O ciclo diurno do fluxo de CO2 no oceano Atlântico equatorial para o mês de agosto é estimado utilizando um algoritmo de transferência de gases. O algoritmo é baseado na teoria de similaridade de Monin-Obukhov para fluxos turbulentos na interface ar-mar e na física da transferência de CO2 na camada molecular oceânica. O ciclo diurno do fluxo de CO2, obtido na região, caracteriza o oceano Atlântico equatorial, durante o período, como fonte de CO2 para a atmosfera e seus valores estão entre 0,71 e 0,85 mol CO2 m^-2 ano^-1. / The diurnal cycle of CO2 is estimated for the month of August on the Atlantic Ocean using a gas transfer algorithm. The algorithm is based on the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory for turbulent transfer at the air-sea interface and the physics of the CO2 transfer at the oceanic molecular layer.

In response to the drastic decline of the European eel (Anguilla anguilla (L.)) fisheries have been reduced and elvers are stocked in areas where natural abundances are low. Are these measures adequate? To answer different aspects of this question, we have analysed more than a century of eel tagging, using both traditional and more novel capture – recapture analyses. Based on these long-term data, we have evaluated the impact of the Swedish eel coastal fisheries using Survival analysis. Our analysis indicates that the fishing mortality just prior the 2009 fishing restrictions were in the order of 10%. More recent tagging programs have focused on issues related to the fate of stocked fish. If and how they migrate out of the Baltic Sea and further on towards the Atlantic Ocean. Both earlier and our new studies reveal that all eels recaptured on the Swedish East Coast, no matter of their origin, migrate at a reasonable speed and direction towards the outlets of the Baltic Sea. Even though it is sometimes difficult to determine their origin, our analyses indicate that stocked fish were scarce among the recaptures. In an experiment on the Swedish West Coast, we knew the individuals’ origin (stocked or wild) and they had similar migration patterns. In contrast, silver eel in Lake Mälaren – assumed to have been stocked as elvers or bootlace eels – seemed to have difficulties in finding the outlets. Instead they overwintered and lost weight. However, weight losses are also significant among non-stocked individuals in the Baltic Sea, both if they overwinter and if they appear to be on their way out from the area. It remains an open question whether eels from the Baltic region in general, and whether the overwintered fish in particular, manage to reach the spawning area in the Atlantic Ocean. Based on current knowledge, I advocate invoking the precautionary approach and to concentrate Swedish eel stockings to the West Coast and allow the young fish to spread out on their own. / <p>At the time of the doctoral defense, the following paper was unpublished and had a status as follows: Paper 2: Manuscript.</p><p> </p>

No description available.

No description available.

<p dir="ltr">The Northwest Atlantic Ocean, which surrounds the US eastern coastline, is an area rich in marine life. The US eastern coastline is also highly urbanized, resulting in a lot of pollutants (like heavy metals) entering the marine environment. This is of concern for long-lived marine species like sea turtles. Since sea turtles are long-lived and highly migratory, their tissues can often incorporate these pollutants through environmental and dietary exposure. I collected tissue samples from 5 different sea turtle populations in the Northwest Atlantic and analyzed them for concentrations of silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co), chromium (Cr), iron (Fe), manganese (Mn), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), selenium (Se) and zinc (Zn) using an Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (ICP-MS). The first chapter looks at skin (reflects exposure ~1 year ago) and scute (reflects exposure from 4-6 years ago) samples collected during necropsies of juvenile green (<i>Chelonia mydas</i>) (n=8), Kemp’s ridley (<i>Lepidochelys kempii</i>) (n=30) and loggerhead (<i>Caretta caretta</i>) (n=17) turtles that were found cold-stunned in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts. In scute samples, the heavy metal with the highest concentration for green turtles was iron, zinc for loggerhead turtles, and arsenic for Kemp’s ridley turtles. In skin samples, the heavy metal with the highest concentration for green turtles was iron, arsenic for loggerhead turtles, and aluminum for Kemp’s ridley turtles. Overall, I found scute samples to have higher heavy metal concentrations than skin samples. The second chapter looks at scute samples collected from loggerhead turtles of different life stages. These samples were collected during necropsies of cold-stunned loggerhead turtles from Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts (CCB; n=17), as well as from live loggerhead turtles in the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB; n=37) and off the coast of North Carolina (NC; n=9). We also collected commonly known loggerhead turtle prey items including whelk (<i>Buccinum undatum</i>) (n=12), Atlantic scallop (<i>Placopecten magellanicus)</i> (n=10) and Jonah crab (<i>Cancer borealis</i>) (n=5) from the Mid-Atlantic Bight region to study the occurrence of biomagnification through trophic pathways. NC loggerhead turtles had higher heavy metal concentrations than other locations except for cadmium and zinc, where CCB loggerhead turtles were higher. I found that all heavy metals except silver, cadmium, and lead appear to be biomagnified (TTF>1) in loggerhead turtles. These two chapters provided baseline information on heavy metal concentrations in sea turtles in east coast US.</p>

