Distribution of benthic foraminifers in surface layer of bottom sediments from the littoral zone of the Kunashir Island, South Kuriles

Composition and abundance of modern benthic foraminifers in the littoral zone of the Kunashir Island (South Kuriles) were studied. This littoral zone was examined on the sides of the Sea of Okhotsk, the Pacific Ocean, and the Izmena Bay. In the littoral zone of the Izmena Bay benthic foraminifers were not found. The highest biodiversity and maximal density of foraminifers were observed at a bench among rocks and blocks, in depressions of various size and depth (baths), at places where algae and water plants were attached, on silty sands, and on sands with admixture of broken shells, silt, and clastic matter composing the coast. The lowest density and biodiversity were found in mouths of creeks and rivers, on rock plates free from sediments and attached algae and water plants, as well as in places not protected from wind and wave activity. It was established that on both sides of the Sea of Okhotsk and of the Pacific Ocean foraminiferal complexes vary both in biodiversity and in density of their distribution in the littoral zone.

Stable isotope record, and abundances of ice rafted debris and Neogloboquadrina pachyderma in sediments of the Iberian margin

This paper documents the migration of the Polar Front (PF) over the Iberian margin during some of the cold climatic extremes of the last 45 ka. It is based on a compilation of robust and coherent paleohydrological proxies obtained from eleven cores distributed between 36 and 42°N. Planktonic delta18O (Globigerina bulloides), ice-rafted detritus concentrations, and the relative abundance of the polar foraminifera Neogloboquadrina pachyderma sinistral were used to track the PF position. These three data sets, compared from core to core, show a consistent evolution of the sea surface paleohydrology along the Iberian margin over the last 45 ka. We focused on five time slices representative of cold periods under distinct paleoenvironmental forcings: the 8.2 ka event and the Younger Dryas (two recent cold events occurring within high values of summer insolation), Heinrich events 1 and 4 (reflecting major episodes of massive iceberg discharges into the North Atlantic), and the Last Glacial Maximum (typifying the highest ice volume accumulated in the Northern Hemisphere). For each event, we generated schematic maps mirroring past sea surface hydrological conditions. The maps revealed that the Polar Front presence along the Iberian margin was restricted to Heinrich events. The sea surface conditions during the Last Glacial Maximum were close to those at present day, except for the northern sites which briefly experienced subarctic conditions.

Transformation of the Financial Sector in Indonesia

Introduction : The source and deployment of finance are central issues in economic development. Since 1966, when the Soeharto Administration was inaugurated, Indonesian economic development has relied on funds in the form of aid from international organizations and foreign countries. After the 1990s, a further abundant inflow of capital sustained a rapid economic development. Foreign funding was the basis of Indonesian economic growth. This paper will describe the mechanism for allocating funds in the Indonesian economy. It will identify the problems this mechanism generated in the Indonesian experience, and it will attempt to explain why there was a collapse of the financial system in the wake of the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997. History of the Indonesian Financial system The year 1966 saw the emergence of commercial banks in Indonesia. It can be said that before 1966 a financial system hardly existed, a fact commonly attributed to economic disruptions like the consecutive runs of fiscal deficit and hyperinflation under the Soekarno Administration. After 1996, with the inauguration of Soeharto, a regulatory system of financial legislation, e.g. central banking law and banking regulation, was introduced and implemented, and the banking sector that is the basis of the current financial system in Indonesia was built up. 　　　The Indonesian financial structure was significantly altered at the first financial reform of 1983. Between 1966 and 1982, the banking sector consisted of Bank Indonesia (the Central Bank) and the state-owned banks. There was also a system for distributing the abundant public revenue derived from the soaring oil price of the 1970s. The public finance distribution function, incorporated in Indonesian financial system, changed after the successive financial reforms of 1983 and 1988, when there was a move away from the monopoly-market style dominated by state-owned banks (which was a system of public finance distribution that operated at the discretion of the government) towards a modern market mechanism. The five phases of development The Indonesian financial system developed in five phases between 1966 and the present time. The first period (1966-72) was its formative period, the second (1973-82) its policy based finance period under soaring oil prices, the third (1983-91) its financial-reform period, the fourth (1992-97) its period of expansion, and the fifth (1998-) its period of financial restructuring. The first section of this paper summarizes the financial policies operative during each of the periods identified above. In the second section changes to the financial sector in response to policies are examined, and an analysis of these changes shows that an important development of the financial sector occurred during the financial reform period. In the third section the focus of analysis shifts from the general financial sector to particular commercial banks’ performances. In the third section changes in commercial banks’ lending and fund-raising behaviour after the 1990s are analysed by comparing several banking groups in terms of their ownership and foundation time. The last section summarizes the foregoing analyses and examines the problems that remain in the Indonesian financial sector, which is still undergoing restructuring.

