C. Biological Oceanography Program 

 Long-Range Planning 



I. The Core Program 



Biological oceanograpiiy is tlie subdisclpline of oceanograpliy concerned withi thie study and 

 prediction of tiie interreiatlonslilps of marine biota witli one another and witli tlie pliyslcal, 

 chemical, and geological features of the ocean and atmosphere. A central focus Is to understand 

 ecosystems on both regional (e.g., estuarlne, coastal embayment, central gyre, ocean basin) and, 

 ultimately, global scales. 



Biological Oceanography has come of age over the past 15 years with increased participation in 

 major interdisciplinary programs such as Coastal Upwelling Ecosystems, Gulf Stream Rings, 

 and Hydrothermal Vents. Bioiogical oceanographers have tal<en advantage of steadily developing 

 sampling technology towards real-time, in situ measurements (e.g., fluorometry, 

 respirometry, ocean color sensors) compatible with those of chemistry and physics. They have 

 also recognized the significance of new and complex communities (e.g., those comprising the 

 microbial loop, the gelatinous midwater communities, and hydrothermal vent organisms). 

 Biological Oceanography is now poised, with its sister disciplines, to expand its vision to 

 interdisciplinary global processes. These include interconnections, not only between the coastal 

 and open ocean, the ocean and atmosphere, and the ocean surface and sediments, but also between 

 terrestrial and freshwater environments and the coastal ocean. 



The core program in Bioiogical Oceanography may be subdivided into: 



(1 ) primary production processes (benthic and water column), 



(2) microbial loop processes, 



(3) higher trophic levels, 



(4) specialized environments (deep ocean floor including vents, coral reefs, 



oxygen minima, etc.), and 



(5) large marine ecosystems and their control by physical and chemical processes. 



These divisions are not mutually exclusive. Programs focused on communities (4) and 

 ecosystems (5) often involve the first three areas. 



1. Primary Production Processes. The nature and rate of primary formation of biological 

 material, a central theme of biological oceanography from its earliest days, still holds center 

 stage. Primary production is the basis of all marine food chains and biological production of 

 economic importance, and it plays a central role in the flux of material to the deep ocean and in 

 the control of climate through CO2 cycling. 



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