CAREER: Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen biogeochemistry at the scale of a sinking marine particle

职业：碳、氮和氧在下沉海洋颗粒尺度上的地球化学下沉颗粒将碳从表层沃茨输送到深海。随着颗粒下沉，微生物将营养物质转移到周围的水中。微生物还利用与颗粒相关的有机物质作为能量来源。微生物的新陈代谢和物理过程共同控制着海洋中碳的消耗或保存。然而，在微观尺度上发生在颗粒上的过程仍然知之甚少。这项研究将研究影响海洋中沉降颗粒的地球化学、物理和生态过程。该项目将培训本科生和研究生以及一名博士后研究员。该项目旨在通过在大学一级开发新的实验室实践课程，扩大对海洋科学的参与。首席科学家将与教师合作，开发海洋化学学习模块，用于标准高中课程。首席研究员和他的团队将利用定制的实验室模型系统和原位宏基因组学来揭示哪些生物体在海洋颗粒中定居以及如何定居，出现哪些连续的代谢模式，以及这些微尺度特性对水柱的影响。具体而言，具有趋化性，运动性和反硝化能力的细菌对海洋颗粒的殖民化的竞争优势将通过实验室中的精密微流体实验和从热带太平洋东部收集的样品的生物信息学分析相结合来探索。这项工作将进一步研究孔隙网络通过改变物理流动和解决颗粒内的动态化学景观来促进颗粒定植的影响。这些实验的结果将用于将微尺度生命机制转化为全球海洋生态地球化学。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的知识价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

CAREER: Carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen biogeochemistry at the scale of a sinking marine particleSinking particles transport carbon from surface waters to the deep ocean. As particles sink, microorganisms transfer nutrients to and from the surrounding water. Microorganisms also use organic matter associated with particles as a source of energy. Together, the metabolism of microbes and physical processes control whether carbon is consumed or preserved in the ocean. Yet, the processes that occur at microscopic scales on particles remain poorly understood. This research will study the biogeochemical, physical, and ecological processes that influence sinking particles in the ocean. The project will train undergraduate and graduate students and a postdoctoral researcher. The project aims to broaden participation in ocean sciences by developing a new hands-on laboratory course at the college level. The lead scientist will collaborate with teachers and develop ocean chemistry learning modules for use in standard high school courses.The principal investigator and his team will utilize a custom laboratory model system and in-situ metagenomics to reveal which organisms colonize marine particles and how, which successional metabolic patterns emerge, and the consequences that these microscale properties have for the water column. Specifically, the competitive advantage that bacteria with chemotaxis, motility, and denitrification abilities have for colonizing marine particles will be explored through a combination of precision microfluidic experiments in the laboratory and bioinformatics analysis of samples collected from the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. The work will further investigate the effects that pore networks have for promoting particle colonization by changing the physical flows and resolving the dynamic chemical landscape within a particle. Results from these experiments will be used to translate the mechanisms of life at the microscale to global ocean biogeochemistry.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.