132
Lisa A. LEVIN and Andrew J. GOODAY
1870s, is perhaps better known than that of any other
deep-sea region in the world. Recently, this margin
and the adjacent abyssal plains have been the focus
for a number of national (e.g., British, Dutch, French
and German) programs, and international ones, mainly
funded by the European Union (Table 5.1) which have
influenced the development of modern themes in deepsea biology.
Le Danois (1948) provided a valuable synoptic
account of early studies of larger animals along the
northwest European margin (Bay of Biscay, Porcupine
Seabight, Rockall Trough). Comprehensive reviews
of meiofauna in the deep northeast Atlantic (their
abundance, faunal composition, bathymetric and latitudinal patterns, vertical distribution within the sediment,
temporal patterns) have been compiled by Thiel (1983)
and Vincx et al. (1994). Gooday et al. (1998) have
provided a synopsis of Northeast Atlantic foraminiferal
diversity data.
Norwegian–Greenland Sea (NGS)
The benthic systems of this subarctic region have
been investigated as part of a large-scale interdisciplinary study (‘Sonderforschungsbereich 313’) by the
University of Kiel of particle flux to the seafloor and
its transformation into the paleoceanographic record.
Multiple corer samples taken over a wide area of
the Norwegian–Greenland Sea were used to analyze
the pigment content (chlorophyll equivalents) of the
sediment (Graf et al., 1995). The highest concentrations
were encountered close to the ice edge off Greenland,
in samples from the Kolbeinsey Ridge (800–950 m),
and particularly at the ‘FLUFF’ station, southwest
of Jan Mayen Island, where a phytodetritus layer
1 to 2 cm thick was observed during 1989. Pigment
concentrations on the Barents Sea slope (380–2500 m)
were also high, probably owing to lateral advection
from the adjacent shelf, but they were lower on the
Vøring Plateau (950–1450 m), and particularly at two
deep stations in the East Greenland Basin (3000 m) and
the Lofoten Basin (3300 m).
The Vøring Plateau, a bathyal (1200–1600 m) terrace
on the Norwegian continental margin, was a particular
focus of interest during this project. A site in this
area, 1240-m deep, was visited on eight cruises;
samples were obtained during seven different months
(February, May to October), albeit in different years
(Graf et al., 1995, table 1 therein). Chlorophyll
equivalents were unmeasurable during mid-May, but
increased dramatically in late May and June 1986
before declining during July. A second, lower peak
occurred in September 1988. Pigment concentrations
were puzzlingly high in February 1987, possibly as a
result of some unusual sedimentation event. Data for
sediment oxygen demand (SOD) are available for the
period from May to September and show two peaks of
activity in June and August. Graf et al. (1995) pointed
out that fluctuations in the pigment concentrations and
sediment oxygen demand match patterns of organicmatter flux, as determined from sediment-trap records.
The July peaks correspond to the spring input of particulate organic carbon (POC) and the August/September
peaks to the maximum flux of particulate organic
nitrogen (PON). A pulse of copepod fecal pellets
at the end of May 1986 at a somewhat deeper site
(1430 m) led to a rapid increase in concentrations of
chlorophyll a in the sediment. Within a period of
only 11 days (May 24th to June 4th), the chlorophyll
had been incorporated to a depth of 9 cm by the
sipunculan Golfingia (Nephasoma). Correspondingly
enhanced metabolic activity was indicated by increased
ATP concentrations, with subsurface peaks reflecting
the feeding activities of Golfingia (Nephasoma) and
the enteropneust Stereobalanus canadensis. These and
other large infauna are discussed below.
Sibuet (1985) studied megafaunal echinoderms from
the Norwegian, Lofoten and Greenland Basins (depth
range 2500–3700 m) where holothurians were exceptionally abundant, occurring in densities of 5779, 4971
and 7232 individuals ha
−1 . Populations were dominated
by Elpidia glacialis, a small species <25 mm in size.
Romero-Wetzel and Gerlach (1991) have presented
an overview of macrofaunal abundance, species composition, and biomass on the Vøring Plateau based on
the >500 mm fraction of 17 boxcores collected from
depths between 1200 and 1500 m. Of the 70 species
recognized, only the following were present in half
or more of the samples: Malletia obtusa (bivalve),
Aricidea abranchiata, Chaetozone setosa, Myriochele
sp. 1, M. fragilis, Notomastus latericeus, Paramphinome jeffreysii (polychaetes), Golfingia (Nephasoma)
sp. 1 (sipunculan), Ophiocten gracilis (ophiuroid),
and Stereobalanus canadensis (enteropneust). They
recognized three categories of macrofauna: smaller
and larger infauna, and epifauna (all sizes), which
have mean densities of 531, 34 and 56 individuals
m
−2 and biomass values of 1.28, 2.26 and 0.52 g wet
weight m
−2 , respectively (Romero-Wetzel and Gerlach,
1991). These authors also emphasized the contribution
of large (10–1000 mg individual biomass) and very
Lisa A. LEVIN and Andrew J. GOODAY
1870s, is perhaps better known than that of any other
deep-sea region in the world. Recently, this margin
and the adjacent abyssal plains have been the focus
for a number of national (e.g., British, Dutch, French
and German) programs, and international ones, mainly
funded by the European Union (Table 5.1) which have
influenced the development of modern themes in deepsea biology.
