Towards a transformative understanding of the ocean�s biological pump: Priorities for future research - Report on the NSF Biology of the Biological Pump Workshop

Burd, Adrian B.; Buchan, Alison; Church, Matthew J.; Landry, Michael R.; McDonnell, Andrew M. P.; Passow, Uta; Steinberg, Deborah K.; Benway, Heather M.

doi:10.1575/1912/8263

Cited by 27 publications

(28 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…Vertical attenuation of POC flux is ultimately controlled by particle sinking speed and remineralization rate, each of which can change as the particle descends through the water column. Potential processes influencing sinking speed and remineralization rate include mineral ballasting [Armstrong et al, 2002;François et al, 2002], temperature [Laws et al, 2000;Marsay et al, 2015;DeVries and Weber, 2017], oxygen concentration [Devol and Hartnett, 2001;Van Mooy et al, 2002;Keil et al, 2016;Sanders et al, 2016;DeVries and Weber, 2017], and particle aggregation [Burd and Jackson, 2009]. Some of these processes have been explicitly parameterized into the "stochastic, Lagrangian aggregate model of sinking particles", which was able to reproduce sediment trap observed POC fluxes and some of its regional variation [Jokulsdottir and Archer, 2016].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO₂

Gloege

McKinley

Mouw

et al. 2017

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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The shunt of photosynthetically derived particulate organic carbon (POC) from the euphotic zone and deep remineralization comprises the basic mechanism of the “biological carbon pump.” POC raining through the “twilight zone” (euphotic depth to 1 km) and “midnight zone” (1 km to 4 km) is remineralized back to inorganic form through respiration. Accurately modeling POC flux is critical for understanding the “biological pump” and its impacts on air‐sea CO2 exchange and, ultimately, long‐term ocean carbon sequestration. Yet commonly used parameterizations have not been tested quantitatively against global data sets using identical modeling frameworks. Here we use a single one‐dimensional physical‐biogeochemical modeling framework to assess three common POC flux parameterizations in capturing POC flux observations from moored sediment traps and thorium‐234 depletion. The exponential decay, Martin curve, and ballast model are compared to data from 11 biogeochemical provinces distributed across the globe. In each province, the model captures satellite‐based estimates of surface primary production within uncertainties. Goodness of fit is measured by how well the simulation captures the observations, quantified by bias and the root‐mean‐square error and displayed using “target diagrams.” Comparisons are presented separately for the twilight zone and midnight zone. We find that the ballast hypothesis shows no improvement over a globally or regionally parameterized Martin curve. For all provinces taken together, Martin's b that best fits the data is [0.70, 0.98]; this finding reduces by at least a factor of 3 previous estimates of potential impacts on atmospheric pCO2 of uncertainty in POC export to a more modest range [−16 ppm, +12 ppm].

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO₂

Gloege

McKinley

Mouw

et al. 2017

Global Biogeochemical Cycles

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“…Chl a varied only between 0.05 and 0.20 mg m -3 in the MA, suggesting a strong top-down control by zooplankton able to maintain pigment concentration in a quasi-steady state for many months (Banse et al, 2012). Therefore, as has already been observed in the equatorial Pacific (Landry et al,10 2011), it is not unconceivable to consider an equilibrium between phytoplankton production and grazing by mesozooplankton.…”

Section: A Net Sink Of Atmospheric Co2 Mainly Driven By Zooplankton Mmentioning

confidence: 90%

Nutrient availability and the ultimate control of the biological carbon pump in the Western Tropical South Pacific Ocean

