Coupling between Physical Processes, Biological Dynamics and Air-Sea CO2 Fluxes in the Labrador Sea

拉布拉多海在海洋物理和生物地球化学中起着至关重要的作用。这是一个深水形成的地区，经历了一次强烈的浮游植物水华，在6月下半月达到顶峰。这种水华使该地区成为大气中二氧化碳(CO2)的重要汇。与以较短(十年)时间尺度返回海面的全球海洋其他汇区域不同，拉布拉多海水域中封存的大气二氧化碳数千年来不再与大气接触。最近，美国国家科学基金会的物理海洋学和化学海洋学项目资助了几个机构的研究人员研究拉布拉多海二氧化碳的物理化学固定的动力学--但不是从生物方面。在这个项目中，俄勒冈州立大学的研究人员将通过增加一项关于春季浮游生物大量繁殖期间二氧化碳减少的研究来加强正在进行的拉布拉多海研究。该区域季节性较高的初级生产力是其二氧化碳汇地位的部分原因，因此量化生物碳吸收是至关重要的。要做到这一点，需要对社区生物量、生产力和出口进行估计。此外，控制春季开花的物理和生态过程--混合、光照、放牧--本身也是有意义的。已经获得资金的二氧化碳和溶解氧的次日时间序列含有丰富的生物信息，但如果没有这项提议提供的额外生物参数，就无法充分利用。因此，该项目涉及将受益于生物测量的气体通量研究和将受益于详细的化学通量测量的生物过程研究之间的协同作用。广泛影响：这项工作涉及一个全球社会关注的问题，即海洋和大气之间的二氧化碳交换，以及海洋在气候重大时间尺度上隔离二氧化碳的潜力。在项目过程中，本科生将获得卫星数据分析和解释方面的经验。该方案的结果将纳入研究生教学，并在科学会议和首席调查员网站上传播。

ABSTRACTOCE-0431413The Labrador Sea plays a critical role in ocean physics and biogeochemistry. It is a region of deep water formation, and experiences an intense phytoplankton bloom that peaks in the second half of June. This bloom makes the region a significant sink of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere. In contrast to other sink regions of the global ocean that return to the surface on shorter (decadal) time scales, atmospheric CO2 sequestered in waters of the Labrador Sea are removed from contact with the atmosphere for millennia. Recently, the NSF Physical Oceanography and Chemical Oceanography Programs funded researchers at several institutions to study the dynamics of the physicochemical sequestration of CO2 in the Labrador Sea - but not the biological aspects.In this project, researchers at the Oregon State University will enhance the ongoing Labrador Sea study by adding a study of CO2 drawdown during the spring plankton bloom. The seasonally high primary productivity of the region is partially responsible for its status as a CO2 sink, so it is essential to quantify the biological carbon uptake. Doing so requires estimates of community biomass, productivity and export. Furthermore, the physical and ecological processes controlling the spring bloom - mixing, light, grazing - are of interest in and of themselves. The sub-daily time series of pCO2 and DO, already funded, is rich in biological information, but cannot be fully exploited without the additional biological parameters contributed by this proposal. Thus this project involves a synergy between a study of gas fluxes, which will benefit from biological measurements, and a study of biological processes, which will benefit from the detailed chemical flux measurements.Broader impacts: This work addresses a problem of global societal concern, namely the exchange of CO2 between the ocean and atmosphere and the potential of the ocean to sequester CO2 at climatically significant time scales. During the course of the project, undergraduate students will gain experience in the analysis and interpretation of satellite data. The results of the program will be incorporated into graduate teaching and disseminated at scientific meetings and on the principal investigator's website.