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This thesis aims to investigate how SRB endure long periods of nutrient deprivation in the oligotrophic conditions of the North Sea. The presence of small cells in the marine environment has been extensively documented. These small cells are termed ultramicrobacteria, and are defined as being less than 0.3 μm in diameter. The formation of small cells by SRB was postulated to facilitate penetration of SRB deep within oil reservoirs, during water injection, exacerbating SRB associated problems. These studies revealed that a maximum of 15% of starving SRB populations formed UMB. Cultures starved for up to 6 years did not demonstrate an increase in UMB formation. Cell size studies revealed that SRB demonstrated a maximum 62% cell size decrease during starvation. Total cell counts revealed a constant cell number throughout starvation studies indicating a decrease in cell size by cell dwarfing. Transmission electron microscopy revealed a decrease in cellular content during starvation. This is consistent with a decrease in cell diameter during starvation. There was no difference in cell size decrease when cells were starved in the presence or absence of sulphate. There appeared, however, to be enhanced recoverability of cells starved in the presence of sulphate. SRB were demonstrated to be able to withstand simultaneous periods of sulphate and carbon starvation. This may have serious consequences for the oil industry as sulphate is often limiting in oil reservoirs. This evidence suggests that SRB could endure such conditions and recover when sulphate becomes available. SRB appear to enter a dormant phase shortly after the onset of starvation. Metabolic studies indicated that the entry into starvation was characterised by an initial increase in metabolic activity followed by a sharp decrease in metabolic activity to negligible levels. Metabolic activity could be re-initiated following inoculation into fresh growth medium.

Differential compaction occurs within many sedimentary settings, such as alluvial and deltaic deposition, but it is within the submarine fan environment where the process is most effective due to the very high depositional porosities of the muds found there. Additionally the grain size of siliciclastic sediments within the submarine fan environment varies rapidly both horizontally and vertically, and hence the effect of differential compaction control on the depositional geometry and arrangement needs to be examined and modelled. It is also important to ascertain the rate at which sediments compact when buried, and whether compaction is complete at the end of deposition or whether it requires additional time to achieve this state. Sea- floor topography can be created if the latter case is true, and could influence subsequent deposition. Alternatively, if sea-floor topography is not created, the major control upon subsequent deposition may be the compatibility of the underlying section. Both controls will favour deposition of successive coarse clastic units above areas of fine-grained sediments, i.e. sand above shale rather than sand above sand. The Palaeocene sediments of the Central North Sea In the Montrose - Arbroath area (Blocks 22/17 and 22/18) combined with outcrop studies In southern California and New Mexico, have been used to assess the control of differential compaction on sediment distribution in a deep-sea fan setting. Differential compaction affects the Montrose - Arbroath area on a variety of scales. Firstly, differential compaction of the entire Palaeocene section across the underlying Forties - Montrose High induces structure. At a smaller scale, differential compaction may form a considerable control upon the spatial distribution of submarine fan channels and lobes that form the reservoir section throughout the area, and therefore the areal distribution of the oilfields themselves. Finally differential compaction may effect the distribution pattern of individual turbidites within such channel systems, thus forming a fine control upon the distribution of sands and shales within the reservoir. Fieldwork on submarine fan deposits in southern California has highlighted further complications to differential compaction that need to be addressed during the modelling process. Sedimentary processes such as basal loading and slumping are highly common in such deposits, and both can effect the compactional process to differing degrees. Results obtained from the modelling of stratal patterns observed in New Mexico provide information on the timing of differential compaction. It is suggested that compaction of sediments, even during early burial, requires a time interval often greater than the period of deposition, resulting in post-depositional compaction and the production of near-surface overpressure.

