Biological Oceanography by Prof

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

Biological Oceanography by Prof Biological Oceanography By Prof. A. Balasubramanian Objectives After attending this lesson, the user should be able to know the importance of biological oceanography as a major branch of oceanography. The concepts of marine life, their ecological conditions, distribution controls and the various interactive mechanisms of marine life will be understood in this lesson. Introduction to Marine environment Seas and Oceans occupy about 71% of the Earth’s surface. These are called as marine environments. The total volume of water under this marine environment is 1370 million cubic km. The space available for marine life is 300 times more than the space available for other aquatic or terrestrial life living on the land. It is also believed that the earliest organisms were originated in saline waters of the ancient oceans, many million years before. Oceanography deals with the physico-chemical characteristics of oceanic waters, their interactions with the atmospheric air, temperature, dynamic movements like tides, waves and currents, habitat for marine flora and fauna found at various zones of seas and oceans. Oceans play a major role in controlling global climate, offering plenty of natural resources and providing food to the global population. The biological interactions among water, air and life are studied under the branch of biological oceanography. Biological oceanography Biological oceanography is a major scientific discipline dealing with all aspects of marine life under different zones of the oceanic environments. The interest to study biology by humans started as early as fourth century BC when Aristotle described about 180 species of marine animals. The geographical knowledge of oceans got improved after several great sea expeditions conducted by the people from 15th to 16th centuries. Through Ocean explorations people conducted detailed underwater surveys and mapped the ocean floors with respect to their physical features, chemistry and biological conditions. The First Texts of Oceanography The first texts of Oceanography were published by Charles Wyville Thomson in 1873, entitled as the “The Depths of the sea”. Through the Challenger Expeditions of 1872, people traveled for 110, 900 km and visited all the major oceans of the world , except Arctic. The Challenger expedition also attempted to integrate the geology, biology, chemistry and the physico-chemical phenomena of the oceans. It was carried out for about 19 years by a group of 76 scientists. The first seafloor map was produced with details of life existing at greater depths. About 715 new genera and 4417 new species of marine organisms were described by the great German Biologist Ernst Haeckel. Since 1872, different countries have been engaged in conducting many major biological oceanographic expeditions. The study of marine life has offered more and more data and scientific facts about the dynamics of oceanic environments. Historical development Edward Forbes, a British Naturalist (1815-1854) is the founding father of Oceanography. He has systematically studied the marine biota and benthic marine animals. It was he, who specified that different biological species occupy different depth zones of the seas and oceans. His Nephew, James Ross, during 1839-43, collected the samples of benthic animals as deep as 730 m, and gave a lot of Page 1 of 9 information to others about the existence of marine life at deeper levels. When facilities were very limited to carry out any underwater explorations, this was done. Ecology of marine life was understood and it become a major part in the study of oceanography and biology. Component of marine environment Marine ecosystems are characterized by both biotic and abiotic components. The dominant biotic components are organisms and their species, predators, parasites, competitors and Mates. The dominant abiotic components (ie., the physical and chemical components) are temperature, concentration of nutrients, penetration of sunlight, turbulence and turbidity, salinity and density of water masses, climatic parameters including the action of wind. Marine ecosystems are typical environments ranging from a small tidal inlet to the deep water ocean basins. Depth of water column is a major factor in addition to its movement and circulation. Solar and atmospheric interactions are very important aspects in the biological oceanography. Conditions of marine environment The marine environments show altogether a different kind of physical condition for their life to survive. The major factors influencing the oceanic waters are their temperature, transparency, salinity and density which vary with reference to space, time and depth. The ocean water temperature decreases and light penetration diminishes with reference to depth in oceans. the hydrostatic pressure of water increases with depth. The nutrients become more concentrated when the depth increases. Conditions of Marine