Svinøy Transect - West Norwegian Sea Latitude:   63.5170     Longitude:   1.5670 Associated Investigators: Webjørn Melle , Cecilie Broms   Related Time Series: [ Fugløya-Bjørnøya Transect (north) ]   [ Fugløya-Bjørnøya Transect (south) ]   [ Vardø Nord Transect (north) ]   [ Vardø Nord Transect (south) ]   [ Svinøy Transect (west) ]   [ Svinøy Transect (east) ]   [ Arendal (North Sea/Skagerrak) ]   The Institute of Marine Research (IMR) Monitoring Programme samples two fixed transects in the Norwegian Sea: the Svinøy transect (15 stations) and the Gimsoy transect (ten stations). Additionally, the Norwegian Sea is surveyed in May and July/August, both surveys covering approximately 50-100 stations. Data are stored at the TINDOR database at IMR, with annual reports made to the Ministry of Fisheries and in the IMR Annual Report on Marine Ecosystems. The Svinøy transect is split into two sections: West (13) and East (14) . Each section is sampled four to ten times each year with a WP-2 net from 200 m depth to the surface. Along the Svinøy transect, zooplankton biomass starts to increase in March/April in the western section and slightly earlier in February in the eastern section. The development (timing) of zooplankton biomass in spring at the Svinøy transect does not otherwise indicate any shifts in seasonality over the sampling period 1997-2007. Although the seasonal cycle of biomass at both sites is almost identical, annual anomalies between sites reveal a lagged synchrony. Both sites are currently in a period of lower-than-average biomass, a trend coherent with other zooplankton biomass data from the Norwegian Sea. Water temperatures along the Svinøy transect range from 5 C to 15 C, with the seasonal high in August and the seasonal low in February/March. A chlorophyll bloom occurs in late April and early May, with a slightly stronger bloom in May along the eastern side of the transect. A protracted post-bloom period persists throughout summer and early autumn along the transect, which is typical for the southern Norwegian Sea. For the duration of the time-series, chlorophyll concentrations at both sides of the transect demonstrate a downward trend, whereas water temperatures have been increasing during the same period. Zooplankton biomass appears to be positively correlated with Chlorophyll and negatively correlated with temperature during this period. The nearest CPR standard area is B1. Interannual trends within CPR copepod abundance correspond fairly well with zooplankton biomass in both the western and eastern sections of the Svinøy transect. Long-term SST values along the transect demonstrate that water temperatures since 2000 have been higher than any seen in the previous 100 years.