ECOMAR Consortium and management

Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen

Oceanlab, University of Aberdeen has landers equipped with high-resolution digital stills cameras and acoustic listening systems (PAL), and low-light video camera (ISIT). These have been deployed in 2007, and will be deployed again in 2009 and 2010 to identify and quantify mobile fauna attracted to bait and to study their activity patterns in relation to prevailing food supply in the MAR environment. Numbers of animals arriving at baits and the time course of events (i.e. bioluminescence) can be correlated with the local abundance of fauna, the food supply and the current regime, all these aspects will be examined and compared through models derived from abyssal and ocean margin regimes.

Physical fish specimens will be collected using traps, long lines and trammel nets in the topographically challenging areas of the MAR. All fish will be measured, weighed, sexed and scored for maturity in addition to a collection of any stomach contents.


Prof. Monty Priede (ECOMAR Coordinator)	Dr. Nicola King	Dr. Phil Bagley	Dr. Alan Jamieson	Dr Mark Shields (ECOMAR Project Officer)

For more information, visit the Oceanlab Website

National Oceanography Centre, Southampton

Oceanography and circulation

We will describe the upper ocean circulation using a combination of CTD and ADCP observations together with satellite altimeter data. These will be supplemented with Argo float and surface drifter data where available.

The geostrophic velocity derived from a section of full depth CTD and ADCP data will be used to calculate a time series of cross-track velocity from sea surface height along a satellite altimeter track close to the crest of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. The resulting high-resolution time series of cross-track velocity will be interpreted in the context of coarse resolution maps of sea surface height derived from merged altimeter products. We expect to monitor the flow across the Mid-Atlantic Ridge in the vicinity of the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone and describe the large and mesoscale circulation that will affect the biological productivity of the upper ocean.

Jane Read

Prof. Raymond Pollard

Benthic fauna

The DEEPSEAS group at NOCS will be measuring benthic biodiversity and biomass using traps, towed camera systems, landers, and targeted ROV-based survey and sampling.

Mobile fauna not attracted to baits will be surveyed and observed using photo transect techniques. Transects across the MAR will be undertaken using the towed imaging platform SHRIMP. We will use still photography and video imaging to determine the distributions of key species. Using the ROV we will target areas to estimate biomass and allow conversions to be made of biomass from percentage cover in the video and photographic images. The ROV will be used also to determine community structure in the target areas. In addition to the ROV, we will use a new video-guided sampling system IBIS (Interactive Benthic Instrument and Sampler), to sample rocky slope fauna. IBIS will also be fitted with a coring head to obtain hydraulically damped core samples of soft sediments. The video-guidance system will allow sediments to be sampled in areas of mixed sediment/rock seabed.

Primarily we will study epibenthic invertebrate megafauna, but in sediments our studies will include macro- and meio-fauna for comparison with similar samples on the continental margins. The ROV is vital for the accurate mapping of seabed fauna and in collecting intact specimens in good condition for validating the identity of species seen in the photo transects. Temporal variability in the activity and abundance of megafauna, in relation to seasonal and inter-annual patterns of organic matter flux, will be assessed using the SOC time-lapse photography system Bathysnap. Scavenging necrophagous fauna will be studied using baited amphipod traps and lander systems. Deep-water scavenging amphipods are highly mobile, enabling them to move easily between food-falls. They are normally constrained by depth but a few species are truly eurybathic. Protozoan and metazoan meiobenthos will be sampled quantitatively using IBIS and the ROV in areas where sediments occur.


Dr. Brian Bett (more info)	Dr. David Billett (more info)	Dr. Tammy Horton (more info)	Dr. Alan Hughes (more info)

Plymouth Marine Laboratory

PML's Remote Sensing Group (RSG) is an internationally recognised centre for satellite remote sensing of the oceans. The group comprises a multidisciplinary team of scientists with expertise in remote-sensing, physics, meteorology, engineering, computer vision and computer science. Our capabilities include:

Operational near-real time processing of ocean colour, sea-surface temperature and atmospheric properties development and utility of ocean colour to estimate phytoplankton concentration and primary production
Objective analysis of spatial structures on colour and temperature imagery including automated location of frontal boundaries, eddies and currents
Prototype harmful algal bloom monitoring service
Satellite estimation of coastal and oceanic productivity
Atmospheric correction of aircraft remote sensing imagery of estuaries and coastal water

During ECOMAR cruises, we will measure a suite of parameters concerning surface productivity and water properties that will be used to validate and optimise the satellite primary production models.

The PML Remote Sensing Group have designed and implemented many automated near-real time processing systems for orbiting sensors including MODIS-Aqua, MODIS-Terra, AVHRR, SeaWiFS and MERIS. These data support research cruises within the laboratory and those of our national and international partners, as well as providing suitable data for water quality monitoring, algorithm development and time-series analyses.

The Remote Sensing Group at PML have also developed and published novel techniques to automatically detect and visualise oceanic fronts. These combine all front observations from large sequences of partially cloudy imagery, so are particularly valuable for gaining a synoptic view of sea-surface physical structures in predominantly cloudy regions such as the North Atlantic. Front maps will be produced and provided before and during ECOMAR cruises to aid focussed sampling programmes.


Dr Peter Miller (PI)	Dr Gavin Tilstone (Co-I and cruise scientist)	Mr Steve Groom (Co-I)	Mr Victor Martinez-Vicente (project and cruise scientist)

Pelagic Ecology Research Group, University of St Andrews

We carry out research on the ecology and biology of zooplankton that live in the open ocean (the pelagic realm). We use combinations of acoustic (scientific echosounders) and netting techniques to sample zooplankton and gather data enabling us to estimate their abundance and map their distribution. We are seeking to understand processes that alter zooplankton abundance and distribution, and the consequences that changes in the zooplankton have for higher trophic levels (predators).

