Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic
Several studies in upwelling regions have suggested that mesoscale structures, such as eddies and filaments, contribute substantially to the long-range transport of the organic carbon from the nearshore region of production to the offshore region of remineralization. Yet a comprehensive analysis of...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:3312a5d7a1cd47a9b4b90e4a53b4348a 2023-05-15T17:35:53+02:00 Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic E. Lovecchio N. Gruber M. Münnich 2018-08-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5061-2018 https://doaj.org/article/3312a5d7a1cd47a9b4b90e4a53b4348a EN eng Copernicus Publications https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/5061/2018/bg-15-5061-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-15-5061-2018 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/3312a5d7a1cd47a9b4b90e4a53b4348a Biogeosciences, Vol 15, Pp 5061-5091 (2018) Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2018 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5061-2018 2022-12-31T14:50:42Z Several studies in upwelling regions have suggested that mesoscale structures, such as eddies and filaments, contribute substantially to the long-range transport of the organic carbon from the nearshore region of production to the offshore region of remineralization. Yet a comprehensive analysis of this mesoscale flux and of its impact across the Canary Upwelling System (CanUS) has not been provided. Here, we fill this gap using simulations with the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) coupled to a Nutrient, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Detritus (NPZD) ecosystem model. We run climatological simulations on an Atlantic telescopic grid with an eddy-resolving resolution in the CanUS. Using both a Reynolds flux decomposition and structure-identification algorithms, we quantify and characterize the organic carbon fluxes driven by filaments and eddies within the upper 100 m and put them in relationship to the total offshore transport. Our analysis reveals that both coastal filaments and eddies enhance the offshore flux of organic carbon, but that their contribution is very different. Upwelling filaments, with their high speeds and high concentrations, transport the organic carbon offshore in a very intense, but coastally confined manner, contributing nearly 80 % to the total flux of organic carbon at 100 km offshore. The filament contribution tapers off quickly to near zero values at 1000 km off the coast, leading to a strong offshore flux divergence that is the main lateral source of organic carbon in the coastal waters up to 1000 km offshore. Some of this divergence is also due to the filaments inducing a substantial vertical subduction of the organic carbon below 100 m. Owing to the temporal persistence and spatial recurrence of filaments, the filament transport largely constitutes a time-mean flux, while the time-varying component, i.e., the turbulent flux, is comparatively small. At distances beyond 500 km from the coast, eddies dominate the mesoscale offshore transport. Although their contribution represents ... Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Biogeosciences 15 16 5061 5091 |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 E. Lovecchio N. Gruber M. Münnich Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic |
topic_facet |
Ecology QH540-549.5 Life QH501-531 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Several studies in upwelling regions have suggested that mesoscale structures, such as eddies and filaments, contribute substantially to the long-range transport of the organic carbon from the nearshore region of production to the offshore region of remineralization. Yet a comprehensive analysis of this mesoscale flux and of its impact across the Canary Upwelling System (CanUS) has not been provided. Here, we fill this gap using simulations with the Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) coupled to a Nutrient, Phytoplankton, Zooplankton and Detritus (NPZD) ecosystem model. We run climatological simulations on an Atlantic telescopic grid with an eddy-resolving resolution in the CanUS. Using both a Reynolds flux decomposition and structure-identification algorithms, we quantify and characterize the organic carbon fluxes driven by filaments and eddies within the upper 100 m and put them in relationship to the total offshore transport. Our analysis reveals that both coastal filaments and eddies enhance the offshore flux of organic carbon, but that their contribution is very different. Upwelling filaments, with their high speeds and high concentrations, transport the organic carbon offshore in a very intense, but coastally confined manner, contributing nearly 80 % to the total flux of organic carbon at 100 km offshore. The filament contribution tapers off quickly to near zero values at 1000 km off the coast, leading to a strong offshore flux divergence that is the main lateral source of organic carbon in the coastal waters up to 1000 km offshore. Some of this divergence is also due to the filaments inducing a substantial vertical subduction of the organic carbon below 100 m. Owing to the temporal persistence and spatial recurrence of filaments, the filament transport largely constitutes a time-mean flux, while the time-varying component, i.e., the turbulent flux, is comparatively small. At distances beyond 500 km from the coast, eddies dominate the mesoscale offshore transport. Although their contribution represents ... |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
E. Lovecchio N. Gruber M. Münnich |
author_facet |
E. Lovecchio N. Gruber M. Münnich |
author_sort |
E. Lovecchio |
title |
Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic |
title_short |
Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic |
title_full |
Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic |
title_fullStr |
Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the Canary Upwelling System to the open North Atlantic |
title_sort |
mesoscale contribution to the long-range offshore transport of organic carbon from the canary upwelling system to the open north atlantic |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2018 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5061-2018 https://doaj.org/article/3312a5d7a1cd47a9b4b90e4a53b4348a |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_source |
Biogeosciences, Vol 15, Pp 5061-5091 (2018) |
op_relation |
https://www.biogeosciences.net/15/5061/2018/bg-15-5061-2018.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4170 https://doaj.org/toc/1726-4189 doi:10.5194/bg-15-5061-2018 1726-4170 1726-4189 https://doaj.org/article/3312a5d7a1cd47a9b4b90e4a53b4348a |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-15-5061-2018 |
container_title |
Biogeosciences |
container_volume |
15 |
container_issue |
16 |
container_start_page |
5061 |
op_container_end_page |
5091 |
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1766135179667046400 |