Marine Zones Research Articles

The conservation of brackish-water systems: priorities for the 21st century

There is a marked contrast between the theory and the practice of conservation in terrestrial environmentson the one hand and in most aquatic environments, including those of the coastal marine zone, on theother. It is effectively axiomatic in the terrestrial sphere that conservation requires active management. Itis not sufficient simply to safeguard an area from external threats, although that could also be important.Without active intervention, a given terrestrial system is likely to change into another, almost certainly oflesser conservation interest. The habitat must be manipulated so as to maintain it in a form suitable forthe species and the communities of interest, and the populations of certain species—most especiallyvarious potentially superior competitors and often significant consumers—must be controlled in order tofavour others. Burning, grazing and many other tools are routinely used to prevent natural changes. Toa degree, the same is also true of freshwater habitats: control of water tables, of water quality, of fringingstands of vegetation and of submerged aquatics are all well-known and much practised measures.Marine and brackish-water systems are treated differently, however. Through much of the past, thesehave been conserved only insofar as they lay within the boundaries of conservation areas declared—andmanaged—for other purposes, whether these have been botanical or ornithological. More recently,however, they have become the focus of conservation interest in their own right with the declaration ofMarine Nature Reserves, or Special Areas of Conservation as a consequence of the ‘Habitats Directive’(

Compartments of oxygen consumption in a tidal mesotrophic estuary (Ria de Aveiro, Portugal)

Oxygen consumption rates were determined, in parallel with primary production and bacterial biomass production, as an approach to the analysis of carbon cycling in the estuarine community of the Ria de Aveiro. The water column of the marine zone was the major contributor (64-99 %) to the total aerobic carbon remineralisation in which O 2 uptake rates averaged from 80 to 127 mg O 2 .m -2 .h -1 , respectively at low tide and high tide. The planktonic consumption of O 2 varied from 0.010 to 0.041 mg O 2 .L -1 .h -1 with the highest values in the brackish zone. Small water column depths in this zone, however, reduced the integrated average consumption of the plankton, per unit of surface area, to 57 (LT) and 66 % (HT) of that observed in the marine zone. Benthic O 2 consumption rates, 5.1 to 22.0 mg O 2 .m -2 .h -1 , were two to four times higher in the brackish zone when compared to the rates in the marine zone. It represented 1-31 % of the total surface integrated values in different areas and at different tides. From the ratios of the primary production and bacterial biomass production, on a per surface unit basis. it is concluded that, in late autumn, the Ria de Aveiro was mostly a heterotrophic system with a feeble recovery of primary production at HT in the marine zone and at LT in the brackish water zone.

In Memoriam: V.C. Wynne-Edwards, 1906-1997

Vero Copner Wynne-Edwards, or as he was known to colleagues, died near Aberdeen, Scotland, on 5 January 1997, in his 91st year. With scientific publications spanning 68 years, Wynne-Edwards was a key player in the development of ecology from its very beginnings, and he will be remembered as one of the greatest natural historians and innovative ecological thinkers of his generation. He became a member of the AOU in 1936 and a Corresponding Fellow in 1959. Wynne-Edwards was born in Leeds on 4 July 1906, the last but one in a family of six. His father, a Canon in the Church of England and headmaster of Leeds Grammar School, imparted in the young Wynne a keen interest in natural history, especially botany. After school at Rugby, he went to Oxford to read Zoology, in which he obtained a first-class degree. While there, he developed an interest in marine biology and obtained his first working position at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Plymouth, studying crustaceans and fish. In his spare time, he mapped out all of the starling roosts in the region, his first independent ornithological work. After two years in Plymouth, he moved to Bristol University as an assistant lecturer, but within a few months, newly married, he was invited in 1930 to take up a post at McGill University in Montreal, where he remained for 16 years. On the transatlantic voyage, Wynne spent his time on deck, recording the numbers and positions of seabirds. He thereby discovered the basic pattern of inshore (coastal), offshore (to edge of continental shelf), and pelagic (deep water) marine zones, with different species in each. Subsequently, through a personal contact, he persuaded the Cunard Line to ferry him, free of charge, on round trips across the Atlantic in May, June, July, August, and September. This enabled him to work out the seasonal movements of seabirds, including the loop migration of the Greater Shearwater. For this work, he won the Walker Prize of the Boston Natural History Society and established himself as one of the pioneers of marine ornithology. While at McGill, Wynne-Edwards worked mainly on freshwater fishes, but he also studied montane plants and seabirds in northern Labrador. His work on the postglacial distribution of plants won him a second Walker Prize and fellowship of the Royal Society of Canada. In 1946, he returned to Britain to take up the Regius Chair in Zoology in Aberdeen, a prestigious position that he held until his retirement in 1974. These 28 years coincided with a period of expansion in environmental research in Britain, enabling Wynne to create one of the largest and most successful zoology departments in Europe. He established a special for research on Red Grouse, eventually based at nearby Banchory, and an ecological field station at Culterty, on the Ythan Estuary, 15 miles up the coast. He also became active and influential on committees, valued for his breadth of experience. For a time, he was Chairman of the Natural Environment Research Council, the major government-funded body for environmental research in Britain. His interest in the arctic resurfaced in 1950, when he participated in the Baird Expedition to northeast Baffin Island, from which he wrote an account of the birds (Auk 69:353-391, 1952) and a note on the huge colony of Northern Fulmars at Cape Searle (Arctic 5:105-117, 1952). In 1953, he took himself to Baffin Island, mainly studying seabirds, and later joined the end of Baird's second expedition. Wynne's major scientific achievement was his 650-page book Animal Dispersion in Relation to Social Behaviour (1962), in which he proposed that animals could regulate their own population levels, thereby avoiding over-exploitation of their food and other resources. The mechanism he proposed involved a new theory of genetic which he called group selection, in which groups that used their resources substainably thrived at the expense of more profligate groups, which died out. As Wynne appreciated, his idea ran contrary to the Dar-

