Collaborative Research: Submarine Groundwater and Freshwater Inputs Along the Western Antarctic Peninsula

全球各地的研究表明，地下水向海洋向沿海输送可能在近岸水域的营养、微量营养素(如铁)、碳和其他地球化学收支中发挥重要作用。南极洲的相应情况很可能类似，但在很大程度上还没有人研究。该项目的目标是量化海底地下水排泄率及其向南极沿海水域输送的营养物质和铁的相关通量。将使用一套化学、同位素和放射化学示踪剂，确定再循环海水通量和冰川下淡水流动成分的流量与淡水来源(包括融化的冰川和海冰)的地表输入相比较的大小。目前对帕尔默站近海水域和南极半岛西部顺流区初级生产量的设想表明，来自大陆的几个来源增加了微量铁和其他营养素的限量。到目前为止，SGD在该地区溶解铁的贡献尚不清楚，但可能是这些多产沿海水域地球化学预算的重要组成部分。将估计铁和营养物质的跨陆架混合速率，以更好地约束SGD的重要性。

Studies throughout the globe indicate that the seaward transport of groundwater to the coast may play a significant role in the contribution of nutrient, micronutrient (e.g. Fe), carbon and other geochemical budgets of nearshore waters. The corresponding situation in Antarctica is likely to be similar, but is largely unstudied. The objective of this project is to quantify the rate of submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) and its associated fluxes of nutrients and iron to coastal Antarctic waters. The size of this discharge of the flux of re-circulated seawater and the subsurface glacial freshwater flow component, compared with the collocated surface inputs of freshwater sources, including melting glacial and sea-ice will be determined using a suit of chemical, isotopic and radiochemical tracers. Current scenarios of the primary production of the waters offshore of Palmer Station and down-current of the Western Antarctic Peninsula suggest that limiting amounts of micronutrient iron, and other nutrients, are augmented by several continentally derived sources. The contribution of SGD dissolved Fe in this region is to date unknown, yet may be a significant component of the geochemical budgets of these productive coastal waters. Cross shelf mixing rates of Fe and nutrients will be estimated to better constrain the importance of SGD.