Showing papers by "Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution published in 1972"
TL;DR: Chlorophyllide c (chlorophyll c) wax found in axenic or unialgal cultures of 5 members of the class Xanthophyceae and in 2 members ofThe class Raphidophyceai (ChloromonadophyceAE).
Abstract: SUMMARY
Chlorophyllide c (chlorophyll c) wax found in axenic or unialgal cultures of 5 members of the class Xanthophyceae and in 2 members of the class Raphidophyceae (Chloromonadophyceae).
Two other algae contained no chl c; neither had chl b. One of these plants, Pleurochloris magna, is presumably a member of the newly named class Eustigmatophyceae (Hibberd and Leedale). The other alga, clone GSB Sticho, is of uncertain, systematic position.
Although, the xanthophyll pigments were not critically studied, there is enough evidence, to permit the conclusion that the xanthophyll suites of the chloromonads, the xanthophytes, P. magna, and clone GSB Sticho all differ in at least one respect.
1,218 citations
TL;DR: Plastic particles, in concentrations averaging 3500 pieces and 290 grams per square kilometer, are widespread in the western Sargasso Sea and could be a source of some of the polychlorinated biphenyls recently observed in oceanic organisms.
Abstract: Plastic particles, in concentrations averaging 3500 pieces and 290 grams per square kilometer, are widespread in the western Sargasso Sea. Pieces are brittle, apparently due to the weathering of the plasticizers, and many are in a pellet shape about 0.25 to 0.5 centimeters in diameter. The particles are surfaces for the attachment of diatoms and hydroids. Increasing production of plastics, combined with present waste-disposal practices, will undoubtedly lead to increases in the concentration of these particles. Plastics could be a source of some of the polychlorinated biphenyls recently observed in oceanic organisms.
1,092 citations
TL;DR: White, opaque spherules are selectively consumed by 8 species of fish out of 14 species examined, and a chaetognath, and ingestion of the plastic may lead to intestinal blockage in smaller fish.
Abstract: Polystyrene spherules averaging 0.5 millimeter in diameter (range 0.1 to 2 millimeters) are abundant in the coastal waters of southern New England. Two types are present, a crystalline (clear) form and a white, opaque form with pigmentation resulting from a diene rubber. The spherules have bacteria on their surfaces and contain polychlorinated biphenyls, apparently absorbed from ambient seawater, in a concentration of 5 parts per million. White, opaque spherules are selectively consumed by 8 species of fish out of 14 species examined, and a chaetognath. Ingestion of the plastic may lead to intestinal blockage in smaller fish.
800 citations
TL;DR: In this article, an experimental study of the albedo of the sea surface for shortwave solar radiation has been carried out on a fixed platform, where 15-minute totals of upward and downward irradiances were recorded continuously for four months over a wide range of atmospheric and sea conditions.
Abstract: An experimental study of the albedo of the sea surface for shortwave solar radiation has been carried out on a fixed platform. Fifteen-minute totals of upward and downward irradiances were recorded continuously for four months over a wide range of atmospheric and sea conditions. The resulting albedo values, the ratio of upward to downward irradiance, are expressed in terms of a particularly convenient pair of parameters, sun altitude and atmospheric transmittance (T). The latter is defined as the ratio of observed downward irradiance to the irradiance at the top of the atmosphere and has not been used before in describing albedo. Examples of albedo values are 0.061±0.005 for heavily overcast skies (0.0 0.65) of 0.03 for high sun to as large as 0.45 at sun altitudes 25° and increases to 25% for very low sun attitudes. The effect of wind, through ...
534 citations
TL;DR: It was found that there is a successive increase in diversity of hermatypic corals from shallow water to a depth of 30 m, and species diversity and living voverage of corals were significantly greater in steeper zones as compared to flatter zones of the reef.
