Traditional Whaling Methods in Modern Times

Dr. Russell Fielding of the University of Denver discusses his study of artisanal whaling traditions throughout the Atlantic, with field sites in the Faroe Islands, Newfoundland, and the Caribbean.

The dog as a genetic model for immunoglobulin A (IgA) deficiency: identification of several breeds with low serum IgA concentrations

Immunoglobulin A (IgA) serves as the basis of the secretory immune system by protecting the lining of mucosal sites from pathogens. In both humans and dogs, IgA deficiency (IgAD) is associated with recurrent infections of mucosal sites and immune-mediated diseases. Low concentrations of serum IgA have previously been reported to occur in a number of dog breeds but no generally accepted cut-off value has been established for canine IgAD. The current study represents the largest screening to date of IgA in dogs in terms of both number of dogs (n = 1267) and number of breeds studied (n = 22). Serum IgA concentrations were quantified by using capture ELISA and were found to vary widely between breeds. We also found IgA to be positively correlated with age (p < 0.0001). Apart from the two breeds previously reported as predisposed to low IgA (Shar-Pei and German shepherd), we identified six additional breeds in which ≥10% of all tested dogs had very low (<0.07 g/l) IgA concentrations (Hovawart, Norwegian elkhound, Nova Scotia duck tolling retriever, Bullterrier, Golden retriever and Labrador retriever). In addition, we discovered low IgA concentrations to be significantly associated with canine atopic dermatitis (CAD, p < 0.0001) and pancreatic acinar atrophy (PAA, p = 0.04) in German shepherds.

Carbon chemistry of ODP Leg 105 sites

The quantity and quality of organic carbon of Eocene to Holocene sediments from ODP Sites 645, 646, and 647 were investigated to reconstruct depositional environments. Results were based on organic-carbon and nitrogen determinations, Rock-Eval pyrolysis, and kerogen microscopy. The sediments at Site 645 in Baffin Bay are characterized by relatively high organic-carbon values, most of which range from 0.5% to almost 3%, with maximum values in the middle Miocene. Distinct maxima of organic-carbon accumulation rates occur between 18 and 12.5 Ma and between 3.4 and 0 Ma. At Sites 646 and 647 in the Labrador Sea, organic-carbon contents vary between 0.1% and 0.75%. Cyclic 'Milankovitch-type' changes in organic-carbon deposition imply climate-controlled mechanisms that cause these fluctuations. The composition of organic matter at Site 645 is dominated by terrigenous components throughout the entire sediment sequence. An increased content of marine organic carbon was recorded only in the late-middle Miocene. At Sites 646 and 647, the origin of the organic matter most probably is marine. Oceanic paleoproductivity values were estimated, based on the amount of marine organic carbon. During most of the Neogene time interval at Site 645, productivity was low, i.e., similar or less than that measured in Baffin Bay today. Higher values of up to 150 (200) gC/m**2/y may have occurred only in the Miocene. At Sites 646 and 647, mean paleoproductivity values vary between 90 and 170 gC/m**2/y; i.e., these are also similar to those measured in the Labrador Sea today. Lower values of 40 to 70 gC/m**2/y were estimated for the early Eocene and (middle) Miocene.

Miocene to Holocene diatom biostratigraphy of ODP Leg 105 sites

Diatoms occur sporadically in lower Miocene to Holocene sediments recovered at ODP Site 645 and in upper Pliocene to Holocene sediments at ODP Site 646. The diatom assemblage at Site 645 contains rare stratigraphic indicators. Fragmentation of frustules and the occurrence of species characteristic of high-latitude shelf, upper-slope environments suggest current transportation from the shelf. The diatom abundance and preservation at Site 646 probably reflect climatic changes and are also affected by dissolution, but it is not possible to detect the dominant factor. Therefore, the stratigraphic ranges of the primary and secondary biostratigraphic indicators are often unreliable.

Lithology of sediments from the Arabian Sea

The role of hotter than ambient plume mantle in the formation of a rifted volcanic margin in the northern Arabian Sea is investigated using subsidence analysis of a drill site located on the seismically defined Somnath volcanic ridge. The ridge has experienced >4 km of subsidence since 65 Ma and lies within oceanic lithosphere. We estimate crustal thickness to be 9.5-11.5 km. Curiously <400 m of the thermal subsidence occurred prior to 37 Ma, when subsidence rates would normally be at a maximum. We reject the hypothesis that this was caused by increasing plume dynamic support after continental break-up because the size of the thermal anomalies required are unrealistic (>600°C), especially considering the rapid northward drift of India relative to the Deccan-Réunion hotspot. We suggest that this reflects very slow lithospheric growth, possibly caused by vigorous asthenospheric convection lasting >28 m.y., and induced by the steep continent-ocean boundary. Post-rift slow subsidence is also recognized on volcanic margins in the NE Atlantic and SE Newfoundland and cannot be used as a unique indicator of plume mantle involvement in continental break-up.

Observation of manganese deposits made during the 1936 transect of C/S Lord Kelvin through the Northern Atlantic Ocean

In May and June 1936 Dr. C. S. Piggot of the Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, took a series of 11 deep-sea cores in the North Atlantic Ocean between the Newfoundland banks and the banks off the Irish coast. These cores were taken from the Western Union Telegraph Co.'s cable ship Lord Kelvin with the explosive type of sounding device which Dr. Piggot designed. All but two of these cores (Nos. 8 and 11) are more than 2.43 meters (8 feet) long, and all contain ample material for study. Of the two short cores, No. 8 was taken from the top of the Faraday Hills, as that part of the mid-Atlantic ridge is known, where the material is closely packed and more sandy and consequently more resistant; No. 11 came from a locality where the apparatus apparently landed on volcanic rock that may be part of a submarine lava flow.