The benthic response to the seasonal deposition of phytopigments at the Porcupine Abyssal Plain in the North East Atlantic

We have assessed the impact of seasonal pulses of phyto-detritus towards the bottom of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) in the NE Atlantic. Phytopigments were determined (HPLC) in sediment, near-bottom suspended matter and sediment trap samples to obtain an impression of the quantity and quality of the organic material reaching the bottom. Its supposed effect on the benthic community was estimated on the basis of in situ Sediment Community Oxygen Consumption (SCOC) rates, deck oxygen micro profiles as well as chlorophyll mixing and degradation rates. There was considerable interannual variation in the deposition of fresh organic material. In September 1996 the mass flux at 10 m above the bottom was 0.25 g DW m−2 d−1. The material caught in the trap was relatively fresh with a chlorophyll-a : phaeophorbide ratio of 1.33. During the other seasons (March 1997, July 1997 and October 1997) such fresh material was absent and even in July, the period in which fresh material is supposed to have arrived on the bottom, the ratio remained low, viz. 0.23. Based on these findings we conclude that in 1997 only small amounts of already degraded material arrived at the sea floor. On the basis of the large quantities of fresh material found in September 1996, the existence and subsequent deposition of autumn blooms should be considered. n situ respirometry no effect of the differential quality and quantity of the settling detritus could be detected, whereas model parameters based on oxygen microprofiles demonstrated changes associated with the supposed seasonal cycle. Also the downcore pigment distribution of chlorophyll-a and derived mixing and degradation coefficients showed variations which were linked to the observed seasonal changes in input of organic matter.