Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • BCO-DMO Processing Description
• Related Publications
• Related Datasets
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Funding

See the "Related Datasets" section on this page for the ELOG from cruise AE1913 and other closely related data.
* Also see all datasets related to the same cruise AE1913: https://www.bco-dmo.org/deployment/916412

Oceanographic samples were collected onboard the R/V Atlantic Explorer between June 16th - 28th 2019, along a transect beginning at the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) site and terminating in northeast US continental shelf waters (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution [WHOI]). Biomass was collected using the biogeochemical AUV Clio. Clio payloads contained SUPR cartridges housing 142 mm combusted GFF filters for pigment collection. GFF filter fractions were additionally preserved for high performance liquid chromatography pigment analyses throughout the surface transect. 

Pigments were collected onto 142 mm GFF filters by Clio at the same depths that proteins were collected on Supor filters. GFF 25 mm punchouts were used for the pigment analysis, and the estimated volume filtered through 25 mm was used to quantify pigments per volume. Concentrations are reported as ng/kg assuming the standard density of seawater (1025 kg/m3). At stations 1 and 3, GFF fractions for pigments were not collected by Clio. Instead, pigments were analyzed from the CTD rosette at these stations whereby samples (4 L) were filtered directly onto 25 mm GFF glass fiber filters and immediately frozen in liquid nitrogen. Samples were analyzed on an Agilent 1100 series high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using the method of Bidigare et al. 2005 and instrument calibration was performed with certified pigment standards from the Danish Hydraulic Institute. 

Abbreviation,Pigment Name:

ChlC3, Chlorophyll C3
ChlC2, Chlorophyll C2
Per, Peridinin
NBut, 19'But-Fucoxanthin
Fux, Fucoxanthin
NHex, 19'Hex-Fucoxanthin
Prx, Prasinoxanthin
Vix, Violoxanthin
Ddx, Diadinoxanthin
Alx, Alloxanthin
Dtx, Diatoxanthin
Lut, Lutein
Zex, Zeaxanthin
ChlB, Chlorophyll b
DvA, Divinyl Chlorophyll a
Chla, Chlorophyll a
ABCar, Alpha & Beta Carotene

* Sheet 1 of submitted file "CLIO_BV55.xls" was imported into the BCO-DMO data system for this dataset. Values "NA" imported as missing data values. Sheet 2 containing pigment abbreviations and names was added to Methods & Sampling section.
* Imported rows did not include comment outside of the data table "Pigment concentrations are reported in ng/kg", that information was added to the "parameters" section of metadata.
** Missing data values are displayed differently based on the file format you download.  They are blank in csv files, "NaN" in MatLab files, etc.

* Column names adjusted to conform to BCO-DMO naming conventions designed to support broad re-use by a variety of research tools and scripting languages. [Only numbers, letters, and underscores.  Can not start with a number]

* After importing the table, a transformation to the long form of the table was made (going from column per pigment to one column for pigment_name, one column for pigment_conc). The long form was added to the dataset page as the primary form of the dataset, and the supplemental files section include the wide form as an alternate format of the same data.

NSF Award Abstract:

Microscopic communities in the ocean can be surprisingly diverse. This diversity makes it difficult to study the individual organisms and reactions that control specific reactions controlling nutrient cycles. Past studies confirm that iron and nitrogen are vital elements for biological growth. There is increasing evidence, however, that other chemicals such as silica, zinc, cobalt, and vitamin B12 may be just as important. This project will provide an unprecedented view of community distributions using new molecular methods to isolate and link active proteins to specific chemical cycles during the very first research deployment of a brand-new autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV). The AUV will collect samples in programed patterns by pumping water directly into its filtering mechanism and then return the samples to the ship for analysis. The Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) station, which provides abundant supporting data, is the site for this innovative investigation into the microbial ecology and chemistry of the open oceans. Additionally, data will be widely distributed to other scientists through the Ocean Protein Portal website being developed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute (WHOI) and the Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office. Data will also contribute a new teaching module in the Marine Bioinorganic Chemistry course at WHOI.

This first scientific deployment of the newly engineered and constructed biogeochemical AUV, Clio, will generate a novel dataset to examine marine microbial biogeochemical cycles in the Northwestern Atlantic oligotrophic ocean in unprecedented detail and at high vertical resolution. First the project proposes to understand if the microbial community reflects the varying chemical composition and cyanobacterial species through nutrient response adaptations. Additionally, the research will determine if iron stress in the low light Prochlorococcus ecotyope found in the deep chlorophyll maximum is a persistent feature influenced by seasonal dust fluxes. The highly resolved vertical data from the in situ pumping capabilities of Clio are fundamental to a rigorous examination of these biogeochemical questions. This highly transformative dataset will greatly advance understanding of the nutrient and trace element cycling of this region and will be the first field validation of the potentially revolutionary capability these new approaches represent for the study of marine microbial biogeochemistry.