Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Research Articles

Wind Stress Forcing of the Ocean in the SOC Climatology: Comparisons with the NCEP–NCAR, ECMWF, UWM/COADS, and Hellerman and Rosenstein Datasets

Results from an analysis of the Southampton Oceanography Centre (SOC) global wind stress climatology, which is based on in situ reports for the period 1980-93, are presented. The accuracy of the SOC stresses has been assessed at several locations by comparison of individual monthly means with measurements from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution research buoy deployments. For the subduction buoy array, situated in the subtropical North Atlantic, the random error in the SOC individual monthly mean wind stress ranges from 0.004 to 0.008 N m-2, which corresponds to between 5% and 10% of the mean stress depending on which buoy is considered. The large-scale characteristics of the SOC fields are compared with those of the NCEP-NCAR and ECMWF atmospheric model reanalyses, and the in situ observation based on the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee/Comprehensive Ocean–Atmosphere Dataset (UWM/COADS) and Hellerman and Rosenstein (HR) climatologies. The NCEP-NCAR fields show noticeably weaker wind stress forcing in the Tropics than SOC, while ECMWF and UWM/COADS are in good agreement. From the Tropics to the midlatitudes, the HR stresses tend to be stronger than SOC and the other recent climatologies. At higher latitudes, differences in the spatial structure of the Northern Hemisphere subpolar gyres in SOC and HR are found that are consistent with variations in the state of the North Atlantic and North Pacific Oscillations within the periods on which the climatologies are based. A detailed comparison of the wind-driven response of the ocean is presented for SOC and HR. The North Atlantic subpolar gyre is more intense in SOC than HR and this leads to a doubling in the strength of the Ekman suction. January mean upwelling velocities in this region deduced from the two datasets are 18.9 and 8.6 m month-1, respectively. In the North Pacific a single large-scale subpolar gyre is evident in SOC compared with two smaller gyres in HR. Seasonal to interannual variability in the wind-driven ocean response is quantified using an extended version of the SOC dataset covering the period 1980–97. Significant variability in the Ekman transport across several latitudes that correspond to WOCE hydrographic sections is observed and related to the major atmospheric pressure oscillations

On attaching acoustic imaging instrumentation to the LEO-15 observatory for sediment transport and bottom boundary layer studies

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Dalhousie University conducted a sediment transport study at the LEO-15 observatory maintained by Rutgers University and WHOI engineers off the central New Jersey coast. This study was designed to take advantage of the unique capabilities (power and telemetry) provided at the site. The various sensing systems were attached to a bottom-mounted frame and connected by divers to the underwater-mateable guest ports on the LEO-15 node. The node supplied power for the various acoustic and electronic systems and provided telemetry for control of the remote instrumentation and acquisition of several GBytes of data per day. A shore-based support station of several PCs and workstations networked together and connected to the Internet was set up at Rutgers Tuckerton Field Station to receive, display and store this data. Instrumentation was deployed in mid-November 1999, remained active until Christmas 1999, and was recovered in January 2000. The methodology of using the LEO-15 observatory was different from previous approaches used by the WHOI and Dalhousie sediment transport teams and had some subtle problems not obvious until the equipment was set up and utilizing the observatory. A second LEO-15 node, on shore at the Tuckerton field station, facilitated testing of each subsystem and the fully integrated system before offshore deployment. One set of problems involved the node's ground fault detection system that was designed to shut down all scientific instrumentation to protect the node when a current leak to seawater was detected on any power or telemetry line. WHOI connected all their sensing systems together to provide an optimum test of any system problem. Dalhousie had isolated their instrumentation (power and communications) so the ground fault circuit only tested the cables from the LEO-15 node to their electronics. The WHOI instrumentation developed a slowly increasing ground fault in one line that resulted in some unnecessary data loss. The underwater-mateable connectors required at the LEO-15 sometimes showed a low ground fault level leakage that disappeared when they were reconnected. Because or the constant power source, the electronics on the tripod remained powered up and active during the deployment, and individual sensors were powered and burst-sampled once or twice an hour, collecting /spl sim/4 GBytes of data per day that was telemetered to shore. WHOI's high-speed link operated successfully at /spl sim/400 kbits/sec and Dalhousie's at 2 Gb/s. Dalhousie experienced some problems with their remote system suddenly stopping that may be associated with changes made to interface it with the LEO-15 observatory. All data were archived at the Tuckerton facility as the Internet link to WHOI and Dalhousie could only provide 1/3 of the required speed to transmit the data collected daily. In spite of these problems, the systems worked much of the time and collected many gigabytes of data on the suspended sediment transport and structure in relationship to bedform roughness, and wave and current forcing. Real-time sensor functionality and data acquisition operations were monitored over the Internet. The goal of plugging instruments into the LEO-15-node and obtaining continuous long time-series remotely with no interruptions is not yet fully realized. Someone had to monitor the connection to keep systems functioning optimally. However, we learned much of the methodology to move toward full remote operations in the future which will improve future observatories, such as the new Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory.

