Oceanographic Abstracts 255

into the thermocline to depths of about 500 m. Dissolved 210po is ordinarily present in the mixed layer at less than equilibrium
concentrations, suggesting rapid biological removal of this nuclide. Particulate matter is enriched in ~l°Po, with 2 l ° p o / 2 ~ ° P b
activity ratios greater than 1.0, similar to those reported for phytoplankton. Box-model calculations yield a 2.5-year residence time
for 2~°Pb and a 0.6-year residence time for 2~°Po in the mixed layer. These residence times are considerably longer than the time
calculated for turnover of particles in the mixed layer (about 0.1 year). At depths of 100 - 300 m, 210po maxima occur and un-
supported 210po is frequently present. Calculations indicate that at least 50% of the 2 ~0po removed from the mixed layer is re-
cycled within the thermocline. Similar calculations for 2 ~opb suggest much lower recycling efficiencies.
Comparison of the 2 ~opb distribution with the reported distribution of 226 Ra at nearby GEOSECS stations has confirmed
the widespread existence of a 21 o pb/226 Ra disequilibrium in the deep sea. Vertical profiles of particulate 2~o Pb were used to
test the hypothesis that 2 ~opb is removed from deep water by in-situ scavenging. With the exception of one profile taken near
the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, significant vertical gradients in particulate 21 opb concentration were not observed, and it is necessary to
invoke exceptionally high particle sinking velocities to account for the inferred 21°Pb flux. It is proposed instead that an additional
sink for 21°pb in the deep sea must be sought. Estimates of the dissolved 21 o pb/226Ra activity ratio at depths greater than
1,000 m range from 0.2 to 0.8 and reveal a systematic increase, in both vertical and horizontal directions, with increasing distance
from the sea floor. This observation implies rapid scavenging of 210pb at the sediment-water interface and is consistent with a
horizontal eddy diffusivity of 3 - 6 × 10 7 cm 2/sec. The more reactive element Po, on the other hand, shows evidence of rapid
in-situ scavenging. In filtered seawater, 2~°po is deficient, on the average, by ca. 10% relative to 210pb; a corresponding enrich-
ment is found in the particulate phase. Total inventories of 2 ~opb and 210po over the entire water column, however, show no
significant departure from secular equilibrium.

BAILEY J . C . and A. NOE-NYGAARD, 1976. Chemistry of Miocene plume tholeiites from northwest Iceland. Lithos,
9 (3): 185-201.

The earliest (Miocene) plateau basalts of northwest Iceland form an olivine tholeiite series with elevated contents of Ti, K, P, Rb,
Ba and Sr. They are closely similar to 'plume' tholeiites of the Faeroes (Paleocene-Eocene) and the Reykjanes Peninsula, Iceland
(Recent) and confirm the Miocene renaissance in northeast Atlantic plume activity previously suggested on geophysical grounds.
It is argued that the elevated contents of Ti, K, etc., are due to the ascent in a plume column of high pressure alkalic magmas
and their re-equilibration to low pressure olivine tholeiites largely by additional melting at 10 - 20 km depth and 1150 - 1300°C.
The 1,800 m northwest Iceland sequence lacks stratigraphic variation suggesting random extraction from an extensive melt
region with a nearly stable range of P - T - chemical conditions.

BAKKER C. and W. J. PHAFF, 1976. Tintinnida from coastal waters of the S. W. Netherlands. I. The genus Tintinnopsis
Stein. Hydrobiologia, 50 (2): 101-111.

