Phytoplankton absorption and pigment adaptation of a red tide in the Benguela ecosystem

Phytoplankton absorption and pigment characteristics of a red tide were investigated in coastal waters of the southern Benguela. Diagnostic indices indicated that dinoflagellates were the dominant phytoplankton group, with diatoms and small flagellates being of secondary importance. Very high biomass was observed close to the coast where chlorophyll a concentrations of up to 117 mg m^–3 were measured. Both measured (a _ph) and reconstructed pigment absorption (a _pig) displayed an increasing trend with chlorophyll a, while the package effect index (Q^* _a) decreased, indicating increased packaging with an increase in biomass. Proportioning of the total pigment absorption between 400 and 700 nm revealed that chlorophyll a accounted for 39–65% of the absorption, while photosynthetic carotenoids (15–30%) and chlorophyll cs (15–30%) were also prominent in absorbing light for photosynthesis.     

Acoustic characteristics of the north-eastern Atlantic Ocean

The vertical structure of the climatic and seasonal fields of the estimated speed of sound in the north-east Atlantic Ocean is considered. Zonation according to typicalc(z) profiles allowing for seasonal variations was carried out. It is shown that the water areas with a dual-channel vertical hydroacoustic structure vary essentially throughout the year. The features of the structure of the sound speed field in the lenses of the Mediterranean Sea waters are investigated. The effect produced by a lens on the characteristics of the sound propagation is studied.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Phytoplankton chemotaxonomy in the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean during late summer 2009

A chemotaxonomic investigation of surface phytoplankton was undertaken on a research cruise to the Atlantic sector of the Southern Ocean during late austral summer 2009. Based on pigment signatures, several distinct regions emerged that were delineated by physical features. CHEMTAX analysis of high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) pigment data indicated that diatoms generally dominated communities south of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF), particularly in regions of elevated biomass where chlorophyll-a (chl-a) was >1.5 µg l⁻¹ and diatoms comprised >80% of biomass. Pigment signatures representative of haptophytes-8, indicative of Phaeocystis antarctica, were dominant near the ice shelf. Chl-a concentrations were 0.2–0.6 µg l⁻¹ between the APF and the Subtropical Front (STF) and outputs suggested that chlorophytes, haptophytes-8 and haptophyte-6, in the form of coccolithophores, were the major constituents. Very low chl-a levels (<0.2 µg l⁻¹) were observed north of the STF and the prokaryotes Synechococcus spp. and Prochlorococcus spp. were the dominant groups in these oligotrophic waters.     

Relationship between Age and Oxygen along Line W in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean

The relationship between age and oxygen is one that is often assumed in oceanography to be relatively simple. Because oxygen utilization rates are difficul     

Distribution of the CO2 partial pressure along an Atlantic meridional transect

Atmospheric and oceanic pCO₂ were measured continuously along an Atlantic Meridional transect (50°N–50°S) in September–October 1995 and 1996 (U.K. to the Falklands Islands) and in April–May 1996 (Falklands Islands to the UK). The Atlantic ocean was a net sink for atmospheric CO₂ for all 3 transects. The largest sinks were located at high latitudes, in regions of high wind speed, where strong CO₂ undersaturations, associated with high biological activity, were observed. In these regions the partial pressure difference between the ocean and the atmosphere reached −110 μatm. A CO₂ source occurred in the equatorial region between 0° and 10°S, where ΔpCO₂ of up to 40 μatm was found. Another source was in the northern subtropical gyre where its extension varied according to the season. Along the whole transect the October cruises exhibited similar pCO₂ distributions suggesting a dominance of the seasonal variability and small year to year changes.     

Evaluation of the meridional heat transport in the Subtropical Atlantic

By using the data of a standard section made along 24.5°N in the Subtropical Atlantic within the framework of the World-Ocean-Circulation Experiment, we compute the meridional heat transport. In agreement with the major part of published estimates obtained according to the data of direct oceanographic measurements, it is approximately equal to 1.1 PW. The meridional heat transport along 24.5°N is caused mainly by the quasistationary meridional circulation with fairly stable structure. At the same time, we discovered the intense seasonal variability of some components of the meridional heat transport. The contribution of eddy heat flows to the integral transport is insignificant. Dedicated to the jubilee of Prof. Viktorina Fedorovna Sukhovei __________ Translated from Morskoi Gidrofizicheskii Zhurnal, No. 1, pp. 3–15, January–February, 2006.     

