The Global Plankton Database: an inventory and data from the Former Soviet Union expeditions

At present time, there is a lack of knowledge on the interannual climate-related variability of zooplankton communities of the tropical Atlantic, central Mediterranean Sea, Caspian Sea, and Aral Sea, due to the absence of appropriate databases. In the mid latitudes, the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) is the dominant mode of atmospheric fluctuations over eastern North America, the northern Atlantic Ocean and Europe. Therefore, one of the issues that need to be addressed through data synthesis is the evaluation of interannual patterns in species abundance and species diversity over these regions in regard to the NAO. The database has been used to investigate the ecological role of the NAO in interannual variations of mesozooplankton abundance and biomass along the zonal array of the NAO influence. Basic approach to the proposed research involved: (1) development of co-operation between experts and data holders in Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, UK, and USA to rescue and compile the oceanographic data sets and release them on CD-ROM, (2) organization and compilation of a database based on FSU cruises to the above regions, (3) analysis of the basin-scale interannual variability of the zooplankton species abundance, biomass, and species diversity.

Cenozoic calcareous nannofossils in DSDP Leg 77 holes

Three of the six DSDP Leg 77 sites drilled in the western approaches to the Straits of Florida yielded thick sequences of Cenozoic sediment rich in calcareous nannofossils. Hiatuses are prominent in each of these continuously cored intervals. A prominent upper Oligocene hiatus, observed at each of these three sites, can be correlated to a large-scale "global" regression event. Other disconformable horizons present in the study area cannot be positively related to sealevel fluctuations and may be caused by a number of factors including local tectonic activity. Paleogene sections are generally marked by thick accumulations within the upper Oligocene Sphenolithus ciperoensis Zone and by a pronounced braarudosphaerid-holococcolith bloom recorded in the lower Oligocene and upper Eocene. This bloom is particularly well developed at Site 540. All samples examined contain abundant nannofossils. Preservation fluctuates throughout the sections from good to poor.