RAPID: Impact of Gulf Oil Surface Films on Atmosphere-Ocean Exchange

2010年4月20日发生在路易斯安那海岸的“深水地平线”海上钻井平台井喷事故，向墨西哥湾释放了大量原油和甲烷。其结果是，以石油为基础的表面薄膜（伴随着地下甲烷和其他溶解气体含量的升高）已扩散到前所未有的大面积，从而提高了动量、热量和气体成分的海气转移可能被充分改变的可能性，从而对区域气象和海洋/大气化学产生重大影响。先前主要在实验室环境中进行的研究表明，由于存在这种表面活性剂（称为“表面活性剂”），动量、能量和气体的海气通量急剧减少。这种rapid类型的工作将允许在阿拉巴马州莫比勒湾国家数据浮标中心#42012站点附近进行为期一个月的上述海气通量（以及一些地下量）的系泊和间歇性船基样带测量相结合。这项工作将与南阿拉巴马大学运营的海豚岛海洋实验室已经开展的工作相结合，并将利用他们的25英尺研究船。支持的研究活动将涉及四个主题：(1)与溢油有关的表面活性剂浓度的现场表征；(2)测量海气动量、水蒸气、热量、二氧化碳和甲烷的交换；(3)量化这些通量对海洋表面热收支和生物地球化学的影响；(4)调查泄漏对减少大气与下伏海洋表面热耦合的影响。这项工作的智力价值在于收集了高质量的通量测量数据，并结合了前所未有规模的石油泄漏，这是更好地评估通过对陆地/海风系统的潜在改变以及可能对更强烈的热带风暴的行为所产生的海洋/大气化学和区域气象影响所需要的。这项研究的更广泛影响将包括提高对广泛的石油泄漏（或其他表面活性剂来源）对区域气象学和大气/海洋化学的影响的理解，通过会议报告和正式出版物传播这些发现，以及加强对受支持的博士后研究助理的培训/职业发展。

The Deepwater Horizon offshore platform well blowout, which occurred on 20 April 2010 off the coast of Louisiana, has released large amounts of crude oil and methane into the Gulf of Mexico. As a result, petroleum-based surface films (accompanied by elevated levels of subsurface methane and other dissolved gases) have spread over an unprecedented large area, raising the possibility that air-sea transfer of momentum, heat and gaseous constituents may be modified sufficiently so as to have significant impacts on regional meteorology and ocean/atmospheric chemistry. Prior research, conducted primarily in laboratory settings, has demonstrated that air-sea fluxes of momentum, energy and gases are sharply reduced by the presence of such surface active agents (termed 'surfactants'). This RAPID-type effort will allow a combination of moored and episodic ship-based transect type measurements of the above-mentioned air-sea fluxes (as well as some subsurface quantities) to be conducted over a month-long period near National Data Buoy Center site #42012 off Mobile Bay, Alabama. This work will be done in conjunction with efforts already being conducted by the Dauphin Island Sea Lab operated by the University of South Alabama, and will make use of their 25' research vessel. Supported research activities will address four themes: (1) in situ characterization of surfactant concentrations associated with the oil spill; (2) measurements of air-sea exchanges of momentum, water vapor, heat, carbon dioxide and methane; (3) quantification of impacts of these fluxes on the surface ocean heat budget and biogeochemistry; and (4) investigation of the spill's impact in reducing thermal coupling between the atmosphere and underlying ocean surface.The Intellectual Merit of this work rests in collection of high-quality flux measurements in conjunction with an oil spill of unprecedented scale, as needed to better assess impacts on ocean/atmosphere chemistry and regional meteorology through potential modification of land-/sea-breeze systems and possibly on the behavior or more intense tropical storms.Broader Impacts of the research will include improved understanding of influences of widespread petroleum spills (or other surfactant sources) on regional meteorology and atmospheric/oceanic chemistry, the dissemination of these findings via conference presentations and formal publication, and enhanced training/career development for a supported postdoctoral research associate.