Phytoplankton chlorophyll stocks in the Antarctic Ocean

Phytoplankton chlorophyll stocks in the Indian sector of the Antarctic Ocean were estimated on the basis of published data collected from nine cruises of the Icebreaker,Fuji in 1965–1976, during routine observations of the Japanese Antarctic Research Expedition (JARE). Surface chlorophylla concentration, measured at 631 stations in waters south of 35°S, ranged from 0.01 to 3.01 mg m^–3, At about half of the stations the values were less than 0.24 mg and at only 29 stations were high values more than 1.00 mg m^–3 recorded. The levels of surface chlorophylla stocks were estimated in three groups; (1) data obtained on the southward leg through the eastern Indian sector (middle-late December), (2) those on the northward leg through the western Indian sector (late February–early March) and (3) those on the northward leg through the eastern Atlantic sector (late February–early March). Furthermore, mean values and standard deviations were calculated for each of six different water masses from north to south,i. e., subtropical water between 35°S and the Subtropical Convergence (STC) zone, water within the STC zone, Subantarctic Upper Water, water within the Antarctic Convergence (AC) zone, Antarctic Surface Water between the AC zone and 63°S, and Antarctic Surface Water south of 63°S. Mean values of surface chlorophylla concentrations for each of the six water masses on the three legs ranged from 0.15 to 0.58 mg m^–3 and were comparable to those reported by other workers previously. Seasonal periodicity of phytoplankton chlorophyll stock is discussed. The surface chlorophyll stock in the oceanic water of the Antarctic Ocean does not seem to be so high as previously believed.     

The calibration computations of the hydrothermodynamic characteristics in the northern and tropical Atlantic Ocean

The results of numerical experiments on computing the hydrophysical fields for the northern and tropical Atlantic Ocean carried out using two numerical models are analysed. A discrete analogue of the first model is developed using conservative schemes, and of the second using conservative-dissipation difference schemes. It is shown that the second model, having a spatial resolution, reconstructs the meridional heat transport and the vertical seawater motions better than the first one.Translated by Mikhail M. Trufanov.     

Decadal water mass variations along 20°W in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Water mass variations in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean along 20°W are analyzed with pentadal resolution over the past 15 years using data from four repeat occupations of a meridional hydrographic section running south from Iceland. The section was sampled in 1988, 1993, 1998, and 2003. The results are interpreted in the context of changes in air–sea forcing, ocean circulation, and water properties associated with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). The NAO index oscillated around zero from 1984 to 1988, was strongly positive from 1989 to 1995, after which it shifted to lower positive, and occasionally negative values from 1996 to 2003. Previously published studies suggest that after the 1995–1996 shift of the NAO, the subpolar gyre largely retreated to the northwest in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, resulting in an increasingly southeastern character of local water masses with time. Water property changes extending from the SubPolar Mode Water (SPMW) just below the seasonal pycnocline through the density range shared by Mediterranean Outflow Water and SubArctic Intermediate Water (SAIW) along 20°W are consistent with changes in wind-driven ocean circulation and air–sea heat flux associated with shifts in the NAO, especially after accounting for ocean memory. After periods of lower NAO index the SPMW is warmer, saltier, and lighter. At these same times, large increases of apparent oxygen utilization (AOU) and potential vorticity are found at the SPMW base, consistent with SPMW ventilation to lighter densities during lower NAO index periods. Deeper and denser in the water column, the cold, fresh, and dense SAIW signature within the permanent pycnocline that was most strongly present in 1993, near the culmination of a period of high NAO index, is much reduced in 1988 and 1998. In 2003, after a prolonged period of lower NAO index, increasing influence of warmer, saltier subtropical waters is clear within the permanent pycnocline. The deep penetration of the changes implies that they are caused primarily by circulation changes resulting from NAO-associated wind shifts, but changes in air–sea heat flux could also have played a role.     

Ocean zoning in the Northwest Atlantic

A workshop held in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, brought together marine policy makers, resource users and experts to discuss spatial planning in the marine environment. Participants explored concepts of ocean zoning and learned from other jurisdictions and related integrated management initiatives. An ocean user perspectives panel featured plenary addresses on the significance of ocean zoning to various sectors. Discussions at the workshop emphasized the need for involving all key players and clearly defining terms used in the spatial planning process.     

Changes in the species composition and ichthyoplankton abundance along transects in the Baltic Sea

Correlations have been revealed between the distribution of the different ichthyoplankton species and the fluctuations of the environmental factors along transects in the Baltic Sea during the autumn of 2005 and spring and autumn of 2006. The early ontogenetic stages of the cod and other bottom fish species were confined to the Bornholm Basin located in the southwestern part of the sea with near-bottom salinity of more than 16?? and the absence of an oxygen deficiency in the isohaline zone of 11?C14??. Eggs and larvae of the Baltic sprat were distributed in June throughout all the deep-sea regions with near-bottom water salinity of no less than 8%., up to the western Gulf of Finland. In the spring of 2006, the abundance of sprat eggs was found to drop significantly compared with the average long-term data for the recent period; this was due to the cold winter of 2006.     