A network-based telemetry architecture developed for the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory

Underwater observatories with real-time data and virtually unlimited power transmission capabilities compared to traditional oceanographic moorings are beginning to provide scientists with continuous access to the coastal and open ocean. However, for any coastal observatory to serve as a cost-effective system for the collection of long-term scientific and environmental data, it must have a simple, upgradeable power and telemetry system and an instrument interface that is compatible with existing standards. It must be designed for extended environmental exposure and ease of service to avoid high maintenance costs. Most importantly, the observatory must be accessible to all potential users, including students, scientists, engineers, and policy makers. This strategy was applied to the design of the Martha's Vineyard Coastal Observatory on the south shore of the island of Martha's Vineyard. The new facility, and in particular its system architecture, as developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution with support from the National Science Foundation, are described.

Improbable warriors: women scientists and the U.S. Navy in World War II

At the outbreak of World War II, four scientists left their comfortable college teaching positions to work for the government. Three served in uniform, the fourth oversaw contracts for the Navy. Such dramatic changes in life styles during the period were common -- for men. But these established scientists were women, and each made significant contributions to a Navy embroiled in a modern, science-dependent war. Mary Sears, a Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution planktonologist, headed the Hydrographic Office's Oceanographic Unit. Grace Hopper, a Yale-trained mathematician, went to the Bureau of Ships Computation Laboratory at Harvard where she worked on one of the first computers, churning out essential data for ordnance and other projects. Florence van Straten, a New York University chemist, served as an aerological engineer analyzing the use of weather in combat. Mina Rees was the chief technical aide to the applied mathematics panel of the National Defense Research Committee. This book firmly places the women within the context of their times. Deeply rooted in previously unexamined primary sources, the work helps readers understand the personal and professional experiences of women in the military and the attitudes they faced, and fully appreciate the educational and occupational barriers faced by women scientists in the 1930s and 1940s.The author focuses on their efforts during the war, but also discusses the women's skills and training, tells how they came to war work, and examines the contributions they made once there. She further considers how the war changed their lives, especially their professional lives, and how it affected their future careers. While other books havebeen written about women in the military, this is the first to focus on Navy women scientists.

Assessing ocean buoy shortwave observations using clear‐sky model calculations

Comparison of ocean buoy observations and model calculations of incoming clear‐sky surface shortwave radiation is performed in order to assess the buoys' general reliability under operating conditions. The buoy data employed for this study come from several experimental and operational deployments conducted by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) and Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL). WHOI deployments include the Frontal Air‐Sea Interaction Experiment, Marine Light Mixed Layer Experiment, Coupled Ocean‐Atmosphere Response, Subduction Experiment, Arabian Sea Experiment, Pan‐American Climate Study, and Biowatt. PMEL deployments include the Tropical Atmosphere Ocean moored buoy array in the tropical Pacific Ocean. These moorings and their associated shortwave measurements represent the vast majority of open‐ocean in situ shortwave observations available to date. Two separate schemes were used to filter the cloudy samples from the buoy shortwave time series, one based on satellite values of cloudiness and a second scheme based on the buoy observations themselves and on a number of additional constraints. The clear‐sky model calculations of surface shortwave were computed using the single‐column radiation code from the National Center for Atmospheric Research Community Climate Model, version 3. The primary uncertainty associated with the model calculations is the specification of the aerosol amount. In general, there was a fairly high level of agreement between the buoy and modeled values of clear‐sky surface shortwave. However, there were a few buoys that exhibited significant model‐data discrepancies (e.g., model‐data biases exceeding 10%, or ∼40 W m−2). The possible reasons for these discrepancies were investigated. In some cases, unaccounted for aerosol variability in the model was found to be the most probable cause, indicating that observations were likely to be reliable. In other cases, the discrepancies appeared to result from sensor tilt associated with wind, currents, or deployment/mounting problems and/or were possibly due to aerosol buildup on the sensor.

