Continuation of Time-Series Particle Flux Measurements in the Sargasso Sea

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A time-series sediment trapping program in the Sargasso Sea southeast of Bermuda will be continued for three years. The existing series extends over nine years. It is by far the longest such series and has attracted a number of other projects to the site. Together with the hydrographic time series at nearby Station "S", it provides a background of temporal variability which is likely to be utilized and extended by the Global Ocean Flux Study (GOFS). The value of time-series measurements is now widely appreciated. The series have demonstrated the transfer of temporal variability from the surface to the deep ocean and its effects on deep-sea chemistry and biology. Continuation of the Bermuda series will be an efficient route towards assessing decade-scale trends in the transport of anthropogenic components to the deep ocean. It is anticipated that the transition from the present bimonthly sampling mode to the expected GOFS sampling mode be facilitated by changing to a higher-frequency (weekly or biweekly) sampling schedule using sequential-collector traps. Besides continuing present studies on the samples, proposed studies include examination of simultaneous time-depth changes in constituent ratios and in ontogenetic stages of planktonic foraminifera; trends in the deep fluxes of lead and PCB's since 1978; the role of pteropods in calcium carbonate cycling in the water column; and testing for relationships among hydrography, particle fluxes and CZCS color data.//