Abstract: This study investigates the community structure of reefbulding corals in terms of species composition, zonation and diversity patterns, as well as possible factors affecting the observed distributions. The study was carried out by a series of line transects run underwater with SCUBA apparatus from the reef flat to a depth of 30 m. The reefs of Eilat are of the fringing type, with seleractinian corals as the most important hermatypic organisms. The different zones of the reef are analyzed on the basis of topographical characteristics of the reef, as well as from the numerical data on abundance and living coverage, using cluster analysis of all transects surveyed. The present knowledge concerning species diversity is reviewed and analyzed in the context of hermatypic coral data. Three different diversity indices (the species count, Simpson's index and Shannon and Weaver's index) were calculated for estimating the diversity obtained on different zones of the reef. It was found that there is a successive increase in diversity of hermatypic corals from shallow water to a depth of 30 m. Species diversity and living voverage of corals were significantly greater in steeper zones as compared to flatter zones of the reef. A possible explanation for this phenomenon is the accumulation of sediments in the flat zones. It is proposed that the severe and umpredictable nature of the reef flat may account for low abundance and living coverage of corals. It is also proposed that deep-water species which do not invade shallow water are species which have developed high specialization to their local environment. The idea that light intensity is a significant factor in calcium-carbonate deposition by scleractinian corals is supported by field measurements of individual colonies at different depths.
492 citations
379 citations
TL;DR: The Kuyshu-Palau Ridge as discussed by the authors is probably the remnant of the old transform fault, which was probably connected by a long transform fault with the major ridge system (Kula-Pacific Ridge) which submerged under the Japanese and Kurile Arcs in late Cretaceous.
Abstract: The Central Basin Fault, an extinct mid-oceanic ridge, was probably connected by a long transform fault with the major ridge system (Kula-Pacific Ridge) which submerged under the Japanese and Kurile Arcs in late Cretaceous. When the direction of the motion of the Pacific plate changed from NNW to WNW during Eocene time, the Philippine ridge became extinct and WNW dipping subduction started at the transform fault which turned into an island arc. Then extensional openings of inter-arc basins followed to form basins to the east. The Kuyshu-Palau Ridge is probably the remnant of the old transform fault.
294 citations
TL;DR: The boiling range of the spilled oil and the relative abundances of homologous hydrocarbons have been well preserved, suggesting that oil products and crude oils have a considerable environmental persistence.
Abstract: In September 1969, approximately 600 metric tons of number 2 fueloil were spilled in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts. Two years later, fuel oil hydrocarbons still persisted in the marsh and in offshore sediments. Hydrocarbon degradation is slow, especially below the immediate sediment surface and appears to proceed principally through microbial utilization of alkanes and through partial dissolution of the lower-boiling aromatic hydrocarbons. The boiling range of the spilled oil and the relative abundances of homologous hydrocarbons (for example, phytane and pristane) have been well preserved. The findings are in agreement with the known geochemical stability of hydrocarbons. Fuel oil is an appreciable fraction of whole crude oil. This fact suggests that oil products and crude oils have a considerable environmental persistence.
209 citations
167 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors investigated the pattern of Middle Cretaceous oceanic surface currents in the Northern Hemisphere, using planetary vorticity models developed by Von Arx, and found that the main features of the ocean configuration are an open Tethys seaway and Central American region, an Atlantic Ocean approximately 50 percent of its present size, a Pacific Ocean about 25 percent larger than it is at present, and the ancient Tithys Ocean.
Abstract: Experimental investigations of the pattern of Middle Cretaceous oceanic surface currents in the Northern Hemisphere have been made, using planetary vorticity models developed by Von Arx. The main features of the ocean configuration are an open Tethys seaway and Central American region, an Atlantic Ocean approximately 50 percent of its present size, a Pacific Ocean about 25 percent larger than it is at present, and the ancient Tethys Ocean. Two zonal wind profiles have been considered in the experiments, a “glacial” profile simulating the zonal profile in existence today and a “nonglacial” profile with the westerlies belt about 10° farther north than the glacial profile. Paleoclimatic data support the existence of the non-glacial situation in the Middle Cretaceous, and these results are considered most relevant. The features of this experiment which differ significantly from the present-day oceanic surface circulation are the circum-global flow of the Tethys current, the flow of the Gulf Stream into the Labrador Sea, and cross-polar flow of water from the Atlantic into the North Pacific. In another experiment, the Tethys region was closed off near Malaysia in order to simulate the obstruction of the Tethys current. The Central American region was left open. Weak and variable currents are seen in the Tethys (or ancient Mediterranean), and the circum-global current is absent. North Atlantic circulation occurs from Greenland down to the equator. Atlantic and Pacific waters exchange through the Isthmus of Panama. A net inflow of Pacific water through this gap into the Atlantic maintains the cross-polar flow of “warmer” waters from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Geologic evidence of the first land connections in the Isthmus region can be correlated with the formation of the Labrador Current (3.4 m.y. ago and 3 m.y. ago, respectively). It is proposed that cessation of net inflow of Pacific water into the Atlantic caused cross-polar flow to stop. This, coupled with a deteriorating mean global temperature, was sufficient to trigger the formation of ice in the Arctic region.
