Ross Sea Ecology Italiantartide Expeditions (19871995) [Paperback]

The Antarctic represents the last of the world's still unexplored continents. Since 1985, Italy has sent 10 expeditions to this region, three of those have been exclusively devoted to research on the marine ecology of the Ross Sea region. This volume presents a global picture of this research. It includes contributions on water mass characteristics, particulate organic matter and nutrient utilization, and physiological aspects of primary production. Further topics are zooplankton, krill and top predator interactions in relation to physical and biological parameters, ecological features of coastal fish communities and the spatio-temporal variability of benthic biocenoses.The Antarctic represents the last of the world's still unexplored continents. Since 1985, Italy has sent 10 expeditions to this region, three of those have been exclusively devoted to research on the marine ecology of the Ross Sea region. This volume presents a global picture of this research. It includes contributions on water mass characteristics, particulate organic matter and nutrient utilization, and physiological aspects of primary production. Further topics are zooplankton, krill and top predator interactions in relation to physical and biological parameters, ecological features of coastal fish communities and the spatio-temporal variability of benthic biocenoses.The Italian Oceanographic Cruises in the Ross Sea.- Water Masses and Supended Matter Characteristics of the Western Ross Sea.- Water Mass Characteristics During the ROSSMIZE Cruise.- Large Scale Circulation Features in the Central and Western Ross Sea (Antarctica).- Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Nutrient Distributions in the Ross Sea.- Oxygen Isotope Characterization of Terra Nova Bay Seawater.- Particulate Organic Matter and Nutrient Utilization in the Miced Layer of the Ross Sea.- Microbial Biomass and Respiratory Activity Related to the Ice-Melting Layers in the Ross Sea (Antarctica).- Phytoplankton Size Fractionated Biomass in l³6