Integrated Data Sets of the EU FP5 Research Project ORFOIS: Origin and fate of biogenic particle fluxes in the ocean and their interactions with atmospheric CO2 concentrations as well as the marine sediment

For a reliable simulation of the time and space dependent CO2 redistribution between ocean and atmosphere an appropriate time dependent simulation of particle dynamics processes is essential but has not been carried out so far. The major difficulties were the lack of suitable modules for particle dynamics and early diagenesis (in order to close the carbon and nutrient budget) in ocean general circulation models, and the lack of an understanding of biogeochemical processes, such as the partial dissolution of calcareous particles in oversaturated water. The main target of ORFOIS was to fill in this gap in our knowledge and prediction capability infrastructure. This goal has been achieved step by step. At first comprehensive data bases (already existing data) of observations of relevance for the three major types of biogenic particles, organic carbon (POC), calcium carbonate (CaCO3), and biogenic silica (BSi or opal), as well as for refractory particles of terrestrial origin were collated and made publicly available.

Geophysical logging on sediment core and hole CRP-3 from the Ross Sea, Antarctica

Cape Roberts drillhole CRP-3 in the northern part of McMurdo Sound (Ross Sea, Antarctica) targeted the western margin of the Victoria Land basin to investigate Neogene to Palaeogene climatic and tectonic history by obtaining continuous core and downhole logs (Cape Roberts Science Team, 2000). The CRP-3 drillhole extended to 939.42 mbsf (meters below seafloor) at a water depth of 297 m. The first downhole measurements after drilling were the temperature and salinity logs. Both were measured at the beginning and at the end of each of the three logging phases. Although an equilibrium temperature state may not have been fully reached after drilling, the temperature and salinity profiles seem to be scarcely disturbed. The average overall temperature gradient calculated from all temperature measurements is 28.5 K/km; remarkably lower than the temperature gradients found in other boreholes in the western Ross See and the Transantarctic Mountains. Anomalies in the salinity profiles at the beginning of each logging phase were no longer present at the end of the corresponding logging phase. This pattern indicates that drilling mud invaded the formation during drilling operations and flowed back into the borehole after drilling ceased. Thus, zones of temperature and salinity anomalies identify permeable zones in the formation and may be pathways for fluid flow. Radiogenic heat production, calculated from the radionuclide contents, is relatively low, with average values between 0.5 and 1.0 pW/m3. The highest values (up to 2 µW/m3) were obtained for the lower part of the Beacon Sandstone below 855 mbsf. The heat flow component due to radiogenic heat production integrated over the entire borehole is 0.7 mW/m2. Thermal conductivities range from 1.3 to 3 W/mK with an average value of 2.1 W/mK over the Tertiary section. Together with the average temperature gradient of 28.5 K/km this yields an average heat flow value of 60 mW/m2.

Controls of sediment dynamics on the Galician slope reconstructed from three sediment cores (GeoB11035-1, GeoB130206-1, GeoB13071-1)

Controls of sediment dynamics at the Galician continental slope (NW Iberia) during the past 30 ka were reconstructed from three new gravity cores (GeoB11035-1, 130206-1, 13071-1) based on sedimentological (e.g. sortable silt, IRD), micropalaeontological (e.g. coccoliths), geochemical (AMS 14C, XRF) and geophysical (e.g. magnetic susceptibility) diagnostics. The data are consistent with existing regional knowledge that, during marine isotope stages 3-1, variations in detrital input, marine productivity and sea level were the essential drivers of sediment availability on the slope, whereas deep-water current velocities controlled sediment deposition: (1) the period prior to 30 cal ka BP is characterized by minor but systematic variations in various proxies which can be associated with D-O cycles; (2) between 30 and 18 cal ka BP, high detrital input and steady slope-parallel currents led to constant sedimentation; (3) from the LGM until 10 cal ka BP, the shelf-transgressive sea-level rise increased the detrital particle flux; sedimentation was influenced by significantly enhanced deep-water circulation during the Bølling/Allerød, and subsequent slowing during the Younger Dryas; (4) an abrupt and lasting change to hemipelagic sedimentation at ca. 10 cal ka BP was probably due to Holocene warming and decelerated transgression; (5) after 5 cal ka BP, additional input of detrital material to the slope is plausibly linked to the evolution of fine-grained depocentres on the Galician shelf, this being the first report of this close shelf-slope sedimentary linkage off NW Iberia. Furthermore, there is novel evidence of the nowadays strong outer shelf Iberian Poleward Current becoming established at about 15.5 cal ka BP. The data also demonstrate that small-scale morphologic features and local pathways of sediment export from the neighbouring shelf play an important role for sediment distribution on the NW Iberian slope, including a hitherto unknown sediment conduit off the Ría de Arousa. By implication, the impact of local morphology on along- and down-slope sediment dynamics is more complex than commonly considered, and deserves future attention.

