Alvin dive log from off Costa Rica from R/V Atlantis AT15-59, AT15-44 in the Pacific Ocean off Costa Rica, Pacific, off Costa Rica from 2009-2010 (Seep Carbonate Ecology CROCKS II project)

Website: https://www.bco-dmo.org/dataset/3603
Version:
Version Date: 2012-01-19

Project
» Short-term colonization processes at Costa Rica methane seeps (Seep Carbonate Ecology CROCKS II)
ContributorsAffiliationRole
Levin, Lisa A.University of California-San Diego (UCSD-SIO)Chief Scientist, Principal Investigator
Orphan, Victoria J.California Institute of Technology (Caltech)Co-Chief Scientist, Co-Principal Investigator
Rathburn, Anthony EIndiana State University (ISU)Co-Chief Scientist, Co-Principal Investigator
Rouse, GregoryUniversity of California-San Diego (UCSD-SIO)Co-Chief Scientist, Co-Principal Investigator
Copley, NancyWoods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI)BCO-DMO Data Manager


Dataset Description

Atlantis/Alvin cruise off Costa Rica

The primary goal of the cruise was to recover biological experiments deployed at active and inactive seep areas during Feb./March 2009. We successfully recovered 23/24 experimental units deployed on Mound 12, Costa Rica. One was simply missing on the sea floor. By using a gear elevator each day to maximize sample collection (and reserve ALVIN basket space for experiments) we were able to recover our experiments rapidly. This left us time for exploration of unusual biological communities at Jaco Scar.


Methods & Sampling

Equipment used: standard Alvin tubecores; Ocean Instruments multicorer; Seabird CTD with O2 sensor.

Where indicated, sediment samples from tube cores were sectioned vertically and preserved in buffered formaldehyde (standard procedures) or frozen at -80ºC.

Colonization substrates had macrofauna (>0.3 mm) and meiofauna (>0.42 microns) removed and preserved.  Representative individuals were frozen for subsequent stable isotope analyses.


[ table of contents | back to top ]

Data Files

File
dive_log.csv
(Comma Separated Values (.csv), 28.09 KB)
MD5:8424588330e732d9bf74d5f80a88f314
Primary data file for dataset ID 3603

[ table of contents | back to top ]

Parameters

ParameterDescriptionUnits
dive

Alvin dive number

integer
station

location of sample

text
lat

latitude; North is positive

decimal degrees
lon

longitude; East is positive

decimal degrees
depth_w

water depth

meters
location

location at site

text
habitat

bottom habitat

text
seep_activity

degree of seep activity

text
sample_type

type of sample

text
replicate

replicate information

text
sample_id

sample number or info

text
photos

whether photographs were taken or not

text
comments

comments

text
fate

processing of sample

text
yrday_gmt

GMT day and decimal time, as 326.5 for the 326th day of the year, or November 22 at 1200 hours (noon). In the case of drifter data, year day may be continuous over a multi year period. No time in this dataset so no decimal is added to the yearday.

1 to 365
year

year of sampling.

yyyy
month

month, GMT time.

1 to 12
day

day of sampling, GMT

1 to 31


[ table of contents | back to top ]

Instruments

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
Alvin tube core
Generic Instrument Name
Alvin tube core
Generic Instrument Description
A plastic tube, about 40 cm (16 inches) long, is pushed into the sediment by Alvin's manipulator arm to collect a sediment core.

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
CTD Sea-Bird
Generic Instrument Name
CTD Sea-Bird
Dataset-specific Description
Seabird CTD with oxygen sensor.
Generic Instrument Description
Conductivity, Temperature, Depth (CTD) sensor package from SeaBird Electronics, no specific unit identified. This instrument designation is used when specific make and model are not known. See also other SeaBird instruments listed under CTD. More information from Sea-Bird Electronics.

Dataset-specific Instrument Name
Multi Corer
Generic Instrument Name
Multi Corer
Dataset-specific Description
Ocean Instruments multicorer
Generic Instrument Description
The Multi Corer is a benthic coring device used to collect multiple, simultaneous, undisturbed sediment/water samples from the seafloor. Multiple coring tubes with varying sampling capacity depending on tube dimensions are mounted in a frame designed to sample the deep ocean seafloor. For more information, see Barnett et al. (1984) in Oceanologica Acta, 7, pp. 399-408.


