Oceanography Commons^™

The Observation, Modeling, And Retrieval Of Bio-Optical Properties For Coastal Waters Of The Southern Chesapeake Bay, Xiaoju Pan

OES Theses and Dissertations

The primary purpose of this study was to develop an inverse method to retrieve the inherent optical properties (IOPs) and biogeochemical parameters (e.g. chlorophyll a concentration and salinity) appropriate to monitor the water quality and biogeochemical processes from remote sensing of the coastal waters in the southern Chesapeake Bay and coastal Mid-Atlantic Bight region (MAB) dominated by Case 2 waters. For this purpose, knowledge of the relationship between remote sensing reflectance (R_rs) and IOPs and the effect from bottom reflectance on R_rs, is required.

A substantial investigation of IOPs has been conducted for the coastal …

Co2 Control Of Trichodesmium N-2 Fixation, Photosynthesis, Growth Rates, And Elemental Ratios: Implications For Past, Present, And Future Ocean Biogeochemistry, D. A. Hutchins, F.-X. Fu, Y. Zhang, M. E. Warner, Y. Feng, K. Portune, P. W. Bernhardt, M. R. Mulholland

OES Faculty Publications

Diazotrophic marine cyanobacteria in the genus Trichodesmium contribute a large fraction of the new nitrogen entering the oligotrophic oceans, but little is known about how they respond to shifts in global change variables such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) and temperature. We compared Trichodesmium dinitrogen (N₂) and CO₂ fixation rates during steady-state growth under past, current, and future CO₂ scenarios, and at two relevant temperatures. At projected CO₂ levels of year 2100 (76 Pa, 750 ppm), N₂ fixation rates of Pacific and Atlantic isolates increased 35-100%, and CO₂ fixation rates increased 15-128% …

Impact Of Anthropogenic Combustion Emissions On The Fractional Solubility Of Aeroosol Iron: Evidence From The Sargasso Sea, Peter N. Sedwick, Edward R. Sholkovitz, Thomas M. Church

OES Faculty Publications

We report empirical estimates of the fractional solubility of aerosol iron over the Sargasso Sea during periods characterized by high concentrations of Saharan dust (summer 2003) and by low concentrations of aerosols in North American/maritime North Atlantic air masses (spring 2004 and early summer 2004). We observed a strong inverse relationship between the operational solubility of aerosol iron (defined using a flow-through deionized-water leaching protocol) and the total concentration of aerosol iron, whereby the operational solubility of aerosol iron was elevated when total aerosol iron loadings were low. This relationship is consistent with source-dependent differences in the solubility characteristics of …

Simulations Of Phytoplankton Species And Carbon Production In The Equatorial Pacific Ocean 2. Effects Of Physical And Biogeochemical Processes, Baris Salihoglu, Eileen E. Hofmann

CCPO Publications

A one-dimensional multi-component lower trophic level ecosystem model that includes detailed algal physiology is used to investigate the response of phytoplankton community and carbon production and export to variations in physical and biochemical processes in the Cold Tongue region of the equatorial Pacific Ocean at ON, 140W. Results show that high-frequency variability in vertical advection and temperature is an important mechanism driving the carbon export. Filtering out low frequency physical forcing results in a 30% increase in primary production and dominance of high-light adapted Prochlorococcus and autotrophic eukaryotes. Sensitivity studies show that iron availability is the primary control on carbon …

Assessment Of Skill And Portability In Regional Marine Biogeochemical Models: Role Of Multiple Planktonic Groups, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs, Jeffery A. Dusenberry, Laurence A. Anderson, Robert A. Armstrong, Fei Chai, James R. Christian, Scott C. Doney, John Dunne, Masahiko Fujii, Jerry D. Wiggert

CCPO Publications

[1] Application of biogeochemical models to the study of marine ecosystems is pervasive, yet objective quantification of these models' performance is rare. Here, 12 lower trophic level models of varying complexity are objectively assessed in two distinct regions (equatorial Pacific and Arabian Sea). Each model was run within an identical one-dimensional physical framework. A consistent variational adjoint implementation assimilating chlorophyll-a, nitrate, export, and primary productivity was applied and the same metrics were used to assess model skill. Experiments were performed in which data were assimilated from each site individually and from both sites simultaneously. A cross-validation experiment was also conducted …

Biogeochemistry Of Arsenic And Antimony In The North Pacific Ocean, Gregory A. Cutter, Lynda S. Cutter