Petrologic data from Site U1308 over the last three glaciations

A composite North Atlantic record from DSDP Site 609 and IODP Site U1308 spans the past 300,000 years and shows that variability within the penultimate glaciation differed substantially from that of the surrounding two glaciations. Hematite stained grains exhibit similar repetitive down-core variations within the Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 8 and 4-2 intervals, but little cyclic variability within the MIS 6 section. There is also no petrologic evidence, in terms of detrital carbonate-rich (Heinrich) layers, for surging of the Laurentide Ice Sheet through the Hudson Strait during MIS 6. Rather, very high background concentration of ice-rafted debris (IRD) indicates near continuous glacial meltwater input that likely increased thermohaline disruption sensitivity to relatively weak forcing events, such as expanded sea ice over deepwater formation sites. Altered (sub)tropical precipitation patterns and Antarctic warming during high orbital precession and low 65° N summer insolation appears related to high abundance of Icelandic glass shards and southward sea ice expansion. Differing European and North American ice sheet configurations, perhaps aided by larger variations in eccentricity leading to cooler summers, may have contributed to the relative stability of the Laurentide Ice Sheet in the Hudson Strait region during MIS 6.

Dive track profile, intermandibular angel sensor profile and immobilisation data of adult female Weddell seals at Drescher Inlet from expedition DRE2003

Determination of when and where animals feed and how much they consume is fundamental to understand their ecology and role in ecosystems. However, the lack of reliable data on feeding habits of wild animals, and particularly in marine endotherms, attests to the difficulty in doing this. A promising recent development proposes using a Hall sensor-magnet System - the inter-mandibular angle sensor (IMASEN) attached to animals' jaws to elucidate feeding events. We conducted trials on captive pinnipeds by feeding IMASEN-equipped animals with prey to examine the utility of this system. Most feeding events were clearly distinguishable from other jaw movements; only small prey items might not be resolved adequately. Based on the results of this study we examined feeding events from free-ranging Weddell seals fitted with IMASENs and dead-reckoners during December 2003 at Drescher Inlet (Riiser Larsen Ice Shelf, eastern Weddell Sea coast), and present data on prey capture and ingestion in relation to the three-dimensionalmovement patterns of the seals. A total of 19 Weddell seals were immobilised by using a combination of ketamine, xylazine, and diazepam. Eight seals were drugged once, six two times, and two and three were drugged three and four times each, coming to a total of 38 immobilisation procedures. Narcoses were terminated with yohimbine (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.438931).

Rock magnetic, element, and color data of three sediment cores along the Senegalese continental margin

We present a suite of new high-resolution records (0-135 ka) representing pulses of aeolian, fluvial, and biogenic sedimentation along the Senegalese continental margin. A multiproxy approach based on rock magnetic, element, and color data was applied on three cores enclosing the present-day northern limit of the ITCZ. A strong episodic aeolian contribution driven by stronger winds and dry conditions and characterized by high hematite and goethite input was revealed north of 13°N. These millennial-scale dust fluxes are synchronous with North Atlantic Heinrich stadials. Fluvial clay input driven by the West African monsoon predominates at 12°N and varies at Dansgaard-Oeschger time scales while marine productivity is strongly enhanced during the African humid periods and marine isotope stage 5. From latitudinal signal variations, we deduce that the last glacial ITCZ summer position was located between core positions at 12°26' and 13°40'N. Furthermore, this work also shows that submillennial periods of aridity over northwest Africa occurred more frequently and farther south than previously thought.

