Space born radiometers used to estimate near surface phytoplankton community properties measure light reflected from the ocean in the visible spectrum. The depth of penetration of electromagnetic…

This federal contract award, NNX17AB49G, was granted to the University of Washington by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Shared Services Center. The $131,720.18 grant is to fund research on the interaction between the wind-driven ocean surface and the geostrophically dominated interior, using satellite and airborne ocean color observations, in-situ data, and analytical models. The research aims to develop a mechanistic understanding of the transfer of nutrients and loss of phytoplankton between the surface and ocean interior. There is no set-aside designation for this award. The University of Washington has previously received prime federal contract and grant awards from agencies such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and National Institutes of Health, demonstrating its capabilities in delivering a range of research services to government customers.

Space born radiometers used to estimate near surface phytoplankton community properties measure light reflected from the ocean in the visible spectrum. The depth of penetration of electromagnetic radiation in this frequency range is a function of the opacity of the ocean s surface, ranging from a few tens of centimeters in optically dense water to many tens of meters in clear water. The physical variability of this near surface strata is primarily wind driven and is nearly always entirely constrained to the so called surface mixed layer. Yet, the systematic and persistent influence of geostrophic motions, such as eddies and meanders, which dominate variability below the mixed layer, can be observed in ocean color observations (e.g., chelton ET AL., 2011; gaube ET AL., 2013, 2014; siegel ET AL., 2007, 2011), suggesting that the near surface wind driven slab" is permeable, allowing fluxes of biologically relevant quantities to occur in conjunction with mesoscale modulations of the oceans interior. The interaction of the wind driven ocean s surface with its geostrophically dominated interior has been a topic of much interest in the field of physical oceanography (gill, 1982; pedlosky, 1987). Multiple dynamically consistent analytical models exist (e.g., early, 2012) that can be used to inform the interpretation of ocean color data. I propose to examine the interaction of the near surface, wind driven permeable slab with the geostorophically dominated interior ocean by analyzing near surface ocean color observations from satellites (seawifs, modis, and viirs) and air borne sensors (gcas and hsrl) in conjunction with in situ profiles of these optical properties and stratification in order to develop a mechanistic understanding of the interaction of the permeable slab with the ocean interior. I will apply existing analytical models in conjunction with observations to simulate the transfer of nutrients into the near-surface ocean as well as the loss of phytoplankton to the ocean interior, allowing, for the first time, the physical and biological characteristic of this interaction to be understood.