Estimating Zooplankton Biomass Distribution in the Water Column Near the Endeavour Segment of Juan de Fuca Ridge Using Acoustic Backscatter and Concurrently Towed Nets

Brenda Burd,Richard Thomson

doi:10.5670/oceanog.2012.25

Abstract

Estimating Zooplankton Biomass Distribution in the Water Column Near the Endeavour Segment of Juan de Fuca Ridge Using Acoustic Backscatter and Concurrently Towed Nets

Highlights

Downward organic fluxes from marine production in the surface ocean, as well as upward organic fluxes from vent plumes that originate at the seafloor, influence biological productivity in the deep water column near the hydrothermal vents on Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, in the Northeast Pacific (Figure 1)
This study examines the relationship between biomass obtained from 197 mixedspecies zooplankton net samples and proximate acoustic backscatter data collected over six summers, a depth range of 3,000 m, and a spatial scale of 200 km centered at a major hydrothermal region in the Northeast Pacific Ocean
Results show that the acoustic backscatter data from a single-frequency (150 kHz) acoustic Doppler current profiler mounted near the opening of the towed net system accounts for 84% of the variance in total net biomass, despite the remarkable mix of faunal types and depth range, and the broad spatial and temporal extent of the study

Summary

Introduction

Downward organic fluxes from marine production in the surface ocean, as well as upward organic fluxes from vent plumes that originate at the seafloor, influence biological productivity in the deep water column near the hydrothermal vents on Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge, in the Northeast Pacific (Figure 1). This study examines the relationship between biomass obtained from 197 mixedspecies zooplankton net samples and proximate acoustic backscatter data collected over six summers, a depth range of 3,000 m, and a spatial scale of 200 km centered at a major hydrothermal region in the Northeast Pacific Ocean.

Results

Conclusion