Embedded Files
About
EXPORTS is a massive undertaking funded by NASA and NSF to study carbon cycling in the Earth's oceans. Scientists from across the globe are measuring the stocks and rates of carbon transfer in the ocean. The first field campaign was held in 2018 in the North Pacific Ocean at Ocean Station PAPA. The second field campaign is taking place in May of 2021 near the Porcupine Abyssal Plain (PAP) in the North Atlantic Ocean.
To learn more about the EXPORTS project, visit www.oceanexports.org/about.html and follow @NASAEarth, @NASAOcean, and @PAPObservatory on Twitter for updates.
Tracking carbon in the ocean. Each arrow represents a transfer of carbon. Image from oceanexports.org
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at equilibrium with carbon dioxide in the ocean. Algae, or phytoplankton, turn carbon dioxide into organic matter in a process called carbon fixation. EXPORTS studies the transfer of this organic matter in the ocean: how much is created, how much is used as a food or energy source, how much is converted back to carbon dioxide through respiration of microbes and small animals, and how much of this carbon sinks or is exported to the depths of the ocean.
The figure above looks complex at first, so we have science teams that focus on the processes at each of those arrows AND teams that study the physical properties of the ocean too (currents, temperature, how the water mass moves and mixes). The Process Ship floats along with the ocean current, attempting to measure the chemical and biological processes in one water mass. The Survey Ship zig-zags back and forth around the process ship, surveying the ocean's physical properties, among other things. They use underwater gliders, floats, and sensors to create a profile of the water column.
Fluorescent microscopy image of phytoplankton and bacteria.
Image courtesy of Sierra Parker.
My Role
My job is the bacteria arrow. Our lab studies the role of bacteria in marine ecosystems, asking questions such as, "Who's there?" and "What are they doing?". We filter seawater to collect some of the billions of microbes present in the water. Then, back on land, we extract their DNA and RNA, and sequence it, enabling us to "read" the genetic information of those cells. This tells us who was present in the microbial community and what their metabolic function was at the time.
Microbial community sketch with zooplankton, phytoplankton, bacteria, and viruses.
I also use sensors to measure how much the microbial community breathes or respires. When bacteria consume organic matter, some of their food is used to grow and build biomass, and some is used to make energy to sustain their metabolism. This results in some carbon from their food being lost as carbon dioxide. Just like you breathe in oxygen, eat food, and breathe out carbon dioxide, so do bacteria! I use fiberoptic sensors to measure how much oxygen the microbes breathe in and calculate how much carbon dioxide they breathe out.
Boats move. I prefer my sensors don't. Here, I've used a 3D printer at UNC's BeAM to make a holder (blue) that will secure the sensor to my bottles of seawater.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse