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...

Full description

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, CĂ©dric G., Mathis, Jeremy T., Bates, Nicholas R., Arrigo, Kevin R.
Format: Text
Language:unknown
Published: Clark Digital Commons 2016
Subjects:
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.