A-3. Southern Ocean

U.S. GLOBEC planning for a program in the Southern Ocean is well-developed (U.S. GLOBEC Report No. 5, 1991). U.S. research in the Southern Ocean will be part of a larger GLOBEC International effort involving many nations. The specific objectives of the U.S. GLOBEC Southern Ocean program can be found in Table 5. The foci will be:

investigations of the variability of sea-ice on the life cycles, productivity, distribution and abundance of Southern Ocean fauna, and
the coupling between ocean circulation dynamics and population dynamics.

Pelagic taxa that participants at the 1991 GLOBEC Southern Ocean workshop identified include the Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and a salp (Salpa thompsoni). Benthic forms with both pelagic and benthic larval stages among the bivalves, echinoderms, and crustaceans will also be emphasized. Higher predators might include a commercially harvested species (e.g., Champsocephalus gunnari), a nonharvested holopelagic species (e.g., Pleurogramma antarctica), and a nonharvested near-shore species (e.g., Notothenia neglecta). Other top predators should include a variety of penguin species, the crabeater seal, and the Antarctic fur seal. Further information can be found in U.S. GLOBEC Report No. 5. GLOBEC International has held two meetings to develop an implementation plan for a coordinated international Southern Ocean program. A report from the first meeting has been published (GLOBEC International Report No. 5, 1993), and a full plan for the Southern Ocean study should be published in early 1995. A tentative schedule for the entire Southern Ocean effort is shown in Table 2.