Award Abstract # 0432616
Equipment Supplement for the Cariaco Ocean Time Series

NSF Org: OCE
Division Of Ocean Sciences
Recipient: SOUTH CAROLINA RESEARCH FOUNDATION
Initial Amendment Date: August 3, 2004
Latest Amendment Date: August 3, 2004
Award Number: 0432616
Award Instrument: Standard Grant
Program Manager: Donald L. Rice
OCE
 Division Of Ocean Sciences
GEO
 Directorate for Geosciences
Start Date: September 1, 2004
End Date: August 31, 2006 (Estimated)
Total Intended Award Amount: $35,551.00
Total Awarded Amount to Date: $35,551.00
Funds Obligated to Date: FY 2004 = $35,551.00
History of Investigator:
  • Robert Thunell (Principal Investigator)
    thunell@geol.sc.edu
Recipient Sponsored Research Office: University South Carolina Research Foundation
915 BULL ST
COLUMBIA
SC  US  29208-4009
(803)777-7093
Sponsor Congressional District: 06
Primary Place of Performance: University of South Carolina at Columbia
1600 HAMPTON ST
COLUMBIA
SC  US  29208-3403
Primary Place of Performance
Congressional District:
06
Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): ELBVJ1KYX976
Parent UEI:
NSF Program(s): Chemical Oceanography
Primary Program Source: app-0104 
Program Reference Code(s): 1389, EGCH
Program Element Code(s): 167000
Award Agency Code: 4900
Fund Agency Code: 4900
Assistance Listing Number(s): 47.050

ABSTRACT

ABSTRACT

OCE 0432616

The Cariaco oceanographic time series program collects systematic oceanographic measurements at 10'30N 64'40'W in order to understand the interrelationships between changes in climate, hydrography and sediment production and accumulation in Cariaco Basin. Cariaco is a 1,400-m deep depression on the Venezuelan continental margin that is openly connected to the surface Atlantic Ocean above a shallow (~140 m) sill. Because turnover of basin waters is slow (Deuser, 1973), decomposition of the sinking material leads to permanent anoxia below about 275 m. An excellent sediment record that is widely used to study Holocene and late Pleistocene changes in climate is preserved in this natural continental-shelf sediment trap. In this context, the Cariaco time series provides information on modern biogeochemical processes that will serve as a basis for accurately interpreting this sediment archive of climate change.

The recently funded continuation of the Cariaco project for an additional five years (2003- 2008) will yield (1) a time series of the variability of the upwelling of Subtropical Underwater in the Cariaco Basin, including lateral motion, and its impact on primary productivity and the vertical flux of particulate matter; (2) the first direct calibration and concurrent cross-reference of various proxies of sea surface temperature of the Cariaco Basin; (3) clarification of the relative importance of lateral transport and chemoautotrophy as sources of particulates, (4) an assessment of whether variability in the particle flux is driven primarily by local winds or by regional oceanographic processes at the scale of the Tropical Atlantic, and (5) an evaluation of whether changes in nutrient availability/limitation result in major ecosystem changes.

With funding through this small award, researchers from the University of South Carolina will purchase of an additional sediment trap and associated supplies. This sediment trap will be added to our existing array of four traps and will address the problem of not having a trap at a shallow enough depth (~150 m) to get an accurate estimate of export flux.

Broader Impacts: The Cariaco time series program has significant educational impact on students in the US and on students and scientists in the Caribbean and Latin America. Three PhD students at U.S. universities have completed their degrees working on the Cariaco Project and four more are currently involved in this study. The Venezuelan Ministry for Science and Technology considers CARIACO the most significant oceanographic research program ever conducted in Venezuela, and uses it as a model program to provide direction for funding in other disciplines.

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