The species of the Tintinnid genus Tintinnopsis Stein, occurring in the coastal waters of the S. W. Netherlands, are figured and de-
scribed. We demonstrated a large variability of several species in relation to the shape of the lorica. Nearly all lorica characters
appeared to vary considerably, particularly the shape of the aboral portion of some species (T. beroidea Stein). The oral diameter
of the lorica, on the other hand, varied much less. The many forms were classified into 7 species only: T. baltica Brandt, T.
beroidea Stein, T. campanula (Ehrbg) Daday, T. cylindrica Daday, T. fimbr~ata Meunier, l". lobiancoi Daday, T. turbo Meunier.
Loricae of some species demonstrated extreme variability, notably those of T. beroidea. Others on the contrary, appeared rather
constant: T. cylindrica, T..fimbriata. Very strong individual variation was demonstrated in local populations.
Therefore it is not justified to describe new species from sparse material. For descriptive work, especially on neritic Tintinnids
investigations of a great number of specimens is advocated.

BANKE E . G . , S. D. SMITH and R. J. ANDERSON, 1976. Recent measurements of wind stress on Arctic sea ice. J. Fish.
Res. Bd Can., 33 (10): 2307-2317.

Eddy flux measurements of wind stress on tile arctic pack ice have been made in summer and winter in terrain ranging from flat
to hummocked. Parameterization by a drag coefficient dependent on a surface parameter is suggested. Reduced values of the
drag coefficient were observed in highly stable stratification. The coefficient for sensible heat flux is lower than the drag coefficient.
Wind drag on ice ridges has been measured by a pressure differential method.

BARAZANG1 MUAWlA and B. L. ISACKS, 1976. Spatial distribution of earthquakes and subduction of the Nazca plate
beneath South America. Geology, 4 (11): 686-692.

A detailed study of the spatial distribution of precisely located hypocenters of South American earthquakes that occurred between
lat 0 ° and 45°S shows that the data can be explained by the simple model of a descending oceanic plate beneath a continental
plate and that the following conditions obtain: (1) The hypocenters clearly define five segments of inclined seismic zones, in each
of which the zones have relatively uniform dips. The segments beneath northern and central Peru (about lat 2 ° to 15°S) and be-
neath central Chile (about lat 27 ° to 33°S) have very small dips (about 10°), whereas the three segments beneath southern Ecuador
(about lat 0 ° to 2°S), beneath southern Peru and northern Chile (about lat 15° to 27°S), and beneath southern Chile (about lat
33 ° to 45°S) have steeper dips (25 ° to 30°). No clear evidence exists for further segmentation of the descending Nazca plate be-
neath South America. If the two flat segments are in contact with the lower boundary of the continental plate, the thickness of
256 Oceanographic Abstracts

that plate is less than approximately 130 km. This is in marked contrast to the reports of thicknesses exceeding 300 km for the
South American continental plate. (2) There is considerable seismic activity within the upper 50 km of the overriding South
American plate. This seismic activity is well separated from the inclined seismic zones and probably occurs in the crustal part of
the South American plate. Thus, hypocefiters in South America are not evenly distributed through about a 300okra-thick zone as
previously described. (3) A remarkable correlation exists between the two flat segments of the subducted Nazca plate and the
absence of Quaternary volcanism on the South American plate. (4) The transition from the fiat Peru segment to the steeper
Chile segment is abrupt and is interpreted as a tear in the descending Nazca plate. The tear is located approximately beneath the
northern limit of the Altiplano (a high plateau in the Andes), and about 200 km south of the projection of the oceanic Nazca
ridge down the subduction zone. (5) A gap in seismic activity exists between depths of 320 and 525 km.

BI~ A.W.H., J. E. DAMUTH, LEROY LOTT and ROSEMARY FREE, 1976. Late Quaternary climatic record in western
equatorial Atlantic sediment. Mem. Geol. Soc. Am., 145: 165-200.

