Global Element Cycles:Contemporary to Paleoenvironments

Richard Zeebe

Jane Schoonmaker

Telu Li

FredMackenzie

ChrisMeasures

TonyClarke

Brian Glazer

Barry Huebert

Kathleen Ruttenberg

EricDeCarlo

DavidHo

Global Element Cycles:Contemporary to Paleoenvironments

Will not review all research projects/PIs Examples

Big questions

(1) What is the human impact on global elemental cycles?

(2) How will ocean acidification affect carbonate production and dissolution?

(3) How can paleoclimatology help to predict climate changes?

(4) What are the roles of sediment geochemistry and seafloor-ocean exchange in sinks/sources of global elemental cycles?

(5) What do transient tracers tell us about changes in ocean circulation?

It will change the way we interpret the oceanic record

New 10-year program will provide - A coordinated Trace-Element and Isotope (TEI) survey of the oceans- Input for global C and climate models - A framework of chemical proxies for paleoceanography

GEOTRACES is starting and is already funded by NSF.

UH needs observational oceanographers to be able to take advantage of the funding associated with these programs.

Chris Measures(Steering Committee)

Global Element Cycles Expeditionary Programs (WOCE, CLIVAR, …)

Guiding mission

To identify processes and quantify fluxes that control the distributions of key trace elements and isotopes in the ocean, and to establish the sensitivity of these distributions to changing environmental conditions

AustraliaCanada (white)ChinaJapanKorea/JapanNew ZealandTaiwanU.S.

Tahiti EasterIsland

Hawaii

Global Element Cycles GEOTRACES

Science Plan:www.geotraces.org

Global Element Cycles Transient Tracers

What do transient tracers tell us about changes in ocean circulation?

DavidHo

Jenkins et al.

Global Element Cycles Geochemistry

Telu Li

Relationship among the nitrate deficit by denitrification (dN”), nitrite (NO2-), and oxygen (O2) concentrations in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

Data analyses: understand global biogeochemical cycles

Global Element Cycles Geochemistry

Lake Biwa: Largest fresh water lake in Japan

BIWA OCEAN

understand similarities/differences between fresh water systems and ocean.

Global Element Cycles Ocean acidification

FredMackenzie

Changes in carbonate chemistry and carbonate saturation state of the surface ocean from 1700 to 2300 based on modelcalculations.

Support: NOAA Coastal Ocean (Kathleen, Eric)

Global Element Cycles CaCO 3 production and dissolution

Cross over

Dissolution

Production

Coral reef environments of the Hawaiian Islands

Global Element Cycles Ocean acidification

Richard Zeebe

Support:- Department of Energy- NSF

Simulated changes in CaCO3 saturation state using aglobal biogeochemical ocean model:

YEAR 1810 YEAR 2100

PaleoclimatologyWhy bother about the past?

Two very recent examples:

Paleoclimatology

Sedimentary Records of Climate Change – Hawaii, Pacific, and

Beyond

Objectives• Understanding interactions between climate, hydrology,

ecosystems, human impacts• Revealing paleoclimate forcings and predicting future system

behavior

Jane Schoonmaker

B. Popp, A. Timmermann, (K. Pahnke)

Jane Schoonmaker

G&G

• Integrating data with climate models• Informing Hawaii state planning

Ordy Pond, OahuPaleoaridity Record

Paleoclimatology

Precipitation Anomaly

+ -20ºN Latitude of Hawaii

PaleoclimatologyOrdy Pond, OahuPaleoaridity Record

13C ( permil, VPDB )

-32 -30 -28 -26 -24 -22

Age

( ca

.kyr

BP

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

( A )

% C4 Plants Abundance

20 40 60 80 100

Age

( ca

.kyr

BP

)

0

2

4

6

8

10

( B )

Post-Human Contact

Increasing aridity

% C4 Plantsn-alkane 13C20 60 100-32 -28 -24

Post-HumanContact

2

6

8

10

4

+

-

Ag

e (k

yr B

P)

Paleoclimatology

What’s Next?

• Add additional proxies to the list: hydrogen isotopes, pollen, diatoms…

• Another try at acquiring Ordy• Other locations: Ka’au Crater, Lk. Kauhakō, Lk. Waiau, Niihau,

Easter Island…..

Support: NOAA Sea Grant

Petroleum Research Fund

Paleoclimatology PETM

Richard Zeebe

PETM

The Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM), a future analog?

Support: NSF (Multi-Institutional

Project, $2.3M).

Ocean acidification

Ocean acidification

Links past, present, and future

Projects

• Carbon fluxes• Early detection of acidification effects

Support:- Department of Energy- NSF

Needs (to be continued by Frank)

• Chris: Hire expeditionary oceanographers (GEOTRACES)

• Post-doc support (admin, office space, new fellowships)

• Faculty hire/retention (cost of living/housing)

Global Element Cycles GEOTRACES

One of the three global planning workshops was held in Hawaiibringing funding and recognition to the state.

An international training workshop is being planned for 2009.

Paleoclimatology

FredMackenzie

Simulated changes in ocean chemistry over the Phanerozoic (500 Ma).

Support: - NSF- NOAA Sea Grant