ALBERT

Description: Some current meter data obtained from a mooring at 2450 m water depth near the continental slope off Portugal are presented. The mean currents at five levels with observations are northward. Mean speeds in the core of the Mediterranean Water exceed speeds at shallower levels by 2 to 3 cm/sec, indicating advection connected to this specific water mass. The current variability is dominated by semi-diurnal tidal components. Normal mode analysis reveals a predominant mode of order 2, representing 48% of the total kinetic tidal energy. Results for the barotropic tidal component are in good agreement with earlier predictions for this area. The motion at higher frequencies ω in the internal gravity wave band can be well described by a ω-2 power law for the energy density spectrum. This result is consistent with earlier observations in other parts of the ocean.

Description: Continuous temperature and salinity profiles from the NE-Atlantic frequently show a double-maxima straucture within the depth range of the Mediterranean outflow. Two explanations for this special thermohaline stratification con be found in literature: a) The density of the outflow is varied by different outflow channels with unequal mixing properties. b) In the Strait of Gibraltar two different outflowing water types are produced by tidal currents. in both cases the different water masses spread in different density levels in the Atlantic. Data presented here indicate that the bimodal straucture must be caused primarily by tidal currents at the source. Two-layered outflowing Mediterranean water was observed even before a splitting of the under-current in the Gulf of Cádiz takes place. The variability of the double-maxima can be explained by varying outflow rates in the source region rather than by a steady influence of the bottom topography.

Description: Data on the N2O contents of marine air and sea water from the Northeast Atlantic Ocean are presented. The N2O content of marine air is rather constant. The data are in accordance with earlier measurements. The sea water down to depths greater than 1,000 meters is considerably supersaturated with N2O with respect to air. Supersaturation values obtained from surface water allow the conclusion that part of the North Atlantic acts as a net source of atmospheric N2O.

Description: The expedition "Auftrieb '72" was conducted in the NW African Upwelling Region off the Banc d' Arguin and included two geological profiles off Cap Blanc and off Villa Cisneros. R.V. "Meteor" and R.V. "Planet", the research plane "Canberra" and the tourist vessel M.S. "Regina Maris" participated in the expedition. Several components added up to a coordinated programme of different disciplines: Current meter moorings, large-scale oceanography and intensive studies of frontal zones were the task of R.V. "Planet". Medium-scale oceanography, chemistry and various disciplines of marine biology were performed with R.V. "Meteor", while the airplane and M.S. "Regina Maris" supplied background oceanographic information for the whole programme. The work done with R.V. "Meteor" is reported here. lt has been organised in three sections: Cruise section I. Nutrient dynamics in upwelling water bodies, in continuation of the work done during the "Roßbreiten-Expedition 1970". Cruise section II. Circulation in an upwelling system, including direct measurements of the vertical velocity; mixing processes in an upwelling system. Cruise section III. Sediment and benthos in areas of strong and weak upwelling. The approach to the study of these processes varied according to the problem. During cruise section I a number of drift experiments similar to the experiment conducted during the "Roßbreiten-Expedition 1970" was performed, consisting of a regular station programme at a freely drifting buoy which served for marking a patch of upwelling water. Cruise section II consisted of repeated sections in the vicinity of the vertical current meters and the current meter moorings. Cruise section III concentrated on two profiles perpendicular to the coast off Cap Blanc and Villa Cisneros.

Description: Temperature data are presented which were obtained by means of a towed thermistor cable during the expedition "Auftrieb '72" in the immediate vicinity of the continental slope within the NW African upwelling region. While most of the data have been sampled on the offshore side of the upwelling front, the front is crossed on a few occasions, and some data cover the area of the upwelling coastal jet. They reveal a very deep homogeneous surface ]ayer within the coastal jet, indicative for increased turbulent mixing. These conclusions from the temperature sections are confirmed by the temperature and salinity data from CTD casts made in the same area at the same time. In spite of the complicated hydrography of the area and the large number of water masses involved, the existence of a zone of increased turbulent mixing within the jet is indicated in the data.