Immunomagnetic isolation of live and preserved Alexandrium fundyense cells: species-specific physiological, chemical, and isotopic analyses

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 237:65-78 (2002) - doi:10.3354/meps237065 Immunomagnetic isolation of live and preserved Alexandrium fundyense cells: species-specific physiological, chemical, and isotopic analyses Angeles Aguilera1, Bruce A. Keafer2, G. H. Rau3, Donald M. Anderson2,* 1Facultad de Biología, Universidad Autónoma, Canto Blanco, 28949 Madrid, Spain 2Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA 3Institute of Marine Sciences, University of California, Santa Cruz, California 95064, USA *Corresponding author. E-mail: danderson@whoi.edu ABSTRACT: A method to isolate cells of the toxic dinoflagellate Alexandrium fundyense from seawater samples using magnetic beads was evaluated to determine whether it could be used to obtain species-specific physiological measurements. Two isolation procedures were tested. The direct technique used an Alexandrium-specific primary antibody coupled directly to magnetic beads, which were then bound to the target cells. With the indirect technique, the primary antibody (Ab) was bound to the target cells, and this Ab-cell complex was then exposed to the beads. Four different bead types, varying in size and coating, were evaluated. The bead isolation method was tested on live cells and on cells preserved with either 0.23 N sulfuric acid or 4% formalin. Under optimal conditions using either live or preserved cells, ca. 80% recovery was achieved when the indirect technique was applied with either M-280 Streptavidin or M-280 sheep anti-mouse beads. However, with the direct technique, the highest recoveries were only ca. 20% with live samples and ca. 50% with acid-preserved cells. After bead isolation, ca. 70% of the recovered live cells were intact; 30% were completely or partially broken. A variety of post-isolation measurements were conducted on the separated cells, including nucleic acids, total proteins, chlorophyll a (chl a), C-2 toxin, saxitoxin (STX), neosaxitoxin (NEO), organic carbon (C) and nitrogen (N), and 13C/12C and 15N/14N. These measurements were normalized to the number of intact cells. For live samples, there were no statistically significant differences between the control cells and the bead-recovered cells for cell quotas of nucleic acids, total proteins, chl a, STX, C-2 toxin, and NEO. Similarly, no differences were found in these parameters between the live samples and the acid-preserved samples, except for the nucleic acid measurements where the acid interfered with the measurements. However, there were significant differences between the live cells and formalin-preserved, bead-recovered cells for all parameters measured. This was not due to the bead isolation procedure but to the preservative. Significant C, N, C/N, 13C/12C, and 15N/14N differences between live cells and bead-recovered cells were introduced by the immunomagnetic separation protocols, due to the chemical and isotopic content of the beads. These artifacts need to be removed if monospecific elemental and isotopic abundance measurements are to be attempted using this isolation method. Overall, immunomagnetic cell sorting is potentially a valuable tool for taxon-specific isolation, allowing physiological, chemical, and isotopic characterization of naturally occurring phytoplankton populations. However, each measurement must be evaluated to insure that the cell components do not change due to the isolation procedure. KEY WORDS: Alexandrium fundyense · Dinoflagellate · Immunomagnetic isolation · Magnetic beads · Saxitoxin · 14C uptake · Chlorophyll a · DNA · RNA · 13C/12C · 15N/14N · Carbon · Nitrogen · Protein Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 237. Online publication date: July 18, 2002 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2002 Inter-Research.

The development and use of an implantable radio whale tag from 1970 to the present

William A. Watkins, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), led the development and refinement of the WHOI Radio Whale Tag. The initial tags were developed in the 1960s at WHOI, improved in the 1970s and 1980s by Ocean Applied Research, Inc., and adapted to satellite telemetry in the 1990s by Microwave Telemetry, Inc. Through this entire period, the tag delivery and attachment methods were continually refined. The same delivery and attachment methods were used with acoustic tags, radio tags, combined radio and acoustic tags, and satellite tags. Scientific studies using these tags have been conducted on finback, humpback, Brydes, bowhead, and sperm whales. These field studies have ranged from Venezuela to the Canadian arctic and Alaska, and from the Pacific to the Mediterranean. Every tagging experiment led to new information about the animals, and in most cases the information from radio and acoustic tagged whales showed that the best available data based on surface observations of untagged animals were deficient. Highlights from some of these findings will be presented.