Key processes affecting the transport of particulate trace metals in the coastal waters of the Irish and North Seas have been examined. Sample collection and experimentation was carried out on board R.R-S. Challenger in January 1992 (Irish Sea) and in December 1992 and November 1993 (North Sea). Particulate samples were digested in IM HCI and the concentrations of Ca, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb and Zn were determined, together with the 206/207Pb isotopic ratio. In the North Eastern Irish Sea the concentrations of suspended particulate trace metals were affected significantly by tidal processes, such that ebb tides transport particles of higher trace metal concentrations from the nearshore, while flood tides transport metal-depleted particles from offshore. This tidally-induced transport was confirmed by complementary 206/207Pb analyses, which showed the value of this technique in particle tracing. In the North Sea suspended particulate trace metal concentrations were higher adjacent to industrialised estuaries and high Pb concentrations were found m the Tyne/Tees region (in the range 200 - 340 ug g-1), in combination with low 206/207Pb suggesting an anthropogenic origin. Estimated fluxes of trace metals from the Humber Estuary to the North Sea were relatively small compared to the PARCOM inputs to the estuary. There was little evidence of interannual variability in these fluxes compared to those obtained in December 1988. Samples of end-members of the Humber Plume particle mixing series (estuary and cliffs) were used in radiochemical uptake studies, which indicated a response time of about 1 day for 109Cd, 137Cs and 65Zn to reach a new equihbrium. When the end-members were mixed together in various proportions they showed the uptake of 109Cd and 54Mn behaved non-additively. Settling of suspended particulate trace metals in the plume region was examined in unique experiments involving stable and radioisotopes. It was shown that trace metals were preferentially associated with different settling fractions. Lead was associated with slow settling particles whereas Cu was associated with particles settling more rapidly. The results presented in this dissertation allowed the development of a conceptual model for fine sediment transport for trace metals, which could be interfaced with established hydrodynamic models.

Ostracods were obtained from two cores in the southern North Sea area: the Sand Hole and Swarte Bank Formations of Tappin (1991) in BGS borehole 81/52A, cored from the Inner Silver Pit, southern North Sea, and a core from Shoeburyness in Essex, borehole S 1. The faunal assemblages in 131-181/52A were dominated by Sarsicytheridea punctillata, Elo/sonella concinna and Acanthocvthereis clunelmnensis. The assemblages recovered reflect a transition from glacio-marine conditions in the Swarte Bank Formation up into a cold-temperate marine environment in the Sand Hole Formation with deteriorating temperatures indicated at the top of the interval studied. In BHSI a freshwater to brackish transition occurred in the core, the freshwater section being dominated by Darwinula slevensoni and llyocypris spp., and the brackish section by Cyprideis torosa and C ytheromor pha fiiscata. The palaeoecology of the ostracod assemblages recovered is compared to other palaeoecological data from the same sections in each core and to ostracod data from other Hoxnian/l lolsteinian sites in north western Europe. These data are also discussed in the light of evidence indicating that there was a barrier across the southern North Sea when the sediments examined were deposited. Sarsicytheridea spp. and (yprideis terosa were used for trace element (Mg: Ca, Sr: Ca) and stable isotope (cS'"O, ö'3C) analyses. A calibration equation for the calculation of temperature from Mg: Ca ratio was successfully established from analysis of modern Sarsicytheridea. Modern Sr: Ca data could not be used to establish a calibration for salinity since there was too much scatter in the data. (' prideis torosa has been used for trace element and stable isotope work by other authors who have published relationships between ('yprideis and the water chemistry. Ostracods were also analysed down core to examine the changing ratios of Mg and Sr as a proxy for temperature and salinity changes in the I-loxnian of the southern North Sea. In BH81/52A, Mg: Ca data indicated a deterioration in temperature from 36.20 m to the top of the section studied of 9°C. Oxygen stable isotopic analyses from the same species, measured through the same core intervals, did not exhibit a trend, but their values were indicative of normal marine salinities. Carbon stable isotope analyses, performed at the same time as the oxygen analyses, indicate that there may have been high productivity in the region of deposition of the Sand Hole Formation, implying deposition in a region of freshwater influence. However, C/N analyses indicated that the sediments in the Inner Silver Pit were deposited under fully marine conditions. In III ISI, both the Mg: Ca and Sr: Ca data suggested that salinity had increased upcore. Ilowever, there was a lot of scatter in the data, indicating that the estuarine environment, under which the palaeoecology suggests the sediments were deposited, was a highly fluctuating one. These data compare favourably with previously published records. Published partition coefficients were used to compare the trace element data obtained to mean river and seawater values.

