In-Situ Biological Carbon Fluxes in the Pacific Ocean

The goal of the project is to take advantage of two timely opportunities for studying carbon cycling in the Pacific Ocean, triple oxygen isotope analysis and transit time distributions in conjunction with sulfur hexafluoride (SF6) and chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) measurements. These data will be used to determine oxygen (and carbon) cycling by computing in-situ depth-integrated oxygen utilization rates from a recent two-tracer TTD approach, and comparing these with oxygen production rates implied by the 17�?? and O2/Ar balance in the mixed layer. Comparison of the decadal mean C-cycling rates from the thermocline with the ~ weekly rates determined in the mixed layer will provide important insights into each approach, and will provide important benchmarks for efforts to quantify oceanic C-cycling rates from chlorophyll sensed from satellites.