Bernal, Gladys

Escuela Naval Almirante Padilla, Bosque, Isla Manzanillo, Cartagena, Colombia, Tel: (57-5)6694124, Fax: (57-5)6694315, E-mail: bernal_gladys@yahoo.com

Salmedina banks research: ocean biogeochemistry fluxes and time series measurements at the Colombian Caribbean

Salmedina banks are located 7 km west from Cartagena de Indias city, Colombian Caribbean Sea. They are reef formations on the continental shelf settled on a diapir dome from 60 m depth. There are reports from general studies in the Colombian Caribbean indicating that almost 50% of the Salmedina corals are dead apparently due to high temperatures and sedimentation rates. However this will be the first study at local scale. The project “Oceanographic integrated study of Salmedina banks, Colombia Caribbean” is looking for understanding the banks and their processes under different points of view: morphology, physics, ecology and sedimentology. Besides the basic descriptive study, a semi-monthly monitoring will be performed. This will start time series measurements at this part of the Caribbean Sea. Specifically, we’ll measure oceanographic properties, primary productivity and sediment dynamics during 1 year. We’ll try to understand biogeochemical fluxes in the area through sampling of suspended and settled sediments using nets and sediment traps. The lithogenous fraction, calcite and planktic foraminifera will be used for determining the transference between the water column and the bottom.