OES Faculty Publications

The biogeochemical cycles of the metalloid elements arsenic and antimony were examined along a 15,000 km surface water transect and at 9 vertical profile stations in the western North Pacific Ocean as part of the 2002 IOC Contaminant Baseline Survey. Results show that the speciation of dissolved arsenic (As III, As V, and methylated As) was subtly controlled by the arsenate (AsV)/phosphate ratio. An additional fraction of presumed organic arsenic previously reported in coastal waters was also present (~15% of the total As) in oceanic surface waters. Dissolved inorganic antimony displayed mildly scavenged behavior that was confirmed by correlations with …

Hydrographic Observations During The 2002 Ioc Contaminant Baseline Survey In The Western Pacific Ocean, C. I. Measures, Greg A. Cutter, W. M. Landing, R. T. Powell

OES Faculty Publications

The 2002 IOC Contaminant Baseline Survey in the western Pacific Ocean was the fourth in a series of cruises intended to establish the contemporary concentrations of trace elements and other materials in the major water masses of the ocean and to illuminate the pathways by which materials delivered to the surface ocean are incorporated in the subsurface waters. The expedition occupied 9 vertical profile stations encompassing the subtropical and subarctic gyre of the western North Pacific. In addition, underway surface water samples were collected during transits between the stations. This paper uses the temperature, salinity, nutrient, oxygen, and chlorophyll data …

Evaluating The Biogeochemical Cycle Of Selenium In San Francisco Bay Through Modeling, Shannon L. Meseck, Gregory A. Cutter

OES Faculty Publications

A biogeochemical model was developed to simulate salinity, total suspended material, phytoplankton biomass, dissolved selenium concentrations (selenite, selenate, and organic selenide), and particulate selenium concentrations (selenite + selenate, elemental selenium, and organic selenide) in the San Francisco Bay estuary. Model-generated estuarine profiles of total dissolved selenium reproduced observed estuarine profiles at a confidence interval of 91- 99% for 8 different years under various environmental conditions. The model accurately reproduced the observed dissolved speciation at confidence intervals of 81-98% for selenite, 72-91% for selenate, and 60-96% for organic selenide. For particulate selenium, model-simulated estuarine profiles duplicated the observed behavior of total …

Iron In Ice Cores From Law Dome: A Record Of Atmospheric Iron Deposition For Maritime East Antarctica During The Holocene And Last Glacial Maximum, Ross Edwards, Peter N. Sedwick, Vin Morgan, Claude Boutron

OES Faculty Publications

Total dissolvable iron (TDFe) was measured in sections of ice cores recovered from Law Dome on the coast of Wilkes Land, East Antarctica. These samples include ice dating from the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), the Last Deglaciation, and the early and mid Holocene as well as samples from the Anthropocene that have been dated with seasonal to annual resolution. Combining our TDFe concentration data with estimates of the ice accumulation rate, we estimate the atmospheric iron deposition for Law Dome and the adjacent Southern Ocean during these periods. Our results indicate that the atmospheric iron deposition flux to this region …

Nitrogen Fixation And Release Of Fixed Nitrogen By Trichodesmium Spp. In The Gulf Of Mexico, Margaret R. Mulholland, Peter W. Bernhardt, Cynthia A. Heil, Deborah A. Bronk, Judith M. O'Neil

OES Faculty Publications

During a 3-yr study in the Gulf of Mexico, we measured dinitrogen (N₂) fixation and nitrogen (N) release by Trichodesmium and compared these rates with water column N demand and the estimated N necessary to support blooms of Karenia brevis, a toxic dinoflagellate that severely affects the West Florida shelf. Net and gross N₂ fixation rates were compared in simultaneous incubations using ¹⁵N₂ uptake and acetylene reduction, respectively. The difference between net and gross N₂ fixation is assumed to be an approximation of the rate of N release. Results demonstrate that Trichodesmium in …

Pelagic Functional Group Modeling: Progress, Challenges And Prospects, Raleigh R. Hood, Edward A. Laws, Robert A. Armstrong, Nicholas R. Bates, Christopher W. Brown, Craig A. Carlson, Fei Chai, Scott C. Doney, Paul G. Falkowski, Richard A. Feely, Marjorie A. M. Friedrichs

CCPO Publications

In this paper, we review the state of the art and major challenges in current efforts to incorporate biogeochemical functional groups into models that can be applied on basin-wide and global scales, with an emphasis on models that might ultimately be used to predict how biogeochemical cycles in the ocean will respond to global warming. We define the term "biogeochemical functional group" to refer to groups of organisms that mediate specific chemical reactions in the ocean. Thus, according to this definition, "functional groups" have no phylogenetic meaning-these are composed of many different species with common biogeochemical functions.

