The Ocean Biogeochemistry Virtual Institute (OBVI)
OBVI aims to refine controls on ocean carbon cycling and ecosystem resilience by advancing our understanding of both regional and global ocean biogeochemistry and developing integrated observations, models, and platforms.
Overview
The ocean plays a profound role in regulating Earth’s climate and acts as a vast repository for carbon and heat. Studies to date reveal that the ocean has absorbed and stored nearly one-third of the carbon dioxide that humans have emitted over the last century. The question of whether it can continue to do so at the same rate is one of the most critical ones we face today. Ocean biogeochemists have developed a broad understanding of how the ocean influences climate, as well as how the ocean sequesters carbon from the Earth’s atmosphere, and the consequences of this increased carbon storage for marine ecosystems. We are lacking, however, a deeper fundamental and mechanistic understanding of the physical, chemical, biological, and geological processes that govern the cycling and storage of carbon in the ocean. We have much to learn about the connections between carbon and other elemental cycles, and the specific roles that marine life plays in shaping those relationships. Current gaps in knowledge impede our ability to predict the extent to which the ocean can continue to sequester carbon dioxide, as well as our ability to predict the structure, function, and resilience of marine ecosystems in a rapidly warming world.
OBVI aims to refine controls on ocean carbon cycling and ecosystem resilience by advancing our understanding of both regional and global ocean biogeochemistry and developing integrated observations, models, and platforms. In partnership with the Schmidt Ocean Institute, OBVI seeks to tackle some of the most challenging biogeochemical data and modeling problems across systems and scales by developing robust approaches for ocean data collection, integration, and interpretation.
OBVI comprises multiple scientific and technological projects that aim to answer important questions about the state and trajectory of ocean carbon export, regional and global model integration, ocean-based climate mitigation strategies, carbon-climate feedbacks, and marine ecosystem impacts as the planet warms and ocean pH decreases. Project teams are forging cross-cutting international research collaborations, build research capacity, and generate novel datasets and models, predominantly in understudied regions in the Global South. Together, OBVI teams address fundamental questions such as the relevance of certain processes to climate projections and mitigation as well as impacts of regional processes on global ocean biogeochemistry. Some OBVI projects will provide the framework for a grand synthesis of biogeochemical controls on ocean carbon and ecosystems, while others focus on key processes within this synthesis, from the open ocean to coastal margins. Over the lifetime of OBVI, these projects will operate as one OBVI team to establish collaborative approaches to overcome shared technical, cultural, or logistical challenges that perpetuate uncertainty regarding the ocean carbon cycle, marine carbon dioxide removal, and marine ecosystem resilience.
OBVI is partnering with the Schmidt Ocean Institute in order to maximize opportunities to support ocean observing and data collection through use of the R/V Falkor (too), a state-of-the-art 110-meter global-class research vessel. Schmidt Ocean Institute is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit operating foundation established by Eric and Wendy Schmidt to advance oceanographic research, discovery, and knowledge, and catalyze sharing of information about the oceans.
Project Descriptions
Integration of models and observations across scales (InMOS)
Led by: Tim DeVries (University of California, Santa Barbara) and Ralph Keeling (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) InMOS is developing a combined multi-scale state estimate of ocean heat, carbon, and oxygen budgets for the past 35 years, with the aim of both reducing uncertainties in these budgets and achieving an unprecedented level of understanding of the physical and biogeochemical processes affecting these interlinked cycles.
Significant uncertainties remain in the global ocean budgets for carbon, oxygen, and heat and their response to anthropogenic climate change and natural variability. These uncertainties are perpetuated by the challenge of integrating atmospheric and oceanic data into global data assimilation models and the difficulty of representing in these models both the large-scale mean state and its small-scale spatial and temporal variability. Leveraging advances in multi-scale machine learning and ocean modeling, InMOS will develop new observational data products, including new atmospheric O2 measurements in the southern subtropics, and multi-scale models for quantifying and understanding multidecadal changes in oceanic and atmospheric cycles of heat, oxygen, and carbon on regional to global scales. This collaboration is led by Tim DeVries (University of California, Santa Barbara) and Ralph Keeling (Scripps Institution of Oceanography) and brings together ocean and atmosphere observational and modeling communities.
