Project: Rapid, Autonomous Particle Flux Observations in the Oligotrophic Ocean

Particles settling into the deep ocean remove carbon and biologically-important trace elements from sunlit, productive surface waters and from contact with the atmosphere over short timescales. A shifting balance among physical, chemical, and biological processes determines the ultimate fate of most particles at depths between 100 and 1,000 m, where fluxes are hardest to measure. Our challenge is to expand the number of particle flux observations in the critical "twilight zone", something that has proven elusive with ship-based “snapshots” that have lengths of, at most, a few weeks. Here, we propose an optical, transmissometer-based method to make particle flux observations from autonomous, biogeochemical profiling floats. Novel developments in data interpretation, sensor operation, and platform control now allow flux measurements at hourly resolution and give us observational access to the water-column processes driving particle flux over short timescales. The sensors and float platforms that we propose to use are simple, robust, and commercially-available, making them immediately compatible with community-scale efforts to implement other float-based biogeochemical measurements.

We have two main goals:  First, we will quantify particulate organic carbon (POC) flux using float-based optical measurements by validating our observations against fluxes measured directly with neutrally-buoyant, drifting sediment traps. Second, we will evaluate the contribution of rapid export events to total POC fluxes in the oligotrophic ocean by using a biogeochemical profiling float to collect nearly-continuous, depth-resolved flux measurements and coupled, water-column bio-optical profiles. 

To achieve these goals, we will implement a work plan consisting of 1) a set of laboratory-based sensor calibration experiments to determine detection limits and evaluate sensitivity to particle size; 2) a series of four sediment trap and biogeochemical float co-deployments during which we will collect POC flux and field calibration data; and 3) a long-term sampling and analysis period (approximately 1 year) during which data will be returned by satellite from the biogeochemical float. We will conduct calibration fieldwork in conjunction with monthly Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) cruises, taking advantage of the timeseries measurements and the context provided by the 25-year record of POC flux at that site. The data returned by the float will comprise the first quantitative particle flux observations made at high-enough temporal resolution to interpret in the context of short-term, upper-ocean production events.