Pennsylvanian bairdiidae (Ostracoda) from the Appalachian basin

Bairdiid ostracodes are commonly present in the Pennsylvanian marine zones in the Appalachian basin. Thirty-one taxa are recognized representing the genera Bairdia McCoy, 1844; Orthobairdia Sohn, 1960; Cryptobairdia Sohn, 1960; Rectobairdia Sohn, 1960; Bairdiolites Croneis and Gale, 1939; and Bairdiacypris Bradfield, 1935. Two questionable bairdiid genera, Entmema new genus and Hastacypris Croneis and Gutke, 1939, are included. Seven new taxa, Bairdia cuspidis, Rectobairdia absidata, R. apiculata, R. levis, R. sohni, Entmena distenta, and Hastacypris acutula, are described. Fabalicypris Cooper, 1946, is considered a junior synonym of Bairdiacypris Bradfield, 1935.The diversity of bairdiids is significantly lower in the Appalachian basin than in the Eastern Interior and Western Interior basins.

PROSPECTS OF AND SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS FOR FISHING PORTS AND FISHING VILLAGES IN HOKKAIDO TAKING INTO CONSIDERATION OF REGIONAL CHARACTERISTICS

According to a report in 1988 (Ref. 2), an increase in the fishing industry output and maintenance of the populations in fishing villages were given as factors that are important for the future survival of fishing villages in Hokkaido. The report also presented predicted figures for the areas of water necessary for fishing ports and the productions for relatedindustries necessary for creating employment opportunities.Since each fishing industry is different due to differences in the natural environment of the region, the state of the fishing industry, life in the fishing village and location of the industry, it is necessary to estimate the area and producrion for regions that have similar natural marine conditions in order to estimate the frame needed for each specific problem.In this study, the frame needed to realize future visions for regions that have similar environmental and socioeconomic conditions were estimated for each marine zone in order to determine the frame needed for each fishing village in Hokkaido.

Spatial and Temporal Patterns in Coastal Macrobenthos of Samborombon Bay, Argentina: A Case Study of Very Low Diversity

The benthic community structure of the southernmost part of Samborombon Bay was studied at 13 stations for 2 yr. A detailed examination of the zoobenthos, using similarity indices and cluster analysis, is presented. The area was characterized by low diversity. The Shannon-Weaver information diversity index H' showed low values of 0.28-1.60. The brackish part of the area was dominated by two opportunistic polychaetes species, Heteromastus similis and Laeonereis acuta. The only species found in the transitional marine zone was the bivalve Mesodesma mactroides. Variability in benthic community has been interpreted in terms of spatial and temporal changes. Depending on the area, abundance appeared to be controlled by pollution and intense predation during the warmer months. The observed gradient in species composition and dominance of these benthic communities are compared with some other North and South Atlantic estuaries.

