Phytoplankton production characteristics in the Eastern Atlantic and Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean in October–November 2004

Production parameters of surface phytoplankton were measured along three transects: La Manche-Cape Town (I); Cape Town-54°S (II); 0°-49°W (along 54°S) (III). The Canary upwelling waters were most productive along transect I, where the surface chlorophyll a (Chl ₀) and the surface primary production (PP ₀) were as high as 4.3 mg/m³ and 173 mg C/m³ per day, respectively. Mosaic patterns in the distribution of these parameters were recorded in the northeastern regions of the South Subtropical Anticyclonic Gyre (Chl ₀ = 0.03–0.35 mg/m³; PP ₀ = 1.6–12.6 mg C/m³ per day). Along transect II, the average twofold southward increase in Chl ₀ (from 0.2 to 0.4 mg/m³) and the concurrent decline of the phytoplankton assimilation activity ( AN ₀) resulted in deviations from typical latitudinal changes inPP ₀. At most sites, PP ₀ values varied between 6 and 15 mg C/m³ per day. Negligible changes in Chl ₀ (0.36–0.85 mg/m³), PP ₀ (8–19 mg C/m³ per day), and AN ₀ (0.7–1.6 mg C/mg chl a per hour) were registered for the oceanic waters along transect III. Along all the transects, PP ₀ depended on Chl ₀ to a greater extent than AN ₀. The values of the latter parameter were largely determined by the water temperature and showed a slight correlation with the insolation. Along transect II, the integrated primary production (PP _int) and the layer-integrated chlorophyll a in the upper 200 m (Chl _0–200) generally varied from 180 to 360 mg C/m² per day and from 30 to 70 mg/m², respectively. In the Polar Front region, an increase in Chl _0–200, PP _int, Chl ₀, and PP ₀ up to respective values of 190 mg/m², 520 mg C/m² per day, 1.2 mg/m³, and 32 mg C/m³ per day was observed. A comparison of the water column (0–100 m) stability with the vertical distribution of the primary production and chlorophyll content along transect II implies that the thick (>100 m) upper mixed layer (UML) formed in response to the strong water cooling and wind forcing was largely responsible for the limited primary production in the Subantarctic and Antarctic regions. The large UML thickness resulted in an intense removal of plant cells from the photosynthetic layer and light starvation of a significant (up to 60%) part of the phytoplankton community.     

Two Modes of Atmosphere–Ocean Interaction in the Atlantic Sector of the Arctic Basin

Oceanology - The paper examines the influence of the main mode of interannual variability of the North Atlantic climate system—the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO)—on the hydrophysical...     

Hydrographic structure and circulation in the central area of the North Eastern Atlantic

On the basis of the hydrographic data observed within the Canary Basin in autumn 1985, temperature-salinity properties, distributions of water masses and barocltne flow field, as well as the volume transports in this area are described more detailly. The analyses indicate that the activity in the waters of the Canary Basin is mainly attributed to the interleaving and mixing between the originated water masses (e. g. Surface Water, North Atlantic Central Water, Mediterranean Water and Deep Water) and the modified water masses (Subpolar Mode Water, Labrador Sea Water and Antarctic Intermediate Water) from the outside of the study area and the variation of themselves. The east recirculation of the Subtropic Gyre in the North Atlantic consists of Azores Current and Canary Current.Azores Current is formed with several flow branches around the Azores Island, while the main flow lies at 35?N south of the Azores Island. It begins to diverge near the 15?W. The return flow found off the Portugal coast may be its     

Influence of processes in the ocean–atmosphere system in the North Atlantic on the intraannual variation of climatic characteristics on the territory of Ukraine

