The SOLAS initiative has as its goal to quantify biogeochemical-physical atmosphere-ocean interactions and determine how this coupled system affects climate and environmental change. One of the key objectives is accurate quantification of air-sea gas transfer rates. The lack of field observations leaves large gaps in our understanding of gas fluxes, and the most urgent region requiring observations is the Southern Oceans. Models have shown that this region has a large potential effect on the ocean carbon sink over the next 60 years.
In this project researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences (University of Miami) will participate in the SOLAS-ANZ (Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study - Australia/ New Zealand) gas transfer experiment in the Southern Ocean in November, 2003. The SOLAS- ANZ cruise will be a bio-perturbation experiment involving the addition of iron to stimulate a phytoplankton bloom. The corresponding modification to the gas transfer will be quantified with the dual tracer technique, as well as micrometeorological methods. The Woods Hole and RSMAS team involvement in the expedition will be through the deployment of the SkinDeEP profiler and the M-AERI spectroradiometer. SkinDeEP is equipped with high-resolution temperature and conductivity sensors to investigate microstructure from a depth of 10 m to the surface. The team will extend the measurement capability of SkinDeEP with the addition of oxygen and PAR sensors. The M-AERI spectroradiometer provides highly accurate ocean skin temperature measurements. Participation in this bio-perturbation experiment will allow them to obtain estimates of the influence of temperature on gas fluxes. The high-resolution oxygen profiles will allow quantification of biological production and consumption in the surface layer. The PAR measurements will also provide an indicator of biological activity through the absorption of light. These measurements will be conducted both inside and outside the fertilized patch.
The international collaboration established through this project will allow the transfer of knowledge between researchers from the US and New Zealand. The research team expects to make daily updates of the cruise available on a web site, in a similar fashion to the recently NSF-funded SOFeX experiment, thereby allowing the public insight into the daily activities of an oceanographic field experiment.