Oxygen and biogeochemical dynamics along the west African margin: Processes and consequences (WAM)
Led by: Sarah Fawcett (University of Cape Town), with Sarah Nicholson (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), Laure Resplandy (Princeton University), Daniel Sigman (Princeton University) WAM aims to identify the organizing principles underlying the West African margin’s oxygen dynamics in order to develop regional predictive capacity for oxygen and productivity as well as the biogeochemical and ecosystem-level implications of changes in these parameters.
The future of ocean oxygenation and productivity is highly uncertain, in part because of the array of processes involved, ranging from global-scale atmospheric circulation cells to complex coastal currents. Through coupling measurements and modeling, the WAM team aims to determine the inter-related controls on oxygen and productivity along the west African margin, from the tip of South Africa to the equator, and to identify implications for natural resources. The project will be innovative in its merging of temporal and spatial sampling scales, connecting oceanographic cruises to more continuous occupation of key regions using gliders equipped with biogeochemical, physical, and biological sensors. Simulations with advanced multi-resolution ocean models and their comparison with the observations will clarify processes, quantify rates, and evaluate impacts for the region’s ecosystems and people. The WAM team will work to build marine measurement, monitoring, and modeling capacity in Africa to better serve the needs of its people. This collaboration is led by Sarah Fawcett (University of Cape Town) and includes scientists from academia, research institutions, and government agencies.
Ocean Margins Initiative (OMI)
Led by: Amala Mahadevan (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute), Melissa Omand (University of Rhode Island), and Edem Mahu (University of Ghana) OMI is building a responsive, portable, scalable, and persistent observing and modeling system in the northern Gulf of Guinea to assess and incorporate the effects of an upwelling coastal margin on the basin-wide ocean biogeochemistry.
The ocean margins are some of Earth’s most biologically productive regions but are poorly represented in global climate and carbon cycle models. Improving global carbon cycle projections requires a better understanding of processes at upwelling continental margins on the relevant scales, along with a quantitative description of biogeochemical fluxes across the continental slope. To address this challenge, OMI will assess global and local effects on the coastal zone, which directly impacts coastal cities, and construct an integrated observing and modeling framework for global biogeochemical assessments that is scalable and ultimately transferable to other upwelling ocean margins. This collaboration is led by Amala Mahadevan (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute), Melissa Omand (University of Rhode Island), and Edem Mahu (University of Ghana) and will engage with a West African summer school on marine science, the Ghanaian fishing community, and general public to ensure that the discoveries find practical use in local communities.
Subtropical Underwater Biogeochemistry and Subsurface Export Alliance (SUBSEA)
Led by: Matthew Church (University of Montana) SUBSEA seeks to understand the effect of subsurface ecosystems on biogeochemical cycles responsible for the sequestration of carbon dioxide in subtropical gyres. SUBSEA aims to disentangle the effects of two major pathways of nutrient supply, from above and below, in sustaining primary production and controlling carbon export in the subsurface layer.
The subtropical ocean gyres are some of Earth’s largest continuous biomes and are responsible for ~20% of marine primary production and carbon export to the deep sea. In order to predict how the marine biosphere will respond to planetary change, comprehensive studies are needed to understand the complex space-time structure of the photic zone, from the sea surface to approximately 200 meters below, and its role in the biological carbon pump. Leveraging shipboard observations in the North Pacific and South Atlantic, SUBSEA aims to generate a mechanistic understanding of carbon and nutrient flow through the subsurface photic zone by determining the extent to which import of nitrogen from the surface ocean subsidizes plankton productivity and carbon export. This collaboration is led by Matthew Church (University of Montana), and comprises an international team of biogeochemists, oceanographers, and plankton ecologists.
