The Biological Carbon Pump in the North Atlantic

• Published in: Progress in Oceanography
• Main Authors: Sanders, Richard, Henson, Stephanie A., Koski, Marja, de La Rocha, Christina L., Painter, Stuart C., Poulton, Alex J., Riley, Jennifer, Salihoglu, Baris, Visser, Andre, Yool, Andrew, Bellerby, Richard, Martin, Adrian P.
• Other Authors: National Oceanography Centre (NOC), Danish Institute for Fisheries Research, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet = Technical University of Denmark (DTU), Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Environnement Marin (LEMAR) (LEMAR), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut Français de Recherche pour l'Exploitation de la Mer (IFREMER)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer (IUEM), Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Brest (UBO)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Institute of Marine Sciences Erdemli-Mersin (IMS), Middle East Technical University Ankara (METU), Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research (BCCR), Department of Biological Sciences Bergen (BIO / UiB), University of Bergen (UiB)-University of Bergen (UiB), Norwegian Institute for Water Research (NIVA), Uni Research Ltd
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2014
• Subjects: Atmospheric chemistry; Carbon; Carbon dioxide Atmospheric carbon dioxide; Global carbon cycle; IT transfers; North Atlantic; Physical process; Upper ocean; [SDE]Environmental Sciences
• Online Access: https://hal.univ-brest.fr/hal-01102946; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pocean.2014.05.005

International audience Mediated principally by the sinking of organic rich particles from the upper ocean, the Biological Carbon Pump (BCP) is a significant component of the global carbon cycle. It transfers roughly 11GtCyr-1 into the ocean's interior and maintains atmospheric carbon dioxide at significantly lower levels than would be the case if it did not exist. More specifically, export by the BCP in the North Atlantic is ~0.55-1.94GtCyr-1. A rich set of observations suggests that a complex set of processes drives this export. However, significant uncertainties exist regarding the BCP in the North Atlantic, including both the magnitude of the downward flux and the ecological, chemical and physical processes by which it is sustained and controlled. Our lack of detailed mechanistic understanding has also hindered modelling attempts to quantify and predict changes to the BCP. In this paper, we assess current knowledge concerning the BCP in the North Atlantic in order to identify priorities for future research, as well as suggesting how they might be addressed.