Silver in the far North Atlantic Ocean

Total (unfiltered) silver concentrations in higher latitudes of the North Atlantic (52–68°N) are reported for the second Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC) Global Investigation of Pollutants in the Marine Environment (GIPME) baseline survey of 1993. These silver concentrations (0.69–7.2 pM) are oceanographically consistent with those (0.24–9.6 pM) previously reported for lower latitudes in the eastern North and South Atlantic (Flegal et al., 1995). However, surface (⩽200 m) water concentrations of silver (0.69–4.6 pM) in the northern North Atlantic waters are, on average, ten-fold larger than those (0.25 pM) considered natural background concentrations in surface waters of the central Atlantic. In contrast, variations in deep far North Atlantic silver concentrations are associated with discrete water masses. Consequently, the cycling of silver in the far North Atlantic appears to be predominantly controlled by external inputs and the advection of distinct water masses, in contrast to the nutrient-like biogeochemical cycling of silver observed in the central Atlantic and Pacific oceans.     

Surface drift in the South-East Atlantic Ocean

Surface drift in the South-East Atlantic Ocean is described using historical shipdrift data. The Benguela Current has a width of 200 km in the south and 750 km in the north. The mean speeds of the current vary from <11 cm·s^?1 to a maximum of 23 cm·s^?1 The highest current speeds occur during summer in the southern regions and during winter in the northern regions, and this seasonality corresponds well with seasonal wind speeds. Eddy kinetic energy is enhanced in the Subtropical Convergence zone and is highest in the general vicinity of the Agulhas Current retroflection. The Subtropical Convergence is evident as a line where northward Ekman drift terminates.     

Manganese in the Western North Atlantic Ocean

Dissolved and total dissolvable manganese concentrations have been measured at four stations in the western North Atlantic Ocean. Total dissolvable manganese concentrations are high in surface waters, decrease to uniformly low levels throughout the bulk of the water column, and increase in the bottom nepheloid layer. Dissolved Mn (Mn_d) concentrations follow the total dissolvable concentrations throughout the surface and deep waters but do not increase in the near-bottom waters.Deep water concentrations of Mn_d decrease from 30 ng l^?1 in the Newfoundland Basin to 20 ng l^?1 in the Sargasso Sea. This change and other features of the deep water distribution of dissolved manganese could be associated with the slow oxidation of Mn²⁺ to MnO₂. There is also evidence at one station of scavenging of manganese from the dissolved phase in the near-bottom layer which may again be related to the kinetics of manganese oxidation.     

Phytoplankton composition and biomass across the southern Indian Ocean

Phytoplankton composition and biomass was investigated across the southern Indian Ocean. Phytoplankton composition was determined from pigment analysis with subsequent calculations of group contributions to total chlorophyll a (Chl a) using CHEMTAX and, in addition, by examination in the microscope. The different plankton communities detected reflected the different water masses along a transect from Cape Town, South Africa, to Broome, Australia. The first station was influenced by the Agulhas Current with a very deep mixed surface layer. Based on pigment analysis this station was dominated by haptophytes, pelagophytes, cyanobacteria, and prasinophytes. Sub-Antarctic waters of the Southern Ocean were encountered at the next station, where new nutrients were intruded to the surface layer and the total Chl a concentration reached high concentrations of 1.7 ??g Chl a L⁻¹ with increased proportions of diatoms and dinoflagellates. The third station was also influenced by Southern Ocean waters, but located in a transition area on the boundary to subtropical water. Prochlorophytes appeared in the samples and Chl a was low, i.e., 0.3 ??g L⁻¹ in the surface with prevalence of haptophytes, pelagophytes, and cyanobacteria. The next two stations were located in the subtropical gyre with little mixing and general oligotrophic conditions where prochlorophytes, haptophytes and pelagophytes dominated. The last two stations were located in tropical waters influenced by down-welling of the Leeuwin Current and particularly prochlorophytes dominated at these two stations, but also pelagophytes, haptophytes and cyanobacteria were abundant. Haptophytes Type 6 (sensuZapata et al., 2004), most likely Emiliania huxleyi, and pelagophytes were the dominating eucaryotes in the southern Indian Ocean. Prochlorophytes dominated in the subtrophic and oligotrophic eastern Indian Ocean where Chl a was low, i.e., 0.043-0.086 ??g total Chl a L⁻¹ in the surface, and up to 0.4 ??g Chl a L⁻¹ at deep Chl a maximum. From the pigment analyses it was found that the dinoflagellates of unknown trophy enumerated in the microscope at the oligotrophic stations were possibly heterotrophic or mixotrophic. Presence of zeaxanthin containing heterotrophic bacteria may have increased the abundance of cyanobacteria determined by CHEMTAX.     

