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Plymouth Field Course 2019
Group 7
Introduction
On the 5th July 2019 group 7 were taken offshore in Callista, to study the vertical and horizontal distribution of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and the physical processes governing these changes. An offshore-onshore transect performed between Station 18 (Latitude 50°18.118 N, Longitude 004°10.045 W) and Station 23 at E1 buoy (Latitude 50°03.227 N, Longitude 004°23.224 W) and finally Station 24. At stations 18,19,20,22 and 23 CTD measurements, and Niskin bottle samples were collected, to enable nitrate, nitrite, silicon, phosphate, oxygen saturation and chlorophyll measurements in the laboratory the following day, and phytoplankton counts. At these stations, zooplankton nets were also used to sample interesting features of the water column, observed from the CTD profiles and ADCP backscatter. At Station 21 and Station 24 only CTD measurements were taken to study whether vertical profiles of temperature salinity and chlorophyll fluorescence had changed, either due to mixing at Eddystone rocks or continuous heating and thermocline development throughout the day.
AIMS
In addition to the overarching theme of investigating physical parameters and plankton distribution, sampling sites were selected to possibly facilitate investigation into the following questions:
- Is an island effect observed on physical parameters and chlorophyll distribution as a result of Eddystone rocks?
- To what extent does continuous heating throughout the day impact water column structure and chlorophyll distribution?
- How is zooplankton and phytoplankton distribution affected by physical parameters, and where do different species dominate?
- Does microbial abundance differ throughout a vertical profile in stratified waters at E1?
Figure 1: Ancillary Data for all stations