1 is that there is a steady state in the study area, the study area being 



2 the bank and the slope, the whole margin. 



3 Basically in the steady state with respect to the total 



4 hydrocarbons and plant material, the biogenic compounds, with pristane 



5 being a classic example, does vary seasonally. I'll show that in some 



6 of the data. 



7 Presumably the seasonality is determined by the seasonal 



8 deposition and erosional processes. There are sporadic incidences of 



9 petroleum residues, presumably tarball materials in the sediments. 



10 For the most part these observations are fairly limited. This 



11 parenting, when you look at the hydrocarbon distributions, but they are 



12 fairly limited and they are short lived. We may see them in one season 



13 and as a general phenomenon and not another season. 



14 Conclusion four is also part of this whole depositional - 



15 erosional --the whole dynamics of the area. 



16 A, B, C, D are seasonal snapshots of total hydrocarbon 



17 distributions, winter, spring, summer, and fall, the intensity of the 



18 black dot here is basically concentration parameter. What we're seeing, 



19 if you look, is an overview. 



20 The hydrocarbon distributions are the same in all four seasons for 



21 total hydrocarbons. So, this supports the observation that the totals 



22 do not vary much seasonally. The distributions are largely dictated by 



23 the depositional environment. 



24 In the Gulf of Maine area, the mud patch area, the canyon head 



25 area that Brad talked about a little bit this morning, are all areas of 



26 elevated silt-clay levels and they're elevated levels of total 



27 hydrocarbons, around 10 ppm or greater. For the most part this is a 



28 static steady state picture. 



29 If we take a parameter like pristane, which during the bloom 



30 period and the production of biogenic lipids is produced in the water 



31 column and presumably is deposited in the sediments. 



32 If we look at the intensity of the dots, we see that in winter we 



33 are down at very low levels, detectable but background levels. 



78 



