Latitudinal Variations of Particle Fluxes in the Southern Ocean: A Bottom Tethered Sediment Trap Array Experiment

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9530300 Honjo This research project is part of the US Joint Global Ocean Flux Study (JGOFS) Southern Ocean Program aimed at (1) a better understanding of the fluxes of carbon, both organic and inorganic, in the Southern Ocean, (2) identifying the physical, ecological and biogeochemical factors and processes which regulate the magnitude and variability of these fluxes, and (3) placing these fluxes into the context of the contemporary global carbon cycle. This work is one of forty-four projects that are collaborating in the Southern Ocean Experiment, a three-year effort south of the Antarctic Polar Frontal Zone to track the flow of carbon through its organic and inorganic pathways from the air-ocean interface through the entire water column into the bottom sediment. The experiment will make use of the RVIB Nathaniel B. Palmer and the R/V Thompson. This project will make direct measurements of the downward flux of particulate matter through an array of bottom-mounted sediment traps. These traps will be maintained for an eighteen month period, and have a sampling resolution of seventeen days, with higher resolution during the intense summer phytoplankton bloom. The total export fluxes of organic carbon, nitrogen, biogenic silicates, and calcium carbonate that can be obtained from these measurements represent the basic core variables of the JGOFS program. ***