This thesis presents a new template for multidisciplinary habitat mapping that combines the analyses of seafloor geomorphology, oceanographic proxies and modelling of associated biologic features. High resolution swath bathymetry of the Faial and western Pico shelves is used to present the first state-of-the-art geomorphologic assessment of submerged island shelves in the Azores. Solid seafloor structures are described in previously unreported detail together with associated volcanic, tectonic and erosion processes. The large sedimentary expanses identified in the area are also investigated and the large bedforms identified are discussed in view of new data on the local hydrodynamic conditions. Coarse-sediment zones of types hitherto unreported for volcanic island shelves are described using swath data and in situ imagery together with sub-bottom profiles and grainsize information. The hydrodynamic and geological processes producing these features are discussed. New oceanographic information extracted from satellite imagery is presented including yearly and seasonal sea surface temperature and chlorophyll-a concentration fields. These are used as proxies to understand the spatio-temporal variability of water temperature and primary productivity in the immediate island vicinity. The patterns observed are discussed, including onshore-offshore gradients and the prevalence of colder/more productive waters in the Faial-Pico passage and shelf areas in general. Furthermore, oceanographic proxies for swell exposure and tidal currents are derived from GIS analyses and shallow-water hydrographic modelling. Finally, environmental variables that potentially regulate the distribution of benthic organisms (seafloor nature, depth, slope, sea surface temperature, chlorophyll-a concentration, swell exposure and maximum tidal currents) are brought together and used to develop innovative statistical models of the distribution of six macroalgae taxa dominant in the infralittoral (articulated Corallinaceae, Codium elisabethae, Dictyota spp., Halopteris filicina, Padina pavonica and Zonaria tournefortii). Predictive distributions of these macroalgae are spatialized around Faial island using ordered logistic regression equations and raster fields of the explanatory variables found to be statistically significant. This new approach represents a potentially highly significant step forward in modelling benthic communities not only in the Azores but also in other oceanic island shelves where the management of benthic species and biotopes is critical to preserve ecosystem health.

Growth strata analysis and detrital-zircon geochronology are useful applications of stratigraphy to tectonic problems. Whereas both tools can contribute to kinematic analyses of supracrustal rock bodies, growth strata are also useful for analyzing the influence of tectonics on stratigraphic architecture. This study reports: 1) a conceptual model for growth strata development; 2) stratigraphic and kinematic analyses of growth strata architectures from growth structures in southeastern Utah, the Gulf of Mexico, and northeastern Spain; and 3) the detrital-zircon geochronology of the Salinian block of central coastal California. Kinematic sequence stratigraphy subdivides growth strata into kinematic sequences that are separated by kinematic sequence boundaries. Kinematic sequences can be further partitioned into kinematic domains based on the termination patterns of strata within a kinematic sequence. Salt- related fluvial growth strata from the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern Utah contain stratigraphic architectures that are unique to different kinematic domains. Offlap kinematic domains contain fluvial strata indicative of high slopes, low accommodation rates, and strong structural influence on paleocurrent direction. Onlap kinematic domains contain fluvial strata indicative of moderate slopes, high accommodation rates, and decreased structural influence on paleocurrent direction. The stratigraphic architecture of alluvial -fan thrust -belt growth strata in northeastern Spain does not display a marked correlation with kinematic domain, and is most easily interpreted using existing models for autocyclic alluvial -fan evolution. Detrital- zircon (U -Pb) geochronologic data from basement and cover rocks of Salinia suggest that Salinia originated along the southwestern margin of North America, likely in the vicinity of the Mojave Desert. The presence of Neoproterozoic and Late Archean detrital zircons in Salinian basement rocks also suggest that Salinian sediments were recycled from miogeoclinal sediments of the western margin of North America.

