THE BIOLUMINESCENT FIELD OF THE ATLANTIC-OCEAN

Data from 20 yr (1970 to 1990) of expeditions by the Institute of Biol ogy of the Southern Seas, Ukraine, to the tropical Atlantic Ocean are summarised in the form of a macroscale contour map. The bioluminescent intensity of plankton in the upper 100 m layer was analysed from 2924 casts. Several zones of enhanced bioluminescence are shown from the a nnual averages (0 to 100 m), associated with major upwellings along th e African coast and geostrophic currents forming the westward water ma ss transport. The macroscale trend of spatial distribution and the sto chastic component of the bioluminescence were partitioned by analysis of the autocorrelation functions. General agreement between biolumines cence and zooplankton biomass distributions was noted on an ocean basi n scale. The contribution of phyto-and zooplankton fractions to the fo rmation of the integrated bioluminescence potential can Vary significa ntly in the upper 100 m layer over regions within the tropical zone.