Project Funding: 2005 - 2007

NRA: 2004 NASA: Carbon Cycle Science   

Funded by NASA

Abstract:
We consider here the balance between production and consumption of fixed organic matter in the coastal ocean. The global ocean is generally considered to be in overall balance between these two fluxes in the general carbon cycle models. These fluxes are very large components of the carbon cycle, however, and small imbalances can have large impacts on the net flux of CO₂ between the ocean and atmosphere. Also the variability in the balance over regional and temporal scales is poorly characterized. We propose here to measure system productivity and respiration in the vicinity of the Kennebec River plume in the Gulf of Maine, a coastal shelf sea, over two seasonal cycles to establish the variability and magnitude of the organic matter metabolism of this system. We will measure primary production by the C₁₄ method, and community respiration by oxygen depletion measured by the modified, automated micro-Winkler method. We shall provide seasonal and annual estimates of system production and respiration in and out of the river plume and in the adjacent Gulf of Maine waters. We shall consider the relationships in this system between respiration and remotely sensed parameters of temperature, chlorophyll, ocean color, and primary production, with the goal of remotely estimating ocean respiration over larger temporal and spatial scales than is possible from field studies.

2008 NASA Carbon Cycle & Ecosystems Joint Science Workshop Posters

• Organic Matter Metabolism in a Coastal Ocean Ecosystem   --   (Patricia Matrai, Michael Sieracki, Nicole Poulton, Carlton Rauschenberg)   [abstract]

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

• NASA Ocean Biology & Biogeochemistry (OBB) Project Profile
• North American Carbon Program (NACP) Project Profile