Glider Shelf-Edge Nutrient Exchange (GliSENEx)

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The shelf edge represents the boundary between the shallow coastal seas (<200 m deep) and the deep ocean, where the exchange of water, nutrients and other substances have important implications for shelf sea primary production, for the export of atmosphere derived carbon dioxide to the deep ocean interior and for the overall health of the coastal environment. Satellite reconnaissance routinely reveals the shelf edge to be a region of enhanced chlorophyll concentration and thus indicative of a region with high rates of primary production relative to the shelf interior. The shelf edge is thus a region with a key ecological role. This proposal will examine the fate of nitrate fluxes at the Malin Shelf, and their relationship to chlorophyll and primary production. The merging of novel nutrient sensors with glider technology (to assess the flux) and leading-edge satellite algorithms (to estimate chlorophyll concentration and primary production rates) to carry out this project will, more generally, produce a robust demonstration of the ability of gliders to be used for complex multidisciplinary biogeochemical studies.