Seasonality in the coastal ocean of North America, 35°N - 48°N [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): The seasonal cycles of coastal wind stress, adjusted sea level height (ASL), shelf currents and water temperatures off the west coast of North America (35°N to 48°N) were estimated by fitting annual and semiannual harmonics to data from 1981-1983. Longer records of monthly ASL indicate that these two harmonics adequately represent the long-term monthly average seasonal cycle, and that the current measurement period is long enough to define the seasonal cycles, with relatively small errors in magnitude and phase.

The influence of North Pacific atmospheric circulation on streamflow in the West [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): The annual cycle and non-seasonal variability of streamflow over a network of stations in western North America and Hawaii is studied in terms of atmospheric forcing elements. The phase lag between the annual cycle of streamflow and precipitation varies considerably over this network, as does the persistence of monthly streamflow anomalies. This lag effect appears to be largely a function of the relative amount of snow laid down in a particular basin. In addition to the rather strong annual cycle that exists in mean streamflow and its variance at most of the stations, there is also a distinct annual cycle in the autocorrelation of streamflow anomalies that is related to the interplay between the temperature and precipitation annual cycles; of particular importance is the existence of stored water in the form of a snow pack.

Subsurface ocean temperature signals on west coast of North America [abstract]

EXTRACT (SEE PDF FOR FULL ABSTRACT): Data were extracted from the U.S. Navy Fleet Numerical Oceanographic Center Master Oceanographic Observation Data Set for a 200 km to 300 km wide coastal strip on the west coast of the United States. These data were averaged for the September through February (winter) and March through August (summer) intervals. The resulting winter temperature anomaly values show the El Nino signal in the CCC [Coastal California Current] as positive temperature anomalies from the surface to at least 300 m.

Spatial and temporal variability in the distribution and abundance of larval and juvenile fishes associated with pelagic Sargassum

A survey of the larval and juvenile fishes associated with the pelagic Sargassum habitat in the South Atlantic Bight and adjacent western Atlantic Ocean was conducted from July 1991 through March 1993. Fishes representing 104 taxonomic categories were identified, including reef fishes, coastal demersal, coastal pelagic, epipelagic and mesopelagic species. The most important families were Balistidae and Carangidae, each represented by 15 species. Species composition, species diversity and abundance varied both seasonally and regionally. Diversity was highest during spring through fall over the outer continental shelf and in the Gulf Stream. Abundance decreased from spring through winter and from the continental shelf into offshore waters. The numbers of fishes and fish biomass were found to be positively correlated with the wet weight of algae in most cases examined. The results of this study will be useful to fisheries managers assessing the potential impacts of commercial Sargassum harvesting in the region.

Report of 2009 Bottlenose Dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) Life History Workshop: expanding network capabilities

The Virginia Aquarium & Marine Science Center Foundation’s Stranding Response Program (VAQS) was awarded a grant in 2008 to conduct life history analysis on over 10 years of Tursiops truncatus teeth and gonad samples from stranded animals in Virginia. A major part of this collaborative grant included a workshop involving life historians from Hubbs-Sea World Research Institute (HSWRI), NOS, Texas A & M University (TAMU), and University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW). The workshop was held at the NOAA Center for Coastal Environmental Health & Biomolecular Research in Charleston, SC on 7-9 July 2009. The workshop convened to 1) address current practices among the groups conducting life history analysis, 2) decide on protocols to follow for the collaborative Prescott grant between VAQS and HSWRI, 3) demonstrate tissue preparation techniques and discuss shortcuts and pitfalls, 4) demonstrate data collection from prepared testes, ovaries, and teeth, and 5) discuss data analysis and prepare an outline and timeline for a future manuscript. The workshop concluded with discussions concerning the current collaborative Tursiops Life History Prescott grant award and the beginnings of a collaborative Prescott proposal with members of the Alliance of Marine Mammal Parks and Aquariums to further clarify reproductive analyses. This technical memorandum serves as a record of this workshop.

Humic acids in sediments of North-Central Arabian Sea, west coast of India

Sediment samples (28) collected during the ORV Sagar Kanya cruise-29, were analysed for humic acid (HA) concentration from the North-Central Arabian Sea. Generally oceanic samples had more HA concentration than the continental shelf (< 200 m depth) samples. The photo-acoustic infrared spectra of shelf sediment HA indicated the presence of more C-H saturated aliphatic chains, while oceanic HA had few peaks for the above groups. Both the IR spectra indicated the absence of aromatic C = C, carbonyl, ketonic groups. Clayey-silt sediment generally had higher concentration of HA compared to sandy-silt type of sediment.

Smoking of shrimp and fish from coastal village of north-west Bangladesh

Traditional smoking of mixed shrimp species is a method of preservation in coastal region of Bangladesh. Besides traditional smoked shrimp, attempt had been made to produce smoked shrimp from brown shrimp, Metapenaeus monoceros and fish from mugil, Liza parsia and the quality of smoked product was found good very on the basis of physical properties, proximate composition and mineral contents of the products.