MARECHIARA-mesozooplankton long-term time-series at the fixed coastal station in the Gulf of Naples: abundance and biomass, data for the years 1984-2006

The MARECHIARA-mesozooplankton dataset contains mesozooplankton data collected in the ongoing time-series at Sation MC (40°48.5' N, 14°15' E) in the Gulf of Naples. This dataset spans over the period 1984-2006 and contains data of mesozooplankton abundance and species composition as well as biomass (as dry weight). Mesozooplankton was regularly sampled in 1984-1990 and 1995-2006, only a few samples were collected in 1991-1992 and no samples in 1993-1994. During the first period of the series sampling frequency was fortnightly, and weekly since 1995.

(Table 1) Results of measurements of production characteristics of phytoplankton and some physical parameters of the environment in the northeastern Norwegian Sea in July 1995

From July 4 to 18,1995 surface chlorophyll a concentrations (C_cs) and integral primary production (C_ps) were studied in the northeastern part of the Norwegian Sea (73°42'N; 13°16'E), over a test area where an accident of the nuclear submarine Komsomolets had taken place. It was found that during this interval C_cs decreased by factor of about 3.3 (from 0.78 to 0.24 mg/m**3); average chlorophyll concentration within the photo-synthetic layer (C_cl) decreased by factor of about 3.5 (from 0.97 to 0.28 mg/m**3). The value of C_ps in the water column varied slightly (from 445 to 539 mg C/m**2 per day), since decrease in C_cl was compensated both by 1.5-fold growth of the photosynthetic layer thickness (from 40 to 60 m) and by 2.1-fold increase in its average assimilation number (from 0.58 to 1.20 mg C/mg chl a per hour). Monthly averages of C_ps were obtained from published data on seasonal C_cs changes and on the level of incident solar irradiation. They were found to be less than 100 mg C/m**2 per day in March and October and 100-500 mg C/m**2 per day in April-June. Annual primary production calculated from above values was equal to 105 g C/m**2.

At surface behaviour, dive depth and dive duration and associated hydrographic data of adult male southern elephant seals from King George Island from expedition JUB2010 with links to datasets

Understanding the distribution and foraging ecology of major consumers within pelagic systems, specifically in relation to physical parameters, can be important for the management of bentho-pelagic systems undergoing rapid change associated with global climate change and other anthropogenic disturbances such as fishing (i.e., the Antarctic Peninsula and Scotia Sea). We tracked 11 adult male southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), during their five-month post-moult foraging migrations from King George Island (Isla 25 de Mayo), northern Antarctic Peninsula, using tags capable of recording and transmitting behavioural data and in situ temperature and salinity data. Seals foraged mostly within the Weddell-Scotia Confluence, while a few foraged along the western Antarctic Peninsula shelf of the Bellingshausen Sea. Mixed model outputs suggest that the at-sea behaviour of seals was associated with a number of environmental parameters, especially seafloor depth, sea-ice concentrations and the temperature structure of the water column. Seals increased dive bottom times and travelled at slower speeds in shallower areas and areas with increased sea-ice concentrations. Changes in dive depth and durations, as well as relative amount of time spent during the bottom phases of dives, were observed in relation to differences in overall temperature gradient, likely as a response to vertical changes in prey distribution associated with temperature stratification in the water column. Our results illustrate the likely complex influences of bathymetry, hydrography and sea ice on the behaviour of male southern elephant seals in a changing environment and highlight the need for region-specific approaches to studying environmental influences on behaviour.

Sampling data, experimental data and fecal pellet characteristics of water pump samples in the strait of Øresund between Denmark and Sweden during 2004/2005

Copepod fecal pellets are often degraded at high rates within the upper part of the water column. However, the identity of the degraders and the processes governing the degradation remain unresolved. To identify the pellet degraders we collected water from Øresund (Denmark) approximately every second month from July 2004 to July 2005. These water samples were divided into 5 fractions (<0.2, <2, <20, <100, <200 µm) and total (unfractionated). We determined fecal pellet degradation rate and species composition of the plankton from triplicate incubations of each fraction and a known, added amount of fecal pellets. The total degradation rate of pellets by the natural plankton community of Øresund followed the phytoplankton biomass, with maximum degradation rate during the spring bloom (2.5 ± 0.49 d**-1) and minimum (0.52 ± 0.14 d**-1) during late winter. Total pellet removal rate ranged from 22% d**-1 (July 2005) to 87% d**-1 (May). Protozooplankton (dinoflagellates and ciliates) in the size range of 20 to 100 µm were the key degraders of the fecal pellets, contributing from 15 to 53% of the total degradation rate. Free-living in situ bacteria did not affect pellet degradation rate significantly; however, culture-originating bacteria introduced in association with the pellets contributed up to 59% of the total degradation rate. An effect of late-stage copepod nauplii (>200 µm) was indicated, but this was not a dominating degradation process. Mesozooplankton did not contribute significantly to the degradation. However, grazing of mesozooplankton on the pellet degraders impacts pellet degradation rate indirectly. In conclusion, protozooplankton seems to include the key organisms for the recycling of copepod fecal pellets in the water column, both through the microbial loop and, especially, by functioning as an effective 'protozoan filter' for fecal pellets.

