24 sampling stations in Arafura Sea were occupied during Cruise 5451 to study pelagic metabolism and primary production.
Observations included:
Six 14C production experiments;
Five oxygen based P:R experiments;
Sixteen replicated (3) zooplankton stations with 100 and 330um nets, including two 24h time series (WES002-007 and WES015-018);
Continuous thermosalinograph measurements along the ship's track;
Continuous measurement of remote sensing reflectance using the DALEC;
Four cross calibrations of DALEC data with Tricho-Cam imagery.
CTD transects recorded depth, pressure, temperature, salinity, density fluorescence, PAR, surface light, beam transfer, oxygen measurements.
Plankton and larval fish sampling was conducted using a conducted using the bongo net fitted with a Laser Optical Plankton Counter (LOPC) which counted particles in size bins between 100µm and 2mm in equivalent spherical diameter (ESD). Depth-integrated bongo net sampling allowed the characterisation of fish larvae assembles and distribution.
Water column structure, relative fluorescence and respiration rate and net community productions were analysed for hydrographic, chlorophyll and nutrient profiles for several locations.
59 species of copepods were identified in the region.
Data is aggregated in a Microsoft Access Database
