Biomass of Zooplankton Estimated by Acoustical Sensors in the Arabian Sea.

The long term goal of our overall research program is the development of data-based models to predict ecological relationships of zooplankton, phytoplankton and the physical environment in the sea. The overall objective of the work carried out within the scope of this particular contract was to acoustically measure the dynamics of zooplankton and micronekton in the northern Arabian Sea during several seasons. The scientific focus was to examine the impact, if any, of the two annual monsoons that are thought to drive the ecosystem response in the area. This particular project involved the design and construction of two sensors which were then deployed in the Arabian Sea by several of our co-PIVs in the ONR ARI on Forced Upper Ocean Dynamics during the time period in which the JGOFS program also focused their efforts on the northern Arabian Sea. This contract involved only the development, calibration and maintenance of the instrumentation. The data processing, other than that which has been necessary for the purposes of quality assurance, was not induded in our original proposal.