Zinc speciation in the Northeastern Atlantic Ocean

Measurements of zinc and zinc complexation by natural organic ligands in the northeastern part of the Atlantic Ocean were made using cathodic stripping voltammetry with ligand competition. Total zinc concentrations ranged from 0.3 nM in surface waters to 2 nM at 2000 m for open-ocean waters, whilst nearer the English coast, zinc concentrations reached 1.5 nM in the upper water column. In open-ocean waters zinc speciation was dominated by complexation to a natural organic ligand with conditional stability constant (log K_ZnL′) ranging between 10.0 and 10.5 and with ligand concentrations ranging between 0.4 and 2.5 nM. The ligand was found to be uniformly distributed throughout the water column even though zinc concentrations increased with depth. Organic ligand concentrations measured in this study are similar to those published for the North Pacific. However the log K_ZnL′ values for the North Atlantic are almost and order of magnitude lower than those reported by Bruland [Bruland, K.W., 1989. Complexation of zinc by natural organic-ligands in the central North Pacific. Limnol. Oceanogr., 34, 269–285.] using anodic stripping voltammetry for the North Pacific. Free zinc ion concentrations were low in open-ocean waters (6–20 pM) but are not low enough to limit growth of a typical oceanic species of phytoplankton.     

Atlantic meridional overturning circulation and phosphate-classified bottom-up control of Atlantic pelagic ecosystems through the 20th century

Both the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) and the North Atlantic Ocean (NA) biosphere have recognized associations with the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO). These multidecadal physical–biological affinities inspired a closer look at AMOC influences on bottom-up control of NA and South Atlantic Ocean (SA) pelagic ecosystem variability. Various ocean models associate changes in the AMOC with sea surface temperature (SST) differences in the western subpolar NA and SA represented as the Atlantic Dipole SST Anomaly (ADSA) index. The Extended Reconstructed SST version 2 (ERSSTv2) dataset for 2° quadrangles from 1890 to 2007 was used here to represent Atlantic Ocean SST patterns and to gauge 20th century AMOC variability using an Atlantic Dipole SST (ADS) index, an un-normalized version of ADSA index. Temperature–phosphate (T–PO₄) linear regressions were used to convert temperature to phosphate concentration ([PO₄]). The interannual stability of T–PO₄ linear regressions first was examined using 26 Bermuda area T–PO₄ datasets between 1958 and 2001. Within the constraints provided by the Bermuda analysis, climatological T–PO₄ linear regressions based on GEOSECS-derived slopes and NODC-derived X-intercepts supported the conversion of monthly Atlantic Ocean ERSSTv2 temperatures for each 2° quadrangle to monthly surface [PO₄]. A representative annual surface phosphate utilization (SPU) was calculated for each 2° quadrangle by subtracting monthly minimum surface [PO₄] from monthly maximum surface [PO₄] to determine the annual surface [PO₄] ranges from 1890 to 2007. Annual average SST tended to increase and overall annual average SPU tended to decrease through the 20th century in both the NA and SA, but the NA exhibited more temporal variability. An Atlantic Dipole Phosphate Utilization (ADPU) index related to the ADS index was calculated for each year from 1890 to 2007. The ADS and ADPU indices were inversely correlated with about 57% of the variability in the ADPU index explained by the ADS index. The ADPU index exhibited three distinct cycles through the 20th century. Cross-correlation analysis showed that the NAO led the ADS and ADPU indices by about 14 years. Differences in annual average SPU for each Atlantic Ocean 2° quadrangle between the three high and four low years of the ADPU cycles yielded six maps that, when averaged, clearly exhibited reversed east–west patterns distributed in alternating latitudinal bands in both the NA and SA. The east–west patterns spatially corresponded to the NA and SA surface circulation and temporally resembled NA patterns previously associated with the NAO. AMOC variability, mediated by Kelvin and Rossby waves associated with changes in both deep and surface arm circulation, likely contributed to meridional continuity of phosphate-classified, NA, and SA pelagic ecosystem variability, including fisheries, through the 20th century. Based on the results, future global warming influences on the AMOC, well short of shutdown, likely will have complex pelagic ecosystem impacts throughout the Atlantic Ocean.