We make an attempt to study specific features of weather- and climate-forming processes developing due to the energy and mass transfer between the ocean and the atmosphere in the North Atlantic, as well as responses of the climate of Ukraine to the main climate-forming factors. These studies are based on a statistical model in the form of a system of third-order regression equations with feedback. We deduce a system of generating functions that allow us to estimate the regression coefficients. Within the developed model, we applied the factor analysis to compress the input information about the affecting factors in the region where the weather ships were located. This allowed us to reveal the tendencies of variations in the characteristics participating in the energy and mass transfer. The response of the climate in various regions of Ukraine to the processes running in the North Atlantic was determined using the cluster analysis whose algorithm was developed by the authors. We performed a number of experiments for various situations in the region of the North Atlantic that are possible due to the global warming of the climate and studied the response of climatic characteristics on the territory of Ukraine under similar processes. The adequacy of the developed model was verified on the basis of data on the real situation in February 2006. It is shown that the model satisfactorily describes the responses of climatic characteristics in regions of Ukraine to variations of the affecting factors in the North Atlantic.     

The evolution of rifting on the volcanic margin of the Pelotas Basin and the contextualization of the Paraná–Etendeka LIP in the separation of Gondwana in the South Atlantic

The Pelotas Basin is the classical example of a volcanic passive margin displaying large wedges of seaward-dipping reflectors (SDR). The SDR fill entirely its rifts throughout the basin, characterizing the abundant syn-rift magmatism (133–113 Ma). The Paraná–Etendeka Large Igneous Province (LIP), adjacent to west, constituted the pre-rift magmatism (134–132 Ma). The interpretation of ultra-deep seismic lines showed a very different geology from the adjacent Santos, Campos and Espírito Santo Basins, which constitute examples of magma-poor passive margins. Besides displaying rifts totally filled by volcanic rocks, diverse continental crustal domains were defined in the Pelotas Basin, such as an outer domain, probably constituted by highly stretched and permeated continental igneous crust, and a highly reflective lower crust probably reflecting underplating.The analysis of rifting in this portion of the South Atlantic is based on seismic interpretation and on the distribution of regional linear magnetic anomalies. The lateral accretion of SDR to the east towards the future site of the breakup and the temporal relationship between their rift and sag geometries allows the reconstitution of the evolution of rifting in the basin. Breakup propagated from south to north in three stages (130–127.5; 127.5–125; 125–113 Ma) physically separated by oceanic fracture zones (FZ). The width of the stretched, thinned and heavily intruded continental crust also showed a three-stage increase in the same direction and at the same FZ. Consequently, the Continental-Oceanic Boundary (COB) shows three marked shifts, from west to east, from south to north, resulting into rift to margin segmentation. Rifting also propagated from west to east, in the direction of the final breakup, in each of the three segments defined. The importance of the Paraná–Etendeka LIP upon the overall history of rupturing and breakup of Western Gondwanaland seems to have been restricted in time and in space only to the Pelotas Basin.     

Interhemispheric exchanges of mass and heat in the Atlantic Ocean in January–March 1993

Hydrographic, geochemical, and direct velocity measurements along two zonal (7.5°N and 4.5°S) and two meridional (35°W and 4°W) lines occupied in January–March, 1993 in the Atlantic are combined in an inverse model to estimate the circulation. At 4.5°S, the Warm Water (potential temperature θ>4.5°C) originating from the South Atlantic enters the equatorial Atlantic, principally at the western boundary, in the thermocline-intensified North Brazil Undercurrent (33±2.7×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ northward) and in the surface-intensified South Equatorial Current (8×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ northward) located to the east of the North Brazil Undercurrent. The Ekman transport at 4.5°S is southward (10.7±1.5×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹). At 7.5°N, the Western Boundary Current (WBC) (17.9±2×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) is weaker than at 4.5°S, and the northward flow of Warm Water in the WBC is complemented by the basin-wide Ekman flow (12.3±1.0×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹), the net contribution of the geostrophic interior flow of Warm Water being southward. The equatorial Ekman divergence drives a conversion of Thermocline Water (24.58⩽σ₀<26.75) into Surface Water (σ₀<24.58) of 7.5±0.5×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹, mostly occurring west of 35°W. The Deep Water of northern origin flows southward at 7.5°N in an energetic (48±3×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC), whose transport is in part compensated by a northward recirculation (21±4.5×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹) in the Guiana Basin. At 4.5°S, the DWBC is much less energetic (27±7×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ southward) than at 7.5°N. It is in part balanced by a deep northward recirculation east of which alternate circulation patterns suggest the existence of an anticyclonic gyre in the central Brazil Basin and a cyclonic gyre further east. The deep equatorial Atlantic is characterized by a convergence of Lower Deep Water (45.90⩽σ₄<45.83), which creates an upward diapycnal transport of 11.0×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ across σ₄=45.83. The amplitude of this diapycnal transport is quite sensitive to the a priori hypotheses made in the inverse model. The amplitude of the meridional overturning cell is estimated to be 22×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ at 7.5°N and 24×10⁶ m³ s⁻¹ at 4.5°S. Northward heat transports are in the range 1.26–1.50 PW at 7.5°N and 0.97–1.29 PW at 4.5°S with best estimates of 1.35 and 1.09 PW.     

