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1. Variable particle size distributions reduce the sensitivity of global export flux to climate change

   https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-18-229-2021  

   Leung, Shirley W. ; Weber, Thomas ; Cram, Jacob A. ; Deutsch, Curtis ( January 2021 , Biogeosciences)

   Abstract. Recent earth system models predict a 10 %–20 % decrease in particulate organic carbon export from the surface ocean by the end of the21st century due to global climate change. This decline is mainly caused by increased stratification of the upper ocean, resulting in reducedshallow subsurface nutrient concentrations and a slower supply of nutrients to the surface euphotic zone in low latitudes. These predictions,however, do not typically account for associated changes in remineralization depths driven by sinking-particle size. Here we combinesatellite-derived export and particle size maps with a simple 3-D global biogeochemical model that resolves dynamic particle size distributions toinvestigate how shifts in particle size may buffer or amplify predicted changes in surface nutrient supply and therefore export production. We showthat higher export rates are empirically correlated with larger sinking particles and presumably larger phytoplankton, particularly in tropical andsubtropical regions. Incorporating these empirical relationships into our global model shows that as circulation slows, a decrease in export isassociated with a shift towards smaller particles, which sink more slowly and are thus remineralized shallower. This shift towards shallowerremineralization in turn leads to greater recycling of nutrients in the upper water column and thus faster nutrient recirculation into the euphoticzone. The end resultmore »is a boost in productivity and export that counteracts the initial circulation-driven decreases. This negative feedbackmechanism (termed the particle-size–remineralization feedback) slows export decline over the next century by ∼ 14 % globally (from −0.29to −0.25 GtC yr−1) and by ∼ 20 % in the tropical and subtropical oceans, where export decreases are currently predicted tobe greatest. Our findings suggest that to more accurately predict changes in biological pump strength under a warming climate, earth system modelsshould include dynamic particle-size-dependent remineralization depths.« less
2. Constraining the sources of nitrogen fueling export production in the Gulf of Mexico using nitrogen isotope budgets

   https://doi.org/10.1093/plankt/fbab049  

   Knapp, Angela N ; Thomas, Rachel K ; Stukel, Michael R ; Kelly, Thomas B ; Landry, Michael R ; Selph, Karen E ; Malca, Estrella ; Gerard, Trika ; Lamkin, John ( August 2021 , Journal of Plankton Research)

   Moisander, Pia (Ed.)

   Abstract The availability of nitrogen (N) in ocean surface waters affects rates of photosynthesis and marine ecosystem structure. In spite of low dissolved inorganic N concentrations, export production in oligotrophic waters is comparable to more nutrient replete regions. Prior observations raise the possibility that di-nitrogen (N2) fixation supplies a significant fraction of N supporting export production in the Gulf of Mexico. In this study, geochemical tools were used to quantify the relative and absolute importance of both subsurface nitrate and N2 fixation as sources of new N fueling export production in the oligotrophic Gulf of Mexico in May 2017 and May 2018. Comparing the isotopic composition (“δ15N”) of nitrate with the δ15N of sinking particulate N collected during five sediment trap deployments each lasting two to four days indicates that N2 fixation is typically not detected and that the majority (≥80%) of export production is supported by subsurface nitrate. Moreover, no gradients in upper ocean dissolved organic N and suspended particulate N concentration and/or δ15N were found that would indicate significant N2 fixation fluxes accumulated in these pools, consistent with low Trichodesmium spp. abundance. Finally, comparing the δ15N of sinking particulate N captured within vs. below the euphotic zone indicatesmore »that during late spring regenerated N is low in δ15N compared to sinking N.« less
3. Biological composition and microbial dynamics of sinking particulate organic matter at abyssal depths in the oligotrophic open ocean

   https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1903080116  

   Boeuf, Dominique ; Edwards, Bethanie R. ; Eppley, John M. ; Hu, Sarah K. ; Poff, Kirsten E. ; Romano, Anna E. ; Caron, David A. ; Karl, David M. ; DeLong, Edward F. ( January 2019 , Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)

