Description: Taxon-specific microzooplankton dynamics were studied along a transect through the North Atlantic Drift from 70°N 04°E to 40°N 20°W during July 1997 using serial dilution and nutrient-enrichment experiments. Nutrient concentrations and microzooplankton composition indicated postbloom conditions at 40°N, 47°N, and 50°N, a transitional system at 54°N, and bloom conditions at 62°N and 70°N. The ratio of microzooplankton to phytoplankton biomass was inversely related to nitrate and phosphate concentrations. Potential grazing thresholds were observed in four of nine experiments at 40–66% of the initial phytoplankton concentration. Grazing losses were determined for six pigment-specific classes of phytoplankton. Selective grazing losses of phytoplankton taxa ranged from 73% to 248% of the nonselective grazing losses predicted according to their biomass contributions. The grazing selectivity varied considerably between communities, with the microherbivores showing positive selection for cyanobacteria and dinoflagellates and predominantly avoidance of chlorophyta and bacillariophyceae. Microzooplankton did not show a preference for the dominant phytoplankton taxa, but grazed preferentially on fast-growing phytoplankton with minor contributions (〈15%) to the phytoplankton biomass. However, bacillariophyceae were the major contributors to phytoplankton biomass and accounted for major fractions of the total losses through microzooplankton grazing. Microzooplankton consumed the equivalent of 0.12–5.5 times their own biomass daily on a carbon basis, amounting to 65–197% of gross phytoplankton production. With the conservative assumption that 20% of the consumed phytoplankton was converted to microzooplankton biomass, the latter was estimated to contribute 27–381% to the net production of the entire microzooplankton community. We therefore conclude that the taxonomic structure and the net production of the microzooplankton communities were significantly affected by the intensity and selectivity of herbivorous microzooplankton grazing.

Description: We present barium data for sediment traps deployed in a northeast Atlantic margin environment (Bay of Biscay). Fluxes of excess barium were measured with the objective of calculating carbon export production rates from the surface mixed layer and thus contribute to the understanding of organic carbon transport in a margin environment. Therefore, it was necessary to properly understand the different processes that affected the barium fluxes in this margin environment. Seasonal variability of POC/Ba flux ratios and decrease of barium solubilisation in the trap cups with increasing depth in the water column probably indicate that the efficiency of barite formation in the organic micro-environment varies with season and that the process is relatively slow and not yet completed in the upper 600 m of water column. Thus barite presence in biogenic aggregates will significantly depend on water column transit time of these aggregates. Furthermore, it was observed that significant lateral input of excess-Ba can occur, probably associated with residual currents leaving the margin. This advected excess-Ba affected especially the recorded fluxes in the deeper traps (〉1000 m) of the outer slope region. We have attempted to correct for this advected excess-Ba component, using Th (reported by others for the same samples) as an indicator of enhanced lateral flux and assigning a characteristic Ba/Th ratio to advected material. Using transfer functions relating excess-Ba flux with export production characteristic of margin areas, observed Ba fluxes indicate an export production between 7 and 18 g C m−2 yr−1. Such values are 3–7 times lower than estimates based on N-nutrient uptake and nutrient mass balances, but larger and more realistic than is obtained when a transfer function characteristic of open ocean systems is applied. The discrepancy between export production estimates based on excess-Ba fluxes and nutrient uptake could be resolved if part of the carbon is exported as dissolved organic matter. Results suggest that margin systems function differently from open ocean systems, and therefore Ba-proxy rationales developed for open ocean sites might not be applicable in margin areas.

Description: A synopsis of results from two sediment trap moorings deployed at the mid- and outer slope (water depths 1450 and 3660 m, respectively) of the Goban Spur (N.E. Atlantic Margin) is presented. Fluxes increase with trap deployment depth; below 1000 m resuspended and advected material contributes increasingly to bulk flux. Fluxes of dry weight, POC and diatoms in the traps 400 m above bottom (mab) are smaller than those recorded at the sediment surface due to lateral fluxes in the benthic nepheloid layer. These near-bottom fluxes are larger at shallower water depths. 231Pa/230Th ratios in sedimenting material suggest that boundary scavenging is not significant at the Goban Spur. Fluxes of 210Pb in the intermediate and deep traps are comparable to the 210Pb supply rate at this site. At the outer slope, sediment 210Pb fluxes are similar to those measured in the traps 400 mab; at the mid-slope they are a factor of 2 higher, once again indicating large near-bottom lateral particle input. Based on POC-normalised biomarkers in sedimenting material, we followed changes in the quality of sedimenting material with differing trap depth and on seasonal and event-related time scales. In spring fresh, diatom-dominated sedimentation occurs, with progressive degradation of POC with time (to winter) and depth (from 600 to 3220 m). Deeper traps are distinguished on the basis of opal and aluminium fluxes that are dominant in lateral input. A storm event during late September 1993 was clearly reflected in the δ15N isotope ratio of sedimenting material, with a time lag of 2–3 weeks. Diatom and opal fluxes were elevated in this storm-related signal, and its biomarker composition in the 600-m trap was similar to that during spring. An estimate made of upward nitrate flux (new production) at the shelf break and at the outer slope indicated a 2-fold higher new (export) production at the shelf break. Particulate organic carbon export from the shelf break to below the depth of maximal seasonal mixing ranges between 3 and 9% of primary production.

