Geochemistry of the Aptian bituminous limestones in Gümuü?hane area,Eastern Black Sea region:new insight into paleogeography and paleoclimate conditions

Aptian is characterized by widespread deposition of organic-rich sediment.The Aptian bitumen limestone horizon,which is thin decimetre-thick sequences,locally crops out in the Kircaova area,Eastern Black Sea Region(Eastern Pontides).They are well correlated with Aptian bitumen limestone in the other Tethys Reams.They are proposed as episodes of increased organic matter.However,background factors controlling organic matter enrichment are poorly known.In this study,we present new inorganic geochemistry,including trace elements,rare earth elements(REE),redox-sensitive elements(RSE),stable-isotopes(δ~(18)O andδ~(13)C),and total organic carbon(TOC).We integrated new geochemical data with existing stratigraphy,paleontology,and organic chemistry data to provide new insight into the depositional environment and paleoclimate conditions during Aptian.The lacustrine bitumen limestone(LBL)samples have variedδ~(13)C(ave.-1.45‰)andδ~(18)O(ave.-4.50‰).They possess distinct REE patterns,with an average of REE(ave.14.45 ppm)and Y/Ho(ave.35)ratios.In addition,they have variable Nd/YbN(0.28-0.81;ave.0.56)and Ce/Ce*(0.68-0.97;ave.0.86),and relatively high Eu^(*)/Eu(1.23-1.53;ave.1.35).They display seawater signatures with reduced oxygen conditions.The enrichment in RSE(Mo,Cu,Ni,and Zn)and the low Mo/TOC(0.70-3.69;ave.2.41)support a certain degree of water restriction.The high Sr/Ba,Sr/Cu,Ga/Rb,and K/Al records of the LBL facies suggest hot house climatic conditions.The sedimentary environment was probably an isolated basin that is transformed from the marine basin.In addition to depositional conditions,the regional parameters such as the climate,increased run-off period,nutrient levels,alkalinity level,and dominant carbonate producers favored the enrichment in organic matter of LBL facies.Thus,extreme greenhouse palaeoclimate conditions have an important role in organic matter enrichment in the isolated basin.Our results are conformable with the published data from marine,semi-restricted basin,and lacustrine settings in the different parts of the Tethys margin.Thus,this approach provides the first insight into the Aptian greenhouse paleo-climate conditions of the Eastern Black Sea Region,NE Turkey.

Effect of dietary docosahexaenoic acid on lipogenesis and lipolysis in black sea bream,Acanthopagrus schlegeli

Hatchery-roared juvenile black sea breams are characterized by a low level of highly unsaturated fatty acids in their bodies, as compared with wild fish. To assess the effect of docosahaxaenoic acid （DHA） on lipegenic and lipelysis enzymes, one-year fish were roared on a casein-based purified diet and a DHA fortified diet （ 1.5% DHA ethyl ester/kg diet） for 60 d, followed with a period of 55 d for starvation. Dietary DHA was effectively incorporated into the fish body. Fortification of DHA depressed activities of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and NADP-isocitrate dehydrogenase as lipogenic enzymes in the hepatopancroas and intraperitoneal fat body. Carnitine palmitoyltransferase as lipolysis enzyme in the hepatopancreas was active in the DHA fortified fish. Starvation after feeding experiment induced increased carnitine palmitoyltransferase activity in both control and DHA fortified fish and the activity remained higher in the DHA fortified fish, while the monoenes were selectively consumed prior to highly unsaturated fatty acids. These results indicated that dietary DHA depressed lipogenesis and activated lipolysis.

Triterpene-Enriched Olive Extract as an Immunopotentiator in Black Sea Bream(Acanthopagrus schlegelii)

Recently,the use of natural immunopotentiators,such as plant extracts,is predicted to offer high disease-prevention potential in aquaculture.However,few reports on the immunomodulatory impacts of olive extract(OE)on teleost are available.Therefore,the effects of dietary intake of triterpene-enriched OE on black sea bream(Acanthopagrus schlegelii)were investigated in this study.Our data showed that total blood cell counts,in vivo content of lysozyme,activities of antiprotease and myeloperoxidase,and contents of IL-4 and IL-6 were significantly up-regulated by dietary intake of triterpene-enriched OE.Additionally,the hampered immune response induced by cadmium exposure was significantly mitigated by the administration of OE as were indicated by partially or completely rescued immune-relating parameters.Furthermore,the expressions of immune-related genes encoding NF-κB inhibitor alpha(IkBα),tumor necrosis factorα(TNFα),cyclooxygenase-2(COX-2),and proto-oncogene protein c-fos(FOS)were found to be significantly up-regulated by the dietary intake of OE.In general,the results suggested that the dietary intake of triterpene-enriched OE has immune enhancing effect in black sea bream.Such effect may be realized by 1)increasing the total counts of diverse blood cells;2)activating nonspecific immune biomolecules;and 3)affecting signaling pathways such as IKK and ERK and subsequently inducing IL-4 and IL-6 biosyntheses.