Arnold Boris Arons

Arnold Boris Arons, an internationally recognized pioneer and leader in physics education and a professor emeritus of physics at the University of Washington, died suddenly of a heart attack at his home in Seattle on 28 February 2001.Born on 23 November 1916 in Lincoln, Nebraska, Arnold grew up in New Jersey and received an ME degree in 1937 and an MS in chemistry in 1940, both from the Stevens Institute of Technology. He obtained his PhD in physical chemistry in 1943 from Harvard University, where he worked with E. Bright Wilson Jr on a study of shock waves produced by underwater explosions. During World War II, Arnold was a group leader in the Underwater Explosion Research Laboratory at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, beginning an association with Woods Hole that lasted throughout his lifetime. He was well known for his studies of abyssal oceanic circulation and cloud physics with Henry M. Stommel and Alfred H. Woodcock and for experimental and theoretical work on phase distortion of acoustic pulses reflected from the seabed.In 1946, Arnold accepted a position as an assistant professor of physics at the Stevens Institute of Technology. He remained there until 1952, when he moved to Amherst College as a professor of physics. At Amherst, Arnold was widely known as a skilled teacher and was one of the subjects of a Time magazine cover story on education (6 May 1966). Recognizing the inadequacies of traditional physics instruction at the time, Arnold developed a calculus-based introductory course as the science component of a core curriculum required of all freshmen. Through his teaching, he brought to the course historical, philosophical, and humanistic perspectives. His first textbook, Development of Concepts of Physics (Addison-Wesley, 1965), grew out of this experience.In 1968, Arnold was invited to join the faculty at the University of Washington, where he initiated an introductory physical sciences course for preservice elementary school teachers. From 1969 to 1975, he directed NSF summer institutes for in-service elementary school teachers. During this period, the program was expanded to include teachers of high-school physics. The work with teachers led to the establishment of the Physics Education Group at the University of Washington, widely known for its role in teacher education and its leadership in the field of physics education research. After his retirement in 1982, Arnold continued to lecture, conduct workshops, and write extensively on the teaching of physics. Throughout his career, Arnold reflected on the intellectual challenges involved in learning physics, and he set exceptionally high standards for himself and his colleagues. He played a unique role in raising awareness that introductory physics courses are often ineffective in helping students develop conceptual understanding and scientific reasoning skills. Arnold maintained that it is necessary for faculty to listen carefully to students in order to be able to match instruction to the students’ evolving level of understanding. He was a strong proponent of Socratic dialogue as a means of promoting meaningful student learning. Through his many articles and books, Arnold provided the physics community—and the educational community as a whole—with a permanent legacy of extraordinary quality. Especially through his books The Various Language: An Inquiry Approach to the Physical Sciences (Oxford U. Press, 1977) and A Guide to Introductory Physics Teaching (Wiley, 1990), Arnold had a strong influence on the development of innovative curricula and on the teaching of physics by individual faculty members.In addition to his contributions to physics education, Arnold served the physics community in other important ways. From 1961 to 1968, he was the first editor of Resource Letters, a series that is periodically published in the American Journal of Physics. In 1967 and 1968, he was president of the American Association of Physics Teachers. AAPT awarded him its highest honor, the Oersted Medal, in 1973.Arnold served on a number of national committees, including the NSF commission on college physics (1962-68). From 1963 until his death, he served the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in both active and honorary capacities as a member of the corporation or as a trustee. He also was a member of the American Institute of Physics governing board from 1966 to 1972.Arnold read widely and his intellectual curiosity extended beyond physics. His keen mind and extraordinarily sharp memory enhanced his appreciation of the arts. He memorized reams of poetry that he could recite spontaneously. He greatly enjoyed music and spent many hours in art galleries. Arnold and his wife Jean loved to hike in the mountains. They traveled extensively in Europe, especially in England and Wales. Arnold would engage his friends with eloquent reports about his experiences. His presence, his guidance, and his thoughtful insights will be greatly missed. Arnold Boris Arons PPT|High resolution© 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Robert Warren Morse

