Time Series Particle Flux Measurements in the Sargasso Sea

这项奖励将使自1978年以来在百慕大附近持续运作的海洋通量方案继续执行三年。在马尾藻海深处的粒子通量的OFP时间序列产生了一个独特的记录的“生物泵”，一个用来描述从表面到深海的生物材料下沉的术语。OFP为深海的季节性变化以及深海和上层海洋过程之间的紧密联系提供了第一个直接证据。OFP为整个海洋内部的生物活动强度以及地球化学和元素循环中关键过程的作用提供了明确的证据。时间序列越来越长，足以研究海盆尺度强迫（如北大西洋涛动）方面的通量变化。OFP样品档案是研究时间趋势和海洋化学变化的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（高中到博士水平）和处于关键职业转折点的早期调查人员的经验和科学方向。OFP的时间序列是同类中最长的，并且以深海为重点。随着记录的增加，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察到的通量模式。互补时间序列的共同定位-水电站S、百慕大大西洋时间序列、百慕大试验台系泊（1994-2007年）、都铎山大气塔和在百慕大时间序列站附近进行的其他取样-以及海洋渔业平台系泊设备上仪器的不断进步，为研究海洋物理学、生物学和化学以及物质通量之间的耦合提供了前所未有的机会，以及通量与大气和气候强迫的联系。随着越来越复杂的分析工具被用于探测回收的通量物质，新的数据不断揭示有关海洋过程的新信息。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值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.