Direct observation of North Atlantic nutrient transport and biological pump variability linked to the Meridional Overturning Circulation
Type | Article | ||||||||
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Date | 2024-04-11 | ||||||||
Language | English | ||||||||
Author(s) | Carracedo Lidia1, McDonagh Elaine2, 3, Sanders Richard2, 3, Moore C. Mark4, Mercier Herle8, Brown Peter3, Torres-Valdés Sinhué5, Mawji Edward3, Baringer Molly6, Smeed David2, Rosón Gabriel7 | ||||||||
Affiliation(s) | 1 : University of Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, Plouzané, 29280, France. 2 : NORCE Norwegian Research Centre, Bjerknes Centre for Climate Research, Bergen, Norway. 3 : National Oceanography Centre Southampton, European Way, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK 4 : School of Ocean and Earth Science, National Oceanography Centre Southampton, University of Southampton, Southampton SO14 3ZH, UK. 5 : Alfred Wegener Institute, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany 6 : NOAA/AOML, 4301 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA 7 : University of Vigo, Campus Lagoas-Marcosende, 36200, Vigo, Spain 8 : University of Brest, CNRS, Ifremer, IRD, Laboratoire d'Océanographie Physique et Spatiale (LOPS), IUEM, Plouzané, 29280, France. |
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Source | Preprint (Research Square Platform LLC), 2024-04-11 , P. 65p. | ||||||||
DOI | 10.21203/rs.3.rs-4186952/v1 | ||||||||
Note | This is a preprint ; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal | ||||||||
Keyword(s) | Earth and environmental science, Ocean sciences, Marine chemistry, Physical oceanography | ||||||||
Abstract | The ocean biological carbon pump (BCP) plays a pivotal role in the global carbon cycle. The BCP magnitude is determined by the fraction of nutrients utilised in biological production and remineralised at depth, with the remainder being subducted into the interior unused as ‘preformed’ nutrients. This fraction is currently around 50% and subject to the interaction of biological processes and global scale circulation. Consequently, changes in circulation can potentially impact biological carbon storage. Here we provide observational evidence that the reduction in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) that occurred over the 2004-2018 period has been accompanied by substantial changes in nutrient transports and associated carbon storage. Persistent southward net nutrient transport across 26.5°N exceeded nutrient sources, except by the end of the period when the system approached balance. This transient net loss of nutrients from the North Atlantic was accompanied by increases in the ratio of remineralized to preformed nutrients, indicating an increasing BCP efficiency (and carbon storage). Our results thus demonstrate observable transient changes in large scale nutrient transports linked to AMOC changes over interannual - decadal timescales, with implications for future ocean carbon storage. |
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