Description: Schwerpunkt der Arbeit ist die Untersuchung der geographischen Verbreitung und Vertikalverteilung der Chaetagnathen im Gebiet rund um die Antarktische Halbinsel. Die bearbeiteten Proben stammen hauptsächlich aus dem RMT-8 M, vergleichend werden auch Nansen-Schließnetzfänge (NSN) und im Gebiet der nördlichen Weddell See RMT-1 M-Proben analysiert. Die nördliche Weddell See weist von allen untersuchten Gebieten in den drei Netzen die höchsten Häufigkeiten an Chaetagnathen auf. Im Untersuchungsgebiet sind in den RMT-8-Fängen regelmäßig die Arten S. gazellae, E. hamata, S. marri, S. maxima und E. bathypelagica in Abhängigkeit von der Tiefe vertreten. E. bathyantarctica kommt vereinzelt - hauptsächlich in den NSN-Fängen aus über 1000 m Tiefe - vor. S. gazellae und S. maxima sind in den NSN-Proben kaum vertreten. Zwei möglicherweise bisher unbekannte Arten der Gattung Heterakrohnia (n=10) sowie ein nicht einzuordnendes Exemplar einer vielleicht neuen Gattung ("Heterospadella") sind in den NSN-Fängen aus großer Tiefe (〉1000 m) enthalten, bedürfen jedoch noch der Absicherung. Die im Untersuchungsgebiet am häufigsten anzutreffende Art E. hamata ist mit Ausnahme des direkten Oberflächenbereichs in der gesamten Wassersäule bis in über 1000 m Tiefe nachzuweisen. In den NSN-Proben ist diese Art hauptsächlich zwischen 200 m und 500 m vertreten, in den RMT-1-Proben liegt ihr Abundanzmaximum ebenfalls in diesem Bereich. Mit zunehmender Tiefe ansteigende Häufigkeiten weisen dagegen die RMT-8-Proben auf. Dieses Netz (4,5 mm Maschenweite) erfaßt die kleineren Chaetagnathen nicht. S. gazellae ist in den RMT-8-Proben schwerpunktmäßig zwischen 250 bis 400 m zu finden, die RMT-1-Fänge zeigen maximale Abundanzen zwischen 75 m und 135 m, im RMT-1 nehmen die Häufigkeiten von S. gazellae mit zunehmender Tiefe ab. S. marri, S. maxima und E. bathypelagica kommen verstärkt in größeren Tiefen unterhalb von 200 m in den Proben vor. S. marri und die seltenere S. maxima besiedeln hauptsächlich den mesopelagischen Bereich, die Hauptverbreitungszone von E. bathypelagica liegt tiefer als die von S. marri und S. maxima. Die untersuchten Dauerstationen lassen keine tagesperiodischen Wanderungen der Chaetognathen erkennen. Die Verteilungen der Längen-Häufigkeiten und der Reifestadien zeigen für S. gazellae und E. hamata eine tiefengebundene Größenstaffelung, gekoppelt mit einem fortschreitenden Reifungsprozeß, d.h. mit zunehmender Tiefe treten durchschnittlich größere, reifere lndividuen auf. Für S. marri und S. maxima lassen die Ergebnisse ein ähnliches Phänomen vermuten. Über E. bathypelagica und E. bathyantarctica können aufgrund der geringen Anzahl an gefangenen Tieren keine Aussagen gemacht werden. Eine Korrelation der Abundanzen mit den hydrographischen Umweltdaten (Temperatur, Salzgehalt) weist S. gazellae und E. hamata für antarktische Verhältnisse als eher eurytherme und euryhaline Arten aus. S. marri, S. maxima und E. bathypelagica sind geringeren Salzgehaltsänderungen unterworfen. Minimale Salzgehaltsschwankungen treten im Bereich maximaler Abundanz auf. Die Temperatur- und Salzgehaltsspektren, in denen die fünf Arten im Untersuchungsgebiet vorkommen, bzw. Verbreitungsschwerpunkte haben, werden angegeben. Es werden Angaben zu Darminhalt und Parasitenbefall der Chaetognathen gemacht.

Description: A new technique for the harmonic analysis of current observations is described. lt consists in applying a linear band pass filter which separates the various species and removes the contribution of non-tidal effects at intertidal frequencies. The tidal constituents are then evaluated through the method of least squares. In spite of the narrowness of the fitter, only three days of data are lost through the filtering procedure and the only requirement on the data is that the time interval between samples be an integer fraction of one day. This technique is illustrated through the analysis of a few French current observations from the English Channel within the framework of INOUT. The characteristics of the main tidal constituents are given.

