American lineage was described. The four common European haplotypes derive from the ancestral ND1-BBBA...... (rooting the European clade to the North American) by one-step substitutions: AAAA BBBB. The Swedish west- coast populations differ from the geographically close southern Baltic, indicating absence of inward and limited outward gene flow through the Danish straits during the last 8000 years....... Within the Baltic Sea, only three ND1 haplotypes were detected and there was no variation for ND3/4/5/6. In the whole southern Baltic and in lakes Vanern, Ladoga and Onega the haplotype AABA dominated. Proposed postglacial colonization routes to the Baltic Sea are discussed in relation to the haplotype...

  9. A comparative phylogenetic analysis of full-length mariner elements

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Mariner like elements (MLEs) are widely distributed type II transposons with an open reading frame (ORF) for transposase. We studied comparative phylogenetic evolution and inverted terminal repeat (ITR) conservation of MLEs from Indian saturniid silkmoth, Antheraea mylitta with other full length MLEs submitted in the ...

  10. Horizontal gene transfer and mobile genetic elements in marine systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sobecky, Patricia A; Hazen, Tracy H

    2009-01-01

    The pool of mobile genetic elements (MGE) in microbial communities consists of viruses, plasmids, and associated elements (insertion sequences, transposons, and integrons) that are either self-transmissible or use mobile plasmids and viruses as vehicles for their dissemination. This mobilome facilitates the horizontal transfer of genes that promote the evolution and adaptation of microbial communities. Efforts to characterize MGEs from microbial populations resident in a variety of ecological habitats have revealed a surprisingly novel and seemingly untapped biodiversity. To better understand the impact of horizontal gene transfer (HGT), as well as the agents that promote HGT in marine ecosystems and to determine whether or not environmental parameters can effect the composition and structure of the mobilome in marine microbial communities, information on the distribution, diversity, and ecological traits of the marine mobilome is presented. In this chapter we discuss recent insights gained from different methodological approaches used to characterize the biodiversity and ecology of MGE in marine environments and their contributions to HGT. In addition, we present case studies that highlight specific HGT examples in coastal, open-ocean, and deep-sea marine ecosystems.

  11. Light-stick: A problem of marine pollution in Brazil.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cesar-Ribeiro, Caio; Rosa, Helena Costi; Rocha, Daniele Oliveira; Dos Reis, Camila Galli Baldini; Prado, Tabata Sarti; Muniz, Daniela Hernandes Coimbra; Carrasco, Raquel; Silva, Flávia Milão; Martinelli-Filho, José Eduardo; Palanch-Hans, Maria Fernanda

    2017-04-15

    Light-sticks are used as bait in surface long-line fishing, to capture swordfish and other large pelagic predators. When discharged in the ocean, it may reach the beaches. The traditional Brazilian community of Costa dos Coqueiros, Bahia, use light-sticks as a medicine for rheumatism, vitiligo and mycoses. It may affect the marine life when its content leak in the open ocean. This work evaluated and identified the acute and chronic toxicity of the light-stick. A high acute toxicity was observed in the mobility/mortality of Artemia sp.; in the fertilization of sea urchin eggs, and a high chronic toxicity in the development of the pluteus larvae of the same sea urchin. The main compounds that probably caused toxicity were the volatiles such as the fluorescent PAH and oxidants such as the hydrogen peroxide. Its disposal in the open ocean is a potential threat for marine life. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. 50 CFR Figure 16 to Part 223 - Escape Opening and Flap Dimensions for the Double Cover Flap TED

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 7 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Escape Opening and Flap Dimensions for the Double Cover Flap TED 16 Figure 16 to Part 223 Wildlife and Fisheries NATIONAL MARINE FISHERIES SERVICE, NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION, DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE MARINE MAMMALS THREATENED MARINE AND ANADROMOUS SPECIES Pt. 223, Fig. 1...

  13. Managing ocean information in the digital era--events in Canada open questions about the role of marine science libraries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wells, Peter G

    2014-06-15

    Information is the foundation of evidence-based policies for effective marine environmental protection and conservation. In Canada, the cutback of marine science libraries introduces key questions about the role of such institutions and the management of ocean information in the digital age. How vital are such libraries in the mission of studying and protecting the oceans? What is the fate and value of the massive grey literature holdings, including archival materials, much of which is not in digital form but which often contains vital data? How important is this literature generally in the marine environmental sciences? Are we likely to forget the history of the marine pollution field if our digital focus eclipses the need for and access to comprehensive collections and skilled information specialists? This paper explores these and other questions against the backdrop of unprecedented changes in the federal libraries, marine environmental science and legislation in Canada. Copyright © 2014 The Author. Published by Elsevier Ltd.. All rights reserved.

  14. Thermodynamic structure of the marine atmosphere over the region ...

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    R. Narasimhan (Krishtel eMaging) 1461 1996 Oct 15 13:05:22

    course of observations the ship moved from an open ... Marine boundary layer; thermodynamic structure; saturation point; Bay of Bengal Monsoon Experiment; .... when the low-pressure area is close to the ship the pressure is low and as the system moves away, the .... over oceanic regions to characterize the differences.

  15. Sex-chromosome differentiation parallels postglacial range expansion in European tree frogs (Hyla arborea).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dufresnes, Christophe; Bertholet, Youna; Wassef, Jérôme; Ghali, Karim; Savary, Romain; Pasteur, Baptiste; Brelsford, Alan; Rozenblut-Kościsty, Beata; Ogielska, Maria; Stöck, Matthias; Perrin, Nicolas

    2014-12-01

    Occasional XY recombination is a proposed explanation for the sex-chromosome homomorphy in European tree frogs. Numerous laboratory crosses, however, failed to detect any event of male recombination, and a detailed survey of NW-European Hyla arborea populations identified male-specific alleles at sex-linked loci, pointing to the absence of XY recombination in their recent history. Here, we address this paradox in a phylogeographic framework by genotyping sex-linked microsatellite markers in populations and sibships from the entire species range. Contrasting with postglacial populations of NW Europe, which display complete absence of XY recombination and strong sex-chromosome differentiation, refugial populations of the southern Balkans and Adriatic coast show limited XY recombination and large overlaps in allele frequencies. Geographically and historically intermediate populations of the Pannonian Basin show intermediate patterns of XY differentiation. Even in populations where X and Y occasionally recombine, the genetic diversity of Y haplotypes is reduced below the levels expected from the fourfold drop in copy numbers. This study is the first in which X and Y haplotypes could be phased over the distribution range in a species with homomorphic sex chromosomes; it shows that XY-recombination patterns may differ strikingly between conspecific populations, and that recombination arrest may evolve rapidly (<5000 generations). © 2014 The Author(s). Evolution © 2014 The Society for the Study of Evolution.

  16. Hypoxia in the changing marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, J; Cowie, G; Naqvi, S W A

    2013-01-01

    The predicted future of the global marine environment, as a combined result of forcing due to climate change (e.g. warming and acidification) and other anthropogenic perturbation (e.g. eutrophication), presents a challenge to the sustainability of ecosystems from tropics to high latitudes. Among the various associated phenomena of ecosystem deterioration, hypoxia can cause serious problems in coastal areas as well as oxygen minimum zones in the open ocean (Diaz and Rosenberg 2008 Science 321 926–9, Stramma et al 2008 Science 320 655–8). The negative impacts of hypoxia include changes in populations of marine organisms, such as large-scale mortality and behavioral responses, as well as variations of species distributions, biodiversity, physiological stress, and other sub-lethal effects (e.g. growth and reproduction). Social and economic activities that are related to services provided by the marine ecosystems, such as tourism and fisheries, can be negatively affected by the aesthetic outcomes as well as perceived or real impacts on seafood quality (STAP 2011 (Washington, DC: Global Environment Facility) p 88). Moreover, low oxygen concentration in marine waters can have considerable feedbacks to other compartments of the Earth system, like the emission of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, and can affect the global biogeochemical cycles of nutrients and trace elements. It is of critical importance to prediction and adaptation strategies that the key processes of hypoxia in marine environments be precisely determined and understood (cf Zhang et al 2010 Biogeosciences 7 1–24). (synthesis and review)

  17. Oil spills in open seas and harbours - impact on marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Siddiqui, S.H.

    1995-01-01

    In this article the environmental impacts of sea water near Karachi (Pakistan) harbour (Arabian Sea) are discussed. The water pollution is caused due to oil leakage from ships. The toxicity of various oils (crude oils and refined oils) to different species of marine varies greatly. The second main source of water is municipal waste water. For the control of sea water pollution, there must be education as lack of awareness of the public to ask for clean beaches and absence of coordination between concerned oil companies, tanker operating agencies, port authorities and government (A.B.)

  18. Environmental marine geology of the Arctic Ocean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mudie, P.J.

    1991-01-01

    The Arctic Ocean and its ice cover are major regulators of Northern Hemisphere climate, ocean circulation and marine productivity. The Arctic is also very sensitive to changes in the global environment because sea ice magnifies small changes in temperature, and because polar regions are sinks for air pollutants. Marine geology studies are being carried out to determine the nature and rate of these environmental changes by study of modem ice and sea-bed environments, and by interpretation of geological records imprinted in the sea-floor sediments. Sea ice camps, an ice island, and polar icebreakers have been used to study both western and eastern Arctic Ocean basins. Possible early warning signals of environmental changes in the Canadian Arctic are die-back in Arctic sponge reefs, outbreaks of toxic dinoflagellates, and pesticides in the marine food chain. Eastern Arctic ice and surface waters are contaminated by freon and radioactive fallout from Chernobyl. At present, different sedimentary processes operate in the pack ice-covered Canadian polar margin than in summer open waters off Alaska and Eurasia. The geological records, however, suggest that a temperature increase of 1-4 degree C would result in summer open water throughout the Arctic, with major changes in ocean circulation and productivity of waters off Eastern North America, and more widespread transport of pollutants from eastern to western Arctic basins. More studies of longer sediment cores are needed to confirm these interpretations, but is is now clear that the Arctic Ocean has been the pacemaker of climate change during the past 1 million years

  19. 78 FR 35042 - Merchant Marine Personnel Advisory Committee: Intercessional Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-11

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY Coast Guard [Docket No. USCG-2013-0407] Merchant Marine Personnel... Labor Organization's Maritime Labour Convention, 2006.'' This meeting will be open to the public. DATES... words ``Department of Homeland Security'' and the docket number for this action. Comments received will...

  20. A Signal, from Human mtDNA, of Postglacial Recolonization in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torroni, Antonio; Bandelt, Hans-Jürgen; Macaulay, Vincent; Richards, Martin; Cruciani, Fulvio; Rengo, Chiara; Martinez-Cabrera, Vicente; Villems, Richard; Kivisild, Toomas; Metspalu, Ene; Parik, Jüri; Tolk, Helle-Viivi; Tambets, Kristiina; Forster, Peter; Karger, Bernd; Francalacci, Paolo; Rudan, Pavao; Janicijevic, Branka; Rickards, Olga; Savontaus, Marja-Liisa; Huoponen, Kirsi; Laitinen, Virpi; Koivumäki, Satu; Sykes, Bryan; Hickey, Eileen; Novelletto, Andrea; Moral, Pedro; Sellitto, Daniele; Coppa, Alfredo; Al-Zaheri, Nadia; Santachiara-Benerecetti, A. Silvana; Semino, Ornella; Scozzari, Rosaria

    2001-01-01

    Mitochondrial HVS-I sequences from 10,365 subjects belonging to 56 populations/geographical regions of western Eurasia and northern Africa were first surveyed for the presence of the T→C transition at nucleotide position 16298, a mutation which has previously been shown to characterize haplogroup V mtDNAs. All mtDNAs with this mutation were then screened for a number of diagnostic RFLP sites, revealing two major subsets of mtDNAs. One is haplogroup V proper, and the other has been termed “pre*V,” since it predates V phylogenetically. The rather uncommon pre*V tends to be scattered throughout Europe (and northwestern Africa), whereas V attains two peaks of frequency: one situated in southwestern Europe and one in the Saami of northern Scandinavia. Geographical distributions and ages support the scenario that pre*V originated in Europe before the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), whereas the more recently derived haplogroup V arose in a southwestern European refugium soon after the LGM. The arrival of V in eastern/central Europe, however, occurred much later, possibly with (post-)Neolithic contacts. The distribution of haplogroup V mtDNAs in modern European populations would thus, at least in part, reflect the pattern of postglacial human recolonization from that refugium, affecting even the Saami. Overall, the present study shows that the dissection of mtDNA variation into small and well-defined evolutionary units is an essential step in the identification of spatial frequency patterns. Mass screening of a few markers identified using complete mtDNA sequences promises to be an efficient strategy for inferring features of human prehistory. PMID:11517423

  1. Limits to gene flow in a cosmopolitan marine planktonic diatom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casteleyn, Griet; Leliaert, Frederik; Backeljau, Thierry; Debeer, Ann-Eline; Kotaki, Yuichi; Rhodes, Lesley; Lundholm, Nina; Sabbe, Koen; Vyverman, Wim

    2010-07-20

    The role of geographic isolation in marine microbial speciation is hotly debated because of the high dispersal potential and large population sizes of planktonic microorganisms and the apparent lack of strong dispersal barriers in the open sea. Here, we show that gene flow between distant populations of the globally distributed, bloom-forming diatom species Pseudo-nitzschia pungens (clade I) is limited and follows a strong isolation by distance pattern. Furthermore, phylogenetic analysis implies that under appropriate geographic and environmental circumstances, like the pronounced climatic changes in the Pleistocene, population structuring may lead to speciation and hence may play an important role in diversification of marine planktonic microorganisms. A better understanding of the factors that control population structuring is thus essential to reveal the role of allopatric speciation in marine microorganisms.

  2. Applying Sensor Web Technology to Marine Sensor Data

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jirka, Simon; del Rio, Joaquin; Mihai Toma, Daniel; Nüst, Daniel; Stasch, Christoph; Delory, Eric

    2015-04-01

    In this contribution we present two activities illustrating how Sensor Web technology helps to enable a flexible and interoperable sharing of marine observation data based on standards. An important foundation is the Sensor Web Architecture developed by the European FP7 project NeXOS (Next generation Low-Cost Multifunctional Web Enabled Ocean Sensor Systems Empowering Marine, Maritime and Fisheries Management). This architecture relies on the Open Geospatial Consortium's (OGC) Sensor Web Enablement (SWE) framework. It is an exemplary solution for facilitating the interoperable exchange of marine observation data within and between (research) organisations. The architecture addresses a series of functional and non-functional requirements which are fulfilled through different types of OGC SWE components. The diverse functionalities offered by the NeXOS Sensor Web architecture are shown in the following overview: - Pull-based observation data download: This is achieved through the OGC Sensor Observation Service (SOS) 2.0 interface standard. - Push-based delivery of observation data to allow users the subscription to new measurements that are relevant for them: For this purpose there are currently several specification activities under evaluation (e.g. OGC Sensor Event Service, OGC Publish/Subscribe Standards Working Group). - (Web-based) visualisation of marine observation data: Implemented through SOS client applications. - Configuration and controlling of sensor devices: This is ensured through the OGC Sensor Planning Service 2.0 interface. - Bridging between sensors/data loggers and Sensor Web components: For this purpose several components such as the "Smart Electronic Interface for Sensor Interoperability" (SEISI) concept are developed; this is complemented by a more lightweight SOS extension (e.g. based on the W3C Efficient XML Interchange (EXI) format). To further advance this architecture, there is on-going work to develop dedicated profiles of selected OGC

  3. A Demonstration Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON): Understanding Marine Life and its Role in Maintaining Ecosystem Services

    Science.gov (United States)

    Muller-Karger, F. E.; Iken, K.; Miller, R. J.; Duffy, J. E.; Chavez, F.; Montes, E.

    2016-02-01

    The U.S. Federal government (NOAA, NASA, BOEM, and the Smithsonian Institution), academic researchers, and private partners are laying the foundation for a Marine Biodiversity Observation Network (MBON). The goals of the network are to: 1) Observe and understand life, from microbes to whales, in different coastal and continental shelf habitats; 2) Define an efficient set of observations required for implementing a useful MBON; 3) Develop technology for biodiversity assessments including emerging environmental DNA (eDNA), remote sensing, and image analysis methods to coordinate with classical sampling; 4) Integrate and synthesize information in coordination with the Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), the international Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network(GEO BON), and the Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS) sponsored by UNESCO's Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC); and 5) Understand the linkages between marine biodiversity, ecosystem processes, and the social-economic context of a region. Pilot projects have been implemented within three NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries (Florida Keys, Monterey Bay, and Channel Islands), the wider Santa Barbara Channel, in the Chukchi Sea, and through the Smithsonian's Tennenbaum Marine Observatories Network (TMON) at several sites in the U.S. and collaborating countries. Together, these MBON sites encompass a wide range of marine environments, including deep sea, continental shelves, and coastal habitats including estuaries, wetlands, and coral reefs. The present MBON partners are open to growth of the MBON through additional collaborations. Given these initiatives, GEO BON is proposing an MBON effort that spans from pole to pole, with a pathfinder effort among countries in the Americas. By specializing in coastal ecosystems—where marine biodiversity and people are concentrated and interact most—the MBON and TMON initiatives aim to provide policymakers with the science to

  4. Polysaccharides from the Marine Environment with Pharmacological, Cosmeceutical and Nutraceutical Potential

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nadia Ruocco

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Carbohydrates, also called saccharides, are molecules composed of carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. They are the most abundant biomolecules and essential components of many natural products and have attracted the attention of researchers because of their numerous human health benefits. Among carbohydrates the polysaccharides represent some of the most abundant bioactive substances in marine organisms. In fact, many marine macro- and microorganisms are good resources of carbohydrates with diverse applications due to their biofunctional properties. By acting on cell proliferation and cycle, and by modulating different metabolic pathways, marine polysaccharides (including mainly chitin, chitosan, fucoidan, carrageenan and alginate also have numerous pharmaceutical activities, such as antioxidative, antibacterial, antiviral, immuno-stimulatory, anticoagulant and anticancer effects. Moreover, these polysaccharides have many general beneficial effects for human health, and have therefore been developed into potential cosmeceuticals and nutraceuticals. In this review we describe current advances in the development of marine polysaccharides for nutraceutical, cosmeceutical and pharmacological applications. Research in this field is opening new doors for harnessing the potential of marine natural products.

  5. Global compilation of marine varve records

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schimmelmann, Arndt; Lange, Carina B.; Schieber, Juergen; Francus, Pierre; Ojala, Antti E. K.; Zolitschka, Bernd

    2017-04-01

    Marine varves contain highly resolved records of geochemical and other paleoceanographic and paleoenvironmental proxies with annual to seasonal resolution. We present a global compilation of marine varved sedimentary records throughout the Holocene and Quaternary covering more than 50 sites worldwide. Marine varve deposition and preservation typically depend on environmental and sedimentological conditions, such as a sufficiently high sedimentation rate, severe depletion of dissolved oxygen in bottom water to exclude bioturbation by macrobenthos, and a seasonally varying sedimentary input to yield a recognizable rhythmic varve pattern. Additional oceanographic factors may include the strength and depth range of the Oxygen Minimum Zone (OMZ) and regional anthropogenic eutrophication. Modern to Quaternary marine varves are not only found in those parts of the open ocean that comply with these conditions, but also in fjords, embayments and estuaries with thermohaline density stratification, and nearshore 'marine lakes' with strong hydrologic connections to ocean water. Marine varves have also been postulated in pre-Quaternary rocks. In the case of non-evaporitic laminations in fine-grained ancient marine rocks, such as banded iron formations and black shales, laminations may not be varves but instead may have multiple alternative origins such as event beds or formation via bottom currents that transported and sorted silt-sized particles, clay floccules, and organic-mineral aggregates in the form of migrating bedload ripples. Modern marine ecosystems on continental shelves and slopes, in coastal zones and in estuaries are susceptible to stress by anthropogenic pressures, for example in the form of eutrophication, enhanced OMZs, and expanding ranges of oxygen-depletion in bottom waters. Sensitive laminated sites may play the important role of a 'canary in the coal mine' where monitoring the character and geographical extent of laminations/varves serves as a diagnostic

  6. Contribution to the Understanding of Particle Motion Perception in Marine Invertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    André, Michel; Kaifu, Kenzo; Solé, Marta; van der Schaar, Mike; Akamatsu, Tomonari; Balastegui, Andreu; Sánchez, Antonio M; Castell, Joan V

    2016-01-01

    Marine invertebrates potentially represent a group of species whose ecology may be influenced by artificial noise. Exposure to anthropogenic sound sources could have a direct consequence on the functionality and sensitivity of their sensory organs, the statocysts, which are responsible for their equilibrium and movements in the water column. The availability of novel laser Doppler vibrometer techniques has recently opened the possibility of measuring whole body (distance, velocity, and acceleration) vibration as a direct stimulus eliciting statocyst response, offering the scientific community a new level of understanding of the marine invertebrate hearing mechanism.

  7. Planktonic foraminiferal abnormalities in coastal and open marine eastern Mediterranean environments: A natural stress monitoring approach in recent and early Holocene marine systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Antonarakou, A.; Kontakiotis, G.; Zarkogiannis, S.; Mortyn, P. G.; Drinia, H.; Koskeridou, E.; Anastasakis, G.

    2018-05-01

    Marine environmental status can be assessed through the study of bio-indicator species. Here, we monitor natural environmental stress by the occurrence of morphologically abnormal planktonic foraminiferal specimens from a suite of surface sediments in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. We also compare Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) abnormality observations from sapropel S1-derived sediments in the Aegean, Libyan and Levantine basins, since they provide a direct record of a natural stress experiment that took place over past time scales. At initial sapropel deposition levels, we observe increased growth asymmetry in Globigerinoides ruber twinned and twisted individuals, possibly associated with eutrophication and anoxia. In modern material, a range of malformations and aberrant morphologies from slight deformity with smaller or overdeveloped chambers to more severe deformity with abnormally protruding or misplaced chambers, distorted spirals, and double tests is also observed, as a result of the hypersaline, oligotrophic and oxygen-depleted nature of the Mediterranean Sea water column. Overall, we highlight the current use of the relative abundance of abnormal tests as a bio-indicator for monitoring natural stress, especially the occurrence of twin specimens as indicative of high-salinity stress conditions, and further illustrate the necessity to map both their spatial and temporal distribution for accurate paleoenvironmental reconstructions. Such an approach presents the advantage to rapidly provide information over wide spatial and temporal scales, extending our ability to monitor a wide variety of environments (from coastal to the open-sea). However, further investigations should extend this approach to test the robustness of our findings in a number of similar oceanic settings.

  8. Physiological constraints and energetic costs of diving behaviour in marine mammals: a review of studies using trained Steller sea lions diving in the open ocean.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosen, David A S; Hindle, Allyson G; Gerlinsky, Carling D; Goundie, Elizabeth; Hastie, Gordon D; Volpov, Beth L; Trites, Andrew W

    2017-01-01

    Marine mammals are characterized as having physiological specializations that maximize the use of oxygen stores to prolong time spent under water. However, it has been difficult to undertake the requisite controlled studies to determine the physiological limitations and trade-offs that marine mammals face while diving in the wild under varying environmental and nutritional conditions. For the past decade, Steller sea lions (Eumetopias jubatus) trained to swim and dive in the open ocean away from the physical confines of pools participated in studies that investigated the interactions between diving behaviour, energetic costs, physiological constraints, and prey availability. Many of these studies measured the cost of diving to understand how it varies with behaviour and environmental and physiological conditions. Collectively, these studies show that the type of diving (dive bouts or single dives), the level of underwater activity, the depth and duration of dives, and the nutritional status and physical condition of the animal affect the cost of diving and foraging. They show that dive depth, dive and surface duration, and the type of dive result in physiological adjustments (heart rate, gas exchange) that may be independent of energy expenditure. They also demonstrate that changes in prey abundance and nutritional status cause sea lions to alter the balance between time spent at the surface acquiring oxygen (and offloading CO 2 and other metabolic by-products) and time spent at depth acquiring prey. These new insights into the physiological basis of diving behaviour further our understanding of the potential scope for behavioural responses of marine mammals to environmental changes, the energetic significance of these adjustments, and the consequences of approaching physiological limits.

  9. Marine Socio-Environmental Covariates: queryable global layers of environmental and anthropogenic variables for marine ecosystem studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeager, Lauren A; Marchand, Philippe; Gill, David A; Baum, Julia K; McPherson, Jana M

    2017-07-01

    Biophysical conditions, including climate, environmental stress, and habitat availability, are key drivers of many ecological processes (e.g., community assembly and productivity) and associated ecosystem services (e.g., carbon sequestration and fishery production). Furthermore, anthropogenic impacts such as coastal development and fishing can have drastic effects on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. Scientists need to account for environmental variation and human impacts to accurately model, manage, and conserve marine ecosystems. Although there are many types of environmental data available from global remote sensing and open-source data products, some are inaccessible to potential end-users because they exist as global layers in high temporal and spatial resolutions which require considerable computational power to process. Additionally, coastal locations often suffer from missing data or data quality issues which limit the utility of some global marine products for coastal sites. Herein we present the Marine Socio-Environmental Covariates dataset for the global oceans, which consists of environmental and anthropogenic variables summarized in ecologically relevant ways. The dataset includes four sets of environmental variables related to biophysical conditions (net primary productivity models corrected for shallow-water reflectance, wave energy including sheltered-coastline corrections) and landscape context (coral reef and land cover within varying radii). We also present two sets of anthropogenic variables, human population density (within varying radii) and distance to large population center, which can serve as indicators of local human impacts. We have paired global, summarized layers available for download with an online data querying platform that allows users to extract data for specific point locations with finer control of summary statistics. In creating these global layers and online platform, we hope to make the data accessible to a

  10. Impacts of atmospheric anthropogenic nitrogen on the open ocean

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Duce, R.A.; LaRoche, J.; Altieri, K.; Arrigo, K.R.; Baker, A.R.; Capone, D.G.; Cornell, S.; Dentener, F.; Galloway, J.; Ganeshram, R.S.; Geider, R.J.; Jickells, T.; Kuypers, M.M.; Langlois, R.; Liss, P.S.; Liu, S.; Middelburg, J.J.; Moore, C.M.; Nickovic, S.; Oschlies, A.; Pedersen, T.; Prospero, J.; Schlitzer, R.; Seitzinger, S.; Sorensen, L.L.; Uematsu, M.; Ulloa, O.; Voss, M.; Ward, B.; Zamora, L.

    2008-01-01

    Increasing quantities of atmospheric anthropogenic fixed nitrogen entering the open ocean could account for up to about a third of the ocean's external (nonrecycled) nitrogen supply and up to 3% of the annual new marine biological production, 0.3 petagram of carbon per year. This input could account

  11. White abalone habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  12. Spot shrimp habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  13. Sheep crab habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  14. Giant seabass habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  15. California sheephead habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  16. Red abalone habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  17. High-seas fish wars generate marine reserves.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herrera, Guillermo E; Moeller, Holly V; Neubert, Michael G

    2016-04-05

    The effective management of marine fisheries is an ongoing challenge at the intersection of biology, economics, and policy. One way in which fish stocks-and their habitats-can be protected is through the establishment of marine reserves, areas that are closed to fishing. Although the potential economic benefits of such reserves have been shown for single-owner fisheries, their implementation quickly becomes complicated when more than one noncooperating harvester is involved in fishery management, which is the case on the high seas. How do multiple self-interested actors distribute their fishing effort to maximize their individual economic gains in the presence of others? Here, we use a game theoretic model to compare the effort distributions of multiple noncooperating harvesters with the effort distributions in the benchmark sole owner and open access cases. In addition to comparing aggregate rent, stock size, and fishing effort, we focus on the occurrence, size, and location of marine reserves. We show that marine reserves are a component of many noncooperative Cournot-Nash equilibria. Furthermore, as the number of harvesters increases, (i) both total unfished area and the size of binding reserves (those that actually constrain behavior) may increase, although the latter eventually asymptotically decreases; (ii) total rents and stock size both decline; and (iii) aggregate effort used (i.e., employment) can either increase or decrease, perhaps nonmonotonically.

  18. 46 CFR 52.20-17 - Opening between boiler and safety valve (modifies PFT-44).

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 46 Shipping 2 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Opening between boiler and safety valve (modifies PFT-44). 52.20-17 Section 52.20-17 Shipping COAST GUARD, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY (CONTINUED) MARINE ENGINEERING POWER BOILERS Requirements for Firetube Boilers § 52.20-17 Opening between boiler and safety valve...

  19. An Overview on Marine Sponge-Symbiotic Bacteria as Unexhausted Sources for Natural Product Discovery

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Candice M. Brinkmann

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available Microbial symbiotic communities of marine macro-organisms carry functional metabolic profiles different to the ones found terrestrially and within surrounding marine environments. These symbiotic bacteria have increasingly been a focus of microbiologists working in marine environments due to a wide array of reported bioactive compounds of therapeutic importance resulting in various patent registrations. Revelations of symbiont-directed host specific functions and the true nature of host-symbiont interactions, combined with metagenomic advances detecting functional gene clusters, will inevitably open new avenues for identification and discovery of novel bioactive compounds of biotechnological value from marine resources. This review article provides an overview on bioactive marine symbiotic organisms with specific emphasis placed on the sponge-associated ones and invites the international scientific community to contribute towards establishment of in-depth information of the environmental parameters defining selection and acquisition of true symbionts by the host organisms.

  20. Optical properties of marine waters and the development of bio-optical algorithms

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Desa, E.

    This paper presents the primary optical variables used in the measurement of the optical properties of marine waters. How can in-situ measurements be used in the optical recognition of coastal and open ocean waters. We then look at bio...

  1. HOCl and Cl2 observations in marine air

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. Sommariva

    2011-08-01

    Full Text Available Cl atoms in the marine atmosphere may significantly impact the lifetimes of methane and other hydrocarbons. However, the existing estimates of Cl atom levels in marine air are based on indirect evidence. Here we present measurements of the Cl precursors HOCl and Cl2 in the marine boundary layer during June of 2009 at the Cape Verde Atmospheric Observatory in the eastern tropical Atlantic. These are the first measurements of tropospheric HOCl. HOCl and Cl2 levels were low in air with open ocean back trajectories, with maximum levels always below 60 and 10 ppt (pmol/mol, respectively. In air with trajectories originating over Europe, HOCl and Cl2 levels were higher, with HOCl maxima exceeding 100 ppt each day and Cl2 reaching up to 35 ppt. The increased Cl cycling associated with long distance pollutant transport over the oceans likely impacts a wide geographic area and represents a mechanism by which human activities have increased the reactivity of the marine atmosphere. Data-constrained model simulations indicate that Cl atoms account for approximately 15 % of methane destruction on days when aged polluted air arrives at the site. A photochemical model does not adequately simulate the observed abundances of HOCl and Cl2, raising the possibility of an unknown HOCl source.

  2. Black abalone habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  3. Synthesis of Marine Polycyclic Polyethers via Endo-Selective Epoxide-Opening Cascades

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Timothy F. Jamison

    2010-03-01

    Full Text Available The proposed biosynthetic pathways to ladder polyethers of polyketide origin and oxasqualenoids of terpenoid origin share a dramatic epoxide-opening cascade as a key step. Polycyclic structures generated in these biosynthetic pathways display biological effects ranging from potentially therapeutic properties to extreme lethality. Much of the structural complexity of ladder polyether and oxasqualenoid natural products can be traced to these hypothesized cascades. In this review we summarize how such epoxide-opening cascade reactions have been used in the synthesis of ladder polyethers and oxasqualenoid natural products.

  4. Climate of the Arctic marine environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Walsh, John E

    2008-03-01

    The climate of the Arctic marine environment is characterized by strong seasonality in the incoming solar radiation and by tremendous spatial variations arising from a variety of surface types, including open ocean, sea ice, large islands, and proximity to major landmasses. Interannual and decadal-scale variations are prominent features of Arctic climate, complicating the distinction between natural and anthropogenically driven variations. Nevertheless, climate models consistently indicate that the Arctic is the most climatically sensitive region of the Northern Hemisphere, especially near the sea ice margins. The Arctic marine environment has shown changes over the past several decades, and these changes are part of a broader global warming that exceeds the range of natural variability over the past 1000 years. Record minima of sea ice coverage during the past few summers and increased melt from Greenland have important implications for the hydrographic regime of the Arctic marine environment. The recent changes in the atmosphere (temperature, precipitation, pressure), sea ice, and ocean appear to be a coordinated response to systematic variations of the large-scale atmospheric circulation, superimposed on a general warming that is likely associated with increasing greenhouse gases. The changes have been sufficiently large in some sectors (e.g., the Bering/Chukchi Seas) that consequences for marine ecosystems appear to be underway. Global climate models indicate an additional warming of several degrees Celsius in much of the Arctic marine environment by 2050. However, the warming is seasonal (largest in autumn and winter), spatially variable, and closely associated with further retreat of sea ice. Additional changes predicted for 2050 are a general decrease of sea level pressure (largest in the Bering sector) and an increase of precipitation. While predictions of changes in storminess cannot be made with confidence, the predicted reduction of sea ice cover will

  5. Improving Stewardship of Marine Resources: Linking Strategy to Opportunity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Franciska von Heland

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The need for improved stewardship of coastal and marine resources is evident worldwide. However, complex ecosystem dynamics, institutional inertia, and budgetary constraints impede such action. This study explores how networks of change-oriented individuals or “institutional entrepreneurs” can introduce new types of human-environment interaction. The focus is on investigating the interplay between the strategies of institutional entrepreneurs and broader system dynamics that shape the context in which they are working, and possible impacts of institutional entrepreneurship on marine governance. We explore these issues in the context of Wakatobi National Park in eastern Indonesia. We suggest that creating links between different social spheres, such as between marine resource management and spirituality or between marine resource management and education, may accelerate the development of a new ecosystem stewardship. We further suggest that the use of media has significant power to show alternative futures, but that media may also serve to objectify certain resource users and increase the complexity of marine resource management. In general, institutional entrepreneurs play an important role in capturing and managing opportunity to open up space for experimentation and novel ideas, for example by linking their ideas to broader political priorities. Yet, such strategies bear the risk of institutional capture. Finally, institutional entrepreneurs sometimes have vested interests in certain solutions that may forsake experimentation toward a sustainable future.

  6. International Marine Biotechnology Culture Collection (IMBCC)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zaborsky, O.R.; Baker, K. [Univ. of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI (United States)

    1996-10-01

    The objective of this project is to establish a premier culture collection of tropical marine microorganisms able to generate hydrogen from water or organic substances. Both eukaryotic and prokaryotic microorganisms will serve as the biological reservoir or {open_quotes}library{close_quotes} for other DOE Hydrogen Program contractors, the biohydrogen research community and industry. This project consists of several tasks: (a) transfer of the Mitsui-Miami strains to Hawaii`s International Marine Biotechnology Culture Collection (IMBCC) housed at the Hawaii Natural Energy Institute (HNEI); (b) maintain and distribute Mitsui-Miami strains; (c) characterize key strains by traditional and advanced biotechnological techniques; (d) expand Hawaii`s IMBCC; and (e) establish and operate an information resource (database). The project was initiated only late in the summer of 1995 but progress has been made on all tasks. Of the 161 cyanobacterial strains imported, 147 survived storage and importation and 145 are viable. with most exhibiting growth. Of the 406 strains of other photosynthetic bacteria imported, 392 survived storage and importation and 353 are viable, with many exhibiting growth. This project is linked to cooperative efforts being supported by the Japanese Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) through its Marine Biotechnology Institute (MBI) and Research Institute of Innovative Technology for the Earth (RITE).

  7. Global coordination and standardisation in marine biodiversity through the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS and related databases.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mark J Costello

    Full Text Available The World Register of Marine Species is an over 90% complete open-access inventory of all marine species names. Here we illustrate the scale of the problems with species names, synonyms, and their classification, and describe how WoRMS publishes online quality assured information on marine species. Within WoRMS, over 100 global, 12 regional and 4 thematic species databases are integrated with a common taxonomy. Over 240 editors from 133 institutions and 31 countries manage the content. To avoid duplication of effort, content is exchanged with 10 external databases. At present WoRMS contains 460,000 taxonomic names (from Kingdom to subspecies, 368,000 species level combinations of which 215,000 are currently accepted marine species names, and 26,000 related but non-marine species. Associated information includes 150,000 literature sources, 20,000 images, and locations of 44,000 specimens. Usage has grown linearly since its launch in 2007, with about 600,000 unique visitors to the website in 2011, and at least 90 organisations from 12 countries using WoRMS for their data management. By providing easy access to expert-validated content, WoRMS improves quality control in the use of species names, with consequent benefits to taxonomy, ecology, conservation and marine biodiversity research and management. The service manages information on species names that would otherwise be overly costly for individuals, and thus minimises errors in the application of nomenclature standards. WoRMS' content is expanding to include host-parasite relationships, additional literature sources, locations of specimens, images, distribution range, ecological, and biological data. Species are being categorised as introduced (alien, invasive, of conservation importance, and on other attributes. These developments have a multiplier effect on its potential as a resource for biodiversity research and management. As a consequence of WoRMS, we are witnessing improved

  8. Global Coordination and Standardisation in Marine Biodiversity through the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) and Related Databases

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bouchet, Philippe; Boxshall, Geoff; Fauchald, Kristian; Gordon, Dennis; Hoeksema, Bert W.; Poore, Gary C. B.; van Soest, Rob W. M.; Stöhr, Sabine; Walter, T. Chad; Vanhoorne, Bart; Decock, Wim

    2013-01-01

    The World Register of Marine Species is an over 90% complete open-access inventory of all marine species names. Here we illustrate the scale of the problems with species names, synonyms, and their classification, and describe how WoRMS publishes online quality assured information on marine species. Within WoRMS, over 100 global, 12 regional and 4 thematic species databases are integrated with a common taxonomy. Over 240 editors from 133 institutions and 31 countries manage the content. To avoid duplication of effort, content is exchanged with 10 external databases. At present WoRMS contains 460,000 taxonomic names (from Kingdom to subspecies), 368,000 species level combinations of which 215,000 are currently accepted marine species names, and 26,000 related but non-marine species. Associated information includes 150,000 literature sources, 20,000 images, and locations of 44,000 specimens. Usage has grown linearly since its launch in 2007, with about 600,000 unique visitors to the website in 2011, and at least 90 organisations from 12 countries using WoRMS for their data management. By providing easy access to expert-validated content, WoRMS improves quality control in the use of species names, with consequent benefits to taxonomy, ecology, conservation and marine biodiversity research and management. The service manages information on species names that would otherwise be overly costly for individuals, and thus minimises errors in the application of nomenclature standards. WoRMS' content is expanding to include host-parasite relationships, additional literature sources, locations of specimens, images, distribution range, ecological, and biological data. Species are being categorised as introduced (alien, invasive), of conservation importance, and on other attributes. These developments have a multiplier effect on its potential as a resource for biodiversity research and management. As a consequence of WoRMS, we are witnessing improved communication within the

  9. Marine biology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Thurman, H.V.; Webber, H.H.

    1984-01-01

    This book discusses both taxonomic and ecological topics on marine biology. Full coverage of marine organisms of all five kingdoms is provided, along with interesting and thorough discussion of all major marine habitats. Organization into six major parts allows flexibility. It also provides insight into important topics such as disposal of nuclear waste at sea, the idea that life began on the ocean floor, and how whales, krill, and people interact. A full-color photo chapter reviews questions, and exercises. The contents are: an overview marine biology: fundamental concepts/investigating life in the ocean; the physical ocean, the ocean floor, the nature of water, the nature and motion of ocean water; general ecology, conditions for life in the sea, biological productivity and energy transfer; marine organisms; monera, protista, mycota and metaphyta; the smaller marine animals, the large animals marine habitats, the intertidal zone/benthos of the continental shelf, the photic zone, the deep ocean, the ocean under stress, marine pollution, appendix a: the metric system and conversion factors/ appendix b: prefixes and suffixes/ appendix c: taxonomic classification of common marine organisms, and glossary, and index

  10. California spiny lobster habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  11. Red sea urchin habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  12. Warty sea cucumber habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  13. Ridgeback rock shrimp habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  14. Juvenile thresher shark habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  15. California market squid habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  16. Adult thresher shark habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  17. Pacific angel shark habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  18. California sea cucumber habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Office of National Marine Sanctuary Program (ONMS) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the...

  19. The Census of Marine Life: goals, scope and strategy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kristen Yarincik

    2005-06-01

    Full Text Available The Census of Marine Life aims to assess and explain the changing diversity, distribution, and abundance of marine species from the past to the present, and to project future ocean life. It assembles known historical data back to 1500 in an online Ocean Biogeographic Information System (OBIS and has over 1000 scientists from 70 countries using advanced technologies to quantify and discover unknown life in under-explored ocean realms. Over 99% of the 6 million records now in OBIS are from the top 1000m of the water column, so the mid-waters and floor of the open ocean and the polar ice oceans are special targets. Even where the species are known, their distributions and abundance are largely speculative. This report outlines the strategies of COML projects to efficiently reveal the 95% of the biosphere beneath the waves, from microbes to whales. Open access to the OBIS data set will improve capacity to predict future impacts of climate and human activity. The baseline created by 2010 and the calibrated techniques developed will become important tools for monitoring and managing future ocean ecosystems to maintain their capacity to provide crucial services to our blue planet.

  20. IOC/WMO Workshop on Marine Pollution Monitoring (3rd, New Delhi, India, February 11-15, 1980). Summary Report. Workshop Report No. 22.

    Science.gov (United States)

    United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Paris (France). Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

    Provided is a summary report of the third IOC/WMO (Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission/World Meteorological Organization) workshop of marine pollution monitoring. Summaries are presented in nine sections, including: (1) workshop opening; (2) welcoming addresses; (3) reports on the Marine Pollution (Petroleum) Monitoring Pilot Project…

  1. Late-Quaternary glacial to postglacial sedimentation in three adjacent fjord-lakes of the Québec North Shore (eastern Canadian Shield)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Poiré, Antoine G.; Lajeunesse, Patrick; Normandeau, Alexandre; Francus, Pierre; St-Onge, Guillaume; Nzekwe, Obinna P.