150 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the arrival-time-difference measurements on a four-hydrophone array were used to estimate the locations of underwater biological sound sources, including passing ships, other artificial sources, whales, and porpoises.
TL;DR: In this paper, during cruise #49 of the R/V Atlantis II to the Black Sea in March and April of 1969, samples of suspended matter were collected by filtration of 8 to 101.
TL;DR: The formation of the North Atlantic Ocean was somewhat more complex as discussed by the authors, with the drift of Africa and South America away from North America in Triassic time about 200 m.y.
Abstract: Finite rotations of the African, European, and North and South American plates about the poles of Bullard and others (1965) have been employed to reconstruct the ancient configuration of the Atlantic Ocean. The rates and duration-times for the motions have been estimated from sea-floor spreading interpretations of marine magnetic profiles and deep-sea drilling results across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The central Atlantic, Caribbean, and Gulf of Mexico began to form in Triassic time about 200 m.y. ago, with the drift of Africa and South America away from North America. The South Atlantic first opened about 150 m.y. ago as South America separated from Africa. The formation of the North Atlantic was somewhat more complex. Initial opening began in the Rockall Trough between 200 and 150 m.y. ago. The Bay of Biscay formed during the period 150 to 80 m.y. ago. The Labrador Sea opened between 80 and 45 m.y. ago. The present spreading regime along the Reykjanes Ridge and Mid-Atlantic Ridge north of the Azores began about 65 m.y. ago. Paleomagnetic poles for the respective continental plates for various geologic time intervals have also been subjected to the same finite rotations as the continents. A world mean polar wander path reconstructed from the rotated paleomagnetic poles reveals that the entire Atlantic plate system has gradually shifted northward toward the present spin axis as opening progressed.
TL;DR: The character and distribution of surficial sediments on the continental shelf and slope between northern Maine and southern Florida have been denned on the basis of more than 6,000 bottom samples as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: The character and distribution of surficial sediments on the continental shelf and slope between northern Maine and southern Florida have been denned on the basis of more than 6,000 bottom samples Most shelf sediments were deposited in shallow water (probably littoral depths) during the last lower stand of sea level Modern sediments are accumulating only in estuaries, in certain nearshore areas and on the continental slope A large portion of the shelf sediment north of lat 41° N was deposited by Pleistocene glaciers that covered the area Sediments on the middle Atlantic shelf consist of predominantly arkosic to subarkosic fluvial sands The inner shelf off the southeastern United States is covered by suborthoquartzitic fluvial sands, derived mostly from Piedmont rivers; carbonate-rich sands occur over much of the outer shelf and upper slope Residual detritus, reworked from underlying mid-Tertiary formations, is an important sedimentary component on Georges Bank and Nantucket Shoals, Onslow Bay, the Florida-Hatteras slope, and the Blake Plateau Although most sediments are not in compositional equilibrium with the present-day shelf environment, there is considerable evidence to suggest that many may be in at least partial textural equilibrium Holocene reworking has removed most fine-grained sediment, leaving only coarse to medium sand Some fine-grained fluvial sediment escapes the estuaries and near-shore during floods and storms, but this influx is not sufficient to offset the effect of winnowing by currents and waves A significant portion of the modern near-shore sediment, in fact, may be derived from landward transport of fine-grained sediment from the central and outer shelf Despite the evidence of active sediment movement on the shelf, however, the net lateral transport of sand and gravel appears to be limited Because of the lack of present-day terrigenous sedimentation, a primary source of modern shelf sediment is calcareous skeletal material If the present-day surface were preserved in the geologic record, much of it probably would be a carbonate-rich layer, containing altered and reworked skeletal material representing a variety of depositional environments
TL;DR: In this paper, a detailed analysis of the deep-water sediments of the Black Sea during Late Pleistocene and Holocene time is presented, including three sedimentary units: (1) a microlaminated coccolith ooze mainly consisting of Emiliania huxleyi ; (2) a sapropel; and (3) banded lutite.
