Water and sediment samples were collected on annual ECOHAB Process cruises and on isolated Mote transects (10/13/99 and 10/20/99). Samples will be analyzed for brevetoxin using a competetive ELISA assay (Naar and Baden, in progress) as well as a receptor-binding assay (VanDolah et al., 1994), and have been analyzed for chlorophyll a (water only) using the Welschmeyer (1994) non-acidification technique.

Zooplankton, nutrients, and other data were collected from bottle and net casts in the South Pacific and Equatorial Pacific Oceans from the CORIOLIS from 05 April 1981 to 16 August 1981. Zooplankton data include taxonomic identifications, total wet weights, and settled volumes. Nutrient data include concentration profiles of oxygen, phosphate, nitrate, nitrite, silicate and chlorophyll a. Data also include temperatures and salinity profiles. Data are comma-delimited ascii text in a comma-separated value (.csv) format.

Harmful algal blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, have caused massive fish kills in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1500's, with most occurrences on the west coast of Florida. In 1996, the list of states that have experiences natural resource, public health and economic impacts related to this organism expanded, with the addition of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, to include all the Gulf-coast states and North Carolina. Estimates of economic impacts to Florida and North Carolina from two moderate intensity blooms ranged from 15 to 25 million dollars respectively.

Nutrients and other data were collected from bottle casts from the ACONA in the Prince William Sound (Gulf of Alaska) from 13 July 1979 to 12 December 1979. Data were collected by the University of Alaska - Fairbanks; Institute of Marine Science (UAK/IMS) in support of the Exxon Valdez Restoration Study (EVOS). Parameters include concentration profiles of phosphate, silicate, nitrate, and ammonia.

Harmful algal blooms of the toxic dinoflagellate, Karenia brevis, have caused massive fish kills in the Gulf of Mexico since the 1500's, with most occurrences on the west coast of Florida. In 1996, the list of states that have experiences natural resource, public health and economic impacts related to this organism expanded, with the addition of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana, to include all the Gulf-coast states and North Carolina. Estimates of economic impacts to Florida and North Carolina from two moderate intensity blooms ranged from 15 to 25 million dollars respectively.

Water bottle samples were collected from selected depths (variable with station) at 44 stations in the study area. Coulter counts in the 14 to 28 um size class were routinely determined for comparison with the microscope counts provided by other researchers on the cruise. At six stations, water samples were filtered through a 40 um Nytex mesh and centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1200 x g and then frozen to isolate Karenia brevis cells for subsequent analysis (pg cell-1) of cellular lipid, free amino acid, and protein.

Water bottle samples were collected from selected depths (variable with station) at 14 stations in the study area. Coulter counts in the 14-28 um size class were routinely determined for comparison with the microscope counts. Water samples were filtered through 40 um Nytex mesh and centrifuged for 10 minutes at 1200 x g to isolate Karenia brevis. Pellets were frozen for subsequent analysis (pg cell-1) of total lipid, neutral lipid, free amino acids, protein and RNA. The biochemical determinations were performed within two weeks of collection at Kamykowski's NCSU laboratory.

The Coastal Services Center's (CSC) Coastal Remote Sensing (CRS) program is involved with programs to validate satellite algorithms for ocean properties. CRS is involved with the effort to validate ocean color algorithms to derive chlorophyll concentrations from the NASA ocean color satellite, Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS).

Chlorophyll a is a standard measure for phytoplankton biomass. Routinely, samples for extracted chlorophyll a values are filtered at sea, stored in liquid nitrogen, transported on dry ice and kept at -80 degrees Celsius until extracted. These values are used to examine the relationship between Karenia brevis cell counts, water column toxin levels and chlorophyll a pigment content.

Chlorophyll a is a standard measure for phytoplankton biomass. Routinely, samples for extracted chlorophyll a values are filtered at sea, stored in liquid nitrogen, transported on dry ice and kept at -80 degrees Celsius until extracted. These values are used to examine the relationship between Karenia brevis cell counts, water column toxin levels and chlorophyll a pigment content.