(Table) Specific activities of 137Cs, 90Sr and 239,240Pu in surface waters obtained during cruises BP06-BP09, Indian Ocean

One of the main sources of anthropogenic radionuclides in the ocean is the global fallout resulting from the nuclear tests that had been conducted by the United States, the former Soviet Union, and other countries between 1945 and 1990 mainly in the Northern Hemisphere. The most extensive fallout was observed in the middle latitudes of the Northern Hemisphere in 1963 immediately after the nuclear tests of 1961-1962 conducted by the United States and the Soviet Union. In 2006-2009, under the auspices of an agreement between the Vernadsky Institute of Geochemistry and Analytical Chemistry of the Russian Academy of Sciences and the National Center of Antarctic and Marine Research of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of India, cooperative geological and geochemical investigations were organized in several regions of the Indian Ocean. During these expeditions, the spatial distribution of anthropogenic radionuclides was investigated in the water of the Indian Ocean. The main results of these investigations are reported in this paper.

Species-specific consequences of ocean acidification for the calcareous tropical green algae Halimeda, 2011

Ocean acidification (OA), resulting from increasing dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) in surface waters, is likely to affect many marine organisms, particularly those that calcify. Recent OA studies have demonstrated negative and/or differential effects of reduced pH on growth, development, calcification and physiology, but most of these have focused on taxa other than calcareous benthic macroalgae. Here we investigate the potential effects of OA on one of the most common coral reef macroalgal genera,Halimeda. Species of Halimeda produce a large proportion of the sand in the tropics and are a major contributor to framework development on reefs because of their rapid calcium carbonate production and high turnover rates. On Palmyra Atoll in the central Pacific, we conducted a manipulative bubbling experiment to investigate the potential effects of OA on growth, calcification and photophysiology of 2 species of Halimeda. Our results suggest that Halimeda is highly susceptible to reduced pH and aragonite saturation state but the magnitude of these effects is species specific. H. opuntiasuffered net dissolution and 15% reduction in photosynthetic capacity, while H. taenicola did not calcify but did not alter photophysiology in experimental treatments. The disparate responses of these species to elevated CO2 partial -pressure (pCO2) may be due to anatomical and physiological differences and could represent a shift in their relative dominance in the face of OA. The ability for a species to exert biological control over calcification and the species specific role of the carbonate skeleton may have important implications for the potential effects of OA on ecological function in the future.

Tab. 2,3,4 Specific resistivity of calculated models for the soundings in Lapland

Geoelectrical soundings were carried out in 29 different places in order to find permafrost and to measure its thickness. In most places above timber Iine a permafrost thickness of 10-50 m was recorded. Permafrost was found at sites with thin snow cover during winter. Here, deflation phenomena on the summits of fjells indicate the occurence of permafrost, Vegetation type might be a good indicator of permafrost, too. It seems obvious that permafrost exists extensively on fjell summits of northern Finland.

Heat shock resistance traits in specimens of the seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla originating from native and non-native populations

We compared the responses of native and non-native populations of the seaweed Gracilaria vermiculophylla to heat shock in common garden-type experiments. Specimens from six native populations in East Asia and from eight non-native populations in Europe and on the Mexican Pacific coast were acclimated to two sets of identical conditions before their resistance to heat shock was examined. The experiments were carried out twice - one time in the native range in Qingdao, China and one time in the invaded range in Kiel, Germany - to rule out effects of specific local conditions. In both testing sites the non-native populations survived heat shock significantly better than the native populations, The data underlying this statement are presented in https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.859335. After three hours of heat shock G. vermiculophylla exhibited increased levels of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70) and of a specific isoform of haloperoxidase, suggesting that both enzymes could be required for heat shock stress management. However, the elevated resistance toward heat shock of non-native populations only correlated with an increased constitutive expression of heat shock protein 70 (HSP70). The haloperoxidase isoform was more prominent in native populations, suggesting that not only increased HSP70 expression, but also reduced allocation into haloperoxidase expression after heat shock was selected during the invasion history. The data describing expression of HSP70 and three different isoforms of haloperoxidase are presented in https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.859358.

The physical properties of basalt at DSDP Hole 45-395A

A detailed study has been made of the physical properties of core samples from Deep Sea Drilling Project Hole 395A. The properties include: density, porosity, compressional and shear wave velocity, thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity, and electrical resistivity. Of particular importance are the relations among the parameters. Most of the variations in the basalt properties follow the porosity, with smaller inferred dependence on pore structure, original mineralogy differences, and alteration. The sample measurements give very similar results to (and extend previous data from) Mid-Atlantic Ridge drillholes, the sample data from this site and previous data are used to estimate relations between porosity and other large-scale physical properties of the upper oceanic crust applicable to this area. These relations are important for the analysis and interpretation of downhole logging measurements and marine geophysical data.

Water chemistry and heat budget of the Churchill River estuary region

A conceptual scheme for the transition from winter to spring is developed for a small Arctic estuary (Churchill River, Hudson Bay) using hydrological, meteorological and oceanographic data together with models of the landfast ice. Observations within the Churchill River estuary and away from the direct influence of the river plume (Button Bay), between March and May 2005, show that both sea ice (production and melt) and river water influence the region's freshwater budget. In Button Bay, ice production in the flaw lead or polynya of NW Hudson Bay result in salinization through winter until the end of March, followed by a gradual freshening of the water column through April-May. In the Churchill Estuary, conditions varied abruptly throughout winter-spring depending on the physical interaction among river discharge, the seasonal landfast ice, and the rubble zone along the seaward margin of the landfast ice. Until late May, the rubble zone partially impounded river discharge, influencing the surface salinity, stratification, flushing time, and distribution and abundance of nutrients in the estuary. The river discharge, in turn, advanced and enhanced sea ice ablation in the estuary by delivering sensible heat. Weak stratification, the supply of riverine nitrogen and silicate, and a relatively long flushing time (~6 days) in the period preceding melt may have briefly favoured phytoplankton production in the estuary when conditions were still poor in the surrounding coastal environment. However, in late May, the peak flow and breakdown of the ice-rubble zone around the estuary brought abrupt changes, including increased stratification and turbidity, reduced marine and freshwater nutrient supply, a shorter flushing time, and the release of the freshwater pool into the interior ocean. These conditions suppressed phytoplankton productivity while enhancing the inventory of particulate organic matter delivered by the river. The physical and biological changes observed in this study highlight the variability and instability of small frozen estuaries during winter-spring transition, which implies sensitivity to climate change.