Le Danois (1948) provided a valuable synoptic
account of early studies of larger animals along the
northwest European margin (Bay of Biscay, Porcupine
Seabight, Rockall Trough). Comprehensive reviews
of meiofauna in the deep northeast Atlantic (their
abundance, faunal composition, bathymetric and latitudinal patterns, vertical distribution within the sediment,
temporal patterns) have been compiled by Thiel (1983)
and Vincx et al. (1994). Gooday et al. (1998) have
provided a synopsis of Northeast Atlantic foraminiferal
diversity data.
Norwegian–Greenland Sea (NGS)
The benthic systems of this subarctic region have
been investigated as part of a large-scale interdisciplinary study (‘Sonderforschungsbereich 313’) by the
University of Kiel of particle flux to the seafloor and
its transformation into the paleoceanographic record.
Multiple corer samples taken over a wide area of
the Norwegian–Greenland Sea were used to analyze
the pigment content (chlorophyll equivalents) of the
sediment (Graf et al., 1995). The highest concentrations
were encountered close to the ice edge off Greenland,
in samples from the Kolbeinsey Ridge (800–950 m),
and particularly at the ‘FLUFF’ station, southwest
of Jan Mayen Island, where a phytodetritus layer
1 to 2 cm thick was observed during 1989. Pigment
concentrations on the Barents Sea slope (380–2500 m)
were also high, probably owing to lateral advection
from the adjacent shelf, but they were lower on the
Vøring Plateau (950–1450 m), and particularly at two
deep stations in the East Greenland Basin (3000 m) and
the Lofoten Basin (3300 m).
The Vøring Plateau, a bathyal (1200–1600 m) terrace
on the Norwegian continental margin, was a particular
focus of interest during this project. A site in this
area, 1240-m deep, was visited on eight cruises;
samples were obtained during seven different months
(February, May to October), albeit in different years
(Graf et al., 1995, table 1 therein). Chlorophyll
equivalents were unmeasurable during mid-May, but
increased dramatically in late May and June 1986
before declining during July. A second, lower peak
occurred in September 1988. Pigment concentrations
were puzzlingly high in February 1987, possibly as a
result of some unusual sedimentation event. Data for
sediment oxygen demand (SOD) are available for the
period from May to September and show two peaks of
activity in June and August. Graf et al. (1995) pointed
out that fluctuations in the pigment concentrations and
sediment oxygen demand match patterns of organicmatter flux, as determined from sediment-trap records.
The July peaks correspond to the spring input of particulate organic carbon (POC) and the August/September
peaks to the maximum flux of particulate organic
nitrogen (PON). A pulse of copepod fecal pellets
at the end of May 1986 at a somewhat deeper site
(1430 m) led to a rapid increase in concentrations of
chlorophyll a in the sediment. Within a period of
only 11 days (May 24th to June 4th), the chlorophyll
had been incorporated to a depth of 9 cm by the
sipunculan Golfingia (Nephasoma). Correspondingly
enhanced metabolic activity was indicated by increased
ATP concentrations, with subsurface peaks reflecting
the feeding activities of Golfingia (Nephasoma) and
the enteropneust Stereobalanus canadensis. These and
other large infauna are discussed below.
Sibuet (1985) studied megafaunal echinoderms from
the Norwegian, Lofoten and Greenland Basins (depth
range 2500–3700 m) where holothurians were exceptionally abundant, occurring in densities of 5779, 4971
and 7232 individuals ha
−1 . Populations were dominated
by Elpidia glacialis, a small species <25 mm in size.
Romero-Wetzel and Gerlach (1991) have presented
an overview of macrofaunal abundance, species composition, and biomass on the Vøring Plateau based on
the >500 mm fraction of 17 boxcores collected from
depths between 1200 and 1500 m. Of the 70 species
recognized, only the following were present in half
or more of the samples: Malletia obtusa (bivalve),
Aricidea abranchiata, Chaetozone setosa, Myriochele
sp. 1, M. fragilis, Notomastus latericeus, Paramphinome jeffreysii (polychaetes), Golfingia (Nephasoma)
sp. 1 (sipunculan), Ophiocten gracilis (ophiuroid),
and Stereobalanus canadensis (enteropneust). They
recognized three categories of macrofauna: smaller
and larger infauna, and epifauna (all sizes), which
have mean densities of 531, 34 and 56 individuals
m
−2 and biomass values of 1.28, 2.26 and 0.52 g wet
weight m
−2 , respectively (Romero-Wetzel and Gerlach,
1991). These authors also emphasized the contribution
of large (10–1000 mg individual biomass) and very