    2018-04-01

    High-resolution swath bathymetry imagery allowed mapping in great detail the sublacustrine geomorphology of lakes Pentecôte, Walker and Pasteur, three deep adjacent fjord-lakes of the Québec North Shore (eastern Canada). These sedimentary basins have been glacio-isostatically uplifted to form deep steep-sided elongated lakes. Their key geographical position and limnogeological characteristics typical of fjords suggest exceptional potential for long-term high-resolution paleoenvironmental reconstitutions. Acoustic subbottom profiles acquired using a bi-frequency Chirp echosounder (3.5 & 12 kHz), together with cm- and m-long sediment core data, reveal the presence of four acoustic stratigraphic units. The acoustic basement (Unit 1) represents the structural bedrock and/or the ice-contact sediments of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and reveals V-shaped bedrock valleys at the bottom of the lakes occupied by ice-loaded sediments in a basin-fill geometry (Unit 2). Moraines observed at the bottom of lakes and in their structural valleys indicate a deglaciation punctuated by short-term ice margin stabilizations. Following ice retreat and their isolation, the fjord-lakes were filled by a thick draping sequence of rhythmically laminated silts and clays (Unit 3) deposited during glaciomarine and/or glaciolacustrine settings. These sediments were episodically disturbed by mass-movements during deglaciation due to glacial-isostatic rebound. AMS 14C dating reveal that the transition between deglaciation of the lakes Pentecôte and Walker watersheds and the development of para- and post-glacial conditions occurred around 8000 cal BP. The development of the lake-head river delta plain during the Holocene provided a constant source of fluvial sediment supply to the lakes and the formation of turbidity current bedforms on the sublacustrine delta slopes. The upper sediment succession (i.e., ∼4-∼6.5 m) consists of a continuous para-to post-glacial sediment drape (Unit 4) that contains

  2. Sources of reactive nitrogen in marine aerosol over the Northwest Pacific Ocean in spring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Luo, Li; Kao, Shuh-Ji; Bao, Hongyan; Xiao, Huayun; Xiao, Hongwei; Yao, Xiaohong; Gao, Huiwang; Li, Jiawei; Lu, Yangyang

    2018-05-01

    Atmospheric deposition of long-range transport of anthropogenic reactive nitrogen (Nr, mainly comprised of NHx, NOy and water-soluble organic nitrogen, WSON) from continents may have profound impact on marine biogeochemistry. In addition, surface ocean dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) may also contribute to aerosol WSON in the overlying atmosphere. Despite the importance of off-continent dispersion and Nr interactions at the atmosphere-ocean boundary, our knowledge of the sources of various nitrogen species in the atmosphere over the open ocean remains limited due to insufficient observations. We conducted two cruises in the spring of 2014 and 2015 from the coast of China through the East China seas (ECSs, i.e. the Yellow Sea and East China Sea) to the open ocean (i.e. the Northwest Pacific Ocean, NWPO). Concentrations of water-soluble total nitrogen (WSTN), NO3- and NH4+, as well as the δ15N of WSTN and NO3- in marine aerosol, were measured during both cruises. In the spring of 2015, we also analysed the concentrations and δ15N of NO3- and the DON of surface seawater (SSW; at a depth of 5 m) along the cruise track. Aerosol NO3-, NH4+ and WSON decreased logarithmically (1-2 orders of magnitude) with distance from the shore, reflecting strong anthropogenic emission sources of NO3-, NH4+ and WSON in China. Average aerosol NO3- and NH4+ concentrations were significantly higher in 2014 (even in the remote NWOP) than in 2015 due to the stronger wind field in 2014, underscoring the role of the Asian winter monsoon in the seaward transport of anthropogenic NO3- and NH4+. However, the background aerosol WSON over the NWPO in 2015 (13.3 ± 8.5 nmol m-3) was similar to that in 2014 (12.2 ± 6.3 nmol m-3), suggesting an additional non-anthropogenic WSON source in the open ocean. Obviously, marine DON emissions should be considered in model and field assessments of net atmospheric WSON deposition in the open ocean. This study contributes information on parallel isotopic

  3. Comanagement practices enhance fisheries in marine protected areas.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Guidetti, Paolo; Claudet, Joachim

    2010-02-01

    Fishing activities worldwide have dramatically affected marine fish stocks and ecosystems. Marine protected areas (MPAs) with no-take zones may enhance fisheries, but empirical evidence of this is scant. We conducted a 4-year survey of fish catches around and within an MPA that was previously fully closed to fishing and then partially reopened under regulated comanaged fishing. In collaboration with the fishers and the MPA authority, we set the fishing effort and selected the gear to limit fishing impact on key fish predators, juvenile fish stage, and benthic communities and habitats. Within an adaptive comanagement framework, fishers agreed to reduce fishing effort if symptoms of overfishing were detected. We analyzed the temporal trends of catch per unit of effort (CPUE) of the whole species assemblages and CPUE of the four most valuable and frequent species observed inside the opened buffer zone and outside the MPA investigated. After the comanaged opening, CPUE first declined and then stabilized at levels more than twice that of catches obtained outside the MPA. Our results suggest that working closely with fishers can result in greater fisheries catches. Partial protection of coastal areas together with adaptive comanagement involving fishers, scientists, and managers can effectively achieve conservation and fishery management goals and benefit fishing communities and alleviate overfishing.

  4. Participatory Sensing Marine Debris: Current Trends and Future Opportunities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jambeck, J.; Johnsen, K.

    2016-02-01

    The monitoring of litter and debris is challenging at the global scale because of spatial and temporal variability, disconnected local organizations and the use of paper and pen for documentation. The Marine Debris Tracker mobile app and citizen science program allows for the collection of global standardized data at a scale, speed and efficiency that was not previously possible. The app itself also serves as an outreach and education tool, creating an engaged participatory sensing instrument. This instrument is characterized by several aspects including range and frequency, accuracy and precision, accessibility, measurement dimensions, participant performance, and statistical analysis. Also, important to Marine Debris Tracker is open data and transparency. A web portal provides data that users have logged allowing immediate feedback to users and additional education opportunities. The engagement of users through a top tracker competition and social media keeps participants interested in the Marine Debris Tracker community. Over half a million items have been tracked globally, and maps provide both global and local distribution of data. The Marine Debris Tracker community and dataset continues to grow daily. We will present current usage and engagement, participatory sensing data distributions, choropleth maps of areas of active tracking, and discuss future technologies and platforms to expand data collection and conduct statistical analysis.

  5. Events Calendar: Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems Exhibit: Smithsonian Marine

    Science.gov (United States)

    current Smithsonian research on the plants and animals of the Indian River Lagoon and marine environments Station (SMS) at Fort Pierce Smithsonian Marine Station at Fort Pierce Website Search Box History Modeling Ecosystems Virtual Tour Facebook Instagram Twitter SMS Home › Smithsonian Marine

  6. Marine genomics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oliveira Ribeiro, Ângela Maria; Foote, Andrew David; Kupczok, Anne

    2017-01-01

    Marine ecosystems occupy 71% of the surface of our planet, yet we know little about their diversity. Although the inventory of species is continually increasing, as registered by the Census of Marine Life program, only about 10% of the estimated two million marine species are known. This lag......-throughput sequencing approaches have been helping to improve our knowledge of marine biodiversity, from the rich microbial biota that forms the base of the tree of life to a wealth of plant and animal species. In this review, we present an overview of the applications of genomics to the study of marine life, from...

  7. Effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife—a generalized impact assessment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergström, Lena; Kautsky, Lena; Malm, Torleif; Rosenberg, Rutger; Wahlberg, Magnus; Åstrand Capetillo, Nastassja; Wilhelmsson, Dan

    2014-03-01

    Marine management plans over the world express high expectations to the development of offshore wind energy. This would obviously contribute to renewable energy production, but potential conflicts with other usages of the marine landscape, as well as conservation interests, are evident. The present study synthesizes the current state of understanding on the effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife, in order to identify general versus local conclusions in published studies. The results were translated into a generalized impact assessment for coastal waters in Sweden, which covers a range of salinity conditions from marine to nearly fresh waters. Hence, the conclusions are potentially applicable to marine planning situations in various aquatic ecosystems. The assessment considered impact with respect to temporal and spatial extent of the pressure, effect within each ecosystem component, and level of certainty. Research on the environmental effects of offshore wind farms has gone through a rapid maturation and learning process, with the bulk of knowledge being developed within the past ten years. The studies showed a high level of consensus with respect to the construction phase, indicating that potential impacts on marine life should be carefully considered in marine spatial planning. Potential impacts during the operational phase were more locally variable, and could be either negative or positive depending on biological conditions as well as prevailing management goals. There was paucity in studies on cumulative impacts and long-term effects on the food web, as well as on combined effects with other human activities, such as the fisheries. These aspects remain key open issues for a sustainable marine spatial planning.

  8. Design and flight performance evaluation of the Mariners 6, 7, and 9 short-circuit current, open-circuit voltage transducers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patterson, R. E.

    1973-01-01

    The purpose of the short-circuit voltage transducer is to provide engineering data to aid the evaluation of array performance during flight. The design, fabrication, calibration, and in-flight performance of the transducers onboard the Mariner 6, 7 and 9 spacecrafts are described. No significant differences were observed in the in-flight electrical performance of the three transducers. The transducers did experience significant losses due to coverslides or adhesive darkening, increased surface reflection, or spectral shifts within coverslide assembly. Mariner 6, 7 and 9 transducers showed non-cell current degradations of 3-1/2%, 3%, and 4%, respectively at Mars encounter and 6%, 3%, and 4-12%, respectively at end of mission. Mariner 9 solar Array Test 2 showed 3-12% current degradation while the transducer showed 4-12% degradation.

  9. Informatics and Decisions support in Galway Bay (SmartBay) using ERDDAP, OGC Technologies and Third Party Data Sources to Provide Services to the Marine Community.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Delaney, Conor; Gaughan, Paul; Smyth, Damian

    2013-04-01

    The global marine sector generates and consumes vast quantities of operational and forecast data on a daily basis. One of the key challenges facing the sector relates to the management and transformation of that data into knowledge. The Irish Marine Institute (MI) generates oceanographic and environmental data on a regular and frequent basis. This data comes from operational ocean models run on the MI's high performance computer (HPC) and various environmental observation sensors systems. Some of the data published by the Marine Institute is brokered by the Environmental Research Division's Data Access Program (ERDDAP) data broker, which is a broker technology that uses technology based on OPeNDAP and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) standards. The broker provides a consistent web service interface to the data services of the Marine Institute; these services include wave, tide and weather sensors and numerical model output. An ERDDAP server publishes data in a number of standard and developer friendly ways, including some OGC formats. The data on the MI ERDDAP (http://erddap.marine.ie) server is published as OpenData. The marine work package of the FP7 funded ENVIROFI project (http://www.envirofi.eu/) has used the ERDDAP data broker as a core resource in the development of its Marine Asset management decision Support Tool (MAST) portal and phone App. Communication between MAST and ERDDAP is via a Uniform Resource Identifier (Linked Data). A key objective of the MAST prototype is to demonstrate the potential of next-generation dynamic web-based products and services and how they can be harnessed to facilitate growth of both the marine and IT sectors. The use case driving the project is the management of ocean energy assets in the marine environment. In particular the provision of information that aid in the decision making process surrounding maintenance at sea. This question is common to any offshore industry and solution proposed here is applicable to other users

  10. Tracking Early Jurassic marine (de)oxygenation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Them, T. R., II; Caruthers, A. H.; Gill, B. C.; Gröcke, D. R.; Marroquín, S. M.; Owens, J. D.

    2017-12-01

    It has been suggested that the carbon cycle was perturbed during the Toarcian OAE (T-OAE) as observed in the carbon isotope record, and more recently other elemental cycles (e.g., Hg, Mo, Os, S). The most widely accepted hypothesis focuses on the emplacement of the Karoo-Ferrar large igneous province, outgassing of greenhouse gases, and subsequent feedbacks in the Earth system, which caused severe environmental change and biological turnover. Feedbacks to elevated atmospheric pCO2 include enhanced weathering rates, dissociation of methane clathrates, increased terrestrial methanogenesis, and widespread marine anoxia. The sequence of events related to the development and duration of marine anoxia are not well constrained for this time interval due to a lack of open-ocean geochemical records. In order to reconstruct the timing of marine deoxygenation during the Early Jurassic T-OAE, we have utilized thallium isotopes, a novel geochemical proxy from multiple anoxic basins in North America and Germany. Three sites representing a basin transect from the Western Canada Sedimentary Basin, and one site from the South German Basin, were chosen to reconstruct the thallium isotopic composition (ɛ205Tl) of the ocean. The ɛ205Tl composition of sediments deposited under anoxic and euxinic water columns records the global seawater ɛ205Tl composition, a function of the amount of manganese oxides that are precipitated. Increased geographic extent of marine anoxia will cause a decrease in manganese oxide precipitation and perturb the thallium system. Importantly, the inputs of thallium are nearly identical, thus changes in these fluxes cannot drive the observed perturbation. Our new Early Jurassic ɛ205Tl records suggest that the onset of marine deoxygenation occurred concurrently with Karoo-Ferrar magmatism in the late Pliensbachian and continued until after the T-OAE. These new data support a Karoo-Ferrar trigger of the T-OAE. However, thallium isotopes also suggest that

  11. The French marine industry's commitment for marine renewable energies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2015-10-01

    This publication outlines that marine renewable energies are assets and solutions for the energy mix, and that France is among the sector leaders: French actors are indeed present in all technologies, and contribute to cost reduction. It describes the different possible technologies for offshore wind energy (installed or floating with vertical or horizontal axis), for the exploitation of ocean current force (turbine, hydrofoil, Venturi effect), for the exploitation of sea thermal energy (open or closed cycle), and for the exploitation of wave energy attenuator, absorber, oscillator, oscillating water column, immersed pump). It indicates the various sites, plants and areas concerned by projects, and the involved actors. It comments the importance of innovation and organisation in R and D. A second part indicates numerous French actors present in the different sub-sectors all over the value chain: development, studies and engineering, design and manufacturing, installation, maintenance and exploitation. The next part addresses the case of installed wind turbines, the most mature marine renewable energies: available models, actors in foundations and electric station, manufacturing plants. Then, advanced or studied solutions for floating offshore wind turbines, for ocean energy, for river and estuary energy, for sea thermal energy, for wave energy are briefly presented. Related products and equipment are also presented: specialised ships, measurement equipment, electric connection, and others

  12. Global patterns of extinction risk in marine and non-marine systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Webb, Thomas J; Mindel, Beth L

    2015-02-16

    Despite increasing concern over the effects of human activities on marine ecosystems, extinction in the sea remains scarce: 19-24 out of a total of >850 recorded extinctions implies a 9-fold lower marine extinction rate compared to non-marine systems. The extent of threats faced by marine systems, and their resilience to them, receive considerable attention, but the detectability of marine extinctions is less well understood. Before its extinction or threat status is recorded, a species must be both taxonomically described and then formally assessed; lower rates of either process for marine species could thus impact patterns of extinction risk, especially as species missing from taxonomic inventories may often be more vulnerable than described species. We combine data on taxonomic description with conservation assessments from the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to test these possibilities across almost all marine and non-marine eukaryotes. We find that the 9-fold lower rate of recorded extinctions and 4-fold lower rate of ongoing extinction risk across marine species can be explained in part by differences in the proportion of species assessed by the IUCN (3% cf. 4% of non-marine species). Furthermore, once taxonomic knowledge and conservation assessments pass a threshold level, differences in extinction risk between marine and non-marine groups largely disappear. Indeed, across the best-studied taxonomic groups, there is no difference between marine and non-marine systems, with on average between 20% and 25% of species being threatened with extinction, regardless of realm. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  13. Effects of Biodiesel Blend on Marine Fuel Characteristics for Marine Vessels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cherng-Yuan Lin

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available Biodiesel produced from vegetable oils, animal fats and algae oil is a renewable, environmentally friendly and clean alternative fuel that reduces pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions in marine applications. This study investigates the influence of biodiesel blend on the characteristics of residual and distillate marine fuels. Adequate correlation equations are applied to calculate the fuel properties of the blended marine fuels with biodiesel. Residual marine fuel RMA has inferior fuel characteristics compared with distillate marine fuel DMA and biodiesel. The flash point of marine fuel RMA could be increased by 20% if blended with 20 vol% biodiesel. The sulfur content of residual marine fuel could meet the requirement of the 2008 MARPOL Annex VI Amendment by blending it with 23.0 vol% biodiesel. In addition, the kinematic viscosity of residual marine fuel could be reduced by 12.9% and the carbon residue by 23.6% if 20 vol% and 25 vol% biodiesel are used, respectively. Residual marine fuel blended with 20 vol% biodiesel decreases its lower heating value by 1.9%. Moreover, the fuel properties of residual marine fuel are found to improve more significantly with biodiesel blending than those of distillate marine fuel.

  14. Marine ecology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Anon.

    1977-01-01

    Studies on marine ecology included marine pollution; distribution patterns of Pu and Am in the marine waters, sediments, and organisms of Bikini Atoll and the influence of physical, chemical, and biological factors on their movements through marine biogeochemical systems; transfer and dispersion of organic pollutants from an oil refinery through coastal waters; transfer of particulate pollutants, including sediments dispersed during construction of offshore power plants; and raft culture of the mangrove oysters

  15. Large-Scale Trade in Legally Protected Marine Mollusc Shells from Java and Bali, Indonesia.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vincent Nijman

    Full Text Available Tropical marine molluscs are traded globally. Larger species with slow life histories are under threat from over-exploitation. We report on the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in and from Java and Bali, Indonesia. Since 1987 twelve species of marine molluscs are protected under Indonesian law to shield them from overexploitation. Despite this protection they are traded openly in large volumes.We collected data on species composition, origins, volumes and prices at two large open markets (2013, collected data from wholesale traders (2013, and compiled seizure data by the Indonesian authorities (2008-2013. All twelve protected species were observed in trade. Smaller species were traded for 32,000 shells valued at USD500,000, chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius (>3,000 shells, USD60,000 and giant clams (Tridacna spp. (>2,000 shells, USD45,000 were traded in largest volumes. Two-thirds of this trade was destined for international markets, including in the USA and Asia-Pacific region.We demonstrated that the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in Indonesia is not controlled nor monitored, that it involves large volumes, and that networks of shell collectors, traders, middlemen and exporters span the globe. This impedes protection of these species on the ground and calls into question the effectiveness of protected species management in Indonesia; solutions are unlikely to be found only in Indonesia and must involve the cooperation of importing countries.

  16. Habitat modeling and genetic signatures of postglacial recolonization for tidal estuaries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dolby, G. A.; Jacobs, D. K.

    2014-12-01

    Pleistocene glacial cycles are a foremost influence on the genetic diversity and species distribution patterns observed today. Though much work has centered on biotic response to such climatic forcing, little of it has regarded estuarine or other aquatic coastal taxa whose habitat formation is a function of sea level, hydrography, and coastal geomorphology. These physical parameters required for habitat formation suggest that glacial cycles impart a significant effect on such taxa through glacially driven eustatic changes. Additionally, the steepened coastline and rainfall-limited Mediterranean climate suggest limited glacial habitat for estuarine species in southern and Baja California. Here we present GIS modeled habitat for tidal estuaries for three co-distributed estuarine fishes (Gillichthys mirabilis, Quietula y-cauda, Fundulus parvipinnis) since the last glacial maximum. Parameterization of sea level and slope enables biologically relevant temporal resolution of near-millennial scale. At lowstand our approach reveals two refuges along the coast at 1000km distance from each other, with habitat rapidly increasing 15 - 12 ka during meltwater pulse 1A. Habitat area peaked in the early Holocene and began decreasing with the current stillstand roughly 7 ka, probably as a result of coastal maturation towards less tidal systems. To target the postglacial recolonization process we applied discriminant function analysis to highly polymorphic microsatellite data to partition out the alleles associated with refuges identified a priori by habitat modeling. The frequencies of these alleles were calculated for all individuals at intervening populations and regressed against geographic distance. This analysis revealed nonlinear mixing curves, suggesting uneven allelic mixing efficiency along the coastline, perhaps as a result of differential habitat origination times as indicated by the habitat models. These results highlight the dynamism of estuarine habitat in recent

  17. The Holocene Great Belt connection to the southern Kattegat, Scandinavia

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bendixen, Carina; Jensen, Jørn Bo; Boldreel, Lars Ole

    2017-01-01

    Late- and postglacial geological evolution of the southern Kattegat connection to the Great Belt was investigated from high-resolution seismic data and radiocarbon-dated sediment cores in order to elucidate the Ancylus Lake drainage/Littorina Sea transgression. It was found that glacial deposits...... form the acoustic basement and are covered by Lateglacial (LG) marine sediments and postglacial (PG; Holocene) material. The LG deposits form a highstand systems tract, whereas the PG deposits cover a full depositional sequence, consisting of a lowstand systems tract (PG I), transgressive systems tract...... (PG II; subdivided into three parasequences) and finally a highstand systems tract (PG III). PG I sand deposits (11.7–10.8 cal. ka BP) are found in a major western channel and in a secondary eastern channel. PG II (10.8–9.8 cal. ka BP) consists of estuarine and coastal deposits linked to an estuary...

  18. Postglacial relative sea-level history of the Prince Rupert area, British Columbia, Canada

    Science.gov (United States)

    Letham, Bryn; Martindale, Andrew; Macdonald, Rebecca; Guiry, Eric; Jones, Jacob; Ames, Kenneth M.

    2016-12-01

    This paper presents a history of relative sea level (RSL) change for the last 15,000 years in the Prince Rupert region on the northern coast of British Columbia, Canada. One hundred twenty-three radiocarbon ages of organic material from isolation basin cores, sediment sequence exposures, and archaeological sites having a recognized relation to past sea levels constrain postglacial RSL. The large number of new measurements relating to past sea-level provides a well constrained RSL curve that differs in significant ways from previously published results. After deglaciation following the Last Glacial Maximum, the region experienced an isostatically-induced rapid RSL drop from as much 50 m asl to as low as -6.3 m asl in as little as a few centuries between 14,500 BP and 13,500 BP. After a lowstand below current sea level for about 2000 years during the terminal Pleistocene, RSL rose again to a highstand at least 6 m asl after the end of the Younger Dryas. RSL slowly dropped through the Holocene to close to its current position by 2000-1500 BP, with some potential fluctuations between 3500 and 1500 BP. This study highlights variation in RSL histories across relatively short distances, which must be accounted for by local RSL reconstructions such as this one. This RSL curve aided in the identification of an 8000-9000 year old archaeological site on a 10-12 m asl terrace, which is currently the earliest dated archaeological site in the area, and it provides guidance for searching for even older archaeological remains. We highlight the utility and potential of this refined RSL history for developing surveys for other archaeological sites associated with paleoshorelines.

  19. Marine pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Albaiges, J.

    1989-01-01

    This book covers the following topics: Transport of marine pollutants; Transformation of pollutants in the marine environment; Biological effects of marine pollutants; Sources and transport of oil pollutants in the Persian Gulf; Trace metals and hydrocarbons in Syrian coastal waters; and Techniques for analysis of trace pollutants

  20. Electrical Components for Marine Renewable Energy Arrays: A Techno-Economic Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Adam J. Collin

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a review of the main electrical components that are expected to be present in marine renewable energy arrays. The review is put in context by appraising the current needs of the industry and identifying the key components required in both device and array-scale developments. For each component, electrical, mechanical and cost considerations are discussed; with quantitative data collected during the review made freely available for use by the community via an open access online repository. This data collection updates previous research and addresses gaps specific to emerging offshore technologies, such as marine and floating wind, and provides a comprehensive resource for the techno-economic assessment of offshore energy arrays.

  1. Studies toward brevisulcenal F via convergent strategies for marine ladder polyether synthesis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Katcher, Matthew; Jamison, Timothy F

    2018-03-15

    Shortly after the initial isolation of marine ladder polyether natural products, biomimetic epoxide-opening cascade reactions were proposed as an efficient strategy for the synthesis of these compounds. However, difficulties in assembling the cascade precursors have limited the realization of these cascades. In this report, we describe strategies that provide convergent access to cascade precursors via regioselective allylation and efficient fragment coupling. We then investigate epoxide-opening cascades promoted by strong bases for the formation of fused tetrahydropyrans. These strategies are evaluated in the context of the synthesis of rings CDEFG of brevisulcenal F.

  2. Rockcrabs of the genus Cancer habitat suitability model for Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary Biogeographic Assessment

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) updates and revises the management plans for each of its 13 sanctuaries. This process, which is open to the public,...

  3. Wind Speed Influences on Marine Aerosol Optical Depth

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Colin O'Dowd

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The Mulcahy (Mulcahy et al., 2008 power-law parameterization, derived at the coastal Atlantic station Mace Head, between clean marine aerosol optical depth (AOD and wind speed is compared to open ocean MODIS-derived AOD versus wind speed. The reported AOD versus wind speed (U was a function of ∼U2. The open ocean MODIS-derived AOD at 550 nm and 860 nm wavelengths, while in good agreement with the general magnitude of the Mulcahy parameterization, follows a power-law with the exponent ranging from 0.72 to 2.47 for a wind speed range of 2–18 m s−1. For the four cases examined, some MODIS cases underestimated AOD while other cases overestimated AOD relative to the Mulcahy scheme. Overall, the results from MODIS support the general power-law relationship of Mulcahy, although some linear cases were also encountered in the MODIS dataset. Deviations also arise between MODIS and Mulcahy at higher wind speeds (>15 m s−1, where MODIS-derived AOD returns lower values as compared to Mulcahy. The results also support the suggestion than wind generated sea spray, under moderately high winds, can rival anthropogenic pollution plumes advecting out into marine environments with wind driven AOD contributing to AOD values approaching 0.3.

  4. Effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife—a generalized impact assessment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergström, Lena; Kautsky, Lena; Malm, Torleif; Åstrand Capetillo, Nastassja; Rosenberg, Rutger; Wahlberg, Magnus; Wilhelmsson, Dan

    2014-01-01

    Marine management plans over the world express high expectations to the development of offshore wind energy. This would obviously contribute to renewable energy production, but potential conflicts with other usages of the marine landscape, as well as conservation interests, are evident. The present study synthesizes the current state of understanding on the effects of offshore wind farms on marine wildlife, in order to identify general versus local conclusions in published studies. The results were translated into a generalized impact assessment for coastal waters in Sweden, which covers a range of salinity conditions from marine to nearly fresh waters. Hence, the conclusions are potentially applicable to marine planning situations in various aquatic ecosystems. The assessment considered impact with respect to temporal and spatial extent of the pressure, effect within each ecosystem component, and level of certainty. Research on the environmental effects of offshore wind farms has gone through a rapid maturation and learning process, with the bulk of knowledge being developed within the past ten years. The studies showed a high level of consensus with respect to the construction phase, indicating that potential impacts on marine life should be carefully considered in marine spatial planning. Potential impacts during the operational phase were more locally variable, and could be either negative or positive depending on biological conditions as well as prevailing management goals. There was paucity in studies on cumulative impacts and long-term effects on the food web, as well as on combined effects with other human activities, such as the fisheries. These aspects remain key open issues for a sustainable marine spatial planning. (paper)

  5. Postglacial recolonization shaped the genetic diversity of the winter moth (Operophtera brumata) in Europe.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersen, Jeremy C; Havill, Nathan P; Caccone, Adalgisa; Elkinton, Joseph S

    2017-05-01

    Changes in climate conditions, particularly during the Quaternary climatic oscillations, have long been recognized to be important for shaping patterns of species diversity. For species residing in the western Palearctic, two commonly observed genetic patterns resulting from these cycles are as follows: (1) that the numbers and distributions of genetic lineages correspond with the use of geographically distinct glacial refugia and (2) that southern populations are generally more diverse than northern populations (the "southern richness, northern purity" paradigm). To determine whether these patterns hold true for the widespread pest species the winter moth ( Operophtera brumata ), we genotyped 699 individual winter moths collected from 15 Eurasian countries with 24 polymorphic microsatellite loci. We find strong evidence for the presence of two major genetic clusters that diverged ~18 to ~22 ka, with evidence that secondary contact (i.e., hybridization) resumed ~ 5 ka along a well-established hybrid zone in Central Europe. This pattern supports the hypothesis that contemporary populations descend from populations that resided in distinct glacial refugia. However, unlike many previous studies of postglacial recolonization, we found no evidence for the "southern richness, northern purity" paradigm. We also find evidence for ongoing gene flow between populations in adjacent Eurasian countries, suggesting that long-distance dispersal plays an important part in shaping winter moth genetic diversity. In addition, we find that this gene flow is predominantly in a west-to-east direction, suggesting that recently debated reports of cyclical outbreaks of winter moth spreading from east to west across Europe are not the result of dispersal.

  6. Late Post-glacial Sea Level Rise and Its Effects On Human Activity In Asia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Oppenheimer, S. J.

    Three rapid post-glacial sea-level rises flooded coastlines with large continental shelves. The last of these, shortly before the interglacial optimum c.7,500BP, not only changed coastal Neolithic societies, but may also have stimulated maritime skills. Two Asian examples explore these aspects. First, during the Mid-Holocene, the Arabian Gulf transgressed as far inland as Ur probably laying down Woolley's famous Ur Flood silt layer between 7,000-5,500 BP. Stratigraphy and dating suggests the phase of rapid sea level rise immediately preceded the start of the 'Ubaid pottery period. Red-slipped Uruk pottery and copper items then appear from about 6,000BP, but above Woolley's silt layer. The Sumerian King Lists also record a major upheaval and dynastic change after 'the Flood'. Second, the final flooding of the Sunda shelf in Southeast Asia was followed by a maritime extension of human occupation from Northern Melanesia south into the Solomon Islands 6,000 years ago. Simultaneously, further west on the north coast of New Guinea, new archaeological assemblages ap- pear beneath a silt layer left by a pro-grading 6,000 year-old inland sea. The presence of arboriculture items such as betel nuts and the contemporary arrival of dogs and pigs in the same region suggests intrusion from Southeast Asia. This supports Solheim's suggestion that rapid sea-level rise on the eastern edge of the Sunda Shelf stimulated maritime skills and invention in Southeast Asia. This may have provided the initial stimulus to the first maritime expansion that was later to colonise the whole Pacific.

  7. Forsmark site investigation. Searching for evidence of late- or postglacial faulting in the Forsmark region. Results from 2002-2004

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Lagerbaeck, Robert; Sundh, Martin; Svedlund, Jan-Olov; Johansson, Helena [Geological Survey of Sweden, Uppsala (Sweden)

    2005-10-15

    The study was designed to determine whether any major late- or postglacial faulting occurred in the proposed repository area at Forsmark or in its vicinity. 'Major faulting' in this context is defined as dislocations in the order of several metres along faults several kilometres long. Faults of such dimensions may, if conditions are favourable, be detected by means of interpreting aerial photographs. Furthermore, they would have generated high magnitude earthquakes that could produce characteristic distortions in waterlogged sandy or silty sediments. Interpretation of aerial photographs was carried out in a relatively large area in northeast Uppland, with the purpose of looking for morphologically conspicuous lineaments, i.e. late- or postglacial fault candidates. A number of fairly prominent but short escarpments and crevasses were noted, but when later field-checked these candidates for young fault movement proved to be more or less strongly glacially eroded, i.e. formed prior to the last deglaciation. In order to search for seismically induced distortions, all gravel and sand pits being worked in the investigation area were visited and some fifty machine-dug trenches were excavated, mainly in sandy-silty glaciofluvial deposits along eskers. Contorted and folded sequences of glacial clay were encountered at many of the localities, but the disturbances were generally interpreted as caused by sliding. A seismic origin for the sliding cannot be excluded, but no conclusive evidence of this was found. As no distortions attributable to seismically induced liquefaction were noted in any of the trenches excavated along the Boerstil esker, to the southeast of Forsmark, it is concluded that no major (>M7) earthquakes occurred in the Forsmark area after the disappearance of the last inland ice sheet. An erosional unconformity accompanied by a laterally persistent layer of coarse-grained sediments was found in most of the investigated trenches and it is concluded

  8. Forsmark site investigation. Searching for evidence of late- or postglacial faulting in the Forsmark region. Results from 2002-2004

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lagerbaeck, Robert; Sundh, Martin; Svedlund, Jan-Olov; Johansson, Helena

    2005-10-01

    The study was designed to determine whether any major late- or postglacial faulting occurred in the proposed repository area at Forsmark or in its vicinity. 'Major faulting' in this context is defined as dislocations in the order of several metres along faults several kilometres long. Faults of such dimensions may, if conditions are favourable, be detected by means of interpreting aerial photographs. Furthermore, they would have generated high magnitude earthquakes that could produce characteristic distortions in waterlogged sandy or silty sediments. Interpretation of aerial photographs was carried out in a relatively large area in northeast Uppland, with the purpose of looking for morphologically conspicuous lineaments, i.e. late- or postglacial fault candidates. A number of fairly prominent but short escarpments and crevasses were noted, but when later field-checked these candidates for young fault movement proved to be more or less strongly glacially eroded, i.e. formed prior to the last deglaciation. In order to search for seismically induced distortions, all gravel and sand pits being worked in the investigation area were visited and some fifty machine-dug trenches were excavated, mainly in sandy-silty glaciofluvial deposits along eskers. Contorted and folded sequences of glacial clay were encountered at many of the localities, but the disturbances were generally interpreted as caused by sliding. A seismic origin for the sliding cannot be excluded, but no conclusive evidence of this was found. As no distortions attributable to seismically induced liquefaction were noted in any of the trenches excavated along the Boerstil esker, to the southeast of Forsmark, it is concluded that no major (>M7) earthquakes occurred in the Forsmark area after the disappearance of the last inland ice sheet. An erosional unconformity accompanied by a laterally persistent layer of coarse-grained sediments was found in most of the investigated trenches and it is concluded that strong

  9. Phylogenetic comparisons of a coastal bacterioplankton community with its counterparts in open ocean and freshwater systems.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rappé; Vergin; Giovannoni

    2000-09-01

    In order to extend previous comparisons between coastal marine bacterioplankton communities and their open ocean and freshwater counterparts, here we summarize and provide new data on a clone library of 105 SSU rRNA genes recovered from seawater collected over the western continental shelf of the USA in the Pacific Ocean. Comparisons to previously published data revealed that this coastal bacterioplankton clone library was dominated by SSU rRNA gene phylotypes originally described from surface waters of the open ocean, but also revealed unique SSU rRNA gene lineages of beta Proteobacteria related to those found in clone libraries from freshwater habitats. beta Proteobacteria lineages common to coastal and freshwater samples included members of a clade of obligately methylotrophic bacteria, SSU rRNA genes affiliated with Xylophilus ampelinus, and a clade related to the genus Duganella. In addition, SSU rRNA genes were recovered from such previously recognized marine bacterioplankton SSU rRNA gene clone clusters as the SAR86, SAR11, and SAR116 clusters within the class Proteobacteria, the Roseobacter clade of the alpha subclass of the Proteobacteria, the marine group A/SAR406 cluster, and the marine Actinobacteria clade. Overall, these results support and extend previous observations concerning the global distribution of several marine planktonic prokaryote SSU rRNA gene phylotypes, but also show that coastal bacterioplankton communities contain SSU rRNA gene lineages (and presumably bacterioplankton) shown previously to be prevalent in freshwater habitats.

  10. Sources of reactive nitrogen in marine aerosol over the Northwest Pacific Ocean in spring

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. Luo

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available Atmospheric deposition of long-range transport of anthropogenic reactive nitrogen (Nr, mainly comprised of NHx, NOy and water-soluble organic nitrogen, WSON from continents may have profound impact on marine biogeochemistry. In addition, surface ocean dissolved organic nitrogen (DON may also contribute to aerosol WSON in the overlying atmosphere. Despite the importance of off-continent dispersion and Nr interactions at the atmosphere–ocean boundary, our knowledge of the sources of various nitrogen species in the atmosphere over the open ocean remains limited due to insufficient observations. We conducted two cruises in the spring of 2014 and 2015 from the coast of China through the East China seas (ECSs, i.e. the Yellow Sea and East China Sea to the open ocean (i.e. the Northwest Pacific Ocean, NWPO. Concentrations of water-soluble total nitrogen (WSTN, NO3− and NH4+, as well as the δ15N of WSTN and NO3− in marine aerosol, were measured during both cruises. In the spring of 2015, we also analysed the concentrations and δ15N of NO3− and the DON of surface seawater (SSW; at a depth of 5 m along the cruise track. Aerosol NO3−, NH4+ and WSON decreased logarithmically (1–2 orders of magnitude with distance from the shore, reflecting strong anthropogenic emission sources of NO3−, NH4+ and WSON in China. Average aerosol NO3− and NH4+ concentrations were significantly higher in 2014 (even in the remote NWOP than in 2015 due to the stronger wind field in 2014, underscoring the role of the Asian winter monsoon in the seaward transport of anthropogenic NO3− and NH4+. However, the background aerosol WSON over the NWPO in 2015 (13.3 ± 8.5 nmol m−3 was similar to that in 2014 (12.2 ± 6.3 nmol m−3, suggesting an additional non-anthropogenic WSON source in the open ocean. Obviously, marine DON emissions should be considered in model and field assessments of net atmospheric WSON deposition in the open ocean. This

  11. Replicate phylogenies and post-glacial range expansion of the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii, in North America.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clayton Merz

    Full Text Available Herein we tested the repeatability of phylogenetic inference based on high throughput sequencing by increased taxon sampling using our previously published techniques in the pitcher-plant mosquito, Wyeomyia smithii in North America. We sampled 25 natural populations drawn from different localities nearby 21 previous collection localities and used these new data to construct a second, independent phylogeny, expressly to test the reproducibility of phylogenetic patterns. Comparison of trees between the two data sets based on both maximum parsimony and maximum likelihood with Bayesian posterior probabilities showed close correspondence in the grouping of the most southern populations into clear clades. However, discrepancies emerged, particularly in the middle of W. smithii's current range near the previous maximum extent of the Laurentide Ice Sheet, especially concerning the most recent common ancestor to mountain and northern populations. Combining all 46 populations from both studies into a single maximum parsimony tree and taking into account the post-glacial historical biogeography of associated flora provided an improved picture of W. smithii's range expansion in North America. In a more general sense, we propose that extensive taxon sampling, especially in areas of known geological disruption is key to a comprehensive approach to phylogenetics that leads to biologically meaningful phylogenetic inference.

  12. Investigating A Unique Open Ocean Geochemical Record Of the End Triassic Mass Extinction from Panthalassa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Marroquín, S. M.; Gill, B. C.; Them, T. R., II; Trabucho-Alexandre, J. P.; Aberhan, M.; Owens, J. D.; Gröcke, D. R.; Caruthers, A. H.

    2017-12-01

    The end-Triassic mass extinction ( 201 Ma) was a time of intense disturbance for marine communities. This event is estimated to have produced as much as a loss of 80% of known marine species. The protracted interval of elevated extinction rates is also characterized by a major carbon cycle perturbation and potentially widespread oxygen deficiency within the oceans. While the causes of extinction and environmental feedbacks are still debated it is hypothesized to have been triggered by massive volcanism associated with the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province flood basalts. However, our understanding of the Latest Triassic-Earliest Jurassic interval is limited due to the lack of well-preserved stratigraphic successions outside of the Tethys Ocean (present day Europe), with most of the records from epicontinental and marginal marine settings. To expand our understanding of this critical interval, our study seeks to document biological and environmental changes elsewhere. Specifically, we document and reconstruct these changes in the equatorial Panthalassan Ocean. We will present new data from a sedimentary succession preserved in the Wrangell Mountains of Alaska that spans the Late Triassic through Early Jurassic. The sedimentary succession represents a mixed carbonate-siliciclastic ramp that was deposited at tropical latitudes, adjacent to an island arc in the open Panthalassan Ocean. This succession affords a unique view of open marine conditions, and also holds the potential for excellent temporal control as it contains abundant ash layers throughout, as well as, key ammonite and bivalve fossil occurrences that provide biostratigraphic control. We will present an integrated geochemical and paleontological record from this site using several geochemical proxies (carbon, δ13Ccarb and % total organic carbon, sulfur, δ34S, as well as pyrite contents and iron speciation) along with ammonite and bivalve occurrence data to reconstruct the record of environmental and

  13. Large-Scale Trade in Legally Protected Marine Mollusc Shells from Java and Bali, Indonesia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nijman, Vincent; Spaan, Denise; Nekaris, K Anne-Isola

    2015-01-01

    Tropical marine molluscs are traded globally. Larger species with slow life histories are under threat from over-exploitation. We report on the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in and from Java and Bali, Indonesia. Since 1987 twelve species of marine molluscs are protected under Indonesian law to shield them from overexploitation. Despite this protection they are traded openly in large volumes. We collected data on species composition, origins, volumes and prices at two large open markets (2013), collected data from wholesale traders (2013), and compiled seizure data by the Indonesian authorities (2008-2013). All twelve protected species were observed in trade. Smaller species were traded for Java and Bali, but the trade involves networks stretching hundreds of kilometres throughout Indonesia. Wholesale traders offer protected marine mollusc shells for the export market by the container or by the metric ton. Data from 20 confiscated shipments show an on-going trade in these molluscs. Over 42,000 shells were seized over a 5-year period, with a retail value of USD700,000 within Indonesia; horned helmet (Cassis cornuta) (>32,000 shells valued at USD500,000), chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) (>3,000 shells, USD60,000) and giant clams (Tridacna spp.) (>2,000 shells, USD45,000) were traded in largest volumes. Two-thirds of this trade was destined for international markets, including in the USA and Asia-Pacific region. We demonstrated that the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in Indonesia is not controlled nor monitored, that it involves large volumes, and that networks of shell collectors, traders, middlemen and exporters span the globe. This impedes protection of these species on the ground and calls into question the effectiveness of protected species management in Indonesia; solutions are unlikely to be found only in Indonesia and must involve the cooperation of importing countries.

  14. Large-Scale Trade in Legally Protected Marine Mollusc Shells from Java and Bali, Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nijman, Vincent; Spaan, Denise; Nekaris, K. Anne-Isola

    2015-01-01

    Background Tropical marine molluscs are traded globally. Larger species with slow life histories are under threat from over-exploitation. We report on the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in and from Java and Bali, Indonesia. Since 1987 twelve species of marine molluscs are protected under Indonesian law to shield them from overexploitation. Despite this protection they are traded openly in large volumes. Methodology/Principal Findings We collected data on species composition, origins, volumes and prices at two large open markets (2013), collected data from wholesale traders (2013), and compiled seizure data by the Indonesian authorities (2008–2013). All twelve protected species were observed in trade. Smaller species were traded for trade involves networks stretching hundreds of kilometres throughout Indonesia. Wholesale traders offer protected marine mollusc shells for the export market by the container or by the metric ton. Data from 20 confiscated shipments show an on-going trade in these molluscs. Over 42,000 shells were seized over a 5-year period, with a retail value of USD700,000 within Indonesia; horned helmet (Cassis cornuta) (>32,000 shells valued at USD500,000), chambered nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) (>3,000 shells, USD60,000) and giant clams (Tridacna spp.) (>2,000 shells, USD45,000) were traded in largest volumes. Two-thirds of this trade was destined for international markets, including in the USA and Asia-Pacific region. Conclusions/Significance We demonstrated that the trade in protected marine mollusc shells in Indonesia is not controlled nor monitored, that it involves large volumes, and that networks of shell collectors, traders, middlemen and exporters span the globe. This impedes protection of these species on the ground and calls into question the effectiveness of protected species management in Indonesia; solutions are unlikely to be found only in Indonesia and must involve the cooperation of importing countries. PMID:26717021

  15. New Waves in Marine Science Symposium: Marine Animal Communication.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Betty, Comp.

