Management and Scientific Service in Support of the U.S. JGOFS Southern Ocean Process Study: Hydrography, Coring and Site Survey

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95-30398 Anderson 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. The overall objectives of JGOFS are to determine and understand processes controlling the time-varying fluxes of carbon and associated biogenic elements, and to predict the response of marine biogeochemical processes to climate change. The Southern Ocean is critical in the global carbon cycle, as judged by its size and the physical processes which occur in it (e.g., deep and intermediate water formation), but its present quantitative role is uncertain. JGOFS objectives for the Southern Ocean study are as follows: 1) to constrain the fluxes of carbon (organic and inorganic) and to place these fluxes in the context of the contemporary carbon cycle; 2) to identify the factors and processes which regulate the magnitude and variability of primary productivity and the fate of biogenic matter; 3) to determine the response of the Southern Ocean to natural climate perturbations; and 4) to predict the response of the Southern Ocean to climate change. In order to successfully address these objectives, a large field program has been designed to provide various investigators the opportunity to test specific hypotheses which relate to these broadly-defined objectives. We expect the field test to begin in September 1996, and last through March 1998 using two ships, the R.V. Palmer, and the R.V. Thompson. As most of the investigators will use hydrographic and nutrient data from these cruises, this proposal requests funds for the support of the analysis of nutrient concentrations during these thirteen crui ses. A team of oceanographic experts from a variety of institutions has been assembled to complete these analyses; furthermore, the data will be scrutinized for errors and provided in a timely fashion to all PI's in the project, as well as to the relevant oceanographic data storage facilities. The hydrography and coring groups have been put together using the successful model for the Arabian Sea JGOFS study, and in conjunction with the nutrient data (supported under a separate proposal), will form a large portion of the Southern Ocean JGOFS database which both field investigators and modelers will use to clarify the role of the Southern Ocean in the global carbon cycle.