FIGURE 1 Block diagram showing the downward transport of iron by biological mechanisms in phytoplankton and zooplankton in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. SOURCE: Figure 4 in NAS (1971b).

Burns, to demonstrate a linkage between elevated concentrations of No. 2 fuel oil compounds and adverse effects in subtidal, intertidal, and marsh communities of marine organisms (e.g., Bums and Teal, 1971; Bums, 1976; Sanders, 1978; Sanders et al., 1980). Blumer, Sanders, and Teal pioneered modem oil pollution studies, along with colleagues studying the Arrow spill in Canada (e.g., Gordon and Michalik, 1971).

The results of these oil spill studies influenced early studies of the magnitude and biogeochemistry of chronic inputs of petroleum in coastal and estuarine ecosystems (Farrington and Quinn, 1973). Max Blumer shared generously of his knowledge of oil pollution with my Ph.D. thesis advisor James G. Quinn and me during a crucial phase of our studies in 1969 and 1970. I mention this because it is one example of many of how personal communications during scientific meetings and personal visits advance scientific knowledge.

The examples of Patterson's laboratory and of Blumer's research are but two of many examples of NSF-funded basic