| NSF Org: |
OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences |
| Recipient: |
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| Initial Amendment Date: | April 1, 2019 |
| Latest Amendment Date: | April 1, 2019 |
| Award Number: | 1844886 |
| Award Instrument: | Standard Grant |
| Program Manager: |
Elizabeth Canuel
ecanuel@nsf.gov (703)292-7938 OCE Division Of Ocean Sciences GEO Directorate For Geosciences |
| Start Date: | April 1, 2019 |
| End Date: | March 31, 2023 (Estimated) |
| Total Intended Award Amount: | $493,630.00 |
| Total Awarded Amount to Date: | $493,630.00 |
| Funds Obligated to Date: |
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| History of Investigator: |
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| Recipient Sponsored Research Office: |
1251 MEMORIAL DR CORAL GABLES FL US 33146-2509 (305)421-4089 |
| Sponsor Congressional District: |
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| Primary Place of Performance: |
FL US 33149-1031 |
| Primary Place of Performance Congressional District: |
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| Unique Entity Identifier (UEI): |
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| Parent UEI: |
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| NSF Program(s): | Chemical Oceanography |
| Primary Program Source: |
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| Program Reference Code(s): |
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| Program Element Code(s): |
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| Award Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Fund Agency Code: | 4900 |
| Assistance Listing Number(s): | 47.050 |
ABSTRACT
Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in the ocean is part of the global carbon cycle. DOC interacts with the Earth's climate system through its connection to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Keeping track of DOC requires the cooperation of many marine laboratories worldwide. Making sure that all of these laboratories are making accurate DOC measurements requires that each can access a standardized sample of seawater for which the DOC concentration is set by international agreement. This award funds the University of Miami to continue a consensus reference material (CRM) program that was first developed in 1998 in support of consistent, high quality measurements of dissolved organic carbon by the international ocean chemistry community. With continuation of this work, the US and international communities can make consistent measurements of a major marine carbon reservoir and advance society's ability to assess changes in the marine carbon cycle and the role of the ocean in climate change.
With continued strong international efforts to investigate the marine carbon cycle, the existing CRM program provides the necessary benchmark for globally comparable marine DOC measurements. Water from the deep Florida Strait (approximately 42 umol/kg DOC) will be collected, placed in ampoules, and distributed to the US and international community. Over the time period of this program, approximately 228,000 vials of reference waters have been distributed to approximately 240 US and international laboratories in 43 nations, currently at a rate of about 23,000 vials/year. With continuation of the reference material program for a seventh 3-year period of support, distribution of deep ocean water containing biologically refractory dissolved organic carbon and low carbon reference water will continue to aid the analytical work of the community studying dissolved organic matter in the ocean. A website is maintained that provides direct and convenient links to a growing number of DOC data collected from the global ocean.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
PROJECT OUTCOMES REPORT
Disclaimer
This Project Outcomes Report for the General Public is displayed verbatim as submitted by the Principal Investigator (PI) for this award. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this Report are those of the PI and do not necessarily reflect the views of the National Science Foundation; NSF has not approved or endorsed its content.
When conducting analyses of natural waters such as in the ocean, there can be uncertainty in the result because the concentrations being assessed can be very low and therefore difficult to determine with reliability. Some measurements being made have great importance for understanding the role of the ocean in the Earth climate system, so reliability becomes particularly important. The carbon content of ocean waters has high relevance to climate, so this project sought to improve the measurements of carbon in the ocean across the many international laboratories conducting such analyses. We collected water from the deep ocean, characterized its carbon content, and then sent small volumes of these reference waters to the various laboratories interested in confirming their measurements. We distributed tens of thousands of vials of water to dozens of nations during the project. The receiving laboratories were then able to either confirm their results or work to improve their analyses.
The users of the reference waters are charged a fee for their orders so that laboratory supply costs for generating the products are recovered. The users also cover the shipping costs. The funds returned for the reference waters were used to cover the analytical and material costs, including supplies for the analytical instruments, vials, labels, shipping materials, storage materials, wire charges and refrigeration.
In the end, the many international laboratories have improved their analytical agreement, which makes their results valuable to the international ocean science community and to society at large.
Last Modified: 05/02/2023
Modified by: Dennis A Hansell
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