Collaborative International Research in the Ross Sea

拟议的请求是支持参加2001年1-2月前往南极洲罗斯海的意大利邮轮。这艘机遇号邮轮的邮轮邀请函是在春末收到的，因此太晚了，无法通过正常的资金来源申请资金。这是一次物理-生物-地质联合巡航，将对罗斯海的各种环境进行采样(例如，从阿达雷角分离出来的大陆架、罗斯海冰架、Terra Nova湾附近的沿海水域和罗斯海中部)。拟议的研究将集中在两个科学主题上：浮游植物光合作用的聚集体形成和铁限制。团聚体的形成过程和通量，有机质通量中的介体将使用摄影技术来确定。罗斯海将使用一种新的荧光测量方法来评估不同环境下光合作用的相关性。这些对光合作用/辐射关系的近乎实时的估计是铁限制的敏感指标。这一请求是对最近的一次参与邀请的回应，并提供了一个用新技术采样罗斯海的独特机会。提供的研究机会建立在南大洋最新成果的基础上，并扩大了国际合作努力。过去，在罗斯海与意大利调查人员的科学协调参差不齐，有些试探性的。这种合作(即提供铺位空间和科学合作)是在扩大国际活动协调方面向前迈出的一大步。这也是利用2000-2001年罗斯海唯一可用于科学研究的船只的机会。PI提供的数据将采用两种相对较新的技术来研究铁限制和聚集体形成问题。这项拟议的工作将提供第一次机会来现场测试一种新的、可能具有开创性的仪器来评估铁的限制，并将这一专业知识带给美国南极计划。

The proposed request ito support participation in an Italian cruise to the Ross Sea, Antarctica in January-February, 2001. The cruise invitation for this ship of opportunity was received in late spring, and hence was too late to request funding via normal funding venues. It is a joint physical-biological-geological cruise that will sample a broad range of environments in the Ross Sea (e.g., the continental shelf break off Cape Adare, the Ross Sea ice shelf, the coastal waters near Terra Nova Bay, and the central Ross Sea). The proposed research will focus on two scientific topics: aggregate formation and iron limitation of phytoplankton photosynthesis. The process of aggregate formation and flux, a mediator in the flux of organic matter will be determined using a photographic technique. The dependence of photosynthesis in a variety of environments will be assessed in the Ross Sea by a novel fluorometric method. These near real-time estimates of photosynthesis/irradiance relationships are sensitive indicators of iron limitation. This request is in response to a recent invitation to participate and provides a unique opportunity to sample the Ross Sea with novel techniques. The research opportunity made available builds on recent results from the southern Ocean and extends international collaborative efforts. In the past, scientific coordination with Italian investigators in the Ross Sea has been spotty and somewhat tentative. This collaboration (i.e., the offering of bunk space and scientific collaboration) is a big move forward in expanding the coordination of international activities. This is also an opportunity to utilize the only ship available for scientific research in the Ross Sea in 2000-01. The data provided by the PI will employ two relatively new techniques to look at questions of iron limitation and aggregate formation. The proposed work will provide the first opportunity to field test a novel and potentially ground-breaking instrument in the assessment of iron limitation and bring that expertise to the US Antarctic Program.