Global Change Master Directory (GCMD)

Data Sets

Services / Tools

Ancillary Descriptions

Are you using a browser that doesn't support JavaScript or have you disabled JavaScript?

If you have disabled JavaScript, you must re-enable JavaScript to use this page.
Or you can view this record using the Text Only Format.

Collaborative Research: Plankton Community Structure and Iron Distribution in the Southern Drake Passage and Scotia Sea

Entry ID: NSF-ANT04-44040

[ Update this Record ]

Summary

Abstract: The Shackleton Fracture Zone (SFZ) in Drake Passage of the Southern Ocean defines a boundary between low and high phytoplankton waters. Low chlorophyll water flowing through the southern Drake Passage emerges as high chlorophyll water to the east, and recent evidence indicates that the Southern Antarctic Circumpolar Current Front (SACCF) is steered south of the SFZ onto the Antarctic Peninsula ... shelf where mixing between the water types occurs. The mixed water is then advected off-shelf with elevated iron and phytoplankton biomass. The SFZ is therefore an ideal natural laboratory to improve the understanding of plankton community responses to natural iron fertilization, and how these processes influence export of organic carbon to the ocean interior. The bathymetry of the region is hypothesized to influence mesoscale circulation and transport of iron, leading to the observed patterns in phytoplankton biomass. The position of the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) is further hypothesized to influence the magnitude of the flow of ACC water onto the peninsula shelf, mediating the amount of iron transported into the Scotia Sea.

To address these hypotheses, a research cruise will be conducted near the SFZ and to the east in the southern Scotia Sea. A mesoscale station grid for vertical profiles, water sampling, and bottle incubation enrichment experiments will complement rapid surface surveys of chemical, plankton, and hydrographic properties. Distributions of manganese, aluminum and radium isotopes will be determined to trace iron sources and estimate mixing rates. Phytoplankton and bacterial physiological states (including responses to iron enrichment) and the structure of the plankton communities will be studied. The primary goal is to better understand how plankton productivity, community structure and export production in the Southern Ocean are affected by the coupling between bathymetry, mesoscale circulation, and distributions of limiting nutrients.

The proposed work represents an interdisciplinary approach to address the fundamental physical, chemical and biological processes that contribute to the abrupt transition in chl-a which occurs near the SFZ. Given recent indications that the Southern Ocean is warming, it is important to advance the understanding of conditions that regulate the present ecosystem structure in order to predict the effects of climate variability. This project will promote training and learning across a broad spectrum of groups. Funds are included to support postdocs, graduate students, and undergraduates. In addition, this project will contribute to the development of content for the Polar Science Station website, which has been a resource since 2001 for instructors and students in adult education, home schooling, tribal schools, corrections education, family literacy programs, and the general public.

Related URL

Link: VIEW RELATED INFORMATION

Description: NSF Award Abstract #0444040

Geographic Coverage

(Click for Interactive Map)

Spatial coordinates

N: -60.3

S: -65.0

E: -53.0

W: -63.0

Temporal Coverage

Start Date: 2005-09-01

Stop Date: 2008-08-31

Location Keywords

OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN

OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS

GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR

OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > WEDDELL SEA

Science Keywords

OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > BIOGEOCHEMICAL CYCLES

OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > TRACE ELEMENTS

OCEANS > OCEAN CHEMISTRY > CHLOROPHYLL

ISO Topic Category

GEOSCIENTIFIC INFORMATION

Project

NSF/OPP > Office of Polar Programs, National Science Foundation

Data Set Progress

COMPLETE

Originating Center

Data Center

Data Coordination Center, United States Antarctic Program

Data Center URL: http://www.usap-data.org/
Dataset ID: NSF-ANT04-43403

Data Center Personnel
Name: ROBERT A. ARKO Email: info at usap-data.org Contact Address: Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory 61 Route 9W City: Palisades Province or State: NY Postal Code: 10964 Country: USA

Personnel

MENG ZHOU

Role: INVESTIGATOR

Phone: 617-287-7419

Email: Meng.zhou at umb.edu

Contact Address:

Dept. of Environmental, Coastal and Ocean Sciences

University of Massachusetts

City: Boston

Province or State: MA

Postal Code: 02125

Country: USA

Publications/References

Zhou, M, Niiler, PP, Zhu, Y, Dorland, RD. "The western boundary current in the Bransfield Strait, Antarctica," Deep-Sea Research I, v.53, 2006, p. 1244.

Creation and Review Dates

DIF Creation Date: 2009-01-12

Last DIF Revision Date: 2009-04-24

Reformat as FGDC document

View Text Only Format

[ Update this Record ]