Collaborative Research: Particulate Organic Carbon Export off the Antarctic Peninsula by Nonlinear Mesoscale Eddies and Wind Forcing

南大洋占全球海洋二氧化碳吸收量的很大一部分。南大洋的独特之处还在于它环绕着地球仪，为深海、跨盆地交换提供了通道。以前的研究表明，颗粒有机碳（POC;固定有机物）在向近海移动之前会季节性地在生产力丰富的南极海域周围积聚。 该项目将作为更好地量化南极半岛周围POC输出和更好地了解更大的南大洋碳循环的一步。该项目将通过支持研究生和本科生来促进教育。将以一致和系统的方式生成关于近海迁移路径和颗粒有机碳变异性的新数据集，并将提供给科学界，该提案将审查颗粒有机碳从南极半岛近海输出的情况，即从海岸附近的高积累区向近海地区输出的情况。 我们假设，风驱动的表面埃克曼输送和非线性中尺度涡旋的输送可以对POC的离岸输出做出显着的贡献。具体而言，该项目将（1）确定南极半岛外POC积累增强的地区;（2）通过非线性中尺度涡旋和表面Ekman层中的风，量化近海输送的空间和时间变化;以及（3）将离岸输送的估计值与远离海岸的POC分布进行比较，以确定沿海水离岸输出的首选输送路径或热点，半岛外的POC。这项研究将利用长达十年的卫星观测POC的基础上验证的算法对现场数据，海洋矢量风，涡流运动学和传播特性的高度计数据的基础上，从一个高分辨率的涡流解决海洋模型耦合到海冰模型的结果。这项研究将侧重于夏季的南极半岛，在夏季，当卫星数据可用性高时，云/海冰覆盖减少。

The Southern Ocean accounts for a large fraction of the global ocean CO2 uptake. The Southern Ocean is also unique because it encircles the globe, providing pathways for deep, inter-basin exchange. Previous studies have shown that particulate organic carbon (POC; fixed organic matter) seasonally builds up around the productive Antarctic seas before moving off-shore. The project will serve as a step toward better quantifying the export of POC from around the Antarctic Peninsula and better understanding the larger Southern Ocean carbon cycle. The project will promote education by supporting graduate and undergraduate students. New data sets on offshore transport pathways and POC variability will be generated in a consistent and systematic manner, and will be available to the scientific community.This proposal will examine the offshore export of particulate organic carbon (POC) off the Antarctic Peninsula, from areas of high accumulation near the coast to areas offshore. We hypothesize that both wind-driven surface Ekman transport and transport by nonlinear mesoscale eddies can make significant contributions to the offshore export of POC. Specifically, the project will (1) identify areas of enhanced accumulation of POC off the Antarctic Peninsula; (2) quantify spatial and temporal variability in offshore transport by nonlinear mesoscale eddies and by winds in a surface Ekman layer; and (3) compare the estimates of offshore transport to the POC distribution away from the coast to identify preferred transport pathways or hotspots for offshore export of coastal water and POC off the Peninsula. This study will utilize decade-long satellite observations of POC based on algorithms validated against in situ data, ocean vector winds, eddy kinematic and propagation characteristics based on altimeter data, and results from a high resolution eddy resolving ocean model coupled to a sea ice model. The study will focus on the Antarctic Peninsula during summer, when reduced cloud/sea ice cover when satellite data availability is high.