Respiration rates of tropical Atlantic copepods from the Cape Verde Islands

Copepods were sampled at two sampling sites off the island of São Vicente, Cape Verde Archipelago, in spring (March/April) and early summer (May/June) of 2010. The two sampling sites were located in Mindelo Bay (16.90N, 25.01W; bottom depth 22 m) and around 8 km off the town of São Pedro (16.77N, 25.12W; bottom depth 800 m). Samples were collected on board the local fishing vessel 'Sinagoga' using a WP-2 net (Hydrobios, 0.26 m**2 mouth opening, 200 µm mesh size). The net was either applied as a driftnet, drifting for 10 min in 22 to 0 m depth below the surface, or it was towed vertically with a towing speed of 0.5 m/s**1. For stratified sampling, the net was deployed in repetitive hauls from 560 to 210 m, from 210 to 80 m, and from 80 to 0 m in March/April and from 600 to 300 m, 300 to 100 m, and 100 to 0 m in May/June. Additional depth-integrated hauls were conducted from 600-0 m or 500-0 m during both field campaigns. Respiration rates of epi- and mesopelagic calanoid copepods were measured in the land-based laboratory at the Instituto Nacional de Desenvolvimento das Pescas (INDP) in Mindelo. Oxygen consumption was measured non-invasively by optode respirometry at three different ambient temperatures (13, 18, and 23°C) with a 10-channel oxygen respirometer (Oxy-10 Mini, PreSens Precision Sensing GmbH, Regensburg, Germany). All experiments were run in darkness in temperature-controlled incubators (LMS Cooled Incubator Series 1A, Model 280) equipped with water baths to ensure constant temperatures throughout the experiments, tolerating a variation of ±1°C.

Geological, geochemical and biogeochemical data on boundary zones of the Atlantic Ocean

Results of studies in two biogeochemically active zones of the Atlantic Ocean (the Benguela upwelling waters and the region influenced by the Congo River run-off) are reported in the book. A multidisciplinary approach included studies of the major elements of the ocean ecosystem: sea water, plankton, suspended matter, bottom sediments, interstitial waters, aerosols, as well as a wide complex of oceanographic studies carried out under a common program. Such an approach, as well as a use of new methodical solutions led to obtaining principally new information on different aspects of oceanology.

Kiel fjord pCO2 datasets between 2012 (July) and 2015 (January) measured using a HydroC® pCO2 sensor

The HydroC® CO2 sensor was deployed from a pontoon at the waterfront of the GEOMAR west shore building into Kiel Fjord, Western Baltic Sea (Kiel, Germany; 54°19'48.78"N, 010° 8'59.44"E). Since the pontoon is floating the deployment depth of the sensor was constant at 1m. Data of three deployment intervals are published here: 1) July 2012 - December 2012 2) April 2013 - June 2013 3) November 2013 - January 2015 Data are processed and corrected, for documentation and graphical overview see further details.

Sedimentologic and magnetic data of sediment cores on the western slope of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge

The relative paleointensity (RPI) method assumes that the intensity of post depositional remanent magnetization (PDRM) depends exclusively on the magnetic field strength and the concentration of the magnetic carriers. Sedimentary remanence is regarded as an equilibrium state between aligning geomagnetic and randomizing interparticle forces. Just how strong these mechanical and electrostatic forces are, depends on many petrophysical factors related to mineralogy, particle size and shape of the matrix constituents. We therefore test the hypothesis that variations in sediment lithology modulate RPI records. For 90 selected Late Quaternary sediment samples from the subtropical and subantarctic South Atlantic Ocean a combined paleomagnetic and sedimentological dataset was established. Misleading alterations of the magnetic mineral fraction were detected by a routine Fe/kappa test (Funk, J., von Dobeneck, T., Reitz, A., 2004. Integrated rock magnetic and geochemical quantification of redoxomorphic iron mineral diagenesis in Late Quaternary sediments from the Equatorial Atlantic. In: Wefer, G., Mulitza, S., Ratmeyer, V. (Eds.), The South Atlantic in the Late Quaternary: reconstruction of material budgets and current systems. Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York/Tokyo, pp. 239-262). Samples with any indication of suboxic magnetite dissolution were excluded from the dataset. The parameters under study include carbonate, opal and terrigenous content, grain size distribution and clay mineral composition. Their bi- and multivariate correlations with the RPI signal were statistically investigated using standard techniques and criteria. While several of the parameters did not yield significant results, clay grain size and chlorite correlate weakly and opal, illite and kaolinite correlate moderately to the NRM/ARM signal used here as a RPI measure. The most influential single sedimentological factor is the kaolinite/illite ratio with a Pearson's coefficient of 0.51 and 99.9% significance. A three-member regression model suggests that matrix effects can make up over 50% of the observed RPI dynamics.

