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Ocean Margins: the missing term for oceanic element budgets?

Ocean Margins: the missing term for oceanic element budgets?
Ocean Margins: the missing term for oceanic element budgets?
The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is a function of many interrelated processes in atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, biological, and human realms. Constraining the contributions of these realms to global carbon budgets hinges on knowledge of the ocean's role in carbon cycling, which in turn depends on the ocean's chemical state and biological activity. Both are dependent on element and nutrient inputs from continental sources—the more elements that reach the ocean in a form readily consumable by life, the more productive micro-organisms that form the foundation of the ocean's food supply can be. Thus, on a fundamental level it is important to know how and where continental inputs reach the ocean. Fluxes traditionally considered in seawater element budgets are dissolved river inputs, dissolution of atmospheric dust, hydrothermal inputs, diffusive fluxes from deep-sea sediments, and submarine groundwater discharge. Interestingly, though most of the marine element budgets include a provision for small contributions from dust dissolution [Jickells et al., 2005], the dissolution of solids deposited along the ocean margins is usually ignored. Yet recent studies show that sediments on continental slopes and shelves contribute significantly to the dissolved elements found in seawater. Tracing and understanding these contributions will help scientists to get a better picture of ocean circulation, biological productivity, and carbon cycling
0096-3941
217-219
Jeandel, Catherine
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Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernard
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Jones, Morgan T.
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Pearce, Christopher R.
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Oelkers, Eric H.
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Godderis, Yves
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Lacan, Francois
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Aumont, Olivier
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Arsouze, Thomas
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Jeandel, Catherine
d2a06452-d4f2-4ea5-9205-845b645067c1
Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernard
e79c93a9-4323-432b-8b3b-2138229d043d
Jones, Morgan T.
cf1c7a87-0578-4e4b-8708-a22a5b9e7df4
Pearce, Christopher R.
c83b6228-0b64-4f5a-a8ad-e5cd33a11de3
Oelkers, Eric H.
3cf51d71-be44-4bed-803e-3b240bdb147b
Godderis, Yves
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Lacan, Francois
d0093c6f-dacb-4a97-9c57-57413d36631f
Aumont, Olivier
6ea5af9d-4c27-42d9-9ba7-749729efa72f
Arsouze, Thomas
8904fe83-b6ba-4f6c-8242-8a1edc3e5687

Jeandel, Catherine, Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Bernard, Jones, Morgan T., Pearce, Christopher R., Oelkers, Eric H., Godderis, Yves, Lacan, Francois, Aumont, Olivier and Arsouze, Thomas (2011) Ocean Margins: the missing term for oceanic element budgets? Eos Transactions American Geophysical Union, 92 (26), 217-219. (doi:10.1029/2011EO260001).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere is a function of many interrelated processes in atmospheric, oceanic, hydrological, biological, and human realms. Constraining the contributions of these realms to global carbon budgets hinges on knowledge of the ocean's role in carbon cycling, which in turn depends on the ocean's chemical state and biological activity. Both are dependent on element and nutrient inputs from continental sources—the more elements that reach the ocean in a form readily consumable by life, the more productive micro-organisms that form the foundation of the ocean's food supply can be. Thus, on a fundamental level it is important to know how and where continental inputs reach the ocean. Fluxes traditionally considered in seawater element budgets are dissolved river inputs, dissolution of atmospheric dust, hydrothermal inputs, diffusive fluxes from deep-sea sediments, and submarine groundwater discharge. Interestingly, though most of the marine element budgets include a provision for small contributions from dust dissolution [Jickells et al., 2005], the dissolution of solids deposited along the ocean margins is usually ignored. Yet recent studies show that sediments on continental slopes and shelves contribute significantly to the dissolved elements found in seawater. Tracing and understanding these contributions will help scientists to get a better picture of ocean circulation, biological productivity, and carbon cycling

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Published date: 2011
Organisations: Geochemistry

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Local EPrints ID: 342517
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/342517
ISSN: 0096-3941
PURE UUID: cfab6fce-bd92-4e1b-ad8b-40b2832522bd

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Date deposited: 07 Sep 2012 13:09
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 11:52

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Contributors

Author: Catherine Jeandel
Author: Bernard Peucker-Ehrenbrink
Author: Morgan T. Jones
Author: Christopher R. Pearce
Author: Eric H. Oelkers
Author: Yves Godderis
Author: Francois Lacan
Author: Olivier Aumont
Author: Thomas Arsouze

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