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North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium 2006 Annual Report Card
Full text linkThe North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) remains one of the most endangered large whales in the world. Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in addressing the problems hampering the recovery of North Atlantic right whales by using innovative research techniques, new technologies, analyses of existing databases, and enhanced conservation and education strategies. This increased interest demanded better coordination and collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that there was improved access to data, research efforts were not duplicative, and that findings were shared with all interested parties. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, initially formed in 1986 by five research institutions to share data among themselves, was expanded in 1997 to address these greater needs. Currently, the Consortium membership is comprised of representatives from more than 100 entities including: research, academic, and conservation organizations; shipping and fishing industries; whale watching companies; technical experts; United States (U.S.) and Canadian Government agencies; and state authorities. North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium members agreed in 2004 that an annual “report card” on the status of right whales would be useful. This report card includes updates on the status of the cataloged population, mortalities and injury events, and a summary of management and research efforts that have occurred over the previous 12 months. The Board’s goal is to make public a summary of current research and management activities, as well as provide detailed recommendations for future activities. The Board views this report as a valuable asset in assessing the effects of research and management over time.Island Foundation; Conference Fee
Adult oyster condition index from risk-addition experiments in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve from June to November 2012
No full textDataset: Results of risk-addition experiment (adult oyster condition index)The eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) is a foundation species in northeast Florida estuaries, including the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (GTMNERR), where intertidal reefs are extensive. Estuarine research to assess sustainability and oyster population, plus various monitoring studies and oyster reef restoration projects have been undertaken, with an additional focus on testing theory regarding the effects of predation risk in the natural environment.
As part of a study that manipulatively “pressed” risk cues onto oyster prey, a field experiment was conducted on oyster reefs in the Guana Tolomato Matanzas National Estuarine Research Reserve (Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida) from June to November 2012. Three areas within the southern areas of the GTM NERR (south of Matanzas inlet) were used in the experiment: Summer Island North (SIN), Marine Land (ML) and Pellicer Flats (PF). The SIN site occurred closest to the inlet (farthest from freshwater input), the PF site occurred farthest from inlet and closest to freshwater input, while the ML site occurs between the inlet and the freshwater input. Oyster survival, growth and recruitment were checked monthly. At the mid point and conclusion of the experiment, individual oysters were also destructively sampled to quantify differences in oyster traits (shell versus tissue mass) as a function of experimental treatment and location. This submission concerns the condition index of adult oysters.
For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/885078NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-1736943, NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-182054
Distributions and perturbations of the marine dissolved cobalt cycle in a changing ocean
Full text linkSubmitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Biogeochemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 2023.Cobalt is a necessary nutrient for many marine phytoplankton, but its hybrid-type nature results in small marine inventories that make it one of the scarcest bioactive trace metals in the oceans. This study examines the marine dissolved cobalt cycle in two regions: the Pacific Ocean and Antarctic coastal seas. In the North Pacific, elevated cobalt stoichiometries among phytoplankton were linked to nitrogen, iron and phosphate stress protein biomarkers at the boundaries of oceanographic provinces and upwelling zones, providing insight into the flexibility of cobalt stoichiometry. In both regions, perturbations to the marine cobalt cycle were either predicted or observed; in the equatorial Pacific, the dissolved cobalt inventory was predicted to increase by up to 28% due to the expansion of oxygen minimum zones in a warmer ocean, while in the Antarctic, melting ice shelves have the potential to shift the nutrient regime from iron limitation towards zinc and vitamin B12 limitation, resulting in higher cobalt demand and a lower dissolved cobalt inventory. When the global cobalt cycle was estimated throughout four of Earth’s systems (the lithosphere, biosphere, hydrosphere and the anthroposphere – the human environment), it was determined that the scale
