1. Outline and Goals
Ocean and atmosphere observations, both in situ and remotely sensed, and mathematical simulations are employed to investigate the effects of natural and anthropogenic dust deposited in the western North Pacific Ocean, on the ecosystem and biogeochemical cycle, a process referred to as the marine biological pump, and to predict these future change by the global climate / oceanic change (Fig 1).
The project goals are as follows:
(1) to describe and quantify the spatiotemporal variability in dust transport to subarctic and subtropical areas in the western North Pacific Ocean.
(2) to better understand the mechanisms of dust impact, e.g., nutrient transport and particle ballast adjustments, on the marine biological pump by using in situ observations collected during seasonal scientific cruises and at time-series mooring stations.
(3) to investigate present and future regional scales of variability in dust deposition and ocean carbon cycle responses.