Fishers’ knowledge indicates short-term temporal changes in the amount and composition of catches in the southwestern Atlantic

The scarcity of data on fish catches difficult management of small-scale fisheries in developing countries. This study applies fishers’ knowledge to investigate temporal changes in the amount (biomass) and composition (major ecological categories) of fishing resources exploited by small-scale coastal fisheries in the southeastern Brazilian coast. Four hypotheses were investigated: (1) The amount of fish caught reported by fishers would decrease over time. (2) Older fishers would report higher fish catches than younger fishers. (3) Recent interviews would mention large-sized predators less often. (4) Recent interviews would mention less high valued fishing resources. Interviews with 421 fishers in 36 communities in the southeastern Brazilian coast were analyzed, covering a time span of 14 years, from 1995 to 2009. The hypothesis 1 was confirmed, 3 was partially confirmed, while 2 and 4 were not confirmed. Fishers’ age was unrelated to all variables. The results from fishers’ interviews indicated the temporal trends of: (1) a decrease in the biomass of fish caught; (2) an increase in the occurrence of smaller fish and invertebrates in the catch; (3) an increase of high value fishing resources; and (4) maintenance of large predators. The first two indicators suggest excessive fishing, but the later indicators (3 and 4) suggest that the socioecological system of the southeastern Brazilian coast had not yet undergone major ecological shifts.     

Multidisciplinary Program of Field Studies of the Ecosystem in the Atlantic Sector of the Southern Ocean (December 2019–March 2020)

Oceanology - The research program of the dynamics and ecosystem of the Drake Passage and Scotia Sea is scientifically substantiated. Measurements will be carried out by the interdepartmental...     

Analysis of the cause and effect relationships between El Niño in the Pacific and its analog in the equatorial Atlantic

The relations between the processes occurring in the equatorial latitudes of the Pacific and Atlantic oceans were studied on the basis of the Granger causality analysis and a simulation of phase dynamics using the indices of the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and the equatorial Atlantic mode (EAM). Data on the monthly means of the sea-surface temperature over the period 1870–2006 for the Niño 3 (5° S-5° N, 150° W-90° W) and Niño 3.4 (5° S-5° N, 170° W-120° W) regions in the Pacific and the Atlantic 3 region (20° W-0, 3° S-3° N) in the Atlantic Ocean were used as the ENSO and EAM indices. The statistically significant influence of the EAM on the ENSO is noted. The lag time of this influence is estimated at two months. No significant reverse effect is revealed. An increase in the EAM’s influence on the ENSO was observed in the second half of the 20th century.     

Contourite systems in the region of the southern São Paulo Plateau escarpment, South Atlantic

Seismoacoustic investigations with a high-resolution parametric echo-sounder “SES 2000 deep” carried out on cruises 33, 35, and 37 of the R/V Akademik Ioffe revealed several erosional-depositional contourite systems on the São Paulo Plateau escarpment and its toe in the South Atlantic. Two contourite terraces related to interfaces between different water masses are observable on the escarpment. These terraces presumably reflect the activity of internal waves and turbulent eddies. The São Paulo contourite channel and genetically related drift are traceable along the escarpment toe. Changes in planktonic foraminiferal assemblages in Core AI-2563 retrieved from the summit of the São Paulo contourite drift suggest a shallowing of the Weddell Sea Deep Water mass during glacial times. It is established that the contour current of the Weddell Sea Deep Water and Lower Circumpolar Water considerably affect the formation of contourite depositional systems on the escarpment and its toe.     

