THE OCEANOGRAPHY SOCIETY PACIFIC BASIN MEETING, July 1994, p.59

The Hawaii Ocean Time-series (HOT) Program: The first five years

HOT Program P.I.s, staff and students

Long-term, time-series studies are ideally suited to the study of slow or subtle processes, rare or irregularly spaced events and complex phenomena, all of which are fundamental to our understanding of biogeochemical cycles in the world ocean. In 1988, two U.S.-JGOFS timeseries hydrostations were established in the N. Atlantic (BATS) and N. Pacific (HOT) oceans. The HOT Program was established as a tripartite collaboration between WOCE, JGOFS and the State of Hawaii. Our initial objective, which was to design, establish and maintain a deepwater, open ocean hydrostation as the oligotrophic benchmark for observing and interpreting physical and biogeochemical oceanic variability, has been achieved. Field results from the first five years of operation provide an uniquely rich time-series data set of physical and biogeochemical variability in the oligotrophic North Pacific Ocean. Data summaries including hydrography, nutrients, particle production and particle export will be presented to document both the mean and varying conditions of this poorly-studied habitat. Hypothesis testing is now underway to elucidate further the structure and function of the oceanic biological pump and its role on global climate.