U.S.-New Zealand Collaborative Research: The Biogeochemical Cycling of Iron in Waters of the Subantarctic Southern Ocean (FeCycle)

由新西兰奥塔哥大学的菲利普·博伊德博士领导的一个多学科和多国研究小组在一艘新西兰船上工作，将寻求更好地了解铁在南大洋生态系统的结构和功能中的作用。该奖项支持鲍灵格林州立大学的罗伯特·麦凯博士作为首席研究员参与这一领域的研究，该研究小组由三名美国科学家和一名研究生组成，他们参与了同一次研究巡航，并得到了单独的资助。他的美国联合首席研究员和他们的奖励号码是田纳西州诺克斯维尔大学的Steven Wilhelm（0240092）和特拉华大学的David Hutchins（0236987）。三位美国科学家的具体研究重点各不相同。麦凯博士将测量铁限制的诊断指标，如黄氧还蛋白与铁氧还蛋白的比例。Wilhelm博士和McKay博士将使用最先进的原核生物报告构建来评估浮游植物群落中的铁胁迫程度。哈钦斯博士将使用一种新型的船上自然群落化学调节系统来模拟铁元素输入的变化。他还将应用一种新开发的痕量金属清洁表面清洗方法来测量清除和内部颗粒铁池。微量营养元素铁限制了南极洲周围大部分南大洋上浮游植物的生长和光合作用。这反过来又影响了全球碳循环。大多数关于海洋中铁的研究都是通过人为地添加高水平的铁，并监测受影响水体的变化。在不受干扰的自然条件下，这种限制性营养物质的主要储库、通量和生物地球化学途径所知甚少。这项研究工作将采用几种新技术来评估自然海洋环境中微生物对铁水平的影响和反应。这将对在世界海洋的一个重要区域模拟自然海洋铁循环的能力作出重大贡献。如果成功，所采用的创新技术将对其他海洋科学家具有广泛的价值。它将对参与研究的美国研究生和了解这项工作的美国研究人员的学生产生教育影响。

0238615McKayA multidisciplinary and multinational research group working on board a New Zealand ship and led by Dr. Philip Boyd of University of Otago, New Zealand, will seek to gain a better understanding of the role of iron in the structure and function of the ecosystems of the Southern Ocean. This award supports Dr. Robert McKay of Bowling Green State University to participate in this field research as the lead Principal Investigator for a group of three U.S. scientists and a graduate student involved in the same research cruise and supported by separate grants. His U.S. co-Principal Investigators and their award numbers are Steven Wilhelm of the University of Tennessee at Knoxville (0240092) and David Hutchins of the University of Delaware (0236987). The specific research foci of the three U.S. scientists differ. Dr. McKay will measure diagnostic indicators of iron limitation such as the ratio of flavodoxin to ferrodoxin. Dr. Wilhelm and Dr. McKay will evaluate degrees of iron stress in the phytoplankton community using state-of-the-art prokaryotic bioreporter constructs. Dr. Hutchins will simulate changes in diapycnal iron inputs using a novel shipboard natural community chemostat system. He will also apply a newly developed trace metal clean surface wash method to measure scavenged and interior pools of particulate iron.The micronutrient iron limits phytoplankton growth and photosynthesis over most of the large Southern Ocean surrounding Antarctica. This in turn affects the global carbon cycle.Most studies of iron in the ocean have come from adding artificially high levels and monitoring the changes seen in the affected body of water. Very little is known about the major pools, fluxes and biogeochemical pathways of this limiting nutrient under unperturbed natural conditions. This research effort will employ several novel techniques to assess microbial impacts on and reactions to iron levels in a natural oceanic environment. This will be a significant contribution to the ability to model the natural marine iron cycle in an important region of the world's ocean. If successful, the innovative techniques employed will have wide value to other marine scientists. It will have educational impacts for the US graduate student who will participate and for students of the US investigators who will learn about the work.