Abstract. Southern Ocean waters are projected to undergo profound changes in their
physical and chemical properties in the coming decades. Coccolithophore
blooms in the Southern Ocean are thought to account for a major fraction of
the global marine calcium carbonate (CaCO3) production and export to
the deep sea. Therefore, changes in the composition and abundance of
Southern Ocean coccolithophore populations are likely to alter the marine
carbon cycle, with feedbacks to the rate of global climate change. However,
the contribution of coccolithophores to CaCO3 export in the Southern
Ocean is uncertain, particularly in the circumpolar subantarctic zone that
represents about half of the areal extent of the Southern Ocean and where
coccolithophores are most abundant. Here, we present measurements of annual
CaCO3 flux and quantitatively partition them amongst coccolithophore
species and heterotrophic calcifiers at two sites representative of a large
portion of the subantarctic zone. We find that coccolithophores account for
a major fraction of the annual CaCO3 export, with the highest contributions
in waters with low algal biomass accumulations. Notably, our analysis
reveals that although Emiliania huxleyi is an important vector for CaCO3 export to the
deep sea, less abundant but larger species account for most of the annual
coccolithophore CaCO3 flux. This observation contrasts with the
generally accepted notion that high particulate inorganic carbon accumulations during the austral
summer in the subantarctic Southern Ocean are mainly caused by E. huxleyi blooms. It
appears likely that the climate-induced migration of oceanic fronts will
initially result in the poleward expansion of large coccolithophore species
increasing CaCO3 production. However, subantarctic coccolithophore
populations will eventually diminish as acidification overwhelms those
changes. Overall, our analysis emphasizes the need for species-centred
studies to improve our ability to project future changes in phytoplankton
communities and their influence on marine biogeochemical cycles.