Abstract
We report depth-resolved in situ time series of the partial pressure of C02 (pC02) and other carbon-related parameters spanning the development and decline of a high-latitude phytoplankton bloom. A suite of sensors was deployed on a mooring in the Labrador Sea from June to August 2004. The study became quasi-Lagrangian when the mooring broke free in late June. Measured parameters included pC02, chlorophyll a fluorescence, beam c, optical backscatter, and photosynthetically active radiation. During the bloom, thepC02 was drawn down from 330 to 260 juatm, corresponding to a 70 /xmol kg-1 decrease of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). One-dimensional model results suggest that the observed drawdown was primarily driven by local processes and contributions from horizontal advection were minimal. A mass balance using the DIC and particulate organic carbon found that 47 mmol C m-2 d-1 of DIC was assimilated into biomass. The bloom biomass was not remineralized in the mixed layer but was rapidly exported below 35 m within 15 days of the bloom. As a consequence, the large air-sea pC02 gradient persisted, and approximately 30% of the DIC was regained through air-sea exchange by the end of the study. It is likely that all of the exported organic matter, corresponding to 5.4 ± 1.9 Tg of carbon, was replaced by atmospheric C02 prior to the onset of deep convective mixing.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Article number | C09008 |
| Journal | Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans |
| Volume | 114 |
| Issue number | 9 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - 2009 |
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ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Earth and Planetary Sciences (miscellaneous)
- Space and Planetary Science
- Oceanography
- Geochemistry and Petrology
- Geophysics
Cite this
Sea surface pC02 and carbon export during the Labrador Sea spring-summer bloom : An in situ mass balance approach. / Martz, Todd R.; DeGrandpre, Michael D.; Strutton, Peter G.; McGillis, Wade R.; Drennan, William M.
In: Journal of Geophysical Research C: Oceans, Vol. 114, No. 9, C09008, 2009.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Sea surface pC02 and carbon export during the Labrador Sea spring-summer bloom
T2 - An in situ mass balance approach
AU - Martz, Todd R.
AU - DeGrandpre, Michael D.
AU - Strutton, Peter G.
AU - McGillis, Wade R.
AU - Drennan, William M
PY - 2009
Y1 - 2009
N2 - We report depth-resolved in situ time series of the partial pressure of C02 (pC02) and other carbon-related parameters spanning the development and decline of a high-latitude phytoplankton bloom. A suite of sensors was deployed on a mooring in the Labrador Sea from June to August 2004. The study became quasi-Lagrangian when the mooring broke free in late June. Measured parameters included pC02, chlorophyll a fluorescence, beam c, optical backscatter, and photosynthetically active radiation. During the bloom, thepC02 was drawn down from 330 to 260 juatm, corresponding to a 70 /xmol kg-1 decrease of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). One-dimensional model results suggest that the observed drawdown was primarily driven by local processes and contributions from horizontal advection were minimal. A mass balance using the DIC and particulate organic carbon found that 47 mmol C m-2 d-1 of DIC was assimilated into biomass. The bloom biomass was not remineralized in the mixed layer but was rapidly exported below 35 m within 15 days of the bloom. As a consequence, the large air-sea pC02 gradient persisted, and approximately 30% of the DIC was regained through air-sea exchange by the end of the study. It is likely that all of the exported organic matter, corresponding to 5.4 ± 1.9 Tg of carbon, was replaced by atmospheric C02 prior to the onset of deep convective mixing.
AB - We report depth-resolved in situ time series of the partial pressure of C02 (pC02) and other carbon-related parameters spanning the development and decline of a high-latitude phytoplankton bloom. A suite of sensors was deployed on a mooring in the Labrador Sea from June to August 2004. The study became quasi-Lagrangian when the mooring broke free in late June. Measured parameters included pC02, chlorophyll a fluorescence, beam c, optical backscatter, and photosynthetically active radiation. During the bloom, thepC02 was drawn down from 330 to 260 juatm, corresponding to a 70 /xmol kg-1 decrease of dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC). One-dimensional model results suggest that the observed drawdown was primarily driven by local processes and contributions from horizontal advection were minimal. A mass balance using the DIC and particulate organic carbon found that 47 mmol C m-2 d-1 of DIC was assimilated into biomass. The bloom biomass was not remineralized in the mixed layer but was rapidly exported below 35 m within 15 days of the bloom. As a consequence, the large air-sea pC02 gradient persisted, and approximately 30% of the DIC was regained through air-sea exchange by the end of the study. It is likely that all of the exported organic matter, corresponding to 5.4 ± 1.9 Tg of carbon, was replaced by atmospheric C02 prior to the onset of deep convective mixing.
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UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=72849149607&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1029/2008JC005060
DO - 10.1029/2008JC005060
M3 - Article
VL - 114
JO - Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
JF - Journal of Geophysical Research: Oceans
SN - 2169-9275
IS - 9
M1 - C09008
ER -