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Program NewsBiological
Oceanography | Chemical Oceanography
| Marine Geology & Geophysics
We have two new colleagues in the Biological Oceanography Program, either of whom you might encounter when you call or visit the Division.
Alison Sipe arrived in late January as a John Knauss Sea Grant Fellow and will be working this year with both Biological Oceanography and the Oceanographic Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination Program. Some of you may have met Alison at the ASLO meeting in Santa Fe. We will be working hard during her fellowship to show Alison the diversity of what we do in the NSF Ocean Sciences Division, as well as showing her the wealth of inter-agency activities we get involved with in Washington D.C. Alison is a marine scientist with a background in microbial ecology. She earned her M.S. degree in Marine Science from the University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies, where she applied molecular genetic tools to research the symbiotic association of wood boring molluscs and their cellulolytic bacterial counterparts.
Natasha Gray joined us the 1st of March as a Science Assistant, also working with both Biological Oceanography and the Oceanographic Technology and Interdisciplinary Coordination Program. She came to the NSF from the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History where she was the project coordinator for the invertebrate collections of the U.S. Antarctic Program and Museum's Biological Resources Division. Natasha is a marine ecologist with a M.S. from American University dealing with larval settlement ecology. She obtained her Bachelor's degree from UC Santa Cruz working with John Pearse and Margaret Delaney. Natasha's experience with ecology and evolutionary biology, proposals, and information systems will be a real asset to us.
We are still searching for a replacement of Jim Ammerman as a Visiting Scientist and Associate Program Director. Please contact us if you are interested. Also Dr. Kendra Daly has been promoted from Assistant to Associate Program Director and Visiting Scientist and will be with us another year.
The activities that the program is/will be busy with in 1999, besides the unsolicited (`core') proposals, include: US GLOBEC Northeast Pacific Program, ECOHAB, NSF's new Biocomplexity initiative, LExEn, LTERs for Land/Ocean Margin Ecosystems, JGOFS Synthesis and Modeling Project, RIDGE (see "Proposal Target Dates" for future deadlines) Phil
Taylor (prtaylor@nsf.gov)
For the first time, the CO and BO Programs held panel review for a major U.S.JGOFS competition — the second round of the Synthesis and Modeling Project — during the same week as our regular panels. After a lot of work by the Panel and Program Officers, we were able to recommend total SMP funding of approximately four million dollars.
We also report that the total U.S.JGOFS FY1999 science budget is the first step in the ramp-down of U.S.JGOFS funding. The plan is for the ramp-down to continue gradually until sometime in 2002 when funding for the program is expected to cease. There appears to be abundant community interest in continuing support for the BATS and HOT time series stations beyond the close of U.S.JGOFS.
Meanwhile, the CO Program, like other science programs in the Division, is heavily involved in planning for the future of ocean biogeochemical research related to the global carbon cycle. Current efforts involve not only other programs and Divisions at NSF, but also a variety of other potential federal agency partnerships.
The Chemical Oceanography Program is pleased (ecstatic, actually) to announce that Dr. David Kadko, joined us in January 1999, to fill the rotator position formerly occupied by Ken Buesseler. Dave is a geochemist from the Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences of the University of Miami and has expertise in trace metals and radiochemistry. For a number of years he has been involved with studies of ocean ridge chemistry and has been an active participant in national and international RIDGE programs. He hit the ground running when he arrived, and we can expect that he will be aggressive in his role as a CO program officer.
We have still not replaced Rodger Baier, who retired in March 1998, from the permanent staff of the Program and from federal service. The search continues. If you or someone you know might be interested in this immensely important position, please contact either Dave Kadko or Don Rice at the email addresses below.
Donald
Rice (drice@nsf.gov)
The Divisions of Ocean and Earth Sciences' jointly sponsored MARGINS initiative is off the ground with a program announcement published in October 1998, and a potential budget of approximately $4,000,000 (in the MG&G, ODP and CDP/EAR programs) for FY1999. The program announcement can also be accessed from the NSF web site, http://www.nsf.gov/pubs/nsf98165.html. The competition for MARGINS will be held once a year with a proposal submittal deadline of January 15th. Although the MARGINS scientific objectives are broadly defined, "to understand the complex interplay of processes that govern the creation and destruction of continental margins over time", at least initially, the MARGINS program will concentrate on a few well-defined special-focus experiments. This list will be periodically supplemented as new experiments are identified and planned in detail. MARGINS, however, will not replace individual investigator studies related to the broader Margins-related science objectives. Thus far, special-focus experiments with well-developed science plans, based on community-wide workshops, include the "seismogenic zone" and the "subduction factory". Workshops to define experiments on the themes of "rupturing continental lithosphere" and "sediment dynamics and strata formation" are planned for the near future. A panel for the first competition of MARGINS proposals will meet in May 1999.
