Celtic Sea Shelf Break (Little Sole Bank)

Electrical conductivity of the water column; Zooplankton reproduction rate parameters; Salinity of the water column; Plankton abundance per unit volume of the water column; Temperature of the water column; Zooplankton taxonomy-related abundance per unit volume of the water column; Phytoplankton growth; Zooplankton egg hatch proportion; Phytoplankton taxonomic abundance in water bodies; Nitrogen concentrations in sediment; Carbon concentrations in sediment; Zooplankton feeding

Fluorometers; nutrient analysers; plankton recorders; plankton nets; CTD undulators; CTD; plankton categorisers and counters

The Celtic Sea shelf break is a major area for mackerel spawning and PML is testing the hypothesis that physical processes, particularly those influenced by bottom topography, have a controlling influence on biological production. In June 1991, the first of 2 cruises on RRS Challenger began an investigation of the small scale events occurring on Little Sole Bank, one of the linear banks radiating from the shelf edge. In June 1991 and May 1992, the area was sampled intensively with CTDs, instrumented plankton samplers and the Undulating Oceanographic Recorder. Areas of elevated temperature and chlorophyll were associated with the shelf edge near Little Sole Bank and there were some minor effects of the bank itself. Primary productivity in these regions was high (1-2gC m**-2 d**-1) compared with less than 0.5gC m**-2 d**-1 at least productive stations over the bank. Copepod feeding and reproduction was related to phytoplankton biomass. The project will continue from 1993 for 3 years as part of the EC MAST project on Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX).

Joint, I., Wollast, R., et al (2001) Pelagic production at the Celtic Sea shelf break., Deep-Sea Research II 48(14-15) 3049-3081.

Plymouth Marine Laboratory
Prospect Place The Hoe
Plymouth
England
PL1 3DH
United Kingdom