[ table of contents | back to top ]

Deployments

AT15-59

Website
Platform
R/V Atlantis
Start Date
2010-01-06
End Date
2010-01-13
Description
Costa Rica seafloor methane seeps 8 deg 55 N 84 depth 990m. Included Alvin dives 4586-4591. The primary goal of the cruise was to recover biological experiments deployed at active and inactive seep areas during Feb./March 2009. We successfully recovered 23/24 experimental units deployed on Mound 12, Costa Rica. One was simply missing on the sea floor. By using a gear elevator each day to maximize sample collection (and reserve ALVIN basket space for experiments) we were able to recover our experiments rapidly. This left us time for exploration of unusual biological communities at Jaco Scar. Cruise information and original data are available from the NSF R2R data catalog. Cruise dates changed Feb 2015 to match WHOI ship schedule and R2R.

AT15-44

Website
Platform
R/V Atlantis
Start Date
2009-02-21
End Date
2009-03-08
Description
Cruise Objective: We will conduct research in exposed carbonate ecosystems on the Costa Rica margin (700-1,400 m), to test hypotheses about the influence of active seepage on carbonate rock animal communities and their successional phases, on microbial activity including anerobic methane oxidation and sulfide oxidation, on carbon isotopic composition of shelled organisms, and on phylogenetic affinities of animals. To test hypotheses we will sample existing authigenic carbonates from 3 levels of seepage activity: highly active, weak and inactive. Activity level will be defined by presence of /or proximity to bubbles/shimmering water, microbial mat development and megafauna, as well as previous fluid flow and composition measurements made at the Costa Rica study sites. We will sample 5 to 8 locations with each activity level in each study region, controlling for rock size and carbonate configuration when possible. ALVIN: During 3 dives at each of 4 study sites we will conduct bottom surveys and video transects, measure S, T, O2, select 4 to 8 highly active, weakly active and inactive sites, photograph organisms and classify rocks in situ, collect rocks of varying sizes with organisms, and sample nearby sediments and biotic substrata (mussels, tube worms) for taxonomic comparisons. The remaining 2 dives at Costa Rica seeps will be used to conduct follow-up survey and sampling of the most promising locations, based on shipboard sample observations. Nighttime operations will consist of CTD casts (a minimum of one each at Mound 11, Mound 13, Jaco Scarp and Mound Quepos), multicoring (adjacent to mounds and at 400 m and 600 m sites in the OMZ), and pre-dive seabeam surveys. Cruise information and original data are available from the NSF R2R data catalog.


[ table of contents | back to top ]

Project Information

Short-term colonization processes at Costa Rica methane seeps (Seep Carbonate Ecology CROCKS II)

Coverage: Costa Rica seafloor methane seeps 8 deg 55 N 84 deg 18 W depth 990m


This RAPID project will conduct 5 submersible or ROV dives to collect a series of colonization experiments deployed in March 2009 on Mound 12 off Costa Rica (997 m). These experiments were deployed opportunistically, and to optimize the information that could be obtained, the PIs needed to recover them within a 12 month time frame. Early colonization of rock, wood, shell and tube substrates will be studied. The microbes, foraminiferans and metazoans present after 6-12 mo will be compared to those colonizing similar experiments to be deployed at Hydrate Ridge, where seeps occur within an oxygen minimum zone. The overall project goal is to integrate physical, geological, chemical and biological data to develop a holistic view of the influence of seep-generated carbonate hard-ground ecosystems on margins.

The objectives of the research are to (a) Compare colonizers at seeps off Costa Rica and Hydrate Ridge to assess the importance of different oxygen regimes in the development of anaerobic methane oxidation, sulfide oxiders and other microbial metabolisms on hard substrates, and to evaluate their roles in driving protozoan and metazoan succession at methane seeps. (b) Deploy a suite of biotic and abiotic substrates to distinguish the specific roles of carbonate substrate from those of other hard substrates (wood, clam and mussel shells, worm tubes) available. (c) Explore the similarity of vent and seep colonization processes by comparing colonization at the Costa Rica seeps, where vent species are common, to the Hydrate Ridge seeps, where they are not. (d) Determine whether there are diagnosable biogeographic isotope or other biomarker signatures from newly recruited Costa Rica microbial, foraminiferal and animal populations at active vs. inactive seeps, and whether these differ from those at Hydrate Ridge.

This research will involve international participation from Costa Rican scientists at the Univ. of Costa Rica.



[ table of contents | back to top ]

Funding

Funding SourceAward
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)
NSF Division of Ocean Sciences (NSF OCE)

[ table of contents | back to top ]