Seismic reflection data, calcium/iron ratios, stable istopes, and magnetic susceptibility of sediment cores from the Pen Duick Escarpment, Gulf of Cadiz

Here we present a case study of three cold-water coral mounds in a juvenile growth stage on top of the Pen Duick Escarpment in the Gulf of Cadiz; Alpha, Beta and Gamma mounds. Although cold-water corals are a common feature on the adjacent cliffs, mud volcanoes and open slope, no actual living cold-water coral has been observed. This multidisciplinary and integrated study comprises geophysical, sedimentological and (bio)geochemical data and aims to present a holistic view on the interaction of both environmental and geological drivers in cold-water coral mound development in the Gulf of Cadiz. Coring data evidences (past or present) methane seepage near the Pen Duick Escarpment. Several sources and pathways are proposed, among which a stratigraphic migration through uplifted Miocene series underneath the escarpment. The dominant morphology of the escarpment has influenced the local hydrodynamics within the course of the Pliocene, as documented by the emplacement of a sediment drift. Predominantly during post-Middle Pleistocene glacial episodes, favourable conditions were present for mound growth. An additional advantage for mound formation near the top of Pen Duick Escarpment is presented by seepage-related carbonate crusts which might have offered a suitable substrate for coral settling. The spatially and temporally variable character and burial stage of the observed open reef frameworks, formed by cold-water coral rubble, provides a possible model for the transition from cold-water coral reef patches towards juvenile mound. These rubble "graveyards" not only act as sediment trap but also as micro-habitat for a wide range of organisms. The presence of a fluctuating Sulphate-Methane Transition Zone has an important effect on early diagenetic processes, affecting both geochemical and physical characteristics, transforming the buried reef into a solid mound. Nevertheless, the responsible seepage fluxes seem to be locally variable. As such, the origin and evolution of the cold-water coral mounds on top of the Pen Duick Escarpment is, probably more than any other NE Atlantic cold-water coral mound province, located on the crossroads of environmental (hydrodynamic) and geological (seepage) pathways.

Physical oceanography during three Maria S. Merian cruises (MSM21/2, MSM27, MSM28)

Flemish Pass, located at the western subpolar margin, is a passage (sill depth 1200 m) that is constrained by the Grand Banks and the underwater plateau Flemish Cap. In addition to the Deep Western Boundary Current (DWBC) pathway offshore of Flemish Cap, Flemish Pass represents another southward transport pathway for two modes of Labrador Sea Water (LSW), the lightest component of North Atlantic Deep Water carried with the DWBC. This pathway avoids potential stirring regions east of Flemish Cap and deflection into the interior North Atlantic. Ship-based velocity measurements between 2009 and 2013 at 47°N in Flemish Pass and in the DWBC east of Flemish Cap revealed a considerable southward transport of Upper LSW through Flemish Pass (15-27%, -1.0 to -1.5 Sv). About 98% of the denser Deep LSW were carried around Flemish Cap as Flemish Pass is too shallow for considerable transport of Deep LSW. Hydrographic time series from ship-based measurements show a significant warming of 0.3°C/decade and a salinification of 0.03/decade of the Upper LSW in Flemish Pass between 1993 and 2013. Almost identical trends were found for the evolution in the Labrador Sea and in the DWBC east of Flemish Cap. This indicates that the long-term hydrographic variability of Upper LSW in Flemish Pass as well as in the DWBC at 47°N is dominated by changes in the Labrador Sea, which are advected southward. Fifty years of numerical ocean model simulations in Flemish Pass suggest that these trends are part of a multidecadal cycle.