The Role of Zooplankton and Micronekton in the Cycling and 

 Remineralization of Chemical Materials in the Southern California Bight 



Small, L.F.; Huh, C. 



$138,000 



Oregon State University 



College of Oceanography 



C: 503-754-2991 



The project objective is to understand the transport mechanisms and mass balance distribution of certain metabo- 

 lically active and inactive elements and compounds in a deep basin. This will be accomplished by estimating the role 

 of zooplankton and micronekton stocks in the fractionating of ingested particulate matter into dissolved, rapidly 

 recycling materials, and into larger fecal pellets which are transformed in transit through the water column. We will 

 evaluate the role of zooplankton in transferring inorganic chemicals through the water column relative to other 

 sedimentation processes. Analysis of trace metals and radionuclides in the water, suspended particles, zooplankton 

 fecal pellets, sediment trap material, and bottom sediments will suggest sources, transport and recycling pathways, 

 removal flux, and residence times in the basin. 



Flux and Recycling of Bioactive Substances in Surface Sediments of 

 Deep Basins Off Southern California 



Jahnke, R. 



$59,000 



Skidaway Institute of Oceanography 



C: 619-452-2598 



The project objectives are to develop an understanding of the processes responsible for the recycling of biogenic 

 debris in the surface sediments of the Santa Monica Basin and to quantitatively determine the rate at which dis- 

 solved components are exchanged across the sea floor-bottom water boundary. During the first 18 months of this 

 project, pore water, sediment, and in situ benthic chamber data were collected for assessment of recycling and 

 diagenetic processes occurring in the surface sediments. An attempt to summarize these measurements and com- 

 pare them to other carbon-cycling rates estimated by other investigators in this project suggested that surface sedi- 

 ments were a major site for biogenic recycling in the basin. 



Coastal Ocean Margins Program A23 December 1988 



