Abstract:
International cooperative global and basin scale physical oceanographic measurement programs such as ARGO and TOGA/TOA have enabled rapid enhancements to global circulation models and understanding ocean atmospheric coupling. The‘permanent’nature of these programs allows individuals and teams of researchers to mine the data at relatively low cost to elicit further understanding of consequential (e.g. heat transport) or secondary (e.g. turbulence structures) processes.
Over the time that these physical oceanographic programs have developed and matured, the technology to measure biological and geochemical parameters has also developed. The current generation of biogeochemical sensors has matured to the point that sustained reliable measurements of critical parameters of the global carbon cycle can be made on the same scale as the physical parameters.
The range of the biogeochemical sensors is wide and compelling. Dissolved oxygen sensors for the measurement of net community production and respiration, chlorophyll fluorescence and absorption for measurement of phytoplankton abundance and community succession dynamics, backscattering and attenuation for the measurement of particle mass concentration, size distribution and particle dynamics, nutrients, particularly nitrate, that drive production in the photic zone and in the expanding low oxygen zones record microbial activity through denitrification, and the light field that provides the energy to drive the entire system.
Active efforts are now underway to leverage these new capabilities to provide a broader operational capabilities. Emerging technologies promise even broader capabilities by measuring pH, pCO2and carbon flux parameters.
These sensors provide the capability to unlock new understanding of the oceans, and perhaps most critically the ocean’s role in climate and global carbon cycling.
The underlying technological soundness of these sensors and the platforms that allow for global scale measurements remains fundamental to achieving success. We present the perspective of an organization that is a technology driver; developing and manufacturing the sensors and platforms that continually improve our ability to measure and monitor on a global scale.
报告人简介：
Nordeen (Norge) Larson has a PhD in Ocean Physics from the University of Washington, and has been developing and improving instruments at Sea-Bird Electronics for 25 years, with the last 8 years as President. His areas of expertise include ocean instrument development, measurement methods, calibration and metrology methods, and instrument error analysis. Norge has extensive sea-going experience, and maintains strong ties with the oceanographic community.