Robert Warren Morse, a low-temperature physicist and an authority in underwater sound, a university teacher and administrator, and a naval official, died of emphysema at his home in Falmouth, Massachusetts, on 19 January 2001.Morse was born in Boston on 25 May 1921 and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1943 with a BS degree in physics. He then married and received a commission in the US Navy. These were two important guideposts toward his future life. He left the navy at the end of World War II, going to Brown University as a graduate student in physics. He received an MS degree in physics in 1946 and a PhD in theoretical acoustics under Bruce Lindsay in 1948.His service in the navy stimulated what was to be a lifelong love of the sea; he maintained a small powerboat, and he devoted much of his early research to underwater sound, both for Brown and for the navy. Morse subsequently remained at Brown, becoming an assistant professor of physics in 1949. He later became a professor of physics (1958), department chair (1960), and dean of the college (1962). In 1956, as a member of the National Academy of Science’s Project Nobska, he helped create the Polaris missile submarines. He also served as chair of NAS’s Committee on Undersea Warfare.Morse achieved fame in 1957 for his research on ultrasonic absorption in superconductors. He developed an ultrasonic technique for determining the gap in the density of states of unpaired electrons in a superconductor. This measurement provided an important verification of the Bardeen-Cooper-Schrieffer theory of superconductivity. In 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson appointed Morse as Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research and Development. Morse collaborated with Admiral Hyman Rickover in the development of the NR-1, a small nuclear submarine capable of exploring the ocean floor and thus extremely useful in oceanographic research. Morse left the navy post in 1966 to become president of Case Institute of Technology in Cleveland, Ohio. He then presided over its merger in 1967 with Western Reserve University. As was the case for most college presidents in that era, he struggled to maintain a balance between the raging student protests over the Vietnam War and the views of conservative boards of trustees. He took pride in the fact that, in a city torn by race rioting, he never had to call the police to put down a campus disruption, either over race or over the war.Ultimately, Morse’s liberal views fell victim to his board of trustees and he resigned as president in 1971. He then joined the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, as director of research in 1971. In 1973, he became the associate director of research and dean of graduate studies. He helped to found Woods Hole’s joint academic program with MIT. He also headed the Woods Hole Marine Policy Center until his retirement in 1983. Always interested in research, he endowed in 1999 a Chair for Excellence in Oceanography in support of research at Woods Hole. He also established the Alice Cooper Morse Fund for the Performing Arts at Bowdoin College, in memory of his late wife.The varied nature of Morse’s career is reflected in an anecdote about a Brown alumnus serving in the US Marine Corps. During a simulated invasion on the Spanish coast, the young man climbed the coastal slope and came upon Morse, who was then the Assistant Secretary of the Navy. “Dean Morse,” cried the student, “what are you doing here?” The answer might have been that Morse was at home anywhere—in the navy, in academic administration, in teaching, or in research.All who made contact with Morse found him to have a warm and engaging personality. He was a first-class teacher, an excellent researcher, and an administrator of great skill and courage. Robert Warren Morse COURTESY, MORSE FAMILYPPT|High resolution© 2001 American Institute of Physics.

Influences of diurnal and intraseasonal forcing on mixed‐layer and biological variability in the central Arabian Sea

A three‐dimensional, physical‐biological model of the Indian Ocean is used to study the influences of diurnal and intraseasonal forcing on mixed‐layer and biological variability in the central Arabian Sea, where a mooring was deployed and maintained from October 1994 to October 1995 by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Upper Ocean Processes group. The physical model consists of four active layers overlying an inert deep ocean, namely, a surface mixed layer of thickness h1, diurnal thermocline layer, seasonal thermocline, and main thermocline. The biological model consists of a set of advective‐diffusive equations in each layer that determine nitrogen concentrations in four compartments: nutrients, phytoplankton, zooplankton, and detritus. Both monthly climatological and “daily” fields are used to force solutions, the latter being a blend of daily‐averaged fields measured at the mooring site and other products that include intraseasonal forcing. Diurnal forcing is included by allowing the incoming solar radiation to have a daily cycle. In solutions forced by climatological fields, h1 thickens steadily throughout both monsoons. When h1 detrains at their ends, short‐lived, intense blooms develop (the model's spring and fall blooms) owing to the increase in depth‐averaged light intensity sensed by the phytoplankton in layer 1. In solutions forced by daily fields, h1 thins in a series of events associated with monsoon break periods. As a result, the spring and fall blooms are split into a series of detrainment blooms, broadening them considerably. Diurnal forcing alters the mixed‐layer and biological responses, among other things, by lengthening the time that h1 is thick during the northeast monsoon, by strengthening the spring and fall blooms and delaying them by 3 weeks, and by intensifying phytoplankton levels during intermonsoon periods. Solutions are compared with the mixed‐layer thickness, phytoplankton biomass, and phytoplankton production fields estimated from mooring observations. The solution driven by daily fields with diurnal forcing reproduces the observed fields most faithfully.

