Collaborative Research: Natural and Anthropogenic Controls on the Inorganic Carbon Dynamics in the Chukchi Sea

由于大气中二氧化碳浓度的增加，北冰洋及其周边海域的寒冷沃茨从大气中吸收越来越多的二氧化碳。这个过程被称为海洋酸化，降低了pH值并消耗了碳酸根离子。海洋酸化进一步加剧，因为北冰洋？南极洲的海冰覆盖面积每年在较长的时间内减少。沃茨的快速化学变化对许多海洋生物有害。特别是，它使钙化生物更难以构建碳酸钙外壳或骨骼。由于许多钙化生物存在于食物链的底部，对海洋生态系统有潜在的重要影响，但人们对此知之甚少。 该项目将利用和改进楚科奇海（北冰洋外围的一个浅海）物理循环和海洋地球化学的数值模型，研究整个年度周期的碳动态和海洋酸化，并通过向两名处于职业生涯初期的科学家提供成长期的支持，促进科学、技术、工程和数学领域的劳动力发展。 它还将为一名研究生的培训提供支助。 在圣保罗岛一年一度的“白令海日”期间，将通过参加课堂活动，与当地的K-12阿留申人社区进行外联。 由此产生的模式结果将是一个资源，在北极的海洋碳循环的相关研究，如国际分布式生物观测（DBO）计划和北极海洋生物多样性观测网络（AMBON）。由于有限的空间和时间数据覆盖楚科奇海在秋季，冬季和春季的碳动力学知之甚少，在这个偏远的地区，往往难以进入。该项目将利用中等高分辨率三维海洋和冰环流区域物理-地球化学数值模式（ROMS + COBALT）的集成，全年研究楚科奇海碳动态和海洋酸化。后播（1979年至今）将被迫气象再分析产品，并将占横向运输从白令海和北极中部以及输入的有机和无机碳从河流和海冰融化水。具体的项目任务将包括：对模拟的海洋生物地球化学系统场进行基于数据的评价;描述楚科奇海二氧化碳系统在不同时间尺度上的变化模式;划分基本的物理和生物机制;使用染料示踪剂和拉格朗日浮标对有机和无机碳的下游迁移进行量化;以及分析生态系统进程对海洋酸化的敏感性。

As a result of increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations, the cold waters of the Arctic Ocean and its peripheral seas absorb more and more carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. This process, called ocean acidification, decreases the pH and consumes carbonate ions. Ocean acidification is further enhanced as the Arctic Ocean?s sea ice cover is reduced over longer periods of time each year. The fast chemical changes of the waters are detrimental to many marine organisms. In particular, it makes it more difficult for calcifying organisms to build their calcium carbonate shells or skeletons. Since many of the calcifying organisms exist at the base of the food chain, there are potentially important, but poorly understood, consequences for the marine ecosystem. This project will utilize and improve a numerical model of the physical circulation and biogeochemistry of the Chukchi Sea, a shallow sea peripheral to the Arctic Ocean, to study carbon dynamics and ocean acidification throughout the annual cycle.This project will contribute to STEM workforce development through the provision of support to two early-career scientists during their formative years. It will also provide support for the training of a graduate student. Outreach to a local K-12 Aleut community will be enabled by participation in classroom activities during the annual "Bering Sea Days" on St. Paul Island. The resulting model results will be a resource for related studies of the marine carbon cycle in the Arctic, such as the international Distributed Biological Observatory (DBO) program and the Arctic Marine Biodiversity Observing Network (AMBON).Little is known about the carbon dynamics of the Chukchi Sea in fall, winter and spring due to limited spatial and temporal data coverage in this remote and often inaccessible area. This project will utilize moderately high-resolution three-dimensional ocean and ice circulation regional physical-biogeochemical numerical model (ROMS + COBALT) integrations to study Chukchi Sea carbon dynamics and ocean acidification throughout the year. Hindcasts (1979-present) will be forced by meteorological reanalysis products and will account for lateral transport from the Bering Sea and central Arctic as well as input of organic and inorganic carbon from rivers and sea-ice melt water. Specific project tasks will include: data-based evaluation of the simulated ocean biogeochemistry system fields; characterization of the patterns of carbon dioxide system variability for the Chukchi Sea across time-scales; partition of the underlying physical and biological mechanisms; quantification of the downstream transport of organic and inorganic carbon using dye tracers and Lagrangian floats; and analysis of the sensitivity of ecosystem processes to ocean acidification.