Automatic water samplers and salinometer for Arctic coastal oceanography research and training

我们需要一台便携式盐度计和两台自动水采样器，以支持曼尼托巴大学 (UofM) 地球观测科学中心 (CEOS) 四名教员的北极沿海海洋学和气候变化综合研究项目。研究项目涵盖营养物和碳的生物地球化学循环以及气候变化的影响；受河流流入沿海地区的影响，二氧化碳的海气交换；对北极初级生产的物理和生物控制；以及海冰的季节性腐烂和破裂。这些研究项目都利用了通过沿海研究船上的密集实地活动以及通过与北部土著社区的研究合作获得的新数据。迫切需要便携式盐度计，因为盐度是研究中所有其他测量的基础。计划于 2021 年开展三项海洋学实地活动，需要对这一最基本的海洋参数进行分析。目前，玻璃瓶中的大量盐度样本必须向南运送到密歇根大学，然后运送到两侧海岸的实验室，导致研究延误，并导致我们的高素质人员 (HQP) 失去培训机会。自动水采样器是可以部署在拉紧的系泊装置上或悬挂在海冰下 30 m 深处的仪器，并经过编程以在预设时间收集离散的水样。采样器允许沿海海水采样操作的频率（每小时到每周）延长，并扩展到任何其他方式无法到达和/或成本过高的地点（例如冰间湖）和时间段（例如冰融化和破裂）。我们对北极和亚北极沿海水域的淡水、碳、营养物和浮游植物动态的理解仍然存在许多关键差距，因为冰破裂和冻结时期几乎无法采样。从可以在这些时期停泊的传感器获得的数据严重不足以研究生物地球化学过程：例如，即使为了区分河水与海冰融化对盐度变化的影响，也需要使用采样器获得离散的水样。采样器还可以提供碳和氮等非保守元素的时间序列数据，这些元素响应沿海地区的动态淡水循环，并经历生物过程的改变。 盐度计和采样器开辟了新的可能性，将提升 HQP 培训。我们预计，在未来三年内，当计划进行沿海研究考察和冬季野外活动时，将有 20 个或更多的总部计划使用这些仪器。考虑到密歇根大学女学生对海洋、沿海和水生科学的浓厚兴趣以及对哈德逊湾周围社区监测项目的强烈接受，女性和北方土著学员将在仪器培训中得到充分体现。

We request a portable salinometer and two automatic water samplers to support the integrated Arctic coastal oceanography and climate change research programs of four faculty members in the Centre for Earth Observation Science (CEOS), University of Manitoba (UofM). The research programs span biogeochemical cycling of nutrients and carbon and implications of climate change; air-sea exchange of carbon dioxide as influenced by river inflows to the coastal domain; physical and biological controls of primary production in the Arctic; and seasonal decay and breakup of sea ice. The research programs all draw on new data obtained through intensive field campaigns onboard coastal research vessels and through research collaborations with northern Indigenous communities. A portable salinometer is urgently needed because salinity underpins all other measurements made as part of the research. Three oceanographic field campaigns are planned for 2021 that will require analysis of this most fundamental ocean parameter. Currently, large numbers of salinity samples in glass bottles have to be transported south to UofM and then to labs on either coast resulting in delays in research and loss of training opportunities for our highly qualified personnel (HQP). The automatic water samplers are instruments that can be deployed on taut-line moorings or suspended from sea ice down to depths of 30 m and programmed to collect discrete samples of water at pre-set times. The samplers allow coastal ocean water sampling operations to be extended in frequency (hourly to weekly), and to places (e.g., polynyas) and time periods (e.g., ice melt and breakup) that are inaccessible by any other means and/or cost prohibitive. Many critical gaps remain in our understanding of freshwater, carbon, nutrient, and phytoplankton dynamics in Arctic and sub-Arctic coastal waters because periods of ice breakup and freeze-up are nearly impossible to sample. Data obtained from sensors that can be moored throughout these periods are woefully insufficient for studying biogeochemical processes: for example, even to distinguish the influence of river water vs. sea-ice melt on changes in salinity, discrete water samples obtained with samplers are required. The samplers also allow time-series data for nonconservative elements such as carbon and nitrogen that respond to the dynamic freshwater cycles of coastal areas and undergo modification by biological processes. The salinometer and samplers open up new possibilities that will elevate HQP training. We anticipate that 20 or more HQP will make use of the instruments during the coming three-year period when coastal research expeditions and winter field campaigns are planned. Women and northern Indigenous trainees will be well represented in the training with the instruments, considering strong interest in marine, coastal and aquatic sciences among female students at UofM and strong uptake of our community-based monitoring programs around Hudson Bay.