The Biosphere

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The Biosphere
Carla Makinen Marine Technician NASA Wallops
Flight Facility Wallops Island, Virginia
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What is the Biosphere?

• All regions of the Earth that are capable of
  supporting life.
• Evolved about 3.5 billion years ago
• 20-30 km thickness (deep ocean trenches into the
  atmosphere)
• Includes portions of the hydrosphere,
  lithosphere, atmosphere, and cryosphere.

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• The Spheres of the Biosphere
• Hydrosphere
• Water
• Lithosphere
• Substrate (land, ocean floor, etc.)
• Atmosphere
• Air
• Cryosphere
• Ice

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Hydrosphere

• The Blue Planet
• Physical forms
• Solid
• Liquid
• Gas
• Why Water?
• Acts as an insulator because its high heat
  capacity
• Necessary for cellular processes and chemical
  reactions to occur
• Habitat

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Lithosphere

• Outer layer of the Earths surface
• Uneven surface
• Can change with movement of plates
• Earthquakes
• Mountain-building
• Volcanoes
• Continental Drift
• Biological role
• Provides protection/shelter to many organisms
• Substrate for growth
• Accumulation (of good and bad)

http//life.bio.sunysb.edu/marinebio/softshore.htm
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Atmosphere

• Layer of air surrounding the Earth
• Primarily N2 (78) and O2 (21)
• Divided into four layers
• Troposphere
• Stratosphere
• Mesosphere
• Thermosphere
• Importance to organisms
• Provides gases for respiration
• Protects organisms from UV rays
• Absorbs energy from the sun and acts as an
  insulator

Ultraviolet light
Ultraviolet light
Earth
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Cryosphere

• Parts of the Earth where water is in the solid
  form (ice).
• Snow, Glaciers, Frost, etc.
• Importance
• Irrigation (run-off of melted snow from mountain
  regions
• Freshwater supply
• Habitat

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Changes in the Biosphere

• Land use
• Urban Sprawl
• Landfills
• Resource use
• Habitat destruction
• Fragmented landscapes
• Pollution/run-off
• Eutrophication
• Ozone
• UV rays
• Climate change
• Carbon-related???

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Carbon Cycle
Burning fossil fuels
respiration
photosynthesis
photosynthesis
respiration
decomposition
photosynthesis
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So What?
Rise in Atmospheric CO2
Increased Greenhouse Effect
Global warming
Melting of Ice Sheets
Altered Biomes
Temporal changes
Increased rainfall and evaporation
Rise in sea level
Flooding
Loss of coastal habitat
Extinction of Some species
Breeding pests
Disease
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Phytoplankton
What are Phytoplankton? Microscopic,
photosynthetic organisms, either aquatic or
marine Limited swimming ability Primary
producers Basis of the food chain Environmental
indicators
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Why Phytoplankton?

• Ecosystem Health Indicators
• Nutrient loads
• Harmful Algal Blooms
• Carbon Cycling
• Decreased CO2

http//www.redtide.whoi.edu/hab/rtphotos/rtphotos.
html
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What is a Harmful Algal Bloom (HAB)?
A harmful algal bloom is an increased abundance
of a species of phytoplankton that has a negative
impact on the surrounding environment.
What are some of the negative impacts of these
HABs?

• Kill marine life by oxygen depletion, light
  shading, gill irritation, and toxin production
• Produce toxins that can cause illness, paralysis,
  amnesia, other neurotoxic effects, and death
• Cause millions of dollars in damages yearly to
  fisheries and aquaculture facilities
• Decrease revenues for businesses in coastal areas
  due to water discoloration and beach closures

What can we do about these blooms?

• Study these blooms to
• Help better predict the occurrence of a HAB
• Determine the conditions which cause these events
• Develop methods for controlling the blooms

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What we do..and why we do it!

