Near bottom current velocity and water temperature and associated surface meteorological measurements in the Vazella pourtalesii glass sponge grounds of the Scotian Shelf (2017-2018) ...

• Main Authors: Hanz, Ulrike, Beazley, Lindsay, Kenchington, Ellen L, Duineveld, Gerard C A, Rapp, Hans Tore, Mienis, Furu
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: PANGAEA 2021
• Subjects: DATE/TIME; DEPTH, water; Current velocity, east-west; Current velocity, north-south; Current direction; Temperature, water; Salinity; Oxygen, dissolved; Wave height; Wind direction; Wind speed; Wind velocity, west-east; Wind velocity, south-north; Bottom lander; Current meter; Conductivity and temperature recorder, Sea-Bird, SBE37-SM RS-232; ARO-USB oxygen sensor JFE-AdvantechTM; MLB2017001; Martha L. Black; Deep-sea Sponge Grounds Ecosystems of the North Atlantic SponGES; North Atlantic
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.1594/pangaea.928509; https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.928509

The Scotian Shelf harbors unique aggregations of the glass sponge Vazella pourtalesii providing an important habitat for benthic and pelagic fauna. Recent studies have shown that these sponge grounds have persisted in the face of strong inter-annual and multi-decadal variability in temperature and salinity. However, little is known of the environmental characteristics on hourly-seasonal time scales. This study presents the first hydrodynamic observations and associated (food) particle supply mechanisms for the Vazella sponge grounds, highlighting the influence of natural variability in environmental conditions on sponge growth and resilience. Near-bottom environmental conditions were characterized by high temporal resolution data collected with a benthic lander, deployed during a period of 10-months in the Sambro Bank Sponge Conservation Area. The lander was equipped with temperature and oxygen sensors, a current meter, a sediment trap and a video camera. In addition, water column profiles of temperature and ...