Triennial skeletal stable oxygen isotope ratios of Diploria labyrinthiformis

The reconstruction of the climatic history during the past several hundred years requires a sufficient geographical coverage of combined climate proxy series. Especially in order to identify causal connections between the atmosphere and the ocean, inclusion of marine records into composite climate time series is of fundamental importance. We present two skeletal delta18O chronologies of coral skeletons of Diploria labyrinthiformis from Bermuda fore-reef sites covering periods in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and compare them with instrumental temperature data. Both time series are demonstrated to display sea-surface temperature (SST) variability on inter-annual to decadal time scales. On the basis of a specific modern delta18O vs instrumental SST calibration we reconstruct a time series of SST anomalies between AD 1350 and 1630 covering periods during the Little Ice Age. The application of the coral delta18O vs temperature relationship leads to estimates of past SST variability which are comparable to the magnitude of modern variations. Parallel to delta18O chronologies we present time series of skeletal bulk density. Coral delta18O and skeletal density reveal a strong similarity during Little Ice Age, confirming the reliability of both proxy climate indicators. The past coral records, presented in this study, share features with a previously published climate proxy record from Bermuda and a composite time series of reconstructed Northern Hemisphere summer temperatures. The coral proxy data presented here represent a valuable contribution to elucidate northern Atlantic subtropical climate variation during the past several centuries.

Abundance and Biomass from heterotrophic bacteria, Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus and Virus in the Aegean Sea in April 2008 during SES_GR1

The HCMR_SES_LAGRANGIAN_GR1_ MICROBIAL PARAMETERS dataset is based on samples collected in the framework of the project SESAME, in the North Aegean Sea during April 2008. The objectives were to measure the standing stocks and calculate the production of the microbial compartment of the food web, describe the vertical distribution pattern and characterize its structure and function through the water column as influenced by the BSW. Heterotrophic bacteria, Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus and Virus abundance: Subsamples for virus, heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria (Synechococcus spp. and Prochlorococcus spp.) counting were analyzed using a FACSCalibur (Becton Dickinson) flow cytometer equipped with a standard laser (488 nm) and filter set and using deionized water as sheath fluid. Fluorescent beads with a diameter of 0.97 µm (Polysciences) were added to each sample as an internal standard, and all parameters were normalized to the beads and expressed as relative units. SYBRGreen I stain (Molecular Probe) was used to stain viral and heterotrophic bacterial DNA. Viruses were counted according to (Brussaard 1984). In order to avoid bulk consentrations of viruses samples we dilluted to Tris-EDTA (pH=8,0) buffer to a final sollution of 1/5 to 1/100. Total abundance and nucleid content classes were calculated using the Paint-A-Gate software (Becton Dickinson). Heterotrophic Nanoflagellate abundance: Subsamples (30-150 ml) were concentrated on 25mm black polycarbonate filters of porosity 0.6µm and stained with DAPI for 10 min (Porter and Feig 1980). Under epifluorescence microscopy heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNAN) were distinguished using UV and blue excitation and enumerated. Nanoflagellates were classified in size categories and the biovolume was calculated. Ciliate abundance: For ciliate identification and enumeration, 100-3000 ml samples were left for 24h-4d for sedimentation and then observed under an inverted microscope. Ciliates were counted, distinguished into size-classes and major taxonomic groups and identified down to genus or species level where possible (Pitta et al. 2005). Heterotrophic bacteria, Synechococcus, Prochlorococcus biomass: Subsamples for virus, heterotrophic bacteria and cyanobacteria (Synechococcus spp. and Prochlorococcus spp.) counting were analyzed using a FACSCalibur (Becton Dickinson) flow cytometer equipped with a standard laser (488 nm) and filter set and using deionized water as sheath fluid. Fluorescent beads with a diameter of 0.97 µm (Polysciences) were added to each sample as an internal standard, and all parameters were normalized to the beads and expressed as relative units. SYBRGreen I stain (Molecular Probe) was used to stain viral and heterotrophic bacterial DNA. Viruses were counted according to (Brussaard 1984). In order to avoid bulk consentrations of viruses samples we dilluted to Tris-EDTA (pH=8,0) buffer to a final sollution of 1/5 to 1/100. Total abundance and nucleid content classes were calculated using the Paint-A-Gate software (Becton Dickinson). Abundance data were converted into C biomass using 250 fgC cell-1 (Kana & Glibert 1987) for Synechococcus, 50 fgC cell-1 (Campbell et al. 1994) for Prochlorococcus and 20fgC cell-1 (Lee & Fuhrman 1987) for heterotrophic bacteria. Heterotrophic Nanoflagellate biomass: Subsamples (30-150 ml) were concentrated on 25mm black polycarbonate filters of porosity 0.6µm and stained with DAPI for 10 min (Porter and Feig 1980). Under epifluorescence microscopy heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNAN) were distinguished using UV and blue excitation and enumerated. Nanoflagellates were classified in size categories and the biovolume was calculated. Abundance data were converted into C biomass using 183 fgC µm**3 (Caron et al. 1995). Ciliate biomass: For ciliate identification and enumeration, 100-3000 ml samples were left for 24h-4d for sedimentation and then observed under an inverted microscope. Ciliates were counted, distinguished into size-classes and major taxonomic groups and identified down to genus or species level where possible (Pitta et al. 2005). Ciliate cell sizes were measured and converted into cell volumes using appropriate geometric formulae using image analysis. For biomass estimation, the conversion factor 190 fgC µm**3 was used (Putt and Stoecker 1989).

Biodiversity 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 provides biodiversity context to all samples from the Tara Oceans Expedition (2009-2013), including various diversity indexes calculated for the sampling location using satellite and model climatologies (Darwin project, Physat) and results from the sequencing of Tara Oceans samples.

Reference list of 269 sources used for exploratory search

Today's digital libraries (DLs) archive vast amounts of information in the form of text, videos, images, data measurements, etc. User access to DL content can rely on similarity between metadata elements, or similarity between the data itself (content-based similarity). We consider the problem of exploratory search in large DLs of time-oriented data. We propose a novel approach for overview-first exploration of data collections based on user-selected metadata properties. In a 2D layout representing entities of the selected property are laid out based on their similarity with respect to the underlying data content. The display is enhanced by compact summarizations of underlying data elements, and forms the basis for exploratory navigation of users in the data space. The approach is proposed as an interface for visual exploration, leading the user to discover interesting relationships between data items relying on content-based similarity between data items and their respective metadata labels. We apply the method on real data sets from the earth observation community, showing its applicability and usefulness.