U N I V E R S I D A D A U S T R A L D E C H I L E

U N I V E R S I D A D A U S T R A L D E C H I L E

U N I V E R S I D A D DEL MAR
CENTRO DE CIENCIAS Y ECOLOGÍA APLICADA
DIRECCIÓN DE INVESTIGACIÓN
Valparaíso 22-27 September 2003
CENTRO DE INVESTIGACIÓNES OCEANOGRÁFICA DEL PACÍFICO SURORIENTAL (COPAS).
COURSE PROGRAM
“OCEANOGRAPHIC TOPICS OF THE EASTERN SOUTH-PACIFIC” (TOPAS)”.
1. GENERAL INFORMATION
1.1
Name of the course: “Oceanographic topics of the eastern south Pacific”
(TOPAS).
1.2 Organizing Professor
1.3 Lecturing Professors
1.4 Number of students
: Dr. Giovanni Daneri
:
Giovanni Daneri, Rubén Escribano, Laura
Farías, Humberto Gonzalez, Rodrigo Gonzalez,
Carina Lange, Carmen Morales, Silvio Pantoja, Oscar
Pizarro, Renato Quiñones, Wolfgang Schneider, Javier
Sellanes, Osvaldo Ulloa.
: 20 students maximum
2. COURSE DESCRIPTION
This course is organized by the Centro de Ciencias y Ecología Aplicada (CEA),
Universidad del Mar and is lectured by professors associated to the Centro de Oceanografía
del Pacífico Sur-Oriental (COPAS, U. de Concepción, U. Austral de Chile and U. del Mar).
This course is geared towards the knowledge and discussion of the new paradigm and
tendencies of research within the Humboldt Current System (HCS) of Chile. Special
emphasis is put on local perturbations (upwelling events) and remote forcing (i.e. El Niño
Southern Oscillation) on the pelagic and benthic ecosystems. The role of the oxygen
minimum zone (OMZ established by the presence of Equatorial Subsurface water) on the
biogeochemical cycles and its impact on the global climatic system and on the local
productivity is also discussed.
3. OBJECTIVES
3.1 General Objective
: To critically analyse the physical perturbations (local
and remote and the presence of the OMZ on the pelagic/benthic ecosystems and the
biogeochemical cycles of the HCS of Chile. When the course is over it is expected that
the students will be able:
1
3.2 Specific objectives
(1) To understand the large scale circulation of the
Pacific Ocean with emphasis on the HCS.
(2) To analyze the life cycles and population dynamics
of the zooplankton associated with ENSO variability.
(3) To analyze the trophic and metabolic processes of
the zooplankton organisms in relation to the OMZ: its
impact on the C and N fluxes in the HCS.
(4) To understand the ENSO physical dynamics and its
regional impact.
(5) To understand the spatial and temporal variability
of the primary production in the HCS.
(6) To discuss the process of organic matter formation
and utilization within anoxic oceanic areas.
(7) To analyze the process and mechanisms involved
in the nitrogen cycle in the OMZ of the HCS.
(8) To discuss the transport and organic matter
alteration processes in the oceans.
(9) To analyze retrospectively the paleooceanographic
studies in the HCS.
(10) To analyze the dynamics of the benthic
communities in the HCS
(11)
To analyze the models and processes of
pelagic benthic coupling in the HCS.
(12) To demonstrate the conceptual connections
between oceanographic and fisheries research in
the HCS.
4. CONTENTS
(1) Large scale circulation of the Pacific Ocean with emphasis on the HCS. (Professor,
Dr. Wolfgang Schneider)
Background:
• Thermohaline circulation, water masses.
• Ekman transport.
• Geostrophic currents.
The current circulation of the Pacific:
• Water masses distribution
• Sub tropical gyres
• The Eastern South-Pacific
Practical: Visualize oceanographic data using OCEAN DATA VIEW
(2) Life cycles and population dynamics of the zooplankton associated with the ENSO
variability (Professor, Dr. Ruben Escribano)
• The life cycle strategies of the HCS zooplankton will be described in relation to its
life histories and the influence of environmental variations (upwelling, seasonal and
interanual scales) associated to the ENSO cycle.
2
•
The current methodology to study population dynamics of the zooplankton will be
revised with emphasis in approximations to estimate its productive rates and the
factors that determine its spatial and temporal distribution patterns.
(3) Trophic and metabolic processes of zooplankton organisms in relation to the
OMZ and its incidence on the C and N fluxes of the HCS (Professor, Dra Carmen
Morales)
The role of the pelagic zooplankton component on the dynamics of the biological pump
exporting C and N towards the deep ocean passively and/or actively will be studied. Special
emphasis will be put on the zooplankton association with the OMZ as an important
component of their communities can be limited in its vertical migrations by the OMZ while
others live associated to these anoxic and suboxic conditions. The information on the
trophic and metabolic processes of the zooplankton that influence the transference of C and
N in pelagic systems in the OMZ as well as the degree of importance in relation to other
concurrent processes will be discussed. The information that exists on the above subjects in
the HCS will be analyzed as well as the advances that are needed in the context of climatic
variations.
