Skidmore College

The Magnitude of Particulate Carbon Export From the Upper Ocean and Efficiency of Its Transfer Into the Interior Remains One of the Least Predictable Processes Influencing the Global Carbon Cycle. the Overarching Goal of the Exports Program Is to Develop Mechanistic Models Predicting the Strength and Efficiency of This Exported Carbon. a Central Requirement One Might Argue the Central Requirement of the Ambitious Set of Field Measurements Necessary to Develop Satellite-driven Models Is Accurate Measurement of Sinking Particle Fluxes and Their Biological and Chemical Compositions. These Measurements Must Be Embedded in a Broader Suite of Physical Biological and Optical Observations So a Second Requirement Is That the Team Quantifying Particle Flux Cooperates and Works Closely With the Broader Exports Science Team. Here We Propose a Hypothesis-driven Study of Particle Fluxes That Both Advances Our Understanding of the Ocean Biological Carbon Pump and Meets the Broader Program Goals Above. the Broad Hypothesis of the Exports Program Is That the Strength and Efficiency of the Biological Carbon Pump Can Be Predicted From Satellite Ocean Color Observations. Implicit in This Hypothesis Are a Number of Assumptions Which Must Be Tested. the Specific Hypotheses We Will Address Are 1) That the Biological Origin of the Particles Sinking Out of the Euphotic Zone Exerts Significant Control on Both the Magnitude of the Sinking Carbon Flux and Its Rate of Attenuation With Depth; and 2) That Temporal Variability in the Magnitude and Attenuation of Sinking Particle Flux Is Caused by Biological Processes.