The University of Southampton
University of Southampton Institutional Repository

Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean

Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean
Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean
Global climate is critically sensitive to physical and biogeochemical dynamics in the subpolar Southern Ocean, since it is here that deep, carbon-rich layers of the world ocean outcrop and exchange carbon with the atmosphere. Here, we present evidence that the conventional framework for the subpolar Southern Ocean carbon cycle, which attributes a dominant role to the vertical overturning circulation and shelf-sea processes, fundamentally misrepresents the drivers of regional carbon uptake. Observations in the Weddell Gyre—a key representative region of the subpolar Southern Ocean—show that the rate of carbon uptake is set by an interplay between the Gyre’s horizontal circulation and the remineralization at mid-depths of organic carbon sourced from biological production in the central gyre. These results demonstrate that reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean is an essential step to better define its role in past and future climate change.
2375-2548
Macgilchrist, Graeme A.
ccfda4b5-26d3-4081-b7db-8d65f22e8b8b
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Brown, Peter J.
8b4b4591-6932-4d1a-b528-4a8370d7dad9
Jullion, Loïc
e72025ed-bc3d-4c9f-a78e-4b41cb1c6da9
Bacon, Sheldon
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Bakker, Dorothee C. E.
45bd5b18-a7c0-4343-9972-c2e451bf773e
Hoppema, Mario
6f021392-ab2f-4167-8cb0-016b601d392e
Meredith, Michael P.
25fd5f1c-f3ed-40a2-af59-5a7074a25fcd
Torres-valdés, Sinhué
000602e0-a248-4b8d-ad38-ce41af8d1afd
Macgilchrist, Graeme A.
ccfda4b5-26d3-4081-b7db-8d65f22e8b8b
Naveira Garabato, Alberto C.
97c0e923-f076-4b38-b89b-938e11cea7a6
Brown, Peter J.
8b4b4591-6932-4d1a-b528-4a8370d7dad9
Jullion, Loïc
e72025ed-bc3d-4c9f-a78e-4b41cb1c6da9
Bacon, Sheldon
1e7aa6e3-4fb4-4230-8ba7-90837304a9a7
Bakker, Dorothee C. E.
45bd5b18-a7c0-4343-9972-c2e451bf773e
Hoppema, Mario
6f021392-ab2f-4167-8cb0-016b601d392e
Meredith, Michael P.
25fd5f1c-f3ed-40a2-af59-5a7074a25fcd
Torres-valdés, Sinhué
000602e0-a248-4b8d-ad38-ce41af8d1afd

Macgilchrist, Graeme A., Naveira Garabato, Alberto C., Brown, Peter J., Jullion, Loïc, Bacon, Sheldon, Bakker, Dorothee C. E., Hoppema, Mario, Meredith, Michael P. and Torres-valdés, Sinhué (2019) Reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean. Science Advances, 5 (8), [eaav6410]. (doi:10.1126/sciadv.aav6410).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Global climate is critically sensitive to physical and biogeochemical dynamics in the subpolar Southern Ocean, since it is here that deep, carbon-rich layers of the world ocean outcrop and exchange carbon with the atmosphere. Here, we present evidence that the conventional framework for the subpolar Southern Ocean carbon cycle, which attributes a dominant role to the vertical overturning circulation and shelf-sea processes, fundamentally misrepresents the drivers of regional carbon uptake. Observations in the Weddell Gyre—a key representative region of the subpolar Southern Ocean—show that the rate of carbon uptake is set by an interplay between the Gyre’s horizontal circulation and the remineralization at mid-depths of organic carbon sourced from biological production in the central gyre. These results demonstrate that reframing the carbon cycle of the subpolar Southern Ocean is an essential step to better define its role in past and future climate change.

Text
eaav6410.full - Version of Record
Download (1MB)

More information

Accepted/In Press date: 18 July 2019
e-pub ahead of print date: 2 August 2019
Published date: 28 August 2019

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 433762
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/433762
ISSN: 2375-2548
PURE UUID: 1232ba9b-f209-4f10-bfea-92011ed39855
ORCID for Alberto C. Naveira Garabato: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0001-6071-605X

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 03 Sep 2019 16:30
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 03:04

Export record

Altmetrics

Contributors

Author: Graeme A. Macgilchrist
Author: Peter J. Brown
Author: Loïc Jullion
Author: Sheldon Bacon
Author: Dorothee C. E. Bakker
Author: Mario Hoppema
Author: Michael P. Meredith
Author: Sinhué Torres-valdés

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.

×