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Ocean margin exchange

Objective



Quantification of fluxes across the ocean margins is a
fundamental requirement for the evaluation of the carbon
budget and exchange of nutrients and associated trace elements between the continents, the coastal zone, and the open ocean.
Ocean Margin Exchange (OMEX) is designed to study the
exchanges and processes occurring at the European
continent/ocean margins in the North Atlantic. OMEX is a
process-oriented project composed of five subprojects:
Physics, Biological Processes, Biogeochemical Cycles, Benthic Processes - including Geology, Geochemistry and Biology-, and finally Carbon Cycling & Biogases.

The objectives of OMEX may be formulated in terms of the
following key questions:

1) What are the principal processes controlling fluxes of
water and particles in geomorphologically contrasting
slopes or shelf-edge systems?

2) Which part of the shelf primary production is sustained by oceanic nutrient fluxes versus river and atmospheric
inputs?

3) Is shelf production exported to the open ocean and are
shelf slopes depo-centres for the missing carbon?

4) What are the consequences of biologic discontinuities and of benthic-pelagic uncoupling at the shelf edge on the
carbon fluxes?

5) Is the diversity in the benthic community structure and production controlled by the balance between horizontal
and vertical fluxes?

6) How does the ocean margin exchange affect the behaviour of trace elements? How do the scavenging processes in
shelf edge systems control the reactivity and residence
time of trace metals and radionuclides?

7) What are the characteristics and types of biogases
produced on the shelf, exchanged with the atmosphere, or
exported to the open ocean?

8) What is the sensibility of the processes mentioned in the above questions in response to global climatic change and
sea-level rise?

The European coastal and continental margin setting provides a unique opportunity for investigating a wide diversity of ocean margin environments. During the first phase of the OMEX
project, the Goban Spur area in the Celtic Sea (characterized by a broad continental shelf where the circulation is
dominated by internal tides and waves) has been chosen as the principal study site. The Iberian margin (characterized by a very narrow continental shelf, a very steep continental slope, and a limited river water input where upwelling of deep ocean waters onto the shelf is coupled with offshore transport of
surface waters following northerly winds) has been selected as a secondary site for OMEX.

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Call for proposal

Data not available

Funding Scheme

CSC - Cost-sharing contracts

Coordinator

UNIVERSITE LIBRE DE BRUXELLES
EU contribution
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Address
Boulevard du Triomphe Campus de la Plaine
1050 BRUXELLES
Belgium

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Participants (32)

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Last update: 28 June 1993

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Permalink: https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/MAS20069

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