"BROKE" a biological/oceanographic survey off the coast of East Antarctica(80-150 degrees E) carried out in January-March 1996

A large scale biological/oceanographic survey (BROKE - Baseline Research on Oceanography, Krill and the Environment) was conducted off east Antarctica in the Austral summer of 1995/96. The prime focus was on describing the di stribution and abundance of Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba) and on dete rmining possible sources of Antarctic bottom water in the region. A range o f other studies were also carried out on BROKE including: measurements of p rimary production, surveys of Zooplankton and phytoplankton community struc ture, and sighting surveys of seabirds and cetaceans. The large dataset col lected over an area of 873 000 km(2) has led to a greater understanding of the marine ecosystem off East Antarctica and the environmental features tha t determine productivity in this region. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.