ADEPD
Encyclopedia
ADEPD is the acronym for Atlantic Data Base for Exchange Processes at the Deep Sea Floor (MAS3-CT97-0126) which was a marine research project funded by the EU from 1998 to 2000 as part of MAST III (Marine Science and Technology Programme). The project was coordinated by Prof. Dr. Karin Lochte
at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research
, Warnemünde with contributions of ten European partners and one institute from the US.
Aim of the ADEPD project was to build up a joint data base for deep sea
biological
and geochemical
data from a variety of sources and to conduct a preliminary geographical analysis of these data. Emphasis was on the North Atlantic, since from this area most data are available and it is the most perturbed deep sea region due to human activities. 1775 published and unpublished data sets were collected in two years. This was the first project which has compiled a data base from existing deep sea data, long-term archived and accessible to the scientific community.
Evaluation of the data collection showed that data are clustered in some well investigated areas of the Atlantic, but large regions are devoid of data like the Mid Atlantic Ridge, parts of the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean
. In particular biological data from the deep sea are much more scarce than geochemical ones, since many biological data from past investigations are not accessible in a suitable form at present. Most deep sea research projects did not carry out geochemical and biological studies at the same lcoations. Therefor, statistical comparisons between biological and geochemical data are still difficult despite the high total amount of data gathered. Different methods employed for the determination of one variable further complicate the matter. One of the major achievements of ADEP was to convert different measurements to common units. This allowed to investigate relationships between different chemical measurements, groups of organisms and turnover rates.
Two very different approaches to estimate the total turnover of organic carbon or oxygen (respiration) at the deep sea floor gave very similar results. Regional differences in both assessments point to methodological shortcomings by one or the other method and to gaps in data coverage. While estimates agreed well in central Atlantic regions, fairly large discrepancies were found at the continental margins. This indicated that there was still insufficient knowledge about transport processes and biological turnover of organic carbon
along continental margin
s.
The following recommendations for future research were given on the basis of the ADEPD results:
Karin Lochte
Professor Dr. Karin Lochte is a German oceanographer, researcher, and climate change specialist. In 2007, she became director of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven as well as chairman of the management committee of Jacobs University Bremen.Earlier in her career, Lochte was a professor of...
at the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research
Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research
The Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research is a research institution located in Warnemünde , Germany.It is part of the Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Scientific Community, cooperates with the University of Rostock and was founded in 1992...
, Warnemünde with contributions of ten European partners and one institute from the US.
Aim of the ADEPD project was to build up a joint data base for deep sea
Deep sea
The deep sea, or deep layer, is the lowest layer in the ocean, existing below the thermocline and above the seabed, at a depth of 1000 fathoms or more. Little or no light penetrates this part of the ocean and most of the organisms that live there rely for subsistence on falling organic matter...
biological
Biology
Biology is a natural science concerned with the study of life and living organisms, including their structure, function, growth, origin, evolution, distribution, and taxonomy. Biology is a vast subject containing many subdivisions, topics, and disciplines...
and geochemical
Geochemistry
The field of geochemistry involves study of the chemical composition of the Earth and other planets, chemical processes and reactions that govern the composition of rocks, water, and soils, and the cycles of matter and energy that transport the Earth's chemical components in time and space, and...
data from a variety of sources and to conduct a preliminary geographical analysis of these data. Emphasis was on the North Atlantic, since from this area most data are available and it is the most perturbed deep sea region due to human activities. 1775 published and unpublished data sets were collected in two years. This was the first project which has compiled a data base from existing deep sea data, long-term archived and accessible to the scientific community.
Evaluation of the data collection showed that data are clustered in some well investigated areas of the Atlantic, but large regions are devoid of data like the Mid Atlantic Ridge, parts of the South Atlantic and Southern Ocean
Southern Ocean
The Southern Ocean comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60°S latitude and encircling Antarctica. It is usually regarded as the fourth-largest of the five principal oceanic divisions...
. In particular biological data from the deep sea are much more scarce than geochemical ones, since many biological data from past investigations are not accessible in a suitable form at present. Most deep sea research projects did not carry out geochemical and biological studies at the same lcoations. Therefor, statistical comparisons between biological and geochemical data are still difficult despite the high total amount of data gathered. Different methods employed for the determination of one variable further complicate the matter. One of the major achievements of ADEP was to convert different measurements to common units. This allowed to investigate relationships between different chemical measurements, groups of organisms and turnover rates.
Two very different approaches to estimate the total turnover of organic carbon or oxygen (respiration) at the deep sea floor gave very similar results. Regional differences in both assessments point to methodological shortcomings by one or the other method and to gaps in data coverage. While estimates agreed well in central Atlantic regions, fairly large discrepancies were found at the continental margins. This indicated that there was still insufficient knowledge about transport processes and biological turnover of organic carbon
Total organic carbon
Total organic carbon is the amount of carbon bound in an organic compound and is often used as a non-specific indicator of water quality or cleanliness of pharmaceutical manufacturing equipment....
along continental margin
Continental margin
The continental margin is the zone of the ocean floor that separates the thin oceanic crust from thick continental crust. Continental margins constitute about 28% of the oceanic area....
s.
The following recommendations for future research were given on the basis of the ADEPD results:
- It is most important to secure deep sea biological data from so far inaccessible sources and to collate them in a data information system which guarantees long-term stewardship and public access.
- Biological and geochemical studies were mostly carried out separately which seems to be a systematic, scientific pattern and poses a problem in deep sea research. Interdisciplinary studies are essential to better understand of deep sea processes.
- The largest differences in estimates of oxygen fluxes at the sea floor are found at continental margins which export large amounts of organic carbon to the deep sea. The knowledge of transport and biological utilization at the continental margins need further attention.
External links
- ADEPD data as archived in the data library PANGAEAPANGAEA (data library)PANGAEA - Data Publisher for Earth & Environmental Science is a digital data library and a data publisher for earth system science. Data can be georeferenced in time and space ....
- Project report and web pages (archived as pdf, 4 MB)
Participating institutes
- Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research, Warnemünde, Germany
- Alfred Wegenr Institute for Polar and Marine Research, Bremerhaven, Germany
- Centre des Faibles Radioactivites Gif-sur-Yvette, France
- Dunstaffnage Marine Laboratory Oban, United Kingdom
- Department of Geosciences, University of Bremen, Germany
- Leibniz-Institute of Marine Sciences, Kiel, Germany
- IFREMER Centre de Brest, France
- Max Planck Institute for Marine Microbiology, Bremen, Germany
- Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, The Netherlands
- P.P. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology Moscow, Russia
- Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, USA