Life Water , which is a fundamental constituent of all living organisms, is available in plenty , within the marine environments. Marine life species are buoyed up by moving water and need not have to store a large amount of energy in their skeletal material. Majority of the marine plants are also floating species. Size-wise, they are microscopic. Many of the marine animals are invertebrates. They do not possess massive skeletons. For the purpose of floating and swimming, the marine animals require very little energy. Temperature and light penetration Temperature of oceanic waters is an important parameter which do not vary as drastically as seen on the land masses or as seen in the atmosphere. However, there are certain properties which are less favourable for life to survive in the seas and oceans. The growth of plants in the sea is limited by the availability of sun light. It is a fact that 50% of the total solar radiation which penetrates into the sea surface gets disappeared rapidly with reference to depth. Much of the marine environment is under perpetual darkness. Under such circumstances, the entire marine life depends on the availability of essential nutrients only. It also adds to the release of decayed organic matter, in huge volume, within the seas and oceans. Much of the decaying matter sinks inside the seas and gets mixed up or deposited. The zone just below the sea surface experiences the maximum environmental fluctuation. This is the zone where more air-water interactions exist. The same surface zone experiences much variations in temperature, salinity and turbulence of water from the winds. All the environmental parameters also show distinct vertical variations within the oceanic water masses. Because of these variations, it is necessary to classify the marine zones for any detailed analysis. Classification of marine zones Page 2 of 9 Marine environments can be subdivided into two major divisions as Pelagic and Benthic environments. The word “Pelagic” means ‘Open sea’ and the word “benthic” means ‘bottom’. The Pelagic condition refers to the ocean water column starting from the surface of the oceans and ending at the greatest depths. The Benthic condition refers to the conditions of the deep ocean floors. In the open sea, the zone extending from the high water and low water coastal belt, upto a depth of 200 m inside the sea, is called as the Neritic zone. Pelagic zone The Pelagic zone is further subdivided into five major layers, as epipelagic, mesopelagic, bathypelagic, abyssopelagic and hadal zones. The Epipelagic zone is the zone of water column that is existing upto 200m down from the ocean surface. The Mesopelagic zone is the zone that is existing upto 1000 m down below the epipelagic zone. The Bathypelagic zone is the underwater zone that is existing from 1200 m to 4000 m down below the ocean surface. The Abyssopelagic zone is the zone that is existing beyond 5200 m depth and upto 6000m from the oceanic surfaces. The Hadal Pelagic zone is the zone of deep water extending beyond 6000m and may go upto 10000 m below the ocean surface. Biological oceanography deals with the physic-chemical and biological conditions of marine life of all these zones. Benthic zone The Benthic environments are classified into five zones as supra littoral, littoral, sub-littoral, bathyal, abyssal and hadal types. The Supra littoral zone is the zone existing on the beach with the high tide water line. The Littoral zone is the high water to low water tide line region. The Sub littoral zone refers to the zone of low tide water line to 200m depth on the continental shelf region inside the sea. The Bathyal zone is the zone ranging from 200 m to 3000 m depth of water column inside the sea. The Abyssal zone is ranging from 2000m to 6000m depth inside the sea and it exists mostly on the continental slope regions. The Hadal zone is the life zone existing beyond 6000 m of water depth. This zone may go upto the end of 10000+ m depth of water column in the deep ocean basins. This is the last and dark zone of the oceans. Biological oceanography deals with all the living conditions of marine life and their biological processes prevailing in all these zones. Ecology of seas The Pelagic environment supports the life of all Planktons and Nektons. It is seen that the epipelagic zone is almost a sunlit zone. Enough amount of sun light penetrates into the top layer of oceans. This situation helps all floating plants to carry on their photosynthesis. The mesopelagic zone is known as the twilight zone. This is a dim zone where there is very little light penetration. This condition is not suitable for many plants to grow. The bathypelagic zone is known as the midnight zone. This is the layer between 1000m and 4000m depth below the sea surface , where there is no penetration of light. The abyssal zone is the pitch-black bottom layer of the oceans. The oceanic water masses present in this zone are also at freezing temperature and with great pressure. The Hadal zone is the last deepest zone.