• Characterize the optical properties of
  phytoplankton
• Describe spatial distribution of oceanic and
  coastal phytoplankton
• Measurement of phytoplankton primary productivity

Identification down to class from remote sensors
Characterization of physical ocean processes and
variables
Value of phytoplankton in the regulation of carbon
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Our Laboratory
Environmental chamber Low temperature
incubator Two laminar flow hoods
Photosynthetron Pulse Amplitude Modulation
Fluorometer UV/VIS Spectrophotometer Spectrofluoro
meter Fluorometer Liquid Scintillation
Counter Microscope (epifluorescence)
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Workbench
Manipulations of Growth Environment Llight/Dark
Profile Temperature Regime Nutrient
Flux Measurements Carbon Dioxide
Uptake/Release Oxygen Uptake/Release Nitrate
Concentration Discreet Sampling Chlorophyll
Concentration (growth rate) Population
Density Light Absorption Fluorescence (pigment
composition) Physiological Health Elemental
Analyses (POC/PON)
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NASA / WFFs Modeling Workbench
Room Air In
Standard Air In
(Ambient Air)
Chemostat In
Nitrogen In
Flow meter Barometer
Pump
Solenoid Valves Drying Unit
Condenser
Sample Out
Pump
Reference Out
Nitrate Sensor
Gas Sampler
Bubbler
CO2 Analyzer
Pump
Pump
Chemostat
Tungsten-Halogen Lights
O2 Analyzer
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Wallops Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory
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Bio-physical Interactions in Ocean Margin
Ecosystems (BIOME) Oceanographic Cruise

• A collaboration between NASA, Old Dominion
  University, and University of Delaware to study
  the biological and physical oceanographic
  properties of coastal waters.
• Three 4-day cruises each year (Spring, Summer,
  Fall)

RV Cape Henlopen
Optical Profiling Instruments
WETLabs DOLPHIN
NASAs SLF
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Wallops Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory
Wa-COOL HQ
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Radiometric Robotic Arm
ac-s
Multi-Wavelength Fluorometer
ac-9
HydroScat-2
ECO Triplet Fluorometer
ISUS Nitrate Sensor
a-beta
Microcat CTD
Coastal Bio-Optical Buoys
ECO VSF

• Continuous measurement of
• Absorption
• Backscatter
• Beam Attenuation
• Conductivity
• Fluorescence (chl a, CDOM, etc.)
• Nitrate Concentration
• Solar Irradiance
• Temperature
• Vertical Current Profile
• Volume Scattering Function
• Plus Standard Meteorological Measurements

ECO Triplet Fluorometer
Microcat CTD
Bottom-mounted ADCP
Acoustic Release
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Wallops Coastal Ocean Observation Laboratory
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Ocean-Atmosphere Sensor Integration System (OASIS)

• Advantages of the OASIS platform
• Surface Autonomous Vehicle (SAV)
• Solar-panels power an electric motor (3 knots)
  and suite of scientific instrumentation
• Controlled via satellite (real-time)
• Uses fleet software to efficiently map with
• multiple vessels
• Can support a large scientific payload
• Inexpensive to fabricate (20,000)

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Ocean Color Images
Galapagos May 9, 1998 May 24, 1998
SeaWiFS (Gene Feldman)
Bering Sea, SeaWiFS 1998
Average Chlorophyll Concentration, 1997-2000 and
Vegetation Index, SeaWiFS
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How Can We Relate?

• HAB quick response
• Conditions of occurrence (before and during
  blooms)
• Prediction of blooms
• Identification of species, or at least family

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Outreach

• Summer Interns
• Cruises
• Web Data
• Foundations of Phytoplankton
• http//phytoplankton.gsfc.nasa.gov/

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Classroom Activity

• Hand-held spectrometer (Micropac)
• Light properties (wavelengths/colors)
• Field equipment
• Comparison with SeaWiFS images
• Patterns of change
• Seasonal
• Yearly
• Physical properties of the ocean

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Activity Light Scatter

• See Phytoplankton Poster

Four bottles Dye A Dye B
Scattered light allows colors to be distinguished
(reflected to eye)
Addition of liquid antacid
Addition of water
A
B
Scattering of Light Absorprtion Reflection
Shallow Baking Dishes with 12 Pennies