(Table 3) Aeolian component of North Pacific pelagic sediments

Isolation and analysis of the eolian component of late Cenozoic pelagic sediments from the North Pacific provides direct information concerning changes in atmospheric circulation. A 50% increase in intensity of both the prevailing westerlies and the tradewinds coincides with increasing pole-to-equator temperature gradients resulting from the onset of northern hemisphere glaciation. At the same time, the mass flux of dust from continents to the North Pacific increased by a factor of 4.5, apparently reflecting significantly increased continental aridity associated with the late Cenozoic glacial ages.

Vertical distribution of pelagic polychaetes in Kuril-Kamchatka Trench plankton in August 1966

Vertical distribution patterns of four mass species of pelagic polychaetes (with separate consideration of the adult, juvenile and larval stages) in plankton of the Kuril-Kamchatka region from the surface to depth of 7000 m are analyzed. This material, the author's personal data on the Norwegian and Barents Seas, and literature data on other seas are used to distinguish some general patterns in vertical distribution and reproductive ecology of pelagic polychaetes in the World Ocean as a whole. Mass pelagic polychaetes are also compared to other bathypelagic animals with respect to these ecological features and an estimate is given of their abundance in ocean plankton.