Time-Series Particle Flux Measurements in the Equatorial Pacific: Their Relationship to Production and Preservation Biogenic Materials

这项研究将通过确定沉降颗粒通量，为美国JGOFS中赤道太平洋的研究做出贡献。该提案结合了“核心”研究和“面向过程”的研究，涉及140瓦赤道断面上粒子成分和通量的时间变化。拟议研究的核心部分将在赤道横断面布置泥沙捕集器系泊设备，并确定沉降颗粒通量中一些关键成分的浓度。这些研究将确定不同生物系统中沉积物埋藏、碳通量和生产力之间的关系，并有助于确定海洋对主要气候变化的反应。这项以过程为导向的科学将使用选定的沉积物捕集器样本中的微量元素来建立生产力的替代指标。通过将沉积物捕捉器样品分析与沉积物分析相结合，P.I.S将评估从事件尺度到冰川-间冰期尺度的颗粒通量变化。他们还将使用痕量元素数据来评估赤道太平洋的风沙通量、这种输入的季节模式及其与生物生产力的关系。这部分研究将有助于解决微量营养素金属对海洋生产力的限制这一重要问题。

The research will contribute to the U.S. JGOFS studies of the central equatorial Pacific through the determination of the settling particulate flux. The proposal combines "core" research and "process-oriented" research involving temporal variations in composition and flux of particles across an equatorial transect at 140oW. The core part of the proposed research will deploy sediment trap moorings across the equatorial transect and determine the concentration of some key components in the settling particle flux. These studies will define the relationships among sediment burial, carbon flux, and productivity in different biological systems and help define the oceanic response to major climatic change. This process-oriented science will use trace elements in selected sediment trap samples to establish proxies for productivity. By combining sediment trap sample analyses with sediment analyses, the P.I.'s will evaluate variations in particle flux from event scale to glacial-interglacial scales. They will also use trace element data to evaluate the eolian flux across the equatorial Pacific, the seasonal pattern of this input, and its relationship to biological productivity. This part of the research will contribute to the important question of micronutrient metals as limitations on oceanic productivity.