Equatorial Pacific Zooplankton Grazing Rates from 1992 JGOFS Study

Mesozooplankton grazing rates were measured during the 1992 Joint Global Ocean Flux Study Equatorial Pacific Process Study. Data were collected from 43 station occupations across four research cruises along 140°W longitude, from 17°S to 12°N. The dataset was produced by the SCIOPS organization and captures measurements from February to October 1992.

Use Cases

• Model carbon export by analyzing grazing rates across three depth strata (0-20m, 20-60m, 60-120m).
• Study diel feeding patterns by comparing grazing rates measured during day and night tows.
• Assess size-class impact on phytoplankton by correlating grazing rates with three zooplankton size fractions (2.0-1.0 mm, 1.0-0.5 mm, 0.5-0.2 mm).
• Calculate regional grazing pressure by integrating rate data with station-specific biomass estimates.
• Validate gut passage time models using the reciprocal of gut clearance rate constants estimated for each collection.

Strengths

• Data collected from 43 distinct station occupations across a latitudinal transect.
• Measurements include triplicate subsamples for statistical reliability.
• Explicit temporal coverage across four cruises from February to October 1992.

Limitations

• Sample size is constrained to a single year (1992), limiting temporal trend analysis.
• Geographic scope is limited to a single longitudinal line (140°W) in the equatorial Pacific.
• Specific row counts, column names, and data completeness metrics are unknown.

Provenance

Source

Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) Equatorial Pacific Process Study (EQPAC).

Collection Method

Vertical tows with opening-closing 3/4 meter Puget Sound nets (200 micrometer mesh), followed by fluorometric pigment measurement and calculation based on gut passage time.

Time Range

1992-02-03 to 1992-10-21

Freshness

Data is historical, with collection ending in October 1992 and no stated updates.

Geography

Equatorial Pacific Ocean along 140°W longitude, from 17°S to 12°N latitude.