Collaborative Research: Gas Hydrate Contribution to the Ross Sea Carbon Budget; Shallow Sediment to Water Column; Present and Future

合作研究：天然气水合物对罗斯海碳预算的贡献；

• 批准号: 2044453
• 负责人: Richard Coffin
• 金额: $ 108.29万
• 依托单位: Texas A&M University Corpus Christi
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2021
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2021-10-01 至 2024-09-30
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=2044453&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Gas; Hydrate; Contribution

Understanding climate change on Earth requires significant insight on geochemical and geobiological cycles in both polar regions and many environments in between. Methane is a major focus because of its substantial sediment loading and its high atmospheric heat absorption as a greenhouse gas. While the Arctic has been the primary climate change focus for studies on methane, the Antarctic’s Ross Sea, embedded with a vast ephemeral reservoir of carbon, has been recognized to have an extensive bottom ocean layer – sediment interface that is one of the most rapidly warming regions on Earth. New studies are needed to test the significance of potentially vast transitory gas hydrate carbon reservoirs present in the Ross Sea and provide a thorough assessment of methane reservoirs in the Southern Ocean. The focus on the Ross Sea is justified by recent drilling expeditions, which suggest a susceptibility of the Ross Sea to climatic fluctuations. This large carbon reserve appears to be sealed in the form of gas hydrate as evidenced by wide-spread seismic evidence. Intriguingly, recent recognition of similar seismic data indicates that this carbon reservoir has been underestimated due to carbon storage in deep sediment hydrates.The proposed project will serve as a foundation for improving both future simulations of oceanic carbon and the interpretation of past paleo-oceanographic cycles. In this project, plans are presented to explore a possible extensive gas hydrate reservoir in Ross Sea sediment and determine whether climate change could be influencing this region. This large carbon reserve appears to be held in the form of gas hydrate as evidenced by key seismic data. This indication of warming and ice melting coupled with high thermogenic gas hydrate loadings suggest the Ross Sea is an essential environment to determine contributions of current day and potential future methane, petroleum, and glacial carbon to shallow sediment and water column carbon cycles. The project will compare carbon source(s) and cycling within phytoplankton, glacier ice, shallow sediment carbon, oil sourced from deep sediment, and methane trapped in gas hydrates. Data collection will include seismic profiling, geochemistry, and geo-microbiology parameters conducted via two field campaigns in the Ross Sea, tentatively planned for December/January 2022/2023 and February/April 2024. The diverse team includes experts in geophysics, geochemistry, ocean chemistry, geo-microbiology and isotope geochemistry. Ultimately, the project aims to create baseline data of present-day conditions in the Ross Sea to provide capability for assessing future anthropogenic influence on carbon cycling. In addition to the scientific activities, the project has extensive educational activities, since education related to climate change requires thorough provision of information across all academic levels, government and the public. The project will fund four graduate students and support the training of undergraduate researchers. Results will be disseminated internationally to non-scientific audiences through field blogs, PI Websites, numerous education and outreach activities, as well as being incorporated into graduate and undergraduate courses. Finally, this project will provide training and support for undergraduate, graduate, and early career researchers at a Hispanic Serving Institution.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

了解地球的气候变化需要对极地区域以及两者之间许多环境的地球化学和地球生物学周期的重大见解。甲烷是主要的重点，因为它的大量沉积物负载及其高气热吸收作为温室气体。尽管北极一直是甲烷研究的主要气候变化重点，但南极的罗斯海（Ross Sea）嵌入了巨大的短暂碳储层，已被认为具有广泛的底部海洋层 - 沉积物界面是地球上最快速变暖的地区之一。需要新的研究来测试罗斯海中存在的潜在巨大暂时性气体水合物碳储层的重要性，并对南海中的甲烷储层进行了彻底的评估。最近的钻探探险表明，对罗斯海的关注是合理的，这表明罗斯海对晶体波动有敏感性。这种大型碳储备似乎以气体水合物的形式密封，如广泛的地震证据所证明的那样。有趣的是，最近对类似地震数据的认识表明，由于深层水合物中的碳存储，该碳储备已被低估了。拟议的项目将成为改善未来对海洋碳的模拟以及对过去古osakan摄影周期的解释的基础。在该项目中，提出了探索罗斯海沉积物中可能广泛的气体水合物储备的计划，并确定是否可能影响气候变化。这种大型碳储备似乎以气体水合物的形式持有，如关键地震数据所证明的那样。这种变暖和冰融化以及高热气体水合物负荷的迹象表明，罗斯海是确定当前日的贡献以及潜在的未来甲烷，石油和冰川碳对浅层沉积物和水柱碳循环的贡献的必要环境。该项目将比较浮游植物，冰川冰，浅层沉积物碳，从深层沉积物中采购的油以及被困在气体水合物中的甲烷中的碳源和循环。数据收集将包括通过在罗斯海的两个现场活动进行的地震概况，地球化学和地理 - 微生物学参数，计划于2022年12月/2022年12月/2024年2月/4月。潜水员团队包括地球物理学，地球化学，海洋化学，海洋化学，Microbiogy and Isotoge and Isotoge and Isotoge and Isotoge and Isotoge and Isothem and Isotoge and Isotoge and Isothem and Isothem and Isotoge and Isothem geoolysrym and geosoly和Isodions。最终，该项目旨在创建罗斯海当今条件的基线数据，以提供评估未来对碳循环的人为影响的能力。除了科学活动外，该项目还具有广泛的教育活动，因为与攀岩变化有关的教育还需要在所有学术层面，政府和公众中彻底提供信息。该项目将资助四名研究生，并支持对本科研究人员的培训。结果将通过现场博客，PI网站，众多的教育和推广活动以及被纳入研究生和本科课程，将结果通过现场博客，PI网站，许多教育和推广活动传播给非科学观众。最后，该项目将为西班牙裔服务机构的本科，研究生和早期职业研究人员提供培训和支持。该奖项反映了NSF的法定任务，并通过使用基金会的智力优点和更广泛的影响评估标准来评估NSF的法定任务。