Description: 14C concentrations, as weil as 13C, hydrographic and nutrient data are reported for 5 hydrographic stations that form a transatlantic section near 40° N ("Meteor" cruise no. 23, 1971). Precision (for 14C ± 0.3% or better) and comparability with literature data are specified. A planned intercomparison with the US GEOSECS program within the Newfoundland Basin deep water failed because of variability of water characteristics. The observed 14C values decrease from about Δ 14C = + 80‰ at the surface to -70‰ at 2000 m depth. Deeper down, the values west of the Midatlantic Ridge remain similar, whereas those east of the ridge decrease further, to about -110‰. It is shown that bomb-14C is prominent down to about 1500 m depth. Beyond this depth the bomb 14C component is small and is negligible in the eastern basin below 2800 m. On the basis of the 14C-tritium correlation, the distribution of natural 14C below about 1500 m depth is derived from the observations. In the deep and bottom water east of the ridge the 14C-salinity relationship seemingly is non-linear. Contrary to expectation, the 14C concentration in the bottom water is not lower than found on an US GEOSECS station near 10° N. Apparently, lateral concentration differences in the Northeast Atlantic bottom water as well as nonlinearity of the 14C-salinity relationship at 40°N do not exceed 10‰ in Δ 14C.

Description: The grazing of different copepodite stages of Calanus finmarchicus on natural phytoplankton populations was measured at different times of day and night during the Fladen Ground Experiment (FLEX), from the end of May to the beginning of June 1976, at the central position of the "FLEX box" (58° 55' 00" N, 0° 32' 05" E), on board of the R.V. "Meteor". A big difference between nocturnal and diurnal food intake was found, particularly for the stages V & IV, which at night ingest 4 to 10 times more than during daytime. The maximal daily food intake (24 hours), taking into account the different feeding rates at the different times of the day and expressed as percent of own carbon weight, was found to be 31 %, 83 %, 115 % and 148 % for the copepodite stages V, IV, III, II and I together, respectively, with an initial feeding threshold at about 50-60 µg C · l-1. The total grazing for the upper 40 m depth layer was calculated for each sampling time; a very pronounced grazing rhythm was found, due to the higher ingestion rates at night combined with the vertical migrations. Maximal night ingestions were 100-200 mg C/m2/hour at the end of May to 300-400 mg C/m2/hour at the beginning of June, compared with 1-20 mg C/m2/hour at midday. Making a balance of the positive influence of particulate primary production and the negative influence of grazing on the stock of particulate carbon, we could show that the main cause of the decline of the phytoplankton bloom in this period was Calanus grazing. Other zooplankton activities, namely respiration, production and faecal pellets excretion as measured by four other authors are in balance with our results of ingestion.

Description: "Auftrieb 75" was a joint cruise of R.V. "Meteor" and R.R.S. "Discovery" performed in the area 21-26° N off the northwest African coast during January-March, 1975. Current meter observations from six moorings and CTD/STD observations from three repeatedly covered sections of the cruise are analysed in order to describe the distribution of the water masses and its variability with the changes in the current system. The Canary Current is seen to pass through the northwestern corner of the expedition area, carrying with it a geostrophic eddy with a period in excess of 30 days. The eddy is probably another example of the type generally found in the open ocean circulation. Further south, offshore currents display large variations in strength and direction with a typical time scale of 10-14 days which are believed to reflect largescale mixing processes along the boundary of the Canary Current and the poleward flow of the coastal region, involving North Atlantic Central Water (NACW) and South Atlantic Central Water (SACW). The coastal upwelling undercurrent has been observed along the shelf edge but undergoes large variations in response to the wind and to variations in the horizontal divergence of the offshore currents. On the shelf the circulation responds to the local longshore wind to some extent but is also strongly affected by variations of the currents at the shelf edge. The distribution of water masses at intermediate depth ( 100-800 m) is analysed quantitatively based on the assumption that mixing between NACW and SACW is effective along surfaces of constant density only. lt is shown that most intense mixing occurs at about 22-23° N and is still very important further south. At 25-26° N SACW has been absorbed into the surrounding NACW water mass to a high degree, even in the undercurrent. Isolated bodies of water are found in the southern part of the expedition area, some of which are carried north in the undercurrent. The large variability in the water mass distribution at the source level of the upwelling probably has important consequences for the variations in the efficiency of biological production of the upwelling region.

