Benthic Processes in the Equatorial Pacific

建议进行一项研究，以提高对深海环境中降雨速率、再矿化速率和埋藏速率的认识，并扩大对控制这些速率的过程的了解，从而确定沉积物组成。这三种通量将在横跨赤道太平洋的19个站点横断面上进行测量，从东经15o到东经15o，温度135oW。这条样带跨越了控制海底通量的主要参数的梯度，包括风型（控制气溶胶输入）、地表水生产力（控制生物成因成分的降雨率）和底水CaC0 3欠饱和（控制CaC0 3保存）。实验计划包括确定主要生物成分的底栖生物通量（来自高分辨率界面孔隙水研究）和气溶胶和生物成分的沉积积累速率（来自沉积物组成和沉积速率研究）。降雨率将计算为底栖生物通量和累积率的总和。气溶胶样本将沿着巡航路线收集，以供随后的矿物学和化学分析。研究结果将有助于解决海洋学中的几个主要问题。首先，它们将通过提供涵盖一系列全球重要的上层海洋和深海制度的重要区域的数据，大大扩展对生物成因成分降雨率的了解。其次，这些结果将为检验和扩展有关控制底栖生物过程速率和沉积物化学成分的过程的模型和假设提供数据。最后，这些数据将提供研究区上层水柱过程、大气环流和沉积物沉积之间的当代关系的详细信息，从而大大提高我们在赤道太平洋进行古海洋学重建的能力。

A study is proposed at improving knowledge of rain rates, remineralization rates, and burial rates in the abyssal environment, and extending understanding of the processes which control these rates and thereby fix sediment composition. The three fluxes will be measured in a 19-station transect across the equatorial Pacific, from 15oN to 15oS at 135oW. This transect crosses gradients in major parameters governing fluxes at the seafloor, including wind patterns (controlling aerosol input), surface water productivity (controlling rain rates of biogenic constituents), and botton water CaC0 3 undersaturation (governing CaC0 3 preservation). The experiment plan involves determining benthic fluxes of major biogenic constituents (from high resolution interfacial pore water studies) and sedimentary accumulation rates of aerosol and biogenic constituents (from studies of sediment compositition and sedimentation rates). Rain rates will be calculated as the sum of the benthic fluxes and accumulation rates. Aerosol samples will be collected along the cruise track for subsequent mineralogical and chemical analyses. The results will contribute to several major problems in oceanography. First, they will greatly extend knowledge of the rain rates of biogenic constituents by providing data for an important area encompassing a range of globally important uppper ocean and deep ocean regimes. Second, the results will provide data for testing and extending models and hypotheses about the processes which govern the rates of benthic processes and the chemical composition of the sediments. Finally, the data will provide detailed information on the contemporary relation between upper water column processes, atmospheric circulation, and sediment deposition in the study area, thereby dramically enchancing our ability to do paleoceanographic reconstructions in the equatorial Pacific.