Collaborative Research: Multi-Platform Approach to Evaluate Spring Bloom Timing and Carbon Export Processes in the North Atlantic Ocean

合作研究：评估北大西洋春季开花时间和碳输出过程的多平台方法

• 批准号: 2022980
• 负责人: Margaret Estapa
• 金额: $ 3.52万
• 依托单位: University of Maine
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2020-09-01 至 2023-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2022980&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Multi; Platform; Approach

Approximately one quarter of carbon emissions each year is taken up by the worlds’ oceans, which play a critical role in the global carbon cycle. As the oceans continue to respond to climate change, it is important to understand the carbon cycle and how it will change as well. In the surface waters of the ocean, phytoplankton take up carbon through photosynthesis, and a small fraction of this material then sinks to the deeper ocean in a process referred to as the “biological pump.” Current estimates of the global biological pump are similar in size to the amount of global carbon emissions, but uncertainties in these estimates are very large. This project will focus on understanding the role that marine phytoplankton in the North Atlantic Ocean play in the carbon cycle. The project will employ coordinated use of state-of-the-art, remote observational tools, namely biogeochemical profiling floats and ocean color observations from satellites. New techniques will be developed to maximize the information that can be glean from these observations and constrain biological carbon fluxes out of the sunlit upper ocean and through its deeper interior layers over basin-wide, seasonal, and annual scales. Finally, the performance of existing, satellite-based models of these biological fluxes will be evaluated in comparison with analogous estimates made from biogeochemical profiling float data, which can help to fill in satellite observing gaps below the surface and during periods of heavy cloud cover. The proposed effort will provide training and mentorship to a graduate student and a postdoctoral researcher. Outreach will be conducted through the 2021 Education And Research: Testing Hypotheses (EARTH) Workshop: A successful, ~15-year collaborative effort between MBARI and the Monterey Bay Aquarium to assist educators with incorporating ocean science information and real-time data into the classroom. To enhance diversity and inclusion in ocean science, a first-generation college student will be selected to participate in the 2021 MBARI Summer Intern Program. Persistent and spatially-distributed in situ observations are needed to develop, and continuously train, more accurate models and remote-sensing algorithms to reduce the uncertainty (currently 100%) in estimates of the biological pump magnitude. The goals of the proposed effort are to develop, implement, and compare robust methods for quantifying biological carbon sequestration by leveraging the complementary information provided by bio-optical and chemical sensors on profiling floats deployed in the North Atlantic Ocean. This project will dovetail with several larger observational programs (EXPORTS, PACE, and pending Global Biogeochemical Argo) and leverage committed NOAA and NASA funding to deploy four biogeochemical profiling floats. Results from the analysis of float data will also be compared with estimates derived from satellite observations to assess the influences of 1) subpolar spring bloom timing and magnitude; and 2) more efficient subtropical carbon export processes, on the amount of carbon annually sequestered by the biological pump. Evaluating carbon production, recycling, and export from different perspectives (e.g., chemical, optical, and remote sensing), will capitalize on the strengths of different sensors and platforms using a combination of standard and novel methods. Quality-control of the data from ~300 existing and four newly deployed profiling floats in the North Atlantic will result in a valuable resource for other investigators. Data handling and processing tools developed during this project will be made publicly available to reduce barriers to entry for other scientists and students interested in analyzing large volumes of BGC float and ocean color data.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.

每年约有四分之一的碳排放被世界海洋吸收，海洋在全球碳循环中发挥着关键作用。随着海洋继续对气候变化作出反应，了解碳循环以及它将如何变化是很重要的。在海洋的表层水域，浮游植物通过光合作用吸收碳，然后这种物质的一小部分在一个被称为“生物泵”的过程中沉入更深的海洋。目前对全球生物泵的估计在规模上与全球碳排放量相似，但这些估计中的不确定性非常大。该项目将侧重于了解北大西洋海洋浮游植物在碳循环中所起的作用。该项目将协调使用最先进的远程观测工具，即生物地球化学剖面浮标和卫星海洋颜色观测。将开发新的技术，以最大限度地利用从这些观测中收集的信息，并限制从阳光充足的上层海洋流出的生物碳通量，以及通过盆地范围、季节和年度尺度的较深内层的生物碳通量。最后，将评估这些生物通量的现有卫星模型的性能，并与根据生物地球化学剖面图浮标数据作出的类似估计进行比较，这有助于填补地面以下和云量大时的卫星观测空白。拟议的努力将为一名研究生和一名博士后研究员提供培训和指导。将通过2021年教育和研究：检验假说(地球)讲习班开展外联活动：MBARI和蒙特利湾水族馆之间成功地开展了约15年的合作，以协助教育工作者将海洋科学信息和实时数据纳入课堂。为了增强海洋科学的多样性和包容性，将挑选一名第一代大学生参加2021年MBARI暑期实习生计划。需要持续和空间分布的现场观测来开发和持续训练更准确的模型和遥感算法，以减少估计生物泵大小的不确定性(目前为100%)。拟议工作的目标是开发、实施和比较可靠的方法，通过利用部署在北大西洋的生物光学和化学传感器提供的关于剖面浮标的补充信息来量化生物碳固存。该项目将与几个更大的观测项目(EXPORT、PACE和待定的全球生物地球化学ARGO)相吻合，并利用NOAA和NASA承诺的资金来部署四个生物地球化学剖面浮标。对浮标数据的分析结果也将与卫星观测得出的估计值相比较，以评估1)亚极地春季水华的时间和强度；以及2)更有效的副热带碳输出过程对生物泵每年固定的碳量的影响。从不同的角度(例如，化学、光学和遥感)评估碳的生产、回收和出口，将利用标准和新方法相结合的不同传感器和平台的优势。对北大西洋约300个现有的和4个新部署的剖面浮标的数据进行质量控制，将为其他调查人员提供宝贵的资源。在这个项目中开发的数据处理和处理工具将被公开使用，以降低其他对分析大量BGC浮标和海洋颜色数据感兴趣的科学家和学生的进入门槛。该奖项反映了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。