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bb Bu le INTERNATIONAL INDIAN OCEAN EXPEDITION Issue No. 12 February 2020 IN THIS ISSUE ◊ Conference and Integrated Meetings 2 ◊ The significant contribution of the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen to research in the Western Indian Ocean 2 ◊ One Ten East voyage of the IIOE-2 3 ◊ Is the Unique Indian Ocean Warming Related to the Southern Ocean Warming? 5 ◊ New Species Described from Specimens Collected by the U.S. Program on Biology of the International Indian Ocean Expedition 6 ◊ Role of currents and eddies in shaping ocean thermal response to TC Phailin 7 ◊ Investigation on water mass mixing and dominant oceanic processes in the eastern Arabian Sea: insights from geochemical and isotopic composition of water 10 Current Affairs - Programmes/Committees Conference and Integrated Meetings the last 4 years of IIOE-2 (during 2016-2020). There will be presentations focussing but not limited to all six themes of IIOE-2 Science plan (i.e., human impacts and The 4th International Indian Ocean Science Conference (IIOSC) is scheduled to be held benefits; boundary current dynamics and ecosystem impacts; monsoon variability during 16-20 March 2020 at the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) Goa. It and ecosystem response; circulation, climate variability and change; extreme events; is sponsored by Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES), Govt. of India and co-hosted by and discovery of unique physical, geological, biogeochemical and ecological features NIO, National Centre for Polar Ocean Research (NCPOR) Goa, Goa University and the of the Indian Ocean). It will provide an opportunity for the scientists working on Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) Hyderabad, India. The different facets of the Indian Ocean to present their ideas and discuss the outstanding conference aims at assessing the progress and scientific knowledge gained during issues, identify the knowledge gaps and plan a way forward to address such issues. Full Speed Ahead - Cruises, Research Vessels The significant contribution of the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen to research in the Western Indian Ocean Jenny Huggett1 , Johan Groeneveld 2, Bernadine Everett 2 1 Oceans & Coasts, Department of Environmental Affairs, Cape Town, South Africa 2 Oceanographic Research Institute, South African Association for Marine Biological Research, Durban, South Africa [email protected] The Norwegian marine research vessel (RV) Dr Fridtjof Nansen, commonly referred to as “the Nansen”, has been exploring the Western Indian Ocean (WIO) since its first expedition to the Arabian Sea in 1975. In fact there have been three versions of the vessel, with the latest launched in 2017. The vessel is owned by the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation Fig. 1: Maps showing all stations visited by the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen in the WIO between 1975 and 2018. (Norad), but an agreement with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Productivity stations include those where CTD profling and plankton net tows were conducted. Nations (FAO) enables the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research (IMR) to operate the vessel under a UN flag. support a high abundance of small coastal pelagic fish, similar to those observed in eastern boundary current upwelling systems. Exploratory surveys by the Nansen Dr Fridtjof Nansen himself, after whom the vessels are fittingly named, was a confirmed high fish production in the Arabian Sea, but mostly of mesopelagic fish, Norwegian explorer, scientist, diplomat and humanitarian, who lived from 1861- which do not form sufficiently dense aggregations to support economically viable 1930. Apart from his legendary polar exploits, he participated in many oceanographic fishing operations. Surveys in the Southwest Indian Ocean (SWIO) indicated far surveys in the North Atlantic and developed the “Nansen reversing bottle” to obtain lower productivity than in the north, and fish biomass along the East African coast samples of seawater at specific depths. He also helped found the International was estimated to be an order of magnitude lower than in the Arabian Sea. In its first Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) in 1900. After the First World War (WW1) ten years at sea, the Nansen spent nine years surveying the Indian Ocean, covering he served as the High Commissioner for Refugees for the League of Nations. He the Exclusive Economic Zones of most coastal countries in the WIO as well as the Gulf introduced a passport for stateless persons, known as the “Nansen passport”, and was of Aden, the southern Red Sea and the island States of Maldives, Madagascar and awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his work on behalf of displaced victims of WW1 Seychelles. and related conflicts. After a long gap, the Nansen returned to the WIO in 2007, this time within the The activities of the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen in the WIO between 1975 and 2016 are framework of the EAF-Nansen Project, in support of the ecosystem approach to comprehensively reviewed in a book edited by Groeneveld and Koranteng (2017). fisheries (EAF) concept. This coincided with implementation of the large marine The first Nansen was commissioned to assess and map the living resources available ecosystem (LME) projects supported by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). In for fisheries development in the Indian Ocean, and was active in the western the WIO, surveys by the new (second) version of the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen were sector between 1975 and 1990, with 27 surveys conducted as part of the “Nansen conducted in support of the Agulhas and Somali Currents LME (ASCLME) project and Programme”, the majority in the Mozambique and Somali Coast subregions. A the Southwest Indian Ocean Fisheries Project (SWIOFP). Multidisciplinary surveys primary objective was to test whether the high primary productivity documented in were conducted in the Mozambique Channel, off Mozambique, Madagascar, the the Arabian Sea during the International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE) would 2 2006-2016. In addition to on-board training, opportunities in the form of short- term training courses, long-term degrees and scholarships have been provided. Alongside capacity development, partnerships with governments, fisheries research and management authorities, regional and international organisations, and non- governmental organizations have played a key role in the successes of the EAF-Nansen Programme to date. Many thanks to all involved, and we hope to see you on-board one day! For further information: http://www.fao.org/in-action/eaf-nansen/en Reference: Groeneveld, J.C. & Koranteng, K.A. (Eds). 2017. The RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen in the Western Indian Ocean: Voyages of marine research and capacity development. FAO. Rome, Italy. One Ten East voyage of the IIOE-2 Fig. 1: Maps showing all stations visited by the RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen in the WIO between 1975 and 2018. Professor Lynnath Beckley Productivity stations include those where CTD profling and plankton net tows were conducted. Murdoch University Comoros, Mauritius and Seychelles, as well as off a number of seamounts of the [email protected] Southwest Indian Ocean Ridge, and one further north at Walters Shoals. These surveys generated new data on mesoscale eddy circulation and localised upwelling, primary and secondary productivity, food web interactions, fish biodiversity and genetics. The data confirmed that nutrients from terrestrial sources were of a greater importance than upwelled sources for demersal organisms over soft sediments in the southern part of the WIO – hence demersal fisheries and those for small pelagic fishes were concentrated near areas of riverine influence. Unfortunately the deteriorating security situation in the region after 2007, with piracy threatening shipping off Somalia, Kenya, Tanzania and Seychelles, led to an embargo on the operation of the Nansen in areas north of 10 °S in the WIO. In anticipation of the 2nd International Indian Ocean Expedition (IIOE-2), a demonstration survey was undertaken across the southern part of the Indian Ocean in 2015, and included participants from six WIO countries. The first leg of the survey started in Jakarta, Indonesia and ended in Port Louis, Mauritius; the second leg continued from Port Louis to Durban, South Africa. The survey investigated ecological features of the southern Indian Ocean, and habitat studies were carried out on the Figure 1. Captain Adrian Koolhof, scientists and MNF support staff, wearing their fluoro vests and red beanies, Mascarene Plateau and Madagascar Ridge using the new Video-Assisted Multi form IIOE 2 on the foredeck of RV Investigator. Photo: Micheline Jenner AM. Sampler (VAMS). Sampling for microplastics was also initiated during this survey, across the southern Indian Ocean gyre, which revealed plastic particles to be present Four thousand nautical miles, thirty-three days and twenty-five very busy in almost all water samples, with higher densities along the gyre edges, especially oceanographic stations later, the forty scientists and MNF support staff on board the the eastern edge. RV Investigator (Figure 1) returned to Fremantle, Western Australia on 14th June 2019 armed with huge amounts of data and biological samples obtained from temperate to In 2017 the third RV Dr Fridtjof Nansen was launched, and is considered to be one of tropical waters in the south-east Indian Ocean. We had completed an ambitious bio- the most advanced research vessels in the world. In 2018, this vessel undertook a physical, ecosystem-scale examination of the International Indian Ocean Expedition series of surveys along the east coast of Africa from South Africa to Tanzania, across 110°E line last visited in May/June 1963 by Australian scientists aboard the HMAS to the Seychelles, and finally further northwards towards India, as part of the new Diamantina. EAF-Nansen Programme “Supporting the Application of the Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries Management considering Climate and Pollution Impacts”, which will run The 110°E voyage is Australia’s main contribution to the second International from 2017 to 2021. The Science Plan of this new Programme outlines three priority Indian Ocean Expedition.