Physical and biogeochemical dynamics of the subantarctic zone

Brief description

This metadata record is a 'Parent' metadata record for ASAC project 2720. See the link for the related 'Child' metadata records.

The overall objective is to characterise Southern Ocean marine ecosystems, their influence on carbon dioxide exchange with the atmosphere and the deep ocean, and their sensitivity to past and future global change including climate warming, ocean stratification, and ocean acidification from anthropogenic CO2 emissions. In particular we plan to take advantage of naturally-occurring, persistent, zonal variations in Southern Ocean primary production and biomass in the Australian Sector to investigate the effects of iron addition from natural sources, and CO2 addition from anthropogenic sources, on Southern Ocean plankton communities of differing initial structure and composition.

SAZ-SENSE is a study of the sensitivity of Sub-Antarctic Zone waters to global change. A 32-day oceanographic voyage onboard Australia's ice-breaker Aurora Australis was undertaken in mid-summer (Jan 17 - Feb. 20) 2007 to examine microbial ecosystem structure and biogeochemical processes in SAZ waters west and east of Tasmania, and also in the Polar Frontal Zone south of the SAZ.

The voyage brought together research teams from Australasia, Europe, and North America, and was led by the ACE CRC, CSIRO Marine and Atmospheric Research, and the Australian Antarctic Division.

The overall goal is to understand the controls on Sub-Antarctic Zone productivity and carbon cycling, and to assess their sensitivity to climate change. The strategy is to compare low productivity waters west of Tasmania (areas with little phytoplankton) with higher productivity waters to the east, with a focus on the role of iron as a limiting micro-nutrient. The study also seeks to examine the effect of rising CO2 levels on phytoplankton - both via regional intercomparisons and incubation experiments.

Available for download from this metadata record are various datasets collected from the voyage:

- An image showing a map of the cruise track.
- An excel document detailing hourly position checks of the ship.
- An excel document detailing the event log for the voyage.
- A word document detailing prospective papers produced from the voyage.

Finally a link is available for users to access the special volume of publications produced as a result of this voyage.

Lineage

Progress Code: completed

Statement: See the SAZ-SENSE website listed at provided URL, as well as the child records attached to this metadata record for further information.