Bjorn Sundby

Document prepared by:GEOTRACES IPO

Index

1. Overview of the GEOTRACES International Programme

2. Status of GEOTRACES Section Cruises

3. 2015 GEOTRACES International Arctic Programme

4. Examples of GEOTRACES Scientific Results

5. GEOTRACES Data Management

6. GEOTRACES Intercalibration Programme

7. GEOTRACES Workshops and Meetings

8. GEOTRACES Special Sessions at International Conferences

9. GEOTRACES International Office: new products

GEOTRACES International Programme

• Current Co-chairs: Gideon Henderson (University of Oxford, UK) Ed Boyle (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA)

• GEOTRACES is an international programme which aims to improve the understanding of biogeochemical cycles and large-scale distribution of trace elements and their isotopes in the marine environment.

• Scientists from approximately 30 nations have been involved in the programme, which is designed to study all major ocean basins over the next decade.

• GEOTRACES Science Plan (2006).

• International Project Office (IPO) in Toulouse, France (2010) and International Data Assembly Centre (GDAC) in Liverpool, UK (2008).

• Central GEOTRACES activities including IPO and GDAC securing funded until end 2014 at least with contributions from US-NSF and seven other nations.

GEOTRACES International Programme

Status of GEOTRACES Section Cruises

In red: Planned Sections.

In yellow: Completed Sections.

(Dotted yellow: Completed Sections since 2011 SCOR Report)

In black: Sections completed as GEOTRACES contribution to the IPY.

37 cruises (17 GEOTRACES Section cruises) completed

Atlantic Ocean

CompletedGA02: Netherlands (2010/11)GA03: USA (2010/11)GA06: UK (2011)GA10: UK (2010/11)GA11: Germany (2010)

Firm plansGA04: Netherlands (2013)

Future plansGA01: France (2014)

Indian Ocean

CompletedGI04: Japan (2010)GI02: India (2012)

Firm PlansGI01: India (2013)GI03: India (2013)

Future PlansGI05: Australia/France (2014/2015)

Pacific Ocean

CompletedGP03: Japan (2010)GP13: Aus/NZ (2011)GP18: Japan (2011)GP12: France (2012)GP02: Japan (2012)

Firm PlansGP16: USA (2013)

Future plansGP04: Canada (2014)GP06: China-JapanGP07: China-TaipeiGP08: ChinaGP09: ChinaGP10: Japan (2014)GP11: AustraliaGP15: USA (2014)GP19: Japan (2014)

GEOTRACES Arctic Workshop (May 2-4, 2012 - Vancouver, Canada)

2015 GEOTRACES International Arctic Programme

Proposed tentative cruise tracks:

• Red (US, UK, Russia)• Magenta (Canada)• Yellow (Sweden)• Black (Germany)

Yellow dots denote cross-

over stations to be occupied

by more than one national

program for calibration.

Report available on the GEOTRACES site: http://www.geotraces.org

GEOTRACES Science Highlights: ExampleResults from the GEOTRACES Cruise Section GPY11

Figure: Distribution of Ba on section C, which reaches from the Kara Sea at 81.25°N to the Alpha Ridge at 84.5°N. Isolines are at 2 nM intervals.

Comparision of data of dissolved barium (Ba) and data of dissolved aluminium (Al) and silicate (Si) collected onboard the GEOTRACES cruise GIPY11 is used to distinguish between signals produced by the regeneration of sinking particles and signals derived from entrainment of shelf waters (Roeske, 2012).

The new approach (Hsieh et al, 2011) uses the common geochemical behaviour of two isotopes of the same chemical element (thorium;Th), whose sources to the surface seawater are totally different (and independent).

Hsieh and co-workers successfully applied this approach in the central Atlantic Ocean, including an assessment of aerosol fluxes associated with the dust plume blowing from South American over the South Atlantic (see photo).

This new method is now being incorporated into GEOTRACES cruises across the Atlantic and beyond.

GEOTRACES Science Highlights: Example

New Strategy to Evaluate Trace Element Fluxes to the Ocean from Aerosols

GEOTRACES Science Highlights: Example

Dissolved Pb data from the US GEOTRACES North Atlantic Transect

[Pb] sections (pmol/kg] are plotted west to east across the basin (above left) and eastern basin stations running south to north (above right). High Pb in intermediate waters remains from ventilation during previous decades when surface Pb concentrations were an order of magnitude higher than today. Surface and thermocline concentrations have decreased significantly relative to data from 1989 and 1999. Station 16 sampled the TAG hydrothermal plume, and Pb appears to be scavenged within the hydrothermal particulate plume.

Boyle Lab MIT Pb data by Abigail Noble and Yolanda Echegoyen-Sanz

GEOTRACES Science Highlights: Example

For the first time detailed mercury (Hg) speciation was determined along an Australia-Antarctic section (Cossa, et al., 2011) and cadmium (Cd) isotopes along a South Africa-Antarctic section (Abouchami W., et al., 2011). Both were acquired along two IPY-GEOTRACES sections.