The development of the RIDGE initiative by MG&G community began with the Salishan workshop in 1987. This general workshop was followed by three smaller topical workshops and by five program-element working group meetings. The Initial Science Plan released in 1989 and the 1993-1997 Science Plan released in 1992 were developed from these workshops. While RIDGE has hosted a large number of workshops in the intervening years, there has not been another large community workshop such as Salishan. The RIDGE 2000 conference, scheduled for September 1999, will be an opportunity to get broader community input in setting future directions for the RIDGE Program. The MG&G Program
is looking for an IPA (Intergovernmental Personnel Act) replacement
for Don Elthon who will be returning to his academic position in the
autumn. The Program is looking for a distinguished marine geoscientist,
especially in the areas of marine petrology, geochemistry or hydrothermal
processes. The IPA program brings active research scientists on assignments
of 1 to 3 years to NSF to give them the valuable experience of how scientific
programs are managed and funded, and in return benefit from the expertise
and fresh ideas of the assignees. If you fit the bill, we encourage
you to talk to any one of the program officers listed below. Bil
Haq (bhaq@nsf.gov)
Even as a casual reader of this column, you should know by now that drilling in the present ODP will terminate at the end of 2003 and that significant effort is presently underway to refine the scientific and technical requirements for future ocean drilling. In previous newsletters we have traced the development and status of the community vision for a new international program (IODP) that would primarily utilize two vessels: one vessel devoted to drilling deep holes with capability to deploy riser and other well-control techniques, and a second vessel that would utilize upgraded technology and operate in a mode similar to that of the present JOIDES Resolution.
A significant step toward realizing this vision was reported at the January meeting of the JOIDES Executive Committee where officials from the Japanese Science and Technology Agency reported that initial design and construction funds for a deep-drilling, riser-equipped drillship had been included in their budget for FY 1999 as part of the Japanese OD-21 program. The initial increment of funding totals approximately $150 million. Initial operation of the vessel is planned for the 2004-2005 time period, with the vessel becoming available for full international operations soon thereafter. The JOIDES Executive Committee (which includes senior representation from 10 of the 11 JOI institutions) unanimously approved the following motion in response to the Japanese report:
EXCOM congratulates our Japanese colleagues on the funding in its FY '99 draft budget for the construction of a new drillship with riser capability. This represents the successful culmination of nine years of effort by STA/JAMSTEC, in cooperation with MONBUSHO and ORI, and a potential investment of over $500M (US) in the future of scientific ocean drilling. We commend Japan on the vision and leadership it has shown in pursuing the OD-21 initiative, and look forward to incorporating the unique new capabilities of this drillship into a post-2003 IODP.
A second major step at the Miami EXCOM was creation of an IODP Planning Subcommittee within the JOIDES structure to guide the detailed planning activities that will address scientific objectives, technical and operational issues, and the financial and management requirements for the future drilling program. Dr. Ted Moore of the University of Michigan has been chosen to chair the committee , known as IPSC (IODP Planning Subcommittee). Members of the committee are being selected based on input from the ODP SCICOM at its March meeting.
As this report is being written, the JOIDES Resolution is drilling in the South China sea in a study of the history of the Asian monsoon. The program has gone well, having survived the threat of pirates in the region of the Spratley Islands while under the watch of Chinese and Vietnamese naval forces (as well as one unidentified submarine). Over the next six months it will move to the western Pacific and then undergo an extended dry-dock period in preparation for the final phase of ODP drilling. Results of recent drilling and upcoming plans are available through the JOI website identified on page 2 in this issue.
Finally, we are happy to announce that Jamie Allan has been extended for an additional year as an Associate Program Director in the Ocean Drilling Program. Any of you who know Jamie, or read his report in the last issue of this newsletter are aware of the boundless energy and new ideas that he brings to the Program and to the Division.
Bruce
Malfait (bmalfait@nsf.gov)
The Observatory Frenzy
One of the overall objectives of the OTIC Program is to support efforts to develop new tools and techniques for conducting ocean science research. More specifically, tools and techniques that cross disciplinary boundaries that are not tied to any one project or discipline are supported through the Program. Interest in developing long_term observatories as tools for conducting research has exploded during the past year. There is little question that the whole field of ocean sciences is evolving towards increasing requirements for making high precision, long-term measurements in situ.
NSF has funded the development and implementation of several installations that might be considered long-term observatories. These include the Bermuda Atlantic time-series station (BATS), Hawaii Ocean time-series (HOTs), the LEO-15 observatory at Rutgers University, RIDGE Observatories, and others. In each case, the capability for making long-term measurements was driven by scientific requirements for the observations. In some cases technology was readily available for making the measurements; funding was required mainly for implementation and installation. In other cases, the necessary technologies had to be developed.
A long-standing challenge has been and remains sensor systems. Reliable, robust sensors for scientifically relevant long_term measurements, especially chemical and biological, are needed for observatory applications. NSF is working with other agencies through the National Ocean Partnership Program (NOPP) to encourage the development of new sensors and other components of observing systems. We also are supporting the planning of the development of the Global Ocean Observing System (GOOS) and other integrated observing and modeling systems.
