ALBERT

Description: During September and October 1996 planktic foraminifers and pteropods were sampled from the upper 2500 m of the water column in the BIOTRANS area (47°N, 20°W), eastern North Atlantic, as part of the JGOFS program. Hydrography, chlorophyll fluorescence, and nutrient content were recorded at high spatial and temporal resolution providing detailed information about the transition time between summer and fall. At the beginning of the cruise a shallow pycnocline was present and oligotrophic conditions prevailed. Over the course of the cruise, the mixed layer depth increased and surface water temperature decreased by 1.5°C. Both chlorophyll-a dispersed in the upper 50 m by vertical mixing and chlorophyll-a concentrations at the sea surface increased. The nitracline shoaled and nutrient enriched waters were entrained into the mixed layer. Planktic foraminifers and pteropods closely reflected the changes in the hydrography by increased growth rates and changes in species composition. Three main groups of planktic foraminiferal species were recognized: (1) a temperate and low-productivity group dominated by Neogloboquadrina incompta characterized the shallow mixed layer depths. (2) A temperate and high-productivity group dominated by Globigerina bulloides characterized the period with wind-induced dispersal of chlorophyll-a and entrainment of nutrient-enriched waters. (3) A warm water group containing Globigerinoides sacculifer, Orbulina universa, Globigerinoides ruber (white), and Globigerinella siphonifera was most common during the first days of sampling. Synchronous with the hydrographic change from summer to fall, planktic foraminiferal and pteropod growth was stimulated by redistribution of chlorophyll-a and entrainment of nutrient-enriched waters into the mixed layer. In addition, the seasonal change in the eastern North Atlantic resulted in a transition of the epipelagic faunal composition and an increased calcareous particle flux, which could be used to trace seasonality in fossil assemblages and allow for better paleoceanographic interpretation of the boreal Atlantic.

Description: During the Southern Ocean iron release experiment (SOIREE) in February 1999, the composition and dynamics of the microbial food web were studied. SOIREE was a mesoscale experiment with four infusions of Fe into the patch to elevate Fe concentrations inside the patch. During the 13 d experiment, samples were collected from the mixed layer inside and outside the patch for the enumeration of bacteria, picophytoplankton, phyto and heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliates, and for estimation of bacterial production and microzooplankton grazing. Inside the patch, bacterial numbers remained constant throughout SOIREE although bacterial production increased three-fold. A strong relationship between the increase in bacterial and primary production suggested that dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, rather than Fe, potentially limited bacterial growth. The picophytoplankton population, was composed solely of eukaryotic cells and increased three-fold over the first 7 d of the experiment before decreasing to initial concentrations of approximately 4000 cells/ml. In contrast to the bacterial and picophytoplankton populations, the nanophytoflagellate population increased six-fold in numbers and 23-fold in biomass. This resulted in a three-fold increase in carbon flow through the microbial food web inside the patch by the end of the experiment. The increased carbon flow resulted in a small increase in total microzooplankton biomass. Ciliate abundances tripled and biomass, doubled; however, the ciliate population only contributed 3-10% of the microzooplankton biomass, which was dominated by the heterotrophic nanoflagellate population. The heterotrophic nanoflagellate numbers decreased three-fold by the end of the experiment; however, there was no significant change in biomass throughout the experiment. The changes in the dynamics and structure of the microbial food web during the SOIREE experiment suggest that microzooplankton grazing controlled the bacterial and possibly the picophytoplankton populations. In contrast, the nanophytoflagellates were initially controlled by the Fe concentration, with microzooplankton having an impact on the population towards the end of the experiment. The addition of Fe to a small patch of the Southern Ocean had a considerable impact on the microbial components of the food web, even though the overall importance of the microbial pathways decreased as a result of Fe addition.

Description: The contributions of total organic carbon and nitrogen to elemental cycling in the surface layer of the Sargasso Sea are evaluated using a 5-yr time-series data set (1994-1998). Surface-layer total organic carbon (TOC) and total organic nitrogen (TON) concentrations ranged from 60 to 70 µM C and 4 to 5.5 µM N seasonally, resulting in a mean C : N molar ratio of 14.4±2.2. The highest surface concentrations varied little during individual summer periods, indicating that net TOC production ceased during the highly oligotrophic summer season. Winter overturn and mixing of the water column were both the cause of concentration reductions and the trigger for net TOC production each year following nutrient entrainment and subsequent new production. The net production of TOC varied with the maximum in the winter mixed-layer depth (MLD), with greater mixing supporting the greatest net production of TOC. In winter 1995, the TOC stock increased by 1.4 mol C/m**2 in response to maximum mixing depths of 260 m. In subsequent years experiencing shallower maxima in MLD (〈220 m), TOC stocks increased 〈0.7 mol C/m**2. Overturn of the water column served to export TOC to depth (〉100 m), with the amount exported dependent on the depth of mixing (total export ranged from 0.4 to 1.4 mol C/m**2/yr). The exported TOC was comprised both of material resident in the surface layer during late summer (resident TOC) and material newly produced during the spring bloom period (fresh TOC). Export of resident TOC ranged from 0.5 to 0.8 mol C/m**2/yr, covarying with the maximum winter MLD. Export of fresh TOC varied from nil to 0.8 mol C/m**2/yr. Fresh TOC was exported only after a threshold maximum winter MLD of ~200 m was reached. In years with shallower mixing, fresh TOC export and net TOC production in the surface layer were greatly reduced. The decay rates of the exported TOC also covaried with maximum MLD. The year with deepest mixing resulted in the highest export and the highest decay rate (0.003 1/d) while shallow and low export resulted in low decay rates (0.0002 1/d), likely a consequence of the quality of material exported. The exported TOC supported oxygen utilization at dC : dO2 molar ratios ranging from 0.17 when TOC export was low to 0.47 when it was high. We estimate that exported TOC drove 15-41% of the annual oxygen utilization rates in the 100-400 m depth range. Finally, there was a lack of variability in the surface-layer TON signal during summer. The lack of a summer signal for net TON production suggests a small role for N2 fixation at the site. We hypothesize that if N2 fixation is responsible for elevated N : P ratios in the main thermocline of the Sargasso Sea, then the process must take place south of Bermuda and the signal transported north with the Gulf Stream system.