Ten cores contain successions of planktonic foraminiferal assemblages and sedimentary components that record late Quaternary
climatic changes in the western equatorial Atlantic Ocean. The climatic cooling that began at the end of the last interglaciation
(X zone) and continued throughout the last glaciation (Y zone) led to the sequential disappearance of tropical Globorotalia
menardii flexuosa, Globoquadnna hexagona, and Pulleniatina obliquiloculata and the incursion of cool-water Globoquadrina dutertrei:
Globorotalia truncatulinoides, G. inflata, and Globigerina bulloides. Despite a twofold increase in cool equatorial species, a
tropical climate prevailed throughout the last glaciation. Paleotemperature estimates derived by factor analysis and regression
techniques indicate only a small ~0.1 ° to 3.6°C) difference between glacial and postglacial winter temperatures. The coldest sea-
surface temperatures occurred at about 73,000 B.P. Concurrently, calcareous remains underwent extensive dissolution, which is
reflected in the cores by CaCO3 :and coarse-fraction minimums, excessive fragmentation of planktonic foraminiferal shells, absence
of pteropods, and an increase in *.he ratio of benthic to planktonic foraminifera. Faster water-mass circulation during the early
part of the last glaciation as compared to the Holocene Epoch is postulated to account for the increased dissolution.
Sea-level lowering (approximately 100 m) during the last glaciation and most of the last interglaciation allowed South
American rivers to discharge large quantities of terrigenous sediment, which was continuously transported to the continental rise
and abyssal plains by gravity-controlled sediment flows. Sea-level rise during the Holocene Epoch shut off the terrigenous-sediment
supply to the deep sea, and the continental rise and abyssal plains became a regime of pelagic sedimentation. Prior to the Holocene
Epoch, the supply of terrigenous sediment was shut off only for a brief period at the beginning of the last interglaciation. This
indicates that a warm (interglacia!) period similar to the Holocene Epoch occurred at the beginning of the last glacial-interglacial
cycle.
Comparison of the timing of calcium-carbonate fluctuations of the cores with the timing of stadial-interstadial periods
inferred from the continental stratigraphy of the eastern Great Lakes region reveals an excellent correlation, lnterstadial (warm)
periods correlate with carbonate maximums, whereas stadial (cold) periods correlate with carbonate minimums.

BI~ A . W . H . and J.-C. DUPLESSY, 1976. Subtropical convergence fluctuations and Quaternary climates in the middle
latitudes of the Indian Ocean. Science, 194 (4263): 419-422.

Oxygen isotopic and microfaunal analyses and shell size variations of Orbulina universa in two Indian Ocean cores indicate that the
position of the Subtropical Convergence has fluctuated between a northern limit north of 31°S during glacial stages and its present,
maximum southern limit. The nc,rthward displacement of the Subtropical Convergence to a position off Durban, South Africa,
reflects the general weakness of tile Agulhas Current during glacial stages and parts of interglacial stages, representing about 65
percent of the past 540,000 years.

BEARDALL L and 1. MORRIS, 1976. The concept of light intensity adaptation in marine phytoplankton: some experi-
ments with Phaeodactylum tricomutum. Mar. Biol., 37 (4): 377-387.

The historical background on adaptation of algae to various light intensities is analysed. It is argued that there is little evidence
to suggest that previous growth at low light intensities enhances the ability of an alga to utilize these low light levels. Rather, the
published evidence suggests that the most general response to growth at sub-optimai light intensities is a reduced ability to utilize
saturating levels. The present experiments with Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin have tested this concept of light intensity
adaptation. Changing photosynthetic abilities during batch glowth depended on the light intensity used for growth and these
changes affected interpretations of the data. When measurements were made at a single time towards the end of the growth curve,
cells grown at lower light intensities appeared to photosynthesize (at all intensities) better than did those grown at higher light
levels. When the changes during batch growth were taken into account, or when the alga was grown in turbidostat cultures, a dif-
ferent picture was obtained. Growth at reduced light intensities was accompanied b y (a) increased chlorophyll content, (b)
decreased rate of light-saturated photosynthesis expressed on a chlorophyll, cell number or cell protein basis, and (c) decreased
activity of RuDP carboxylase. One result suggested that growth at a suboptimal light intensity did enhance the ability to utilize
lower light levels. The light-saturation curve of ceils grown in batch culture at 0.7 klux showed higher slopes at the low light in-
tensities than did those grown at 12 klux. This was most marked when photosynthesis was expressed per cell, but was also
apparent when it was put on a per chlorophyll basis.