    1989-01-01

    Presented are the abstracts from three research projects on marine social systems which were a part of a marine science symposium. Five sets of activities on marine animal communication are included, one each for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12, and informal education. (CW)

  16. Reciprocal sedimentation and noncorrelative hiatuses in marine-paralic siliciclastics: Miocene outcrop evidence

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kidwell, S.M.

    1988-07-01

    Deepening-upward paralic sequences present within a thicker record of shallowing-upward shelf and nonmarine sequences in Miocene siliciclastics of Maryland provide rare stratigraphic evidence for (1) coastal trapping of sediment during marine transgression, with simultaneous starvation on the open shelf (recorded by condensed skeletal lags), and (2) reciprocal switching of depositional and nondepositional conditions during regression. It follows that the regressive disconformities that define hemicyclic coastal sequences are not laterally continuous with the transgressive disconformities and condensed lags that define open-shelf hemicyclic sequences, although they are commonly depicted or assumed as such. Nor are these disconformities age correlative: marine-to-nonmarine correlations that assume lateral continuity of small-scale sequences (1 to 10 m thick; seismic parasequences) will err by as much as one-half cycle, restricting the applicability of models of punctuated aggradational cycles. The stratigraphic anatomy of parasequences is most comparable to reciprocal patterns inherent in hierarchically larger scale sequences in passive margins, where subaerial unconformities and submarine condensed intervals have recently been biostratigraphically verified as offset in age.

  17. Marine Robot Autonomy

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Autonomy for Marine Robots provides a timely and insightful overview of intelligent autonomy in marine robots. A brief history of this emerging field is provided, along with a discussion of the challenges unique to the underwater environment and their impact on the level of intelligent autonomy required.  Topics covered at length examine advanced frameworks, path-planning, fault tolerance, machine learning, and cooperation as relevant to marine robots that need intelligent autonomy.  This book also: Discusses and offers solutions for the unique challenges presented by more complex missions and the dynamic underwater environment when operating autonomous marine robots Includes case studies that demonstrate intelligent autonomy in marine robots to perform underwater simultaneous localization and mapping  Autonomy for Marine Robots is an ideal book for researchers and engineers interested in the field of marine robots.      

  18. Marine habitat mapping at Labuan Marine Park, Federal Territory of Labuan, Malaysia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mustajap, Fazliana; Saleh, Ejria; Madin, John; Hamid, Shahimah Abdul

    2015-06-01

    Marine habitat mapping has recently become essential in coastal marine science research. It is one of the efforts to understand marine ecosystems, and thus to protect them. Habitat mapping is integral to marine-related industries such as fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and tourism. An assessment of marine habitat mapping was conducted at Labuan Marine Park (LMP), a marine protected area in the Federal Territory of Labuan. It is surrounded by shallow water within its islands (Kuraman, Rusukan Kecil and Rusukan Besar) with an area of 39.7 km2. The objectives of the study are to identify the substrate and types of marine habitat present within the park. Side scan sonar (SSS) (Aquascan TM) was used to determine the substrates and habitat while ground truthings were done through field observation and SCUBA diving survey. Seabed classification and marine habitat was based on NOAA's biogeography program. Three substrate types (sand, rock, silt) were identified in this area. The major marine habitats identified are corals, macro algae and small patches of sea grass. The study area is an important refuge for spawning and juvenile fish and supports the livelihood of the coastal communities on Labuan Island. Therefore, proper management is crucial in order to better maintain the marine protected area. The findings are significant and provide detailed baseline information on marine habitat for conservation, protection and future management in LMP.

  19. Population structure and post-glacial migration routes of Quercus robur and Quercus petraea in Denmark, based on chloroplast DNA analysis

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joehnk, N.; Siegismund, H.R. [The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural Univ., Hoersholm (Denmark). The Arboretum

    1997-07-01

    Populations of Quercus robur L. and Quercus petraea [Matt.] Liebl. were shown previously to be fixed for the same chloroplast DNA marker in western Europe and for another form of this marker in eastern Europe. Application of this marker to 17 Danish populations of Q. robur showed significant population differentiation (G{sub ST} 0.6). Restricted gene flow, low effective population size, restricted colonization ability of oak in dense forest and historical data might explain this. In addition, the genetic structure in eastern and western Denmark was quite different. In Jutland the populations were homogeneous for the western marker, in eastern Denmark, significant population differentiation and high diversity within populations were found. Post-glacial migration is likely to explain the geographical structure. Oaks have immigrated to Jutland from the west, whereas eastern Denmark was colonized from both east and west, forming a hybrid zone where immigrants met. Data from three populations of Q. petraea and from two hybrid populations also support this. 22 refs, 2 figs, 2 tabs

  20. The mass balance of soil evolution on late Quaternary marine terraces, northern California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merritts, Dorothy J.; Chadwick, Oliver A.; Hendricks, David M.; Brimhall, George H.; Lewis, Christopher J.

    1992-01-01

    Mass-balance interpretation of a soil chronosequence provides a means of quantifying elemental addition, removal, and transformation that occur in soils from a flight of marine terraces in northern California. Six soil profiles that range in age from several to 240,000 yr are developed in unconsolidated, sandy-marine, and eolian parent material deposited on bedrock marine platforms. Soil evolution is dominated by (1) open-system depletion of Si, Ca, Mg, K, and Na; (2) open-system enrichment of P in surface soil horizons; (3) relative immobility of Fe and Al; and (4) transformation of Fe, Si, and Al in the parent material to secondary clay minerals and sesquioxides. Net mass losses of bases and Si are generally uniform with depth and substantial, in some cases approaching 100 percent; however, the rate of loss of each element differs markedly, causing the ranking of each by relative abundance to shift with time. Loss of Si from the sand fraction by dissolution and particle-size diminution, from about 100 percent to less than 35 percent over 240 ky, mirrors a similar gain in the silt and clay size fractions. The Fe originally present in the sand fraction decreases from greater than 80 percent to less than 10 percent, whereas the amount of Fe present in the clay and crystalline oxyhydroxide fractions increases to 25 percent and 70 percent, respectively.

  1. A System Architecture and Migration Plan for the Student Services Department of the Marine Corps Institute

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Evers

    1997-01-01

    ... to a client server based, open information system for the Marine Corps Institute (MCI). The primary objective of this thesis is to develop the technology architecture required to support the information systems of the Student Services Department (SSD...

  2. Pollution in the open oceans: 2009-2013

    OpenAIRE

    Boelens, R.; Kershaw, Peter; Angelidis, M.; Baker, Alexander; Bakker, Dorothee C. E.; Bowmer, T.; Hedgecock, I.; Tyack, Peter

    2016-01-01

    This review of pollution in the open oceans updates a report on this topic prepared by GESAMP five years previously (Reports and Studies No. 79, GESAMP, 2009). The latter report, the first from GESAMP focusing specifically on the oceans beyond the 200 m depth contour, was prepared for purposes of the Assessment of Assessments, the preparatory phase of a regular process for assessing the state of the marine environment, led jointly by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the Int...

  3. Phylogenomics of Rhodobacteraceae reveals evolutionary adaptation to marine and non-marine habitats.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Simon, Meinhard; Scheuner, Carmen; Meier-Kolthoff, Jan P; Brinkhoff, Thorsten; Wagner-Döbler, Irene; Ulbrich, Marcus; Klenk, Hans-Peter; Schomburg, Dietmar; Petersen, Jörn; Göker, Markus

    2017-06-01

    Marine Rhodobacteraceae (Alphaproteobacteria) are key players of biogeochemical cycling, comprise up to 30% of bacterial communities in pelagic environments and are often mutualists of eukaryotes. As 'Roseobacter clade', these 'roseobacters' are assumed to be monophyletic, but non-marine Rhodobacteraceae have not yet been included in phylogenomic analyses. Therefore, we analysed 106 genome sequences, particularly emphasizing gene sampling and its effect on phylogenetic stability, and investigated relationships between marine versus non-marine habitat, evolutionary origin and genomic adaptations. Our analyses, providing no unequivocal evidence for the monophyly of roseobacters, indicate several shifts between marine and non-marine habitats that occurred independently and were accompanied by characteristic changes in genomic content of orthologs, enzymes and metabolic pathways. Non-marine Rhodobacteraceae gained high-affinity transporters to cope with much lower sulphate concentrations and lost genes related to the reduced sodium chloride and organohalogen concentrations in their habitats. Marine Rhodobacteraceae gained genes required for fucoidan desulphonation and synthesis of the plant hormone indole 3-acetic acid and the compatible solutes ectoin and carnitin. However, neither plasmid composition, even though typical for the family, nor the degree of oligotrophy shows a systematic difference between marine and non-marine Rhodobacteraceae. We suggest the operational term 'Roseobacter group' for the marine Rhodobacteraceae strains.

  4. Quasi-planktonic behavior of foraging top marine predators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Della Penna, Alice; de Monte, Silvia; Kestenare, Elodie; Guinet, Christophe; D'Ovidio, Francesco

    2015-12-01

    Monitoring marine top predators is fundamental for assessing the health and functioning of open ocean ecosystems. Although recently tracking observations have substantially increased, factors determining the horizontal exploration of the ocean by marine predators are still largely unknown, especially at the scale of behavioral switches (1-100 km, days-weeks). It is commonly assumed that the influence of water movement can be neglected for animals capable of swimming faster than the current. Here, we challenge this assumption by combining the use of biologging (GPS and accelerometry), satellite altimetry and in-situ oceanographic data (ADCP and drifting buoys) to investigate the effect of the mesoscale ocean dynamics on a marine predator, the southern elephant seal. A Lagrangian approach reveals that trajectories of elephant seals are characterized by quasi-planktonic bouts where the animals are horizontally drifting. These bouts correspond to periods of increased foraging effort, indicating that in the quasi-planktonic conditions energy is allocated to diving and chasing, rather than in horizontal search of favourable grounds. These results suggest that mesoscale features like eddies and fronts may act as a focal points for trophic interactions not only by bottom-up modulation of nutrient injection, but also by directly entraining horizontal displacements of the upper trophic levels.

  5. Marine nitrogen cycle

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Naqvi, S.W.A.

    ) such as the Marine nitrogen cycle The marine nitrogen cycle. ‘X’ and ‘Y’ are intra-cellular intermediates that do not accumulate in water column. (Source: Codispoti et al., 2001) Page 1 of 3Marine nitrogen cycle - Encyclopedia of Earth 11/20/2006http://www... and nitrous oxide budgets: Moving targets as we enter the anthropocene?, Sci. Mar., 65, 85-105, 2001. Page 2 of 3Marine nitrogen cycle - Encyclopedia of Earth 11/20/2006http://www.eoearth.org/article/Marine_nitrogen_cycle square6 Gruber, N.: The dynamics...

  6. Toward detection of marine vehicles on horizon from buoy camera

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fefilatyev, Sergiy; Goldgof, Dmitry B.; Langebrake, Lawrence

    2007-10-01

    This paper presents a new technique for automatic detection of marine vehicles in open sea from a buoy camera system using computer vision approach. Users of such system include border guards, military, port safety and flow management, sanctuary protection personnel. The system is intended to work autonomously, taking images of the surrounding ocean surface and analyzing them on the subject of presence of marine vehicles. The goal of the system is to detect an approximate window around the ship and prepare the small image for transmission and human evaluation. The proposed computer vision-based algorithm combines horizon detection method with edge detection and post-processing. The dataset of 100 images is used to evaluate the performance of proposed technique. We discuss promising results of ship detection and suggest necessary improvements for achieving better performance.

  7. Calibrated Blade-Element/Momentum Theory Aerodynamic Model of the MARIN Stock Wind Turbine: Preprint

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Goupee, A.; Kimball, R.; de Ridder, E. J.; Helder, J.; Robertson, A.; Jonkman, J.

    2015-04-02

    In this paper, a calibrated blade-element/momentum theory aerodynamic model of the MARIN stock wind turbine is developed and documented. The model is created using open-source software and calibrated to closely emulate experimental data obtained by the DeepCwind Consortium using a genetic algorithm optimization routine. The provided model will be useful for those interested in validating interested in validating floating wind turbine numerical simulators that rely on experiments utilizing the MARIN stock wind turbine—for example, the International Energy Agency Wind Task 30’s Offshore Code Comparison Collaboration Continued, with Correlation project.

  8. Oceanotron, Scalable Server for Marine Observations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loubrieu, T.; Bregent, S.; Blower, J. D.; Griffiths, G.

    2013-12-01

    Ifremer, French marine institute, is deeply involved in data management for different ocean in-situ observation programs (ARGO, OceanSites, GOSUD, ...) or other European programs aiming at networking ocean in-situ observation data repositories (myOcean, seaDataNet, Emodnet). To capitalize the effort for implementing advance data dissemination services (visualization, download with subsetting) for these programs and generally speaking water-column observations repositories, Ifremer decided to develop the oceanotron server (2010). Knowing the diversity of data repository formats (RDBMS, netCDF, ODV, ...) and the temperamental nature of the standard interoperability interface profiles (OGC/WMS, OGC/WFS, OGC/SOS, OpeNDAP, ...), the server is designed to manage plugins: - StorageUnits : which enable to read specific data repository formats (netCDF/OceanSites, RDBMS schema, ODV binary format). - FrontDesks : which get external requests and send results for interoperable protocols (OGC/WMS, OGC/SOS, OpenDAP). In between a third type of plugin may be inserted: - TransformationUnits : which enable ocean business related transformation of the features (for example conversion of vertical coordinates from pressure in dB to meters under sea surface). The server is released under open-source license so that partners can develop their own plugins. Within MyOcean project, University of Reading has plugged a WMS implementation as an oceanotron frontdesk. The modules are connected together by sharing the same information model for marine observations (or sampling features: vertical profiles, point series and trajectories), dataset metadata and queries. The shared information model is based on OGC/Observation & Measurement and Unidata/Common Data Model initiatives. The model is implemented in java (http://www.ifremer.fr/isi/oceanotron/javadoc/). This inner-interoperability level enables to capitalize ocean business expertise in software development without being indentured to

  9. Route Fidelity during Marine Megafauna Migration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Travis W. Horton

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available The conservation and protection of marine megafauna require robust knowledge of where and when animals are located. Yet, our ability to predict animal distributions in space and time remains limited due to difficulties associated with studying elusive animals with large home ranges. The widespread deployment of satellite telemetry technology creates unprecedented opportunities to remotely monitor animal movements and to analyse the spatial and temporal trajectories of these movements from a variety of geophysical perspectives. Reproducible patterns in movement trajectories can help elucidate the potential mechanisms by which marine megafauna navigate across vast expanses of open-ocean. Here, we present an empirical analysis of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae, great white shark (Carcharodon carcharias, and northern elephant seal (Mirounga angustirostris satellite telemetry-derived route fidelity movements in magnetic and gravitational coordinates. Our analyses demonstrate that: (1 humpback whales, great white sharks and northern elephant seals are capable of performing route fidelity movements across millions of square kilometers of open ocean with a spatial accuracy of better than 150 km despite temporal separations as long as 7 years between individual movements; (2 route fidelity movements include significant (p < 0.05 periodicities that are comparable in duration to the lunar cycles and semi-cycles; (3 latitude and bedrock-dependent gravitational cues are stronger predictors of route fidelity movements than spherical magnetic coordinate cues when analyzed with respect to the temporally dependent moon illumination cycle. We further show that both route fidelity and non-route fidelity movement trajectories, for all three species, describe overlapping in-phase or antiphase sinusoids when individual movements are normalized to the gravitational acceleration present at migratory departure sites. Although these empirical results provide an

  10. Evaluating Effects of Stressors from Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Copping, Andrea E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Blake, Kara M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Hanna, Luke A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Brandt, Charles A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Ward, Jeffrey A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Brandenberger, Jill M. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Gill, Gary A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Carlson, Thomas J. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Elster, Jennifer L. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Jones, Mark E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Watson, Bruce E. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Jepsen, Richard A. [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States); Metzinger, Kurt [Pacific Northwest National Lab. (PNNL), Richland, WA (United States)

    2012-09-30

    Potential environmental effects of marine and hydrokinetic (MHK) energy development are not well understood, yet regulatory agencies are required to make decisions in spite of substantial uncertainty about environmental impacts and their long-term consequences. An understanding of risks associated with interactions between MHK installations and aquatic receptors, including animals, habitats, and ecosystems, can help define key uncertainties and focus regulatory actions and scientific studies on interactions of most concern. During FY 2012, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) continued to follow project developments on the two marine and hydrokinetic projects reviewed for Environmental Risk Evaluation System (ERES) screening analysis in FY 2011: a tidal project in the Gulf of Maine using Ocean Renewable Power Company TidGenTM turbines and a wave project planned for the coast of Oregon using Aquamarine Oyster surge devices. The ERES project in FY 2012 also examined two stressor–receptor interactions previously identified through the screening process as being of high importance: 1) the toxicity effects of antifouling coatings on MHK devices on aquatic resources and 2) the risk of a physical strike encounter between an adult killer whale and an OpenHydro turbine blade. The screening-level assessment of antifouling paints and coatings was conducted for two case studies: the Snohomish County Public Utility District No. 1 (SnoPUD) tidal turbine energy project in Admiralty Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington, and the Ocean Power Technologies (OPT) wave buoy project in Reedsport, Oregon. Results suggest minimal risk to aquatic biota from antifouling coatings used on MHK devices deployed in large estuaries or open ocean environments. For the strike assessment of a Southern Resident Killer Whale (SRKW) encountering an OpenHydro tidal turbine blade, PNNL teamed with colleagues from Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) to carry out an analysis of the mechanics and

  11. The pollen complex from postglacial sediments of the Laptev Sea as a bioindicator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naidina, O. D.

    2014-05-01

    The first results of comparison of palynological analysis (pollen of terrestrial plants), SEM analysis of pollen morphology, and radiocarbon age dating (AMS14C) of sediments of the eastern shelf of the Laptev Sea show that the diverse taxonomic composition of pollen spectra provides an integrated idea of the vegetation and climate of the region over 11.2 calendar kiloyears. It is found that phases of the tree and shrub vegetation development (maxima of pollen of Betula sect. Nanae and Pinus s/g Haploxylon) correspond to the warm epochs in the Holocene. It is obvious that birch phytocoenoses first settled in the southern tundra subzone with increasing temperature, and then coniferous communities of forest tundra. An occurrence of pollen of shrubby birches (Nanae) suggests compliance of permafrost landscapes with cold climate conditions, i.e., with an annual average temperature of -2°C and amount of precipitation of less than 500 mm. Owing to a progressive increase in summer temperatures, dwarf cedar and pine communities advanced toward the seashore. The SEM analysis results show that a significant proportion of regional coniferous pollen belongs to representatives of Pinus pumila (Pall.) and P. sylvestris L. In addition, the SEM study of the exine of Pinus sylvestris L. and P. pumila (Pall.) Regel pollen grains confirmed polymorphism in coniferous pollen. According to the inverse relationship between climate and vegetation, frequent climate fluctuations that are typical of progressive and differential postglacial transgression were revealed. An increase in arboreal pollen transfer onto the shelf later than 9.1 cal. ka coincides with the time of forest boundary migration to the north due to the warming of the Earth's climate. At that time, the tundra vegetation was replaced by forest-tundra vegetation, the maximum stage of sea transgression began, and there appeared a trend of increasing temperature and moisture.

  12. Influence of color on dielectric properties of marinated poultry breast meat.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Samuel, D; Trabelsi, S

    2012-08-01

    The dielectric behavior of foods when exposed to radio-frequency and microwave electric fields is highly influenced by moisture content and the degree of water binding with constituents of the food materials. The ability to correlate specific food quality characteristics with the dielectric properties can lead to the development of rapid, nondestructive techniques for such quality measurements. Water-holding capacity is a critical attribute in meat quality. Up to 50% of raw poultry meat in the United States is marinated with mixtures of water, salts, and phosphates. The objective of this study was to determine if variations in breast meat color would affect the dielectric properties of marinated poultry meat over a broad frequency range from 500 MHz to 50 GHz. Poultry meat was obtained from a local commercial plant in Georgia (USA). Color and pH measurements were taken on the breast filets. Groups of breast filets were sorted into classes of pale and normal before adding marination pickup percentages of 0, 5, 10, and 15. Breast filets were vacuum-tumbled and weighed for pickup percentages. Dielectric properties of the filets were measured with a coaxial open-ended probe on samples equilibrated to 25°C. Samples from pale meat exhibited higher dielectric properties than samples from normal meat. No differences could be observed between samples from pale and normal meat after marination of the samples. Overall, dielectric properties increased as the marination pickup increased (α=0.05). Marination pickup strongly influenced the dielectric loss factor. Differences between samples marinated at different pickup levels were more pronounced at lower frequencies for the dielectric loss factor. As frequency increased, the differences between samples decreased. Differences in dielectric constant between samples were not as consistent as those seen with the dielectric loss factor.

  13. Two disjunct Pleistocene populations and anisotropic postglacial expansion shaped the current genetic structure of the relict plant Amborella trichopoda.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rémi Tournebize

    Full Text Available Past climate fluctuations shaped the population dynamics of organisms in space and time, and have impacted their present intra-specific genetic structure. Demo-genetic modelling allows inferring the way past demographic and migration dynamics have determined this structure. Amborella trichopoda is an emblematic relict plant endemic to New Caledonia, widely distributed in the understory of non-ultramafic rainforests. We assessed the influence of the last glacial climates on the demographic history and the paleo-distribution of 12 Amborella populations covering the whole current distribution. We performed coalescent genetic modelling of these dynamics, based on both whole-genome resequencing and microsatellite genotyping data. We found that the two main genetic groups of Amborella were shaped by the divergence of two ancestral populations during the last glacial maximum. From 12,800 years BP, the South ancestral population has expanded 6.3-fold while the size of the North population has remained stable. Recent asymmetric gene flow between the groups further contributed to the phylogeographical pattern. Spatially explicit coalescent modelling allowed us to estimate the location of ancestral populations with good accuracy (< 22 km and provided indications regarding the mid-elevation pathways that facilitated post-glacial expansion.

  14. Post-glacial recolonization of the Great Lakes region by the common gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) inferred from mtDNA sequences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Placyk, John S; Burghardt, Gordon M; Small, Randall L; King, Richard B; Casper, Gary S; Robinson, Jace W

    2007-05-01

    Pleistocene events played an important role in the differentiation of North American vertebrate populations. Michigan, in particular, and the Great Lakes region, in general, were greatly influenced by the last glaciation. While several hypotheses regarding the recolonization of this region have been advanced, none have been strongly supported. We generated 148 complete ND2 mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences from common gartersnake (Thamnophis sirtalis) populations throughout the Great Lakes region to evaluate phylogeographic patterns and population structure and to determine whether the distribution of haplotypic variants is related to the post-Pleistocene retreat of the Wisconsinan glacier. The common gartersnake was utilized, as it is believed to have been one of the primary vertebrate invaders of the Great Lakes region following the most recent period of glacial retreat and because it has been a model species for a variety of evolutionary, ecological, behavioral, and physiological studies. Several genetically distinct evolutionary lineages were supported by both genealogical and molecular population genetic analyses, although to different degrees. The geographic distribution of the majority of these lineages is interpreted as reflecting post-glacial recolonization dynamics during the late Pleistocene. These findings generally support previous hypotheses of range expansion in this region.

  15. Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings—entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions

    OpenAIRE

    Gregory, Murray R.

    2009-01-01

    Over the past five or six decades, contamination and pollution of the world’s enclosed seas, coastal waters and the wider open oceans by plastics and other synthetic, non-biodegradable materials (generally known as ‘marine debris’) has been an ever-increasing phenomenon. The sources of these polluting materials are both land- and marine-based, their origins may be local or distant, and the environmental consequences are many and varied. The more widely recognized problems are typically associ...

  16. The Ocean State Report of the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Schuckmann, Karina

    2017-04-01

    COPERNICUS is the European Earth observation and monitoring programme, which aims to give the European Union autonomous and operational capability in space-based observation facilities (see the Sentinel missions) and in situ (measurements in the atmosphere, in the ocean and on the ground), and to operate six interlinked environmental monitoring services for the oceans, the atmosphere, territorial development, emergency situations, security and climate change. In this context, the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service provides an open and free access to regular and systematic information about the physical state and dynamics of the ocean and marine ecosystems for the global ocean and six European regional seas. Mercator Ocean, the French center of global ocean analysis and forecast has been entrusted by the EU to implement and operate the Copernicus Marine Service. The first Ocean State Report Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service has been prepared, and is planned to appear at an annual basis (fall each year) as a unique reference for ocean state reporting. This report contains a state-of-the-art value-added synthesis of the ocean state for the global ocean and the European regional seas from the Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service data products and expert analysis. This activity is aiming to reach a wide audience -from the scientific community, over climate and environmental service and agencies, environmental reporting and bodies to the general public. We will give here an overview on the report, highlight main outcomes, and introduce future plans and developments.

  17. Mathematical model of marine diesel engine simulator for a new methodology of self propulsion tests

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Izzuddin, Nur; Sunarsih,; Priyanto, Agoes [Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, 81310 Skudai, Johor (Malaysia)

    2015-05-15

    As a vessel operates in the open seas, a marine diesel engine simulator whose engine rotation is controlled to transmit through propeller shaft is a new methodology for the self propulsion tests to track the fuel saving in a real time. Considering the circumstance, this paper presents the real time of marine diesel engine simulator system to track the real performance of a ship through a computer-simulated model. A mathematical model of marine diesel engine and the propeller are used in the simulation to estimate fuel rate, engine rotating speed, thrust and torque of the propeller thus achieve the target vessel’s speed. The input and output are a real time control system of fuel saving rate and propeller rotating speed representing the marine diesel engine characteristics. The self-propulsion tests in calm waters were conducted using a vessel model to validate the marine diesel engine simulator. The simulator then was used to evaluate the fuel saving by employing a new mathematical model of turbochargers for the marine diesel engine simulator. The control system developed will be beneficial for users as to analyze different condition of vessel’s speed to obtain better characteristics and hence optimize the fuel saving rate.

  18. Marine Environmental History

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Poulsen, Bo

    2012-01-01

    human society and natural marine resources. Within this broad topic, several trends and objectives are discernable. The essay argue that the so-called material marine environmental history has its main focus on trying to reconstruct the presence, development and environmental impact of past fisheries......This essay provides an overview of recent trends in the historiography of marine environmental history, a sub-field of environmental history which has grown tremendously in scope and size over the last c. 15 years. The object of marine environmental history is the changing relationship between...... and whaling operations. This ambition often entails a reconstruction also of how marine life has changed over time. The time frame rages from Paleolithicum to the present era. The field of marine environmental history also includes a more culturally oriented environmental history, which mainly has come...

  19. Development of underwater robot for taking off marine life

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hirai, Harumi; Wakamatsu, Kazuhiko; Ueda, Ryohei; Edahiro, Kyosuke; Hayashi, Shunichi.

    1983-01-01

    Fouling by marine life growths in the cooling water system at seaside power generating stations is a major problem in the maintenance of a safe and efficient operation. Ingress of released growths into the condensers and coolers often jeopardizes their tube life and performance by clogging and/or tube corrosion. Many stations are obliged to remove periodically the growths manually after drying-out the system or by divers at considerable expenditure in time and money. A new remote-controlled underwater robot is developed for brushing marine life off cooling water intake channels of thermal and nuclear power generation plants. This robot consists of an underwater working unit, a power supply system, hydraulic hose take-up unit and controlling equipment. The full hydraulically powered robot, which can be used for both open and closed conduits, permits cleaning under water intake servicing condition. It drastically reduces both time and cost. (author)

  20. Meridional contrasts in productivity changes driven by the Cenozoic opening of Drake Passage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Donnadieu, Y.; Ladant, J. B.; Bopp, L.; Wilson, P. A.; Lear, C. H.

    2017-12-01

    The progressive opening of Drake Passage across the Eocene and the Oligocene occurs contemporaneously to the long-term global cooling of the late Eocene, which culminated with the Eocene-Oligocene glaciation of Antarctica. Atmospheric pCO2 decline during the late Eocene is thought to have played a major role in the climatic shifts of the Eocene-Oligocene boundary, yet reasons behind CO2 variations remain obscure. Changes in marine productivity affecting the biological oceanic carbon pump represent a possible cause. Here, we explore whether and how the opening of Drake Passage may have affected the marine biogeochemistry, and in particular paleoproductivity changes, with the use of a fully coupled atmosphere-ocean-biogeochemical model (IPSL-CM5A). We find that the simulated changes to Drake Passage opening exhibit a uniform decrease in the low latitudes while the high latitude response is more spatially heterogeneous. Mechanistically, the low latitude productivity decrease is a consequence of the dramatic reorganization of the ocean circulation when Drake Passage opens, as the shift from a well ventilated to a swampier ocean drives nutrient depletion in the low latitudes. In the high latitudes, the onset of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in the model exerts a strong control both on nutrient availability but also on regions of deep water formation, which results in non-uniform patterns of productivity change in the Southern Ocean. The qualitative agreement between geographically diverse long-term paleoproductivity records and the simulated variations suggests that the opening of Drake Passage may contribute to part of the long-term paleoproductivity signal recorded in the data.

  1. Regional differentiation and post-glacial expansion of the Atlantic silverside, Menidia menidia, an annual fish with high dispersal potential

    OpenAIRE

    Mach, Megan E.; Sbrocco, Elizabeth J.; Hice, Lyndie A.; Duffy, Tara A.; Conover, David O.; Barber, Paul H.

    2010-01-01

    The coastal marine environment of the Northwest Atlantic contains strong environmental gradients that create distinct marine biogeographic provinces by limiting dispersal, recruitment, and survival. This region has also been subjected to numerous Pleistocene glacial cycles, resulting in repeated extirpations and recolonizations in northern populations of marine organisms. In this study, we examined patterns of genetic structure and historical demography in the Atlantic silverside, Menidia men...

  2. Damage-Based Time-Dependent Modeling of Paraglacial to Postglacial Progressive Failure of Large Rock Slopes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Riva, Federico; Agliardi, Federico; Amitrano, David; Crosta, Giovanni B.

    2018-01-01

    Large alpine rock slopes undergo long-term evolution in paraglacial to postglacial environments. Rock mass weakening and increased permeability associated with the progressive failure of deglaciated slopes promote the development of potentially catastrophic rockslides. We captured the entire life cycle of alpine slopes in one damage-based, time-dependent 2-D model of brittle creep, including deglaciation, damage-dependent fluid occurrence, and rock mass property upscaling. We applied the model to the Spriana rock slope (Central Alps), affected by long-term instability after Last Glacial Maximum and representing an active threat. We simulated the evolution of the slope from glaciated conditions to present day and calibrated the model using site investigation data and available temporal constraints. The model tracks the entire progressive failure path of the slope from deglaciation to rockslide development, without a priori assumptions on shear zone geometry and hydraulic conditions. Complete rockslide differentiation occurs through the transition from dilatant damage to a compacting basal shear zone, accounting for observed hydraulic barrier effects and perched aquifer formation. Our model investigates the mechanical role of deglaciation and damage-controlled fluid distribution in the development of alpine rockslides. The absolute simulated timing of rock slope instability development supports a very long "paraglacial" period of subcritical rock mass damage. After initial damage localization during the Lateglacial, rockslide nucleation initiates soon after the onset of Holocene, whereas full mechanical and hydraulic rockslide differentiation occurs during Mid-Holocene, supporting a key role of long-term damage in the reported occurrence of widespread rockslide clusters of these ages.

  3. Application of space geodetic techniques for the determination of intraplate deformations and movements in relation with the postglacial rebound of Fennoscandia

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Scherneck, H G; Johansson, J M; Elgered, G [Chalmers Univ. of Technology, Goeteborg (Sweden). Onsala Space Observatory

    1996-04-01

    This report introduces into space geodetic measurements of relative positions over distances ranging from tens to thousands of kilometers. Such measurements can routinely be carried out with repeatabilities on the order of a few millimeters. The techniques presented are Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), employing observations of radio-astronomical objects in the distant universe, and ranging measurements to satellites of the GPS, the Global Positioning System. These techniques have helped to trace plate tectonic motions. More recently, deformations within continents have been detected. We present the SWEPOS system of permanently operating GPS stations as one of the major geoscience investments starting in 1993. BIFROST (Baseline Interference for Fennoscandian Rebound Observations, Sea level, and Tectonics) is a project within SWEPOS with main purpose to detect crustal movements in Fennoscandia. First results are presented, indicating movements which generally support the notion of a dominating displacement pattern due to the postglacial rebound of Fennoscandia. However deviations exist. densification is indicated in those areas which are notable for an increased seismicity. 148 refs.

  4. Application of space geodetic techniques for the determination of intraplate deformations and movements in relation with the postglacial rebound of Fennoscandia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Scherneck, H.G.; Johansson, J.M.; Elgered, G.

    1996-04-01

    This report introduces into space geodetic measurements of relative positions over distances ranging from tens to thousands of kilometers. Such measurements can routinely be carried out with repeatabilities on the order of a few millimeters. The techniques presented are Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI), employing observations of radio-astronomical objects in the distant universe, and ranging measurements to satellites of the GPS, the Global Positioning System. These techniques have helped to trace plate tectonic motions. More recently, deformations within continents have been detected. We present the SWEPOS system of permanently operating GPS stations as one of the major geoscience investments starting in 1993. BIFROST (Baseline Interference for Fennoscandian Rebound Observations, Sea level, and Tectonics) is a project within SWEPOS with main purpose to detect crustal movements in Fennoscandia. First results are presented, indicating movements which generally support the notion of a dominating displacement pattern due to the postglacial rebound of Fennoscandia. However deviations exist. densification is indicated in those areas which are notable for an increased seismicity. 148 refs

  5. SIMOcean: Maritime Open Data and Services Platform for Portuguese Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almeida, Nuno; Grosso, Nuno; Catarino, Nuno; Gutierrez, Antonio; Lamas, Luísa; Alves, Margarida; Almeida, Sara; Deus, Ricardo; Oliveira, Paulo

    2016-04-01

    Portugal is the country with the largest EEZ in the EU and the 10th largest EEZ in the world, at 3,877,408 km2, rendering the existence of an integrated management of Portuguese marine system crucial to monitor a wide range of interdependent domains. A system like this assimilates data and information from different thematic areas, ranging from ocean and atmosphere state variables to higher level datasets describing human activities and related environmental, social and economic impacts. Currently, these datasets are collected by a wide number of public and private institutions with very diverse purposes (e.g., monitoring, research, recreation, vigilance) leading to dataset duplication, inexistence of common data and metadata standards across organizations, and the propagation of closed information systems with different implementation solutions. This lack of coordination and visibility hinders the marine management, monitoring and vigilance capabilities, not only by making it more difficult to access, or even be aware of, the existence of certain datasets, but also by minimizing the ability to create added value products or services through dataset integration from different sources. Adopting Open Data approach will bring significant benefits by reducing the cost of information exchange and data integration, promoting the extensive use of this data. SIMOcean (System for Integrated Monitoring of the Ocean), co-funded by the EEA Grants Programme, is integrated in the initiative of the Portuguese Government to develop a set of coordinated systems providing access to national marine data. These systems aim to improve the Portuguese marine management, monitoring and vigilance capabilities, aggregating different data, including specific human activities datasets (vessel traffic, fishing records, oil spills), and environment variables (waves, currents, wind). Those datasets, currently scattered among different departments of the Portuguese Meteorological (IPMA) and the

  6. Leveraging Emerging Standards to Advance Data Interoperability in the Marine Geosciences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arko, R. A.; Fishman, A. V.

    2005-12-01

    Ontology Web Language (OWL; adopted by W3C in February 2004) has emerged as a standard method to express definitions for, and relationships between, vocabulary terms. We are working with the NSF-funded Marine Metadata Initiative (MMI) to develop OWL-based ontologies for marine geoscience vocabularies, which are then embedded in our ISO 19115 profile. Finally, the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) has published standards for the Web-based exchange of geospatial data, including Web Coverage Services (WCS; raster data), Web Feature Services (WFS; vector data), and Web Map Services (WMS; composed images). We are deploying OGC services for selected data sets hosted by mgDMS -- such as our continuously-updated global digital elevation model (DEM), constructed from multibeam bathymetry and satellite topography data -- making them easily available to any OGC-enabled client application. We have implemented these services entirely with open-source software, including the MapServer GIS platform, PostgreSQL RDBMS, and PostGIS spatial database extensions.

  7. Investigation on hydrodynamic performance of a marine propeller in oblique flow by RANS computations

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jianxi Yao

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents a numerical study on investigating on hydrodynamic characteristics of a marine propeller in oblique flow. The study is achieved by RANS simulations on an open source platform - OpenFOAM. A sliding grid approach is applied to compute the rotating motion of the propeller. Total force and moment acting on blades, as well as average force distributions in one revolution on propeller disk, are obtained for 70 cases of com- binations of advance ratios and oblique angles. The computed results are compared with available experimental data and discussed.

  8. Eukaryotic Life Inhabits Rhodolith-forming Coralline Algae (Hapalidiales, Rhodophyta), Remarkable Marine Benthic Microhabitats

    Science.gov (United States)

    Krayesky-Self, Sherry; Schmidt, William E.; Phung, Delena; Henry, Caroline; Sauvage, Thomas; Camacho, Olga; Felgenhauer, Bruce E.; Fredericq, Suzanne

    2017-04-01

    Rhodoliths are benthic calcium carbonate nodules accreted by crustose coralline red algae which recently have been identified as useful indicators of biomineral changes resulting from global climate change and ocean acidification. This study highlights the discovery that the interior of rhodoliths are marine biodiversity hotspots that function as seedbanks and temporary reservoirs of previously unknown stages in the life history of ecologically important dinoflagellate and haptophyte microalgae. Whereas the studied rhodoliths originated from offshore deep bank pinnacles in the northwestern Gulf of Mexico, the present study opens the door to assess the universality of endolithic stages among bloom-forming microalgae spanning different phyla, some of public health concerns (Prorocentrum) in marine ecosystems worldwide.

  9. Enabling science and technology for marine renewable energy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Mueller, Markus; Wallace, Robin

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes some of the key challenges to be met in the development of marine renewable energy technology, from its present prototype form to being a widely deployed contributor to future energy supply. Since 2000, a number of large-scale wave and tidal current prototypes have been demonstrated around the world, but marine renewable energy technology is still 10-15 years behind that of wind energy. UK-based developers are leading the way, with Pelamis from Pelamis Wave Power demonstrated in the open sea, generating electricity into the UK network and securing orders from Portugal. However, having started later, the developing technology can make use of more advanced science and engineering, and it is therefore reasonable to expect rapid progress. Although progress is underway through deployment and testing, there are still key scientific challenges to be addressed in areas including resource assessment and predictability, engineering design and manufacturability, installation, operation and maintenance, survivability, reliability and cost reduction. The research priorities required to meet these challenges are suggested in this paper and have been drawn from current roadmaps and vision documents, including more recent consultations within the community by the UK Energy Research Centre Marine Research Network. Many scientific advances are required to meet these challenges, and their likelihood is explored based on current and future capabilities

  10. Onshore preparedness for hazardous chemical marine vessel accidents: A case study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Faisel T. Illiyas

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Hazardous and noxious substances (HNS are widely transported in marine vessels to reach every part of the world. Bulk transportation of hazardous chemicals is carried out in tank container–carrying cargo ships or in designed vessels. Ensuring the safety of HNS containers during maritime transportation is critically important as the accidental release of any substance may be lethal to the on-board crew and marine environment. A general assumption in maritime accidents in open ocean is that it will not create any danger to the coastal population. The case study discussed in this article throws light on the dangers latent in maritime HNS accidents. An accident involving an HNS-carrying marine vessel in the Arabian Sea near the coast of Yemen became a safety issue to the coastal people of Kasargod District of Kerala, India. The ship carried more than 4000 containers, which were lost to the sea in the accident. Six HNS tank containers were carried by the waves and shored at the populated coast of Kasargod, more than 650 nautical miles east from the accident spot. The unanticipated sighting of tank containers in the coast and the response of the administration to the incident, the hurdles faced by the district administration in handling the case, the need for engaging national agencies and lessons learned from the incident are discussed in the article. This case study has proven that accidents in the open ocean have the potential to put the coastal areas at risk if the on-board cargo contains hazardous chemicals. Littoral nations, especially those close to the international waterlines, must include hazardous chemical spills to their oil spill contingency plans.

  11. A marine biogeochemical perspective on black shale deposition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Piper, D. Z.; Calvert, S. E.

    2009-06-01

    Deposition of marine black shales has commonly been interpreted as having involved a high level of marine phytoplankton production that promoted high settling rates of organic matter through the water column and high burial fluxes on the seafloor or anoxic (sulfidic) water-column conditions that led to high levels of preservation of deposited organic matter, or a combination of the two processes. Here we review the hydrography and the budgets of trace metals and phytoplankton nutrients in two modern marine basins that have permanently anoxic bottom waters. This information is then used to hindcast the hydrography and biogeochemical conditions of deposition of a black shale of Late Jurassic age (the Kimmeridge Clay Formation, Yorkshire, England) from its trace metal and organic carbon content. Comparison of the modern and Jurassic sediment compositions reveals that the rate of photic zone primary productivity in the Kimmeridge Sea, based on the accumulation rate of the marine fraction of Ni, was as high as 840 g organic carbon m - 2 yr -1. This high level was possibly tied to the maximum rise of sea level during the Late Jurassic that flooded this and other continents sufficiently to allow major open-ocean boundary currents to penetrate into epeiric seas. Sites of intense upwelling of nutrient-enriched seawater would have been transferred from the continental margins, their present location, onto the continents. This global flooding event was likely responsible for deposition of organic matter-enriched sediments in other marine basins of this age, several of which today host major petroleum source rocks. Bottom-water redox conditions in the Kimmeridge Sea, deduced from the V:Mo ratio in the marine fraction of the Kimmeridge Clay Formation, varied from oxic to anoxic, but were predominantly suboxic, or denitrifying. A high settling flux of organic matter, a result of the high primary productivity, supported a high rate of bacterial respiration that led to the

  12. Spectrophotometric studies of marine surfactants in the southern Baltic Sea

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Violetta Drozdowska

    2015-04-01

    Full Text Available It is well known that surfactants in the southern Baltic Sea constitute the organic matter from riverine waters discharges as well as the secondary degradation products of marine phytoplankton excretion. They reach the surface microlayer by the upwellings and turbulent motions of water and in the membranes of the vesicles as well as from the atmosphere. To assess concentration and spatial distribution of marine surfactants in the southern Baltic Sea, the steady-state spectrophotometric and spectrofluorometric measurements of water samples taken from a surface film and a depth of 0.5 m were carried out. Water samples were collected during windless days of the cruise of r/v ‘Oceania’ in November 2012, from the open and the coastal waters having regard to the vicinity of the Vistula and Łeba mouths. In the present paper, fractions of dissolved organic matter having chromophores (CDOM or fluorophores (FDOM are recognized through their specific spectroscopic behavior, i.e., steady-state absorption, fluorescence excitation and fluorescence spectra. The steady-state spectroscopic measurements revealed the CDOM and FDOM molecules characteristic to both the land and marine origin. Moreover, the concentration and spatial distribution of marine surfactants significantly depend on the distance from the river mouth. Finally, higher values of absorbance and fluorescence intensity observed in a surface film in comparison to these values in a depth of 0.5 m clearly suggest the higher concentration of organic matter in a marine film. On the other hand, our results revealed that a surface microlayer is composed of the same CDOM and FDOM as bulk water.

