Dissolved Organic Carbon in the North Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation

The quantitative role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export is evaluated by combining DOC measurements with observed water mass transports. In the eastern subpolar North Atlantic, both upper and lower limbs of the AMOC transport high-DOC w...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Scientific Reports
Main Authors: Fontela, Marcos, García-Ibáñez, Maribel I., Hansell, Dennis A., Mercier, Herlé, Pérez, Fiz F.
Format: Text
Language:English
Published: Nature Publishing Group 2016
Subjects:
Article
North Atlantic
Online Access:http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4886255/
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27240625
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep26931
Description
Summary:The quantitative role of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in dissolved organic carbon (DOC) export is evaluated by combining DOC measurements with observed water mass transports. In the eastern subpolar North Atlantic, both upper and lower limbs of the AMOC transport high-DOC waters. Deep water formation that connects the two limbs of the AMOC results in a high downward export of non-refractory DOC (197 Tg-C·yr−1). Subsequent remineralization in the lower limb of the AMOC, between subpolar and subtropical latitudes, consumes 72% of the DOC exported by the whole Atlantic Ocean. The contribution of DOC to the carbon sequestration in the North Atlantic Ocean (62 Tg-C·yr−1) is considerable and represents almost a third of the atmospheric CO2 uptake in the region.

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