Project description
Examining biochemical factors affecting Indian Ocean nitrogen fixation
Subtropical gyres, often called ocean deserts, have low biological productivity but play a vital role in carbon sequestration. This productivity relies on diazotrophs, microorganisms that convert nitrogen (N2) into usable forms. Uncertainty in predicting productivity for the 21st century arises from limited data, especially in the Indian Ocean, which accounts for only 1 % of global N2 fixation observations. Current research often overlooks the influence of ocean circulation and microbial interactions. The ERC-funded EXPAND project will study how N2 fixation controls the seasonal expansion of the Indian Ocean gyre. It will track changes using satellite data and in situ measurements, while studying how chemical, physical, and biological factors affect N2 fixation through experiments and analyses. Year-round monitoring will be conducted using new technology moored to the seafloor.
Objective
Often called ‘ocean deserts’, subtropical gyres have low biological productivity but, due to their immense size, contribute significantly to carbon sequestration regulating global climate. In gyres, biological productivity strongly depends on nitrogen supplied by microbes called diazotrophs, capable of fixing molecular nitrogen (N2) into bioavailable nitrogen forms. Earth system models predict increasing uncertainty in biological productivity towards the end of the 21st century. Such uncertainty responds to N2 fixation parametrisation in models and is largely driven by the scarce observations available in the Indian Ocean (IO), representing only 1% of the N2 fixation data available globally. Moreover, our current understanding of N2 fixation is mainly based on nutrient availability (phosphorus and iron) impacts on diazotrophs. However, my previous research shows that other controls including ocean circulation and diazotroph/non-diazotroph interactions are key in shaping N2 fixation inputs locally. None of these controls have been comprehensively examined over the vast extension of the IO, nor throughout seasons. We will conduct oceanographic expeditions covering the full extension of the IO gyre at its minimum and maximum expansion seasons. Gyre expansion will be tracked with satellite and in situ hydrographic and current speed measurements. The impact of chemical (nutrients), physical (ocean circulation), and biological (species interactions) controls on N2 fixation will be comprehensively measured, using at-sea experiments and up-to-date isotopic and molecular analyses. Moreover, seasonal variability will be monitored over a full year with mooring lines anchored at the centre, northern and southern edges of the gyre, equipped with DNA samplers and a newly designed automatic device measuring N2 fixation rates. These datasets will link cellular to ecosystem processes, bridging the gap between ocean desert expansion and N2 fixation in the world’s least explored gyre.
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CORDIS classifies projects with EuroSciVoc, a multilingual taxonomy of fields of science, through a semi-automatic process based on NLP techniques. See: The European Science Vocabulary.
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- social sciences economics and business economics production economics productivity
- natural sciences biological sciences ecology ecosystems
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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(opens in new window) ERC-2024-COG
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SO14 3ZH Southampton
United Kingdom
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