Recommended publications
  • Bathyal Zones of the Mediterranean Continental Slope: an Attempt
    Publ: Espec. but. Esp. Oceanogr. 23. 1997: 23-33 P UBUCACIONES ESPECIALES L"lSTlTUTO ESP.I\NOL DE O CEANOGRAFIA ISSN; 021-1-7378 . ISBN: 81 ~19 1 -O 299-5 Ib Ministerio de Agriculrura, Pesca yAlimentacion , L997 Bathyal zones of the Mediterranean continental slope: An attempt c. C. Emig Centre d'Ocean ologie de Marseille (UMR-CNRS 6540) , Station Mari ne d 'Endoum e, Rue de la Batterie-des-Lions. 13007 Marseille, France. Received Febru ary 1996. A ccepted August 1 99 6. ABSTRACT On the con tine ntal slop e, th e bathyal can be divided into two zones, the upper bathya l and the middle bath yal, at the shelf break, which represents th e boun dary betwe en the coastal shelf environment an d the deep realm , located at about 100-110 m dep th. T he upper bathyal, previ­ ously considered a transitional zone, is characterised by distin ct physical, geological an d biol ogi­ cal features. Its bath ymen-ic extension is directly related to slope physiography, and its lower boun dary ge ne rally corresponds to the mud line. T his belt is governe d by specific abiotic factors with stee p physical grad ients (e.g., hydro dynam ics, salin ity, oxygen , temperat ure , sedirnen ts}. Major change in tbe benthic fauna is associated with major ch ange in these abiotic factors. The three main biocoeno ses are dominated by suspen sion-feed ing species, which are exclusive to th e Mediterran ean upper bathyal. Dep ending on water parameters, the limit between th e phytal and aphyta l systems gene ra lly occurs with in th e upper bathyal.
    [Show full text]
  • Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard (2012)
    FGDC-STD-018-2012 Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard Marine and Coastal Spatial Data Subcommittee Federal Geographic Data Committee June, 2012 Federal Geographic Data Committee FGDC-STD-018-2012 Coastal and Marine Ecological Classification Standard, June 2012 ______________________________________________________________________________________ CONTENTS PAGE 1. Introduction ..................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Objectives ................................................................................................................ 1 1.2 Need ......................................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Scope ........................................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Application ............................................................................................................... 3 1.5 Relationship to Previous FGDC Standards .............................................................. 4 1.6 Development Procedures ......................................................................................... 5 1.7 Guiding Principles ................................................................................................... 7 1.7.1 Build a Scientifically Sound Ecological Classification .................................... 7 1.7.2 Meet the Needs of a Wide Range of Users ......................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Grade 3 Unit 2 Overview Open Ocean Habitats Introduction
    G3 U2 OVR GRADE 3 UNIT 2 OVERVIEW Open Ocean Habitats Introduction The open ocean has always played a vital role in the culture, subsistence, and economic well-being of Hawai‘i’s inhabitants. The Hawaiian Islands lie in the Pacifi c Ocean, a body of water covering more than one-third of the Earth’s surface. In the following four lessons, students learn about open ocean habitats, from the ocean’s lighter surface to the darker bottom fl oor thousands of feet below the surface. Although organisms are scarce in the deep sea, there is a large diversity of organisms in addition to bottom fi sh such as polycheate worms, crustaceans, and bivalve mollusks. They come to realize that few things in the open ocean have adapted to cope with the increased pressure from the weight of the water column at that depth, in complete darkness and frigid temperatures. Students fi nd out, through instruction, presentations, and website research, that the vast open ocean is divided into zones. The pelagic zone consists of the open ocean habitat that begins at the edge of the continental shelf and extends from the surface to the ocean bottom. This zone is further sub-divided into the photic (sunlight) and disphotic (twilight) zones where most ocean organisms live. Below these two sub-zones is the aphotic (darkness) zone. In this unit, students learn about each of the ocean zones, and identify and note animals living in each zone. They also research and keep records of the evolutionary physical features and functions that animals they study have acquired to survive in harsh open ocean habitats.
