Showing papers on "Monterey Canyon published in 2013"
01 Sep 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors reviewed 1149 video records of marine debris from 22 years of remotely operated vehicle deployments in Monterey Bay, covering depths from 25 m to 3971 m. Debris was most abundant within Monterey Canyon where aggregation and downslope transport of debris from the continental shelf are enhanced by natural canyon dynamics.
Abstract: Anthropogenic marine debris is an increasing concern because of its potential negative impacts on marine ecosystems. This is a global problem that will have lasting effects for many reasons, including: (1) the input of debris into marine environments is likely to continue (commensurate with population increase and globalization), (2) accumulation, and possibly retention, of debris will occur in specific areas due to hydrography and geomorphology, and (3) the most common types of debris observed to date will likely persist for centuries. Due to the technical challenges and prohibitive costs of conducting research in the deep sea, little is known about the abundance, types, sources, and impacts of human refuse on this vast habitat, and the extreme depths to which this debris is penetrating has only recently been exposed. We reviewed 1149 video records of marine debris from 22 years of remotely operated vehicle deployments in Monterey Bay, covering depths from 25 m to 3971 m. We characterize debris by type, examine patterns of distribution, and discuss potential sources and dispersal mechanisms. Debris was most abundant within Monterey Canyon where aggregation and downslope transport of debris from the continental shelf are enhanced by natural canyon dynamics. The majority of debris was plastic (33%) and metal (23%). The highest relative frequencies of plastic and metal observations occurred below 2000 m, indicating that previous studies may greatly underestimate the extent of anthropogenic marine debris on the seafloor due to limitations in observing deeper regions. Our findings provide evidence that submarine canyons function to collect debris and act as conduits for debris transport from coastal to deep-sea habitats.
192 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, a depth-cycling towed body was used to understand internal tide propagation and dissipation through the canyon bends, and they measured dissipation near the Gooseneck Meander was sufficient to explain the flux divergence.
Abstract: [1] Submarine canyons are sites of intense turbulence and mixing. Monterey Canyon cuts into the continental shelf off California, and is defined by its sinuous nature. Temperature, salinity, and current velocity measurements were made over 21 days in April 2009 with a depth-cycling towed body to understand internal tide propagation and dissipation through the canyon bends. Cross-canyon transects reveal complex flow patterns that follow large-scale bathymetry on scales greater than 5 km. Changes in thalweg direction deflect baroclinic energy flux, but the bends in the measurement region are too sharp for the flux to follow the thalweg. Ridges that form the bends in the canyon act as obstacles to the flow, and turbulent dissipation rates greater than 1 × 10−5 m2 s−3 were observed on their flanks, especially at the largest meander (the Gooseneck). The canyon-integrated baroclinic energy flux increased from 2.7 MW at the most western section to 3.7 MW at the Gooseneck Ridge, which has a nearly critical bottom slope with respect to the semidiurnal baroclinic tide on the western side; baroclinic energy flux was 50% less on the eastern side of the ridge. While measured dissipation near the Gooseneck Meander was sufficient to explain the flux divergence, turbulence near the Gooseneck may have been undersampled. Between the Gooseneck Ridge and the most eastern cross-canyon transect, dissipation may account for the decrease in the energy flux; though a local energy balance does not hold, the energy budget is balanced over the larger scale of the measurement region east of the Gooseneck Ridge.
23 citations
01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explored the distribution, magnitude, geochemical controls, and biological mediators of nitrogen fixation at several deep-sea sediment habitats, including active methane seeps (Mound 12, Costa Rica; Eel River Basin, CA, USA; Hydrate Ridge, OR, USA, and Monterey Canyon, CA), whale-fall sites (Monterey canyon, CA) and background deepsea sediment.
Abstract: Biological nitrogen fixation (the conversion of N2 to NH3) is a critical process in the oceans, counteracting the production of N2 gas by dissimilatory bacterial metabolisms and providing a source of bioavailable nitrogen to many nitrogen-limited ecosystems. One currently poorly studied and potentially underappreciated habitat for diazotrophic organisms is the sediments of the deep-sea. Although nitrogen fixation was once thought to be negligible in non-photosynthetically driven benthic ecosystems, the present study demonstrates the occurrence and expression of a diversity of nifH genes (those necessary for nitrogen fixation), as well as a widespread ability to fix nitrogen at high rates in these locations. The following research explores the distribution, magnitude, geochemical controls, and biological mediators of nitrogen fixation at several deep-sea sediment habitats, including active methane seeps (Mound 12, Costa Rica; Eel River Basin, CA, USA; Hydrate Ridge, OR, USA; and Monterey Canyon, CA, USA), whale-fall sites (Monterey Canyon, CA), and background deep-sea sediment (off-site Mound 12 Costa Rica, off-site Hydrate Ridge, OR, USA; and Monterey Canyon, CA, USA). The first of the five chapters describes the FISH-NanoSIMS method, which we optimized for the analysis of closely associated microbial symbionts in marine sediments. The second describes an investigation of methane seep sediment from the Eel River Basin, where we recovered nifH sequences from extracted DNA, and used FISH-NanoSIMS to identify methanotrophic archaea (ANME-2) as diazotrophs, when associated with functional sulfate-reducing bacterial symbionts. The third and fourth chapters focus on the distribution and diversity of active diazotrophs (respectively) in methane seep sediment from Mound 12, Costa Rica, using a combination of 15N-labeling experiments, FISH-NanoSIMS, and RNA and DNA analysis. The fifth chapter expands the scope of the investigation by targeting diverse samples from methane seep, whale-fall, and background sediment collected along the Eastern Pacific Margin, and comparing the rates of nitrogen fixation observed to geochemical measurements collected in parallel. Together, these analyses represent the most extensive investigation of deep-sea nitrogen fixation to date, and work towards understanding the contribution of benthic nitrogen fixation to global marine nitrogen cycling.