River discharges of carbon to the world's oceans: determining local inputs of alkalinity and of dissolved and particulate organic carbon

• Main Authors: Ludwig, Wolfgang, Amiotte Suchet, Philippe, Probst, Jean-Luc
• Other Authors: Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique - CNRS (FRANCE), Université de Bourgogne - UB (FRANCE), Université Louis Pasteur-Strasbourg I - ULP (FRANCE)
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Gauthier-Villars 1996
• Subjects: Chimie organique; Océan; Atmosphère; Hydrologie; Carbon; Dissolved materials; Particulate matters; Sea water; Models; Carbon dioxide; Atmosphere; Erosion; Spatial distribution; Flux; Organic carbon; Bicarbonate ion; Atlantic Ocean; Pacific Ocean; Indian Ocean; Arctic Ocean; Geochemical cycle; Carbon cycle; Alkalinity; Arctic; Indian; Pacific
• Online Access: http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/3498/; http://oatao.univ-toulouse.fr/3498/1/probst_3498.pdf

An empirical modelling that allows a prediction the amount of atmospheric CO2 consumed by continental erosion is combined with a river-routing file in order to determine the spatial distribution of river carbon inputs to the world's oceans. The total fluvial carbon input is calculated to be 710 teragrams of carbon per year (TgC/yr). 205 TgC/yr are discharged as dissolved organic carbon, 185 TgC/yr as particulate organic carbon, and 320 TgC/yr as bicarbonate ions. Of the latter figure, 230 TgC/yr stem from the atmosphere, while the remainder 90 TgC/yr originate from carbonate mineral dissolution. The Atlantic Ocean receives the greatest amount of river carbon, followed by the Pacific Ocean, the Indian Ocean, and the Arctic Ocean. The spatial distribution of the predicted river carbon inputs may be included in further modelling studies in order to better understand the lateral transports of carbon in the present-day global carbon cycle.