Exciting GEOTRACES Sessions at ASLO2017
ASLO 2017, Aquatic Sciences Meeting
26 February – 3 March 2017
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
For further information: http://www.sgmeet.com/aslo/honolulu2017/default.asp
GEOTRACES sessions:
004 – Biogeochemical Cycling of Trace Elements and Isotopes in the Arctic Ocean
Trace elements can play a dual role in the ocean either as essential micronutrients (e.g., Co, Fe, Zn), or as toxicants (e.g., As, Cu, Hg), and can affect biological productivity, carbon cycling and the emission of climatically important trace gases. In addition, the distribution and isotopic composition of many trace elements and gases provide information on biogeochemical and physical processes. The Arctic Ocean, in particular, is undergoing rapid and profound transformation attributed to climate change. Easier access and accelerated resource exploitation are also expected in the coming years. It is therefore timely to examine more thoroughly the distribution and cycling of trace element and isotopes (TEI), and dissolved gases in the Arctic Ocean and to establish their potential role in controlling or recording rapidly changing oceanic processes. To that end, after six years of collaborative planning, the international GEOTRACES program undertook a coordinated study of TEIs, dissolved gases, and biological productivity in the Arctic in summer-fall 2015, comprising three funded icebreaker programs from Germany, Canada, and the United States. This session seeks presentations on all aspects of this work and their relevance to Arctic Ocean processes from the GEOTRACES expeditions and other related field and laboratory efforts.
ORGANIZERS
Greg Cutter, Old Dominion University, gcutter@odu.edu
Roger Francois, University of British Columbia, rfrancoi@eos.ubc.ca
David Kadko, Florida International University, dkadko@fiu.edu
William Landing, Florida State University, wlanding@fsu.edu
Michiel Rutgers Van der Loeff, Alfred Wegener Institute, Mloeff@awi.de
025 – Linking atmospheric deposition to the biogeochemistry of aquatic and marine systems
Atmospheric deposition of lithogenic, anthropogenic, and marine aerosols is an important transport pathway for nutrients and contaminants to aquatic watersheds and the surface ocean. Constraining local, regional, and global atmospheric deposition fluxes and the bioavailability and toxicity of aerosol-sourced elements and compounds is essential to furthering understanding of global biogeochemical cycles. Aerosol emission, transport, and deposition processes are, in part, a function of changes in land use and anthropogenic emissions, as well as short-term meteorological events and long-term climatic change on a global scale. Hence the study of system responses will improve our current understanding and facilitate the prediction of future impacts. This session invites contributions from studies of atmospheric deposition in marine and aquatic environments including, but not limited to, characterization of aerosol composition, quantification of atmospheric deposition fluxes and aerosol fractional solubility, assessment of the fate of aerosol-sourced compounds, and the biological and chemical response to deposition. Contributions from global and regional scale field observations, laboratory studies, and modeling efforts are welcomed.
ORGANIZERS
Clifton Buck, Skidaway Institute of Oceanography, clifton.buck@skio.uga.edu
Rachel Shelley, LEMAR-Universite de Bretagne Occidentale, rachel.shelley@univ-brest.fr
029 – REE marine geochemistry in the 21st century: A tribute to the pioneering research of Henry Elderfield (1943-2016)
Henry Elderfield had a long and multi-faceted career investigating the marine biogeochemistry of trace metals and his greatest accomplishment may be his groundbreaking measurements and interpretations of the oceanic distribution of rare earth elements (REEs). He helped revolutionize REE analysis of natural waters and produced some of the first vertical profiles in seawater by replacing painstaking chemical separations and neutron activation with isotope dilution mass spectrometry of 10 REEs together. In these days of automated in-line extraction and ICP-MS, it is hard to recall the amount of time and effort involved in measuring picomolar REE concentrations just 30 years ago. To honor Henry’s memory we invite the next generation of aqueous geochemists to submit original work on REE cycling in the oceans. Our session will focus on the rapidly expanding dataset of REE concentrations and isotopic ratios from the GEOTRACES program and its use in the construction and testing of global marine mass balance and transport models. Studies of sources, sinks, and processes that create the boundary conditions for such modeling, for instance particle scavenging and speciation, hydrothermal and groundwater inputs, and REE exchange in margin sediments, estuaries, and at the air-water interface are also welcome.
ORGANIZERS
Karen H. Johannesson, Tulane University, kjohanne@tulane.edu
Johan Schijf, UMCES/Chesapeake Biological Laboratory, schijf@cbl.umces.edu
GEOTRACES Early Career Event:
Arctic-GEOTRACES Early Career Researcher Networking Event (ASLO 2017)
26 February 2017 – 13h – Room: 305 A/B
Over the 2015 and 2016 field seasons, the international GEOTRACES program undertook a coordinated effort to better understand the distribution, biogeochemical cycling, and climate sensitivity of trace elements and isotopes (TEIs) within the Arctic Ocean. Three successful cruises were carried out in 2015 by Canadian, US, and German programs, with follow-up sampling in 2016 by the German team. This effort brought together cross-disciplinary researchers from more than 12 countries working not only in the field of trace metal geochemistry, but also observationalists and modelers studying phytoplankton physiology, air-sea gas fluxes, carbon and nutrient cycling, ocean mixing, sea ice, and rivers. As a result, new data sets are emerging to expand our understanding of the TEIs that regulate, or serve as tracers for, critical biogeochemical and physical processes within the Arctic Ocean.
More than 75 Early Career Researchers (ECRs: students, postdocs and early career scientists) participated in the three Arctic Ocean cruises carried out in 2015, with many more on the sidelines processing samples, interpreting observations, and developing ocean models. The goal of this workshop will be to provide a networking event for Arctic GEOTRACES ECRs who will be attending the ASLO Aquatic Sciences meeting. This forum will provide a bridge to connect ECRs between programs and establish new connections for participants to carry forward into their future careers within the GEOTRACES community.