Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from the H.M.S. Penguin expedition to the Coral Sea

The analyses of the samples from the Balfour Shoal show that these deposits contain a very large quantity of carbonate of lime, ranging from 88.7 per cent, on the summit to 71.9 per cent, in the deeper water at the base of the cone. The decrease in the quantity of carbonate of lime with increase of depth is not quite regular; still, a general fall in the percentage of lime is clearly indicated from shallower to deeper water. As might be expected in such a circumscribed area, there is a great uniformity both in the chemical composition and relative abundance of the organic and inorganic constituents of the deposits. In all cases the carbonate of lime is almost wholly made up of the dead shells which have fallen from the surface waters - belonging to Plankton organisms such as Pteropods, Heteropods, pelagic Foraminifera and coccoliths. The calcareous shells were in very many cases discoloured brown or black by depositions of the peroxide of manganese. On the north-east steep side of the Balfour Shoal there were indications that depositions of manganese peroxide were more abundant than elsewhere. In 1645 fathoms, there was an angular fragment of a mottled yellowish jasper coated with manganese peroxide, and in 1570 fathoms there were three characteristic spherical black manganese nodules from one-half to three-fourths of an inch in diameter, quite similar to those procured by the Challenger in many areas of the Pacific and Atlantic. In one of these nodules the nucleus was a sub-angular fragment of a light-coloured augite-granophyre.

Manganese concretions from Kara Sea and Karelia

The determinations of the radioactivity of a series of ferro-manganese concretions of the seas and lakes of the U.S.S.R. (especially of the Kara Sea and lakes of Karelia) have brought out certain facts which make possible the determination of the age of the concretions by the content of radium in its different layers.

Stable oxygen isotope data and geophysical measurements from Red Sea of core M174/Kl11

To settle debate on the timing of sea level fluctuations during marine isotope stage (MIS) 3, we present records of d18O ruber (sea level proxy) and magnetic susceptibility from the same samples within the single sediment archive (i.e., "coregistered") of central Red Sea core GeoTü-KL11. Core-scanning X-ray fluorescence and environmental magnetic data establish the suitability of magnetic susceptibility as a proxy for eolian dust content in Red Sea sediments. The eolian dust data record similar variability as Greenland d18O ice during early to middle MIS 3, in agreement with previous observations that regional Arabian Sea climate fluctuated with a timing similar to that of Greenland climate variations. In contrast, the sea level record fluctuates with a timing similar to that of Antarctic-style climate variations. The coregistered nature of the two records in core KL11 unambiguously reveals a distinct offset in the phase relationship between sea level and eolian dust fluctuations. The results confirm that sea level rises, indicated by shifts in Red Sea d18O ruber to lighter values, occurred during cold episodes in Greenland during early to middle MIS 3. This indicates that the amplitudes of the reconstructed MIS 3 sea level fluctuations would not be reduced by inclusion of regional climate fluctuations in the Red Sea sea level method. Our analysis comprehensively supports our earlier conclusions of large-amplitude sea level variations during MIS 3 with a timing that is strongly similar to Antarctic-style climate variations.

(Table 3, Page 417) Table 3. The concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Ag, Mn and Fe in a soluble in 1M HCl fraction of ferromanganese nodules of Slupsk Furrow in the southern Baltic sea

The concentration of Zn, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni, Co, Ag, Mn, Fe, Ca, Mg, K and Na in molluscs Macoma balthica, Mya arenaria, Cardium glaucum, Mytilus edulis and Astarte borealis from the southern Baltic was determined. The surface sediments and ferromanganese concretions associated with the molluscs were also analysed for concentration of these metals. Species- and region-dependent differences in the metal levels of the organisms were observed. The properties of molluscs analysed which have a tendency toward elevated biological tolerance of selected trace metals were specified. The interelement relationship between metal concentrations in the soft tissue and the shell was estimated and was discussed.

Description of manganese nodules and crust collected from the Hakuho Maru Cruise KH-69-2, April-June, 1969, in the Japan Trench and Sea of Japan areas

The cores and dredges described in this report were taken on the KH-69-2 Expedition in April-June, 1969 by the Ocean Research Institute, University of Tokyo from the Hakuho Maru. A total of 12 cores and dredges sites have been recovered.

