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A Visual Tour of Carbon Export by Sinking Particles
Colleen A Durkin1,2, Ken O Buesseler3, Ivona Cetinić4,5
1Moss Landing Marine Laboratories Moss Landing CA USA.
Global Biogeochemical Cycles
|July 22, 2022
Summary
Researchers quantified the ocean carbon pump by analyzing sinking particles. Particle type, not just quantity, influences carbon export and how it travels through ocean depths.
Area of Science:
- Marine biology
- Biogeochemistry
- Oceanography
Background:
- The ocean's biological carbon pump is crucial for regulating atmospheric CO2.
- Understanding the diversity and behavior of sinking particles is key to accurately quantifying carbon export.
Purpose of the Study:
- To resolve the diversity of sinking particles.
- To determine their contribution to carbon export.
- To understand their attenuation with ocean depth.
Main Methods:
- Collected sinking particles from sediment traps in four ocean ecosystems.
- Imaged, measured, and classified particles.
- Modeled particulate organic carbon (POC) flux based on particle size and identity.
Main Results:
- Identified nine particle types, with aggregates and fecal pellets being major drivers of compositional variability.
- POC flux magnitude was not tied to a single dominant particle class.
- Particle composition significantly influenced flux attenuation; long fecal pellets attenuated fastest.
- Small particles (<100 μm) contributed 5% to high POC fluxes but increased to 46% in low flux environments.
Conclusions:
- Particle characteristics, beyond quantity, are critical for modeling the biological carbon pump.
- Imaging diverse particle types improves the parameterization of carbon export models.
- Understanding particle behavior with depth is essential for accurate ocean carbon cycle assessments.
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