| Contributors | Affiliation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Levin, Lisa A. | University of California-San Diego (UCSD-SIO) | Chief Scientist |
| Orphan, Victoria J. | California Institute of Technology (Caltech) | Co-Chief Scientist |
| Rathburn, Anthony E | Indiana State University (ISU) | Co-Chief Scientist |
| Rouse, Gregory | University of California-San Diego (UCSD-SIO) | Co-Chief Scientist |
| Copley, Nancy | Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) | BCO-DMO Data Manager |
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.
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.
| File |
|---|
planktontow_log.csv (Comma Separated Values (.csv), 640 bytes) MD5:52f71ec15fbef7e694e29863d4bb31d5 Primary data file for dataset ID 3617 |
| Parameter | Description | Units |
| tow | tow number | integer |
| year | year of sampling | integer |
| month | month of sampling | 1 to 12 |
| day | day of sampling | 1 to 31 |
| yrday_gmt | GMT day and decimal time; as 326.5 for the 326th day of the year or November 22 at 1200 hours (noon) | decimal date |
| time | GMT time | hhmm |
| lat_start | latitude at start of tow; North is positive | decimal degrees |
| lon_start | longitude at start of tow; East is positive | decimal degrees |
| lat_end | latitude at end of tow; North is positive | decimal degrees |
| lon_end | longitude at end of tow; East is positive | decimal degrees |
| duration | duration of tow | minutes |
| mesh | mesh size | microns |
| speed_kts | speed of ship during tow | knots |
| comments_speed | comments pertaining to ship's speed | text |
| wire_out | meters of wire out | meters |
| comments | comments | text |
| Dataset-specific Instrument Name | Plankton Net |
| Generic Instrument Name | Plankton Net |
| Generic Instrument Description | A Plankton Net is a generic term for a sampling net that is used to collect plankton. It is used only when detailed instrument documentation is not available. |
| 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. |
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.