Contributing to the Literature

ABSTRACT The development of the World Wide Web has brought with it the ability to make public databases which were previously confined to a single desktop workstation or mini-computer. This article relates the process of “publishing” the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's locally-produced “Contributions to the Scientific Literature” database, which includes all staff publications from 1930 to the present. The project involved converting from dBase and Vax formats to MARC using Data Magician software. The final product is made available on the Web as an Endeavor Voyager online catalog.

Microbial food web interactions in two Long Island embayments

Thesis (S.M. in Biology)--Joint Program in Biological Oceanography (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Biology; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 1999.

Navigation Sensor Data Fusion for the AUV Remus

The development of a navigation sensor data fusion algorithm for the autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) Remus is described. Remus is a small, low-cost AUV designed and built at the Ocean Systems Laboratory of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. The navigation sensors for Remus include an acoustic navigation system, a Doppler velocity sonar, and a compass. The data from these sensors are integrated in an extended Kalman filter, with the objective of producing a more accurate vehicle track. Postprocessing results using data from two recent field trials are presented.

Life in the extreme environment at a hydrothermal vent: haemoglobin in a deep-sea copepod.

This is the first study, to my knowledge, quantifying the respiratory pigment haemoglobin discovered in a deep-sea copepod. Haemoglobin in copepods has previously been documented in only one other species from the deep water of an Italian lake. Specimens of the siphonostomatoid Scotoecetes introrsus Humes were collected during submersible dives at 2500 m depth near a hydrothermal vent at the East Pacific Rise (9 degrees N). The haemoglobin content in the copepods' haemolymph was 4.3 +/- 0.6 micrograms per individual female (n = 6) and 1.8 +/- 0.1 micrograms per individual male (n = 6). Weight-specific concentrations of haemoglobin were identical for females and males (0.25 +/- 0.04 and 0.26 +/- 0.02 microgram per microgram dry weight, respectively). These haemoglobin concentrations are higher than those found in other small crustaceans. Activity of the electron transport system indicated that the respiration rates in S. introrsus (13.7 +/- 7.7 microliters O2 per milligram dry weight per hour) were similar to those in the shallow-water copepod Acartia tonsa (9.1 +/- 1.3 microliters O2 per milligram dry weight per hour). It was concluded that the possession of highly concentrated haemoglobin allows S. introrsus to colonize a geologically young, thermally active site such as the vicinity of a hydrothermal vent, despite the prevailing oxygen depletion.

Tracing the origins of the Lamont Geological Observatory

In this article, J. Lamar Worzel, an AGU Fellow who worked with Maurice Ewing from 1936 to 1974, provides personal insights into Ewing's work in deep‐ocean seismic research, both before and after World War II; and also into the establishment of the Lamont Geological Observatory of Columbia University. This article is based on a talk presented at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on March 30, 2000, at the ONR History Colloquium Oceanography: The Making of a Science.

The NOSAMS sample preparation laboratory in the next millenium: Progress after the WOCE program

Since 1991, the primary charge of the National Ocean Sciences AMS (NOSAMS) facility at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution has been to supply high throughput, high precision AMS 14C analyses for seawater samples collected as part of the World Ocean Circulation Experiment (WOCE). Approximately 13,000 samples taken as part of WOCE should be fully analyzed by the end of Y2K. Additional sample sources and techniques must be identified and incorporated if NOSAMS is to continue in its present operation mode. A trend in AMS today is the ability to routinely process and analyze radiocarbon samples that contain tiny amounts (<100 μg) of carbon. The capability to mass-produce small samples for 14C analysis has been recognized as a major facility goal. The installation of a new 134-position MC-SNICS ion source, which utilizes a smaller graphite target cartridge than presently used, is one step towards realizing this goal. New preparation systems constructed in the sample preparation laboratory (SPL) include an automated bank of 10 small-volume graphite reactors, an automated system to process organic carbon samples, and a multi-dimensional preparative capillary gas chromatograph (PCGC).

