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.

Black carbon and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in surface sediments of China’s marginal seas

This study investigates the distribution of black carbon （BC） and its correlation with total polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons （EPAH） in the surface sediments of China＇s marginal seas. BC content ranges from 〈0.10 to 2.45 mg/g dw （grams dry weight） in the sediments studied, and varied among the different coastal regions. The Bohai Bay sediments had the highest BC contents （average 2.18 mg/g dw）, which comprises a significant fraction （27%-41%） of the total organic carbon （TOC） preserved in the sediments. In comparison, BC in the surface sediments of the North Yellow Sea, Jiaozhou Bay, East China Sea and the South China Sea is less abundant and accounted for an average of 6%, 8%, 14% and 5%, respectively, of the sedimentary organic carbon pool. The concentration of EPAH in the surface sediments ranges from 41 to 3 667 ng/g dw and showed large spatial variations among the sampling sites of different costal regions. The Bohai Bay has the highest ZPAH values, ranging from 79 to 3 667 ng/g dw. This reflects the high anthropogenically contaminated nature of the sediments in the bay. BC is positively correlated to TOC but a strong correlation is not found between BC and ZPAH in the surface sediments studied, suggesting that BC and PAHs preserved in the sediments are derived from different sources and controlled by different biogeochemical processes. Our study suggests that the abundance of BC preserved in the sediments could represent a significant sink pool of carbon cycling in China＇s marginal seas.

Century-scale high-resolution black carbon records in sediment cores from the South Yellow Sea, China

Black carbon(BC)has received increasing attention in the last 20 years because it is not only an absorbent of toxic pollutants but also a greenhouse substance,preserving fire-history records,and more importantly,acting as an indicator of biogeochemical cycles and global changes.By adopting an improved chemothermal oxidation method(WXY),this study reconstructed the century-scale high-resolution records of BC deposition from two fine-grained sediment cores collected from the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass in the South Yellow Sea.The BC records were divided into five stages,which exhibited specific sequences with three BC peaks at approximately 1891,1921,and 2007 AD,representing times at which the first heavy storms appeared just after the termination of long-term droughts.The significant correlation between the times of the BC peaks in the cores and heavy storms in the area of the Huanghe(Yellow)River demonstrated that BC peaks could result from markedly strengthened sedimentation due to surface runof f,which augmented the atmospheric deposition.Stable carbon isotope analysis indicated that the evident increase in carbon isotope ratios of BC in Stage 5 might have resulted from the input of weathered rock-derived graphitic carbon cardinally induced by the annual anthropogenic modulation of water-borne sediment in the Huanghe River since 2005 AD.Numerical calculations demonstrated that the input fraction of graphitic carbon was 22.97% for Stage 5,whereas no graphitic carbon entered during Stages 1 and 3.The obtained data provide new and important understanding of the source-sink history of BC in the Yellow Sea.

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.

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.

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.

Effect of Black Sea bream extracts on cytokine production inlipopolysaccharide-induced inflammation

We investigated the effect of black sea bream extracts on changes in pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines induced by lipopolysaccharide(LPS)in murine splenocytes.The levels of pro-inflammatory cytokines[interleukin(IL)-6,tumor necrosis factor-α(TNF-α),IL-12/IL-23(p40)and IL-17A]and anti-inflammatory cytokines[IL-4,IL-10 and interferon-γ(IFN-γ)]were assessed.Incubation of murine splenocytes with acetone+methylene chloride(A+M)and methanol(MeOH)extracts significantly decreased LPS-induced IL-6,IL-12/IL-23(p40)and IL-17A productions after 6 h incubation(p<0.05).The A+M and MeOH extracts significantly increased LPS-induced IL-4 and IFN-γproductions at 48 and 72 h incubation(p<0.05).Treatment with A+M extract resulted in significantly higher IL-10 production in splenocytes after 72 h(p<0.05).Conclusively,black sea bream extracts were shown to be efficient in falling several pro-inflammatory cytokines while rising anti-inflammatory cytokines.Thus our results suggest that black sea bream extracts selectivity modulate immune events.

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.

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 Integrated Coastal Zone Management （ICZM） Project： CoastLearn in Black Sea （CLBS）

The importance attached to the need for sustainable development in the coastal areas is increasing. A management plan is required to minimize the environmental destruction resulting from the complexity of the property in coastal areas, of human activities and of natural systems and to utilize the coastal resources effectively. The utilization of coasts, besides becoming very important particularly in views of tourism, has faced pressures caused by huge. These areas are mostly self-contradictory demands for the environmental protection. The project is an EU Life Long Learning Programme Project and the project duration is 24 months. The aim of the CoastLearn in Black Sea （CLBS） is to mobilize the human resources in the tourism and coastal management sector in Black Sea in general and notably Sinop, Varna and Constanta by raising awareness among the local decision making mechanisms of the integrated coastal zone management in order to encourage people to utilize the coastal resources in a coherent and balanced way.

Acartia tonsa(Сopepoda) in the Black and Caspian Seas: Review of its success and some lessons

The variety of aquatic nonindigenous animals in marine habitats worldwide includes more than 16 planktonic Copepoda species.Acartia tonsa is a very successful one,distributed in many seas.Its invasion into European seas was analyzed before(Brylinski,1981),but from that time A.tonsa extended its range in European aquatic habitats.The author describes the history of the A.tonsa invasion into the Ponto-Caspian basin as well as some misleading earlier publications.Morphologic differences between A.clausi and A.tonsa,the neglect of which led to the wrong identification,were examined.The data on A.tonsa and total copepod dynamics in the Sevastopol Bay during the period of 1976~1996 and the same data on the Caspian Sea since 1981 were analyzed.The average size of A.tonsa in new habitats decreased,and its relative density in the Black and Caspian Seas gradually increased.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Elemental Analysis of Tea Leaves (Camellia Sinensis) and Their Own Soils at Eastern Black Sea Region in Turkey

People consume tea brewed from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant for about 50 centuries. Health benefits of the tea have been investigated for about three decades. Especially green tea shows antitoxic and lots of properties with its determined ingredients. Turkey is not only the one of the best consumer and but also good producer of the tea as being 5 th producer all over the world. It grows eastern region of the Turkey and high quality tea is imported and exported. To have quality tea, grooving soils are also crucial. In the current research, Tea leaves and their own grown soils were collected from 20 stations where the most tea producer cities as Trabzon, Rize and Artvin tea fields of the eastern of Black Sea Region in Turkey. The cultivated tea and their own grown soil samples were analysed by using EDXRF Spectrometry. In the soil samples, the elements Mg, Al, Si, P, S, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Sr, Ba, Pb on percent level and the elements Mg, Al, Si, P, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn and Sr in the tea leaves were detected by using SKRAY 3600-EDXRF.and also the obtained data were evaluated with the Kriging interpolation of geostatistical method. Element content were investigated in the soil and tea samples according to the geological situations and also the relation of elemental difference between the tea and the own grown soil. Pb/Zn ratio was also anaysed in the samples.

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〈2μm 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.