Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/L012855/1
UK contribution to the international Bio-Argo Network.
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr G Dall'Olmo, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth Marine Lab
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor TJ Smyth, Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth Marine Lab
- Grant held at:
- Plymouth Marine Laboratory, Plymouth Marine Lab
- Science Area:
- Atmospheric
- Earth
- Freshwater
- Marine
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Marine
- ENRIs:
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Climate & Climate Change
- Survey & Monitoring
- Biogeochemical Cycles
- Optics - Light Scattering
- Lasers & Optics
- Light Scattering
- Optical Phenomena
- Abstract:
- Despite its importance in regulating the climate and sustaining life on Earth, the ocean is a largely under sampled and unknown ecosystem. This ignorance is preventing us from accurately predicting how ocean biology and biogeochemical cycles will respond to the ongoing climate warming. Observations are key to understanding. Satellite data have revealed previously unknown mechanisms, but are limited because they can only detect surface processes and estimate a limited set of biogeochemical parameters. Ship measurements can overcome these limitations, but are constrained by extremely high costs and thus severely limited in spatio-temporal coverage. A network of Bio-Argo floats will complement satellite and ship measurements and synergistically allow us to monitor biogeochemical variables over sustained periods of time. For the first time, scientists will be able to exploit sustained observations to understand biogeochemical processes occurring in the deeper layers of the water column. The first Bio-Argo floats are already fundamentally changing our understanding of ocean biology and biogeochemistry (Bishop et al., 2002, 2004; Riser and Johnson, 2008; Johnson et al., 2010; Boss and Behrenfeld, 2010). This new understanding, in turn, will improve ocean biogeochemical models and long term predictions of the feedbacks between ocean biogeochemical cycles and Earth Climate. Improved predictions will then inform policies. As such, the requested assets will boost NERC's science on marine ecosystems, global biogeochemical cycles and Earth's climate predictions. The ability to sustain biogeochemical observations in the Atlantic ocean over time and space will expand the scope of the Atlantic Meridional Transect (AMT) cruise. In addition, the new data on vertically-resolved biogeochemical variables and rates will naturally feed into NERC supported biogeochemical modelling and data assimilation activities. Finally, the novel data will significantly complement existing NCEO activities on ocean colour remote sensing by allowing us to extend the surface satellite data into three-dimensional observation fields. The Plymouth Marine Laboratory hosts recognized international experts in marine optics and its application to ocean biology and biogeochemistry. This knowledge will be fundamental to assess the quality and interpret the bio-optical data collected by Bio-Argo floats and will be used to convert the optical proxies into biogeochemically relevant variables that will be distributed to the wider UK and international communities.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/L012855/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- Directed (RP) - NR1
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- Big Data
This grant award has a total value of £502,291
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | DI - Equipment |
|---|---|
| £33,511 | £468,780 |
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