Cape Canyon Suspended Particulate Matter CTD water sample

The Cape Canyon, situated on the western continental shelf of South Africa, stands as the country's largest bathymetric feature. Despite its prominence, understanding of the food web dynamics within the system and the significance of the benthic community for higher trophic levels remains incomplete. In response to this knowledge gap, the DFFE: Oceans and Coasts launched a multidisciplinary expedition aboard the RV Algoa. The expedition aimed to characterise the physical environment and investigate food web connections in the vicinity of the Cape Canyon by analysing isotopic signatures in suspended particulate matter (SPM) relative to those found in benthic tissue samples. Prior to dredge operations, conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) water samples were collected at each dredge station. However, due to the inherent challenges associated with sampling in canyon systems, not all dredge operations were successful in obtaining samples, resulting in an unbalanced design where the number of CTD stations did not correspond with the dredge samples. Consequently, SPM was collected at 26 stations, comprising 14 non-canyon and 12 canyon stations.

位于南非西部大陆架上的开普峡谷，是该国最大的水深地貌特征。尽管其地位显赫，但对该系统中食物网动态的理解以及底栖群落对较高营养级的重要性尚不完整。为填补这一知识空白，南非海洋与海岸局（DFFE: Oceans and Coasts）在RV Algoa号船上发起了多学科考察。此次考察旨在通过分析悬浮颗粒物（SPM）中的同位素特征相对于底栖组织样本中的特征，来描述开普峡谷附近的物理环境并研究食物网的相互联系。在疏浚作业之前，每个疏浚站均采集了电导率、温度和深度（CTD）水样。然而，由于峡谷系统中采样所固有的挑战，并非所有疏浚作业都能成功获取样本，导致设计不平衡，即CTD站点的数量与疏浚样本数量不匹配。因此，在26个站点收集了SPM，其中包括14个非峡谷站点和12个峡谷站点。