A non-diatom plankton bloom controlled by copepod grazing and amphipod predation: Preliminary results from the LOHAFEX iron-fertilisation experiment
View/ Open
Date
2009Author
Mazzocchi, M.G.
Gonzalez, H.E.
Vandromme, P.
Borrione, I.
deAlcala, M.R.
Gauns, M.
Assmy, P.
Fuchs, B.
Klaas, C.
Martin, P.
Montresor, M.
Ramaiah, N.
Naqvi, S.W.A.
Smetacek, V.
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
The most memorable LOHAFEX cruise came to an end on 17 March 2009 when RV Polarstern docked in the harbour of Punta Arenas (southern Chile) after successfully carrying out the longest iron fertilisation experiment so far (39 days). The two and a half month voyage, spent in the notorious Roaring Forties of the south - western Atlantic, was as close to an adventure as a research cruise can get these days. We first had to weather a totally unexpected political storm while we were selecting a suitable meso - scale eddy in which to conduct the experiment. Permission to go ahead with fertilisation came just as we had satisfied ourselves that we were indeed right in the centre of the selected eddy. After spreading 10 tonnes of dissolved ferrous sulphate over a patch of 150 km sup(2), we followed, with excitement, the chemical and biological changes stimulated by iron fertilisation while chasing the patch circling within the eddy. Some weeks later, to our chagrin, the eddy started collapsing and ejected our patch, which, nevertheless, miraculously `waited` for two weeks, squeezed between other eddies, until our day of departure
Collections
- Scholarly literature [9069]