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

地球仪的研究表明，地下水向海岸的向海输送可能在近岸沃茨的营养物、微量营养物（如铁）、碳和其他地球化学收支方面发挥重要作用。南极洲的相应情况可能类似，但基本上没有研究。该项目的目标是量化海底地下水排放（SGD）的速率及其相关的营养物质和铁到南极沿海沃茨的通量。再循环海水通量和地下冰川淡水流分量的排放量的大小，与淡水源的配置表面输入相比，包括融化的冰川和海冰，将使用一套化学，同位素和放射性化学示踪剂来确定。帕尔默站近海的沃茨和南极西部半岛的顺流的初级生产的当前情景表明，微量营养素铁和其他营养素的数量有限，增加了几个大陆来源。SGD溶解铁在该地区的贡献是迄今未知的，但可能是这些生产性沿海沃茨的地球化学预算的重要组成部分。铁和营养物质的跨大陆架混合率将被估计，以更好地限制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.