Management and Implementation of US GEOTRACES GP17 Section: South Pacific and Southern Ocean (GP17-OCE)

DESCRIPTION: The South Pacific Gyre and Pacific sector of the Southern Ocean play critical roles in global water mass circulation and associated global transfer of heat, carbon, and nutrients, but they are chronically understudied for TEIs due to their remote locale. These are regions of strong, dynamic fronts where sub-surface water masses upwell and subduct, and biological and chemical processes in these zones determine nutrient stoichiometries and tracer concentrations in waters exported to lower latitudes. The Pacific sector represents an end member of extremely low external TEI surface fluxes and thus an important region to constrain inputs from the rapidly-changing Antarctic continent. Compared to other ocean basins, TEI cycling in these regions is thought to be dominated by internal cycling processes such as biological uptake, regeneration, and scavenging, and these are poorly represented in global ocean models. The cruise will enable funded investigators to address research questions such as: 1) what are relative rates of external TEI fluxes to this region, including dust, sediment, hydrothermal, and cryospheric fluxes? 2) What are the (micro) nutrient regimes that support productivity, and what impacts do biomass accumulation, export, and regeneration have on TEI cycling and stoichiometries of exported material? 3) What are TEI and nutrient stoichiometries of subducting water masses, and how do scavenging and regeneration impact these during transport northward? This management project has several objectives: 1) plan and coordinate a 55-day research cruise in 2021-2022; 2) use both conventional and trace-metal ‘clean’ sampling systems to obtain TEI samples, as well as facilitate sampling for atmospheric aerosols and large volume particles and radionuclides; 3) acquire hydrographic data and samples for salinity, dissolved oxygen, algal pigments, and macro-nutrients; and deliver these data to relevant repositories; 4) ensure that proper QA/QC protocols, as well as GEOTRACES intercalibration protocols, are followed and reported; 5) prepare the final cruise report to be posted with data; 6) coordinate between all funded cruise investigators, as well as with leaders of proposed GP17-ANT cruise; and 7) conduct broader impact efforts that will engage the public in oceanographic research using immersive technology. The motivations for, and at-sea challenges of this work will be communicated to the general public through creation of immersive 360/Virtual Reality experiences, via a collaboration with the Texas A&M University Visualization LIVE Lab. Through Virtual Reality, users will experience firsthand what life and TEI data collection at sea entail. Virtual reality/digital games and 360° experiences will be distributed through GEOTRACES outreach websites, through PI engagement with local schools, libraries, STEM summer camps, and adult service organizations, and through a collaboration with the National Academy of Sciences.