We will use a combination of multi-frequency acoustic and net sampling techniques to evaluate the zooplankton biomass and community composition. Specifically we will undertake grid surveys using surface towed 38, 120 and 200 kHz echosounders to map the distribution of pelagic biomass down to a maximal depth of c. 1000 m (38 kHz only). Net sampling with an RMT will be used to obtain samples of the sound-scattering organisms, and these samples, together with the use of inverse acoustic techniques for shallow parts of the water column where multi-frequency data are available, will be used to map distribution of macrozooplankton by species / size classes.

Variability in zooplankton community composition and abundance will be related to bathymetry and water mass. Quantitative acoustic surveys for biomass evaluation will be conducted during hours of daylight only to avoid problems that may be caused by the pronounced diel vertical migration (DVM) of some zooplankton. Continuous around-the-clock observations will, however, be made to assess the timing and magnitude of DVM, since understanding of this phenomenon will be essential for understanding links from the surface to the deep sea. The data we collect will mesh well with long-term data to be collected by Norwegian colleagues using deep mounted echosounders (38 kHz, see this page).

Dr. Andrew Brierley

Scottish Association for Marine Science

Oceanography and circulation

The marine physics group at SAMS specialises in observations and models of the direct effect of topography on mixing. In ECOMAR we will characterise the instantaneous near-bed flows at each of the study sites, using both in situ data from moored current meters and non-hydrostatic models of near-bed flows. On a broader scale we will use water mass mixing proxies based on CTD and lowered ADCP data to characterise areas of the enhanced mixing both along and across the MAR. One important element of this will be to quantify the modification of the Iceland Scotland Overflow Water as it flows along the eastern flank of the MAR, and during its passage through the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone into the western North Atlantic.

Graham Shimmield is standing down from participation in ECOMAR owing to his move to become Director of the Bigelow Laboratory in Maine, USA. We thank him for his efforts in getting the ECOMAR project started and wish him well in his new position. Mark Inall takes over as lead PI for SAMS and Tracy Shimmield will be
leading the biogeochemistry.

Dr. Andy Dale (left), Dr. Mark Inall (middle) and Mr. Colin Griffiths (right) outside SAMS, Dunstaffnage, Oban, Scotland
Andy Dale (left), Mark Inall (centre) and Colin Griffiths (right)

SAMS Marine Physics Group

Organic matter flux

This requires the measurement of the export flux of organic matter to the seafloor using sediment trap moorings located at each of the four study sites. To directly measure organic matter flux to the seafloor we will use eight McLane multicollector sediment traps. These traps will be located at 1500m and 100m off the bottom on each of the four moorings providing coverage both east and west of the MAR and north and south of the Sub-Polar Front/CGFZ. To aid selection of these four mooring sites we will undertake a series of swath bathymetry surveys at each potential site to determine the suitability of the bottom topography. This information will be used in conjunction with survey data obtained from the MARECO programme to select locations for the deployment of the sediment trap moorings. Deep current meter measurements will also be taken to determine the current speeds in the vicinity, as high current speeds are likely to influence the effectiveness of the traps. The traps will be prepared according to the JGOFS protocols for sediment trap handling and subsequent analysis. Monthly collections will take place throughout two concurrent yearly deployments of each trap.

In addition to measurement of total particulate organic carbon and nitrogen mass flux at monthly intervals, the sediment traps will be calibrated using long-lived naturally occurring radionuclides, 230Th and 231Pa, which are increasingly used to reconstruct particle flux in the ocean. These nuclides are produced at a constant rate from dissolved uranium in seawater and removed to the sediments with the flux of sinking particles. By comparison of the radionuclide activity flux in the sediment trap, compared to the known quantity theoretically produced in the overlying water column (Bacon et al., 1985), it is possible to assess the "efficiency" of the sedimenting particle interceptor traps (Scholten et al., 2001). Sediment traps can also be used to asses the effect of particle composition on the scavenging of nuclides, by observing seasonal trends in particle composition and nuclide scavenging at a single location (e.g. Walter et al., 2001; Chase et al., 2002.) which will be important near the mid-Atlantic ridge site where Mn and Fe oxyhydroxide scavenging may be important (Shimmield and Price, 1988). Thus radionuclide measurements will contribute to a better understanding of particle dynamics and food supply to the benthos. Areas of soft sediment are expected to be found in isolated pockets or pools amongst the volcanic rock of the MAR. Surficial sediment samples from these areas will be collected using IBIS and ROV. These samples will also be analysed for C/N, radionuclides and metals, to assess the degree of sediment "focusing" (Francois et al., 1993), again by comparison of radionuclide flux and inventory, to that theoretically obtained from the overlying water column.

Particulate metals (Al, Mn, Fe, Ba, Ca) will be analysed to characterise the lithogenic and biogenic constituents of the sedimenting flux. The following analytical methods will be employed for this work; POC and PON will be determined on a Leco elemental analyzer, following digestion of carbonate material. The U, Th and Pa radionuclides will be determined by alpha- spectroscopy (Shimmield et al., 1986), and by ICP-MS depending on sample size and specific activity. The metals will be analysed following digestion (under clean room conditions using microwave digestion) and nebulisation using ICP-MS (Ba and trace elements/radionuclides; VG PlasmaQuad 3) and ICP-OES (major elements; Perkin Elmer Optima 4300 DualView), all analysis will be undertaken at the Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory.

Subject to available resources, we are also considering measureemnt of the short lived radionuclides 234Th and 210Po/210Pb, to assess upper and mid water column fluxes and particle dynamics.