  13. Biomanipulation - a tool in marine ecosystem management and restoration?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lindegren, Martin; Möllmann, Christian; Hansson, Lars-Anders

    2010-01-01

    Widespread losses of production and conservation values make large-scale ecosystem restoration increasingly urgent. Ecological restoration by means of biomanipulation, i.e., by fishing out planktivores as to reduce the predation pressure on herbivorous zooplankton, has proven an effective tool...... in restoring degraded lakes and coastal ecosystems. Whether biomanipulation may prove a useful restoration method in open and structurally complex marine ecosystems is however still unknown. To promote a recovery of the collapsed stock of Eastern Baltic cod (Gadus morhua), large-scale biomanipulation of sprat...

  14. Marine polar steroids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stonik, Valentin A

    2001-01-01

    Structures, taxonomic distribution and biological activities of polar steroids isolated from various marine organisms over the last 8-10 years are considered. The peculiarities of steroid biogenesis in the marine biota and their possible biological functions are discussed. Syntheses of some highly active marine polar steroids are described. The bibliography includes 254 references.

  15. An assessment of natural product discovery from marine (sensu strictu) and marine-derived fungi

    Science.gov (United States)

    Overy, David P.; Bayman, Paul; Kerr, Russell G.; Bills, Gerald F.

    2014-01-01

    The natural products community has been investigating secondary metabolites from marine fungi for several decades, but when one attempts to search for validated reports of new natural products from marine fungi, one encounters a literature saturated with reports from ‘marine-derived’ fungi. Of the 1000+ metabolites that have been characterized to date, only approximately 80 of these have been isolated from species from exclusively marine lineages. These metabolites are summarized here along with the lifestyle and habitats of their producing organisms. Furthermore, we address some of the reasons for the apparent disconnect between the stated objectives of discovering new chemistry from marine organisms and the apparent neglect of the truly exceptional obligate marine fungi. We also offer suggestions on how to reinvigorate enthusiasm for marine natural products discovery from fungi from exclusive marine lineages and highlight the need for critically assessing the role of apparently terrestrial fungi in the marine environment. PMID:25379338

  16. Enhancing Higher Order Thinking Skills In A Marine Biology Class Through Problem-Based Learning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Richard M. Magsino

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The purpose of this research was to examine students' perspectives of their learning in marine biology in the collaborative group context of Problem-based Learning (PBL. Students’ higher order thinking skills (HOTS using PBL involves the development of their logical thinking and reasoning abilities which stimulates their curiosity and associative thinking. This study aimed to investigate how critical thinking skills, particularly analysis, synthesis and evaluation were enhanced in a marine biology class through PBL. Qualitative research approach was used to examine student responses in a questionnaire involving 10 open-ended questions that target students’ HOTS on a problem presented in a marine biology class for BS Biology students. Using axial coding as a qualitative data analysis technique by which grounded theory can be performed, the study was able to determine how students manifest their higher reasoning abilities when confronted with a marine biology situation. Results show student responses yielding affirmative remarks on the 10 questions intended to know their level of analysis (e.g., analyzing, classifying, inferring, discriminating and relating or connecting, synthesis (e.g., synthesizing and collaborating, and evaluation (e.g., comparing, criticizing, and convincing of information from the presented marine biology problem. Consequently, students were able to effectively design experiments to address the presented issue through problem-based learning. Results of the study show that PBL is an efficient instructional strategy embedded within a conventional curriculum used to develop or enhance critical thinking in marine biology.

  17. The chronic toxicity of molybdate to marine organisms. I. Generating reliable effects data

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heijerick, D.G.; Regoli, L.; Stubblefield, W.

    2012-01-01

    A scientific research program was initiated by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA) which addressed identified gaps in the environmental toxicity data for the molybdate ion (MoO 4 2− ). These gaps were previously identified during the preparation of EU-REACH-dossiers for different molybdenum compounds (European Union regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances; EC, 2006). Evaluation of the open literature identified few reliable marine ecotoxicological data that could be used for deriving a Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) for the marine environment. Rather than calculating a PNEC marine using the assessment factor methodology on a combined freshwater/marine dataset, IMOA decided to generate sufficient reliable marine chronic data to permit derivation of a PNEC by means of the more scientifically robust species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach (also called the statistical extrapolation approach). Nine test species were chronically exposed to molybdate (added as sodium molybdate dihydrate, Na 2 MoO 4 ·2H 2 O) according to published standard testing guidelines that are acceptable for a broad range of regulatory purposes. The selected test organisms were representative for typical marine trophic levels: micro-algae/diatom (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Dunaliella tertiolecta), macro-alga (Ceramium tenuicorne), mysids (Americamysis bahia), copepod (Acartia tonsa), fish (Cyprinodon variegatus), echinoderms (Dendraster exentricus, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) and molluscs (Mytilus edulis, Crassostrea gigas). Available NOEC/EC 10 levels ranged between 4.4 mg Mo/L (blue mussel M. edulis) and 1174 mg Mo/L (oyster C. gigas). Using all available reliable marine chronic effects data that are currently available, a HC 5,50% (median hazardous concentration affecting 5% of the species) of 5.74 (mg Mo)/L was derived with the statistical extrapolation approach, a value that can be used for national and

  18. Degradation Network Reconstruction in Uric Acid and Ammonium Amendments in Oil-Degrading Marine Microcosms Guided by Metagenomic Data

    KAUST Repository

    Bargiela, Rafael; Gertler, Christoph; Magagnini, Mirko; Mapelli, Francesca; Chen, Jianwei; Daffonchio, Daniele; Golyshin, Peter N.; Ferrer, Manuel

    2015-01-01

    crude oil-contaminated marine sediment at Ancona harbor (Italy) amended with natural fertilizer, uric acid (UA), or ammonium (AMM). We applied the web-based AromaDeg resource using as query Illumina HiSeq meta-sequences (UA: 27,893 open reading frames

  19. Marine Toxins That Target Voltage-gated Sodium Channels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Robert J. French

    2006-04-01

    Full Text Available Abstract: Eukaryotic, voltage-gated sodium (NaV channels are large membrane proteins which underlie generation and propagation of rapid electrical signals in nerve, muscle and heart. Nine different NaV receptor sites, for natural ligands and/or drugs, have been identified, based on functional analyses and site-directed mutagenesis. In the marine ecosystem, numerous toxins have evolved to disrupt NaV channel function, either by inhibition of current flow through the channels, or by modifying the activation and inactivation gating processes by which the channels open and close. These toxins function in their native environment as offensive or defensive weapons in prey capture or deterrence of predators. In composition, they range from organic molecules of varying size and complexity to peptides consisting of ~10-70 amino acids. We review the variety of known NaV-targeted marine toxins, outlining, where known, their sites of interaction with the channel protein and their functional effects. In a number of cases, these natural ligands have the potential applications as drugs in clinical settings, or as models for drug development.

  20. STEADY STATE PERFORMANCES ANALYSIS OF MODERN MARINE TWO-STROKE LOW SPEED DIESEL ENGINE USING MLP NEURAL NETWORK MODEL

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ozren Bukovac

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Compared to the other marine engines for ship propulsion, turbocharged two-stroke low speed diesel engines have advantages due to their high efficiency and reliability. Modern low speed ”intelligent” marine diesel engines have a flexibility in its operation due to the variable fuel injection strategy and management of the exhaust valve drive. This paper carried out verified zerodimensional numerical simulations which have been used for MLP (Multilayer Perceptron neural network predictions of marine two-stroke low speed diesel engine steady state performances. The developed MLP neural network was used for marine engine optimized operation control. The paper presents an example of achieving lowest specific fuel consumption and for minimization of the cylinder process highest temperature for reducing NOx emission. Also, the developed neural network was used to achieve optimal exhaust gases heat flow for utilization. The obtained data maps give insight into the optimal working areas of simulated marine diesel engine, depending on the selected start of the fuel injection (SOI and the time of the exhaust valve opening (EVO.

  1. Using mitochondrial DNA to test the hypothesis of a European post-glacial human recolonization from the Franco-Cantabrian refuge.

    Science.gov (United States)

    García, O; Fregel, R; Larruga, J M; Álvarez, V; Yurrebaso, I; Cabrera, V M; González, A M

    2011-01-01

    It has been proposed that the distribution patterns and coalescence ages found in Europeans for mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplogroups V, H1 and H3 are the result of a post-glacial expansion from a Franco-Cantabrian refuge that recolonized central and northern areas. In contrast, in this refined mtDNA study of the Cantabrian Cornice that contributes 413 partial and 9 complete new mtDNA sequences, including a large Basque sample and a sample of Asturians, no experimental evidence was found to support the human refuge-expansion theory. In fact, all measures of gene diversity point to the Cantabrian Cornice in general and the Basques in particular, as less polymorphic for V, H1 and H3 than other southern regions in Iberia or in Central Europe. Genetic distances show the Cantabrian Cornice is a very heterogeneous region with significant local differences. The analysis of several minor subhaplogroups, based on complete sequences, also suggests different focal expansions over a local and peninsular range that did not affect continental Europe. Furthermore, all detected clinal trends show stronger longitudinal than latitudinal profiles. In Northern Iberia, it seems that the highest diversity values for some haplogroups with Mesolithic coalescence ages are centred on the Mediterranean side, including Catalonia and South-eastern France.

  2. Marine migrations in anadromous brown trout (Salmo trutta). Fjord residency as a possible alternative in the continuum of migration to the open sea

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Del Villar, Diego; Aarestrup, Kim; Skov, Christian

    2014-01-01

    with acoustic and PIT-tags in the river Villestrup (Denmark) to study the initial postsmolt marine behaviour within a fjord system. We found that the strategies of the sea migrants vary: some stay in the fjord, while others migrate to the sea, suggesting that partial migration occurs even in the marine...

  3. Bacteria and plutonium in marine environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carey, A.E.; Bowen, V.T.

    1978-01-01

    Microbes are important in geochemical cycling of many elements. Recent reports emphasize biogenous particulates and bacterial exometabolites as controlling oceanic distribution of plutonium. Bacteria perform oxidation/reduction reactions on metals such as mercury, nickel, lead, copper, and cadmium. Redox transformations or uptake of Pu by marine bacteria may well proceed by similar mechanisms. Profiles of water samples and sediment cores were obtained along the continental shelf off Nova Scotia and in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. Profiles of water samples, and sediment cores were obtained. Epifluorescent microscopy was used to view bacteria (from water or sediment) after concentration on membrane filters and staining with acridine orange. Radiochemical analyses measured Pu in sediments and water samples. Studies of 237 Pu uptake used a strain of Leucothrix mucor isolated from a macroalga. Enumeration shows bacteria to range 10 4 to 10 5 cells/ml in seawater or 10 7 to 10 8 cells/gram of sediment. These numbers are related to the levels and distrbution of Pu in the samples. In cultures of L. mucor amended with Pu atom concentrations approximating those present in open ocean environments, bacterial cells concentrated 237 Pu slower and to lower levels than did clay minerals, glass beads, or phytoplankton. These data further clarify the role of marine bacteria in Pu biogeochemistry

  4. Stratigraphy and structural development of the southwest Isla Tiburón marine basin: Implications for latest Miocene tectonic opening and flooding of the northern Gulf of California

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bennett, Scott E. K.; Oskin, Michael; Dorsey, Rebecca; Iriondo, Alexander; Kunk, Michael J.

    2015-01-01

    Accurate information on the timing of earliest marine incursion into the Gulf of California (northwestern México) is critical for paleogeographic models and for understanding the spatial and temporal evolution of strain accommodation across the obliquely divergent Pacific-North America plate boundary. Marine strata exposed on southwest Isla Tiburón (SWIT) have been cited as evidence for a middle Miocene marine incursion into the Gulf of California at least 7 m.y. prior to plate boundary localization ca. 6 Ma. A middle Miocene interpretation for SWIT marine deposits has played a large role in subsequent interpretations of regional tectonics and rift evolution, the ages of marine basins containing similar fossil assemblages along ~1300 km of the plate boundary, and the timing of marine incursion into the Gulf of California. We report new detailed geologic mapping and geochronologic data from the SWIT basin, an elongate sedimentary basin associated with deformation along the dextral-oblique La Cruz fault. We integrate these results with previously published biostratigraphic and geochronologic data to bracket the age of marine deposits in the SWIT basin and show that they have a total maximum thickness of ~300 m. The 6.44 ± 0.05 Ma (Ar/Ar) tuff of Hast Pitzcal is an ash-flow tuff stratigraphically below the oldest marine strata, and the 6.01 ± 0.20 Ma (U/Pb) tuff of Oyster Amphitheater, also an ash-flow tuff, is interbedded with marine conglomerate near the base of the marine section. A dike-fed rhyodacite lava flow that caps all marine strata yields ages of 3.51 ± 0.05 Ma (Ar/Ar) and 4.13 ± 0.09 Ma (U/Pb) from the base of the flow, consistent with previously reported ages of 4.16 ± 1.81 Ma (K-Ar) from the flow top and (K-Ar) 3.7 ± 0.9 Ma from the feeder dike. Our new results confirm a latest Miocene to early Pliocene age for the SWIT marine basin, consistent with previously documented latest Miocene to early Pliocene (ca. 6.2-4.3 Ma) planktonic and benthic

  5. Carotenoids in Marine Animals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maoka, Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Marine animals contain various carotenoids that show structural diversity. These marine animals accumulate carotenoids from foods such as algae and other animals and modify them through metabolic reactions. Many of the carotenoids present in marine animals are metabolites of β-carotene, fucoxanthin, peridinin, diatoxanthin, alloxanthin, and astaxanthin, etc. Carotenoids found in these animals provide the food chain as well as metabolic pathways. In the present review, I will describe marine animal carotenoids from natural product chemistry, metabolism, food chain, and chemosystematic viewpoints, and also describe new structural carotenoids isolated from marine animals over the last decade. PMID:21566799

  6. Marine Biomedicine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bang, Frederik B.

    1977-01-01

    Describes early scientific research involving marine invertebrate pathologic processes that may have led to new insights into human disease. Discussed are inquiries of Metchnikoff, Loeb, and Cantacuzene (immunolgic responses in sea stars, horseshoe crabs, and marine worms, respectively). Describes current research stemming from these early…

  7. Marine Biology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dewees, Christopher M.; Hooper, Jon K.

    1976-01-01

    A variety of informational material for a course in marine biology or oceanology at the secondary level is presented. Among the topics discussed are: food webs and pyramids, planktonic blooms, marine life, plankton nets, food chains, phytoplankton, zooplankton, larval plankton and filter feeders. (BT)

  8. Active Marine Station Metadata

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Active Marine Station Metadata is a daily metadata report for active marine bouy and C-MAN (Coastal Marine Automated Network) platforms from the National Data...

  9. Characterizing Marine Soundscapes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Erbe, Christine; McCauley, Robert; Gavrilov, Alexander

    2016-01-01

    The study of marine soundscapes is becoming widespread and the amount of data collected is increasing rapidly. Data owners (typically academia, industry, government, and defense) are negotiating data sharing and generating potential for data syntheses, comparative studies, analyses of trends, and large-scale and long-term acoustic ecology research. A problem is the lack of standards and commonly agreed protocols for the recording of marine soundscapes, data analysis, and reporting that make a synthesis and comparison of results difficult. We provide a brief overview of the components in a marine soundscape, the hard- and software tools for recording and analyzing marine soundscapes, and common reporting formats.

  10. Testing the limits in a greenhouse ocean: Did low nitrogen availability limit marine productivity during the end-Triassic mass extinction?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schoepfer, Shane D.; Algeo, Thomas J.; Ward, Peter D.; Williford, Kenneth H.; Haggart, James W.

    2016-10-01

    The end-Triassic mass extinction has been characterized as a 'greenhouse extinction', related to rapid atmospheric warming and associated changes in ocean circulation and oxygenation. The response of the marine nitrogen cycle to these oceanographic changes, and the extent to which mass extinction intervals represent a deviation in nitrogen cycling from other ice-free 'greenhouse' periods of Earth history, remain poorly understood. The well-studied Kennecott Point section in Haida Gwaii, British Columbia, Canada, was deposited in the open Panthalassic Ocean, and is used here as a test case to better understand changes in the nitrogen cycle and marine productivity from the pre-crisis greenhouse of the Rhaetian to the latest-Rhaetian crisis interval. We estimated marine productivity from the late Norian to the early Hettangian using TOC- and P-based paleoproductivity transform equations, and then compared these estimates to records of sedimentary nitrogen isotopes, redox-sensitive trace elements, and biomarker data. Major negative excursions in δ15N (to ≤ 0 ‰) correspond to periods of depressed marine productivity. During these episodes, the development of a stable pycnocline below the base of the photic zone suppressed vertical mixing and limited N availability in surface waters, leading to low productivity and increased nitrogen fixation, as well as ecological stresses in the photic zone. The subsequent shoaling of euxinic waters into the ocean surface layer was fatal for most Triassic marine fauna, although the introduction of regenerated NH4+ into the photic zone may have allowed phytoplankton productivity to recover. These results indicate that the open-ocean nitrogen cycle was influenced by climatic changes during the latest Triassic, despite having existed in a greenhouse state for over 50 million years previously, and that low N availability limited marine productivity for hundreds of thousands of years during the end-Triassic crisis.

  11. Chapter D: With or Without Salt-a Comparison of Marine and Continental-Lacustrine Diatomite Deposits

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moyle, Phillip R.; Dolley, Thomas P.

    2003-01-01

    Diatoms in sedimentary deposits of marine and continental, especially lacustrine, origin have similar nutrient (for example, phosphate, nitrate, and silica) and light requirements; however, their geologic ranges and physiographic environments vary. Marine diatoms range in age from Early Cretaceous to Holocene, and continental diatoms range in age from Eocene to Holocene; however, most commercial diatomites, both marine and lacustrine, were deposited during the Miocene. Marine deposits of commercial value generally accumulated along continental margins with submerged coastal basins and shelves where wind-driven boundary currents provided the nutrient-rich upwelling conditions capable of supporting a productive diatom habitat. Commercial freshwater diatomite deposits occur in volcanic terrains associated with events that formed sediment-starved drainage basins, such as the Basin and Range Province, particularly in Nevada. Marine habitats generally are characterized by stable conditions of temperature, salinity, pH, nutrients, and water currents, in contrast to lacustrine habitats, which are characterized by wide variations in these conditions. Marine deposits generally are of higher quality and contain larger resources, owing to their greater areal extent and thickness, whereas most of the world's known diatomites are of lacustrine origin. Both types of deposit are commonly mined by open-pit methods and subjected to processing designed to remove organic matter, CO2, pore water, and inorganic contaminants in order to produce purified products. The highest quality diatomites, predominantly from marine sources, are used in filtration, although both types of deposit produce filter grades, and additional end uses include fillers, additives, absorbents, and abrasives.

  12. Carotenoids in Marine Animals

    OpenAIRE

    Maoka, Takashi

    2011-01-01

    Marine animals contain various carotenoids that show structural diversity. These marine animals accumulate carotenoids from foods such as algae and other animals and modify them through metabolic reactions. Many of the carotenoids present in marine animals are metabolites of β-carotene, fucoxanthin, peridinin, diatoxanthin, alloxanthin, and astaxanthin, etc. Carotenoids found in these animals provide the food chain as well as metabolic pathways. In the present review, I will describe marine a...

  13. Differences in spatial communities of European perch (Perca fluviatilis Linnaeus, 1758) fry in a canyon-shaped reservoir are not attributable to genetics

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Kalous, L.; Kuříková, P.; Kohout, J.; Rylková, K.; Petrtýl, M.; Čech, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Roč. 33, č. 2 (2017), s. 306-313 ISSN 0175-8659. [European Congress of Ichthyology /15./. Porto, 07.09.2015-11.09.2015] R&D Projects: GA ČR GA206/06/1371; GA ČR GP206/09/P266; GA MŠk(CZ) 7F14316 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : diel vertical migration * cross-species amplification * dna-sequence data * postglacial colonization * microsatellite loci Subject RIV: GL - Fishing OBOR OECD: Marine biology, freshwater biology, limnology Impact factor: 0.845, year: 2016

  14. Marine Science

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Aims and scope: The Western Indian Ocean Journal of Marine Science provides an avenue for the wide dissem- ination of high ... or by any means without permission in writing from the copyright holder. ..... Journal of Chemical Engineering Research and Design 82 ... Indian Ocean Marine Science Association Technical.

  15. Marine animal stings or bites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stings - marine animals; Bites - marine animals ... Things you can do to prevent a marine animal sting or bite include: Swim near a lifeguard. Observe posted signs that may warn of danger from jellyfish or other hazardous marine life. ...

  16. Implementing and Innovating Marine Monitoring Approaches for Assessing Marine Environmental Status

    KAUST Repository

    Danovaro, Roberto; Carugati, Laura; Berzano, Marco; Cahill, Abigail E.; Carvalho, Susana; Chenuil, Anne; Corinaldesi, Cinzia; Cristina, Sonia; David, Romain; Dell'Anno, Antonio; Dzhembekova, Nina; Garcé s, Esther; Gasol, Joseph M.; Goela, Priscila; Fé ral, Jean-Pierre; Ferrera, Isabel; Forster, Rodney M.; Kurekin, Andrey A.; Rastelli, Eugenio; Marinova, Veselka; Miller, Peter I.; Moncheva, Snejana; Newton, Alice; Pearman, John K.; Pitois, Sophie G.; Reñ é , Albert; Rodrí guez-Ezpeleta, Naiara; Saggiomo, Vincenzo; Simis, Stefan G. H.; Stefanova, Kremena; Wilson, Christian; Lo Martire, Marco; Greco, Silvestro; Cochrane, Sabine K. J.; Mangoni, Olga; Borja, Angel

    2016-01-01

    Marine environmental monitoring has tended to focus on site-specific methods of investigation. These traditional methods have low spatial and temporal resolution and are relatively labor intensive per unit area/time that they cover. To implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), European Member States are required to improve marine monitoring and design monitoring networks. This can be achieved by developing and testing innovative and cost-effective monitoring systems, as well as indicators of environmental status. Here, we present several recently developed methodologies and technologies to improve marine biodiversity indicators and monitoring methods. The innovative tools are discussed concerning the technologies presently utilized as well as the advantages and disadvantages of their use in routine monitoring. In particular, the present analysis focuses on: (i) molecular approaches, including microarray, Real Time quantitative PCR (qPCR), and metagenetic (metabarcoding) tools; (ii) optical (remote) sensing and acoustic methods; and (iii) in situ monitoring instruments. We also discuss their applications in marine monitoring within the MSFD through the analysis of case studies in order to evaluate their potential utilization in future routine marine monitoring. We show that these recently-developed technologies can present clear advantages in accuracy, efficiency and cost.

  17. Implementing and Innovating Marine Monitoring Approaches for Assessing Marine Environmental Status

    KAUST Repository

    Danovaro, Roberto

    2016-11-23

    Marine environmental monitoring has tended to focus on site-specific methods of investigation. These traditional methods have low spatial and temporal resolution and are relatively labor intensive per unit area/time that they cover. To implement the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), European Member States are required to improve marine monitoring and design monitoring networks. This can be achieved by developing and testing innovative and cost-effective monitoring systems, as well as indicators of environmental status. Here, we present several recently developed methodologies and technologies to improve marine biodiversity indicators and monitoring methods. The innovative tools are discussed concerning the technologies presently utilized as well as the advantages and disadvantages of their use in routine monitoring. In particular, the present analysis focuses on: (i) molecular approaches, including microarray, Real Time quantitative PCR (qPCR), and metagenetic (metabarcoding) tools; (ii) optical (remote) sensing and acoustic methods; and (iii) in situ monitoring instruments. We also discuss their applications in marine monitoring within the MSFD through the analysis of case studies in order to evaluate their potential utilization in future routine marine monitoring. We show that these recently-developed technologies can present clear advantages in accuracy, efficiency and cost.

  18. Otters, Marine

    Science.gov (United States)

    Estes, James A.; Bodkin, James L.; Ben-David, M.; Perrin, William F.; Würsing, Bernd; Thewissen, J.G.M.

    2009-01-01

    The otters (Mustelidae; Lutrinae) provide an exceptional perspective into the evolution of marine living by mammals. Most extant marine mammals (e.g. the cetaceans, pinnipeds, and sirenians) have been so highly modified by long periods of selection for life in the sea that they bear little resemblance to their terrestrial ancestors. Marine otters, in contrast, are more recent expatriates from freshwater habitats and some species still live in both environments. Contrasts among species within the otters, and among the otters, terrestrial mammals, and the more highly adapted pinnipeds and cetaceans provide powerful insights into mammalian adaptations to life in the sea (Estes, 1989). Among the marine mammals, sea otters (Enhydra lutris, Fig. 1) provide the clearest understanding of consumer-induced effects on ecosystem function. This is due in part to opportunities provided by history and in part to the relative ease with which shallow coastal systems where sea otters live can be observed and studied. Although more difficult to study than sea otters, other otter species reveal the connectivity among the marine, freshwater, and terrestrial systems. These three qualities of the otters – their comparative biology, their role as predators, and their role as agents of ecosystem connectivity – are what make them interesting to marine mammalogy.The following account provides a broad overview of the comparative biology and ecology of the otters, with particular emphasis on those species or populations that live in the sea. Sea otters are features prominently, in part because they live exclusively in the sea whereas other otters have obligate associations with freshwater and terrestrial environments (Kenyon, 1969; Riedman and Estes, 1990).

  19. Black carbon concentrations and sources in the marine boundary layer of the tropical Atlantic Ocean using four methodologies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Combustion-derived aerosols in the marine boundary layer have been poorly studied, especially in remote environments such as the open Atlantic Ocean. The tropical Atlantic has the potential to contain a high concentration of aerosols, such as black carbon, due to the African emis...

  20. Pentacyclic ingamine-type alkaloids, a new antiplasmodial pharmacophore from the marine sponge petrosid Ng5 Sp5

    Science.gov (United States)

    Two new pentacyclic ingamine- type alkaloids, namely 22(S)-hydroxyingamine A (2) and dihydroingenamine D (3), together with the known ingamine A (1) have been isolated from marine sponge Petrosid Ng5 Sp5 (Family: Petrosiidae) obtained from the open repository of National Cancer Institute, USA. The s...

  1. Seashore marine table quiz

    OpenAIRE

    Institute, Marine

    2013-01-01

    Develop an increasing awareness of plants and animals that live in local marine environments including the seashore, seas and oceans of Ireland. After learning all about the seashore and other marine related lessons, this quiz can be used to evaluate the student’s knowledge of the marine related living things and natural environments. The table quiz can be used as a guide, highlighting facts about the marine environment and some of the animals that live there.

  2. Marine bioacoustics and technology: The new world of marine acoustic ecology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hastings, Mardi C.; Au, Whitlow W. L.

    2012-11-01

    Marine animals use sound for communication, navigation, predator avoidance, and prey detection. Thus the rise in acoustic energy associated with increasing human activity in the ocean has potential to impact the lives of marine animals. Thirty years ago marine bioacoustics primarily focused on evaluating effects of human-generated sound on hearing and behavior by testing captive animals and visually observing wild animals. Since that time rapidly changing electronic and computing technologies have yielded three tools that revolutionized how bioacousticians study marine animals. These tools are (1) portable systems for measuring electrophysiological auditory evoked potentials, (2) miniaturized tags equipped with positioning sensors and acoustic recording devices for continuous short-term acoustical observation rather than intermittent visual observation, and (3) passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) systems for remote long-term acoustic observations at specific locations. The beauty of these breakthroughs is their direct applicability to wild animals in natural habitats rather than only to animals held in captivity. Hearing capabilities of many wild species including polar bears, beaked whales, and reef fishes have now been assessed by measuring their auditory evoked potentials. Miniaturized acoustic tags temporarily attached to an animal to record its movements and acoustic environment have revealed the acoustic foraging behavior of sperm and beaked whales. Now tags are being adapted to fishes in effort to understand their behavior in the presence of noise. Moving and static PAM systems automatically detect and characterize biological and physical features of an ocean area without adding any acoustic energy to the environment. PAM is becoming a powerful technique for understanding and managing marine habitats. This paper will review the influence of these transformative tools on the knowledge base of marine bioacoustics and elucidation of relationships between marine

  3. An open ocean record of the Toarcian oceanic anoxic event

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. R. Gröcke

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Oceanic anoxic events were time intervals in the Mesozoic characterized by widespread distribution of marine organic matter-rich sediments (black shales and significant perturbations in the global carbon cycle. These perturbations are globally recorded in sediments as carbon isotope excursions irrespective of lithology and depositional environment. During the early Toarcian, black shales were deposited on the epi- and pericontinental shelves of Pangaea, and these sedimentary rocks are associated with a pronounced (ca. 7 ‰ negative (organic carbon isotope excursion (CIE which is thought to be the result of a major perturbation in the global carbon cycle. For this reason, the lower Toarcian is thought to represent an oceanic anoxic event (the T-OAE. If the T-OAE was indeed a global event, an isotopic expression of this event should be found beyond the epi- and pericontinental Pangaean localities. To address this issue, the carbon isotope composition of organic matter (δ13Corg of lower Toarcian organic matter-rich cherts from Japan, deposited in the open Panthalassa Ocean, was analysed. The results show the presence of a major (>6 ‰ negative excursion in δ13Corg that, based on radiolarian biostratigraphy, is a correlative of the lower Toarcian negative CIE known from Pangaean epi- and pericontinental strata. A smaller negative excursion in δ13Corg (ca. 2 ‰ is recognized lower in the studied succession. This excursion may, within the current biostratigraphic resolution, represent the excursion recorded in European epicontinental successions close to the Pliensbachian/Toarcian boundary. These results from the open ocean realm suggest, in conjunction with other previously published datasets, that these Early Jurassic carbon cycle perturbations affected the active global reservoirs of the exchangeable carbon cycle (deep marine, shallow marine, atmospheric.

  4. Shallow marine response to global climate change during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Salisbury Embayment, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Self-Trail, Jean; Robinson, Marci M.; Bralower, Timothy J.; Sessa, Jocelyn A.; Hajek, Elizabeth A.; Kump, Lee R.; Trampush, Sheila M.; Willard, Debra A.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Powars, David S.; Wandless, Gregory A.

    2017-01-01

    The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an interval of extreme warmth that caused disruption of marine and terrestrial ecosystems on a global scale. Here we examine the sediments, flora, and fauna from an expanded section at Mattawoman Creek-Billingsley Road (MCBR) in Maryland and explore the impact of warming at a nearshore shallow marine (30–100 m water depth) site in the Salisbury Embayment. Observations indicate that at the onset of the PETM, the site abruptly shifted from an open marine to prodelta setting with increased terrestrial and fresh water input. Changes in microfossil biota suggest stratification of the water column and low-oxygen bottom water conditions in the earliest Eocene. Formation of authigenic carbonate through microbial diagenesis produced an unusually large bulk carbon isotope shift, while the magnitude of the corresponding signal from benthic foraminifera is similar to that at other marine sites. This proves that the landward increase in the magnitude of the carbon isotope excursion measured in bulk sediment is not due to a near instantaneous release of 12C-enriched CO2. We conclude that the MCBR site records nearshore marine response to global climate change that can be used as an analog for modern coastal response to global warming.

  5. Shallow marine response to global climate change during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum, Salisbury Embayment, USA

    Science.gov (United States)

    Self-Trail, Jean M.; Robinson, Marci M.; Bralower, Timothy J.; Sessa, Jocelyn A.; Hajek, Elizabeth A.; Kump, Lee R.; Trampush, Sheila M.; Willard, Debra A.; Edwards, Lucy E.; Powars, David S.; Wandless, Gregory A.

    2017-07-01

    The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was an interval of extreme warmth that caused disruption of marine and terrestrial ecosystems on a global scale. Here we examine the sediments, flora, and fauna from an expanded section at Mattawoman Creek-Billingsley Road (MCBR) in Maryland and explore the impact of warming at a nearshore shallow marine (30-100 m water depth) site in the Salisbury Embayment. Observations indicate that at the onset of the PETM, the site abruptly shifted from an open marine to prodelta setting with increased terrestrial and fresh water input. Changes in microfossil biota suggest stratification of the water column and low-oxygen bottom water conditions in the earliest Eocene. Formation of authigenic carbonate through microbial diagenesis produced an unusually large bulk carbon isotope shift, while the magnitude of the corresponding signal from benthic foraminifera is similar to that at other marine sites. This proves that the landward increase in the magnitude of the carbon isotope excursion measured in bulk sediment is not due to a near instantaneous release of 12C-enriched CO2. We conclude that the MCBR site records nearshore marine response to global climate change that can be used as an analog for modern coastal response to global warming.

  6. Marine Jurisdiction Boundaries

    Data.gov (United States)

    Department of Homeland Security — The NOAA Coastal Services Center's Marine Jurisdiction dataset was created to assist in marine spatial planning and offshore alternative energy sitting. This is a...

  7. 75 FR 68605 - Marine Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-08

    ...-XX23 Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... permit to conduct research on marine mammals. ADDRESSES: The permit and related documents are available... applicant. The requested permit has been issued under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of...

  8. 77 FR 2512 - Marine Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-18

    ...-XA905 Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Dorian Houser, Ph.D., National Marine Mammal Foundation, 2240 Shelter Island Drive, 200, San Diego, CA... subject permit is requested under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended...

  9. 77 FR 17033 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Navy's Training...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-23

    ... take marine mammals by harassment incidental to its training activities at the Gulf of Mexico (GOMEX... Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Navy's Training Activities at the Gulf of Mexico Range Complex AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

  10. Marine biodiversity and fishery sustainability.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shao, Kwang-Tsao

    2009-01-01

    Marine fish is one of the most important sources of animal protein for human use, especially in developing countries with coastlines. Marine fishery is also an important industry in many countries. Fifty years ago, many people believed that the ocean was so vast and so resilient that there was no way the marine environment could be changed, nor could marine fishery resources be depleted. Half a century later, we all agree that the depletion of fishery resources is happening mainly due to anthropogenic factors such as overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution, invasive species introduction, and climate change. Since overfishing can cause chain reactions that decrease marine biodiversity drastically, there will be no seafood left after 40 years if we take no action. The most effective ways to reverse this downward trend and restore fishery resources are to promote fishery conservation, establish marine-protected areas, adopt ecosystem-based management, and implement a "precautionary principle." Additionally, enhancing public awareness of marine conservation, which includes eco-labeling, fishery ban or enclosure, slow fishing, and MPA (marine protected areas) enforcement is important and effective. In this paper, we use Taiwan as an example to discuss the problems facing marine biodiversity and sustainable fisheries.

  11. Marine electrical practice

    CERN Document Server

    Watson, G O

    1991-01-01

    Marine Engineering Series: Marine Electrical Practice, Sixth Edition focuses on changes in the marine industry, including the application of programmable electronic systems, generators, and motors. The publication first ponders on insulation and temperature ratings of equipment, protection and discrimination, and AC generators. Discussions focus on construction, shaft-drive generators, effect of unbalanced loading, subtransient and transient reactance, protection discrimination, fault current, measurement of ambient air temperature, and basis of machine ratings. The text then examines AC switc

  12. Mariners Weather Log

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Mariners Weather Log (MWL) is a publication containing articles, news and information about marine weather events and phenomena, worldwide environmental impact...

  13. Marine Genomics: A clearing-house for genomic and transcriptomic data of marine organisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Trent Harold F

    2005-03-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background The Marine Genomics project is a functional genomics initiative developed to provide a pipeline for the curation of Expressed Sequence Tags (ESTs and gene expression microarray data for marine organisms. It provides a unique clearing-house for marine specific EST and microarray data and is currently available at http://www.marinegenomics.org. Description The Marine Genomics pipeline automates the processing, maintenance, storage and analysis of EST and microarray data for an increasing number of marine species. It currently contains 19 species databases (over 46,000 EST sequences that are maintained by registered users from local and remote locations in Europe and South America in addition to the USA. A collection of analysis tools are implemented. These include a pipeline upload tool for EST FASTA file, sequence trace file and microarray data, an annotative text search, automated sequence trimming, sequence quality control (QA/QC editing, sequence BLAST capabilities and a tool for interactive submission to GenBank. Another feature of this resource is the integration with a scientific computing analysis environment implemented by MATLAB. Conclusion The conglomeration of multiple marine organisms with integrated analysis tools enables users to focus on the comprehensive descriptions of transcriptomic responses to typical marine stresses. This cross species data comparison and integration enables users to contain their research within a marine-oriented data management and analysis environment.

  14. 76 FR 76949 - Marine Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-09

    ...-XR52 Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric.... 14534 is requested under the authority of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216...

  15. 77 FR 14352 - Marine Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-09

    ...-XB065 Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended...

  16. 75 FR 77616 - Marine Mammals

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-12-13

    .... 14334] Marine Mammals AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric... Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the regulations governing the taking and importing of marine mammals (50 CFR part 216), the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended...

  17. THE ROLE OF KETTLE HOLES AS LOCAL SEDIMENTARY RESERVOIRS OF THE EARLY POST-GLACIAL LANDSCAPE OF SUWAŁKI LANDSCAPE PARK

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Krzysztof Micun

    2014-11-01

    Full Text Available The study is an attempt to determine the size of sedimentation at the bottoms of the small kettle holes of Suwałki Landscape Park as well as the deposits that fill them. The size and the type of the transformations occurring in the kettle holes during the Holocene were determined on the basis of conducted analyses. The presence of allochtonic mineral deposits and autochtonic lacustrine and biogenic deposits was affirmed. The first group consisted of loam colluvium with a maximum thickness of up to 1m. The other one contains lacustrine clays and silts with a maximum thickness of several tens of centimeters and gytjas and peats with a total thickness of up to 9 m. Sediments’ sequence in Snołda, Łuśnin and Linówek depressions indicated a secondary nature of the colluvium deposition in relations to the biogenic acumulation that took place throughout the Holocene. Hillslope sediments accumulation intensified only in times of economic activity growth in the area. Steep gradients of slopes and considerable depth of kettle holes favor the development of hillslope processes. The material accumulated in the depressions remains immobilised. This limits the spatial extent of the denudation and thus stabilises the morphology of early post-glacial landscape.

  18. MarineCadastre.gov

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — MarineCadastre.gov is a marine information system that provides authoritative ocean data, offshore planning tools, and technical support to the offshore renewable...

  19. Marine actinobacteria associated with marine organisms and their potentials in producing pharmaceutical natural products.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Valliappan, Karuppiah; Sun, Wei; Li, Zhiyong

    2014-09-01

    Actinobacteria are ubiquitous in the marine environment, playing an important ecological role in the recycling of refractory biomaterials and producing novel natural products with pharmic applications. Actinobacteria have been detected or isolated from the marine creatures such as sponges, corals, mollusks, ascidians, seaweeds, and seagrass. Marine organism-associated actinobacterial 16S rRNA gene sequences, i.e., 3,003 sequences, deposited in the NCBI database clearly revealed enormous numbers of actinobacteria associated with marine organisms. For example, RDP classification of these sequences showed that 112 and 62 actinobacterial genera were associated with the sponges and corals, respectively. In most cases, it is expected that these actinobacteria protect the host against pathogens by producing bioactive compounds. Natural products investigation and functional gene screening of the actinobacteria associated with the marine organisms revealed that they can synthesize numerous natural products including polyketides, isoprenoids, phenazines, peptides, indolocarbazoles, sterols, and others. These compounds showed anticancer, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, neurological, antioxidant, and anti-HIV activities. Therefore, marine organism-associated actinobacteria represent an important resource for marine drugs. It is an upcoming field of research to search for novel actinobacteria and pharmaceutical natural products from actinobacteria associated with the marine organisms. In this review, we attempt to summarize the present knowledge on the diversity and natural products production of actinobacteria associated with the marine organisms, based on the publications from 1991 to 2013.

  20. The Middle Triassic marine reptile biodiversity in the Germanic Basin, in the centre of the Pangaean world

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diedrich, Cajus G.

    2012-03-01

    The Middle Triassic fossil reptile localities near Bayreuth (Bavaria, southern Germany) consist of shallow marine autochthonous glauconitic marls and terebratulid-rich tempestite carbonates of the newly defined Bindlach and Hegnabrunn formations. Single bones and incomplete skeletons of marine reptiles have been recorded in bone beds within in the Illyrian and Fassanian stages. These include the remains of the sauropterygians Neusticosaurus sp., Lariosaurus cf. buzzii [1], Nothosaurus mirabilis [2], Paranothosaurus giganteus [2], Placodus gigas [3], Cyamodus rostratus [4], Cyamodus münsteri [5], Pistosaurus longaevus [6], and ichthyosaurs Omphalosaurus sp., and Shastasaurus sp. or proterosaur Tanystrophaeus conspicuus [7]. New skeletal reconstructions are based on the osteological analysis of three dimensionally preserved bones and skeletal remains. The large number of marine endemic placodont macroalgae feeders ( P. gigas) in the Bayreuth sites coincides with the presence of invertebrate palaeocommunities that are characteristic of macroalgae meadow paleoenvironments. Most of the reptile species and genera from the Bayreuth localities also occur in beds of similar ages from the Monte San Giorgio (Switzerland/Italy) or Perledo (Italy) lagoonal areas. Ichthyosaurs and pistosaurs were adapted for open marine conditions, and may have migrated from the Panthalassa Oceans into the shallow marine Germanic Basin to reproduce, whereas placodonts and many other sauropterygians seem to have lived permanently in those shallow marine habitats, with large squamates and thecodont or smaller archosaurs in coastal areas.

