Project: Collaborative Research: Impacts of atmospheric nitrogen deposition on the biogeochemistry of oligotrophic coastal waters

Acronym/Short Name:DANCE
Project Duration:2013-03 - 2017-02
Geolocation:Offshore Mid-Atlantic Bight and northern South-Atlantic Bight between latitudes 31.60°N and 38.89°N, and longitudes 71.09°W and 75.16°W

Description

NSF abstract:

Deposition of atmospheric nitrogen provides reactive nitrogen species that influence primary production in nitrogen-limited regions. Although it is generally assumed that these species in precipitation contributes substantially to anthropogenic nitrogen loadings in many coastal marine systems, its biological impact remains poorly understood. Scientists from Pennsylvania State University, William & Mary College, and Old Dominion University will carry out a process-oriented field and modeling effort to test the hypothesis that deposits of wet atmospheric nitrogen (i.e., precipitation) stimulate primary productivity and accumulation of algal biomass in coastal waters following summer storms and this effect exceeds the associated biogeochemical responses to wind-induced mixing and increased stratification caused by surface freshening in oligotrophic coastal waters of the eastern United States. To attain their goal, the researchers would perform a Lagrangian field experiment during the summer months in coastal waters located between Delaware Bay and the coastal Carolinas to determine the response of surface-layer biogeochemistry and biology to precipitation events, which will be identified and intercepted using radar and satellite data. As regards the modeling effort, a 1-D upper ocean mixing model and a 1-D biogeochemical upper-ocean will be calibrated by assimilating the field data obtained a part of the study using the adjoint method. The hypothesis will be tested using sensitivity studies with the calibrated model combined with in-situ data and results from the incubation experiments. Lastly, to provide regional and historical context for the field measurements and the associated 1-D modeling, linked regional atmospheric-oceanic biogeochemical modeling will be conducted.

Broader Impacts. Results from the study would be incorporated into class lectures for graduate courses on marine policy and marine biogeochemistry. One graduate student from Pennsylvania State University, one graduate student from the College of William and Mary, and one graduate and one undergraduate student from Old Dominion University would be supported and trained as part of this project.


DatasetLatest Version DateCurrent State
Nutrients and iron in shipboard aerosol and rain samples collected during R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 in the Mid-Atlantic Bight and northern South-Atlantic Bight from July to August of 2014 (DANCE project)2018-06-18Final no updates expected
Trace-metals from CTD casts and underway water samples collected during the R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 in the Mid and South-Atlantic Bight in August of 2014 (DANCE project)2018-04-25Final no updates expected
Dissolved inorganic nitrogen, chlorophyll-a, and primary production from bioassay experiments during the R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 in the Mid and South-Atlantic Bight in August of 2014 (DANCE project)2018-04-25Final no updates expected
Temperature and salinity from drifters deployed during R/V Hugh R. Sharp DANCE cruise HRS1414 in the Mid and South-Atlantic Bight from July to August of 2014 (DANCE project)2018-04-19Final no updates expected
Net primary production and nutrient data from R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 CTD casts in the Mid and South-Atlantic Bight from July to August of 2014 (DANCE project)2018-04-19Final no updates expected
AQMET Air quality and meteorological measurements measured measured during DANCE cruise HRS1414 aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp from July to August 2014.2018-04-05Final no updates expected
Total column nitrogen dioxide (NO2) measured measured during DANCE cruise HRS1414 aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp from July to August 2014.2018-03-27Final no updates expected
Total column ozone (O3) measured measured during DANCE cruise HRS1414 aboard the R/V Hugh R. Sharp from July to August 2014.2018-03-27Final no updates expected
Temperature and salinity data from binned CTD data collected during R/V Hugh R. Sharp cruise HRS1414 in the Mid and South-Atlantic Bight from July to August of 2014 (DANCE project)2018-03-23Final no updates expected

People

Lead Principal Investigator: Raymond Najjar
Pennsylvania State University (PSU)

Principal Investigator: Marjorie A.M. Friedrichs
Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS)

Principal Investigator: Margaret Mulholland
Old Dominion University (ODU)

Co-Principal Investigator: Peter N. Sedwick
Old Dominion University (ODU)

Co-Principal Investigator: Anne W. Thompson
Institute for Systems Biology (ISB)

Contact: Raymond Najjar
Pennsylvania State University (PSU)


Data Management Plan

DMP_OCE_1259187_1260574_1260454_Najjar_et_al.pdf (87.59 KB)
02/09/2025