Ecosystem controls on carbon export efficiency from the naturally iron-fertilised phytoplankton bloom over the Kerguelen Plateau ...

• Main Author: Laurenceau, EC
• Format: Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: University Of Tasmania 2023
• Subjects: Kerguelen; Southern Ocean
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.25959/23240357; https://figshare.utas.edu.au/articles/thesis/Ecosystem_controls_on_carbon_export_efficiency_from_the_naturally_iron-fertilised_phytoplankton_bloom_over_the_Kerguelen_Plateau/23240357

In the ocean, the perpetual 'snowfall' of biogenic marine particles exports organic carbon from the well-lit surface layer to the deep sediments, promoting its sequestration. The efficiency of this 'biological carbon pump' (BCP), presents strong spatio-temporal variations that are not yet fully explained. Changes in surface plankton communities and trophic interactions appear important because they lead to modifications of sinking particle characteristics (e.g. composition, structure, sinking velocity). These controls are explored here via the characterization of sinking particles originating from varying planktonic community structures and evaluation of their ability to export carbon. During the second KErguelen Ocean and Plateau compared Study (KEOPS2) conducted in Oct.-Nov. 2011, six sites were sampled over and downstream of the Kerguelen Plateau (Southern Ocean), where a mosaic of phytoplankton blooms of changing communities forms in response to natural iron fertilisation. Sinking particles were ...