ALBERT

Description: AVHRR satellite imagery of the southern Mid-Atlantic Bight during May 1993 revealed a large area of cold water over the shelf break and slope that appeared to spin up into a series of southward propagating anticyclonic eddies. The eddies had diameters of 35–45 km at the surface and moved southward at about 20 cm/sec. A radial TOYO CTD (to 50m) and ADCP velocity (to 400m) transect was conducted across the southern-most of these eddies. The upper 50 meters had minimum temperatures of less than 7°C and salinities of about 33 pss, characteristics similar to cold pool waters usually found over the continental shelf. ADCP velocity data from one of the eddies revealed anticyclonic flow extending to a depth of about 250m. The transport of cold pool water by the eddies was estimated to be 0.1 to 0.2 Sv which is of the same order as the annual mean alongshore transport of shelf water in this region. The origin of the deeper water within the eddy is unlikely to be the continental shelf because the shelf break is less than 100 m. The depth and velocity profiles along the TOYO transect were consistent with the constant potential vorticity eddy model of Flierl (1979) although the source of the eddy kinetic energy is uncertain. The cause for the exodus of cold pool water from the shelf, which extended northward to at least 38°N, is unclear but must involve the establishment of an alongshore baroclinic pressure gradient against the usual southwestward shelf flow. It is possible that the intrusion of Gulf Stream waters onto the shelf near Cape Hatteras was a precursor of this off shelf transport. The southern-most eddy was marked by high biological productivity and very high oxygen supersaturation. The phytoplankton bloom detected within the exported cold pool water, located over the continental slope, suggests a mechanism whereby production fueled by nutrients derived from the shelf can be locally exported into deep water

Description: An undisturbed 16 m late Pliocene-Pleistocene sediment core spanning 2.6 Myr of deposition was recovered from the Manihiki Plateau by the German research vessel Sonne in 1990. This core 34KL complements the heavily disturbed late Pliocene-Pleistocene core sections of DSDP Site 317, and is well suited for stratigraphic correlation. The sediments consist of calcareous microfossils (93–97% CaCO3), minor portions of siliceous microfossils and detrital minerals. All important calcareous microfossil zones could be identified and correlated with the magnetostratigraphic and isotope stratigraphic events, stages and periods. Due to the high degree of silica dissolution, the late Quaternary radiolarian Buccinosphaera invaginata Zone is the only siliceous fossil zone which could be identified. An interval with Globigerinoides gomitulus/pink was found within the middle Pleistocene which is clearly distinguished from the Globigerinoides ruber/pink interval of the late Pleistocene. The magnetostratigraphic Gauss-Matuyama and Matuyama-Brunhes boundaries as well as the Olduvai and Jaramillo events were clearly identified. The δ180 curve displays the 100 kyr (Milankovitch) and the 41 kyr (Laplace) cyclicity periods. The beginning of the Laplace Period and the last occurrence of the calcareous nannofossil Discoaster brouweri, which marks the end of the Pliocene, fall within the base of the Olduvai Event. There is also a marked drop in sedimentation rates around this time, which seems to be a regional phenomenon. Prominent 3.5 kHz subbottom reflectors at 8 ms and 15 ms reflection time are related to lithologic changes near the Mid-Pleistocene Revolution (MPR) and the beginning of the Laplace Period or the Pleistocene, respectively. It is possible to trace these reflectors laterally to the eroded eastern edge of the Manihiki Plateau where they can be tied to older strata.

Description: Nutrient (nitrate, phosphate, silica) and dissolved metal (Al, Cu, As, Cd, Ni, Zn, Fe, U) distributions were studied in the mixing zones of the Tinto and Odiel rivers which drain the South Iberian pyrite belt. Phosphate distribution is strongly influenced by discharges from the fertiliser industry, especially in the Tinto mixing zone. The increase of silica content in this zone is related to a release of biogenic silica from diatoms. Nitrate concentrations which are influenced by urban and industrial effluents showed an important maximum in the early stages of mixing in the Tinto (as do the metals). Compared to the Odiel river, the metal concentrations in the Tinto river reached higher values in relation to more intensive mining activities. Dissolved Fe, Mn, Al, Cu, Cd and Zn concentrations were correlated in the mixing zones of both rivers. This suggests that they have the same source and are subjected to the same controlling processes in the estuary. A maximum concentration for these metals was observed in the early stage of mixing in the Tinto and reflects a decrease of redox in a low pH (〈3) environment. Downstream in the Odiel system, metals showed a slight removal. Dissolved uranium, present at a low level (0.05 μmol l-1) in the rivers, is introduced by the phosphate fertiliser industry in the estuary and trapped in sedimentation areas. As a consequence, waters of the Gulf of Cadiz have a U content similar to that of the open seawater. Copyright (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

Description: Pico- and ultraplankton are known to contribute significantly to overall biomass and primary productivity in the 'high nutrient low chlorophyll' waters of the equatorial Pacific. In order to understand the dynamics of this community on ecologically relevant time-scales, we examined the abundance, distribution and cellular characteristics of Prochlorococcus, Synechococcus, eukaryotic ultraphytoplankton and heterotrophic bacteria during two 20-day time-series at 0°N, 140°W in the spring and fall of 1992 (JGOFS time-series cruises. TS-I and TS-II). Prochlorococcus was numerically dominant among the autotrophic groups considered, with mean cell concentrations in surface waters on the order of 1.4 x 105 cells ml-1. Synechococcus and ultraphytoplankton abundances were 17-30-fold lower than those of Prochlorococcus, and heterotrophic bacterial abundances were 5-7-fold higher (during TS-I and TS-II, respectively). Daily cell abundances for all groups varied by factors of 1.5-2 within each time-series. Depth-integrated Prochlorococcus abundance averaged over each time-series was 25 lower during TS-II relative to TS-I; ultraphytoplankton abundance was 42 higher during the same period. Prochlorococcus and ultraphytoplankton both contributed significantly to the estimated total autotrophic biomass; Synechococcus contributed relatively little. Estimated total photosynthetic pico- plus ultraplankton biomass was on average 30 higher than heterotrophic bacterial biomass. Changes in the fluorescence and light scatter properties of individual Prochlorococcus cells were observed during the passage of a tropical instability wave during TS-II, and are hypothesized to reflect a physiological response among these cells to that event Examination of bulk properties alone (e.g. cell numbers or total red fluorescence) would not have revealed these physiological changes. Lower bounds for Prochlorococcus-specific growth rates were calculated based on the DNA distributions of these populations at dusk. These rates were maximal at 15 or 30 m depth, where they approached one doubling per day. Changes in Prochlorococcus forward tingle light scatter (FALS) from dawn to dusk were well correlated with these estimates of specific growth rate, an observation that allowed us to relate measurements of FALS to cell volume for Prochlorococcus.