TL;DR: A slightly metamorphosed igneous sequence is exposed beneath upper Eocene limestone on Eua, the southernmost of the eastern line of limestone-covered islands of the Tonga group as discussed by the authors.
Abstract: A slightly metamorphosed igneous sequence is exposed beneath upper Eocene limestone on Eua, the southernmost of the eastern line of limestone-covered islands of the Tonga group. This igneous sequence occurs as lava, agglomerate, conglomerate, and tuff; compositions include high-alumina tholeiite, basaltic andesite, quartz gabbro, olivine basalt, and dacite tuff. Well-defined dikes of acid andesite (also pre-limestone) cut this sequence. Phenocryst mineralogy is typically highly calcic plagioclase, augite, and titanomagnetite, plus alteration products (mainly uralite, chlorite, epidote, calcite, and pyrite). Characteristic chemical features of the Eua igneous suite include relatively high alumina, very low K 2 O, P 2 O 5 , Rb, Ba, and REE, and relatively low TiO 2 , Ni, and Cr. The Na/K, V/Ni, and K/Rb ratios are high, and Rb/Sr ratios are very low. Measured Sr 87 /Sr 86 ratios (= initial) of a tholeiitic basalt and an acid andesite give 0.7034 and 0.7038, respectively. The Eua igneous suite evidently represents a very early stage of island arc evolution. Geochemically, these Eua rocks are decidedly less fractionated (or more “primitive”) than the recent Tongan basaltic andesite-dacite association which constitutes the western line of active volcanic islands of Tonga. This latter suite can be classified as one of the circum-Pacific “low potash andesite suites” (or “island arc tholeiitic series”). In terms of the trace and minor element data, the Eua igneous suite is similar in many respects to ocean-floor basaltic lavas, although perhaps characterized by lower TiO 2 , Ni, and Cr than is typical of most ocean floor lavas. It is concluded that the over-all chemistry and mineralogy of the Eua igneous suite suggest close similarities with the volcanic and mafic plutonic components of described ophiolite complexes; this is partly supported by the reported occurrence of peridotite and dunite from the nearshore flank of the Tonga trench. Thus, it is postulated that on Eua we have the topmost part of an underlying ophiolite complex exposed, possibly developed at the location of and at the inception of the site of initial subduction of lithosphere that has subsequently been responsible for the development of the Tonga arc system.
TL;DR: It appears, from data on natural urea concentrations and urea uptake rates by S. costata, that urea can be ,a significant N source for at least one common inshore phytoplankter and at least three offshore marine phy toplankton can grow as rapidly on urea as on nitrate or ammonia.
Abstract: Three diatoms from the Sargasso Sea and two diatoms and a haptophyte flagellate from an inshore area near Woods IIolc exhibited similar growth rates on urea, nitrate, and ammonia. A coccolithophore Emiliana (Coccolithus) huxleyi from the Sargasso Sea did not grow on urea. The half-saturation constant (K) for urea determined for one inshore diatom, Stephanopyxis costata ( Skeletonema costatum), was 8.5 pg-atom urea-N liter-l. At the urea concentrations of its habitats, the calculated division rate for this species, growing on urea as the sole nitrogen source, was 2.2 days, similar to that of diatoms growing in inshore habitats. It appears, from data on natural urea concentrations and urea uptake rates by S. costata, that urea can be ,a significant N source for at least one common inshore phytoplankter. According to growth rate studies, at least three inshore and three offshore marine phytoplankton can grow as rapidly on urea as on nitrate or ammonia,
TL;DR: The “typical” obligately chemoautotrophic thiobacilli are rare in the marine environment and biological oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds in open ocean areas is largely carried out by facultatively autotrophic bacteria.
