Nitrogen Dynamics Within Two International Southern Ocean JGOFS Cruises

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The Southern Ocean is recognized as a critical region with regard to its oceanic productivity and global carbon dioxide balance. The region is known to be elevated in nutrients year-round, but extreme temporal and spatial variability on all scales is observed in the productivity. This project will focus on nitrogen dynamics, with an emphasis on new production, that photosynthetic production or organic material based on nitrate as a nitrogen source. Environmental factors controlling new production appear to be different in the Antarctic compared to temperate seas. Experiments aim to determine the relationship between new production and various factors such as irradiance, heterotrophic use of reduced nitrogen compounds, and concentrations of urea and ammonia. The research will be conducted on two international, multidisciplinary cruises on British and French ships. The collaboration with international scientists provides an excellent opportunity to advance this field.