Contribution of the Sea Surface Temperature over the Mediterranean-Black Sea to the Decadal Shift of the Summer North Atlantic Oscillation

Recent observational study has shown that the southern center of the summer North Atlantic Oscillation （SNAO） was located farther eastward after the late 1970s compared to before. In this study, the cause for this phenomenon is explored. The result shows that the eastward shift of the SNAO southern center after the late 1970s is related to the variability of the Mediterranean-Black Sea （MBS） SST. A warm MBS SST can heat and moisten its overlying atmosphere, consequently producing a negative sea level pressure （SLP） departure over the MBS region. Because the MBS SST is negatively correlated with the SNAO, the negative SLP departure can enhance the eastern part of the negative-phase of the SNAO southern center, consequently producing an eastward SNAO southern center shift. Similarly, a cold MBS SST produces an eastward positive-phase SNAO southern center shift. The reason for why the MBS SST has an impact on the SNAO after the late 1970s but why it is not the case beforehand is also discussed. It is found that this instable relationship is likely to be attributed to the change of the variability of the MBS SST on the decadal time-scale. In 1951 1975, the variability of the MBS SST is quite weak, but in 1978 2002, it becomes more active. The active SST can enhance the interaction between the sea and its overlying atmosphere, thus strengthening the connection between the MBS SST and the SNAO after the late 1970s. The above observational analysis results are further confirmed by sensitivity experiments.

Trace Metal Levels in Lichen Samples From Roadsides in East Black Sea Region,Turkey

Objective To determine the metal contents of lichen species from East Black Sea region of Turkey for investigation of trace metal pollution sourced traffic. Methods The levels of copper, cadmium, lead, zinc, manganese, iron, chromium, nickel, cobalt, palladium in lichen samples collected from East Black Sea region of Turkey were determined by flame and graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry after microwave digestion method. The accuracy of the method was corrected by standard reference material （NIST SRM IAEA-336 Lichen）. Results The contents of invest!gated trace metals in lichen samples were 7.19-22.4 μg/g for copper, 0.10-0.64 μg/g for cadmium, 4.03-44.6 μg/g for lead, 14.5-41.8 μg/g for zinc, 25.8-208 μg/g for manganese, 331-436 μg/g for iron, 1.20-3.01 μg/g for chromium, 1.48-3.90 μg/g for nickel, 0.20-3.55 μg/g for cobalt, 0.11-0.64 μg/g for palladium. The results were compared with the literature values. Conclusion Some lichen species such as Xanthoparmelia conspersa, Xanthoria calcicola, Peltigera membranacea, and Physcia adscendens are accumulated trace metals at a high ratio.

Geothermal structure of the eastern Black Sea basin and the eastern Pontides orogenic belt:Implications for subduction polarity of Tethys oceanic lithosphere

The numerical results of thermal modeling studies indicate that the lithosphere is cold and strong beneath the Black Sea basin. The thermal litbospheric thickness increases southward fiom the eastern Pontides orogenic belt （49.4 kin） to Black Sea basin （152.2 kin）. The Moho temperature increases from 367 C in the trench to 978 C in the arc region. The heat flow values for the Moho surface change between 16.4 mW m 2 in the Black Sea basin and 56.9 mW m 2 in the eastern Pontides orogenic belt. Along the southern Black Sea coast, the trench region has a relatively low geothermal potential with respect to the arc and back-arc region. The numerical studies support the existence of southward sub- duction beneath the Pontides during the late Mesozoic-Cenozoic.

An Evaluation of the Main Physical Features and Circulation Patterns in the Black Sea Basin

Having as target the semi-enclosed basin of the Black Sea,the primary purpose of the existing paper is to present an overview of its extensive physical features and circulation patterns.To achieve this goal,more than five decades of data analysis-from 1960 to 2015-were taken into consideration and the results were validated against acknowledged data,both from satellite data over the last two decades and in-situ measurements from first decades.The circulation of the Black Sea basin has been studied for almost 400 years since the Italian Count Luigi Marsigli first described the“two-layer”circulation through the Bosphorus Strait in the year 1681.Since climate change projections for the Black Sea region foresee a significant impact on the environment in the coming decades,a set of adaptation and mitigation measures is required.Therefore more research is needed.Nowadays,the warming trend adds a sense of immediate urgency because according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Centre for Environmental Information,July 2020 was the second-hottest month ever recorded for the planet.Its averaged land and ocean surface temperature tied with July 2016 as the secondhighest for the month in the 141-year NOAA’s global temperature dataset history,which dates back to 1880.It was 0.92°C above the 20th-century average of 15.8°C,with only 0.01°C less than the record extreme value measured in July of 2019.

