Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Production and Export by Meridional Overturning in the Eastern Subpolar North Atlantic
Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Production and Export by Meridional Overturning in the Eastern Subpolar North Atlantic
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is produced in the surface and exported towards the deep ocean, adding ∼2 PgC/year to the global carbon export. Due to its central role in the Meridional Overturning Circulation, the eastern subpolar North Atlantic (eSPNA) contributes largely to this export. Here we quantify the transport and budget of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the eSPNA, in a box delimited by the OVIDE 2002 section and the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sills. The Meridional Overturning Circulation exports >15.9 TgN/year of DON downward and, contrary to the extended view that these are materials of subtropical origin, up to 33% of the vertical flux derives from a net local DON production of 7.1 ± 2.6 TgN/year. The low C:N molar ratio of DOM production (7.4 ± 4.1) and the relatively short transit times in the eSPNA (3 ± 1 year) suggest that local biogeochemical transformations result in the injection of fresh bioavailable DOM to the deep ocean.
3832-3842
Fernández‐Castro, Bieito
8017e93c-d5ee-4bba-b443-9c72ca512d61
Álvarez, Marta
9187eed1-d94b-4b4b-8abd-2b795c7c9910
Nieto‐Cid, Mar
1f72eb5e-2e2b-40f0-9df3-7678d5c35470
Zunino, Patricia
411fa3fe-4eac-41d2-b9d0-2ef69a98083e
Mercier, Herlé
7239215f-8123-4d0e-a7ed-29949a209400
Álvarez‐Salgado, Xosé Antón
c1111fff-5252-4e37-a6c4-9921df939260
16 April 2019
Fernández‐Castro, Bieito
8017e93c-d5ee-4bba-b443-9c72ca512d61
Álvarez, Marta
9187eed1-d94b-4b4b-8abd-2b795c7c9910
Nieto‐Cid, Mar
1f72eb5e-2e2b-40f0-9df3-7678d5c35470
Zunino, Patricia
411fa3fe-4eac-41d2-b9d0-2ef69a98083e
Mercier, Herlé
7239215f-8123-4d0e-a7ed-29949a209400
Álvarez‐Salgado, Xosé Antón
c1111fff-5252-4e37-a6c4-9921df939260
Fernández‐Castro, Bieito, Álvarez, Marta, Nieto‐Cid, Mar, Zunino, Patricia, Mercier, Herlé and Álvarez‐Salgado, Xosé Antón
(2019)
Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Production and Export by Meridional Overturning in the Eastern Subpolar North Atlantic.
Geophysical Research Letters, 46 (7), .
(doi:10.1029/2018GL080284).
Abstract
Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is produced in the surface and exported towards the deep ocean, adding ∼2 PgC/year to the global carbon export. Due to its central role in the Meridional Overturning Circulation, the eastern subpolar North Atlantic (eSPNA) contributes largely to this export. Here we quantify the transport and budget of dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) in the eSPNA, in a box delimited by the OVIDE 2002 section and the Greenland-Iceland-Scotland sills. The Meridional Overturning Circulation exports >15.9 TgN/year of DON downward and, contrary to the extended view that these are materials of subtropical origin, up to 33% of the vertical flux derives from a net local DON production of 7.1 ± 2.6 TgN/year. The low C:N molar ratio of DOM production (7.4 ± 4.1) and the relatively short transit times in the eSPNA (3 ± 1 year) suggest that local biogeochemical transformations result in the injection of fresh bioavailable DOM to the deep ocean.
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Geophysical Research Letters - 2019 - Fern ndez‐Castro - Dissolved Organic Nitrogen Production and Export by Meridional
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Published date: 16 April 2019
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Article ©2019. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved.
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Local EPrints ID: 455474
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/455474
ISSN: 0094-8276
PURE UUID: 0e2b2320-32db-4ca6-96fa-6e8d63346f8f
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Date deposited: 22 Mar 2022 17:43
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:04
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Author:
Marta Álvarez
Author:
Mar Nieto‐Cid
Author:
Patricia Zunino
Author:
Herlé Mercier
Author:
Xosé Antón Álvarez‐Salgado
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