In November of 1963 an oceanic volcano produced an island, Surtsey, just off the southern coast of Iceland. The volcanic crater was often flooded with sea water. Vigorous eruptions of steam and tephra were accompanied by an enhancement of the normal fine-weather potential gradient, and lightning was often observed. Measurements of atmospheric electricity and visual and photographic observations lead us to believe that the electrical activity is caused by the ejection from the volcano into the atmosphere of material carrying a large positive charge. The concentration of charge in the eruption plume as it issued from the orifice of the volcano is estimated to be of the order of 10(5) or 10(6) elementary charges per cubic centimeter.

No abstract

No abstract

Outbreaks of Vibrio parahaemolyticus gastrointestinal illness occurred on two Caribbean cruise ships in late 1974 and early 1975. In all, 697 passengers and 27 crew were affected. Epidemiologic evidence incriminated seafoods served on the ships as the vehicles of transmission. The seafoods were probably contaminated by V. parahaemolyticus after cooking in seawater from the ships' internal seawater distribution systems. Use of seawater in foodhandling areas was discontinued, and no further outbreaks occurred.

Very little is known of the natural radioactivity exhibited by continental‐shell sediments off the eastern coast of the United States. A knowledge of the level of this activity is most important if future surveys are to utilize radiometric techniques for the solution of oceanographic problems. Activities were determined for a group of samples from selected locations in the Chesapeake Bay area. The apparatus for making these measurements is described. Results are used to show the distribution of natural radioactivity in this bay.