Hg species distribution suggests distinct features in the Southern ocean Hg cycle: (i)net atmospheric Hg deposition on surface water near the ice edge, (ii) Hg enrichment in brines during sea-ice formation and (iii) a methylmercury maximum close to Antarctica, far from anthropogenic Hg emissions (see figure below).

Recent and Original Results in the Southern Ocean on Mercury speciation and Cadmium isotopes

Cd isotope ratios and concentrations are distributed into two distinct Cd isoscapes, delimiting two biogeochemical provinces the Antarctic Circumpolar Current (ACC) and Weddell Gyre (see figure). 

A doubling of the isotope effect due to biological consumption of Cd is observed during water transport from the Weddell Sea into the ACC. The increase in the magnitude of Cd isotope fractionation, as a result of enhanced phytoplankton biomass and altered species composition in the Southern Ocean, demonstrates that Cd isotopes could potentially serve as a useful measure of biological productivity.

GEOTRACES Science Highlights: Example

Recent and Original Results… (cont.)

It is now possible to measure simultaneously and precisely manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb) concentrations in seawater using only 40 ml of sample.

All the cooking recipes and techniques are given in the recent detailed article of Dondra Biller and Kenneth Bruland in Marine Chemistry (Biller and Bruland, 2012).

Measuring precisely with only 40 ml of sample

GEOTRACES Science Highlights: Example

Find more GEOTRACES highlights at: http://www.geotraces.org/science/science-highlight

GEOTRACES Data Management

• GEOTRACES Data Assembly Center (GDAC) hosted by the British Oceanography Centre (BODC) in Liverpool, UK.– GEOTRACES Data Manager: Ed Mawji

• Activities overseen by an International Data Management Committee.– Co-chairs: Reiner Schlitzer (Alfred Wegener Institute, Germany)

Chris Measures (University of Hawai`i at Manoa, US)

GEOTRACES Data Management

• A total of 37 cruises and 775 data sets identified:– 14 IPY cruises – 1 compliant cruise– 5 process studies– 17 GEOTRACES section cruises

• GEOTRACES Intermediate Data Product to be released in spring 2014.

GEOTRACES Standards and Intercalibration Committee

• Chair: Greg Cutter (Old Dominion University, US)

• The Standards and Intercalibration Committee met to evaluate the accuracy of sampling and analyses of data from crossover stations (University of Plymouth, UK, 6-9 March 2012).

– Data from 6 crossover stations in the Atlantic Ocean (2009-2011). In total 3600 data points were examined.

– The committee concluded that the agreement between data examined is reasonable for the most part.

• Special issue of Limnology and Oceanography: Methods entitled, “Intercalibration in Chemical Oceanography” devoted to GEOTRACES Intercalibration: http://www.aslo.org/lomethods/si/intercal2012.html

• GEOTRACES Sampling and Sample-handling Protocols for GEOTRACES Cruises available on the GEOTRACES site. http://www.geotraces.org

GEOTRACES Standards and Intercalibration Committee (cont.)

Completed Workshops and Meetings (since 2011 SCOR meeting)

November 2011

November 2011

April 2012April 2012

September 2012

September 2012

October 2011

October 2011

September 2011

September 2011

May 2012May 2012

May 2012

2011 GEOTRACES SSC meeting, China

2011 GEOTRACES SSC meeting, China

Mediterranean Planning Meeting, France

Mediterranean Planning Meeting, France

3rd GEOTRACES Data-Model Synergy Workshop, Spain

3rd GEOTRACES Data-Model Synergy Workshop, Spain

2 GEOTRACES Cruise Sections and 3 Process Studies Planned

2 GEOTRACES Cruise Sections and 3 Process Studies Planned

84 ParticipantsWhite Paper Document forthcoming

84 ParticipantsWhite Paper Document forthcoming

GEOTRACES Arctic Planning Workshop, Germany

GEOTRACES Arctic Planning Workshop, Germany (1) Coordination of an Arctic International

GEOTRACES Research Programme(2) Coordination of this programme with

other relevant Arctic Programmes

(1) Coordination of an Arctic International GEOTRACES Research Programme

(2) Coordination of this programme with other relevant Arctic Programmes

GEOTRACES Arctic Planning Workshop, Canada

GEOTRACES Arctic Planning Workshop, Canada

Training School « Are your GEOTRACES Data reliable? », UK

Training School « Are your GEOTRACES Data reliable? », UK

Workshop « Stable Isotopes of biological important metals », UK

Workshop « Stable Isotopes of biological important metals », UK

21 trainees from 11 countries21 trainees from 11 countries

50 participants from 12 countries50 participants from 12 countries

Outputs

October 2012

October 2012

Workshop « Voltammetry and GEOTRACES », Croatia

Workshop « Voltammetry and GEOTRACES », Croatia 40 participants from 14 countries40 participants from 14 countries

Forthcoming Workshops and Meetings in 2012

October 2012October 2012GEOTRACES SSC Meeting

(29-31 October, Goa, India)GEOTRACES SSC Meeting

(29-31 October, Goa, India)

GEOTRACES Latin American Workshop(12-15 November, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)GEOTRACES Latin American Workshop

(12-15 November, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

GEOTRACES Russian Workshop(27-30 November, Moscow, Russia)

GEOTRACES Russian Workshop(27-30 November, Moscow, Russia)

GEOTRACES Data Management Committee (27-28 October, Goa, India)

GEOTRACES Data Management Committee (27-28 October, Goa, India)

November 2012November 2012

Forthcoming Workshops and Meetings in 2012 (cont.)