    [Show full text]
  • The C-Floor and Zones
    The C-Floor and zones Table of Contents ` ❖ The ocean zones ❖ Sunlight zone and twilight zone ❖ Midnight and Abyssal zone ❖ The hadal zone ❖ The c-floor ❖ The c-floor definitions ❖ The c-floor definitions pt.2 ❖ Cites ❖ The end The ocean zones 200 meters deep 1,000 Meters deep 4,000 Meters deep 6,000 Meters deep 10,944 meters deep Sunlight zone Twilight zone ❖ The sunlight zone is 200 meters from the ocean's ❖ The twilight zone is about 1,000 meters surface deep from the ❖ Animals that live here ocean's surface sharks, sea turtles, ❖ Animals that live jellyfish and seals here are gray ❖ Photosynthesis normally whales, greenland occurs in this part of the Shark and clams ocean ❖ The twilight get only a faint amount of sunlight DID YOU KNOW Did you know That no plants live That the sunlight zone in the twilight zone could be called as the because of the euphotic and means well lit amount of sunlight in greek Midnight zone Abyssal zone ❖ The midnight zone is ❖ The abyssal zone is 4,000 meters from 6,000 meters from the the ocean's surface ocean’s surface ❖ Animals that live in ❖ Animals that live in the the midnight zone Abyssal zone are fangtooth fish, pacific are, vampire squid, viperfish and giant snipe eel and spider crabs anglerfish ❖ Supports only ❖ Animals eat only the DID YOU KNOW invertebrates and DID YOU KNOW leftovers that come That only 1 percent of light fishes That most all the way from the travels through animals are sunlight zone to the the midnight zone either small or midnight zone bioluminescent The Hadal Zone (Trench ● The Hadal Zone is 10,944 meters under the ocean ● Snails, worms, and sea cucumbers live in the hadal zone ● It is pitch black in the Hadal Zone The C-Floor The C-Floor Definitions ❖ The Continental Shelf - The flat part where people can walk.
    [Show full text]
  • DEEP SEA LEBANON RESULTS of the 2016 EXPEDITION EXPLORING SUBMARINE CANYONS Towards Deep-Sea Conservation in Lebanon Project
    DEEP SEA LEBANON RESULTS OF THE 2016 EXPEDITION EXPLORING SUBMARINE CANYONS Towards Deep-Sea Conservation in Lebanon Project March 2018 DEEP SEA LEBANON RESULTS OF THE 2016 EXPEDITION EXPLORING SUBMARINE CANYONS Towards Deep-Sea Conservation in Lebanon Project Citation: Aguilar, R., García, S., Perry, A.L., Alvarez, H., Blanco, J., Bitar, G. 2018. 2016 Deep-sea Lebanon Expedition: Exploring Submarine Canyons. Oceana, Madrid. 94 p. DOI: 10.31230/osf.io/34cb9 Based on an official request from Lebanon’s Ministry of Environment back in 2013, Oceana has planned and carried out an expedition to survey Lebanese deep-sea canyons and escarpments. Cover: Cerianthus membranaceus © OCEANA All photos are © OCEANA Index 06 Introduction 11 Methods 16 Results 44 Areas 12 Rov surveys 16 Habitat types 44 Tarablus/Batroun 14 Infaunal surveys 16 Coralligenous habitat 44 Jounieh 14 Oceanographic and rhodolith/maërl 45 St. George beds measurements 46 Beirut 19 Sandy bottoms 15 Data analyses 46 Sayniq 15 Collaborations 20 Sandy-muddy bottoms 20 Rocky bottoms 22 Canyon heads 22 Bathyal muds 24 Species 27 Fishes 29 Crustaceans 30 Echinoderms 31 Cnidarians 36 Sponges 38 Molluscs 40 Bryozoans 40 Brachiopods 42 Tunicates 42 Annelids 42 Foraminifera 42 Algae | Deep sea Lebanon OCEANA 47 Human 50 Discussion and 68 Annex 1 85 Annex 2 impacts conclusions 68 Table A1. List of 85 Methodology for 47 Marine litter 51 Main expedition species identified assesing relative 49 Fisheries findings 84 Table A2. List conservation interest of 49 Other observations 52 Key community of threatened types and their species identified survey areas ecological importanc 84 Figure A1.
