Gas exchange between the atmosphere and ocean interior profoundly impacts global climate and biogeochemistry. However, our understanding of the relevant physical processes remains limited by a scarcity of direct observations. Dissolved noble gases in the deep ocean are powerful tracers of physical air-sea interaction due to their chemical and biological inertness, yet their isotope ratios have remained underexplored. Here, we present high-precision noble gas isotope and elemental ratios from the deep North Atlantic (~32°N, 64°W) to evaluate gas exchange parameterizations using an ocean circulation model. The unprecedented precision of these data reveal deep-ocean undersaturation of heavy noble gases and isotopes resulting from cooling-driven air-to-sea gas transport associated with deep convection in the northern high latitudes. Our data also imply an underappreciated and large role for bubble-mediated gas exchange in the global air-sea transfer of sparingly soluble gases, including O 2 , N 2 , and SF 6 . Using noble gases to validate the physical representation of air-sea gas exchange in a model also provides a unique opportunity to distinguish physical from biogeochemical signals. As a case study, we compare dissolved N 2 /Ar measurements in the deep North Atlantic to physics-only model predictions, revealing excess N 2 from benthic denitrification in older deep waters (below 2.9 km). These data indicate that the rate of fixed N removal in the deep Northeastern Atlantic is at least three times higher than the global deep-ocean mean, suggesting tight coupling with organic carbon export and raising potential future implications for the marine N cycle.
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Heavy Noble Gas Isotopes as New Constraints on the Ventilation of the Deep Ocean
Past studies of noble gas concentrations in the deep ocean have revealed widespread, several percent undersaturation of Ar, Kr, and Xe. However, the physical explanation for these disequilibria remains unclear. To gain insight into undersaturation set by deep‐water formation, we measured heavy noble gas isotope and elemental ratios from the deep North Pacific using a new analytical technique. To our knowledge, these are the first high‐precision seawater profiles of38Ar/36Ar and Kr and Xe isotope ratios. To interpret isotopic disequilibria, we carried out a suite of laboratory experiments to measure solubility fractionation factors in seawater. In the deep North Pacific, we find undersaturation of heavy‐to‐light Ar and Kr isotope ratios, suggesting an important role for rapid cooling‐driven, diffusive air‐to‐sea gas transport in setting the deep‐ocean undersaturation of heavy noble gases. These isotope ratios represent promising new constraints for quantifying physical air‐sea gas exchange processes, complementing noble gas concentration measurements.
more » « less- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10449687
- Publisher / Repository:
- DOI PREFIX: 10.1029
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Geophysical Research Letters
- Volume:
- 46
- Issue:
- 15
- ISSN:
- 0094-8276
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 8926-8932
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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