The Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory
The Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory (PAP-SO) is a sustained, multidisciplinary observatory in the North Atlantic coordinated by the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton.
For over 20 years the observatory has provided key time series datasets for analysing the effect of climate change on the open ocean and deep-sea ecosystems.
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The mixed layer is monitored down to 1000m. At 30m there is an instrument frame from which many biogeochemical variables are measured.
The twilight zone is the part of the ocean where sunlight is able to penetrate to a limited extent; in open ocean this can be as deep as 1000m
The seabed of the Porcupine Abyssal Plain lies 4850m (3 miles) below the ocean surface, and is home to abundant and varied wildlife