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The Digital Terrain Model was developed based on all available bathymetric data, already processed and validated. The SRTM30_PLUS (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission) data were used just to complement the bathymetric grid in distal regions of the Brazilian Continental Margin. In order to prepare the bathymetric grid from a database composed by all qualified bathymetric information, it was adopted the Randgrid.GX/Geosoft - Oasis Montaj®, version 9.5.2, routine. The used mathematical model creates a surface of minimum curvature, using a similar method to that proposed by Swain (1976) and Briggs (1974), with the interpolation, in each knot of the grid, of X and Y values in metric coordinates and Z values (variable). The calculated surface adjusts itself to the irregularly sampled original values. The grid cell-size was 1,000 m, defined according the spatial distribution of the available data. The Brazilian DTM Oasis grid file was converted to surfer files, Versions V6 and V7. The ASCII file and a Geotif image were also provided. The reference system and geodetic datum adopted for the bathymetric data was the WGS84. The projection adopted was the World Mercator (false N=0, false E=0, latitude of the natural origin=0 longitude of the natural origin=0, and the scaling factor of the natural origin=1).

This was the third cruise undertaken as part of the NERC-funded consortium project (NE/C512961/1) entitled ECOMAR - Ecosystem of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Sub-Polar Front and Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone. ECOMAR - Ecosystem of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at the Sub-Polar Front and Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone. http://www.oceanlab.abdn.ac.uk/ecomar/index.php ECOMAR forms part of the Census of Marine Life MAR-ECO project which is an international study of life in the northern mid-Atlantic Ocean with scientists from 16 nations participating in research of the waters around the mid-Atlantic Ridge from Iceland to the Azores (http://www.mar-eco.no). Depart: Empress Dock, Southampton, UK, Saturday 1 August 2009 Sonar Calibration: Bantry Bay, Ireland, Monday 3 August 2009 Long term moorings were serviced at four super stations at a bottom depth of 2500m equipped with sediment traps, current meters, ADCP and sensor suites, SE - 49°01.92'N, 27°40.82'W, SW - 48°46.80'N, 28°38.43'W, NW - 53°59.33'N, 36°07.39'W and NE 54°00.05'N34°10.58'W. Video and still images of the sea floor were obtained during 18 lander deployments. Faunas samples were taken with 11 megacorer casts, 6 bottom trawls, 8 baited traps and 8 mid-water trawl tows. 23 CTD casts with one 24 h yoyo sequence investigated water masses, flow and primary productivity over the ridge. EK60 acoustic surveys quantified pelagic biomass and optical remote sensing measured patterns of primary productivity and locations of fronts. During work at the SW station the vessel diverted to Cork, Ireland to repatriate personnel on Friday 14th August. Before starting work at the SE station the vessel diverted to 48°45'N 30°23'W in response to a Mayday call from the vessel Black Knight to rescue lone trans-Atlantic rower Peter Bray on Wednesday 19 August. http://www.peterbrayadventurer.com/ http://www.oceanrowing.com/Peter_Bray/dist_map.htm Sonar Calibration: Bantry Bay, Ireland, Monday 7 September 2009 Arrive: Falmouth, UK, Wednesday 9 September 2009 The ECOMAR area will be revisited by the RRS James Cook with the ISIS ROV in 2010.

These data consist of raw echosounder observations collected during ACE (Leg1-Leg3) using an EK80 WBT operating at 12.5 kHz. The instrument was calibrated at South Georgia during the expedition (Leg 3) and corrections were applied prior to calculation of the volume backscattering strength (Sv). The signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) was analysed and was deemed very poor at depths greater than 1000 m. Therefore, only data collected between the transducer depth (8.4 m) and 1000 m were archived. Sv values within this depth range that had poor SNRs (<2) were deemed to be bad data and set to a value of NA. Observations were made using a pulse duration of 16.384 ms (c. 24 m) and are therefore not suitable for fine-scale studies (e.g. analysis of krill swarms). They are more suited to studies relating to large-scale biological features such as deep scattering layers.

During the JR230 cruise with RRS James Clark Ross expertise from seven countries has been pulled together to assess coupling and biodiversity from sea surface to sea bed, microbes to megafauna and across 1-km to hundreds of km scale; it is the first British Antarctic Survey (BAS) to attempt this. In doing so we intended to link several programmes and work packages of science in the Polar Science for Planet Earth programme of BAS and significantly contribute to knowledge of the interaction between the water column and seabed, understanding of Southern Ocean biodiversity structure and Census of Antarctic Marine Life (CAML). Our sample design spanned the inner shelf of Marguerite Bay to the shelf break, used multiple apparatus types and will feed the species collected into a network of experts spanning the planet. Although the pelagic, bacteria and benthic teams have each taken part in many Southern Ocean cruises prior to this expedition, there were still some significant differences and striking surprises amongst the organisms we found, which have been recorded by a professional photographer who joined the voyage. We sampled four complete areas, each consisting of a number of sites sampled by Agassiz trawl (AGT), epibenthic sledge (EBS), box core, Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD), Bongo and N70 nets, Rectangular-Midwater-Trawl (RMT) 8+1 nets as well as acoustics.

The overall aim of the Atlantic Meridional Transect programme is: to quantify key biogeochemical and ecosystem processes and their inherent variability over extended time and spatial scales in the Atlantic Ocean. This is achieved by executing an annually repeated meridional transect through contrasting oceanic provinces, ranging from oligotrophic deserts, to highly productive shelf seas. The specific objectives of AMT are: - To quantify the nature and causes of ecological and biogeochemical variability in planktonic ecosystems; - To quantify the effects of this variability on nutrient cycling, on biogenic export and on air-sea exchange of climate active gases; - To construct multi-decadal, multidisciplinary ocean time-series which are integrated within a wider "Pole-to-pole" observatory concept; - To provide essential sea-truth validation for current and next generation satellite missions; - To provide essential data for global ecosystem model development and validation; - To provide a valuable, highly sought after and unique training arena for the next generation of UK and International oceanographers.

