Award: OCE-1654663

The ocean plays a vital role in regulating Earth’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. A key part of this process is the biological carbon pump, in which microscopic organisms in the surface ocean—such as plankton—convert carbon into organic matter that can sink to the deep sea. Understanding the patterns and drivers of this carbon transfer is essential for predicting how the ocean will respond to a changing climate.

This project used high-resolution imaging technology called the Underwater Vision Profiler (UVP) to study the abundance, types, and sizes of marine particles and zooplankton along multiple transects of the global ocean. From 2017 to 2023, the research team deployed the UVP on five U.S. GO-SHIP repeat hydrography cruises, covering the Atlantic, Pacific, Southern, and Indian Oceans. The instrument captured millions of images of particles and plankton from the ocean surface to depths of over 5,000 meters.

The project’s scientific findings revealed how seasonal blooms of microscopic algae at the ocean surface can lead to carbon-rich particles that sink into the deep sea, and how zooplankton grazing and repackaging of these particles in the mid-depth ocean affects the efficiency of carbon transfer. Results showed that this transformation can occur weeks to months after a bloom, and that regional features like ocean fronts and seamounts can act as “hotspots” for particle export. These insights improve our understanding of ocean carbon cycling and inform climate models and global carbon budget assessments.

A key outcome of the project was its contribution to the growing global dataset of underwater images of marine particles and plankton captured by the UVP. These datasets are accessible via the interactive web platform Ecotaxa, and have been published in the PANGAEA and Biological and Chemical Oceanography Data Management Office (BCO-DMO) data repositories, making them freely available to scientists, educators, and students. These global datasets are unlocking new insights into the ocean’s biological geography and carbon flux dynamics, and will serve as valuable historical baselines for tracking change in the ocean.

Additionally, the project supported the development of a public exhibit at the Alaska SeaLife Center, focused on zooplankton and their role in global ocean processes. An independent evaluation found that 85% of visitor groups engaged with the exhibit, and many reported increased awareness of ocean life and its relevance to climate regulation.

This CAREER award successfully integrated scientific discovery, education, and public outreach. It advanced our understanding of the ocean’s biological carbon pump, trained the next generation of oceanographers, and created lasting resources for both the scientific community and the broader public.

 

Last Modified: 05/07/2025
Modified by: Andrew M McDonnell