La dynamique des cratons reste, encore actuellement, énigmatique dans la mesure où ceux-ci sont souvent considérés comme des domaines stables à l’échelle des temps géologiques. Dans ce travail, nous avons reconstitué l’évolution d’un des plus grands cratons, le Craton Ouest Africain. Nous nous sommes également penchés sur l’étude de ses bordures nord et ouest (Anti-Atlas et marge atlantique respectivement). Cette étude utilise les méthodes de thermochronologie basse-température (traces de fission et (U-Th-Sm)/He sur apatite) ainsi que la géologie structurale. Le choix de ce craton est justifié par les multiples contextes géologiques dont témoignent ses bordures au cours du Phanérozoïque (plateforme, avant-pays distal, marge passive). Ces contextes variés au cours du temps en font donc une cible idéale pour évaluer l’influence des diverses forces susceptibles d’affecter le craton.Tout d’abord, suite à une subsidence importante au cours du Paléozoïque, le craton enregistre un refroidissement important entre le Jurassique supérieur et le Crétacé inférieur, postérieurement à l’ouverture de l’Atlantique Central. Cet événement n’est pas directement lié aux seuls processus affectant les marges passives puisque non seulement la marge est affectée, mais aussi l’intérieur du craton (jusque 800 km à l’intérieur des terres) et le domaine mobile non-cratonique au Nord. Ce refroidissement traduit une phase d’exhumation kilométrique qui permet alors le dépôt d’une épaisse séquence détritique sur la plateforme saharienne. L’hypothèse d’un raccourcissement comme explication n’est pas valide et l’hypothèse d’une anomalie thermique mantellique à cette époque rend mieux compte de cet événement d’érosion majeur. L’hypothèse thermique possède un autre avantage : celui de rendre compte du réchauffement qui suivit à l’Apto-Albien et au début du Crétacé supérieur, à la fois par le craton mais aussi par ses bordures, par le biais de la subsidence thermique.Deuxièmement, à partir du Crétacé supérieur, la tendance générale est au refroidissement dans toute la région étudiée, synchrone avec l’initiation de la convergence Afrique/Europe. La chaîne du Haut Atlas au Maroc représente à ce moment un témoin privilégié des déformations se produisant pendant le Cénozoïque. Nous avons déterminé un calendrier tectonique précis dans l’avant-pays méridional de la chaîne, afin d’avoir un point de comparaison avec l’enregistrement cratonique. Ainsi, une première phase tectonique se déroule à l’Eocène supérieur. Celle-ci fait écho à un événement de déformation de plus grande échelle qui affecte toute le craton, résultant sans doute d’une réorganisation de grande ampleur dans la dynamique de la convergence. La phase récente Plio-Quaternaire est bien décrite à l’échelle de l’Afrique du Nord dans la chaîne Atlasique, mais pourrait s’avérer trop récente pour pouvoir être décelée par nos thermochronomètres à l’intérieur du domaine cratonique. Enfin, une phase de soulèvement spécifique au domaine atlasique marocain est enregistrée pendant le Miocène inférieur-moyen et met en place des nappes dans la chaîne. Les thermochronomètres basse-température ne la détectent pas à l’intérieur du craton, et elle pourrait donc être géographiquement restreinte au domaine atlasique.Ce travail a démontré que l’absence de sédiments au cours du Méso-Cénozoïque, qui en première approche font de ce craton une zone dite « stable », occulte une réalité géologique autre, faite de la succession de plusieurs phases épeirogéniques. Une évaluation des processus à l’œuvre permet de proposer que les phénomènes mantelliques ainsi que les transferts de contraintes sont des acteurs majeurs à l’origine de ces mouvements. Néanmoins, la juste contribution de chacun de ces processus nécessite encore un travail approfondi. / The dynamic evolution of cratonic domains remains enigmatic as they are usually considered as stable through geological times. In this work, we unraveled the evolution of one of the largest cratonic area, the West African Craton (WAC), and its north and west boundaries (Anti-Atlas and Atlantic passive margin, respectively), through low-temperature thermochronology (apatite fission-track and (U-Th)/He thermochronology) and structural geology. The WAC was studied since its boundaries witnessed many different geological settings (platform, distal foreland, passive margin) during the Phanerozoic, making it a good candidate to evaluate the various driving forces acting on the craton.First, after a continuous Paleozoic subsidence, the craton records the most important cooling event between Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous, postdating the onset of the Central Atlantic Ocean spreading. This event is unrelated to the sole passive margin in itself and affected both the craton (up to 800 km inland) and the mobile boundary in the north (Anti-Atlas and High Atlas). It represents kilometer-scale erosion that led to the deposition of thick detrital formations, the red beds, across the whole Saharan platform. This event is not characterized by shortening and is better explained through a mantle-related thermal anomaly during this exhumation. The thermal hypothesis explains the subsequent thermal subsidence undergone by the craton and its north boundary during the Aptian-Albian and the early stages of the Late Cretaceous.Second, from Late Cretaceous onward, dominant cooling trend has imprinted the thermal histories of the studied region, coevally with the onset of the Africa/Europe convergence.The High Atlas belt in Morocco is an accurate witness of the deformations occurring during Cenozoic times. We determined the precise tectonic schedule in the southern foreland of the belt and compared this evolution with the cratonic one. We show that the first Eocene tectonic event echoes to a major craton-scale deformation and results probably from a significant geodynamic change in the convergence zone. The Pliocene-Quaternary phase, well known at the North African scale, is only recorded in the Atlas belt, but might be too recent to have significantly imprinted the thermochronological record inside the craton. Finally, another uplift specific to the Moroccan Atlas Belt during Early to Middle Miocene led to the emplacement of tectonic nappes. This event is not recorded by LTT on the craton and may be restricted to its mobile boundary.This work demonstrates that, despite the lack of Mesozoic-Cenozoic sediment record that may advocate for a stable geological history, the West African Craton suffered significant epeirogenies during this period. Deep seated processes as well as stress transmission prove to be good candidates to account for these cratonic motions, although further work is needed to unravel the exact contribution of these various processes.

