scholarly journals Anomalous δ 13 C in Particulate Organic Carbon at the Chemoautotrophy Maximum in the Cariaco Basin

2020 ◽  
Vol 125 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary I. Scranton ◽  
Gordon T. Taylor ◽  
Robert C. Thunell ◽  
Frank E. Muller‐Karger ◽  
Yrene Astor ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
Cariaco Basin

The Carbon:²³⁴Thorium ratios of sinking particles in the California Current Ecosystem 2: Examination of a thorium sorption, desorption, and particle transport model

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Stukel ◽  
Thomas Kelly
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Water Column ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
Transport Model ◽  
California Current ◽  
In Situ Measurements ◽  
Power Law Distribution ◽  
Sinking Particles ◽  
Organic Carbon Concentration

Thorium-234 (234Th) is a powerful tracer of particle dynamics and the biological pump in the surface ocean; however, variability in carbon:thorium ratios of sinking particles adds substantial uncertainty to estimates of organic carbon export. We coupled a mechanistic thorium sorption and desorption model to a one-dimensional particle sinking model that uses realistic particle settling velocity spectra. The model generates estimates of 238U-234Th disequilibrium, particulate organic carbon concentration, and the C:234Th ratio of sinking particles, which are then compared to in situ measurements from quasi-Lagrangian studies conducted on six cruises in the California Current Ecosystem. Broad patterns observed in in situ measurements, including decreasing C:234Th ratios with depth and a strong correlation between sinking C:234Th and the ratio of vertically-integrated particulate organic carbon (POC) to vertically-integrated total water column 234Th, were accurately recovered by models assuming either a power law distribution of sinking speeds or a double log normal distribution of sinking speeds. Simulations suggested that the observed decrease in C:234Th with depth may be driven by preferential remineralization of carbon by particle-attached microbes. However, an alternate model structure featuring complete consumption and/or disaggregation of particles by mesozooplankton (e.g. no preferential remineralization of carbon) was also able to simulate decreasing C:234Th with depth (although the decrease was weaker), driven by 234Th adsorption onto slowly sinking particles. Model results also suggest that during bloom decays C:234Th ratios of sinking particles should be higher than expected (based on contemporaneous water column POC), because high settling velocities minimize carbon remineralization during sinking.

Particulate organic carbon in Atlantic surface waters

Nature ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 266 (5604) ◽  
pp. 713-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. KRISHNASWAMI ◽  
D. LAL
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Particulate Organic Carbon ◽  
Surface Waters
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