Animals as Living Bioreactors: The role of animal gut microbiomes in shaping oceanic carbon cycling and export
Led by: Anitra Ingalls (University of Washington) The Animals as Living Bioreactors project aims to improve mechanistic understanding of the controls on carbon flux in the ocean by examining how the interconnected metabolisms and gut microbiomes of midwater animals influence the biological carbon pump.
Midwater animal guts may be underappreciated hotspots for microbial organic matter transformations and keystone biomolecule production on a scale of global significance, yet our knowledge of the pathways, processes, and rates of organic matter cycling within the guts of animals is in its infancy. No studies to date have comprehensively examined organic matter transformations occurring within the guts of either Diel Vertical Migration (DVM) or non-DVM midwater animals. To address this challenge, the Bioreactors team will unite the study of microbial and animal processes by examining how animal metabolisms and gut microbiomes control the fate of carbon through a combination of observational, experimental, and theoretical approaches. By integrating these findings into predictive models and fostering collaborative relationships with scientists in Madagascar and Brazil, the project aims to enhance global capacity to study oceanic carbon cycling. This collaboration is led by Anitra Ingalls (University of Washington) and is designed to bridge disciplines that historically have not worked together to conduct scientific research.
OBVI Advisory Board
Peter Girguis
Harvard University
Peter Girguis is a Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and an Adjunct Oceanographer in Applied Ocean Engineering and Physics at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute. His research examines the relationship between organismal ecology, physiology, and biogeochemical cycles employing a variety of tools from genomics to biogeochemical measurements. Dr. Girguis and his lab also develops novel methods and technologies to explore marine environments, such as underwater mass spectrometers, underwater microbial fuel cells, and deep sea autonomous laboratories. In order to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in the sciences, Dr. Girguis has co-founded a high-school marine science internship program at Harvard, leads DEI efforts in ocean sciences in the U.S. and abroad, and works closely with United Nations delegates to promote democratization of ocean sciences around the world.
Dr. Girguis received his B.S. from the University of California, Los Angeles and his Ph.D. from the University of California, Santa Barbara. He carried out postdoctoral research at the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute with Dr. Edward Delong on the growth and population dynamics of anaerobic methanotrophs. Dr. Girguis has received numerous awards, including the Petra Shattuck Excellence in Teaching award from Harvard University and Lowell Thomas Award for groundbreaking advances in Marine Science and Technology. In 2020, he was named a Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation Investigator for his research on marine symbioses. Dr. Girguis currently serves as a board member of the Ocean Exploration Trust and the Schmidt Marine Technology Partners, among other consortia across the international science community.
Visit the Girguis Lab website for more information about their work.
Quote: “I’m honored and delighted to be a part of this effort. The ocean may well be Earth’s most complex feature. Even after centuries of ocean science and exploration, we have much to learn about the ocean system, including its role in Earth’s biogeochemical cycles. I am hopeful that we, as a community, can revolutionize how we study ocean biogeochemical processes, for the health and well-being of our planet and all of humankind.”
David Karl
University of Hawai’i at Mānoa
David Karl is the Victor and Peggy Brandstrom Pavel Professor of Microbial Oceanography and Director of the Daniel K. Inouye Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, leading the Laboratory for Microbial Oceanography within the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST). Dr. Karl has spent more than 1,000 days conducting research at sea including 23 expeditions to Antarctica. In 1988 he co-founded the Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) program that has conducted sustained physical, biogeochemical and microbial measurements and experiments at Station ALOHA on approximately monthly intervals for the past 35 years. In 2006, Dr. Karl led a team of scientists in the establishment of The Center for Microbial Oceanography: Research and Education (C-MORE) – a new NSF-supported Science and Technology Center that conducts collaborative research on marine microorganisms from genomes to biomes, and has a vital training mission to help prepare the next generation of microbial oceanographers. He is also the co-director of the The Simons Collaboration on Ocean Processes and Ecology (SCOPE) program, which aims to advance our understanding of the biology, biogeochemistry, ecology and evolution of microbial processes at Station ALOHA.