Description: During "Meteor" cruise 23 in spring 1971 intensive investigations of the Mediterranean outflow in the Gulf of Cádiz were carried out. In order to give a budget of the inflow and outflow numerous CTD-stations were taken. The observations also included six moored current meter arrays deployed in the known outflow channels. The considerations given here are based mainly on three hydrographic sections, current meter records averaged over one month, and geological observations from the bed forms beneath the Mediterranean undercurrent. The results show that the outflow essentially is determined by the bathymetry of the area. At least four separate outflow channels could be confirmed. The volumentric transport rates of three of them were calculated. These channels are the northerly near shelf branch (0.40 · 106 m3 sec-1), the main branch (1.39 · 106 m3 sec-1 in southwesterly direction, and an intermediate branch (0.24 · 106 m3 sec-l) found between both. In a static box model the progressive mixing of 0.95 · 106 m3 sec-1 pure Mediterranean Water with 1.97 · 106 m3 sec-1 North Atlantic Central Water is demonstrated.

Description: Oceanographic measurements by groups from the Federal Republic of Germany contributed mainly to the C-Scale Experiment (centered at 9° N, 23° W) and the Equatoria1 Experiment. In this paper the data are presented that were obtained from the moorings F 1 and F 2 in the C-area. After a short discussion of instrument problems, data processing and statistical analysis, the data are presented graphically as time series, progressive vector diagrams, frequency distributions and spectra of horizontal kinetic energy and of temperature variance.

Description: The results of measurements on currents and stratification obtained by FRV "Anton Dohrn" during the GATE-Equatorial Experiment are presented in graphical form. Remarks on data processing arid errors involved are made accordingly.

Description: We report, numerically and in graphical form, measured tritium concentrations from five hydrographic stations in the North Atlantic. Fairly homogeneous concentrations are observed in a surface layer typically 400 m deep. In the thermocline, concentrations decrease steadily down to the a σθ = 27.3 density horizon, and are more variable further down. The tritium in the lower part of the thermocline originates from the Subarctic Intermediate Water and the Mediterranean Water. There is a relative tritium maximum associated with the Mediterranean Water on the easternmost station of the section. In the deep water (σθ 〉 27.8), concentrations east of the Midatlantic Ridge are close to the limit of detection down to 2500 m, and undetectable further down, while west of the ridge tritium is found throughout the water column. The deep water tritium is associated with the deep-water advective cores of Arctic origin. The present tritium data can serve as northern boundary values in attempts to use tritium in studies of the North Atlantic main thermocline dynamics. The present data together with data from the literature point to a general division of the North Atlantic main thermocline into two layers separated by an isopycnal surface near σθ = 27.3.

Description: The distribution of 210Pb and 210Po in dissolved ( 〈 0.4-micron) and particulate (〉 0.4-micron) phases has been measured at ten stations occupied during cruise 32 of F. S. "Meteor" in the tropical and eastern North Atlantic. Both radionuclides occur principally in the dissolved phase. Unsupported 210Pb activities, maintained by flux from the atmosphere, are present in the surface mixed layer and penetrate into the thermocline to depths of about 500 m. Dissolved 210Po is ordinarily present in the mixed layer at less than equilibrium concentrations, suggesting rapid biological removal of this nuclide. Particulate matter is enriched in 210Po, with 210Po/210Pb activity ratios greater than 1.0, similar to those reported for phytoplankton. At depths of 100-300m, 210Po maxima occur, and unsupported 210Po is frequently present, an observation that suggests rapid re-cycling within the thermocline. Comparison of the 210Pb distributions with those reported for 226Ra at nearby GEOSECS stations confirms the widespread existence of a 210Pb/226Ra disequilibrium in the deep sea. Close to the bottom, profiles of 210Pb and 226Ra usually diverge, and 210Pb concentrations frequently decrease with depth, suggesting a sink for 210Pb near the seafloor. Particulate 210Pb concentrations ordinarily show little systematic variation with depth. At depths greater than 1,000 m, dissolved 210Po activities are, on the average, less than those of 210Pb by 12 % . A corresponding 210Po enrichment in the particulate phase is found.