Spatial and Temporal Variability of Plankton Stocks on the Basis of AcousticBackscatter Intensity and Direct Measurements in the Northeastern Gulf of Mexico

摘要

To investigate the utility of Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) forestimating the spatial and temporal variability of zooplankton stocks in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico, acoustic data from a moored array of ADCPs were used in conjunction with sea truth zooplankton samples. As part of the DeSoto Canyon Eddy Intrusion Study, twelve Broadband ADCPs were moored along four cross-margin lines in the DeSoto Canyon area of the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. These upward-looking ADCPs were moored at approximately 90-m depth and deployed March 1997 through April 1999. To obtain sea truth for the backscatter data, net tows were made during spring, summer, and fall of 1998 as well as spring 1999.