Biochemical investigation of multicorer sediment profile MSM29_453-1

To detect and track the impact of large-scale environmental changes in a the transition zone between the northern North Atlantic and the central Arctic Ocean, and to determine experimentally the factors controlling deep-sea biodiversity, the Alfred- Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research (AWI) established the deep-sea long-term observatory HAUSGARTEN, which constitutes the first, and until now only open-ocean long-term station in a polar region. Virtually undisturbed sediment samples have been taken using a video-guided multiple corer (MUC) at 13 HAUSGARTEN stations along a bathymetric (1,000 - 4,000 m water depth) and a latitudinal transect in 2,500 m water depth as well as two stations at 230 and 1,200 m water depth within the framework of the KONGHAU project. Various biogenic sediment compounds were analyzed to estimate the input of organic matter from phytodetritus sedimentation, benthic activities (e.g. bacterial exoenzymatic activity), and the total biomass of the smallest sediment-inhabiting organisms (size range: bacteria to meiofauna).

为探测并追踪北大西洋北部与北冰洋中部过渡带的大规模环境变化影响，并通过实验明确控制深海生物多样性的关键因素，阿尔弗雷德·魏格纳极地与海洋研究所（Alfred-Wegener-Institute for Polar and Marine Research, AWI）设立了深海长期观测站HAUSGARTEN——该站点是极地地区首个且截至目前唯一的开阔大洋长期观测站。在KONGHAU项目框架内，研究团队沿一条覆盖1000至4000米水深的地形梯度断面，以及一条位于2500米水深的纬度梯度断面布设了13个HAUSGARTEN观测站点，另在水深230米与1200米处各设置1个站点，并采用视频引导式多管采样器（multiple corer, MUC）采集了几乎未受扰动的沉积物样品。研究人员对多种生物成因沉积物组分开展分析，以此估算浮游植物碎屑沉降输入的有机质、底栖生物活动（如细菌胞外酶活性），以及栖息于沉积物中的最小型生物（尺寸范围：细菌至小型底栖动物（meiofauna））的总生物量。