Collaborative Research: Particulate Organic Carbon in the Upper Ocean Derived from Historical Bio-Optical Data and Satellite Observations of Ocean Color

在本研究项目中，来自斯克里普斯海洋研究所和南加州大学的研究人员将致力于建立生物光学关系，通过光学测量获得海洋中的颗粒有机碳（POC）浓度。这些关系将适用于从船舶、无人值守系泊、漂流船和卫星海洋颜色传感器收集的数据。要采取的方法是基于使用各种研究人员收集的历史现场数据。多年来，在世界海洋的各个地区收集了大量的生物光学数据，这些数据现在可以通过JGOFS和NASA的SeaBASS数据库获得。这些和其他历史数据集将被重新分析，以得出用于研究海洋POC动力学的光学关系。预期通过充分利用已收集的数据，将在这一领域取得重大进展。研究小组将与产生本项目将使用的基本数据的几位研究人员进行互动，这些接触也将确保所有相关的研究工作得到很好的协调。该项目将为我们了解海洋POC储存库及其在海洋碳循环中的作用提供重要的科学贡献。该项目建立在重大科学问题和未开发的机会的基础上，将光学技术应用于海洋中POC的研究。光学测量已经被证明是在区域、流域和全球尺度上研究叶绿素a和初级生产的主要手段。然而，了解海洋生物地球化学的主要兴趣是碳，而不是叶绿素a。拟议工作的影响源于这样一个事实，即生物光学关系与新技术（卫星传感器，无人值班的原位平台）的结合将提供在以前不可能的时间和空间尺度上获取海洋中POC信息的能力。该项目的长期研究目标是将生物光学算法应用于全球海洋颜色数据，以研究天气、季节和年际时间尺度上的POC动态。该项目有许多更广泛的影响。其中，它将代表一个研究生的博士研究的主要组成部分。此外，研究人员还将利用汇编的数据和结果创建特定于项目的网站，这些网站将专门为科学界和普通公众设计。

ABSTRACTOCE-0324680 / OCE-0324346In this research project, investigators from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and University of Southern California will work to establish bio-optical relationships for deriving particulate organic carbon (POC) concentration in the ocean from optical measurements. These relationships will be applicable to data collected from ships, unattended moorings, drifters, and satellite ocean color sensors. The approach to be taken is based on the use of historical in situ data collected by various researchers. Over the years, extensive bio-optical data have been collected in various regions of the world's ocean, which are now available through JGOFS and NASA's SeaBASS databases. These and other historical data sets will be reanalyzed to derive optical relationships for studying the POC dynamics in the ocean. It is expected that by taking a full advantage of the already collected data, a substantial progress in this area will be made. The research team will interact with several researchers who generated basic data that will be used in this project, and these contacts will also ensure that all related research efforts will be well coordinated. The project us expected to provide important scientific contributions to our understanding of the ocean reservoir of POC and its role in ocean carbon cycle. The project builds on significant science questions and unexplored opportunities for the application of optical techniques to the study of POC in the ocean. Optical measurements have already proven to be a major device for studying chlorophyll a and primary production on regional, basin, and global scales. However, the major currency of interest for understanding ocean biogeochemistry is carbon, not chlorophyll a. The impact of the proposed work stems from the fact that the combination of bio-optical relationships with new technologies (satellite sensors, unattended in situ platforms) will provide a capability to acquire information about POC in the ocean on previously impossible scales of time and space. The proposed project is a step towards a long-term research goal, which is to apply the bio-optical algorithms to the global ocean color data in order to study POC dynamics on synoptic, seasonal, and interannual time scales.The project has a number of broader impacts. Among them, it will represent a major component of the Ph.D. research of a graduate student. Moreover, the investigators will create project-specific websites with the compiled data and results, which will be specially designed both for the science community and general public.