U.S.-Australia Cooperative Research: Geochemical Studies on Australia's Northwest Shelf

该奖项将支持阿拉斯加大学的W.S. Reeburgh教授和澳大利亚堪培拉矿产资源、地质和地球物理局的David T. Heggie博士之间的合作研究。调查人员将乘坐RIG SEISMIC船参加澳大利亚西北大陆架的联合地球化学/地球物理研究巡航。测量水柱和沉积物的甲烷浓度和碳同位素比率，目的是确定观察到的碳氢化合物是现代的，还是与海底石油的存在有关。众所周知，澳大利亚西北大陆架蕴藏着石油资源。在这种环境下的测量将扩展美国研究人员之前在阿拉斯加和黑海水域的经验，以及美国和澳大利亚研究人员早期在甲烷地球化学方面的联合研究。本研究旨在了解地球化学和微生物对厌氧甲烷氧化的控制，以及该过程在全球甲烷收支中的作用，这可能在大气变暖中发挥重要作用。

This award will support cooperative research between Prof. W.S. Reeburgh of the University of Alaska, and Dr. David T. Heggie of the Australian Bureau of Mineral Resources, Geology, and Geophysics, Canberra, Australia. The investigators will participate in a joint geochemical/geophysical research cruise on the northwest shelf of Australia, aboard the vessel RIG SEISMIC. Measurements of water column and sediment methane concentrations and carbon isotope ratios will be made with the intention of determining whether the hydrocarbons observed are modern, or are related to the presence of petroleum under the sea. The northwest shelf of Australia is known to have petroleum potential. Measurements in this environment will extend the U.S. investigator's previous experience in Alaskan and Black Sea waters, and the earlier joint studies of the U.S. and Australian investigators in methane geochemistry. This research is aimed at understanding the geochemical and microbiological controls on anaerobic methane oxidation, and the role this process plays in the global methane budget, which could play an important role in atmospheric warming.