Space-time Measurements of Oceanic Sea States

Stereo video techniques are effective for estimating the space–time wave dynamics over an area of the ocean. Indeed, a stereo camera view allows retrieval of both spatial and temporal data whose statistical content is richer than that of time series data retrieved from point wave probes. We present an application of the Wave Acquisition Stereo System (WASS) for the analysis of offshore video measurements of gravity waves in the Northern Adriatic Sea and near the southern seashore of the Crimean peninsula, in the Black Sea. We use classical epipolar techniques to reconstruct the sea surface from the stereo pairs sequentially in time, viz. a sequence of spatial snapshots. We also present a variational approach that exploits the entire data image set providing a global space–time imaging of the sea surface, viz. simultaneous reconstruction of several spatial snapshots of the surface in order to guarantee continuity of the sea surface both in space and time. Analysis of the WASS measurements show that the sea surface can be accurately estimated in space and time together, yielding associated directional spectra and wave statistics at a point in time that agrees well with probabilistic models. In particular, WASS stereo imaging is able to capture typical features of the wave surface, especially the crest-to-trough asymmetry due to second order nonlinearities, and the observed shape of large waves are fairly described by theoretical models based on the theory of quasi-determinism (Boccotti, 2000). Further, we investigate space–time extremes of the observed stationary sea states, viz. the largest surface wave heights expected over a given area during the sea state duration. The WASS analysis provides the first experimental proof that a space–time extreme is generally larger than that observed in time via point measurements, in agreement with the predictions based on stochastic theories for global maxima of Gaussian fields.

Planktonic foraminiferal abundances and stable isotope ratios in middle Miocene sediments of the North Atlantic and the southwestern Pacific

A three-fold expansion of the Antarctic ice sheet at 13.60, 12.82, and 11.60 Ma has been inferred from delta18O maxima analyzed in planktonic and benthic foraminiferal tests, although accompanying changes in sea surface temperature have not been detailed. We present estimated changes in middle Miocene surface-water temperatures based on analysis of delta18O in planktonic foraminifera collected at mid-latitude Deep Sea Drilling Project sites in the North Atlantic and South Pacific oceans. We also identify periods of ice-sheet growth based on comparisons of benthic and planktonic foraminiferal delta18O values. Our results indicate: (1) a distinct cooling of the sea surface from 13.6 to 13.5 Ma immediately following a peak in ice volume at 13.6 Ma, (2) a cooling of the sea surface during a period of increasing ice volume from 13.2 to 13.0 Ma, and (3) a development of the Antarctic ice sheet during a period of cooling of the sea surface centered at 11.6 Ma.

Annotated record of the detailed examination of Mn deposits from R/V Atlantis - Cruise 151 (Dec. 1947) in the Atlantic Ocean

One of the objectives of WHOI Atlantis Cruise 151, covering the period from 7 December 1947 to 18 June 1948, was to obtain as complete a sampling of the sea bottom of the Meditterranean and Aegean Seas as was compatible with the remainder of the scientific program. It was furthermore planned to make concurrent bottom photographs as a means for studying the correlation between bottom sediments and the morphology of the sea floor. The photographs also held the possibility of determining the presence of bottom fauna. The underwater camera used for this work was loaned to us by Dr. Maurice Ewing of Columbia University. As it was fitted with a one foot long coring tube at the base of its pole a majority of the bottom samples were obtained by the camera itself. On the way to Gibraltar, several bottom photos were taken in the Atlantic ocean. One of them was the deepest underwater photograph ever taken at the tima (3026 fathoms) showing a cluster of objects, some as much as 5 inches across on a clay bottom. These appeared to be manganese nodules, judging from their rounded and bulbous shape, especially the potato-like form of some of them. A core sample obtained at the same spot with a corer attached to the camera stand contained abundant manganese grains.

Program of the United States Government in atmospheric radioactivity /

"November 7, 1960."

Report of the Commissioner for ... /

At head of title: Part II-part XXIX.

Hero tales of the far North,

A knight errant of the sea [Tordenakjold] - Hans Egede, the apostle to Greenland. - Gustav Vasa, the father of Sweden. - Absalon, warrior bishop of the North. - King Valdemar, and the story of the Dannebrog. - How the ghost of the heath was laid. - King Christian IV. - Gustav Adolf, the snow-king. - King and sailor, heroes of Copenhagen. - The trooper who won a war alone [Jens Kofoed] - Carl Linné, king of the flowers. - Niels Finsen, the wolfslayer.

Chronicles of the reigns of Stephen, Henry II., and Richard I.

Vol. 4 has imprint: London, Printed for H. M. Stationery off., by Eyre and Spottiswoode.