An investigation of basin-scale controls on upper ocean export and remineralization

• Main Author: Black, Erin E
• Other Authors: Ken O. Buesseler., Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Massachusetts Institute of Technology 2018
• Subjects: Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering; Earth; Atmospheric; and Planetary Sciences; Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; Carbon; Climatic changes; Ocean; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Central Basin; Pacific; Climate change
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/115781

Thesis: Ph. D., Joint Program in Oceanography/Applied Ocean Science and Engineering (Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences; and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), 2018. Cataloged from PDF version of thesis. Includes bibliographical references. The biological carbon pump (BCP) helps to moderate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels by bringing carbon to the deep ocean, where it can be sequestered on timescales of centuries to millennia. Climate change is predicted to decrease the efficiency of the global BCP, however, the magnitude and timescale of this shift is largely uncertain and will likely impact some areas of the global ocean more significantly than others. Therefore, it is imperative that we (1) accurately quantify surface export and remineralization of particulate organic carbon (POC) via the BCP over large regions of the global ocean, (2) examine the factors controlling these POC fluxes and their variability, which includes the cycling of biologically-relevant trace metals, and (3) establish if and how the BCP is changing over time. This thesis focuses on addressing various aspects of these objectives using the 234Th- 238U method across basin-scale GEOTRACES transects. First, the export and remineralization of POC were examined across large gradients in productivity, upwelling, community structure, and dissolved oxygen in the southeastern tropical Pacific Ocean. Although low oxygen zones are traditionally thought to have decreased POC flux attenuation relative to other regions of the global ocean and the low oxygen Pacific locations followed this pattern, regions that were functionally anoxic had enhanced attenuation in the upper 400 m. Second, trace metal export and remineralization were quantified across the Pacific transect. Because many trace metals are necessary for the metabolic functions of marine organisms and can co-limit marine productivity, the controls on the cycling of trace metals in the upper ocean were examined. Lastly, POC export was determined across two transects in the Western Arctic Ocean, where light and nutrient availability drive the biological pump. Upper ocean export estimates in the central basin did not reflect a substantial change in the biological pump compared to studies from the last three decades, however, an extensive maximum in 234Th relative to 238U deeper in the water column indicated that rapid vertical transport had occurred, which could suggest a more efficient biological pump in the Arctic Ocean. by Erin E. Black. Ph. D.