MEL-REL Research
U/Th and C fluxes
A rapid nuclear technique using the disequilibria between natural uranium and thorium in sea water is being employed to indirectly measure the removal of biologically produced carbon from the upper ocean and vertical transport to the depths. These data are being compared with carbon flux measurements using sediment traps. The project is also delineating the factors that govern the temporal and spatial variability of carbon flux in coastal shelf waters from different regions, as well as the suitability of the Th-U technique for rapidly estimating carbon removal and downward flux. Radiotracer and isotopic signatures are also being used to establish the origin and transfer pathways of carbon in the marine environment.