(4) El Niño Southern Oscillation ENSO and its impact on the region. (Professor, Dr.
Oscar Pizarro)
(a) A current vision of ENSO.
• Introduction to the coupled Ocean-Atmosphere in tropical regions.
• Large scale ocean and atmospheric perturbations associated to ENSO.
(b) Regional impact of ENSO.
• General characteristics of the regional circulation.
• Intra seasonal perturbations.
• Annual cycle and interannual fluctuations in the region: currents, sea level, sea
surface temperature (SST) thermocline and the oxycline.
• Effects on the atmospheric circulation and precipitation in South America.
(5) Primary production (PP) in the HCS (Professor, Dr. Osvaldo Ulloa)
•
•
•
•
•
•
Motivation concepts and definitions.
Diversity of photosynthetic organisms.
Light and photosynthesis.
Redfield ratio and PP limitation by macro and micro nutrients.
Primary productivity in different environments in the HCS.
Past changes in the primary productivity in the HCS.
(6) Processes of formation and utilization of organic matter in the HCS. (Professor,
Dr. Giovanni Daneri)
•
•
Primary production (PP) and community respiration (CR) in the HCS.
Bacterial secondary production (BSP) in the HCS.
3
•
•
Dissolved organic matter production and cycling in the HCS
Importance of the bacterial loop in the HCS.
(7) Mechanisms and processes involved in the nitrogen cycle in the OMZ of the HCS
(Professor, Laura Farías)
•
•
•
•
Transformation of organic matter associated to the oxycline: rates and processes.
Production of N2O by nitrifying and denitrifying processes.
Anaerobic respiration such as denitrification in the water column and sediments and
its ecological and climatic implications.
Methodologies and experimental approximations: it includes exercises, theoretical
and practical problems.
(8) Transport and alteration of organic matter in the ocean. (Dr. Silvio Pantoja)
• Introduction. Biogeochemical cycles.
• Biochemical composition of marine organisms.
• Distribution of organic compounds in the marine environment.
• Biogeochemistry of the dissolved organic matter (DOC).
• Particulate organic matter (POC).
• Preservation of organic matter in the sediments.
•
(9) Paleooceanographic studies in the HCS. (Professor, Dra Carina Lange)
Changes in the circulation, ventilation, upwelling and productivity of the HCS since the
last glacial to recent times and its relation to climatic changes with emphasis in the
studies of the oxygen minimum zones. Emphasis is put on the reconstructions of
a) paleoproductivity based on associations of calcareous and siliceous marine organisms
preserved in the sediments of the HCS and b) the abrupt climatic changes based on
terrigenous signal preserved whose composition is directly related to the environmental
conditions in the continent. High resolution studies from the Holocene directed towards
the historical reconstruction of El Niño events. Discussion of the necessary advances in
the context of climatical variations.
(10) Dynamics of the benthic communities in the HCS (Professors, Dr. Rodrigo
Gonzalez and Dr. Javier Sellanes)
The changes that experiment the sub littoral macrobiotic benthic community (including
its eukariotic and prokariotic components) in the HCS is examined. The effect that the
interanual oceanographic changes associated to El Niño have on the productivity and
the contribution and quality of organic matter to the benthos is discussed. Metabolic
adaptations (aerobic and anaerobic metabolism) to living under low oxygen conditions
are examined.
(11) Bento-pelagic coupling in the HCS (Professor, Dr. Humberto González)
4
•
•
•
Bento-pelagic coupling. Concepts and study cases.
Export mechanisms of Particulate organic matter to the deep ocean.
Trophic fluxes associated to different environments in the HCS. Classic trophic
chain versus bacterial loop versus gelatinous trophic chain.
(12) Fundamental topics of Fisheries Oceanography in the HCS (Professor, Dr.
Renato Quiñones)
The main objective of this module is to demonstrate to the students the conceptual
connections between oceanographic research and fisheries research in the HCS. The most
important hypotheses regarding the effect of the environmental variability on fish
recruitment are presented. The effect of clima change and regimen shifts on fish
populations is discussed. The Chilean Jack Mackerel crisis is extensively reviewed as a
case study where the importance of fisheries oceanography in fisheries management is
evident.
5. METHODOLOGY
The course will be dictated as a series of lectures. Each professor will hand working
material and the necessary bibliography to deepen the student’s knowledge on the
relevant course topics.
6. EVALUACIÓN
A written examination will be taken at the end of the course (Saturday 27 of
September 2003). This test will only be valid for those students that obtain credits
for attending the TOPAS course.
7. REFERENCES
7.1 Books
Berger, W. H. y L. D. Labeyrie (eds.), 1987. Abrupt Climatic Change. Evidence and
Implications. D. Reidel Publ., NATO ASI Series, Dordrecht, 425 pp.
Berger, W. H., V. Smetacek, G. Wefer (eds.), 1989. Productivity of the Ocean: Present and
Past. John Wiley & Sons, Chichester, new York, 471 pp.