Substantial progress has …

Burial Of Terrestrial Organic Matter In Marine Sediments: A Re-Assessment, David J. Burdige

OES Faculty Publications

Calculations based on recent observations indicate that approximately one third of the organic matter presently being buried in marine sediments may be of terrestrial origin, with the majority of this terrestrial organic matter (TOM) burial occurring in muddy, deltaic sediments. These calculations further suggest that the remineralization of terrestrial organic matter in the oceans is also much less efficient than that of marine organic matter. These two underappreciated observations have important implications in terms of our understanding of the controls on the global carbon cycle. From a paleoceanographic perspective, the results presented here also suggest that changes in TOM burial …

Iron In The Sargasso Sea (Bermuda Atlantic Time-Series Study Region) During Summer: Eolian Imprint, Spatiotemporal Variability, And Ecological Implications, Peter N. Sedwick, T. M. Church, A. R. Bowie, C. M. Marsay, S. J. Ussher, K. M. Achilles, P. J. Lethaby, R. J. Johnson, M. M. Sarin, D. J. Mcgillicuddy

OES Faculty Publications

We report iron measurements for water column and aerosol samples collected in the Sargasso Sea during July-August 2003 (summer 2003) and April-May 2004 (spring 2004). Our data reveal a large seasonal change in the dissolved iron (dFe) concentration of surface waters in the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study region, from ∼1-2nM in summer 2003, when aerosol iron concentrations were high (mean 10 nmol/m^-3), to ∼0.1-0.2nM in spring 2004, when aerosol iron concentrations were low (mean 0.64 nmol/m^-3). During summer 2003, we observed an increase of ∼0.6nM in surface water dFe concentrations over 13 days, presumably due to …

A Unique Seasonal Pattern In Phytoplankton Biomass In Low-Latitude Waters In The South China Sea, Chun-Mao Tseng, George T. F. Wong, I.-I. Lin, C.-R. Wu, K.-K. Liu

OES Faculty Publications

A distinctive seasonal pattern in phytoplankton biomass was observed at the South East Asian Time series Study (SEATS) station (18°N, 116°E) in the northern South China Sea (SCS). Surface chlorophyll-a, depth integrated chlorophyll-a and primary production were elevated to 0.3 mg/m³, ~35 mg/m² and 300 mg-C/m²/d, respectively, in the winter but stayed low, at 0.1 mg/m³, ~15 mg/m² and 110 mg-C/m²/d as commonly found in other low latitude waters, in the rest of the year. Concomitantly, soluble reactive phosphate and nitrate+nitrite in the mixed layer also became …

Hydrographic And Biological Changes In The Taiwan Strait During The 1997-1998 El Niño Winter, S. Shang, C. Zhang, H. Hong, Q. Liu, G. T. F. Wong, C. Hu, B. Huang

OES Faculty Publications

During the 1997–1998 El Niño event, the average sea surface temperature (SST) in the Taiwan Strait (TWS) in the winter was ~1.4°C higher than that of the winter climatological mean. The areal ratio of the warm water (≥2°C above the regional mean) to the cold water (≥2°C below the regional mean) in the TWS increased by 25% while the area of the eutrophic water (chlorophyll a >1 mg m^-3) was halved. Field observations also indicate that the mixed layer in the TWS became more nutrient-poor during this winter. These observations are consistent with a diminished advection of the …

Monsoon-Driven Biogeochemical Processes In The Arabian Sea, Jerry D. Wiggert, Raleigh Hood, Karl Banse, John Kindle

Faculty Publications

Although it is nominally a tropical locale, the semiannual wind reversals associated with the Monsoon system of the Arabian Sea result annually in two distinct periods of elevated biological activity. While in both cases monsoonal forcing drives surface layer nutrient enrichment that supports increased rates of primary productivity, fundamentally different entrainment mechanisms are operating in summer (Southwest) and winter (Northeast) Monsoons. Moreover, the intervening intermonsoon periods, during which the region relaxes toward oligotrophic conditions more typical of tropical environments, provide a stark contrast to the dynamic biogeochemical activity of the monsoons. The resulting spatial and temporal variability is great and …

