The South East Pacific (SEP) is characterized by very high nutrient concentrations in the waters adjacent to the Chilean coast, but very low nutrient concentrations (oligotrophic) in the mid- South Pacific Subtropical Gyre (SPSG), near Easter Island. The steep gradient in nutrient concentrations across the region affects the level of marine production, the composition of the microbial community, and the operation of major biogeochemical cycles in ways that are not fully understood. Despite the remarkable diversity of trophic conditions, strong gradients and even some unique singularities, the SEP is still the most sparsely sampled oceanic region of the global ocean from hydrodynamic, biological and biogeochemical points of view. The SPSG is also the most oligotrophic of all sub-tropical gyres.
Previous expeditions and remote sensing studies have describes the nutrient and chlorophyll field, but there have been few simultaneous measurements of chemical properties with microbial community structure and function.
This expedition is designed to investigate the impact of elemental nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, iron, silicon, carbon) ratios on marine productivity and microbial community composition. We propose to sample along a line extending from the Chilean coast near Arica to Easter Island. We will occupy three major "process" stations for up to five days each; a high productivity, near shore station, a mid-cruise station in the nutrient transition zone, and a low productivity, mid-gyre station near Easter Island. In between these stations, we will briefly sample at additional "survey" stations at lower intensity along the cruise track.
Cruise information and original data are available from the NSF R2R data catalog.
BiG RAPA Home project Web site with additional information
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