5’ Detailed gravimetric geoid in the northwestern Atlantic ocean

A 5’ detailed gravimetric geoid has been computed for the northwest Atlantic Ocean as ground truth for the GEOS‐3 satellite altimeter experiment. Comparisons of this geoid with satellite derived geoceiver station heights show an r.m.s. difference of 1.2 m. Initial comparisons with GEOS‐III altimeter derived geoid profiles have indicated a relative agreement of generally better than 2 m.     

Market-oriented regional fisheries management—an analysis of four fish regions in the North Atlantic

What influence do exchange methods have on ex-vessel prices and what are the potential implications for the regional management of the fisheries? This paper undertakes an empirical analysis of exchange methods and ex-vessel prices for specific demersal fish controlled for fish size and quantity in four North Atlantic regions, including Iceland, North-Norway and Scotland. The methodology consists of a comparative analysis of total average price (TAP) and Anova analysis of monthly average prices of cod and plaice landed fresh during the period 1990–1999. Scotland's auctions have the highest TAPs for the species analysed whilst the lowest TAPs are returned from contract sales in Iceland and North-Norway. Icelandic auctions and Møre–Romsdal auctions adopt intermediate positions in this price hierarchy. Price differences are still present even when correcting for factors such as legal barriers, transport costs from different geographical locations, exchange fees and seasonal variations in supplies. The implications of these findings for current and prospective systems of regional resource and coastal management are then considered and the scope and need for further study is established.     

Transport of Antarctic Bottom Water through passages in the East Azores Ridge (37° N) in the East Atlantic

The structure of northerly overflow of Antarctic Bottom Water (AABW) through passages in the East Azores Ridge (37° N) in the East Atlantic from the Madeira Basin to the Iberian Basin is studied on the basis of hydrographic measurements carried out by the Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS) in October 2011, historical World Ocean Data Base 2009, and recent data on the bottom topography. The overflow of the coldest layers of this water occurs through two passages with close depths at 16° W (Discovery Gap) and at 19°30′ W (nameless Western Gap). It is shown that it is likely that the role of the latter passage in water transport was underestimated in earlier publications because the water (2.01°C) found in the region north of the Western Gap was cooler than in the region north of the Discovery Gap (2.03°C). In 2011, we found a decrease of 0.01°C in the AABW temperature near the bottom compared to previous measurements in 1982 (from 2.011°C to 2.002°C). Analysis of the historical database shows that this decrease is most likely caused by the cooling trend in the abyssal waters in the East Atlantic basins.     

Interannual variability in the wintertime air–sea flux of carbon dioxide in the northern North Atlantic, 1981–2001

Gridded fields of sea surface temperature (SST), sea level pressure (SLP), and wind speed were used in combination with data for the atmospheric mole fraction of CO₂ and an empirical relationship between measured values of the fugacity of carbon dioxide in surface water and SST, to calculate the air–sea CO₂ flux in the northern North Atlantic. The flux was calculated for each of the months October–March, in the time period 1981 until 2001, allowing for an assessment of the interannual variations in the region. Locally and on a monthly time scale, the interannual variability of the flux could be as high as ±100% in regions seasonally covered by sea ice. However, in open-ocean areas the variability was normally between ±20% and ±40%. The interannual variability was found to be approximately halved when fluxes averaged over each winter season were compared. Summarised over the whole northern North Atlantic, the air to sea carbon flux over winter totalled 0.08 Gton, with an interannual variability of about ±7%. On a monthly basis the interannual variations were slightly higher, about ±8% to ±13%. Changes in wind speed and atmospheric fCO₂ (the latter directly related to SLP variations) accounted for most of the interannual variations of the computed air–sea CO₂ fluxes. A tendency for increasing CO₂ flux into the ocean with increasing values of the NAO index was identified.     

