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These publications showcase the significant science conducted in our Science Centers.

Filter Total Items: 16785

Mechanical properties of sand, silt, and clay containing tetrahydrofuran hydrate

The mechanical behavior of hydrate-bearing sediments subjected to large strains has relevance for the stability of the seafloor and submarine slopes, drilling and coring operations, and the analysis of certain small-strain properties of these sediments (for example, seismic velocities). This study reports on the results of comprehensive axial compression triaxial tests conducted at up to 1 MPa con
Authors
T.S. Yun, J.C. Santamarina, C. Ruppel

Shoreline change as a proxy for subaerial beach volume change

It is difficult and expensive to calculate changes in sediment volume for large sections of sandy beaches. Shoreline change could be a useful proxy for volume change because it can be collected quickly and relatively easily over long distances. In this paper, we summarize several studies that find a high correlation between shoreline change and subaerial volume change. We also examine three new da
Authors
Amy S. Farris, Jeffrey H. List

Effects of dietary selenium on tissue concentrations,pathology, oxidative stress, and immune function in common eiders (Somateria mollissima)

Common eiders (Somateria mollissima) were fed added Se (as L-selenomethionine) in concentrations increasing from 10 to 80 ppm in a pilot study (Study 1) or 20 (low exposure) and up to 60 (high exposure) ppm Se in Study 2. Body weights of Study 1 ducks and high-exposure ducks in Study 2 declined rapidly. Mean concentrations of Se in blood reached 32.4 ppm wet weight in Study 1 and 17.5 ppm wet weig
Authors
J. Christian Franson, David Hoffman, Alicia M. Wells-Berlin, Matthew C. Perry, Valerie I. Shearn-Bochsler, Daniel L. Finley, Paul L. Flint, Tuula E. Hollmén

Estimating the amount of eroded section in a partially exhumed basin from geophysical well logs: An example from the North Slope

The reconstruction of burial and thermal histories of partially exhumed basins requires an estimation of the amount of erosion that has occurred since the time of maximum burial. We have developed a method for estimating eroded thickness by using porosity-depth trends derived from borehole sonic logs of wells in the Colville Basin of northern Alaska. Porosity-depth functions defined from sonic-por
Authors
W. Matthew Burns, Daniel O. Hayba, Elisabeth L. Rowan, David W. Houseknecht

Ecological observations on the colonial ascidian Didemnum sp. in a New England tide pool habitat

The colonial ascidian Didemnum sp. has colonized northwestern Atlantic coastal habitats from southern Long Island, New York, to Eastport, Maine. It is also present in offshore habitats of the Georges Bank fishing grounds. It threatens to alter fisheries habitats and shellfish aquacultures. Observations in a tide pool at Sandwich, MA from December 2003 to February 2006 show that Didemnum sp. toler
Authors
P. C. Valentine, M.R. Carman, D.S. Blackwood, E.J. Heffron

A catastrophic meltwater flood event and the formation of the Hudson Shelf Valley

The Hudson Shelf Valley (HSV) is the largest physiographic feature on the U.S. mid-Atlantic continental shelf. The 150-km long valley is the submerged extension of the ancestral Hudson River Valley that connects to the Hudson Canyon. Unlike other incised valleys on the mid-Atlantic shelf, it has not been infilled with sediment during the Holocene. Analyses of multibeam bathymetry, acoustic backsca
Authors
E. Robert Thieler, Bradford Butman, William C. Schwab, Mead A. Allison, Neal W. Driscoll, John P. Donnelly, Elazar Uchupi

The colonial ascidian Didemnum sp. A: current distribution, basic biology and potential threat to marine communities of the northeast and west coasts of North America

Didemnum sp. A is a colonial ascidian with rapidly expanding populations on the east and west coasts of North America. The origin of Didemum sp. A is unknown. Populations were first observed on the northeast coast of the U.S. in the late 1980s and on the west coast during the 1990s. It is currently undergoing a massive population explosion and is now a dominant member of many subtidal communities
Authors
S.G. Bullard, G. Lambert, M.R. Carman, J. Byrnes, R.B. Whitlatch, G. Ruiz, R. J. Miller, L. Harris, P. C. Valentine, J.S. Collie, J. Pederson, D.C. McNaught, A.N. Cohen, R. G. Asch, J. Dijkstra, K. Heinonen

Effect of horseshoe crab spawning density on nest disturbance and exhumation of eggs: A simulation study

Because the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) population is managed to provide for dependent species, such as migratory shorebirds, there is a need to understand the process of egg exhumation and to predict eggs available to foraging shorebirds. A simple spatial model was used to simulate horseshoe crab spawning that would occur on a typical Delaware Bay beach during spring tide cyc
Authors
D. R. Smith

Three-dimensional structure of fluid conduits sustaining an active deep marine cold seep

Cold seeps in deep marine settings emit fluids to the overlying ocean and are often associated with such seafloor flux indicators as chemosynthetic biota, pockmarks, and authigenic carbonate rocks. Despite evidence for spatiotemporal variability in the rate, locus, and composition of cold seep fluid emissions, the shallow subseafloor plumbing systems have never been clearly imaged in three dimensi
Authors
M.J. Hornbach, C. Ruppel, C.L. Van Dover

Simultaneous determination of thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat in sI methane hydrate

Thermal conductivity, thermal diffusivity and specific heat of sI methane hydrate were measured as functions of temperature and pressure using a needle probe technique. The temperature dependence was measured between −20°C and 17°C at 31.5 MPa. The pressure dependence was measured between 31.5 and 102 MPa at 14.4°C. Only weak temperature and pressure dependencies were observed. Methane hydrate the
Authors
W.F. Waite, L.A. Stern, S. H. Kirby, W.J. Winters, D.H. Mason

The Northern end of the Dead Sea Basin: Geometry from reflection seismic evidence

Recently released reflection seismic lines from the Eastern side of the Jordan River north of the Dead Sea were interpreted by using borehole data and incorporated with the previously published seismic lines of the eastern side of the Jordan River. For the first time, the lines from the eastern side of the Jordan River were combined with the published reflection seismic lines from the western side
Authors
A. S. Al-Zoubi, T. Heinrichs, I. Qabbani, Uri S. ten Brink

Sources and temporal dynamics of arsenic in a New Jersey watershed, USA

We examined potential sources and the temporal dynamics of arsenic (As) in the slightly alkaline waters of the Wallkill River, northwestern New Jersey, where violations of water-quality standards have occurred. The study design included synoptic sampling of stream water and bed sediments in tributaries and the mainstem, hyporheic-zone/ground water on the mainstem, and seasonal and diurnal sampling
Authors
J. L. Barringer, J.L. Bonin, M.J. DeLuca, T. Romagna, K. Cenno, M. Alebus, T. Kratzer, B. Hirst