Mass balance estimates of carbon export in different water masses of the Chukchi Sea shelf

We construct mass-balance based estimates of carbon (C) export fractions from the water column across the Chukchi Sea shelf. Export is calculated as the difference between phytoplankton drawdown of dissolved inorganic C (DIC) and the accumulation of autochthonous particulate and dissolved organic C...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography
Main Authors: Strong, Aaron L., Lowry, Kate E., Brown, Zachary W., Mills, Matthew M., van Dijken, Gert L., Pickart, Robert S., Cooper, Lee W., Frey, Karen E., Benner, Ron, Fichot, Cédric G., Mathis, Jeremy T., Bates, Nicholas R., Arrigo, Kevin R.
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Clark Digital Commons 2016
Subjects:
carbon export
Chukchi
Pelagic-benthic coupling
phytoplankton
sea ice
Climate
Oceanography
Chukchi Sea
Anadyr
Anadyr’
Bering Shelf
Anadyr'
Sea ice
Alaska
Online Access:https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_geography/206
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dsr2.2016.05.003
Description
Summary:We construct mass-balance based estimates of carbon (C) export fractions from the water column across the Chukchi Sea shelf. Export is calculated as the difference between phytoplankton drawdown of dissolved inorganic C (DIC) and the accumulation of autochthonous particulate and dissolved organic C in the water column. Organic carbon (Corg) exports of >50% of DIC drawdown are ubiquitous across the shelf, even during, or shortly after, phytoplankton blooms, suggesting widespread and strong pelagic-benthic coupling. Export fractions on the shelf were generally greater in the less-productive Alaska Coastal Water than in the more productive Bering Shelf-Anadyr Water. Additionally, export fractions were greater in 2011 than in 2010, highlighting the significant spatial and inter-annual variability of the fate of Corg in this ecologically and biogeochemically important, and rapidly changing, ecosystem.

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