  1. The chronic toxicity of molybdate to marine organisms. I. Generating reliable effects data

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Heijerick, D.G., E-mail: Dagobert.heijerick@arche-consulting.be [ARCHE - Assessing Risks of Chemicals, Stapelplein 70 Bus 104, Gent (Belgium); Regoli, L. [International Molybdenum Association, 4 Heathfield Terrace, London, W4 4JE (United Kingdom); Stubblefield, W. [Oregon State University, Department of Environmental and Molecular Toxicology, 421 Weniger Hall, Corvallis, OR 97331 (United States)

    2012-07-15

    A scientific research program was initiated by the International Molybdenum Association (IMOA) which addressed identified gaps in the environmental toxicity data for the molybdate ion (MoO{sub 4}{sup 2-}). These gaps were previously identified during the preparation of EU-REACH-dossiers for different molybdenum compounds (European Union regulation on Registration, Evaluation, Authorization and Restriction of Chemical substances; EC, 2006). Evaluation of the open literature identified few reliable marine ecotoxicological data that could be used for deriving a Predicted No-Effect Concentration (PNEC) for the marine environment. Rather than calculating a PNEC{sub marine} using the assessment factor methodology on a combined freshwater/marine dataset, IMOA decided to generate sufficient reliable marine chronic data to permit derivation of a PNEC by means of the more scientifically robust species sensitivity distribution (SSD) approach (also called the statistical extrapolation approach). Nine test species were chronically exposed to molybdate (added as sodium molybdate dihydrate, Na{sub 2}MoO{sub 4}{center_dot}2H{sub 2}O) according to published standard testing guidelines that are acceptable for a broad range of regulatory purposes. The selected test organisms were representative for typical marine trophic levels: micro-algae/diatom (Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Dunaliella tertiolecta), macro-alga (Ceramium tenuicorne), mysids (Americamysis bahia), copepod (Acartia tonsa), fish (Cyprinodon variegatus), echinoderms (Dendraster exentricus, Strongylocentrotus purpuratus) and molluscs (Mytilus edulis, Crassostrea gigas). Available NOEC/EC{sub 10} levels ranged between 4.4 mg Mo/L (blue mussel M. edulis) and 1174 mg Mo/L (oyster C. gigas). Using all available reliable marine chronic effects data that are currently available, a HC{sub 5,50%} (median hazardous concentration affecting 5% of the species) of 5.74 (mg Mo)/L was derived with the statistical extrapolation approach, a

  2. 76 FR 41463 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-07-14

    ... requirements, many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are exposed to chronic stimuli... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to a Marine... Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). ACTION: Notice; proposed...

  3. Postglacial fire history and interactions with vegetation and climate in southwestern Yunnan Province of China

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Xiayun; Haberle, Simon G.; Shen, Ji; Xue, Bin; Burrows, Mark; Wang, Sumin

    2017-06-01

    A high-resolution, continuous 18.5 kyr (1 kyr = 1000 cal yr BP) macroscopic charcoal record from Qinghai Lake in southwestern Yunnan Province, China, reveals postglacial fire frequency and variability history. The results show that three periods with high-frequency and high-severity fires occurred during the periods 18.5-15.0, 13.0-11.5, and 4.3-0.8 ka, respectively. This record was compared with major pollen taxa and pollen diversity indices from the same core, and tentatively related to the regional climate proxy records with the aim to separate climate- from human-induced fire activity, and discuss vegetation-fire-climate interactions. The results suggest that fire was mainly controlled by climate before 4.3 ka and by the combined actions of climate and humans after 4.3 ka. Before 4.3 ka, high fire activity corresponded to cold and dry climatic conditions, while warm and humid climatic conditions brought infrequent and weak fires. Fire was an important disturbance factor and played an important role in forest dynamics around the study area. Vegetation responses to fire after 4.3 ka are not consistent with those before 4.3 ka, suggesting that human influence on vegetation and fire regimes may have become more prevalent after 4.3 ka. The comparisons between fire activity and vegetation reveal that evergreen oaks are flammable plants and fire-tolerant taxa. Alnus is a fire-adapted taxon and a nonflammable plant, but density of Alnus forest is a key factor to decide its fire resistance. The forests dominated by Lithocarpus/Castanopsis and/or tropical trees and shrubs are not easy to ignite, but Lithocarpus/Castanopsis and tropical trees and shrubs are fire-sensitive taxa. Fire appears to be unfavourable to plant diversity in the study area.

  4. [Analysis on sustainable development of marine economy in Jiangsu Province based on marine ecological footprint correction model].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shan; Wang, Yu-ting

    2011-03-01

    Based on the theories and methods of ecological footprint, the concept of marine ecological footprint was proposed. According to the characteristics of marine environment in Jiangsu Province, five sub-models of marine ecological footprints, including fishery, transporation, marine engineering construction, marine energy, and tidal flat, were constructed. The equilibrium factors of the five marine types were determined by using improved entropy method, and the marine footprints and capacities in Jiangsu Province from 2000 to 2008 were calculated and analyzed. In 2000-2008, the marine ecology footprint per capita in Jiangsu Province increased nearly seven times, from 36.90 hm2 to 252.94 hm2, and the ecological capacity per capita grew steadily, from 105.01 hm2 to 185.49 hm2. In 2000, the marine environment in the Province was in a state of ecological surplus, and the marine economy was in a weak sustainable development state. Since 2004, the marine ecological environment deteriorated sharply, with ecological deficit up to 109660.5 hm2, and the sustainability of marine economy declined. The high ecological footprint of fishery was the main reason for the ecological deficit. Tidal flat was the important reserve resource for the sustainable development of marine economy in Jiangsu Province.

  5. Marine Education Knowledge Inventory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hounshell, Paul B.; Hampton, Carolyn

    This 35-item, multiple-choice Marine Education Knowledge Inventory was developed for use in upper elementary/middle schools to measure a student's knowledge of marine science. Content of test items is drawn from oceanography, ecology, earth science, navigation, and the biological sciences (focusing on marine animals). Steps in the construction of…

  6. 78 FR 30870 - Nomination of Existing Marine Protected Areas to the National System of Marine Protected Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-05-23

    ... Marine Protected Areas to the National System of Marine Protected Areas AGENCY: National Marine Protected...) invited federal, state, commonwealth, and territorial marine protected area (MPA) programs with... of Marine Protected Areas of the United States (Framework), developed in response to Executive Order...

  7. Accumulation of 210Po by benthic marine algae

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gouvea, R.C.; Branco, M.E.C.; Santos, P.L.

    1988-01-01

    The accumulation of polonium 210 Po by various species of benthic marine seaweeds collected from 4 different points on the coast of Rio de Janeiro, showed variations by species and algal groups. The highest value found was in red alga, Plocamium brasiliensis followed by other organisms of the same group. In the group of the brown alga, the specie Sargassum stenophylum was outstanding. The Chlorophyta presented the lowest content of 210 Po. The algae collected in open sea, revealed greater concentration factors of 210 Po than the same species living in bays. The siliceous residue remaining after mineralization of the algae did not interfere with the detection of polonium. (author)

  8. Plastics in the Marine Environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Kara Lavender

    2017-01-03

    Plastics contamination in the marine environment was first reported nearly 50 years ago, less than two decades after the rise of commercial plastics production, when less than 50 million metric tons were produced per year. In 2014, global plastics production surpassed 300 million metric tons per year. Plastic debris has been detected worldwide in all major marine habitats, in sizes from microns to meters. In response, concerns about risks to marine wildlife upon exposure to the varied forms of plastic debris have increased, stimulating new research into the extent and consequences of plastics contamination in the marine environment. Here, I present a framework to evaluate the current understanding of the sources, distribution, fate, and impacts of marine plastics. Despite remaining knowledge gaps in mass budgeting and challenges in investigating ecological impacts, the increasing evidence of the ubiquity of plastics contamination in the marine environment, the continued rapid growth in plastics production, and the evidence-albeit limited-of demonstrated impacts to marine wildlife support immediate implementation of source-reducing measures to decrease the potential risks of plastics in the marine ecosystem.

  9. Plastics in the Marine Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    Law, Kara Lavender

    2017-01-01

    Plastics contamination in the marine environment was first reported nearly 50 years ago, less than two decades after the rise of commercial plastics production, when less than 50 million metric tons were produced per year. In 2014, global plastics production surpassed 300 million metric tons per year. Plastic debris has been detected worldwide in all major marine habitats, in sizes from microns to meters. In response, concerns about risks to marine wildlife upon exposure to the varied forms of plastic debris have increased, stimulating new research into the extent and consequences of plastics contamination in the marine environment. Here, I present a framework to evaluate the current understanding of the sources, distribution, fate, and impacts of marine plastics. Despite remaining knowledge gaps in mass budgeting and challenges in investigating ecological impacts, the increasing evidence of the ubiquity of plastics contamination in the marine environment, the continued rapid growth in plastics production, and the evidence—albeit limited—of demonstrated impacts to marine wildlife support immediate implementation of source-reducing measures to decrease the potential risks of plastics in the marine ecosystem.

  10. Biosurfactants from marine microorganisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suppasil Maneerat

    2005-11-01

    Full Text Available Biosurfactants are the surface-active molecules synthesized by microorganisms. With the advantage of environmental compatibility, the demand for biosurfactants has been steadily increasing and may eventually replace their chemically synthesized counterparts. Marine biosurfactants produced by some marine microorganisms have been paid more attention, particularly for the bioremediation of the sea polluted by crude oil. This review describes screening of biosurfactant-producing microorganisms, the determination of biosurfactant activity as well as the recovery of marine surfactant. The uses of marine biosurfactants for bioremediation are also discussed.

  11. Lagrangian Observations and Modeling of Marine Larvae

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paris, Claire B.; Irisson, Jean-Olivier

    2017-04-01

    Just within the past two decades, studies on the early-life history stages of marine organisms have led to new paradigms in population dynamics. Unlike passive plant seeds that are transported by the wind or by animals, marine larvae have motor and sensory capabilities. As a result, marine larvae have a tremendous capacity to actively influence their dispersal. This is continuously revealed as we develop new techniques to observe larvae in their natural environment and begin to understand their ability to detect cues throughout ontogeny, process the information, and use it to ride ocean currents and navigate their way back home, or to a place like home. We present innovative in situ and numerical modeling approaches developed to understand the underlying mechanisms of larval transport in the ocean. We describe a novel concept of a Lagrangian platform, the Drifting In Situ Chamber (DISC), designed to observe and quantify complex larval behaviors and their interactions with the pelagic environment. We give a brief history of larval ecology research with the DISC, showing that swimming is directional in most species, guided by cues as diverse as the position of the sun or the underwater soundscape, and even that (unlike humans!) larvae orient better and swim faster when moving as a group. The observed Lagrangian behavior of individual larvae are directly implemented in the Connectivity Modeling System (CMS), an open source Lagrangian tracking application. Simulations help demonstrate the impact that larval behavior has compared to passive Lagrangian trajectories. These methodologies are already the base of exciting findings and are promising tools for documenting and simulating the behavior of other small pelagic organisms, forecasting their migration in a changing ocean.

  12. A 10Be profile in mid-pleistocene sediments of the Wanganui Basin, New Zealand

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Graham, I.J.; Ditchburn, R.G.; Sparks, R.J.; Whitehead, N.E.; Turner, G.M.

    1995-01-01

    A 10 Be study of marine sediments from the Wanganui Basin (Castlecliff Section) has yielded some interesting, though not immediately explainable results. A 5-6 fold increase in 10 Be has been identified immediately above the Brunhes-Matuyama paleomagnetic reversal within the sedimentary sequence, ca. 780 ka. The increase in 10 Be cannot be attributed entirely to the paleomagnetic reversal, and probably reflects the major global climatic change at that time resulting in an influx of 1 0Be during post-glacial melting. (authors) 30 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs

  13. 75 FR 54095 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low-Energy Marine Seismic Survey in...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-03

    ... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low- Energy Marine Seismic Survey in the Eastern... low-energy marine seismic survey. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), NMFS is... funding provided by the National Science Foundation, a low-energy marine seismic survey. NMFS reviewed SIO...

  14. Linking Marine Ecosystem Services to the North Sea’s Energy Fields in Transnational Marine Spatial Planning

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Christina Vogel

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Marine spatial planning temporally and spatially allocates marine resources to different users. The ecosystem approach aims at optimising the social and economic benefits people derive from marine resources while preserving the ecosystem’s health. Marine ecosystem services are defined as the benefits people obtain from marine ecosystems. The aim of this study is to determine which interrelations between marine ecosystem services and the marine energy industry can be identified for use in transnational marine spatial planning exemplified in the North Sea region. As the North Sea is one of the busiest seas worldwide, the risk of impairing the ecosystems through anthropogenic pressures is high. Drawing on a literature-based review, 23 marine ecosystem services provided by the North Sea region were defined and linked to seven offshore energy fields comprising oil and natural gas, wind, tides and currents, waves, salinity gradients, algal biomass, and geothermal heat. The interactions were divided into four categories: dependence, impact, bidirectional, or no interaction. Oil and natural gas, as well as algae biomass, are the fields with the most relations with marine ecosystem services while waves and salinity gradients exhibit the least. Some marine ecosystem services (Conditions for Infrastructure, Regulation of Water Flows, and Cognitive Development are needed for all fields; Recreation and Tourism, Aesthetic and Cultural Perceptions and Traditions, Cognitive Development, and Sea Scape are impacted by all fields. The results of this research provide an improved basis for an ecosystem approach in transnational marine spatial planning.

  15. Refugial persistence and postglacial recolonization of North America by the cold-tolerant herbaceous plant Orthilia secunda.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beatty, Gemma E; Provan, Jim

    2010-11-01

    Previous phylogeographical and palaeontological studies on the biota of northern North America have revealed a complex scenario of glacial survival in multiple refugia and differing patterns of postglacial recolonization. Many putative refugial regions have been proposed both north and south of the ice sheets for species during the Last Glacial Maximum, but the locations of many of these refugia remain a topic of great debate. In this study, we used a phylogeographical approach to elucidate the refugial and recolonization history of the herbaceous plant species Orthilia secunda in North America, which is found in disjunct areas in the west and east of the continent, most of which were either glaciated or lay close to the limits of the ice sheets. Analysis of 596 bp of the chloroplast trnS-trnG intergenic spacer and five microsatellite loci in 84 populations spanning the species' range in North America suggests that O. secunda persisted through the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in western refugia, even though palaeodistribution modelling indicated a suitable climate envelope across the entire south of the continent. The present distribution of the species has resulted from recolonization from refugia north and south of the ice sheets, most likely in Beringia or coastal regions of Alaska and British Columbia, the Washington/Oregon region in the northwest USA, and possibly from the region associated with the putative 'ice-free corridor' between the Laurentide and Cordilleran ice sheets. Our findings also highlight the importance of the Pacific Northwest as an important centre of intraspecific genetic diversity, owing to a combination of refugial persistence in the area and recolonization from other refugia. © 2010 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. Determining the Influence of Dust on Post-Glacial Lacustrine Sedimentation in Bald Lake, Uinta Mountains, Utah

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Keefe, S. S.; McElroy, R.; Munroe, J. S.

    2016-12-01

    Dust is increasingly recognized as an important component of biogeochemical cycling and ecosystem function in mountain environments. Previous work has shown that delivery of dust to the Uinta Mountains of northeastern Utah has influenced pedogenesis, soil nutrient status, and surface water chemistry. An array of passive and active samplers in the alpine zone of the Uintas provides detailed information about contemporary dust fluxes, along with physical and geochemical properties of modern dust. Reconstruction of changes in the dust system over time, however, requires continuous sedimentary archives sensitive to dust inputs. A radiocarbon-dated 3.5-m core (spanning 12.7 kyr) collected from subalpine Bald Lake may provide such a record. Passive dust collectors in the vicinity of the lake constrain the geochemical properties of modern dust, whereas samples of regolith constrain properties of the local surficial material within the watershed. Together, these represent two end member sources of clastic sediment to Bald Lake basin: allochthonous dust and autochthonous regolith. Ba and Eu are found in higher abundances in the dust than in the watershed regolith. Zr and Th are found to be lower in the dust than in the watershed. Geochemical analysis of the sediment core allows the relative contribution of exotic and local material to the lake to be considered as a time series covering the post-glacial interval when indicator elements are plotted. Findings suggest Bald Lake's dust record tracks regional aridity and corresponds to low-stands of large lakes in the southwestern United States. Spatial variability of elemental abundances in the watershed suggests there are more than two input sources contributing to the lake over time.

  17. Whale Multi-Disciplinary Studies: A Marine Education Infusion Unit. Northern New England Marine Education Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maine Univ., Orono. Coll. of Education.

    This multidisciplinary unit deals with whales, whaling lore and history, and the interaction of the whale with the complex marine ecosystem. It seeks to teach adaptation of marine organisms. It portrays the concept that man is part of the marine ecosystem and man's activities can deplete and degrade marine ecosystems, endangering the survival of…

  18. Extensive behavioural divergence following colonisation of the freshwater environment in threespine sticklebacks.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Carole Di-Poi

    Full Text Available Colonisation of novel environments means facing new ecological challenges often resulting in the evolution of striking divergence in phenotypes. However, little is known about behavioural divergence following colonisation, despite the predicted importance of the role of behavioural phenotype-environment associations in adaptive divergence. We studied the threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus, a model system for postglacial colonisation of freshwater habitats largely differing in ecological conditions from the ones faced by the descendants of the marine ancestor. We found that common-environment reared freshwater juveniles were less social, more active and more aggressive than their marine counterparts. This behavioural divergence could represent the result of natural selection that acted on individuals following freshwater colonisation, with predation as a key selection agent. Alternatively, the behavioural profile of freshwater juveniles could represent the characteristics of individuals that preferentially invaded freshwater after the glacial retreat, drawn from the standing variation present in the marine population.

  19. Supermarket Marine Biology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Colby, Jennifer A.; And Others

    1995-01-01

    Describes a survey used to determine the availability of intact marine vertebrates and live invertebrates in supermarkets. Results shows that local supermarkets frequently provide a variety of intact marine organisms suitable for demonstrations, experiments, or dissections. (ZWH)

  20. Recent Glacier Recession – a New Source of Postglacial Treeline and Climate History in the Swedish Scandes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lisa Öberg

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available Climate warming during the past century has imposed recession of glaciers and perennial snow/ice patches along the entire Swedish Scandes. On the newly exposed forefields, subfossil wood remnants are being outwashed from beneath ice and snow bodies. In Scandinavia, this kind of detrital wood is a previously unused source of postglacial vegetation and climate history. The present study reports radiocarbon dates of a set of 78 wood samples, retrieved from three main sites, high above modern treelines and stretching along the Swedish Scandes. In accord with previous studies, pine (Pinus sylvestris colonized early emerging nunataks already during the Late Glacial. Around 9600-9500 cal. yr BP a first massive wave of tree establishment, birch and pine, took place in “empty” glacier cirques. Both species grew 400-600 m above their present-ay treeline position and the summer temperatures may have been 3.5 °C warmer than present. In respons to Neoglacial cooling, treelines of both birch and pine descended until their final disappearance from the record 4400 and 5900 cal. yr BP, respectively. During the entire interval 9600 to 4400 cal. yr BP, birch prospered in a 100-150 broad belt above the uppermost pines. The recent emergence of tree remnants in the current habitats relates to the contemporary episode of climate warming, possibly unprecedented for several past millennia. It is inferred, by an anology with the past, that in a future scenario with summers 3.5 ° warmer than present, the birch treeline may rise by 600 m or so.

  1. 76 FR 77782 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-12-14

    ..., 1963), but because of ecological or physiological requirements, many marine animals may need to remain... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, February to March 2012 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National...

  2. 78 FR 17359 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-21

    ..., 1963), but because of ecological or physiological requirements, many marine animals may need to remain... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean, June to July, 2013 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...

  3. 76 FR 33246 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-08

    ... ecological or physiological requirements, many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Central-Western Bering Sea, August 2011 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...

  4. 75 FR 8652 - Incidental Takes of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-25

    ... for marine animals before and during airgun operations. NMFS believes that the realistic possibility... Takes of Marine Mammals During Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, April to June 2010 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS...

  5. 77 FR 19242 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low-Energy Marine Geophysical Survey...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-30

    ...., 1995; Thorpe, 1963), but because of ecological or physiological requirements, many marine animals may... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low- Energy Marine Geophysical Survey in the Central Pacific Ocean, May Through June, 2012 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic...

  6. 77 FR 25966 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Three Marine Geophysical Surveys in...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-05-02

    ..., 1963), but because of ecological or physiological requirements, many marine animals may need to remain... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Three Marine Geophysical Surveys in the Northeast Pacific Ocean, June Through July 2012 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service, National Oceanic and...

  7. Emerging biopharmaceuticals from marine actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, Syed Shams Ul; Anjum, Komal; Abbas, Syed Qamar; Akhter, Najeeb; Shagufta, Bibi Ibtesam; Shah, Sayed Asmat Ali; Tasneem, Umber

    2017-01-01

    Actinobacteria are quotidian microorganisms in the marine world, playing a crucial ecological role in the recycling of refractory biomaterials and producing novel secondary metabolites with pharmaceutical applications. Actinobacteria have been isolated from the huge area of marine organisms including sponges, tunicates, corals, mollusks, crabs, mangroves and seaweeds. Natural products investigation of the marine actinobacteria revealed that they can synthesize numerous natural products including alkaloids, polyketides, peptides, isoprenoids, phenazines, sterols, and others. These natural products have a potential to provide future drugs against crucial diseases like cancer, HIV, microbial and protozoal infections and severe inflammations. Therefore, marine actinobacteria portray as a pivotal resource for marine drugs. It is an upcoming field of research to probe a novel and pharmaceutically important secondary metabolites from marine actinobacteria. In this review, we attempt to summarize the present knowledge on the diversity, chemistry and mechanism of action of marine actinobacteria-derived secondary metabolites from 2007 to 2016. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

  8. Marine Science and Education in one Word: "planeetzee.org"

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seys, J.; Copejans, E.; Ameije, K.

    2009-04-01

    It is a major challenge to bring science and technology to the public at large and more particular to young people. This is even more true for marine sciences, due to the very nature of the study field and the fact that the underwater world is difficult to experience and communicate. Therefore it is not surprising that in Europe there are only few examples of marine educational projects that try to go beyond the ‘observe and describe' approach. In 2004 SHE Consultancy, the Flanders Marine Institute VLIZ and DAB Vloot developed a first Belgian e-learning programme dedicated to oceans and seas, with the support of the Flemish government ("Action plan Science Communication"). This programme ‘Expedition Zeeleeuw' (www.expeditiezeeleeuw.be), ran from 2005 till 2007 and challenged some 3000 Flemish students of 16-18 years old all over Flanders to find creative solutions for 10 major marine issues at the Belgian coast. The class that could convince the jury to have discovered the most creative and intelligent solutions, wan a one-week scientific expedition at sea on board the vessel Zeeleeuw. As a successor to ‘Expedition Zeeleeuw', a new e-learning project on marine science was developed in 2007: ‘Planeet Zee' i.e. ‘Planet Ocean' (www.planeetzee.org; info via info@planeetzee.org + demo-site in English available at www.planetocean.eu). The new marine and coastal e-learning project is presented as a virtual sailing trip on the Atlantic Ocean. It follows the adventures of two youngsters "borrowing" the yacht of their father and getting into trouble on the open ocean. On this journey they face 21 problems (eg. out of food, drinking water or fuel, fear for whales, Bermuda triangle, tsunami's etc… ), each of them introduced by a short movie clip. When they realize they can not solve the problem, they ask for radio help and - what a surprise! - get interesting answers from the Zeeleeuw research vessel and its 21 marine scientists on board, that appears to be in the

  9. Marine lake as in situ laboratory for studies of organic matter influence on speciation and distribution of trace metals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mlakar, Marina; Fiket, Željka; Geček, Sunčana; Cukrov, Neven; Cuculić, Vlado

    2015-07-01

    Karst marine lakes are unique marine systems, also recognized as in situ "laboratories" in which geochemical processes on a different scale compared to the open sea, can be observed. In this study, organic matter cycle and its impact on distribution of trace metals in the marine lake Mir, located on Dugi Otok Island, in the central part of the eastern Adriatic Sea, was investigated for the first time. Studied marine lake is small, isolated, shallow basin, with limited communication with the open sea. Intense spatial and seasonal variations of organic matter, dissolved and particulate (DOC, POC), and dissolved trace metals concentrations in the water column of the Lake are governed predominantly by natural processes. Enhanced oxygen consumption in the Lake during summer season, high DOC and POC concentrations and low redox potential result in occasional occurrence of anoxic conditions in the bottom layers with appearance of sulfur species. Speciation modeling showed that dissolved trace metals Cu, Pb and Zn, are mostly bound to organic matter, while Cd, Co and Ni are present predominantly as free ions and inorganic complexes. Trace metals removal from the water column and their retention in the sediment was found to depend on the nature of the relationship between specific metal and organic or inorganic phases, sulfides, Fe-oxyhydroxydes or biogenic calcite. The above is reflected in the composition of the sediments, which are, in addition to influence of karstic background and bathymetry of the basin, significantly affected by accumulation of detritus at the bottom of the Lake.

  10. Marine Phosphorites as Potential Resources for Heavy Rare Earth Elements and Yttrium

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    James R. Hein

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Marine phosphorites are known to concentrate rare earth elements and yttrium (REY during early diagenetic formation. Much of the REY data available are decades old and incomplete, and there has not been a systematic study of REY distributions in marine phosphorite deposits that formed over a range of oceanic environments. Consequently, we initiated this study to determine if marine phosphorite deposits found in the global ocean host REY concentrations of high enough grade to be of economic interest. This paper addresses continental-margin (CM and open-ocean seamount phosphorites. All 75 samples analyzed are composed predominantly of carbonate fluorapatite and minor detrital and authigenic minerals. CM phosphorites have low total REY contents (mean 161 ppm and high heavy REY (HREY complements (mean 49%, while seamount phosphorites have 4–6 times higher individual REY contents (except for Ce, which is subequal; mean ΣREY 727 ppm, and very high HREY complements (mean 60%. The predominant causes of higher concentrations and larger HREY complements in seamount phosphorites compared to CM phosphorites are age, changes in seawater REY concentrations over time, water depth of formation, changes in pH and complexing ligands, and differences in organic carbon content in the depositional environments. Potential ore deposits with high HREY complements, like the marine phosphorites analyzed here, could help supply the HREY needed for high-tech and green-tech applications without creating an oversupply of the LREY.

  11. Marine Mineral Exploration

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    in EEZ areas are fairly unknown; many areas need detailed mapping and mineral exploration, and the majority of coastal or island states with large EEZ areas have little experience in exploration for marine hard minerals. This book describes the systematic steps in marine mineral exploration....... Such exploration requires knowledge of mineral deposits and models of their formation, of geophysical and geochemical exploration methods, and of data evaluation and interpretation methods. These topics are described in detail by an international group of authors. A short description is also given of marine...

  12. 76 FR 68720 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low-Energy Marine Geophysical Survey...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-07

    ... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Low- Energy Marine Geophysical Survey in the Western... conducting a low-energy marine geophysical (i.e., seismic) survey in the western tropical Pacific Ocean... Science Foundation (NSF), and ``Environmental Assessment of a Low-Energy Marine Geophysical Survey by the...

  13. 76 FR 18167 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-01

    ..., many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are exposed to chronic stimuli (Richardson... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Central Gulf of Alaska, June, 2011 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric...

  14. 76 FR 6430 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-04

    ..., many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are exposed to chronic stimuli (Richardson... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica, April Through May, 2011 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic...

  15. 76 FR 57959 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ..., many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are exposed to chronic stimuli (Richardson... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Central Pacific Ocean, November, 2011 Through January, 2012 AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...

  16. 78 FR 33357 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-06-04

    ... confidence in these values is unknown. Table 3--Marine Mammal Density Estimates Density Species (animals/km\\2... unintentional taking of marine animals occurring incidental to the shock testing which involved large explosives... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting...

  17. 76 FR 7548 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-02-10

    ... Importing Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapons Testing and Training by Eglin Air Force Base in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... a Letter of Authorization. SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection...

  18. 75 FR 16754 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-02

    ... Importing Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to Conducting Precision Strike Weapons Testing and Training by Eglin Air Force Base in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service... a Letter of Authorization. SUMMARY: In accordance with provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection...

  19. Evaluation model for enterprise standardization programs: the case of Petrobras Transporte's marine terminals unit

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Maldonado, Luciano; De Ludovico Almeida, Maria Fatima; Penchino Pereira, Paulo Penchina; Santos, Ubirajara; Henrique Ferreira, Manoel; Muller, Gabriela [Petrobras Transporte - Transpetro (Brazil)

    2010-07-01

    With the economic opening and the globalization process, standardization, metrology and quality activities have become known among companies as knowledge areas with direct impact on their search for operational excellence and competitiveness. Petrobras Transporte's Marine Terminal Units has been working over the last years to be recognized as a reference in the activities it pursues. This is based on the Petrobras Transporte's strategic plan 2020, which foresees amongst others, the specialization of technical workforce, operational safety excellence, capital discipline, customer satisfaction, the search for new technologies and markets and the rendering of new services. To achieve these goals, the Marine Terminals Standardization Program must be adhered to. Since that program was launched in 2004, the need for an evaluation model to evaluate its implementation progress, measure the degree of standards compliance and its potential economic, social and environmental impacts have become evident. This paper describes the innovative evaluation model applied to Petrobras Transporte's marine terminals standardization program.

  20. Visualizing Patterns of Marine Eukaryotic Diversity from Metabarcoding Data Using QIIME.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leray, Matthieu; Knowlton, Nancy

    2016-01-01

    PCR amplification followed by deep sequencing of homologous gene regions is increasingly used to characterize the diversity and taxonomic composition of marine eukaryotic communities. This approach may generate millions of sequences for hundreds of samples simultaneously. Therefore, tools that researchers can use to visualize complex patterns of diversity for these massive datasets are essential. Efforts by microbiologists to understand the Earth and human microbiomes using high-throughput sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene has led to the development of several user-friendly, open-source software packages that can be similarly used to analyze eukaryotic datasets. Quantitative Insights Into Microbial Ecology (QIIME) offers some of the most helpful data visualization tools. Here, we describe functionalities to import OTU tables generated with any molecular marker (e.g., 18S, COI, ITS) and associated metadata into QIIME. We then present a range of analytical tools implemented within QIIME that can be used to obtain insights about patterns of alpha and beta diversity for marine eukaryotes.

  1. 77 FR 4765 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-31

    ... physiological requirements, many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are exposed to chronic... readily audible to the animals based on measured received levels and the hearing sensitivity of the marine... Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey in the Northwest Pacific...

  2. Marine medicinal glycomics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vitor Hugo Pomin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Glycomics is an international initiative aimed to understand the structure and function of the glycans from a given type of cell, tissue, organism, kingdom or even environment, as found under certain conditions. Glycomics is one of the latest areas of intense biological research. Glycans of marine sources are unique in terms of structure and function. They differ considerably from those of terrestrial origin. This review discusses the most known marine glycans of potential therapeutic properties. They are chitin, chitosan, and sulfated polysaccharides named glycosaminoglycans, sulfated fucans and sulfated galactans. Their medical actions are very broad. When certain structural requirements are found, these glycans can exhibit beneficial effects in inflammation, coagulation, thrombosis, cancer growth/metastasis and vascular biology. Both structure and therapeutic mechanisms of action of these marine glycans are discussed here in straight context with the current glycomic age through a project suggestively named Marine Medicinal Glycomics.

  3. 75 FR 19670 - Marine Highway Projects

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-04-15

    ... DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION Maritime Administration Marine Highway Projects ACTION: Solicitation of applications for Marine highway projects. SUMMARY: The Department of Transportation is soliciting applications for Marine Highway Projects as specified in the America's Marine Highway Program Final Rule, MARAD...

  4. Sources and fate of microplastics in marine and beach sediments of the Southern Baltic Sea-a preliminary study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graca, Bożena; Szewc, Karolina; Zakrzewska, Danuta; Dołęga, Anna; Szczerbowska-Boruchowska, Magdalena

    2017-03-01

    Microplastics' (particles size ≤5 mm) sources and fate in marine bottom and beach sediments of the brackish are strongly polluted Baltic Sea have been investigated. Microplastics were extracted using sodium chloride (1.2 g cm -3 ). Their qualitative identification was conducted using micro-Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (μFT-IR). Concentration of microplastics varied from 25 particles kg -1 d.w. at the open sea beach to 53 particles kg -1  d.w. at beaches of strongly urbanized bay. In bottom sediments, microplastics concentration was visibly lower compared to beach sediments (0-27 particles kg -1  d.w.) and decreased from the shore to the open, deep-sea regions. The most frequent microplastics dimensions ranged from 0.1 to 2.0 mm, and transparent fibers were predominant. Polyester, which is a popular fabrics component, was the most common type of microplastic in both marine bottom (50%) and beach sediments (27%). Additionally, poly(vinyl acetate) used in shipbuilding as well as poly(ethylene-propylene) used for packaging were numerous in marine bottom (25% of all polymers) and beach sediments (18% of all polymers). Polymer density seems to be an important factor influencing microplastics circulation. Low density plastic debris probably recirculates between beach sediments and seawater in a greater extent than higher density debris. Therefore, their deposition is potentially limited and physical degradation is favored. Consequently, low density microplastics concentration may be underestimated using current methods due to too small size of the debris. This influences also the findings of qualitative research of microplastics which provide the basis for conclusions about the sources of microplastics in the marine environment.

  5. Slip slidin' away: A post-glacial environmental history of the Waipaoa River basin

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gomez, Basil; Rosser, Brenda J.

    2018-04-01

    The dramatic changes that occurred to the post-glacial landscape in the headwaters of the Waipaoa River basin are a consequence of perturbations about the equilibrium that exists between the rate of tectonic uplift and fluvial incision. At times when the amount of coarse sediment delivered to channels exceeds the capacity of streams to remove it, the channel bed rises at the rate of tectonic uplift. Once bedload overcapacity is replaced by undercapacity and the alluvial cover is depleted, streams reestablish contact with bedrock and recuperate the time lost to fluvial incision. The first major perturbation occurred during the final phase of the last glaciation (ca. 33-17.5 cal. ka), when aggradation was driven by a climate-forced variation in the relative supplies of sediment and water. We suggest that the subsequent transformation of channels in the headwaters of the Waipaoa River basin, from alluvial to bedrock, occurred as the atmospheric and oceanic circulation converged on their contemporary patterns ca. 12 cal. ka. A second major perturbation that continues to the present began ca. 1910-1912 CE, when a massive increase in sediment load was accompanied by a modest increase in water discharge after the native vegetation cover in the headwaters was replaced by pasture. The processes of terrace creation and incision are inherently unsteady, and in five interim cases incision was arrested by a transient increase in the thickness of the alluvial cover that was a response to climatic forcing. Events that disrupted the native vegetation cover in the headwaters also modulated patterns of sediment dispersal and accumulation in other parts of the fluvial system and caused rapid, storm-driven infilling of the Poverty Bay Flats. Tectonic subsidence dictates the course of the Waipaoa River across Poverty Bay Flats which, because the modern rate of floodplain construction by vertical accretion is rapid relative to the amount of destruction by lateral channel migration, has

  6. Genome-wide patterns of differentiation and spatially varying selection between postglacial recolonization lineages of Populus alba (Salicaceae), a widespread forest tree.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stölting, Kai N; Paris, Margot; Meier, Cécile; Heinze, Berthold; Castiglione, Stefano; Bartha, Denes; Lexer, Christian

    2015-08-01

    Studying the divergence continuum in plants is relevant to fundamental and applied biology because of the potential to reveal functionally important genetic variation. In this context, whole-genome sequencing (WGS) provides the necessary rigour for uncovering footprints of selection. We resequenced populations of two divergent phylogeographic lineages of Populus alba (n = 48), thoroughly characterized by microsatellites (n = 317), and scanned their genomes for regions of unusually high allelic differentiation and reduced diversity using > 1.7 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from WGS. Results were confirmed by Sanger sequencing. On average, 9134 high-differentiation (≥ 4 standard deviations) outlier SNPs were uncovered between populations, 848 of which were shared by ≥ three replicate comparisons. Annotation revealed that 545 of these were located in 437 predicted genes. Twelve percent of differentiation outlier genome regions exhibited significantly reduced genetic diversity. Gene ontology (GO) searches were successful for 327 high-differentiation genes, and these were enriched for 63 GO terms. Our results provide a snapshot of the roles of 'hard selective sweeps' vs divergent selection of standing genetic variation in distinct postglacial recolonization lineages of P. alba. Thus, this study adds to our understanding of the mechanisms responsible for the origin of functionally relevant variation in temperate trees. © 2015 The Authors. New Phytologist © 2015 New Phytologist Trust.

  7. 77 FR 841 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to U.S. Navy Operations of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-01-06

    ... and the Single Ping Equivalent (SPE) To model potential impacts to marine animals from exposure to... Atmospheric Administration 50 CFR Part 218 Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals... [Docket No. 110808485-1534-01] RIN 0648-BB14 Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals...

  8. Identifying Sources of Marine Litter

    OpenAIRE

    VEIGA Joana Mira; FLEET David; KINSEY Sue; NILSSON Per; VLACHOGIANNI Thomais; WERNER Stefanie; GALGANI Francois; THOMPSON Richard; DAGEVOS Jeroen; GAGO Jesus; SOBRAL Paula; CRONIN Richard

    2016-01-01

    Marine litter is a global problem causing harm to marine wildlife, coastal communities and maritime activities. It also embodies an emerging concern for human health and safety. The reduction of marine litter pollution poses a complex challenge for humankind, requiring adjustments in human behaviour as well as in the different phases of the life-cycle of products and across multiple economic sectors. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires European Member States to monitor...

  9. Chemical Investigations of Marine Filamentous and Zoosporic Fungi and Studies in Marine Microbial Chemical Ecology

    OpenAIRE

    Jenkins, Kelly M.

    1998-01-01

    The natural products chemistry of marine microorganisms is an emerging area of organic chemistry with the aim of discovering novel secondary metabolites exhibiting both biomedical and ecological activities. While marine bacteria have proven to be a productive source of new natural products, there are many groups of marine microorganisms which have not been fully investigated. In particular, marine fungi represent an untapped and potentially novel source of bioactive secondary metabolites. Whi...

  10. OpenAPC. Open-Access-Publikationskosten als Open Data

    OpenAIRE

    Tullney, Marco

    2015-01-01

    Präsentationsfolien zum Vortrag „OpenAPC. Open-Access-Publikationskosten als Open Data“ in der Session „Ausgestaltung eines wissenschaftsadäquaten APC-Marktes: Grundsätze, Finanzierungsansätze und Management“ der Open-Access-Tage 2015 in Zürich (https://www.open-access.net/community/open-access-tage/open-access-tage-2015-zuerich/programm/#c1974)

  11. Oceanic processes in marine pollution

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Baumgartner, D.J.; Duedall, I.W.

    1990-01-01

    This book covers the following areas: bioaccumulation of Polycyclic Aromatic hydrocarbons in marine environments; behavior of drilling fluid discharges off the coast of California; effects of drilling fluids on marine organisms; and the effects of radioactive waste disposal on marine amphipods

  12. High Performance Marine Vessels

    CERN Document Server

    Yun, Liang

    2012-01-01

    High Performance Marine Vessels (HPMVs) range from the Fast Ferries to the latest high speed Navy Craft, including competition power boats and hydroplanes, hydrofoils, hovercraft, catamarans and other multi-hull craft. High Performance Marine Vessels covers the main concepts of HPMVs and discusses historical background, design features, services that have been successful and not so successful, and some sample data of the range of HPMVs to date. Included is a comparison of all HPMVs craft and the differences between them and descriptions of performance (hydrodynamics and aerodynamics). Readers will find a comprehensive overview of the design, development and building of HPMVs. In summary, this book: Focuses on technology at the aero-marine interface Covers the full range of high performance marine vessel concepts Explains the historical development of various HPMVs Discusses ferries, racing and pleasure craft, as well as utility and military missions High Performance Marine Vessels is an ideal book for student...

  13. 76 FR 12070 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-04

    ... Energy's EROS operations in 2010: Marine mammals Biological impacts Company Structure Dates sighted... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...

  14. 77 FR 45341 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-31

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...). SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations...

  15. 77 FR 16539 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-21

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...). SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations...

  16. 78 FR 22517 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-04-16

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...). SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations...

  17. 75 FR 31423 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-03

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification...

  18. 78 FR 13865 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-03-01

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...). SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations...

  19. 77 FR 39485 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-03

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and...). SUMMARY: In accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations...

  20. U.S., U.S.S.R. Marine Expedition

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wainger, Lisa A.

    An historic expedition involving U.S. and U.S.S.R. scientists may open a new era of cooperation in marine research. A University of California, San Diego/Scripps Institution of Oceanography ship carrying a team that includes two Soviet scientists is on an expedition that will take the R/V Thomas Washington into the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the U.S.S.R. For the first time in a decade a U.S. research vessel has been given permission to operate in the Soviet Union's EEZ, according to Department of State representative Tom Cocke, who worked with Scripps on this project. The ship will also operate in the U.S. EEZ and international waters.

  1. Marine Fish Hybridization

    KAUST Repository

    He, Song

    2017-04-01

    Natural hybridization is reproduction (without artificial influence) between two or more species/populations which are distinguishable from each other by heritable characters. Natural hybridizations among marine fishes were highly underappreciated due to limited research effort; it seems that this phenomenon occurs more often than is commonly recognized. As hybridization plays an important role in biodiversity processes in the marine environment, detecting hybridization events and investigating hybridization is important to understand and protect biodiversity. The first chapter sets the framework for this disseration study. The Cohesion Species Concept was selected as the working definition of a species for this study as it can handle marine fish hybridization events. The concept does not require restrictive species boundaries. A general history and background of natural hybridization in marine fishes is reviewed during in chapter as well. Four marine fish hybridization cases were examed and documented in Chapters 2 to 5. In each case study, at least one diagnostic nuclear marker, screened from among ~14 candidate markers, was found to discriminate the putative hybridizing parent species. To further investigate genetic evidence to support the hybrid status for each hybrid offspring in each case, haploweb analysis on diagnostic markers (nuclear and/or mitochondrial) and the DAPC/PCA analysis on microsatellite data were used. By combining the genetic evidences, morphological traits, and ecological observations together, the potential reasons that triggered each hybridization events and the potential genetic/ecology effects could be discussed. In the last chapter, sequences from 82 pairs of hybridizing parents species (for which COI barcoding sequences were available either on GenBank or in our lab) were collected. By comparing the COI fragment p-distance between each hybridizing parent species, some general questions about marine fish hybridization were discussed: Is

  2. Open Standards, Open Source, and Open Innovation: Harnessing the Benefits of Openness

    Science.gov (United States)

    Committee for Economic Development, 2006

    2006-01-01

    Digitization of information and the Internet have profoundly expanded the capacity for openness. This report details the benefits of openness in three areas--open standards, open-source software, and open innovation--and examines the major issues in the debate over whether openness should be encouraged or not. The report explains each of these…

  3. 77 FR 50289 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals: Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to U.S. Navy Operations of...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-08-20

    ... areas of high marine animal densities, we believe that the incidental take of marine mammals would... response, tagging of free-ranging marine animals at-sea, and radar-based detection of marine mammals from... effects of sonar use will not be greater on animals listed under the ESA than the effects on other marine...