A Middle Pleistocene glacial–interglacial succession in the Inner Silver Pit, southern North Sea: foraminiferal stratigraphy and amino acid geochronology

Benthic foraminiferal data from the depth interval between 42.0 and 30.5 m in the Inner Silver Pit core 81/52A in the southern North Sea has revealed a glacial–interglacial succession comprising a 5 m thick interglacial deposit. The foraminiferal assemblages initially indicate ice-proximal conditions (Zone 52-1) from a deglaciation period. A transitional zone (Zone 52-2) with faunal indication of relatively deeper water and slightly higher but still subarctic temperature conditions, is followed by a true interglacial succession (called the Inner Silver Pit Interglacial) with increased faunal diversity and with a high content of warm water species (Zone 52-3). A decrease in water depth is registered towards the top of the interglacial succession. The assemblage in the topmost sample (Zone 52-4) indicates a return to high arctic glacial marine conditions. Foraminiferal faunas in three vibrocores obtained from the slopes of the neighbouring Inner Silver Pit valley are correlated with the interglacial assemblages in Zone 52-3 and with the succeeding glacial marine Zone 52-4 of the Inner Silver Pit core 81/52A. Based on the degree of isoleucine epimerisation in benthic foraminifera the interglacial deposit is referred to the Middle Pleistocene, and a correlation with oxygen isotope stage 9 is suggested.

Marine zone systems of higher productivity and purification using distributed energies

The present research focused on re-circulation and conversion of substance and energies for creating water environments of higher productivity and purification from the oceanic carbon and nitrogen cycle point of view. The application of distributed energies and integrated systems through the autonomous dispersion control of the environment is able to display the increase of the functions of living things and create the harmonized re-circulation of production and purification. As Japan is an island country, wave energy pumps and air-mixed jet pumps have been invented as distributed energy prime movers for these circulation systems. This paper summarizes our research and development programs and describes some current results of sea trials with prototypes.

Coastal progradation and very early diagenesis of ultramafic sands as a result of rubble discharge from asbestos excavations (northern Corsica, western Mediterranean)

The western coast of Cape Corse in northern Corsica is a remarkable area by virtue of its geological, biological and landscape diversity. Asbestos extraction between 1948 and 1965 however at Canari Mine, has modified the natural rocky escarpments, cutting the mountain into steps and has altered the coastal and marine zones from Punta di Canella to Farinole. Albo harbour was filled with rubble discharging directly to the sea, and the coast prograded 400 m after 4 years between 1954 and 1958. Artificial shores of up to 300 m in width appeared at the bottom of existing steep cliffs over a distance of more than 5 km between 1948 and 1973. The Posidonia seagrass was buried by the introduction of debris. Since June 1965, the mine is closed and coastal modification results from material movement from north to south. As an exception, Campana beach appeared in the northern part of the discharge area in 1973. The sediment on Nonza beach already displays cemented slabs that attest to very early diagenesis. This particular environment of ultramafic sands and pebbles appear to have produced alkaline conditions and probably enhances carbonate precipitation.

Aquatic Hydrocarbon Distributions in the Seine Estuary: Biogenic Polyaromatics and n-Alkanes

Dissolved and particulate hydrocarbons of biogenic origin were investigated for the first time in surface waters along the Seine River and its estuary. They comprise n-alkanes (n-ALKs) and diagenetic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Samples were collected in three different sections of the estuary: the riverine zone, the mixing zone, and the marine zone. At the river mouth, two mooring stations were used for the collection of samples over tidal cycles. Total particulate n-ALK concentrations ranged from 31 ng 1−1 to 2,918 ng 1−1, or 5 μg g−1 dry ng 1−1, or 2 μg g−1 of SM. Concentrations varied with the SM load and could be related to sedimentation and estuarine mixing. The sources of the n-ALKs were different in each zone of the estuary. The dissolved n-ALKs displayed lower concentrations than the particulate phase, varying from 136 ng 1−1 to 344 ng 1−1, while biogenic dissolved PAHs were almost absent.

