Vertical distribution of macroplankton at the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (North Atlantic), as observed from the manned submersible ?Mir-1?

Abstract

Direct observations of the plankton vertical distribution performed from a manned submersible were made in the Charlie-Gibbs Fracture Zone (Atlantic Ocean). Plankton was counted using a standard 3-m2 frame in the depth layer from 170 to 4361 m and plotted for every 50 m. The most abundant components of the macroplankton were pelagic shrimps, chaetognaths and gelatinous animals, with peak of densities corresponding to the main pycnocline. Mucous houses of appendicularians were abundant at 150 m above the seabed—up to 0.07–0.09 m−3, compared to 0–0.006 m−3 in the upper layers. The new observations confirm that the near-bottom peak of appendicularian abundance is characteristic of at least the entire Central Atlantic, and it is not associated with certain biotopes on the bottom.