Influence of oceanic fronts on mesozooplankton abundance and grazing during spring in the south-western Atlantic

2016 ◽  
Vol 67 (5) ◽  
pp. 626 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rubens M. Lopes ◽  
Catarina R. Marcolin ◽  
Frederico P. Brandini
Keyword(s):  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
Daily Basis ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Grazing Impact ◽  
Sampling Effort ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
The South ◽  
Western Atlantic ◽  
Oceanic Fronts ◽  
Plankton Biomass

We investigated the influence of oceanic fronts on mesozooplankton distribution and grazing activity in the south-west Atlantic. Sampling was conducted during late spring 1993 along a north–south transect between subtropical waters off Brazil and Antarctic waters. Mesozooplankton abundance and biomass were ~10-fold higher in the Subtropical Confluence Zone (SCZ) and in the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) relative to subtropical and subantarctic waters beyond the influence of those frontal systems. Mesozooplankton was dominated by calanoid and cyclopoid copepods. Community ingestion rates ranged between 0.1 and 0.3mg chlorophyll-a m–2day–1 in interfrontal areas, increasing to 2.0 and 9.0mg chlorophyll-a m–2day–1 in the APF and SCZ respectively. Mesozooplankton grazing removed up to 40% of the total chlorophyll stock in the SCZ, and 22% in the APF, on a daily basis. These estimates suggest that mesozooplankton exert a significant grazing impact on phytoplankton over much of the frontal areas studied. Recent investigations have shown that the geographic position of oceanic fronts and plankton biomass maxima in the study area have remained basically the same from the time of our sampling effort to date, meaning that our results apply to present conditions.

Meltwater discharge anomalies in marine isotope stage 3 from a sediment core in the south of Antarctic Polar Front, Drake Passage

2003 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-79
Author(s):  
Sung Ho Bae ◽  
Ho Il Yoon ◽  
Byong-Kwon Park ◽  
Yeadong Kim ◽  
Jang Jun Bahk ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sediment Core ◽  
Drake Passage ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
The South ◽  
Marine Isotope Stage 3

Northward Migration of Antarctic Polar Front during the Quaternary: Planktic Foraminiferal Record from Southeast Indian Ocean

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24
Author(s):  
Ashutosh Kumar Singh ◽  
Devesh K. Sinha
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Volume Expansion ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Cold Water ◽  
Species Group ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
The South ◽  
Ice Volume ◽  
The Antarctic

The ODP Hole 763A is influenced by the northward-flowing cold West Australian Current (WAC) and Southward flowing warm Leeuwin Current (LC). LC is a branch of the South Equatorial Current (SEC), which brings relatively warmer waters from the tropical Pacific Ocean into the Indian Ocean via Indonesian Throughflow (ITF). The modern planktic foraminiferal fauna thrives along the western margin of Australia. It consists mainly of warm water assemblages brought by the LC. The present study provides planktic foraminiferal census data from ODP Hole 763A, influenced by the LC and WAC, to document the history of cold water influence at the site during the quaternary. The northward migration of the Antarctic Polar Front (APF) and resultant intensification of the cold West Australian Current have been inferred based on the dramatic increase in the relative abundance of temperate water species group Globoconella at Hole 763A situated in the low latitude region. The Quaternary planktic foraminiferal census data shows several episodes of invasion of Globoconella. These intervals of high abundance of Globoconella group have been attributed to the intensification of WAC, probably due to Antarctic ice volume expansion and resultant northward migration of the APF at 0.05 Ma, 0.2 Ma, 0.45 Ma, 0.7 Ma and 1.2 Ma. We have documented that the amplitude of fluctuations in cold/warm events has increased after the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT). LC is a heat supplier to the higher latitudes, its weakening during such intervals might have contributed to the ice volume expansion over Antarctica. Thus, the study proposes that the Antarctic ice cap formation creates a positive feedback mechanism by lowering sea level, reduced strength of LC due to a decrease in ITF and less heat supply towards the South Pole. All these phenomena add to further cooling.

The diets and dietary segregation of sooty albatrosses (Phoebetria spp.) at subantarctic Marion Island

1995 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 15-23 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Cooper ◽  
Norbert T.W. Klages
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Stomach Contents ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
Marion Island ◽  
The South ◽  
The Antarctic

Subantarctic Marion Island is one of the few localities where the congeneric albatrosses Phoebetria fusca and P. palpebrata breed sympatrically. Chicks of both species at Marion Island were induced to regurgitate their stomach contents after being fed. Liquid formed over half the diet by mass. Cephalopods occurred most frequently in both species' diets. In terms of mass, cephalopods formed the larger part of the diet of sooty albatrosses, whereas fish was more important to light-mantled sooty albatrosses. Crustaceans and birds were also recorded for both species. Squid of the families Onychoteuthidae, Histioteuthidae, Chiroteuthidae and Cranchiidae occurred most abundantly in both species. Most squid taken by both albatrosses were of species known to float after death, suggesting that scavenging plays an important role in the species' foraging behaviour. Light-mantled sooty albatrosses consumed more squid restricted to the south of the Antarctic Polar Front than did sooty albatrosses, supporting a trend to latitudinal segregation of the two species while foraging.