New Fellows of the Acoustical Society of America

Fall 2006 Meeting, joint with the Acoustical Society of Japan (Honolulu, Hawaii). The Technical Committee on Acoustical Oceanography AO sponsored two special sessions: 1 “Acoustic scattering by aquatic organisms,” organized by Ken Foote Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Masahiro Furusawa from the Acoustical Society of Japan; and 2 “Ocean acoustic tomography for coastal and deep water applications,” organized by Jim Mercer Applied Physical Laboratory, Seattle and Arato Kaneko from the Acoustical Society of Japan. I want to thank Jim and Ken for their extra efforts in coordinating these sessions with their co-chairs from Japan. The Best Student Paper Awards in Acoustical Oceanography went to Paul Roberts of Scripps first prize winner for his paper, “Multiple-angle acoustic scattering and classification of zooplankton,” and Tadanori Fujino Fisheries Research Agency, Hasaki, Japan who won second prize for his paper, “Target strength of a mesopelagic fish Maurolicus japonicus at 38 and 120 kHz.” Andone Lavery Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution represented AO at the Technical Program Organizing Meeting. Spring 2007 Meeting (Salt Lake City, Utah). The 2007 Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography was awarded to Brian Dushaw of the University of Washington, Applied Physical Laboratory, Seattle, for his research on acoustic tomography to measure temperature change in the ocean. Dr. Dushaw presented the AO Prize Lecture entitled, “The recent history of our understanding of low-mode internal tides in the ocean.” AO sponsored two special sessions and a memorial session for Hank Medwin. Jim Lynch Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution organized a special session entitled “Acoustic sensing of the ocean and seabed using gliders and AUVs.” Grant

Occurrence of the Olympic Mudminnow on the East Side of the Puget Trough

Commerce, NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-AFSC-103. 96 p. *RUGH DJ, SHELDEN KEW, ScHuLMAN-JANIGER A. 1999. Timing of the southbound migration of gray whales in 1998/99. Paper SC/ 51/ ASll submitted to the International Whaling Commission scientific committee, May 1999.10 p. Available from: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. SCHEFFER VB, SLIPP JW. 1948. The whales and dolphins of Washington state with a key to the cetaceans of the west coast of North America. The American Midland Naturalist 39:257-337. SHELDEN KEW, RUGH DJ, BOEVE SA. 2000. Gray whale calf sightings during southbound migrations, 1952-95. Journal of Cetacean Research Management Special Issue 2. In press. *WAHL TR. 1984. Distribution and abundance of seabirds over the continental shelf of Washington (including information on selected marine mammals). Report to State of Washington, Department of Ecology, Olympia, WA, from TR Wahl, 3041 Eldrige, Bellingham, WA, 98225. 92 p. Available from: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. *WATKINS W. 1999. December 1998 whale data from Whidbey NOPF. Unpublished letter from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, MA, 27 January 1999. Available from: National Marine Mammal Laboratory, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, NOAA, NMFS, 7600 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle, WA 98115. WEBB, RL. 1988. On the Northwest: commercial whaling in the Pacific Northwest, 1790-1967. UBC Press, Vancouver, B.C. 425 p.

Heterotrophic and mixotrophic nanoplankton predation on picoplankton in the Sargasso Sea and on Georges Bank

