Cowling, Beth
Project Title
Jungle BOOGIE: An investigation of the tropical riverine supply and fate of organic matter to the ocean skin layer
Abstract
Oceans are a global reservoir of greenhouse gases, estimated to account for 20–40% of the post-industrial sink for anthropogenic carbon dioxide. However, quantifying the exchange of greenhouse gases between the ocean and atmosphere is a major challenge. Understanding how the ocean’s organic skin layer modulates this exchange is critical to estimate the intrinsic oceanic sinks and sources of these key gases both now and in the future. Organic material in the ocean skin layer, known as surfactants, are derived from multiple sources undergoing biogeochemical transformations along the land-ocean continuum. This project focuses on modelling and identifying the organic matter present in water sources in the tropical rainforests of Guyana and analysing its changing composition through transportation to the surface ocean. Ultimately, this contributes to understanding how these factors across land to ocean combine to influence air-sea gas exchange in the Atlantic Ocean.
Supervisors
Dr Ryan Pereira
Prof. Thomas Wagner