Operation of a Marine Atmospheric Sampling Facility at Tudor Hill, Bermuda

Bermuda Institute Of Ocean Sciences (Bios), Inc., St. George'S

Investigators

Abstract

The marine troposphere plays important roles in the global geochemical cycles of many elements, in the global radiation budget, and in the global distribution of organic compounds, nutrients, microbes, and pollutants. Our ability to sample this space between the atmosphere and the sea is central to improving our understanding of this dynamic zone. By virtues of its location in the western North Atlantic Ocean, Bermuda has been a key location for numerous field studies on the marine troposphere. With support through this grant, researchers at the Bermuda institute of Ocean Sciences (BIOS) will continue to maintain and operate a state-of-the-art Tudor Hill facility for three more years (September, 2011 through August, 2014). Operations will include the collection of continuous meteorological data and weekly bulk aerosol samples and rainwater samples. These data and samples will be archived at BIOS and made freely available to the scientific community, as well as the collection of samples and data for a variety of external research projects funded variously by NSF, NOAA, NASA, and other agencies. Modest user fees will be requested for the collection of samples or data in addition to those specified above or for other research use of the facility. Anticipated net revenue from these user fees (ca. $10,000 per year) will be used to defray costs of site maintenance, equipment replacement, and additional technician support. Broader Impacts: In general terms, the continued operation of the Tudor Hill facility will facilitate and augment research into the physics and chemistry of the lower marine troposphere and ocean-atmosphere exchange processes in the North Atlantic Ocean Basin -- topics that are of central importance to international research initiatives such as GEOTRACES, COLAS, and IGAC. Regionally, this facility will complement other ongoing time-series research in the Sargasso Sea, including the Bermuda Atlantic Time Series (BATS), Hydrostation S, and the Ocean Flux Program (OFP). As in the past, data and samples will be made available to support graduate student research as well as undergraduate educational activities and research.