Estimation Of Primary Production And Carbon Flux In Antarctic Coastal Waters: A Modeling Study, Hae-Cheol Kim

OES Theses and Dissertations

This study presents results from models that are designed to simulate the underwater light field, to simulate phytoplankton primary production, and to estimate the fate of phytoplankton carbon in continental shelf waters of the west Antarctic Peninsula (WAP) and Ross Sea. Simulation of the underwater light field required derivation of new coefficient sets for power function-type cloud cover correction algorithms, which were found to be influenced by multiple reflections between the bottom of clouds and the surface. The coefficient sets indicate that the spectral effect of clouds on the properties of the surface irradiance was spectrally-neutral for wavelengths greater than …

Sources And Cycling Of Carbonyl Sulfide In The Sargasso Sea, Gregory A. Cutter, Lynda S. Cutter, Katherine C. Filippino

OES Faculty Publications

The cycling of the radiatively important gas carbonyl sulfide (OCS) was studied in surface waters of the Sargasso Sea. In August 1999, surface OCS concentrations averaged 8.6 pmol L^-1, showed minor diel variations, and varied little with depth. An OCS precursor, total dissolved organic sulfur (DOS), was lowest at the surface (40 nmol L^-1) and increased with depth. The photoproduction rate of OCS from in situ incubations averaged 9.6 pmol L^-1 h^-1, whereas dark production was 7.0 pmol L^-1 h^-1. Apparent quantum yields were 10^-5-10^-7 from 313-436 …

Analytical Intercomparison Between Flow Injection-Chemiluminescence And Flow Injection-Spectrophotometry For The Determination Of Picomolar Concentrations Of Iron In Seawater, Andrew R. Bowie, Peter N. Sedwick, Paul J. Worsfold

OES Faculty Publications

A lab- and ship-based analytical intercomparison of two flow injection methods for the determination of iron in seawater was conducted, using three different sets of seawater samples collected from the Southern Ocean and South Atlantic. In one exercise, iron was determined in three different size-fractions (< 0.03 &μm, < 0.4 μm, and unfiltered) in an effort to better characterize the operational nature of each analytical technique with respect to filter size. Measured Fe concentrations were in the range 0.19 to 1.19 nM using flow injection with luminol chemiluminescence detection (FI-CL), and 0.07 to 1.54 nM using flow injection with catalytic spectrophotometric detection with N, N-dimethyl-p-phenylenediamine dihydrochloride (FI-DPD). The arithmetic mean for the FI-CL method was higher (by 0.09 nM) than the FI-DPD method for dissolved (< 0.4 μm) Fe, a difference that is comparable to the analytical blanks, which were as high as 0.13 nM ( CL) and 0.09 nM (DPD). There was generally good agreement between the FI-CL determinations for the < 0.03 μm size fraction and the FI-DPD determinations for the < 0.4 μm size fraction in freshly collected samples. Differences in total-dissolvable ( unfiltered) Fe concentrations determined by the two FI methods were more variable, reflecting the added complexity associated with the analysis of partially digested particulate material in these samples. Overall, however, the FI-CL determinations were significantly (P = 0.05) lower than the FI-DPD determinations for the unfiltered samples. Our results suggest that the observed, systematic inter-method differences reflect measurement of different physicochemical fractions of Fe present in seawater, such that colloidal and/or organic iron species are better determined by the FI-CL method than the FI-DPD method. This idea is supported by our observation that inter-method differences were largest for freshly collected acidified seawater, which suggests extended storage (>6 months) of acidified samples as a possible protocol for the determination of dissolved iron in seawater.

Black Carbon In Estuarine And Coastal Ocean Dissolved Organic Matter, Antonio Mannino, H. Rodger Harvey

OES Faculty Publications

We measured black carbon (BC) in ultrafiltered, high-molecular weight dissolved organic matter (UDOM) in surface waters of Delaware Bay, Chesapeake Bay, and the adjacent Atlantic Ocean (U.S.A.) to investigate the importance of riverine and estuarine dissolved organic matter (DOM) as a source of BC to the ocean. BC was 5-72% of UDOM-C (27 ± 17%), which corresponds to 8.9 ± 6.5% of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), with higher values in the heavily urbanized midbay region of the Delaware Estuary and lower yields in the river and coastal ocean. The spatial and seasonal distributions of BC along the salinity gradient of …

An Investigation Of Dissolved Organic Matter In A Shallow Coastal Bay Subject To Aureococcus Anophagefferens Blooms, Jean-Paul Simjouw