Mineralogy of Holocene Sediments from the Southwestern Black Sea Shelf (Turkey) in Relation to Provenance, Sea-level and Current Regimes

Grain size and mineral composition of core sediments were used to investigate influences of various terrestrial and marine conditions, which have prevailed on the southwestern Black Sea shelf during the Holocene. Siliciclastic mud with small amounts of sand and gravel from nearby coastal hinterland is the principal sediment type, whereas sediments deposited near the shelf edge and the Istanbul Strait and off the Duru Lake （a paleo-river mouth） constitued large quantities of sand and gravel of both biogenic and terrigenic origin. Variable amounts of aragonite, 1 nmmicas, quartz, feldspars, calcite and dolomite constitute the dominant non-clay minerals in bulk sediments. The clay mineral assemblage in the 〈 2 μm fraction is made up of smectite, illite, kaolinite and chlorite. Aragonite and calcite are mainly derived from benthic accumulations, whereas feldspars （mainly plagioclase） and smectite reflect magmaticvolcanic provenance and the distribution of 1 nm-micas and chlorite correlate with nearby metamorphic sources onland. Nevertheless, grain size and mineral distribution generally indicate a combination of effects of wind and wave climate, longshore and offshore cyclonic currents, changing sea-level stands and nearby source rock and morphological conditions. It is also suggested that at least part of clay minerals could be derived from the northwesterly Danube River input.

Palaeoseismic Events in Karst Terrains along the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea Coast

The study of the palaoseismic events in the karst terrains of the Bulgarian Black Sea coast is a very important up-to-date problem. The investigated region is one of the highest-energy regions in Bulgaria with established and recorded catastrophic historic and contemporary earthquakes. The terrain is subjected to the influence not only of its own earthquake foci but also of those in Romania and Russia. The palaeoearthquakes that caused considerable disturbances in the karst terrains along the Northern Bulgarian Black Sea coast have left significant traces. They caused disturbances in the environment and the relief (rearrangement of the surface and ground water karst basins, partially or entirely collapsed caves, deformed caves, oil, gas and salt intrusions and gravitationally formed caves). The ecological consequences in historic and contemporary aspects were catastrophic. The palaeoseismic dislocations were formed as a result of global, regional and local geodynamic events related with the destruction of the Moezian platform and the regional extension of the Black Sea basin. The time of their display and their spatial interrelations were established as a result of complex investigations accompanied by original documents.

Violation of the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution,Bucharest’s Convention of 1992 and the Sofia Protocol of 2018 by Turkish Government’s Sinop Nuclear Power Complex Project

On September 12th,2020,the Turkish Ministry of Environment and Urban Planning issued a final approved version of an EIA(Environmental Impact Assessment)report for the Sinop(4,800 MWe)nuclear power plant and nuclear fuel fabrication complex project,located on Turkey’s Southern Black Sea coastline,in the Sinop Providence,which will be built on a BOO(Build-Own-Operate)basis by an offshore company known as General Directorate of Electricity Generation Inc.(EUAS)International ICC,along with unknown shadowy partners and investors.This project violates the Convention on the Protection of the Black Sea against Pollution,namely,Bucharest’s Convention of 1992,and the Sofia Protocol of 2018 which are established to preserve the uniqueness of the Black Sea,sustain the fisheries,and protect marine life.The Black Sea is the largest anoxic water basin in the world with oxygen rich surface waters supporting marine life which constitute only about 13% of the Black Sea volume.For the rest of the entire Black Sea at a depth greater than 150-200 m,there is a permanent hydrogen sulphide zone devoid of life,the oxygen is completely absent after this level.This unique bio-hydrological characteristic has been regulating the preconditions of its following distinctive biodiversity for thousands of years.The biologically rich regions are only limited to only oxygen rich shelf zones,with depths of up to 50-100 m in the southern coast line,and in the northern Black Sea shallow-water areas with depths of up to 5-10 m.This water body,bordering the hydrogen sulphide zone,is approximately 200-300 m wide and averages 5-50 m deep,in which high concentrations of fish eggs and larvae strive,and circulate counterclockwise along 4340 km coastline of the Black Sea.