Description: The monthly mean meteorologically induced circulation of the North Sea for the period 15 March to 15 April 1976 (JONSDAP '76 INOUT period) is computed using two numerical models. One has a fine grid resolution, is two-dimensional, comprehensively non-linear and covers the North Sea. The other has a coarser grid resolution, is three-dimensional, and linear except for the inclusion of quadratic bottom friction. The depth variation of the two horizontal components of current in this model is accomplished using an expansion of time and horizontally dependent coefficients and depth dependent functions. The three-dimensional modelling technique presented here is sufficiently flexible to allow an arbitraty space and time variation of vertical eddy viscosity, although still retaining a continuous representation of current in the vertical, and allowing for variable bottom topography. Preliminary results presented here for the meteorologically induced circulation of the North Sea during JONSDAP '76 agree weil with present knowledge of the circulation of the North Sea. Comparing surface and bottom currents computed with the 3 D shelf model, it is evident that the windinduced flow varies considerably in both magnitude and direction between sea surface and sea bottom. The distribution of depth mean current computed with the 3 D shelf model over the North Sea is nearly identical to that computed with the 2 D North Sea model. This is particularly encouraging since the 3 D shelf model does not contain the advective terms, which are present in the 2 D model, and has a coarser resolution.

Description: In the framework of the Fladen Ground Experiment 1976, zooplankton samples were taken during the phytoplankton spring bloom in April-May and after the bloom in June. The plankton was collected with two samplers, a towed multiple high-speed sampler and a newly developed swing net for local sampling. The results of both methods are compared. The mean number and dry weight per m3 are given for the common species, as weil as the density of fecal pellets. The calanoid copepod Calanus finmarchicus formed 63 %, resp. 90 % of the biomass. The population composition, distribution, dry weight/length relationship and productivity of this species is studied in more detail. The high abundance of fecal pellets, eggs and young stages during the spring bloom indicate a high zooplankton activity in this period. The low density of these indicators and the apparent descent of the older Calanus stages to deep water layers in June signify the dependency of the zooplankton activity on the phytoplankton density. The estimated daily production of Calanus during the phytoplankton bloom was 20 mgC/m2. The significance of the seasonal vertical migration and the role of zooplankton in the northern North Sea ecosystem is discussed. lt is concluded that the Zooplankton could have checked the low algal density in May-June after the spring bloom, but it is far from certain that it stopped the phytoplankton outburst at the end of April and early May.

Description: The main objectives of the Fladen Ground Experiment (FLEX) 1976 were an investigation of the dynamics of the mixed layer and the development of the spring plankton bloom. A quantitative consideration of individual chemical parameters (nutrients, particulate nitrogen and phosphorus) showed it to be advantageous to divide the water column into several layers which are separated from one another by measured temperature gradients. Measurements of particulate matter (phosphorus and nitrogen) revealed two plankton blooms at the central station. The first one (21.4.-14.5.76) was much more extensive than the second one, since the limiting thermocline was at a depth of about 60 m. Silicate was consumed most rapidly during this bloom and almost completely exhausted. The second bloom (19.-30.5.76) produced concentrations of particulate matter which were almost as high as the first one but were limited in only a few meters' water depth by a secondary thermocline, which prevented an influx of nutrients. Nitrate was completely exhausted during the second bloom. A high degree of nutrient depletion in the mixed layer from 24.4.-29.4. and from 22.5.-27.5.76 make these periods appear well-suited for determination of uptake rates. These periods are characterized. by a parallel course of concentration curves in the upper water layers for all nutrients except ammonium, and by the absence of !arge short-term fluctuations. Thus, disturbances due to hydrodynamic effects were minimal. The effects of tidal changes were minimized by using daily averages of the various concentrations. However, from 9.5.-13.5.7 6 in the upper layer a relatively strong and rapid increase was observed in the concentrations of all nutrients, which can probably only be explained by hydrodynamic influences. The nitrogen and phosphorus budgets can only be approximately balanced without considering dissolved organic matter. The strong decrease in dissolved inorganic nutrients during the first plankton bloom is almost comple,tely compensated by the increase in particulate matter. Not considering hydrodynamic influences, deficits after the plankton bloom could be explained by the fact that dissolved organic substances, as weil as sedimentaty matter and zooplankton, either were not considered at all, or at least not quantitatively. The time periods from 2.-7.4. and from 21.4.-14.5.76 show no strong short-term fluctuations in the nitrogen and phosphorus budgets and appear most suitable for calculations of mass fluxes, uptake and production rates, since biological-chemical processes seem to be dominant over hydrodynamic ones during these periods.

Description: The ecology of the lower marine fungi, namely the thraustochytrids, in the Fladen Ground area (FLEX box) and other parts of the North Sea was studied during 5 cruises in 1975 and 1976. The number of fungi/liter and the number of species showed seasonal fluctuations in the surface water samples from all the stations. A high number was found in September 1976 and a low number in March 1976. These numbers, however, revealed no seasonal fluctuations in the underlying sediments. In both the surface waters and the sediments, a consistently low number of fungi was recorded for certain stations and a high number of fungi for others, the reason for this being unknown. The sediments revealed a very high number of fungi/liter. Observations on the distribution of various species are presented. Certain species occurred more frequently at some stations than at others; certain species occurred more in the water column, e. g. Ulkenia minuta, and still others in the sediments, e. g. Thraustochytrium multirudimentale.