Field study area: Rockall Trough.Site A Mouth of Rockall Trough 52.92 N 16.92 W 3580m depthSite B Hatton-Rockall Basin 57.43 N 15.68 W 1100m depthSite C Flank of Feni Drift 57.10 N 12.52 W

Variable fluorescence parameters; Dissolved oxygen parameters in the water column; Bacterial growth; Amino acids in sediment; Stable isotopes in biota; Vertical velocity of the water column (currents); Trace metalloid and inorganic selenium concentrations in sediment pore water; Sediment grain size parameters; Sedimentation flux quantification in the water column; Metal concentrations in sediment pore waters; Nutrient concentrations in sediment pore waters; Phosphate concentration parameters in the water column; Salinity of the water column; Ocean colour and earth-leaving visible waveband spectral radiation; Horizontal velocity of the water column (currents); Hydrolytic activity in sediment; Temperature of the water column; Zooplankton taxonomy-related abundance per unit volume of the water column; Zoobenthos taxonomy-related counts; Acoustic backscatter in the water column; Geological sample radioactivity; Metal concentrations in biota; Sound velocity and travel time in the water column; Visible waveband radiance and irradiance measurements in the water column; Sediment water content, porosity and surface area; Dissolved trace metalloid and inorganic selenium concentrations in water bodies; Transmittance and attenuance of the water column; Dissolved organic carbon concentrations in sediment pore waters; Stable isotopes in sediment pore waters; Bathymetry and Elevation; Carbon concentrations in sediment; Inorganic chemical composition of sediment or rocks

Current meters; radiometers; optical backscatter sensors; thermosalinographs; single-beam echosounders; multi-beam echosounders; underwater cameras; sound velocity sensors; benthos samplers; ocean colour radiometers; sediment traps; unconsolidated sediment corers; electron microscopes; mass spectrometers; acoustic backscatter sensors; transmissometers; CTD; benthic incubation chambers

This dataset includes physical, biological and biogeochemical measurements of both the water column and seabed sediments. Hydrographic data include temperature, salinity, attenuance, dissolved oxygen, fluorescence, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), sound velocity and current velocities, while biogeochemical analyses of water samples provided measurements of nutrients and biological sampling provided measurements of zooplankton abundance. A large number of benthic parameters were measured, including concentrations of substances such as nutrients, metals and carbon in both sediments and sediment pore waters. Benthic fauna were also studied, while rates of sedimentation flux were quantified. These oceanographic and benthic data were supplemented by satellite ocean colour imagery. The data were collected in the North Atlantic Ocean at the Mouth of Rockall Trough, Hatton-Rockall Basin and the Flank of Feni Drift between August 1997 and June 1999 over four cruises, comprising a preliminary site assessment (CD 107 August, 1997) followed by two process cruises (CD 111, April-May 1998, and CD 113, June-July 1998). A further cruise (CH 143) was part-funded by BENBO to retrieve moorings. The data were collected using a variety of instrumentation, including shipboard deployment of conductivity-temperature-depth (CTD) profilers with attached auxiliary sensors, benthic samplers, landers, cameras and incubation chambers, water samplers and continuous underway sensors. These were supplemented by moored sensor and satellite data. The BENBO programme was led by the Scottish Association for Marine Science/Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory involved researchers from Southampton Oceanography Centre, Scottish Universities Research and Reactor Centre, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Lancaster University, Leeds University, Edinburgh University, Cambridge University and the University of Wales, Bangor.

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