Table 1 : AMS-14C data used for the reconstruction of the Wismar Bay shoreline displacement curve

The Baltic coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is located in the transition Zone between the region of Fennoscandian Uplift and the Central European Depression. In relation to the eustatic sea-level rise, the northeast coast shows a slower inundation, while for the southwestern area a faster transgression is indicated, which can be attributed to crustal movements. To determine the spatial and temporal differences since the onset of the Littorina Transgression, three relative sea-level curves have been established along a transect parallel to the gradient of upliftlsubsidence. The Wismar Bay area is one endpoint of the transect demonstrating today 10 Abb., 2 Tab. a relative sea-level rise of 1.4 mm/a. To determine the relative sea-level curve for the Wismar Bay, two sites were investigated on Rustwerder Spit (Poel) and Redentin. They provided reliable depth-age data, while the stratigraphy was additionally supported by lithological/geochemical, pollen, diatom and macrofossil data. Additional evidence was provided by archaeological submarine surveys and excavations. Comparing the new relative sea-level curve with a curve from the Vorpommern coast, it can be shown that for the period from 4000 cal BC until present, the differences between the two curves are caused by a constant neotectonic movement, while for the older periods an increasing isostatic component must be taken into account.

Description of manganese nodules collected by the U.S.S. NERO during survey for a trans-pacific cable

In the early part of 1899 the U.S.S. Nero was dispatched from San Francisco to survey a route for a telegraph cable between the United States, the Philippines Islands and Japan. Concurent with meteorological and oceanographic observations, closely spaced samples of bottom material were systematically sampled. They have been carefully accounted and described by James M. Flint in this volume. On the way, numerous submarine peaks were discovered. During this voyage U.S.S. Nero also took a sounding in the area of the Challenger Deep, recording a depth of 5269 fathoms (9636 m), the greatest depth recorded at that time. Carefull study of the deep-sea deposits have also revealed a number of manganese nodules and encrustations as well as micronodules.