    [Show full text]
  • Translation 3204
    4 of 6 I' rÉ:1°.r - - - Ï''.ec.n::::,- - — TRANSLATION 3204 and Van, else--- de ,-0,- SERIES NO(S) ^4p €'`°°'°^^`m`^' TRANSLATION 3204 5 of 6 serceaesoe^nee SERIES NO.(S) serv,- i°- I' ann., Canada ° '° TRANSLATION 3204 6 of 6 SERIES NO(S) • =,-""r I FISHERIES AND MARINE SERVICE ARCHIVE:3 Translation Series No. 3204 Multidisciplinary investigations of the continental slope in the Gulf of Alaska area by Z.A. Filatova (ed.) Original title: Kompleksnyye issledovaniya materikovogo sklona v raione Zaliva Alyaska From: Trudy Instituta okeanologii im. P.P. ShirshoV (Publications of the P.P. Shirshov Oceanpgraphy Institute), 91 : 1-260, 1973 Translated by the Translation Bureau(HGC) Multilingual Services Division Department of the Secretary of State of Canada Department of the Environment Fisheries and Marine Service Pacific Biological Station Nanaimo, B.C. 1974 ; 494 pages typescriPt "DEPARTMENT OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE SECRÉTARIAT D'ÉTAT TRANSLATION BUREAU BUREAU DES TRADUCTIONS MULTILINGUAL SERVICES DIVISION DES SERVICES DIVISION MULTILINGUES ceÔ 'TRANSLATED FROM - TRADUCTION DE INTO - EN Russian English Ain HOR - AUTEUR Z. A. Filatova (ed.) ri TL E IN ENGLISH - TITRE ANGLAIS Multidisciplinary investigations of the continental slope in the Gulf of Aâaska ares TI TLE IN FORE I GN LANGuAGE (TRANS LI TERA TE FOREIGN CHARACTERS) TITRE EN LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE (TRANSCRIRE EN CARACTÈRES ROMAINS) Kompleksnyye issledovaniya materikovogo sklona v raione Zaliva Alyaska. REFERENCE IN FOREI GN LANGUAGE (NAME: OF BOOK OR PUBLICATION) IN FULL. TRANSLI TERATE FOREIGN CHARACTERS, RÉFÉRENCE EN LANGUE ÉTRANGÈRE (NOM DU LIVRE OU PUBLICATION), AU COMPLET, TRANSCRIRE EN CARACTÈRES ROMAINS. Trudy Instituta okeanologii im. P.P.
    [Show full text]
  • The EUNIS Habitat Classification. ICES CM 2000/T:04
    Theme Session on Classification and Mapping of Marine Habitats CM 2000/T:04 The EUNIS Habitat Classification SUMMARY The EUNIS habitat classification has been developed on behalf of the European Environment Agency to facilitate description of marine and terrestrial European habitats through the use of criteria for habitat identification. It is a broadly-based hierarchical classification which provides an easily understood common language for habitats. It builds on earlier initiatives (CORINE and Palaearctic habitat classifications) and incorporates existing classifications used by European marine Conventions and the EU-funded BioMar project with cross-references to these and other systems. It is recognised that detailed biotopes from some marine regions are poorly represented and that EUNIS will need to be expanded to cover this wider geographic area. Most of the additions will probably be made at hierarchical level 5 (where the distinct BioMar and Mediterranean units are now held). Changes and additions to the classification will only be made following detailed consultation with experts. A key to the habitat units at each of the first three levels is incorporated and the classification is linked to a parameter-based database to describe specific habitats. The present draft of the EUNIS habitat classification was completed in November 1999 and is expected to remain stable for a time to allow validation and testing through field trials and descriptive parameters to be compiled. Cynthia E. Davies and Dorian Moss: CEH Monks Wood, Abbots Ripton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, PE28 2LS, UK Tel: +44 (0)1487 772400 Fax: +44 (0)1487 773467 email: [email protected], [email protected] INTRODUCTION The European Environment Agency (EEA) Topic Centre on Nature Conservation (ETC/NC) is developing a European Nature Information System, EUNIS, which has two main aims: to facilitate use of data by promoting harmonisation of terminology and definitions and to be a reservoir of information on European environmentally important matters.
