| 1. |
- Burd, Adrian B., et al.
(författare)
-
Assessing the Apparent Imbalance Between Geochemical and Biochemical Indicators of Meso- and Bathypelagic Biological Activity: What the @$#! is wrong with present calculations of carbon budgets?
- 2010
-
Ingår i: Deep-sea research. Part II, Topical studies in oceanography. - : Elsevier BV. - 0967-0645 .- 1879-0100. ; 57:16, s. 1557-1571
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Metabolic activity in the water column below the euphotic zone is ultimately fuelled by the vertical flux of organic material from the surface. Over time, the deep ocean is presumably at steady state, with sources and sinks balanced. But recently compiled global budgets and intensive local field studies suggest that estimates of metabolic activity in the dark ocean exceed the influx of organic substrates. This imbalance indicates either the existence of unaccounted sources of organic carbon or that metabolic activity in the dark ocean is being over-estimated. Budgets of organic carbon flux and metabolic activity in the dark ocean have uncertainties associated with environmental variability, measurement capabilities, conversion parameters, and processes that are not well sampled. We present these issues and quantify associated uncertainties where possible, using a Monte Carlo analysis of a published data set to determine the probability that the imbalance can be explained purely by uncertainties in measurements and conversion factors. A sensitivity analysis demonstrates that the bacterial growth efficiencies and assumed cell carbon contents have the greatest effects on the magnitude of the carbon imbalance. Two poorly quantified sources, lateral advection of particles and a population of slowly settling particles, are discussed as providing a means of closing regional carbon budgets. Finally, we make recommendations concerning future research directions to reduce important uncertainties and allow a better determination of the magnitude and causes of the unbalanced carbon budgets. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
|
|
| 2. |
- Thomas, H, et al.
(författare)
-
Barium and carbon fluxes in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago
- 2011
-
Ingår i: Journal of Geophysical Research - Oceans. - 0148-0227 .- 2156-2202. ; 116
-
Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The seasonal and spatial variability of dissolved Barium (Ba) in the Amundsen Gulf, southeastern Beaufort Sea, was monitored over a full year from September 2007 to September 2008. Dissolved Ba displays a nutrient-type behavior: the maximum water column concentration is located below the surface layer. The highest Ba concentrations are typically observed at river mouths, the lowest concentrations are found in water masses of Atlantic origin. Barium concentrations decrease eastward through the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Barite (BaSO4) saturation is reached at the maximum dissolved Ba concentrations in the subsurface layer, whereas the rest of the water column is undersaturated. A three end-member mixing model comprising freshwater from sea-ice melt and rivers, as well as upper halocline water, is used to establish their relative contributions to the Ba concentrations in the upper water column of the Amundsen Gulf. Based on water column and riverine Ba contributions, we assess the depletion of dissolved Ba by formation and sinking of biologically bound Ba (bio-Ba), from which we derive an estimate of the carbon export production. In the upper 50 m of the water column of the Amundsen Gulf, riverine Ba accounts for up to 15% of the available dissolved Ba inventory, of which up to 20% is depleted by bio-Ba formation and export. Since riverine inputs and Ba export occur concurrently, the seasonal variability of dissolved Ba in the upper water column is moderate. Assuming a fixed organic carbon to bio-Ba flux ratio, carbon export out of the surface layer is estimated at 1.8 ± 0.45 mol C m−2 yr−1. Finally, we propose a climatological carbon budget for the Amundsen Gulf based on recent literature data and our findings, the latter bridging the surface and subsurface water carbon cycles.
|
|
