Project Funding: 2014 - 2017

NRA: 2013 NASA: Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (NPP) Science Team and Science Investigator-led Processing Systems for Earth System Data Records From Suomi NPP   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
The goal of this work is to support the particulate inorganic carbon (PIC) algorithm within the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP). This algorithm is critical for understanding the global distribution of coccolithophores (calcifying phytoplankton) and understanding the impacts of climate change on these organisms, which are essential for the functioning of the ocean biological pump. This work has three central objectives: A) PIC ALGORITHM IMPROVEMENTS: There are several sources of error within the PIC algorithm that need improvement: derivation of the diffuse attenuation coefficient used in the model, determination of the coccolith backscattering cross-section and derivation of the backscattering attributable to phytoplankton chlorophyll. This proposed work will investigate all three aspects which will allow for an improved VIIRS PIC algorithm. This work also will result in an updated PIC algorithm theoretical basis document (ATBD). B) PIC ALGORITHM EVALUATION: The major challenge to the maintenance of the PIC algorithm in the Suomi NPP era is the still-limited sea-truth PIC data taken since the launch of NPP in October, 2011, available for product evaluation. The PIC algorithm has been based on an ever-increasing, but still relatively small, set of field measurements (small as compared to the chlorophyll validation data set, which contains ~350X more data simply because  more investigators have sampled it for several more decades). To date, there are 74 validated ship PIC match-ups with VIIRS PIC estimates. The work proposed here will involve a modest field validation effort (240 stations within the north and south Atlantic) to augment the field PIC data available for evaluation of the VIIRS PIC product. We propose to participate in three Atlantic Meridional Transect cruises from vastly under- sampled regions of the North and South Atlantic, specifically in support of the Suomi NPP mission. This work will provide collection/analysis of other variables, too: chlorophyll concentration and particulate organic carbon (POC), inherent optical properties (IOPs; e.g. particle absorption and scattering) and apparent optical properties (AOPs; for validating VIIRS normalized water-leaving radiance measurements), all in support of their evaluation as VIIRS EDRs and CDRs. NASA will incur no ship time expenses for the field work; all three cruises are part of the Atlantic Meridional Transect program, long supported by the National Environmental Research Council of the U.K. C) CONTINUITY OF THE PIC SCIENCE DATA PRODUCT: The overarching goal of this work is to seamlessly transition the PIC science data product from the EOS era to the Suomi NPP era (and ultimately to the JPSS and PACE eras). Critical in this goal is defining the error budgets of the VIIRS PIC algorithm for comparison to the same product derived from MODIS and traceable to the ATBD. This work will be well- coordinated with the Ocean Science Investigator-led Processing Systems (Ocean SIPS). This proposal includes a request for a post-doc in order to begin training the next generation of scientists for coccolithophore bio-optical and biogeochemical work in support of the NASA PIC ocean color product. ***SIGNIFICANCE*** This proposal addresses 2 of the 6 Earth science focus areas: 1) Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems plus 2) Climate Variability and Change. It supports 3 objectives identified for NASA Carbon Cycle and Ecosystems research: (1) document and understand how the global carbon cycle, terrestrial and marine ecosystems are changing, (2) quantify global productivity, biomass and carbon fluxes; and (3) provide useful projections of future changes in global carbon cycling and marine ecosystems for use in ecological forecasting, and as inputs for improved climate change predictions. Ultimately, it will allow better evaluation of the future global carbon cycle as it is influenced by climate change.

Publications:

Balch, W. M., Bates, N. R., Lam, P. J., Twining, B. S., Rosengard, S. Z., Bowler, B. C., Drapeau, D. T., Garley, R., Lubelczyk, L. C., Mitchell, C., Rauschenberg, S. 2016. Factors regulating the Great Calcite Belt in the Southern Ocean and its biogeochemical significance. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 30(8), 1124-1144. DOI: 10.1002/2016GB005414 

Balch, W. M., Bowler, B. C., Drapeau, D. T., Lubelczyk, L. C., Lyczkowski, E. 2018. Vertical Distributions of Coccolithophores, PIC, POC, Biogenic Silica, and Chlorophyll a Throughout the Global Ocean. Global Biogeochemical Cycles. 32(1), 2-17. DOI: 10.1002/2016GB005614

Hopkins, J., Balch, W. M. 2018. A New Approach to Estimating Coccolithophore Calcification Rates From Space. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. 123(5), 1447-1459. DOI: 10.1002/2017JG004235

Maranon, E., Balch, W. M., Cermeno, P., Gonzalez, N., Sobrino, C., Fernandez, A., Huete-Ortega, M., Lopez-Sandoval, D. C., Delgado, M., Estrada, M., Alvarez, M., Fernandez-Guallart, E., Pelejero, C. 2016. Coccolithophore calcification is independent of carbonate chemistry in the tropical ocean. Limnology and Oceanography. 61(4), 1345-1357. DOI: 10.1002/lno.10295

More details may be found in the following project profile(s):

• NASA Ocean Biology & Biogeochemistry (OBB) Project Profile