Table of Contents

• Coverage
• Dataset Description
  • Methods & Sampling
  • Data Processing Description
• Data Files
• Related Publications
• Related Datasets
• Parameters
• Instruments
• Deployments
• Project Information
• Program Information
• Funding

Sample collection: The Sargasso Sea and coastal Rhode Island (USA) samples were collected from 30-liter Niskin bottles secured to a CTD rosette. Samples were collected during the EN589 cruise aboard the R/V Endeavor from September 16 to October 15, 2016. Dr. David Kieber was the chief scientist for this cruise. Rolling Deck to Repository (R2R) data for EN589 can be found at http://www.rvdata.us/catalog/EN589

Samples from a Mo'orea coral reef and Pacific Ocean station (located ~2 kilometers beyond the coral reef) were collected in 2-liter opaque high-density polypropylene bottles aboard a small research boat moored at the Gump Research station. Sampling was between April 6 and April 24, 2018. Details regarding sampling should be directed to Dr. David Kieber.

Sample storage: Seawater samples from the surface were collected in 30-liter (L) Niskin bottles attached to a CTD rosette during the 2016 R/V Endeavor (EN589) Atlantic cruise or in pre-cleaned opaque polypropylene bottles by hand during the 2018 Mo'orea field trip. Following collection, water samples were gravity filtered through precleaned 0.2-micrometer (µm) pore-size POLYCAP 75 AS Nylon filters into precleaned 4 L Qorpak glass bottles. All Qorpak bottles were then filled with minimum headspace (ca. 5 milliliters (mL)), sealed tightly, and stored in the dark at 4 degrees Celsius until use for irradiation experiments.

Apparent quantum yield(AQY) method: A monochromatic irradiation system was used to determine wavelength- and temperature-dependent AQYs for the photochemical production of acrylate in 0.2 µm-filtered seawater at selected wavelengths from 290 to 400 nanometers (nm). See Zhu and Kieber (2018) for detailed setups. Briefly, for each AQY experiment, 25 mL of 0.2-μm filtered, air-saturated seawater was pipetted into a 5-centimeter (cm) pathlength, rectangular quartz cell and sealed with a Teflon-lined screw-top cap with no headspace. The filled quartz cell was placed in the sample chamber and the sample temperature inside the cell was controlled by a recirculating glycol-water bath. Parallel dark controls were obtained by blocking the incoming radiation. All irradiated samples and dark controls were continuously stirred during the experiment. For each water sample, triplicate irradiations were conducted at each wavelength, except for the duplicate irradiations at 360 nm. The photon flux in each AQY experiment was determined using nitrite actinometry (Jankowski et al. 1999) in a separate 5 cm quartz cell. The photon flux in the quartz cell was calculated using the procedure outlined in Kieber et al. (2007).

BCO-DMO Processing:
- converted dates to YYYY-MM-DD format;
- made longitude values negative to comply with BCO-DMO conventions (where East longitude is positive);
- renamed fields to comply with BCO-DMO naming conventions.

NSF Award Abstract:

This project would investigate the marine chemistry of the compound acrylate. Acrylate is a mostly overlooked by-product of a very well-studied process through which a compound known as DMSP (dimethylsulfoniopropionate), a compound produced by phytoplankton, is converted to the gas dimethylsulfide (known as DMS). This process is an important part of understanding the marine cycling of sulfur, and DMS plays a role in cloud formation and climate. Thus, these aspects of the conversion of DMSP to DMS have received considerable attention. On the other hand, very little is known about acrylate concentrations, fluxes, or impacts in the oceans, even though it is produced during the conversion of DMSP to DMS. Acrylate concentrations and fluxes should at times be substantial, especially in shallow-water coral reefs or during blooms of DMSP-rich phytoplankton that are common throughout the world's oceans and often harmful or toxic. It is likely that acrylate is a reactive form of marine organic matter that significantly impacts the carbon cycle and ecology of the upper ocean. This project will foster research and educational opportunities for undergraduates and one graduate student through several avenues including field work with international collaborators, attendance at national and local meetings, mentoring, preparing for and delivering college-level lectures, and presentations made to the general public at forums such as Syracuse's Milton J. Rubenstein Museum of Science. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, media communications, web-based data bases, and presentations at scientific meetings, public forums and in the classroom.

A three-year project is proposed to study the effect of sunlight on the formation and loss of acrylate in seawater, to model these processes in the water column, and to determine if photoproduction and photolysis are important pathways in the marine acrylate cycle in a shallow-water coral reef. Four objectives are planned to carry out this research: (1) synthesize radiocarbon-labeled DMSP as a source of radiocarbon-labeled acrylate for photolysis and uptake studies; (2) conduct laboratory experiments using a solar simulator to study the photolysis and photoproduction of acrylate in water and seawater under varying conditions (e.g., pH, temperature, oxygen concentration); (3) determine temperature and wavelength-dependent quantum yields for acrylate photolysis and acrylate photoproduction in seawater using a monochromatic irradiation system; and (4) conduct a field study at the Richard Gump Research Station to determine rates of photolysis, photoproduction and microbial consumption of acrylate in a shallow-water coral reef.

The Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study (SOLAS) program is designed to enable researchers from different disciplines to interact and investigate the multitude of processes and interactions between the coupled ocean and atmosphere.

Oceanographers and atmospheric scientists are working together to improve understanding of the fate, transport, and feedbacks of climate relevant compounds, and also weather and hazards that are affected by processes at the surface ocean.

Oceanographers and atmospheric scientists are working together to improve understanding of the fate, transport, and feedbacks of climate relevant compounds.

Physical, chemical, and biological research near the ocean-atmosphere interface must be performed in synergy to extend our current knowledge to adequately understand and forecast changes on short and long time frames and over local and global spatial scales.

The findings obtained from SOLAS are used to improve knowledge at process scale that will lead to better quantification of fluxes of climate relevant compounds such as CO2, sulfur and nitrogen compounds, hydrocarbons and halocarbons, as well as dust, energy and momentum. This activity facilitates a fundamental understanding to assist the societal needs for climate change, environmental health, weather prediction, and national security.

The US SOLAS program is a component of the International SOLAS program where collaborations are forged with investigators around the world to examine SOLAS issues ubiquitous to the world's oceans and atmosphere.

» International SOLAS Web site

Science Implementation Strategy Reports

US-SOLAS (4 MB PDF file)
Other SOLAS reports are available for download from the US SOLAS Web site