AGU Ocean Sciences Meeting (Feb. 2002) COAST abstracts:

• Ashe et al.
  
• Bane et al.
  
• Barth et al.
  
• Coletti et al.
  
• Haines et al.
  
• Karp-Boss et al.
  
• Kosro et al.
  
• Kurapov et al.
  
• Okeefe et al.
  
• Ott et al.
  
• Perlin et al.
  
• Ruttenberg et al.
  
• Sutor et al.
  

OS21N-09

Comparison of Acoustic and Net Sampling Systems to Determine
Distribution Patterns of Zooplankton Biomass and Taxonomic Groups

Malinda Sutor, Jesse Lamb, Timothy Cowles, and William Peterson

College of Oceanic and Atmospheric Sciences, Oregon State University
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Hatfield Marine Science Center

Spatially and temporally coincident data were collected from a
6-frequency TAPS (Tracor Acoustic Profiling System) and a 1 m**2
MOCNESS as part of the COAST project (Coastal Ocean Advances in
Shelf Transport).  The combined net/acoustic tows were conducted
over the Oregon continental shelf in August, 2001, during both
day and night. The TAPS (265, 420, 700, 1100, 1850, 3000 KHz)
was mounted on the upper frame of the MOCNESS and ensonified a
volume of water directly in front of the net mouth. A 4-frequency
(36, 120, 200, 420 KHz) HTI acoustic instrument with down-looking
transducers was towed off the port side of the ship during the
MOCNESS/TAPS tows providing volume backscatter measurements with 1 m
vertical resolution.  Preliminary analysis suggests that finescale
distributions of zooplankton that were integrated within a sample
depth strata of the MOCNESS were resolved acoustically. We will
present comparisons of the distribution patterns of zooplankton
biomass and taxonomic groups as determined by each of these systems.