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).
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.
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- Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > National Oceanography Centre
- Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science > NEXUSS CDT
School of Ocean and Earth Science > NEXUSS CDT - Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science > Physical Oceanography
School of Ocean and Earth Science > Physical Oceanography - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Engineering and the Environment (pre 2018 reorg) > Southampton Marine & Maritime Institute (pre 2018 reorg)
- Current Faculties > Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences > School of Ocean and Earth Science
School of Ocean and Earth Science - Faculties (pre 2018 reorg) > Faculty of Natural and Environmental Sciences (pre 2018 reorg) > National Oceanography Centre (pre 2018 reorg)
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