Carbon Flux Explorer Development

私人投资机构要求提供资金，以完成碳通量探索者(CFE)的开发，这是一个完全自主的免费机器人系统，旨在通过Iridium卫星连接海洋上部公里不同深度的颗粒有机碳(POC)和颗粒无机碳(PIC)通量的小时/日变化，从季节到一年的时间尺度进行实时测量和传递。CFES是探测海洋拉格朗日观测站(SOLO)浮子(在斯克里普斯开发)和LBNL/加州大学伯克利分校S成像光学沉积物圈闭(OST)的成功集成。2007年6月，第一台原型CFE在海上进行了为期2天至800米的成功测试。拟议中的新工作将完善和挑战CFE的设计，在沿海和加州当前水域连续部署更长的时间，以评估和解决现实世界的问题，如生物污垢和动物入侵。同时，工程改进将改善电力预算，解决多个次要的系统问题。将全面建立车载图像处理/数据还原软件。校准样品(POC和PIC通量)将与CFE测试同时进行，使用浮标系留双OST系统在类似深度运行。在该项目结束时，三个完全开发的碳通量探测者(CFE)将被部署(如果可能的话)在北极次太平洋的开放海洋中至少3-6个月。通过海洋的生物碳泵进行碳沉积对大气二氧化碳的调节非常重要。由于当前观测方法(系泊/船舶)的局限性，碳输出(或沉积)在空间和时间上很难观察到，因此在碳循环模拟中很难理解和参数化。循环CFE在世界上的部署？S海洋有可能导致对碳沉积的生物学/生物地球化学的全新见解。更广泛的影响：拟议活动给社会带来的潜在好处很重要。这些活动将有助于提高人们对未来碳循环预测的信心。这一结果可能是帮助社会应对气候变化带来的潜在经济和环境危害后果的关键。通过教育，拟议的活动和开发的技术将使公众更容易接触到海洋。公众对海洋的了解的提高将有助于保护海洋环境。拟议活动提供的实时观测将有助于实现这种理解，并减少人们所认为的海洋的偏远程度。拟议的活动将促进与海洋相关的科学教学和教育。正在开发的技术将有助于活跃课堂上的海洋，从教科书知识转向实时互动。拟议的活动将使学生与全球环境更紧密地联系在一起。如果社会要克服人类目前面临的环境问题，这项技术将以必要的方式帮助教育公众。

The PIs request funding to complete the development of the Carbon Flux Explorer (CFE), a fully autonomous and free robotic system designed to measure and relay in real time via Iridium satellite link the hourly/diurnal variations of particulate organic carbon (POC) and particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) flux at various depths in the upper kilometer of the ocean for seasons to year-long time scales. CFEs are the successful integration of the Sounding Oceanographic Lagrangian Observer (SOLO) float (developed at Scripps) and LBNL/UC Berkeley?s imaging Optical Sediment Trap (OST). The first prototype CFE was successfully tested at sea for 2 days to 800 m in June 2007. The proposed new work will refine and challenge the CFE design with successively longer deployments in coastal and California Current waters to evaluate and address real world issues such as biofouling and animal invasions. At the same time, engineering refinements will improve power budget and solve multiple minor system issues. On-board image processing/data reduction software will be fully established. Calibration samples (POC and PIC flux) will be obtained concurrently with CFE testing using a buoy tethered twinned OST system operating at similar depths. At the end of this project, three fully developed Carbon Flux Explorers (CFEs) will be deployed (and recovered if possible) in the open ocean for at least 3-6 months in the subarctic N Pacific.Carbon sedimentation via the bio-carbon pump of the ocean is important to the regulation of atmospheric CO2. Due to limitations of current observational methodology (moorings/ships), carbon export (or sedimentation) is poorly observed in space and time and therefore is poorly understood and parameterized in carbon cycle simulations. CFE deployments in the world?s ocean have the potential to lead to fundamentally new insights into the biology/biogeochemistry of carbon sedimentation. Broader Impacts: The potential benefits to society due to the proposed activities are important. These actives will help improve confidence in future carbon cycle predictions. The results could maybe a key to helping society deal with the potentially economically and environmentally hazardous consequences due to climate change. Through education, the proposed activities and technologies developed will make the ocean more accessible to the public in general. An improved understanding of the ocean by the public will help protect the ocean's environment. The real-time observations offered by the proposed activities will help bring about such an understanding and diminish the perceived remoteness of the ocean. The proposed activities will advance ocean related scientific teaching and education. The technology in development will help enliven the ocean in the classroom, moving from textbook knowledge to real-time interactions. The proposed activities will allow students to become more connected to the global environment. The technology will help educate the public in manner needed if society is to overcome the environmental problems humanity currently faces.