Particle export and the biological pump in the Southern Ocean

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (4) ◽  
pp. 501-516 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUSUMU HONJO
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Carbon Particle ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
Biological Pump ◽  
The South ◽  
Regeneration Rate ◽  
Particle Export ◽  
The Antarctic

The organic carbon particle export to the interior layers in the Southern Ocean in the New Zealand–Tasmania Sector was approximately 170 mmolC m−2 yr−1. The export of particulate inorganic carbon in CaCO3 was 110 mmolC m−2 yr−1 and was contributed mostly by pteropods shells in the Antarctic Zones. The Si flux from biogenic opal at the sub-Antarctic Zone was 67 mmolSi m−2 yr−1 and rapidly increased to the south up to nearly 1 molSi m−2 yr−1 in the Antarctic Zone. The Antarctic Polar Front clearly demarcated the area where the biological pump was driven by CaCO3 to the north and biogenic SiO2 particle export to the south. Summer stratification caused by the sub-zero winter water layer in the Seasonal Ice Zone (SIZ) curtails the zooplankton community and hinders the replenishment of Fe. This hypothesis explains the large organic carbon export with large f- and export ratios at the SIZ and extremely large opal production at the Antarctic Circumpolar Zone. Estimated regeneration rate of CO2 from the export production and settling particulate fluxes of organic carbon in the water column between 100 m to 1 km was about 13 mmolC m−2 d−1 in the Antarctic Zone and Polar Frontal Zone.

Comparison of Glacial and Interglacial Oceanographic Conditions in the South Atlantic from Variations in Calcium Carbonate and Radiolarian Distributionsc

1979 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 396-408 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph J. Morley ◽  
James D. Hays
Keyword(s):  
Calcium Carbonate ◽  
Polar Front ◽  
South Atlantic ◽  
Antarctic Polar Front ◽  
The South ◽  
Temperature Changes ◽  
The Antarctic ◽  
The Last Glacial Maximum ◽  
Oceanographic Conditions ◽  
The Last Glacial

Temperature estimates produced by a radiolarian-based transfer function, factor distributions of radiolarian assemblages, and variations in calcium carbonate were used to reconstruct the oceanographic conditions in the South Atlantic during the last glacial maximum (18,000 yr B.P.). This study suggests that while the position of the Subtropical Convergence at 18,000 yr B.P. was very similar to its present position, the Antarctic Polar Front shifted northward 1° to 3° of latitude in the eastern South Atlantic and 3° to 5° of latitude in the western South Atlantic. The largest temperature changes occurred in the subantarctic region and along the eastern portion of the Subtropical Gyre.

scholarly journals Spatiotemporal Variability of Surface Phytoplankton Carbon and Carbon-to-Chlorophyll a Ratio in the South China Sea Based on Satellite Data

2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 30
Author(s):  
Wenlong Xu ◽  
Guifen Wang ◽  
Long Jiang ◽  
Xuhua Cheng ◽  
Wen Zhou ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
South China Sea ◽  
Chlorophyll A ◽  
South China ◽  
Satellite Data ◽  
Phytoplankton Biomass ◽  
The South China Sea ◽  
Spatiotemporal Variability ◽  
The South ◽  
Chl A ◽  
China Sea

The spatiotemporal variability of phytoplankton biomass has been widely studied because of its importance in biogeochemical cycles. Chlorophyll a (Chl-a)—an essential pigment present in photoautotrophic organisms—is widely used as an indicator for oceanic phytoplankton biomass because it could be easily measured with calibrated optical sensors. However, the intracellular Chl-a content varies with light, nutrient levels, and temperature and could misrepresent phytoplankton biomass. In this study, we estimated the concentration of phytoplankton carbon—a more suitable indicator for phytoplankton biomass—using a regionally adjusted bio-optical algorithm with satellite data in the South China Sea (SCS). Phytoplankton carbon and the carbon-to-Chl-a ratio (θ) exhibited considerable variability spatially and seasonally. Generally, phytoplankton carbon in the northern SCS was higher than that in the western and central parts. The regional monthly mean phytoplankton carbon in the northern SCS showed a prominent peak during December and January. A similar pattern was shown in the central part of SCS, but its peak was weaker. Besides the winter peak, the western part of SCS had a secondary maximum of phytoplankton carbon during summer. θ exhibited significant seasonal variability in the northern SCS, but a relatively weak seasonal change in the western and central parts. θ had a peak in September and a trough in January in the northern and central parts of SCS, whereas in the western SCS the minimum and maximum θ was found in August and during October–April of the following year, respectively. Overall, θ ranged from 26.06 to 123.99 in the SCS, which implies that the carbon content could vary up to four times given a specific Chl-a value. The variations in θ were found to be related to changing phytoplankton community composition, as well as dynamic phytoplankton physiological activities in response to environmental influences; which also exhibit much spatial differences in the SCS. Our results imply that the spatiotemporal variability of θ should be considered, rather than simply used a single value when converting Chl-a to phytoplankton carbon biomass in the SCS, especially, when verifying the simulation results of biogeochemical models.

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