Análises sedimentológicas e geoquímicas realizadas no registro sedimentar GeoB 16204-2 (01°9.75\'S, 42°20.30\'O, 1210 m de profundidade) permitiram reconhecer três períodos com diferentes configurações paleoceanográficas e paleoclimáticas ao longo dos últimos 8100 anos para margem equatorial brasileira. O primeiro período (8100 - 5000 anos cal A.P.) foi caracterizado por condições hidrodinâmicas mais intensas, menor influência marinha e maior aporte continental, constatados por menores valores de sortable silt, maior porcentagem da fração areia, menores conteúdos de CaCO3 e maiores valores das razões de Ti/Ca e Fe/Ca. O segundo período (5000 - 2500 anos cal A.P.) apresentou maiores flutuações na intensidade das correntes de fundo e diminuição do aporte continental indicados por variações do sortable silt, moda não definida na distribuição dos tamanhos das partículas (PSD) e tendência decrescente das razões Ti/Ca e Fe/Ca. O terceiro período (2500 anos cal A.P. - presente), prevaleceram condições hidrodinâmicas menos intensas e menor aporte continental sinalizados por moda do PSD próximo a 7 &Phi; e menores valores das razões Fe/Ca e Ti/Ca. Ao longo dos 8100 anos ocorreu uma desintensificação da corrente de fundo, provavelmente associado a um enfraquecimento da célula de revolvimento meridional do Atlântico (AMOC) e também à migração em direção sul da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (ZCIT). A migração da ZCIT além de influenciar as correntes oceânicas também contribuiu para mudanças das configurações atmosféricas favorecendo condições mais secas na região de estudo durante o Holoceno Tardio. Estimativas de temperatura e salinidade da superfície do mar revelam pouca variação nos últimos 5.000 anos, com valores próximos aos da média climatológicos atuais, 26,4°C e 36,5. / Sedimentological and geochemical analyzes on sedimentary record GeoB 16204-2 (01°9.75 \'S, 42°20:30\'W, 1210 m depth) allowed to recognize three periods with different paleoceanographic settings and paleoclimatic over the last 8100 years for the Brazilian equatorial margin . The first period (8100 - 5000 cal yr BP) was characterized by more intense hydrodynamic conditions, lower marine influence and greater continental contribution, evidenced by lower values of sortable silt, higher percentage of sand fraction, lower CaCO3 content and higher values of the Ti / Ca and Fe / Ca ratios. The second period (5000 - 2500 cal yr BP) showed greater fluctuations in the intensity of bottom currents and decreased continental contribution indicated by variations of sortable silt, poorly defined mode in the particle size distribution (PSD) and decrease trend of the Ti / Ca and Fe / Ca ratios. The third period (2500 cal yr BP - present), was dominated by less intense hydrodynamic conditions and less continental contribution indicated by for mode PSD about 7 &Phi; and lower values of Fe/Ca and Ti/Ca ratios. Over the 8100 years there has been a weakening of North Brazilian Current, probably associated with a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and also the southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Besides influencing ocean currents the migration of the ITCZ also contributed to changes atmospheric conditions, favoring drier conditions in the study area during the Late Holocene. Sea surface temperature ans salinity show little change in the last 5000 years, with values close to the current climatological average, 26.4 ° C and 36.5.