Spring distribution of larger (>64 μm) protozoans in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean

Distribution of larger protozoans (armoured dinoflagellates, tintinnids, heliozoans, radiolarians and foraminiferans >64 μm) is presented for three major water masses of the Southern Ocean: the Polar Front region (PFr), the southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current (southern ACC) and the northern Weddell Gyre. Sampling took place during the SO-JGOFS cruise ANT X/6 of R/V Polarstern (October–November 1992) along a meridional transect at 6°W between 48°00′S and 59°30′S. Multinet samples (64 μm mesh size) were taken at six stations from the surface down to 500 m depth at five different depth intervals. In the upper 100 m of the water column abundances of larger protozoans varied between 94 and 10,930 ind. m^–3, with highest abundances in the PFr, where phytoplankton blooms occurred, and lowest values in the Antarctic Circumpolar Current–Weddell Gyre Boundary (AWB). Foraminiferans and polycystine and smaller (<300 μm) phaeodarian radiolarians dominated larger protozoan assemblages in the PFr. In open water of the southern ACC, tintinnids, armoured dinoflagellates, foraminiferans and smaller (<300 μm) phaeodarian radiolarians were equally important. The heliozoans Sticholonche spp. and nassellarian radiolarians dominated assemblages in the Weddell Gyre and AWB. Larger protozoan biomasses ranged between 2 and 674 μg C m⁻³ and were always dominated by larger (>300 μm) phaeodarians. Highest biomasses were found in the AWB between 200 and 500 m depth. Standing stocks of larger protozoans constituted a negligible fraction of zooplankton biomass in the upper 200 m of the water column. In deeper layers of the ice-covered Weddell Gyre and AWB their biomasses, dominated by larger (>300 μm) phaeodarians, was significant contributing up to 45% to total larger protozoan and metazoan biomass. Analysis of correlation between distribution patterns and environmental conditions at the stations sampled indicate that spring distribution patterns of heterotrophic armoured dinoflagellates, polycystine radiolarians and foraminiferans follow productivity in the water column. Of the protozoan groups studied the smaller (<300 μm) phaeodarian radiolarians also showed a significant correlation with productivity during spring, however, results from previous studies do not suggest a consistent pattern. Spring distribution patterns of other larger protozoans were not related to differences in productivity in the water column, and effects such as ice-cover, grazing or silica limitation might be determining. Dead radiolarian skeletons constituted on average 27, 8 and 11% of the population of nassellarians, spumellarians and smaller (<300 μm) phaeodarians, respectively. The contribution of dead radiolarian skeletons to total radiolarian stocks varied with depth and water mass. Differences between live and skeleton assemblages composition were observed. These differences should be taken into consideration when interpreting the geological record.     

SoFISHticated policy – social perspectives on the fish conflict in the Northeast Atlantic

Ecosystem changes currently question the traditional allocation of fishing rights and quotas in the fishery of Northeast Atlantic mackerel and Norwegian spring-spawning herring in the Northeast Atlantic. Variability in the distribution of these highly migratory species escalated in a political conflict between member states of the European Union, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Norway, which is a driving force for unsustainable fishery. The aim of this paper is to investigate this conflict by outlining the social understandings of diverse stakeholders by using the Q methodology. The method reduced the complexity of numerous opinions, detected four distinct perspectives and simultaneously categorised the participating stakeholders. Although the perspectives differ in various elements, the protection of economic interests seems to dominate over the quest for sustainability. The call of all stakeholders in this study to clarify the fishing rights in the Northeast Atlantic reveals a clear deficiency of the current international fishery management in handling abrupt ecological changes and the necessity to acknowledge this as a complex adaptive system.     

