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州沿海的“深水地平线”海上平台井喷事件向墨西哥湾释放了大量原油和甲烷。 因此，石油表面薄膜（伴随着地下甲烷和其他溶解气体含量的升高）已经扩散到前所未有的大面积，增加了动量、热量和气体成分的海气传递可能被充分改变的可能性，从而对区域气象学和海洋/大气化学产生重大影响。 先前的研究，主要是在实验室环境中进行的，已经证明，海气通量的动量，能量和气体急剧减少的存在下，这种表面活性剂（称为“表面活性剂”）。 这一RAPID类型的工作将允许在亚拉巴马移动的湾附近的国家数据浮标中心42012号站点附近，对上述海气通量（以及一些地下量）进行为期一个月的系泊和间歇性船基样带类型测量。 这项工作将与南亚拉巴马大学运营的多芬岛海洋实验室已经进行的工作一起进行，并将利用他们的25'研究船。所支助的研究活动将涉及四个主题：（1）与漏油有关的表面活性剂浓度的现场特性;（2）测量动量、水蒸气、热量、二氧化碳和甲烷的海气交换;（3）量化这些通量对海洋表面热量收支和海洋地球化学的影响;以及（4）研究溢油对减少大气与下垫面之间的热耦合的影响。这项工作的智力价值在于收集了与前所未有的规模的溢油有关的高质量通量测量结果，根据需要，更好地评估对海洋/大气化学和区域气象学的影响，这些影响是通过可能改变陆风/海风系统以及可能对更强烈的热带风暴的行为产生的。研究的更广泛影响将包括提高对大范围石油泄漏影响的认识（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，通过会议介绍和正式出版物传播这些研究结果，并加强了对一名受资助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.