To gain insight into the complex processes 

 governing particle fluxes over continental margins, 

 COMFS will construct next-generation models of 

 nutrient supply, primary production and utilization, 

 and flux. These will be related to observations over 

 continental margins to answer such questions as what 

 fraction of locally produced carbon is retained in con- 

 tinental slope sediments and what fraction of the mas- 

 sive nutrient supply by upwelling along both East and 

 West Coasts is utilized in the shelf-slope region. 



The detailed studies off the U.S. coasts will be 

 compared with other prototype locations such as 

 equatorial continental margins, polar margins, and 

 coasts subject to massive freshwater input such as the 

 Alaska Shelf, East China Sea, and Brazilian Shelf. A 

 worldwide budget of carbon and nutrients for the 

 various continental margins will be developed by an in- 

 teragency GOFS team and the fluxes to the deep ocean 

 will be quantified to provide the boundary conditions 

 for a global ocean flux model. 



Instrumentation Development 



With DOE's support, our grantees have 

 developed innovative instruments that have provided 

 new insights into oceanographic processes. For ex- 

 ample, DOE has taken the lead in developing a 



moored fluorometer, a delayed double flash 

 fluorometer capable of measuring primary produc- 

 tivity in realtime; an attachment to the acoustic Dop- 

 pler current profiling system for estimating 

 zooplankton biomass in situ when determining cur- 

 rents; and moored oxygen sensors that have provided 

 insight into the coupling between oxidation and reduc- 

 tion reactions on the continental shelf. In addition, 

 DOE has applied realtime satellite thermal and color 

 imagery in studying primary productivity in boundary 

 current upwelling events. 



Beyond these, there is a large potential for in- 

 creasing our understanding through such instruments 

 as moored nutrient sensors, automated particle 

 analyzers, high precision optical emission 

 spectrometers, and towed conductivity, temperature, 

 and density (CTD) systems. The development of such 

 new instrumentation for enhanced research on global 

 ocean studies is essential for better, more effective un- 

 derstanding of oceanographic processes. 



The COMFS program is designed to provide sig- 

 nificant contributions in understanding biogeochemi- 

 cal cycles both in ocean systems and in the overall 

 global picture. A draft plan of the COMFS program 

 may be obtained by writing to the Ecological Research 

 Division at the address given in the Preface. 



Coastal Ocean Margins Program 



19 



December 1988 