No / Abstract: This paper focuses on the submerged landscapes of the southern North Sea, an area often referred to as Doggerland, which was inundated as a result of relative sea-level rise at the start of the Holocene. The timing, pattern and process of environmental changes and the implica­ tions for prehistoric (Mesolithic) human communities living in this area have long been a subject of debate and discussion. Recent developments in marine geophysics have pemtitted the mapping of the pre-submergence landscape, leading to the identification oflandforms including river channels and other contexts suitable for the preservation of palaeoecological records. The paper describes multi-proxy (pollen, foraminifera, plant macrofossil and insect) palaeoenvironmental analyses of a vibrocore sequence recovered from a palaeochannel feature c. 80 km off the coast of eastern England. The palaeocbsnnel preserves sediments of Late Pleistocene and Holocene age (MIS2/l); the record suggests that channel incision, probably duting the early Holocene, was followed by a phase of peat formation (c. 9-10 cal ka BP) indicating paludification and the subsequent reactiva­ tion of the cbsnnel (c. 9-6 cal ka BP), initially under freshwater and increasingly brackish/saline conditions, and a final transition to full marine conditions (6-5 cal ka BP). The pollen, macrofossil and beetle records indicate the presence of pre-submergence deciduous woodland, but detailed interpretation of the data is hindered by taphonomic complications.The paper concludes with a dis­ cussion of the problems and potentials of using palaeoenvironmental data to reconstruct complex patterns of environmental change across Doggerland in four dimensions, and considers specific questions concerning the implications of such processes for Mesolithic human communities.

No / The submerged landscape of the North Sea has long been known by archaeologists as an area of Mesolithic occupation, yet despite this the nature of the occupation of this landscape has remained poorly understood due to the submergence of the landscape. This paper presents the results of a “first pass" study to produce an initial model of the carrying capacity of the landscape and its associated demography. This model seeks to explore the impacts of sea level driven landscape change upon the Mesolithic population. The model reveals the diversity of resources present in this landscape and the potential these had to buffer human subsistence from the effects of marine inundation.

No / The North Sea subsurface shows the marks of long-term tectonic subsidence. Much of it contains a thick record of glacial and interglacial deposits and landscapes, formed during multiple glacial cycles and the associated regressions and transgressions during the past two million years. At times of lower sea level than today, areas that are presently submerged were fertile lowlands more favourable for hunting and gathering than the surrounding upland. These drowned lowlands are not captured by traditional 1:250,000 geological maps of the North Sea subsurface because the underlying seismic and core data are commonly too widely spaced to achieve this. Palaeolandscape mapping requires identification of building blocks with spatial scales in the order of 1 km or less. As high-density 2D and high-quality 3D seismics are becoming available for an increasing part of the North Sea, glacial and interglacial palaeolandscapes can be reconstructed for more and more areas. An overview of published palaeolandscape reconstructions shows that shallow time slices through 3D data provide map views that are very suitable for the identification of landscape elements. For optimal results, each time slice needs to be validated and ground-truthed with 2D seismics and with descriptions and analyses of cores and borehole samples. Interpretations should be made by teams of geoscientists with a sufficiently broad range of expertise to recognise and classify even subtle or unfamiliar patterns and features. The resulting reconstructions will provide a context and an environmental setting for Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, and Neolithic societies and finds.

No / Submerged palaeolandscapes can contain pristine underwater heritage. Regular monitoring of these areas is essential to assess and mitigate threats from development including construction, mining, and commercial trawling. While bathymetry alone may be insufficient to detect submerged palaeolandscape features, it can nonetheless recognize previously mapped structures that have a topographic expression. The Sentinel-1 constellation will provide unprecedented access to freely available, high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data, acquired systematically and with long-term continuity, and may constitute a cost-effective solution for the monitoring of submerged palaeolandscapes. The article shows the application of a recently developed bathymetric algorithm to Sentinel-1 SAR data over a region of the southern North Sea. Results show general agreement with water depth data obtained from the European Marine Observation and Data Network portal for bathymetry (EMODnet). To assess the support that SAR bathymetry can provide to the analysis of submerged palaeolandscapes, the Sentinel-1-derived water depths were compared to a palaeolandscape map of the same area produced by the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Project (NSPP). Results show a clear correspondence between certain topographic structures identified in the Sentinel-1 water depth map and features interpreted by the NSPP as early Holocene lakes, rivers, and landscape topography.

Yes / This paper describes some results of the research undertaken over the Brown Bank area during recent (2018/2019) geoarchaeological surveys in the North Sea which included seismic imaging, shallow (vibro)coring and dredging. It examines the benefits of simultaneous high-resolution (0.5 – 1m) and ultra-high-resolution (10 – 20cm) seismic survey techniques and a staged approach to resolving the submerged Holocene landscape in the highest possible detail for the purpose of targeted prospecting for archaeological material from the Mesolithic landscape of Doggerland. The materials recovered from such surveys offer significantly greater information due to an enhanced understanding of the context in which they were recovered. The importance of this information cannot be understated archaeologically, as few locations on land provide the opportunity to recover archaeological finds in situ within preserved landscapes. Moreover, it allows offshore areas of potential human activity to be prospected with some certainty of success. / ERC