The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Alternative particle formation pathways in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific's Biological Carbon Pump

Alternative particle formation pathways in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific's Biological Carbon Pump
Alternative particle formation pathways in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific's Biological Carbon Pump
A fraction of organic carbon produced in the oceans by phytoplankton sinks storing 5‐15 gigatonnes of carbon annually in the ocean interior. The accepted paradigm is that rapid aggregation of phytoplankton cells occurs forming large, fresh particles which sink quickly; this concept is incorporated into ecosystem models used to predict the future climate. Here we demonstrate a slower, less efficient export pathway in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific. Lipid biomarkers suggest the large, fast‐sinking particles found beneath the mixed layer are compositionally distinct from those found in the mixed layer and thus not directly and efficiently formed from phytoplankton cells. We postulate they are formed from the in situ aggregation of smaller, slow‐sinking particles over time in the mixed layer itself. This export pathway is likely widespread where smaller phytoplankton species dominate. Its lack of representation in biogeochemical models suggests they may be currently over‐estimating the ability of the oceans to store carbon if large, fast‐sinking, labile particles dominate simulated particle export.
2169-8953
Cavan, E. L.
aca6bc0e-f2ba-4378-8be6-4da7e1e9da31
Giering, S. L. C.
e9b75287-e35e-414a-a5f2-cef9f2ab2efd
Wolff, G. A.
6b29d886-06f9-4405-8fab-33cfb436acaa
Trimmer, M.
4ee1556e-227e-4283-ae5a-be06be73691b
Sanders, R.
02c163c1-8f5e-49ad-857c-d28f7da66c65
Cavan, E. L.
aca6bc0e-f2ba-4378-8be6-4da7e1e9da31
Giering, S. L. C.
e9b75287-e35e-414a-a5f2-cef9f2ab2efd
Wolff, G. A.
6b29d886-06f9-4405-8fab-33cfb436acaa
Trimmer, M.
4ee1556e-227e-4283-ae5a-be06be73691b
Sanders, R.
02c163c1-8f5e-49ad-857c-d28f7da66c65

Cavan, E. L., Giering, S. L. C., Wolff, G. A., Trimmer, M. and Sanders, R. (2018) Alternative particle formation pathways in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific's Biological Carbon Pump. Journal of Geophysical Research: Biogeosciences. (doi:10.1029/2018JG004392).

Record type: Article

Abstract

A fraction of organic carbon produced in the oceans by phytoplankton sinks storing 5‐15 gigatonnes of carbon annually in the ocean interior. The accepted paradigm is that rapid aggregation of phytoplankton cells occurs forming large, fresh particles which sink quickly; this concept is incorporated into ecosystem models used to predict the future climate. Here we demonstrate a slower, less efficient export pathway in the Eastern Tropical North Pacific. Lipid biomarkers suggest the large, fast‐sinking particles found beneath the mixed layer are compositionally distinct from those found in the mixed layer and thus not directly and efficiently formed from phytoplankton cells. We postulate they are formed from the in situ aggregation of smaller, slow‐sinking particles over time in the mixed layer itself. This export pathway is likely widespread where smaller phytoplankton species dominate. Its lack of representation in biogeochemical models suggests they may be currently over‐estimating the ability of the oceans to store carbon if large, fast‐sinking, labile particles dominate simulated particle export.

Text
Cavan et al JGR_tracked changes - Accepted Manuscript
Download (5MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 8 June 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 24 July 2018
Published date: July 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 422382
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/422382
ISSN: 2169-8953
PURE UUID: 059b459d-8c23-4358-9840-206744e61e47

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 Jul 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 06:52

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: E. L. Cavan
Author: S. L. C. Giering
Author: G. A. Wolff
Author: M. Trimmer
Author: R. Sanders

Download statistics

Downloads from ePrints over the past year. Other digital versions may also be available to download e.g. from the publisher's website.

View more statistics

Atom RSS 1.0 RSS 2.0

Contact ePrints Soton: eprints@soton.ac.uk

ePrints Soton supports OAI 2.0 with a base URL of http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/cgi/oai2

This repository has been built using EPrints software, developed at the University of Southampton, but available to everyone to use.

We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we will assume that you are happy to receive cookies on the University of Southampton website.

×