Description: Protecting the ocean has become a major goal of international policy as human activities increasingly endanger the integrity of the ocean ecosystem, often summarized as “ocean health.” By and large, efforts to protect the ocean have failed because, among other things, (1) the underlying socio-ecological pathways have not been properly considered, and (2) the concept of ocean health has been ill defined. Collectively, this prevents an adequate societal response as to how ocean ecosystems and their vital functions for human societies can be protected and restored. We review the confusion surrounding the term “ocean health” and suggest an operational ocean-health framework in line with the concept of strong sustainability. Given the accelerating degeneration of marine ecosystems, the restoration of regional ocean health will be of increasing importance. Our advocated transdisciplinary and multi-actor framework can help to advance the implementation of more active measures to restore ocean health and safeguard human health and well-being.

Description: Results are presented from particle flux studies using sediment trap and current meter moorings along a transect at the European continental margin at 49°N within the EU-funded Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX) project. Two moorings were placed, at the mid- and outer slope in water depths of 1500 and 3660 m, with traps at 600 and 1050 m and at 580, 1440 and 3220 m, respectively. Residual currents at the mid-slope follow the slope contour, whereas seasonal off-slope flow was registered at the outer slope. At 600 m on the slope fluxes are similar to those in the abyssal North Atlantic. The flux of all components (bulk dry weight, particulate organic and inorganic carbon, lithogenic matter and opal) increased with water depth. Highest fluxes were recorded at 1440 m at the outer slope, where off-slope residual currents mediate particle export. The injection of biogenic and lithogenic particles below the depth of winter mixing results in the export of particles from shallower waters. Calculated lateral fluxes of particulate organic carbon exceed the primary flux by over a factor of 2 at 1440 m on the outer slope. Estimated lateral fluxes of suspended particulate matter in the water column and intermediate nepheloid layers at the outer slope are potentially large compared to sinking fluxes measured by sediment traps. A comparison is made of particle flux at three continental margin sites and two sites in the adjacent open North Atlantic, from which it is seen that bulk and organic matter flux increases exponentially with proximity to the shelf break. The percentage contribution of particulate organic carbon to biogenic fluxes increases from a mean of 5.7% in the abyssal N. Atlantic to 13.9% at the continental margins

Description: Concentrations of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and nitrogen (DON) were measured during early austral Spring 1992 at a number of stations along the 6°W meridian between 47° and 60°S. This included the Polar Front in the north, the zone of melting sea-ice in the south, and waters of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current in between. Concentrations of DOC were low in deep water (34–38 μM) with generally similar or slightly higher values in the surface mixed layer (38–55 μM). DOC:DON ratios are wider in surface water than in deep water, i.e. surface accumulations contain relatively C-rich dissolved organic matter. The highly variable distribution of the surface DOC was not related to hydrographic or biotic features (fronts, plankton development) indicating the lability and transient occurrence of this material. Growth rates of bacteria were determined in subsamples from 51 0.8-μm-filtered batches of seawater incubated in the dark at in-situ temperature. Thymidine and leucine uptake and bacterial biomass change as well as changes in dissolved organic carbon in the batches, and oxygen consumption in parallel incubations correlated linearly over 2 weeks of incubation which allowed extrapolation to in-situ conditions. Bacterial growth in these experiments depended strongly on the amount of initial DOC. Growth in water from greater depth (1000 m) containing 38 μM DOC was minimal, as were DOC-decrease and oxygen consumption. Higher rates were observed in surface water slightly enriched with DOC, and highest rates in surface water amended with DOC-rich melted sea ice. Bacterial growth efficiencies (biomass C-increase vs DOC consumed) were about 30%. The experiments showed that at least 40–60% of the DOC in excess of deep water concentrations was available to bacteria.

