This National Science Foundation (NSF) Geosciences Program (CFDA 47.050) Project Grant award of $691,259 to Oregon State University (OSU) aims to better understand the linkages between the oceanic cycles of iron and carbon. The project will combine field data from the Bermuda Atlantic Time-series Study (BATS) region and the eastern North Atlantic with targeted experiments and ocean biogeochemical modeling to examine the "colloidal shunt" mechanism, whereby dissolved iron forms aggregates with organic carbon to create particulate matter that sinks out of the upper water column. This research will focus on how dissolved organic carbon and iron-binding ligands mediate the colloidal shunt, and how this process may provide a pathway for vertical export of both particulate iron and organic carbon, which could impact the biological carbon pump in subtropical and tropical oceans. The award, effective April 1, 2025, will support the education and training of undergraduate, graduate, and postdoctoral researchers, as well as outreach activities connecting K-12 and undergraduate students with the research. No subawards are planned for this project.
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