An Operational Overview of the EXport Processes inthe Ocean from RemoTe Sensing (EXPORTS)Northeast Pacific Field Deployment

The goal of the EXport Processes in the Ocean from RemoTe Sensing (EXPORTS) field campaign is to develop
a predictive understanding of the export, fate, and carbon cycle impacts of global ocean net primary
production. To accomplish this goal, observations of export flux pathways, plankton community
composition, food web processes, and optical, physical, and biogeochemical (BGC) properties are needed
over a range of ecosystem states. Here we introduce the first EXPORTS field deployment to Ocean Station
Papa in the Northeast Pacific Ocean during summer of 2018, providing context for other papers in this special
collection. The experiment was conducted with two ships: a Process Ship, focused on ecological rates, BGC
fluxes, temporal changes in food web, and BGC and optical properties, that followed an instrumented
Lagrangian float; and a Survey Ship that sampled BGC and optical properties in spatial patterns around the
Process Ship. An array of autonomous underwater assets provided measurements over a range of spatial and
temporal scales, and partnering programs and remote sensing observations provided additional observational
context. The oceanographic setting was typical of late-summer conditions at Ocean Station Papa: a shallow
mixed layer, strong vertical and weak horizontal gradients in hydrographic properties, sluggish sub-inertial
currents, elevated macronutrient concentrations and low phytoplankton abundances. Although nutrient
concentrations were consistent with previous observations, mixed layer chlorophyll was lower than
typically observed, resulting in a deeper euphotic zone. Analyses of surface layer temperature and salinity
found three distinct surface water types, allowing for diagnosis of whether observed changes were spatial or
temporal.The 2018 EXPORTS field deployment is among the most comprehensive biological pump studies ever
conducted. A second deployment to the North Atlantic Ocean occurred in spring 2021, which will be followed
by focused work on data synthesis and modeling using the entire EXPORTS data set.