  4. 75 FR 972 - Nomination of Existing Marine Protected Areas to the National System of Marine Protected Areas

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-01-07

    ... Marine Protected Areas to the National System of Marine Protected Areas AGENCY: NOAA, Department of... Federal, State and territorial marine protected area programs to join the National System of Marine Protected Areas. SUMMARY: NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) invited Federal, State, commonwealth...

  5. 76 FR 35856 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-20

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  6. 75 FR 8921 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-02-26

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  7. 76 FR 33704 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-06-09

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  8. 77 FR 10481 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-02-22

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  9. 76 FR 23570 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-04-27

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  10. 75 FR 28566 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-05-21

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  11. 75 FR 54851 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-09-09

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  12. 75 FR 38078 - Incidental Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-07-01

    ... Taking of Marine Mammals; Taking of Marine Mammals Incidental to the Explosive Removal of Offshore Structures in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and... accordance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and implementing regulations, notification is hereby...

  13. Transformation of PBDE mixtures during sediment transport and resuspension in marine environments (Gulf of Lion, NW Mediterranean Sea)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Salvadó, Joan A.; Grimalt, Joan O.; López, Jordi F.; Durrieu de Madron, Xavier; Heussner, Serge; Canals, Miquel

    2012-01-01

    Polybromodiphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in superficial sediments from the Gulf of Lion were studied. They were largely predominated by BDE 209 (98.7% of all PBDEs) indicating that the main source of these pollutants was the commercial mixture deca-BDE. This compound and the less brominated BDE exhibited a southwestward decreasing concentration gradient following the dominant marine currents and bottom relief, e.g. the Mud Belt, the submarine canyons and the Open Continental Slope. All PBDEs exhibited statistically significant correlations confirming the common origin. However, a progressive transformation of the dumped BDE 209 was identified showing a depletion paralleled by increases of the less brominated BDEs (from 8.6% to 22%). These less brominated compounds were accumulated at about 100–140 km away from the Rhone prodelta, e.g. at the end of the submarine canyons, evidencing that these transformation compounds can be accumulated at long distances from the dumping sites in the marine system. Highlights: ► Polybromodiphenyl ethers are associated to organic carbon in marine sediments. ► PBDEs in marine sediments can accumulate further away than 140 km from the spill site. ► BDE-209 in marine sediments generate congeners found in banned commercial mixtures. ► BDE-209 in marine sediments generates new congeners not found in commercial mixtures. ► Submarine canyons channel PBDEs from the continental platform to the deep shelf. - Decomposition of decabromodiphenyl ether in marine sediments generates congeners found in banned mixtures in areas located far away from the discharge sites.

  14. Enzymatic Processes in Marine Biotechnology.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Trincone, Antonio

    2017-03-25

    In previous review articles the attention of the biocatalytically oriented scientific community towards the marine environment as a source of biocatalysts focused on the habitat-related properties of marine enzymes. Updates have already appeared in the literature, including marine examples of oxidoreductases, hydrolases, transferases, isomerases, ligases, and lyases ready for food and pharmaceutical applications. Here a new approach for searching the literature and presenting a more refined analysis is adopted with respect to previous surveys, centering the attention on the enzymatic process rather than on a single novel activity. Fields of applications are easily individuated: (i) the biorefinery value-chain, where the provision of biomass is one of the most important aspects, with aquaculture as the prominent sector; (ii) the food industry, where the interest in the marine domain is similarly developed to deal with the enzymatic procedures adopted in food manipulation; (iii) the selective and easy extraction/modification of structurally complex marine molecules, where enzymatic treatments are a recognized tool to improve efficiency and selectivity; and (iv) marine biomarkers and derived applications (bioremediation) in pollution monitoring are also included in that these studies could be of high significance for the appreciation of marine bioprocesses.

  15. 75 FR 72655 - Marine Sanitation Device Discharge Regulations for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-11-26

    ... National Marine Sanctuary AGENCY: Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS), National Oceanic and... the regulations for the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS or sanctuary) by eliminating the exemption that allows discharges from within the boundary of the sanctuary of biodegradable effluent...

  16. Prevalence of marine debris in marine birds from the North Atlantic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Provencher, Jennifer F; Bond, Alexander L; Hedd, April; Montevecchi, William A; Muzaffar, Sabir Bin; Courchesne, Sarah J; Gilchrist, H Grant; Jamieson, Sarah E; Merkel, Flemming R; Falk, Knud; Durinck, Jan; Mallory, Mark L

    2014-07-15

    Marine birds have been found to ingest plastic debris in many of the world's oceans. Plastic accumulation data from necropsies findings and regurgitation studies are presented on 13 species of marine birds in the North Atlantic, from Georgia, USA to Nunavut, Canada and east to southwest Greenland and the Norwegian Sea. Of the species examined, the two surface plungers (great shearwaters Puffinus gravis; northern fulmars Fulmarus glacialis) had the highest prevalence of ingested plastic (71% and 51%, respectively). Great shearwaters also had the most pieces of plastics in their stomachs, with some individuals containing as many of 36 items. Seven species contained no evidence of plastic debris. Reporting of baseline data as done here is needed to ensure that data are available for marine birds over time and space scales in which we see changes in historical debris patterns in marine environments (i.e. decades) and among oceanographic regions. Copyright © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  17. Faunal turnover of marine tetrapods during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Benson, Roger B J; Druckenmiller, Patrick S

    2014-02-01

    Marine and terrestrial animals show a mosaic of lineage extinctions and diversifications during the Jurassic-Cretaceous transition. However, despite its potential importance in shaping animal evolution, few palaeontological studies have focussed on this interval and the possible climate and biotic drivers of its faunal turnover. In consequence evolutionary patterns in most groups are poorly understood. We use a new, large morphological dataset to examine patterns of lineage diversity and disparity (variety of form) in the marine tetrapod clade Plesiosauria, and compare these patterns with those of other organisms. Although seven plesiosaurian lineages have been hypothesised as crossing the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary, our most parsimonious topology suggests the number was only three. The robust recovery of a novel group including most Cretaceous plesiosauroids (Xenopsaria, new clade) is instrumental in this result. Substantial plesiosaurian turnover occurred during the Jurassic-Cretaceous boundary interval, including the loss of substantial pliosaurid, and cryptoclidid diversity and disparity, followed by the radiation of Xenopsaria during the Early Cretaceous. Possible physical drivers of this turnover include climatic fluctuations that influenced oceanic productivity and diversity: Late Jurassic climates were characterised by widespread global monsoonal conditions and increased nutrient flux into the opening Atlantic-Tethys, resulting in eutrophication and a highly productive, but taxonomically depauperate, plankton. Latest Jurassic and Early Cretaceous climates were more arid, resulting in oligotrophic ocean conditions and high taxonomic diversity of radiolarians, calcareous nannoplankton and possibly ammonoids. However, the observation of discordant extinction patterns in other marine tetrapod groups such as ichthyosaurs and marine crocodylomorphs suggests that clade-specific factors may have been more important than overarching extrinsic drivers of faunal

  18. Sexually selected nest-building--Pomatoschistus minutus males build smaller nest-openings in the presence of sneaker males.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svensson, O; Kvarnemo, C

    2003-09-01

    Both natural selection and sexual selection may act on nest-building. We tested experimentally how different regimes of egg-predation and male-male competition influence nest-building before mating, using the marine fish sand goby, Pomatoschistus minutus. Males with sneaker males present built the smallest nest-openings, smaller than males held alone or with Pomatoschistus microps males (which may predate eggs and compete over nest-sites but not compete over fertilizations). Males with visual access to other nest-building males tended also to build smaller openings than males held alone or with P. microps. Males with egg-predators present built nests with openings not differing significantly from any other treatment. Our results indicate that the small nest-openings found in the sneaker male treatment are sexually selected through protection against sneaking or by female choice. Across treatments, time span before a male started to build his nest also explained variation in nest-opening width; males starting late built larger nest-openings.

  19. Coexistence dilemmas in European marine spatial planning practices. The case of marine renewables and marine protected areas

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kyriazi, Zacharoula; Maes, Frank; Degraer, Steven

    2016-01-01

    The question whether coexistence of marine renewable energy (MRE) projects and marine protected areas (MPAs) is a common spatial policy in Europe and how a number of factors can affect it, has been addressed by empirical research undertaken in eleven European marine areas. Policy drivers and objectives that are assumed to affect coexistence, such as the fulfillment of conservation objectives and the prioritization of other competing marine uses, were scored by experts and predictions were crosschecked with state practice. While in most areas MRE-MPA coexistence is not prohibited by law, practice indicates resistance towards it. Furthermore expert judgment demonstrated that a number of additional factors, such as the lack of suitable space for MRE projects and the uncertainty about the extent of damage by MRE to the MPA, might influence the intentions of the two major parties involved (i.e. the MRE developer and the MPA authority) to pursue or avoid coexistence. Based on these findings, the interactions of these two players are further interpreted, their policy implications are discussed, while the need towards efficient, fair and acceptable MRE-MPA coexistence is highlighted.

  20. Bioprospecting Marine Plankton

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chris Bowler

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available The ocean dominates the surface of our planet and plays a major role in regulating the biosphere. For example, the microscopic photosynthetic organisms living within provide 50% of the oxygen we breathe, and much of our food and mineral resources are extracted from the ocean. In a time of ecological crisis and major changes in our society, it is essential to turn our attention towards the sea to find additional solutions for a sustainable future. Remarkably, while we are overexploiting many marine resources, particularly the fisheries, the planktonic compartment composed of zooplankton, phytoplankton, bacteria and viruses, represents 95% of marine biomass and yet the extent of its diversity remains largely unknown and underexploited. Consequently, the potential of plankton as a bioresource for humanity is largely untapped. Due to their diverse evolutionary backgrounds, planktonic organisms offer immense opportunities: new resources for medicine, cosmetics and food, renewable energy, and long-term solutions to mitigate climate change. Research programs aiming to exploit culture collections of marine micro-organisms as well as to prospect the huge resources of marine planktonic biodiversity in the oceans are now underway, and several bioactive extracts and purified compounds have already been identified. This review will survey and assess the current state-of-the-art and will propose methodologies to better exploit the potential of marine plankton for drug discovery and for dermocosmetics.

  1. Freshwater savings from marine protein consumption

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gephart, Jessica A; Pace, Michael L; D’Odorico, Paolo

    2014-01-01

    Marine fisheries provide an essential source of protein for many people around the world. Unlike alternative terrestrial sources of protein, marine fish production requires little to no freshwater inputs. Consuming marine fish protein instead of terrestrial protein therefore represents freshwater savings (equivalent to an avoided water cost) and contributes to a low water footprint diet. These water savings are realized by the producers of alternative protein sources, rather than the consumers of marine protein. This study quantifies freshwater savings from marine fish consumption around the world by estimating the water footprint of replacing marine fish with terrestrial protein based on current consumption patterns. An estimated 7 600 km 3  yr −1 of water is used for human food production. Replacing marine protein with terrestrial protein would require an additional 350 km 3  yr −1 of water, meaning that marine protein provides current water savings of 4.6%. The importance of these freshwater savings is highly uneven around the globe, with savings ranging from as little as 0 to as much as 50%. The largest savings as a per cent of current water footprints occur in Asia, Oceania, and several coastal African nations. The greatest national water savings from marine fish protein occur in Southeast Asia and the United States. As the human population increases, future water savings from marine fish consumption will be increasingly important to food and water security and depend on sustainable harvest of capture fisheries and low water footprint growth of marine aquaculture. (paper)

  2. Postglacial recolonization and Holocene diversification of Crocidura suaveolens (Mammalia, Soricidae) on the north-western fringe of the European continent

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rofes, Juan; Cucchi, Thomas; Hanot, Pauline; Herman, Jeremy; Stephan, Pierre; Cersoy, Sophie; Horáček, Ivan; Kerr, Elizabeth; Allberry, Kate; Valenzuela, Silvia; Zazzo, Antoine; Cornette, Raphaël; Tresset, Anne

    2018-06-01

    Phenotypic variation was characterized in 187 modern and archaeological specimens of the lesser white-toothed shrew (Crocidura suaveolens), obtained from both insular and continental European locations. Geometric morphometric methods were used to quantify variation in size and shape of the mandible. The phenotypic distance between populations, and the influence of several eco-geographical factors on the size and shape of the mandible in island populations, were assessed. Based on mandible shape divergence, the populations of C. suaveolens were clustered into continental, insular Atlantic and insular Mediterranean groups. Archaeological specimens from Molène Island, more than 3400 years old, display a mandible shape signal closer to that of the continental population than those of modern island populations. Conversely, the continental shape signals of the modern populations from Höedic and Sark suggest that these are relatively recent anthropogenic introductions. The populations of C. suaveolens from both the Atlantic and Mediterranean islands (except for Rouzic and Cyprus) show a significant increase in mandible size, compared to those from continental Europe. Significant phenotypic differences support the indigenous condition of C. suaveolens on most of the Atlantic islands, suggesting that the species arrived there before the separation of the Scilly Isles and Ushant from the continent due to the post-glacial rise in sea level. This provides an ante quem for its colonization of the north-western fringe of continental Europe, notwithstanding its absence from the region in the present day.

  3. Databases of the marine metagenomics

    KAUST Repository

    Mineta, Katsuhiko

    2015-10-28

    The metagenomic data obtained from marine environments is significantly useful for understanding marine microbial communities. In comparison with the conventional amplicon-based approach of metagenomics, the recent shotgun sequencing-based approach has become a powerful tool that provides an efficient way of grasping a diversity of the entire microbial community at a sampling point in the sea. However, this approach accelerates accumulation of the metagenome data as well as increase of data complexity. Moreover, when metagenomic approach is used for monitoring a time change of marine environments at multiple locations of the seawater, accumulation of metagenomics data will become tremendous with an enormous speed. Because this kind of situation has started becoming of reality at many marine research institutions and stations all over the world, it looks obvious that the data management and analysis will be confronted by the so-called Big Data issues such as how the database can be constructed in an efficient way and how useful knowledge should be extracted from a vast amount of the data. In this review, we summarize the outline of all the major databases of marine metagenome that are currently publically available, noting that database exclusively on marine metagenome is none but the number of metagenome databases including marine metagenome data are six, unexpectedly still small. We also extend our explanation to the databases, as reference database we call, that will be useful for constructing a marine metagenome database as well as complementing important information with the database. Then, we would point out a number of challenges to be conquered in constructing the marine metagenome database.

  4. 50 CFR 14.18 - Marine mammals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-10-01

    ... 50 Wildlife and Fisheries 1 2010-10-01 2010-10-01 false Marine mammals. 14.18 Section 14.18....18 Marine mammals. Any person subject to the jurisdiction of the United States who has lawfully taken a marine mammal on the high seas and who is authorized to import such marine mammal in accordance...

  5. Models of marine molluscan diseases: Trends and challenges.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Powell, Eric N; Hofmann, Eileen E

    2015-10-01

    Disease effects on host population dynamics and the transmission of pathogens between hosts are two important challenges for understanding how epizootics wax and wane and how disease influences host population dynamics. For the management of marine shellfish resources, marine diseases pose additional challenges in early intervention after the appearance of disease, management of the diseased population to limit a decline in host abundance, and application of measures to restrain that decline once it occurs. Mathematical models provide one approach for quantifying these effects and addressing the competing goals of managing the diseased population versus managing the disease. The majority of models for molluscan diseases fall into three categories distinguished by these competing goals. (1) Models that consider disease effects on the host population tend to focus on pathogen proliferation within the host. Many of the well-known molluscan diseases are pandemic, in that they routinely reach high prevalence rapidly over large geographic expanses, are characterized by transmission that does not depend upon a local source, and exert a significant influence on host population dynamics. Models focused on disease proliferation examine the influence of environmental change on host population metrics and provide a basis to better manage diseased stocks. Such models are readily adapted to questions of fishery management and habitat restoration. (2) Transmission models are designed to understand the mechanisms triggering epizootics, identify factors impeding epizootic development, and evaluate controls on the rate of disease spread over the host's range. Transmission models have been used extensively to study terrestrial diseases, yet little attention has been given to their potential for understanding the epidemiology of marine molluscan diseases. For management of diseases of wild stocks, transmission models open up a range of options, including the application of area

  6. 76 FR 11205 - Taking and Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-01

    ... Importing Marine Mammals; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to Construction and Operation of a Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port in the Gulf of Mexico AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS... request from Port Dolphin Energy LLC (Port Dolphin) for authorization for the take, by Level B harassment...

  7. COMBUSTION STAGE NUMERICAL ANALYSIS OF A MARINE ENGINE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    DOREL DUMITRU VELCEA

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available The primary goal of engine design is to maximize each efficiency factor, in order to extract the most power from the least amount of fuel. In terms of fluid dynamics, the volumetric and combustion efficiency are dependent on the fluid dynamics in the engine manifolds and cylinders. Cold flow analysis involves modeling the airflow in the transient engine cycle without reactions. The goal is to capture the mixture formation process by accurately accounting for the interaction of moving geometry with the fluid dynamics of the induction process. The changing characteristics of the air flow jet that tumbles into the cylinder with swirl via intake valves and the exhaust jet through the exhaust valves as they open and close can be determined, along with the turbulence production from swirl and tumble due to compression and squish. The target of this paper was to show how, by using the reverse engineering techniques, one may replicate and simulate the functioning conditions and parameters of an existing marine engine. The departing information were rather scarce in terms of real processes taking place in the combustion stage, but at the end we managed to have a full picture of the main parameters evolution during the combustion phase inside this existing marine engine

  8. A Bacteriophage-Related Chimeric Marine Virus Infecting Abalone

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhuang, Jun; Cai, Guiqin; Lin, Qiying; Wu, Zujian; Xie, Lianhui

    2010-01-01

    Marine viruses shape microbial communities with the most genetic diversity in the sea by multiple genetic exchanges and infect multiple marine organisms. Here we provide proof from experimental infection that abalone shriveling syndrome-associated virus (AbSV) can cause abalone shriveling syndrome. This malady produces histological necrosis and abnormally modified macromolecules (hemocyanin and ferritin). The AbSV genome is a 34.952-kilobase circular double-stranded DNA, containing putative genes with similarity to bacteriophages, eukaryotic viruses, bacteria and endosymbionts. Of the 28 predicted open reading frames (ORFs), eight ORF-encoded proteins have identifiable functional homologues. The 4 ORF products correspond to a predicted terminase large subunit and an endonuclease in bacteriophage, and both an integrase and an exonuclease from bacteria. The other four proteins are homologous to an endosymbiont-derived helicase, primase, single-stranded binding (SSB) protein, and thymidylate kinase, individually. Additionally, AbSV exhibits a common gene arrangement similar to the majority of bacteriophages. Unique to AbSV, the viral genome also contains genes associated with bacterial outer membrane proteins and may lack the structural protein-encoding ORFs. Genomic characterization of AbSV indicates that it may represent a transitional form of microbial evolution from viruses to bacteria. PMID:21079776

  9. A bacteriophage-related chimeric marine virus infecting abalone.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jun Zhuang

    Full Text Available Marine viruses shape microbial communities with the most genetic diversity in the sea by multiple genetic exchanges and infect multiple marine organisms. Here we provide proof from experimental infection that abalone shriveling syndrome-associated virus (AbSV can cause abalone shriveling syndrome. This malady produces histological necrosis and abnormally modified macromolecules (hemocyanin and ferritin. The AbSV genome is a 34.952-kilobase circular double-stranded DNA, containing putative genes with similarity to bacteriophages, eukaryotic viruses, bacteria and endosymbionts. Of the 28 predicted open reading frames (ORFs, eight ORF-encoded proteins have identifiable functional homologues. The 4 ORF products correspond to a predicted terminase large subunit and an endonuclease in bacteriophage, and both an integrase and an exonuclease from bacteria. The other four proteins are homologous to an endosymbiont-derived helicase, primase, single-stranded binding (SSB protein, and thymidylate kinase, individually. Additionally, AbSV exhibits a common gene arrangement similar to the majority of bacteriophages. Unique to AbSV, the viral genome also contains genes associated with bacterial outer membrane proteins and may lack the structural protein-encoding ORFs. Genomic characterization of AbSV indicates that it may represent a transitional form of microbial evolution from viruses to bacteria.

  10. The Development of Coastal and Marine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suharto Widjojo

    2004-01-01

    Full Text Available Planning and development process of oastaland marine resources tends centralized and adopted top down policy, without any active participations from coastal and marine communities. In order to reach integrated and sustainable development in coastaland marine areas, people should have both complete and up to date information, so that planning and decision making for all aspect of the environment can be done easily. People should give a high attention of surveis, mappings, as well as science and technology of coastal and marine sectors, in order to change the paradigm of development from inland to coastal and marine. Moreover, people should give high attention of potential resources of coastal and marine areas.

  11. Russian nuclear power plants for marine applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reistad, O. [Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (Norway); Oelgaard, P.L. [Risoe National Lab. (Denmark)

    2006-04-15

    In order to establish a systematic approach for future proliferation and environmental analyses of Russia's marine nuclear reactor systems, this paper summarizes and analyzes the available open-source information on the design properties of reactor systems and nuclear fuels. The most distinctive features of Russian marine reactor development are pointed out, and similarities and differences between Russian military and civilian reactor systems and fuel are discussed. Relevant updated information on all Russian vessels using nuclear propulsion is presented in Annex I. The basic analytic division in this paper follows vessel generations first to third generation; and reactor types PWR and LMC technology. Most of the available information is related to nuclear icebreakers. This information is systematically analyzed in order to identify stages in the development of Russia's civilian naval nuclear reactors. Three different reactor models are discussed: OK-150, OK-900 and KLT-40, together with several versions of these. Concerning military reactors, it is not possible to identify characteristics for the individual reactor models, so the basic division follows vessel generations first to third generation. From the information available, however, it is possible to identify the main lines along which the design of submarines of especially the first and the second generation has been made. The conclusions contain a discussion of possible implications of the results, in addition to suggestions for further work. (au)

  12. Russian nuclear power plants for marine applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reistad, O.; Oelgaard, P.L.

    2006-04-01

    In order to establish a systematic approach for future proliferation and environmental analyses of Russia's marine nuclear reactor systems, this paper summarizes and analyzes the available open-source information on the design properties of reactor systems and nuclear fuels. The most distinctive features of Russian marine reactor development are pointed out, and similarities and differences between Russian military and civilian reactor systems and fuel are discussed. Relevant updated information on all Russian vessels using nuclear propulsion is presented in Annex I. The basic analytic division in this paper follows vessel generations first to third generation; and reactor types PWR and LMC technology. Most of the available information is related to nuclear icebreakers. This information is systematically analyzed in order to identify stages in the development of Russia's civilian naval nuclear reactors. Three different reactor models are discussed: OK-150, OK-900 and KLT-40, together with several versions of these. Concerning military reactors, it is not possible to identify characteristics for the individual reactor models, so the basic division follows vessel generations first to third generation. From the information available, however, it is possible to identify the main lines along which the design of submarines of especially the first and the second generation has been made. The conclusions contain a discussion of possible implications of the results, in addition to suggestions for further work. (au)

  13. Global marine radioactivity database (GLOMARD)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Povinec, P.P.; Gayol, J.; Togawa, O.

    1999-01-01

    In response to the request of Member States and under the IAEA's mandate, the IAEA Marine Environment Laboratory (MEL) in Monaco has established and maintains a Global Marine Radioactivity Database (GLOMARD). It is a vast project compiling radionuclide measurements taken in the marine environment. It consists of systematic input of all radionuclide concentration data available for sea water, sediment, biota and suspended matter. The GLOMARD is therefore a powerful tool for the researchers of MEL as it integrates the results of analyses in most of the areas of the marine environment which have been investigated

  14. Improved Marine Waters Monitoring

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palazov, Atanas; Yakushev, Evgeniy; Milkova, Tanya; Slabakova, Violeta; Hristova, Ognyana

    2017-04-01

    IMAMO - Improved Marine Waters Monitoring is a project under the Programme BG02: Improved monitoring of marine waters, managed by Bulgarian Ministry of environment and waters and co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM) 2009 - 2014. Project Beneficiary is the Institute of oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with two partners: Norwegian Institute for Water Research and Bulgarian Black Sea Basin Directorate. The Project aims to improve the monitoring capacity and expertise of the organizations responsible for marine waters monitoring in Bulgaria to meet the requirements of EU and national legislation. The main outcomes are to fill the gaps in information from the Initial assessment of the marine environment and to collect data to assess the current ecological status of marine waters including information as a base for revision of ecological targets established by the monitoring programme prepared in 2014 under Art. 11 of MSFD. Project activities are targeted to ensure data for Descriptors 5, 8 and 9. IMAMO aims to increase the institutional capacity of the Bulgarian partners related to the monitoring and assessment of the Black Sea environment. The main outputs are: establishment of real time monitoring and set up of accredited laboratory facilities for marine waters and sediments chemical analysis to ensure the ability of Bulgarian partners to monitor progress of subsequent measures undertaken.

  15. The stratigraphic distribution of large marine vertebrates and shell beds in the Pliocene of Tuscany

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dominici, Stefano; Benvenuti, Marco; Danise, Silvia

    2015-04-01

    The record of 337 shark fossils, 142 cetaceans and 10 sea cows from the Pliocene of Tuscany, mostly from historical museum collections, is revised. The majority of these fossils are concentrated at a few geographic sites from separated hinterland basins, on the South-Western side of the Northern Apennines. To better understand the meaning of these concentrations, the sequence stratigraphic distribution of more recent findings of large marine vertebrates is reconstructed against a high-resolution framework based on sedimentary facies analysis. These remains are usually covered by, or included in mudstones deposited far from the coast (N=12), skeletons being usually articulated, slightly displaced, and often bioeroded. A minor part of better preserved articulated skeletons is associated with sandstones from deltaic paleonenvironments (N=2). Marine mammal and shark remains may be associated with laterally-continuous shell accumulations, a type of concentration occurring at maximum flooding surfaces, separating relatively coarse-grained facies from open marine mudstones. Shell beds were bulk-sampled at 66 locations from six basins, covering a wide range of sedimentary facies, and spanning a chronologic interval of about 2.5 million years. A dataset of 62,655 mollusc specimens belonging to 496 species formed the basis of a statistical study to reconstruct the structure of the benthic communities, and to estimate paleodepths from intertidal to upper bathyal settings. Mollusc associations closely mirror the distribution of sedimentary facies, allowing for a fine tuning of the sequence stratigraphic architecture. Merging paleogeographic, stratigraphic and paleoecologic data, we conclude that the more abundant and diverse accumulations of large vertebrates took place in settings under the influence of coastal upwelling. A modern analogue occurs today in the Ligurian Sea, on the Tuscan offshore, where abundant nutrients carried by deep-marine currents of Western origin

  16. Monaco and marine environmental protection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Grimaldi, Albert II Prince

    2006-01-01

    The importance of the protection of the marine environment for sustainable development and economy of coastal countries, like Monaco, is well known. Sadly, this environment has been under continuous threats from development, tourism, urbanisation and demographic pressure. The semi-enclosed Mediterranean sea is challenged by new pollutant cocktails, problems of fresh water management, over-fishing, and now increasingly climate change impacts. Monaco has a long history in the investigation of the marine environment. Prince Albert I, was one of the pioneers in oceanographic exploration, organizer of European oceanographic research and founder of several international organizations including the Musee Oceanographique. The International Atomic Energy Agency established in 1961 its Marine Environment Laboratory in Monaco, the only marine laboratory in the United Nations system. More than 40 years ago the IAEA joined forces with the Grimaldi family and several interested governments to establish the Marine Environment Laboratory in Monaco. Their first purpose-built facilities, dedicated to marine research, launched a new era in the investigation of the marine environment using radioactive and stable isotopes as tracers for better understanding of processes in the oceans and seas, addressing their pollution and promoting wide international cooperation. The Government of the Principality of Monaco has been actively engaged in these developments and is continuously supporting activities of the Monaco Laboratory

  17. Marine04 marine radiocarbon age calibration, 0-26 cal kyr BP

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Hughen, Konrad A.; Baillie, Mike G.L.; Bard, Edouard; Beck, J. Warren; Bertrand, Chanda J.H.; Blackwell, Paul G.; Buck, Caitlin E.; Burr, George S.; Cutler, Kirsten B.; Damon, Paul E.; Edwards, Richard L.; Fairbanks, Richard G.; Friedrich, Michael; Guilderson, Thomas P.; Kromer, Bernd; McCormac, Gerry; Manning, Sturt; Bronk Ramsey, Christopher; Reimer, Paula J.; Reimer, Ron W.; Remmele, Sabine; Southon, John R.; Stuiver, Minze; Talamo, Sahra; Taylor, F.W.; Plicht, Johannes van der; Weyhenmeyer, Constanze E.

    2004-01-01

    New radiocarbon calibration curves, IntCal04 and Marine04, have been constructed and internationally ratified to replace the terrestrial and marine components of IntCal98. The new calibration data sets extend an additional 2000 yr, from 0–26 cal kyr BP (Before Present, 0 cal BP = AD 1950), and

  18. Marine biodiversity in Japanese waters.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Katsunori Fujikura

    Full Text Available To understand marine biodiversity in Japanese waters, we have compiled information on the marine biota in Japanese waters, including the number of described species (species richness, the history of marine biology research in Japan, the state of knowledge, the number of endemic species, the number of identified but undescribed species, the number of known introduced species, and the number of taxonomic experts and identification guides, with consideration of the general ocean environmental background, such as the physical and geological settings. A total of 33,629 species have been reported to occur in Japanese waters. The state of knowledge was extremely variable, with taxa containing many inconspicuous, smaller species tending to be less well known. The total number of identified but undescribed species was at least 121,913. The total number of described species combined with the number of identified but undescribed species reached 155,542. This is the best estimate of the total number of species in Japanese waters and indicates that more than 70% of Japan's marine biodiversity remains un-described. The number of species reported as introduced into Japanese waters was 39. This is the first attempt to estimate species richness for all marine species in Japanese waters. Although its marine biota can be considered relatively well known, at least within the Asian-Pacific region, considering the vast number of different marine environments such as coral reefs, ocean trenches, ice-bound waters, methane seeps, and hydrothermal vents, much work remains to be done. We expect global change to have a tremendous impact on marine biodiversity and ecosystems. Japan is in a particularly suitable geographic situation and has a lot of facilities for conducting marine science research. Japan has an important responsibility to contribute to our understanding of life in the oceans.

  19. Marine Ecosystem Services

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasler, Berit; Ahtiainen, Heini; Hasselström, Linus

    MARECOS (Marine Ecosystem Services) er et tværfagligt studie, der har haft til formål at tilvejebringe information vedrørende kortlægning og værdisætning af økosystemtjenester, som kan anvendes i forbindelse med udformning af regulering på det marine område såvel nationalt, som regionalt og inter...

  20. Postglacial viability and colonization in North America's ice-free corridor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Mikkel W.; Ruter, Anthony; Schweger, Charles

    2016-01-01

    During the Last Glacial Maximum, continental ice sheets isolated Beringia (northeast Siberia and northwest North America) from unglaciated North America. By around 15 to 14 thousand calibrated radiocarbon years before present (cal. kyr BP), glacial retreat opened an approximately 1,500-km...

  1. Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings--entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Murray R

    2009-07-27

    Over the past five or six decades, contamination and pollution of the world's enclosed seas, coastal waters and the wider open oceans by plastics and other synthetic, non-biodegradable materials (generally known as 'marine debris') has been an ever-increasing phenomenon. The sources of these polluting materials are both land- and marine-based, their origins may be local or distant, and the environmental consequences are many and varied. The more widely recognized problems are typically associated with entanglement, ingestion, suffocation and general debilitation, and are often related to stranding events and public perception. Among the less frequently recognized and recorded problems are global hazards to shipping, fisheries and other maritime activities. Today, there are rapidly developing research interests in the biota attracted to freely floating (i.e. pelagic) marine debris, commonly known as 'hangers-on and hitch-hikers' as well as material sinking to the sea floor despite being buoyant. Dispersal of aggressive alien and invasive species by these mechanisms leads one to reflect on the possibilities that ensuing invasions could endanger sensitive, or at-risk coastal environments (both marine and terrestrial) far from their native habitats.

  2. Environmental implications of plastic debris in marine settings—entanglement, ingestion, smothering, hangers-on, hitch-hiking and alien invasions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gregory, Murray R.

    2009-01-01

    Over the past five or six decades, contamination and pollution of the world’s enclosed seas, coastal waters and the wider open oceans by plastics and other synthetic, non-biodegradable materials (generally known as ‘marine debris’) has been an ever-increasing phenomenon. The sources of these polluting materials are both land- and marine-based, their origins may be local or distant, and the environmental consequences are many and varied. The more widely recognized problems are typically associated with entanglement, ingestion, suffocation and general debilitation, and are often related to stranding events and public perception. Among the less frequently recognized and recorded problems are global hazards to shipping, fisheries and other maritime activities. Today, there are rapidly developing research interests in the biota attracted to freely floating (i.e. pelagic) marine debris, commonly known as ‘hangers-on and hitch-hikers’ as well as material sinking to the sea floor despite being buoyant. Dispersal of aggressive alien and invasive species by these mechanisms leads one to reflect on the possibilities that ensuing invasions could endanger sensitive, or at-risk coastal environments (both marine and terrestrial) far from their native habitats. PMID:19528053

  3. Influence of fishing activity over the marine debris composition close to coastal jetty.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Farias, Eduardo G G; Preichardt, Paulo R; Dantas, David V

    2018-04-23

    contribution related to fishing, 83% of the marine debris were composed by lead (sinkers) adopted by recreational and artisanal fishing. Notably, the catch activity in this region has a close influence over the marine debris composition. Reductions of marine debris emissions derived from the fishing activities have been a global challenge, once this problem is occurring in practically all marine and estuarine environments under the anthropic action. The presence of marine debris changes the local landscape and can provoke serious environmental problems, such as ghost fishing that affects a wide variability of marine mammals, birds, and fishes. Most of marine debris collected came from recreational and artisanal fishing, being the fishing leads the most prominent material, especially in sector 4. This fact is possibly related to the intense mullet fishing using cast nets, usual in this sample area. In the other sectors, there was a great predominance of grapnel fishing leads, widely adopted by recreational fishermen in open water environments. The "fingernails" present in these fishing leads ensure the sinking of the line for a specific location independently of possible flow oscillations of the tidal current and/or currents generated by winds. The massive quantity of fishing leads into the sectors is a dangerous fact. Notably, lead is a heavy, non-biodegradable, and extremely toxic metal that, due to the anthropogenic activities, has been increasing around the world. Future efforts in our study region should evaluate the seasonal marine debris composition to observe possible changes along the different seasons of the year. In this way, it would be possible to infer quantitatively the emission of marine debris derived from the fishing activity, assessing its impacts and enabling the adoption of environmental management strategies. This effort adopted a qualitative analysis, serving to show the current situation of this region that we now know to be vulnerable to the presence of

  4. Chitin Degradation Proteins Produced by the Marine Bacterium Vibrio harveyi Growing on Different Forms of Chitin.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Svitil, A L; Chadhain, S; Moore, J A; Kirchman, D L

    1997-02-01

    Relatively little is known about the number, diversity, and function of chitinases produced by bacteria, even though chitin is one of the most abundant polymers in nature. Because of the importance of chitin, especially in marine environments, we examined chitin-degrading proteins in the marine bacterium Vibrio harveyi. This bacterium had a higher growth rate and more chitinase activity when grown on (beta)-chitin (isolated from squid pen) than on (alpha)-chitin (isolated from snow crab), probably because of the more open structure of (beta)-chitin. When exposed to different types of chitin, V. harveyi excreted several chitin-degrading proteins into the culture media. Some chitinases were present with all of the tested chitins, while others were unique to a particular chitin. We cloned and identified six separate chitinase genes from V. harveyi. These chitinases appear to be unique based on DNA restriction patterns, immunological data, and enzyme activity. This marine bacterium and probably others appear to synthesize separate chitinases for efficient utilization of different forms of chitin and chitin by-products.

  5. Consumer Preferences Toward Marine Tourism Area

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Silvy Fauziah

    2012-09-01

    Full Text Available The marine zone tourism is growing attracting more tourists. Pramuka Island is marine conservation area enriched with marine biodiversity in coral reefs and other natural resources. To develop this potential tourist destination, a customer-based marketing program is required to attract domestic and foreign tourists. The main vision is to understand tourist preferences for marine tourism activities and facilities. A research was conducted on Pramuka Island as a well-known marine tourism zone. The objective was to determine the key tourist preferences for marine tourism destination. Research methods utilized Cochran Q test and Conjoint analysis where the primary data were obtained from tourist respondents. The result showed that there was a tourist preference based on the five attributes considered most important, namely tourism activities, tourist attractions, types of accommodation, food and souvenirs types. This study provided marine tourism destination management with useful guidance for broader implications of the implementation of marketing programs and tourism attraction. Moreover, the results of this study consolidated the learning of a variety of academic and industrial research papers in particular for the measurement of customer preferences towards marine tourism destination.

  6. The Use of Stimulable Bioluminescence from Marine Dinoflagellates as a Means of Detecting Toxicity in the Marine Environment

    Science.gov (United States)

    1993-04-01

    FROM MARINE PR: ME65 DINOFLAGELLATES AS A MEANS OF DETECTING TOXICITY IN THE PE: 060372N MARINE ENVIRONMENT WU: DN288604 6ý AUTHOR(S) Accesion For I...measure the acute and sublethal effects of heavy metals ( tributyltin , copper, and zinc) and storm drain effluent on the light output from marine...Grovhoug 3 THE USE OF STIM1ULABLE BIOLUMINESCENCE FROM MARINE DINOFLAGELLATES AS A MEANS OF DETECTING TOXICITY IN THE MARINE ENVIRONMENT. REFERENCE

  7. Does the globally invasive marine angiosperm, Halophila stipulacea, have high genetic diversity or unique mutations?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chiquillo, K.; Campese, L.; Barber, P. H.; Willette, D. A.

    2016-02-01

    Seagrasses are important primary producers in many marine ecosystems, and support a wide diversity of marine life. However, invasive seagrasses like Halophila stipulacea can have pronounced negative impacts on an ecosystem by displacing native seagrasses and changing the community composition of the reef. Endemic to the Red Sea, Persian Gulf and Indian Ocean, Halophila stipulacea has become invasive in the Mediterranean and Caribbean Seas, presumably as a result of the opening of the Suez Canal and international ship traffic. However, it is unclear why this marine angiosperm has become invasive in parts of its range and not others. It is hypothesized that invasive forms may have evolved rapidly in response to natural selection in new and novel environments. Alternatively, genetic variation of introduced populations may be uniquely suited to thrive in regions where it is invasive. In this study, we use RAD next-generation sequencing to screen thousands of SNPs to investigate the genetic basis of adaptation in both native and invasive populations. We test whether genes under selection in the native range are the same as in the invasive range, or whether new genes have arisen with the invasion of each marine basin. The comparison of SNP frequencies unique among basins and environmental variables will aid in predicting new areas of invasion, assisting in improved management strategies to combat this invasive seagrass.

  8. Deglaciation of the Scoresby Sund fjord region, north-east Greenland

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Funder, Svend Visby

    1972-01-01

    by a short period of advance at the end of the period. (3) The Post-glacial warm period (c. 7000-5000 BP) was a time when the glaciers retreated behind their present limits. A warm climate is indicated by the presence of the now-extinct bivalves Mytillls edulis and Chlamys islandica in raised marine deposits....... (4) Historical time is marked by are-advance. The deglaciation of the region was greatly influenced by relief. This is reflected in the location of the glacier fronts during the major stages and the differences in the behaviour of neighbouring fjord glaciers. The fjord morphology probably also...

  9. NODC Standard Format Marine Mammals of Coastal Alaska Data (1975-1981): Marine Mammal Specimens (F025) (NODC Accession 0014150)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC maintains data in three NODC Standard Format Marine Mammal Data Sets: Marine Mammal Sighting and Census (F127); Marine Mammal Specimens (F025); Marine Mammal...

  10. Multipurpose stabilization of the advanced marine surface crafts

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sevostyanov Ruslan A.

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Advanced marine surface crafts, such as SWATHs, catamarans or hovercrafts become more and more popular for a great range of various tasks. They usually operate at much higher speed than conventional ships. Moreover, in the open sea there are a lot of requirements and restrictions concerning the quality of such crafts’ dynamics, especially in case of the wind or waves. This paper considers application of the control law with a special multipurpose structure for autopilot design for amphibious air cushion vehicles. Such control law allows to decompose the autopilot task into simpler optimization subtasks. Efficiency of this approach is shown in the task of stabilizing yaw angle of the air cushion vehicle in the different weather conditions.

  11. From marine bio-corrosion to new bio-processes

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bergel, A.; Dasilva, S.; Basseguy, R.; Feron, D.; Mollica, A.

    2004-01-01

    suitable marine bio-films can give to stainless electrodes the same properties as platinum for oxygen reduction. This discovery might open the way to unexpected innovative processes based on the exploitation of the 'corrosive' properties of bio-films. The same trend has been initiated with the approach of marine anaerobic bio-corrosion of carbon steels. In this case, iron sulphur deposits are known to exert a preponderant role in corrosion. Nevertheless, innovative results have put in light an unexpected coupling between the presence of phosphate species and the enzyme hydrogenase. Such a possible coupling has already been suggested in previous studies, but it has never been clearly stated. Deciphering this process may lead to new track in understanding bio-corrosion of carbon steels on the one side, but also to a new eco-friendly process for hydrogenase-catalysed carbon steel phosphating. Both cases represent different illustrations of the capabilities of marine bio-corrosion to be the source of unexpected innovative biotechnological processes. (authors)

  12. Neoproterozoic sulfur-isotope variation in Australia

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gorjan, P.; Walter, M.R.

