Award: OCE-2023206

The South Pacific Ocean and Southern Oceans represent important regions for the impact of ocean productivity and global climate by ocean processes. In particular, these areas have extremely low levels of trace metal nutrients such as iron, manganese, and zinc, which are needed to support the growth of phytoplankton, the base of the ocean food web. Phytoplankton perform photosynthesis, converting carbon dioxide to organic matter, some of which sinks to the ocean interior, removing that carbon from the atmosphere for years to even centuries. This can affect global carbon dioxide concentrations. This project organized and supported a major US oceanographic research expedition that sampled the South Pacific and Southern Oceans for a range of trace metals that play important roles as nutrients, toxic elements (such as mercury), and also tracers of ocean circulation and other processes. This project successfully executed a 55-day research cruise on the R/V Roger Revelle, supporting the logistics of ship preparationsampling needs of nearly 20 other NSF-funded research projects and 35 shipboard scientists. Project scientists collected hydrographic data (such as ocean temperature and salinity, nutrient concentrations, and pigments) that have been used to characterize the ocean currents and water masses that were sampled, as well as the phytoplankton libing in them. Additionally, as part of the Broader Impacts for this project, project scientists created a Virtual Reality oceanographic experience that allows students and the general audience to understand what it is like to work in the open ocean and collect metal samples without introducing contamination from the ship or sampling equipment. This Virtual Reality product is available for use on a computer interface (e.g. in the classroom) or downloadable to any Virtual Reality goggles. Data from this project have been contributed to global datasets that are publicly available for all to understand the structure and function of the ocean in this remote and undersampled region that plays a key role through its unique water masses in supporting productivity in other ocean areas.

Last Modified: 10/01/2026
Modified by: Jessica N Fitzsimmons