Determining metabolic carbon incorporation rate in fish carbonates and its implications for the global carbon cycle

地球的碳循环是通过在海洋、大气、生物和沉积物之间转移碳的过程而联系在一起的。海洋中的碳酸盐矿物生产连接着这些重要的碳库，是全球碳循环中的一个关键过程。海鱼每年向海洋释放大量的碳酸盐矿物和有机碳。然而，人们对海洋鱼类在全球碳循环中的作用仍然知之甚少。为了更好地理解这一作用，该项目将研究几种海洋鱼类产生的碳酸盐矿物，包括深海和公海鱼类。这项研究的结果将改善对海水鱼类每年产生的碳酸盐数量和组成的估计。预计该项目将为海洋、海洋鱼类和全球碳循环之间的相互作用提供重要的新见解。该项目支持一位职业生涯早期的女科学家的工作。教育机会包括两名博士生、三名专业科学硕士学生实习生和几名本科生研究人员的实践培训。研究生将通过与专业作家为期一周的研讨会，接受关于科学写作的深入培训。参与该项目的科学家将与高中生和教师一起举办研讨会。教学材料和科学成果将通过开放获取的在线资源库、年度推广活动、社交媒体以及专业会议和出版物共享。据初步估计，海洋硬骨鱼每年贡献全球海洋新碳酸盐产量的3%-15%，使鱼类对海洋碱度预算和地球全球碳循环产生根本影响。然而，技术进步表明，全球鱼类生物量可能比以前认识到的要大得多，这种增加的鱼类生物量对全球碳酸盐产量的影响还有待评估。关于鱼类贡献构成的重大知识差距，加上关于产量大小的不确定性，目前排除了将其纳入完全耦合的碳-气候模型的可能性。该项目将通过完善生产率估计和对几种海洋鱼类产生的碳酸盐矿物(鱼鳞碳酸盐)进行详细的成分分析来消除这些知识差距，其中包括快速游泳的上层和中上层物种。参与这项研究的科学家将进行一系列受控实验，以限制在不同环境条件下的生产率，并将采用稳定的碳同位素质量平衡来确定鱼类碳酸盐中碳的来源，包括饮食碳和海水中溶解的无机碳。这项研究将提供代谢率、鱼碳酸盐产生率和将膳食碳纳入鱼碳酸盐之间的可扩展关系。这项研究将使用跨学科的方法来加强对海洋鱼类驱动的大气和海洋之间的碳循环的了解。该项目的更广泛影响包括支持早期职业女性教员，培训未来STEM三个学位课程的劳动力，开发与科学相一致的教材，将通过研讨会、科学教育资源中心(SERC)资源库以及在大学举办的年度活动，包括海洋科学日和海洋科学中的女性日，向高中学生和教师传播。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。

The Earth’s carbon cycle is linked by processes that transfer carbon between the ocean, atmosphere, living organisms, and sediments. Carbonate mineral production in the ocean connects these important carbon pools and is a key process in the global carbon cycle. Marine fish release significant amounts of carbonate minerals and organic carbon to the oceans each year. Yet the role of marine fish in the global carbon cycle remains poorly understood. To better understand this role, this project will study carbonate minerals produced by several species of marine fish, including deep sea and open ocean fish species. Results from the study will improve estimates of the amount and composition of carbonate that marine fish produce each year. The project is expected to provide essential new insights about the interactions between the oceans, marine fish, and the global carbon cycle. This project supports the work of an early career female scientist. Education opportunities include hands-on training for two PhD students, 3 Masters of Professional Science Student Interns and several undergraduate researchers. Graduate students will receive in-depth training on science writing through a week-long workshop with a professional writer. Scientists associated with the project will host workshops with high school students and teachers. Teaching materials and scientific results will be shared through open-access online repositories, annual outreach events, social media, as well as professional conferences and publications.Marine bony fish were initially estimated to contribute 3-15% of global new carbonate production in the oceans each year, making fish a fundamental influence on the oceanic alkalinity budget and Earth’s global carbon cycle. However, technological advancement has shown that global fish biomass is likely to be significantly larger than previously appreciated, and the impact of this increased fish biomass on global carbonate production rates has yet to be evaluated. Significant knowledge gaps regarding the composition of fish contributions coupled with uncertainty regarding production magnitude currently preclude their inclusion in fully coupled carbon-climate models. This project will address these knowledge gaps by refining production rate estimates and conducting detailed compositional analyses of carbonate minerals (ichthyocarbonate) produced by several species of marine fish, including fast-swimming epipelagic and mesopelagic species. Scientists involved in this study will conduct a series of controlled experiments to constrain production rate under varying environmental conditions and will employ a stable carbon isotope mass balance to define the origin of carbon in ichthyocarbonate, including dietary carbon and dissolved inorganic carbon in seawater. The study will provide scalable relationships between metabolic rate, ichthyocarbonate production rate, and the incorporation of dietary carbon into ichthyocarbonate. The study will use an interdisciplinary approach to enhance understanding of carbon cycling between the atmosphere and the oceans driven by marine fish. Broader impacts of this project include support for an early career female faculty member, training of future STEM workforce in three degree tracks, and the development of science-aligned educational materials that will be disseminated to high-school students and teachers through workshops, the Science Education Resource Center (SERC) repository, as well as annual events hosted at the university, including Diversity in Marine Science Day and Women in Marine Science Day.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.