PRINCIPAL 



INVESTIGATOR(S) Douglas W.R. Wallace 



Oceanographic and Atmospheric Sciences Division 

 Department of Applied Science 

 Brookhaven National Laboratory 

 Upton, NY 11973 



PROJECT TITLE FOOD CHAIN DYNAMICS 



AMOUNT OF FUNDING FY 1994: $194 K 



SUMMARY OF GOALS 



A. Provide a basic description of the inorganic carbon, oxygen and nutrient distributions in the 

 OMP Study Area. Goal is to contribute data for validation of a seasonal, shelf-wide model of 

 inorganic carbon cycling. 



B. Determine the feasibility of using multiple correlations between inorganic carbon and/or 

 nutrients with physical/chemical parameters that can be measured in situ from moorings and/or 

 TOYO/SeaSoar systems in order to estimate high frequency variability and fluxes of key 

 biogeochemical species within the OMP study area. One goal is to determine whether dense 

 mooring arrays and high-frequency (e.g. days or less) measurements can be used to infer carbon 

 transformations from measurements of the local convergence or divergence of inorganic carbon 

 and other nutrients based on proxy measurements. Another is to utilize TOYO/SeaSoar data in 

 order to provide robust estimates of the inventories of oxygen and inorganic carbon within a 

 limited area in order to estimate low-frequency (e.g. seasonal) temporal inventory changes and 

 hence infer net carbon transformations. 



C. Support the calibration and implementation of a moored measurement program for dissolved 

 gases: particularly oxygen, nitrogen and C0 2 . Goal is to support and validate measurements of 

 the Moored Sensing Systems program (C. Wirick, PI). 



SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL SAMPLING SCALES 



Alongshore Survey: A minimum of four alongshore dissolved inorganic carbon surveys of the 

 entire Mid-Atlantic Bight should be conducted. These need not necessarily be conducted in a 

 single year; however, seasonal coverage is important. At least seven cross-shelf transects should 

 be occupied from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras with >8 stations per transect, extending from the 

 nearshore to the 1500m isobath. Samples should be collected every 5- 10m in the vertical within 



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