Chlorine concentration and isotopic data for sediments and serpentine seamount material from ODP Legs 125, 129, 185, and 195

Chlorine isotope ratios were determined for volcanic gas, geothermal well, ash, and lava samples along the Izu-Bonin-Mariana volcanic front, serpentinite clasts and muds from serpentine seamounts (Conical, South Chamorro, Torishima), basalts from the Guguan cross-chain, and sediments from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Sites 800, 801, 802, and 1149. There is no systematic variation in d37Cl values along the volcanic front in either gas or ash samples. In contrast, distinct variations occur across the arc, implying variations in the fluid source at different depths within the subduction zone. Serpentinite clasts and serpentine muds from the seamounts tap a source of ~30 km depth and have d37Cl values of structurally bound chloride of +0.4 per mil +/- 0.4 per mil (n = 24), identical to most seafloor serpentinites, suggesting a serpentinite (chrysotile and/or lizardite to antigorite transition) fluid source. Tapping deeper levels of the subduction zone (~115-130 km depth), volcanic gases and ashes have d37Cl values averaging -1.1 per mil +/- 1.0 per mil (n = 29), precisely overlapping the range measured in sediments from ODP cores (-1.1 per mil +/- +0.7 per mil, n = 11) and limited altered oceanic crust (AOC). Both sediments and AOC are possible Cl sources in the volcanic front. The Guguan cross-chain basalts come from the greatest depths and have an average d37Cl value of +0.2 per mil +/- 0.2 per mil (n = 3), suggesting a second serpentine-derived source, in this case from antigorite breakdown at ~200 km depth.

Dive depth profile and immobilisation data of adult male and female Weddell seals at Drescher Inlet from expedition DRE1998

Adult male and female Weddell seals (Leptonychotes weddellii) were fitted with Time-depth recorders (TDR) at Drescher Inlet (Riiser Larsen Ice Shelf), eastern Weddell Sea coast, in February 1998. Eight of 15 data sets were selected for analyses to investigate the seals' foraging behaviour (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511465, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511454, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511456, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511457, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511459, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511462, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511466, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511467). These data sets provided simultaneous dive records of eight seals over eight days. The seals primarily foraged within two depth layers, these being from the sea surface to 160 m where temperature and salinity varied considerably, and from 340 to 450 m near the bottom where temperature was lowest and salinity highest, with little variation. While pelagic and benthic diving occurred during daylight, the seals foraged almost exclusively in the upper water column at night. Trawling during daytime confirmed that Pleuragramma antarcticum were by far the most abundant fish both in the pelagial and close to the bottom. Pelagic night-hauls at 110-170 m depth showed highly variable biomass of P. antarcticum with a peak at around midnight. The temporal changes in the local abundance of P. antarcticum, particularly in the pelagial, may explain the trends in the seals' pelagic and benthic foraging activities. This is the first study which describes the jaw movements of a hunting seal which are presumably indicative of feeding events. Trophic links from the Weddell seal to fish, zooplankton and krill, Euphausia superba, are discussed. Another seven data sets did not overlap substantially with the selected time frame (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511458, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511460, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511464, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511468, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511469, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511453, doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.511463). A total of 25 Weddell seals were immobilised during the study period using a combination of ketamine, xylazine, and diazepam. Seven seals were drugged once, 15 seals two times, and three were drugged three times, coming to a total of 46 immobilisation procedures. Narcoses were terminated with yohimbine (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.438933).

(Table 1) Date, deployment location, tag longevity, and satellite data of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from the Cook Islands

Humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) undertake extensive seasonal migrations from summer feeding areas in high latitudes to winter mating and calving grounds in tropical waters (Clapham and Mead 1999, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3504352). In the Southern Hemisphere, seven populations are recognized by the International Whaling Commission (IWC). In this study, we report the movements of seven whales satellite-tagged in the Cook Islands, including the first documented migration to an antarctic feeding ground. In September 2006 and 2007 we attached Argos satellite-monitored tags to eight humpback whales of various sex and behavioral classes. All whales were tagged in the nearshore waters of Rarotonga (the largest island in the Cooks group).

(Table 1) Date, deployment location, tag longevity, and satellite data of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) off New Caledonia

Knowledge of the local and migratory movements of humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) from New Caledonia is very limited. To investigate this topic, we attached satellite-monitored tags to 12 whales off southern New Caledonia. Tag longevity ranged from 1 to 52 days (X = 22.5 days). Tagged whales generally moved to the south or southeast, with several spending time in a previously unknown seamount habitat named Antigonia before resuming movement, generally toward Norfolk Island or New Zealand. However, 1 female with a calf traveled the entire length of the western coast of New Caledonia (~450 km) and then west in the direction of the Chesterfield Reefs, a 19th century American (''Yankee'') whaling ground. None of the New Caledonia whales traveled to or toward eastern Australia, which is broadly consistent with the low rate of interchange observed from photo-identification comparisons between these 2 areas. The connections between New Caledonia and New Zealand, together with the relatively low numbers of whales seen in these places generally, support the idea that whales from these 2 areas constitute a single population that remains small and unrecovered.

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.

Methane, helium isotope and hydrogen data from the Nibelungen hydrothermal area, Mid Atlantic Ridge

Hydrothermal emission of mantle helium appears to be directly related to magma production rate, but other processes can generate methane and hydrogen on mid-ocean ridges. In an on-going effort to characterize these processes in the South Atlantic, the flux and distribution of these gases were investigated in the vicinity of a powerful black smoker recently discovered at 8°17.9' S, 13°30.4' W. The vent lies on the shoulder of an oblique offset in the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and discharges high concentrations of methane and hydrogen. Measurements during expeditions in 2004 and 2006 show that the ratio of CH4 to 3He in the neutrally buoyant plume is quite high, 4 x 10**8. The CTD stations were accompanied by velocity measurements with lowered acoustic Doppler current profilers (LADCP), and from these data we estimate the methane transport to have been 0.5 mol/sec in a WSW-trending plume that seems to develop during the ebb tidal phase. This transport is an order of magnitude greater than the source of CH4 calculated from its concentration in the vent fluid and the rise height of the plume. From this range of methane fluxes, the source of 3He is estimated to be between 0.14 and 1.2 nmol/sec. In either case, the 3He source is significantly lower than expected from the spreading rate of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From the inventory of methane in the rift valley adjacent to the vent, it appears that the average specific rate of oxidation is 2.6 to 23/yr, corresponding to a turnover time between 140 and 16 days. Vertical profiles of methane in the surrounding region often exhibited Gaussian-like distributions, and the variances appear to increase with distance from the vent. Using a Gaussian plume model, we obtained a range of vertical eddy diffusivities between 0.009 and 0.08 m2m2/sec. These high values may be due to tidally driven internal waves across the promontory on which the vent is located.