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Project details
| Title: | Natural Iron Fertilisation of the Southern Ocean: Linking terrestrial dust and bushfires to marine biogeochemistry |
| Id: | 2649 |
| Investigator(s): | Andrew Bowie
University of Tasmania [details] |
| Description: | This project will extend an integrated ship‐based atmospheric observational program on RV Investigator that has been in operation on voyages in the Southern Ocean south of Australia since 2016. Shipboard observational data acquired in this project on the trace element composition of aerosol particles will be combined with ongoing land-based time-series measurements led by the Project PI, to support research to quantify the importance of the deposition of iron‐rich aerosols from Australia into surface ocean waters and how they impact marine biogeochemistry and ocean ecosystem health. The project will sample and conduct experiments on atmospheric particles containing terrestrial dust and bushfire smoke that are transported south from Australia to the Southern Ocean. The observational data from this project will be shared with atmospheric and ocean modelling colleagues in Japan and the United Kingdom to optimise model predictions of the land–atmosphere–ocean iron cycle in the Southern Ocean using new parameterisations normalised for contemporary southern hemisphere conditions. Project outputs include provision of the critical information on atmospheric iron deposition for ocean fertility and health, providing the science for predicting a key factor in the future impact of the oceans on climate. Project outcomes include provision of a scientific basis for managing the complex role of iron in sustaining marine ecosystem biodiversity and for informing government policy on ocean fertilisation as a carbon mitigation strategy. The application supports the training and research of a postgraduate student from IMAS‐UTAS. |
| Years: | 2025 |
List of surveys that this project was on. Click on column header to sort.
Use [details] link to view survey details (map, reports, metadata etc) including links to download data.
| Survey | Investigator | Description |
|---|---|---|
| IN2025_V03 [details] |
Ruhi Humphries | The World Meteorological Organization’s (WMO) Global Atmosphere Watch (GAW) program consists of an observational network charged with understanding the increasing influence of human activity on the global atmosphere. The kennaook / Cape Grim Baseline Air Pollution Station (KCGBAPS), measuring the Southern Ocean’s atmosphere from the northwest tip of Tasmania, is one of three premier global GAW stations. By utilising the mobility of the RV Investigator (RVI), the world’s first mobile GAW station, both stations can be compared directly and data quality improved and validated. This high-quality observational data feeds directly into improving both regional and global climate, air quality and Earth System models. This project aims to: 1. Directly compare two world-leading WMO-GAW stations, the RVI and the KCGBAPS – a global first. This will include validating the RVI’s full suite of atmospheric measurements and sampling systems against complementary measurements at the KCGBAPS, improving data quality for all locations visited by the vessel. 2. Validate how representative measurements of atmospheric composition and boundary layer structure at the KCGBAPS is of the broader Southern Ocean. 3. Provide improved characterisation of atmospheric structure and composition to inform and improve earth system, climate, air quality and smoke forecasting models. 4. Determine the best boundary conditions for air quality modelling over Australia by improving our understanding of Southern Ocean and Cape Grim baseline concentrations of a range of trace atmospheric constituents. |
| IN2025_V02 [details] |
Elizabeth Shadwick | The primary objective is to first deploy a new set of SOTS moorings (SOFS-14 and SAZ-27) and then recover the existing SOTS moorings (SOFS-13, and SAZ-26). Each of the SOTS moorings deliver to specific aspects of the atmosphere-ocean exchanges: • the SAZ sediment trap mooring collects samples to quantify the transfer of carbon and other nutrients to the ocean interior by sinking particles and investigate their ecological controls. • the Southern Ocean Flux Station (SOFS) mooring measures meteorological and ocean properties important to air-sea exchanges, ocean stratification, waves, currents and biological productivity and ecosystem structure. Water samples are collected for more detailed nutrient and plankton investigations after recovery. Ancillary work will obtain supporting information on atmospheric and oceanographic conditions using CTD casts, and underway measurements. 1. Deploy SOFS-14 meteorology/biogeochemistry mooring 2. Deploy SAZ-27 sediment trap mooring 3. Recover SOFS-13 meteorology/biogeochemistry mooring 4. Recover SAZ-26 sediment trap mooring 5. CTD sampling (3 cast to 4550m, 2 to 600m) at the SOTS site, including collecting samples for nutrients, oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon, alkalinity, and eDNA analyses 6. Ship meteorological observations at SOFS buoys for comparisons 7. Deployment of BGC-Argo Float (with additional UVP sensor recently refurbished after the SOLACE float was recovered). 8. Recovery of ACC-SWOT mooring at 55S site (deployed on the FOCUS IN2023_V07 voyage). 9. Deployment of BoM drifters at site of ACC-SWOT mooring recovery; CTD cast for post-calibration of recovered sensors. 10. Carry out underway air and water sampling and sensor measurements, including bio-optics and bio-acoustics |