    2000-01-01

    A number of stages are apparent in sulfur-isotope geochemistry throughout the Neoproterozoic. Prior to the Sturtian glaciation (840-700 Ma) δ 34 S sulfate varied little (19 to 17.5 per mil), and δ 34 S sulfide ranged from -20 to +23 per mil. In the Bitter Springs Formation δ 34 S sulfide is greater in the non-marine portion compared to the marine portion. This can be explained by a paucity of sulfate in the non-marine waters, and is consistent with mineralogical evidence (Southgate, 1991). In the Sturtian glacial sediments δ 34 S sulfide starts below 0 per mil and rises to >30 per mil at the top of the glacial sediments. After the Sturtian glaciation δ 34 S sulfide averages ∼30 per mil (and 34 per mil for δ 34 S organic ) for the extent of silt deposition. This increase in δ 34 S sulfide also appears in China, Canada and Namibia (Gorjan et al., 2000). δ 34 S sulfate also rises but is lower than the average δ 34 S sulfate (5 sulfate nodules in the Tapley Hill Formation average 26 per mil). However, the sulfate nodules may not be preserving the original seawater δ 34 S sulfate 34 S enrichment in sulfides usually occurs in freshwater or euxinic settings, but all evidence points to a sulfate-rich and non-euxinic environment in the Sturtian post-glacial deposits (linear %C vs. %S plots; high FeS 2 :FeS ratios; low degree of pyritisation; Gorjan et al. 2000, Gorjan, 1998). Such a situation points to sulfides being formed from extremely 34 S enriched sulfate (perhaps up to 45 per mil). This global rise in δ 34 S of both sulfur fractions in the Sturtian postglacial has led us to speculate that 34 S enriched sulfate was formed beneath a stagnant, ice-covered ocean, an environment postulated by Hoffman (1998), during the Sturtian glaciation and was brought to shallower waters in an ocean-upwelling event. Sulfide depleted in 34 S may have been deposited on abyssal plains. δ 34 S sulfide and δ 34 S sulfate falls sharply at the conclusion of siltstone deposition

  13. Marine-Design Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Andersen, Poul; Birmingham, R.; Sortland, B.

    2006-01-01

    This report addresses Marine-Design Education in view of present and forecasted demands of the maritime industry, determined by a drastically transforming economic and technological maritime environment. In this framework, this report discusses in depth IT-based Marine Design education (par. 4......) and reveals innovative educational concepts and initiatives, such as the EiT (Experts in a Team) concept (par. 3), the SFS (Student Friendly Software) initiative (par. 5), Education Driven Research (EDR, par. 6) and Research Based Education (RBE, par. 6). Nevertheless, the paper stresses the need...... for continuity between traditional and modern ways of teaching (par. 4) and points out that Marine Design education is not only about Design, but should also address project/business administration and decision making issues (par. 7)....

  14. Investigation of the mechanism of iron acquisition by the marine bacterium Alteromonas luteoviolaceus: Characterization of siderophore production

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Reid, R.T.; Butler, A.

    1991-01-01

    Iron availability in the ocean ranges from one to four orders of magnitude below typical growth requirements of bacteria. The discrepancy between Fe availability and requirements raises questions about the mechanisms that marine bacteria use to sequester Fe 3+ . Surprisingly little is known about the siderophores produced by marine bacteria. Growth conditions of an open-ocean bacterial isolate, Alteromonas luteoviolaceus, were investigated to determine the conditions which enhance siderophore production. Methods to isolate and purify the siderophores were determined. The siderophores produced by A. luteoviolaceus were partially characterized by mass spectral analysis, amino acid analysis, qualitative analytical tests, chemical degradation, and nuclear magnetic resonance. A new set of outer membrane proteins was also produced when the bacterium was grown under Fe-limited conditions

  15. Thermal responses of marine animals with reference to Kalpakkam Coast (South East Coast of India)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shahul Hameed, P.; Syed Mohamed, H.E.; Krishnamoorthy, R.

    2008-01-01

    Kalpakkam has been chosen as model coastal site to study the impact of thermal discharges on water qualities, benthic animals and fishes. The results of this study are expected to be valid for any given open coastal location on the east and west coast of India. The present study investigates, the impact of the elevated temperature due to thermal discharge on two groups of marine animals viz. Benthos (non-swimming bottom dwellers) and fishes

  16. Marine Mammal Protection Act

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA or Act) prohibits, with certain exceptions, the "take" of marine mammals in U.S. waters and by U.S. citizens on the high seas,...

  17. Tsunamis and marine life

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Rao, D.V.S.; Ingole, B.S.; Tang, D.; Satyanarayan, B.; Zhao, H.

    The 26 December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean exerted far reaching temporal and spatial impacts on marine biota. Our synthesis was based on satellite data acquired by the Laboratory for Tropical Marine Environmental Dynamics (LED) of the South...

  18. A Project Approach to Teaching Aquaculture and Entrepreneurial Skills in the Cage Culture of Salmonids Program at the Marine Institute.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Churchill, Edgar; Smith, Boyd

    Between September and December 1986, the Marine Institute in Newfoundland, Canada, used a "projects approach" to train aquaculture workers for 10 new salmon farms to be opened in spring 1987 by a producers' cooperative. The projects approach combined instruction in the aquaculture skills needed to operate a salmon farm and the entrepreneurial…

  19. Marine Litter, Eutrophication and Noise Assessment Tools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palazov, Atanas; Velcheva, Maya; Milkova, Tanya; Slabakova, Violeta; Marinova, Veselka

    2017-04-01

    MARLEN - Marine Litter, Eutrophication and Noise Assessment Tools is a project under the Programme BG02.03: Increased capacity for assessing and predicting environmental status in marine and inland waters, managed by Bulgarian Ministry of environment and waters and co-financed by the Financial Mechanism of the European Economic Area (EEA FM) 2009 - 2014. Project Beneficiary is the Institute of oceanology - Bulgarian Academy of Sciences with two partners: Burgas municipality and Bulgarian Black Sea Basin Directorate. Initial assessment of ecological state of Bulgarian marine waters showed lack of data for some descriptors of MSFD. The main goal of MARLEN is to build up tools for assessment of marine environment by implementing new technologies and best practices for addressing three main areas of interest with lack of marine data in particular: a) Marine litter detection and classification in coastal areas; b) Regular near real time surface water eutrophication monitoring on large aquatory; c) Underwater noise monitoring. Developed tools are an important source of real time, near real time and delay mode marine data for Bulgarian Black Sea waters. The partnership within the project increased capacity for environmental assessments and training of personnel and enhances collaboration between scientific institutes, regional and local authorities. Project results supported implementation of MSFD in Bulgarian marine waters for the benefit of coastal population, marine industry, tourism, marine research and marine spatial planning.

  20. Marine debris in beaches of the Southwestern Atlantic: An assessment of their abundance and mass at different spatial scales in northern coastal Argentina.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Becherucci, Maria Eugenia; Rosenthal, Alan Federico; Seco Pon, Juan Pablo

    2017-06-15

    Argentina is currently undergoing an intensive development of coastal-oriented tourism due to the temperate climate and coastal sceneries of the Southwestern Atlantic and particularly its wide ocean-open sandy beaches, which may turn into an important contributor of marine debris to the beaches. This study was designed to assess at four spatial scales (i) the variation of the abundance and mass of marine debris and (ii) the composition and sources of these items in sandy-tourist beaches of coastal zones of the province of Buenos Aires, in northern Argentina. The abundance and mass of marine debris shifted between sampling localities (separated by ~1.5×10 5 m) and beaches (~3×10 4 m). Debris was primarily from recreational and fishing activities and over 20mm in size. Tackling the complications associated with marine debris in northern Argentina may include intensive educational and advertising campaigns oriented chiefly to beach users and fisherman. Copyright © 2017. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

  1. Marine Oil-Degrading Microorganisms and Biodegradation Process of Petroleum Hydrocarbon in Marine Environments: A Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xue, Jianliang; Yu, Yang; Bai, Yu; Wang, Liping; Wu, Yanan

    2015-08-01

    Due to the toxicity of petroleum compounds, the increasing accidents of marine oil spills/leakages have had a significant impact on our environment. Recently, different remedial techniques for the treatment of marine petroleum pollution have been proposed, such as bioremediation, controlled burning, skimming, and solidifying. (Hedlund and Staley in Int J Syst Evol Microbiol 51:61-66, 2001). This review introduces an important remedial method for marine oil pollution treatment-bioremediation technique-which is considered as a reliable, efficient, cost-effective, and eco-friendly method. First, the necessity of bioremediation for marine oil pollution was discussed. Second, this paper discussed the species of oil-degrading microorganisms, degradation pathways and mechanisms, the degradation rate and reaction model, and the factors affecting the degradation. Last, several suggestions for the further research in the field of marine oil spill bioremediation were proposed.

  2. 77 FR 58255 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey off the...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-09-19

    ... requirements, many marine animals may need to remain in areas where they are exposed to chronic stimuli... Vol. 77 Wednesday, No. 182 September 19, 2012 Part III Department of Commerce Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Marine Geophysical Survey off the Central Coast of California...

  3. 78 FR 52135 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental To...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-08-22

    ...--Marine Mammal Density Estimates Density Species (animals/km \\2\\) Bottlenose dolphin \\1\\ 0.455 Atlantic... criteria and thresholds in a final rule on the unintentional taking of marine animals occurring incidental... analysis assumed the marine species populations were 100 percent small animals. The criterion with the...

  4. Marine Battlefields

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Harðardóttir, Sara

    as they are an important food source for various marine animals. For both phytoand zooplankton predation is a major cause of mortality, and strategies for protection or avoidance are important for survival. Diatoms of the genera Nitzschia and Pseudo-nitzschia are known to produce a neuro-toxin, domoic acid (DA). Despite......Phytoplankton species are photosynthetic organisms found in most aquatic habitats. In the ocean, phytoplankton are tremendously important because they produce the energy that forms the base of the marine food web. Zooplankton feed on phytoplankton and mediate the energy to higher trophic levels...

  5. Turtle riders: remoras on marine turtles in Southwest Atlantic

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ivan Sazima

    Full Text Available An overview is presented for a poorly documented relationship between reef vertebrates in Southwest Atlantic: remoras (Echeneidae associated with marine turtles. Two remora species (Echeneis naucrates and Remora remora and four turtle species (Caretta caretta, Chelonia mydas, Eretmochelys imbricata, and Dermochelys coriacea are here recorded in symbiotic associations in the SW Atlantic. Echeneis naucrates was recorded both on the coast and on oceanic islands, whereas R. remora was recorded only at oceanic islands and in the open sea. The remora-turtle association is usually regarded as an instance of phoresis (hitchhiking, albeit feeding by the fish is also involved in this symbiosis type. This association seems to be rare in SW Atlantic.

  6. Marine debris removal: one year of effort by the Georgia Sea Turtle-Center-Marine Debris Initiative.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Martin, Jeannie Miller

    2013-09-15

    Once in the marine environment, debris poses a significant threat to marine life that can be prevented through the help of citizen science. Marine debris is any manufactured item that enters the ocean regardless of source, commonly plastics, metal, wood, glass, foam, cloth, or rubber. Citizen science is an effective way to engage volunteers in conservation initiatives and provide education and skill development. The Georgia Sea Turtle Center Marine Debris Initiative (GSTC-MDI) is a grant funded program developed to engage citizens in the removal of marine debris from the beaches of Jekyll Island, GA, USA and the surrounding areas. During the first year of effort, more than 200 volunteers donated over 460 h of service to the removal of marine debris. Of the debris removed, approximately 89% were plastics, with a significant portion being cigarette materials. Given the successful first year, the GSTC-MDI was funded again for a second year. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  7. Economic growth and marine biodiversity: influence of human social structure on decline of marine trophic levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clausen, Rebecca; York, Richard

    2008-04-01

    We assessed the effects of economic growth, urbanization, and human population size on marine biodiversity. We used the mean trophic level (MTL) of marine catch as an indicator of marine biodiversity and conducted cross-national time-series analyses (1960-2003) of 102 nations to investigate human social influences on fish catch and trends in MTL. We constructed path models to examine direct and indirect effects relating to marine catch and MTL. Nations' MTLs declined with increased economic growth, increased urbanization, and increased population size, in part because of associated increased catch. These findings contradict the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, which claims that economic modernization will reduce human impact on the environment. To make informed decisions on issues of marine resource management, policy makers, nonprofit entities, and professional societies must recognize the need to include social analyses in overall conservation-research strategies. The challenge is to utilize the socioeconomic and ecological research in the service of a comprehensive marine-conservation movement.

  8. Radiological assessment of coastal marine sediment and water samples, Karachi coast, Pakistan

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Qureshi, R.M.; Mashiatullah, A.; Akram, M.; Sajjad, M.I.; Shafiq, M.; Javed, T.; Aslam, M.

    1999-04-01

    Concentrations of selective natural radionuclides (/sup 226/Ra, /sup 228/Ra, /sup 40/K) in shallow marine coastal sediments and sea water off Karachi coast, Pakistan, were measured with a hyper pure germanium (HPGe) gamma spectrometer. Sediment and water samples were collected from polluted Layari and Malire River downstream (pre-out fall), Gizri Creek, Layari River out fall in Karachi harbor, Karachi Harbor/ Manora Channel Mains, as well as from open sea (South-East Coast and North-West Coast) within the 10m depth contour. No artificial radionuclides (e.g. /sup 60/Co, /sup 137/Cs and /sup 134/Cs were detected in both water and sediment samples at any of these locations. The activity of /sup 226/Ra in coastal river sediments is found below its limit of detection (<18.35 Bqkg/sup -1/). Activity of /sup 228/Ra in sediments off Karachi Coast ranges between 11.80 +- 3.60 to 37.27+- 4.31 Bqkg/sup -1/. The highest activity was found south of Nuclear Power Station (KANUPP) and the lowest activity was found in the vicinity of Oyster Rocks (open sea). The /sup 226/Ra activity ranges from 19.40+- 5.88 to 67.14 +- 10.02 Bqkg/sup -1/. The activity of /sup 228/Ra in sediments of Manora Channel, South-east Coast of Karachi and the North west coast of Karachi are also in agreement with the IAEA marine sediment standard namely: IAEA-135 (/sup 228/Ra = 36.7 +- 3 Bqkg/sup -1/). The activity of /sup 226/Ra for the South East Coast of Karachi and the North west coast of Karachi are also in agreement with the IAEA marine sediment standard namely: IAEA 135(/sup 226/Ra=23.9 +- 1.1 Bqkg/sup -1/) and Pacific Ocean sediment standard namely: IAEA-368 (/sup 226/Ra=21.4+- 1.1 Bqkg/sup -1/). The /sup 40/K activity in sea sediments varies from 197.7+- 44.24 to 941.90 +- 39.00 Bqkg-1). The highest activity is observed in the vicinity of Oyster Rocks (open sea) along the Clifton coast (South-East Cost of Karachi) and the lowest activity is found south of Nuclear Power Station (KANUPP) along the

  9. The ANTOSTRAT legacy: Science collaboration and international transparency in potential marine mineral resource exploitation of Antarctica

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cooper, Alan; Barker, Peter; Barrett, Peter; Behrendt, John; Brancolini, Giuliano; Childs, Jonathan R.; Escutia, Carlota; Jokat, Wilfried; Kristoffersen, Yngve; Leitchenkov, German; Stagg, Howard; Tanahashi, Manabu; Wardell, Nigel; Webb, Peter

    2009-01-01

    The Antarctic Offshore Stratigraphy project (ANTOSTRAT; 1989–2002) was an extremely successful collaboration in international marine geological science that also lifted the perceived “veil of secrecy” from studies of potential exploitation of Antarctic marine mineral resources. The project laid the groundwork for circum-Antarctic seismic, drilling, and rock coring programs designed to decipher Antarctica’s tectonic, stratigraphic, and climate histories. In 2002, ANTOSTRAT evolved into the equally successful and currently active Antarctic Climate Evolution research program. The need for, and evolution of, ANTOSTRAT was based on two simple tenets within SCAR and the Antarctic Treaty: international science collaboration and open access to data. The ANTOSTRAT project may be a helpful analog for other regions of strong international science and geopolitical interests, such as the Arctic. This is the ANTOSTRAT story.

  10. Marine spatial planning in Cyprus

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hadjimitsis, Diofantos; Agapiou, Athos; Mettas, Christodoulos; Themistocleous, Kyriacos; Evagorou, Evagoras; Cuca, Branka; Papoutsa, Christiana; Nisantzi, Argyro; Mamouri, Rodanthi-Elisavet; Soulis, George; Xagoraris, Zafiris; Lysandrou, Vasiliki; Aliouris, Kyriacos; Ioannou, Nicolas; Pavlogeorgatos, Gerasimos

    2015-06-01

    Marine Spatial Planning (MSP), which is in concept similar to land-use planning, is a public process by which the relevant Member State's authorities analyse and organise human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives. MSP aims to promote sustainable growth of maritime economies, sustainable development of marine areas and sustainable use of marine resources. This paper highlights the importance of MSP and provides basic outcomes of the main European marine development. The already successful MSP plans can provide useful feedback and guidelines for other countries that are in the process of implementation of an integrated MSP, such as Cyprus. This paper presents part of the MSP project, of which 80% funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and 20% from national contribution. An overview of the project is presented, including data acquisition, methodology and preliminary results for the implementation of MSP in Cyprus.

  11. Descriptive sensory analysis of marinated and non-marinated wooden breast fillet portions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, A D; Bowker, B C; Zhuang, H; Chatterjee, D; Adhikari, K

    2018-05-14

    The wooden breast (WB) myopathy influences muscle composition and texture characteristics in broiler breast meat. It is unknown if marination reduces the negative influence of WB on meat sensory quality or if WB effects are uniform throughout the Pectoralis major. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of marination on the sensory attributes and instrumental shear force measurements of the ventral (skin-side) and dorsal (bone-side) portions of normal and severe WB meat. Sixty butterfly fillets (30 normal and 30 severe WB) were selected from the deboning line of a commercial processing plant. Individual fillets were portioned into ventral and dorsal halves. Portions from one side of each butterfly were used as non-marinated controls, and portions from the other side were vacuum-tumble marinated (16 rpm, -0.6 atm, 4°C, 20 min) with 20% (wt/wt) marinade to meat ratio. Marinade was formulated to target a concentration of 0.75% (w/v) salt and 0.45% (w/v) sodium tripolyphosphate in the final product. Descriptive sensory analysis (9 trained panelists) was conducted to evaluate visual, texture, and flavor attributes (0-15 point scale) of breast portions along with Warner-Bratzler shear force. Significant interaction effects between WB and marination were not observed for the sensory attributes. Greater springiness, cohesiveness, hardness, fibrousness, and chewiness scores were observed in WB samples (P sensory texture attributes were more apparent in the ventral portions of the breast fillets. Flavor attributes (salty and brothy) increased (P sensory quality is not uniform throughout the Pectoralis major and that WB-related differences in cooked meat sensory texture attributes are lessened but not eliminated by vacuum-tumbling marination.

  12. Marine conservation strategies for Maharashtra Coast

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Untawale, A.G.; Dhargalkar, V.K.

    , Wildlife Sanctuaries, Marine Parks and Protected Areas. Detailed studies of 37 sites along the Maharashtra Coast, for their marine biota and also the ecological conditions, were taken up. Out of these, seven most luxuriant areas in marine biodiversity have...

  13. Promotion Factors For Enlisted Infantry Marines

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-06-01

    Marine Corps. However, due to periods of growth during two major conflicts , quality has given way to quantity to fulfill the needs of the Marine...Corps. As conflicts draw down, the Marine Corps shifts from promoting and retaining quantity to high-quality Marines. Throughout this thesis, we use...historically possessed an innate drive to succeed, to excel in all that they do, including winning in combat. We will sustain this trait and ensure this

  14. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC): Background and Issues for Congress

    Science.gov (United States)

    2017-03-08

    the AAV, incorporating some EFV capabilities but in a more practical and cost-efficient manner . In concert with the ACV, the Marines were developing...EFV capabilities but in a more practical and cost-efficient manner . In concert with the ACV, the Marines were developing the Marine Personnel Carrier

  15. A global census of marine microbes

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Amaral-Zettler, L.; Artigas, L.F.; Baross, J.; LokaBharathi, P.A; Boetius, A; Chandramohan, D.; Herndl, G.; Kogure, K.; Neal, P.; Pedros-Alio, C.; Ramette, A; Schouten, S.; Stal, L.; Thessen, A; De Leeuw, J.; Sogin, M.

    In this chapter we provide a brief history of what is known about marine microbial diversity, summarize our achievements in performing a global census of marine microbes, and reflect on the questions and priorities for the future of the marine...

  16. OOI's Cyberinfrastructure: An Opening

    Science.gov (United States)

    Graybeal, J.; Ampe, T.; Arrott, M.; Chave, A. D.; Cressey, R.; Jul, S.; McPhail, T.; Meisinger, M.; Orcutt, J. A.; Peach, C. L.; Schofield, O.; Stocks, K.; Thomas, J.; Vernon, F.

    2012-12-01

    The Ocean Observatories Initiative is a long-term, NSF-funded program to provide 25-30 years of sustained ocean measurements to study climate variability, ocean circulation and ecosystem dynamics, air-sea exchange, seafloor processes, and plate-scale geodynamics. The OOI will enable powerful new scientific approaches for exploring the complexities of Earth-ocean-atmosphere interactions, thereby accelerating progress toward the goal of understanding, predicting, and managing our ocean environment. The OOI can foster new discoveries that, in turn, move research in unforeseen directions. The OOI Cyberinfrastructure will connect and coordinate the operations of OOI marine components and data processes, to meet the objectives of the oceanographic research and education communities. The CI will let all users easily interact with deployed resources, access collected data, and apply those data to their specific research and educational needs. The CI is a free and open product that adopts innovative and flexible strategies to bring the oceans to users, any time, any place, on any suitable device. The OOI CI is dedicated to "using the latest computing technologies to solve the interoperability problem among vast amounts of heterogeneous geospatial data from various sources." OOI CI's charge is to be transformative, and its technologies and goals are just that (see URL). The Cyberinfrastructure integrates state-of-the-art and best-practice approaches to provide fully interoperable access to the widest possible collection of geospatial data. From the system-of-systems model of the planned observatories and the ingestion of data, models, and services; to the configurable, automated workflows producing real-time products, data curation and quality management strategies are supported to the fullest possible extent. How do we build a system to efficiently support 750 core instruments across numerous platform types, add as-yet unknown instruments during the operations phase, and

  17. Marine cloud brightening

    OpenAIRE

    Latham, John; Bower, Keith; Choularton, Tom; Coe, Hugh; Connolly, Paul; Cooper, Gary; Craft, Tim; Foster, Jack; Gadian, Alan; Galbraith, Lee; Iacovides, Hector; Johnston, David; Launder, Brian; Leslie, Brian; Meyer, John

    2012-01-01

    The idea behind the marine cloud-brightening (MCB) geoengineering technique is that seeding marine stratocumulus clouds with copious quantities of roughly monodisperse sub-micrometre sea water particles might significantly enhance the cloud droplet number concentration, and thereby the cloud albedo and possibly longevity. This would produce a cooling, which general circulation model (GCM) computations suggest could—subject to satisfactory resolution of technical and scientific problems identi...

  18. The Cost of SOx Limits to Marine Operators; Results from Exploring Marine Fuel Prices

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orestis Schinas

    2013-06-01

    Full Text Available Marine operators are confronted with the new air emissions regulations that determine the limits of sulfur content in marine fuels. The low-sulfur (LS marine fuels have a higher price, and their fluctuation is almost similar to the fluctuation of high-sulfur (HS fuels. The price difference between HS and LS might also determine the decision of operators for alternative technical means, such as scrubbers, in order to comply with the new limits. This paper aims to provide a thorough statistical analysis of the currently available LS and HS marine fuels time series, as well as to present the analysis of the differential of the HS and LS fuel prices. The paper concludes with suggestions for further research.

  19. Deviations of Atmospheric Coastal Flow from the Open-channel Hydraulics Analogy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rahn, D. A.; Parish, T. R.; Juliano, T. W.

    2017-12-01

    Low-level atmospheric flow along the coast of California bears resemblance to open-channel engineering applications referred to as hydraulic flow. During the warm season, strong equatorward wind is common near the surface. A marked temperature inversion separates the cool, moist marine air and the warm, dry free troposphere aloft. The low-level flow is bounded laterally by the coastal topography. Given the high wind speed in the shallow marine layer, the flow is often supercritical (Fr > 1). Features resembling oblique compression jumps and expansion fans occur near concave and convex bends in the coastline and impact wind energy production, wind stress on the ocean surface, and propagation of electromagnetic waves by modifying the vertical refractivity gradient. An aircraft collected fine-scale measurements offshore of southern California to test how well the observed features conform to the single-layer hydraulic approximation. Although the open-channel framework captures major features of the flow as indicated by prior work, the detailed measurements reveal when the analogy breaks down. The assumption of a passive upper layer can be violated due to mesoscale pressure gradients aloft and lee troughing associated with offshore flow, which can enhance the thinning of the marine layer associated with the expansion fan. The sharp interface between layers can be eroded when Ri becomes low, Kelvin-Helmholtz instability develops, and the structure of the lower atmosphere is drastically altered. This is poorly simulated in operational weather forecast models due to their relatively coarse grid spacing. The layer associated with the expansion fan rarely keeps its identity into the Santa Barbara Channel. An increase of surface heat flux and vertical mixing as the flow moves over warmer sea surface temperatures in the channel rapidly erodes the layer. Only one flight captured a hydraulic jump between the supercritical flow in the expansion fan and the subcritical flow

  20. Simulating ecological changes caused by marine energy devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schuchert, Pia; Elsaesser, Bjoern; Pritchard, Daniel; Kregting, Louise

    2015-04-01

    . Further assessment on primary productivity and filter feeders is currently being implemented to assess impacts on these biological systems. Using MIKE software opens up many further possibilities to allow insights into the impacts of marine energy devices on the ecosystem.

  1. A combination of quantitative marinating and Maillard reaction to enhance volatile flavor in Chinese marinated chicken.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Xiuli; Wang, Chunqing; Zhang, Chunhui; Li, Xia; Wang, Jinzhi; Li, Hai; Tang, Chunhong

    2017-02-01

    A combination of quantitative marinating and Maillard reaction was investigated by adding d-xylose, l-cysteine and thiamine to the marinated brine of quantitative marinating, which was expected to enhance the volatile flavor of Chinese marinated chicken. Response surface methodology was used to optimize parameters, in which response was sensory evaluation scores of marinated chicken. A Box-Behnken center design was applied to the optimized added contents. The optimized contents were d-xylose (1-5‰), l-cysteine (1-5‰) and thiamine (1-3‰). Analysis of variance indicated that a second-order polynomial equation could predict the experimental data well (R 2  = 0.94), and sensory evaluation scores were significantly affected by the added amount of d-xylose, l-cysteine and thiamine. The optimal conditions that maximized the sensory evaluation score of Chinese marinated chicken were found to be 4.96‰ d-xylose, 2.28‰ l-cysteine and 2.66‰ thiamine (w/w). Given these optimal conditions, a number of meat-like flavor compounds such as 2-pentyl-furan, benzothiazole and 4-methyl-5-thiazoleethanol were identified by gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis. Our results suggested that a combination of quantitative marinating and Maillard reaction might be a promising method to enhance the volatile flavor, especially meat-like flavor, of Chinese marinated chicken. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry.

  2. Encyclopedic approach to Marine History of Russia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andrey V. Ishin

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Marine direction of foreign policy is for Russia one of key. It is determined geographical position of the Russian state banks of which is washed plenty of Maureies. Also it is related to that considerable part of population lives on the coast of Russian Maureies, and industry, located in an off-shore bar brings, in a large contribution to the economy.Many Russian marine travelers were the discoverers of «new» earths. The contribution of the Russian scientists to the hydrophysical, geological and biological study of Maureies and Oceans is great. Russia possesses a navy, to the constituents approximately one-third of total tonnage of world VMF and one of large in the world a rybopromyslovym fleet. Transport ships under the flag of Russian Federation it is possible to meet planets in the remotest corners. In a number of areas of military shipbuilding and civil shipbuilding Russia had and continues to save priority.Enhanceable interest to the Seas and Oceans found the reflection in the fundamental Russian documents, including, in the Marine doctrine of Russian Federation, ratified Russia President in 2015. In it the value of marine spaces for the Russian state is marked. In the Marine doctrine of Russian Federation is writtenin: «The skilled providing, marine teaching and education play an important role in the increase of efficiency of marine activity. They are directed on preparation, bringing in and maintainance of skilled shots of all levels, maintenance of professionalism, marine traditions and not indifferent relation of citizens to marine history of country, serve positive presentation, propaganda and support of national marine policy, to marine activity and marine service in society».Marine direction, marine science about regions found a reflection in the publications of row of the Russian authors, devoted research of policy of Russia in such regions, as: Black Sea region, Caspian region, Arctic, and also in the series of Encyclopaedias

  3. Accounting for enforcement costs in the spatial allocation of marine zones.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Davis, Katrina; Kragt, Marit; Gelcich, Stefan; Schilizzi, Steven; Pannell, David

    2015-02-01

    Marine fish stocks are in many cases extracted above sustainable levels, but they may be protected through restricted-use zoning systems. The effectiveness of these systems typically depends on support from coastal fishing communities. High management costs including those of enforcement may, however, deter fishers from supporting marine management. We incorporated enforcement costs into a spatial optimization model that identified how conservation targets can be met while maximizing fishers' revenue. Our model identified the optimal allocation of the study area among different zones: no-take, territorial user rights for fisheries (TURFs), or open access. The analysis demonstrated that enforcing no-take and TURF zones incurs a cost, but results in higher species abundance by preventing poaching and overfishing. We analyzed how different enforcement scenarios affected fishers' revenue. Fisher revenue was approximately 50% higher when territorial user rights were enforced than when they were not. The model preferentially allocated area to the enforced-TURF zone over other zones, demonstrating that the financial benefits of enforcement (derived from higher species abundance) exceeded the costs. These findings were robust to increases in enforcement costs but sensitive to changes in species' market price. We also found that revenue under the existing zoning regime in the study area was 13-30% lower than under an optimal solution. Our results highlight the importance of accounting for both the benefits and costs of enforcement in marine conservation, particularly when incurred by fishers. © 2014 Society for Conservation Biology.

  4. Efficient management of marine resources in conflict: an empirical study of marine sand mining, Korea.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Tae-Goun

    2009-10-01

    This article develops a dynamic model of efficient use of exhaustible marine sand resources in the context of marine mining externalities. The classical Hotelling extraction model is applied to sand mining in Ongjin, Korea and extended to include the estimated marginal external costs that mining imposes on marine fisheries. The socially efficient sand extraction plan is compared with the extraction paths suggested by scientific research. If marginal environmental costs are correctly estimated, the developed efficient extraction plan considering the resource rent may increase the social welfare and reduce the conflicts among the marine sand resource users. The empirical results are interpreted with an emphasis on guidelines for coastal resource management policy.

  5. Meteoric 10Be/9Be ratios in marine sedimentary records: Deciphering the mixing between their marine and terrestrial sources and influence of costal trace metal fluxes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wittmann, H.; von Blanckenburg, F.; Mohtadi, M.; Christl, M.; Bernhardt, A.

    2017-12-01

    Meteoric 10Be to stable 9Be ratios combine a cosmogenic nuclide produced in the atmosphere at a rate known from reconstructions of magnetic field strength with a stable isotope that records the present and past continental weathering and erosion flux. In seawater, the 10Be/9Be ratio provides important information on metal release from bottom sediments, called boundary exchange, and the oceanic mixing of reactive trace metals due to the inherently different sources of the two isotopes. When measured in the authigenic phase of marine sediments, the 10Be/9Be ratio allows deriving the feedbacks between erosion, weathering, and climate in the geologic past. At an ocean margin site 37°S offshore Chile, we use the 10Be/9Be ratio to trace changes in terrestrial particulate composition due to exchange with seawater. We analyzed the reactive (sequentially extracted) phase of marine surface sediments along a coast-perpendicular transect, and compared to samples from their riverine source. We find evidence for growth of authigenic rims through co-precipitation, not via reversible adsorption, that incorporate an open ocean 10Be/9Be signature from a deep water source only 30 km from the coast, thereby overprinting terrestrial riverine 10Be/9Be signatures. We show that the measured 10Be/9Be ratios in marine sediments comprise a mixture between seawater-derived and riverine-sourced phases. As 10Be/9Be ratios increase due to exchange with seawater, particulate-bound Fe concentrations increase, which we attribute to release of Fe-rich pore waters during boundary exchange in the sediment. The implications for the use of 10Be/9Be in sedimentary records for paleo-denudation flux reconstructions are that in coast-proximal sites that are neither affected by deeper water nor by narrow boundary currents, the authigenic record will be a direct recorder of terrigenous denudation of the adjacent river catchments. Hence archive location and past oceanic circulation have to be accounted for

  6. Marine palynology in progress

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Manten, A.A.

    1966-01-01

    One of the things which the Second International Conference on Palynology (held in Utrecht, August 29-September 3, 1966) revealed, was the rapid expansion which marine palynological research has undergone in recent years. This was the main stimulus to organize this special issue of Marine

  7. Antimycobacterial Metabolites from Marine Invertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Daletos, Georgios; Ancheeva, Elena; Chaidir, Chaidir; Kalscheuer, Rainer; Proksch, Peter

    2016-10-01

    Marine organisms play an important role in natural product-based drug research due to accumulation of structurally unique and bioactive metabolites. The exploration of marine-derived compounds may significantly extend the scientific knowledge of potential scaffolds for antibiotic drug discovery. Development of novel antitubercular agents is especially significant as the emergence of drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains remains threateningly high. Marine invertebrates (i.e., sponges, corals, gorgonians) as a source of new chemical entities are the center of research for several scientific groups, and the wide spectrum of biological activities of marine-derived compounds encourages scientists to carry out investigations in the field of antibiotic research, including tuberculosis treatment. The present review covers published data on antitubercular natural products from marine invertebrates grouped according to their biogenetic origin. Studies on the structure-activity relationships of these important leads are highlighted as well. © 2016 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  8. Seawater and marine sidements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Eicke, H.F.

    1985-01-01

    The Deutsches Hydrographisches Institut (DHI) is responsible for monitoring the radioactive substances (such as Cs-137, Cs-134, Sr-90, H-3, Pu-239, Pu-240) in the seawater and marine sediments along the Federal German seacoasts, of the fishing grounds of the Federal German offshore fishery industry, and of marine currents moving towards these fishing grounds. The DHI has been carrying out this task since 1965, activities being placed under the responsibility of the DHI Department for Marine Radioactivity, which since 1960 is a directing centre within the Government's system for environmental radioactivity monitoring. (orig./DG) [de

  9. Will marine productivity wane?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Laufkötter, Charlotte; Gruber, Nicolas

    2018-03-01

    If marine algae are impaired severely by global climate change, the resulting reduction in marine primary production would strongly affect marine life and the ocean's biological pump that sequesters substantial amounts of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the ocean's interior. Most studies, including the latest generation of Earth system models, project only moderate global decreases in biological production until 2100 (1, 2), suggesting that these concerns are unwarranted. But on page 1139 of this issue, Moore et al. (3) show that this conclusion might be shortsighted and that there may be much larger long-term changes in ocean productivity than previously appreciated.

  10. European Marine Observation Data Network - EMODnet Physics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Manzella, Giuseppe M. R.; Novellino, Antonio; D'Angelo, Paolo; Gorringe, Patrick; Schaap, Dick; Pouliquen, Sylvie; Loubrieu, Thomas; Rickards, Lesley

    2015-04-01

    The EMODnet-Physics portal (www.emodnet-physics.eu) makes layers of physical data and their metadata available for use and contributes towards the definition of an operational European Marine Observation and Data Network (EMODnet). It is based on a strong collaboration between EuroGOOS associates and its regional operational systems (ROOSs), and it is bringing together two very different marine communities: the "real time" ocean observing institute/centers and the National Oceanographic Data Centres (NODCs) that are in charge of ocean data validation, quality check and update for marine environmental monitoring. The EMODnet-Physics is a Marine Observation and Data Information System that provides a single point of access to near real time and historical achieved data (www.emodnet-physics.eu/map) it is built on existing infrastructure by adding value and avoiding any unless complexity, it provides data access to users, it is aimed at attracting new data holders, better and more data. With a long-term vision for a pan European Ocean Observation System sustainability, the EMODnet-Physics is supporting the coordination of the EuroGOOS Regional components and the empowerment and improvement of their data management infrastructure. In turn, EMODnet-Physics already implemented high-level interoperability features (WMS, Web catalogue, web services, etc…) to facilitate connection and data exchange with the ROOS and the Institutes within the ROOSs (www.emodnet-physics.eu/services). The on-going EMODnet-Physics structure delivers environmental marine physical data from the whole Europe (wave height and period, temperature of the water column, wind speed and direction, salinity of the water column, horizontal velocity of the water column, light attenuation, and sea level) as monitored by fixed stations, ARGO floats, drifting buoys, gliders, and ferry-boxes. It does provide discovering of data sets (both NRT - near real time - and Historical data sets), visualization and free

  11. Identification & Registration of Marine Animals (IRMA)

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Benders, F.P.A.; Zwan, T. van der; Verboom, W.C.

    2005-01-01

    Knowledge about habitats and behaviour of marine animals has become more important following an increased concern that acoustic sources may have an influence on marine life. Databases containing the habitats and behaviour are being filled all over the world. However, at present marine mammal

  12. Theory and Practice of Marine Regional Management in China

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Shangjie; JI; Qunzhen; QU

    2014-01-01

    With the development of marine economy in coastal provinces and cities,there comes a series of environmental problems. Marine regional management,as a completely new marine management mode,transforms traditional management mode and can protect marine ecosystem. Thus,the marine regional management is feasible and applicable in China. This paper firstly discussed connotation and development of the marine regional management in China and pointed that the marine regional management is integrated management of a certain marine region. Next,it summarized characteristics of the marine regional management at current stage,for example,land-based pollution of trans-geographic system and marine management under regional government cooperative mechanism. Finally,it came up with recommendations including combining theory and practice of the marine regional management,and establishing marine regional management system as soon as possible,to realize benign interaction and sustainable development of marine economy and ecological environment.

  13. Mitogenomes from two uncommon haplogroups mark late glacial/postglacial expansions from the near east and neolithic dispersals within Europe.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anna Olivieri

    Full Text Available The current human mitochondrial (mtDNA phylogeny does not equally represent all human populations but is biased in favour of representatives originally from north and central Europe. This especially affects the phylogeny of some uncommon West Eurasian haplogroups, including I and W, whose southern European and Near Eastern components are very poorly represented, suggesting that extensive hidden phylogenetic substructure remains to be uncovered. This study expanded and re-analysed the available datasets of I and W complete mtDNA genomes, reaching a comprehensive 419 mitogenomes, and searched for precise correlations between the ages and geographical distributions of their numerous newly identified subclades with events of human dispersal which contributed to the genetic formation of modern Europeans. Our results showed that haplogroups I (within N1a1b and W originated in the Near East during the Last Glacial Maximum or pre-warming period (the period of gradual warming between the end of the LGM, ∼19 ky ago, and the beginning of the first main warming phase, ∼15 ky ago and, like the much more common haplogroups J and T, may have been involved in Late Glacial expansions starting from the Near East. Thus our data contribute to a better definition of the Late and postglacial re-peopling of Europe, providing further evidence for the scenario that major population expansions started after the Last Glacial Maximum but before Neolithic times, but also evidencing traces of diffusion events in several I and W subclades dating to the European Neolithic and restricted to Europe.

  14. Neoproterozoic marine carbonates and their paleoceanographic significance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hood, Ashleigh van Smeerdijk; Wallace, Malcolm William

    2018-01-01

    The primary mineralogy of marine carbonate precipitates has been a crucial factor in constraining the major element composition of ancient oceans. Secular changes in Phanerozoic marine chemistry, including Mg/Ca, have been well-documented using the original carbonate mineralogy of ooids, marine cements and biominerals. However, the history of Precambrian seawater chemistry is not as well constrained, partially due to the prevalence of dolomitisation in the Precambrian geological record. The Neoproterozoic ( 1000 Ma to 541 Ma) record of primary carbonate mineralogy is documented here using a combination of literature data and new analysis of marine carbonate precipitates from the Otavi Fold Belt, Namibia, the Death Valley succession, USA and the Adelaide Fold Belt, Australia. These data suggest that the last 460 million years of the Proterozoic were dominated by aragonite and high-Mg calcite precipitation in shallow marine settings. In contrast, low-Mg calcite has only been recognised in a small number of formations. In addition to aragonite and calcite precipitation, marine dolomite precipitation was widespread in Neoproterozoic oceans, including mimetic (syn-sedimentary) dolomitisation and primary dolomite marine cementation. The combination of marine aragonite, high Mg-calcite and dolomite precipitation during the Neoproterozoic suggests extremely high seawater Mg/Ca conditions relative to Phanerozoic oceans. Marine dolomite precipitation may also be linked to widespread marine anoxia during this time.

  15. NODC Standard Format Marine Mammals of Coastal Alaska Data (1975-1976): Marine Mammal Sighting 2 (F026) (NODC Accession 0014151)

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce — NODC maintains data in three NODC Standard Format Marine Mammal Data Sets: Marine Mammal Sighting and Census (F127); Marine Mammal Specimens (F025); Marine Mammal...

  16. Carbon dioxide storage in marine sediments - dissolution, transport and hydrate formation kinetics from high-pressure experiments

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bigalke, N. K.; Savy, J. P.; Pansegrau, M.; Aloisi, G.; Kossel, E.; Haeckel, M.

    2009-12-01

    By satisfying thermodynamic framework conditions for CO2 hydrate formation, pressures and temperatures of the deep marine environment are unique assets for sequestering CO2 in clathrates below the seabed. However, feasibility and safety of this storage option require an accurate knowledge of the rate constants governing the speed of physicochemical reactions following the injection of the liquefied gas into the sediments. High-pressure experiments designed to simulate the deep marine environment open the possibility to obtain the required parameters for a wide range of oceanic conditions. In an effort to constrain mass transfer coefficients and transport rates of CO2 in(to) the pore water of marine sediments first experiments were targeted at quantifying the rate of CO2 uptake by de-ionized water and seawater across a two-phase interface. The nature of the interface was controlled by selecting p and T to conditions within and outside the hydrate stability field (HSF) while considering both liquid and gaseous CO2. Concentration increase and hydrate growth were monitored by Raman spectroscopy. The experiments revealed anomalously fast transport rates of dissolved CO2 at conditions both inside and outside the HSF. While future experiments will further elucidate kinetics of CO2 transport and hydrate formation, these first results could have major significance to safety-related issues in the discussion of carbon storage in the marine environment.

  17. Environmental Guidance Program Reference Book: Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. Revision 3

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    1988-01-31

    Two laws governing activities in the marine environment are considered in this Reference Book. The Marine Protection, Research, and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA, P.L. 92-532) regulates ocean dumping of waste, provides for a research program on ocean dumping, and provides for the designation and regulation of marine sanctuaries. The Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA, P.L. 92-522) establishes a federal program to protect and manage marine mammals. The Fishery Conservation and Management Act (FCMA, P.L. 94-265) establishes a program to regulate marine fisheries resources and commercial marine fishermen. Because the Department of Energy (DOE) is not engaged in any activities that could be classified as fishing under FCMA, this Act and its regulations have no implications for the DOE; therefore, no further consideration of this Act is given within this Reference Book. The requirements of the MPRSA and the MMPA are discussed in terms of their implications for the DOE.