OES Theses and Dissertations

Aureococcus anophagefferens, the pelagophyte responsible for brown tide blooms, was identified in Chincoteague Bay in 1997 and has “bloomed” there since at least 1998. Aureococcus anophagefferens is capable of using dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) substrates to support growth, and this utilization is hypothesized to give the organism a competitive advantage relative to other phytoplankton when inorganic nutrient concentrations are low or depleted. Because previous studies suggest dissolved organic matter (DOM) is important in initiating and sustaining brown tide blooms, a field study of the variations in DOC concentration and DOM composition was performed at …

Modeling The Biogeochemical Cycle Of Selenium In The San Francisco Bay, Shannon L. Meseck

OES Theses and Dissertations

Due to recent concerns about selenium toxicity in the San Francisco Bay and the roles of refinery and San Joaquin River inputs on the selenium cycle, the model ECoS 3 (distributed from Plymouth Marine Laboratory, United Kingdom) was modified to simulate the biogeochemical cycle of selenium in the Northern Reach. The model is designed to simulate salinity, total suspended material, phytoplankton concentrations, dissolved selenium and its speciation (selenite, selenate, and organic selenide), and particulate selenium and its speciation (selenite + selenate, elemental selenium, and organic selenide). Actual data from 1999 were used to calibrate the model, while data from other …

Nitrate Anomaly In The Upper Nutricline In The Northern South China Sea - Evidence For Nitrogen Fixation, George T. F. Wong, Shi-Wei Chung, Fuh-Kwo Shiah, Chung-Chi Chen, Liang-Saw Wen, Kon-Kee Liu

OES Faculty Publications

[1] Up to 2 μM of nitrate anomaly, N*, were found in the upper nutricline at the South East Asia Time-series Study (SEATS) site in the northern South China Sea (SCS). These concentrations were among the higher values reported in the Pacific and indicate the significant contribution of the remineralization of nitrogen-rich organic matter formed by nitrogen fixation to the nutrient dynamics of the area. The concentrations were systematically higher, by up to 2.5 μM, in the Fall through the early Spring, during the northeast monsoon, than in the Summer, suggesting that the impact of nitrogen fixation was higher during …

Dark Production: A Significant Source Of Oceanic Cos, M. Von Hobe, Gregory A. Cutter, A. J. Kettle, M. O. Andreae

OES Faculty Publications

Carbonyl sulfide (COS) in air and dissolved in seawater was determined during a cruise in August 1999 in the Sargasso Sea in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. Dissolved concentrations at the sea surface displayed only a weak diel cycle with a mean of 8.6 ± 2.8 pmol dm⁻³ owing to low abundance of photochemical precursors and high temperatures causing rapid hydrolysis. Depth profiles measured over the oceanic mixed layer revealed significant vertical gradients of COS concentration with higher values at the surface, suggesting that the rate of photochemical production at the surface exceeds the rate of vertical mixing. The mean …

Uptake Of Dissolved Organic Selenides By Marine Phytoplankton, Stephen B. Baines, Nicholas S. Fisher, Martina A. Doblin, Gregory A. Cutter

OES Faculty Publications

Se is present in multiple oxidation states in nature, each of which has unique chemical and biological reactivities. As a consequence, the rate of Se incorporation into food webs or its role as either a limiting nutrient or a toxic substance is a function of complex biogeochemistry. In particular, little is understood about the accumulation of dissolved organic selenides by phyto- or bacterioplankton. We assessed the bioavailability of dissolved organic selenides to marine and estuarine phytoplankton by presenting various algal species with filtered lysates of the diatom, Thalassiosira pseudonana, grown on media amended with radiolabeled selenite (⁷⁵Se[IV]). …

Control Of Phytoplankton Growth By Iron Supply And Irradiance In The Subantarctic Southern Ocean: Experimental Results From The Saz Project, P. W. Boyd, A. C. Crossley, G. R. Ditullio, F. B. Griffiths, D. A. Hutchins, B. Queguiner, Peter N. Sedwick, T. W. Trull

OES Faculty Publications

The influence of irradiance and Fe supply on phytoplankton processes was studied, north (47°S, 142°E) and south (54°S, 142°E) of the Subantarctic Front in austral autumn (March 1998). At both sites, resident cells exhibited nutrient stress (F_v/F_m 0 at 47°S and 9% I₀ at 54°S because of MLDs of 40 (47°S) and 90 m (54°S), when these stations were occupied. The greater MLD at 54°S is reflected by tenfold higher cellular chlorophyll a levels in the resident phytoplankton. In the 47°S experiment, chlorophyll a levels increased to >1 μg/L^-1 only in the high-Fe treatments, regardless …