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 192:103-118 (2000) - doi:10.3354/meps192103 Heterotrophic and mixotrophic nanoplankton predation on picoplankton in the Sargasso Sea and on Georges Bank Robert W. Sanders1,*, Ulrike-G. Berninger2, Ee Lin Lim3,**, Paul F. Kemp4, David A. Caron3,*** 1Department of Biology, Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA 2Institut für Meereskunde, Abteilung Meeresbotanik, Düsternbrooker Weg 20, 24105 Kiel, Germany 3Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA 4Marine Sciences Research Center, State University of New York, Stony Brook, New York 11794, USA *E-mail: rsanders@nimbus.ocis.temple.edu Present addresses: **Department of Biology. Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19122, USA ***Department of Biological Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA ABSTRACT: Nanoplankton and picoplankton abundance and community grazing on picoplankton were determined in summer and autumn at several stations in a productive coastal environment (Georges Bank, NW Atlantic Ocean) and in an oligotrophic oceanic ecosystem (Sargasso Sea). Ranges of heterotrophic nanoplankton (HNAN) abundance were 1.2 to 3.6 x 103 cells ml-1 on Georges Bank, and 2.2 to 6.8 x 102 cells ml-1 in the Sargasso Sea. Ranges of phototrophic nanoplankton (PNAN) abundance in these ecosystems were 1.9 to 6.0 x 103 and 1.3 to 4.7 x 102, respectively. Mixotrophic nanoplankton (MNAN), operationally defined here as chloroplast-bearing nanoplankton that ingested fluorescent tracers, comprised an average of 12 to 17% of PNAN in surface waters in both environments during August and October. Mixotrophs at specific stations constituted as much as 38% of total PNAN abundance on Georges Bank and 30% in the Sargasso Sea. Mixotrophs represented up to 39% of the total phagotrophic nanoplankton abundance (MNAN/[MNAN + HNAN]). Community grazing impact was estimated from the disappearance of fluorescent prey surrogates (fluorescently labeled bacteria, FLB; cyanobacteria, FLC; and <\3 µm algae, FLA). Absolute grazing rates (total picoplankton cells removed d-1) on Georges Bank exceeded those in the Sargasso Sea due to the greater abundances of predators and prey. However, there was overlap in the specific grazing losses at the 2 sites (ranges = 0.08 to 0.38 d-1 in the coastal ocean and 0.05 to 0.24 d-1 in the oligotrophic ocean). Rates of bacterivory were in approximate balance with rates of bacterial production (3H-thymidine uptake), but production exceeded bacterivory on Georges Bank during the summer cruise. These data are among the first documenting the impact of grazing on picoplankton in these environments, and they are consistent with the prediction that nanoplanktonic protists are major predators of picoplankton. While the proportion of phototrophs that are phagotrophic was highly variable, our study indicates that algal mixotrophy is widespread in the marine environment, occurring in both coastal and oligotrophic sites, and should be considered quantitatively in microbial food web investigations. KEY WORDS: Nanoplankton/picoplankton interactions · Mixotrophy · Bacterivory · Herbivory · Microbial food web · Flagellates · Cyanobacteria Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 192. Publication date: January 31, 2000 Print ISSN:0171-8630; Online ISSN:1616-1599 Copyright © 2000 Inter-Research.

Predator-prey relations at a spawning aggregation site of coral reef fishes

MEPS Marine Ecology Progress Series Contact the journal Facebook Twitter RSS Mailing List Subscribe to our mailing list via Mailchimp HomeLatest VolumeAbout the JournalEditorsTheme Sections MEPS 203:275-288 (2000) - doi:10.3354/meps203275 Predator-prey relations at a spawning aggregation site of coral reef fishes Gorka Sancho1,*, Christopher W. Petersen2, Phillip S. Lobel3 1Department of Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA 2College of the Atlantic, 105 Eden St., Bar Harbor, Maine 04609, USA 3Boston University Marine Program, Woods Hole, Massachusetts 02543, USA *Present address: AZTI-Technological Institute for Fisheries and Food, Txatxarramendi Ugartea z/g, 48395 Sukarrieta, Spain. E-mail: gsancho@whoi.edu ABSTRACT: Predation is a selective force hypothesized to influence the spawning behavior of coral reef fishes. This study describes and quantifies the predatory activities of 2 piscivorous (Caranx melampygus and Aphareus furca) and 2 planktivorous (Melichthys niger and M. vidua) fishes at a coral reef fish-spawning aggregation site in Johnston Atoll (Central Pacific). To characterize predator-prey relations, the spawning behavior of prey species was quantified simultaneously with measurements of predatory activity, current speed and substrate topography. The activity patterns of piscivores was typical of neritic, daylight-active fish. Measured both as abundance and attack rates, predatory activity was highest during the daytime, decreased during the late afternoon, and reached a minimum at dusk. The highest diversity of spawning prey species occurred at dusk, when piscivores were least abundant and overall abundance of prey fishes was lowest. The abundance and predatory activity of the jack C. melampygus were positively correlated with the abundance of spawning prey, and therefore this predator was considered to have a flexible prey-dependent activity pattern. By contrast, the abundance and activity of the snapper A. furca were generally not correlated with changes in abundance of spawning fishes. Spawning prey fishes were more common over substrates with complex topography, where refuges from piscivores were abundant. Piscivores differentially selected group-spawning species during spawning rushes over pair-spawning and non-spawning fishes. Overall attack rates by piscivores on adult spawning fishes were higher than by planktivores feeding on recently released eggs. The triggerfishes M. niger and M. vidua fed most actively at dusk and selected as prey those species of reef fishes that produced eggs of large size. KEY WORDS: Predator-prey interactions · Predation · Piscivory · Planktivory · Spawning · Coral reef fishes Full text in pdf format PreviousNextExport citation RSS - Facebook - Tweet - linkedIn Cited by Published in MEPS Vol. 203. Online publication date: September 18, 2000 Print ISSN: 0171-8630; Online ISSN: 1616-1599 Copyright © 2000 Inter-Research.