Project Objectives
The overall goal of this project is to develop carbon budgets for the Mid-Atlantic Bight (MAB) and South Atlantic Bight (SAB) of the east coast of the United States. The specific research questions that would allow us to address this overall goal are:
1) What are the dominant food web pathways that control carbon cycling and flux in the MAB and SAB?
2) Are there fundamental differences in the manner in which carbon is cycled on the continental shelves of the MAB and SAB?
3) What is the fate of DOC input to the continental shelf?
4) Is the carbon cycle of the MAB and SAB sensitive to climate and change?
To address these specific research questions, we proposed to undertake three tasks:
1) the development and implementation of circulation, biogeochemistry, and carbon cycling models for the MAB and SAB continental shelf regions;
2) an extensive satellite and in situ data analysis program; and
3) a limited field measurement effort.