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Geotraces
GEOTRACES is an international research programme for improving understanding of marine biogeochemical cycles.
GEOTRACES is organised internationally under the auspices of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (originally under the International Council for Science). Its management is overseen by a Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), with representatives of 15 nations from across the globe, and the programme involves active participation of more than 30 nations.
The concept of cycle describes the pathway by which a chemical element moves through the three major compartments of Earth (such as continents, atmosphere, and ocean). Because these cycles are directly related to climate dynamics and are heavily impacted by global change, it is essential to quantify them.
GEOTRACES focuses on the oceanic part of the cycles, with the ambition to map the distribution of trace elements and isotopes in the ocean and to understand the processes controlling this distribution. Some of these trace elements are directly linked to climate via, for example, their role as essential nutrients for life; others allow quantification of ocean processes (origin and dynamics of matter, age of water masses, etc.); some of them are pollutants (for example, lead or mercury). Modelling based on the data collected will thus achieve substantial progress in understanding the current and past of the ocean and improve projections of the ocean’s response to global change.
After some years in the planning and enabling phase, the GEOTRACES Science Plan was published in 2006 and the GEOTRACES programme formally launched its seagoing effort in January 2010. This phase is expected to last a decade.
Trace elements serve as regulators of biological processes in the ocean, influencing marine ecosystem dynamics and the carbon cycle. Despite this significance, knowledge of the marine biogeochemical cycles of these essential micronutrients is surprisingly incomplete. GEOTRACES is quantifying the supply, removal, internal cycling, chemical form and distribution of essential micronutrients and other trace elements. Understanding the sensitivity of these biogeochemical cycles to changing environmental conditions will improve projections of the ocean’s response to global change.
The cycles of many trace elements and isotopes have been impacted significantly by human activity, which has increased the discharge of harmful elements into the ocean. GEOTRACES’ emphasis on understanding the processes regulating the marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements will improve prediction of the transport and fate of contaminants in the ocean and thereby help to protect the ocean environment.
Much of what is known about ocean conditions in the past and, therefore, about the ocean’s role in climate variability is derived from trace element and isotope patterns recorded in marine archives (sediments, corals, etc.). Greater knowledge of the processes governing these tracers in the modern ocean will improve interpretation of ocean conditions in the past, from which more reliable prediction of future changes can be made.
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Geotraces
GEOTRACES is an international research programme for improving understanding of marine biogeochemical cycles.
GEOTRACES is organised internationally under the auspices of the Scientific Committee on Oceanic Research (originally under the International Council for Science). Its management is overseen by a Scientific Steering Committee (SSC), with representatives of 15 nations from across the globe, and the programme involves active participation of more than 30 nations.
The concept of cycle describes the pathway by which a chemical element moves through the three major compartments of Earth (such as continents, atmosphere, and ocean). Because these cycles are directly related to climate dynamics and are heavily impacted by global change, it is essential to quantify them.
GEOTRACES focuses on the oceanic part of the cycles, with the ambition to map the distribution of trace elements and isotopes in the ocean and to understand the processes controlling this distribution. Some of these trace elements are directly linked to climate via, for example, their role as essential nutrients for life; others allow quantification of ocean processes (origin and dynamics of matter, age of water masses, etc.); some of them are pollutants (for example, lead or mercury). Modelling based on the data collected will thus achieve substantial progress in understanding the current and past of the ocean and improve projections of the ocean’s response to global change.
After some years in the planning and enabling phase, the GEOTRACES Science Plan was published in 2006 and the GEOTRACES programme formally launched its seagoing effort in January 2010. This phase is expected to last a decade.
Trace elements serve as regulators of biological processes in the ocean, influencing marine ecosystem dynamics and the carbon cycle. Despite this significance, knowledge of the marine biogeochemical cycles of these essential micronutrients is surprisingly incomplete. GEOTRACES is quantifying the supply, removal, internal cycling, chemical form and distribution of essential micronutrients and other trace elements. Understanding the sensitivity of these biogeochemical cycles to changing environmental conditions will improve projections of the ocean’s response to global change.
The cycles of many trace elements and isotopes have been impacted significantly by human activity, which has increased the discharge of harmful elements into the ocean. GEOTRACES’ emphasis on understanding the processes regulating the marine biogeochemical cycles of trace elements will improve prediction of the transport and fate of contaminants in the ocean and thereby help to protect the ocean environment.
Much of what is known about ocean conditions in the past and, therefore, about the ocean’s role in climate variability is derived from trace element and isotope patterns recorded in marine archives (sediments, corals, etc.). Greater knowledge of the processes governing these tracers in the modern ocean will improve interpretation of ocean conditions in the past, from which more reliable prediction of future changes can be made.