   Sinking particles are a critical conduit for the export of organic material from surface waters to the deep ocean. Despite their importance in oceanic carbon cycling and export, little is known about the biotic composition, origins, and variability of sinking particles reaching abyssal depths. Here, we analyzed particle-associated nucleic acids captured and preserved in sediment traps at 4,000-m depth in the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre. Over the 9-month time-series, Bacteria dominated both the rRNA-gene and rRNA pools, followed by eukaryotes (protists and animals) and trace amounts of Archaea. Deep-sea piezophile-like Gammaproteobacteria, along with Epsilonproteobacteria, comprised >80% of the bacterial inventory. Protists (mostly Rhizaria, Syndinales, and ciliates) and metazoa (predominantly pelagic mollusks and cnidarians) were the most common sinking particle-associated eukaryotes. Some near-surface water-derived eukaryotes, especially Foraminifera, Radiolaria, and pteropods, varied greatly in their abundance patterns, presumably due to sporadic export events. The dominance of piezophile-like Gammaproteobacteria and Epsilonproteobacteria, along with the prevalence of their nitrogen cycling-associated gene transcripts, suggested a central role for these bacteria in the mineralization and biogeochemical transformation of sinking particulate organic matter in the deep ocean. Our data also reflected several different modes of particle export dynamics, including summer export, more stochastic inputs from the uppermore »water column by protists and pteropods, and contributions from sinking mid- and deep-water organisms. In total, our observations revealed the variable and heterogeneous biological origins and microbial activities of sinking particles that connect their downward transport, transformation, and degradation to deep-sea biogeochemical processes.« less
4. Sinking flux of particulate organic matter in the oceans: Sensitivity to particle characteristics

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-60424-5  

   Omand, Melissa M. ; Govindarajan, Rama ; He, Jing ; Mahadevan, Amala ( March 2020 , Scientific Reports)

   The sinking of organic particles produced in the upper sunlit layers of the ocean forms an important limb of the oceanic biological pump, which impacts the sequestration of carbon and resupply of nutrients in the mesopelagic ocean. Particles raining out from the upper ocean undergo remineralization by bacteria colonized on their surface and interior, leading to an attenuation in the sinking flux of organic matter with depth. Here, we formulate a mechanistic model for the depth-dependent, sinking, particulate mass flux constituted by a range of sinking, remineralizing particles. Like previous studies, we find that the model does not achieve the characteristic ‘Martin curve’ flux profile with a single type of particle, but instead requires a distribution of particle sizes and/or properties. We consider various functional forms of remineralization appropriate for solid/compact particles, and aggregates with an anoxic or oxic interior. We explore the sensitivity of the shape of the flux vs. depth profile to the choice of remineralization function, relative particle density, particle size distribution, and water column density stratification, and find that neither a power-law nor exponential function provides a definitively superior fit to the modeled profiles. The profiles are also sensitive to the time history of themore »particle source. Varying surface particle size distribution (via the slope of the particle number spectrum) over 3 days to represent a transient phytoplankton bloom results in transient subsurface maxima or pulses in the sinking mass flux. This work contributes to a growing body of mechanistic export flux models that offer scope to incorporate underlying dynamical and biological processes into global carbon cycle models.

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5. Groundwater as a major source of dissolved organic matter to Arctic coastal waters

   https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-15250-8  

   Connolly, Craig T. ; Cardenas, M. Bayani ; Burkart, Greta A. ; Spencer, Robert G. M. ; McClelland, James W. ( March 2020 , Nature Communications)

   Groundwater is projected to become an increasing source of freshwater and nutrients to the Arctic Ocean as permafrost thaws, yet few studies have quantified groundwater inputs to Arctic coastal waters under contemporary conditions. New measurements along the Alaska Beaufort Sea coast show that dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen (DOC and DON) concentrations in supra-permafrost groundwater (SPGW) near the land-sea interface are up to two orders of magnitude higher than in rivers. This dissolved organic matter (DOM) is sourced from readily leachable organic matter in surface soils and deeper centuries-to millennia-old soils that extend into thawing permafrost. SPGW delivers approximately 400–2100 m³of freshwater, 14–71 kg of DOC, and 1–4 kg of DON to the coastal ocean per km of shoreline per day during late summer. These substantial fluxes are expected to increase as massive stocks of frozen organic matter in permafrost are liberated in a warming Arctic.