(Table 1, page 146) Iron, manganese and nickel contents of 21 ferromanganese nodules from Combe D'Izame and Mont Peyroux, Montagne Noire

Ferromanganese nodules (equivalent to Recent manganese nodules) are described from the Upper Devonian griotte (red pelagic limestone) of the Montagne Noire (S. France) and the Cephalopodenkalk of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge, West Germany. They occur as encrustations, commonly exhibiting colloform structures, around skeletal material and limestone clasts. The nodules are associated with encrusting foraminifera and a development in the sublittoral environment is envisaged. Chemically, the ferromanganese nodules are depleted in manganese relative to iron, compared with Recent nodules, a loss which is attributed to diagenetic migration of manganese. Electron probe studies show that manganese covaries positively with calcium, but negatively with iron and silicon. Diagenetic enrichment of hematite occurs in the griotte at hardground horizons where two periods of mineralization can be established. The Devonian ferromanganese nodules show that solution of nodules has not occurred on burial.

Environmental magnetism, geochemical measurements and colour reflectance of two sediment cores: GeoB4905-4 off Cameroon and GeoB4906-3 off Gabon

We combine environmental magnetism, geochemical measurements and colour reflectance to study two late Quaternary sediment cores: GeoB 4905-4 at 2° 30 N off Cameroon and GeoB 4906-3 at 0° 44 N off Gabon. This area is suitable for investigating precipitation changes over Central and West Africa because of its potential to record input of aeolian and fluvial sediments. Three magnetozones representing low and high degree of alteration of the primary rock magnetic signals were identified. The magnetic signature is dominated by fine-grained magnetite, while residual haematite prevails in the reduced intervals, showing increase in concentration and fine grain size at wet intervals. Our records also show millennial-scale changes in climate during the last glacial and interglacial cycles. At the northern location, the past 5.5 ka are marked by high-frequency oscillations of Ti and colour reflectance, which suggests aeolian input and hence aridity. The southern location remains under the influence of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and thus did not register aeolian signals. The millennial-scale climatic signals indicate that drier and/or colder conditions persisted during the late Holocene and are synchronous with the 900 a climatic cycles observed in Northern Hemisphere ice core records.

Grain size and diatom valves in sediment cores KS82-30 and KS82-31

Diatoms were studied quantitatively in six latest Quaternary (~70 kyr B.P. to Recent) piston cores from the westernmost Mediterranean, the Alboran Basin, and the Atlantic region immediately to the west of the Straits of Gibraltar. The Atlantic cores completely lack diatoms. In the Alboran Basin, diatoms are common from late Stage 3 (~27.5 kyr B.P.) to Termination lb (9 kyr B.P.) and in Recent core tops, but are absent in the other latest Quaternary intervals. Maximum accumulation of diatoms and highest abundance of species normally in sediments associated with increased productivity occurred during the latest Quaternary deglaciation, in the first phase of Termination I (~14.8 kyr B.P.). In the modern Alboran Basin, a region of high biological productivity occurs immediately east of the Gibraltar Straits. This high productivity results from upwelling associated with the interaction between the Atlantic inflow and the bottom topography near the Spanish coast. The upwelled nutrient-rich waters are then advected to the east and southeast by the surficial anticyclonic gyral circulation. Late Quaternary variations in diatom abundance are considered to reflect changes in this upwelling intensity with highest diatom abundances inferred to result from increased upwelling associated with an intensification of the anticyclonic gyral circulation. Highest inferred upwelling rates occurred during the first phase of latest Quaternary deglaciation. It is possible that an intensification of circulation within the Mediterranean Basin as a whole occurred from late Stage 3 to mid Termination I because widespread hiatus formation has been reported at this time in the Straits of Sicily due to an increase in the formation of intermediate waters. Diatoms were not preserved in other latest Quaternary intervals due to insufficient productivity to counterbalance their dissolution.

Enzyme activities of digestive and metabolic enzymes of Calanus finmarchicus from Maria S. Merian cruise MSM26 in spring 2013

The present study aimed to contribute to the knowledge on the intraspecific variations of enzyme activities in populations of Calanus finmarchicus from different longitudes across the North Atlantic Ocean and their relation to changing environmental conditions. C. finmarchicus was sampled across the North Atlantic in basins with decreasing temperature regimes from east to west (Iceland Basin, Irminger Basin and Labrador Basin) in late March/early April 2013. Potential maximum enzyme activities of digestive (proteinases and lipases/esterases) and metabolic (citrate synthase) enzymes of copepods from all sampling stations were analysed and thermal profiles (5-50°C) of enzyme activities were determined. In order to investigate its acclimation potential, C. finmarchicus were acclimated to 4°C and 15°C for two weeks and thermal profiles of enzyme activities were compared afterwards.

