An autonomous submersible profiling and incubation system to investigate in-situ microbial activity and function in low oxygen waters

海洋生态系统正因温度上升、海洋酸化和海洋内部溶解氧减少（海洋脱氧）而日益受到压力。这些压力将导致全球物理、化学和生物环境发生重大变化，最终影响海洋的地球化学循环和新陈代谢。最佳溶解氧浓度对于大多数海洋生态系统的正常运作至关重要。模型预测，在下一个世纪，全球海洋O2存量将下降1-7%，O2匮乏地区（即所谓的O2最小区（OMZ））的空间和时间增加。这些OMZ占全球海洋的8%，并且已经在各个地区扩大，主要是由于温度上升以及来自我们农场和城市的废物径流增加。事实上，一些沿海地区经常发生极端的氧气饥饿事件，产生“死亡区”，毁灭海洋渔业并改变食物网结构。为了预测进一步的海洋脱氧将如何改变海洋代谢并改变营养和能量循环，我们需要了解氧气缺乏地区微生物代谢的功能和调节。先进的组学技术使我们能够阐明微生物功能与环境条件之间的联系，并彻底改变了我们对海洋生态学和元素循环的理解。然而，全球海洋地球化学模型仍然缺乏许多基本过程的速率，这些过程将海洋微生物及其多样的代谢潜力（来自omic'数据）与海洋海洋地球化学在空间和时间上的梯度联系起来。** 在此，我们申请基础设施资金，用于开发和建设自主潜水剖面和孵化系统，以调查氧气匮乏地区的原位微生物活动和功能。该系统是同类系统中的第一个，将使我们能够a）收集样品用于微生物组学研究，以及溶解和颗粒痕量金属和营养素分析，B）以最小的扰动和高的时间和空间分辨率确定原位深度的真实代谢率。这一系统将能够更准确地了解目前和未来的有机开放区生态系统的结构和功能，以及海洋脱氧的后果，包括其对全球变暖（通过二氧化碳、甲烷和一氧化二氮等温室气体的生产和消费）、渔业生产和海洋生物多样性的影响。我们还将为年轻海洋学家提供关于采样和处理组学、生理学和生物地球化学样品的最新标准化方法的培训。这种综合抽样方法？包括生理学组学和地球化学是识别基于社区或基因的生物标志物所需的整体方法，以监测和预测快速变化的海洋中的生态系统功能和生物地球化学循环。

Marine ecosystems are becoming increasingly stressed by rising temperatures, ocean acidification and the decline in dissolved O2 in the ocean interior (ocean deoxygenation). These stressors will cause substantial global changes in the physical, chemical and biological environment, ultimately affecting the ocean's biogeochemical cycles and metabolism.******Optimal dissolved O2 concentrations are critical for the proper functioning of most marine ecosystems. Models predict a decline of 1-7% in the global ocean O2 inventory over the next century, and a spatial and temporal increase in O2 starved regions, the so-called O2 minimum zones (OMZs). These OMZs comprise 8% of the global ocean today, and have already expanded in various regions, mainly due to rising temperatures and increased waste run-off from our farms and cities. Indeed, some coastal areas experience extreme O2-starvation events regularly, producing “dead zones” that decimate marine fisheries and alter food web structures. ******To predict how further ocean deoxygenation will change ocean metabolism and alter nutrient and energy cycles, we need to understand the functioning and regulation of microbial metabolisms in O2-starved regions. Advanced omic technologies have allowed us to elucidate links between microbial functioning and environmental conditions, and have revolutionized our understanding of marine ecology and elemental cycling. However, global biogeochemical models still lack the rates of many fundamental processes that link marine microbes and their diverse metabolic potential (from omic' data) with oceanic biogeochemical gradients over space and time. ******Here we request infrastructure funding for developing and building an autonomous submersible profiling and incubation system to investigate in-situ microbial activity and function in O2-starved regions. This system is the first of its kind, and will allow us to a) collect samples for microbial omics studies, and for dissolved and particulate trace metal and nutrient analyses, and b) determine authentic metabolic rates at in-situ depths, with minimal perturbation and high temporal and spatial resolution.******This system will enable more accurate depictions of the structure and functioning of present and future OMZs ecosystems, as well as of the ramifications of ocean deoxygenation, including its effect on global warming (via the production and consumption of greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide), fisheries production and marine biodiversity. We will also provide training on state-of-the-art, standardized methodologies for sampling and processing of omic, physiological and biogeochemical samples for young oceanographers. This combined sampling approach?which includes physiology, omics, and biogeochemistry?is the holistic approach needed to identify community- or gene-based biomarkers to monitor and predict ecosystem function and biogeochemical cycles in a rapidly changing ocean.**