Análises sedimentológicas e geoquímicas realizadas no registro sedimentar GeoB 16204-2 (01°9.75\'S, 42°20.30\'O, 1210 m de profundidade) permitiram reconhecer três períodos com diferentes configurações paleoceanográficas e paleoclimáticas ao longo dos últimos 8100 anos para margem equatorial brasileira. O primeiro período (8100 - 5000 anos cal A.P.) foi caracterizado por condições hidrodinâmicas mais intensas, menor influência marinha e maior aporte continental, constatados por menores valores de sortable silt, maior porcentagem da fração areia, menores conteúdos de CaCO3 e maiores valores das razões de Ti/Ca e Fe/Ca. O segundo período (5000 - 2500 anos cal A.P.) apresentou maiores flutuações na intensidade das correntes de fundo e diminuição do aporte continental indicados por variações do sortable silt, moda não definida na distribuição dos tamanhos das partículas (PSD) e tendência decrescente das razões Ti/Ca e Fe/Ca. O terceiro período (2500 anos cal A.P. - presente), prevaleceram condições hidrodinâmicas menos intensas e menor aporte continental sinalizados por moda do PSD próximo a 7 &Phi; e menores valores das razões Fe/Ca e Ti/Ca. Ao longo dos 8100 anos ocorreu uma desintensificação da corrente de fundo, provavelmente associado a um enfraquecimento da célula de revolvimento meridional do Atlântico (AMOC) e também à migração em direção sul da Zona de Convergência Intertropical (ZCIT). A migração da ZCIT além de influenciar as correntes oceânicas também contribuiu para mudanças das configurações atmosféricas favorecendo condições mais secas na região de estudo durante o Holoceno Tardio. Estimativas de temperatura e salinidade da superfície do mar revelam pouca variação nos últimos 5.000 anos, com valores próximos aos da média climatológicos atuais, 26,4°C e 36,5. / Sedimentological and geochemical analyzes on sedimentary record GeoB 16204-2 (01°9.75 \'S, 42°20:30\'W, 1210 m depth) allowed to recognize three periods with different paleoceanographic settings and paleoclimatic over the last 8100 years for the Brazilian equatorial margin . The first period (8100 - 5000 cal yr BP) was characterized by more intense hydrodynamic conditions, lower marine influence and greater continental contribution, evidenced by lower values of sortable silt, higher percentage of sand fraction, lower CaCO3 content and higher values of the Ti / Ca and Fe / Ca ratios. The second period (5000 - 2500 cal yr BP) showed greater fluctuations in the intensity of bottom currents and decreased continental contribution indicated by variations of sortable silt, poorly defined mode in the particle size distribution (PSD) and decrease trend of the Ti / Ca and Fe / Ca ratios. The third period (2500 cal yr BP - present), was dominated by less intense hydrodynamic conditions and less continental contribution indicated by for mode PSD about 7 &Phi; and lower values of Fe/Ca and Ti/Ca ratios. Over the 8100 years there has been a weakening of North Brazilian Current, probably associated with a weakening of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and also the southward migration of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). Besides influencing ocean currents the migration of the ITCZ also contributed to changes atmospheric conditions, favoring drier conditions in the study area during the Late Holocene. Sea surface temperature ans salinity show little change in the last 5000 years, with values close to the current climatological average, 26.4 ° C and 36.5.