Regional differences in modelled net production and shallow remineralization in the North Atlantic subtropical Gyre

We used 5-year concomitant data of tracers distribution from the BATS (Bermuda Time-series Study) and ESTOC (European Station for Time-Series in the Ocean, Canary Islands) sites to build a 1-D tracer model conservation including horizontal advection and compute net production and shallow remineralization rates at both sites. Net production rates computed below the mixed layer to 110 m from April to December for oxygen, dissolved inorganic carbon and nitrate at BATS (1.34 ± 0.79 mol O₂ m⁻², −1.73 ± 0.52 mol C m⁻² and −125 ± 36 mmol N m⁻²) showed no statistically significant differences compared to ESTOC (1.03 ± 0.62 mol O₂ m⁻², −1.42 ± 0.30 mol C m⁻² and −213 ± 56 mmol N m⁻²). Shallow remineralization rates between 110 and 250 m computed at ESTOC (−3.9 ± 1.0 mol O₂ m⁻², 1.53 ± 0.43 mol C m⁻² and 38 ± 155 mmol N m⁻²) were statistically higher for oxygen compared to BATS (−1.81 ± 0.37 mol O₂ m⁻², 1.52 ± 0.30 mol C m⁻² and 147 ± 43 mmol N m⁻²). Lateral advection, which was more significant at ESTOC, was responsible for the differences in estimated oxygen remineralization rates between both stations. Due to the relevance of the horizontal transport at ESTOC, we cannot assert that the differences in shallow remineralization rates computed for both stations can explain the observed descrepancies in the flux of sinking organic matter