Variations in the Atlantic inflow to the Nordic Seas, 1955–1996

Hydrographic observations on the Svinøy section, which runs NW from about 62°N on the Norwegian coast to 64°40′N on the prime meridian, have been used to investigate variations in the Atlantic inflow to the Nordic Seas. The data are from the winter 1955 to 1973 and from the spring and the summer 1978 to 1996. The observations show that in the summer there exist two cores of water with salinity above 35.25 at about 100 m depth, but in the spring and the winter the core furthest offshore is less distinct. Geostrophic calculations show that, for all data sets, there are two kernels with northward currents in the Svinøy section: one over the inner part of the continental slope (over 600–800 m depths) and one further offshore (over 1400–2500 m depth). The mean volume transports of Atlantic water in the section are 4.5, 5.0 and 5.6 Sv in spring, summer and winter, respectively. Results from an Empirical Orthogonal Function analysis of the summer data indicate that there is a dual structure in the section when interannual variations are considered. In the western part of the section the temperature and salinity are negatively correlated with the winter North Atlantic Oscillation index, but in the eastern part of the section they are weakly positively correlated. This is not found in the winter data from 1955 to 1973. The geostrophic volume transport in the summer through the Svinøy section is positively correlated with the NAO indices for winter and spring, where the March NAO index gave the best correlation. Also, the summer volume transports west and east in the section seem to be in opposite phase. From the summer data 1978 to 1996 there is a positive linear trend for the eastern transport (+2.4 Sv), but there is a negative linear trend for the western transport (−2.0 Sv). The transport through the whole section has increased by 1.1 Sv during the same similar period. The atmospheric conditions were different in years with relatively low temperatures and salinities in the western part of the section compared to those years with relatively high temperatures and salinities. It is proposed that interannual variations of temperature, salinity and volume transport in the Svinøy section are controlled mostly by a large-scale variable pressure system (i.e. the North Atlantic Oscillation index).     

Economic gains from introducing international ITQs—The case of the mackerel and herring fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic

Achieving a balance between fishing capacity and fishing opportunities is one of the major challenges in European fisheries. One way to achieve this is to introduce individual tradable quotas or similar management measures. In several mackerel and herring fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic, such systems have already been introduced on a national basis and the long term economic gains of this have been acknowledged. This paper takes this a step further and investigates the potential economic gains from introducing individual tradable quotas between countries. Overall, the results show that the gross cash flow can be improved by 21% by allowing the mackerel and herring quotas to be traded internationally in the Northeast Atlantic. This rent gain arises mainly from increased productivity by allowing tradability between areas and fleets. The analysis also shows that the Danish pelagic fleet will gain from increasing its share of mackerel and herring quotas, whereas the Irish fleets are incentivised to sell quota, if individual quotas are allowed to be traded among countries. This result is in line with the qualitative analyses that show that Irish fishermen targeting herring in the Celtic Sea are negatively oriented towards international individual tradable quotas, whereas the Danish pelagic fishermen have strong preferences for international individual tradable quotas.     

Interannual thermohaline changes in the northern North Atlantic 1991–1996

In the period 1991–1996 the WOCE hydrographic section A1E/AR7E between Greenland and Ireland was repeated five times. The observed thermohaline changes altered the baroclinic structure along the eastern margin of the subpolar gyre significantly. Between June 1995 and August 1996 an overall increase of the temperature and thickness and a decrease of the density of the Subpolar Mode Water (SPMW) layer were observed, accompanied by an increase of its salinity east of the Reykjanes Ridge and a decrease of its salinity in the Irminger Sea. The changes were most pronounced in the Iceland Basin, where the Subarctic Front retreated westwards, coinciding with a strong weakening of the Westerlies as determined by the North Atlantic Oscillation. They are related to a local reduction of the Ekman upwelling and the ocean-to-atmosphere heat flux on the one hand and to the advection of anomalies from the subtropics on the other hand.The eastward spreading of the different Labrador Sea Water (LSW) vintages led to a corresponding cooling of the LSW in the Irminger Sea and in the Iceland Basin in the period 1991–1996. The renewal of the LSW in the Rockall Trough occurred more sporadically, indicating that the North Atlantic Current (NAC) impedes the southward spreading of LSW in the eastern Atlantic. The changes in 1996 seem to have also counteracted this spreading.