Concentrations of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and sulfonic acids (PFSAs) in liver samples of different marine mammals (1984-2009)

Temporal variations in concentrations of perfluorinated carboxylic acids (PFCAs) and sulfonic acids (PFSAs), including perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) and perfluorooctanoate (PFOA) structural isomers, were examined in livers of pilot whale (Globicephala melas), ringed seal (Phoca hispida), minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata), harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena), hooded seal (Cystophora cristata), Atlantic white-sided dolphin (Lagenorhynchus acutus) and in muscle tissue of fin whales (Balaenoptera physalus). The sampling spanned over 20 years (1984-2009) and covered a large geographical area of the North Atlantic and West Greenland. Liver and muscle samples were homogenized, extracted with acetonitrile, cleaned up using hexane and solid phase extraction (SPE), and analyzed by liquid chromatography with negative electrospray tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). In general, the levels of the long-chained PFCAs (C9-C12) increased whereas the levels of PFOS remained steady over the studied period. The PFOS isomer pattern in pilot whale liver was relatively constant over the sampling years. However, in ringed seals there seemed to be a decrease in linear PFOS (L-PFOS) with time, going from 91% in 1984 to 83% in 2006.

Neogene radiolarian datum levels in the equatorial Indian and Pacific Oceans

Fifty radiolarian events of early Pleistocene and Neogene age were identified in an E-W transect of equatorial DSDP sites, extending from the Gulf of Panama to the western Pacific and eastern Indian Oceans. Our objective was to document the degree of synchroneity or time-transgressiveness of stratigraphically-useful datum levels from this geologic time interval. We restricted our study to low latitudes within which morphological variations of individual taxa are minimal, the total assemblage diversity remains high, and stratigraphic continuity is well-documented by an independent set of criteria. Each of the five sites chosen (503, 573, 289/586, 214) was calibrated to an "absolute" time scale, using a multiple of planktonic foraminiferal, nannofossil, and diatom datum levels which have been independently correlated to the paleomagnetic polarity time scale in piston core material. With these correlations we have assigned "absolute" ages to each radiolarian event, with a precision of 0.1-0.2 m.y. and an accuracy of 0.2-0.4 m.y. On this basis we have classified each of the events as either: (a) synchronous (range of ages <0.4 m.y.); (b) time-transgressive (i.e., range of ages >1.0 m.y.); and (c) not resolvable (range of ages 0.4-1.0 m.y.). Our results show that, among the synchronous datum levels, a large majority (15 out of 19) are last occurrences. Among those events which are clearly time-transgressive, most are first appearances (10 out of 13). In many instances taxa appear to evolve first in the Indian Ocean, and subsequently in the western and eastern Pacific Ocean. This pattern is particularly unexpected in view of the strong east-to-west zonal flow in equatorial latitudes. Three of the time-transgressive events have been used to define zonal boundaries: the first appearances of Spongaster pentas, Diartus hughesi, and D. petterssoni. Our results suggest that biostratigraphic non-synchroneity may be substantial (i.e., greater than 1 m.y.) within a given latitudinal zone; one would expect this effect to be even more pronounced across oceanographic and climatic gradients. We anticipate that the extent of diachroneity may be comparable for diatom, foraminiferal, and nannofossil datum levels as well. If this proves true, global "time scales" may need to be re-formulated on the basis of a smaller number of demonstrably synchronous events.

Distribution of Upper Cretaceous deep water agglutinated foraminifera in sediments of the North Atlantic and its marginal seas (Tab. 1)