Control Of Phytoplankton Growth By Iron And Silicic Acid Availability In The Subantarctic Ocean: Experimental Results From The Saz Project, D. A. Hutchins, Peter N. Sedwick, G. R. Ditullio, P. W. Boyd, B. Queguiner, F. B. Griffiths, C. Crossley

OES Faculty Publications

Subantarctic Southern Ocean surface waters in the austral summer and autumn are characterized by high concentrations of nitrate and phosphate but low concentrations of dissolved iron (Fe, similar to0.05 nM) and silicic acid (Si, <1 muM). During the Subantarctic Zone AU9706 cruise in March 1998 we investigated the relative importance of Fe and Si in controlling phytoplankton growth and species composition at a station within the subantarctic water mass (46.8degreesS, 142degreesE) using shipboard bottle incubation experiments. Treatments included unamended controls; 1.9 nM added iron (+Fe); 9 muM added silicic acid (+Si); and 1.9 nM addediron plus 9 muM added silicic acid (+Fe+Si). We followed a detailed set of biological and biogeochemical parameters over 8 days. Fe added alone clearly increased community growth rates and nitrate drawdown and altered algal community composition relative to control treatments. Surprisingly, small, lightly silicified pennate diatoms grew when Fe was added either with or without Si, despite the extremely low ambient silicic acid concentrations. Pigment analyses suggest that lightly silicified chrysophytes (type 4 haptophytes) may have preferentially responded to Si added either with or without Fe. However, for many of the parameters measured the +Fe+Si treatments showed large increases relative to both the +Fe and +Si treatments. Our results suggest that iron is the proximate limiting nutrient for chlorophyll production, photosynthetic efficiency, nitrate drawdown, and diatom growth, but that Si also exerts considerable control over algal growth and species composition. Both nutrients together are needed to elicit a maximum growth response, suggesting that both Fe and Si play important roles in structuring the subantarctic phytoplankton community.

Holocene Sediment Records From The Continental Shelf Of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica, Peter N. Sedwick, Peter T. Harris, Lisette G. Robertson, Gary M. Mcmurtry, Maximilian D. Cremer, Philip Robinson

OES Faculty Publications

Geochemical records are presented for five sediment cores from basins on the continental shelf of Mac. Robertson Land, East Antarctica. The cores contain 2-4 m thick sequences of hemipelagic, siliceous mud and ooze (SMO) deposited under seasonally open marine conditions. The inner and middle shelf SMO sequences are massive dark olive green material, whereas the outer shelf SMO sequences are dark olive material interspersed with light olive green layers similar to1-10 cm thick. The biogenic material is dominated by marine diatoms including Fragilariopsis curta, Fragilariopsis cylindrus, and Chaetoceros spp. in the dark-colored SMO and Corethron criophilum in the …

Introduction To Special Section: Saz Project, T. W. Trull, Peter N. Sedwick, F. B. Griffiths, S. R. Rintoul

OES Faculty Publications

Oceanographic processes in the subantarctic region contribute crucially to the phys. and biogeochemical aspects of the global climate system. To explore and quantify these contributions, the Antarctic Cooperative Research Center organized the SAZ Project, a multidisciplinary, multiship study carried out south of Australia in the austral summer of 1997-1998. We present an overview of the SAZ Project and some of its major results.

Effects Of Iron, Silicate, And Light On Dimethylsulfoniopropionate Production In The Australian Subantarctic Zone, G. R. Ditullio, P. N. Sedwick, D. R. Jones, P. W. Boyd, A. C. Crossley, D. A. Hutchins

OES Faculty Publications

Shipboard bottle incubation experiments were performed to investigate the effects of iron, light, and silicate on algal production of particulate dimethylsulfoniopropionate (DMSP_p) in the Subantarctic Zone (SAZ) south of Tasmania during March 1998. Iron enrichment resulted in threefold to ninefold increases in DMSP_p concentrations relative to control treatments, following 7 and 8-day incubation experiments. Additions of Fe and Si preferentially stimulated the growth of lightly-silicified pennate diatoms and siliceous haptophytes, respectively, to which we attribute the increased DMSP_p production in the incubation bottles. Both of these algal groups were previously believed to be low DMSP_{p …}