United Nations' action to intervene in conflict between the nation of Kuwait and occupying Iraqi forces, occurring from 1990 through 1991.

A body of water located at the southeastern corner of North America. It is bordered by the states to the north of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas; by five Mexican states to the west: Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatan; and by Cuba to the southeast.

Unexplained symptoms reported by veterans of the Persian Gulf War with Iraq in 1991. The symptoms reported include fatigue, skin rash, muscle and joint pain, headaches, loss of memory, shortness of breath, gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms, and extreme sensitivity to commonly occurring chemicals. (Nature 1994 May 5;369(6475):8)

Release of oil into the environment usually due to human activity.

Former members of the armed services.

The region of southwest Asia and northeastern Africa usually considered as extending from Libya on the west to Afghanistan on the east. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988)

Hostile conflict between organized groups of people.

Persons including soldiers involved with the armed forces.

A body of water covering approximately one-fifth of the total ocean area of the earth, extending amidst Africa in the west, Australia in the east, Asia in the north, and Antarctica in the south. Including the Red Sea and the Persian Gulf, it constitutes the third largest ocean after the ATLANTIC OCEAN and the PACIFIC OCEAN. (New Encyclopaedia Britannica Micropaedia, 15th ed, 1990, p289)

A great expanse of continuous bodies of salt water which together cover more than 70 percent of the earth's surface. Seas may be partially or entirely enclosed by land, and are smaller than the five oceans (Atlantic, Pacific, Indian, Arctic, and Antarctic).

The salinated water of OCEANS AND SEAS that provides habitat for marine organisms.

A family of marine mollusks in the class BIVALVIA, commonly known as oysters. They have a rough irregular shell closed by a single adductor muscle.

Naturally occurring complex liquid hydrocarbons which, after distillation, yield combustible fuels, petrochemicals, and lubricants.

Tactical warfare using incendiary mixtures, smokes, or irritant, burning, or asphyxiating gases.

An order of bottom fishes with short, small, spinous dorsal fins. It is comprised of one family (Batrachoididae) and about 70 species.

Places for cultivation and harvesting of fish, particularly in sea waters. (from McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

An independent state, an archipelago in the western Persian Gulf, northwest of Qatar. It comprises low-lying islands of Bahrain (the largest), Muharraq, Sitra, and several islets. It has extensive oil fields. The name comes from the Arabic al-bahrayn, "the two seas", with reference to its lying in the middle of a bay with its "two seas" east and west of it. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p107 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p45)

A functional system which includes the organisms of a natural community together with their environment. (McGraw Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed)

An area of water mostly surrounded by land, usually smaller than a gulf, and affording access to the sea.

The science dealing with the earth and its life, especially the description of land, sea, and air and the distribution of plant and animal life, including humanity and human industries with reference to the mutual relations of these elements. (From Webster, 3d ed)

Aquatic invertebrates belonging to the phylum MOLLUSCA or the subphylum CRUSTACEA, and used as food.

A group of cold-blooded, aquatic vertebrates having gills, fins, a cartilaginous or bony endoskeleton, and elongated bodies covered with scales.

The geographic area of the southeastern region of the United States in general or when the specific state or states are not included. The states usually included in this region are Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia, and Virginia.

A mass of organic or inorganic solid fragmented material, or the solid fragment itself, that comes from the weathering of rock and is carried by, suspended in, or dropped by air, water, or ice. It refers also to a mass that is accumulated by any other natural agent and that forms in layers on the earth's surface, such as sand, gravel, silt, mud, fill, or loess. (McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 4th ed, p1689)

A country of eastern Europe, formerly the province of Bosnia in Yugoslavia, uniting with the province of Herzegovina to form the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina in 1946. It was created 7 April 1992 as a result of the division of Yugoslavia and recognized by the United States as an independent state. Bosnia takes is name from the river Bosna, in turn from the Indoeuropean root bhog, "current"; Herzegovina is from the Serbian herceg (duke) + -ov (the possessive) + -ina (country or territory).

The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment.

Calamities producing great damage, loss of life, and distress. They include results of natural phenomena and man-made phenomena. Normal conditions of existence are disrupted and the level of impact exceeds the capacity of the hazard-affected community.

An algal bloom where the algae produce powerful toxins that can kill fish, birds, and mammals, and ultimately cause illness in humans. The harmful bloom can also cause oxygen depletion in the water due to the death and decomposition of non-toxic algae species.

Common name for various species of large, vigorous ocean fishes in the family Scombridae.

Chemical compounds which pollute the water of rivers, streams, lakes, the sea, reservoirs, or other bodies of water.

Infections with bacteria of the genus VIBRIO.

Neurotic reactions to unusual, severe, or overwhelming military stress.

Persons living in the United States of Mexican descent.

The total number of cases of a given disease in a specified population at a designated time. It is differentiated from INCIDENCE, which refers to the number of new cases in the population at a given time.

The concept covering the physical and mental conditions of VETERANS.

Divisions of the year according to some regularly recurrent phenomena usually astronomical or climatic. (From McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms, 6th ed)

Periodic movements of animals in response to seasonal changes or reproductive instinct. Hormonal changes are the trigger in at least some animals. Most migrations are made for reasons of climatic change, feeding, or breeding.

Adverse effect upon bodies of water (LAKES; RIVERS; seas; groundwater etc.) caused by CHEMICAL WATER POLLUTANTS.

A class in the phylum CNIDARIA, comprised mostly of corals and anemones. All members occur only as polyps; the medusa stage is completely absent.

Uranium. A radioactive element of the actinide series of metals. It has an atomic symbol U, atomic number 92, and atomic weight 238.03. U-235 is used as the fissionable fuel in nuclear weapons and as fuel in nuclear power reactors.

The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.

Non-frontal low-pressure systems over tropical or sub-tropical waters with organized convection and definite pattern of surface wind circulation.

Disorders claimed as a result of military service.

The geographic area of Latin America in general and when the specific country or countries are not indicated. It usually includes Central America, South America, Mexico, and the islands of the Caribbean.

Aspects of health and disease related to travel.

The exposure to potentially harmful chemical, physical, or biological agents in the environment or to environmental factors that may include ionizing radiation, pathogenic organisms, or toxic chemicals.

A multistage process that includes cloning, physical mapping, subcloning, determination of the DNA SEQUENCE, and information analysis.

The scientific study of past societies through artifacts, fossils, etc.

Flagellate EUKARYOTES, found mainly in the oceans. They are characterized by the presence of transverse and longitudinal flagella which propel the organisms in a rotating manner through the water. Dinoflagellida were formerly members of the class Phytomastigophorea under the old five kingdom paradigm.

The pattern of any process, or the interrelationship of phenomena, which affects growth or change within a population.

The geographic area of the southwestern region of the United States. The states usually included in this region are Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, Texas, and Utah.