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Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in hydrothermal plumes from the East Pacific Rise, 9°50?N

Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in hydrothermal plumes from the East Pacific Rise, 9°50?N
Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in hydrothermal plumes from the East Pacific Rise, 9°50?N
Chemoautotrophic production in seafloor hydrothermal systems has the potential to provide an important source of organic carbon that is exported to the surrounding deep-ocean. While hydrothermal plumes may export carbon, entrained from chimney walls and biologically rich diffuse flow areas, away from sites of venting they also have the potential to provide an environment for in-situ carbon fixation. In this study, we have followed the fate of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) as it is dispersed through and settles beneath a hydrothermal plume system at 9°50?N on the East Pacific Rise. Concentrations of both DOC and POC are elevated in buoyant plume samples that were collected directly above sites of active venting using both DSV Alvin and a CTD-rosette. Similar levels of POC enrichment are also observed in the dispersing non-buoyant plume, ?500 m downstream from the vent-site. Further, sediment-trap samples collected beneath the same dispersing plume system, show evidence for a close coupling between organic carbon and Fe oxyhydroxide fluxes. We propose, therefore, a process that concentrates POC into hydrothermal plumes as they disperse through the deep-ocean. This is most probably the result of some combination of preferential adsorption of organic carbon onto Fe-oxyhydroxides and/or microbial activity that preferentially concentrates organic carbon in association with Fe-oxyhydroxides (e.g. through the microbial oxidation of Fe(II) and Fe sulfides). This potential for biological production and consumption within hydrothermal plumes highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the role of the carbon cycle in deep-sea hydrothermal systems as well as the role that hydrothermal systems may play in regulating global deep-ocean carbon budgets.
Hydrothermal, Dissolved organic carbon, Particulate organic carbon, East Pacific Rise
0967-0637
922-931
Bennett, Sarah A.
e9fa5c4e-691b-44dc-b881-9c0593af78e8
Statham, Peter J.
51458f15-d6e2-4231-8bba-d0567f9e440c
Green, Darryl R.H.
0d7d86c4-d674-4514-8aa6-259134dc7b57
Le Bris, Nadine
db80aaa5-c215-402a-81bc-83063b35dde5
McDermott, Jill M.
8f544161-86c8-4bb1-a893-3f19e22b9279
Prado, Florencia
b654d29f-b500-4833-a6a7-fb468aff35c9
Rouxel, Olivier J.
c68deadf-01db-450a-9cc8-97f24ddb1d77
Von Damm, Karen
de1b5c30-cf60-4618-8497-de5a1a5e71a2
German, Christopher R.
f22a3da1-a8a4-49b6-9813-67c81b0d565c
Bennett, Sarah A.
e9fa5c4e-691b-44dc-b881-9c0593af78e8
Statham, Peter J.
51458f15-d6e2-4231-8bba-d0567f9e440c
Green, Darryl R.H.
0d7d86c4-d674-4514-8aa6-259134dc7b57
Le Bris, Nadine
db80aaa5-c215-402a-81bc-83063b35dde5
McDermott, Jill M.
8f544161-86c8-4bb1-a893-3f19e22b9279
Prado, Florencia
b654d29f-b500-4833-a6a7-fb468aff35c9
Rouxel, Olivier J.
c68deadf-01db-450a-9cc8-97f24ddb1d77
Von Damm, Karen
de1b5c30-cf60-4618-8497-de5a1a5e71a2
German, Christopher R.
f22a3da1-a8a4-49b6-9813-67c81b0d565c

Bennett, Sarah A., Statham, Peter J., Green, Darryl R.H., Le Bris, Nadine, McDermott, Jill M., Prado, Florencia, Rouxel, Olivier J., Von Damm, Karen and German, Christopher R. (2011) Dissolved and particulate organic carbon in hydrothermal plumes from the East Pacific Rise, 9°50?N. Deep Sea Research Part I: Oceanographic Research Papers, 58 (9), 922-931. (doi:10.1016/j.dsr.2011.06.010).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Chemoautotrophic production in seafloor hydrothermal systems has the potential to provide an important source of organic carbon that is exported to the surrounding deep-ocean. While hydrothermal plumes may export carbon, entrained from chimney walls and biologically rich diffuse flow areas, away from sites of venting they also have the potential to provide an environment for in-situ carbon fixation. In this study, we have followed the fate of dissolved and particulate organic carbon (DOC and POC) as it is dispersed through and settles beneath a hydrothermal plume system at 9°50?N on the East Pacific Rise. Concentrations of both DOC and POC are elevated in buoyant plume samples that were collected directly above sites of active venting using both DSV Alvin and a CTD-rosette. Similar levels of POC enrichment are also observed in the dispersing non-buoyant plume, ?500 m downstream from the vent-site. Further, sediment-trap samples collected beneath the same dispersing plume system, show evidence for a close coupling between organic carbon and Fe oxyhydroxide fluxes. We propose, therefore, a process that concentrates POC into hydrothermal plumes as they disperse through the deep-ocean. This is most probably the result of some combination of preferential adsorption of organic carbon onto Fe-oxyhydroxides and/or microbial activity that preferentially concentrates organic carbon in association with Fe-oxyhydroxides (e.g. through the microbial oxidation of Fe(II) and Fe sulfides). This potential for biological production and consumption within hydrothermal plumes highlights the importance of a multidisciplinary approach to understanding the role of the carbon cycle in deep-sea hydrothermal systems as well as the role that hydrothermal systems may play in regulating global deep-ocean carbon budgets.

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More information

Published date: 2011
Keywords: Hydrothermal, Dissolved organic carbon, Particulate organic carbon, East Pacific Rise
Organisations: Marine Biogeochemistry, Ocean Biochemistry & Ecosystems

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 196887
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/196887
ISSN: 0967-0637
PURE UUID: 2ec679dc-53b6-4b54-8d9e-7cea9de65c3c

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Date deposited: 13 Sep 2011 16:07
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 04:09

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Contributors

Author: Sarah A. Bennett
Author: Darryl R.H. Green
Author: Nadine Le Bris
Author: Jill M. McDermott
Author: Florencia Prado
Author: Olivier J. Rouxel
Author: Karen Von Damm
Author: Christopher R. German

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