Georgia Institute of Technology Ocean Science and Engineering - OSE

The sustainability of human civilization and its evolving lifestyle depends fundamentally on a sustainable food and energy supply. This can largely be linked to the availability of reactive nitrogen (Nr), phosphorus (P) and trace-element nutrient availability for natural and managed ecosystems. Nr, P and Fe are known to stimulate productivity while other elements, like Cu and Mn, can be toxic for ecosystems. Nr is also a critical link for the carbon cycle, and directly/indirectly impacts climate and human/ecosystem health. In terms of the open ocean, atmospheric deposition is the most important external source of these elements. Atmospheric delivery of thee nutrients however is subject to considerable uncertainty; increased emissions and atmospheric acidity associated with human activities can strongly modulate the fluxes of all these elements worldwide. The impact of these human-driven activities on marine primary production, carbon sequestration and climate remains an open question. This projects aims to study, through a combination of modeling, instrument development and observations i) the impact of aerosol acidification on the bioavailability of P, Fe, Cu in atmospheric aerosol, and, ii) the impacts of anthropogenic emissions on the deposition of Nr, P, Fe, Cu in the open ocean.