Biological pump in the Northern sector of the South Brazil Bight: flux magnitude and particle quality during 2022

• Grant number: 22/11206-8
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2023
• End date: January 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Oceanography - Biological Oceanography
• Principal Investigator: Ilson Carlos Almeida da SIlveira
• Grantee: Ilson Carlos Almeida da SIlveira
• Host Institution: Instituto Oceanográfico (IO). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/00259-9 - Biogeochemical analyses of marine particles captured by sediment traps deployed off Cabo Frio, BP.TT; 23/06241-1 - Abundance and flux of biogenic particles captured by sediment traps off Cabo Frio, BP.TT

Abstract

The biological pump is a major oceanic process that transfer carbon and others elements from the upper ocean to the deepest regions. In a climate change reality, this mechanism is of special interest since the largest active carbon reservoir is found in intermediate and deep waters of oceanic basins. However, our knowledge regarding this important process is scarce due to insufficient studies measuring and characterizing it, specially in distinct oceanic domains. In order to expand our understanding of the biological pump mechanisms in the South Brazil Bight, two eulerian sediment traps were deployed in February 2022 over the slope off Cabo Frio. The purpose of this project is to support the sediment traps recovery and the biogeochemical analyzes, namely: fluxes of organic and inorganic carbon, nitrogen, biogenic silica, lithogenic material, isotopic ´13C and ´15N ratio, and taxonomy of biogenic particles. Expected to begin in 2023, lasting two years, this project has already received financial support from Petrobras of around half a million reais for the installation of the equipment. (AU)