While there has been an increase in the understanding of how climate and surface processes affect deep-sea communities, the ability to understand these links further is thought to be limited by sampling error from undetected habitat heterogeneity (i.e. irregular or uneven habitat distributions). Features like hills, valleys, depressions, small rock outcrops, and biogenic mounds add to habitat complexity, but links between such features and the animals that live among them are very poorly resolved in abyssal plain habitats using current methods. Our efforts aimed to address the following objectives: 1. We serviced the PAP1, PAP3 and Bathysnap long-term observatory systems. These systems provide data that is critical in understanding connections between climate, surface ocean processes, and change in deep-sea habitats. 2. We ecologically surveyed the region around the PAP - Sustained Observatory (SO) to understand how the topography of the seabed alters the abundance and distribution of fauna in abyssal habitats. This surveying employed the use of acoustic mapping, megacoring, box coring, a baited camera lander, towed cameras, an amphipod trap, and trawling. 3. We also conducted a number of specialised research studies including research on low bandwidth observatory telecommunications, phytoplankton community structure, bioluminescence, the impacts of crude oil on benthic sediment communities, and the effects of pressure on photoreceptors, and the potential impacts of trawling on slope habitats in the Porcupine Seabight. These studies took advantage of the equipment above with the addition of conductivity temperature and depth (CTD) rosette casts and laboratory facilities. The cruise achieved its main objectives including servicing of mooring infrastructure, ecological mapping of the PAP area, and a survey of potentially impacted sponge communities on the N PSB slope. We were favoured by good weather and what proved to be mainly minor issues with winches and other equipment. We surveyed three abyssal plain areas and four hill areas within the greater vicinity of the PAP-SO. At all of these seven sites we conducted a WASP transect and at least 5 megacore deployments. At all seven survey sites except PAP Cent. we conducted a baited camera and ampipod trap deployment as the deposition of ballast at PAP Cent. was to be avoided. At the PAP Cent. site we also conducted series of five box core deployments. Details on specific activities, their objectives and initial results are provided below including ancillary activities conducted at Goban Spur and the Porcupine Seabight.

The gyre index constructed here from satellite altimetry is related to core aspects of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre, meridional overturning circulation, hydrographic properties in the Atlantic inflows toward the Arctic, and in marine ecosystems in the northeast Atlantic Ocean. The data series spans the period January 1993 to September 2018. Data description: Monthly gyre index from January 1993 until September 2018. The data is provided in one comma separated value (csv) file with the following entries on each row: year, month, index value. The index is normalized, i.e. it has a zero mean and unit standard deviation. Positive (negative) gyre index reflects stronger (weaker) than average surface circulation of the North Atlantic subpolar gyre.

As marine ecosystems are influenced by global and regional processes, standardized information on community structure has become crucial for assessing broad-scale responses to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Extensive biogeographic provinces, such as the Brazilian Province in the southwest Atlantic, present numerous theoretical and methodological challenges for understanding community patterns on a macroecological scale. In particular, the Brazilian Province is composed of a complex system of heterogeneous reefs and a few offshore islands, with contrasting histories and geophysical-chemical environments. Despite the large extent of the Brazilian Province (almost 8,000 kilometers), most studies of shallow benthic communities are qualitative surveys and/or have been geographically restricted. We quantified community structure of shallow reef habitats from 0° to 27°S latitude using a standard photographic quadrat technique. Percent cover data indicated that benthic communities of Brazilian reefs were dominated by algal turfs and frondose macroalgae, with low percent cover of reef-building corals. Community composition differed significantly among localities, mostly because of their macroalgal abundance, despite reef type or geographic region, with no evident latitudinal pattern. Benthic diversity was lower in the tropics, contrary to the general latitudinal diversity gradient pattern. Richness peaked at mid-latitudes, between 20°S to 23°S, where it was ~3.5-fold higher than localities with the lowest richness. This study provides the first large-scale description of benthic communities along the southwestern Atlantic, providing a baseline for macroecological comparisons and evaluation of future impacts. Moreover, the new understanding of richness distribution along Brazilian reefs will contribute to conservation planning efforts, such as management strategies and the spatial prioritization for the creation of new marine protected areas.

Fish assemblages surveyed by using underwater visual censuses (UVC) down to 40 m. Transects were performed between 1997 and 2015 in the Azores, Portugal. All mobile fish were identified to the lowest possible taxon. Dates, geographic coordinates and species recorded are provided. Fish assemblages were surveyed using underwater visual censuses (UVC) down to 40 m. Following standard belt transect surveys (Brock 1954), SCUBA divers sampled transects with 50 m length and 5 m width. All mobile fish were identified to the lowest possible taxon and counted. Sampling sites were chosen based on the general representativeness of the habitat. Transects within sites were selected by stratified random sampling: different transects were done in each dive without replicating the depth strata (every 10 m) or overall bottom type or crossing transects during a single dive or day. UVCs were conducted in the scope of projects CLIPE (FCT—Praxis XXI/3/3.2/EMG/1957/95), MARÉ (LIFE B4-3200/98-509), MAREFISH (FCT-POCTI/ BSE/41207/2001), OGAMP (INTERREG IIIb/MAC/4.2/A2 2001), MARMAC (INTERREGIIIb-03/MAC/4.2/A1 2004), EmpaFish (EC-FP6, SSP8-006539), MareFish (FCT, POCTI/BSE/41207/2001), MoniZEC (FRC - M2.1.2/I/018/2011)