• GEOTRACES Latin American Workshop (November 12-15, 2012, Brazil)

• To foster the involvement of Latin American (LA) scientists in the program.

• Objectives:

1) Define scientific questions of global interest that are geographically proximal to LA nations

2) Define scientific questions of national or regional interest that would benefit from international collaboration.

3) Identify opportunities and strategies for collaboration within the scope of the GEOTRACES Program.

4) Identify opportunities for technology transfer and training that would increase the capacity of scientists in LA nations to undertake GEOTRACES-related research.

• Russian GEOTRACES Workshop (November 27-30, 2012, Moscow, Russia)

• To foster the involvement of Russian scientists in the programme.

• Objectives:

1) Identify opportunities and strategies for collaboration within the scope of the GEOTRACES Programme.

2) Discuss the 2015 GEOTRACES International Arctic Programme and explore possibilities of cruises in the Russian exclusive economic zone in the Arctic Ocean.

Forthcoming Workshops and Meetings in 2012 (cont.)

Special Sessions at International Conferences

• Completed:

– 2012 Ocean Science Meeting, February 20-24, Salt Lake City, USA.

– 2012 Goldschmidt, June 24-29, 2012, Montreal, Canada.

• Forthcoming:

– 2012 AGU Fall meeting, December 3-7, 2012, San Francisco, USA.• GEOTRACES Sessions:

– S013: Isotope Tracers in the 21st Century Ocean: New Results, Interesting Challenges, and Unique Opportunities.

– OS036: Sources, Sinks, and Speciation of Marine Micronutrient Trace Elements.

Special Sessions at International Conferences

• Forthcoming…

– ASLO 2013, Aquatic Sciences Meeting, 17-22 February 2013, New Orleans, Louisiana, US.

• GEOTRACES Sessions:– SS57: Trace Elements and Isotopes in the Ocean and Atmosphere:

the International GEOTRACES Program.– SS08: Biogeochemistry of Metal-binding Organic Ligands in the

Ocean: Sources, Composition and Impacts on Trace Metal Cycling.

GEOTRACES International Project Office (Toulouse, France)

• Staff:– Catherine Jeandel (Scientific Director)– Elena Masferrer Dodas (Executive Officer)

• Assisting GEOTRACES SSC: working with co-chairs, representing the project at international meetings, liaising with other projects and sponsors, interacting with GEOTRACES national committees and groups, reports from meetings.

• Communications/outreach: including Web site, maintenance of mailing lists, capacity building, etc.

• Administration/logistics: fund raising, managing project finances, logistics for

meetings. • Assist the GEOTRACES data Assembly Centre in securing data and metadata

from national field programs, as directed by the SSC.

GEOTRACES Web site>> www.geotraces.org

GEOTRACES Web site: number of visits by country/year

Some statistics (31 August 2011 to 31 August 2012):•Total visits: 15.319 visitors –> 42 visits/day (average)•Absolute Unique Visitors: 2.990•Pageviews: 45.103

GEOTRACES IPO New Products

• 3 GEOTRACES Databases available on the GEOTRACES Web site:

– GEOTRACES Researchers Analytical Expertise Database:

• It will facilitate search when an analytical expertise is needed.• It will allow to show « who does what » in the Programme.

• On-line form to register available on the GEOTRACES Web site:http://www.geotraces.org/science/geotraces-researchers-

expertise-form

− GEOTRACES Peer-reviewed Papers Database (101 papers included)

− GEOTRACES PhD Dissertations Database (9 PhD included)

Both available on the GEOTRACES site:http://www.geotraces.org/library/scientific-publications/peer-reviewed-papershttp://www.geotraces.org/library/scientific-publications/phd-dissertations

GEOTRACES IPO New Products (cont.)

• Outreach Resources:

− GEOTRACES Science Highlights eNewsletter (trimestral publication).

− Outreach Resources Library (available on the Web site for SSC members).

− New Brochure available on the Web site.− GEOTRACES Poster available on the Web site.

− Soon: GEOTRACES eNewsletter (to be presented at the SSC meeting).

GEOTRACES IPO New Products (cont.)

Thank you very much!

We invite you to join our mailing list and to be informed about all GEOTRACES activities by visting the GEOTRACES

Web site:

www.geotraces.org