Shipping noise in a dynamic sea: a case study of grey seals in the Celtic Sea

Shipping noise is a threat to marine wildlife. Grey seals are benthic foragers, and thus experience acoustic noise throughout the water column, which makes them a good model species for a case study of the potential impacts of shipping noise. We used ship track data from the Celtic Sea, seal track data and a coupled ocean-acoustic modelling system to assess the noise exposure of grey seals along their tracks. It was found that the animals experience step changes in sound levels up to ~20dB at a frequency of 125Hz, and ~10dB on average over 10-1000Hz when they dive through the thermocline, particularly during summer. Our results showed large seasonal differences in the noise level experienced by the seals. These results reveal the actual noise exposure by the animals and could help in marine spatial planning.

Mineral and trace elements content of Black Sea Area traditional foods

The research leading to these results has received funding from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme (FP7/2007-2013) under grant agreement n.º 227118.

Representaciones sociales del trasplante de médula ósea, la quimioterapia y la cirugía oncológica en población general colombiana

Las representaciones sociales son una construcción de significados que las personas otorgan a un objeto en este caso el tratamiento oncológico. En el mundo, el cáncer es una enfermedad de alta prevalencia y sus tratamientos suelen generar numerosos efectos secundarios, pero a la vez es el recurso médico disponible para controlar la enfermedad. Este estudio cualitativo tuvo como objetivo analizar las representaciones sociales del tratamiento oncológico en población colombiana. Participaron voluntariamente 20 personas seleccionadas por conveniencia. Se realizaron entrevistas abiertas y se analizaron los resultados a través del análisis temático y se interpretaron con base en la teoría de las representaciones sociales. Los resultados indicaron que las personas representan el tratamiento oncológico convencional, predominantemente como quimioterapia, generadores de sufrimiento, miedo, alto costo físico, emocional y económico; así como una apuesta en la que la ganancia puede ser la prolongación de la vida o la remisión. Se discuten los resultados y sus implicaciones.

Floating on a sea of talk: Reading comprehension through speaking and listening

Talk is the foundation for thought and understanding, and the key to literacy learning. Research demonstrates that powerful meta-cognitive strategies can be taught to help students self-monitor their comprehension when reading print and digital texts. This paper provides a repertoire of motivating speaking and listening tips to develop the meta-cognitive thinking of students in the elementary years.

Social change grant-making : a failure of innovation?

Focusing primarily on Anglophone countries, this article begins by looking at the changing environment of foundations, the pressures on foundations and some responses to those pressures. It then focuses on the potential of a structural change approach - often known as 'social change' or 'social justice' grant-making - as a solution to some of the modern dilemmas of foundations, and considers why this approach has, with some exceptions, gained relatively little support. This raises the wider issues of why and how resource-independent, endowed foundations change when conventional explanations of organisational change do not easily apply. Researching a 'lack' is clearly difficult; this article adopts an analytic perspective, examining the characteristics of the structural change approach as a mimetic model, and draws on the work of Rogers (2003) on the characteristics required for the successful diffusion of innovations. It suggests that the structural change approach suffers from some fundamental weaknesses as a mimetic model, failing to meet some key characteristics for the diffusion of innovations. In conclusion, the article looks at conditions under which these weaknesses may be overcome.

The organic fraction of bubble-generated, accumulation mode Sea Spray Aerosol (SSA)