Abstract: Offshore waters and sediments of the Atlantic Ocean and the Black Sea and inshore waters near Woods Hole, Massachusetts, were examined for bacteria resembling ThiobacilZus sp., and 136 isolates were obtained by enrichment culture with thiosulfate or elemental sulfur as the energy source. Enrichments for iron-oxidizing thiobacilli were unsuccessful. Under chemolithotrophic growth conditions, only 19% of the isolates oxidized more than 5% of the thiosulfate supplied in mineral medium, with an increase, moderate decrease, or no change in the pH of the medium., Strains that decreased the pH were proportionately most abundant in inshore water. Thirty-five percent of the isolates could be cultured on sulfide substrate with a greater yield than on thiosulfate. Seventy-four percent of the isolates could grow anoxically in thiosulfate mineral medium containing nitrate as the terminal acceptor; only 3 of these produced gas from nitrate. About 95% of all isolates could be grown on organic media. Heterotrophically grown cultures could easily be grown on thiosulfate mineral medium when transferred from organic medium. Apparently the “typical” obligately chemoautotrophic thiobacilli are rare in the marine environment and biological oxidation of reduced sulfur compounds in open ocean areas is largely carried out by facultatively autotrophic bacteria.
TL;DR: An extinct ocean floor spreading center identified by a topographic ridge has been discovered in the West Philippine Basin this article, which explains the early evolution of the Western Pacific and some marginal seas.
Abstract: An extinct ocean floor spreading centre identified by a topographic ridge has been discovered in the West Philippine Basin. Evidence of active spreading during the Mesozoic explains the early evolution of the Western Pacific and some marginal seas.
TL;DR: The total carbon in crust of the earth is about 9 × 1022 g as mentioned in this paper, which is about three times as much organic carbon in claystones and shales as in carbonate rocks and sandstones.
Abstract: The total carbon in crust of the earth is about 9 × 1022 g. Continental and oceanic sediments contain 1.2 × 1022 g of organic carbon and 6.4 × 1022 g of carbonate carbon. There is about three times as much organic carbon in claystones and shales as in carbonate rocks and sandstones. The carbon in the oil and gas of petroleum reservoirs totals 1 × 1018 g or about 0.01 percent of the organic carbon in sedimentary rocks. The hydrogen in the organic matter of sedimentary rocks totals 9 × 1020 g or about 32 times as much as is needed to form all the petroleum in both reservoir and nonreservoir rocks. This inventory shows not only that there is adequate hydrogen to form oil in the sediments, but als that the entire process of the origin, migration, and accumulation of petroleum is extremely inefficient.
TL;DR: In this article, the extremely slow rate of bacterial degradation of polluting oil trapped in a marine sediment has been investigated, and it is shown that the degradation rate of the oil is extremely slow.
TL;DR: In situ measurements of community respiration were made at two stations in Castle Harbor, Bermuda, during April and May, 1971, and both the macrofaunal and meiofaunaal respiration was negligible compared to that estimated for the microfaunals-microfloral component.
Abstract: In situ measurements of community respiration were made at two stations in Castle Harbor, Bermuda, during April and May, 1971. Total community respiration was 20.67 and 19.11 ml O2 m-2 h-1 at Stations 1 and 2, respectively, in April. In May, respiration increased with water temperature to 26.99 and 24.56 ml O2 m-2 h-1. Significant differences (P<0.05) existed between stations and sampling periods. Bacterial respiration was estimated from sediment treatment with streptomycin-SO4. Values ranged from 7.71 to 8.72 ml O2 m-2 h-1 in April and May, respectively. No significant difference existed between sampling periods or stations. No detectable chemical O2 demand of the sediment, determined by a formalin treatment, was found. Total community respiration was further compartmentalized into macrofaunal, meiofaunal, and microfaunal-microfloral components. Both the macrofaunal and meiofaunal respiration was negligible compared to that estimated for the microfaunal-microfloral component.
TL;DR: In this paper, the basis of a method for the source identification of oil spills by gas chromatographic analysis (fingerprinting) is described, and compositional parameters for eight different crude oils are given.
