The Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT): Sustaining ocean ecosystem and climate observations in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre

智力优势：该提案将夏威夷海洋时间序列（HOT）研究项目的资金再延长5年（2013年8月至2018年7月）。这将使该项目进入其在北太平洋副热带环流（NPSG） ALOHA站对海洋生态系统和气候变化进行持续观测的第30个年头。除了确定与NPSG水文和生态特性、热通量和环流相关的变异性外，HOT的基本目标继续集中于记录碳循环和相关生物元素的时间动态。该项目依赖于每月的船载和近连续的系泊平台测量，以记录从半日至十年的时间尺度上海洋特性和过程的变化。HOT最重要的成就是改进了碳储量和碳通量及相关生物元素的量化，确定了北太平洋水文循环的变化如何影响海洋物理和生物地球化学，增加了对生物元素循环对大规模海洋-气候相互作用的敏感性的了解，并创建了评估NPSG未来变化所需的长期数据集。该奖项提供资金，以维持高质量的生物地球化学和物理测量套件，以继续评估海洋碳和营养池和通量、物理气候、浮游生物群落结构、生态系统生产力和固有光学特性的动态。增加项目观测的长度将继续提高数据集的价值，以破译低频自然和人为气候信号如何影响NPSG的生态系统结构。这些努力将继续有助于预测未来栖息地扰动如何影响NPSG生态系统动态所需的生物地球化学和海洋环流数值模型。更广泛的影响：教育、推广和培训将继续在HOT项目活动中发挥重要作用。HOT为来自夏威夷和世界各地的高中生、本科生、研究生和博士后学生和教师提供了一个独特的学习平台。每月的热巡航为学生和教师提供短期（4天）的机会，获得第一手的海洋和气候科学。此外，HOT还帮助支持众多海洋科学家的研究，这些科学家依靠该计划的基础设施（船舶时间、工作人员、实验室和设备）进行研究、教育和推广活动。例如，微生物海洋学研究与教育中心（C-MORE）利用每月一次的HOT巡航进行“海上教师”计划，为当地的初中和高中教师提供参与海洋实地研究的机会。此外，HOT pi对指导和培训中学生、本科生、研究生和博士后保持着坚定的承诺，目前的提案要求支持研究生和本科生。HOT程序数据仍然可以随时访问和免费提供。例如，政府间气候变化专门委员会即将发布的第五次评估报告将纳入HOT CO2数据，从而提高了项目数据的可见度和公众对海洋气候变化的认识。此外，项目数据在课堂上被广泛使用，并出现在海洋科学教科书中。

Intellectual Merit: This proposal will extend funding for the Hawaii Ocean Time-series(HOT) research program for an additional 5 year period (August 2013-July 2018). This will extend the program into its 30th year of sustained observations of ocean ecosystem and climate variability at Station ALOHA in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre (NPSG). The underlying objectives of HOT continue to focus on documenting temporal dynamics in the cycling of carbon and associated bioelements, in addition to identifying variability associated with hydrological and ecological properties, heat fluxes, and circulation of the NPSG. The program relies on monthly shipboard and near-continuous moored platform measurements to document variability in ocean properties and processes over time scales ranging from semi-diurnal to decadal. Foremost among HOT accomplishments are improved quantification of reservoirs and fluxes of carbon and associated bioelements, identification of how changes to the North Pacific hydrological cycle influence ocean physics and biogeochemistry, increased understanding of the sensitivity of bioelemental cycling to large scale ocean-climate interactions, and creation of long-term data sets needed for assessing future changes to the NPSG. This award provides funds to maintain the high quality suite of biogeochemical and physical measurements required for continued assessment of dynamics in ocean carbon and nutrient pools and fluxes, physical climate, plankton community structure, ecosystem productivity, and inherent optical properties. Increasing the length of program observations continues to improve the value of the dataset for deciphering how low-frequency natural and anthropogenic climate signals influence ecosystem structure in the NPSG. Such efforts will continue to aid on-going biogeochemical and numerical ocean circulation models required for predicting how future habitat perturbations may influence ecosystem dynamics in the NPSG.Broader Impacts: Education, outreach, and training will continue to play a prominent role in HOT program activities. HOT provides a unique learning platform for high school, undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral students and teachers from Hawaii and around the world. The monthly HOT cruises provide short-duration (4 day) opportunities for students and teachers to gain first-hand exposure to ocean and climate sciences. In addition, HOT helps support the research of numerous ocean scientists who rely on the program's infrastructure (ship time, staff, laboratories, and equipment) to conduct their research, education and outreach activities. For example, the Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) uses the monthly HOT cruises for their "Teachers-at Sea" program that provides opportunities for local area middle school and high school teachers to participate in oceanographic field research. Moreover, HOT PIs maintain a strong commitment to mentoring and training of secondary, undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral students, and the current proposal requests support for both graduate and undergraduate students. HOT program data remain readily accessible and freely available. For example, HOT CO2 data are being included in the forthcoming 5th Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, increasing the visibility of program data and public awareness of ocean-climate change. Moreover, program data are widely used in the classroom and appear in textbooks on ocean science.