    [Show full text]
  • Patterns of Bathymetric Zonation of Bivalves in the Porcupine Seabight and Adjacent Abyssal Plain, NE Atlantic
    ARTICLE IN PRESS Deep-Sea Research I 52 (2005) 15–31 www.elsevier.com/locate/dsr Patterns of bathymetric zonation of bivalves in the Porcupine Seabight and adjacent Abyssal plain, NE Atlantic Celia Olabarriaà Southampton Oceanography Centre, DEEPSEAS Benthic Biology Group, Empress Dock, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK Received 23 April2004; received in revised form 21 September 2004; accepted 21 September 2004 Abstract Although the organization patterns of fauna in the deep sea have been broadly documented, most studies have focused on the megafauna. Bivalves represent about 10% of the deep-sea macrobenthic fauna, being the third taxon in abundance after polychaetes and peracarid crustaceans. This study, based on a large data set, examined the bathymetric distribution, patterns of zonation and diversity–depth trends of bivalves from the Porcupine Seabight and adjacent Abyssal Plain (NE Atlantic). A total of 131,334 individuals belonging to 76 species were collected between 500 and 4866 m. Most of the species showed broad depth ranges with some ranges extending over more than 3000 m. Furthermore, many species overlapped in their depth distributions. Patterns of zonation were not very strong and faunal change was gradual. Nevertheless, four bathymetric discontinuities, more or less clearly delimited, occurred at about 750, 1900, 2900 and 4100 m. These boundaries indicated five faunistic zones: (1) a zone above 750 m marking the change from shelf species to bathyal species; (2) a zone from 750 to 1900 m that corresponds to the upper and mid- bathyalzones taken together; (3) a lowerbathyalzone from 1900 to 2900 m; (4) a transition zone from 2900 to 4100 m where the bathyal fauna meets and overlaps with the abyssal fauna and (5) a truly abyssal zone from approximately 4100–4900 m (the lower depth limit of this study), characterized by the presence of abyssal species with restricted depth ranges and a few specimens of some bathyalspecies with very broad distributions.
    [Show full text]
  • Ocean Zones Adapted from USC Sea Grant “Island Explorers” by Dr
    2011 COSEE-West Introduction to Ocean Zones Adapted from USC Sea Grant “Island Explorers” by Dr. Rachel Kennison, COSEE West Co- Director Grade: K-12 Group Size: 30 students Time: 55 minutes BACKGROUND In order to begin to understand life below the seafloor, it is essential to grasp that the ocean has many different habitats that are defined by the physical and chemical properties that exist at different depths. The purpose of this activity is to identify and describe different zones of the ocean and the organisms that live there. The ocean is divided into 5 main zones from the surface to the depths where light can no longer penetrate. These zones are characterized by different physical and chemical properties, such as quantity and quality of light, pressure and temperature. These properties affect what life forms can exist within those limitations. This activity introduces the microbial environment in the deep ocean, and can be the foundation to explain geothermal processes, and the evolution of bacteria. Labels and features to include on diagram: Photic (sunlit) zone Aphotic (no light) zone Neritic system Benthic realm Pelagic realm Bathyal zone Abyssal zone Hadal zone Shoreline Sea level Coral reef Continental Shelf Continental slope Continental rise Submarine Canyon Abyssal Plain Seamount Guyot Trench Mid-ocean Ridge Rift Valley Hydrothermal vent Sub-seafloor sediment Sub-seafloor aquifer A useful reference for your ocean zones diagram is at http://geosci.sfsu.edu/courses/geol102/ex9.html Two basic guides for the zones: (Source: Sea
    [Show full text]
  • For Creative Minds
    For Creative Minds The For Creative Minds educational section may be photocopied or printed from our website by the owner of this book for educational, non-commercial uses. Cross-curricular teaching activities, interactive quizzes, and more are available online. Go to ArbordalePublishing.com and click on the book’s cover to explore all the links. Deep Ocean Habitats Things change the deeper you go in the ocean: light disappears, temperatures grow increasingly colder, and pressure gets much higher. The amount of oxygen in the water sunlight zone decreases with depth but then gets higher again at the bottom! Because these changes twilight zone affect the types of organisms that can survive there, the ocean is divided into five layers by depth called life zones. Only the sunlight zone