Time Series Particle Flux Measurements in the Sargasso Sea

该奖项将继续执行自1978年以来在百慕大附近持续运作的洋流计划(OFP)，为期三年。OFP对马尾藻海深处颗粒通量的时间序列进行了独一无二的记录--“生物泵”，这个术语用来描述生物物质从表面下沉到深海。OFP首次提供了深海季节变化以及深海和上层海洋过程之间紧密联系的直接证据。OFP为整个海洋内部的生物活动强度以及关键过程在生物地球化学和元素循环中的作用提供了明确的证据。时间序列正变得足够长，可以用来研究洋盆尺度强迫的通量变化，例如北大西洋涛动。OFP样本档案是研究海洋化学变化的时间趋势和生物地球化学后果的无与伦比的资源。OFP提供的教育拓宽了许多学生(从高中到博士水平)和处于职业关键时刻的早期调查人员的经验和科学方向。OFP时间序列是同类序列中最长的，其关注深海的独特之处。随着记录的延长，研究人员能够更好地从气候和海洋功能之间的相互作用的角度来看待观测到的通量模式。补充时间序列--S水电站、百慕大大西洋时间序列、百慕大试验床系泊(百慕大试验床系泊)、都铎山大气塔和百慕大时间序列站点附近进行的其他采样--的共置以及在海洋物理、生物和化学与物质通量之间的耦合以及通量与大气和气候强迫之间的联系的研究提供了无与伦比的机会。随着越来越复杂的分析工具被用来探测回收的熔剂材料，新的数据继续揭示关于海洋过程的新信息。这一奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This award continues, for another three years, the Ocean Flux Program (OFP) that has been in continuous operation near Bermuda since 1978. The OFP time-series of particle fluxes in the deep Sargasso Sea has produced a unique record of the "biological pump," a term used to describe the sinking of biological material from the surface to the deep ocean. The OFP provided the first direct evidence for seasonal changes in the deep ocean and tight links between deep ocean and upper ocean processes. The OFP provides clear evidence for the intensity of biological activity throughout the ocean's interior and the roles of key processes in biogeochemical and elemental cycling. The time-series is becoming long enough to study flux variability in terms of ocean basin-scale forcing, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation. The OFP sample archives are an unparalleled resource for study of temporal trends and the biogeochemical consequences of changing ocean chemistry. Education provided by the OFP broadens the experiences and science directions of many students (high school to PhD levels) and early investigators at critical career junctures.The OFP time-series is the longest of its kind and unique in its focus on the deep ocean. As the record lengthens, investigators are better able to put into perspective the observed flux patterns in terms of the interplay between climate and ocean functioning. Colocation of complementary time-series -- Hydrostation S, the Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series (BATS), the Bermuda Testbed Mooring (BTM, 1994-2007), the Tudor Hill atmospheric tower and other sampling conducted near the Bermuda Time-Series Site -- and continuing advances in instrumentation on the OFP mooring present unparalleled opportunities to study coupling among ocean physics, biology and chemistry and material fluxes, and flux linkages with atmospheric and climatic forcing. As ever more sophisticated analytical tools are used to probe the recovered flux materials, new data continue to reveal novel information about ocean processes.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.