9521448 Corliss This project will use sediment traps and short cores south of Georges Bank to determine seasonal flux of organic matter and corresponding changes in benthic foraminifers. The goal is to determine whether availability of phytodetritus affects taxonomic assemblage and/or shell chemistry. These variables are widely used as indicators of deep-water conditions, but the controls upon them are unknown from direct observation; they are based mostly upon indirect correlations.