The Romania-US Strategic Partnership and the Security of the Wider Black Sea Region: Historical Landmarks

The Strategic Partnership,launched in 1997 with the purpose of becoming an advanced mechanism of bilateral cooperation between Romania and the United States regarding fields of strategic interest for both countries,is an important element of maintaining peace and stability in South-Eastern Europe and in the Black Sea area.The Partnership determined a substantial evolution of the bilateral relations based on an intense political speech,as an important aspect for the regional security,and promoted democracy near the Euro-Atlantic community.Romania’s relation with the United States,being focused on security aspects,proves its utility,considering that to this day the North Atlantic Alliance and the European Union do not have a common strategic vision regarding the Wider Black Sea Region.This is due to conceptual differences and to the fact that,unlike Central and Eastern Europe—where the integrations of NATO and EU were linked,in the Black Sea area,the situation is different,having in mind that only Romania and Bulgaria have been part of these structures.This study’s purpose is to present both the evolution of this cooperation format between Romania and the United States in the last two decades and its relevance for the new regional security system.In the circumstances in which the events in Ukraine in 2014 lead to unprecedented tension(Post-Cold War)between the Russian Federation and the Occident,the USA’s involvement in ensuring the security of the extended Black Sea Region gains even more relevance.

Retrieving Remotely Sensed Data Using Plank Algorithm in the Black Sea and Surrounding Seas (2008-2018)

The Black Sea is the world’s largest inner sea, its only connections with other seas being the Kerch Strait, which leads to the Azov Sea, and the Istanbul Strait, which connects it with the Mediterranean Sea. The main aim of this study processes to image analysis and applied algorithm, to retrieve remote SST data from satellite, to assess the estimated SSTs, to understand the characteristics of SST by presenting in the Black Sea and surrounding seas, to discuss the SSTs changes according to climate change impacts. In this study, Landsat 7 and Landsat 8 Operational Land Imager (OLI)/Thermal Infrared Sensor (TIRS) Level-1 images of TIR bands are used to predict Sea Surface Temperature (SST) changes using the Plank algorithm in the Black Sea and surrounding seas between 2008 and 2018. The SST values were taken from 55 different stations chosen from the study area. The SST result presented the central months of the four hydrological seasons. The increasing temperature data were supported by the literature studies that alien invasive species entered the Black Sea. The climatic fluctuations obtained as a result of this study will increase the invasion level of non-native species and their invasion will continue into the Black Sea and surrounding seas.

UXO Assessment on the Romanian Black Sea Coast

This paper aims to provide the reader with the results of the Unexploded Ordnance(UXO)survey of the defensive historical naval minefields launched by the Romanian and German Navies on the Romanian Black Sea coast,during the Second World War.This UXO survey was carried out between 2015-2018 by the Romanian Navy’s hydrographic ship“Commander Alexandru Cătuneanu”and Romanian Mine Warfare Data Center,using towed side-scan sonar technology and oceanographic observations.After explaining the materials and methodology,the results are presented and discussed:mosaics of the minefields,side-scan images of UXO contacts,side-scan images of the wrecks that were sunk in the minefields and some visible natural geological features of the seafloor.It was concluded that most of the objects discovered are sinkers,wreck debris or parts of chains,which does not represent a danger to navigation.

Homogeneity and Trend Analysis of Hydrometeorological Data of the Eastern Black Sea Region, Turkey

Eastern Black Sea Region in northeastern part of Turkey has the highest precipitation total in the country, approaching 2500 mm per a year. It is therefore an important region as it frequently encounters with flash floods due to heavy rains. For future planning of water resources, environment and urbanization, it is important to know the expected behavior of hydrometeorological processes, mainly precipitation and flow. Due to these facts, in this study, homogeneity of long-term annual precipitation and streamflow series of the Eastern Black Sea Region, Turkey is checked using double mass curve method and trends are determined by means of the Mann-Kendall test. The data network consists of 38 precipitation gauging stations and 40 flow gauging stations across the Eastern Black Sea Region. It is found that 27 precipitation stations out of 38 are homogeneous and no trend is available. Out of the remaining stations, nine are found non-homogeneous and four with trend. For annual flow data, it is found that 22 stations out of 40 are homogeneous and no trend is available. The remaining 18 stations are found non-homogeneous, among which 5 stations have trend at the same time.