Impact of Farakka Barrage on the Hydrology and Fishery of Hooghly Estuary

Construction of the Farakka barrage on the Ganga River in April 1975 to augment water supply to the Calcutta port has brought about a significant increase in freshwater discharge in its distributary, the Hooghly estuary. This has naturally resulted in major changes in the ecology of this estuary, causing modifications in the structure of its fishery resources, fishing pattern, and fish production. This paper presents observations on salinity, plankton, bottom biota, fishery resource, and fish production of different zones of the Hooghly estuary during the period 1982-1992. Comparison with similar studies made before and immediately after commissioning of the Farakka barrage (1975-1977) has revealed that the increased freshwater discharge has resulted in considerable decrease in salinity throughout the estuary. The freshwater zone now extends toward the mouth of the estuary. The true estuarine zone has moved seaward and the marine zone has been restricted to the area near the mouth of the estuary. This has effected major changes in plankton dynamics, sharp decline in the fishery of marine and neritic species in the upper estuary, caused a significant increase in catch of Tenualosa ilisha and an over twofold increase in the average annual fish landings from the estuary as a whole. New zonations have been proposed based on the presently observed salinity values, which are the most significant factor in determining the fishery of any estuary. An interdisciplinary study of the ecology of the new zones is needed to establish their correct biological characteristics.

A study of brash ice in the proximal marine zone of a sub-polar tidewater glacier

Intermittent calving of tidewater Maar Glacier into Arthur Harbor (Anvers Island, Antarctic Peninsula) produces mainly brash ice (fragments < 2 m in diameter). To assess the potential role of brash ice in the seaward transport of glacigenic sediment in this subpolar region, measurements were made of (1) brash melt rates under laboratory and field conditions and (2) size distributions of freshly calved brash. In constant-temperature (1 °C) laboratory runs, melt rates for similarly shaped bergs increased significantly with relative flow velocity and were also greater for bergs containing fractures or air bubbles. Under field conditions, brash bergs subjected to rough open water were observed to melt approximately 20 times faster (range = 12–26) than those locked in densely packed jams protected from wave and current action. Published melt-rate equations developed for deep-draft or still-water bergs greatly underestimate melt rates for brash in rough sea surfaces. Size-frequency distributions (by weight) of four 102 m 2 samples of dense brash are closely approximated by Rosin-probability distributions. For an average population of freshly calved brash subjected to mean open-water melt rates observed in Arthur Harbor, over 90% of the bergs will completely melt within 24 hours. Consequently, little brash escapes the proximal marine zone, and most debris rafted by such bergs is probably deposited within a few hundred meters of the glacier terminus.

Late Weichselian deglaciation of the Barents Sea and low salinity events in the Norwegian Sea

Abstract The glacial geomorphology of the northwestern Russian Plain, Pechora lowland, northern Urals and southern Novaya Zemlya was mapped using Landsat satellite imagery. The deglaciation of the ice sheets around the Barents Sea was outlined using geological mapping, published land uplift data and previous observations. The amount of glacial meltwater produced during the deglaciation is compared with other freshwater sources. Freshwater discharges from proglacial lakes are approximated using this ice sheet reconstruction. Variations in precipitation are estimated using ice accumulation rates from an ice core in Greenland. The ice sheets spreading from the continent and islands surrounding the Barents Sea melted quickly 14-9 ka BP . According to glacial flow patterns and the compilation of 14 C dates, the separation of the Scandinavian and Novaya Zemlya ice sheets occurred in the marine zone between the Kanin and Kola Peninsulas at about 13 ka BP . The Dvina-Pechora proglacial lake, which had accumulated south of the confluence zone, drained into the Barents Sea, west of the Kanin Peninsula. The size of the lake was about 350 000 km 2 and the volume of water of the order of 10 000 km 3 , equivalent to a 3 cm global sea-level rise. Low salinity periods at 15-13 ka BP have been reported in the North Atlantic and Norwegian Sea. These have been associated either with active glacier calving and melting or with changes in the oceanic circulation system. The rapid decay of the ice sheets at 14-11 ka BP yielded meltwater about 600 km 3 /year, but the greatly increased precipitation during the Bölling interstadial at 12.3 ka BP became the most important source of freshwater entering the sea. The proposed freshwater pulse from the proglacial lake was a short-lasting event, but it may possibly be recorded in the marine stratigraphy by the oxygen isotope signal preserved in calcite from planktonic foraminifera.

Morphology and distribution of species of the diatom genusSkeletonemain a tropical coastal lagoon

Phytoplankton collected bimonthly by net during 1991–2 from the Sontecomapan lagoon (12 km long and 1·5 km wide), in the Gulf of Mexico, included four species and several forms of the diatom genus Skeletonema. The spatial and temporal distribution of Skeletonema subsalsum, S. pseudocostatum and S. costatum in the lagoon varied with the salinity. S. subsalsum was dominant in the rainy season (July–February), when salinity was 0–6 ppt. S. costatum was abundant in the adjacent marine zone, occasionally with S. tropicum, and occurred in the lagoon during the dry season (March) at salinities of 3·2–37·0 ppt. S. pseudocostatum was present the whole year showing a preference for brackish conditions (4–25 ppt). Morphological variation in three species was observed by light microscopy and studied in detail by electron microscopy. The shape of the external tubes of the fultoportulae, considered as an important taxonomic character, varied in S. subsalsum and S. pseudocostatum. We observed long threads in S. subsalsu...

