GLOBEC: Winter Distribution and Success of Southern Ocean Krill

美国全球海洋生态系统动力学（GLOBEC）计划的目标是了解并最终预测海洋动物物种的种群如何应对自然和人为气候变化。 对南大洋的研究表明，气候过程和生态系统动态之间通过每年海冰的形成和破坏存在着强烈的耦合。 南大洋全球生态系统方案将通过确定影响目标物种的分布、丰度和种群动态的关键参数，调查物理过程与生态系统反应之间的动态关系。 SO GLOBEC计划的总体目标是阐明大陆架环流过程及其对海冰形成和磷虾分布的影响，并研究决定磷虾存活率和向更高营养水平（包括企鹅、海豹和鲸鱼）提供的因素。美国对国际SO GLOBEC计划的贡献的重点将是冬季过程。这一组成部分将利用一套先进的仪器，即BIOMAPPER II，重点研究幼虾和成年磷虾以及中型浮游动物的猎物分布和数量，该仪器配备有声学后向散射声纳系统、浮游生物录像机和环境传感器系统。该系统用于大规模研究。此外，一个远程操作的车辆将被用来绘制磷虾在冰下的分布和行为。综合SO GLOBEC计划的结果将是提高海洋生物资源的可预测性，特别是在地方和全球气候变化方面。

The U.S. Global Ocean Ecosystems Dynamics (U.S. GLOBEC) program has the goal of understanding and ultimately predicting how populations of marine animal species respond to natural and anthropogenic changes in climate. Research in the Southern Ocean (SO) indicates strong coupling between climatic processes and ecosystem dynamics via the annual formation and destruction of sea ice. The Southern Ocean GLOBEC Program (SO GLOBEC) will investigate the dynamic relationship between physical processes and ecosystem responses through identification of critical parameters that affect the distribution, abundance and population dynamics of target species. The overall goals of the SO GLOBEC program are to elucidate shelf circulation processes and their effect on sea ice formation and krill distribution, and to examine the factors which govern krill survivorship and availability to higher trophic levels, including penguins, seals and whales. The focus of the U.S. contribution to the international SO GLOBEC program will be on winter processes. This component will focus on juvenile and adult krill and mesozooplankton prey distribution and abundance using a sophisticated instrument package, BIOMAPPER II, which is equipped with an acoustic backscatter sonar system, a video plankton recorder and an environmental sensor system. The system is used in large-scale studies. Additionally, a remotely-operative vehicle will be used to map the distribution and behavior of krill under ice. The result of the integrated SO GLOBEC program will be to improve the predictability of living marine resources, especially with respect to local and global climatic shifts.