Also, OCE is underwriting an ocean science community planning initiative on its own. Adequate financial and technical resources have been made available from a wide variety of sources for establishing and maintaining observatories that are currently in operation. They are primarily in relatively shallow water and are operated as a local or regional resource. But a compelling requirement is being developed for deep-sea observatories requiring a much greater investment and community participation. The OCE-sponsored initiative called DEOS (Deep Earth Observatories on the Seafloor) was described more fully in the previous OCE Newsletter. Since then, reports from two community planning workshops have been posted on the web and are available for reading and comment. The address is: http://vertigo.rsmas.miami.edu/deos.html.
The DEOS initiative is primarily aimed at providing the backbone or infrastructure of a distributed system into which sensors and scientific experiments will be installed. Not only are there technological challenges, but managerial ones as well. The envisioned systems of seafloor cables and long-term moorings will have to be managed as a community-wide resource, not unlike the UNOLS ships. But the immediate task is to build the scientific rationale for undertaking the DEOS initiative, whose scientific pay-off is still years into the future. Towards that goal, the DEOS planning committee is seeking statements of interest and community input. Further information is available at the web site indicated above.
Larry
Clark (hclark@nsf.gov)
In 1998 we saw a dramatic increase in the number of proposals reviewed by the program, particularly the number of collaborative proposals, both disciplinary and inter-disciplinary. Panels have continued to rise to the challenge of providing excellent advice. We thank the community for their continued support and hard work. Major decisions were accomplished despite continued level funding in the program.
As mentioned in the last newsletter, following the end of the WOCE field campaigns, physical oceanographers are turning their attention to collaborative mid-size process studies. In the past year, our program has been able to support several of them including:
Rings of the North Brazil Current
This multi-institution (RSMAS, WHOI, LDEO, AOML) study involving floats, moorings, hydrography and satellite altimetry is looking at the ring formation process in the retroflection region of the North Brazil Current. A central objective of this project is to quantify the role of these rings on cross-equatorial and cross-gyre transport with the upper limb of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation. The field work started in the Fall of 1998 and will continue through the Spring of 2000 under the leadership of Bill Johns, Silvia Gagoli, and Phil Richardson.
Dense Water Formation in the Okhotsk Sea
Scientists from Scripps (L. Talley) and the University of Washington (S. Riser and S. Martin) have joined other scientists in a major investigation of the Okhotsk Sea. This region, closed to western scientists for nearly three quarters of a century, is thought to be the major source of North Pacific Intermediate Water. This work will examine the formation of shelf water under sea ice in the northwestern coastal polynya through one winter with moored measurements of water properties and hydrographic surveys of the northern Okhotsk Sea and East Sakhalin Current (outflow from the shelves). Analyses of historical data will be made in collaboration with S. Martin, who will use satellite and NCEP information during the same period to study air-sea fluxes and ice cover. The work is being performed in collaboration with Japanese and Russian scientists, with the work to be performed on a Russian vessel funded by Japan.
Guiana Abyssal Gyre Experiment (GAGE)
WHOI scientists McCartney and Mauritzen, in collaboration with scientists from the Institut fur Meerskunde, Kiel, Germany, will attempt to confirm a hypothesized deep recirculation gyre in the Western Tropical Atlantic. Because of the magnitude of transport in the Deep Western Boundary Current at these latitudes, a major recirculation is required to maintain the heat balance. If it is not there, then our concepts of the mechanisms which control heat transport in the deep North Atlantic will need some major rethinking.
Hawaii Ocean Mixing Experiment (HOME)
Building on recent exciting findings of abyssal mixing over rough topography and the role of tides as a source of mechanical energy for mixing, 25 oceanographers led by Rob Pinkel, SIO, are undertaking an ambitious study of tidal forcing and mixing near the Hawaiian Ridge. Five institutions (SIO, OSU, UH, UW and WHOI) are involved in this seven year project that includes historical analysis, modeling and a series of focused fields campaigns. The goals of HOME are: (1) to determine the importance of mid-ocean ridges for global mixing; (2) to create a quantitative energy budget for tidal mixing near Hawaii and (3) to determine the principal mechanisms which transfer energy from large scale flows to turbulent motions and to determine whether these mechanisms work differently in the abyssal and upper ocean.
Planning continues for major studies of the role of the ocean in climate (CLIVAR: Climate Variability). This program will challenge all those involved because of its scope and complexity. Its collaborators include the Division of Ocean Sciences, the Division of Atmospheric Sciences (the Climate Dynamics Program), other programs within NSF, and several other agencies.
Steve Meacham has joined the program as an Associate Program Director. Steve comes to us from AER (Atmospheric and Environmental Research) in Cambridge, MA. Steve earned a PhD in the WHOI/MIT joint program under Joe Pedlosky, and did post-doctoral study at MIT under Glenn Flierl. Prior to joining AER, Steve was on the faculty of Florida State University. Eric Itsweire was recently promoted to Program Director (from Associate Program Director).
Richard Lambert (rlambert@nsf.gov)
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