Palynologic and petrographic intervals in the upper Pennsylvanian McLeansboro Group, Western Kentucky

The McLeansboro Group (formerly the Sturgis Formation) in the Western Kentucky coal field spans the upper Desmoinesian (Westphalian D) and the Missourian and Virgilian series (Stephanian). Extensive drilling has demonstrated the lateral continuity of major and minor beds in the group, making it possible to study vertical and lateral changes in palynology and petrology. Significant features of the McLeansboro Group are the marine zones over most of the coals and paleochannels, which are the only disruptions to the continuity of other lithologies. The Desmoinesian Baker (No. 13) and Wheatcroft (No. 13a) coal beds were included in the study but the primary emphasis is on the Missourian and Virgilian coals. Patoka Formation (lower Missourian) coals are dominated by tree fern spores with lesser amounts of sphenopsids, ferns and cordaites spores. This is in marked contrast to the arborescent lycopod-dominated Desmoinesian coals. Only the No. 15 coal bed exceeds 80% vitrinite: the vitrinite content of the No. 16 coal bed is less than 72%, the lowest of any Western Kentucky humic coal. The Bond Formation (upper Missourian) represents a distinct floristic interval, with a greater diversity of plant groups than in the Patoka Formation. Herbaceous lycopod spores, which are relatively minor contributors to the Patoka coals, are common in the Bond Formation. The coals generally exceed 80% vitrinite. The Mattoon Formation (Virgillian) coals have a variety of palynomorph assemblages. The low-sulfur Geiger Lake coal bed is dominated by tree fern spores, with important contributions from other ferns and sphenopsids. Similar to the underlying tree fern interval, vitrinite contents are less than 80%. The uppermost Mattoon coals are dominated by tree ferns and are notable in being the only coals more than 1 m thick in the Stephanian portion of the section, with the top coal being 4.3 m thick. The uppermost coals generally contain more than 80% vitrinite. The Permian Mauzy Formation overlies the McLeansboro Group. The palynologic/petrographic intervals appear to represent fluctuating dry (low vitrinite) and wet intervals within the Stephanian, which was itself drier than the Westphalian D.

Behavioural approaches to demonstrate the ecological significance of exposure of juvenile Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) to the antisapstain fungicide TCMTB

Simulated stream conditions were used to expose underyearling Pacific salmon (genus Oncorhynchus) to sublethal doses of TCMTB (2-thiocyanomethylthio) benzothiazole; a fungicide used by the lumber industry to protect against discolouration by sapstain fungi. Observed changes in schooling, swimming, and respiration were studied in more detail utilizing progressively more complex and ecologically relevant experimental designs. Laboratory troughs (600 litre) were used to quantify innate shelter-seeking behaviour and susceptibility to predation during salinity stress. Swimming speed, schooling behaviour and responses to salinity and hypoxia were studied in a 4500-litre Water Column Simulator under vertically stratified conditions (fresh water overlying sea water). Finally a similarly stratified 15,500-litre outdoor tank was designed to compare susceptibility to predation during a volitional salinity challenge. Relative to controls, TCMTB-exposed underyearling salmon exhibited a reduction in cover response, were slower to seek shelter from bright light, were more erratic in their swimming behaviour and more likely to be eaten by marine predators. Videotape analyses confirmed that TCMTB reduced exploratory behaviour and swimming speed under both normoxic and hypoxic conditions in the WCS. The ecological consequences of these overt behavioural changes were experimentally linked to a clear increase in risk from predation by yellowtail rockfish (Sebastes flavidus) inhabiting the marine zone below the halocline of the 15,500-litre tank. These techniques illustrate our most recent efforts to correlate cumulative sublethal physiological stress with ecologically meaningful behavioural dysfunction.

