Controls on Sea Surface pCO2 Variability and CO2 Uptake in the Western Arctic Ocean

该奖项是根据《2009年美国复苏和再投资法案》(公法111-5)提供资金的。该建议旨在通过参加2010年夏天的中国北极科考游轮，为研究北冰洋西部的碳循环和二氧化碳吸收提供资金。地表水二氧化碳测量将通过已经安装在中国破冰船雪龙上的高分辨率正在进行的二氧化碳分析仪连续收集。将收集和分析离散水样的pH值、溶解无机碳(DIC)、总碱度和钙，以及氧同位素、碳同位素、营养物质、溶解氧(和表观氧利用率)、叶绿素-a、溶解有机碳(DOC)和颗粒有机碳(POC)。这些数据将被用来限制大气-海洋二氧化碳通量及其空间变异性。正在调查的关键过程包括海冰融化后新暴露的表层水域对二氧化碳的吸收，以及河流DIC和DOC对北冰洋净碳吸收的贡献。预计这些过程中的每一个都会在北极变暖的情况下发生变化。了解北冰洋的碳通量及其控制机制是对未来变化和气候反馈进行有把握的预测的先决条件。该项目将建立北极科学领域的国际合作，并加强中国在北极的研究努力。佐治亚大学的一名博士生将通过这个项目获得三年的资助。

This award is funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009(Public Law 111-5).This proposal seeks funding to study carbon cycling and CO2 uptake in the western Arctic Ocean through participation in the Chinese Arctic Research Expedition cruise in summer 2010. Surface water pCO2 measurements will be collected continuously through a high-resolution underway CO2 analyzer that has already been installed on the Chinese icebreaker Xue Long. Discrete water samples will be collected and analyzed for pH, dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC), total alkalinity, and calcium as well as oxygen isotopes, carbon isotopes, nutrients, dissolved oxygen (and apparent oxygen utilization), chlorophyll-a, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), and particulate organic carbon (POC). These data will be used to constrain air-sea fluxes of carbon dioxide and their spatial variability. Key processes under investigation include the uptake of CO2 by newly exposed surface waters following sea ice melt, and the contribution of riverine DIC and DOC to the Arctic Ocean net carbon uptake. Each of these processes is projected to change in a warming Arctic. Understanding carbon fluxes and the mechanisms controlling them in the Arctic Ocean is a prerequisite for confident prediction of future changes and climate feedbacks. This project would build international collaborations in Arctic science and strengthen Chinese Arctic research efforts. A Ph.D. student at the University of Georgia would be supported for three years through this project.