Collaborative Research: Hawaii Ocean Time-series: Biogeochemistry and Ecology Component

University Of California-San Diego Scripps Inst Of Oceanography, La Jolla CA

Investigators

Abstract

Since Oct 1988, a comprehensive suite of environmental measurements have been obtained at the oligotrophic Sta. ALOHA (22'45N, 158'00'W) in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. This time-series activity - Hawai'i Ocean Time-Series (HOT) - was initiated within the 15-year U.S. Joint Global Ocean Flux Program; the results of the HOT program have been one of the stellar centerpieces of the U.S. JGOFS accomplishments. The core HOT measurements were selected to provide data to validate existing carbon-nitrogen-phosphorus biogeochemical models and, to improve them. Foremost in importance among the various ecosystem processes under investigation are: the flux of carbon at the air?sea interface, the rates and control mechanisms of primary production and particle export, and the pathways and intensities of nutrient (N and P) fluxes. Also important are the observed time?dependent changes in microbial biomass and biodiversity, and the relationships of these observed ecosystem changes to the broader extra-tropical climate forcing from the El Nino?Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and other large scale ocean?atmosphere interactions. The emergent data from the HOT core measurement program are unique and robust and illuminate previously undocumented phenomena. The scientific results of the ongoing ocean time?series program have provided an unprecedented view of biogeochemical cycles and ecological processes in an under-sampled region of the world ocean. A very large number of HOT?related publications and reports have already appeared based on the research results obtained by program?associated and independent, ancillary investigators. This award will support the important continuation of this ocean time?series core measurement program for an additional five?year period ? August 2003 to July 2008. During this period, Dr. Karl and collaborators will move the measurement program from a primarily ship?based effort with an approximately monthly frequency of observations, to a comprehensive ship / mooring / autonomous vehicle /cabled observatory / satellite based measurement program that covers a broader spectrum of temporal and spatial scales. In addition to maintaining a suite of core measurements and distributing the analytical results to the scientific community at large in a timely and accessible manner, they will also continue providing the logistical infrastructure and the shared shiptime required to support related research programs funded independently by NSF, ONR, NOAA, DOE and other agencies. As in the past, the HOT program investigators will be actively engaged in education at all levels from K?12 through post?doctoral. Research conducted as part of the HOT program has contributed significantly to formal classroom instruction in oceanography as well as at?sea training. In this next phase of HOT, investigators will initiate two new education and outreach activities, Scientist?Educator Associations (SEA) and Bluewater Marine Laboratory (BML), both targeted at middle school to high school students in Hawaii and the Pacific Island region, including several under?represented ethnic groups. The HOT program infrastructure, both at?sea and laboratory components, provides unique facilities for science training. The Internet?accessible time?series data base has already proven to be an invaluable education tool for students and teachers worldwide. The broader societal benefits of the research are an increased understanding of the Earth's carbon and nutrient cycles, and a greater knowledge of climate and ecosystem variability, including anthropogenic impacts. By maintaining these long?term ocean sentinels we can help to track the health of the ocean and help to develop the basic scientific understanding that will be necessary for predicting future ocean ecosystem states.