Mesozooplankton and phytoplankton time series of the Baltic Monitoring Program (BMP)

Within the monitoring programme of the Helsinki Commission (HELCOM) the mesozooplankton of the Bornholm Basin (ICES subdivision 25, station BMP-K2) was sampled by the WP-2 net (lOOfJm) 5-8 times a year in 1988-1992. Abundance, biomass, secondary production and productivity (P/B) were given for mesozooplankton groups and copepod species. Environmental factors recorded were temperature, chlorophyll a and primary production. Within copepods, the dominant species were Temora longicornis and Pseudocalanus minutus with yearly peak values of 40-50% of the monthly copepod numbers and biomasses. The annual production of Temora longicornis was highest (6.5g C/m**2/y). The biomass of all copepods was at its maximum in June (mean = 2.25g C/m**2), especially in 1992 (3.65g C/m**2). The differences between results from two methods used to calculate the production of copepods were greatest in June and July. The cladocerans were only important in summer and the appendicularians only in spring. The productivity (P/B) of the appendicularians was highest of all mesozooplankton groups. Numbers and the biomass of the meroplankton were one or two orders of magnitude below the holoplanktic groups.

Sedimentological and paleomagnetic investigations on two gravity cores and ODP sites 113-690 and 693 off Kapp Norvegia, Antarctic continental margin

Oligocene to Quaternary sediments were recovered from the Antarctic continental margin in the eastern Weddell Sea during ODP Leg 113 and Polarstern expedition ANT-VI. Clay mineral composition and grain size distribution patterns are useful for distinguishing sediments that have been transported by ocean currents from those that were ice-rafted. This, in turn, has assisted in providing insights about the changing late Paleogene to Neogene sedimentary environment as the cryosphere developed in Antarctica. During the middle Oligocene, increasing glacial conditions on the continent are indicated by the presence of glauconite sands, that are interpreted to have formed on the shelf and then transported down the continental slope by advancing glaciers or as a result of sea-level lowering. The dominance of illite and a relatively high content of chlorite suggest predominantly physical weathering conditions on the continent. The high content of biogenic opal from the late Miocene to the late Pliocene resulted from increased upwelling processes at the continental margin due to increased wind strength related to global cooling. Partial melting of the ice-sheet occurred during an early Pliocene climate optimum as is shown by an increasing supply of predominantly current-derived sediment with a low mean grain size and peak values of smectite. Primary productivity decreased at ~ 3 Ma due to the development of a permanent sea-ice cover close to the continent. Late Pleistocene sediments are characterized by planktonic foraminifers and biogenic opal, concentrated in distinct horizons reflecting climatic cycles. Isotopic analysis of AT. pachyderma produced a stratigraphy which resulted in a calculated sedimentation rate of 1 cm/k.y. during the Pleistocene. Primary productivity was highest during the last three interglacial maxima and decreased during glacial episodes as a result of increasing sea-ice coverage.

Sedimentological investigations of a sediment core profile from the continental slope of the South Orkney Islands

Sediment patterns such as texture, composition, and facies from three selected areas of the Antarctic continental margin of the Weddell Sea are discussed in relation to environmental variations of the Quaternary hydrosphere and kryosphere. Advance and retreat of ice shelves as well as oscillations in sea ice coverage are reflected by particular sediment facies. The distribution of ice-rafted detritus tracks the Antarctic Coastal Current, and the Weddell Sea Bottom water contour current can be recognized by its distinctive winnowing and erosion pattern. Distribution and abundance of biogenic sediment components are mainly controlled by duration of sea ice coverage reflecting the long-term climatic evolution.

Grain size analysis on core plugs of sediment core CRP-1 (Table 1, 2)

Twenty four core samples from CRP-1, seven from Quaternary strata (20-43.55 meters below sea floor or mbsf) and seventeen from early Miocene strata (43.55 to 147.69 mbsf), have been analysed for their grain-size distribution using standard sieve and Sedigraph techniques. The results are in good agreement with estimates of texture made as part of the visual core description for the 1 :20 core logs for CRP-1 (Cape Roberts Science Team, 1998). Interpretation of the analyses presented here takes into account the likely setting of the site in Quaternary times as it is today, with CRP-1 high on the landward flank of a well-defined submarine ridge rising several hundred metres above basins on either side. In contrast, seismic geometries for strata deposited in early Miocene times indicate a generally planar sea floor dipping gently seaward. Fossils from these strata indicate shallow water depths (< 100 m), indicating the possibility that waves and tidal currents may have influenced sea floor sediments. The sediments analysed here are considered in terms of 3 textural facies: diamict, mud (silt and clay) and sand. Most of the Quaternary section but only 30% of the early Miocene section is diamict, a poorly sorted mixture of sand and mud with scattered clasts, indicating little wave or current influence on its texture. Although not definitive, diamict textures and other features suggest that the sediment originated as basal glacial debris but has been subsequently modified by minor winnowing, consistent with the field interpretation of this facies as ice-proximal and distal glaciomarine sediment. Sediments deposited directly from glacier ice appear to be lacking. Mud facies sediments, which comprise only 10% of the Quaternary section but a third of the early Miocene section, were deposited below wave base and largely from suspension, and show features (described elsewhere in this volume) indicative of the influence of both glacial and sediment gravity flow processes. Sand facies sediments have a considerable proportion of mud, normally more than 20%, but a well-sorted fine-very fine sand fraction. In the context of the early Miocene coastal setting we interpret these sediments as shoreface sands close to wave base.