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冷水从大气中吸收了越来越多的二氧化碳。这个过程被称为海洋酸化，降低pH值并消耗碳酸盐离子。海洋酸化进一步加剧，北冰洋？美国海冰覆盖面积每年在较长时间内减少。海水快速的化学变化对许多海洋生物是有害的。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，这对海洋生态系统有潜在的重要影响，但人们对其知之甚少。该项目将利用并改进楚科奇海的物理循环和生物地球化学数值模型，研究整个年周期的碳动态和海洋酸化。楚科奇海是北冰洋周边的浅海。该项目将通过为两名早期职业科学家的成长阶段提供支持，促进STEM劳动力的发展。它还将为研究生的培训提供支持。在圣保罗岛每年的“白令海日”期间，将通过参加课堂活动，向当地K-12阿留申社区提供服务。由此产生的模型结果将为北极海洋碳循环的相关研究提供资源，如国际分布式生物观测站（DBO）计划和北极海洋生物多样性观测网络（AMBON）。由于楚科奇海在这一偏远且经常难以到达的地区的时空数据覆盖有限，人们对楚科奇海秋、冬、春季的碳动态知之甚少。该项目将利用中等分辨率的三维海洋和冰环流区域物理-生物地球化学数值模型（ROMS + COBALT）集成，研究楚科奇海全年的碳动态和海洋酸化。气象再分析产品将强迫预测（1979年至今），并将考虑来自白令海和北极中部的横向输送以及来自河流和海冰融水的有机和无机碳的输入。具体项目任务将包括：模拟海洋生物地球化学系统领域的基于数据的评价；楚科奇海二氧化碳系统变率的时间尺度特征；划分潜在的物理和生物机制；利用染料示踪剂和拉格朗日浮子量化有机碳和无机碳的下游迁移；以及生态系统过程对海洋酸化的敏感性分析。

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.