Europe's Grand Canyon Nazaré Submarine Canyon

Europe's Grand Canyon Nazaré Submarine Canyon

The Nazaré submarine canyon extends ~ 210 km westward from the coast of Portugal, down to a water depth of > 4300 m. The considerable habitat heterogeneity found throughout the canyon is affected by strong currents and high turbidity, especially in the upper parts of the canyon. The canyon morpho...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Oceanography (Washington, D.C.) D.C.), 2009-03, Vol.22 (1), p.46-57
Main Authors: TYLER, PAUL, AMARO, TERESA, ARZOLA, RAQUEL, CUNHA, MARINA R., DE STIGTER, HENKO, GOODAY, ANDREW, HUVENNE, VEERLE, INGELS, JEROEN, KIRIAKOULAKIS, KOSTAS, LASTRAS, GALDERIC, MASSON, DOUGLAS, OLIVEIRA, ANABELA, PATTENDEN, ABIGAIL, VANREUSEL, ANN, VAN WEERING, TJEERD, VITORINO, JOAO, WITTE, URSULA, WOLFF, GEORGE
Format: Article
Language:eng
Subjects:
Canyons
deep sea
ecosystem function
Europa
Europe
Fauna
Gorgonacea
gorgonians
HERMES
HERMES SPECIAL ISSUE FEATURE
Marine
Nazare submarine canyon
Nematodes
Ocean currents
Ocean floor
Ocean tides
sea lilies
seafloor habitat
Sediments
Sloping terrain
Submarine canyons
Submarine valleys
Terraces
Valls submarines
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Summary:The Nazaré submarine canyon extends ~ 210 km westward from the coast of Portugal, down to a water depth of > 4300 m. The considerable habitat heterogeneity found throughout the canyon is affected by strong currents and high turbidity, especially in the upper parts of the canyon. The canyon morphology comprises steep slopes, scarps, terraces, and overhangs, and a deeply incised thalweg is found in the lower part of the canyon. The seabed within the canyon is composed of varying proportions of rock and sediments that range from sand to fine mud. This great variation in physical environment is reflected by the varied fauna inhabiting the canyon. Diversity tends to decrease with depth, but there is also continual replacement of species with increasing water depth. Certain groups, such as the gorgonians and sea lilies, tend to be found on rocky surfaces, while large protozoans dominate the sediments at 3400-m depth. In addition to describing the fauna of Nazaré Canyon, we discuss experiments undertaken as part of the HERMES project to elucidate the ecosystem function processes operating in the deeper parts of the canyon.
ISSN:1042-8275
2377-617X