TL;DR: A counter-current heat-exchange system in the blood supply to the brain and eye allows metabolic heat to accumulate in these organs and raise their temperatures.
TL;DR: Asteroids appear to distinguish between intact and injured tissue, and exhibit variable responses, which provide a possible mechanism for forming feeding aggregates.
Abstract: The sea star Asterias vulgaris was observed in aquaria and in a flow tank in the presence of oysters, oyster tissue, and extracts of four shellfish species. Oysters were approached after varying delays, opened, and consumed; oyster tissue was rapidly approached and eaten. Dilute (ppb) shellfish extracts were approached in a flow tank. High concentrations of extracts elicited posturing and stomach eversion responses. Some suspended materials in flowing seawater inhibited the approach of A. vulgaris to oyster extract. The behavior of A. vulgaris and A. forbesi to food stimuli are compared. Asteroids appear to distinguish between intact and injured tissue, and exhibit variable responses. These tendencies provide a possible mechanism for forming feeding aggregates.
TL;DR: In this paper, a local, one-dimensional model is developed for the determination of mode water characteristics, which agrees well with observations for mean conditions, in both the North Atlantic and the North Pacific.
TL;DR: Extensive laboratory experimentation by the authors have succeeded in rendering tetrazolium blue applicable in analytical systems for sugars because of the precipitation of diformazan, which clogs capillary tubing.
TL;DR: The distribution of terrestrial heat flow through the sea floor of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean is compared to recent tectonic interpretations of this complex region as discussed by the authors, showing that the theoretical distribution of heat flow for sea floor spreading models matches well with smoothed data over portions of the Pacific, Cocos and Nasca lithospheric plates created within about the past 18 My from the East Pacific Rise.
Abstract: Summary
The distribution of terrestrial heat flow through the sea floor of the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean is compared to recent tectonic interpretations of this complex region. Some 500 values between 25° N to 20° S latitude, including 146 newly reported here, show that the theoretical distribution of heat flow for sea-floor spreading models matches well with smoothed data over portions of the Pacific, Cocos and Nasca lithospheric plates created within about the past 18 My from the East Pacific Rise. For the Galapagos Rift Zone, the fit is reasonable for lithosphere formed within the last 5 My only if a significant proportion of low heat-flow values is ignored. The heat flow on the Mathematicians’ Ridge and Galapagos Rise indicates that these were sea-floor spreading axes along which activity terminated about 5 and 10 My ago, respectively; this interpretation and its time scale are generally consistent with tectonic histories deduced from magnetic and topographic evidence.
Detailed surveys and repeated measurements at stations suggest that localized heat-flow variability is frequently associated with topographic variability of the sea floor. Bottom water temperature profiles show that the East Pacific Rise is a barrier to eastward flow of waters at depths greater than 3 km, the approximate sill depth over the Nasca plate.
TL;DR: In this article, the stability of progressive internal waves of modes 1 and 3, propagating down a long tank filled with a linearly stratified salt water solution, is studied theoretically and experimentally.
Abstract: The stability of progressive internal waves of modes 1 and 3, propagating down a long tank filled with a linearly stratified salt water solution, is studied theoretically and experimentally. Examination of the spectra of the waves shows when a1 > 10−2, where a is the wave amplitude and l is the vertical wavenumber, that single internal waves excite waves of several resonant triads, where the excited waves belong to that set of triads with the largest theoretical growth rates. For example, a wave of mode 3 with a non-dimensional frequency around 0.66 excites waves of the following triads: (5,8,3), (6,9,3), (8,11,3), (9,12,3) and (10,13,3), where the integers are mode numbers. The spontaneous appearance of these naturally excited triads greatly complicates attempts to isolate and study preselected wave interactions. In one case, when waves of mode 1 and 3 with al > 10−2 were generated simultaneously while tuned to the (1,3,4,7) multiple resonance, the fastest growing wave was neither a wave of mode 4 located at the difference frequency nor a wave of mode 7 at the sum frequency, but rather a wave of mode 9 located at a frequency slightly above that of the 4-wave.