Evaluation of the Circulation Patterns in the Black Sea Using Remotely Sensed and <i>in Situ</i>Measurements

The objective of the present work is to provide an overview of the general circulation features in the Black Sea basin. In order to achieve this, 18 years (1993-2010) of satellite data coming from the Aviso website were analyzed. A description of the general circulation patterns in the Black Sea is first presented. This is followed by statistical analyses of the satellite data in 20 points covering the entire area of the sea. The reference points were chosen as follows: 12 points along the Rim cyclonic current, 3 points inside the Rim cyclonic current, 4 points on the edge of two of the biggest anticyclonic gyres outside the Rim current and one point in the northwestern shelf area of the basin. Rose graphics were drawn for the reference points for winter and summer time. Finally, 9 years of in situ data obtained from the Gloria drilling platform were analyzed and compared with the satellite data. The present study shows that most of the reference points are sensitive to seasonal changes. The current velocities depend mostly on the points location: the points located on the Rim current and on the nearshore anticyclonic eddies present higher values than the ones located in or outside the general circulation features.

STUDIES ON THE OPTIMUM PROTEIN CONTENT AND THE RATIO OF ANIMAL TO PLANT PROTEIN IN THE DIET OF THE BLACK SEA BREAM(SPARUS MACROCEPHALUS)

An experiment on the optimum dietary protein content for the black sea bream using semi-purified dietsshowed the optimum content is 50.19% by weight as inferred from the growth rate and food consumptionof the fish. Another experiment on the proper ratio of animal to plant protein in its diet using sandeel as theanimal protein source and peanut cake meal as plant protein source showed that the ratio had great ef-fect on its growth and should be 1.00:0.89—0.96 as judged from the growth rate and food consumptionof the fish.

STUDIES ON THE PHOSPHORUS REQUIREMENT AND PROPER CALCIUM/PHOSPHORUS RATIO IN THE DIET OF THE BLACK SEA BREAM(SPARUS MACROCEPHALUS)

An experiment on the phosphorus requirement and the proper Ca/P ratio in the diet of the black sea bream using the phosphorus gradient method (with casein as basic diet, sodium dihydrogen phosphate as source of phosphorus, and calcium lactate as source of calcium) showed that growth was greatly affected by the diet’s phosphorus content and Ca/P ratio. Inadequate phosphorus in the diet resulted in slow growth and poor food conversion ratio (FCR). Analyses of the fish body showed it contained a high level of lipid but a low level of moisture, ash, calcium and phosphorus. The optimal values of phosphorus and Ca/P ratio in the black sea bream diet are 0.68% and 1:2 respectively. Phosphorus in excess of this optimum value resulted in slow growth or even death. The results of this experiment clearly indicated that phosphorus is the principal mineral additive affecting black sea bream growth.

The vertical structure of the vegetative canopy of the brown algae Cystoseira(Black Sea)

In the coastal ecosystems of the Black Sea,macrophytobenthos and,in particular,the association of Cystoseira crinite,C.barbara,Cladostephus verticillatus,and Corallina mediterranea,with its thick vegetative canopy(VC),is the key contributor to primary production(PP).Though the vertical structure of the canopy,formed by the algal association,is of principal importance to the PP level,this subject has been long-neglected by researchers.The goal of our work was to compare vertical structures of the vegetative canopy of Cystoseira brown algae under diverse hydrodynamical conditions of the Crimean Peninsula coast.Samples were collected using the 50 cm×50 cm counting frame at eight stations positioned in shallow(55-60 cm deep)sites of Sevastopol Bay(Crimean Peninsula).Dry weight biomass of the VC was determined for all algae assemblage and for each algal species individually,per horizontal surface unit,at each height(Z).The study shows that:1)the VC is characterized by unimodal vertical distribution of biomass,with maximum estimate in the lower part,where the biomass increases to 85%of the total biomass;2)a series of single-peaked curves reliably describes the unimodal distribution of the biomass;thalli of different age groups are found along the canopy profile;and 3)algae found in epiphytic synusia prefer inhabiting the upper part of the VC.The role of environmental factors(seawater turbulence and solar radiation)is discussed in reference to the formation of the vertical structure,made up of the associations of the brown algae Cystoseira.

NATO and EU Strategies for the Black Sea Region： The Challenge of Power Balance in New Security Environment

文章在在这个区域提出不稳定性担心的一些主要地缘政治学的变化以后在黑海区域在动态政治过程上给概述。目的是向俄国总结国际组织(北约和 EU ) 的政策趋势并且在当前的欧元大西洋策略上介绍一些分析想法。求婚是基于 congagement 途径想的一个不同方法。