OCEANOGRAPHIC ABSTRACTS This section contains a group of abstracts of current papers on general oceanography and related subjects. Together with the oceanographic bibliography it will provide a comprehensive service to scientists engaged in deep-sea research and oceanography in general. For ease of reference the names of authors are arranged in alphabetical order. ABE T., 1962. On the stable foam of sea water in seas. (Preliminary report). J. Oceanogr. Soc.,
Jap., 20th Ann. Vol. : 242-250. This is a preliminary report concerned with foam and bubbles in sea water off Mission Beach, California, U.S.A. Previously a certain factor was used with fair success in analysing wind wave data (state of sea). This factor is defined as/to T, where h0 and • are initial heights of foam layers and the haft-life respectively. It was also valid in analysing the underwater foam conditions. Then it was named as ' F o a m i n g F a c t o r ' in situ. The following results were obtained. 1. General feature of foam and bubbles in slicks. 2. The feature of the decay of bubbles in foam patches. 3. The ' Foaming F a c t o r ' is always greater in slicks. 4. The Factor is closely related to the organic matter in sea water. It may delineate movements of water masses containing more or less organic substances. AnEcAsis F., M. F. MATIAS, J. J. REIS DE CAVALHO and D. VERA-CRuz, 1962. Methods of determining sand-and-silt movement along the coast, in estuaries and in maritime rivers. Lab. Nac. Engenhara Civ., Tech. Pap., Lisbon, No. 186:25 pp. Ce rapport pr6sente d'abord des consid6rations g6n&ales sur lea probl~mes et les techniques d'6tude du debit solide, en suspension et par trainement, dans les estuairea et lagunes et le long des c6tes ouvertes. On tient compte des d6terminations directes et indirectes, qaalitatives et quantitatives et tout sp6cialement des m6thodes qui font usage des analyses s6dimentologlques avec dosage des min~raux lourds, des m6thodes ayant recours au marquage des alluvions natureUea (isotopes radioactifs et luminophores). On d&a'it ensuite des essais r6cemment rhalis6s au Portugal par lea m6thodes ci-dessus : 6tudes s6dimentologiques des alluvions provenant de la c6te entre le Minho et le Mondego; 6tudea du m6me type clans lea cours inf6rieurs du Minho et du Lima et ie long de la c6te entre leurs embouchures; 6tudeS de la teneur en min6raux lourds duns la rivi~re Geba (Guin6~ Portugaise); 6tudes avec du sable marqu6 avec des isotopes radio-actifs A Figueira da Foz; enfin des essais avec du sable marqu6 simultan6ment avec des isotopes radio-actifs et des luminophores/t Pbvoa do Varzim. Parmi toutes ces 6tudes, la troisi~me et la quatri~me sont particuli~rement int6ressantes A cause des importantes conclusions qui s'en d6gagent. AGSAW^L V. P., 1963. Studies on the physiology of digestion in Corophium volutator. J. Mar.
Biol. Ass., U.K., 43 (1): 125-128.
It has been observed that the pH in the different parts of the alimentary canal of Corophium is nearer neutrality; while the medium in the ventral hepatopancreatic caeca is more acidic, being in the neighbourhood of 6.2. Investigations on the qualitative estimation of enzymes indicate that none of the enzymes are secreted by the gut proper. However, the ventral caeca only secrete many of the carbohydrate splitting enzymes; proteases and lipase are also secreted by the caecal cells of Corophium. It has also been estimated that the optimum pH for the activity of the caecal amylase lies in the neighbourhood of 5.8. ALEXINA L A., 1962. Mineralogy of the macroaleuritic fraction in the sediments of Kronotzk and Avachinck bays. Investigations of marine bottom sediments. (In Russian; English summary). Trudy Inst. Okeanol., Akad. Nauk, SSSR, 61: 104--154. A study of the mineralogical composition of the macroaleuritic fraction in the sediments of Avachinsk and Kronotzk bays on the Pacific coast of Kamchatka sheds some light on the mineralogy of sediments in this area in a Recent geosyncline. The author established a mineral complex characteristic for the macroaleuritic fraction of various types of sediments on the shelf and continental slope, as well as sources of such material, which is found in the sediments. On the basis of this study petrographic provinces have been established on land and three terrigenous-mineralogical provinces at the bottom of the bays : Northern Kronotzk, Southern Kronotzk and Avachinsk provinces. 655