Concentrations of floating plastic debris in the Mediterranean Sea measured during MedSeA-2013 cruise

Floating plastic debris sampled in surface waters of the Mediterranean Sea in May 2013 on board the Spanish R/V Angeles Alvariño. Geographical coordinates and dates of sampling are available in the dataset. Surface plastic concentrations derived from net tows were adjusted in relation to wind speed following the vertical-distribution model proposed by Kukulta et al. (2012, doi:10.1029/2012GL051116).

Distribution of euphausiids (Crustacea) at the Great Meteor seamount, Atlantic Ocean

In the course of the voyages 9a and 9c (1967) and 19 (1970) of the RV "Meteor" samples of plankton and neuston have been taken in the area of the Great Meteor Seamount. The euphausiids of this material have been examined quantitatively as well as qualitatively in order to study the influence of the Great and Small Meteor Seamount on a vertically migrating group of plankton. 20 species could be identified. All stem from the surrounding deep water and belong to the tropical and subtropical fauna. On the plateau of the Great Meteor Seamount no indigenous species have been encountered and also the typical neritic species from the west coast off Africa are lacking. As for the euphausiids no relationships exist between the Great Meteor Seamount and the shelf area of West Africa. The dominant species around the Meteor Seamount were Euphausia brevii, Stylocheiron suhmii, E. hemigibba, S. longicorne and Thysanopoda subaequalis. Using the index of diversity (Simpson) distinct differences in the composition of species could be shown to exist between the plateau area of the Meteor Seamount and the surrounding sea. On the plateau of the Great Meteor Seamount the number of species was only 7, E. brevis and S. suhmii dominated. None of the species occurred in great numbers and none is adapted to the specific environmental conditions of the plateau of the Meteor Seamount. The fauna of the plateau is a depauperate one as compared with that of the surrounding sea. This can be explained by the fact that adult euphausiids require for their existence greater water depths than are found above the plateau of the Meteor Seamount.

Abundance and biomass of near-surface ichthioplankton in the Western Pacific

During Cruise 50 of R/V Vityaz ichthyoplankton in surface waters was collected by a neuston otter trawl for many days in four study areas of the Western Tropical Pacific. Obtained results describe quantitative distribution of ichthyoplankton and small fishes in surface waters. The near-surface layer of the ocean (about 30-40 cm thick) can be considered as a special biotope, its population forms an independent biocoenosis - hyponeuston. Species composition of this community (particularly, composition of fish components) in the tropical zone has been studied to some degree, but structure of the biocoenosis as well as biomass and quantitative relationships of species have not been investigated at all. In this paper the authors discuss the method of collecting surface samples that is quite suitable for quantitative calculations and also present the first results obtained using this method, which described quantitative distribution of ichthyoplankton and small fishes in surface waters.

Environmental context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about depth specific features

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides environmental context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), including calculated averages of mesaurements made concurrently at the sampling location and depth, and calculated averages from climatologies (AMODIS, VGPM) and satellite products.

Environmental context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about mesoscale features

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides environmental context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about mesoscale features related to the sampling date, time and location. Includes calculated averages of mesaurements made concurrently at the sampling location and depth, and calculated averages from climatologies (AMODIS, VGPM) and satellite products.

Environmental context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about water column features

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set provides environmental context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), about water column features at the sampling location. Based on in situ measurements of... at the...

Methodological context of all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013)

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set is a registry of all samples collected during the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013). The registry provides details about the sampling location and methodology of each sample. Uniform resource locators (URLs) offer direct links to additional contextual environmental data published at PANGAEA, and to the corresponding nucleotides data published at the European Nucleotides Archive (EBI-ENA).

Registry of all events from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013)

The Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013) sampled the world oceans on board a 36 m long schooner, collecting environmental data and organisms from viruses to planktonic metazoans for later analyses using modern sequencing and state-of-the-art imaging technologies. Tara Oceans Data are particularly suited to study the genetic, morphological and functional diversity of plankton. The present data set is a registry of all events conducted during the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013). The registry provides details about the sampling date, time, location and methodology of each event. Uniform resource locators (URLs) offer direct links to the corresponding (1) event logsheet filled on board, (2) environmental data published at PANGAEA, (3) list of samples prepared on board from each event, and (4) nucleotides data published at the European Nucleotides Archive (EBI-ENA).

First observation on neustonic plastics in waters off NW Spain (spring 2013 and 2014)

This paper examines the presence and distribution of plastic particles in waters off the NW Spanish Atlantic coast. A pilot sampling program was initiated in 2013 to study the presence of plastic particles in surface waters. A total of 41 neuston samples were collected using a manta trawl fitted with a 333 μm mesh (21 samples in 2013 and 20 samples in 2014). Several types of plastic particles were observed in 95% of the stations. A total of 1463 plastic microparticles (<5 mm; mps) and 208 mesoparticles (>5 mm and <20 mm; MPS) were counted. Average concentrations recorded were 0.034 ± 0.032 and 0.176 ± 0.278 mps m−2 and 0.005 ± 0.005 and 0.028 ± 0.043 MPS m−2, respectively for 2013 and 2014. Results on this emerging topic are discussed as a preliminary step towards implementation of the Marine Strategy Framework Directive in the region. Harmonization of protocols for determination of plastic particles is urgently needed in order to compare results between regions and to ensure coherence in the implementation of the MSFD. This aspect is also important at a worldwide scale.