Bradley, R.S. (1999) Paleoclimatology. Reconstructing Climates of the Quaternary. Second
Edition. Academic Press, 613 pp.
Fischer, G. y G Wefer (eds.) 1999. Use of Proxies in Paleoceanography, Examples from the
South Atlantic. Sringer, 735 pp.
Halpern D. (2000) Satellites, Oceanography and Society. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 367 pp.
Handa N., E. Tanoue & T. Hama (2000) Dynamics and Characterization of Marine Organic
Matter. Kluwer Scientific Publishing Company, Tokyo, 558 pp.
Harris R., P. Wiebe, J. Lenz, H. Skjoldal & M. Huntley (2000) ICES Zooplankton
Methodology Manual. Academic Press, San Diego, 684 pp.
Lalli C. & T. R. Parsons (1993) Biological Oceanography: An Introduction. Pergamon
Press, Oxford, 301 pp.
Longhurst A. (1998) Ecological Geography of the Sea. Academic Press, San Diego, 398 pp.
5
Tomczak M. & J. S. Godfrey (1994) Regional Oceanography: An Introduction. Pergamon
Press, Oxford. 422 pp.
Schulz, H. D. & M. Zabel (eds.), 2000. Marine Geochemistry. Springer, Berlin, 455 pp.
Seibold, E. y W. H. Berger, 1996 (third edition). The Seafloor. An introduction to marine
Geology. Springer, Berlin, 356 pp.
Summerhayes C. P., K.-C. Emeis, M. V. Angel, R. Smith & B. Zeitzschel (1995)
Upwelling in the Ocean: Modern Processes and Ancient Records. John Wiley &
Sons, Chichester, 422 pp.
Summerhayes, C. P., W. L. Prell y K. C. Emeis (eds.), 1992. Upwelling Systems:
Evolution since the early Miocene. The Geological Society, London, 517 pp.
Wefer, G., W. H. Berger, G. Siedler, y D. J. Webb (eds.), 1996. The South Atlantic.
Present and Past Circulation. Springer, Berlin, 644 pp.
7.2 Scientific articles
Daneri G., V. Dellarosa, R. Quiñones, B. Jacob, P. Montero & O. Ulloa (2000) Primary
production and community respiration in the Humboldt Current System off Chile
and associated oceanic areas. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 197: 41-49.
Fossing H. V. A. Gallardo, B. Jorgensen, M. Hüttel, L. Nielsen, H. Schulz, D. Canfield, S.
Forster, R. Glud, J. Gundersen, J. Küver, N. Ramsing, A. Teske, B. Thamdrup & O.
Ulloa (1995). Nature 374: 713-715.
González H. M. Sobarzo, D. Figueroa & E.-M. Nöthig (2000) Composition, biomass and
potential grazing impact of the crustacean and pelagic tunicates in the northern
Humboldt Current area off Chile: differences between El Niño and non-El Niño
years. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 201: 201-220.
Grünewald A., C. Morales, H. González, C. Silvestre & L. Castro (2002) Grazing impact of
copepods assemblages and gravitational flux in coastal and oceanic waters off
central Chile during two contrasting seasons. J. Plankton Res. 24(1): 5-67.
Hebbeln D., M. Marchant & G. Wefer (2000) Seasonal variations of the particle flux in the
Peru-Chile current at 30ºS under “normal” and El Niño conditons. Deep-Sea Res. II
47: 2101-2128.
Pagès F., H. González, M. Ramón. M. Sobarzo & J.-M. Gili (2001) Gelatinous zooplancton
assemblages associated with water masses in the Humboldt Current System, and
potential predatory impact by Bassia bassensis (Siphonophora: Calycophorae). Mar.
Ecol. Prog. Ser. 210: 13-24.
Strub T., J. Mesias, V. Montecino, J. Rutllant & S. Salinas (1998) Coastal ocean circulation
off Western South America. In: Brink, K. & A. Robinson (eds.) The Sea. Wiley &
Sons, Inc., New York, pp: 273-313.
Torres R., D. Turner, J. Rutllant, M. Sobarzo, T. Antezana & H. González (2002) CO2
outgassing off central Chile (31-30ºS) and northern Chile (24-23ºS) during austral
summer 1997: the effect of wind intensity on the upwelling and ventillation of CO2rich waters. Deep-Sea Res. I (in press).
Ulloa, O., R. Escribano, S. Hormazabal, R. Quiñones, R. González & M. Ramos (2001).
Evolution and biological effects of the 1997-98 El Niño in the upwelling ecosystem
off northern Chile. Geophys. Res. Lett. 28(8): 1591-1594.
Other
6
7.3 Scientific journals of interest
Nature, Science, Marine Ecology Progress Series, Journal of Geophysical Research,
Journal of Physical Oceanography, Journal of Plankton Research, Limnology and
Oceanography, Marine Biology, Journal of Marine Research, Paleooceanography, etc.
7