  18. Origin of marine planktonic cyanobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sánchez-Baracaldo, Patricia

    2015-12-01

    Marine planktonic cyanobacteria contributed to the widespread oxygenation of the oceans towards the end of the Pre-Cambrian and their evolutionary origin represents a key transition in the geochemical evolution of the Earth surface. Little is known, however, about the evolutionary events that led to the appearance of marine planktonic cyanobacteria. I present here phylogenomic (135 proteins and two ribosomal RNAs), Bayesian relaxed molecular clock (18 proteins, SSU and LSU) and Bayesian stochastic character mapping analyses from 131 cyanobacteria genomes with the aim to unravel key evolutionary steps involved in the origin of marine planktonic cyanobacteria. While filamentous cell types evolved early on at around 2,600-2,300 Mya and likely dominated microbial mats in benthic environments for most of the Proterozoic (2,500-542 Mya), marine planktonic cyanobacteria evolved towards the end of the Proterozoic and early Phanerozoic. Crown groups of modern terrestrial and/or benthic coastal cyanobacteria appeared during the late Paleoproterozoic to early Mesoproterozoic. Decrease in cell diameter and loss of filamentous forms contributed to the evolution of unicellular planktonic lineages during the middle of the Mesoproterozoic (1,600-1,000 Mya) in freshwater environments. This study shows that marine planktonic cyanobacteria evolved from benthic marine and some diverged from freshwater ancestors during the Neoproterozoic (1,000-542 Mya).

  19. A data delivery system for IMOS, the Australian Integrated Marine Observing System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Proctor, R.; Roberts, K.; Ward, B. J.

    2010-09-01

    The Integrated Marine Observing System (IMOS, www.imos.org.au), an AUD 150 m 7-year project (2007-2013), is a distributed set of equipment and data-information services which, among many applications, collectively contribute to meeting the needs of marine climate research in Australia. The observing system provides data in the open oceans around Australia out to a few thousand kilometres as well as the coastal oceans through 11 facilities which effectively observe and measure the 4-dimensional ocean variability, and the physical and biological response of coastal and shelf seas around Australia. Through a national science rationale IMOS is organized as five regional nodes (Western Australia - WAIMOS, South Australian - SAIMOS, Tasmania - TASIMOS, New SouthWales - NSWIMOS and Queensland - QIMOS) surrounded by an oceanic node (Blue Water and Climate). Operationally IMOS is organized as 11 facilities (Argo Australia, Ships of Opportunity, Southern Ocean Automated Time Series Observations, Australian National Facility for Ocean Gliders, Autonomous Underwater Vehicle Facility, Australian National Mooring Network, Australian Coastal Ocean Radar Network, Australian Acoustic Tagging and Monitoring System, Facility for Automated Intelligent Monitoring of Marine Systems, eMarine Information Infrastructure and Satellite Remote Sensing) delivering data. IMOS data is freely available to the public. The data, a combination of near real-time and delayed mode, are made available to researchers through the electronic Marine Information Infrastructure (eMII). eMII utilises the Australian Academic Research Network (AARNET) to support a distributed database on OPeNDAP/THREDDS servers hosted by regional computing centres. IMOS instruments are described through the OGC Specification SensorML and where-ever possible data is in CF compliant netCDF format. Metadata, conforming to standard ISO 19115, is automatically harvested from the netCDF files and the metadata records catalogued in the

  20. Studies on marine oil spills and their ecological damage

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mei, Hong; Yin, Yanjie

    2009-09-01

    The sources of marine oil spills are mainly from accidents of marine oil tankers or freighters, marine oil-drilling platforms, marine oil pipelines, marine oilfields, terrestrial pollution, oil-bearing atmosphere, and offshore oil production equipment. It is concluded upon analysis that there are two main reasons for marine oil spills: (I) The motive for huge economic benefits of oil industry owners and oil shipping agents far surpasses their sense of ecological risks. (II) Marine ecological safety has not become the main concern of national security. Oil spills are disasters because humans spare no efforts to get economic benefits from oil. The present paper draws another conclusion that marine ecological damage caused by oil spills can be roughly divided into two categories: damage to marine resource value (direct value) and damage to marine ecosystem service value (indirect value). Marine oil spills cause damage to marine biological, fishery, seawater, tourism and mineral resources to various extents, which contributes to the lower quality and value of marine resources.

  1. Metabolism of polychlorinated biphenyls by marine bacteria

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carey, A.E.; Harvey, G.R.

    1978-01-01

    There have been no reports of laboratory studies of PCB metabolism by marine organisms. A few workers have analyzed marine animals for products of PCB metabolism. A search for hydroxylated PCBs in marine fish proved inconclusive. Phenolic metabolites of PCBs have been identified in seals and guillemot. PCBs that had been hydroxylated and excreted by marine organisms would most likely be found in the sediments, so in our laboratory we conducted a search for these compounds in marine sediments. Two kilograms of organic-rich surface sediment from Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts, were extracted. The phenolic fraction was isolated and analyzed by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). Neither wide mass scans nor selected mass searches produced any evidence of hydroxylated PCB derivatives. It was felt that if any marine organisms were capable of metabolism of PCBs, some marine bacteria should have that capability. Thus a series of laboratory experiments was conducted to test this possibility. Reported here is the finding of PCB metabolism by marine bacteria in batch culture

  2. Middle Miocene paleoenvironmental crises in Central Eurasia caused by changes in marine gateway configuration

    Science.gov (United States)

    Palcu, D. V.; Golovina, L. A.; Vernyhorova, Y. V.; Popov, S. V.; Krijgsman, W.

    2017-11-01

    Marine gateways prove to be important factors for changes in the ecology and biochemistry of marginal seas. Changes in gateway configuration played a dominant role in the Middle Miocene paleogeographic evolution of the Paratethys Sea that covered Central Eurasia. Here, we focus on the connection between the Central (CP) and Eastern Paratethys (EP) to understand the paleoenvironmental changes caused by the evolution of this marine gateway. We first construct an integrated magneto-biostratigraphic framework for the late Langhian-Serravallian (Chokrakian-Karaganian-Konkian-Volhynian) sedimentary record of the eastern domain, which allows a correlation to the well-dated successions west of the gateway. The magneto-biostratigraphic results from the Zelensky-Panagia section on the Black Sea coast of Russia show that the Chokrakian/Karaganian boundary has an age of 13.8 Ma, the Karaganian/Konkian boundary is dated at 13.4 Ma, and the Konkian/Volhynian boundary at 12.65 Ma. We identify three major phases on gateway functioning that are reflected in specific environmental changes. During the Karaganian, the EP turned into a lake-sea that supplied a unidirectional flow of low-salinity waters to the west, where the CP sea experienced its Badenian Salinity Crisis. This configuration is remarkably similar to the Mediterranean during its Messinian Salinity Crisis. The second phase is marked by a marine transgression from the west, reinstalling open-marine conditions in the CP and causing marine incursions in the EP during the Konkian. The Volhynian is characterized by a new gateway configuration that allows exchange between CP and EP, creating unified conditions all over the Paratethys. We hypothesize that a density driven pumping mechanism is triggered by the increase in connectivity at the Konkian/Volhynian boundary, which simultaneously caused major paleoenvironmental changes at both sides of the gateway and led to the Badenian-Sarmatian extinction event in the CP.

  3. Open Source, Open Access, Open Review, Open Data. Initiativen zu mehr Offenheit in der digitalen Welt

    OpenAIRE

    Herb, Ulrich

    2011-01-01

    The article discusses the principles of openess, open access and open availability of information based on the examples of open access to scientific information, open government data, open geographical data and open source software.

  4. Postglacial evolution and recent siltation of the protected lake "Taferlklaussee" (Austria)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bernsteiner, Heidi; Götz, Joachim; Salcher, Bernhard; Lang, Andreas

    2017-04-01

    Nature conservation and human interaction with the environment often provide a multifaceted area of conflict, exemplified here by an intensively used but also protected small alpine lake. The study area is located in the Salzkammergut region (Upper Austria), which is known for its major salt deposits and especially popular for its numerous lakes. The focus is on the "Taferlklaussee" (TKS), a small freshwater body filling a basin originating from glacial erosion during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and early late glacial stadials (between 16 and 20 ka). The responsible valley glacier (Aurach) was isolated from the major alpine ice flow network during the LGM and not connected to the large adjacent Salzach and Traun outlet glaciers. In historical times the area was deforested and the lake level artificially raised in AD 1716, to allow log rafting on the river Aurach that originates from the TKS. Today, the TKS is under nature conservation but highly frequented as recreational area for summer and winter sports (e.g. hiking, biking, ice-skating and curling - the regional curling club is situated directly at the lakeside). As a consequence of the multiple uses, views on future management of the study area are diverging: On the one hand, nature is meant to be left alone and any negative impacts on the environment should be avoided and on the other hand, natural siltation should be stopped as it reduces the lake area, and provokes lots of controversy. Our research is intended to create information to support the current debate about the future of the TKS by providing first-hand data on short and long-term lake evolution. We focus on two timescales of lake development: The postglacial evolution and infill history of the lake basin (origin, structure, volume and chronology of stored sediment) as well as decadal-scale and recent trends of lake siltation. We are using a bundle of direct and indirect field surveys to generate complementary data. To investigate thickness and

  5. The interaction of prehistoric human settlement, sea level change and tectonic uplift of the Coastal Range, eastern Taiwan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, H.; Chen, W. S.

    2017-12-01

    The late Cenozoic mountain belt of Taiwan, resulting from the collision between the Eurasian and Philippine Sea plates, is known for its rapid tectonic uplift. As postglacial sea level rose ca. 15,000 yr ago, the eastern coast of Taiwan, due to the rapid tectonic uplift rate, displayed a totally different scenario comparing with most of the coastal plains around the world. At the beginning of postglacial era, the sea level rising rate was greater than the tectonic uplift rate which induced the original piedmont alluvial fan or coastal plain to be overwhelmed by sea water rapidly. Around 13.5 ka, the tectonic uplift rate caught up with the sea level rising and broad wave-cut platform formed. The approximation of tectonic uplift and sea level rising rates was lasting from 13.5 to 5ka, but shoreline progradation may have been enhanced by increased slope erosion which resulted in the alluvial fan forming at the later time of this period. As soon as the eustasy stabilized, the landmass continued to uplift which might have enhanced the river incising and wave erosion rapidly. Therefore the topographic expression along the eastern fringing of Coastal Range forms extended alluvial-fan, stream, and marine terraces and are covered by late Holocene colluvium and marine deposits. 88 archaeological sites were chosen in this study based on surface survey where the archaeological chronology of cultural stage is established primarily through examining pottery series and associated manual excavation. It is interesting that most of the archaeological sites were located on the alluvial fan although the Holocene marine terraces have formed after 5ka. There are no clear evidences to support a shore-oriented settlement, but the abundant alluvial depositional structures observed from the overlaying formation reveals the stream depositional system was still active at this time. If the Neolithic people wanted to come to the "new born" coastal region for the abundant ocean resources, they

  6. Marine Ecological Environment Management Based on Ecological Compensation Mechanisms

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Qunzhen Qu

    2016-12-01

    Full Text Available The level of marine environmental management is a key factor in the successful implementation of marine power strategies. The improvement in management levels of marine environments requires innovation in marine management. In other words, the transformation of marine environmental management into marine ecological environment management must be done in order to achieve sustainable development of the marine economy. As an environmental economic policy that combines both administrative and market measures, ecological compensation mechanisms have significant advantages in marine ecological environment management. Based on the study of the current development of ecological compensation mechanisms in China, through the analysis of the connotation of marine ecological civilization, existing marine ecological protection practices and marine environmental management methods, this paper posits that the current marine ecological environment management in China should be established on the basis of ecological compensation mechanisms. At present, a lack of laws and regulations for overall marine ecological environment management is the key factor restricting the practice of marine ecological environment management. Therefore, it is necessary to explore the current path of marine ecological environment management in China from the perspective of the construction of legal system of ecological compensation law, the establishment of ecological compensation fees, ecological taxes and ecological compensation fund systems, and the clear status for a marine ecological management and supervision body.

  7. Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) | Advancing Open-Source Research, Instrumentation, and Dissemination

    Science.gov (United States)

    Udell, C.; Selker, J. S.

    2017-12-01

    The increasing availability and functionality of Open-Source software and hardware along with 3D printing, low-cost electronics, and proliferation of open-access resources for learning rapid prototyping are contributing to fundamental transformations and new technologies in environmental sensing. These tools invite reevaluation of time-tested methodologies and devices toward more efficient, reusable, and inexpensive alternatives. Building upon Open-Source design facilitates community engagement and invites a Do-It-Together (DIT) collaborative framework for research where solutions to complex problems may be crowd-sourced. However, barriers persist that prevent researchers from taking advantage of the capabilities afforded by open-source software, hardware, and rapid prototyping. Some of these include: requisite technical skillsets, knowledge of equipment capabilities, identifying inexpensive sources for materials, money, space, and time. A university MAKER space staffed by engineering students to assist researchers is one proposed solution to overcome many of these obstacles. This presentation investigates the unique capabilities the USDA-funded Openly Published Environmental Sensing (OPEnS) Lab affords researchers, within Oregon State and internationally, and the unique functions these types of initiatives support at the intersection of MAKER spaces, Open-Source academic research, and open-access dissemination.

  8. The U.S. Marine Corps Combined Action Program (CAP): A Proposed Alternative Strategy for the Vietnam War

    Science.gov (United States)

    2002-05-01

    Vietnamese men abstained from premarital sex, they openly practiced mutual masturbation . 62 In western culture, a man’s business was a man’s business, but... practice of integrating Marine with native forces marked the beginning of a nearly six year endeavor entitled the Combined Action Program or CAP. Embraced...chain of command. While the CAP platoons drew from infantry battalions primarily, their ties to them remained administrative and informal in practice

  9. FixO3: Advancement towards Open Ocean Observatory Data Management Harmonisation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Behnken, Andree; Pagnani, Maureen; Huber, Robert; Lampitt, Richard

    2015-04-01

    Since 2002 there has been a sustained effort, supported as European framework projects, to harmonise both the technology and the data management of Open Ocean fixed observatories run by European nations. FixO3 started in September 2013, and for 3 more years will coordinate the convergence of data management best practice across a constellation of moorings in the Atlantic, in both hemispheres, and in the Mediterranean. To ensure the continued existence of these unique sources of oceanographic data as sustained observatories it is vital to improve access to the data collected, both in terms of methods of presentation, real-time availability, long-term archiving and quality assurance. The data management component of FixO3 improves access to marine observatory data by harmonising data management standards, formats and workflows covering the complete life cycle of data from real time data acquisition to long-term archiving. Legal and data policy aspects have been examined and discussed to identify transnational barriers to open-access to marine observatory data. As a result, a harmonised FixO3 data policy was drafted, which provides a formal basis for data exchange between FixO3 infrastructures, and also enables open access to data for the general public. FixO3 interacts with other European infrastructures such as EMODnet, SeaDataNet, PANGAEA, and especially aims to harmonise efforts with OceanSites and MyOcean. The project landing page (www.fixo3.eu) offers detailed information about every observatory as well as data visualisations and direct downloads. In addition to this, metadata for all FixO3 - relevant data are available from the searchable FixO3 metadata catalogue, which is also accessible from the project web page. This catalogue is hosted by PANGAEA and receives updates in regular intervals. The FixO3 Standards & Services registry ties in with the GEOSS Components and Services Registry (CSR) and provides additional observatory information. The data management

  10. The Source Book of Marine Sciences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beakley, John C.; And Others

    Included is a teachers resource collection of 42 marine science activities for high school students. Both the biological and the physical factors of the marine environment are investigated, including the study of tides, local currents, microscope measuring, beaches, turbidity, sea water solids, pH, and salinity, marine bacteriology, microbiology,…

  11. Status and strategies for marine biodiversity of Goa

    Digital Repository Service at National Institute of Oceanography (India)

    Untawale, A.G.

    The status of marine biodiversity and factors responsible for the degradation and loss of marine biodiversity are discussed. Goa has abundant marine wealth. Phytoplankton, marine algae, manglicolous fungi, seagrasses, mangrove flora and other...

  12. Contaminants of emerging concern in the open sea waters of the Western Mediterranean

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Brumovský, Miroslav; Bečanová, Jitka; Kohoutek, Jiří; Borghini, Mireno; Nizzetto, Luca

    2017-01-01

    Pollution by chemical substances is of concern for the maintenance of healthy and sustainable aquatic environments. While the occurrence and fate of numerous emerging contaminants, especially pharmaceuticals, is well documented in freshwater, their occurrence and behavior in coastal and marine waters is much less studied and understood. This study investigates the occurrence of 58 chemicals in the open surface water of the Western Mediterranean Sea for the first time. 70 samples in total were collected in 10 different sampling areas. 3 pesticides, 11 pharmaceuticals and personal care products and 2 artificial sweeteners were detected at sub-ng to ng/L levels. Among them, the herbicide terbuthylazine, the pharmaceuticals caffeine, carbamazepine, naproxen and paracetamol, the antibiotic sulfamethoxazole, the antibacterial triclocarban and the two artificial sweeteners acesulfame and saccharin were detected in all samples. The compound detected at the highest concentration was saccharin (up to 5.23 ng/L). Generally small spatial differences among individual sampling areas point to a diffuse character of sources which are likely dominated by WWTP effluents and runoffs from agricultural areas or even, at least for pharmaceuticals and artificial food additives, from offshore sources such as ferries and cruising ships. The implications of the ubiquitous presence in the open sea of chemicals that are bio-active or toxic at low doses on photosynthetic organisms and/or bacteria (i.e., terbuthylazine, sulfamethoxazole or triclocarban) deserve scientific attention, especially concerning possible subtle impacts from chronic exposure of pelagic microorganisms. - Highlights: • First report on several classes of emerging contaminants in the open Mediterranean Sea. • 3 pesticides, 11 PPCPs and 2 artificial sweeteners detected in the surface marine water. • Saccharin, naproxen and DEET detected at the highest concentrations. • Spatial distribution independent of distance

  13. Viruses manipulate the marine environment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rohwer, Forest; Thurber, Rebecca Vega

    2009-05-14

    Marine viruses affect Bacteria, Archaea and eukaryotic organisms and are major components of the marine food web. Most studies have focused on their role as predators and parasites, but many of the interactions between marine viruses and their hosts are much more complicated. A series of recent studies has shown that viruses have the ability to manipulate the life histories and evolution of their hosts in remarkable ways, challenging our understanding of this almost invisible world.

  14. Biodiversity conservation should focus on no-take Marine Reserves: 94% of Marine Protected Areas allow fishing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Costello, Mark J; Ballantine, Bill

    2015-09-01

    Conservation needs places where nature is left wild; but only a quarter of coastal countries have no-take Marine Reserves. 'Marine Protected Areas' (MPAs) have been used to indicate conservation progress but we found that 94% allow fishing and thus cannot protect all aspects of biodiversity. Biodiversity conservation should focus on Marine Reserves, not MPAs. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  15. The Smithsonian-led Marine Global Earth Observatory (MarineGEO): Proposed Model for a Collaborative Network Linking Marine Biodiversity to Ecosystem Processes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Duffy, J. E.

    2016-02-01

    Biodiversity - the variety of functional types of organisms - is the engine of marine ecosystem processes, including productivity, nutrient cycling, and carbon sequestration. Biodiversity remains a black box in much of ocean science, despite wide recognition that effectively managing human interactions with marine ecosystems requires understanding both structure and functional consequences of biodiversity. Moreover, the inherent complexity of biological systems puts a premium on data-rich, comparative approaches, which are best met via collaborative networks. The Smithsonian Institution's MarineGEO program links a growing network of partners conducting parallel, comparative research to understand change in marine biodiversity and ecosystems, natural and anthropogenic drivers of that change, and the ecological processes mediating it. The focus is on nearshore, seabed-associated systems where biodiversity and human population are concentrated and interact most, yet which fall through the cracks of existing ocean observing programs. MarineGEO offers a standardized toolbox of research modules that efficiently capture key elements of biological diversity and its importance in ecological processes across a range of habitats. The toolbox integrates high-tech (DNA-based, imaging) and low-tech protocols (diver surveys, rapid assays of consumer activity) adaptable to differing institutional capacity and resources. The model for long-term sustainability involves leveraging in-kind support among partners, adoption of best practices wherever possible, engagement of students and citizen scientists, and benefits of training, networking, and global relevance as incentives for participation. Here I highlight several MarineGEO comparative research projects demonstrating the value of standardized, scalable assays and parallel experiments for measuring fish and invertebrate diversity, recruitment, benthic herbivory and generalist predation, decomposition, and carbon sequestration. Key

  16. Lunge feeding in early marine reptiles and fast evolution of marine tetrapod feeding guilds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Motani, Ryosuke; Chen, Xiao-hong; Jiang, Da-yong; Cheng, Long; Tintori, Andrea; Rieppel, Olivier

    2015-03-10

    Traditional wisdom holds that biotic recovery from the end-Permian extinction was slow and gradual, and was not complete until the Middle Triassic. Here, we report that the evolution of marine predator feeding guilds, and their trophic structure, proceeded faster. Marine reptile lineages with unique feeding adaptations emerged during the Early Triassic (about 248 million years ago), including the enigmatic Hupehsuchus that possessed an unusually slender mandible. A new specimen of this genus reveals a well-preserved palate and mandible, which suggest that it was a rare lunge feeder as also occurs in rorqual whales and pelicans. The diversity of feeding strategies among Triassic marine tetrapods reached their peak in the Early Triassic, soon after their first appearance in the fossil record. The diet of these early marine tetrapods most likely included soft-bodied animals that are not preserved as fossils. Early marine tetrapods most likely introduced a new trophic mechanism to redistribute nutrients to the top 10 m of the sea, where the primary productivity is highest. Therefore, a simple recovery to a Permian-like trophic structure does not explain the biotic changes seen after the Early Triassic.

  17. Transfer parameters of radionuclides in the marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1996-03-01

    To increase the accuracy of estimation of exposure dose by radionuclides in the marine, the informations of environmental parameter data in the marine were collected, arranged and discussed. The informations were discussed by 'a sectional committee of marine suspended solids and sediment'. The following problems were investigated and the studies were recorded in this report, clear explanation about the distribution factor (kd), the estimation method of kd, the fluctuating factor of kd data (properties of suspension and sediment, differences among the experimental methods), the physical and chemical behavior of radionuclides, sediment of radionuclides by means of sorption to the suspended particles in the marine, sorption of radionuclides into the marine soil (sediment), re-eluent of radionuclides sorpted in the marine soil (sediment), and relation between marine organism and marine suspended materials and sediment. (S.Y.)

  18. Marine Peptides and Their Anti-Infective Activities

    OpenAIRE

    Kang, Hee Kyoung; Seo, Chang Ho; Park, Yoonkyung

    2015-01-01

    Marine bioresources are a valuable source of bioactive compounds with industrial and nutraceutical potential. Numerous clinical trials evaluating novel chemotherapeutic agents derived from marine sources have revealed novel mechanisms of action. Recently, marine-derived bioactive peptides have attracted attention owing to their numerous beneficial effects. Moreover, several studies have reported that marine peptides exhibit various anti-infective activities, such as antimicrobial, antifungal,...

  19. The corrosion of depleted uranium in terrestrial and marine environments

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Toque, C.; Milodowski, A.E.; Baker, A.C.

    2014-01-01

    Depleted Uranium alloyed with titanium is used in armour penetrating munitions that have been fired in a number of conflict zones and testing ranges including the UK ranges at Kirkcudbright and Eskmeals. The study presented here evaluates the corrosion of DU alloy cylinders in soil on these two UK ranges and in the adjacent marine environment of the Solway Firth. The estimated mean initial corrosion rates and times for complete corrosion range from 0.13 to 1.9 g cm −2 y −1 and 2.5–48 years respectively depending on the particular physical and geochemical environment. The marine environment at the experimental site was very turbulent. This may have caused the scouring of corrosion products and given rise to a different geochemical environment from that which could be easily duplicated in laboratory experiments. The rate of mass loss was found to vary through time in one soil environment and this is hypothesised to be due to pitting increasing the surface area, followed by a build up of corrosion products inhibiting further corrosion. This indicates that early time measurements of mass loss or corrosion rate may be poor indicators of late time corrosion behaviour, potentially giving rise to incorrect estimates of time to complete corrosion. The DU alloy placed in apparently the same geochemical environment, for the same period of time, can experience very different amounts of corrosion and mass loss, indicating that even small variations in the corrosion environment can have a significant effect. These effects are more significant than other experimental errors and variations in initial surface area. -- Highlights: ► In-situ experiments were conducted to evaluate corrosion rates of depleted uranium. ► Samples were corroded in marine sediments, open sea water and two terrestrial soils. ► The depleted uranium titanium alloy corroded fastest in the marine environments. ► Rates of mass loss can vary through time if corrosion products are not removed.

  20. International laboratory of marine radioactivity

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    1981-08-01

    The director's report presents the overall aims and objectives of the laboratory, and some of the significant findings to date. Among these is the different behaviour in oceans of Pu and Am. Thus, fallout Pu, in contrast to Am, tends to remain in the soluble form. The vertical downward transport of Am is much quicker than for Pu. Since 1980, uptake and depuration studies of sup(95m)Tc have been carried out on key marine species. Marine environmental behaviour of Tc is being evaluated carefully in view of its being a significant constituent of nuclear wastes. Growing demands are being made on the laboratory for providing intercalibration and instrument maintenance services, and for providing training for scientists from developing countries. The body of the report is divided into 5 sections dealing with marine biology, marine chemistry, marine geochemistry/sedimentation, environmental studies, and engineering services, respectively. Appendices list laboratory staff, publications by staff members, papers and reports presented at meetings or conferences, consultants to the laboratory from 1967-1980, fellowships, trainees and membership of committees, task forces and working groups

  1. Marine microorganisms. Umi no biseibutsu

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Shimizu, U. (Hiroshima University, Hiroshima (Japan). Faculty of Applied Biological Science)

    1992-11-10

    This paper explains properties, interactions, and activities of marine microorganisms. Marine bacteria include bacteria of vibrio family of arteromonas genus, luminous bacteria, and aerobic photosynthetic bacteria. Majority of marine bacteria is halophilic, and many proliferate at 5[degree]C or lower. Some of them can proliferate at 20[degree]C to 30[degree]C, or as high temperature as 80[degree]C and higher. Spongiaria and tumicata have many symbiotic microorganisms, and genes equivalent to luminous bacteria genes were discovered in DNA of light emitting organs in luminous fishes. It was verified that animal groups in upwelling zones are supported by bacteria that assimilate inorganics supplied from ocean bottoms. Marine bacteria decompose almost all of organics brought in from land to sea, and those produced in sea. Marine bacteria engage in complex interrelations with other organisms for competition, antagonism, parasitism, and symbiosis. The bacteria make antibacterial substances, anti-algae bacteria, enzyme inhibitors, toxins, pharmacologically active substances, and such physiologically active substances as deposition promoting substances to undersea structures including shells and barnacles, and deposition blocking substances. 53 refs., 3 figs.

  2. Nonlinear acoustics of water-saturated marine sediments

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jensen, Leif Bjørnø

    1976-01-01

    Interest in the acoustic qualities of water-saturated marine sediments has increased considerably during recent years. The use of sources of high-intensity sound in oil propsecting, in geophysical and geological studies of bottom and subbottom materials and profiles and recently in marine...... archaeology has emphasized the need of information about the nonlinear acoustic qualities of water-saturated marine sediments. While the acoustic experiments and theoretical investigations hitherto performed have concentrated on a determination of the linear acoustic qualities of water-saturated marine...... sediments, their parameters of nonlinear acoustics are still unexplored. The strong absorption, increasing about linearly with frequency, found in most marine sediments and the occurrence of velocity dispersion by some marine sediments restrict the number of nonlinear acoustic test methods traditionally...

  3. Combined effects of global climate change and regional ecosystem drivers on an exploited marine food web

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Niiranen, S.; Yletyinen, J.; Tomczak, M.T.

    2013-01-01

    approach to project how the interaction of climate, nutrient loads, and cod fishing may affect the future of the open Central Baltic Sea food web. Regionally downscaled global climate scenarios were, in combination with three nutrient load scenarios, used to drive an ensemble of three regional...... biogeochemical models (BGMs). An Ecopath with Ecosim food web model was then forced with the BGM results from different nutrient-climate scenarios in combination with two different cod fishing scenarios. The results showed that regional management is likely to play a major role in determining the future......Changes in climate, in combination with intensive exploitation of marine resources, have caused large-scale reorganizations in many of the world's marine ecosystems during the past decades. The Baltic Sea in Northern Europe is one of the systems most affected. In addition to being exposed...

  4. The Danish Marine Monitoring System

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ærtebjerg, G.

    1997-01-01

    Indeholder abstracts fra Workshop on Marine Monitoring Systems and Technology, Risø, 17-18 April 1996.......Indeholder abstracts fra Workshop on Marine Monitoring Systems and Technology, Risø, 17-18 April 1996....

  5. 77 FR 42279 - Takes of Marine Mammals Incidental to Specified Activities; Taking Marine Mammals Incidental to a...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-18

    ... the shutdown zone clear of marine mammals; animals will be allowed to remain in the shutdown zone (i.e... these problems, any adverse responses to construction activities by marine mammals, and a complete... of impacts of sound on marine mammals, it is common practice to estimate how many animals are likely...

  6. Proceedings of the 2008 marine biodiesel symposium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    2008-01-01

    In addition to producing lower hydrocarbon emissions, marine biodiesel is biodegradable and does not harm fish. This symposium was held to discuss current marine biodiesel applications and examine methods of increasing the use of biodiesel in marine environments in British Columbia (BC). Biofuel policies and mandates in the province were reviewed, and methods of expanding the biodiesel market were explored. Updates on the use of biodiesel in ferries, tugboats, and smaller marine diesel engine applications were provided. Biodiesel projects in the United States were discussed. The environmental impacts of marine biodiesel were evaluated, and federal policies and standards for biodiesel were also outlined. The symposium was divided into the following 5 main sessions: (1) policy, (2) overviews, (3) using biodiesel in marine engines, (4) biodiesel in larger marine vessels, and (5) biodiesel quality and environmental considerations. The conference featured 13 presentations, of which 4 have been catalogued separately for inclusion in this database. tabs., figs

  7. Food enrichment with marine phospholipid emulsions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lu, Henna Fung Sieng; Nielsen, Nina Skall; Baron, Caroline P.

    marine PL emulsions with and without addition of fish oil. The oxidative stability of marine PL emulsions was significantly influenced by the chemical composition of marine PL used for emulsions preparation. For instance, emulsions with good oxidative stability could be obtained when using raw materials...... with high purity, low fish oil content and high PL, cholesterol and α-tocopherol content. In addition, non-enzymatic browning reactions may also affect the oxidative stability of the marine PL emulsion. These reactions included Strecker degradation and pyrrolization, and their occurrence were due......Many studies have shown that marine phospholipids (PL) provide more advantages than fish oil. They seem to have better bioavailability, better resistance towards oxidation and higher content of eicosapentaenoic acids and docosahexaenoic acids than fish oil, which essentially contains triglycerides...

  8. Cumulative human impacts on marine predators.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maxwell, Sara M; Hazen, Elliott L; Bograd, Steven J; Halpern, Benjamin S; Breed, Greg A; Nickel, Barry; Teutschel, Nicole M; Crowder, Larry B; Benson, Scott; Dutton, Peter H; Bailey, Helen; Kappes, Michelle A; Kuhn, Carey E; Weise, Michael J; Mate, Bruce; Shaffer, Scott A; Hassrick, Jason L; Henry, Robert W; Irvine, Ladd; McDonald, Birgitte I; Robinson, Patrick W; Block, Barbara A; Costa, Daniel P

    2013-01-01

    Stressors associated with human activities interact in complex ways to affect marine ecosystems, yet we lack spatially explicit assessments of cumulative impacts on ecologically and economically key components such as marine predators. Here we develop a metric of cumulative utilization and impact (CUI) on marine predators by combining electronic tracking data of eight protected predator species (n=685 individuals) in the California Current Ecosystem with data on 24 anthropogenic stressors. We show significant variation in CUI with some of the highest impacts within US National Marine Sanctuaries. High variation in underlying species and cumulative impact distributions means that neither alone is sufficient for effective spatial management. Instead, comprehensive management approaches accounting for both cumulative human impacts and trade-offs among multiple stressors must be applied in planning the use of marine resources.

  9. Production of Enzymes from Marine Actinobacteria.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, X Q; Xu, X N; Chen, L Y

    Marine actinobacteria are well recognized for their capabilities to produce valuable natural products, which have great potential for applications in medical, agricultural, and fine chemical industries. In addition to producing unique enzymes responsible for biosynthesis of natural products, many marine actinobacteria also produce hydrolytic enzymes which are able to degrade various biopolymers, such as cellulose, xylan, and chitin. These enzymes are important to produce biofuels and biochemicals of interest from renewable biomass. In this chapter, the recent reports of novel enzymes produced by marine actinobacteria are reviewed, and advanced technologies that can be applied to search for novel marine enzymes as well as for improved enzyme production by marine actinobacteria are summarized, which include ribosome engineering, genome mining, as well as synthetic biology studies. © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Investigating the Marine Environment and Its Resources, Part II.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lien, Violetta F.

    This is the second of two volumes comprising a resource unit designed to help students become more knowledgeable about the marine environment and its resources. Included in this volume are discussions of changes in the human and marine environment, human needs, marine resources, living marine resources, marine transportation, marine energy…

  11. The earliest Permian shark fossils from Texas and their implications for later marine faunas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shell, R.; Ciampaglio, C. N.

    2017-12-01

    Complex marine vertebrate faunas from lower Permian rocks are incredibly rare. Recent research suggests that the composition of what few communities can be found varied wildly, especially in regard to the presence or absence of Hybodontiform sharks. Early Permian marine faunas in Texas are generally richer in Hybodont sharks than similarly aged communities in Russia and Bolivia, but the cause of this variation is unknown. A fossil hybodont spine fragment from just above the Pennsylvanian/Permian boundary in Texas, however, suggests that that regional climatic events allowed Hybodont sharks to migrate into the Permian Basin at the outset of the Permian itself. As the Basin evolved tectonically and sedimentologically, these sharks likely evolved to fill new niches as they opened up- which may have resulted in the increased number of Hybodont species in the Permian of Texas: a major factor to consider in the faunal evolution of the Western Interior Seaway during the Mesozoic and beyond.

  12. Refugial origin and postglacial colonization of holarctic reindeer and caribou

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Knut H. Røed

    2005-04-01

    Full Text Available The classification and colonization of reindeer and caribou (Rangifer tarandus was assessed from analysis of both proteins, nuclear DNA and mitochondrial DNA. I demonstrate that the current subspecies designations are not compatible with the differentiation at these markers, suggesting that the morphological differences among extant subspecies did not evolve in separate glacial refugia. Thus, morphological differences among extant subspecies probably evolved as adaptive responses to post-glacial environmental changes. An exception to this is the North American woodland caribou, where all three marker systems support a subspecies-specific refugium as the ancestral origin of these animals. Three major mtDNA haplogroups reported, represent three separate origins of the species during the last glaciation. The most influential origin has contributed to the gene pool of all extant subspecies, suggesting the existence of a large and continuous glacial population ranging across extensive areas of tundra in Eurasia and Beringia. The North American tundra forms (R.t. granti and groenlandicus and the arctic forms (R.t platyrhynchus, R.t pearyi and R.t eogroenlandicus almost exclusively comprise haplotypes of such an origin. Another small and isolated refugium seems to have arisen in western Eurasia in close connection to the extensive ice sheet that covered Fennoscandia. The two Eurasian subspecies R.t. tarandus and R.t. fennicus appear to have a diphyletic origin as both the putatively small and isolated Eurasian refugium and the large Beringia refugium have contributed to their gene pools. A third distinct and geographically well-defined refugial area was probably located south to the extensive North American continental ice sheet from where the ancestors of the present North American woodland caribou (R.t. caribou likely originated.Abstract in Norwegian / Sammendrag: Systematisk inndeling og kolonisering av rein (Rangifer tarandus ble bestemt ved

  13. Ancient DNA analysis identifies marine mollusc shells as new metagenomic archives of the past.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Der Sarkissian, Clio; Pichereau, Vianney; Dupont, Catherine; Ilsøe, Peter C; Perrigault, Mickael; Butler, Paul; Chauvaud, Laurent; Eiríksson, Jón; Scourse, James; Paillard, Christine; Orlando, Ludovic

    2017-09-01

    Marine mollusc shells enclose a wealth of information on coastal organisms and their environment. Their life history traits as well as (palaeo-) environmental conditions, including temperature, food availability, salinity and pollution, can be traced through the analysis of their shell (micro-) structure and biogeochemical composition. Adding to this list, the DNA entrapped in shell carbonate biominerals potentially offers a novel and complementary proxy both for reconstructing palaeoenvironments and tracking mollusc evolutionary trajectories. Here, we assess this potential by applying DNA extraction, high-throughput shotgun DNA sequencing and metagenomic analyses to marine mollusc shells spanning the last ~7,000 years. We report successful DNA extraction from shells, including a variety of ancient specimens, and find that DNA recovery is highly dependent on their biomineral structure, carbonate layer preservation and disease state. We demonstrate positive taxonomic identification of mollusc species using a combination of mitochondrial DNA genomes, barcodes, genome-scale data and metagenomic approaches. We also find shell biominerals to contain a diversity of microbial DNA from the marine environment. Finally, we reconstruct genomic sequences of organisms closely related to the Vibrio tapetis bacteria from Manila clam shells previously diagnosed with Brown Ring Disease. Our results reveal marine mollusc shells as novel genetic archives of the past, which opens new perspectives in ancient DNA research, with the potential to reconstruct the evolutionary history of molluscs, microbial communities and pathogens in the face of environmental changes. Other future applications include conservation of endangered mollusc species and aquaculture management. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  14. Climate change and marine top predators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Climate change affects all components of marine ecosystems. For endothermic top predators, i.e. seabirds and marine mammals, these impacts are often complex and mediated through trophic relationships. In this Research Topic, leading researchers attempt to identify patterns of change among seabirds...... and marine mammals, and the mechanisms through which climate change drives these changes....

  15. Marine Anthropogenic Litter

    OpenAIRE

    Bergmann, Melanie; Gutow, Lars; Klages, Michael

    2015-01-01

    This book describes how manmade litter, primarily plastic, has spread into the remotest parts of the oceans and covers all aspects of this pollution problem from the impacts on wildlife and human health to socio-economic and political issues. Marine litter is a prime threat to marine wildlife, habitats and food webs worldwide. The book illustrates how advanced technologies from deep-sea research, microbiology and mathematic modelling as well as classic beach litter counts by volunteers co...

  16. Radioactive monitoring of the marine environment

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bologa, A. S.

    1991-01-01

    Radioactivity monitoring of marine environment was required by the development of nuclear power and the worldwide use of ionizing radiations in many different activities. Both natural and artificial radioactivity play an important role in marine ecology and human health. In respect of this, three major facts prevail, namely: the fallout, the proximity of Danube River and the future nuclear power production. Spatial and temporal monitoring of marine radioactivity along the Romanian Black Sea shore has been systematically performed in Romanian Marine Research Institute in close cooperation with Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology since 1981. Marine emerged and submerged sediments, coastal and offshore sea water, macroalgae, invertebrates and fish of Danube mouths and/or along the coast are monitored for natural and artificial radioactivity by means of gross beta measurements and gamma spectrometry. Concentrations of radionuclides such as: K-40, Cs-134 and Cs-137 in abiotic and biotic samples, environmental distribution coefficients and concentration factors (CFs) as well as experimentally derived CFs in marine biota as radioecological bioindicators are assessed and stored in a national data base. (author)

  17. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine Personnel Carrier (MPC): Background and Issues for Congress

    Science.gov (United States)

    2016-09-09

    providing critical capabilities to execute the nation’s military strategy . On January 6, 2011, after spending approximately $3 billion in...the Landing Craft , Air Cushioned (LCAC). The LAV-25 has been in service since 1983. According to the Marine Program Executive Office (PEO) Land...the Marines’ new MPC/ACV acquisition strategy and its associated challenges and risks. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicle (ACV) and Marine

  18. Antifouling Compounds from Marine Invertebrates

    OpenAIRE

    Qi, Shu-Hua; Ma, Xuan

    2017-01-01

    In this review, a comprehensive overview about the antifouling compounds from marine invertebrates is described. In total, more than 198 antifouling compounds have been obtained from marine invertebrates, specifically, sponges, gorgonian and soft corals.

  19. Antifouling Compounds from Marine Invertebrates.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qi, Shu-Hua; Ma, Xuan

    2017-08-28

    In this review, a comprehensive overview about the antifouling compounds from marine invertebrates is described. In total, more than 198 antifouling compounds have been obtained from marine invertebrates, specifically, sponges, gorgonian and soft corals.

  20. Degradation of Herbicides in the Tropical Marine Environment: Influence of Light and Sediment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mercurio, Philip; Mueller, Jochen F; Eaglesham, Geoff; O'Brien, Jake; Flores, Florita; Negri, Andrew P

    2016-01-01

    Widespread contamination of nearshore marine systems, including the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) lagoon, with agricultural herbicides has long been recognised. The fate of these contaminants in the marine environment is poorly understood but the detection of photosystem II (PSII) herbicides in the GBR year-round suggests very slow degradation rates. Here, we evaluated the persistence of a range of commonly detected herbicides in marine water under field-relevant concentrations and conditions. Twelve-month degradation experiments were conducted in large open tanks, under different light scenarios and in the presence and absence of natural sediments. All PSII herbicides were persistent under control conditions (dark, no sediments) with half-lives of 300 d for atrazine, 499 d diuron, 1994 d hexazinone, 1766 d tebuthiuron, while the non-PSII herbicides were less persistent at 147 d for metolachlor and 59 d for 2,4-D. The degradation of herbicides was 2-10 fold more rapid in the presence of a diurnal light cycle and coastal sediments; apart from 2,4-D which degraded more slowly in the presence of light. Despite the more rapid degradation observed for most herbicides in the presence of light and sediments, the half-lives remained > 100 d for the PS II herbicides. The effects of light and sediments on herbicide persistence were likely due to their influence on microbial community composition and its ability to utilise the herbicides as a carbon source. These results help explain the year-round presence of PSII herbicides in marine systems, including the GBR, but more research on the transport, degradation and toxicity on a wider range of pesticides and their transformation products is needed to improve their regulation in sensitive environments.