receives enough sunlight for algae to convert light into energy midnight zone (photosynthesis). Because almost all food webs start with plants or algae, this is the zone where the most animals live. The twilight zone still gets some sunlight, but not enough for photosynthesis. The animals that live here either travel to the sunlight zone to feed or depend on food falling from above. There is no light in the midnight zone. Most abyssal zone of the animals that live here produce their own light through bioluminescence. The abyssal zone is pitch black, almost freezing cold, and has little oxygen and incredibly high pressure, yet animals still live here. In the deep trenches is the hadal zone. It is like the abyssal zone, except with even more hadal zone immense
    [Show full text]
  • Three-Dimensional Dynamics of Baroclinic Tides Over a Seamount
    University of Plymouth PEARL https://pearl.plymouth.ac.uk Faculty of Science and Engineering School of Biological and Marine Sciences 2018-02 Three-dimensional dynamics of baroclinic tides over a seamount Vlasenko, V http://hdl.handle.net/10026.1/10845 10.1002/2017JC013287 Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans American Geophysical Union All content in PEARL is protected by copyright law. Author manuscripts are made available in accordance with publisher policies. Please cite only the published version using the details provided on the item record or document. In the absence of an open licence (e.g. Creative Commons), permissions for further reuse of content should be sought from the publisher or author. JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH, VOL. ???, XXXX, DOI:10.1002/, Three-dimensional dynamics of baroclinic tides over a seamount 1 1 1 Vasiliy Vlasenko , Nataliya Stashchuk , and W. Alex M. Nimmo-Smith Vasiliy Vlasenko, School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Plymouth University, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK ([email protected]) 1School of Biological and Marine Sciences, Plymouth University, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK. D R A F T January 17, 2018, 10:45am D R A F T X-2 VLASENKO ET AL.: BAROCLINIC TIDES OVER A SEAMOUNT 1 Abstract. 2 The Massachusetts Institute of Technology general circulation model is used 3 for the analysis of baroclinic tides over Anton Dohrn Seamount (ADS), in 4 the North Atlantic. The model output is validated against in-situ data col- 5 lected during the 136-th cruise of the RRS “James Cook” in May-June 2016. 6 The observational data set includes velocity time series recorded at two moor- 7 ings as well as temperature, salinity and velocity profiles collected at 22 hy- 8 drological stations.
    [Show full text]
  • Distribution of Meiobenthos at Bathyal Depths in the Mediterranean Sea. a Comparison Between Sites of Contrasting Productivity*
    sm68s3039-03 7/2/05 20:04 Página 39 SCI. MAR., 68 (Suppl. 3): 39-51 SCIENTIA MARINA 2004 MEDITERRANEAN DEEP-SEA BIOLOGY. F. SARDÀ, G. D’ONGHIA, C.-Y. POLITOU and A. TSELEPIDES (eds.) Distribution of meiobenthos at bathyal depths in the Mediterranean Sea. A comparison between sites of contrasting productivity* ANASTASIOS TSELEPIDES, NIKOLAOS LAMPADARIOU and ELENI HATZIYANNI Institute of Marine Biology, Hellenic Centre for Marine Research, Gournes Pediados, P.O. Box 2214, 71003 Heraklion, Crete, Greece. E-mail: [email protected] SUMMARY: In order to study the distribution of meiobenthos (Metazoa and Foraminifera) at bathyal depths along a west- east productivity gradient in the Mediterranean Sea, stations along the continental slopes of the Balearic Sea, west Ionian and east Ionian Seas were sampled during the DESEAS Trans-Mediterranean Cruise in June-July 2001. Standing stock of total meiobenthos differed considerably among the sampling stations, with marked differences occurring between sampling depths and sites. At 600 m depth, meiobenthic abundances were slightly higher over the Balearic continental slope, where- as at the deeper stations (800 m and 1500-1700 m), abundances were significantly higher in the west Ionian Sea. Significant relationships were found between the abundances of major groups and the chloroplastic pigments, indicating that food avail- ability is a major factor controlling the distribution of meiobenthos. Apart from the overall differences in productivity between the western and eastern Mediterranean Sea, local hydrographic features and topographic differences greatly influ- ence the spatial variability of the environmental parameters within each sub-basin and thus the distribution of meiobenthos in the bathyal zone.
    [Show full text]