of the cobalt flux through the anthroposphere is only one order of magnitude lower than the inventory of the entire hydrosphere (10(9) mol Co yr-1 and 10(10) mol Co, respectively), revealing a vulnerability to anthropogenic perturbation of the marine cobalt inventory through human mining, use and disposal of cobalt if appropriate pollution abatement, disposal and recycling infrastructure is not established. In light of observed and predicted changes to cobalt biogeochemistry, this research suggests that the marine cobalt cycle is particularly vulnerable to anthropogenic perturbation from both global climate change and pollution due to its low ocean inventory and interconnection to other nutrient biogeochemical cycles.My work in the Saito Lab was supported by several National Science Foundation grants, including awards for the GEOTRACES
GP15 program (OCE-1736599, OCE-1756138, OCE-1657781 and OCE-1736601), the CICLOPS expedition via the Office of Polar Programs (OPP-1643684, OPP-1644073 and OPP-1643845), and the CLIO Biogeochemical AUV project (OCE-1924554 and OCE-1658067), as well as funding from the Watson Foundation
Chemical controls on the cycling and reactivity of marine dissolved organic matter
Full text linkSubmitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Marine Chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 2023.Marine dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an actively cycling reservoir of carbon containing thousands of unique compounds. To describe the complex dynamics that govern the biological transformation and decomposition of compounds in this molecular black box, models of DOM reactivity use chemical characteristics, as well as environmental parameters, to describe trends in the turnover time of classes of DOM. In this thesis, I describe two projects that examine hypotheses regarding the turnover of two classes of DOM. In the 1st project, I test the assumption made by the size–reactivity continuum hypothesis that high molecular weight (> 1 kDa) DOM (HMWDOM) represents a diagenetic intermediate between large labile material and small recalcitrant compounds. Size-fractions of HMWDOM were collected using size-exclusion chromatography, and the changes in MW and chemical composition of the fractions were studied using diffusion-ordered spectroscopy. The size fraction carbon isotopic values were correlated with the proportion of humic substances in the fractions. Through linear modeling, the apparent radiocarbon ages of the two major components of HMWDOM were determined to be 1-3 yrs and 2-4 kyrs, respectively. Combined with the measurements of MW distribution this work demonstrates that HMWDOM is composed of two components that have contrasting decomposition pathways in the ocean. HMWDOM cannot be treated as a single DOM pool when incorporated into models of DOM diagenesis.
The 2nd project in this dissertation examines the remineralization of phosphonates, compounds with a direct C-P bond, in the lower euphotic zone using a newly developed fluorescent assay, which measures the activity of carbon-phosphorus lyase. C-P lyase activity (CLA) profiles from the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG) showed a sharp activity maximum near the deep-chlorophyll maximum (DCM). High-resolution nutrient measurements suggest that this subsurface CLA maximum is the result of a high nitrate flux at the top of the nitracline. The composition of particulate-P through the euphotic zone was also examined. While phosphonates were not detected in suspended particles, a significant amount of aminoethylphosphonate was measured in sinking material, suggesting eukaryotic material may be an important source of phosphonates to the ocean.The studies described in this dissertation were supported by the Simons Foundation (SCOPE award 329108 to D.M.K. and D.J.R.), the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation (3794; D.M.K. and 6000; D.J.R.), and the National Science Foundation (NSF: OCE-1634080; D.J.R.) and I thank them for their support
Physical and biological processes at the Middle Atlantic Bight shelf-break front
Full text linkSubmitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution February 2023.The Middle Atlantic Bight (MAB) is a highly productive ecosystem, supporting several economically important commercial fisheries. Chlorophyll enhancement at the MAB shelf-break front has been observed only intermittently, despite numerous studies that suggest persistent upwelling at the front. High resolution cross-frontal transect crossings were collected from three two-week cruises in April 2018, May 2019, and July 2019. Chapter 2 focused on applying a novel method of classifying planktonic images taken by a Video Plankton Recorder to enable processing of the large volumes of data collected with the instrument. Chapter 3 investigated cross-frontal trends by temporally averaging in both Eulerian and frontally-aligned coordinates. For April 2018, transient chlorophyll enhancement was seen at the front in individual transects and within the frontally-aligned mean transect, but not within the Eulerian mean transect. The Eulerian mean for May 2019 showed chlorophyll enhancement as a result of frontal eddies, which were further explored in chapter 4. No frontal enhancement was observed in July 2019. The frontal eddies observed in May 2019 