Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust
Enhanced atmospheric input of dust-borne nutrients and minerals to the remote surface ocean can potentially increase carbon uptake and sequestration at depth. Nutrients can enhance primary productivity, and mineral particles act as ballast, increasing sinking rates of particulate organic matter. Her...
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ftoceanrep:oai:oceanrep.geomar.de:37380 2023-05-15T17:28:33+02:00 Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust Pabortsava, Katsiaryna Lampitt, Richard S. Benson, Jeff Crowe, Christian McLachlan, Robert Le Moigne, Frederic A. C. Mark Moore, C. Pebody, Corinne Provost, Paul Rees, Andrew P. Tilstone, Gavin H. Woodward, E. Malcolm S. 2017-02-27 text https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/1/ngeo2899.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/2/ngeo2899-s1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2899 en eng Nature Research https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/1/ngeo2899.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/2/ngeo2899-s1.pdf Pabortsava, K., Lampitt, R. S., Benson, J., Crowe, C., McLachlan, R., Le Moigne, F. A. C. , Mark Moore, C., Pebody, C., Provost, P., Rees, A. P., Tilstone, G. H. and Woodward, E. M. S. (2017) Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust. Nature Geoscience, 10 (3). pp. 189-194. DOI 10.1038/NGEO2899 <https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2899>. doi:10.1038/NGEO2899 info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess Article PeerReviewed info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2017 ftoceanrep https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2899 2023-04-07T15:32:19Z Enhanced atmospheric input of dust-borne nutrients and minerals to the remote surface ocean can potentially increase carbon uptake and sequestration at depth. Nutrients can enhance primary productivity, and mineral particles act as ballast, increasing sinking rates of particulate organic matter. Here we present a two-year time series of sediment trap observations of particulate organic carbon flux to 3,000 m depth, measured directly in two locations: the dust-rich central North Atlantic gyre and the dust-poor South Atlantic gyre. We find that carbon fluxes are twice as high and a higher proportion of primary production is exported to depth in the dust-rich North Atlantic gyre. Low stable nitrogen isotope ratios suggest that high fluxes result from the stimulation of nitrogen fixation and productivity following the deposition of dust-borne nutrients. Sediment traps in the northern gyre also collected intact colonies of nitrogen-fixing Trichodesmium species. Whereas ballast in the southern gyre is predominantly biogenic, dust-derived mineral particles constitute the dominant ballast element during the enhanced carbon fluxes in the northern gyre. We conclude that dust deposition increases carbon sequestration in the North Atlantic gyre through the fertilization of the nitrogen-fixing community in surface waters and mineral ballasting of sinking particles Article in Journal/Newspaper North Atlantic OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) Nature Geoscience 10 3 189 194 |
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OceanRep (GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre für Ocean Research Kiel) |
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ftoceanrep |
language |
English |
description |
Enhanced atmospheric input of dust-borne nutrients and minerals to the remote surface ocean can potentially increase carbon uptake and sequestration at depth. Nutrients can enhance primary productivity, and mineral particles act as ballast, increasing sinking rates of particulate organic matter. Here we present a two-year time series of sediment trap observations of particulate organic carbon flux to 3,000 m depth, measured directly in two locations: the dust-rich central North Atlantic gyre and the dust-poor South Atlantic gyre. We find that carbon fluxes are twice as high and a higher proportion of primary production is exported to depth in the dust-rich North Atlantic gyre. Low stable nitrogen isotope ratios suggest that high fluxes result from the stimulation of nitrogen fixation and productivity following the deposition of dust-borne nutrients. Sediment traps in the northern gyre also collected intact colonies of nitrogen-fixing Trichodesmium species. Whereas ballast in the southern gyre is predominantly biogenic, dust-derived mineral particles constitute the dominant ballast element during the enhanced carbon fluxes in the northern gyre. We conclude that dust deposition increases carbon sequestration in the North Atlantic gyre through the fertilization of the nitrogen-fixing community in surface waters and mineral ballasting of sinking particles |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Pabortsava, Katsiaryna Lampitt, Richard S. Benson, Jeff Crowe, Christian McLachlan, Robert Le Moigne, Frederic A. C. Mark Moore, C. Pebody, Corinne Provost, Paul Rees, Andrew P. Tilstone, Gavin H. Woodward, E. Malcolm S. |
spellingShingle |
Pabortsava, Katsiaryna Lampitt, Richard S. Benson, Jeff Crowe, Christian McLachlan, Robert Le Moigne, Frederic A. C. Mark Moore, C. Pebody, Corinne Provost, Paul Rees, Andrew P. Tilstone, Gavin H. Woodward, E. Malcolm S. Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust |
author_facet |
Pabortsava, Katsiaryna Lampitt, Richard S. Benson, Jeff Crowe, Christian McLachlan, Robert Le Moigne, Frederic A. C. Mark Moore, C. Pebody, Corinne Provost, Paul Rees, Andrew P. Tilstone, Gavin H. Woodward, E. Malcolm S. |
author_sort |
Pabortsava, Katsiaryna |
title |
Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust |
title_short |
Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust |
title_full |
Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust |
title_fullStr |
Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust |
title_full_unstemmed |
Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust |
title_sort |
carbon sequestration in the deep atlantic enhanced by saharan dust |
publisher |
Nature Research |
publishDate |
2017 |
url |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/ https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/1/ngeo2899.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/2/ngeo2899-s1.pdf https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2899 |
genre |
North Atlantic |
genre_facet |
North Atlantic |
op_relation |
https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/1/ngeo2899.pdf https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/37380/2/ngeo2899-s1.pdf Pabortsava, K., Lampitt, R. S., Benson, J., Crowe, C., McLachlan, R., Le Moigne, F. A. C. , Mark Moore, C., Pebody, C., Provost, P., Rees, A. P., Tilstone, G. H. and Woodward, E. M. S. (2017) Carbon sequestration in the deep Atlantic enhanced by Saharan dust. Nature Geoscience, 10 (3). pp. 189-194. DOI 10.1038/NGEO2899 <https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2899>. doi:10.1038/NGEO2899 |
op_rights |
info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1038/NGEO2899 |
container_title |
Nature Geoscience |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
189 |
op_container_end_page |
194 |
_version_ |
1766121277050847232 |