Observation of manganese deposits in the Blake Plateau, Florida and Caribbean sea areas

Designed by the Westinghouse Corporation in collaboration with Jacques Cousteau, DEEPSTAR-4000 is a deep diving research vehicle based on Captain Cousteau's DIVING SAUCER. An evaluation of DEEPSTAR's operational performance at sea is presented in this report through a description of typical dive procedures and the actual NAVOCEANO dive results.

Water chemistry, and body temperature, swimming depth and stomach contents of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) in inner Frobisher Bay, Canada

The influence of salinity, temperature and prey availability on the marine migration of anadromous fishes was determined by describing the movements, habitat use and feeding behaviours of Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus). The objectives were to determine whether char are restricted to the upper water column of the inter-/subtidal zones due to warmer temperatures. Twenty-seven char were tracked with acoustic temperature/pressure (depth) transmitters from June to September, 2008/2009, in inner Frobisher Bay, Canada. Most detections were in surface waters (0-3 m). Inter-/subtidal movements and consecutive repetitive dives (maximum 52.8 m) resulted in extreme body temperature shifts (-0.2-18.1 °C). Approximately half of intertidal and subtidal detections were between 9-13 °C and 1-3 °C, respectively. Stomach contents and deep diving suggested feeding in both inter-/subtidal zones. We suggest that char tolerate cold water at depth to capture prey in the subtidal zone, then seek warmer water to enhance feeding/digestion physiology.

Statistical grain size parameter of surface samples from Kiel Bay

Geological observations, using "free-diving" techniques (Figure I) were made in September, 1960 and March 1961 along two continuous profiles in the outer Kiel Harbor, Germany and at several other spot locations in the Western Baltic Sea. A distinct terrace, cut in Pleistocene glacial till, was found that was covered with varying amounts and types of recent deposits. Hand samples were taken of the sea-floor sediments and grainsize distribution determined for both the sediment as a whole and for its heavy mineral fraction. From the Laboratory and Field observations it was possible to recognize two distinct types of sand; Type I, Sand resulting from transportation over a long period of time and distance and Type 11, Sand resulting from little transportation and found today near to xvhere it was formed. Several criterea related to the agent of movement could be used to classify the nature of the sediment; (1) undisturbed (the sediment Cover of the Pleistocene Terrace is essentially undisturbed), (2) mixed by organisms, (3) transported by water movements (sediment found with ripple marks, etc., and (4) "Scoured" (the movement of individual particles of sediment from around larger boulders causes a slow downward movement or "Creeping" which is due to both the force of gravity and bottom currents. These observations and laboratory studies are discussed concerning their relationship to the formation of residual sediments, the direction of sand transportation, and the intensive erosion on the outer edge of the wave-cut platform found in this part of the Baltic Sea.

(Appendix A) Pigment content, microbial biomass and activity, and grain size characteristics in caged and control sites of the Arctic long-term observatory HAUSGARTEN

Present theories of deep-sea community organization recognize the importance of small-scale biological disturbances, originated partly from the activities of epibenthic megafaunal organisms, in maintaining high benthic biodiversity in the deep sea. However, due to technical difficulties, in situ experimental studies to test hypotheses in the deep sea are lacking. The objective of the present study was to evaluate the potential of cages as tools for studying the importance of epibenthic megafauna for deep-sea benthic communities. Using the deep-diving Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) "VICTOR 6000", six experimental cages were deployed at the sea floor at 2500 m water depth and sampled after 2 years (2y) and 4 years (4y) for a variety of sediment parameters in order to test for caging artefacts. Photo and video footage from both experiments showed that the cages were efficient at excluding the targeted fauna. The cage also proved to be appropriate to deep-sea studies considering the fact that there was no fouling on the cages and no evidence of any organism establishing residence on or adjacent to it. Environmental changes inside the cages were dependent on the experimental period analysed. In the 4y experiment, chlorophyll a concentrations were higher in the uppermost centimeter of sediment inside cages whereas in the 2y experiment, it did not differ between inside and outside. Although the cages caused some changes to the sedimentary regime, they are relatively minor compared to similar studies in shallow water. The only parameter that was significantly higher under cages at both experiments was the concentration of phaeopigments. Since the epibenthic megafauna at our study site can potentially affect phytodetritus distribution and availability at the seafloor (e.g. via consumption, disaggregation and burial), we suggest that their exclusion was, at least in part, responsible for the increases in pigment concentrations. Cages might be suitable tools to study the long-term effects of disturbances caused by megafaunal organisms on the diversity and community structure of smaller-sized organisms in the deep sea, although further work employing partial cage controls, greater replication, and evaluating faunal components will be essential to unequivocally establish their utility.

Dive depth profile and at surface behaviour data of emperor penguins from Pointe Géologie, Adélie Land, Antarctica, from expedition DDU 2005

Adult male and female emperor penguins (Aptenodytes forsteri) were fitted with satellite transmitters at Pointe-Géologie (Adélie Land), Dumont d'Urville Sea coast, in November 2005. Nine of 30 data sets were selected for analyses to investigate the penguins' diving behaviour at high resolution (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.633708, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.633709, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.633710, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.633711). The profiles are in synchrony with foraging trips of the birds during austral spring (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472171, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472173, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472164, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472160, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472161). Corresponding high resolution winter data (n = 5; archived elsewhere) were provided by A. Ancel, Centre d'Ecologie et Physiologie Energétiques, CNRS, Strasbourg, France. Air-breathing divers tend to increase their overall dive duration with increasing dive depth. In most penguin species, this occurs due to increasing transit (descent and ascent) durations but also because the duration of the bottom phase of the dive increases with increasing depth. We interpreted the efficiency with which emperor penguins can exploit different diving depths by analysing dive depth profile data of nine birds studied during the early and late chick-rearing period in Adélie Land, Antarctica. Another eight datasets of dive depth and duration frequency recordings (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472150, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472152, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472154, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472155, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472142, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472144, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472146, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472147), which backup the analysed high resolution depth profile data, and dive depth and duration frequency recordings of another bird (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472156, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472148) did not match the requirement of high resolution for analyses. Eleven additional data sets provide information on the overall foraging distribution of emperor penguins during the period analysed (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472157, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472158, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472162, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472163, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472166, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472167, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472168, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472170, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472172, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472174, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.472175).