Major, trace element and XRF data for sediments and fish tooth samples, from a shallow marine setting with varying redox conditions (Site U1356, Wilkes Land Margin, E.Antarctica)

Fossil fish teeth from pelagic open ocean settings are considered a robust archive for preserving the neodymium (Nd) isotopic composition of ancient seawater. However, using fossil fish teeth as an archive to reconstruct seawater Nd isotopic compositions in different sedimentary redox environments and in terrigenous-dominated, shallow marine settings is less proven. To address these uncertainties, fish tooth and sediment samples from a middle Eocene section deposited proximal to the East Antarctic margin at Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Site U1356 were analyzed for major and trace element geochemistry, and Nd isotopes. Major and trace element analyses of the sediments reveal changing redox conditions throughout deposition in a shallow marine environment. However, variations in the Nd isotopic composition and rare earth element (REE) patterns of the associated fish teeth do not correspond to redox changes in the sediments. REE patterns in fish teeth at Site U1356 carry a typical mid-REE-enriched signature. However, a consistently positive Ce anomaly marks a deviation from a pure authigenic origin of REEs to the fish tooth. Neodymium isotopic compositions of cleaned and uncleaned fish teeth fall between modern seawater and local sediments and hence could be authigenic in nature, but could also be influenced by sedimentary fluxes. We conclude that the fossil fish tooth Nd isotope proxy is not sensitive to moderate changes in pore water oxygenation. However, combined studies on sediments, pore waters, fish teeth and seawater are needed to fully understand processes driving the reconstructed signature from shallow marine sections in proximity to continental sources. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

Classified Adélie penguin colonies from Landsat data

Breeding distribution of the Adelie penguin, Pygoscelis adeliae, was surveyed with Landsat-7 Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) data along the coastline of Antarctica, an area covering approximately 330° of longitude. An algorithm was designed to minimize the radiometric contribution from exogenous sources and to retrieve Adelie penguin colony location and spatial extent from the ETM+ data. In all, 9143 individual pixels were classified as belonging to an Adelie penguin colony class out of the entire dataset of 195 ETM+ scenes, where the dimension of each pixel is 30 m by 30 m, and each scene is approximately 180 km by 180 km. Pixel clustering identified a total of 187 individual Adelie penguin colonies, ranging in size from a single pixel (900 m**2) to a maximum of 875 pixels (0.788 km**2). Colony retrievals have a very low error of commission, on the order of 1 percent or less, and the error of omission was estimated to be 2.9 percent by population based on comparisons with direct observations from surveys across east Antarctica. Thus, the Landsat retrievals can successfully locate Adelie penguin colonies that account for ~97 percent of a regional population. Geographic coordinates and the spatial extent of each colony retrieved from the Landsat data are available publically. Regional analysis found several areas where the Landsat retrievals suggest populations that are significantly larger than published estimates. Six Adelie penguin colonies were found that are believed to be unreported in the literature.

Bathymetric map of Heron Reef, Australia, derived from airborne hyperspectral data at 1 m resolution

A simple method for efficient inversion of arbitrary radiative transfer models for image analysis is presented. The method operates by representing the shape of the function that maps model parameters to spectral reflectance by an adaptive look-up tree (ALUT) that evenly distributes the discretization error of tabulated reflectances in spectral space. A post-processing step organizes the data into a binary space partitioning tree that facilitates an efficient inversion search algorithm. In an example shallow water remote sensing application, the method performs faster than an implementation of previously published methodology and has the same accuracy in bathymetric retrievals. The method has no user configuration parameters requiring expert knowledge and minimizes the number of forward model runs required, making it highly suitable for routine operational implementation of image analysis methods. For the research community, straightforward and robust inversion allows research to focus on improving the radiative transfer models themselves without the added complication of devising an inversion strategy.