Dr. Karl holds a PhD from the University of California, San Diego, Scripps Institution of Oceanography. received several awards and honors including the G. Evelyn Hutchinson Medal from the American Society for Limnology and Oceanography, the Henry Bryant Bigelow Medal from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, the Alexander Agassiz Medal from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences and an honorary D.Sc. degree from the University of Chicago. He is a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union and the American Academy of Microbiology, and a member of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences.
Visit the SOEST website for more information about his work.
Quote: “I am thrilled to be part of the OBVI project. The mission is timely, important and one of the most challenging in all of ocean science for understanding the current and future states of our planet. I look forward to meaningful collaborations and unexpected discoveries.”
Debbie Lindell
Technion – Israel Institute of Technology
Debbie Lindell is the Dresner Chair in life sciences and medicine at Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and a Simons Foundation SCOPE Investigator. Dr. Lindell explores the interactions between viruses and their hosts in marine environments – from the Red Sea to the North Pacific Ocean. Her research uses a combination of laboratory experimentation, oceanographic fieldwork, and molecular biology to investigate the ecology, physiology and evolution of host-virus interactions, with the goal of understanding how these interactions impact the ecological roles of both cyanobacteria and cyanophages in ocean ecosystems. The Lindell lab focuses primarily on the marine cyanobacteria, Synechococcus, and Prochlorococcus, abundant primary producers of global importance, and the viruses that infect them.
Dr. Lindell holds a M.S. and Ph.D. from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Interuniversity Institute of Marine Sciences. She completed postdoctoral research training at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology studying the physiological and evolutionary implications of photosynthesis genes in phages that infect Prochlorococcus. Dr. Lindell received the Yigal Alon Fellowship from the Israel Council for Higher Education (2007-2010), the Robert J. Shillman Career Advancement Chair from the Technion (2007-2012) and the Krill prize for scientific excellence from the Wolf Foundation (2009). Recently, Dr. Lindell received the 2022 “Morton and Beverley Rechler” Prize for Excellence in Research at the Technion.
Visit the Lindell Lab website for more information about their work.
Quote:
“I am excited to be part of Schmidt Sciences’ OBVI to help shape the program. I am particularly looking forward to working with innovative scientists to gain a fundamental understanding of ocean biogeochemistry and the ability to accurately model and predict ocean carbon cycling.”
Matthew Long
National Center for Atmospheric Research
Matthew Long is a Scientist in the Oceanography Section of the Climate & Global Dynamics Laboratory at the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) where he works on the development and application of the Community Earth System Model and conducts cross-cutting research pertaining to biogeochemical modeling, the global carbon cycle, airborne CO2 observations, climate change and marine ecosystems. Prior to NCAR, Dr. Long built and deployed instruments to measure ocean carbon variables on seagoing expeditions. Dr. Long is co-founder of [C]worthy, which is currently a project incubated by Convergent Research, part of the Schmidt Sciences network, and aims to develop into a full-scale Focused Research Organization by 2024.
Dr. Long holds a B.S. and M.S. in environmental engineering from Tufts University and a Ph.D. in oceanography from Stanford University. He has served on a number of professional research boards, including the Ocean Carbon & Biogeochemistry (OCB) Scientific Steering Committee and NOAA Integrated Ecosystem Assessment Climate Change Working Group.
Visit Dr. Long’s website for more information about his work.
Quote:
“The ocean provides many critical ecosystem services essential to human well-being and the habitability of the planet—yet our ability to understand and predict the response of marine ecosystems to a changing climate and growing human impacts remains insufficient. I am excited to engage with a diverse group of researchers in OBVI to confront these challenges, advancing our fundamental understanding of the ocean and improving the capacity for informed decision making.”
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