Moutin¹,

Wagener²,

Caffin³

et al. 2018

Preprint

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15Surface waters (0-200 m) of the western tropical South Pacific (WTSP) were sampled along a longitudinal 4000 km transect (OUTPACE cruise, 18 Feb., 3 Apr. 2015) during the stratified period between the Melanesian Archipelago (MA) and the western part of the SP gyre (WGY). Two distinct areas were considered for the MA, the western MA (WMA) and the eastern MA (EMA). The main carbon (C), nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) pools and fluxes allow for characterization of the expected trend from oligotrophy to ultra-oligotrophy, and to build first-order budgets at the daily and seasonal scales (using 20 climatology). Sea surface chlorophyll a reflected well the expected oligotrophic gradient with higher values obtained at WMA, lower values at WGY and intermediate values at EMA. As expected, the euphotic zone depth, the deep chlorophyll maximum and nitracline depth deepen from west to east. Nevertheless, phosphaclines and nitraclines did not match. The decoupling between phosphacline and nitracline depths in the MA allows excess P to be locally provided in the upper water by winter mixing. We found a significant biological "soft tissue" carbon pump in the MA sustained almost exclusively by N2 fixation 25 and essentially controlled by phosphate availability in this iron-replete environment. The MA appears to be a net sink for atmospheric CO2 while the WGY is in quasi steady state. We suggest that the necessary excess P, allowing the success of nitrogen fixers and subsequent carbon production and export, is mainly brought to the upper surface by local deep winter convection at an annual scale rather than by surface circulation. We also suggest that mesozooplankton diel vertical migration plays a dominant role in the transfer of carbon from the upper surface to deeper water in the MA. While the origin of the 30 decoupling between phosphacline and nitracline remains uncertain, the direct link between local P upper waters enrichment, N2 fixation, organic carbon production and export, offers a possible shorter time scale than previously thought between N input by N2 fixation and carbon export. The low iron availability in the SP gyre and P availability in the MA during the stratified period may appear as the ultimate control of N input by N2 fixation. Because of the huge volume of water to consider and because the SP Ocean is the place of intense denitrification in the east (N sink) and N2 fixation in the west (N source), precise 35 seasonal C, N, P budgets would be of prime interest to understand the efficiency, at the present time, and in the future, of the oceanic biological carbon pump.

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“…These would need to be coupled to modeling efforts, as well as long-term monitoring campaigns to assess actual carbon removal rates via OIF. Perhaps the highest immediate priority is to achieve a better understanding of the biological pump in the open ocean (Burd et al, 2016).…”

Section: Feasibilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Biogenic Iron Dust: A Novel Approach to Ocean Iron Fertilization as a Means of Large Scale Removal of Carbon Dioxide From the Atmosphere

Emerson

2019

Front. Mar. Sci.

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This is a proposal for ocean iron fertilization as a means to reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. The idea is to take advantage of nanoparticulate, poorly crystalline Fe-oxides produced by chemosynthetic iron-oxidizing bacteria as an iron source to the ocean. Upon drying these oxides produce a fine powder that could be dispersed at altitude by aircraft to augment wind-driven Aeolian dust that is a primary iron source to the open ocean. Based on Fe-oxidation rates for natural populations of iron-oxidizing bacteria it is estimated 1,500 hectares of production ponds (1 × 100 × 100 m) would be required to produce sufficient iron dust to supply the 30% of the global ocean that is iron-limited. In theory, iron replete conditions will stimulate the biological pump to quantitatively remove enough carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to partially mitigate anthropogenic inputs. Modifications to existing technologies would satisfy most of the technological challenges. Addition of biogenic iron to meso-scale eddies could provide an effective means of testing this process. Nonetheless, there are many unknowns, thus any such effort will require research and development integrated across oceanographic and Earth science disciplines to determine its long term efficacy.

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Towards a transformative understanding of the ocean�s biological pump: Priorities for future research - Report on the NSF Biology of the Biological Pump Workshop

Cited by 27 publications

References 5 publications

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO₂

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO₂

Nutrient availability and the ultimate control of the biological carbon pump in the Western Tropical South Pacific Ocean

Biogenic Iron Dust: A Novel Approach to Ocean Iron Fertilization as a Means of Large Scale Removal of Carbon Dioxide From the Atmosphere

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Towards a transformative understanding of the ocean�s biological pump: Priorities for future research - Report on the NSF Biology of the Biological Pump Workshop

Cited by 27 publications

References 5 publications

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO2

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO2

Nutrient availability and the ultimate control of the biological carbon pump in the Western Tropical South Pacific Ocean

Biogenic Iron Dust: A Novel Approach to Ocean Iron Fertilization as a Means of Large Scale Removal of Carbon Dioxide From the Atmosphere

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Product

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Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO₂

Global evaluation of particulate organic carbon flux parameterizations and implications for atmospheric pCO₂