O2C-floats

O2C-floats

Characterization of oceanic primary production is key to characterize the carbon cycle and determine the metabolic state of global oceans over time and space. However, our current understanding of productivity patterns is limited to sparse bottle incubations and satellite models, both of which are known to be biased and inaccurate. We propose to estimate daily rates of production and respiration by particles over a full seasonal cycle using high frequency measurements of oxygen and optical proxies for carbon concentration. We will deploy several autonomous profiling floats equipped with state of the art instruments. These will remain at sea for ~ 1 year, supporting validation of satellite estimates of production across biomes dominated by different ecosystem characteristics. We will conduct ship-based experiments to identify drivers of the spatial temporal patterns in production and respiration. These efforts address the critical need for in situ estimates of production and respiration to better understand the ocean’s food web and biological pump.