were simulated using an idealized model, which showed that upwelling occurred within both of the frontal eddies, despite having opposite rotational directions. This result was consistent with nutrient enhancement observed within the centers of both eddies. Biological enhancement within each eddy was observed, which may have been a result of advection from source waters and/or a local response to upwelled nutrients. The influence of frontal variability and frontal eddies on nutrients and plankton at the front argues for the necessity for 3-D models to fully explain frontal behavior and its effects on biological responses.The research in this thesis was supported by the National Science Foundation (OCE-1657803) and the Dalio Foundation. Support from the WHOI Academic Programs Office is gratefully acknowledged
Geochemical measurements of CTD and Alvin Niskin samples collected in the Gulf of California during R/V Falkor cruise FK190211 in 2019
No full textDataset: FK190211 water col geochemFor a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/821645NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-135736
Lidar Metadata Nantucket
No full textThis data was collected by Kirincich and Cinquino as part of a Metocean monitoring campaign sponsored by the National Offshore Wind Research and Development Consortium (NOWRDC). The campaign was designed to observe key atmospheric parameters at a land based site in the proximity of the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Wind Energy Areas for one year. This is part of a longer term effort to collect atmospheric and oceanic data at an existing offshore platform in the vicinity, which can be found here https://darchive.mblwhoilibrary.org/handle/1912/27014. The campaign supported the purchase and installation of a LIDAR wind profiler at the Nantucket Test Site (NTS). This instrument was installed and operated by WHOI and validated by UL-AWS Truepower following a MetOcean Measurement Plan created by UL-AWST, WHOI, and NOWRDC. The LIDAR was installed at the NTS in November 2021 and operated continuously, as possible, through the end of 2023
April-June 2022 Lidar raw data Nantucket
No full textThis zipped content contains Lidar raw data: Raw 10-minute files of 1 Hz data files from 53-200m amsl from April-June 2022
Salinity tolerance of oysters without acclimation in lab conditions: shell heights
No full textDataset: Salinity tolerance without acclimation: Shell HeightsThe mortality of oyster spat spawned from four different wild broodstocks (first filial generation) was measured when exposed to five different salinities (without acclimation) under controlled laboratory conditions. Oyster broodstocks were sourced from two populations in Louisiana (Calcasieu Lake; 29°50′58′′N, 93°17′1′′W, and Vermilion Bay; 29°34′47′′N, 92°2′4′′W) and two populations in Texas (Packery Channel; 27°37′38′′N, 97°13′59′′W, and Aransas Bay; 28°7′38′′N, 96°59′8′′W). Mortality was recorded in oyster spat that were exposed to salinities of 2, 4, 20, 38 and 44 without acclimation under laboratory conditions. Changes in water quality and spat size were also recorded.
For a complete list of measurements, refer to the full dataset description in the supplemental file 'Dataset_description.pdf'. The most current version of this dataset is available at: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/870248NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE) OCE-173720
North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium 2018 Annual Report Card
Full text linkThe North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) remains one of the most endangered large whales in the world. Over the past two decades, there has been increasing interest in addressing the problems hampering the recovery of North Atlantic right whales by using innovative research techniques, new technologies, analyses of existing databases, and enhanced conservation and education strategies. This increased interest demanded better coordination and collaboration among all stakeholders to ensure that there was improved access to data, research efforts were not duplicative, and that findings were shared with all interested parties. The North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium, initially formed in 1986 by five research institutions to share data among themselves, was expanded in 1997 to address these greater needs. Currently, the Consortium membership is comprised of representatives from more than 100 entities including: research, academic, and conservation organizations; shipping and fishing industries; whale watching companies; technical experts; United States (U.S.) and Canadian Government agencies; and state authorities. North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium members agreed in 2004 that an annual “report card” on the status of right whales would be useful. This report card includes updates on the status of the cataloged population, mortalities and injury events, and a summary of management and research efforts that have occurred over the previous 12 months. The Board’s goal is to make public a summary of current research and management activities, as well as provide detailed recommendations for future activities. The Board views this report as a valuable asset in assessing the effects of research and management over time.Island Foundation; Conference Fee