Continued observations of the benthic fauna of the industrialised Tees estuary, 1979–1990

The Tees Estuary is a heavily industrialised estuary in the North-East of England. Since the early 1970s water quality in the estuary has gradually improved, and in order to assess the impact of that improvement on the estuarine benthos a quantitative survey was established in 1979 and repeated annually. The results of the surveys have been analysed using both univariate and multivariate statistical techniques and related to local mctcrological data. During the monitoring period there was an increase in diversity at the seaward end of the estuary and the area of the estuary defined by classification analysis as the “Marine Zone” extended further up the estuary. All of the analyses identified an impacted area close to the mouth of Dabholm Gut, an intensive local sampling regime in this area delineated the impacted area and indicated limited improvement during the course of the study period. The results of the monitoring exercise indicate that improvements in water quality have led to an improvement in the benthic biology of the estuary.

Contaminants in eggs of some waterbird species from the Scheldt estuary, SW Netherlands

The contaminated Scheldt estuary is a wetland of international importance for waterbirds. In eggs of Common Terns ( Sterna hirundo) from the brackish zone, concentrations of Hg, Cr, Cu, Cd, Zn, and PAHs did not exceed no-observed effect levels reported in the literature. Eggshell thickness did not differ from the pre-DDT period. However, concentrations of PCB-118 (0.1–0.7 μg g −1 WW) may indicate adverse effects on reproductive success. In terns' eggs from the marine zone, PCB-118 did not exceed the no-observed effect concentration. In eggs of Black-headed Gulls ( Larus ridibundus) concentrations of HCB, lindane, DDT and dieldrin are low and showed no spatial gradient. PCB levels, on the other hand, are high in the brackish zone where adults forage on intertidal flats and eight times lower in eggs from the North Sea coast where adults feed mainly inland. No adverse effect on breeding success of Black-headed Gulls was observed in the field. The estimated biomagnification factor for PCB-153 for Oystercatcher ( Haematopus ostralegus) is higher than for terns and gulls.

Comparison and Evaluation of Different Microbiological Quality Criteria for Shellfish and Shellfish-Growing Waters

The objective of this study is to compare different microbiological criteria based on the control of shellfish-growing waters and shellfish flesh, to assess the microbiological quality of the shellfish harvested in a marine zone affected by discharges of a moderately polluted river. Two species of shellfish grown in Mediterranean countries, cockles (Cardium edule) and striped venus (Chamelea gallina) were chosen to carry out this study. A total of 55 samples of diellfish and sea water were collected over the four seasons of the year. According to the results obtained, the US, EEC and Spanish criteria, based on the level of faecal coliforms in shellfish flesh, guaranteed appropriately their safety for human consumption, but among the criteria based on the level of Escherichia coli, only the Australian criterion has been shown to be totally safe, this microorganism being the best indicator of the presence of Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Salmonella. For the criteria based on the analysis of indicators in seawater, the indicators which relate to the age of faecal pollution, such as spores of clostridium sulfite reducer and faecal streptococci are the best indexes of the presence of pathogens in shellfish. Furthermore, criteria that establish the percentage of water samples that fulfill the microbiological level specified, or log-normal distributions of indicators such as total coliforms, faecal coliforms and E. coli, are better than mean counts.

Coal-Bed Methane Resources and Subsurface Definition of the Middle Pennsylvanian Allegheny Formation in Northern West Virginia

Traditional correlation methods have not proven effective in the subsurface definition of the Allegheny Formation. Sandstones are discontinuous, of channel fill origin, and have log signatures that are not uniquely traceable on a regional basis. Erosion and/or non-deposition associated with fluvial-deltaic channels were responsible for observed coal-bed discontinuities and resulted in preservation of incomplete depositional sequences. Lowermost Allegheny Formation and underlying Pottsville Group sandstones often coalesce and/or split. The regional unconformity between Mississippian and Pennsylvanian systems effectively prohibits correlation of sandstones above the middle Mississippian Greenbrier Limestone due to gross variations in sediment thickness and lithology. In the overlying Conemaugh Group, core descriptions are helpful in locating marine zones and red beds, which may then be located on geophysical logs and used in correlations. The combined use of data from coal exploration core holes, gamma-ray and density logs, oil and gas well drillers' logs, and interval thicknesses derived from outcrop studies has allowed tentative subsurface definition of the Allegheny Formation. The number and thicknesses of Allegheny coal beds, associated sandstones, and reported gas shows have been mapped for use in future coal-bed methane development. The West Virginia Geological and Economic Survey developed this integrated approach to correlation while studying themore » coal-bed methane potential of the Allegheny Formation in northern West Virginia under contract to the Texas Bureau of Economic Geology and funded by the Gas Research Institute.« less