The stratigraphic and biogeographic distribution of more than 170 species of deep-water agglutinated benthic foraminifers (DWAF) from the North Atlantic and adjacent marginal seas has been compared with paleoenvironmental data (e.g. paleobathymetry, oxygenation of the bottom waters, amount of terrigenous input and substrate disturbance). Six general types of assemblages, in which deep water agglutinated taxa occur, are defined from the Turonian to Maastrichtian times: 1. High latitude slope assemblages 2. Low to mid latitude slope assemblages 3. Flysch-type assemblages 4. Deep water limestone assemblages (,,Scaglia,,-type) 5. Abyssal mixed calcareous-agglutinated assemblages 6. Abyssal purely agglutinated assemblages Latitudinal differences in faunal composition are observed, the most important of which is the lack or extreme paucity of calcareous forms in high latitude assemblages. East-to-west differences appear to be of comparatively minor importance. Most DWAF species occur in all studied regions and are thus considered as cosmopolitan. Biostratigraphic turnovers in the taxonomic content of assemblages are observed in the lowermost Turonian, mid-Campanian and in the upper Maastrichtian to lowermost Paleocene. These datum levels correspond to inter-regional and time-constant paleooceanographic events, which probably also affected the deep-water benthic biota. This allows us to use deep-water agglutinated foraminifers for biostratigraphy in the North Atlantic sequences deposited below CCD and to geographically extend the currently used zonal schemes which have been established in the Carpathian and Alpine areas.

Stable-isotope ratios and accumulation rates of four firn cores from the Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Four firn cores were retrieved in 2007 at two ridges in the area of the Ekström Ice Shelf, Dronning Maud Land, coastal East Antarctica, in order to investigate the recent regional climate variability and the potential for future extraction of an intermediate-depth core. Stable water-isotope analysis, tritium content and electrical conductivity were used to date the cores. For the period 1981-2006 a strong and significant correlation between the stable-isotope composition of firn cores in the hinterland and mean monthly air temperatures at Neumayer station was (r=0.54-0.71). No atmospheric warming or cooling trend is inferred from our stable-isotope data for the period 1962-2006. The stable-isotope record of the ice/firn cores could expand well beyond the meteorological record of the region. No significant temporal variation of accumulation rates was detected. However, decreasing accumulation rates were found from coast to hinterland, as well as from east (Halvfarryggen) to west (Søråsen). The deuterium excess (d) exhibits similar differences (higher d at Søråsen, lower d at Halvfarryggen), with a weak negative temporal trend on Halvfarryggen (0.04 per mil/a), probably implying increasing oceanic input. We conclude that Halvfarryggen acts as a natural barrier for moisture-carrying air masses circulating in the region from east to west.

Mineralogy of northern Indian Ocean surface sediments and of suspended sediments of Indian rivers (Table 2 and 5)

The solid phases from surface sediments, atmospheric dusts, and rivers of the Indian Ocean environment have been analyzed for their clay minerals and quartz. Such data have been used to delimit the transport paths and sources of the detrital minerals in the oceanic deposits. Diagnostic in distinguishing fluvial and eolian inputs to the northern Indian Ocean is a combination of the clay mineral assemblages and of their geographic distributions. River borne solids are the primary components of the Bay of Bengal deposits. The eastern part receives its continental input through the Ganges-Brahmaputra river system, while drainage of the Indian Peninsula by rivers introduces solids to the western part. The former materials are characterized by high illite and chlorite in the clay mineral assemblages; the latter by montmorillonite. The winds over the Bay bear distinctive dust burdens based upon their directions. However, their contributions to the sediments are insignificant. The eastern sector of the Arabian Sea receives major contributions of continental debris from the rivers and the high montmorillonite levels clearly indicate a source in the Indian Peninsula. The rest of the Sea appears to receive most of its land-derived materials from the north, perhaps the desert regions of northern India and West Pakistan, and they are wind-borne. These materials are also transported to the equatorial regions of the Indian Ocean. A gradient in attapulgite, just north of the equator, may indicate an eolian contribution to the Arabian Sea from the African continent. The halogenated hydrocarbon pesticides were assayed in the southwest monsoon winds and enter the Bay of Bengal at levels of a half ton per month, an amount comparable to those introduced by other wind and river systems to the marine environment.

Non-indigenous species in the North and Baltic Seas and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region

List of non-indigenous species (NIS) established in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River region and the North and Baltic Seas region, their geographic origin, and taxonomic assignment. Asterisks mark the NIS that occur in both the North and Baltic Seas and the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River regions. GL, SL, NW, NE, SW and SE denote the Great Lakes, St. Lawrence River, north-west, north-east, south-west, and south-east, respectively. Eurasia represents inland freshwaters except Yangtze River, Indo-Pacific represents Indian Ocean and the archipelago of Indonesia, Malaysia, and Pilipinas, North America (N America) represents inland freshwaters except the Laurentian Great Lakes, St. Lawrence and Mississippi Rivers, while Australia, New Zealand, Africa and South America (S America) cover all inland freshwaters in these areas.