Description: As part of the OMEX I project, nutrient determinations were made on 17 cruises in the region of the Goban Spur and La Chapelle Bank between 46 and 51°N, in all seasons of the year, between 1993–1995. Over this period no change was detectable in the structure of the water masses below the deep winter mixed layer. The N : P (dissolved nitrate-to-phosphate) ratio changed from 16 at 100-m depth to less than 15 at 3300-m depth. At intermediate depths nutrient and oxygen data indicate the presence of Mediterranean Outflow water overlying Labrador Sea Water at its most eastern extension. Estimated maximum levels of production in the spring bloom are the total N-limited new primary production equivalent between 24 and 41 gC m−2, the equivalent maximum diatom production is 11 gC m−2. Measurements during the spring bloom suggest a conversion factor of 1 μM nitrate to 1 μg l−1 chlorophyll, at the shelf break, which is consistent with other recent measurements in European shelf seawaters. Sediment trap data suggest that 80% (5.4 g m−2) of the opal produced in the spring bloom dissolved before reaching the sediment trap at 600 m. A comparison of the winter and summer profiles for dissolved silicon suggests a similar dissolution of 9±3 g opal m−2 above 300-m depth. Measurements of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in September 1994 show an enrichment of 7 μM-C above the seasonal thermocline relative to the winter values (52±4 μM). In winter dissolved organic nitrogen represents 40% of the pool of total dissolved nitrogen. There is no consistent evidence of an increase in the concentration of DON during summer. Measurements of nitrate in surface waters in January 1994 show that concentrations off-shelf vary with the temperature of the water and are related to the depth of winter mixing. Mixing in surface waters is discontinuous at the shelf break, demonstrating the degree to which exchange across the shelf break is limited even in winter. OMEX winter measurements of nitrate concentrations can be used to estimate the flow of water across the shelf break that would be required to maintain the nitrogen balance in the North Sea at a steady state. The estimate is 0.6 Sv (1 Sv=106 m3 s−1), which is similar to an earlier estimate of a total flow of 1.7 Sv based on salt budgets (cf. Huthnance, Deutsche Hydrographische Zeitschrift, 49 (1997) 153).

Description: Particle flux data have been collated from the literature representing most areas of the open ocean to determine regional trends in deep water flux and its seasonal variability. Organic carbon flux data normalised to a depth of 2000 m exhibits a range of an order of magnitude in areas outside the polar domains (0.38 to 4.2 g/m2/y). In polar regions the range is wider (0.01–5.9 g/m2/y). Latitudinal trends are not apparent for most components of the flux although calcite flux exhibits a poleward decrease. Limited data from polar regions show fluxes of opaline silica not significantly higher than elsewhere. The variability of flux over annual cycles was calculated and expressed as a Flux Stability Index (FSI) and the relationship between this and vertical flux of material examined. Somewhat surprisingly there is no significant relationship between FSI and fluxes of dry mass, organic carbon, inorganic carbon or opaline silica. At each site, net annual primary production was determined using published satellite derived estimates. There is a negative but weak relationship between FSI and the proportion of primary production exported to 2000 m (e2000 ratio). The most variable of the non-polar environments export to 2000 m about twice as much of the primary production as the most stable ones. Polar environments have very low e2000 ratios with no apparent relationship to FSI. At primary production levels below 200 g C/m2/y there is a positive correlation between production and organic carbon flux at 2000 m but above this level, flux remains constant at about 3.5g C/m2/y. A curve derived to describe this relationship was applied to estimates of annual primary production in each of 34 of the open ocean biogeochemical provinces proposed by Longhurst et al. (1995). Globally, open ocean flux of organic carbon at 2000 m is 0.34 Gt/yr which is 1% of the total net primary production in these regions. This flux is nearly equally divided between the Atlantic, Pacific and Southern Oceans. The Indian and Arctic oceans between them only contribute 5% to the total. The eight planktonic climatological categories proposed by Longhurst (1995) provide a most useful means of examining the data on flux and its variability. A characteristic level of FSI was found in each category with highest levels in the tropics and lowest levels in the Antarctic. There is also a characteristic level of export ratio in each category with the highest in monsoonal environments (1.7%) and the lowest in Antarctica (0.1%)

Description: Barium (Ba), aluminium (Al), and zirconium (Zr) were measured in sediment trap material deployed at two margin settings of the NE Atlantic: the Bay of Biscaye at Goban Spur and the NW Iberian Margin. The Particulate Organic Carbon (POC)/Ba ratios of the trapped material in both margin environments are clearly higher compared to the open ocean. Although lateral advection of POC may partly explain these higher POC/Ba ratios for margin systems, it is clear that the yield of authigenic particulate Ba during organic matter degradation in the water column is lower in margin environments. In order to assess export production in margin settings we optimised transfer functions based on trapped Ba fluxes that were originally elaborated for open ocean settings. Calculations of export production based on trapped Ba flux and POC/Ba ratio were compared with calculations based on trapped POC flux only. Export production based on Ba flux show greater internal consistency amongst traps along the same mooring, suggesting that this approach has advantages over the one based on POC flux only. Estimated export productions are of the same order of magnitude as estimates of new production, but systematically fall short of the latter. This systematic discrepancy needs further investigation.