Table of Contents

• Dataset Description
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

CTD profile data - EN496

BCO-DMO Processing Notes
Original file: "EN496-profiles.xls.zip" contributed by Joseph Montoya
- Header records generated
- Parameter names edited to conform to BCO-DMO parameter naming conventions

From the NSF proposal abstract
This project will study the interplay of physical, chemical, and biological factors in supplying nitrogen, an essential nutrient, to temperate coastal and offshore waters of the Gulf of Mexico. The Gulf is an economically important but understudied marginal sea with major commercial and recreational fisheries as well as extensive fossil fuel deposits. Diazotrophic (N2-fixing) cyanobacteria bloom regularly in offshore and coastal waters of the Gulf and the limited data suggest that they contribute significant quantities of both nitrogen and carbon to the pelagic food web. These diazotrophs may play also a critical role in supplying N to other organisms, including the ichthyotoxic red tide dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Despite its importance, little is currently known of the factors that promote N2-fixation in the Gulf or the relative significance of different physical and biological processes in creating conditions that favor N limitation in the water column. The Gulf of Mexico is strongly influenced by both riverine inputs and advective processes, providing an excellent model system for studying nutrient dynamics, physical forcing of productivity, terrestrial-oceanic linkages, and the potential impact of land use and climate change on marine ecosystems.

The relatively small basin of the Gulf of Mexico provides an opportunity to quantify and study interactions among physical, chemical, and biological processes relevant to a broad range of other coastal and oceanic systems. Land-use and climate change are likely to affect the circulation and hydrography of the Gulf, as well as the magnitude and nature of riverine inputs, all with uncertain impacts on the biogeochemistry of the Gulf of Mexico. This research will provide timely insights into these processes and will generate a baseline of understanding for evaluating and predicting the impact of future land use and climate changes in the system. This project will make an important contribution to our understanding of the factors that regulate N2-fixation and its role in supporting the biota in temperate waters. The following specific goals are included in the work:

1. Identify the major diazotroph groups in the Gulf of Mexico and characterize their distribution and activity in different regions and water masses.

2. Quantify the impact of advective processes, mesoscale features, and riverine inputs on nutrient limitation and N2-fixation in the Gulf, and evaluate the controls on N2-fixation and the degree of spatial and temporal niche differentiation among diazotroph assemblages in different regions affected by these processes.

3. Use satellite data and physical models to scale up our measurements spatially and to evaluate the regional significance of N2-fixation in the Gulf of Mexico. The researchers will also use a coupled physical/biological model to explore variability in the physical forcing and the potential impact of likely land use and climate change scenarios in altering nutrient dynamics and N2-fixation in the Gulf of Mexico.

The investigators and their institutions have a strong commitment to undergraduate and graduate education. This project includes support for graduate students, a technician, and undergraduates. In addition to peer-reviewed papers and websites, workshops aimed at K-12 teachers, and a program involving high school teachers in research will be used to disseminate the results of this project broadly in the local community. The investigators are committed to increasing the diversity of the ocean science community and are active in recruiting and training efforts at their institutions.

GOM - Broader Impacts
The need to understand the impact of this largest oil spill to date on ecosystems and biochemical cycling is self evident. The consequences of the disaster and accompanying clean up measures (e.g. the distribution of dispersants) need to be evaluated to guide further mediating measures and to develop and improve responses to similar disasters in the future. Would it be advantageous if such oil aggregates sink, or should it rather remain suspended? Possibly measures can be developed to enhance sinking or suspension (e.g. addition of ballast minerals) once we understand their current formation and fate. Understanding the particle dynamics following the input of large amounts of oil and dispersants into the water is a prerequisite to develop response strategies for now and in the future.

The Ocean Carbon and Biogeochemistry (OCB) program focuses on the ocean's role as a component of the global Earth system, bringing together research in geochemistry, ocean physics, and ecology that inform on and advance our understanding of ocean biogeochemistry. The overall program goals are to promote, plan, and coordinate collaborative, multidisciplinary research opportunities within the U.S. research community and with international partners. Important OCB-related activities currently include: the Ocean Carbon and Climate Change (OCCC) and the North American Carbon Program (NACP); U.S. contributions to IMBER, SOLAS, CARBOOCEAN; and numerous U.S. single-investigator and medium-size research projects funded by U.S. federal agencies including NASA, NOAA, and NSF.

The scientific mission of OCB is to study the evolving role of the ocean in the global carbon cycle, in the face of environmental variability and change through studies of marine biogeochemical cycles and associated ecosystems.

The overarching OCB science themes include improved understanding and prediction of: 1) oceanic uptake and release of atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases and 2) environmental sensitivities of biogeochemical cycles, marine ecosystems, and interactions between the two.

The OCB Research Priorities (updated January 2012) include: ocean acidification; terrestrial/coastal carbon fluxes and exchanges; climate sensitivities of and change in ecosystem structure and associated impacts on biogeochemical cycles; mesopelagic ecological and biogeochemical interactions; benthic-pelagic feedbacks on biogeochemical cycles; ocean carbon uptake and storage; and expanding low-oxygen conditions in the coastal and open oceans.