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iynatcly result in faster metabolic d>'*s. The /net that not only surface-^ J\ bacteria (/) but also microorganisms collected at the deep-sea floor are ex hibiting extremely stow metabolic rates when incubated in situ may be inter preted In two ways. ' Life processes in general may be slower at deep-sea conditions than at surface pressures and temperatures for reasons other than the low nutrient supply. Studies on the deep-sea benthic fauna (7), have reported (i) extreme diversity of species, (ii) small brood sire, (iii) preponderance of adult in dividuals in most species, and (iv) abun dant eases of endemism. These charac teristics suggest slow growth and long life of the individual animal and could be the result of a relative retardation of certain critical metabolic processes. The slow metabolic rate may also lead to the argument that an active, adapted microflora does not exist in the deep-sea sediment. The high colony counts usually found when deep-sea sediment samples are streaked on nu trient agar (3) may originale solely from Surviving and viable cells that reached the ocean floor with sedimenting detri tus particles. Particulate organic mat ter readily available for microbial de composition will hardly reach the deep ocean. It will largely be degraded dur ing the slow sedimentation, estimated to take from several weeks to more than a year per 1000 m of depth (8). The particulate organic matter in deep waters was shown to be "refractory" (9), that is, no degradability could be demonstrated. The total amount of larger particulate material (for instance, animal carcasses) reaching the deep sea undegraded will probably be very small, although of considerable significance for the highly diverse but scanty fauna of benthic scavengers. Nothing is known about the quantity of nonrefractory or ganic matter reaching the deep-sea floor with the relatively fast-sinking fecal pel lets of zooplankton (8). Thus, the top sediment being virtu ally void of nonrefractory organic mat ter readily available for degradation, the_activity of microorganisms in the deep sea may be largely confined to in testinal tracts of animals, where the' enriched nutrient milieu will enable microorganisms to decompose refrac tory materials (chitin, cellulose, and so forth) in an endosymbiotic fashion. This notion is supported by the finding of an enlarged gut in deep-sea mollusks {10). According to this hypothesis, the role played by microorganisms In the turnover of organic matter in the deep- , ) Refertottl and Note* sea sediments appears to be funda- ' mentally different from that in shallowwater sediments, or, for that matter, in soil. Experiments on incubations of solidified organic materials (agar, starch, gelatin) on the deep-sea floor in open containers (//) show that after 1 year of exposure, marks of animal feeding appeared to be almost the only sign of disintegration. No work on the intestinal flora of deep-sea invertebrates has yet been done. Complementing our earlier work (/), the data reported in this study confirm the conclusion that the deep sea must be considered extremely inefficient with respect to recycling of organic wastes. Holoer W. Jannasch Carl O. Wirsen Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, . It. W. Jannawh, K. Elmhjcllcn, C. O. Wirsen, A. Frmanfrmaian, Science 171, 672 (1972). 2. O. H. Lowry, N. 3. Rosebrouph, A. L. rrr, R. J. Randall, /. Biol. them. 193, 265 (1951). 3. Identified by R. Turner (Museum of Compara tive Zoology, Harvard University). 4. K. L. Smith and J. M. Teal, Science 179, 282 (1973). J. C. E. ZoDell, Bull. Miml! Mar. Blot. Inst. Kyoto Vnlv. II, 77 (1968). * ----- and L. L. Hittle, Can. J. Microbiol. 13, 1311 (1967). 7. J. F. Otattic and II. L. Sanders, Deep^ea Res., In press. 5. T. J. Smayda, Ocranopr. Mar. Blot. Annu. Rev. *, 353 (1970). 9. D. W. Menrel and 3. 11. Rytliet, hut. Mar, Set. Urlir. Alaska Bubi. No. I (1970). p, 31. 10. 1. A. Allen and H. L. Sanders, Deep-Sea Res. 13, HIS (1966). 11. H. W. Jannasch and C. O. Wirsen, In prepara tion. 12. We thank P. Holmes for assistance In one of the Alvin dives; and J. M. Teal, J. F. Grasslc, and K. L. Smith for a critical discussion of the manuscript. Research supported by NSP grant GA 33405, This Is contribution No. 2987 of the Woods Hole Oceanographic In* dilution. Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 6 December 1972 B Potychlorobiphcnyls in Norlh Atlantic Ocean Water Abstract. Concentrations of polychlorobiphenyls (PCB's) have been measured at the surface and at various depths in the water of the North Atlantic Ocean between 26N and 63N. The concentrations average about 20 parts per trillion and amount to an estimated 2 X /0` metric tons of PCB's in the upper 200 meters of wafer. The average concentrations of PCB's in the surface water of the Sargasso Sea are lower than those in the northern North Atlantic. Seawater is the most abundant solvent available for trapping hydrocarbons, such as the polychlorobiphenyls (PCB's), released into the environment. The volume of the oceans <1021 liters) is sufficient to dissolve all the PCB's that have been manufactured (/). Relatively few measurements have been made of PCB concentrations in open-ocean water to,- determine the extent Ip which it functions as a solvent trap (2). Most analyses have been confined to orga nisms (i), which comprise less than 1 part per million of the total volume. During the summer of 1972 we analyzed the PCB concentrations of open-ocean water in the eastern and western North Atlantic between 26N and 63N. The stations and analyses arc tabulated in Table 1 (4). For samples t to 9 and 13 we extracted 19 liters of sea water <5) with 2 liters of a hexane-ether mixture (94:6), concentrated the extract, and then analyzed It by electron-cap ture gas chromatography (ECGC). For the other samples we pumped 19 to 80 liters of water through a brass or glass column [16 by 2 cm (inside diameter)] packed with Ambcrlite XAD-2 resin (Rohm & Haas) to a height of 12 cm {6) at 250 ml/min. The PCB's were eluted from the column with 300 ml of boiling acetonitrile at full gravity flow. The acetonitrile was then diluted with 1 liter of water (distilled or seawater) and extracted with hexane. The con centrated hexane extract was analyzed by ECGC. No cleanup of the extract was required prior to ECGC. Unfiltercd seawater samples collected and analyzed simultaneously with water filtered through a 0.3-/im glass fiber filter or a glass wool plug contained a maximum of 10 percent more PCB than the filtered seawater samples. AH analyses were completed on shipboard within 4 hours of sampling (7). ' Three observations can be made from the data: 1) Although the range is very broad, the concentrations of PCB's in the northern North Atlantic average 35 ng/kg [35 parts per trillion (ppl)) in surface waters, and 10 ppt at 200 m. 2) The PCB concentrations decrease with depth. 3) The surface waters of the Sar gasso Sea (stations 25-41) have slightly lower surface concentrations of PCB's (27 ppl) than surface waters in other parts of the North Atlantic. The widespread distribution of PCB's II MAY 1973 DSW 029874 . 44J _\ STLCOPCB4013836 In the open North Atlantic }vorts gest that PCH's, adsorbed on partk , y we assume that the 'hn|f.j;vc ^ previous observalions <hat the atmo sphere must be the predominant mode of transport (3). The wide range of concentrations observed (< I to ISO ppt), in some eases at points only 80 km apart (stations 29 and 33), may be laics falling into this region, arc par tially solubilized by equilibrating with the surface water. Evaporative codistil lation then transports some of this material to areas of higher precipitation. The volume of the upper 200 m of the lar (9). The observed ratio from our data (and from (2)J must be lcss 0.05 (that is, < 1 ppt/20 ppt (scc firs, footnote, Table 1)]. Thus (he environmenial half-life of the PCB's appears considerably greater than that of Dbi due to scaslicks (2), localized rainfall, North Atlantic is 10ls liters. If we as and its metabolites. or discharges from ships. No relation ship between PCB concentration and proximity to land was observed. The presence of measurable PCB concen trations, even to depths of 3000 m, sume an average PCB concentration of 2 X 10~8 g/liler in that volume (S), then there may be about 2 X 10' g (2 X 10* metric tons) of PCB's in the water (1, 9). The total amount of George R. Harvey William G. Steinmauer John M. Teal Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543 suggests that animals which migrate PCB's produced in the United States in vertically, plus sinking shells, feces, and 1971 was 1.8 X 10* metric tons (7). ' References and Notea dead organisms, transport PCB's out On the basis of quantitative estimates 1. The total U.S. production of PCB's since of the mixed layer (about 150 m) and of rates of production and rates of 1957 Is about 3.6 X 10" g ICAem. Eng. Nr*.< . <6 Dee. 1971), p. 15) which I* estimated to prevent even higher concentrations loss to the environment, a 2DDT/ from accumulating in the productive PCB ratio l^DDT refers to DDT, 1,1,1,- be about one-hatf of the total world pro duction. 