Recent studies have detected a dominant accumulation mode (~100 nm) in the Sea Spray Aerosol (SSA) number distribution. There is evidence to suggest that particles in this mode are composed primarily of organics. To investigate this hypothesis we conducted experiments on NaCl, artificial SSA and natural SSA particles with a Volatility-Hygroscopicity-Tandem-Differential-Mobility-Analyser (VH-TDMA). NaCl particles were atomiser generated and a bubble generator was constructed to produce artificial and natural SSA particles. Natural seawater samples for use in the bubble generator were collected from biologically active, terrestrially-affected coastal water in Moreton Bay, Australia. Differences in the VH-TDMA-measured volatility curves of artificial and natural SSA particles were used to investigate and quantify the organic fraction of natural SSA particles. Hygroscopic Growth Factor (HGF) data, also obtained by the VH-TDMA, were used to confirm the conclusions drawn from the volatility data. Both datasets indicated that the organic fraction of our natural SSA particles evaporated in the VH-TDMA over the temperature range 170–200°C. The organic volume fraction for 71–77 nm natural SSA particles was 8±6%. Organic volume fraction did not vary significantly with varying water residence time (40 secs to 24 hrs) in the bubble generator or SSA particle diameter in the range 38–173 nm. At room temperature we measured shape- and Kelvin-corrected HGF at 90% RH of 2.46±0.02 for NaCl, 2.35±0.02 for artifical SSA and 2.26±0.02 for natural SSA particles. Overall, these results suggest that the natural accumulation mode SSA particles produced in these experiments contained only a minor organic fraction, which had little effect on hygroscopic growth. Our measurement of 8±6% is an order of magnitude below two previous measurements of the organic fraction in SSA particles of comparable sizes. We stress that our results were obtained using coastal seawater and they can’t necessarily be applied on a regional or global ocean scale. Nevertheless, considering the order of magnitude discrepancy between this and previous studies, further research with independent measurement techniques and a variety of different seawaters is required to better quantify how much organic material is present in accumulation mode SSA.

Prioritizing land and sea conservation investments to protect coral reefs

Background: Coral reefs have exceptional biodiversity, support the livelihoods of millions of people, and are threatened by multiple human activities on land (e.g. farming) and in the sea (e.g. overfishing). Most conservation efforts occur at local scales and, when effective, can increase the resilience of coral reefs to global threats such as climate change (e.g. warming water and ocean acidification). Limited resources for conservation require that we efficiently prioritize where and how to best sustain coral reef ecosystems.----- ----- Methodology/Principal Findings: Here we develop the first prioritization approach that can guide regional-scale conservation investments in land-and sea-based conservation actions that cost-effectively mitigate threats to coral reefs, and apply it to the Coral Triangle, an area of significant global attention and funding. Using information on threats to marine ecosystems, effectiveness of management actions at abating threats, and the management and opportunity costs of actions, we calculate the rate of return on investment in two conservation actions in sixteen ecoregions. We discover that marine conservation almost always trumps terrestrial conservation within any ecoregion, but terrestrial conservation in one ecoregion can be a better investment than marine conservation in another. We show how these results could be used to allocate a limited budget for conservation and compare them to priorities based on individual criteria.----- ----- Conclusions/Significance: Previous prioritization approaches do not consider both land and sea-based threats or the socioeconomic costs of conserving coral reefs. A simple and transparent approach like ours is essential to support effective coral reef conservation decisions in a large and diverse region like the Coral Triangle, but can be applied at any scale and to other marine ecosystems.

Does sea-level rise have an impact on saltwater intrusion?

Climate change effects are expected to substantially raise the average sea level. It is widely assumed that this raise will have a severe adverse impact on saltwater intrusion processes in coastal aquifers. In this study we hypothesize that a natural mechanism, identified as the “lifting process” has the potential to mitigate or in some cases completely reverse the adverse intrusion effects induced by sea-level rise. A detailed numerical study using the MODFLOW-family computer code SEAWAT, was completed to test this hypothesis and to understand the effects of this lifting process in both confined and unconfined systems. Our conceptual simulation results show that if the ambient recharge remains constant, the sea-level rise will have no long-term impact (i.e., it will not affect the steady-state salt wedge) on confined aquifers. Our transient confined flow simulations show a self-reversal mechanism where the wedge which will initially intrude into the formation due to the sea-level rise would be naturally driven back to the original position. In unconfined systems, the lifting process would have a lesser influence due to changes in the value of effective transmissivity. A detailed sensitivity analysis was also completed to understand the sensitivity of this self-reversal effect to various aquifer parameters.