RAPID: GEOTRACES: Determination of Copper Distribution, Speciation, and the Relationship to Picoplankton Community Structure for the U.S. GEOTRACES Zonal North Atlantic

University Of Southern California, Los Angeles CA

Investigators

Abstract

The U.S. GEOTRACES North Atlantic zonal section cruise was scheduled for 15 October through 5 December 2010. Because of a major irresolvable mechanical failure of the ship's propulsion system, the expedition had to be terminated in the Cape Verde Islands on 4 November after completing about one third of the planned track. This required on-the-spot changes in return travel for all sea-going investigators as well as in shipping arrangements for all their samples and equipment. The funds requested in this proposal address the PI's need to cover a graduate student, travel, and supplies costs associated with his participation in the continuation of the North Atlantic section cruise scheduled for autumn 2011. Graduate student and travel support are needed to ensure a student at the University of Southern California can participate in the conclusion of the cruise and collect samples to finish his dissertation. Additional travel costs are included to demobilize the ship at the end of the cruise. Funds for supplies replace those lost during the initial leg of the cruise. At the end of this project, the relationship between Cu cycling and its speciation over a wide range of oceanographic regimes will be documents, as well as the influence of this element on the community structure of Prochlorococcus at the eco-type level.