2. C. E. Olney and J. G. Quinn, paper pre zone. trichloro-2,2-*>is(p-chlorophenyl) eth The Sargasso Sen is an area of high ane, and its major metabolites] of 10, sented as part of the deliberations of the International Decade of Ocenn Exploration Baseline Conference, E. D. Goldberg, chair evaporation and low rainfall. We sug is expected in the North Atlantic, if man, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton, N.Y., 24-26 May 1972 (these workers mea sured the PCB concentrations In the surface microlayer and 20 cm below the surface In the North Atlantic; their subsurface con Table 1. Concentrations of PCB's in North Atlantic ocean water. The limit of detection was 1 X JO-* g/litcr for a 19-liter sample. centrations 8ree with our surface measurepiculs, although their sample sJre wss much smaller). Sta Position tion North West KJ C> Depth <m) PCB conccntralion* ` (X 10 * g/litcr) 3. O. R. Harvey, V. T. Bowen, R. H. Backus, O. D. Grice, In Nobel Symposium 20: The Changing Chemistry of the Oceans, D. Dyrsscn and D. Jagner, Eds, (Almqvist 4 Wiksell, I 52' 55' 35" 08' 2 44' 00' 30" 36' 6/30 7/3 0 0; 200 150 35; 10 Stockholm, 1972), p. 177; deliberations ol the International Dccado of Ocean Exploration Baseline Conference, E. D. Goldberg, chair 3 40' 33' 4 36' 11' 5 34' 02' 6 35' O' 7 34' 47' 6 . 38" 20' 9 38' 23' 29" 16' 25" 33' 22 o 50' 18" 59' 14" 57' 11" 23' 11" 11' 1/S in 7/9 7/11 7/13 7/15 7/22 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 0; 200 4; 7 Hi 3 30; 6 14; 5 67; 39 19; 2 41; 13 man, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Upton N.Y., 24-26 May 1972. 4. Stations 1 to 23 were occupied on cruise 105 ol R.V. Chain; stations 25 to 41 were occupied on cruise 71 ol R.V. Ailunils-U. Station 24 is the Woods Holo dock. 5. Surface camples were collected In a Slalnles; steel bucket from the bow of the ship white it was under way. Deep samples were collected 10 38' 19' 19" 28' 11 41* 09' 20" 46' 12 43' 57' 22" 13' ms 1/24 1/2S 0 0 0 77 <1 52 In a 160-llter Bodman bottle lined with Kel-1 R. If. Bodman. V. T. Bowen, L. W. Slabaugh A Mar. Res. 19, 141 (1961). 6. The parameters for the use of this resin 13 43' 20' 21* 57' 14 43' 16' 2i" 34' 15 46' 31' 21 43' 16 52* 31' 19" 52' 7/27. 7/29 7/30 8/1 0 100; 3000 0 0; 100 47 45; > If 10 45; 8 given In the text were developed by the authors In this laboratory. The efficiency ol the adsorptive extraction, when compared with olveot extraction, is > 95 percent. 7. A Packard gas-liquid chromatograph, model . 17 $2' 35' 19" 53' 18 55* 41' 15* 02' 19 57* 22' 12" or 20 60' 4' 06" 02' 21 60' or 05* 36' 8/2 8/4 8/5 . 8/6 8/7 1500 0 200 200 0 >lt 1 . ; . 97 42 82 407, equipped with a N1 electron-capture detector was used. No motion sensitivity was observed In the Instrument's response. A chipboard analysis revealed that the ahlp'a paints, greases, and oils did not contain any PCB's. 22 . 60' 29' 04" 43' 8/7 ' 0 - - 23 #. These data and (2). In contrast, PCB con 23 24 . 25 26 27 28 63' 03' 41* 32' 39 40' 37' 12' 34" 32' 35' 22' 02" 22' 70" 4070* 03' 68" 54' 67" or 67" 36' 8/8 . 10/2 0; 200 0 21; 7 30 9/21 0 -- 29 9/22 0 36 9/23 0 12 9/24 1000 1 centrations In coastal northeastern Pacific waters average 1 ppt fl. Barrett, paper pre tented at part of the deliberations of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration Baseline Conference, E. D. Goldberg, chelrtnan, Brookhaven National Laboratory. Upton. N.Y., 24-26 May 1972). 29 35" 17' 68" 28' 9/24 0 2 9. This quantity Is remarkably almltar to a >0 31 - 32 " 'U >4 >5 35' 56' 16' 05' ' 36* 24' 35* 3r 34* 26' 33* 41' 66" 34' 67 27' 68" 24' 67* 49' 66* 22' 65" 44' 9/25 9/26 9/27 9/27 9/28 9/28 05 0 . 1! 0 22 0 ' 9 0 12 0 15 recently calculated estimate of 1.5 X 10' metric tone of PCB'a In the North Atlantic; no water data were available at the time ol tho calculation IE C. T. Nlabel and A. F. Saroflm, Envtron. Health Ptrspta. 1, 21 <1972)). 10. We thank Dr. R. H. Backus, chief scientist 36 37 3B 39 40 41 28' 42' 26* 5CY 25* 56' 26* 58' 28* 26' 31* 13' 58* 39' 55' 38' 54" 15' 53' 57' 53* 55' 53' 49' 10/3 10/5 10/6 10/7 10/8 10/9 0 26 0 36 . 0 . . 27 0 .42 0 ' -88 0 68 on cruise 105 of R.V. Chain, for allowing us She opportunity to collect those samples and Dr. V. T. Bowen for making the deep samples available. Supported by grant OX 35212 from tho Office of the International Decade of Ocean Exploration, National Setnoe Foundation and grant OQ 16020 from The closer! matching commercial mixture In all carea war lhat containing 54 percent chlorine. Thui the commercially available A roeVor 1254 {Monsanto) war bred ar the standard. Procedural blank* ranged from 0 to ) ng/llter and were subtracted from the tabulated concentrations; DDT and its the Environmental Protection Agency. Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution contribution No. 2798. metabolites, if present, were present at confcentratkms less than I tig/liter. tPoor match for Aroolor. 10 November 1972 SCIENCE. VOL. 180 DSW 029875 STLCOPCB4013837