Core Monitoring
The project aims to sustain the U.S. contribution to the North Atlantic Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey, specifically the CPR Z route (including Z-, ZB, and ZC tows). This route has been funded by the NSF for 17 years due to its significance in:
- Traversing the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, a highly productive and climate-sensitive area crucial for fisheries and carbon sequestration.
- Crossing the habitat of keystone zooplankton species Calanus finmarchicus, which influences nearby marine populations.
- Bridging the U.S. East Coast and European coastal CPR routes, helping fill a critical gap in the global survey.
Continued NSF support is essential for maintaining the multi-decadal time series, vital for climate and ecological research.
Colour scale shows typical
abundance values (averaged over all seasons) of Calanus finmarchicus in individuals per m3.
Current routes are shown as red lines, and the Z-, ZB, ZC route is shown in bold, indicating how
this route crosses the major source population of Calanus finmarchicus in the North Atlantic.