PETRA - Pathways and emissions of climate-relevant trace gases in a changing Arctic Ocean
ACRONYM
PETRA
Title
PETRA - Pathways and emissions of climate-relevant trace gases in a changing Arctic Ocean
General information
During this project we will investigate the impact of three stressors (temperature, ocean acidification and elevated irradiation) on the production and consumption of the climatically active gases nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), dimethyl sulphide (DMS) and carbon monoxide (CO) in the marine environment. Each stressor is directly or indirectly associated with the anthropogenic CO2 burden to the atmosphere and will be investigated individually and in combination with the other two. Observational and experimental procedures will be undertaken in the Arctic Ocean, with fieldwork proposed for east of Svalbard in the Barents Sea and east of Greenland in the region of the Fram Strait. The Arctic Ocean provides an important region for the exchange of these important trace gases with the atmosphere, and factors controlling their release have been demonstrated to be sensitive to the impacts of climate change.
This study will include the disciplines of trace gas analyses, carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry and molecular biology. An integrated modelling component will utilise ecosystem models to further our understanding of the impact of these stressors on mechanisms of consumption and production.
The overall aim of PETRA is to investigate the role of (multiple) stressors for future trace gas (i.e. N2O, CH4, DMS and CO) cycling in the Arctic Ocean. Specific aims to be addressed are (listed in order of priority):
to determine how stressors (warming, acidification, light) affect future trace gas production and consumption pathways,
to determine the surface ocean and depth distributions of the trace gases listed above,
to determine the relevance of air/sea gas emissions for the regional (Arctic) and global atmospheric trace gas budgets,
to provide improved models of the mechanistic understanding of stressors on trace gas fluxes, which will provide the basis for increased understanding of the regional and global importance of these gases.
To address these objectives we have designed a comprehensive research programme that includes two research cruises to the Arctic Ocean, numerical modelling and an integral pathway-to-impact component.
Start
July, 2018
End
June, 2021
Funding (total)
325000
Funding (GEOMAR)
325000
Funding body / Programme
-
BMBF
/
Coordination
Helmholtz-Zentrum für Ozeanforschung Kiel (GEOMAR), Germany
Contact
