Éditeur(s) : The Oceanography Society
Résumé : Data assembly and processing centers are essential elements of the operational oceanography infrastructure. They provide data and products needed by modeling and data assimilation systems; they also provide products directly usable for applications. This paper discusses the role and functions of the data centers for operational oceanography. It describes some of the main data assembly centers (Argo and in situ data, altimetry, sea surface temperature) developed during the Global Ocean Data Assimilation Experiment. An overview of other data centers (wind and fluxes, ocean color, sea ice) is also given. Much progress has been achieved over the past 10 years to validate, intercalibrate, and merge altimeter data from multiple satellites. Accuracy and timeliness of products have been improved, and new products have been developed. The same is true for sea surface temperature data through the Global High-Resolution Sea Surface Temperature Pilot Project. A breakthrough in processing, quality control, and assembly for in situ data has also been achieved through the development of the real-time and delayed-mode Argo data system. In situ and remote-sensing data are now systematically and jointly used to calibrate, validate, and monitor over the long term the quality and consistency of the global ocean observing system. Main results are illustrated. There is also a review of the development and use of products that merge in situ and remote-sensing data. Future issues and main prospects are discussed in the conclusion.
Oceanography (1042-8275) (The Oceanography Society), 2009-09 , Vol. 22 , N. 3 , P. 56-69

Droits : 2009 The Oceanography Society
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6879.pdf
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6879/

Éditeur(s) : The Oceanography Society
Résumé : Submarine hydrocarbon seeps are geologically driven "hotspots" of increased biological activity on the seabed. As part of the HERMES project, several sites of natural hydrocarbon seepage in the European seas were investigated in detail, including mud volcanoes and pockmarks, in study areas extending from the Nordic margin, to the Gulf of Cadiz, to the Mediterranean and Black seas. High-resolution seabed maps and the main properties of key seep sites are presented here. Individual seeps show ecosystem zonation related to the strength of the methane flux and distinct biogeochemical processes in surface sediments. A feature common to many seeps is the formation of authigenic carbonate constructions. These constructions exhibit various morphologies ranging from large pavements and fragmented slabs to chimneys and mushroom-shaped mounds, and they form hard substrates colonized by fixed fauna. Gas hydrate dissociation could contribute to sustain seep chemosynthetic communities over several thousand years following large gas-release events.
Oceanography (1042-8275) (The Oceanography Society), 2009-03 , Vol. 22 , N. 1 , P. 92-109

Droits : 2009 by The Oceanography Society. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to copy this article for use in teaching and research. Republication, systemmatic reproduction, or collective redistirbution of any portion of this article by photocopy machine, reposting, or other means is permitted only with the approval of The Oceanography Society. Send all correspondence to: info@tos.org or The Oceanography Society, PO Box 1931, Rockville, MD 20849-1931, USA.
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/2009/publication-6387.pdf
DOI:10.5670/oceanog.2009.11
http://archimer.ifremer.fr/doc/00000/6387/

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD Oceanography Society
Résumé : In April 1961, 13.5 m of basalts were drilled off Guadalupe Island about 240 km west of Mexico's Baja California, together with a few hundred meters of Miocene sediments, in about 3500 m of water. This fi rst-time exploit, reported by John Steinbeck for Life magazine, aimed to be the test phase for the considerably more ambitious Mohole project, whose objective was to drill through the oceanic crust down to Earth's mantle (Lill and Bascom, 1959; Bascom, 1961). Born in the late 1950s, the Mohole project unfortunately ended in muddy waters and was terminated by the United States Congress in 1965 (Shor, 1985; Greenberg, 1971). Undeterred, the scientifi c community rallied again to launch the Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) in 1968, followed by the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) in 1985, and the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program (IODP) in 2003. These programs have provided solutions to some of the most pressing and interesting problems in ocean and earth science (see, for example, Oceanography 19-4, December 2006).the early 1970s, almost 15 years after the fi rst Mohole attempt, attendees of a Penrose fi eld conference (Conference Participants, 1972) formulated the concept of a layered oceanic crust composed of lavas, underlain by sheeted dikes, then gabbros (corresponding to the seismic layers 2A, 2B, and 3, respectively), which themselves overlay mantle peridotites. Deep drilling into the oceanic crust would provide the ground truth for the Penrose model; the fl ame of the Mohole project still burned. This article draws from results of more than 30 years of ocean drilling at mid-ocean ridges or in older igneous oceanic crust and briefl y reviews some important milestones that improved understanding of crustalaccretion processes at mid-ocean ridges. Figure 1 shows the locations of the numerous DSDP, ODP, and IODP expeditions to which we refer; Table 1 lists site locations.
ISSN: 1042-8275

hal-00407192
https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00407192